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Disney sponsors a new playground at Barton Park in Anaheim

by Mark Eades January 31, 2019

Volunteers from the Disneyland Resort and the Anaheim Family YMCA work on a new playground with special equipment for children with disabilities at Barton Park in Anaheim. Photo by Mark Eades

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Anaheim when 300 volunteers showed up at Barton Park. They were there to build a very special playground, one with play features for children with disabilities.

Photo by Mark Eades

They were also going to build it in just six hours on Saturday, January 26, 2019.

Photo by Mark Eades

The playground build was organized by KaBOOM! The non-profit organizes events like this for parks in disadvantaged neighborhood parks across the country.

Photo by Mark Eades

Here in Anaheim they worked with volunTEARS from the Disneyland Resort, the city of Anaheim, the Anaheim Family YMCA and others from the local community to build the playground. The Disneyland Resort also sponsored the playground.

Photo by Mark Eades

Included in the playground are a variety of play pieces with unique equipment and accessibility features that will allow all children to play together.

Photo by Mark Eades

The pieces include a merry-go-round style device with a Unity Spinner that includes seatbelts for wheelchairs. A Teeter Tunnel with a feature that will help children transfer out of a wheelchair and onto the teeter. Many of the items feature braille panels for this visually impaired.

Photo by Mark Eades

The playground’s design was aided by children from the area including students at neighboring Barton Elementary School. Volunteers from KaBOOM! met with more than 650 kids soliciting design ideas and drawings for this playground.

Photo by Mark Eades

Disneyland Cast Members took part in the playground build, as did members of the Anaheim Family YMCA, along with folks from the city of Anaheim.

Photo by Mark Eades

January 31, 2019 0 comment

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Adventure in the Daddy Zone – The drive back to California via Route 66 adjacent

by Mark Eades November 29, 2018

For the trip home, we had three and a half days to get from Indiana to Southern California. There was not other way to do it: Get to St. Louis then hook up with the interstate highways that basically follow the path of Route 66, and go the maximum speed limit.

We always stayed in motels (I highly recommend the Holiday Inn Express!) that have a breakfast buffet so you can grab and go in the morning. We did that at all the inns we stayed at during the entire trip.

We left Indiana late Sunday afternoon, and got west of St. Louis and it was time to pull off the road to our first night at, yes, a Holiday Inn Express to bed down.

But, we found plenty of fast food places along the way including McDonald’s. Laugh all you want, but the Big Mac, fries and a Coca Cola were a staple on our drive many times. At this one, in southwest Missouri, they had a very unique mailbox out front. McMail anyone?

You’ve got McMail.

From Missouri, unless you want to take a long time, you pretty much have to take two of Oklahoma’s turnpikes: The Will Rogers Turnpike then the Turner Turnpike. Between the two of them the cost was a total of nearly $10.

This is a restaurant that crosses over the Will Rogers Turnpike. Don’t worry, you can get to it from the turnpike without having to pay an additional toll. We didn’t stop. We could go 75mph legally on the turnpike and I didn’t want to take my foot off the gas.

On the Will Rogers Turnpike.

From Oklahoma we kept motoring as I had one thing on my mind: A steak dinner at The Big Texan in Amarillo.

Steak!

This is the fourth time I’ve stopped and had a meal there – always dinner, never breakfast. I know how to time my cross-country drives!

I’ll take mine medium please.

As you might know, The Big Texan has been around for a long time. Part tourist trap, yet part restaurant. The place is a hoot.

Decor in the Big Texan is, well, touristy.

If you look around the walls in the restaurant you definitely know you’re in Texas, and not Kansas anymore.

Kind of reminds me of the Country Bear Jamboree at Disney.

This place is about one thing, beef.

Some longhorn long horns.

But The Big Texan is famous for something else, the possibility of getting a big meal for free!

Yep, 4.5 pounds of meat. It could cost you nothing if….

A free 72 ounce steak cooked to perfection? Wow, there’s got to be a catch.

He wishes he was young enough to try eating it.

Take a look at the size of that piece of beef.

Big beef, 72 ounces. It’s almost 2 inches thick.

The rules are that once you start eating it, with all the sides that come with it, you have 60 minutes and have to eat everything all gone – or it’s gonna cost you. More than $100!

And if you try, they put you on a raised platform where everyone in the restaurant can watch you eat.

Eating on stage. Check out the 60-minute timers.

You’ll want plenty of liquid to wash it down with.

Big beer at the Big Texan.

And if you finish, they weigh you and put your name and weight on the list of those who did it. Yes, your name, city and age too.

Big eaters get their name on the wall.

Dad can’t really eat steak any more, so he had some soup and some macaroni and cheese. I had a Rib-eye with a baked sweet potato and macaroni and cheese, along with some rolls. I washed it down with a glass of red wine.

In the evenings, there are people playing music roaming the restaurant floor. They’ll play a tune for you for tips.

Country and Western all the way inside The Big Texan.

Because of the season, they had definitely decked the halls with decorations.

Merry Christmas at The Big Texan.

Oh and if you’re staying in town at one of the motels, they’ll even come and get you and return you to the motel in one of these.

Okay, we got back on the road the next morning, and got to Flagstaff where we spent the night, then it was time for the final push to California and home. Interstate 40 in California is a very boring, long drive as the speed limit is more like 65mph or 70mph.

But when we got to Barstow, we need to stop and eat, and you know what that’s all about…In-N-Out.

You know you’re back in California when you find one of these near the interstate. Or can I call them freeways again?

Then it was time to get home, and we did in short order arriving at my sister’s house in Santa Ana where Dad resides at approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon the day before Thanksgiving.

Home again, safe and sound.

We set out on this trip on October 29th, and got home on November 21st. The odometer on my car at the start read: 52,532. At the end it read: 59,696. That means the car traveled a total of 7,164 miles during that time.

Now that includes me driving from Madison, Indiana to Orlando, Florida and back so I could go to IAAPA, the theme park convention, and that was 1,904 of those miles – and without Dad. That was a five-day detour on my part.

But still, a lot of travel and a lot of things and a lot of fun time together.

Counting the states I went through to get to the convention, here are all the states traveled: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Who wouldn’t want to go on a long, easy going (for the most part) trip with their parent or parents? You find out all kinds of stuff you might not have known about them when it’s just you and them in the car.

For now, it’s onto the next Adventure in the Daddy Zone!

Below here are links to all the previous posts about this adventure, in reverse order.

Click here to read about Columbus, Indiana.

A tour of Madison, Indiana – Dad’s hometown.

The Indiana Eades Thanksgiving Feast.

Arriving at Madison after I went to Orlando.

Attending my niece’s wedding in St. Louis with my Dad.

Spending some time in St. Louis with my Dad, including a visit to a bridge bearing a similar name to his.

Day 11, all about trains in St. Louis.

Day 10, from Kansas City to Marceline to Hannibal Missouri.

Day 9, we visit a cousin in Kansas City, and see Harry Truman’s place.

Day 8, from Dodge City to Eisenhower’s home to a Kansas City cousin and great barbecue.

Day 7, from Las Vegas, New Mexico to Dodge City.

Part 2 of Day 6, from Chama, New Mexico to the Rio Grande gorge.

Part 1 of Day 6, from Utah to the Continental Divide.

Day 5, driving through eastern Utah.

Day 4, and evening at Evermore Park in Utah.

Day 3, going from Las Vegas to Utah.

Day 2, Las Vegas with a side trip to Hoover Dam.

Day 1, The adventure starts with a visit to Eddie World and getting to Las Vegas.

November 29, 2018 0 comment

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Adventure in the Daddy Zone – Visiting Columbus and Bloomington Indiana

by Mark Eades November 28, 2018

After touring Madison, Dad and I went up to Columbus, Indiana to have lunch with Aunt Judy and Uncle Larry, and see Mom’s childhood home and where she and Dad got married.

So here goes our visit to my mother’s hometown of Columbus, Indiana – with a short trip to Bloomington and the campus of Indiana University, where Mom and Dad met.

Downtown Columbus, Indiana, complete with county courthouse, a few shops and restaurants and more.

I remember that as a kid, we would go downtown in Columbus, Indiana to go shopping from time to time – particularly when I needed a new pair of shoes.

The courthouse in Columbus, Indiana. Kind of reminds one of City Hall and more at Disneyland, doesn’t it?

This kinetic sculpture is called “Chaos” and was made from junk out of a local junkyard. It sits in what is called the “Commons” in Columbus, Indiana.

The sidewalks of downtown Columbus, Indiana. We are on our way to one of the most important landmarks in the town.

This is, as far as I and many others are concerned, the most important location in Columbus, Indiana. It is called “Zaharako’s.” That was the last name of the brothers who founded it decades ago. We have always just called it “The Greeks.” Great ice cream sundaes, lunches and shakes and more!

Walt Disney actually tried to purchase the parlor for the big apparatus behind the counter where they kept all the sundae and soda flavors for Disneyland. He was planning to put it into Carnation Main Street. But the Zaharako brothers would not sell.

Zaharako’s in Columbus, Indiana. Still the best ice cream parlor in the world!

The main dining area of Zaharako’s has mirrors on both walls, making the restaurant look like it goes on forever.

This player organ is the original, and it was refurbished a few years ago and still works! It is in the back of the main dining area where it has always been at Zaharako’s.

My mother’s only sibling, my Aunt Judy and former babysitter, met Dad and I for lunch this day, and hot fudge sundaes of course, at Zaharako’s.

Yes, when I was a kid I sat many times at this table with my hot fudge sundae at Zaharako’s. The table and chairs are still in their original location in the dining area.

These two houses are important in my childhood. The one on the right belonged to my mother’s mom and dad. The one on the left belonged to the Landers, who were my great Aunts and Uncles.

The Lander home used to have green siding on it, and a hedge in front by the sidewalk. Alas, no more. But it has a front porch and I sat in a swing hanging by hooks on it many a time.

My grandmother’s house (we called her Nanny.) I don’t remember my grandfather on my mother’s side, he died when I was barely three. Notice it too has a wonderful front porch, and swing.

Just a few blocks from my grandmother’s house in Columbus, Indiana, sits the original St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church in the town. It has moved to a new building on the outskirts of town. But the grand old structure still sits there. The interior was spectacular back in the day.

The stained glass windows are original in the old St. Bartholomew’s cathedral in Columbus, Indiana.

My Dad stands on the steps of the original St. Bartholomew’s cathedral in Columbus, Indiana. He and Mom were married in that church in 1954. Hmmm, same year I was born.

This is one of the buildings on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. My Dad went to college there, and eventually got a Bachelor’s in business. He met Mom there, and they were quite the passionate couple as it turns out.

This tree-lined lane on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana is important in the history of me, Mark Eades. Yes, it was here my creation took place in a parked Plymouth at night under one of those trees in late December of 1953, and my parents were married in February 1954, I was born in August 1954. You do the math.

Well this was our last time in Indiana on this visit. We left from here to start our drive back to California.

Click here to read about the tour of Madison, Indiana, my Dad’s hometown.

November 28, 2018 1 comment

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Adventures in the Daddy Zone with the baby at Disneyland

by Mark Eades June 15, 2018

Editor’s note: This was originally written and to be published in the June 2018 edition of Parenting OC Magazine. But do to space limitations it was cut. So it is posted here by the author.

Well here I was, sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree in the Central Plaza at Disneyland. With me was our daughter, then about eight months old. Where was Mom? She was off in the long line for Pirates of the Caribbean with our four-year-old son.

He decided Mom deserved a trip to Disneyland for her birthday. Meanwhile I, the Dad, got to come too as it was Father’s Day, but it really meant I would watch baby sister while they went on a bunch of Disneyland attractions, especially those the baby could not ride.

My wife really knows how to get ready for trips to places like Disneyland. She was determined to not bring a stroller. So, we had a front pack for our daughter, and a backpack with all the baby stuff in it: Formula, bottles, baby food, disposable diapers, a change of clothes, extra blankets, two containers of baby wipes, and large, sealable, baggies to put, well, soiled things in.

The last would come in handy, as I would find out.

Thankfully, before they ran off to see the pirates, my wife took our daughter into the ladies’ bathroom and changed our daughter’s wet diaper. I figured that would hold her for a while. But my wife also assured me there were changing tables in the men’s bathrooms too.

I’m a little old-school. If my daughter did something while my wife was gone, I really didn’t want to have to change my daughter’s diaper in a men’s room. But I also did not want to do it out in the open on a Disneyland park bench either. My wife pointed across the plaza.

“There’s a Baby Care Center over there, I’m sure they can help you out,” she said as the two of them took off to get in the 90-minute line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

Now the nice thing about being a Dad with a baby, is that all the people like to stop by and make fun faces at the baby. And I will admit some of them were some nice-looking women. But I digress.

There we were, baby daughter and me sitting across from Sleeping Beauty Castle. She seemed to be very happy. When the horses pulling the street cars stopped nearby, we would walk over to them; she really liked them. Mary Poppins and Bert strolled by and said “Hello.” She really liked that.

We watched some ducks waddle by for a handout, I had a box of popcorn and “accidentally” spilled some on the ground for them. It went fine with my cup of soda, which did have a baby spillage prevention device on it, better known as a lid.

Things were going along fine for about an hour when she got fussy. Usually a sign that she wanted to either eat or drink something, so I carefully set my popcorn and drink down on the bench and got a ready to go bottle of formula of a side pocket of the backpack, and a baby blanket from another pocket. The bottle satisfied her for a while.

Then she spit the bottle out, obviously full. I set the bottle down next to the popcorn and soda, put the blanket on my shoulder, put her up there, gave her a few pats on the back and she burped. I was a pro at this. Then I laid her down on the blanket, with an arm in place to keep her from rolling off.

What a lovely day, she was kicking and smiling and goo-gooing. As I watched people taking pictures in front of the castle. I wasn’t really paying attention when she stopped making noise. I looked down at her and saw she was making a face of great concentration.

Oh oh. Did I just hear some music of impending doom? No, it was a different kind of noise – equal to the level of concentration on her face. It was a doom of a different kind – she was going poo-poo. Now normally, at home, this would not be that big a deal. But she was doing it right here on a park bench in the middle of Disneyland.

Worse yet, it was massive as it started to ooze out the sides of the diaper like the Blob and onto the blanket. And the smell? It was worse than anything the horses could do. I panicked and quickly grabbed the bottle of formula and stuffed it into the backpack – knocking over the popcorn in the process, to the great joy of the ducks in the area.

I needed to get to the Baby Care Center – and fast, as the daytime parade was approaching and I needed to get across Main Street U.S.A. before it arrived at the crossing. I wrapped her into the blanket, hiding the evidence of her dastardly deed, and quickly headed across the plaza, leaving my soda behind. Oh well, Disneyland’s Custodial staff, I was sure, would make quick work of that.

I did get stuck at the crossing while the first few floats passed, I had visions of her poo-poo oozing out like the Blob and devouring all nearby. Finally, they let us cross. I strived not to bump into anyone while carrying a baby with a diaper full of bad news. Suffice it to say, I made it to the Baby Care Center.

The Disneyland Baby Care Center is located just off the Central Plaza (also known as “The Hub”) at Disneyland. Inside the entry lobby there is a photo of Walt Disney when he was a baby on the wall. Photo by Mark Eades.

When I entered, it was like I’d gone to heaven for anyone needing to deal with feeding, nursing or having to change extremely dirty poo-pooed diapers like me. I thought I even heard angels singing.

The two Cast Members inside took one look at me and seemed to immediately understand what was going on. They directed me to one of the changing stations, which also had a nice paper liner on it to keep it clean from messes like my daughter’s.

One even asked if I needed any other assistance. I said no, but that they might want to hold their noses.

“We’re used to that, but this facility has excellent air circulation to take care of any unwanted odors,” the Cast Member said as she smiled.

I laid my daughter down, she seemed to relish squirming around in her mess. This was going to be a multiple baby wipe extravaganza to clean this mess up. I set the backpack emptied it, then proceeded to undo the diaper and was immediately assaulted by a pile of goo that would have been better handled by a large bulldozer.

I opened up two of the large zip top baggies; one for the diaper and wet baby wipes, the other for everything else. It took about 15 minutes to clean up the mess, with my daughter constantly moving the whole time. Finally, I was done. The dirty diaper and wet wipes filled one baggie, the dirty clothes and now dirty blanket filled the other. I sealed them both up and looked around for a waste basket for the one. The ladies pointed.

“Looks like you’ve done this before,” one of them said as they changed the paper liner.

“You might need to feed her soon,” the other Cast Member said.

I nodded and got out a jar of food, then realized there was no spoon in the backpack. One of them offered me a disposable plastic spoon, and suggested I take a few more with me.

Thank goodness for the Cast Members at the Baby Care Center. After feeding my daughter, I packed everything, not as neatly as my wife had done, and went outside. The parade had passed, and I could see my wife and son strolling this way, thank goodness, as I suddenly realized I needed to use the restroom.

The Disneyland Baby Care Center is located just off the Central Plaza (also known as “The Hub”) at Disneyland. Inside, parents or guardians can find a variety of things to support those with babies. In addition, the center serves as the location for lost children or lost parents. Photo by Mark Eades.

–Some additional tips from Linda Marquez, a Disneyland Park Specialist of the Disney Parks Moms Panel: “Traveling with infants is making sure they are comfortable while at the parks. Bring along kid-approved sunscreen, a hat to provide shade from the sun, and a small, portable fan to keep cool. You will definitely want to bring your stroller from home or rent one at the parks. A stroller is not only the safest and most efficient way to get your little one around the parks, but it’s also an excellent place to store your belongings and a comfy spot for your little one to take a snooze. If you use a baby carrier or wrap, you can wear your baby on the majority of attractions that do not have height requirements.”

Personally, my wife and I always found it easier to go without a stroller. It was easier to move throughout the parks, and we’re good with backpacks. The Baby Care Center in each of the Disneyland Resort’s two parks have a microwave, handy for warming formula. In addition, it is the place that any lost children or lost parents can be found as well.

June 15, 2018 0 comment

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Artistic wonders at Wondercon 2014

by Mark Eades April 21, 2014

The artistry on display at Wondercon 2014 makes my words on this page pale by comparison.
The images drawn by all the artists’ hands constantly amaze me.

Steve Feicht, creator of “Tiny Nightmares,” characters that kids encounter in their dreams, with his daughters Katie, 11, (left) and Devon, 15, (right).

One of the artists there, Steve Feicht, I’ve known since 1977 when we both worked at the Riverbelle Terrace at Disneyland together. We went our separate ways, but have always stayed in touch.
Steve eventually went into toy design and went off to New York to work for several years. Walt Disney Imagineering, where I was working in the creative division, was on a hiring spree in the mid-1980s.
One day I heard a familiar voice in the hall, it was Steve. He’d been flown in with his portfolio for an interview with management, including my boss and Disney Legend, Randy Bright. Steve and I had a nice lunch together where he showed me his design portfolio.
Later that day Randy asked me about Steve, and I gave him a solid recommendation. I think it helped.
Anyway, Steve was soon hired into WDI. We worked on several projects together there.
Eventually both he and I left WDI for other things, he went back to the toy design industry and I went into the journalism business, but we’ve always stayed in touch.
Every year he sends our family a hand-drawn Christmas card. He even created my business logo.

Tiny Nightmares showed up at Wondercon 2014. Image courtesy: Tiny Nightmares & Steve Feicht.

Steve has designed some really fun toys and other things over the years, and now the father of two lovely girls has come up with a really fun concept – Tiny Nightmares.
It was a concept inspired by stories he would tell his daughters to help them sleep. Other friends, parents of small children, inundated him with requests for their own Tiny Nightmares creatures.
According to Steve: “The Tiny Nightmares are the gruesome gang that defends your dreams. They use their special powers to fight the nighttime nasties who spoil your slumber.”

Tiny Nightmares showed up at Wondercon 2014. Image courtesy: Tiny Nightmares & Steve Feicht.

He and his daughters had a booth at Wondercon 2014 where people could check out the characters he created.
It debuted in 2010 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and has been steadily growing as a business, and a wonderful concept.
Hopefully it will be an animated television show soon too. I urge you to check it out at the Tiny Nightmares website.

You can read about my overall impression of Wondercon 2014 here at a post on Inside the Magic.

If you’re into the Cosplay at Wondercon 2014, you can click here to find more photos.

Earlier I wrote about some of the writers I met up with at Wondercon 2014.

I also wrote about some of the other wonderful weird concepts I saw, and you can click here to read about them.

April 21, 2014 0 comment

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Adventures in the Aging Zone – A Diamond Anniversary

by Mark Eades March 3, 2014

Five of the Eades kids and their parents, Susan and Jim Eades. The five kids there are: Mark, Cindy, Annette, Mike and Matt. Not shown: Kim.

One of the things about getting older, is you attend a lot more anniversary celebrations.

One of the rare things in this era are the wedding anniversaries, particularly ones that are 30 years or more.

Well in my case, my parents recently celebrated one of the rarest ones, their Diamond Anniversary, also known as a 60th wedding anniversary.

At my parents’ request, we kept this one small. We held it at my sister’s house and she was a gracious host.

One of the reasons we kept it small is that they don’t like big things any more; Mom walks a lot slower, and Dad has a hard time hearing things in big, noisy restaurants.

Now their 50th wedding anniversary was a big affair. We did it as a banquet, and “roasted” my parents thoroughly. But if you know our family, you know there aren’t too many things we won’t tease each other mercilessly about.

We teased them about the number of kids they begat (six) and about how they invented new math (Date of birth of first born minus date of marriage equals a lot less than nine months) and why we moved to California (It was to find a house with more than one bathroom).

At that event, my mother’s sister and others came out from Indiana to attend, as did many of the friends we’ve all known for decades in California.

But was that event better than this one?

No, both were fun and nice, just different.

We still swapped stories about things like past vacations, some fun things we did as a family (the vacations) and more. Just one of those chances for a larger family to get together and see each other, something that’s getting harder and harder to do as we all get older.

Congratulations Mom and Dad on making it through 60 years together.

March 3, 2014 0 comment

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