Bullseye Stallion Stampede

Bullseye is one of my very favorite Pixar characters, so I was happy to see him awarded an appropriate DCA mini-attraction of his own in 2009.

Soon after Toy Story Midway Mania opened on Paradise Pier in 2008, the area's midway games underwent a major theme change to add some desperately-needed character elements. The Bullseye Stallion Stampede is one of those games where a prize is awarded each time, and your odds of winning depend on how many other players take part. Rolling a ball into holes on the playing field sends your little 2-D horse advancing across the race track.

The best scenario for this game is for one or two parents to compete alongside their child with no other players present, guaranteeing a plush prize for a reasonable cost. Although "real" world carny games are notoriously stacked against the player, this family-friendly twist can actually be a good entertainment/souvenir deal when all participants are in the same touring group.

Remembering the Dream Fastpass

 

Remember the Year of a Million Dreams promotion at the Disney parks? During the day, elusive Dream Squad cast members would show up at random locations and give out prizes to the next guests to pass their way.

Back in 2007, my family and I got just one prize out of that deal, but it was a good one: Dream Fastpasses for our group.

These were plastic cards with detachable tabs, which served as all-day Fastpasses for each Fastpass-enabled ride at Disneyland: Big Thunder Mt. Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Splash Mountain, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and Autopia. Valid only for the day of issue, the pass could only be used once on each ride, as a cast member would snap off the appropriate tab as you entered.

Not a bad way to save a few hours of waiting time, these great little bonuses remain my family's best memory of The Year of a Million Dreams...which, you may recall, actually lasted 27 months.