Today at Disneyland: Labor Day Weekend

After today's brief stop in Disney California Adventure, it was on to Disneyland for the rest of the day!

First, a stop in the Disney Gallery and Disneyana on Main Street. This Shag painting of the Enchanted Tiki Room and Dole Whip stand can be yours for a mere $18,000:

I enjoy Shag's work, but I think I'll settle for the postcard version!

It may be Labor Day weekend, but the flowers at the Hub are still in full bloom:

Internet rumors are that a spot beloved to many Disneyland fans, the Court des Anges in New Orleans Square, will become inaccessible during remodeling of Club 33, and may not ever reopen to the public after it closes this September 28th.

If this permanent closure comes to pass, it will be a real loss for the park. For instance, hundreds if not thousands of families take their Christmas photos here each year; we met another such family tonight while photographing the area.

Here's a good column by Tom Bricker at the Disney Tourist Blog: "The Court of Angels is Important to Disneyland."

A classic sight which never gets old:

We used to love eating at Big Thunder Ranch but had never eaten there since its pricier reincarnation a few years back. With our kids all away or busy today, my husband and I splurged on it!

The "all you can eat" food was good but overpriced for what it was. I frankly think the fried chicken dinner at the less expensive Plaza Inn on Main Street is a better value for the money. The atmosphere was very nice, listening to Western singers while we ate, and the service was friendly, but we won't be rushing to eat dinner there again, even with my Premium passholder discount.

HOWEVER. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake we shared for dessert was beyond amazing...a hot cooked-to-order chocolate chip cookie in a pewter dish, served a la mode. Absolute heaven!

This dessert was so big that my husband and I could only eat half of it, and we passed the rest on to a young couple sharing our picnic table. We're definitely going to be taking our kids to Big Thunder Ranch for dessert sometime in the coming months.

My husband took the next two photos of the "Partners" statue, which I think capture the bittersweet feelings accompanying the end of summer. Is it really September this weekend?

I love the cloud formations visible here at twilight.

The next time we're in the park, the red, white and blue bunting will be replaced by orange bunting, pumpkins everywhere, and...

...Halloween Time!

Have a happy Labor Day weekend!

For many more great photos of some of the things we enjoyed seeing today, please visit this colorful July Dateline Disneyland photo post at MiceChat.

Previous Disneyland Labor Day weekend photo posts: 2011, 2009, and 2007.