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CHILLing at the Queen Mary in Long Beach
In early January, I had the opportunity to attend CHILL, a winter event housed on the grounds of Long Beach’s Queen Mary.The event was ok. I say ok for a variety of reasons.
- There were a lot of children around. (A good event to take your children to, but a subpar event to attend if you don’t have children and/or aren’t a child yourself. It’s almost safe to say that even those that are children at heart would rather be elsewhere than at this event.)
- Lines, lines and more lines. The lines were ridiculous.
- No ice sculptures. I heard ice sculptures were on display at previous events. What a bummer…
- A bit expensive. The admission ticket, even with the discount I managed to obtain was expensive. I obviously didn’t get my money’s worth from this event. Food was of course also on the expensive side.
Now that I’ve mentioned the negatives, allow me to share some positives of the event.The “actresses/models” were well picked. I loved Alice simply because she was so cute and had on a smile the whole time. (Not sure how anyone can wear a smile on their face for so long, but “Alice” was able to.) The white Queen was also great in that she was very Queen-like, if that makes any sense. lol
Minus the long line, I found the “Alice in Wonderland” maze at CHILL enjoyable. While I wasn’t thrilled with the “doors” area of the maze (fyi: it was a bit too childish for my taste), I appreciated the illuminations and decor.
CHILL offered two 4D movies inside the Queen Mary which I enjoyed greatly. One thing I didn’t like about the movies, however was how the seat would poke my back as a part of the 4D experience. (The poking effect was truly unnecessary and actually quite annoying.)
A nice touch to the CHILL event was Michael Jackson’s swing from Neverland Ranch.
It was nice seeing the famous swing in person. It wasn’t that nice riding it however. (This was a personal thing since I haven’t been on a swing in ages and felt a little awkward after riding it. Fortunately, I didn’t throw up or anything. lol Considering the fact that I used to be obsessed with the swings ride offered at Knott’s Berry Farm when I was a kid/tween, I found this part of me amusing. I suppose we change as we get older.)There were a few other attractions made available at the event such as snow at selected timeframes, gingerbread house making workshops, an ice skating rink, Mrs. Claus storytelling and ice tubing. I can’t say much about the above mentioned attractions simply because I missed out on all of them. The ice skating attraction as well as the gingerbread house making workshop weren’t included in the CHILL admission ticket and the ice tubing attraction was more of a slide(s) than a tube.
The CHILL admission ticket did include access to the Queen Mary and I found that to be nice. What wasn’t so nice was how the Queen Mary was holding some type of so-called VIP/reserved event which prevented visitors from exploring the ship as freely as they could have. Another annoying thing about the Queen Mary was how their Princess Diana exhibition was closed and the male employee manning the area wasn’t nice whatsoever when he said the area was off limits. Eh.
The highlight of my Queen Mary visit would probably have to be my visit to the ship’s isolation ward. I didn’t hang out there long and it wasn’t so much because I found it spooky, but more so because the person (fyi: I was with a girl; not some hot guy. lol) that was with me didn’t want to miss out on the snow that would be sprinkling down on CHILL’s grounds. Interestingly enough, we missed out on the snow sprinkles by the time we figured out how to get out of the ship.
We decided to pay the isolation ward a visit again only to find it inaccessible since the door to leading to the ward was locked up already. This was strange. Strange because it wasn’t even close to Queen Mary’s closing time yet. I admit that this was a bit spooky. And it got spookier when I had the nerve to google the isolation ward only to learn that the ward is supposedly haunted. (Eep!)
Honestly, all I remember seeing of the ward was the color green (and white). I didn’t even get a glimpse of the rooms showcased in the ward. Come to think of it, there was a doorway available for you to go into and I found this to be a bit strange, since the rest of the Queen Mary allowed you to view rooms solely through a window. I’m not sure if this was how the ward’s display area was supposed to be, but if the ward is indeed haunted, I’m glad I didn’t step through that doorway to “experience” the ward. I guess I should be grateful that the other person with me decided we should seek “snow” instead. Heh
Well, I suppose this sums my experience at Queen Mary’s CHILL. If you want my honest opinion on whether I’d attend such an event again in the future, I’ll have to say no as once was more than enough for me. -
Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium
The best $20 I spent in Las Vegas was at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium. I’m going to be honest and admit to having asked a concierge employee where the Shark Reef Aquarium was at. -
Christmas at Bellagio
When I was in Vegas back in early December, a little place inside Bellagio was already looking, feeling and smelling like Christmas. This little place inside Bellagio was their conservatory and botanical garden where they had put on a holiday display for visitors to see.
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One Piece Cinema Kabuki screening
On Black Friday, I somehow found out about a free screening event for One Piece Super Kabuki II. The screening took place yesterday and I of course attended! Attendees ranged from One Piece fans, Kabuki enthusiasts to neither of the two. I will be honest and say that I had never read One Piece (manga). But despite this, I was still able to understand and follow the Kabuki cinema screening. I think the introduction prior to the start of the screening was helpful. That, along with whatever I looked up on One Piece prior to my attending the screening at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres. -
A San Gabriel Valley Gem: The Huntington Library
I honestly do not know what type of So Cal local I am simply because I never once knew the city of San Marino existed. This city is beautiful. And what’s even more beautiful is the fact that The Huntington Library is located in this city. I can’t tell you how many gorgeous homes I passed by on my way into and out of the Huntington Library. I would sooo love to own a home there. (If only I could actually afford to buy one, that is… Someone that owns one, please just propose to me and I’ll say yes without a second thought! lol I’m coming off a little looney now, but I suppose that expresses exactly how much I adore San Marino and its homes. It was just love at first sight!)
Silliness aside, allow me to get back on track to San Marino’s Huntington Library. I visited the place on a gloomy day, prepared. I came with an umbrella and open-fingered gloves just in case it would rain. It rained and this was a good thing because I find gloomy weather/rain rather romantic. While others were busy frolicking about with a significant other, friends or children, I was having the time of my life exploring the expansive grounds alone as self deserved me-time. (I think I only came across 2 other people that came alone. One was a male and the other was a female. The female actually approached me to inform me of a wonderful Kodak moment – a rainbow shot and I must say I am thankful for her random kindness and for being cool, like me to frolic around alone. lol)
Contrary to its name, the Huntington Library is more than just a library. While it’s true that the Library contains an extensive collection of books, art and even furniture, the grounds of the Library are truly something else as they contain a plethora of amazing gardens.
My most favorite garden at the Library would have to hands down be the Japanese Garden. If you’ve been reading my blog, you probably remember the time I visited CSULB’s Japanese garden and was quite disappointed by its small size. Huntington’s Japanese Garden was not only big, but impressive and pleasing to the eyes.
In addition to the Japanese Garden, the Huntington Library is home to the Chinese Garden, a Jungle Garden, a Shakespeare Garden, a rose garden, an Australian Garden, lily ponds, a Desert Garden and I believe, even more gardens. Each garden, with an exception to perhaps the lily pond was big and took a good amount of time to explore and enjoy. If you’re a nature lover, you’ll probably love every garden featured here. I ended up taking a lot of photos and for the first time ever, I ended the day with just 1% of battery left on my cell phone. (Seriously!)If I could squeeze all of my experiences and photos from the Huntington Library into this entry, I would. But since it’s impossible for me to do such a thing, expect to see at least two additional follow up entries in the near future! 😀