Bring on CarsLand! A Fun-Filled Mother-Daughter Birthday Trip! FINAL UPDATES 9/8!!!!

[RGirl]

All caught up! I just came over from your WDW/DCL TR .

Hello!!! Thank you so much for joining in!

We might be going to DL in Feb so reading this is giving me an idea of what to expect if/when we head to the west coast!

Oh, how exciting! I hope you will make the trip - it is such a fun place!

Thanks for sharing, it is nice to see what DL is like!!

Thanks! I hope you will continue to join in.

Pixie hollow is so cute! I live the tiny little boat in the pond!

It's a very well done queue, isn't it?

Have you ever seen haunted mansion when they have the nightmare before Christmas overlay on? I saw pictures in other TRs and it looks so cool! We love haunted mansion anytime, but with nightmare added? We'd be in heaven!

I've only seen the pictures. Actually, this was the first time I had done HM at DL since I was a kid - I can't remember why we didn't do it on the prior trip - maybe refurb?

Ooooo, tiana's dress is so pretty!! I love princess and the frog!

We always love meeting Tiana - she is always so sweet, and I am crazy about her dress!

Willows goofy pictures face is cracking me up!

I have no idea where that face came from!

 

[RGirl]

A Trip through Space and Some Dinner​

We had boarded our train at about 4:40 and were back in Tomorrowland shortly thereafter. We had FPs to use!

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We had an awesome ride, of course, and another ridiculous ride photo!

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We decided to walk back to New Orleans Square where we had a dinner reservation.

Here’s that pretty pool again - now that the sun was going down, the lights were coming on.

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We had to stop for some pics with the lit-up castle as well.

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We continued on. Past the Jolly Holiday bakery…

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...into Adventureland…

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The HM line had grown much longer.

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Willow wanted to do it again, so we got in line.

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But she soon changed her mind. We were HUNGRY. Our Day of Snacks had been more like a Day of Snack, so even though our reservation wasn’t until 6:00, we headed over to Cafe Orleans and checked in at about 5:25.

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Luckily, they were able to seat us pretty quickly. This was the view from our outdoor table.

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Oh, BTMRR, we sure missed you on this trip. BTMRR was under a pretty lengthy refurb while we were there (the danger of traveling during the off season).

Here, have a look at what Cafe Orleans has to offer.

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This was SO pleasant sitting out here, chatting, doing the kids menu activities together, etc. We were just so happy!

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We both enjoyed pomegranate lemonades.

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Willow has always wanted to try gumbo, thanks to Tiana, so we ordered some.

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Unfortunately, it was a little too spicy for her, and I was pretty sure that it was thickened with flour, so we didn’t really eat this. I bet it is good though!

We also ordered the Pommes Frites.

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And the house salad.

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Because Willow couldn’t/wouldn’t eat the gumbo, we ended up adding a mac and cheese at some point too. If memory serves, our kind server didn’t even charge us for this because Willow hadn’t liked the gumbo - so unnecessary, but so sweet.

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We really enjoyed this meal. The food was nice, and the atmosphere was wonderful. We had had such an amazingly fun day, and it was so nice to sit down for a bit, have some food, and chat. Perfection!

Up Next: Disneyland Still Has a ToonTown!

 

[RGirl]

Disneyland Still Has a ToonTown!​

After dinner, we once again hopped on the train - this time destination ToonTown!

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Willow was really excited to do the Roger Rabbit ride because we had missed it last time and, in anticipation of the trip, she had gotten the movie for Christmas.

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Unfortunately, it was down, so we headed on.

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We had to stop at Mickey’s house, of course!

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And there’s a Mickey meet-and-greet when you go all the way through the house.

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Up Next: Disneyland Still Has a ToonTown! (cont.)

 

[RGirl]

Disneyland Still Has a ToonTown! (cont.)​

Of course, we had to stop by Minnie’s house next!

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I think this is in Minnie’s backyard gazebo.

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We toured ToonTown a little more and then headed back to Roger Rabbit, which was up and running!

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This ride was actually quite a bit more fun than I remembered - it’s neat that the cars actually spin instead of just riding on through.

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Willow was all about this photo op for some reason.

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Up Next: Some Nighttime Rides and Do We Actually See Some Fireworks?

 

[STLMickeyMom]

The park at night looks so pretty! I love the lit up castle pics.

I've always wondered what gumbo tasted like too, but I always thought there was seafood of some sort in it and I really don't like seafood.

Love the toon town pictures! I miss those at wdw!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Well glad I got here for this update ...my timing has been right on

You are SO lucky re-Toon Town Don't know what the heck they were thinking with WDW when it came to that whole area. So sad. LOVE the pictures especially Willow on Pluto's dog bed

Dinner: I knew the minute I started reading the menu that no matter what happened & what was on there some how, some way, Willow's infamous Mac N Cheese would get to the table I'm sure she will tell Tiana what she thought of the gumbo Love that child's spirit

 

[hstrickland]

Ya know, I had basically forgotten about Roger Rabbit. I remember the movie many years ago. You don't hear much about him anymore, and didn't even know that ride existed.


Your "snack" day sounds like a winner to me We've never done that, however....I'm thinking it might be a good idea. The kids would love it! Too bad about that gumbo. It looked really good. That stuff usually is spicy (at least around here). Stephen can handle it, but my other two - not even a little.


Glad to know you'll have another TR up and running next month And look at your ticker!!!!!!!!

 

[amandaw]

Love the ride photo from Space Mountain!

I'm really excited yet kind of scared to try any of the restaurants in New Orleans Square. The food looks and sounds so good but I'm afraid it will never live up to the "real" deal here at home. Though I must say that the gumbo looked delicious!! And you're spot on about there being flour in it. You start gumbo with a roux which is made from flour and oil.

Glad y'all were able to get on the Roger Rabbit ride later that night. I loved that movie as a kid and even had the Nintendo game.

 

[Mut1ny]

Great report

 

[RGirl]

The park at night looks so pretty! I love the lit up castle pics.

Ugh - it is beautiful. One of the pluses to being there in winter - getting to see everything lit up before the late-night hours.

I've always wondered what gumbo tasted like too, but I always thought there was seafood of some sort in it and I really don't like seafood.

I believe it usually includes shrimp at least, although there are lots of varieties. I forgot about your dislike of seafood! ALL seafood?????

Love the toon town pictures! I miss those at wdw!

It was really fun to be in Toon Town again. Willow really enjoyed it too.

Well glad I got here for this update ...my timing has been right on

Go Ruthie! Go Ruthie! FOUR DAYS until our next trip!! Not sure I'm going to get this one finished before we go.

You are SO lucky re-Toon Town Don't know what the heck they were thinking with WDW when it came to that whole area. So sad. LOVE the pictures especially Willow on Pluto's dog bed

It was really nice to get to be in Toon Town again. Willow is still just young enough to really enjoy it - it helps that she appreciates the magic of Disney so much. She still wants to experience all the little nooks and crannies of the character bourses.

Dinner: I knew the minute I started reading the menu that no matter what happened & what was on there some how, some way, Willow's infamous Mac N Cheese would get to the table I'm sure she will tell Tiana what she thought of the gumbo Love that child's spirit

I swear - she does NOT live on a diet of mac and cheese at home!

Ya know, I had basically forgotten about Roger Rabbit. I remember the movie many years ago. You don't hear much about him anymore, and didn't even know that ride existed.

Yeah, I tend to forget about it too. That's why I made a point of taking Willow on it this year - I totally forgot about it last time!

Your "snack" day sounds like a winner to me We've never done that, however....I'm thinking it might be a good idea. The kids would love it! Too bad about that gumbo. It looked really good. That stuff usually is spicy (at least around here). Stephen can handle it, but my other two - not even a little.

I think our Snack Day would have been really fun if either one of us had remembered to stop to actually GET a snack more than once or twice. Maybe we'll try it again on this trip - I think we have one day with no specific dining plans. Hmmmmmm

Glad to know you'll have another TR up and running next month And look at your ticker!!!!!!!!

Right????? I am SO not ready - with Willow being sick half of last week and all weekend, I am WAY behind. I finally did force myself tonight to gather all my scraps of paper and type up an itinerary - planning for a trip that covers three states, EIGHT different overnight stays (including 6 nights at DLH) and a lot of special DLR plans, well, it hasn't been easy, and I have been terribly unorganized about it. DLR does not allow you to book anything very early, and once you can book a few things, other things are still unavailable. So I have had a much harder time with my planning! Especially factoring in all the non-Disney stuff - most of which we are just going to play by ear because I have no idea how much traffic we'll run into and such. Yikes!

Love the ride photo from Space Mountain!

I am SO happy that Disney added ride photos to PP (or MM, I guess, now at WDW).

I'm really excited yet kind of scared to try any of the restaurants in New Orleans Square. The food looks and sounds so good but I'm afraid it will never live up to the "real" deal here at home. Though I must say that the gumbo looked delicious!! And you're spot on about there being flour in it. You start gumbo with a roux which is made from flour and oil.

I felt that way about dining at the WL, but it was excellent. I guess you can't expect it to be exactly "right," but it still may be fun. On the other hand, there are tons of other things for you to try.

Oh, yes, I do know that gumbo is usually thickened with a roux. But I have found recently that a lot of places (especially Disney, of course) have surprised me by thickening things without a roux in order to make them gluten-free without having to do anything special. (Not sure that it would be possible with gumbo and the super-dark roux used in that dish.) I was actually able to order clam chowder at a little restaurant on the coast a couple of years ago! I was thrilled!!!

Glad y'all were able to get on the Roger Rabbit ride later that night. I loved that movie as a kid and even had the Nintendo game.

Oh wow - you are definitely going to have to go on that ride!

Great report

Thank you! And thank you even more for taking the time to comment. I hope you'll continue to read along and pop in from time to time.

 

[RGirl]

Some Nighttime Rides and Do We Actually See Some Fireworks???​

After ToonTown, we wanted to head toward the castle to stake out a spot for the fireworks. Of course, we couldn’t pass up the lure of the single-rider line at the Matterhorn.

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Once again, a friendly CM seated us in the same ride vehicle.

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We wandered on, and made a quick detour to spin around in the teacups. It was about 7:30, and I think the fireworks were scheduled for 8:30 this evening, so we still had time. I LOVE the way the teacups look at DL.

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After that, we headed to Main Street and found a curb to sit on while we waited for the fireworks. It was fun seeing everything lit up and watching all the people.

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Willow saved our spot while I ran to the popcorn cart (don't worry - just steps away from our corner) and got us a snack.

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Soon, this was our view.

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It was getting crowded! A large group of young Japanese teens - students, I’m guessing - sat down right near us. One of the adults with them had purchased a huge amount of small bags of flavored popcorn and was handing them out to all the teens in the group. And then he gave one to Willow too! It was so sweet, and just the kind of thing that adds to the magic of Disney.

On the other side of us was a group of women - a few generations of them. One of them (the grandmother) actually had managed to get a seat on the bench right next to our curb hang-out. When the show started, she moved to sit on the back of the bench and then let Willow come and stand on the seat in front of her. Again, I love it when other guests add to the magic!

And we totally enjoyed the show! We have NEVER managed to see regular Wishes at the Magic Kingdom at WDW (only HalloWishes), so Willow had never seen Tinkerbell fly before. We both loved it!!! Unfortunately, I don’t have any great pics to share, but here are a few to at least prove we saw the show.

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Phew! Sorry that was kind of a lot. I’m just so excited that we actually managed to see some fireworks for once!!!

Up Next: Everyone Should Experience CarsLand at Night!

 

[Luvchefmic]

So sorry Willow was sick...poor kid Hope she is much better now Nice when people around you for parades or fireworks are so sweet it does make it more magical !

re-MacNCheese I totally get it when my grandson was about her age
it was his " go to " food too He's now 13 don't think he's touched it in years


4 days such fun !

 

[RGirl]

Everyone Should Experience CarsLand at Night!​

Obviously from the update title, we did not head back to the hotel after the fireworks. We still had those RSR FPs to use tonight! Even though our FP window hadn’t opened yet, we headed straight from DL over to CA and then back to CarsLand - we were both really excited to see CarsLand at night lit up with all the neon.

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I knew we needed to use PP here so that I would have some DECENT pics of CarsLand at night!

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By this point, our FP window was open, and we headed back to RSR.

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And discovered the ride was down. Well, we weren’t giving up that easily. We took the opportunity to check out more of CarsLand. We meandered through Flo’s (QS) to see what it looked like.

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When we stepped out of Flo’s, we saw this guy out for a spin.

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We followed him over to the meet-and-greet spot by the Cozy Cone. He was very friendly and excited about Willow’s birthday.

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After visiting with Lightening, we decided to check on the state of RSR. It was about 9:30 at this point. Luckily, RSR was up and running!

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We were so excited to try this ride in the dark.

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And it did not disappoint!!! Loved Ornament Valley at night and racing through the dark at the end.

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It was getting late at this point, so we exited CA through the Grand Californian and made our way back “home.”

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We were back in the room and getting ready for bed at about 10:20. What a great day!!

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Up Next: Some Last Must-Do’s at Disneyland

 

[RGirl]

So sorry Willow was sick...poor kid Hope she is much better now Nice when people around you for parades or fireworks are so sweet it does make it more magical !

Thanks Ruthie - she is just fine. I'm still battling the same thing I've been dealing with for the last 2 or 3 months, but I'm hoping the fourth antibiotic will finally kill it and the trip will be fabulous, although I know it will still be great even if it is still lingering.

You hear so many negative things about tour groups, it was really cool to have them sit down with us and then make a little bit of magic with us. They all seemed like sweet kids having a great time together.

re-MacNCheese I totally get it when my grandson was about her age
it was his " go to " food too He's now 13 don't think he's touched it in years

You know, I have never fed her boxed or otherwise packaged mac and cheese at home, and until a couple of years ago, she wouldn't eat it in restaurants. But boy did that change on our last WDW trip! I don't get too worked up about it - I know she eats healthy, homemade food at home - vacation is for letting go of the day-to-day and just having fun.

4 days such fun !

As usual, after the long wait, it has suddenly sneaked up on me, and I'm totally not prepared! I just realized that I need to somehow fit in getting my car serviced before we leave! Thanks goodness I managed to get the cracked windshield replaced last week. Stupid cars.....

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like a fun night!

I am very excited about riding the teacups at night in DLR! They just look beautiful and, for some reason, seem more Alice-y to me.

Glad y'all got to see Wishes and that y'all were surrounded by nice people.

Carsland looks so cool @ night! I bet RSR is really fun at night. I'll have to work on getting us a nighttime FP next year.

 

[hstrickland]

LOVE the nighttime pics, Roni!!! Isn't it great that Willow is getting a little older and can stay out later??!! Disney is so different at night.


Wish I could ride all those spinney rides like you....they just make me sick now. It's great that you can experience those with Willow.


And yay for the fireworks and seeing Tink!! When I was looking at your firework pictures, I got chills Now, the next time you venture to WDW, you HAVE to see Wishes And if you want a really good spot to see Tinkerbelle, do the Dessert Party at MK (loved it!!)


Carsland looks so different at night, doesn't it?! Wow! And it looked like lots more people, too.


Random thought ....you're completely done with the other TR, right? Make sure you PM me when you're posting your new one I don't want to miss it

Hope you're getting things packed! Just a few days away!!!!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I just love all the pics of everything lit up!! The tea cups--our family fave!--look so cute!! Love the action shot of willow spinning!

I'm so glad you got to finally see some fireworks and had so much pixie dust sprinkled on you by the people around you. That always makes me so happy when strangers are so kind there!

Carsland looks awesome at night! I'm glad RSR was back up for you.

It's so cool how you can get back to your hotel (and everywhere) so quickly at DL! I'll enjoy that when we finally get to go!

P.S. The only seafood I eat is tuna (from those pouches, not tuna steaks) and fish stick type stuff. There's just something about it that does not appeal to me. Plus, DH is allergic to all seafood, so we never have it anyway. I'm probably missing out on something yummy, but I'm ok with it!

 

[jedijill]

I love the firewworks! I was so sad that they cancelled the fireworks the night I stayed to see them.

Love Carsland at night! The Imagineers did an incredible job with the whole area.


Hope you guys are both feeling better!

Jill in CO

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Very impressive!! The pictures from the fireworks are pretty good

 

[DisneyJo]

Just catching up after 15 days in WDW and jetlag

How great that Willow loved the single rider line, you got so much done