Universal Studios Hollywood Unleashes “Insidious: Beyond the Further,” an All-New Terrifying “Halloween Horror Nights” Maze

Not sure about you, but I am a HUGE fan of this franchise and each one of these movies so far have creeped me out in it’s own way and had me a little jumpy.   The first time that Halloween Horror Nights brought this franchise to life, it was a fantastic maze!  It was a definate favorite of ours and it brought a lot of jumps!   I am super excited they are bringing it back this year, because we all know when you step into a Universal maze, it is like you are stepping into the movie. Personally, I can’t wait to see what is in store for us as we venture “Beyond the Further”

 Click Here to “Further” Experience the Horror that Awaits, Beginning Friday, September 15

Universal City, CA, August 28, 2017 – Beginning Friday, September 15, paranormal activity grips “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood in the all-new disturbing maze, “Insidious: Beyond the Further,” inspired Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures’ Stage 6 Films upcoming supernatural thriller, Insidious: Chapter 4.

The creepy new maze will delve deep into brilliant parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier’s past, starting with a childhood in which her paranormal abilities emerged…until her mother’s untimely death by a demonic entity.  Troubled by a lifetime of evil supernatural spirits trapped in the Further—a vacuous netherworld caught between the living and the dead—Dr. Rainier will take guests on an unsettling journey back in time through a portal into the Further…to defy the most depraved and intimidating beings that have tormented her since the 1950s.

Opening in theatres nationwide on Friday, January 5, 2018, Insidious: Chapter 4 is a Blumhouse Production, Oren Peli Production distributed by Universal Pictures domestically and Sony Pictures’ Stage 6 Films internationally.  Directed by series newcomer Adam Robitel, the supernatural thriller is written by co-creator Leigh Whannell and produced by Insidious series regulars Jason Blum, Oren Peli and co-creator James Wan. The film stars Lin Shaye as Dr. Rainier, who faces her most fearsome and personal haunting yet: in her own family home.

Updates on “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood are available online at HalloweenHorrorNights.com/Hollywood and on Facebook at: “Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood,” Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter at @HorrorNights as Creative Director John Murdy reveals a running chronicle of exclusive information. Watch videos on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube and join the conversation using #UniversalHHN.

 

Comic Con Revolution makes its debut in Ontario, CA

Comic Con Revolution made it’s debut on May 13, 2017.  This is the first full scale comic con to hit the Inland Empire.  They had over 80 guests in an exhibit hall that featured over 200 exhibitors along with panels throughout the day.

I decided to venture out there to check it out, as I wasn’t even aware that Ontario CA had a convention center.   It was a really nice place and the area was nice as well.  I wasn’t expecting anything much of this con, as it was it’s first year so I figured it would be small.

I arrived early so I could cover the ribbon cutting ceremony, which featured the Mayor of Ontario, Paul Leon, doing the honors, but first, the big reveal.  😉   The Mayor showed his superhero side by representing in his Captain America shirt.

Introducing the Mayor

Mayor Leon giving his speech

Turning into a superhero

BOOM!

Getting ready

and it’s officially open

The Mayor congratulating CCR on their first year

The doors were now officially open and the crowd headed in.   Upon entering the floor, I knew this would be a short day, as it was very small.  I walked the rows and checked out the vendors and guests to see who and what was there.   They had a good variety of vendors mixed in with artists for their first year.

There was a big crowd early in the morning, which was great for the debut.  It was hard to photograph the booths and navigate around the crowd but I managed.  The aisles were narrow so not a lot of wiggle room, especially when the cosplayers began showing up in their costumes.

Here are a few of the booths I shot while wandering the floor.  There were many familiar vendors there, but I guess when you attend as many of these as we do, you get to know everybody at some point.

Of course I couldn’t not stop by and chat with our friend at Tee No Evil.  They make the coolest shirts!  Check them out here – https://www.teenoevil.com/

Next, I wandered over to where the celebrity guests were. Being that it was the 1st year, it wasn’t a very big list and it was super crowded in their area, tucked away in the corner.  Not easy to navigate by any means. Something they will need to possibly set up differently next year.

Bill Mosley – House of 100 Corpses and Devils Rejects are what I know him from.  Both very disturbing movies!

David Naughton from An American Werewolf in London.

Of course, no con would be complete without a visit to my friend from high school, Norm Rapmund.  He is at every one of these conventions I go to doing what he does best.   It is a must do, to stop and say hi and get a selfie with him.   It is on his cell phone, so I don’t have it.

I didn’t spend a long time at this convention as I covered the whole room numerous times and was done by 1:30 pm.  I did notice the cosplayers were starting to float in more in the afternoon hours.   I had made a comment at how few there were when the doors opened.   I took a few shots of cosplay, but not many as I was ready to head home.

I am Negan

All in all it was a fun convention and for it’s first year I think they can call it a success.  Rumor has it that next year they will be taking up more of the convention center, which I think needs to happen.  It was way too crowded on the floor with not much room.  The area where the signings were was also not well laid out as one of the people back there had a huge line and it was blocking pretty much everyone else.   I think next year will be much better with more space and I will definitely be back to see the changes and growth.  If you are interested, mark your calendars –  May 19th and 20th, 2018.  It will be 2 days next year. They only did one this year because it was on Mothers Day Weekend and they didn’t want to take away from the moms.  (I heard them talking about it)

Thumbs up from this Comic Con Revolution staff member!

So until next year, Comic Con Revolution, that IS Cindy’s Spin.

I will not kneel to Negan 😉

This is a friend of mine.  You can check out his con coverage The Nerd Cartel by clicking this link  https://www.facebook.com/nerdcartel/

The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch

This past weekend, a few long time friends of mine and I decided to take a short road trip out to the flower fields in Carlsbad, CA.  I have been a few times over the past 6 years but haven’t made the trip the past 2.  It was time to go back.  We had a cold, cloudy and misty day, which made for the perfect day to venture down south and take some flower photos!

For approximately 8 weeks a year, usually beginning in March, the hillside which consists of nearly 50 acres is covered in brightly colored Tecolote Ranunculus flowers. These gorgeous flowers announce the arrival of spring here in Southern California .   This has been going on for over 60 years.

When you walk through the turnstyle, you are not quite sure where to start.  Do I go to the right where the Artist Garden is and where you can also grab a ticket to ride the tractor around the grounds, or do I go to the left and begin the journey of wandering through the fields?   We chose to start with the Artist Garden.

Here are some shots from that area.

This is usually the area where I am able to catch a lot of bees buzzing around the flowers but for some reason, there were not many this trip. I stalked this particular one for a bit an was able to snap a few, but dang if he wouldn’t sit still.

Since it had been a few years since my last visit, I noticed they had changed things around.  They had moved their Historic Poinsettia Display tent, next to the The Artist Garden.   This was our next stop.

Here you can walk through a 1500 square foot greenhouse filled with Ecke poinsettias.  They have a rare and unusual variety. Personally I am not a big fan of these flowers, but they were pretty this year.

Peppermint Twist Poinsettia

Now it was time to head to the Rose Garden area.   Let me tell you how strong the smell was as you walked towards this area!  You definitely knew where you were.

I didn’t take many in this area as a lot of them had begun to wilt.

Now we ventured onto the path that would lead us way out into the middle of the fields. Below are the miscellaneous plants and flowers along the way.

Before we headed out to the hills of flowers we stopped in the Cymbidium Orchid Greenhouse.   It seemed a little scarce in there then I remembered. but what was in there was beautiful.

Now it was time to venture out into the hills of the many, many Ranunculus flowers. I tried to get  a little of everything but sadly we are not allowed to venture into the heart of the flowers, where the vibrant ones still bloomed.

A little worm taking a nap

As we wound down our walk we passed by the Sweat Pea Maze, which is always there. We did not venture in, although I have done it in the past and it’s not as easy as you think, but it is FUN!  They also have a few planters asking you “Is it your lucky day” where you can search for a long time for that one 4 leaf clover.   Good Luck!

If you don’t feel like walking around the fields you can enjoy an open antique tractor ride around them for a small price.  They will also give you a history as you ride.  I personally have never done this, as I like to walk.  There are also things for the kids to enjoy as well. They have the Carlsbad Mining Company where you sift through the sand in  the water and discover your polished stones.  Santa’s Playground, which is the new home to some of the items that were part of the Santa’s Village in Lake Arrowhead years ago.  I didn’t take any photos of these areas as it was now starting to rain on us and we were just about finished with our walk.

Sadly I think we made our visit a little to late in the season as many of the flowers were dying or had died.  Southern California got a lot of rain this past winter so the bloom was fantastic, but sadly a few weeks prior to our visit we had VERY strong winds that damaged alot of these flowers and then we had a heat wave right before we went.  I think that may have affected what we saw.   I did take a few shots of some dead and wilting flowers as I thought they still looked eerily beautiful in their own way.

As our day came to an end, it was perfect timing.  We found a little table to rest at and get something to drink and in came the rain.  We were ok with that as we had done what we wanted to this trip.  Time to head over to the outlet mall and do some shopping!

We had a good time and if we go back next year it will be earlier in the season, if we have a free weekend! On that note I leave you with this little gem.  😉

Until next time, This IS Cindy’s Spin, riding off into the sunset on my tractor.  😉

RuPauls DragCon April 29 & 30th 2017

RuPauls DragCon returned for it’s 3rd year, bigger and better to the LA Convention Center. This convention brings out fans of all ages and backgrounds where they are able to meet and interact with celebrities and icons in a friendly environment. There is no doubt you will see some amazing “eleganza” walking the floor of this convention, as these ladies and gents know how to do it up right. This is always one of our favorites to cover but this year I went solo.

As you head towards the entrance, Ru’s sign greets you, and if you watch the show, you can hear her in your head – “Hello, Hello, HELLO”   This is how she enters the room where the ladies get ready at the beginning of each show to give them their challenge.

Each year they do a ribbon cutting ceremony to kick off the opening of doors for the VIP ticket holders and media.  First year was great, 2nd year was a mess and this year was back to fantastic with a new PR firm running the show.  It was MUCH more organized.  I was a little late so I wasn’t able to be in the front, but hey, I made it.  The queens all hang out for a bit, entertaining the crowds and posing for photos for the press.  I was in the back so I just held up the camera and shot.  Got what I could though.

Greeting the crowd

Getting ready to cut the ribbon

Once the ribbon was cut, it was on and the crowds entered.  As they say on the show – “Gentlemen, start your engines, and may the best WOMAN WIN”

***Here is where I put in the WARNING –  Some photos may be offensive to certain viewers. You see ALL kinds of things at this convention. – You have been warned 🙂

I also am not going to review everything but mostly just post photos for your enjoyment

This convention has over 200 vendors and exhibitors, panels, autographs and photo ops all over the floor.   You don’t know where to begin there is so much going on. There was absolutely no method to my madness.

I figured I should start by heading back to where they had some of Mama Ru’s wardrobe on display.  This area gets crowded so I wanted to get some shots without all the people. I have to say, she has some gorgeous dresses!

Below is another popular photo op, so I figured now was a good time to get the shot before the crowd came in.

I decided to check out the pressroom and see what they had going on in there and get off my feet before the chaos began.  Here are a few shots of the floor while just press and VIP ticket holders were in.  This was the calm before the storm, for sure!

Now onto the booths on the floor

Harvey Del Rey

Harvey was commissioned to do this piece

Gaypinguys.com

Lip Kandy Cosmetics

Kritter Klips

Custom Coloring Books

Yetis & Friends

Now we move onto the Queens!   The Drag Queens from the show were pretty hard to get to as the lines and crowds were insane waiting to meet them.   I shot a few and then took the other amazing ones I saw werking the floor! (yes work is spelled werk in this world) Some of the outfits they wear are insane and how they walk in those shoes, I will never know.  Lord knows I can’t handle those high heels anymore.

I was also there representing our media outlet for the celebrity signings they had going on.  When I say celebrity, I am referring to the non drag celebrities.

Michelle VIsage – she had a nonstop line so I didn’t want to interrupt

Michael J. Willett – I know him from Faking It that was on MTV

A few of the ladies from Little Women LA were there the day I was there. We met them last year and they are the nicest ladies!  http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/little-women-la

Terra Jole

Terra Jole

Tonya Renee Banks  – she was there selling and promoting her Little Boss Body Activewear.

Tonya, with her “husband to be”, Kerwin and her daughter

Elivra, Mistress of the Dark was also there.  She had a line for days, as she was a big draw here.

Cassandra Peterson AKA Elvira – Mistress of The Dark

All and all I had a fabulous time attending and covering this event, as always.  Everybody you meet is so nice!  Drag Queens LOVE the camera!

I decided to make a last trip up to the media room for another shot of the floor before I headed out.  I knew how crowded it felt walking the floor but I wanted the birds-eye view. Needless to say, it was packed –   They said there were over 44,000 attendees this year!

My day came to end around 4:30 as it was time to head back to the OC. It was filled with lots of laughs, hugs, glamour, glitz, glitter and bling!   I did hear that RuPaul announced they would be holding their first East Coast DragCon being held in NYC, Sept 30 – Oct. 1st.  If you live near there, I highly suggest attending if you can.  You will not regret it.

As I headed out to the parking garage I saw the sign that bids you a sweet goodbye and is not what you want to hear if you are on the show.  Sashay Away my friends, until next year!

 

 

 

 

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Boysenberry Festival is back at Knott’s Berry Farm

The return of the Boysenberry Festival at Knott’s Berry Farm is in full swing and we couldn’t be happier!  We love boysenberries!  Go celebrate Knott’s delicious roots during its Boysenberry Festival harvested in the theme park’s historic Ghost Town!

As you approach the entrance you begin to see the boysenberries everywhere- PURPLE is in the air!

Here is a brief little history on the boysenberry: courtesy of Knott’s Berry Farm (KBF) Every boysenberry in the world can be traced back to Walter Knott and his berry farm. A cross between a red rasberry, blackberry and loganberry, the famous boysenberry was propagated by Rudolph Boysen, but abandoned shortly thereafter.  The scraggly bushes were brought to Walter Knott’s attention and by 1934 he had a bumper crop of enormous, sweet-tart berries which proved more popular than anything he’d grown before.  Coupled with Cordelia Knott’s berry preserves and pies, folks came across the country to sample the famed boysenberry.

Throughout the park, mainly in Ghost Town, you can find over 70 unique boysenberry inspired foods and drinks that are offered, both sweet and savory!

We always look forward to this event so once we were in, we headed over to pick up the tasting card they offer.  For only $25 + tax, the tasting card includes generous portions of six yummy treats. These cards are sold at numerous locations.  The card works good for us, as we share the items.  There are some  I don’t eat so it works out great, although this time there was only one I didn’t like. I have to say I am glad to see they took the alligator bites off this year. 🙂  FYI – there are many other items to try while there other than what is on the card.

Tasting card in hand, we were ready to get our boysenberry on!  Could you tell someone was anxious?

We decided to start with the Buffalo Wings.  Well Dave did, as I don’t like those. He was hungry and this would be a good start to tie him over.

anxiously awaiting his wings

Boysenberry Buffalo Wings

The boys loved their wings!

Next up was the Ravioli.  I had heard mixed reviews on this, but we wanted to try it so we headed to the next spot.  We had a little bit of a line there but it moved quick.  I actually liked them but the taste is hard to describe. You need to try them yourself and be the judge.

Boysenberry Ravioli

While we were in line waiting for these, Dave spotted the Nutella Crepe station next to it and he had to have one! This item was not on the card, but a separate purchase, and so worth it!

He hung out with his new buddy, Clifford while he made this deliciousness.

Clifford did an amazing job and created this fancy crepe just for us to post here on my blog.   It was delicious but it was too much for one person, so we shared.

Nutella Crepe deliciousness!

Next up, the Boysenberry Pizza, which to me did not look or sound appetizing.  Probably because it had arugula and ham and I like neither.  Dave decided to take a break on this one so it was all me.   This was the longest line we stood in all day and it wasn’t worth it.  I had to eat it though, it was on the card!

                                                             Boysenberry Pizza

Once I pulled off the toppings I didn’t like, it wasn’t too bad.  😉

Next up, a returning item, meatballs.   We both really liked these last year as they had boysenberry BBQ sauce on them.  Weird, right, but it works!

Boysenberry BBQ Meatballs

Just as good as last year so we fought over the last one.  We ended up splitting it. Sharing is caring, as they say.

On to the Boysenberry Fry Bread.  I was warned this was messy so ask for a plate and grab a fork and knife.  This was a doughnut like pastry.  It was a little chewy but definitely good.   We shared this as well because, let’s be honest, at this point we were getting full.

Boysenberry Fry Bread

Last on our list for the tasting card was Panna Cotta, which also a repeat from last year. We both liked it last year so we were ok with this one being on there again.

Boysenberry Panna Cotta

At this point we were full of food and decided it was time for some wine and beer tasting. Neither of us are big drinkers but we really enjoy the Boysenberry Hard Cider they serve during this time.   Time to head over to the Wine and Craft Brew Garden, or as us passholders call it – “The Beer Barn”   This is located inside of Ghost Town’s Wilderness Dance Hall, and offers 4 craft brews and over 50 different wines from 36 producers including boysenberry beer and boysenberry wine. The wine selections represent 27 renowned wine regions from 8 countries. (per Knott’s website)

We decided to purchase the convenient tasting card for  $25, which includes 6 tastings paired with snacks.  I was happy we got this because while I was inline for the cider, the couple in front of me purchased a beer for $11 and some change. Hell I was getting 6 for $25!  DEAL!

Tasting card with Boysenberry Hard Cider

Snacks that came with the tasting card

We spent about an hour or so just sitting over in the outside area by the barn chatting with friends and enjoying the perfect weather.   It was a nice day to be outside in sunny So Cal.

This is a look inside the Barn.

There are many other things to do while visiting the festival.  Many vendors have booths throughout the streets of Ghost Town selling their crafts and goodies.   There is also plenty of entertainment, none of which we had a chance to see, so maybe when we return.  One of the things you can do is make your own mini boysenberry pie.

Step inside a Cordelia Knott’s kitchen where you can find fresh boysenberry pie available for sale. Kids can also make their very own delightfully sweet boysenberry tarts complete with a crumble topping. Additional cost applies for pie making.

 

Here are some miscellaneous shots from around the park I took as we tried to walk off all the food that we just consumed.  The flowers are gorgeous during this time of year at the park.

Make sure you stop in at Ghost Town Hall and catch the History of Boysenberry Presentation and watch the documentary about Walter & Cordelia Knott and the boysenberry.

As you head out, don’t forget to pick up your favorite boysenberry treat to take home with you.  They have many items to choose from.  Some items are only brought out during this festival, so grab them while you can.  They also have some cute shirts for sale at $9.99 + tax.  I of course got the pink one.

For your final stop as you make your way to the exit, do not forget to pick up a boysenberry plant of your own to take home with you.

As always we had a FUNtastic time at the annual Boysenberry Festival and highly recommend it! Everything we ate was BERRY good! Pun intended.

Here are the goodies we took home.

We have used the BBQ sauce before and have had the licorice.  We bought 3 of the licorice because they are only sold during this time.  The salad dressing is new this year and had just come out that week.  I tried it and it is good but not sure I would do it again. To me it almost had no taste.

 

So that is our SPIN on this years Boysenberry Festival.  We will be going back, as we still have two punches left on our wine and beer tasting card and they are NOT going to waste 🙂

Thanks Knott’s we had a BERRY, BERRY good time!

WonderCon Returns to Anaheim

This year WonderCon (WC) returned to Anaheim to the Convention Center,  from 3/31/2017 – 4/2/2017 after last years temporary location at the LA Convention Center.   I tell you what, that made us very happy, as we skipped last year as LA is not just a quick trip to Anaheim where we can just say , “hey let’s drop in on WonderCon for a bit” Round trip to the convention center is 12 miles, needless to say, that is very convenient.

This year they had some new security in place. Ok, to be honest, I am not sure if they did it last year when it was in LA, but I know they did it in San Diego for Comic Con.  If you didn’t have a ticket to get in you couldn’t even get past the security.  Once you picked up your actual badge you had to scan said badge to exit/enter every time you decided to go in or out.  They are enabled with RIF (Radio Frequency Identification).

As always, comic book and cosplay fans of all walks of life descended on this convention in full force. The weather was nice but got a little warm at some points of the weekend, but nothing unbearable, unless you were in full costume.

DISCLOSURE –  We attend these conventions as media/press so the celebrity photos are watermarked from the outlet we shoot for. They are posted on a website for purchase by magazines/websites ect.  Therefore, we usually spend most of our time shooting pressrooms for television shows, new and old , so that is where most of our time was spent.  I did get some time on Saturday to roam the floor to check out the booths and visit friends as well as take in the variety of cosplay costumes wandering. Those photos to follow.

I attended all 3 days to cover the pressrooms throughout the weekend.   It was the first time ever that I attended and covered 2 days of a convention on my own as media and had Dave join me only for the last day.   I did wander the floor for a bit  on Friday then headed upstairs to shoot the first pressroom.  I have to admit, I was pretty nervous never having shot a pressroom by myself before. Thankfully the first one I walked into, I saw a few familiar faces from San Diego Comic Con and they were very welcoming, but of course I got the standard “where’s Dave” but after that, it was easy breezy.

The first one I was going to shoot was for Prison Break  http://www.fox.com/prisonbreak,

I am a BIG fan of Prison Break and was super excited when I heard it was coming back. It made it’s return on Tuesday April 4, 2017.  I watched and was happy how good it was.  It was like it never ended and it was great to see a lot of the original cast is back. The cast had a busy week promoting the show around LA, so the talent that showed up for the WC pressroom was light, but hey, we got the 2 main characters and a new one to boot 🙂

Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller

Inbar Lavi

Dominic Purcell/Wentworth Miller                   Inbar Lavi

Next up was Imaginary Mary,  http://abc.go.com/shows/imaginary-mary/about-the-show  a new show on ABC that had a sneak peek a few days prior to WC.   I watched it and was on the fence as to if I would watch again.  It was cute enough but not sure it was good enough to suck me in.   I recorded it again this week, so only time will tell.  The 2 main characters showed up for this one.  Imaginary Mary was wandering around, but sadly she didn’t show up for photos

Jenna Elfman

Stephen Schneider

Imaginary Mary

             Jenna Elfman               Stephen Schneider          Imaginary Mary

Last one for the day was Riverdale, http://www.cwtv.com/shows/riverdale/  a new show that debuted on January 26, 2017.  I didn’t realize this was based on the Archie comic, which I should have, being that the WB has become, what I call, “The Comic Book” Station 🙂   I was immediately sucked in to this show, as it wasn’t at all what I expected.  Check it out if you haven’t yet!  It’s fun!  Here is my group shot of the cast that showed up and a few individual shots as well.  This room was a lot of fun and the cast was very friendly!

Marisol Nichols, Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart, Mädchen Amick, Luke Perry, Ashleigh Murray, K.J. Apa, Cole Sprouse

Camila Mendes

K.J. Apa & Luke Perry

Cole Sprouse

Marisol Nichols

Madchen Amick

Ashleigh Murray

Lili Reinhart

K.J. Apa

That was the end of my day 1.  I was exhausted and headed home to get the photos up for the site.

Day 2 I had more time to wander the floor and see the people and vendors (see photo gallery at bottom)   Since I was on the floor early, I had a chance to stop and chat with Margaret Kerry,  the original alter-ego, Actor,  and reference Model, for the famous Pixie, Tinkerbell, from Walt Disney’s Peter Pan –  http://www.tinkerbelltalks.com/   She is one of the sweetest ladies ever and she loves to tell you stories of all the things she has done and she may even slip into one of her voices while telling you one, if you are lucky.  It’s very interesting to talk with her for sure, so next time you are at a convention and she is there, stop by and say hi, you won’t be disappointed

Margaret Kerry

Margaret Kerry and I

Next up – off to the only pressroom for the day for Midnight Texas, http://www.nbc.com/midnight-texas?nbc=1,  a new show that is premiering on July 24, 2016.  Here is a little rundown of what the show is about  –  The town of Midnight sits on a veil between the living and hell. This supernatural thriller takes a journey into a remote Texas town called Midnight where nothing is what it seems. Where being normal is strange and only outsiders fit in, Midnight is a mysterious safe haven for those who are different – a perfect place for anyone looking to hide from the outside world.

I am not sure I will watch this one.  I did see a little sneak peek, and it has potential so I may tune in for the first episode and go from there.

Arielle Kebbel, Jason Lewis, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Dylan Bruce, Sarah Ramos, Francois Arnaud

On Saturday I made a visit to one of the booths that is at pretty much all the conventions, Cinema Makeup School  http://www.cinemamakeup.com/  It is a school that offers up-to-date education to aspiring makeup and special effects technicians. If you are familiar with the show Face Off on the SyFy channel, many of the artist that are in this booth are from that show  http://www.syfy.com/faceoff .  It is always a fun booth to stop by as they are always creating some interesting characters.  You may need to stop by a few times throughout the day to see the progress and then finally the finished product.  Here are the ones that they created on Saturday.

These cute little cosplayers below are the kids of a few of my friends.  Don’t they look great?  You can follow the little guy on the right on his facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Shadow-Brothers-Cosplay-1898304483733873/

Here a few of the others that I shot on Saturday before heading home for the night.  A little of everything.  Who would have thought,  a pink Chewy?

On to Day 3, the final day, Sunday, where  my partner in crime joined me finally. I decided not to shoot the pressrooms that day and let him handle them, after all, he is the professional –  You can check out more of his work here  https://www.facebook.com/dstarphotographyoc/ and follow him on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dstarphotography/

Up first was Lucifer, http://www.fox.com/lucifer, which is a show that we both absolutely love.  Unfortunately only 3 of the cast members were able to attend.  Tom Ellis, who plays Lucifer and D.B. Woodside, who plays his brother, Amenadiel did not attend due to the fact they were filming and according to the show writers, the location was only available at 2:30 in the morning.  The show returns in May 2017 after a short break.

Rachel Harris

Kevin Alejandro

Lesley-Ann Brandt

Next up, Gotham http://www.fox.com/gotham, which is also another show I watch.  I really like this show.  I was hesitant to watch when it started because I am not a big comic book fan (I know, if I don’t like comics, why do I go to all these conventions?) but I got sucked in fast and LOVE it now!

Jennifer Lucas, Camren Bicondova, Cory Michael Smith, Erin Richard,s, David Mazouz, Drew Powell

Cory Michael Smith

Drew Powell

Jessica Lucas

Erin Richards

David Mazouz

Camren Bicondova

Well that was it for our pressrooms this year at WonderCon, so we decided to wander a bit and Dave took a few cosplay photos.  He is very picky on what he shoots when it comes to these photos.  Here are the ones he took.

This brought our day to an end and our 2017 WonderCon experience to a close and we had a great time.  Dave had one day of fun and I had 3 days of fun and a lot of running around.   I did a total of 35,017 steps and with all the standing I did, trust me I felt it.

Here are some photos of the few friends we ran into while running around all weekend.  I know there were many more that we missed, so hopefully next time, but for the ones we did see, I am glad we did!

Here are the shots of some of the various booths around the floor.

I will leave you with a few shots of the crowd, with a shot from the third floor balcony of the convention center and of the lobby.  These crowds are minimal compared to San Diego.  🙂

Until next year WonderCon, we will see you all at San Diego Comic Con.

This IS Cindy’s Spin!  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the adventure! Until next time~

Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. March 10th through April 16th.

We decided to venture out and check out the DCA Food & Wine Festival this past weekend. As a Passholder, they give you the option to purchase the Sip and Savor Pass for a price of $45.00.  If you choose to do this, you should also pick up the Tasting Passport, which lists all the tasting stations and what they serve. It also lets you know what is gluten friendly, vegetarian and kid friendly, which is nice for those of you looking for those options in particular. You can check  off the items you eat as you go and get a stamp of completion at each station. It was a fun thing to do.  Once you take the tab off and hand it to the cashier they hand you an AP pin.  Each station has a different color, but they are the same pin.

The pass

We purchased our pass to share.  Trust me, it is plenty for 2 people, plus I am a picky eater so he got to eat most of the items.  The pass is good for all food, desserts and drinks – non alcoholic only.  We opted to only use it for food and if we want to try any of the non alcoholic drinks or desserts, we would pay for them separately.  This worked out well because at the end of the day I added up the total for the foods we chose and it came out to over $56.00.  Everything was between $4.50 and $7.75. We purchased 2 desserts and one drink as well.  Now, before we move on to the food, we had to stop to take our AP photos, right? 🙂

Our nice one

We like to have fun 🙂

Ok, so now to the good stuff, right?  THE FOOD!  Now these are just the ones we decided to try with our pass, you can pick whatever sounds or looks good to you and these were ours.

Bay Shrimp Louie Salad in a mini bread bowl

French Onion Mac & Cheese w/parmesan crumble & chives – this was yummy!

Passioni Fruit Posset & Coconut chia with mango passion compote

another view of this dessert

Grilled Beef tenderloin slider with garlic chimichurri sauce

Sweet corn nuggets with beef chili, spring onions & sour cream

Roasted cauliflower & meyer lemon-infused Oikos Greek nonfat yogurt cauliflower puree with sun dried tomatoes & fried capers

Meyer Lemon macaron with blueberry marmalade, meyer lemon cream  & blueberry dust

Baby iceburg & heirloom tomato wedge with peppered bacon & point reyes blue cheese dressing

Warm Olive focaccia with olive oil & sea salt

Creamy artichoke & dark chocolate cake pop

another view of the cake pop

the inside of the cake pop- hence the creamy artichoke

So there you have it,  the choices that we made with our pass.  Dave’s favorite was the Grilled Beef tenderloin slider with garlic chimichurri sauce.  In fact, he liked it so much that we used 2 of our tabs for that.  My favorite was the French Onion Mac & Cheese w/parmesan crumble & chives, minus the onions.  I am not a fan of onions.  I did taste the sweet corn nuggets, and they were really good.   Finally, Dave got me to try the Artichoke cake pop and I do not like artichokes but surprisingly it was really good.   Maybe it was the chocolate that masked the taste, or maybe it was how it was whipped into like a cream like paste.  I wouldn’t eat a whole one, but a taste was sufficient.

My least favorite that I chose was the Warm Olive focaccia with olive oil & sea salt.  It was green olives and I don’t like them but they were easy to pick out.  The sea salt was good on the bread, but to me it was just really dry.  I picked this one for the last tab as I didn’t want to duplicate,  I wanted to pick something I thought I would like, but ended up not liking it so much

Dave’s least favorite was the Roasted cauliflower & meyer lemon-infused Oikos Greek nonfat yogurt cauliflower puree with sun dried tomatoes & fried capers.  He indicated that it was cold and would have been better if it was warm.   He went back to the booth and asked if it was supposed to be cold and they told him it was supposed to be served at room temperature. He did not agree.

All in all we were definitely full at the end of the day and satisfied with what we got for the $45.  Granted Dave ate most of the food, but hey, that’s normal.

 

 

At the end of the day, this is how our completed lanyard looked.  I think I missed  a total of 2 of the AP pins, but I did ok.  On a side note, the sharp part of these pins is longer than the button so I kept getting poked with them.

 

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of other things you can to at this event, if you don’t want to eat.  Wine education and tasting seminars, Brewmaster Beer Dinners, Winemaker Dinners, Sweet Sundays and In the Kitchen With, which includes celebrity chefs..  These are all at an additional cost, so make sure check them out on the Disneyland Website.

Overall we had a great time and would do it again.  If you are at the park and are looking for something different to do, this is definitely worth checking out and have fun with it, like we did!

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, just ask.

Now here are some random, around the park photos for you.

Until next time-  This IS Cindy’s Spin.  😉

AP Days return Feb 10 to Mar 9 at Disneyland Park

This February, Disneyland decided to bring back their AP Days but this time at Disneyland Park instead of California Adventures.  It runs daily from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM  located at the AP Welcome Center at Tomorrowland Starcade.  This time it was geared towards the Electrical Parade that they have brought back for a limited run. It runs nightly now through June 18, 2017.  Each week they would hand out a new button with one of the beloved characters featured in the parade.

Of course , I was going to make a point to get there every week to collect the button.  Along with obtaining the button there was also an opportunity for a photo op with some rare character appearances.  That being said, Disney always had their little twist to throw in there.   One line for buttons, (which was always quick and fast) and one line for people to wait in to get into the photo op area and where they were selling the AP Merchandise (limited edition, of course)

We made a point to check it out on the first Saturday and see how the whole thing was going to be done.  Well it was a mess.  The line to get into the AP area for the photo op started over at the old Captain EO queue line.   It was pretty long but moved pretty fast.   Once you got closer to entering, they would scan your AP pass again so you could enter.   Once inside they had the Electrical Parade photo op that you had to take with your own camera.  There were no cast members there to help out or stop people from walking through your photo.  We should be used to that at a theme park, but this was inside and should have been a controlled environment.

The character photo op was in the back corner (behind this op)  We were unaware that you had to get a fast pass for that.  We headed over to the table to have our passes scanned and the return time was about 3 hours later.  We didn’t want to come back, so we skipped it.

 We did however return the following Saturday and they had changed the EP photo op inside.  They now had it roped off and a cast member photographer was there to take your photo.  They also had a line set up so it was way more organized.  The below photo is one of the ones he took for us on his camera.  Needless to say it was dark and Dave, the professional so wanted to fix his settings, but we know the Disney photographers have to use the settings they are told lol.

Got our fast pass returns this time and it was only an hour later so we left and got something to eat. Upon returning we got right in line and it went fast.  This weeks characters that we got were Prince John and  The Sherriff of Nottingham.  It was a fun photo op

So all in all we returned every week for the button and photo op.  Here are the 4 buttons we received.

We had fun doing this, but it is a commitment when sometimes you just don’t feel like dealing with the crowds.  Yesterday (3/4/17)  was our last trip and the photo op was Liver Lips and friends from Bear Country Jamboree!  They were a lot of fun.

 

So on side note, in between all  of this, The Red Rose Tavern opened and the obtaining of the rose cup became all the rage.   I was one of the fortunate ones that was able to obtain one, along with tasting the “grey stuff” which to me was not delicious but was just ok.

We had 4 busy Saturdays in a row on our mission to get these buttons and the rose cup.  Granted, I made a solo trip the 3 weekend because Dave had a busy weekend with shooting at the Oscars, but it was ok because he probably would have gone crazy waiting in a 1.5 hour line for a cup.

 I was also able to capture these photos while waiting in line for the cup –  Have to say Gaston was pretty entertaining

So until next time, that is Cindy’s Spin.

 Thanks for reading.