Disney Tip Tuesdays: Big Thunder Ranch

Welcome to another Disney Tip Tuesday, where I'll share a tip or two around the Disneyland Resort with my friend Chad, from Days in the Park. 

This week I want to talk about Big Thunder Ranch. 

I can't tell you how many times someone will tell me they didn't know Disneyland had the ranch. It is one of my favorite spots to take a break from the crowds and slow down a bit. 

Big Thunder Ranch is located next door to Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. It is also just around the corner from Casey Jr. Circus Train and Village Haus Restaurant in Fantasyland. A short little walk around the curve while exiting Fantasyland, you will run right into the ranch on your right. 

Here you will find goats, a cow name Maggie, and a donkey named Pocahontas.  

Enter the petting zoo and you will find many goats waiting for you to pet them.

Some like to relax behind a fence, but most you will find roaming around in the open or relaxing on the ground and barrels set up in the middle of the petting zoo. 

As you can see from my photos, this area is very clean. You will not find any goat droppings because as soon as that happens, a Cast Member is there to clean it up. They are really speedy on that. 

The goats are out year round except during the Christmas season when Santa's reindeers come out for a visit. 

When you are all done visiting the goats, they have a wash station set up for you to clean your hands.

Don't forget to look for the hidden Mickey under one of the soap dispensers too. 

Here is where my tip comes in... 

See this cabin? It's Miss Chris' Cabin, and if you go inside you will find a nice spot to relax for a bit with your children or by yourself. 

You see, inside they have two tables set up with coloring sheets and crayons for you to enjoy. 

Sometimes a visit to Disneyland can be a little overwhelming with all the people, and you just need a break. Next time consider spending a little time at Big Thunder Ranch, just make sure you go before 6PM as the goats leave the petting zoo for the night. 

The Halloween season is approaching fast and the inside will change with holiday decorations, but they will still have tables set up in a different spot around the ranch for coloring and that includes Christmas too. 

Now head over to Days in the Park to see what tip Chad has for you today. 

Wordless Wednesday: Casey Jr. Circus Train

 Welcome to another week of Wordless Wednesday. This week I'm taking a break from the Cell Phone Series, and sharing a few shots from one of our favorite rides at Disneyland, Casey Jr. Circus Train. 

Great Photo Ops Around The Disneyland Resort Part 2: Disney California Adventure

Who doesn't like to take lots of pictures around the Disneyland Resort with their family and friends?! 

Last time we took a look at Great Photo Ops Around Disneyland, and this time I want to show you a few spots around Disney California Adventure that you may not know about.

Let's head over to Hollywood Pictures Backlot first. 

 Unless you exit Muppet Vision 3D, you might just miss this great photo op. You will find it right at the end of the exit, but you don't have to watch the show to access it. Just head towards the entrance, but instead of going left to enter go all the way to your right. It's tucked in the corner.

 Once you leave there just walk straight ahead to Monsters Inc Mike & Sulley To The Rescue. 

 There at the entrance is a giant door. How fun would it be to take pictures there each visit to watch your child grow?! It's the Disney version of marking your child's growth on a door. 

To the right of the entrance is a taxi just like the one you rode on in the ride.... another great photo op!

 This next one many people don't know about. Every time I post a picture of it, I get asked where to find it in the park.

 This facade is directly behind the Hollywood Backlot Stage where Mickey's Dance Crew shows. You could do all sorts of poses here. It would be really fun to have a family photograph taken on the steps.

 Just a little further down next to the Hyperion Theatre, you'll find this Hollywood Blvd photo op that includes El Capitan in the background. 

As you can see there are quite a few photo ops located in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot.

Now let's move over to the Pacific Wharf Cafe.

This is one of my favorite places to take a picture. Luckily you won't have to get stinky posing with this record catch of fish...just hop right in that net!

 At the entrance of Redwood Creek Challenge Trail you'll find Brother Bear waiting to take a picture with you. 

 It's also a good spot to pass out. 

 A little further down you'll find the biggest bear to get your picture taken with right in front of Grizzly River Run. 

 And last but not least... pose as an action figure in the Action Figure Collection Toy Story box! This is located right next to Toy Story Mania. The possibilities are endless with this one. It's always fun to just people watch here to see what action pose a person will make. 

That will do it this time for great photo ops around the Disneyland Resort. 

 If you missed Great Photo Ops Around Disneyland make sure you check it out here. 

Next time I'll be showing you some fun spots around the Disneyland Hotel. 

A special thanks to Michele of  Power Shots Photography for joining us with her daughter on some of our photo op locations. 

Great Photo Ops Around The Disneyland Resort Part 1

One of my favorite things to do at Disneyland is capture as many photos of my Little One as I can around the park. Getting pictures with all the great Disney characters is a given, but did you know there are also plenty of spots around the resort just waiting for you to snap a picture or two? 

Let me show you a few of our favorite spots that we always like to take pictures at, and you don't have to be a kid to take a picture with them. 

 In Fantasyland right outside the Mad Hatter shop is a pink teacup just waiting for you to slip into. If the Mad Tea Party makes you dizzy, have no fear this teacup will not spin. 

Just around the side of the Mad Hatter you will find a little door. This is one of my favorite spots to take pictures of my Little One. It's right in front of the Mad Tea Party and next to Alice in Wonderland. I've been taking pictures of my Little One since he was just a crawler. It's been fun to watch him grow with these photos, and these days he likes to see if anyone is home. Unfortunately for him no one is ever home, and he can't get through the door like he would want. 

Knock Knock.

 Just a baby. 

 Our next spot is right behind Dumbo The Flying Elephant.  It is sometimes overlooked because it's tucked to the left backside of the ride. Can't make it on the ride? Luckily you can still get your picture with that lovable elephant here. 

Now let's walk over to King Arthur Carrousel and head to the front. 

 Try your luck at pulling out the Sword in the Stone. Sadly the Little One has not been successful and has not become the King of England yet. He sure has fun trying though. 

No luck with Mickey either.

While you are at The Sword in the Stone head over to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. 

Parked out front is Toady's motorcar waiting for you. 

Now that we are done exploring our favorite spots in Fantasyland, let's head over to Mickey's Toontown.

Mickey's Toontown is loaded with endless opportunities for great photos, here are a few of our favorites. 

 Throughout Mickey's Toontown are vehicles to jump in. Our favorite is probably the fire truck located right in front of the fire station. Not only can you pretend to drive the fire truck, but you can also hold on at the back too. 

 Mickey Mouse has this sporty red convertible parked right outside his house, and Goofy has a green car (above) parked out front at his playhouse. 

Before you leave the fire station to head over to Mickey's house, make sure you go around the corner because Horace Horsecollar left a weigh bar right out front of his gym. Test your strength to see if you can pick it up or make silly faces as you try. 

There is also the Dog Pound right next door.

There are so many spots all over Disneyland that you can take your pictures at, that I didn't cover today. The possibility for magical memories is endless.   

I hope you enjoyed our favorites, and next time I'll take you across the way to Disney California Adventure. 

Win a Prize for Completing a Gowalla Trip with Magical Days with the Mouse at Disneyland

Back in November 2010, Disney teamed up with the mobile social networking app Gowalla. 

If you are unfamiliar with Gowalla, it's an application on your phone that you use to "check in" to the locations you are at.  You can then let your friends know where you are through the app, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Of course if you don't feel like letting everyone know where you are, you can opt out of publishing it on Facebook and Twitter. 

Disneyland and Walt Disney World both have created special "trips" for you to check in to. For example at Disneyland there is a "Entertainment Park Hopper" trip for you to complete. The spots include World of Color, elecTRONica, Disney's Aladdin, Pixar Play Parade (no longer running), Fantasmic, Celebrate! A Street Party (also not running), and Believe in Holiday Magic Fireworks (also not running). If you check into each of these locations, then you get a virtual trip button to keep at the end.

Although this application is mostly used for fun, you can win real stuff too. One weekend in early March, if you checked into elecTRONica you were given a real Flynn's arcade coin and a free coca-cola voucher. 

Now I would like to add to the fun of Gowalla. I have made a trip called For Little Ones at Disneyland.  I have picked 12 spots that are my son's favorite spots to frequent. Although he is two, my trip can be enjoyed by all ages. 

But here's the catch... I will reward the first person* to complete the trip with photographic evidence. 

My 12 spots include:

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

It's a Small World

Big Thunder Ranch

Disneyland Railroad

Disneyland Monorail

Monsters Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue

Heimlich's Chew Chew Train

Princess Dot Puddle Park

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Goofy's Playhouse

Casey Jr. Circus Train

and King Arthur Carrousel

Now for the rules:

Besides checking in (yes you have to download Gowalla and check in to each spot), I also want photographic evidence. Anyone can just walk up to the attraction and check in without riding it. I want pictures of either you, your children, or your favorite toy on that attraction. 

 You don't have to show me your face. A picture of your child's back on the Disneyland Railroad will work just fine. 

King Arthur  Carrousel 

Casey Jr. Circus Train

Big Thunder Ranch

Woody at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Princess Dot Puddle Park

Once you finish your trip, take a screen shot of your completed Gowalla trip and send me that picture along with your 12 photographs from each spot. 

You can either post your pictures in 3 different ways:

•On a blog and link back this post

• Post your pictures on the Magical Days with the Mouse Facebook page

 •Tweet them to me on Twitter @MagicMouseDays

The first person to post them in one of those three formats wins the first prize. 

But wait... there's more. Because I know not everyone can get to Disneyland right away, I will also pick a second winner by random. org who completes the trip by August 31, 2011. That gives everyone who is visiting Disneyland for the summer a chance. 

What do you win? A random prize selected by me from Disneyland. It's cash value will be no less then $10, but it could be more as I like to shop. The prize will be determined by if you are a passholder or not. I have a prize in mind for passholders, but it would be of no use to a non passholder. Either way, it's a prize from the Disneyland Resort.

The point of this is to just have a good time with us.

Have fun and good luck!

You can download Gowalla here. 

*Please note that members of DLRNetwork are excluded to win the first place prize, but can be entered in the random drawing for the second prize.