D23 Expo 2011: Disney Store

Date: August 19, 2011


After waiting in line for 9am early entry to the Expo and taking about 20 minutes to move up in line enough to be inside the D23 Expo, we began tackling the shopping.  We started with about a 20 minute line for the Disney Store.  The line into the store area was wheelchair accessible.  Inside the store it was mostly accessible, although it was hard to get to the edges.  However, the stuff on the edges was mostly extras of stuff you could get from the middle area.

Mik and I have both avoided buying Vinylmation in the past.  We have looked, but the only ones I ever sort of watned were the penguins, but they are both part of series that you do not know what you get until after you buy and open it.  Mik has really been wanting a Vinylmation for his miniature collection, but only saw one he actually liked yesterday at Disneyland.  However, we both refused to buy anything  until after the Expo.


There was not much of interest for us in the Disney Store, but Mik instantly wanted the Vinylmation.  It is a cool silver 25th Disney Store Anniversary one.  What he really liked was it also came with a pin.  I ended up also getting one because I wanted a pin and did not like the big one sold on its own.  It was about the same price as just the big pin, so I figure I might just sell the Vinylmation or maybe I could trade it for a penguin one.  Maybe, I will just keep it, though, as it is kind of cool.


Mik also fell in love with the Expo exclusive 25th Anniversary ornaments.  He thought for sure I would want the Sorcerer Mickey one, but I felt it was too pink looking.  Mik thought about getting it anyways, but ended up settling on the Jiminy Cricket one.  I kind of thought he would go for the Buzz Lightyear one, but it also had pink, which was even odder.

When we got to the checkout line, I was worried it would be annoying because it was set up with little room to go through the queue.  I thought we might have to keep moving the pedestals like we had to at the Twins Team Shop.  However, when we got to entering it the Cast Member had us cut the line to the front.  It was still kind of awkward because we had to go against traffic coming out to the register and then after paying had minimal room to turn around and get out, but everyone was friendly and it was better than having to try to squeeze through the queue.

Destination:
D23 Expo
Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA

Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise: Goofy's Galley

Date of Visit: July 2011

Goofy's Galley was our favorite place to get breakfast on the cruise.  Mik especially liked the little croissants, which had chocolate in them.  They also had yogurt, parfaits, other baked goods, and various fruit.



The best part of Goofy's Galley though is the self serve soft serve ice cream.  Only one machine was working the whole trip, so it was easy for the line to get long, especially in the afternoon.  Also, annoyingly the machines were often closed in the late evening even though the navigator said they were open until 11pm.  There are cones to out the ice cream in right by it, but you can also go get a cup from the soda area to use.  Too bad they don't have root beer, though, as it would be great to make a root beer float.

Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise: Pinocchio Pizzeria

Date of Visit: July 2011

We only had the pizza once or twice on the cruise.  The slices are rather small, but you can ask for the amount you want.  The pizza is not bad, but it is not all that great either.  Also, we found it easily got cold since it was cold outside and they didn't were often only just warm when served.  Definitely, does not work out well for getting and carrying back to the cabin to eat.

Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise: Pluto's Doghouse

Date of Visit: July 2011

Pluto's Doghouse was our favorite place to get lunch on the ship.  I enjoyed the veggie burgers and the fish burger was okay.  Mik liked the hot dogs and burgers.  It was nice you could put what you wanted on it and how much on your own with the toppings bar.

Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise: Cabin 7138

 
Date of Visit: July 12-19, 2011

On our Alaskan cruise we were in cabin 7138 at the back of the Disney Wonder.  The cabin big enough for Mik to roll around everywhere.  The closet is even a nice big roll in one, which was a great place to put the wheelchair out of the way when Mik wanted to be on the floor or bed.



Mik really enjoyed that the toilet set up was almost like home, as the grab bar comes down from the wall and ends up being right next to you.  At home he has ones like that on both sides of the toilet so he can go by himself.  He could almost do it with the one in the cabin, but not quite.  However, he was very excited to find the one time we went in the accessible restroom on Deck 3 they do in fact have them on both sides, although kind of far apart.



The shower is a flat roll in style one, but it kind of sucks.  The bench looks unstable with the feet barely seeming to reach the ground, but Mik said when on it seemed fine.  However, the real issue is the shower grab bar is behind the fold down seat, so he could not lean back and thus really had nothing to help him sit up.  Of course, he is lazy and sitting on the edge is just the kind of thing he should be doing more of to improve his balance, but definitely means only try taking a shower when in port if balance is poor.



Another problem Mik had with the bathroom was the sink was very awkward to roll up to with the pipe under the sink being in the way.

The room has a bed, a couch that folds down to a bed, and beds that come out of the wall.  Be sure to leave nothing on the couch bed when the stateroom host comes in to clean.  We had been playing Monopoly and left some of the cards and money on the couch and came back later to find them missing.  We finally figured out they had flipped the bed around to make up and the cards and money were under the couch along with some trash and such from previous people.  Definitely, not fun to have to fish the stuff out, but at least we found everything.



The little table in the room was great for playing Disney Monopoly on, which we bought on the cruise after wanting it for years.  There is a lever under the table that we used to raise it up as far as it goes, which was just high enough for Mik to roll under.



The verandah had plenty of room for Mik to go on it in his wheelchair, although he preferred to mostly stay in the cabin watching Disney movies on the various channels.  Opening the sliding door is rather awkward, though, as the handle is made to turn upwards when you pull to the left, but you have to keep it in the down position to open the door because it being up locks it.  Also, there is a top lock, but it was not ever engaged except when we did it.  The stateroom host can leave it undone if it happens to be locked when you arrive and you cannot reach it.

Overall we love the cabins at the back of the boat.  Of course, we do not know how it compares to the rest of the ship, as we have only ever stayed in the back accessible cabins.  We like then, so see no reason to try anything different.  The only problem this cruise was that the open deck in the middle of the back was sometimes quite loud.  Surprisingly, it was not an issue the day we sailed through the fjords and it was crowded, but it was annoying the two times the kids club was out there and they were encouraging the kids to yell to say stuff.  We are hoping that on our next cruise by being on the corner instead of middle we will be far enough away to avoid that annoyance if they do it again.  I do not remember anything like that happening on our Caribbean cruise.

Mik really enjoyed getting the towel animals in the room every evening.  The chocolates are nice, too, but really it was the towel animals he liked seeing every evening when we returned.

Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise: Till We Meet Again in Triton's

Date of Visit: July 18, 2011

The final dinner of our Alaskan cruise was in Triton's.  The final meal is called Til We Meet Again.



For the appetizer Mik enjoyed the Grilled Chicken Sate and I had the Tuna Sashimi, which was probably my favorite thing of the whole cruise.




Mik had the steak, which was not anything special, but good steak nonetheless.  I tried the Vegetable Strudel, which seemed interesting yet ended up being rather bland.



The final dessert menu featured the famous Baked Alaska, which the cooks all come out and parade around the dining room with the servers carrying flags.  Mik had the Baked Alaska and considered it one of his favorite desserts of the cruise.

Mesa Verde National Park: Wethermill Mesa Tram Loop

Date of Visit: June 26, 2011

The Wethermill Mesa Tram Loop was our favorite part of Mesa Verde National Park.  There were very few tourists just doing the loop first thing in the morning.  Most of the visitors were here to do the tours down to the cliff dwellings, which is not accessible as it involves steps.  The tram, however, is wheelchair accessible and is very well worth taking to the various stops.

The front row of seats is removed for the wheelchair to fit.  The tram has a pull out ramp to roll up and on.  Overall very easy and accessible.  One big issue, though, is no tie downs.  It did not seem to be an issue, as the tram does not go very fast, however coming back up to the parking lot the turns caused Mik to end up moving around facing sideways.  Of course, that freaked Mik out just as he was finally relaxed after his initial freak out of realizing they did not use any sort of tie downs.

You could just ride the tram loop and never get off, but then you really would not see much of anything.  The first stop drops you off at the Badger House Community trail that takes you to several different archeological sites.  This is a paved trail that is actually quite level throughout.  Mik even liked that the water fountain at the start was low enough he could roll up to and drink from.

Along the Badge House Community trail there are several different sites that have been excavated.  The sites are mostly covered pavilions with the paths being easy to navigate through.  However, on the first one the path goes straight back and it is a somewhat tight squeeze to turn around to go back out.  For the most part Mik found it easy to get up close to the fencing and see the sites.  He also enjoyed the signage at the sites with further info and layout diagrams.

After going through the whole trail, we waited for the next tram.  On the way back to the parking lot the tram makes two quick stops at overlook trails.  These are short trails down to overlooks that give you a good view of cliff dwellings.  The trails are mostly paved, but they are quite steep.  Since they are short, they are not too bad to do, but it certainly takes much more effort to control the wheelchair slowly down and then pushing it back up than just walking the trail.  Also, at the bottom of one it was rocky and uneven in the lookout area.

Overall the tram ride was very worthwhile.  The accessibility is good other than they really could use tie downs.  The driver was also very friendly and it was surprising to learn that they average only 2 wheelchair visitors a season, especially considering it is really the easiest accessible way to get up close to some ruins at Mesa Verde National Park.

Photos by Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's wheelchair accessibility input

Destination Info:
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde, Colorado