A couple of years ago I posted a popular entry about Yogurtland in Fullerton. Since that post, the chain of fro-yo shops has expanded from two locations to fifty! Their newest location, accompanied by their new headquarters, is in Anaheim. Hooray! Fro-yo for all (except Dave because he’s a party-pooper and doesn’t like it)!

It’s about time Anaheim got a taste of the delicious frozen Yogurtland treat. Yougurtland’s newest location can be found at 683 N Euclid St. Anaheim, CA 92801. Maybe I’ll see you there, cause you know, that’s where I will be spending all of my spare time.

Two more pictures after the jump…

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As our constant readers know, I am prone to fits of nostalgia about the wonders of Knott’s Berry Farm. I can’t help it; it’s a condition. Needless to say I was thrilled, wait let me rephrase that… I was THRILLED (!!!) when I saw Jay Jennings (pictured below), the Curator/Historian of The Knott’s Berry Farm Museum was releasing a new book entitled Knott’s Berry Farm: The Early Years.

[Photo courtesy of The Knott’s Berry Farm Museum]

A nice feature over at The OC Register quotes Jennings as saying ”I hope my book brings back fond memories of when families visited Knott’s Berry Farm and Ghost Town and the sheer fun and joy of walking up and down Main Street“. Indeed it does! With all the recent hubbub about D23 it’s nice to see a little history and street-cred being bestowed on Orange County’s original theme park!

There was a book signing on Saturday but, alas I was being burned alive in LA on that day so I was unable to attend. There is something to be said for an event that is smaller, more personal and rich with history. I encourage you to check it out the KBF Museum web site and of course, order that book! One more photo after the jump…

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The wifey and I stopped by the new Bob’s Big Boy (in Orange) for breakfast this morning at 8 AM and we were the only ones in the joint. If there is a lesson to be learned from this, it is go early and beat the rush! As for the breakfast itself, it was… interesting. Not my cup of tea coffee really.

Have you had breakfast at Bob’s? What did you think?

There are so many things I love about Old Towne Orange (the houses, the people, the shops just to name a few), but I have one spot that has been my favorite since I discovered it several years ago.
Pitcher Park-

Pitcher Park sits at the corner of Almond and Cambridge in an entirely residential area, minus the school across the street. The park is small, taking up no more width than 1 house and no more length than 2 houses. It has benches, tables, greenery…all the things you expect to find in a park. But when you look closer, you see the little details that I love so much about the park.
Well don’t just sit there, follow the link to hear what they are and see more pictures! (more…)

Our friends at Mice Age have posted an update by their chief commentator Al Lutz. While often didactic and prone to instructive (rather than constructive) criticism, one cannot help but be fascinated by Mr. Lutz’s juicy tidbits he throws to the drooling Disneyland devotees all over the world. This particular update focuses heavily on D23, Murphy the invisible dragon and the current DCA expansion. However, at the very end of his column he addresses the alleged headaches Disneyland is enduring over this year’s Free-On-Your-Brithday campaign. Essentially he reports the promotion has been one gigantic pain in the ass. Who am I to argue with that? :) He then casually drops this little bomb:

The new campaign for 2010 will allow anyone a free ticket to Disneyland, but only after they complete a certain number of volunteer hours in their community with a Disney approved charity or nonprofit organization.

Say what? Really? That’s sounds like an administrative nightmare!! Still, I really like the idea of encouraging volunteerism and rewarding people with a magical experience. If they really do bring this concept to fruition it will be one of the most unique promotions the Resort has ever seen. I like high concept ideas like this and am interested in seeing it in action.

Would you complete a certain number of volunteer hours to earn a free ticket?

Simply put, this home movie filmed inside Disneyland in 1956, is nothing short of enchanting. It’s two minutes of pure nostalgic joy. Watch closely as Walt himself makes a casual appearance to meet and greet Guests. It’s astounding. I ask you this: When was the last time any of you saw the current Disneyland Resort President or better yet CEO Bob Iger, just strolling through the park chatting with Guests? He was remarkable and thus far, irreplaceable.

[Unfortunately Metblogs does not support the embedding code for this video. Just click the link below the preview picture and you’ll be whisked off to Vimeo’s web site]

CLICK HERE TO SEE Home Movies At DisneyLand – 1956 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

Don’t judge me. Disney makes up their own words all the time (Environmentality and Presenteeism come to mind). I digress……

I was reading through an Adventures By Disney magazine at work, and came across a picture of Neuschwanstein Castle. I’ve included a picture below:

Purdy.

Look familiar to anyone?? Come with me past the jump for more pics and comparisons to Orange County’s 1st castle.
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If you’ve never been, Joe’s Italian Ice is located on the corner of Harbor and Lampson in Garden Grove and it’s like a heaven in the form of a quick-service ice cream parlor. Joe’s is a no frills, no seating, outdoor, walk-up, open late institution in GG.

Pictured below is a large Black Beauty Joe Latti which is Philly Water Ice (pick your flavor) layered with the most delicious soft serve in the world. I’m not sure what it is that makes it so good but I am sure it’s the high fat content and the homemade water ice. Swoon…

I command you to run, don’t walk, down and get some right now! While you’re there pick up a punch-card and get your addiction started. You waistline won’t thank you but your taste-buds will! As always, there is another photo after the jump (a peanut butter fudge sundae… mmmmmm).

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I bet you thought I was done didn’t you? Ha! Fooled you, I have one last post to go: a recap, an honorable mention and a booby prize! So let’s get to it shall we? We all know that waiting line at Disneyland is inevitable but in some cases it can actually be fun! Let’s take a few moments and recap the Five Best Places to Wait in Line at the Disneyland Resort.

Number 5: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Number 4: Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Number 3: Star Tours
Number 2: Enchanted Tiki Room
Number 1: Indiana Jones Adventure

Honorable Mention: Haunted Mansion Holiday
The regular Haunted Mansion didn’t make the lists because it features a unique attraction/queue hybrid that defies definition. Once the line slithers outside into the direct sun, you are left to wander about in some pastoral yet benign settings. However, once a year, when the holidays come around, the place transforms into a Halloween/Christmas wonderland – both on the inside and out! The H M Holiday outdoor queue is especially spectacular at night! The place is lit up like a holiday jack-o-lantern in a display of yuletide overkill. I love it! There’s so much going on in this particular line that space prevents me from articulating all the details. Suffice to say, if you have never been, you don’t know what you’re missing!

The Booby Prize: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
We had a lot of choices for this one but none stood above the famous Submarine Voyage. The reasons are simple: There is no theme. The entire queue is outdoors. Much of the queue is in the direct sun. The line itself stretches all the way into another land (from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland). It’s a serpentine. It’s frustrating watching how quickly the Matterhorn queue is moving compared to yours. And finally, the queue breaks the cardinal rule of queue-theory: you should never ever ever be able to see the front of the line from the end of the line. For shame!

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Before

Above is a picture of the intersection of Pepper and La Veta in Orange. Here you see the giant “1201 Building” which housed medical offices and a pharmacy. To the left you can see a small parking structure for CHOC.

After

Here you see the same intersection now. Just 4 months later and the 1201 Building and parking structure are gone! The enterance to CHOC has changed too. I attempted to take cell phone video of them tearing stuff down, but it was crap footage, so…..sorry. It was neat though!!! And loud!

Can’t wait to see what’s in the future for CHOC Children’s Hospital’s future!!
(redundancy on purpose)