A Great Deal of Amusement ~ A Ruby's Musings Blog Tour Post

Let's go on an Adventure together....

Continuing on with the recap of my blogging tour of the Los Angeles area and points north towards home, this week it is all about the amusement parks that we visited. After such a busy day the day before, what with an early wake up call to have my make up done for a photo shoot, and then shopping on Magnolia Blvd in Burbank and then wrapping things up at Clifton's Cafeteria for jello and drinks and to watch the swing dancing, it was hard to get up that Sunday morning. We had another very full day ahead of us, besides checking out of the Safari Inn, also located in Burbank, we also had on tap to go to Hollywood and walk through the Hollywood Museum in downtown Hollywood and from there go to Universal Studios! I was already worn out from the trip and the previous day, but I was also eager to start on the days adventure. But first breakfast. 

We found Franks very close to where we had been staying....
great food, great service and a true 50's style coffee house...
and famous too.... recognize the couple in the photo? Look
up the movie Larry Crowe !

After having a really great breakfast, we drove the short distance to Hollywood and the Hollywood Museum. Housed in the former Max Factor building located just off of Hollywood Blvd and next to the famous Mel's Diner, sits this iconic home to all things Hollywood. I really wanted to do a video tour but that is not allowed, and neither is flash and that made it very hard to get enough material to share with you...but I did manage to get a few choice shots here and there. Each and every room is a piece of Hollywood movie history. We started with the downstairs portion, dedicated to horror in the movies, complete with a Silence of the Lambs life size set! Filled with props and costumes and videos talking about the different movies it was both spooky and fascinating all at once. On the main floor you can tour everything dedicated to the stars and starlets and what as well as who made them beautiful Max Factor. Each small room is dedicated to a different hair color and had props, costumes, make up and even wigs and of course loads of history for each star or starlet that fell into a certain category. There was also a science fiction room and halls filled with all the photos of the stars who had once strolled through and sat to be made up , and even a hall of autographs. Upstairs was the child stars of Hollywood display and a special section dedicated completely to Marilyn Monroe...the display that I was most interested in seeing. But it is not just filled with old Hollywood, but also current or recent shows.  I could not even begin to share it all here and truth is there is no way without spending an entire day to see every little thing...you just have to see it for yourself! I highly recommend it and after go have lunch at Mel's Diner. You can even park, for a fee right next to Mels! 

Be sure to watch the end of my YouTube episode dated 10/7/16 to see more photos 

Once we were satisfied ...my feet already feeling the pain (my body too) from all the walking around, we drove the next short distance to Universal Studios. I was beyond excited to visit Harry Potter World, get photos with "Marilyn" and "Lucy" ...I am happy to say I accomplished all three! Harry Potter World was magical, it truly was a complete escape into one of my favorite movies of all time. First stop was to buy my wand. I was flaberghasted that this little piece of plastic, needed to be a true part of the experience was 50.00, over and above the entrance fee to Universal and the expensive parking...but I bought it all the same as did so many other people as the little shop was wall to wall people. Once my wand choose me and I paid for it, we walked around following the map that comes with the wand ( mine was the "Birch" ) , and succeeded at completing all the interactive tasks. Looking back , I am not sure I would have paid for the wand, and would have just watched others activate the window displays. Once we had exhausted the tasks, we headed to our first and only ride, as we decided to skip the long line for the roller coaster, instead choosing to ride the 3 D , "Forbidden Journey" ....let me tell you that ride starts the minute you enter the famed Hogworts ...there is something to see and experience at each turn far before you get on the actual ride and then it is an exciting ride that puts you in the middle of the action while riding a virtual broom. I think I could ride this over and over many times. Left parched after, it was time for a Butter Beer and if you have not had the pleasure, if ever you have the chance, be sure that you have one... in a single word, it was YUMMY! After strolling around a bit more we went in search of Marilyn and Lucy so I could get photos, and then it was off to the new and in my opinion improved studio tram tour. Myself and my husband was able to advance in line because the line keepers were impressed with my outfit..I was thankful because by now my feet were throbbing! We filled the rest of the evening strolling around and riding as many of the 3D style rides that we could manage before grabbing a late supper at Bocca. So concludes our experience at Universal and we drove the longer than it should have been to Anaheim and our next hotel, the Castle Inn. * For more images of Harry Potter World and Universal tune into the 10/7/16 YouTube video and follow me on Instagram @rubysmusings 

Wo-man can not survive on water alone...she must have
Butter Beer ! 

Marilyn and I  talking about our outfits. Mine was a Heart of Haute blouse, skirt from Amazon, shoes from Pin Up Girl Clothing, gloves from Amazon, hat from Ross, purse Vinatge ,  petticoat from Malco Modes and the Golden Snitch brooch from Housewife Chic by Ruby 

  

Monday started bright and early. It was time for Disneyland! I had not been to the most magical place on earth for at least 12 years.  Feeling beyond drained already as I underestimated how much I would be feeling the last few days, I got dressed in my Disney Bounding outfit details below, and slipped my shoes on my already swollen and blistered feet ( OUCH) and walked to a local restaurant to grab a hearty breakfast and walked the short distance to the front gates ( staying at the Castle Inn it was a close and easy walk, under 15 minutes).. the lines were not bad, being there on a Monday a bit after opening helped. Of course despite my pain I was beyond excited to be there again after such a long absence. If you have never been to Disneyland, let me say you should experience it at least once. The things to be prepared for, lines crowds, and needing fast passes for the most popular rides and the fact that you can not hold more than one fast pass at a time...oh and there is even lines for fast passes. But what annoyances there are the magical surroundings make up for it. It just brings out the little kid in you... complete with a few tired tantrums LOL ... I had a list of must rides and secondaries...the Haunted Mansion was my goal, especially since the park was all decorated for Halloween and the ride had just unvielded for the season the Night Before Christmas theme... and past that and wanting to ride Pirates to see if I could spot Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow ( not the real Johnny of course)  I really did not care if we just walked around and people watched....hubby had other ideas of course. The Haunted Mansion was closed for the better half of the day, but we finally managed and it was just as good as I had hoped.. so many new things to see and enjoy; though I will forever be a fan of the original .  We managed that day to ride all the big rides that were on our collective list with the exception of the Indiana Jones ride, closed for refurbishing and the Snow White ride of which the line was never shorter than an hour! I even got to meet the wonderful and talented young woman behind Vance Clothing who created my Golden Afternoon skirt that I wore that day.  The day ended with dinner at the Blue Bayou ...a greatly anticipated meal, which I am so very sad to say was not as it had always been. The service was good, the food.. well half was either under cooked or over cooked and I ended up leaving most of it and wishing we had just eaten at the place with the good smelling fried chicken. I was done. We slowly strolled back to the hotel, my body aching from roller coasters and my feet unable to put one in front of the other without sheer willpower to have my shoes off and my head on a pillow.  Was the day a success... yes and no. Was the day enjoyable and magical, I would say it is the same answer. Do I want to go back one day....ABSOLUTELY! Maybe next time I will take a friends advice and have hubby push me in a wheel chair. For more images see the 10/7/16 YouTube Video etc etc 

Outfit details .... blouse is vintage, skirt by Vance Clothing
head piece by Deviously Sweet Designs on Etsy , Bread and Butterfly earrings
Housewife Chic by Ruby also on Etsy , shoes Jessica Simpson
purse bought at Rockin Betties in Las Vegas , Gloves Amazon,
Alice Brooch Tangerine Menagerie on Etsy Glasses via Retro Betty on I.G. 

The gorgeous Miss Lillian Vance aka Zoe behind Vance clothing and my skirt.
Custom made and made one of a kind by the amount of bread and butterflies on the
body of the skirt. Just wish it was not a blurry photo.. *sigh*

My favorite ride in the entire park

The little girl in me absolutely adores Fantasy Land. 

Yes that is a bread and butterfly you see peeking out of the flowers and on my ears too!

Tho tired and worn out I was still very sad to call an
end to the day. 

The last of the amusement park adventures was to be California Adventureland. After passing out and a slow to wake morning after I got into that days Disney Bound outfit, a 1950's themed Snow White outfit. We made the slow walk back to the front gates and headed for the otherside where the first goal was to eat at Flo's Diner and have breakfast. The day was actually perfect! The night before a small storm front had moved into the area and we awoke to rain and cooler temperatures, that suited me just fine. The park was half empty, there were no lines and I was not over heating in all my layers. We went strait through to Cars Land there within C.A  and found Flo's and it was basically empty. which suited me...I was tired of the crowds. We were shown through the door and our order taken and we enjoyed a delightful breakfast , scrambled eggs and all the fixens for hubby and banana caramel  french toast for me... all while listening to the the top tunes from the 1950's to early 60's and surrounded by the same era style diner decor. After it was time to go get a fast pass for our first ride, the racers....and while we killed time, strolling, site seeing and riding a few rides here and there we finally got to use the fast pass, and it was so worth it! The ride was a mix of a slow but so cute Cars movie theme to a rip roaring and speedy race to the finish line....tip, if you do not mind riding as a single person to fill the odd third seats, you can zip through the line. After that we strolled though the Hollywood area of the park, watched the odd performance, and going on the Monsters Inc. ride before calling it a day at 2 p.m. YES...SHOCK, only a half day. my body had called it quits the day before ( fibromyalgia body was not made out for such activities three days in a row) , and so it was time. We made the walk back to the park and the shoes came off and we started the drive towards our next stop, Solvang Ca. a sweet and nostalgic Scandinavian/Dutch  themed town ..a place we had both been to many times in our lives having grown up in the area.

Snow White Disney Bounding right down to my ticket pouch by xoKwCreations
  on etsy and Poison Apple earrings by Poison of Choice, also on Etsy . The red bow
from Deviously Sweet Designs and the D was from Match Accessories. 

Outfit details .... accessories listed above,
skirt is one I shared before in a dedicated blog
was created by Carla Sue Vintage. Other items
are either vintage or previously owned for sometime. 

Eat at Flos...breakfast, lunch and dinner!

 I could have spent my entire time in Cars Land!

A tame ride compared to the racers, Luigi's dancing
cars was so cute and fun! And how could I resit the
little Nash cars??

Yes I did go on the ride behind me !

In conclusion, for this portion of the blogging tour ...... FIRST , let me apologize for the quality of the photos, pretty sure I need a new phone... and well maybe a different photographer as my hubby was in charge and I adore him for his patience, and for him this was not a working vacation as it was for me, and I sadly forgot many a time to check photos for quality control ..... SECOND, I thought he had taken far more photos of all three of the parks as he once again was in charge of photo taking since he was in possession of my phone. Trust me when I go to Viva in April of this next year I will take both my regular camera and my phone and snap off more photos and longer photos. There ARE more images shared and videos too at the end of each of my special episodes of At Home with Ruby's Musings on YouTube and also shared on my Instagram feed... do you follow me there? You should..I share different content there than I do on my FB fan page or even here or YouTube. NOW back to the conclusion for this week. I really did enjoy the first half of my trip, despite an aching body, throbbing feet, and a not mentioned til now, a tummy bug that hit day two and really wiped me out even before we got to Universal. I hope you will tune in over on my YouTube channel and back here next Wednesday for the next leg of the trip....next up Solvang and San Luis Obispo where we stayed at the Madonna Inn and did a bit more shopping. 

Curious about what I bought at the shops shared in last weeks blog? Want better photos of some of the hard to clearly see accessories in this series of posts? In November after I finish up the round up of my blogging tour, I plan to do a few sponsor appreciation posts, as well as details not covered thus far; it is so hard nearly a month later to remember everything and that is with notes!!! So I hope you will keep coming back and visiting with me and forgive the less than perfect photos or amount of photos ...hubby tried, bless his heart. Have a question about anything just ask and I will fill in the blanks (like I said my memory is not the best)...at least best I can. Connect with me on FB and on Monday's at 3:30 PST I do live chats and you can ask me ANYTHING! You can also send me a private message or email and I will be so very happy to answer any questions. Find me on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and even on Pinterest!