To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Walt Disney Family Museum, a group of intrepid Disney fans took to the rails to make an experience out of the event.

On board, we had a great group of people, along with the staff: myself, my husband Noe, our daughter Alice and the ringleader for all of this nonsense Roger Colton of Private Car Service. We were aboard the private rail car – the Salisbury Beach (formerly from the Boston & Maine were it used to take Pullman passengers through New England as a sleeping car. All of the roomettes, bedrooms and open sections are still there; although two of the sections serve as a kitchenette when needed now.

The Salisbury Beach. Photo by Alice Hill
The Salisbury Beach. Photo by Alice Hill

Our adventure departed from Los Angeles Union Station at 10:30 on Friday morning, starting off with beverages for everyone. Animation veteran Ken Mitchroney joined us, sharing tales (and storyboards) of some of his work at Pixar as well as many other animation productions, including The Lego Movie, Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story 2. Soon enough we were at Oxnard, where we followed the Pacific coast for the next 113 miles. Great scenery and fantastic weather made for a wonderful ride.

Ken, Alice and Roger
Ken Mitchroney shows Alice how the old masters set up shots. Photo by Shelly Valladolid.

The passengers were treated to a make-your-own sandwich buffet with all the fixings and tempting cookies for lunch. Mai tais and margaritas passed the cocktail hour as we climbed through the hills of the Cuesta grade above San Luis Obispo. Carnitas with all the trimmings for dinner as the sun set and we headed north up the Central Coast valleys passing Paso Robles and Salinas. There are few things as lovely as watching the world go by from the window of a private car, and having great company along made it even better. We arrived in Oakland, and everyone took off for their hotels. The crew traveled on with the car as it was serviced and stored by Amtrak in Oakland.

Not only was it the WDFM’s 5th anniversary, this was also San Francisco’s Fleet Week, with the US Navy Blue Angels headlining the aerial acts set to perform. There was also a great variety of ships sailing the Bay including the Lady Washington (as seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and even on television in ABC’s Once Upon A Time), a World War II Liberty Ship – the Jeremiah O’Brien and even a former Presidential yacht, the Potomac. On Saturday, while Roger and I shopped for the trip back South, Alice, Noe and the owners of the rail car, Tom and Carol, watched the Blue Angels. There was a great view of the aerial show from the coach yard.

Train going around horseshoe
The first cars, from the last cars. Photo by Shelly Valladolid.

We didn’t make it to the Museum, and sadly missed out on the festivities there. Rod Miller, the former Disneyland Coca Cola Corner piano player entertained guests in the Museum lobby. We are told that a fabulous presentation by Jeff Kurtti and Paula Sigman-Lowery was the highlight. We heard all about it from our guests on the way home. Jeff and Paula told everyone about how the Walt Disney Family Museum came to life. From Diane Disney Miller’s first desires to tell an honest, deeply personal story about Walt Disney, the man, the husband and father, the dreamer and doer; the design and construction and the final result.

Photo by Alice Hill
Photo by Alice Hill
Photo by Alice Hill.
Photo by Alice Hill.
Photo by Alice Hill
Photo by Alice Hill

That night, to console ourselves for missing out, we opted to head over to Emeryville.  A quick drive by Pixar on Park Street and we were off to the Trader Vic’s flagship, because Alice had never been. We had a seat by the window and watched the sky turn from pink to indigo. Some things have changed here over the years, but the influence it had on Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room is still very obvious. A dear friend designed Aladdin’s Oasis, but I miss the Tahitian Terrace. I really wish they’d bring it back for the 60th. It would be like printing their own money if they did. Just sayin’.

Sunday morning, we started off bright and early, leaving Oakland at 8:30 am. Again, the weather was great – if a bit warm, as we came into San Luis Obispo. The ride along the ocean was spectacular with some heavy surf in play ahead of the weather system that brought cooler temperatures this week. It’s amazing how much scenery you see by riding the train that you miss driving the highways! We had pulled pork sandwiches for lunch and chicken pie for dinner with apple or berry pie for dessert. The rest of the trip went without incident, and we unloaded at Union Station a half-hour early. A tired but happy group headed home after a fine weekend of travel.

Alice
Selfie from the back of a moving train by Alice Hill

If you missed out, we’re doing it again in January, with a vista-dome coach, just like the one that was part of the California Zephyr recreation before the remodel into Buena Vista Street in the California Adventure park. There’s seating and a lounge downstairs, a full kitchen, and, best of all, plenty of upstairs seating with a fantastic view of the countryside (and those unfortunate folks stuck in their cars) from the huge windows. For more information, please visit privatecarservice.net. You can also contact Roger Colton of Private Car Service at 925-321-0023. There will also be another special guest or three aboard each way to tell stories and share some interesting items. In the past, they’ve had Imagineers like Tony Baxter and Ray Spencer, Disney animators and voice artists, and even a legend or two. This time, it is someone with Disney railroad experience as well as a major tourist railway.

gurrini
From a past trip. Photo by Shelly Valladolid
dome
Photo by John Caestecker

 

But the real reason for the trip? A visit to Michael Campbell’s fantastic program for the WDFM: “All Aboard: A Celebration of Walt’s Trains“, which will run from November 13, 2014 to February 9, 2015. There are few people on earth, if any, that know more about Walt’s love affair with trains than Michael Campbell. (Personally, I’d like to fill the train with MiceChatters, but I’m biased.)

Shelly Valladolid
Shelly Valladolid, aka Fab, has been writing about Disney and theme parks for about two decades. She has written for various fan and pop culture sites, Disney Magazine and OCRegister.com and participated in several books, including Passporter's Disneyland and Southern California and Disney World Dreams. She was co-founder and president of the Orlando, Florida chapter of the NFFC (now Disneyana Fan Club). She taught a class on theme park history at a Southern California University. She is creator and co-owner of Jim Hill Media, one of the creators of MousePlanet and was a consultant on MSNBC, The Motley Fool and others about Disney and various media matters. She was a Heel wrestling manager on TV and a voice artist on the radio in Honolulu, HI, where she grew up. She has a blog and a podcast with her daughter, Mission:Breakout Obsessive Alice Hill. She and her husband, MiceChat columnist Noe Valladolid, live in Southern California with Alice.