Three Gulls With Big Ambitions

One of the best elements of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage isn't seen or heard by its riders at all. Three Seagulls from the film, perched on a bouy, cry, "Mine! Mine!" every time a submarine passes by.

The birds, many yards from shore, are not immediately obvious to most guests walking by the lagoon. Fans of the film, however, immediately catch the familiar call drifting faintly on the breeze, and stop to investigate.

You've got to love a bird who dreams big.

The Nemo Subs at Night

I love to visit the Submarine Lagoon at night. At the entry to Finding Nemo, the clean lines of the neon mixed with the activity of the Monorail Station above bring back good memories of  classic "World on the Move" Tomorrowland.

Plus, the walk along the lagoon's edge is a joy. Even the "Mine, mine" cries of the Seagulls on a nearby buoy seem calming after sundown. This is usually a good place to stop, take in the beauty of the evening and make plans for the rest of the night.

If you happen to be ready to head back to one of the resort hotels or the parking tram, the Monorail comes in most handy at this moment to shave off a lot of walking time. It's a good way to avoid the post-fireworks/Fantasmic crowds on Main Street, too.

Riding the Skyway in 1975

Here we are in 1975. Tomorrowland looks great, even in this crummy weather. My teenage self, on his first independent road trip to the park (with best friend), has camera in hand. Ready for a ride on the Skyway?

One problem: the line on the Tomorrowland side is ridiculously long. Being Disneyland pros, however, we know there's never a long line at the Fantasyland station. So, we'll just dash over to the Chalet and start there. By the way, the above shot captures a great little detail for die-hard Disneyland fans. Can you spot it? I'll reveal it at the end of our ride.

Gliding out from the Fantasyland Skyway station, we see the Mad Tea Party in its original location before it got moved -- lock, stock & saucers -- to a new home by the Alice dark ride in 1983.

The original Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Even before the remodel that turned the front into a detailed replica of Toad Hall (and mixed in ideas from the WDW version), this attraction's always drawn a crowd. In pre-home video days, very few guests had ever seen the film Ichabod and Mr. Toad, but the ride stood on its own. Still does!

Please click below to continue the flight!

Stuck on the Nemo Subs

Have you ever been stuck on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage during a moment of technical difficulities, staring at the same big, ugly fish for fifteen minutes? We have.

We named him Blarg the Magnificent.

Fortunately, once the ride resumed, we had a smooth, Nemo-full adventure with everything working perfectly...until the end, when something else happened just shy of the docks and we had to wait another fifteen minutes. We got to listen to "Beyond the Sea" over and over again.

Bottom line: even though this ate up our "Extra Magic Hour" morning, we all disembarked in a good mood. If we must get stuck somewhere, may it always be in a submarine at Disneyland rather than out in freeway traffic in the "normal" world.

Fish Heads & Crumbs #4 - How Not To Do a Podcast

Today's weekly episode finds our podcast crew in hot water at Disneyland. This is actually an above-average day for these three.

Click to enlarge