Last of the Summer Wine...

Well, here we are at August Bank Holiday Monday and the official last day of summer here in the UK and the weather has put in a simply splendid show of sunshine to remind us all that summer was actually pretty good over here this year. 

It's 26C, and whilst I submitted myself to a rather unruly burst of spring-cleaning this morning, I followed this with a couple of hours of luxurious reading under the trees out the front...and we are bbq-ing in earnest tonight to give this English summer of 2009 a proper and fitting 'cheerio'.

So it's a toast to farewell Summer...goodbye to tomatoes and blackberries and rosily,sun-kissed cheeks and noses...and to welcome the brilliantly-hued and softly sunshine-y days of Autumn...

Disney Studios...Or The Invasion of High School Musical

Well day 2 of our Disney Extravaganza was spent at the Disney Studios Park, a peek behind the magic of making movies right next door to the original park. 

So after starting my 40th birthday with all my new friends at Cafe Mickey (see The Happiest Friends On Earth...) it was time to get into some 'action' (geddit?...action...movies....). This park is reasonably new so I have been reliably informed that some of the areas lack the depth of the other Disney Studios parks in the States (partic. the backlot area) but it had a different feel from the Disneyland park and we spent a great day amongst the rides, shows and streets of the Front Lot, Hollywood Boulevard, Toon Studios, Back Lot and the Production Courtyard.
One of the best things about our day was the Moteurs...Action Stunt Show Spectatcular.  In front of 1000 plus people in an open air arena, the director, stunt drivers and a few special guests (like the Love Bug himself, Herbie) took us on a 45min stunt ballet of screaming engines, smoking tyres and special effects all wrapped up into the final 'movie' reel at the end.  I will NEVER look at movie car chases in the same way again...completely awesome!  Here's some pics but they don't really do it justice....

And one to prove we were really there...

Childish Games and Becoming A Follower...

Since we've been on the subject of children's activities of late (you know with my big Disney extravaganza and all that), I thought I'd continue the theme with a visit back to yesteryear and that all-time favourite, Mousetrap...remember how carefully we had to build it all up just to feel smugly satisfied at the successful capture of the mouse at the end?

Well there are some people that just never grow up...check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zudydE4Uuw

Britain really does have talent!
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ps...for those of you who have been receiving my blog posts as an auto email, I'm chuffed that you like them - but I have now added an easy-peasy link on my actual blog page so that you can become a follower of my blog - then you can set your own settings about how you want to be notified when I add something new.  This will make make me look less like a desperate scotty no-mates and more like the interesting/fascinating/witty person you all know and love (too much sell??? Sorry...) So go there now -  www.kymhamer.blogspot.com - and make me look good  :-)

The Happiest Place blah blah...THE RIDES!!!!!!

Badge lovingly hand-crafted by J for me to wear...all day...

Returning to my big 40th birthday Disney extravaganza (yep it's still all about me on this blog!) this one is all about....

THE RIDES

So hang on tight people...

It all began with a gentle tour around the Disney Park aboard the Disneyland Railroad...

x

...followed by a visit to Phantom Manor

...dropping in to Indiana Jones' Temple of Peril and cruising past the underground Blue Lagoon restaurant with the Pirates of the Carribean.

The thrills really started inside Space Mountain: Mission 2...

before levelling off again with an annoyingly uni-lingual flight with Star Tours (commentary all in French!!!!) and a cheese-y sojourn through It's a Small World.

And that was day one...

Day two was in the Disney Studios Park with even more thrills and spills...there was the Studio Tram Tour...

followed by the Armageddon Special effects experience, the Motors Action Stunt Show Spectacular (not really a ride as such but just as thrilling - more on this later) and then the ultimate thriller...

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror...

Our final day saw us start with the Rock n Roller Coaster (and a few choice phrases directed at 'the big man upstairs' - after all it was a Sunday!)...

followed by a few tamer experiences...Flying Carpets of Agrabah

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and The Adventures of Pinocchio...

and last, but not least, the giant teacups (or in its more official capacity, the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups).
Turning 40 really was one hell of a ride.......

Looking for Love? Borrow A Cup Of Sugar...

I found this quote today from the ever-fabulous Katherine Hepburn:

'Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other.

Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then.'

Ha! I think she's onto something...nothin' like a neighbour I say!

Blackberry, blackberry...

Just a small diversion from the Happiest Stories on Earth for a moment to let you know that lately we have been pigging out on juicy, fresh-picked blackberries...and no I did not grow them (although the patch has started to provide the most AMAZINGLY sweet tomatoes). These blackberries grow wild in our car park and just down the hill on the roadside - yes, that's right - in suburbia.

I have never eaten fresh-picked blackberries before - only restaurant delivered-on-a-plate ones - these are so-o-o-o delicious. J managed to fill an ice-cream container on Saturday with his not-so-slim pickings and has put half in the freezer for prosperity (of our desserts anyway).

Why did no-one tell me about this?? This is definitely the first important lessons of my 40s...

The Happiest Friends On Earth...

So I was wondering how to write about our Disney extravaganaza - we squeezed so much into 3 days and managed to come back with almost 600 photos between us (god bless digital cameras eh?) and so many wonderful memories it's actually quite hard to make 'sense' of them in the interesting, witty yet abridged manner befitting this ertswhile blog.

But really, the first thing that everyone said to us when we got back was 'did you meet Mickey Mouse?', 'what about Donald Duck?' and 'say hi to Goofy for me'. So what better place to start than some of the new friends we made while we were there...

x

So first Donald himself was on hand at the Sante Fe Hotel, helping to keep the long check-in queue 'in check' (geddit? in check/check in...witty eh!) and giving every kid in the room - including us - the first of many 'oooh it's...' experiences and gasps of joy of their visit...here are our gasps.

Meeting true Disney royalty with Mickey 'n' Minnie themselves...oh and Prince John too...
x

There were some shenanigans (that is hard to spell!) amongst the boys...

...and last but not least, a couple of cuties for the birthday girl...awwww!

Now that's a birthday party people!!!!!

Stay tuned for more updates including It's A Small World, the Tower of Terror and and Space Mountain...too cool.....

The Happiest Place On Earth...

Well howdy peeps!!!!

It's been a bit a while between blogs but I'm not going to apologise

because we've been away somewhere quite special...

...stay tuned!!!