Pretty close to Cloud Nine. KNBR SF Giants Fan Fest February 9, 2019

KNBR SF Giants Fan Fest is one of those things that happens every year but every year something happens that prevents me from going.  Since the Giants started winning World Series in 2010, I either had to work a school play, someone needed a ride somewhere, or some other social obligation came up. My daughter got to go with some friends one year and Sergio Romo (now of the Tampa Bay Rays) signed her Sergio Romo jersey.  She called me hyperventilating as if she had met the Queen of England herself, but I guess at that time having Sergio Romo sign your shirt was better than meeting Queen Elizabeth.

I had two daughters out of town so it was determined we were going to do something February 9th, which incidentally is the day before my birthday.  There were three events to choose from, and we couldn't decide so we left it up to chance and the lot fell upon Fan Fest.  Early in the week it was determined that there would be no baseball practice for freshman on Saturdays, so I loaded my car with 15 year old boys and 10 of us headed up to Oracle Park in San Francisco to mingle with our favorite players.

KNBR Fan Fest is a free annual event held at the ballpark scheduled just a few days before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.  Fans can wander the field and have access to some very cool areas usually off limits to the run of the mill audience, such as a the dugout and the press box.  As one of those that never has seats that allowed me to visit the club level, it was cool to go up there and see all the memorabilia displayed and see how those club level seats are accessed.  We had hoped the Clubhouse would be open, but it was not.

Our bunch in the Giants Dugout

Make the call to the bullpen!

How long before we pull him, Bruce?

We were given two strong warnings.  One was to take public transportation and the other was to get there early.  One story relayed stated that a few years ago they stopped letting people in at 9:45 am!
We ran into no such problems.  We parked in an offsite lot at 470 Brannan for 15$ and lined up at the Willie Mays gate at about 9:20.  The gates opened precisely at 10 am and every one made it in without incident.

Our crew is ready to go!

There are a lot of sponsors there giving away free stuff, drink cuzzies and paper placards and the same backpack I got last year on a giveaway day.  There is lots of stuff to buy.  A lot of last years merchandise was marked down for quick clearance.  Especially tempting was the twenty dollar "mystery bag," which made it's way home with just about everyone in our party.  Once the first one was opened and the contents were discovered to not be so bad, others followed suit, particularly in the last hour of the event, when the bags were marked to two for twenty dollars.  Members of our group starting gifting them to one another.  I walked away with an Andrew McCutchen Tshirt, a rally rag, a water bottle and a Will Clark Autism Awareness Bobblehead--all likely leftover giveaways from last year.  I was pretty lucky-one of our poor boys came home with TWO Crazy Crab scarfs--the same ones we chucked out the minute we came home with them last year.

Anyway, throughout most of the day, KNBR personalities conducted interviews with players down on the field.  Despite the occasional standing in the rain, it was actually quite nice to get close and watch the discussions.  Out by "the garden", there was also a sponsored question and answer area, but we never ventured out that way.

A lot of the concessions were available and alcohol was available, though in our desire to be good examples, we did not buy any.

While all this is fine and dandy, no one comes out to the ballpark for this stuff, and neither did we.  People come out to get autographs and to meet players. From what I could ascertain,there were two autograph stations, one kids 16 and under autograph station (which came in very handy for our 15 year olds) and one selfie station.  The autograph stations were on opposite ends of the ball park, one at the top of the Willie Mays ramp and the other in the Alaska Airlines Loft at the right field wall.  The kids station was on the club level, quite appealing as it was indoors.  The selfie station was also up in the nosebleeds and the endless line in the downpour kept us away.

The lines for autographs were like waiting for Space Mountain, fully equipped with the "wait time is 45 minutes from this point" signs posted strategically. Another tricky thing is that the players/VIP's in the autograph booth once you finally get there rotate every 50 minutes, which leaves you with the very real possibility that after waiting for Brandon Belt for one hour, you could be five minutes away from having him sign your #9 jersey before he is whisked away to be replaced by Pat Venditte (actually he was really nice), so disappointment can really be a thing, but all the players/VIP's are so nice that it really didn't matter who you meet.  During the rotation the line abruptly stops moving for about 10 minutes while the VIPs change.  Another thing we noticed is that you might see the same player rotated to another autograph station--yes we actually have one autograph twice, but for the most part we did not fall into this predicament.  There are three to six VIPs at every station, so even if you are repeating one meet and greet experience, there are three others you haven't met.  There are some rules for the autograph stations.  No posed pictures are allowed, though you can take pictures of the players themselves as they sign your gear.  Also only one autograph is allowed per person, so don't even think about having both your baseball and your jersey signed.  There is no hurry once you get there. The players and VIPs, who are for the most part phenomenally well dressed and good looking--sigh, are polite, make eye contact and are up for a little conversation.

Dear fan, I love you.  Signed Austin Slater

 Kickin' it a little with Austin Slater and Drew Pomeranz

The boys stop by the "kids only" autograph station

We got there with plenty of time, and made a beeline for the top of the Willie Mays ramp.  The adults

went here to wait for Ty Blach, Tyler Beede, and Austin Slater, but due to the 50 minute rule wound up meeting Shawon Dunston, Pat Venditte (who just beamed over from the kids section) and Drew Ferguson.  The 15 year olds ran off with another adult where they met Brandon Crawford, Aramis Garcia, Pat Venditte, and Jeff Samardzija.  One of the guys that came with us had the Brandon Crawford jersey he was wearing signed.  Now that's pretty cool. Then the boys found their way back to us and sneaked into line with us and got the signatures we were waiting for.

Brandon Crawford signs Nicky's baseball

The kids line became very crowded as the day went on.  I believe largely because it was indoors.  One of our party decided on the strategy of just getting back in the kids line over and over throughout the day, betting on the 50 minute rotation rule.
Eventually we made our way across the stadium to the Alaska Airlines Loft.  By now it was raining steadily, making part of the wait time rather uncomfortable.  We did wait a fair amount of time in this line.  Our scouts told us that Mike Krukow, Amy G., and Dave Fleming were in the loft but by the time we got there it was Mark Melancon ( "you were supposed to save the games, not destroy them!"), pitching coach Curt Young and hitting coach Bam Bam Muellens.  Yeah, missing out on the first three was a bummer, oh well.
After visiting the press box we had time to stand in one more line. The adults headed back to the top of the Willie Mays ramp to meet with Aramis Garcia, Austin Slater and Drew Pomeranz, the kids went back to the kids line, which we heard was closed since 1:30pm, and pulled off the biggest VIP coup of the day.  The line was closed but they just hung out at the back and sad faced their ways into being allowed into the end of the line.  Who was signing autographs? Serious, BUSTER POSEY, THE BUSTER POSEY.  Buster, 2012 NL MVP, 2012 NL batting champion, 2012 Comeback Player of the Year, 6 time All Star catcher, 3 time World Series Champion, Golden Glover, Silver Slugger 2010 Rookie of the Year, Posey.
The autograph was plenty to be envious of.  I told my son to send me a picture and he sends me this.

I texted this to my daughter in San Diego and she could only respond with one word...."AHHHH!!"

I asked one of the boys what he said when he met Buster.  He said he just blathered like a dumbstruck idiot.

After that, there was nothing to top it.  We took the boys to Amici's for some fabulous pizza and drove home.

What an amazing day.  Now for some pictures!

Thank you Sir Hensley Meulens for letting m photograph your WS ring!

Future sports writers visit the press box

Now officially the coolest jersey ever!

Thank you for reading this post!  I just got back from the winter wonderland of Sun Vallley, ID.  Hoping to get to post about that mighty soon!

Planning, Fashion, and what's new at Disneyland--January 11-14, 2019

Well, after going to Disneyland Resort about six years in a row during the Disneyland "Season of
Wonder," the period of time between roughly Veterans Day and the first weekend of January, during which the parks are meticulously themed from head to toe in holiday array, we decided to go for a change of pace and check out the Disneyland resort during a traditionally quiet weekend, in our case the January weekend prior to MLK. Lots to talk about in this blog..how this timing worked out and might work out for you, planning for and surviving your trip and what new things you might notice when you next visit the happiest place on earth.  Don't quite know the best order and it all might seem a little garbled but here goes.

A MIDJANUARY'S TRIP TO DLAND--

Crowds--Well I have to say it seems there is never a time when Disneyland is not crowded, but there were definitely less crowds during this weekend.  I can't say that the lines for the rides were any less-still plenty of times the stand by times for the favorites were well over 60 minutes-- but when it came to the ability to walk through the street without fear of being run over by a stroller or just generally swept away by a sea of people, or to do something as usually stressful as finding a good place to watch fireworks or Fantasmic, yeah it was quite a bit less crowded.  During this time there is no parade--which is a godsend as gosh there is nothing worse than trying to get up or down or even cross Main Street while the whole street is blocked off and the curbs covered with spectators.  The restaurants were full, but it was not impossible to get or change a reservation.  Though Fast Pass did run out for rides like Matterhorn, Space Mountain, and "Indy," floods of people left both after the first showing of Fantasmic (9pm) and then again after Fireworks (9:30pm) so the stand by lines came down considerably in the hour before the park closed.  Space Mountain was as little as 35 minutes.  Now when do you see that?  Fantasmic can be a stressful event at Disneyland, as you are forced to stand to hold your place at the end of a tiring day.  Thanks to the light crowd, we strolled up to a very good spot just 15 minutes before the 10:30 pm show.  My kids push me on a rigorous schedule  (Can you believe my husband actually poops out and LEAVES me there??) and we try to leave no "ride wish" ungranted, but this time the second day we actually checked off our list and left the park before it closed--this has never happened.  I found the lesser crowds to be quite an advantage.

Refurbishment, etc.--Well, along with the smaller crowds come a few provisos; namely, construction, attractions dark or closed for refurbishment and fewer park hours.  Ok I can probably start with the park hours because Disneyland was open from 8-11pm both days, SOOOO really one less hour on each day.  No big deal.  There is no parade.  There is no night show at DCA at all.  There are fireworks both nights at least on the weekend, but the 5-6 minute show is pretty lame by Disney standards.  No 20 minute "Believe in Holiday Magic" with snowfall or "Happily Ever After" with castle projections and music in January!  Haunted Mansion and Astro Orbiter were closed, as was Grizzly River Run.  You couldn't walk through the castle.  Really not too big of a deal.

Weather--Well, I don't really see why this is any different in December versus January--but this time we got it--RAIN.  It hardly ever rains in Southern California, but rain it did this weekend.  It rained about two hours Saturday morning at a steady pour that one would want to avoid, even with umbrellas and proper rain gear, which we all had, and then again for some time near the dinner hour.  As with any trip you take if you have half a brain, it is critical to watch the forecast carefully.  We knew at least a week in advance that rain was in the forecast but would not be bad enough to cause us to cancel, which we considered. We used this link for the forecast.  All in our family were required to carry collapsible umbrellas and ponchos.  The Disney ponchos sold at the park are garbage and cost a fortune.  I am much more partial to this little gem from REI.  The only thing that is nearly unavoidable is getting your feet wet.  Though it would have been helpful, it is not very practical to carry rainboots.
The cold is a real thing too.  The temperature did not get much above 62.  We all wore jeans and long sleeve shirts and light weight down jackets pretty much the whole time were were there.  I had mittens and a scarf and I was plenty pleased I had those as well.  It was not unbearable but it certainly was not warm.  My son insisted on Splash Mountain and we all obliged and after getting wet it was quite chilly.

DISNEY FASHION:

One thing is for sure, Disney fashion is a real thing. I could probably do a blog post on this subject alone.   I would venture to guess that about 75% of the guests at Disneyland on any given day are wearing some type of Disney wear.  It is hard to describe the variety--it's not all about watches and Mickey Mouse Tshirts anymore.  I've seen ladies with adorable self created Snow White and Alice in Wonderland creations.  Plenty of families go the the custom T shirt route, think Disney Mom, Disney Dad, Disney Uncle, Grandma's B-day disney trip, etc.  Little girls are dolled up straight from the Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique.  Lots of Etsy and mall created Tshirts combine Starbucks and Disney, sports and Disney, or label members of couples as "Beauty" and "Beast."  You get the point.  People are into it.  All my Disney clothes were T shirts, so I figured I wasn't wearing anything Disney this year besides my mouse ears.  Just a few strolls through strategically placed stores and this usually thrifty GoFamily Mom had picked out a cute long sleeve jersey to wear the next day.
You can find any article of clothing you want, but the big three right now seem to be Mouse Ears, Jerseys, and mini backpacks.

MOUSE EARS:  Remember the $6.99 black plastic ears with your name embroidered on the back??  I honestly did not see a place you could get those and I didn't see anyone wearing them.  Ear headbands are the big thing now and you can get whatever you want, silver, rose gold, Christmas colors, basic black with the red bow, the variety is endless. The latest colors are purple potion and millenial pink and they are popular, almost like people bought them that day!  Mouse ears are adorable and everyone wears them--not so much the guys, but I hear in Tokyo Disney even the guys wear the headbands!  These run about 28$ at the souvenir stores.  A lot of people (including my daughter, who made Pooh, Peter Pan and Sully themed ears) make their own or order unique ears from craft sites such as Etsy.  Anyway, ears aren't cheap and like where else do you wear them but they are a fun way to express yourself. I never go to Disneyland without my basic blacks!

SPIRIT JERSEYS:  The next thing in winter wear seems to be the long sleeved spirit jersey, available in both men and women's sizes in a variety of colors, including purple to match the purple potion ears you just bought.  I don't know what is particularly "spirit" about these jerseys.  It is basically an oversized long sleeved T shirt with the Disneyland logo across the back of the shoulders.  Oh, maybe that's why they call it a jersey...hmm. Ok.  Well yeah they are cute and all but they are 66$!  At least you can wear it in public outside of Disneyland and not be committed to the looney bin...but you probably won't.

MINI BACKPACKS:  Well you want to talk about creative Disney wear?  The Loungefly mini back is pretty much the mother of all Disney souvenirs now and many many a lady Disney fan, including my own daughter, was carrying a new Loungefly bag.  Most are themed with subtle patterns and accessories specific to Star Wars, Belle, Alice, Mickey, Moana, Disney Villianesses, you name it.  Some bags have bows or ears or other such appendages to make them specific to the character they represent.  Not all patterns are available in the park at any specific time but there are about 50 varieties available on Amazon.  I bought one for my daughter for Christmas and she met with plenty of admirers.  The newest styles are bags covered in sequins in the popular purple potion or millenial pink with ears attached.  Dang these bags are CUTE and hard to resist, BUT the top sellers are 90$.  If you want one, I would say to pick one that's a bit more subtle, because a 90$ bag you can only use in the park is pretty much a waste of money.

I kid you not I saw ladies with the Purple potion collection:  ears, jersey and back pack.  $184 plus tax.  Disney fashion is an expensive venture!

If ya want it all this is your ensemble!!

This purse for 90$ is my favorite, but it's not

like I can carry this around at the mall, so I skipped it

Honestly, my son has 3 15$ Disney Tshirts from Target and another from a store in Hawaii.  No need to go crazy and sell the house.  But when in Rome, dress like a Roman!!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW??

Well, Pixar Pier is new!  It's not all that exciting but I would say the changes are fun and positive.  The old California Screaming now is called the Incredicoaster and has some Incredibles theming that my kids had to point out after I rode it for the second time. It's the same fabulous roller coaster and had me screaming and laughing my head off.
A GREAT new restaurant, the Lamplight Cafe, replaced Ariel's Grotto.  The Yelp reviews were not fab on this but I chalk this up to people expecting culinary masterpieces in the Disney Parks.  The concept is original.  The outdoor seating is more like bar seating than dinner seating.  I loved sipping my yummy beer and eating my lobster nachos spread out on a little love seat while the sun descended over Pixar Pier.  Super relaxing!  My family shared Potato skins, the carne asada roll, the lobster nachos, and a couple sandwiches.  Sitting down and being served in a restaurant is a MUST in any Disney day we plan.  Another plus to the Lamplight Cafe..no characters interrupting your meal.  I would definitely come here again.

Fun Lounge-type seating at the Lamplight Cafe

(and all except my husband are wearing Disney shirts!)

...and the view from the restaurant is not bad either

Another first for us was eating dinner in the Storyteller's Cafe at the Grand Californian.  It was raining and so cold outside, and what did Storyteller's Cafe have??  A fireplace!!  Nice!  Anyway, dinner at Storyteller's Cafe is a full buffet of good food, chicken chowder, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, chicken adobo, and of course carved prime rib.  There are oodles of desserts including a bowl full of scooped ice cream if you knew who to ask.  Bomb.  My son had two hot chocolates and another one to go.  We all had coffee to go.  Another dinner with no characters (breakfast has characters) and another plus of no characters is that your buffet costs less.  Dinner here was $35.  At Goofy's Kitchen it's $43.

Okay just a few more cool tidbits in my very long post.  Matterhorn now has FastPass as does Small World.  Matterhorn, Dumbo, and Space Mountain all made some queue changes.  Small World was the only ride still decorated for Christmas in mid-January, which I enjoyed.  A lot of the showrooms have additional lights, all LED now, and some added features which gave more to look at without looking cluttered.  And last and least, Pirates of the Caribbean made the PC change we all new was coming  For my comments on this I refer you to my blog post about Disney World from last year.
http://www.gofamilygo.net/2018/04/whats-new-at-disney-world-april-9-16.html


That's it!  Now let's enjoy some pictures!!

The Matterhorn queue has had some work done

Jackets, sweatshirts, and MOUSE EARS necessary!

Thought this was cute at the Lamplight Cafe

One year ago, but everyone in Disney gear!
My son is in one of the Target Tshirts..

No Disney night is complete without fireworks!

Thank you for reading this post!