Disneyland Leap Day Challenge

Oh how I wish I was at Disneyland today. I mean, I get the craving to be in the parks often, but the urge to spend 24 straight hours inside one of my favorite places has never been stronger. But, alas, here I sit at work, wishing, dreaming, hoping...

And being very very jealous at all of you who are there. I mean, come on! 24 straight hours! This never happens! This requires multiple exclamation points!!!

So, in short, since I can't be there in person, maybe some of you will indulge me and have a little fun on my behalf. Here we are, 29 challenges to take place on the 29th day of February at the Happiest Place on Earth. You and your group can use it to challenge yourselves or use it as a scavenger hunt and compete with each other. Either way, I am green with envy and wish I was there to play along with all of you.

Without further ado, the Disneyland Leap Day Challenge:

1. Eat 29 different things. Don't forget to make a list to keep track.
2. Take pictures with 29 different cast members or characters.
3. See how much of a giant dill pickle/pineapple spear/Dole Whip/frozen banana/food of choice you can eat in 29 seconds.
4. Have a 29 second race through Adventureland and see how far you make it (because, man almighty, getting through that area quickly on a slow day is a challenge). Start at the sign and see if you can shoot for Tarzan's Treehouse.
5. Count out 29 animals on Splash Mountain and see if the rest of the group ends up with the same animal as you.
6. Find 29 Hidden Mickeys.
7. Stand on the golden spike on one foot for 29 seconds. Go here if you don't know where the golden spike is.
8. See who can get the most people in line to sing a long with you on the song of your choice. Perhaps "29 Bottles of Rum on the Ship," for Pirates? (or something more kid-friendly, depending on how early it is, LOL.)
9. Hold your breath as you go into the Grand Canyon tunnel. How far did you make it?*
10. Look at the various windows above buildings in Disneyland and DCA (ex: the ones in Main Street or Frontierland). What is the 29th one that you encountered? Compare with your party.
11. Ride 29 rides (you can decide if repetition counts).
12. How many ghosts can you count in Haunted Mansion?
13. Get a picture jumping next to Mickey.
14. Try to make 29 loops around the Hub.
15. Play leap front in front of the castle and take a picture.
16. Take 29 spins on some sort of Disney vehicle (trams, train, omnibus, train, boats, etc).
17. Translate 29 words in the Temple of Doom using this.
18. Meet 29 people while standing in line.
19. Take a picture next to the Mr. Toad statue in the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride queue.
20. Try at least one thing you have never tried before at the parks. Leap Day is all about trying something new, after all.
21. Go on Tower of Terror and make a silly face for the picture. It'll probably be the biggest leap you take all day.
22. Take a nap inside Mr. Lincoln. Lord knows that you may need one.
23. Order a Tigger tail from one of the candy stores. After all, it is Tigger's favorite day.
24. Count the number of fireworks you see during the fireworks show. What color was the very last one?
25. Get your face painted because why not?
26. Give Jumpin' Jellyfish a whirl at DCA.
27. Spend 29 minutes watching the Muppets 3D preshow. It'll change your life with it's brilliance.
28. Challenge yourself to eat a piece of the gigantic chocolate cake from The Golden Horseshoe.
29. Try on 29 different hats at the Mad Hatter.
*We at Disneyland Games do not condone holding your breath for 29 seconds, nor do we suggest attempting to hold out for the entire tunnel. Please respect your fellow train passengers and make this a happy occasion. Thank you.

Well, there you have it. I hope everyone is having a great time out there. Post a comment if you wound up at the park today and tell me all about your crazy exploits. I would love to live vicariously through you. Did you take any funny pictures? Show me on my twitter feed, @disneylandgames.

Math Homework Monday: Yo Ho, Yo Ho!

Hello and Happy Monday!

Between International Talk Like a Pirate Day last week, and the pirates and mermaids theme I've been doing with my students, I have had pirates on the brain. So, it's the perfect day to do a math problem based on Pirates of the Caribbean, no?

This problem should work out as you walk through the ride, starting in the queue and ending as you exit the ride. I believe all the figures are correct, and big thanks to www.tellnotales.com for some of the information, but I will confirm the numbers myself when I'm in the parks this weekend (yay!). I'll try to have the answers on here on Monday.

Here's today's Pirates-themed problem:

1. Enter the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean and find the plaque. Write down the number of Walt's "buccaneers" listed in the plaque.

2. Add that number to the anniversary the plaque celebrates.

3. Multiply your answer to the number of pirate portraits painted on the walls inside the building.

4. Step aboard your ship and check out the name of the landing you are departing from (look up!). How many letters are in the first word? Subtract that number from your answer.

5. Sail past the restaurant and divide the number of words from the 2nd word of the restaurant name from your answer.

6. Continue onward and subtract the number of pirate skeletons you find on the first scene on the beach.

7. Happen upon the man being dunked in the well. What is his name? Add the number if letters in his name to your answer.

8. Take your answer and multiply it to the number of bottles of rum offered for the wench being auctioned off.

9. Divide the number of Jack Sparrows seen throughout the ride (not counting the queue).

10. Add the digits of your answer together.

11. Write down the name of the New Orleans Square store featuring that number. That is your answer.

Feel free to answer below in the comments section, or find me on twitter (@disneylandgames) and let me know. This problem had a lot of steps, so if you need hints, I may or may not be willing to dispense them, depending in what you offer ;)

Until the next problem!

Wonderful World of Words Wednesday: Now then!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Today, I have a cryptogram for you. In case you aren't already aware, a cryptogram is a puzzle where all the letters are represented by different letters. For instance, in the word Mickey, m could equal j, i = p, c = r, k = y, e = q, and y = h, looking like JPRYQH.

Here's today's puzzle. Title: Westward, Ho!

XV TJB SV BSD VSQYN TLM PMTLXJU CTWN SL UQTNNMN, AMNW LMRSIM ‘MR FTDNM WCXN CMLM XN WCM PXQHMNW LXHM XJ WCM PXQHMLJMNN!

Good luck! Leave your guesses in the comments below and I'll have the answer up next Wednesday. 

Hints are below the jump.

Fantastic Fantasmic Friday: The Disney Dessert Tour

Gah, I really fell behind this week. I had an extraordinarily busy week at work and spent the entire week at home cleaning for company. Sorry about that. Answers to last weeks puzzles are updated here and here and I promise I'll have more fun for all next week.

As I've mentioned before, I did visit Walt Disney World this summer and had a wonderful time! One thing I wanted to do while I was there was to find a new way to experience EPCOT. I mean, I think EPCOT is great to look at, but it's not a place I tend to want a spend a lot of time at, unless I'm eating. So, I was reading blogs before I left, and somewhere (and darn it if I can remember where), I remember seeing something about doing a dessert tour around the World Showcase.

DING! DING! DING! What a wonderful idea!

I know they had drinking tours, and I'm not much of a wine/beer person. And I do love to eat. So, my friend Linda, who lives near Tampa, drove up to meet me at WDW, and we did our dessert tour. If you don't mind eating until your stomach explodes, it was a blast! Here's some pictures of all the fun we had:

Caramilk bars from Canada. 

 Caramels from Germany

Gingerbread Viking cookies from Norway. 

So, not only was this tour oh so delicious, and fun to find different desserts in the various pavilions (although, China, you were not so fun. Where the heck were the fortune cookies?) , it was also a great way to explore parts of the park that I had never seen before.

Anywho, so that got me thinking: could you do a dessert tour at the Disneyland resort? I mean, you don't have the "small world, afterall" variety of EPCOT, but when you think about it, there are a ton of desserts to choose from at both parks! Plus, trying to find a dessert from each land may take you to places in the park that you have never been before, which is always, always a plus.

So, to do a dessert tour at Disneyland, this is what I would recommend:

Main Street: Ice cream from Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor (or Main Street Cone Shop, where the lined tend to be shorter when its open). I love sitting in front of the window and people watching. But, I also recommend the English toffee in the Candy Palace. Get a hunk of that and you'll have something to snack on the entire trip. Also, I am dying to try (and finish) the Matterhorn sundae at Carnation Cafe

Adventureland: Hi, Dole Whip!!! But, if you're not feeling more ice cream, you can't go wrong with a pineapple spear. Healthy and refreshing. 

New Orleans Square: I love the Mickey-shaped beignets that you can find at Cafe Orleans.

Critter Country: I haven't tried it yet, but the lemon bumblebee cupcake looks delicious! I also love stopping by Pooh Corner and getting some Goofy Sour Balls (Hello, my name is Robin, and I'm a Goofy Sour Ball addict) or Tigger Tails. 

Frontierland: This comes with a funny story, but definitely try the Mile High Chocolate Cake. I saw the cake on the menu and thought it was just a piece of cake and ordered it, but this is a PIECE OF CAKE! I had to share it with my cousins and friends and we still didn't finish it.

Fantasyland: This was a tough one for me, since I don't tend to eat in this land. But, if it's still there, there's a frozen lemonade stand where you can add flavors (like raspberry) and it's pretty decent. And although I have never tried it, the apple strudel and chocolate black forest cupcake look delicious. 

Tomorrowland: I recently sampled this on my last trip, mainly because I needed a chocolate perk, and was pleasantly surprised how good it was. Try the chocolate parfait at Tomorrowland Terrace.

Oh, and don't forget, you can always supplement with the classic churro, Mickey ice cream bar, or frozen banana (a family favorite). 

This post is running pretty long, so I won't get into California Adventure, Downtown Disney, or the hotels. Another post for another time. If you have any dessert ideas, comment below or send me an @ reply om twitter (@disneylandgames) and I'll add them to the list. Or, send me your dessert tour pictures. It's something I definitely want to try on my next trip. 

Until Monday!

Line Boredom Buster: Telephone Pictionary

Hands down, this is probably my favorite game of all time. Seriously, I love games, and this takes the cake. I find an excuse to play this almost anywhere: with a group of my girlfriends, on New Years Eve post ball drop, waiting for the midnight premiere of Harry Potter, at camp, and most recently, with a group of high schoolers in line for Kilimanjaro Safaris at the Animal Kingdom.

This summer, I went to Orlando with a group of my mother's high school students who made it to national competition for Future Business Leaders of America. I was filling in the chaperoning role while my mom was working on a grant, but really? I just wanted an opportunity to go to WDW and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I really expected the kids to go off and for me to wander the parks by myself (no problem on my end with that), but the kids actually stuck with me the entire trip and we had a blast. On a particularly busy morning in Animal Kingdom, the line for Kilimanjaro Safari was almost 1 hour, and we had already experience a nearly 3 hour line at Soarin' (don't ask: it was raining, we were wet, the line was inside). I had a notepad in my purse, so I took it out, passed out pencils, and we played telephone pictionary. It's a ton of fun, fairly simple to play in line, and great for any age group.

The game goes a little something like this: Imagine putting together the confusion of the old game Telephone that you used to play when you were kids (you know, where you whisper something in someone's ear, and they pass it on down the line, and you get to see how convoluted your original message became). Now add the awesomeness that is Pictionary to the equation and this game is born. Believe it or not, the game works best if you have an odd number of people, and I would recommend no less than 5 people in a group. You can do it with an even amount of people, but you will have to do something special to make it work. I'll fill you in on that in a bit.

To start the game, you need paper and some sort of writing utensil. If you don't like to carry a lot of things with you while walking around Disneyland, I recommend buying a pack of post-it notes, enough for everyone in your party. They can easily fit into your back pocket and be brought out if you just happen to end up at Star Tours and no more fast passes are available. As for writing instruments, these are great and can easily fit into a small purse, or, if you're adventurous, in your pocket.

Now, on to the game. Have everyone in your group take out a small piece of paper, enough papers for every member of your group. So, if you were using post-its, and there were 7 people in your party, you will need 7 post-its. Now, have everyone label the post-its in the corner with numbers, in numerical order (For instance, 1-7 for your 7 post-its). When this is finished, you are ready to begin.

On the first paper (#1), everyone needs to write a simple sentence. This could be a song lyric, something about Disneyland, anything you want. It's also fun to make the sentence about something that happened that day or a family inside joke. So, for example, on my sheet of paper, I might write, "When you wish upon a star..."

When everyone has finished their sentence, it's time to pass the entire stack of papers to the next person. If you are standing in line, it might be easiest to establish ahead of time who you will be passing to (Robin will pass to Bob, Bob will pass to Susan, etc). If you decide to play this game sitting down at a table, I like to pass to the person sitting on your right. So, pass the entire stack of papers to the next person. That person will see the sentence that you have written, and will draw a picture based on that sentence on paper #2. For my sentence of "When you wish upon a star," the next person in line may draw the following:

When they finish with the picture, the person puts your original sentence in the back of the pile, and puts the picture they draw on top. They then pass your entire stack to the next person. That person looks at the picture and must write a sentence based on that picture on paper #3. So, on paper #3, a person may write this sentence:

When they pass it on this time, they put the picture on paper #2 on the bottom of the stack, so the sentence on paper #3 is the only thing showing. This process continues, alternating sentences and pictures until you reach the end and the stack goes back to its owner. So, in my example, if I got my stack back, my original sentence may look like this now:

Or, you know, the child-friendly equivalent. Once you get your stack back, go through all of them and let the hilarity ensue. I love when everyone shares how their sentence went so wrong and we love to vote for the funniest variation. Here's an example of a telephone pictonary stack in it's entirety from a game I played recently:

Just to reiterate, this what your stack should look like if you had 7 people:
1. sentence
2. picture, put #1 in back of stack
3. sentence, put #2 in back of stack
4. picture, put #3 in back of stack
5. sentence, put #4 in back of stack
6. picture, put #5 in back of stack
7. sentence, put #6 in back of stack

If you had an even amount of people, like 6, you would have one less amount of papers than there are people (5 instead of 6 papers). That way, the stack will end in a sentence instead of a picture, as it should.

If you wanted to do a variation, you could write a list of Disneyland-related topics and have people draw them out of a hat and write a sentence based on that topic. This variation is also loads of fun and good for people with writer's block.

This post is becoming very long-winded, so I'll end it here. I hope you try this game out in the parks. If you do, send me a picture of your most hilarious collection. Post it here in the comments, or email it to me at robin.disneylandgames@gmail.com. You can also send me a picture on twitter @disneylandgames. I'd love to see them!

Until Monday, my friends!

Wonderful World of Words Wednesday: Fuddled Forlorn Row Wows

It's Wednesday!

Wow, 2 posts in a week. It's a record!

Here's today's word game. Same drill as with Math Homework Monday; I'll give you a week to answer for yourselves before I put the correct answer up on here. Feel free to post answers in the comments section or reply/message me on twitter (@disneylandgames).

Today we have some simple anagrams for some Disneyland attractions. See if you can unscramble them to find the correct answer.

Carcass City Injurer
Asthma Innuendo
Admired Old Wrist
Aloha Inn Stumps
Stanza Heroes True

Good luck and see you on Friday with a new game!

UPDATED: Answers below the cut.

Math Homework Monday: No Eggs Will Be Served at this Affair

Hello everyone!

First, let me apologize for my unplanned absence from the blogosphere. I'd like to say that I was busy, but really, I was having way too much fun with my summer off. I visited Walt Disney World for the first time in 8 years in June, went to two D23 events in Los Angeles, and spent last weekend in Disneyland.

To make up for it, I have a slew of ideas for new games, line boredom busters, and even weekly posts. Now that I'm back at work, it's a little bit easier to keep myself accountable for this blog and I've worked out a schedule that will have me posting 3 times per week. On Mondays, I will be throwing out the ultimate Disney observers' math problem. All you need is a keen pair of eyes and a calculator (or if you're the complete opposite of me, you can use your head) to answer the question posed on Math Homework Mondays. On Wednesday, keep your eye out for Wonderful World of Words Wednesdays, where you may need to pack your thinking cap and a pencil to unscramble or decipher Disneyland-related word problems. And finally, on Fantastic Fantasmic Fridays (see what I just did there?), I'll be putting up a new line boredom buster, tantalizing scavenger hunt, or tip that will only increase your fun in the parks.

So, to some up, here's the new blog schedule:
-Math Homework Mondays
-Wonderful World of Words Wednesdays
-Fantastic Fantasmic New Game Fridays

Now that business has been taken care of, let's have some fun with our first Math Homework Monday problem.

As I stated above, all you need for this problem is your eyes, a calculator, and maybe a pencil. This particular problem has several steps and will have you searching out signs throughout Disneyland. Here's the problem:

1. Go to Mickey's House in Toon Town and search the living room for a cork board. On the cork board is a wedding invitation. Write down the RSVP number (without dashes).
2. Head to the queue for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin and find the recipe for "The Dip." Write down the number of parts of acetone required to make "The Dip." Subtract it from the RSVP number.
3. Divide your answer by the maximum age of child that is required to wear a life vest on the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes (look for the sign near the queue entrance).
4. Add the digits of your answer together (For instance, if your answer was 362, add 3+6+2).
5. Take that answer and count to find the alphabet letter that corresponds with that number (A is 1, B is 2, C is 3 and so forth).
6. Name a Disney Princess whose name begins with that letter. That is today's Math Homework Monday answer.

I'll give you a week to sort it out and update this post next Monday with the correct answer and the work I did to figure it out. All answers for this problem are whole numbers.

Feel free to post your answers on the comments section below or find me on twitter (@disneylandgames) and let me know there. I'd love to hear from you.

#33TO33

If you're an avid twitter follower of all things Disneyland as I am, perhaps you already know about #33TO33. But, in case you don't, here's a game with a prize I wouldn't be able to offer in a million years.

@boy33 on twitter (as well as @mainstreetjake) is offering the chance of a lifetime: reservations to the exclusive, elusive, and excellent Club 33.

Are you salivating yet?

The catch? You must participate in @boy33's scavenger hunt for the win. The first person to 33 points will win the coveted position. The questions vary from trivia, to pictures of yourselves in the park, to pictures you can take from home (which is great for the working Annual Passholder from Arizona like myself). The insanity started today, so plenty of time to catch up (or at least that's what I keep telling myself).

Read the official rules here, and don't forget to print out the all-important #33TO33 Photocard for all your photos.

And have fun! You'll see me playing from my personal twitter account @Robinpoppins, including a very terrible photo of me after a mad dash to find a Disneyland mug.

I wanna goooooo!!! [/Joey]

Disneyland Where Am I?

My last trip to Disneyland was in April, and it wasn't exactly what I had planned it to be. I was expecting to head to the parks with 2 of my cousins to celebrate Lindsey's 22nd birthday, and was trying to find some new and exciting things to do during our visit. When my seemingly never-ending search for games to play at Disneyland came up fruitless, I went to work creating one that my cousins could play together.

However, things fell through at the last minute and my cousins weren't able to join me this time. So, for the first time ever, I embarked on my first solo trip to Disneyland, which ended up being beyond my expectations. I went on the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour, which I highly highly recommend, and managed to convince my mother, who was in Riverside for a conference, to join me in seeing World of Color.

But, then I had this game I made. Sad, lonely game sitting in a file on my computer. And that's the moment I decided that some of these games I've created should be shared. Even if no one ever reads this blog, it's out there, and hopefully someone will find and enjoy them just as much as I have enjoyed making them.

Which brings me to today's game: Disneyland Where Am I?

The concept is simple: I went through my old pictures of trips I've taken, and focused on one thing in the background. I shrunk these down to 100 X 100 pixel images, sharpened them up, and made them look pretty. Then, I put them on a sheet that you can take into the park and try to find where these items are located. The pictures were taken in both Disneyland and California Adventure, and should be current. If something changes, or is no longer in the park, drop me a line in the comments section and I'll fix it.

Disneyland Where Am i

Check out the answers here.



Stay tuned, because I am considering posting a contest soon.

Tilly from Missouri

 First picture: Sarah (left) and I in 2000, I believe. Second picture: Sarah (right) and I in 2005

My best friend, Sarah, and I grew up loving Disneyland. In fact, she was one of my most frequent Disney companions, even tagging along to Disney World with me. Alas, she now lives in Oregon and I don't get to see or talk to her as much as I'd like.

Sarah once introduced me to today's game, and we used to play it at parties to stump our friends. She used to call it Kitty Kelly, but I did a little googling today and couldn't find anything about Kitty Kelly directly. So, perhaps it's known by other names. However, this is a Disney-themed blog, so I'm taking some liberties with the whole Kitty Kelly thing.

So, now I introduce to you Tilly from Missouri!

 Photo courtesy of the fabulous people over at FindingMickey.com. Their website is awesome. Go read it!

In case you didn't already know, Tilly is a Cast Member fixture in front of the Main Street Cinema (aka, the dark corner of Main Street where you can watch old Mickey Mouse cartoons). I say she's a Cast Member because she is wearing a CM name tag, and her nametag states that she is from Marceline, Missouri. Which is the very place that Walt Disney considered to be his hometown and based Main Street off of. Read more about Tilly at FindingMickey.com.

Tilly from Missouri is a very simple game, and can be played just about anywhere, anytime. The only thing it requires is someone to host the game, and that someone is you. Let me preface this by saying that this game is generally spoken, so writing it down here may make it fairly simple to figure out. But, let me assure you that if you say the clues out loud, it tends to stump even the most analytical brain (and it took me FOREVER to figure out the first time I played it with Sarah).

Start out the game by telling your trip mates the following: "Tilly from Missouri is a woman with very particular preferences. See if you can figure out why Tilly likes what she likes."

Then, start giving a list of the things that Tilly likes. Feel free to use this list, or make up one of your own (which is very very simple once you know what Tilly likes):

-Tilly is not a fan of Mickey, but she loves Minnie.
-Tilly could care less about Donald or Daisy, but she is very fond of Goofy.
-Tilly loves her home state of Missouri, but her new home in California is not a favorite. However, she adores Tennessee and Mississippi.
-Tilly quite enjoys the Matterhorn, and parts of Small World, but don't even think about taking her to Space Mountain.
-Tilly would love to be a princess, but definitely not a prince, and it's not just because she's a woman.
-In fact, Tilly's favorite princesses are Cinderella and Belle. Don't take her anywhere near Aurora, Tiana, Rapunzel, or Snow White.
-If Tilly could be a land at Disneyland, she would be Tomorrowland.
-Tilly likes puppies and kittens, but doesn't care for dogs or cats.
-Tilly loves Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, and Eeyore, but don't bring her anywhere near Piglet.
-It is quite fortunate that the pirates are from the Caribbean, because Tilly would not like them if they came from anywhere else.
-Tilly dislikes popcorn, corn dogs, frozen bananas, and Dole whips. She always spends her money on churros, though.
-Tilly has never been to Club 33, nor does she have any desire to go. She much prefers to eat at the Trattoria across the esplanade.
-Tilly likes marshmallows, but hates smores.
-You wouldn't find Tilly in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. She much prefers Teddy Roosevelt.

So, do you think you know why Tilly likes those things?

In case you haven't figured it out...