NFFC Convention and DL trip report from a Rhode Islander Part I

~Kathie

Tinker Bell Fanatic
Joined
Jan 2, 2000
Sunday July 16th

We were up at 5 am for a 6:50 am flight. DH dropped me off at the airport at about 5:45 am. Of course you know I was stopped at security because of my pins. When I showed my pin bag to the guard she wanted to look at all the pins. She oohed and ahhed over them and then she wanted to chat. Those of you that know me know that I'm not a morning person. I smiled and we chatted a little about the pins and then I was on my way. Her daughter collects Disney figurines. Funny how everyone relates to Disney. The flight was long but they showed Erin Brocavich for the movie(which I recommend if you haven't seen it) on the second leg of the flight, so time passed quickly. The flight was delayed in take off from Pittsburgh so I arrived in Orange County/John Wayne airport about a half hour late.

I expected to see Tina Pixie from the board at the gate (she was picking me up) but she wasn't there. Tina and her daughter Samantha had arrived on Saturday from Washington State and spent the night with Tina's mother in Riverside. I went directly to baggage claim. Lo and behold here comes Tina. We retrieved my luggage and headed to the Hyatt Regency Allicate in Anaheim to check in. The lobby was filled with NFFC Welcome signs and I was excited to be there. Check in was uneventful (thank goodness) and while I was still at the registration desk I received a phone call from our friend Kelley who had just gotten in her room. We were on the same floor. Yay!!! Tina & I headed to our room with the bell man. You really didn't think I was going to carry all that luggage I brought did you? We literally dropped out suitcases, met Kelley and ran down the lobby to register for the convention. That took about a half hour. We then headed to the West Coast Anaheim Hotel for the Pin Sale.

It was around 2 PM by this time so I missed the DIS Board members who were planning to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 12:30 PM. I looked for green ribbons but didn't see any. They were sold out of the Sam McKim pins already. Mr. McKim was signing items for $5.00 a signature. I had some items for him to sign but I hadn't brought them with me. I knew he was scheduled to be at the convention and the Show & Sale so I figured I'd catch up with him later. There were other items besides pins available and we found some bargains. We were in the shopping mode and we all did very well. I found a couple of pins that I had been looking for for reasonable prices. I also found a couple of pins that I hadn't seen before that I decided I needed. We all know how that goes. After the pin sale we headed to Disneyland.

First place we headed to was the pin cart on Main Street. Of course we all bought pins. We headed to the Frontierland Pin Cart to see if we could do some trading and Tina was meeting a friend. What a busy place. Unlike WDW Epcot Pin cart and DD Pin cart there are no tables. People made do with the Trash cans to rest their books on and even were sitting on the ground. There is a small garden with rocks surrounding it and people were even sitting there. I met TDCBlue Fairy and Sno White. I hope I got those names right. They were both busy trading so it was a fast introduction. I never saw either one of them again the whole week. /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif I wish we had been able to chat a little more but they were trading maniacs. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif I bought more pins at this Pin cart and chatted with the CM who commented on my accent. I have an accent?? I thought everyone else talked funny!! LOL I made a few trades with the Super Trader. We chatted with Tina's friend and then headed for dinner.

We shopped around the park and then headed back to the hotel. We were all exhausted. It had been a really long day for me and the week was going to be busy. I still needed to unpack.

End day 1.

Monday July 17th
Happy Birthday Disneyland 45 Years Old Today!!!
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Such excitement to be at Disneyland on it's 45th birthday. The place where it all began. We were invited by a CM friend for early admittance at 6:30 am and only Tina and other friends Muffy & Carol took her up on the offer. Cynthia Harris (Pres. of DL) was scheduled to be at the park early and rumored had it that she would be singing Happy Birthday to Disneyland. Kelley & I slept in headed to the park at about 9:30 am. We wanted to be at the park in Tomorrowland in time for the NFFC Group Convention Picture. It was a carnival atmosphere when we entered the park. We were handed 45th Anniversary Birthday Hats which were very cool as they had Tinker Bell on them. The
Main Street Marching Band was playing as we entered the turstiles. We headed for Tomorrowland. It was like old home week. I was able to see many friends that I had met at the convention last year
and a few new ones. I did meet Hopemax (Hope) from the DIS Board. I had met her Mom & Dad(Kathy & Jim) through Tina last year and I was looking forward to spending time with them again. There was a lot of excitement in the air. The photographer got ready and took the picture of the entire NFFC Group. Spontaneously someone started singing Happy Birthday. The whole group of about 100 people joined in. So did passersby! I had goose bumps.

We split up here as Tina, Kathy, Jim, & Hope were working on the NFFC Road Rally. This year's task was to answer 45 questions about the park and take pictures. They had invited me to participate but not knowing the park very well I thought I might hold them back. Kelley and I headed to Main Street to the Disneyana Shop get our maps for the Walk in Walt Disney's footsteps promotion. When we got there OMG.........the line for maps was around the building. The line for completed maps to get the pin and button was around the OTHER side of the building. There was a special promotion for Annual pass holders only (July 17th & 18th were the only days left) for an additional pin and to make it more interesting if we showed out NFFC membership card, we got a special button. We raced to the Gallery at New Orleans Square where we found a line but not nearly as long as the one at the Disneyana Shop. As we got closer to the door we found that there were 2 lines. One for one room to redeem the map for your goodies and the other line for another room to buy the maps. We got in the line to buy maps and ended up getting the last 3. Now you're probably wondering why we didn't get the maps on Sunday when we were at the park. We tried. They were sold out but told us that they would have more on Monday. We never thought to get them on our way into the park. Duhhhh!!!! There was no limit on the amount of maps that any one person could buy. We did see one guy with about 40 of them at one stamping location. I'm glad we were in front of him and not behind him. Wonder if we'll be seeing them on ebay?? The people that were behind us in line to buy maps were very mad that they were sold out. And they were OUT. No More. None in a warehouse somewhere. They were telling people on Tuesday that they would have the promotion again in September. More maps, more pins. I guess they didn't expect to have this kind of response.

We spent the morning getting our maps stamped and doing a little shopping. I did find a Tinker Bell Pill Box made in Spain that is absolutely exquisite in the Crystal Shop at New Orleans Square. We got our maps all stamped at the 5 locations and headed back to the Gallery to redeem them and get our pins. Since Kelley is an Annual Pass holder She took the maps to be redeemed to get the extra pin. They were out of pass holder pins and issued a voucher instead. We had a 1:30 PM lunch reservation at Club 33 and it was time so we headed there. Hidden in the streets of New Orleans Square there is a non-descript doorway with an oval wood framed blue stained glass "33" sign. There is no other indication that this place exists. Press the doorbell and the intercom crackles with a "May I help you?" Kelley gave her name and the door is opened by a young lady dressed in a black Victorian dress and we are whisked inside and the door is quickly closed. The small lobby is paneled in dark cherry wood. The restaurant is on the second floor. We can either take the stairs or the glass elevator. Since the glass elevator only fits three people plus the attendant Tina & Kelley & I opt to ride the elevator. Very cool. We are seated at our table in the main dining room. What an elegant place. White table cloths and napkins, dark paneling, chandeliers. And food. Lots and lots of food.

Next segment: Let The Feasting Begin

~Kathie
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[This message was edited by Kathie on 07-28-00 at 08:46 AM.]
 
well, I don't know what it stands for, but it is the official Disney collector's society.

We are waiting for the next installment !!!!!


 


I'm sorry..I'm a little slow on this. I'm working on it. I have to get it done soon or I'll forget.
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NFFC stands for the National Fantasy Fan Club.
It is a club for Disney Enthusiasts. There are chapters all over the World.

To find out more about it go to:

http://www.nffc.org/


~Kathie
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I would love to attend a convention sometime. Sounds like a fun couple of days. Thanks for posting!
 

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