Avalon's Birthday Bash, September 2016! Updated 10/12: Completed!

[avalon451]

Day 2! Blue Bayou lunch, WOC Dessert Party

I woke early on Wednesday, like 5 a.m. Checked my phone and browsed for a bit, then fell back asleep. I woke to the sound of DH shaving at 7:45. We'd decided to employ the "opposite of MM/EE" strategy, and save our one MM for Saturday morning if we needed it. Therefore, today we were rope dropping Disneyland for the 10 a.m. opening. So I had plenty of time to shower and get ready.

We went over to the Desert Inn's breakfast room, which is pretty lame, frankly, but especially if you're gluten free. There are some mini-muffins and tired-looking pastries, and bread for toast. There is a big platter of chilled hard-boiled eggs, which aren't that appetizing first thing in the morning, but provided us with the needed protein to sustain our park touring. Bowls with whole apples and oranges-- I usually took an apple. Two kinds of cereal, neither of which are gluten free-- I think it was Froot Loops and corn flakes? It would be awfully simple for them to have Cheerios and/or corn or rice Chex, which are GF, but no. There is a dispenser of quick oats (not GF, but we're not sensitive to non-gf oats) that you can mix with a guesstimated amount of hot water from the hot water/tea dispenser, and some brown sugar to spoon on. Coffee, teabags, apple or orange juice, and milk. Not much, and not appetizing, but enough to get by on.

We got to the security area right about 8:45. The line wasn't too bad; we were through in about 5 minutes, including walking through the metal detectors. I had to take off my birthday button each time I did this. The lines at the DL turnstiles were not that long, but we lined up at gate 20. Pretty soon we noticed that there was nobody at gate 19, and moved over there to be first in line.



Al went over to Starbucks in DTD while I did the mobile order through my phone app. He still had to wait a bit for it, but only about the same amount as a normal wait at our neighborhood Starbucks, which was great considering the mob and the line out the door when he got there. He got back in plenty of time. They opened the gates and did the countdown about 9:35, at which time we walked briskly up to the rope drop. It was a little different than I remembered it from a few years ago, when one rope drop was strung at the top of Main Street, next to the camera store and Coke corner. Ropes were now strung on either side of the hub, and also right in the middle in front of the Partners Statue. Because we were going for Peter Pan first, we chose this center position, which ended up working out very well. We had about twenty minutes at the front of the rope drop to chat with the CM, take pictures, and offer to take other people's pictures in front of the Partners statue and the empty castle drawbridge.



When the park officially opened, we walked briskly up through the Castle, bearing to the right, and up to Peter Pan. There was a CM there who guided us into a rope chute outside the queue, and after a few minutes began walking us slowly through the entire interior queue. This worked well because nobody could skip, jump the line, push or anything. We were about 30 back from the beginning, and we were on within 5-10 minutes, and done with the ride by 10:15. I'm really glad we tried it for rope drop, although I've seen some people here advise against it. I love this ride, and I missed it last year when it was down for refurb! I really noticed some of the changes; it looks much better. "London" is brighter and prettier, as is the view of the island; and the movie's very racist depiction of the Indian Chief and Princess Tiger Lily is minimized to one minor side scene.

DH had previously not experienced any of the FL rides, since he was the one doing "sick kid" duty in the hotel that day, last time we were there. So this was all new to him, and he ended up really enjoying all the little funky dark rides. We did Alice next, which of course is newer and beautifully themed. Then we did Matterhorn. I'd only done it once before, and not since the sleds were padded/improved. I LOVE the new Yeti! So much better than the old disembodied voice and red eyes shining in the dark. Really cool animatronics, there. Next I talked him into Dumbo, just because it's cute and it's so iconic.



Then we rode Mr. Toad (love) and Snow White (love). I had him watch for the evil Queen glaring down from her window above the ride. I had DH reach for the golden apple by the book at the beginning of the queue, which he got a kick out of.

Our early lunch reservations were for 11:40, because I'd been a little late in making reservations to get the first 11:30 seating. HINT: this was a mistake in my strategy to get waterside seating. If you're trying the 11:30 lunch strategy, make your reservations right at the 60-day mark. We tried to check in early at 11:20, said that we were hoping to request waterside, but were told that they were still seating their 11:30 reservations, and we could not check in until 11:30. So we hung around (along with several other parties) and just as soon as my phone said 11:30, approached the podium again. This time they checked us in, but informed us a little smugly that the wait for waterside was an hour, because they seat all of the 11:30 people waterside. They said we could request the "one back" row. So that's what we did. They started to seat us way to the left, right next to the kitchen, in an area that was rather noisy with the loading/unloading PotC ride and a blocked view. I asked politely if we could be seated more toward the center, and they accommodated us. Lesson learned: get those ressies in early. The view was ok but somewhat blocked, and somewhat marred by the bright daylight coming in from back in the reception area.

I had written to Disney Dining ahead of time and asked if I could have a gluten-free Monte Cristo, which I've read they'll do with advance notice. Our nice server noted this and went back to talk to the kitchen, and a manager came out shortly to let me know that they would do that for me, but it would take a little longer as they made it fresh. That was no problem, we weren't in a hurry. DH ordered the jambalaya.

The gluten-free Monte Cristo was not too much like the regular version I remember, which, when hot and fresh, I found very tasty, if extremely filling. It was pretty good though. Some of the edges were so crispy I left the crusts. It had a pretty skewer of berries and a tomatillo cherry.







When we were finished, the server, unasked, brought me a dish of sorbet (yay.) with a candle in it, for my birthday. We were pretty full, but it was a nice thought, and we ate some of it, and then were on our way.

On our way out of the parks, we stopped to watch the Dapper Dans. They had a couple of people up there and were singing "Happy Birthday" to them, and one of the guys spotted my button and made a gesture halfway through the song to include me, which was sweet. They then sang a song from Nightmare Before Christmas in which the audience is invited to "Now scream!" and so I did, though not loudly, but they all pointed at me and nodded, so after that the rest of the crowd caught on and screamed on cue. We also watched the Disneyland Band for awhile near the flagpole.



We decided to head over to California Adventure before our break, see what was shaking, maybe pick up a FP and do a ride or two. That was our first foray over there. We went and picked up a FP for RSR which had a 7 p.m. return time. Then California Screamin' was a walk on, so we did that. This was when I found out that DH doesn't do scary roller coasters any more. He was sort of okay with this one 8 years ago, but this time when we got done, I was laughing, but I looked over and his face was frozen. I thought he was joking around, but he told me later that he wasn't, he literally was so frozen with adrenaline he had trouble functioning. Yikes. I enjoyed it, but once was enough for me, too.

Next we went on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, which I hadn't done before. That was cute. The theming in Carsland is so amazing. DH says that was his favorite area of the resort; it was just so immersive.

We walked over to Monster's Inc, but it was 15 minutes, and I knew it would be walk on when I'd originally planned on going, the next day, so we decided to skip it for now. Instead we went into the Animation Building and watched Turtle Talk with Crush, which was mildly entertaining. Then we walked over to the Grizzly Peak area and had our picture taken by the photopass photographer.




Next we walked over to Pacific Wharf and had a margarita, and relaxed for a bit by the water. It was getting warm and crowded. We decided to head back for a rest, and return in time to use our RSR FPs and then go to the WOC dessert party.

On our way out, we met Oswald right near the exit gates!



(Day 2, part two, next)

 

[avalon451]

Day 2, part 2: WOC dessert Party!

We had a nice break and a short nap back at the hotel room. I'd thought about coming back in time to catch the Pixar parade at 5:30, but DH was like, "I'm inclined to nap a bit longer, let's try to catch it another day."

So, we walked back over to CA just before 7 p.m. When we first walked into Carsland, I noticed that the sun was just setting, and that the street lights weren't on yet. "Hey..." I said, stopping my husband. "There's this thing... I think we might just catch it." I explained about "Sh Boom" and the neon coming on, and how it was a tribute to the movie when the cars went "cruising" down the new asphalt and the neon came on. Sure enough, just a few minutes later, the music started up, the street lights flickered on, and the neon slowly lit up front to back all along the street. It's cooler in person than just reading about it. Al and I found ourselves doing a lazy swing dance in the middle of the street to "Sh Boom." It was really sweet and fun! A photopass photographer got our picture for us just a couple minutes later:



Next we rode Radiator Springs Racers with our FPs we'd obtained before leaving the parks for a break. This was DH's first time riding. It was so fun; I just love the theming on that ride, and I really like it at night. We made a point to ride it again later in the week when it was well and truly dark out; it's a different experience. The times I rode it last year, I always got the new paint job, and our car never won the race. This time, the 3 or 4 times we rode it, we always got the new tires, and this first time we won, which was pretty cool. We used single rider on this ride twice; that's a great way to go, if you can.

Now it was time to make our way over to the World of Color area to be seated for the dessert party. We waited in line about 20 minutes before we got up to the front and were seated. They were looking pretty disorganized; it took a lot longer than I expected for them to check everybody in, give them a wristband, and send them down to be seated. To my chagrin, when we were checking in, I asked about our gluten-free option, and they did not have us noted down as being gluten free. This is probably my fault, but I was pretty sure I'd noted it when I made the reservations online. Somehow it got lost in transmission. Well, the CM checking us in was very very kind; he sort of scrambled to get somebody back to talk to the chef and get something going for us. At one point he said, "Can we get you some sorbet?" DH and I almost shouted in unison, "NO! No sorbet!" and then we kind of shamefacedly apologized and explained how that was getting to be a theme for us, parkwide. He completely understood, he explained, laughing, because he has Type 1 diabetes, and got a lot of the same runaround for his dietary needs. Anyway, what they ended up doing was bringing us a plate with just extra fruit and cheese on it, and then another plate of the regular offerings, and we were able to pick around the gluten-y stuff on that and eat a few of the things that were ok for us, like the macaron, some berries, the coconut macaroons which may or may not have contained wheat flour, but they didn't affect us, so must've been okay. We were a little delayed by the food kerfuffle, and our server only had time to bring us one drink. He took our order for a second, but then the show started, and so we did not get that. Which was fine.

The show was amazing. I'd enjoyed it last year, but it was so much nicer this year, seated, with a clear view. Granted you're not right at the railing, but the view and perspective is great. We were amazed at how HOT the fire flares got even up by us, quite a ways back, and I recall that it was indeed pretty intense when I did the dining package last year and had been right at the railing in the wet zone.

While observing the people crammed like sardines, seated on the hard pavement, waiting so long for the show to start, DH and I agreed: the dessert party really is the only way to go. Well worth it.

The lady in pink is seated at our table; we were to the left. I'm not sure why we couldn't have had our own table, the one to the left of us remained empty. Great view; it was a high top right at the railing.



Our "extra fruit and cheese" plates:



The nice waiter took a picture of us, actually after the show was over. We were dawdling and waiting for the majority of the crowds to disperse.




We walked out of the park as part of the grand exodus, and decided to take a stroll down Downtown Disney, and maybe get a drink at Uva Bar. DTD was crazy, of course, with many many people heading back to the hotels or dawdling around. The wait to get into Uva Bar was pretty long, so we gave up. Instead, we went into the Grand Californian to revisit the site of our first visit, when we stayed there. We admired the lobby, and relaxed a bit there. The pianist was tinkling away, with every Disney tune in the book. On a sudden inspiration, I got up and went over to the piano, and leaned down. Without missing a beat he leaned over to talk to me, and I said quietly, "Does it have to be Disney?" He replied, "No, not at all." I asked, "Could you please play 'Misty'?" "Certainly," he replied, and I went back to sit down. DH looked at me fondly and said, "I knew you were going to do that." A few minutes later when he finished up the current song, the pianist smoothly transitioned into a lovely version of Johnny Mathis' "Misty." It's an old torch song, much older than our generation, but when we were first dating in the mid-80's, DH used to sing it to me just for grins. It became our song. So we got up and did a little old-fashioned foxtrot near the piano. Then as the song ended we walked off, but I blew a kiss over my shoulder at the smiling pianist.

We walked back to the hotel through DTD and the Esplanade, and the moon was nearly full. Beautiful night. Good end to the day.

(Next, Day 3, California Adventure!)

 

[wildflower329]

I grew up in Lynnwood, moved to Kent for 9 years when we were first married, and we're now in the Everett area. Eastern Washington, it's like a whole different state, eh?

Cool! Yeah, Eastern WA is very different, but I love that I no longer sit through insane traffic on my way to and from work, getting around town isn't miserable, etc.

 

[klacey1]

I love, love, love your trip report!! I'll be there in a few weeks with my boyfriend for the first time and I love hearing about how other adults do Disneyland. Lunch at Club 33 on your birthday--what a day to remember

 

[avalon451]

Day 3, Thursday Sept. 15th: California Adventure and Carthay Circle Lunch, Napa Rose Late Dinner!

Today, there was Magic Morning at Disneyland beginning at 8 a.m. for the 9 a.m. regular opening, but California Adventure had regular opening at 9 a.m., and was closing early at 5 p.m. for the 10-year employee appreciation event. So we had decided to rope drop CA and see as much there as we could.

We lined up just one couple back from the gate at about 8:10. Al decided to go to Starbucks in DTD while I pre-ordered. But, they opened the gate and got ready at the turnstiles before he was back, and I was getting nervous because the countdown was happening soon. I kept watching for him, and just about 3 minutes before they started the countdown (the turnstile CM had already pre-scanned my ticket) he showed up and was able to get up to me and get his ticket pre-scanned, too.

We were getting FPs for the Frozen show first, because I wanted to get that done at the first 11:30 show. We had 1 p.m. lunch reservations at Carthay Circle, and that was a pretty good way to time it. So we weren't in a particular hurry-- I knew we'd get orchestra for the first show. We ambled back to the Frozen FP line, which lined up on the left side of the street in front of Award Wieners. There were others waiting at the rope for Tower of Terror, and a line starting across the street outside of the Animation Building for the Royal Welcome with Anna and Elsa. While we waited, the trolley came around the corner with Chip aboard. He wandered cheerfully around hugging and high fiving kids, goofing off with adults. He came over and gave me a hug.



When the official opening started, the CM at the front of the line led us around a rather complicated route through Hollywood Backlot, past the stage, and over to the kiosks which had been set up a stone's throw down the street from where we'd been waiting. The line wasn't that long, so I guess that's a leftover from days when the first Frozen FP was much more in demand. Anyway, it was the work of just a couple of minutes to complete the walk, get our FPs, and then head over to pick up Soarin' FPs. Then we strolled around the back of Grizzly Peak and over to Paradise Pier. Toy Story Midway Mania was still practically walk-on, which was a nice surprise. Sometimes it's not even up and running for a half hour or so when the park opens. So, we walked onto TSMM and had a good time with that. It was also a new one for DH, since it hadn't been open the first time we were there, although they'd been building it.

Huh. My notes say I did Screamin', front row, but I thought that was the day before. Oh, well, one way or the other, we rode it, and it was only once.

Next I went and pulled a ToT FP, but only for myself. DH has said time and again that he hated it the first time, and he will not do it again. But I will. The return time was problematic with our lunch reservations, but we'd have to see.

Next we walked back down the street and I said I'd like to meet Anna and Elsa. The wait looked to be about a half hour; we ended up waiting only about 20 minutes. It was a pleasant wait in the air-conditioned animation building, with the excited little princesses around us waiting to meet their idols. I felt a little silly, because while I like Frozen, I was never obsessed like some adult women I know! But I do like it, and this trip I was really trying to concentrate on character interactions. So, I thought, what the heck.

We got into the hallway with a few other people to wait:





We got into the room and watched the little ones ahead of us. There was a tiny toddler, maybe 15 months old, who was very excited, but more excited about showing off how she could jump than actually interacting with the royal princesses. Her big sisters had no problem hugging and taking pictures, but she was getting ready to do headstands and somersaults. Finally they got a picture with all the girls, and then it was our turn. We'd decided beforehand that we should bow/curtsy. So we did-- I must say DH executes a very nice formal bow-- and Anna, who had been going to greet us more informally, said, "Oh!" in a charming "oops" sort of voice, and they both swept into a beautiful formal curtsy. Then I asked Anna if I could have a hug too, and she grabbed her braids and said, "Oh, I love hugs!" I asked if Olaf really gave warm hugs, and wouldn't he melt, and Elsa assured me that although his hugs were strangely warm, the personal snowstorm she'd cast for him kept him from melting. Then we talked about what had happened to Hans of the Southern Isles, and Anna said she thought his older brothers had him shoveling out the stables. Also Elsa shrugged him off with a big grin and a "Who cares!" The whole thing was kind of fun, if kind of silly for a couple of grownups.



Our FPs were good for Soarin', so we went to ride. When we were standing in line, I looked at the return time for the 11:30 Frozen show, and noticed that it said, must return to waiting area by 10:55, line closes promptly. Well, it was now 10:30. Yikes. I showed it to a CM in the line. He said, "You should be able to make it if you walk straight over, you'll be on the next flight." So we stayed in line, but I was getting nervous. We were about 50 people back from the front, when a CM down there called, "Looking for a party of 2. Party of 2, anybody?" To our surprise, nobody in front of us was a party of 2. So I held up my two fingers and yelled, "2 here!" and the CM yelled back cheerfully, "Come on down!" and suddenly we were on a game show. It was hilarious. The crowd parted for us to start dashing down there, and somebody started clapping, so we started kind of fist pumping and jiving our way down, and people were high-fiving us as they cheered, laughed and applauded. Somebody yelled, "You win $300!" It was funny. Anyway, so we got in the ride pretty quickly, but there was some issues with a mobility impaired person getting on, and things were dragging. I was looking anxiously at my watch. Finally we got going on our flight, but I was a little distracted worrying about the time, and didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. Plus we were way over to the side, and things looked a little skewed (I didn't know the Eiffel Tower curves over to the left, did you? )

Anyway, it was still cool, but we had to boogie when we got out of there. We politely asked to get around somebody on the way out, then hustled back toward the Hyperion. My watch said it was already 10:55. But, just as we were coming up, the ushers were casually calling for last call for FP holders, and we made it safely with actually quite a few people still coming in behind us. One good thing about waiting till the last minute, is we only had a few minutes of standing in the queue before the doors opened. The one bad thing about it, was that we were seated pretty far back, several rows above the aisle rail, by the time we got in. I don't think there's really a bad seat in the house, but we were too far back to experience the snow effect, and the actor's expressions could have been more visible if we'd been closer. But really, it was fine. It was a really good show, and some of the special effects are quite cool. I think the Olaf special effect in the first song didn't work, because Elsa hugged herself and pretended to be Olaf herself saying "I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!" when later in the show she gestured and the effect of Olaf worked, presumably the way it was supposed to.

When we got out of the show, it was only 12:15, and I figured I had time to use my ToT FP. I had received a call and a voicemail during the show. It was Napa Rose confirming our late dinner reservation for 8:30 this evening. The way she put it, "Your reservation for the 8:30 dessert flight" made it sound like some kind of dessert only reservation, which I'd never heard of, and wondered if I'd made a mistake. I called back the number, and they assured me that it only meant what I thought, that we were seated at the chef's counter, at the dessert station area; but definitely for the dinner tasting menu.

So I walked over to ToT, while DH unashamedly sat outside on the wall to relax and people watch. I love the theming:



There's me over on the far right, screaming (and kind of laughing, too):



We strolled over toward Carthay Circle. I had forgotten to wear my birthday button, so we stopped in a store and got another one. The CM was an older guy, and he was writing my name very deliberately, attempting to dot the i with a Mickey Head. He wiped it off when he wasn't satisfied and started again. I was looking at my watch again-- 12:55-- but he wasn't going to be rushed. Finally with a heartfelt thank you and another "Happy Birthday" from the old dude, we went off and were ushered into Carthay Circle by the CM door attendant.

We checked in and waited for a few minutes in the lounge/waiting area. It's very elegant in a distinguished, wood-paneled, clubby kind of way. I kept looking for guys in thousand dollar suits smoking cigars.

The hostess asked if we wanted to use the stairs or the elevator, and we elected stairs, so she led us upstairs giving us a little history as we went. We saw some of the neat pictures along the hallway showing Walt with various movie stars. We were seated in the elegant dining room, and handed our menus.

You kind of almost have to order classic cocktails. Al had the Carthay Diamond Manhattan ("best I've ever had" he said, and he's had a few, in swanky places) and I had the Carthay Club Mojito, which was wonderful.





We were limited as to what we could have gluten-free here. I was hoping we could have the firecracker duck wings, but unfortunately, they used regular soy sauce in them, which contains wheat, so that was out. However, I'd heard wonderful things about the ceviche of citrus-marinated cobia-- comes with little escarole cups and a shot glass of green "essence of tomatilla" to pour over that I could easily have drank off by itself, it was so fresh-tasting and yummy. They brought out some "gluten-free bread" for us. Yeah, hamburger buns again, prettied up. C'mon, Carthay and Club 33, I think you can do better than disguised hamburger buns. They tasted good, though.



The grilled Angus tri-tip with risotto was what sounded best to both of us, so we both got it. Unusual for us; we usually try to get different things and taste each other's, but this was delicious, along with a glass of red wine.



(continued next post!)

 

[avalon451]

Day 3, Continued!

Here's one more shot of our wonderful lunch at Carthay Circle, which our server took for us. She was cheerful, very professional and prompt, and funny. Very good service.



She asked about dessert, and though we were pretty full, we asked about gluten-free options. "Please," I said, half-laughing, half-despairing, "please don't say sorbet."

She winced. "Um, yeah... sorry... wait. BERRIES! We've got berries?" We were like, "Mmmmm nah... but thanks." We were full anyway, but had been hoping they had something fabulous by some miracle. I mean, for pete's sake, even Jolly Holiday bakery has flourless chocolate cake (read: gf brownies).

Full and happy, we walked out and back up the street to ride Monsters INC: Mike and Sully to the Rescue. The ride was about 5 minutes' wait. That is a super cute ride, and we both really enjoyed the details throughout the queue as well.

When we came out, we had a happy surprise: around the corner, tucked away, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were having a meet n' greet, and there was hardly any line in this out-of-the-way place. I really love that movie, so we jumped right into line and didn't have to wait long. I got a hug from Judy:



Nick, too, but didn't get a pic of that. Al really enjoyed this exchange, these characters just really had their schtick down pat. At one point, I asked Nick if he had any pawpsicles. He nodded enthusiastically, then mimed something. I was confused, and he smacked his forehead and gestured at Al that I was obviously somewhat dimwitted. Then he pointed at his palm significantly and I said, "Oh, money? Sorry, I don't have any." He shook his head disgustedly and Judy Hopps was making threatening gestures at him to stop trying to swindle me. It was pretty funny and got the rest of the bystanders laughing.



Finally we went over to Grizzly River Run, intending to ride as our last CA ride of the day, and if we got soaked, we could go take a break back at the hotel to change. We'd brought flip flops in a plastic bag in Al's backpack, and we changed our shoes and socks for these. I was glad we did, because our feet got quite wet, and a couple of the other nice people on the ride with us got very wet shoes. The standby wait was only 10 minutes, essentially a walk-on. We got wet, but not absolutely soaked, as I have in the past. Lots of fun and a beautiful hot day to do this ride. I love the theming of this ride, and the drops are fun, but I could really do without the spinning. Not that it was too terrible or made me real sick-- just, I guess I prefer a flume ride where you're always facing forward!

We got off and swapped our shoes back. It was warm and sunny enough that we dried off pretty quickly. We decided rather than go back to the hotel, that we'd go on over to DL, ride a few things, catch the parade, and then call it an early day, since we hadn't taken a midday break.

I was glad we did, because when we got onto Main Street, DH's favorite character, Goofy, was there in his Halloween skeleton costume. We'd seen Goofy on Buena Vista street in his Five and Dime zoot suit, but the line had been closed. This line wasn't at all long, just a few people in front of us.

I can't tell you why DH likes Goofy so much. Apparently ever since he was a kid, Al just thought Goofy was cool because he just doesn't care, he'll do anything for a laugh, and no inhibitions. So when Al walked forward to shake his hand and hug him, he was being really sincere in his admiration, and said, "You are my favorite character. Seriously." We got lots of good pictures:





When the four of us posed for a portrait, suddenly Goofy let out a wet raspberry. Al exclaimed, "Hey, who farted?" and they both pointed at each other. Cracked everybody up:




As we walked away, Al said, "I mean, look at him. He's wearing a skeleton costume. With a hat. And there's a bone in the hat?!"

Next we went to take a look at Indy. It was only a ten minute standby wait, so we hopped on. That was fun.

Then we walked back to look for a spot to watch the Mickey's Soundsational parade. The curb spots looked to have been all taken up long before, but in front of Jolly Holiday, there was a couple of people with strollers at the curb, and we were able to stand right behind them just ten minutes before the parade started, with a good view. Al walked across the street and got us each a cold drink. It was just 4:30, and the parade was starting, but of course it was starting over by IaSW, so it would take awhile to reach us. Eventually it got there, and it was amazing. Al had not seen this one, though I saw it last year. He claims not to be impressed by parades, but he admitted that this one was pretty neat. He just really hates the crowds before and after, while trying to find a spot-- like the fireworks, too.

At one point the parade was held up, a CM walked toward the dancers in front of us with his arms held wide, keeping them from advancing, and a guy driving some kind of squat, green vehicle, maybe a tow vehicle, came cruising out of the area across from us between the Plaza Inn and the First aid area-- of course, from the back service area-- and drove off through the parade. We had the dancers from the Princess and the Frog float in front of us for a good 10 minutes or so, and saw them run through their whole routine several times. But the smiles never flagged, the high steps never faltered or looked tired. These guys are such professionals.

Eventually the rest of the parade cruised by, and we followed it slowly toward the entrance, to go take a break back at the hotel before we went for a late dinner at Napa Rose.

It was around 5:30 p.m., and we were pretty tired and pretty Disney'd out. Al was making up inappropriate and/or macabre lyrics to the music in the Esplanade on the way back. We got back to the hotel, slogged all the way back to our room, and let ourselves in.

The room had not been cleaned. Towels still in the tub, beds not made, counters not wiped, and my envelope labeled "Housekeeping-thank you!" was still next to the sink. Yeah, I was done. I put my shoes back on, and said shortly to DH, "I'm going down to the front desk." "Don't do anything drastic," he cautioned. "Oh, no, I'm just going to have a little chat."

I actually was quite civil. I asked for the manager on duty, and a genial-looking guy came over and met me at the side area of the front desk. I leaned on the counter, lowered my voice, and said, "Look, I don't want to be THAT lady. I've worked in retail over ten years all told, and I know how hard you guys work. But I really have a couple of issues, here." He was all like "Yeah, yeah, I hear you." So I told him about the room assignment issue, and that I was extremely surprised and disappointed about being so far back, when I'd requested so far in advance. I asked about how they assigned rooms, etc. He actually was quite nice and carefully explained everything, and went to check to see if we could be moved, but there was nothing available for the two nights we had left that coincided with their incoming guests. He was regretful and apologetic about it. But when I told him about our room not getting cleaned he was much more surprised and dismayed. He went to check on the room reports, and couldn't understand why it hadn't happened. He carefully noted it down in a report to the general manager who would be on the next day, to make sure it didn't get neglected again, and asked what we needed-- more towels, trash emptied? I just asked for more towels, and he apologized again. Ah, well. What are you gonna do? I headed back up the room, and a few minutes later a knock at the door revealed another very apologetic gentleman with enough towels to supply an entire family for two days.

I flopped on the bed, and we napped in preparation for a late night dinner at Napa Rose. Lots of pictures to that one, so I think I'll start a separate post for that.

(continued, next post: Napa Rose dinner!)

 

[avalon451]

(Thursday continued: Late dinner at Napa Rose Chef's counter!)

At about 8 p.m. we groggily stirred, put on some nicer clothes, and headed out again. Our feet and legs were still pretty sore from our long day of walking, and also we were not looking forward to the probability of long lines at security while trying to cross the Esplanade to DTD and the Grand Californian Hotel. So I pulled up my new Uber app, and requested a short ride around Harbor, Katella, and Disneyland Drive to deliver us to the front door of GCH. I was glad we did. It was a nice little jaunt that only cost about $6 and saved us the hassle. We were dropped at the front door of the hotel and walked through the cavernous lobby, out the opposite door into the courtyard, and over to Napa Rose, arriving about five minutes early.

The hostess informed us that they were still clearing out the previous guests, but she could seat us in about ten minutes. So we went to the bar and hopped up to examine the fantastical bottles up on the shelves, and banter a bit with the busy bartenders. Off the classic cocktail menu (are you sensing a theme here? We did a lot of classic cocktails on this trip! You'd think we were on an episode of Mad Men.) I ordered a drink called the Happy Hungarian. It featured a liqueur that was an herbal concoction, called Zwack, that I'd never heard of before, in a really cool squatty green bottle. It was the last of the bottle, and I asked to see it. The drink was unusual and delicious. Al had something called The Bitter Storm, with lots of different kinds of bitters in it, which was pretty ... bitter. But he liked it.

Pretty soon the hostess came back, took our half-finished cocktails onto her tray, and walked us back to the dessert section of the chef's counter to seat us. We were at the very end, next to a kitchen door. It wasn't loud or distracting, though. Another couple was seated next to us at the same time. Our waiter came over and introduced himself-- should've caught his name, but I didn't. He was quite funny and pleasant, though he got a bit obsequious, especially later in the evening. ("Really. Honestly. It has been SUCH. AN. HONOR. And my great pleasure, to serve you." )

The head chef came over to talk about our preferences. I've had Chef Sutton twice before, this was another guy. Chef Sutton was in a bad mood when I was there last year, and was pretty uncommunicative, and was frankly verbally abusive to one of his sous chefs that time. So I was okay with another guy. He was very accommodating about our gluten-free needs, as I expected. He made some suggestions, and we told him what we liked. Which is just about everything, really, with maybe emphasis on big, bold flavors, love for seafood, game and especially duck, for me. "Just... no sweetbreads?" I requested, and he replied with a smile, "You're in luck. We don't have any sweetbreads on hand right now." We got the wine flight to go with our meal, although I'm kind of getting a bit leery of these now. My brother is a manager at a Ruth's Chris steakhouse, and has told me, "Wine flights, you have to be careful, because even at the best restaurants, they tend to take the opportunity to just use up whatever inexpensive stuff they've got left from the by-the-glass selection."

We were started off with a little amouse bouche of a single delicious prawn:



The gluten free bread, for once, was a flatbread baked in their brick oven. It was truly delicious, and I wished Club 33 and Carthay could've gotten on that bandwagon:



Al's salad:



My salad:



I can't even tell you exactly what these were; I'd have had to write each description down as we got them from the waiter. Half the stuff is not listed on the regular menu. It was all delicious, of course. Although, Al and I started to wonder how and why they chose what to put in front of each of us. We noticed that I was getting the blander, simpler things. Not than anything was really bland, of course, but they seemed to assume that the male was going to be more adventurous, red meat style.

I'm just going to have to post these pics without a clear memory of what exactly each one was. In addition, of course, we were getting a short pour of a new wine with each course. So by the time we were well into the meal, I was lucky to be able to focus on the food, much less remember exactly the name of the dish, or the ingredients!

I'd dug into this one before I remembered to take a picture:



and so had Al:



Main entree, YUM:



And Al's main entree:



The courses were all delicious. The wines could have been better. I've had this issue here before, in fact I discussed it in a post about Napa Rose over on the planning page.

I'm not a sommelier, of course. But we do know quite a bit about wines, and have some experience with them in our 30 plus years of fine dining in Seattle and abroad, as well. So what it is about us that makes the wine steward/sommelier/waiter pour us stuff that I used to make fun of even when I was a cocktail waitress at Red Robin in college? It started when he went to pour me a Vouvray. Now, granted, there are some wonderful names and distinguished vintages of Vouvray out there, but in general, in my experience, Vouvray is what you pour a white suburban soccer mom who normally drinks Mike's Hard lemonade, likes sticky-sweet stuff, and doesn't know any better. (never mind the fact that I am, in fact, a white suburban soccer mom! ) I know I'm not imagining it, because last time a waiter tried it at a very upscale restaurant in Seattle, he saw my expression, and said, "No, wait, I know. I'm not a Vouvray fan, either. Normally I'd be like 'What, Vouvray? How about Blue Nun while we're at it?' But this is an amazing and rare vintage, and I actually love this one, and it goes perfectly with this dish." (he was right, it was really a nice vintage).

So I must've made an involuntary motion, because he paused, and I said, "Um. Could I try a taste, first, please? I'm not usually a fan of Vouvray." He said of course, and seemed mildly surprised that I took the time to sniff deeply, swirl, sniff again, and then taste, "chewing" my sip. I kind of grimaced, and he said, "Ok, no. Too sweet. No problem. Let me find you something else." I asked, "What are you pouring my husband, and can you tell me about it, and why it's going with his food?" So then he really got into the spirit of things. It was all good. After that, he was almost cautious in approaching me with a new bottle. It got so that he poured a taste of each one, with a different bottle for each of us. I think he was testing us, because on the first pour of a red, I tasted mine, made a little face, then sipped water and swapped with DH. He similarly made a little face, and we both pointed to his bottle: "That one, please." I got the impression we chose the right one, because after that all the ones he brought seemed better quality. Except... for the last glass of red, with the main entree, that he poured DH. It was the dregs of the bottle, and there was actually quite a little accumulation of granular dregs. He must not have noticed, although the dregs were evident even right when he poured. The wine tasted ok, DH said ("kinda crunchy, though" he joked). It wasn't until later, when the waiter went to pick up the glass, that he noticed the dregs. He was kind of abashed, but it was too late by then.

We were seated, as I said, by the dessert counter. The pastry chef looked tired, and she was not engaging us in conversation at all. I didn't blame her; this was the late shift and she'd probably been at it for several hours already. In the past, however, I'd always been happily surprised at how the chef in front of me talked about what they were doing, usually quite cheerful and informative, even when they were crazy busy. But this lady seemed pretty done. Also, her apron was REALLY dirty, stained and smeared. Not sure why she couldn't have swapped out for a clean one at some point. Late in the meal, she took a break, and another chef took her place for about a half hour. I asked her what she was making at one point, and she cheerfully told me. We chatted about how she'd gotten into this job. I asked her, too, about gluten-free options... and we both chorused, "Please don't say sorbet." She laughed and said, "Yes, I know, we don't have that much, do we? It's pretty much just that, ice cream, or creme brulee." I talked about things like macarons, chocolate mousse, flourless chocolate cake, etc. and she agreed that the menu needed some looking into on those points. Then the regular pastry chef came back from break. However, a few minutes later, we were waiting for dessert when the other pastry chef stuck her head out of the back and gave me a thumbs up as the waiter slid a plate in front of me:



She had gone and made me a special chocolate fudge-like ganache, and some lovely meringue buttons, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, raspberry coulis, and berries. That was so sweet. I thanked her profusely and we both enjoyed our delicious, personalized desserts.

By this time, we were well and truly tipsy. I think the waiter could probably have poured us red wine vinegar (rather than a nice Sauterne) and we would have cheered. It was well after 11 by the time we wove our way slightly unsteadily out the door.

Downtown Disney was still busy, but much less so than it had been the night before at park closing. We found ourselves giggling and holding onto each other as we made our way to the top of DTD (stopping for a minute to watch in slightly drunk fascination at the eye in the telescope roving around, above the entrance to the Disney Store) and onto the Esplanade. DH staggered toward the Disneyland turnstiles. We stood at the closed gates and watched as a truck unloaded a bunch of landscaping staff and equipment, to work industriously on the floral Mickey, by the light of some very bright halogen lights. Al looked up speculatively at the spiked tops of the green gates. "I could totally climb this," he informed me.

"Yes, you could. I know you could. But then what would happen? We'd get kicked out."
"It'd be fun, though."
"Yeah, it would."
"Maybe next time."
"Yeah."

We chuckled some more and headed on back to our hotel room, only to collapse into bed and try to digest our rich, yummy food, and metabolize all that unaccustomed wine.

(next: Day 4, A Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour!)

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I'm doing NR for my birthday dinner in 13 days (eeeee!) too, so I'm very happy you posted this with photos! I'm not nearly as adventurous as you are with food and I'm not a red wine person at all, but I'm so looking forward to this experience!

I love your adventure - seems like so much fun!

 

[klacey1]

Yum! Looks like this was another day of delicious food and fun! I love the pics of you and Al and Goofy!!

 

[avalon451]

Day 4: A Walk in Walt's Footsteps

Day 4, Friday September 16th, we woke up pretty early and rather hung over. Disneyland opened at 8, and we had the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour scheduled, with check in at 9. So we didn't feel the need to rush to rope drop, and anyway neither of us was particularly in any shape to rush anywhere. We ambled in a little past opening, and strolled over to Tomorrowland. Star Tours was still walk-on, so we did that. Al really liked it, especially since it has changed quite a bit in the 8 years since he'd been here. Then we did Buzz Lightyear, also a walk-on. Next we walked back to Main Street and stopped at Market House for some much-needed Starbucks.

Around 9 a.m. we wandered over to the tour kiosk next to City Hall and checked in for our tour. When you check in, they have you choose what you'd like for lunch from Jolly Holiday Bakery. There were some nice salads available, and they offered a flourless chocolate cake for dessert (PAY ATTENTION, Napa, Carthay and Club 33!). Then we sat down at a table nearby to hang out for the tour start at 9:30. We were texting with my oldest daughter, checking in, and joking about being hung over. We weren't really that bad, just moving kind of slow-- it had been an action-packed 4 days-- but we sent her this picture:



Promptly at 9:30 a.m., our tour started. Our group had only about a dozen or 15 people in it, quite a manageable size. Our tour guide was named Cassie. She was pleasant and informative. To be honest, though, I was not that impressed with her performance. Her spiel sounded pretty stiff and recited, rather than natural and enthusiastic-- timing was kind of off, attempted jokes fell flat. A couple of pet peeves of mine, she pronounced "often" "Off-ten" and "especially" "expecially".

I had been hoping for a really informative experience; I'd heard that even Disney veterans learn lots of new stuff. I was kind of disappointed, though. Not much new there at all. We stood in front of Walt's apartment and she talked about it and about opening day. We stood in front of Club 33 and same thing. We stood in a corner of Tomorrowland by Autopia and talked about that and the Submarine Voyage, and how those had barely gotten off the ground. Not that it was bad, but it got a bit boring in places. She put us on Alice, front of the line, which was cool; I'd kind of expected that. But then she put us on It's a Small World. I was like... Really? It's generally a walk-on, about half or more of most visitors hate it anyway, and there's so many other rides that would be an actual honor to be able to get on with a short wait on this very busy Friday morning. But she puts us on the time-killing, soul-destroying IaSW. Which tune I will never, ever be able to get out of my head now, thank you ever so much. Anyway, I was unaccountably crabby about that.

(side note, at the risk of TMI: I have recently weaned off anti-anxiety medication, and this was maybe a bad time to do it-- just before a Disneyland trip. The sights, smells and sounds of DL can be overwhelming and overstimulating at the best of times, for anybody. But I am readjusting to doing without that little extra emotional cushion, and I think it really put a cramp in my DL trip. The entire trip I had to keep reminding myself that I was feeling overstimulated because I'm still adjusting to a meds-free existence after about 12 years. I was over-reacting like a toddler to things-- crying at the sight of characters hugging children, feeling enraged when something didn't go my way, wanting to throw a tantrum in the middle of Main Street when I was tired and hungry. Thankfully I mostly kept a rein on my outward reactions, and was careful to take breaks, stay hydrated, eat when hungry, etc, and explain to DH that I really didn't mean to snap at him. What a lovely, patient man he is.)

When we were back at the hub just before noon and our lunch break, and she started talking about Walt's last days, I slipped away to pull a FP for Space Mountain. Then I walked back to Jolly Holiday where the group had just arrived to break for lunch. That's a nice thing they do, where you walk over to a reserved section of the porch and find your pre-ordered lunch ready for you with your name on it, and a cold drink. We enjoyed our salads and chatting with Cassie; I think I actually learned more in the casual conversation with her than during the tour, in which she was talking about how she'd come to be a tour guide, and some of the behind-the-scenes stuff she'd experienced. Then she handed out the special pins that are your souvenir from the tour: it is large and square, and opens like a storybook. Inside is an inscription with the opening day words, and also the words that are over the entrance "Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasyland." It's lovely, but heavy. We don't collect pins, but our two nieces do, so when we got back we gave them to my nieces, who loved them.

The last part of the tour was getting to see the Dream Suite. Another tour guide, forget his name, was in charge of that, and Cassie tagged along to help. That was pretty cool. We took the elevator up, which is right between Tarzan's Treehouse and the back queue for PotC, and listened to his explanation of how it had come to be built. I didn't realize that for awhile, it had been used for storage and for offices. Apparently a real estate agency even rented it out for a few years?! When it was built, I recall the first time we visited Disneyland in 2008, and as part of the "Year of a Million Dreams" promotion, they chose a family every day to stay in the suite for a night. Now it's used for VIPs. During the tour, we were able to see the master bedroom and the "children's" room, both of which have what they call the "kiss goodnight" effect. You push a button on the wall, and projections and music start up that last a minute or two. In the master suite, it was the sound of running water and music from "Jungle Book" with some jungly-sounding bird calls, beautiful projections on the walls and ceilings, and soft light on the headboard. In the master bath, there is a very elaborate soaking tub with blue mosaic tile around and in a small vaulted ceiling enclosure above. With the push of a button, stars light up all over the tiles, and soft music plays for half an hour. In the kid's bedroom, a train on a track all around the top of the wall near the ceiling comes to life and pulls out of its glass case, circles the room, and music and lights play. All in all, very cool. The CM told us many stories of the different antiques and decorative items around the apartment. The grandfather clock, when it strikes different times, causes different things to light up or play in the sitting room.

You can't take pictures, but they will take one picture FOR you, with your camera, by the sitting room fireplace:



That was the end of the tour, at about 1:30. All in all, it was very nice, and we really enjoyed the Dream Suite. But I don't think I'd do it again.

After we walked down the steps of the Dream Suite, we decided to go check Indy for a single rider pass. But, it was down. Instead we decided to head back to Fantasyland and ride Pinocchio, which we'd missed Wednesday. It was a walk-on. Then we did the Castle Walk Through. This was cool, as it hadn't been open when we were first here in 2008.

Now our FPs for Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy were good. We meandered over there. I really love Space Mountain, and I'd really hoped that Hyperspace Mountain would still be up, because I'd have loved to ride it. However, I really didn't care for GG. Music is not as good, creepy images seem out of place and not particularly scary anyway. Ghosts: cool (HM) Space: cool (Space Mountain, Star Tours). Ghosts and space together: meh.

Al kind of did his catatonic thing again. Mark that one down as another ride that's gotten to be a bit too adrenaline-inducing: I look like I'm having fun, poor Al looks shell-shocked.



I've been wanting to see Mickey and the Magical Map, and there was a performance starting in just a few minutes. So we made our way back up through Fantasyland (dragging a bit, it had been a long morning) and sat down just before it started. That is a really fun show! I can't get over how talented all these singers and dancers are. At any time of day in DLR, somewhere, there is a show going on with amazingly talented people-- it's got to be dozens if not hundreds of them. We really enjoyed the show, especially the Flynn and Rapunzel singing "At Last I see the Light."

We headed back down through the park and went back for a break. We were both getting pretty tired of the parks, which says to me that I'm not as big a fanatic as so many people here are-- I admire you all, but I guess I'm just not as obsessed as I think I am! I'm pretty sure I'd go insane if I were here for more than 5 days, but some people go for 10!!!

We had a relaxing break, then came back to CA in time to see the Pixar Parade. We found a good place to stand near the Grizzly Peak area. It's a great parade, but we got kind of wet! There's that one float, I think it's part of the Bug's Life part? Where there are two people swinging around on bars high above the ground like gymnasts on rings. The one girl was clutching the bar but crouched over, braced on the side of the float. I saw her attempt to get her hands back into the harness, but something seemed to be wrong with the safety harnesses for her hands, because she gave up and went back to just sort of jiving around while braced against the side of the float. Meanwhile the guy on the other side was flipping around and around like usual.

After the parade we were getting hungry, and I'd been wanting to try the lobster nachos at the Cove Bar. So we headed over there, only to find the line outside way down the side of the building, and the hostess said the wait was 45 minutes to an hour. Drat. Should've expected it right after the parade got over, I guess. I looked around on my DL app on the phone, and we went to check out the "Tasting Terrace" at Wine Country Trattoria. That was a nice alternative. I don't think it's very well known. It's up the stairs from the main dining area, a shaded rooftop terrace high over the street. A table had just opened up. We had a glass of wine and a couple of small plates with cheese and fruit that were available, and they brought us some gluten-free bread. It was relatively quiet and nice. The sun went down, and we heard the "Sh Boom" time start up a little distance away in Carsland.






After that, we went over to Carsland and checked RSR. Single Rider was showing at 15 minutes, so we rode. It was pretty dark by the time we rode, and that was a cool, different experience. Al was seated in the same car, right behind me.

We headed over to Disneyland. This was our one and only chance to catch the fireworks, since the next day would be our last. As we were waiting in the short lines at the turnstiles, I got a text from my youngest daughter, DD14: "Hey mom, can I call you?"

As soon as we got through the gates we found a quieter corner by guest services and I called her. She, like me and both her sisters, suffers from anxiety, and she'd had something minor happen that reminded her of a very unhappy time in her life last year, and set her off. It left her in tears and very shaky. Without going into details I'll tell you that we have learned to take these episodes very seriously. She is normally a funny, brave kid, intrepid, willing to try all kinds of stuff, but when this anxiety hits it can really send her into a tailspin of despair. I talked to her calmly for a long time while she told me about it. She calmed as she told me about it, and finally said, "I'm doing so much better than last year, I'm so happy, but this one thing just reminded me and I got to feeling just really freaked out." I asked where her older sister was, and found out that she was downstairs with a group of her (and also the youngest's) friends, and was kind of oblivious that this was going on. So we called her, and told her what was going on, and that she needed to send her friends home and help out her kid sister (which she's really good at, thankfully). Long story short, DD14 calmed down, had some quiet sister time and was doing much better within the hour.

However.

As I've said, we were already kind of Disney'd out. This put the capper on it. Suddenly DH was looking grim, and I was feeling grim. I looked over at him and said, "Feel like we're in the wrong place?" and he nodded briefly. Too much happy around when our kiddo was in need, a thousand miles away.

We walked down Main Street feeling at odds with the surging crowds and manic music. Trying to get into Frontierland, the crowds around the hub and in front of the castle were unbelievable. It was literally wall-to-wall, watch where you put your feet because the path is 8 inches wide between people sitting on the ground waiting. Then someone pushing a double wide stroller is trying to go against the flow, right in front of you. Several times I grinned at them rather humorlessly and said cheerfully, "There is no way you are going to get through there, sorry to tell you."

Eventually we broke free of the madness (my mistake for going that way) and managed to get into Frontierland and pull FPs for BTMRR. I'd never ridden at night before and wanted to try it. We thought about walking up toward Pooh Corner and getting some souvenirs for the girls. I remembered the "secret path" from Fresh Baked, behind Harbor Galley quick service, and we walked back there. It was practically deserted, which was kind of what we needed right then. DH and I hung out for awhile and watched the Splash Mountain riders take the plunge, screaming, then float by beneath us where we stood on a little bridge. Then we walked back over to Main Street through Adventureland to try to find a place to watch the fireworks.

Main street was cordoned off into sections for standing and watching the fireworks. I asked a CM if we could get in under a rope and she said sure. So we ducked under the rope at the back of the section that ended in front of the Penny Arcade. We only had to wait about 15 minutes. It was kind of claustrophobic. But, we enjoyed the fireworks, short though they were.

Then we slowly swam against the crowd and slowly, slowly made our way back to BTMRR, where our FPs were now good. We bypassed the 30 minute wait and hopped on. We really enjoyed the nighttime ride; it is quite different at night!

Then we walked out back to the hotel to end the day. We were kind of dragging, our spirits were dragging, and I think I was hoping that rest would revive us enough to enjoy our last day.

(Next: Last day, Breakfast at Minnie's, and home!)

 

[cruisehopeful]

I will admit to one shortcoming: I can do without much of the music that is constantly tinkling.

I get burned out on the music, too. Even on the Disney cruises, the hallways, elevators, everything has the constant Disney music. I like and appreciate the music for some of the day, but not all day in every area. Sometimes, it seems like there is no escape.

I just read up to this point and am enjoying your birthday trip report. It's giving me some good ideas of what I'd like to do in the future and what I could easily do without. Sorry to hear that your daughter was having a tough time.

 

[klacey1]

I really appreciate your honesty in this TR. I think a lot of people here have Disney blinders and act like their trips are perfect (impossible) and that Disney can never be anything but perfect (impossible). So I can really appreciate just feeling ready to go home and a little Disney'd out.
That's a bummer the tour was a little stilted/rehearsed. That's one thing that's always stopped me from doing a formal tour. I like learning naturally/organically.
I am also dying to try the lobster nachos at Cove Bar; good tip about not going after a parade!!

 

[casagray]

I really appreciate your honesty in this TR. I think a lot of people here have Disney blinders and act like their trips are perfect (impossible) and that Disney can never be anything but perfect (impossible). So I can really appreciate just feeling ready to go home and a little Disney'd out.

This says what I wanted to say, but much clearer.

Also, with two kids who have anxiety issues, I totally get the feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when there's a problem ... I'm glad to hear your daughter calmed down and was in a better place after her older sister talked with her - and it's also a really good thing that she does call and talk with you about things. It sounds like it was stressful, but she was able to reach out and use her support systems, which is pretty awesome!

Looking forward to hearing how breakfast went, I have it booked for my stay in just over four weeks!

 

[roxymama]

I just read your whole TR. So glad that I did. I am going on a no-kid trip to DL in the Spring and I took some notes based on what you experienced. Thanks for the honest, funny, and cool write-up!

 

[Kindermouse]

whew all caught up! I have been considering a solo trip in the first week of January. I have always want to see the place done up for holidays and the special holiday entertainment but I never have been able to because the christmas crowds are too much for my kiddo. I was thinking it could be a christmas gift to myself so this is great.

I have to tell you though-Blue bayou has really good gluten free rolls so what a bummer that you were offered gussied up burger buns. I was also wondering why I wasn't offered those rolls again at Carthay. Now I know-nobody else has them. The chiefs at Disney need to practice a little sharing is caring on their GF roll recipes.

My kiddo also has anxiety and I too dread the phone calls from him when I am stuck someplace else-usually at work-and there is nothing I can do to get there. We went to Disney in March and he was off his anxiety meds because of surgery and (they couldn't be taken with pain meds) I had tried to keep expectation low but the trip was still a hot mess.

I think you can be a major disney fan and still hit a disney wall when the situation is ripe for it. We wont take away your Disney fanatic title over one tough trip.

 

[avalon451]

Last Day! Saturday, Sept. 17th: Breakfast at Minnie's and farewell!

Whew, I got sidetracked for a couple of weeks, there. I finally decided I have to put a lid on this thing. We had a really nice last day, all in all, although we were pretty tired and "parked out." One thing that was less than great was the crowds. Wow, the crowds! It was really pretty crazy by the time we left. So much for "low season!"

So: we had not yet used our Magic Morning, and I intended to take advantage of that, even though I didn't feel the need to be at 7 a.m. rope drop. We got up and managed to pack up our stuff pretty efficiently. We checked out of the hotel (...they asked, "How was your stay?" We answered, "To be honest? Meh.") and put our bags in the hotel lockers. Walked over to security, which was still only about 5 minutes long.

The lineup at the regular opening gates was getting kind of long when we arrived about 7:30 a.m. We strolled past them, to the "Magic Morning" gates and walked up to the turnstile. I got a nasty shock: the kind CM told me that my tickets were not showing that they had ANY magic mornings available on them. I explained about buying them from way.com, a special deal for 5-day 1-park-per-day PLUS 1 Magic Morning, and how I'd exchanged them for parkhoppers on our first day. She called over a supervisor, and I carefully explained again. Thankfully, the supervisor said "No problem," initialed our tickets, and waved us through. She told me, "If they are checking up at the top of Main Street, tell them Maggie cleared you. They know who I am." Nobody was checking, so that wasn't an issue.

We wandered up to Fantasyland. The park was blessedly uncrowded up until we walked through the castle; then it was pretty crazy. But, we'd really hit all of our objectives already, so it was more a case of "ride your favorites again." We rode our favorites with short lines, Mr. Toad, and then Snow White (with more fooling with the apple that cackles at you-- I think we freaked out a little kid who came up behind us at the entrance). By that time the rest of the park had opened, so we walked over to check Indy, but it was not yet running. So then we went to Pirates, and it was down, too, darn it. But as we stood there debating whether to go up to Winne the Pooh or not, suddenly Pirates was back up, and we were one of the first to ride. We got straight onto the front of the second boat. Bye, my favorite ride!

Next we walked over to Haunted Mansion which was practically a walk-on still. Then we went back and checked Indy. It was running now, with a bit of a wait, so we asked for and rode single rider. Al was seated right behind me. A funny thing about that-- there was only one other guy in the single rider line with us, and we really got mixed in with the regular riders. It would have been very easy to just put our single rider passes into our pockets and stay in the regular line, thus ensuring that we'd get seated together. But, honesty prevailed and we did the rigamarole where you go up the elevator, go over to the other elevator and ride it down, then line up and wait. Indy is always a lot of fun!

We still had a little time, so we went over to Tomorrowland to check on Star Tours. It was only ten minutes, so we got in line and rode again. Al really liked that one, and it was fun to do a little different trip each time.

Then it was time for our character breakfast at Minnie and Friends at the Plaza. I was a little apprehensive. How weird is it for two adults to do a character breakfast?

They took our picture at the front:



We were led to a pleasant table on the south porch. At first I wanted to sit inside, but as we stood there by the hostess desk, I changed my mind. It was really noisy in there.

They are very good with the whole gluten-free thing. A chef came out and told us what was available. They took our preferences after ascertaining that yes, indeed, we would like gluten-free Mickey waffles. Rather than our having to go inside through the buffet lines and picking out whatever gluten free stuff was there, they just brought us out plates and plates of whatever we wanted to try. Besides the waffles, our server brought us scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage; hash browns, and fruit. They also had gluten free blueberry muffins, and brought us a couple of those, which were very good. The waffles had a bit of a taste of sorghum flour to them, which is pretty common, but they were pretty good, too. Al and I took turns leaving the table to go inside and get juice and coffee. We took turns because the characters were coming fast and furious!



Minnie came while Al was inside, and I showed her my Minnie nail designs. She delightedly pointed to her dress, to my hands, and mimed a delighted giggle.



Then Max showed up: when we went to take a picture, he gallantly offered his arm:



Then Fairy Godmother greeted us charmingly:



And Pinocchio:



I also got a hug from Winnie the Pooh, but didn't get a picture (Al was inside). In addition, we saw but didn't get to interact with Captain Hook and Gepetto.

Just below us in front of the porch, a family with two little girls were eating. The younger was maybe fifteen months? Anyway, she was NOT having anything to do with Gepetto. She started screaming in fright! Poor thing; her dad just held her and she calmed down, but refused to look at him, while her big sister was happily chatting away with Gepetto.

Also, the family seated next to us along the porch had 3 little girls. The older two were thrilled, the youngest, not so much. At first she seemed kind of scared of the characters; when she saw how much fun her sisters were having, she didn't seem scared any more, but she just didn't want to interact. We watched a kind of funny moment with Pinocchio. He waved at her, and she turned her back, folded her arms, and pointedly ignored him. Then she leaned up against the window looking inside, with her elbows on the sill. She could clearly see Pinocchio in the reflection, and he sidled up next to her, knelt down, and put his elbows on the sill, too, looking inside like she was doing. She kind of harumphed and turned away, but she had a little grin on, too. That was pretty cute!

All in all, the food was good, and the character interactions were sweet, but I think we enjoyed watching the nearby kids more. I think if we do this again, we'll wait till we have grandkids! (that could be a good ten years or more!)

After our character breakfast, it was about 10:30. We were full and getting kind of tired already, and the parks were starting to get very crowded! We walked over and walked onto Buzz Lightyear. Then I wanted to go back to ToonTown and meet Mickey. We slowly made our way back there-- it was kinda crazy around the Matterhorn-- and sauntered into ToonTown. We walked right into Mickey's house and through it; not too much of a line of people ahead of us. However, it started to back up getting back toward the studio. When we got into the studio, it was pretty full right up to the entrance door, in the waiting area where they play cartoon clips. I asked the CM at the entrance how long the wait was, and she replied that it was 30 minutes from there. It didn't look as though it would take that long, but we looked at each other and shrugged, and decided to go ahead and wait. The wait was actually more like 20 minutes, not bad at all.

We had a nice visit with Mickey in his wizard costume, with just one family ahead of us when they let us in. The Photopass CM took a great picture; the other CM also took pictures with my phone camera, but muttered about how bad the lighting is in there for any cameras other than the photopass. They were so dark! But we liked the photopass one:



Next we wandered back up to Critter Country, looking to ride Winnie the Pooh. It was down, an unusual circumstance for Pooh. But we needed to get some treats for our kiddos; we'd promised them Tigger tails or some version of marshmallow wands. I should have taken a picture: we got them a tigger tail, a dark chocolate caramel wand, and one that looked like Jack Skellington's tuxedo. I almost bought a really cute Minne apron for DD18, but didn't:



Wow, we were getting tired. We each got a drink, then went over to Hungry Bear to sit down in the quiet downstairs area and drink them. It was much busier down there today than it had been before when we'd checked out the area; we had to search around for a table. We were really starting to get in the mood to get home, but it was barely noon. So, we made a plan: one last ride in DCA, a drink over at GCH, and some last minute souvenir shopping for my nieces.

(continued next post: last ride, goodbye... and a few random leftover pictures I didn't post before!)

 

[avalon451]

(Last Day, continued...)

We walked down through Disneyland one last time, and walked over to DCA. We went over to Soarin' and pulled a FP, deciding that that would be our last ride, and we'd have the time to enjoy it. The return time was 2:20. Then we kept going around Grizzly Peak, and went into GCH. The Hearthstone lounge was only half full, and we found two comfortable armchairs and sat down. Very shortly we had a Glowtini (Al) and a Magical Star cocktail (me). We savored them slowly, and saved the glowing freezable "ice cubes" which are now residing in our freezer at home, ready for our homemade libations.



We relaxed there for a good hour, which was lovely. The only downside is that California, unlike Washington, allows minors into lounges with their parents. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but I feel like I've done my time in the mommy trenches. There are times when DH and I deliberately dine in restaurant lounges so we can be away from small children. Here, there were several groups with kids, most notably a large family with what looked like about 6 or 8 cousins ranging in age from 4 to 12. The parents took a nearby table, but the kids parked themselves on two couches facing each other (you can see in the pic behind Al) and proceeded to play video games on their phones, bicker, and push each other off their seats. Ah, well.

Finally we got up and stretched our stiff limbs, and exited the GCH back into CA. We went over to Trolley Treats on the corner of Buena Vista, to get some rice krispie treats and pins for my nieces. We picked up a BB8 treat and one with a Frozen picture on it (my older niece, 13, is SO SO done with Frozen, so we keep giving her Frozen stuff just to get on her nerves). We found pins from Tangled for them: one double set with Flynn and Maximus, and the other with Rapunzel and Gothel.

Then we went to use our last FPs for Soarin'. The wait, even with FPs, was a good fifteen minutes. However, we enjoyed it much more this time, since we were unhurried. We got the top this time, closer to the center. It's so beautiful. We were able to sense the scents much more clearly, too, I think because we were more conscious of them and were waiting for them.

Then we were ready to go. We were really ready. It was fun, I loved doing the whole thing with my DD. But I was good, and I think I'm good for another year or so at least.

DD mused, "It's like eating a mouthful of Chex mix. It's yummy but you can't really tell how much you liked it until you're done chewing and swallowing, and then you can better perceive the flavors and how they all tasted together. I don't think I can really say what I liked best or how I liked the trip over all, until I get some perspective on it."

A few weeks after we got back, we were discussing it. I think deep down I was worried that DH was just humoring me, that he'd disliked it, and that made me think the whole trip might have been kind of a drag for him. But no. He said he really liked it and was glad that he'd gotten to experience so much more than we had when we were there the first time. He, like me, especially liked the fine dining we'd done, especially Club 33 and Carthay Circle. He'd really enjoyed the funky little dark rides, the original feel to the parks, and the small details we were able to take in during our downtime and during the tour.

Things we're glad we did once but won't do again: character breakfast... park tour... standing in line for character meet n' greets like Mickey or Royal Welcome (although the spontaneous street ones that had short lines were great)... Napa chef's counter.

Things that made the entire trip totally worth it: Club 33. We'd go back again just to do that, and I think we probably will. Al's boss implied that, were we to give her more notice next time, she can probably arrange for us to get in for dinner. Next year?

To sum up the rest of our journey home, it all went pretty smoothly. We retrieved our luggage from the Desert Inn lockers, and requested an Uber pickup. That guy was a bit of a flake. It took a bit, and he was not driving the car that the app said ("Oh, yeah, I'm driving my brother's car today) so at first we didn't think he was our ride. Then he acted kind of put out that we'd mistaken him for somebody else's ride. Then when we went to put our luggage in the trunk, it was stuffed full of plastic bags full of groceries, and he got all pissy when Al started to put bags in there-- got out and moved everything aside. Also, the car was pretty dirty, he had multiple to-go cups stacked up in the front seat. But he got us there ok, so that was fine.

We were quite early for our 5 p.m. flight. When we went through the mostly deserted security line, one of the TSA agents noticed our Club 33 shopping bag which contained our souvenirs, which we were hand carrying onto the flight. She asked if we'd been there, and got all excited as we described it. The other security agent heard and wandered over to listen and ask questions, too (yeah, it was REALLY quiet there at the moment!) and they were both just grinning and saying "Way to go!" So that was probably the most pleasant experience I've ever had going through airport security.

We found a bar/restaurant on the concourse, Hobie's Sand Bar, with a surfing theme and history of the Hobie brand and founder all through it. We had a couple of small plates and drinks for our early dinner, and enjoyed a leisurely time there with no rush to leave, since the place had very few patrons in it.

Then we boarded our flight home. It was only about half full, and we had a row to ourselves to spread out, which was lovely.

We got home about 10 p.m. to our lovely daughters' welcome. They were all doing fine (DD14 had recovered fully from her panicky episode the night before) and they loved their little treats and souvenirs-- we'd gotten them each something special (baseball shirt, minnie ears, hidden mickey yoga pants for the oldest who's currently a yoga nut).

Then we slept like rocks in our own beds.

Here's some leftover photopass pictures that I didn't post elsewhere:

In California Adventure by the bridge to Paradise Pier, on Thursday, day 3:




California Screamin', I'm having fun, Al is NOT:



RSR, fun for both of us:



Day 2, photopass pic by Town Square with Halloween decorations:



Very first day, photopass photographer when we first got there. She did a couple of different effects-- Pascal on Al's head:







And Bert the chimney sweep. We also got a little video of him popping in and out of this picture, super cute!




Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my trip report! Questions, observations, always welcome, either in comments or by PM...

See you next time!
--

 

[avalon451]

whew all caught up! I have been considering a solo trip in the first week of January. I have always want to see the place done up for holidays and the special holiday entertainment but I never have been able to because the christmas crowds are too much for my kiddo. I was thinking it could be a christmas gift to myself so this is great.

I have to tell you though-Blue bayou has really good gluten free rolls so what a bummer that you were offered gussied up burger buns. I was also wondering why I wasn't offered those rolls again at Carthay. Now I know-nobody else has them. The chiefs at Disney need to practice a little sharing is caring on their GF roll recipes.

My kiddo also has anxiety and I too dread the phone calls from him when I am stuck someplace else-usually at work-and there is nothing I can do to get there. We went to Disney in March and he was off his anxiety meds because of surgery and (they couldn't be taken with pain meds) I had tried to keep expectation low but the trip was still a hot mess.

I think you can be a major disney fan and still hit a disney wall when the situation is ripe for it. We wont take away your Disney fanatic title over one tough trip.

Thanks, Kindermouse! I hope you take your solo trip and have an AMAZING time! I would really like to see the Christmas decorations, myself!

We did get those yummy GF rolls at Blue Bayou, and I was wondering the same thing: how come Carthay and even Club 33 didn't have those? Weird. I'm also going to campaign actively for better GF desserts. 'Cause we deserve more than creme brulee and sorbet, darnit.

The anxiety thing: oh, man. We went through it in 6th grade with my middle daughter, big time. I actually had to be in the classroom with her for a couple of months, and in the building for the rest of the year, or she'd panic. It got much better with medication and counseling; by the following year she was fine. She continued to battle it but made it through high school, and now is doing SO great-- she drives herself everywhere, started her first year of college this year at a local college, volunteers at a pet shelter, and is applying for jobs. So proud of her, she's come so far! So we hold out great hope that our youngest will eventually adjust and get better.

And, thanks for the vote of retaining my Disney fanatic title. I wouldn't say it was a tough trip... just a bit long for us old fuddy duddies, with a couple of glitches here and there. Every time I go I learn more about my pacing, my introvert's need for occasional peace and recharge time, and my preferences for rides and shows. I think my trips will keep getting better.

 

[klacey1]

I totally get feeling ready to go home, but it sounds like you guys really had a nice trip full of good eats! I totally agree with you on the character meals. I did a breakfast at 1900 PF my last trip to WDW and it was just...awkward. I love the idea of the characters, wearing Minnie ears, etc. but just cannot interact with them in that way.
I also think you were wayyyy too kind to the Uber driver! They're supposed to follow certain standards for cleanliness and things in the car. I would not have been happy!
I really enjoyed reading about your trip. Thank you so much for taking the time to share it with us!

 

[Mac Brew]

Hi just like to say how much I enjoyed reading your report.It is great to read adults only reports it puts on a diferant persctive to park visits.Have only been to florida but one year we will get to Disneyland and as my kids are now grown up it will just be myself and my long standing wife.Thanks again.