But our Club 33 host had another surprise in store for us. We're all going to take a trip on the Lilly Belle! That's another thing Theresa and I have never done!
You know Ruston's fascination with taking pictures while holding up whatever is in his hands. See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here for examples.
We even got a souvenir ticket!
A few of our fellow guests.
This guy had a classic hardhat that belonged to his father. His dad worked at Disneyland and he said Walt Disney gave his father the hat.
About to hop on the Lilly Belle!
There's a great classic photo of Walt and Lillian.
And it's decorated all in the same style as Club 33.
These tiny metal tassels were interesting. They serve no purpose other than decoration.
Looking out the back of the train.
And a photo stretching the camera out the window.
This 360 view isn't the greatest since I didn't set up my tripod, but it's the only one I've ever seen.
At the last stop, one of the conductors came in and asked us how we were enjoying it. It was pretty awesome. He asked if we had looked through the photo book and signed the guest book. Um... I didn't even know there was one. So, lesson learned, if you ever happen to be able to ride, go through the drawers and find the guest book!
Because Main Street Station was closed due to the refurbishment, we got off at New Orleans Square. Haunted Mansion only had a 5 minute wait, so we couldn't pass it up.
We headed back to Critter Country and rode Theresa's favorite ride, Winnie the Pooh. Then we sat along side the Rivers of America and just enjoyed the atmosphere.
For lunch, we dined in New Orleans Square at the French Market Restaurant and enjoyed the live jazz band.
It's awesome to just people watch today, seeing how people decided to celebrate Dapper Day.
Jim and Susan, Ruston's and our friends from Florida, happened to be visiting, so we enjoyed walking around the parks with them.
And wherever a gathering of dapper people happened, group pictures inevitably followed.
At 1:30, there was an official gathering in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle for a group photo. The Disney photographers really had their hands full taking pictures with everyone's camera. (click the photo to see a much bigger version)
We decided we needed to get some photos on Buena Vista street in DCA, so we hopped on a horse drawn trolley to take a ride up to the front of the park.
The horse who is pulling us today is Brother.
Thank you Brother!
Of course we took a photo in front of the Storytellers statue.
Plus a few more in front of Carthay Circle restaurant.
These guys were looking quite spiffy so Ruston asked them to join us in our photo.
None of us are used to walking around all day in dress clothes and shoes, so we headed to the beautiful Grand Californian lobby and talked about our next adventure coming up, Minnie's Moonlit Madness. More on that in a future post.
We've had so many great experiences today and Ruston just happened to have one more special treat lined up. He is friends with another Disneyland cast member who previously worked at the Haunted Mansion who offered to take us on a 30 minute private garden tour. We were super excited to be shown around the Haunted Mansion since it's one of our favorite rides at the park. I think the cast member recognized it too, because our 30 minute tour turned into a 1:20 minute tour. I tried to write down as much as I could remember about what he said during the tour and I'll go back to the park later to take pictures to go with it. That'll be a future post to look forward to.
All of us had work the next day and some of us had to be there at 6:45am, so even though the night was still young, it was time to go home. We walked over to Tomorrowland and boarded the monorail then walked back to the parking garage.
What an incredible day! Club 33, a ride on the Lilly Belle, Dapper Day at Disneyland, plus a private guided tour around the Haunted Mansion! How can it get much better?
Can't wait to hear about your HM tour—sounds cool!
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