"I Think I Might Be a Disneyland Person!" - Feb. 2016 ~ Updated 2/19/21: TR Complete!!!

I love the chance to see some of DL from your point of view! It makes me excited for the possibility of a DL trip in our futures.
It makes me excited to go back again sometime too! :hyper: Glad you are enjoying!

How adorable! Little piles of Mickey carbs! Leave it the waiter to make you even more stuffed, but these look too good to pass up :)
:rotfl2: Good description! We had to at least try them. ::yes::

I'd like to see the DL version of this too! I read somewhere I think that in the stretching room at WDW the ceiling goes up, but in DL the floor goes down? It would be neat to see what's similar and what's different.
Yes, I remember reading that too and I think I could sort of feel a difference? :confused3 (Could have been my imagination, though...)

I've heard people really love this ride :)

What an awesome day you had! Looking forward to hearing more.
I enjoyed Indy a lot more than I expected. :thumbsup2 And, thanks, more coming up!

That looks like such a cute little restaurant. And I can imagine that food would be VERY filling, especially considering the lunch you had eaten earlier. Those beignets look so good, though!
We were so ridiculously stuffed! Good and tasty food, though.

Indiana Jones is such a fun ride! I do love Dinosaur, but am not a big fan of things popping out at me and scaring me! Nice that you didn't need Izzy there with you to get the RS.
I definitely prefer Indy to Dinosaur, though I enjoy them both. It was so strange, the whole trip, we never once had to show Izzy to get RS. After a few times, I just figured that's the way it worked at Disneyland, even though we ALWAYS show her at WDW. :confused:

It interesting to see the differences between land and world. I love how many of the organial rides have so many differences so you can go to either one and feel like it is anew experience.
Exactly! I loved those little (and big) differences! Really makes things fresh and exciting again after quite a few WDW trips (not that I'm bored with WDW, but some of the giddiness had worn off).

The Monte Cristo sandwiches look yummy, but I can't decide if I would like it or not, it just looks so "fried". We didn't do the Indiana jones ride, if we ever get back it's on the must do list.
Yeah, it was a lot more fried food than we usually consume, but good to try. I always like to try the fan favorites when I can. Yes, get back to Disneyland to ride Indy! ::yes::

No joke, I would go back to Disneyland just for the promise of that sandwich and those fries. I too feel like it's way too much for one person. Last time I was there I got the sandwich and my coworker got a beef crepe but ended up not liking it and eating part of my sandwich. We easily could have just shared it and the fries, and then we also would have had room (and money) for the beignets! Ah well, live and learn.
Exactly! It was an insane amount of food, even with 3 of us sharing (though Izzy only nibbled and mostly ate strawberries). I do wish we'd just shared one sandwich, but you live, you learn, as you said.
 
OK, those monte cristos look good and sickening, all at the same time:) The cheese one looks really good, but I might have to stick with the fried green tomato sandwich. DH doesn't eat monte cristos anymore, since he doesn't have a gall bladder:rotfl2:I would have to eat the whole thing:( Plus, I want to save room for dessert. We love beignets.
Ha, yeah, it would be way too much for one person! Especially with dessert. :faint:

That is a feature that can be vastly underrated by many.
It was so nice!

A tower of Strawberries and then a tower of beignets? If you're going to build towers at dinner, always make them delicious towers. :thumbsup2
:rotfl2:

I know! I think my first realization of this was Thunder Mountain. We asked about getting one at the entrance and she told me to tell the CM on the loading platform. They literally handed it to me as I was getting on the ride.
Yeah, we went through the entire trip getting RS as we got in line and not a single CM said they needed to see Izzy. :confused3

::yes:: I know they say the track layout is the same, but I think without all the "vegetation" in Dinosaur, you have some more impressive sightlines in Indy that make it feel a lot different.
That's what I really noticed...it felt so much more open and spacious. I liked that a lot.

She was really enjoying that knife! :scared:

Isn't it!? I can barely remember HM from DL from my 2010 trip, but I do remember thinking the same thing.
::yes::

So easy to get RS during our trip! :thumbsup2

I LOVED Indy!!! I vaguely remember it too, and definitely remember it being more open. I must have ridden that one a hundred times! :laughing:
I'd love to ride it a hundred times! I did get back a few times and loved it each one.

Those fries look delicious! The Mickey beignets don't tempt me as much, only because I've had the real deal from Cafe du Monde so many times, and I imagine those are pretty impossible to beat! lol What kind of sauces are those with them?
The fries were really good! I just asked Dug if he had the Cafe du Monde beignets when he was in New Orleans and he did...said they were WAY better than the Mickey ones. :rotfl: I believe it was vanilla and raspberry sauces with the Mickey ones.

We found this to be true pretty much everywhere but at Guardians of the Galaxy on our trip. In that case, the FP line extended a bit further down from where you actually properly enter the queue, so I asked the CM holding a sign that said "FP Entrance Starts Here" if we'd need to show DD when we got up to the point where they take your FP and give you the rider swap and he said no, so DH and DD started to walk away. Then when I got up there the CM kept insisting she needed to see the small child, so I had to call them to come back so I could point them out. It was a little frustrating, but we learned after that.
Oh, interesting, maybe since that's a popular new version? We did ToT (pre-Guardians) and easily got a Rider Swap. It seemed so strange to me that they were so lax in giving out RS for our whole trip. But it worked well for us. :thumbsup2
 
Late Night Adventures

We made our way back over to Tomorrowland. At both WDW and Disneyland, I love Tomorrowland all lit up at night:



I believe that we had a FP that we’d pulled earlier at Star Tours, so I rode with that and Dug rode after with the Rider Swap I got:



My notes say there was a long delay while I was in line, though:



While I rode, Dug took Izzy on Buzz again:



Dug had tried to pull another Star Tours FP at some point, but ended up getting Buzz instead. :headache: Can’t remember how – they must have been near each other? :confused3 But we made it back and ended up getting the VERY LAST Star Tours FP for that day:





I think the one before that was an actual FP and that was all we needed, since just Dug was going to ride again later this evening.

We also stopped to see just how far Izzy was from 40”:



We knew she wasn’t there yet (despite the Star Tours CM saying she’d make it), but she wasn’t even close, as you can see. Funny, almost a year and a half later, she’s well past that and we’re hoping she can make 44” by October at WDW (She's got about 1.5 inches to go, so not sure, but she's been pigging out lately, so maybe a growth spurt coming? :confused3)

Anyway, at that point we had switched and Dug was in Star Tours:







And I took Izzy on Buzz Lightyear again (she loved that ride). I wish I could remember why I took this picture in the queue :confused::



I remember Izzy and I checking this out, but can’t remember what we found interesting about it. Maybe that hole is a real Phillips screw holding this giant one in? That might be it...seems like the sort of thing I'd find somewhat ironic. Hard to tell from the picture, but this one was very large so that we would feel like small action figures, I guess.

At any rate, we rode:







There were a couple nights on our trip where Disneyland was open late, so we’d decided to each take one as a solo night. The park was open until midnight this night, so we decided to have Dug stay late, since he was already adjusted to California time, while Izzy and I headed back to the hotel to sleep. We left around 9:30pm, which felt like 11:30pm MN time to us. Happily heading out:



It was a wonderfully short walk back to our hotel, just past that stoplight :cloud9::



I seriously cannot tell you how much I loved being SOOOO close. I’m sad that Disney is probably going to be making that walk longer in the future. :sad: It was so incredibly convenient to stroll out of the park and be at our off-site hotel in a few minutes without having to fold a stroller or wait in a line for transportation.

Back in the room, Izzy enjoyed some Oreos from our airline snack box as her bedtime snack:



My notes say, “I unpacked while she ate and whined.” Sounds about right. :rotfl:

Dug was enjoying his first excursion on Indiana Jones at that time:





He liked it, but said his back was a bit sore afterwards.

Then he went here:



And we had a text exchange that probably most parents of young kids can relate to :laughing: :



My notes also include that Izzy needed to go back to the restroom to pee yet again before bed. :faint: Anything she can do to delay bedtime. ::yes::

Dug was having a more fun time - riding Pirates (which is much longer than WDW’s version and has two drops…and a restaurant we’ll dine at later in the trip):





He then moved on to:



Then back to Star Tours again:





And another spin on Buzz:





He headed out around midnight:







He enjoyed his solo time at Disneyland quite a bit. And, don’t worry, I think I enjoyed mine even more later in the trip. I mean, (spoiler alert!) how often do you get to do two different boat rides completely by yourself? :earseek: Memorable for sure!

Up next: Our first character breakfast of the trip!
 
Just popping in to say how much I am loving your TR! I wasn't originally planning on writing my own report, but I think you've convinced me to do so for my series of upcoming trips (cheap airfare from the Detroit airport plus having purchased an AP voucher when they were offering a 13 month AP means I have 3 trips coming up, including my husband's first time going to any Disney park!). I love the idea of parental solo nights in the park...yet another perk of the hotels being SO close to the park! Oh, and I am glad I'm not the only one sending texts like yours :rotfl2: (although mine are about canine kids--having two teenager dogs means LOTS of texts like that!). Can't wait to read more updates!

~Meg
 


Your dinner looked delicious and definitely bountiful! Glad you were able to your dessert with you in a to-go box.

Man, I wish WDW had that same Rider Swap system. It can get old, dragging both parties to an attraction just to have the adult and child turn around and hoof it to a kid-friendly ride. However, I imagine too many people would abuse that process in WDW.

The joy of parenthood...sharing in potty training successes. :rotfl2:
 
At both WDW and Disneyland, I love Tomorrowland all lit up at night:


So neat! I also love Tomorrowland at night in WDW.

I wish I could remember why I took this picture in the queue :confused::


Interesting mystery picture! I always end up with one or two of these.

It was so incredibly convenient to stroll out of the park and be at our off-site hotel in a few minutes without having to fold a stroller or wait in a line for transportation.

This is something I'd love! It's definitely one of the pros of staying onsite at Universal to me.

My notes say, “I unpacked while she ate and whined.” Sounds about right. :rotfl:

The joys of parenthood!
 
That was lucky getting the very last Star Tours FP!

Funny that the CM thought Izzy would be tall enough to ride - she doesn't look close in that picture! Every time Rory gets measured at home or at the doctor, he asks "what rides can I ride now???" He just hit 40" and doesn't know that we have a surprise trip coming up next month!

That walk back to the hotel does look nice. Not having to deal with buses and folding strollers is the best at the end of the night. Hopefully they won't make it too inconvenient in the future, but I'm not really aware of the planned changes.

Looks like a fun solo evening for Dug!
 


Your report is making me want to go back to DL! I loved how convenient the offsite hotels were. We split our time between Grand Californian and the same hotel where you stayed and both were really convenient. I don't think I will ever convince my husband to do Grand Californian again so I'm sad that the walk offsite will be getting longer.

Can't wait to hear what you did on your solo night! I am having trouble getting used to solo evening time now that we have a kiddo, but you make me excited to do more of it.
 
End%20of%20Night%20One%20-%2018_zpsd7lci36x.jpg
Ok... me being a little OCD about it, but why does it say "sold out." They aren't selling the things. No monetary transaction takes place. It isn't sold out. The inventory is just gone! :rotfl:

And I took Izzy on Buzz Lightyear again (she loved that ride). I wish I could remember why I took this picture in the queue :confused::
Just claim Izzy took it.
My notes say, “I unpacked while she ate and whined.” Sounds about right. :rotfl:
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

It looks like an awesome solo evening for Dug. I always appreciate getting any solo time in the parks that I can. And congratulations to Izzy (at least I hope that's who the text referred to) on the successful poop.
 
Dug had tried to pull another Star Tours FP at some point, but ended up getting Buzz instead. :headache: Can’t remember how – they must have been near each other? :confused3

Yes they are! It's very confusing. I was trying to get the ST ones on our trip and kept second guessing myself on which machine to use until I finally asked a cm.

My notes say, “I unpacked while she ate and whined.” Sounds about right. :rotfl:

That is a legit review of life with a toddler.
 
Wow - you had a full night, and then Dug got to have even more fun! I love the Theme Parks at night!
 
And just like that, I'm all caught up! Those sandwiches look delightful! I've heard with advanced notice they can make a gluten free version... :flower1::love:

I also love theme parks lit up at night. Tomorrowland & Fantasyland two of my favorites!
 
Jackiemarie21 told me you had started a Disneyland TR and I popped over to check it out! We're going in September (for my BIRTHDAY!!!woohoo!!!) so I can't wait to read all about it!
 
Dug had tried to pull another Star Tours FP at some point, but ended up getting Buzz instead. :headache: Can’t remember how – they must have been near each other? :confused3

We just got back from our first Disneyland trip and I wanted to chime in that these two FP stations were super confusing! I circled them a couple time before figuring out that Buzz faced one way and Star Tours the opposite way! Dug made good use of his solo time!
 
Just popping in to say how much I am loving your TR! I wasn't originally planning on writing my own report, but I think you've convinced me to do so for my series of upcoming trips (cheap airfare from the Detroit airport plus having purchased an AP voucher when they were offering a 13 month AP means I have 3 trips coming up, including my husband's first time going to any Disney park!).
Thanks! :goodvibes My trip reporting all got started on an AP year like that too! I mostly do them for myself to preserve the memories - I actually go back and re-read my old TRs every so often. But it's fun interacting with all the other Disney fans too! Enjoy your trips!

I love the idea of parental solo nights in the park...yet another perk of the hotels being SO close to the park!
We also try to do some solo parent time at WDW, but it's much easier at Disneyland - just a quick stroll back, no parent has to contend with stroller/bus/child on their own, etc. :thumbsup2

Oh, and I am glad I'm not the only one sending texts like yours :rotfl2: (although mine are about canine kids--having two teenager dogs means LOTS of texts like that!). Can't wait to read more updates!
:rotfl2: I totally understand that - we have a nearly 11 year old dog and a 17 year old cat, so there are plenty of those texts here too. :eek:

Your dinner looked delicious and definitely bountiful! Glad you were able to your dessert with you in a to-go box.
It was good, but SOOOO much food! :faint:

Man, I wish WDW had that same Rider Swap system. It can get old, dragging both parties to an attraction just to have the adult and child turn around and hoof it to a kid-friendly ride. However, I imagine too many people would abuse that process in WDW.
I thought it was supposed to be the same way at Disneyland, but it quickly became clear they didn't care. We always bring Izzy up at WDW, but they never once cared to see her at Disneyland. I don't know, maybe I just look super trustworthy? :confused3:rotfl:

The joy of parenthood...sharing in potty training successes. :rotfl2:
Small victories!

So neat! I also love Tomorrowland at night in WDW.
Most things Disney are wonderful at night! :goodvibes

Interesting mystery picture! I always end up with one or two of these.
Yeah, I think my guess is right about the screw within a screw thing. Foggy memory. But still not so sure. I find myself with more of those mystery pics because I take them to remind me of things for the TR, but then they are sometimes hard to decipher.

This is something I'd love! It's definitely one of the pros of staying onsite at Universal to me.
Definitely a huge plus! No waiting, no crowds, no hassle. :thumbsup2

The joys of parenthood!
Oh, yes, all the whining you can handle. And snacks. :laughing:

That was lucky getting the very last Star Tours FP!
pixiedust:

Funny that the CM thought Izzy would be tall enough to ride - she doesn't look close in that picture! Every time Rory gets measured at home or at the doctor, he asks "what rides can I ride now???" He just hit 40" and doesn't know that we have a surprise trip coming up next month!
That's awesome about the surprise trip and 40"!! :cool1: Izzy keeps getting on the scale and asking what she can ride. :lmao: I've been explaining to her over and over that it's height, not weight, but she keeps forgetting.

That walk back to the hotel does look nice. Not having to deal with buses and folding strollers is the best at the end of the night. Hopefully they won't make it too inconvenient in the future, but I'm not really aware of the planned changes.
I actually looked into it a bit after writing this update and it sounds like there might be a chance the offsite hotels on Harbor keep the direct access. I guess Disney was going to have people walk around back to get to the (new/to be built) parking structure skyway thing, but the businesses complained and everything seems to be on hold. Or something. Yay!

Looks like a fun solo evening for Dug!
It was!
 
Your report is making me want to go back to DL! I loved how convenient the offsite hotels were. We split our time between Grand Californian and the same hotel where you stayed and both were really convenient. I don't think I will ever convince my husband to do Grand Californian again so I'm sad that the walk offsite will be getting longer.
I mentioned in the previous reply that I think there's a chance the walk may stay the same. I tried to catch up on the recent status of the parking ramp project thing and it seems there has been a delay and the Harbor businesses are the cause. :thumbsup2 (Oh, and I want to go back to Disneyland like every day lately, so I get it. :sad2:)

Can't wait to hear what you did on your solo night! I am having trouble getting used to solo evening time now that we have a kiddo, but you make me excited to do more of it.
I think it works well for us as 1.) We are both night people and 2.) We are both pretty independent and 3.) We really try to maintain a reasonable bedtime for the kiddo (though as she gets older, it is becoming harder as she seems to be a major night person too!) I absolutely love that time to enjoy the parks and not have to worry about what anyone else wants or needs for a bit. :cloud9:

Ok... me being a little OCD about it, but why does it say "sold out." They aren't selling the things. No monetary transaction takes place. It isn't sold out. The inventory is just gone! :rotfl:
:rotfl2: That is an awesome observation!

Just claim Izzy took it.
Given the poor quality of the picture, that does seem perfectly reasonable. :thumbsup2

:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

It looks like an awesome solo evening for Dug. I always appreciate getting any solo time in the parks that I can. And congratulations to Izzy (at least I hope that's who the text referred to) on the successful poop.
Yes, definitely refers to Izzy! :rotfl2: That is not something she enjoys doing at all, so always good when she succeeds! ::yes::

Yes they are! It's very confusing. I was trying to get the ST ones on our trip and kept second guessing myself on which machine to use until I finally asked a cm.
I wonder why they don't make it clearer, since it appears we are all confused. :confused:

That is a legit review of life with a toddler.
:rotfl2: Describes most days if you take away the "unpacking" part.

Wow - you had a full night, and then Dug got to have even more fun! I love the Theme Parks at night!
It really was a great arrival night. We'd left our plans really open that night, considering it kind-of a bonus and just do-whatever-we-can-do night.

And just like that, I'm all caught up! Those sandwiches look delightful! I've heard with advanced notice they can make a gluten free version... :flower1::love:

I also love theme parks lit up at night. Tomorrowland & Fantasyland two of my favorites!
Wow, I had no idea on the gluten free version. That's cool. And I love any Disney park lit up at night - always looks so different.

Jackiemarie21 told me you had started a Disneyland TR and I popped over to check it out! We're going in September (for my BIRTHDAY!!!woohoo!!!) so I can't wait to read all about it!
YAY!!! Both on your Disneyland birthday trip AND on being here! :goodvibes I LOVED Disneyland and I hope you do too! I'm jealous...:rotfl:

We just got back from our first Disneyland trip and I wanted to chime in that these two FP stations were super confusing! I circled them a couple time before figuring out that Buzz faced one way and Star Tours the opposite way! Dug made good use of his solo time!
Good to know it's not just us that got confused. So weird they have it that way. Yes, Dug had a fun solo time while I got Izzy ready for bed. :thumbsup2
 
Breakfast with Critters

We were up early this morning, as we had a 7am character breakfast reservation. Since Izzy and I had just changed two time zones, though, it didn’t feel so bad. We were out the door at 6:35am. On the way, I snapped a photo of the Best Western’s pool and hot tub (which we never used, as we had better things to do ::yes::):



We made a stop over at the free breakfast area to grab some drinks to bring along (and maybe snacks for later?). Since we had the stroller, Izzy and I waited in the lobby while Dug walked up the stairs to the second level, where the breakfast was:



Looks like Izzy already had a drink:



We could actually see the Disneyland sign from there:



And there’s the breakfast sign:



Waiting on the bench:



I think it took a while, as it often got crowded up there. :crowded:

When Dug made it back, we were on our way to this very dangerous destination :scared: :



There were random Mickeys :earboy2: :





And we eventually made it over to our breakfast destination:



In a throwback to our May 2015 trip, we were fashionably late. :o That stop for drinks/snacks and Dug’s slow pace over took a while, but no worries – there was almost nobody in Storyteller’s Café, as you’ll see!

But, first, a look around the Grand Californian lobby:







We emerged from the lobby and spotted our destination:



A peek inside the restaurant:



That horse border went around the whole place, I believe. Pretty cool.

Anyway, we were brought to a booth right near the buffet and had a critter visit almost immediately:



Meeko! (and you can see all the empty tables behind him) We had never met him before, so that was neat, until he tried to eat Izzy :laughing::



Kidding, of course, they were having fun together:



I have some video that mostly consists of Izzy giggling (starts blurry, but gets better):


With that meet down, Dug enjoyed some coffee:



Earlier, when we sat down, I took a quick video of the empty room and Chip, who was so bored he was twirling:


But now it was time for Chip to come visit us (um, not many other choices in the restaurant yet for him :laughing:). Once again, he was feeling bored and creative, so he walked backwards to us:



Really! Getting closer:



And then he wrapped Izzy in a big ol’ Chip hug:



And booped her nose:



(also, as I just discovered, if you need to combat any boredom, do a search for “nose boop” and check out all the corners of the internet devoted to it…:eek: :confused3 :rotfl2: who knew?)

Looks like he poked her in the eye, though :eek: :



Then they both spotted Dale:



And Chip had to boop his own nose :rotfl::



Izzy loved playing with Chip:







Totally looks like he’s about to propose in that last one. Pretty sure she would have accepted. :lovestruc

And a cute picture together:



It was all sweet and good until he also decided to take a bite of her hair :rotfl2::



And the rather lengthy, but pretty cute, video:


More critter fun in the next post…
 
Continued from previous post…

Next up was Dale and Izzy was very happy to see her old buddy:





Tickle time :rotfl::



Picking his nose? :confused3 Nope, another boop:



The meet was nice, but not nearly at the level of the one with Chip. Here’s the video:


After Dale wandered off, check out who was peeking around the corner at us:



Chip was really into Izzy this morning. :love:

I think we went up to get some food, though (finally!). Looks like Izzy had a plate-full-o-carbs:



This looks like Dug’s plate:



I don’t appear to have a picture of mine. But the food selection was pretty good there and we all were happy with our meals.

Oh, good, she ate some fruit-based carbs too :laughing::



And then Chip was back at it:









After that, Izzy worked on making a “pattern” with the silverware:



Some buffet pictures:













I thought it was poor planning that they had multiple similarly-colored condiments in this spinner without labels directly on them :sad2::



I think these were for me and/or sharing:



And then Dale returned:



Izzy was enjoying her invention of pear-on-a-knife:



I think Dale was afraid of a toddler wielding a sharp object. :scared:

She agreed to put it down to hug him, though:



Some video:


As you can see, Dale decided to cut it short, but he came back after she was done with her dangerous delicacy and they had more fun together:







Video of that one:


And then, since they were apparently vying for Izzy’s affections, Chip returned:






Up next: We meet one more new-to-us character, then head into California Adventure for the first time! :cool1:
 

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