Mom, You Know We're in Hell, Right? A Feb Disneyland/LA TR. Updated 8/7 x 4 The End!

[Pluto0809]

Sorry for the long absence guys! Things got a little crazy at work and then I went home for a week to visit Mom. We did some shopping and also went to Cincinnati, OH with John and Jocelyn to visit the zoo and go to a local amusement park called King's Island. We used to go there once in a while growing up. I gave Sea Bands a try this time along with Bonine and they seemed to help with my motion sickness a little bit. I made it through 6 of the 12 coasters before I had to quit. Jocelyn was the only one in our group who rode all 12.

I'm on the home stretch for the TR and I'm hoping to finish it up in the next week or so before things start picking up at work. I'm usually pretty busy end of August through the beginning of October.

Glad you enjoyed the rest of the tour! That prop room really does look awesome. Love the pics in Central Perk!

Thanks, the prop room was incredible!

Nice Update, looks like it was a fun tour.

I enjoyed seeing the "Friends" props and set. I was never a big watcher while it was on but I have gotten to love it in the reruns. I watch it just about any time I see it on.

It was a fun tour. I should go back and watch Friends now, it was a good show.

That prop warehouse looks awesome! So many cool things to see. Glad it was a good tour but can understand wanting it to be longer.

There was a ton to see in that warehouse. I could have spent hours in there and in the Harry Potter area.

Just jumping in and playing a lot of catch up! Love all those little details and happy to see another picture posting nut doing a TR! The tour though Warner was amazing! I've seen a lot of people cover Universal but not near as much on the Warner Brothers Studio - thank you!

Welcome, glad you joined in and are enjoying the TR. I definitely like taking pictures and I'm always glad to share my experiences.

I bet I could've guessed that's what you'd order!!

SO cool about all the HP stuff!!!! I definitely would've wanted to spend more time there checking everything out!

Love the Central Perk pic Too cute!

I am kind of predictable in my food choices aren't I? I really did want a chocolate chip cookie but they were sold out.

We had way too short of a time in the HP section. I felt like I was rushing to see it all and I didn't even bother with the Super Hero stuff in the downstairs area!

Thank you for your trip report, it's great! Really appreciate the WB tour info as we will be doing it in October and your review got me even more excited!

You are welcome, glad you are enjoying the TR and I hope you have fun in October.

I was also not a fan of 2 Broke Girls. I tried a few episodes... We got to go into a set of Pretty Little Liars, someone's kitchen. We didn't get to see near as much of the prop warehouse! I do remember that red couch though Our guide just took pictures of people at Central Perk and then we were shooed along.

I think we were there at a good time because the Central Perk area was completely empty. I do think each guide is different. We saw one tram stopped in the town square area and they were out and walking around. We didn't do that.

I'm joining very late but I'm just so sad your solo TR ended so I'm jumping on to this one

Hi Tracy, glad to see you over here. I've got one more day to go on this one and then I won't have anything to write about until January. I will probably continue to add a post now and then to the solo TR about my running journey. Speaking of which, I'm doing horrible right now with my work outs, vacation got in the way, and I have my next 5K on August 12th! I need to get back in the swing now that I'm home again.

 

[Pluto0809]

Hanging With the Rich and Famous Part 1

When we finished with the tour, we were all very hungry and John had a place picked out for dinner. We headed to Sunset Boulevard and the Rainbow Bar and Grill.



It was dark as we drove so I didn’t take pictures but John pointed out sites like The Viper Room nightclub where River Phoenix died, The Seventh Veil Strip Club which is mentioned in Motley Crue’s Girls, Girls, Girls song and the Whiskey A Go Go where many famous bands have played. The Whiskey A Go Go was the only one I was familiar with because my husband Jim is a huge Van Halen fan and that is where they got their start.

We were seated right away at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, it’s famous for being a hangout for a lot of Rock Bands, and I took a few pictures from our table.





It happened to be Super Bowl Sunday and there was a large TV on the wall behind me and also smaller ones along the walls above us. We missed most of the first half but ended up sitting at our table for the rest of the game while we ate.

I only took pictures of my food, I started with a bowl of chicken noodle soup.



And had Spaghetti as my meal.



My meal was just OK, edible but nothing to write home about. I don’t remember what John and Jocelyn got but Mom also got pasta, linguine with clam sauce. She only picked at her meal and she told me later that it was awful.

It was getting late when the Super Bowl ended but we still had one more stop for the evening. As we drove back down Sunset Boulevard, I tried to get a picture of the Whiskey A Go Go for Jim but this was the best I could do.



Our final stop was the Hollywood Wax Museum and it was Jocelyn’s pick. It was right down the road from Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The panhandlers were still out in force near the theater but the Wax Museum was a few blocks away and was much quieter.



We parked on a side street and as we walked to the museum, we once again passed the Museum of Broken Relationships. I think I might have gone in to check it out but it was closed for the evening.



We also spotted another one of Walt’s stars as we walked.



Thanks to the late hour, we pretty much had the whole museum to ourselves so we spent a lot of time playing and I took a ton of pictures. The very first display was a little odd, it was Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom on the set of Pirates but they were in street clothes rather than their costumes from the movie.



I will say that this far out I’m not sure I can name every celebrity in every picture so I will mostly just post the pictures for you.



Oh, this next one is interesting, John had to get a little fresh with Jennifer Lawrence.



I sent a picture of Channing Tatum to some girlfriends from work and said “look who I met” but they weren’t fooled.

We veered off for a bit from the celebrities and went down a side passage that was all horror films. I was not thrilled, I’m not a fan of scary movies or haunted houses that have things that jump out at you. I’ll ride the Haunted Mansion at Disney anytime but you won’t every catch me at something like Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. And yes, I did get spooked once during our trek through the wax horror films and screamed out loud. The other three just looked at me like I was an idiot. I tried to distract myself with lots of pictures.























Whew! Just revisiting those pictures gives me the heebie jeebies! Let’s return to the safe world of wax celebrities.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Hanging With the Rich and Famous Part 2









There were props with some of the figures and both John and Jocelyn had fun dressing up and posing with the stars. I never did make it out from behind the camera.









Another thing that gave me the heebie jeebies was John trying on hats that were probably worn by hundreds of people that day.































And that was the last picture I took that night. We headed back to the car and drove back to our hotel. I think it was pretty late when we finally made it to bed.

I don’t seem to have my fitbit stats for this day and of course I didn’t trade for any pins since we weren’t in a park.

Up Next: Breakfast With Minnie Mouse

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad you had a nice visit with your family!

Sorry your dinner wasn't that great. At least you got to see the end of the game!

The Wax Museum seems cool, glad you guys had fun!

 

[rteetz]

The wax museum looks like a lot of fun! I have never been to one of any kind.

 

[Tracy161]

I gave Sea Bands a try this time along with Bonine and they seemed to help with my motion sickness a little bit.

I tried this combo a couple trips ago but didn't have the relative success you did. Glad it worked for you, though!

I've got one more day to go on this one and then I won't have anything to write about until January.

PTR?

I have my next 5K on August 12th! I need to get back in the swing now that I'm home again.

Good luck with your training!

It was right down the road from Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

This reminds me of the Great Movie Ride... which reminds me of my horror it's going away

we once again passed the Museum of Broken Relationships.

And that pretty much sums up my dating life

it was Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom on the set of Pirates but they were in street clothes rather than their costumes from the movie.

Strange

Another thing that gave me the heebie jeebies was John trying on hats that were probably worn by hundreds of people that day.

Ick! I'm with you!!!

 

[Pluto0809]

Glad you had a nice visit with your family!

Sorry your dinner wasn't that great. At least you got to see the end of the game!

The Wax Museum seems cool, glad you guys had fun!

It was a nice week, I didn't want to come home!

I was happy to see the end of the game. Of course if the Steelers had made the game we probably would have rearranged the day to see the whole game.

The Wax Museum was fun although I kind of found it creepy, especially the horror section.

The wax museum looks like a lot of fun! I have never been to one of any kind.

They are fun but also a little creepy. Some of those figures are too lifelike!

I tried this combo a couple trips ago but didn't have the relative success you did. Glad it worked for you, though!

PTR?

Good luck with your training!

This reminds me of the Great Movie Ride... which reminds me of my horror it's going away

And that pretty much sums up my dating life

Strange
Ick! I'm with you!!!

I was doing great with the Sea Bands until I rode a coaster called Diamondback. It was one of those with no loops but just big hill after big hill that gives you serious air time over them. I knew better than to ride that one because hills like that always make me sick. But I was feeling confident at that point and wanted to see how far the sea bands went. Well, I definitely found out they had limits! I'm seriously debating about whether to try them out on Star Tours in January. That's the one ride that always makes me nauseous and I haven't ridden it since 2013.

I do think I will do a PTR but I really don't have anything to talk about now so it won't be till October before I start it. I will still do an occasional update on the "Squirrel" TR about my training. And speaking of training, I've worked out once since I got back from vacation. I need to push it a bit this week for my race next Saturday!

 

[Pluto0809]

Breakfast with Minnie Mouse

On Monday, February 6th, 2017, Mom and I split off from John and Jocelyn. They were heading back to LA for more sightseeing and we were headed back to the parks for the day. I do think Mom would have rather done some more LA stuff but I was adamant that I wanted a third day in the parks and she didn’t want to be a third wheel with John and Jocelyn. Truth be told, if it had been my trip alone, I probably would have just spent all five days in the parks.

My goal for the day was to catch any rides we missed the first day and also to meet some of the unique characters that DL offered. I planned on starting in DL and then hopping to DCA after lunch. As you will see, this day did not go anything like I planned it, mostly because of this.



Yep, we woke up to a torrential downpour. But the show must go on and I did pack some small umbrellas that fit down in my purse that came in very handy that day.

First though, I had another surprise for Mom, we were going to have breakfast with Minnie and friends at the Plaza Inn.

We journeyed forth, splashing through the puddles with our umbrellas up and found the special breakfast entrance to the far left of the DL entrance. They were not letting people in yet so we huddled under our umbrellas for a while. As we entered, they verified our ADRs and then handed us each one of these pins.



This next picture is actually from our first DL day but I’m reposting it to show you where we had to go. If you look at the right in the photo, you will see a CM holding a purple Plaza Inn sign.



We had to show her our pins and then she let us pass and go on down the sidewalk to the Plaza Inn which was at the end of Main Street on the right. Our ADR wasn’t until 10 am but they let us check in even though it was closer to 9:40 when we got there. We were directed to the side of the porch for some Photopass pictures.



For some odd reason, the CM told us to hug and these hilarious photos were the result. Mom and I couldn’t stop laughing when we saw them.





The Plaza Inn is buffet style and you pay as you enter. I tried to pay for Mom since this was a surprise and therefore an unplanned expense for her but she wouldn’t let me. I think she was as excited for the breakfast as I was.

Once we were seated, the characters started coming immediately. Up first was The Fairy Godmother and at this point I have no idea what we talked about. But she was a new character for me which was exciting. Mom mostly chose to stay behind the camera during the meal.



Eeyore came next. I know I’ve met him in his Christmas outfit but I think this might have been a first in his regular costume.



After that there was a break and we headed up to get some food. I took a couple of really bad pictures of the restaurant as I walked around.



Our table. You can see our mini umbrellas in the plastic bag along with our purses.



I started taking some pictures of the buffet but I only ended up getting one station. This was the fruit and pastries area.





Chip came as soon as we got back to our table. He was so fun, he kept trying to steal food off of our plates. He came back more than once trying to sneak morsels. He was almost as bad as my Epcot squirrel!



I finally had a moment to sit down and eat a bit. I had Mickey waffles of course, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and fruit. The drinks were even self-serve so I grabbed Coke for caffeine and some apple juice.



I don’t think I ever got a picture of Mom’s plate but hers was similar to mine except she got some oatmeal and probably a pastry of some kind.

Tigger came next.



Captain Hook was another new one for me. He was funny too and snuck up behind Mom and scared her. I will admit I was bad and didn’t warn her at all.



Minnie Mouse came next to welcome us to her breakfast. The ladies at the table behind us offered to take a picture so we could both be in it.







There were a lot of characters at this meal! Pooh was next.



In between all of the characters, we both went back for more food. I definitely got a second plate of Mickey waffles and I think more of the hash browns, they were good!

The final character was Dale and we ended up sitting for a bit waiting for him to show up. He finally made it and we both got pictures with him before heading out.





We both loved this meal! The food was basic breakfast food but everything was hot and fresh. It was a little hectic with all the characters but that’s the reason we went (well at least for me but I think Mom had fun too). I would definitely go back again.

Up Next: Exploring Toontown

 

[Pluto0809]

Exploring Toontown

Our first destination after lunch was Mickey’s Toontown which we missed the first day. I was hoping to meet Mickey in one of his more unusually costumes like Steamboat Willie. Toontown opens and hour after the regular park and it was just opening when we got there.











Unfortunately we were a bit early and Mickey was waiting right inside the door of his house in his regular costume.



After saying hi, we continued on into the house to check it out.







I was a little bit ahead of Mom and as we turned a corner I let out a bit of a scream. Mom thought someone had scared me again but nope, I was just excited for this guy.



Unfortunately Mom hasn’t quite figured out my camera so the pictures here are a bit blurry.









As we were leaving, Mom handed me back my camera and Pluto motioned to me that he wanted me to take a picture of his bed. This resulted in one of my favorite shots from the whole trip.



We continued on through the rest of the house.













As we exited out into the garage, we ran into Mom’s favorite guy.



I took a few more pictures before heading next door to visit Minnie.





Minnie had about a 5 minute wait and she had a Photopass Photographer with her.





A few pictures from her house.





We stopped for a few minutes in the food court area and sat at about the only dry table so Mom could call and check on my Great Aunt. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of Pluto’s Dog House.



Here’s the view from our table. It was set back up some steps and under an awning, hence the dry seats.





We walked through the stores in the area. I know that I didn't buy anything but Mom might have. She bought quite a few things that day but I didn't get pictures of anything and I can't remember everything she got.

I decided next that we needed to ride Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. The Wait time said 10 minutes but I think we ended up waiting closer to 20 minutes.





I took some line photos to pass the time.



Well I thought I took more than one but I guess not.

Neither one of us really liked the ride. Mom had never seen Roger Rabbit and had no idea what was going on. I really didn’t either, it was probably the early 90s the last time I saw the movie. The cars had an option to spin them but we just chose to sit and watch. However, the car kept turning on its own so I was distracted trying to keep us facing forward so we could see. It was pretty much a one and done for both of us.

Up Next: Mickey and the Magical Map

 

[Pluto0809]

Mickey and the Magical Map

When we left Toontown, it had started raining again pretty hard but our next destination was around the corner and there was covered seating. I wanted to see Mickey and the Magical Map and the next show was starting very soon.

I chose a seat down towards the front which turned out to not be the best spot for pictures as you can see by this first photo. And yes, it was cold that day if you can’t tell by all the coats!



The story is basically about Mickey getting sucked into Yensid’s magical map and being transported into different Disney stories.



We visited the Jungle Book.



Pocahontas



Mulan



Tangled



Little Mermaid



Stitch!



And the grand finale was Princess and the Frog.





Overall it was a very cute show and I wish I had made the time to see it with John and Jocelyn on our previous day since John is such a big Tiana fan.

When we finished up with the show, Mom decided she was tired of dealing with our umbrellas so she bought us two of the Disneyland ponchos to wear.



I was actually pretty gratefully because it was cold that day and the ponchos helped warm us up. Since we had the ponchos, we decided to ride It’s a Small World again so we could check out all the Disney characters one more time. I did not take a single picture on our second ride through.

I had wanted to catch the Storybook Land Canal Boats but they were closed again due to the rain. Instead we headed over to the castle to do the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. It was basically a walkthrough of the Sleeping Beauty Story. First there were some books with a bit of the story.



And then windows that depicted other parts of the story. Many of the windows had moving parts so pictures are not the best.




























I took this last picture to show Maleficent’s shadow as it passed across the wall.





It was pretty cute and now you probably don’t have to do it yourself since I photographed almost all of it.

Up Next: A Final Shopping Spree

 

[Pluto0809]

A Final Shopping Spree

From this point on I really don’t have a lot of pictures because we spent most of it shopping. Mom wanted to check out the shops in New Orleans and we spent a lot of time in the little glass shop looking at rings. I think we tried on every single one in the case and in the end we both got the same one.



At one point we wandered down into Critter Country and did some shopping there. I almost dragged Mom onto the Winnie the Pooh ride but she really dislikes the WDW version so I decided not to torture her. I did find a very cute Dumbo in the store there.



We also rode the Haunted Mansion again because it was a walk on and I wanted to see the Hat Box Ghost a second time.

Eventually we got hungry and ended up at the French Market Restaurant where I had my third ½ chicken meal.



Everything was yummy but the stand out on this plate was the mashed potatoes. Not sure what they put in them but they were drool worthy.

Mom got the Shrimp Po Boy which she said was delicious.



For dessert we got a piece of chocolate cake to share but it turned out to look much better than it tasted and we left most of it on the plate.



I ended up going and grabbing us an order of Mickey Beignets which were much better.



The seating was all outside but the rain had stopped and a CM was drying off all of the tables. I think most people had their ponchos on for warmth at this point.



We even had some entertainment as we ate.



We headed into Adventureland next to check out the stores there. Indiana Jones only had a 20 minute wait and we seriously debated another ride. But we were too weighed down with packages at that point.

We found this pinball machine in the Indiana Jones store and I had to send a picture to John. He is a huge pinball fan and I’m glad we didn’t spot it the previous day. We would have never gotten him away from it!



I had been eyeing up the parade cushions (or butt pads as I like to call them) all week so I decided to buy one. I need one for the hard bleachers at Jim’s hockey games and the one I have currently is from high school and is falling apart. If I was going to get a new one it might as well be Disney!



We stopped at the hub and Mom bought some popcorn to take back to the room with her. We knew we wouldn’t be super hungry for dinner since we didn’t eat lunch till about 3 pm so we wanted a small snack. I wanted a Mickey Pretzel but none of the stands around the Hub had them.

We continued on through the Main Street shops and I bought a Dumbo shirt.



And some fudge to take home.



It was about 6 pm at that point and Mom was a little tired so we found a bench on Main Street to sit for a while. I finally found a few minutes to photograph the Fire Station and Walt’s apartment above. I’m sure most Disney fans know this but just in case, the lit lamp in the window meant that Walt was in residence. Since his passing, the light is always lit.



We had some more entertainment while we sat.













I was determined at this point to find a pretzel and I remembered that there was a stand in Tomorrowland. I left Mom on the bench with all of our packages and headed back down Main Street. I decided to duck into the Refreshment Corner just to see what they had and found my pretzel!

Pretzel acquired, I headed back to Mom and we talked for a few minutes about whether to head over to DCA for a bit. It was only open till 8 pm and there really wasn’t anything else we wanted to see over there. We were pretty much done with DTD also so we decided to call it a night and head back to the room to relax and pack.

We did stop in one more store near the exit as Mom was looking for some postcards. I found a pressed penny book to buy since I’ve been making so many of them lately.





As we walked back to our room I had to stop and take one more picture. I found it kind of silly that everything, and I mean everything in California causes cancer. I swear we saw this same sign everywhere we went.



We made it back to the room about 7 pm and spent the night packing, eating our snacks and relaxing.

I traded for quite a few pins on this day.



And my final Fitbit stats for the last day.



There isn’t much to talk about on Tuesday, February 7th, 2017. My flight out was at 11:35 am and Mom, John and Jocelyn’s flight was about an hour after mine.

We had one final breakfast at our hotel and then headed to the airport. Dropping of the rental car was a little different. They just gave us a specific parking lot to leave it in, with the keys hidden in the glove box. All of the parking spots were numbered and Jocelyn just had to text the one we parked in to the rental company.

Bag check and security was smooth and I said goodbye to the others at my gate. My first flight was a quick hop to Las Vegas. I had a very tight layover and of course my 2nd gate was at the complete other end of the airport. I barely had time to use the restroom before having to board the next flight. I didn’t even have time to get something to eat but I had snacks in my bag so that held me over. I was really disappointed that I didn’t have a few minutes to play one of these babies.





I mean, I was in Vegas after all!

My second flight went well, I watched a few more episodes of Once Upon a Time until my DVD player died and then read the rest of the time.

I landed back in Atlanta at 8:05 pm and Jim picked me up at the airport. I was starving so we picked up some food for me on the way home. It was pretty late when I finally got to bed and the next day was rough at work. The jet lag really hit me hard!

I really loved Disneyland and would probably go back as often as I go to WDW if the flight was not so long. As it stands now I’m planning to head beck again in a few years, maybe after the craziness around Star Wars land calms down.

And that’s the end folks! I do plan on continuing to post some running updates on my last WDW TR (Close Encounters of the Squirrel Kind) and will probably start a PTR for the January trip sometime in October. Thank you so much for reading along.

 

[jcc0621]

Thanks for sharing your trip! You did a lot of the things that we have planned for our trip (Leaving Wednesday )

 

[rteetz]

It's over already!

I loved reading about your DLR and Cali adventures! I'm hoping to finally make it out there next year.

That character meal looks like it was a great time with tons of characters!

 

[rndmr2]

Sounds like you had a fun last day, sorry about the rain.

Great TR!

 

[Tracy161]

But I was feeling confident at that point and wanted to see how far the sea bands went. Well, I definitely found out they had limits!

Oh, dear... But at least they held up for you much longer than my try!

I'm seriously debating about whether to try them out on Star Tours in January.

I haven't done this one in YEARS. I wanted to so badly on my last trip because I've become a Star Wars fan over the last year or so, but I just couldn't take the risk. Maybe this trip... we'll see how I do on other rides first though!

And speaking of training, I've worked out once since I got back from vacation. I need to push it a bit this week for my race next Saturday!

Good luck at the race!

Truth be told, if it had been my trip alone, I probably would have just spent all five days in the parks.

I completely get that! I would have felt the same

First though, I had another surprise for Mom, we were going to have breakfast with Minnie and friends at the Plaza Inn.

Yay!!!

For some odd reason, the CM told us to hug and these hilarious photos were the result. Mom and I couldn’t stop laughing when we saw them.

These pictures are so adorable, and I would have laughed had the CM made my mom and me do the same

Our table. You can see our mini umbrellas in the plastic bag along with our purses.

Gee, I can't figure out which purse is yours...

He was almost as bad as my Epcot squirrel!

I will admit I was bad and didn’t warn her at all.

I would have done the same

nope, I was just excited for this guy.

YAY!!!

This resulted in one of my favorite shots from the whole trip.

This picture is awesome.

It was pretty cute and now you probably don’t have to do it yourself since I photographed almost all of it.

Why thank you!

I ended up going and grabbing us an order of Mickey Beignets which were much better.

Excellent decision, yum!

If I was going to get a new one it might as well be Disney!

Agreed.

the lit lamp in the window meant that Walt was in residence. Since his passing, the light is always lit.

I found a pressed penny book to buy since I’ve been making so many of them lately.

Neat book!

I had a very tight layover and of course my 2nd gate was at the complete other end of the airport.

Of course, ugh.

Thank you so much for reading along.

Thank you so much for sharing it with us I always love your TRs and hate to see them end.

 

[IowaTater]

I just binged read your TR because I think DH and I are going to DL in 2019. Being as neither of us have ever been there, it's nice to get people's opinions about everything there. It looks like you had an amazing time with your family, even with the weirdness and weather. Thank you so much for making this TR and good luck on your race training! A runDisney 5K is on my bucket list!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I fell so behind on the DIS with all our summer traveling....sadly I have returned to school already. So, my DISing should be more regular now LOL

I loved reading about the rest of your trip and of course have now forgotten all the things I wanted to comment on, except I loved the hugging your Mom pictures, WOW that was a lot of characters in one breakfast, and best of all.....

LOVE how Pluto surprised you in Mickey's House!!!!! That was just a meant to be moment. So special!!

Good luck at your 5K tomorrow!!! My training calendar for the 10K starts in September, so I better get back to running myself!

 

[missangelalexis]

I loved the The Plaza Inn breakfast when I went, I'm glad you enjoyed it too!

That is so cool that you got to meet Mickey, Pluto and Goofy all in Mickey's house! Such cute photos with them, and Minnie too!

It stinks that it was so rainy and cold, but you guys made the best of it! Glad you could get on a few more rides on your last day.

Love your nighttime photos!

I agree, if the flight wasn't so long I would go back to Disneyland often as well!

Thanks for sharing, I'm glad you all had a good time!