My Magic Kingdom Adventure, Part 2

The day we went to Disneyland started very, very early. I rushed through my breakfast, because I could not wait to get there! Wendy, Ken and I boarded a bus that was going to take us to Disneyland. I was so excited! I had everything I needed in my backpack... well, everything that would fit. I asked Ken to carry some of my other stuff. 


We got on the bus earlier than almost anyone else. It was great because I got to pick EXACTLY the chair I wanted to sit in. But it was also not so great because we had to wait and wait and wait for these other people and kids to get on the bus. I'm not really good at being patient, so I tried to find things to do....


I looked out the window, shouting, "HEY! I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!" for a while. Then I played peek-a-boo with Wendy and Ken. Then I saw a little girl a few rows ahead of us, and I was yelling to her, "HEY! I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!" until Wendy said, "Settle down, Ernie. We are ALL going to Disneyland." I don't like when she tells me to settle down when I'm all excited.

We got to the Disneyland Entrance and there was a big sign that told us that we were THERE! I loved the sign that they have over the arch as we walked into the park. They don't miss a thing here at the Magic Kingdom! I like the idea of being here today and entering the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy! Sounds like my kind of place!

I met Danielle in the City Hall. She was such a sweetie. She gave me a big pin that let everyone know that I was a 1st Time Visitor! Wendy and Ken did not get pins for being return visitors. I felt pretty special - but I didn't want to tell them all that this pin was very, very heavy! I met a lot of Disney characters in the town square. It was so fun, and they were very friendly and cuddly. Except for Chip the Chipmunk who held me by my ear like I had cooties or something (you probably saw that picture in Part 1). 

We had a great time on Main Street. I love shopping, and there were lots and lots of stores. Mickey Mouse is all over the place, and I met a mess o'Mickeys in one store. There was a really nice guy who worked there, and he helped me find Woody and Jessie (who you saw in Part 1). Then I met Charles who is a very, very cool artist! He paints these pictures of Disney characters that end up on the faces of watches! (I don't understand how they get on the watch faces when the paintings are so big. The watches must be much larger than I could ever wear!) When we met him, he was working on a pretty picture of Lady and the Tramp. Ken and Charles got into a conversation about art - because, you know, Ken is an artist, too. It was interesting for a while, but I don't paint, so I got bored. Charles was very sweet, and I think he knew that I was bored. He joked with me while he posed for a picture!

After we shopped around and I sang with Woody and Jessie, I was ready to go back outside on Main Street. I saw that there was a movie theatre - but they called it a "cinema." I tried to get a ticket so I could watch Mickey in action. The lady in the booth turned out to be a real dummy. I don't mean she wasn't smart! Oh, no! I mean she was not a real person, just a giant doll, I guess! Instead of going inside to see Mickey Mouse, I stood outside and played a fun game of "Simon Says" with Mickey. While we were playing, this very cool lady named Joan came up to see us, saying, "I LOVE SOCK MONKEYS!" Her daughter, Jenny, was with her and said, "SHE DOES! I just bought a calendar for her!" I had hoped it was MY calendar, but no, it was another. Anyway, Joan and Jenny posed for a picture of me. I like Joan a lot! She is a real doll, not a dummy at all!

  

We were back in the town square, and Wendy asked me if I wanted to meet more Disney characters. The Red Queen and Dale were there, and while I would have liked to meet Dale, I was not too thrilled about that mean looking Queen! I was so excited about being at the park that I decided I would much rather just monkey around! I found a place to hang upside down (you know how much I love hanging upside down!). And then I saw these BEAUTIFUL flowers! I asked Ken to take my picture near the flowers, and then I decided to sit right down inside of the garden! It was very fun... until I realized that there were a LOT of bees buzzing around the flowers. I was relieved when Ken said, "Okay, Ernie, let's go to see the castle!" Whew! That was a close one!

The castle is at the end of Main Street. It is huge and so beautiful! I thought it would make a good hat, if it were smaller, so I asked Wendy and Ken to take my picture with it like it was on my head! I am so funny sometimes! I crack me up. Then I found a nice place to sit and watch people as they came up to the castle. It was very relaxing, and there were no bees there. After that, we started to go to Tomorrowland, but those rides were too scary for me. We did go to see Captain EO, starring one of my favorites - Michael Jackson! I wore 3D glasses and rocked out to the King of Pop. I want to dance like Michael.

Stay tuned for the final installment of this Disneyland adventure, when I explore Pooh Corner, see some very cool boats, visit Frontierland, and meet a whole lot more friends! Tah-tah for now!

My Magic Kingdom Adventure, Part 1

Ken, Wendy and I took a trip to Disneyland to see if this place really IS the Magic Kingdom - the happiest place on Earth. And it IS!!! WOW! Did we have fun! I met so many new friends. I met a lady who LOVES LOVES LOVES sock monkeys, and when she saw me later on posing for a picture, she cried out, "HI, ERNIE!" How exciting to make new friends and be recognized! I felt kind of like how Mickey Mouse must feel when someone shouts out, "HI, MICKEY!" - except that I didn't have a lot of people lining up to take their picture with me...

I met a lot of Disney folks there. Wendy and Ken would introduce me, explain that I have this way cool blog, and ask them to hold me. Every single one of them said YES! Here are some pictures of me and some new "character" friends. I think you will know who most of them are. My favorite was The Mad Hatter. He had great fun with me (or made great fun of me?) - and my favorite part was when he raised me skyward and pretended we were in The Lion King. My least favorite part was when after he handed me back to Wendy, he wiped his hands clean on Alice's apron! Later on, when we were getting off his very own ride - the Mad Hatter's Teacups - there he was! And he shouted out to us, "Where's Ernie's backpack?" He NOTICED that I had taken it off! How completely cool was that! The Mad Hatter actually noticed my outfit! Well, here are some photos of a lot of my new friends....

The Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland strike a pose with me!

Woody, Jessie & me singing "You've Got A Friend in Me"!

Stay tuned, Mouseketeers, for another posting of more of my Disneyland adventures... and you'll see more of the park and more of my friends!

Pinky Lee & Me at Greenfield Village... Posted a little after the fact!

It sure was a beautiful day in the old-time neighborhood the week before Halloween! I went to Greenfield Village, in Dearborn, Michigan. This is a place of history, fun, beauty, and lots of things to do. Wendy and I were in town for a bit, and so were Jan and her husband Rich from Bullville, New York. The village seemed to be a perfect place to spend a beautiful Michigan Fall day outside, along with Mindy Lee (Jan's sister) and Pinky Lee (Jan's newest sock monkey friend). Bullville is far less exciting than Greenfield Village, so we were all ready to have a great day, enjoying Michigan's amazing Autumn weather. I'm happy to report that Pinky Lee and I got along GREAT! She is a riot to hang out with! The fountain at the entrance was beautiful, and we were really happy to NOT get splashed!

There were not a lot of people there, since it was a weekday, so it was like we had the village all to ourselves! I love driving, as you know, and when I saw an old Ford truck parked there, I had to give it a try! I just wish I could have reached the pedals at the same time as I was steering!


Little did I know that we were just outside of the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop! In fact, we met Orville and Wilbur, and their sister Marge, as we walked along. They were kind enough to stop to chat with us, and they even posed for this lovely picture. I want a hat like the guy on the left! I loved seeing the old bicycles and seeing the shop where they made all of their bikes! 

There are many buildings that have businesses in them, and there are usually some volunteers who will tell you all about the history of the building, the people at the time, and a bit of gossip about the people who ran the shop. We visited a cozy little hat shop across the street from the Wrights' Bicycle Shop. 


Cohen Millinery was just across the street. Pinky Lee and I had a great time trying on hats! They actually make hats there still - but they were a little too big for us. We laughed when we looked at ourselves in the mirror. Pinky Lee said, "Let's pretend it's WINDY inside the store!" Oh, she cracks me up!

Jan was very excited to find out that the big clock was still in place! It is magnificent! The figures are huge and they move around on the hour. While Mindy, Rich, Wendy, and Jan were discussing whether or not they wanted to wait until the top of the hour, Pinky Lee and I started playing around because we were getting a little bored, since we are not very good at telling time. We loved the little chairs outside of the candy shop that is in the clock's building. Only thing was that Pinky Lee kept wanting to try to climb on my head instead of sit on the chair part like I wanted to do. I had to remember that she is a baby, and that she is pretty silly. 


Our next stop was the general store. A lady there kept asking us if we wanted to take her up on the sale of the 10 cent buggy whips. She made me a little nervous.

The antique merry-go-round was next! You know how much I love to ride on merry-go-rounds. This one is very old and the music was wonderful. And, oh, this one was a beauty! Pinky Lee didn't want to be on her own horse or dear or tiger or pig - I think she was kind of scared. I tried to get Pinky Lee to settle down and ride with me on a deer, but she wanted to jump around on the antlers. It was a little frustrating for me because I was afraid we'd get in trouble and get yelled at. I almost said, "Settle down, Pinky Lee!" but I didn't want to sound like Wendy, how she is always telling ME to "Settle down, Ernie"!

Some of the other buildings had museums about certain things - after all, this IS an historical village! There was one that had a little museum of sorts to Heinz and Campbell products. I was having a nice conversation with the Campbell's Soup Kids, when they asked me to join them in the Campbell's Soup song. I was really excited when they said that I could take the chorus! I told them the only words I knew of the song were "Mmm mmm GOOD!" They started giggling... I guess that is what everyone says! (They didn't need to have those silly grins on their faces and sneak a look at each other when they were giggling, though.)


I was getting a little tired, and I was happy to find a fence to sit on, next to the Swanee River. It was a little difficult to balance, and Pinky Lee pointed out a bench nearby. Some cute girls who go to school at the village came by and wanted to visit. They had backpacks too! 

Pinky Lee and I said goodbye to them, as they had to get back to school. Unfortunately, some creepy Jack O'Lantern wanted to strike up some conversation. We got out of there FAST! 

As a matter of fact, we all were a little pooped, and we found a nice place to rest. Wendy could not resist the photo op! On the way out, we stopped by a beautiful windmill. This is what I like about Greenfield Village. It is beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing. Sometimes a little sock monkey needs to tone it down a little, enjoying a lovely day with friends. Even scarecrow friends.