1st timer becomes a 2nd timer! Two trip reports collide! Trip Reports Complete!

[smile4stamps]

AACK! In my attempt to keep this trip report moving I posted on a break I had on a day long meeting on Tuesday. In the process I forgot to mention my trip through a mansion. It would be the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion of course. I rode the Haunted Mansion ride after Big Thunder Mountain and before Pirates.

These pics were all taken with my phone so as to try and get pics without flash...

This time I had a doombuggy where I could actually hear the audio track. I love the themeing of the HMH. I think they do a really good job in turning the ride into the Nightmare before Christmas. I can't wait to ride the original version soon though!

So now we return to lunch at the Plaza.

I LOVE fried chicken! I think I mentioned in my first trip report that I had planned to eat here on that trip and ended up never doing so. I KNEW I was going to eat there this time! I didn't have many must eats but this was definitely one of them. I went to the counter and had them plate up my Chicken dinner.

It included a half of a fried chicken. (They call it 3 pieces but the wing is just still attached to the breast). Green Beans, Mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. I just had water with my meal to save a little $

(I started to peal the skin off before I took the picture.)

My hubby always laughs at me when I eat fried chicken. To me the best part is the skin so I take that off so I can eat it last. I always want the best part of my meal last!

So... how did this chicken measure up to my expectations? It was pretty darn good. I would definitely eat it again! Did I eat it all like I had devoured my Monte Cristo? No.. I ate the breast (and wing) and the leg. Most of my green beans (I see a lot of people complain about the beans but I liked them) and most of my mashed potatoes. I did get a container to put my thigh into to eat at a later time but I ended up never eating it since it had sat in my locker all day I didn't think it would be exactly safe and didn't want to chance getting sick on my trip.

From the Plaza I headed to my locker to put my jacket away as I was finally getting warm enough to be without it for a little while. I then headed into California Adventure to spend some time there. I grabbed a Fastpass for Soarin' (I'll explain why later) and had some charachter photos taken... I didn't have them taken on my camera though so will post the photos at the end of the trip report! I believe I then went to ride Grizzly River Rapids. I placed my belongings in a FREE locker and got in line. I TRIED to ride single rider but because the line was only about 10 minutes they wouldn't let me! It didn't stop me from riding it TWICE though! I didn't even get very wet! I think I was in the lucky spots!

After GRR I have absolutely NO idea what I did! I usually take pictures of everything as I go to refresh my memory but I appear to have missed taking pics the entire afternoon because I have no idea what I did until I headed back to Disneyland where I found some more Characters.

First up was Minnie (As a side note, this Minnie was SHORT, I went to crouch down to be equal with her but she made me stand up straight.)

After Minnie the Queen of Hearts was just coming out. I went to get behind her to form a line and ended up following her all over the square before she finally went back and settled into the place she started in!

From here I wanted to head to Splash Mountain while the temps were a little higher (and since I was a little damp from GRR) and I would hopefully have some time to dry out before the sun went down. I was going to take the Single Rider line in when I saw that some of my favorite pals were out visiting so I had to get in line.

The line was a little longer than it actually looked as our friends had to go get some honey and do a few bounces before they could meet more of their friends.

Finally it was my turn!

Unfortunately it was just Tigger and Pooh. I still need to meet Piglet & Eyeore!

Now it was time for Splash Mountain. I had succeeded so far in NOT getting soaked while I rode through on a log. Would my luck hold?

Um... NO! I got SOAKED on this trip! my jeans were completly soaked from thigh to feet! And the sun was rapidly setting! Brrr!

Was it going to stop me from having a good time. Definitely Not! Since I was in Critter Country I had to experience the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!

After my adventure I decided to head back to my locker to get my jacket as with the sun setting and wet jeans it was pretty darn chilly!

On my way back out I stopped to get my picture taken in front of Disneyland.

The adventure to continue...

 

[smile4stamps]

So I had excited DL to get my Jacket as it was getting chilly. When I re-entered the park I headed back through Fantasy Land and had a quick ride through Snow White's Scary Adventures with no wait and then headed towards Princess Fantasy Fair to see if I could catch some new Princesses without too long of a line.

I arrived back at PFF to find the line only covering slightly more than one row. This tends to equal a wait of about 30 minutes from my experience!

I was almost near the front when the Princesses had to take a break and change places. The Cast Member at the front said this group would only be there about 10 minutes and then the next/last group would be back out. In a went to see....

Belle! I believe this was the first time to meet Belle.

Ariel! 've met Ariel numerous times now...

and Tiana who I have also seen a few times...

When I was done with the Princesses I saw that there was pretty much no line left. PFF closes at 6pm and the Holiday Parade was scheduled to be at 6pm so most people were lines up for the parade. This worked to my advantage! I went to take some pictures of It's a Small World in all it's nighttime splendor.

The crowds were pretty good sized for the Parade but it was still before 6pm and since the Parade was starting on Main Street and heading this way we still had some time to wait so I headed back up to PFF to see if the last set of Princesses were out yet. The CM told me that they were not there yet. But there was NO line so I just stood off to the side and waited!

And it paid off as I only had that few minute wait and I got to see...

Cinderella (sorry blurry photo!)

Jasmine (again blurry... wth!)

and Aurora!

Aurora was the only one I had not met yet but with NO wait I was definitely not going to complain.

After meeting the last set of 3 princesses I was talking to the CM as I had not been able to meet Snow White yet after 3 attempts at seeing her at PFF. The very helpful CM told me that she is USUALLY there first thing in the morning. He said the first group of original 3 Princesses (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella) is out for about 40 minutes promptly when they open at 9pm and then after that it is completely random as to who will be there.

After gathering the above VERY useful info I headed back down to see if I could find a spot close to the parade without a huge mass of people in front of me. You may remember I have mentioned how I liked being solo as I could weasel my way into some prime spots. In this case I found a spot right in front of It's a Small World where a group was sitting on blankets and they had a few strollers behind them. I walked up to them and asked if they minded if I stand behind them in a small gap by the strollers. They said sure and I had a PRIME spot! I find this kind of funny but it wasn't the first time it happened. At first when I approached them they thought I was a CM asking them to move their strollers... apparently my jacket reminded people of the ones the CM's were wearing!

I don't have any pictures of the parade as I was flip recording it and I will post that when this TR concludes!

I really enjoyed the parade though! It was cute and except for some lights shining in my eyes every once in awhile it was an excellent viewing spot for a parade coming towards It's a Small World. I think if it was going the other direction the spot would not have been quite as nice but probably still good.

After the parade had completed it was probably almost 7pm so I headed back through FL towards the hub to see if I could see some of the Castle Lighting... It really is beautiful all done up for the holidays... Unfortunately I didn't grab any pictures this time and instead headed for another nighttime ride on the Jungle Cruise!

Because they only had 2 boats going the line took a little longer than it looked like it would. I enjoyed this ship captain more than my last nighttime one and after I had finished my cruise I decided I would call it a night and headed towards the front of the park to exit.

Instead of exciting though I found a few more friends!

Mickey!

And Goofy!

I also tried to get some pictures of the CALI letters but too many people made it hard!

I managed to get C

and A

It was then time to gather my belongings and head to the ART shuttle to get my ride back to the motel.

Once again I was the only one on the bus for the HOJO stop but another family forgot to get off at their stop so the driver just happened to ask if we were all for HoJo and they said no... The meant to get off at Peacock Suites. The driver asked if I minded if he went back around to drop them off. I said nope. I didn't mind. So he had to call dispatch and let them know. So back to Peacock we went and then onward to HoJo. I explained to the driver that I was actually staying at the Quality Inn but HoJo was the closest stop. So guess what! There wasn't anyone behind him when we got in front of the QI so he dropped me off right in front!

So All I had to do was cross the street and I was in a my room! Even more saved steps!

And that was it for my Wednesday at DL!

 

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Well I am just going to keep going on this Trip Report!

Thursday morning began with my packing up all my belongings. The QI was not available for my last night so I would be moving over to the HoJo. I grabbed something small for a quick bite to eat and a glass of OJ and I was off. I packed up my car and drove across the street. I went to check in but of course my room wasn't ready. I found a regular spot to park my car and went to wait for the the ART bus once again.

Arriving at DL I went to put my stuff in a locker again and into line at the gates. I again used the trick of waiting for the MM gates to close and quickly got into a line. FIRST!

Once inside it was to the rope at the end of main street. I had one spot in mind once they let us past main street. TO PFF of course to see if I could find Snow White in! When I reached PFF the line was actually longer than the night before so this had me scared! The CM from the night before had said if I was able to get into the first row and a half I should be okay for getting the first group of Princesses as they stay out for 40 minutes. I kept looking at the time and seeing the line move every so slowly.. Finally I was near the front and it was SO close to 30 minutes. I was on pins & needles hoping they would be there!

Finally it was my turn!

To find!

Cinderella!

Sleeping Beauty!

and Snow White!

I had accomplished the mornings goal and met Snow White!

From here I had to get to the Disneyland Hotel for my breakfast with Goofy and his friends. I headed to Tomorrowland to catch the Monorail to DtD so my walk would be shorter. However I was disheartened to discover it was not yet running!

So I walked... and took some pictures as I went...

...and finally reached the Disneyland Hotel.

Once there I was on the lookout. I was to meet a fellow Dis'r there. I had posted on the main DL board if there was anyone who wanted to join me for a Character Meal as it is really hard to get pictures when you are solo.

Someone had responded and I was so happy to not have to sit at a Character meal by myself!

I had just entered the lobby of the hotel and was looking around when in walked a couple. Luckily she had gotten a Birthday button and I could see it was the couple I was looking for!

We then checked in and got to meet with Pluto for some pictures.
But I apparently do not have them on my camera and Noreen has them!

We just had to wait a few minutes and we were seated.

Goofy came by to see us.

And Chip!

Dale

Goofy took a seat to visit with us...

And then WHO would come by.... Well the person I had just spent all morning waiting for of course!

I told Snow White I had just seen her and already had her autograph. She told me that every time I see her she can just add more hearts to her autograph....

Next up was a Hug from Baloo...

And a visit from someone I hadn't even thought about meeting... Mulan!

Here is Norene and I with Chip.

The Christmas Tree in the lobby of Goofy's kitchen.

Overall I enjoyed Goofy's Kitchen but not as much as I did Minnie's Breakfast the first time. The restaurant was actually pretty slow so I think the food was not being refreshed very often and therefor not very warm. Flavor wise I liked a number of things and will give GK a try another time.

I thank Norene and Marty for joining me for breakfast! It was fun getting to meet someone and spend a little time with someone other than myself!

After GK we headed out into the hallway where we got some more pictures.

I took a seat in Santa's Chair

I LOVED the wall of memorabilia!!

From here we headed back to Disneyland....

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Still here and still following along...just very quietly LOL

 

[smile4stamps]

Still here and still following along...just very quietly LOL

Yeah!! Thanks for reading!! I thought I had lost everyone with my long breaks!

 

[smile4stamps]

After our breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen we were heading back to Disneyland. I didn't really have any plans for the day and was having fun visiting with Norene and Marty so we were gonna go back to Disneyland and just hang out.

We walked around for a bit and then we saw Ariel by the Castle. She really didn't have a line so even though I had met her already I got in line for another picture.

Since I was there I got a few more pictures of the Castle in the daytime in its Christmas Finery.

Norene was going to get a Christmas Stocking for her granddaughter so we went to the Christmas Store on Main Street and looked around. While we were there I decided to go find out if Alice or Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Wendy or some other characters would be out today.

While I was doing that I turned and looked and saw Marty and Norene still at the Christmas store. However once I found out where some characters were and went back I couldn't find them anymore.

I had Norene's phone number from our PM's so called and left her a message thanking her for joining me for breakfast and to wish her a Happy Birthday!

Now I was off to try and find Alice in Wonderland and hopefully the Mad Hatter. I had been told that Alice was going to be in Fantasyland but they couldn't say where. So i headed to Fantasyland and was walking all around.. I couldn't find her though. In fact it was kinda strange in Fantasyland at this time! There was no sound and the rides were not operating! Apparently the area had run out of "Pixie Dust" and they were waiting for Tinkerbell to refill it!

So I wondered all around. Asking lots of CM's if they had seen Alice today. They all told me that she usually hangs out in front of the Teacups... However I was not seeing her!

In the meantime I had received a phone call from Norene... I didn't hear my phone ring though so a voicemail had been left. When I listened to it the message said that Alice was hanging out at Coke Corner! Ugh! I had wondered all around FL and she wasn't there!

I headed to Coke Corner then to see if she was still there.. Unfortunately she was gone... I then headed back to Town Square to see what characters were there.... While there I found Norene and Marty! She had brought the stocking there to get her granddaughters name stitched on it.

And some more character pictures!

I finally found me a Donald Duck!!

From here we headed back to Coke Corner to sit and people watch (and to see if we could find any characters coming out!)

And who did we see walk by but Mary Poppins... So I went to find where she had gone to!

I located her in the courtyard to the left of the castle. I think she was on her way somewhere but there was no line so I asked the mom of the only other group there if she would take my picture..

I told Mary Poppins that I had been told she wasn't going to be out today. She said "well that's just silly as I walked past her several time today"

After Meeting Mary Poppins I headed back to Coke Corner where Norene and Marty were still hanging out and I got a picture of Marty's Tattoo...

While we were sitting there who would show up again?

Alice!!

I told Alice I had searched for her earlier and couldn't find her. She said that the Queen had told her that there was a problem in Fantasyland and that she wasn't to go there earlier...

From here I parted ways with Norene and Marty as they were going to head out to head back home soon and I was going to see if I could find Aladdin in his Oasis...

And I did!
Along with the same Jasmine I had met several times!

From here I headed to DCA to spend some time over there today! I headed to Paradise Pier to see if I could get some pictures with Duffy but he was already in for the day. And the line for Santa was closed...

Finally I found Jessie and a Green Army Man...

And then just took a bunch of pictures...

After snapping the pictures and just hanging out I went to find a spot for the Pixar Play Parade. I found a GREAT spot right in front of the Wine Country Trattoria and the Golden Vine Wine Bar...

Again I recorded it so will post that soon!

Here's a cool pic of the Matterhorn from my current location though...

After the parade I hung out near the Wine Bar and Blue cellar Imagineering as I was going to be meeting Sara there when she got off of work and could get to the park. I played on the Trivia games for awhile.. looked at the What's Coming.. Got excited about Cars Land and Little Mermaid! And went and charged my cell phone by the pay phone in the wine bar... Exciting!

Finally Sara arrived and we headed to Paradise Pier to catch some of my favorite Rides together...

 

[smile4stamps]

First up was one of MY FAVORITE Rides. California Screamin!

And then Toy Story Midway Mania...
Where I won against Sara but still not doing so good!

Next up was Mickey's Fun Wheel... The non-swinging side!
Lots of pictures from in the Wheel...

After the ride on Mickey's Fun Wheel it was 8pm and the park was closing

We tried to take a spin on Mickey's Symphony Swings but they had just closed the line as we got to the stairs...

So we took a stroll through the Grand Californian on our way to Downtown Disney for some dinner.

Sara posing...

From here we went to have dinner at the House of Blues... The only thing I remember having is sweet potato fries! They were YUMMY!

From here Sara and I parted ways and as I walked through the esplanade I snapped pictures of the letters!

And there concludes Day 3! Not completely solo... not many rides but a fun day overall!

 

[CandyMouse]

I've been enjoying your TR. You've got a lot of Great Pictures! Now I just need to learn how to post pictures and try to do a TR.? Anyway I still enjoy reading yours and others. Thanks.

 

[smile4stamps]

I've been enjoying your TR. You've got a lot of Great Pictures! Now I just need to learn how to post pictures and try to do a TR.? Anyway I still enjoy reading yours and others. Thanks.

Thank you for joining in! I love to take pictures... Some day I'll have a SLR camera and be able to get better shots... For now I have to settle for a P&S. Really hoping I have a new one though for my next trip as this one has some issues.

 

[reyasmommy]

You have some really amazing pictures. It's making me super excited for my trip ((thanks for sharing))

 

[smile4stamps]

Allright! I have finally arrived on my last day at Disneyland. (And sadly it was my last time there as I haven't gotten to return since )

I left my room early enough to get to the security gate again before it was open. I was not getting a locker this morning as I was planning to only be there for 3 hours.

Waiting to get through Security.

Once in the park I headed to Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I was hoping to catch the first train but apparently I didn't walk fast enough as that was returning to the station as I was waiting...

I did catch the second train! And when we returned to the station there was not a lot of people waiting so I asked if I could ride again and therefor also rode the 3rd train!

From BTMRR I headed to the Haunted Mansion for one last ride through the Nightmare Before Christmas.

On the way there though I took some pictures of a VERY empty Rivers of America area.

A few moments later I arrived at the HMH

The only delay in getting to the ride was my own with taking the pictures as there was NO wait!

Some more Cell Phone pics of the ride...

After HMH I was headed to the other side of the park so here is a bunch more pictures as I went...

Finally I arrived at my destination...

And as I have TONS more pictures it will be continued!

 

[smile4stamps]

You have some really amazing pictures. It's making me super excited for my trip ((thanks for sharing))

Thank You! You are going in October 2011? Have a great time! I will also be going in the first half of October before my AP expires!

 

[smile4stamps]

I finally arrived at one of my goal destinations for the morning!

I had not yet had a visit with some Fairy's so it was time! Well... when it opened at 9am and I had waited my turn it would be time...

In the meantime I took more.... you guessed it.... Pictures!

The following pictures are Photopass pics...
Tinkerbell and I had some fun with the poses...

From here I headed to Fantasyland as I had forgotten Mr. Toad would be open today and I of course needed to take a Wild Ride (It had been closed all week)

Next up was a Spin on King Arthur's Carousel.
A Bystander was kind enough to take my picture

I also had a bystander take my picture with the Sword in the Stone

My plan was next to try and get some Meet & Greet time with Rapunzel and Flynn but it wouldn't be opening till 11am today I was supposed to be leaving by then so that wasn't going to happen...

To be continued.... (Too many pics per post!)

 

[reyasmommy]

Thank You! You are going in October 2011? Have a great time! I will also be going in the first half of October before my AP expires!

Yep. We'll be leaving October 4th arriving back home on the 15th. When are you going to be there? The dates we'll be at Disney is the 9th-15th.

 

[smile4stamps]

Here are some pictures of the back of the castle.. the front was roped off and you couldn't walk through

And from the side...

Finally it was time to say goodbye to Disneyland and head to DCA for one last spin on my favorite ride...

On the way there though I came across the Disneyland Band performing in the entrance area.

They were joined by the Queen of Hearts and Alice

Alice was directing!

And then it was over to DCA..

I had to ride California Screamin as my last adventure!

My plan was to try and beat my previous trips record... I had ridden it 5 times in 40 minutes last time...

Unfortunately when I got to CS it was not yet running this morning So not being able to start right on time I did not have the time to accomplish my goal. I did ride it twice but at the end of the second time the single rider line was too long for me to be able to continue so I had to head out.

I went back to the HoJo.. Checked out. Got in my car and prepared for the long rode ahead...

 

[smile4stamps]

I had TONS of Photopass pics taken throughout my 2 trips. I am not going to post them all... I'm sure you don't want to look at that many more pics of just me! I'll post some of the more unique ones!

Soaked after riding GRR!

Halloween Party Pics

I was getting a lecture on not having a Tigger Pen

The start of my Solo days...

 

[smile4stamps]

He's TALL!

He was scary!

Flying away

 

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Its Mine!!

 

[smile4stamps]

Yep. We'll be leaving October 4th arriving back home on the 15th. When are you going to be there? The dates we'll be at Disney is the 9th-15th.

I am not sure yet of the Dates for October.. it depends on my work schedule and the Halloween Party Dates... my AP expires Oct 14 though so before that!

Where in Colorado do you live? My husband wants out of California and is looking at Colorado.

 

[reyasmommy]

I am not sure yet of the Dates for October.. it depends on my work schedule and the Halloween Party Dates... my AP expires Oct 14 though so before that!

Where in Colorado do you live? My husband wants out of California and is looking at Colorado.

I'm hoping to do the halloween party this year. is it only on the weekends? Might have to do it our last day there? I just started my PTR last week. I'm having a LOT of fun planning it.

I live in Lakewood... It's located right smack dab in the middle of Downtown Denver and the Mountains. I drve 15 mins one way I'm in downtown, drive 15 minutes the other way and I'm in the beautiful rocky moutains. Where in cali do you live?