Baseball Mickey Mouse statues to Southern California ~ 2010 MLB All-Star Game

I got bored watching game 2 of the Phoenix Suns v Los Angeles Lakers series and started looking for panda hats.  Yes, my mind works in myterious ways...  Panda hats.  Why?  Because, I saw them when I was in San Francisco at the Giants game and I thought they were cute, so I wanted to see if I could snag one on-line.  As I clicked various links to get to the SF Giants on-line store, I noticed that there was a 2010 All-Star Game Mickey Mouse figurine being sold to commemorate the 2010 MLB All-Star game (i.e. held at Angels Stadium this year). 

I did some more digging and came across the following article, written on April 19, 2010:  http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?content_id=9417216&fext=.jsp&ymd=20100419&vkey=allstar2010

**** For those of you that will never click the link, let me summarize.  According to the article, "Major League Baseball Properties and Disney Consumer Products unveiled on Monday 36 designs of MLB-themed Mickey Mouse collectible statuettes and related apparel and merchandise in celebration of the 2010 MLB All-Star Week festivities taking place July 9-13 in Anaheim as part of a new collaboration between the organizations. "

The 36 Mickey Mouse statues will be decorated using the same logos and designs as the MLB statuettes (i.e. in the baseball team logos). The MLB Mickey Mouse statues are 7 1/2 feet and weigh 989 pounds.   The Mickeys will begin to appear at landmarks throughout Southern California as the All-Star Game nears (i.e. the game is on July 13), but the exact locations have yet to be released.  Trusr me, I've looked...  I still can't find the information, but I sure as hell intend to find these statues!

If you ask me, both MLB and Disney hit homeruns!  Mickey Mouse and baseball ~ I might be dreaming!  Don't you dare pinch me...


THE WIRK

Oh Mickey, You're so Fine! Mickey Mouse and Disneyland...

I love Mickey Mouse.  I know I say I love a lot of different things, but I really love all things Disney and absolutely adore Mickey Mouse.  The only thing I've ever taken out of a store (i.e. and no it's not shoplifting because the item wasn't even for sale) was a paper, Mickey Mouse decoration.  Well, actually now that I think about it, I stole a pack of grape bubble gum when I was 5 or 6 and believe me, I learned my lesson not to steal.  I never tasted that gum, and the embarrassment of having to confess and return it, still gives me anxiety.  But I digress...

When I planned my trip to LA, I was upfront with Scott that I wanted to go to Disneyland.  He said his weekend was open and that he'd be down for the adventure.  That was all I needed to hear.  I told him I was crazy about Disney and that I wanted to get there early, and he obliged.  We were on the road by about 9AM to Anaheim from LA and arrived at the park around 10.  The drive was easy and the whole time I was going to burst from excitement!  Yes, I am a kid at heart and have been called 12 years old by more than one person (i.e. actually in English and Spanish).  WHATEVER.  I know what I like, and Scott was helping make my dreams come true.  I hadn't been to Disneyland since I was in college.  Those of you that know me, can do the math.  ****  Incidentally, I don't think I've been to Disney World since 2005, so I'm due for a visit there also.

When we arrived at the park, I did my best to control my enthusiasm and not to run towards the gates.  The minute we walked in, Scott spotted Pluto and sure enough, I went to get my picture taken. 

Minnie was there too, but that line was long.  Easily I could've spent hours chasing characters through the park, but I exercised restraint.  I also wanted to ride the rides!

I "yelped" each of the more exciting rides, as I was riding them and was thrilled to see the responses from friends as they commented how much they enjoyed the ride, also. If only I could round up all of my friends for a day at the park... That would be heaven!

Admission to the park is about $80.  Park Hopper passes are more, but we didn't have the time so it's irrelevent.  The lines weren't that bad and we were able to take advantage of the park's fast passes.  We rode Star Tours, Space Mountain (2X), the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Indiana Jones Ride, Dumbo, the Carousel, Snow White, the Winnie the Pooh Ride, Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  Disneyland even brought back Captain EO.  Talk about bringing back memories!  ****  The lady who warmed up the crowd before Captain EO asked the audience who remembered the movie when it first came out, and people cheered.  Then she asked who was there because their parents made them and the "younger" people cheered.  It was funny.  The man sitting next to Scott, commented that  he told his kids that this was "Daddy's time".  Too funny!

The Haunted Mansion is different in Disneyland v Disney World

The Kentucky Derby was Saturday, but this version is better

I'm strong, but wasn't strong enough

Does this ride look scary to you?  I didn't think so...

Captain EO is back!

Dumbo is so cute!

AWESOME

Scott was about to go Clark Griswold at the Park when he noticed that Big Thunder Mountain was closed.  I updated my facebook status with this information and received the following comment from my friend, Tommy, "Moose outside shoulda told ya."  I literally laughed out loud. 

The weather was amazing and the park wasn't too crowded. Since Disneyland is much smaller than Disney World, we were able to hop around from "land" to "land" easily. **** Oh, and if you haven't been at an amusement park in a while, you should know that in addition to strollers you now have to look out for people on scooters. I'd never seen so many scooters in my life!

I smiled and laughed my entire day away.  Great weather, great company, and the happiest place on Earth (i.e. in CA).  In the 10 hours I spent at the park, I couldn't have asked for more ~ except for a funnel cake with strawberries that I completely forgot that I wanted it, until we were already in the car headed back.

I'll get it next time :-P

THE WIRK