HolyCoast: The Disney Train...Not
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Disney Train...Not

Our plan for Sunday was to hop the Metrolink to Union Station and tour the Disney "A Christmas Carol" promotional train that is in town this weekend starting a 40 city tour. Upon arrival at Union Station we discovered the line to get into the train was currently a 3 hour wait.

Negatory, good buddy. Time to find something else to do.

Before I show you what we did, here's a little advice for Metrolink riders. If you get on board without a valid Metrolink ticket, the nice Sheriff's deputy will be more than glad to give you one of his, except that his are much more expensive and involve a court date, as a rider in our car discovered.

Disney had a lot of promotional items all over Union Station, including this big banner over the main entrance to the ticketing area.
I went out onto a neighboring platform and took a photo of the train and part of the waiting crowd. The line not only ran the length of the train, but went back into the terminal and waaaayyy down the hallway.
The entire train was wrapped in a special "Christmas Carol" theme, including the locomotive which apparently was leased from Amtrak. This is a very expensive promotion. I hope the movie lives up to the hype.
Instead of waiting in line at Union Station, we jumped on the Red Line subway and headed up to Hollywood. Here the ladies are posing in front of the fountain in the Hollywood/Highland Center.
Out on Hollywood Blvd. you never know what aging star you're likely to run into. The many years of Duff Beer have clearly taken a toll. And just down the street an anorexic Marilyn Monroe and a sadly aging Ariel from The Little Mermaid discussed the day's events.
Let me just say that this tour is not all it's advertised to be. The "topless" refers to the bus, not the tour guides.

And they told me I'd have to keep my shirt on.

We also stopped by Olvera Street, right by Union Station. I don't think these guys are from around here.

We still had a fun time. If you want to see the Disney train when it comes to your town, for Pete's sake, get there early. This is going to be pretty popular, especially since the tours are free.

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