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A few more thoughts from Main Street before we move on to other areas.....
The Shops.
It was nice to see these are still fairly intact and have not been turned into a mega-mall like the WDW Main Street shops have over the last few years.
It was cool to see different themed merchandise in the various small locations ( Magic Shop, etc..) instead of just a jumble of all the same 'generic' items filling all the shelving. Different shops actually had different items...as it should be...and perfectly themed in most cases. Yay!
This was a treat for the eyes..
...and for the ears.
How so?
I strolled through Disneyania, The Disney Gallery, and the art/high end collectibles section of World of Disney.
In each place, i had Cast approach and want to talk about Mr. Baxter since they spotted the 'Fan Club' pin.
They were all algow with tales of the special day they worked and he came to visit for a special event, or to simply browse on his own.
I was aware of him enjoying these places, but did not expect the Cast to be so open and enthusiastic talking about their experiences with him.
This was great, and very welcome to my ears.
So his presence was most certainly there for the duration of this venture....even if he was not present himself, personally. More fun tales to come..!
More Main Street musings....
The other thing i took note of was the paint application given to Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Something i had missed noticing last visit...this time it stood out.
It has this beautiful pearlized pastel paint job on the Castle stones, with a dash of shimmering glitter thrown in the paint mix as well. Stunning.
It gave the Castle a real etherial appearence...a 'glow' all it's own. I was studying the stones up close while crossing over from the Faire way path and marveling at this neat little touch.
I spent some time walking around, through, and inside the famous landmark exploring it from all angles.
Unfortunately the side with Snow White's Grotto was being refurbished, and was closed off....but the entrance from Fantasty Faire was open with direct access to the Walkthrough.
This brings us to the next chapter of the venture...exploring the delightful 'Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough'.
This was a 'must so' on the Tony Baxter Tour of Disneyland.
Two words- LOVED this !
Photos do not capture the wonderful ambiance within those walls...and the overall charm of the dark environment with those neat scenes.
Many were plussed with special effects which made you want to stay longer and admire the artwork before you.
My first visit through it was a bit too busy.
Being 'pushed' through a experience due to people behind you riding up your backside is usually something i try to avoid, as unlike your typical Guest that is usually in a hurry to get in and out and to another attraction as soon as possibly, i like to linger and take my time soaking in the atmophere.
I made it a point to return on another day to spend more time viewing the displays in a less busy situation.
The return visit later did indeed pay off handsomely, where i had the interior pretty much all to myself and could stroll through at a leisurely pace and take in all the sights to be had.
Some neat little discoveries there...well worth exploring!
Here are a few of the photos i snapped during that refreshing period of the day...
A large scene as it appears upon entering the room from the stairway -
A close up of one of the hand drawn storybook pages present throughout the Walkthrough, 'narrating' the story as you explore the corridor displays -
My favorite scene in the Walkthough, of Maleficent's lair....
The lighting for this diorama was fantastic !
Another one of my favorite scenes...Maleficent casting her spell over King Stefan's Castle.
The projection effects in the background ( of various 'evil spirits' ) and the shifting lighting effects brought this to awesome life.
This photo does not in any way do the actual appearence of this justice!
Can you tell Maleficent is my favourite Villain..?
