I went back and started back on the WDW trip......my laptop is over heating....and uploading pics to photobucket has to be done in shifts....these little pics off google images don't seem to "tax" my laptop as much as the data filled pics off Mike's camera.
And you're right......I just love the Disneyland side of things.....
The Farmer's Market is the one by the Grove......we were thinking of doing breakfast at Dupar's....any thoughts?? I'd love about 3 pics to use for my daily schedule!!
We're pretty excited with this trip and hopefully everything works out. We're giving up our slot at Camp Attitude this summer to allow a new family to try it.....so we best make this trip happen....otherwise I'm gonna have some very upset kids.
I know what you mean about the data-filled pictures. Those types of pictures -- especially when they are very large in size -- are the kinds of pictures that jam up my browser when it is trying to load a page (in any thread). The file sizes for those photos are too large, so if there is a page with a lot of those giant data-filled photos on it my PC will lock up.
I can imagine that the file sizes of the photos are really taxing your laptop quite a bit, and also using up a lot of storage space in your Photobucket account, as well as taking a long time to load!
I was looking at the last few pages of your WDW report. I am continually fascinated by the things that WDW has that we don't have at DLR...even down to the doughnuts!
I saw that the character meal in AK had Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Not only do we not have Krispy Kreme doughnuts at any of the character meals at DLR, as you know, but we don't even have the cute mini-doughnuts that used to be at Goofy's Kitchen many years ago. Mini-muffins, yes, but no mini-doughnuts. They removed all of the doughnuts from the character meals at DLR!
I am really glad you decided to go to AK, as I know that at first you were considering skipping it and just doing DHS for the full day. I love the look of AK, and the safari is definitely something I would be interested in!
Now back to this upcoming road trip/odyssey you are going to embark on this summer...
One thing I like about your road trip agenda is that it's well-rounded, with a lot of different activities. And even if you removed half of the planned outings from the list, you'd still have a full trip! Just driving down the 101 and seeing the coastline (I know you'll be cruising through Monterey to go to the aquarium, but I'm not sure if you'll pass by Carmel, Big Sur and the other places along that route) would be "THE" main trip for a lot of people.
Another thing I like about this agenda you have put together is that you are still incorporating DLR into it,
but it is not the main focus of the trip. You have said in the past that Disney is getting close to pricing you out of being able to visit (and we know the ticket prices will go up again by the end of May or beginning of June), and that you are starting to look into other activities to replace Disney trips.
On this upcoming trip you will still have a bit of DLR in there, so the kids won't miss out on that experience completely, but you are also exposing them to a lot of other things -- some brand new things and some things they have done but don't remember. This will be a great way to gauge if anything else really 'clicks' for them, and if there are any other viable options to take the place of DLR trips in the future (if the prices get crazy enough to keep you away).
I know the Camp Attitude trips were very important (and have provided priceless memories and joy) to your family, so I can see where you have to find something really exciting to fill that slot this year!
If Dupar's has not changed its menu too much in recent years, it should be fine for breakfast! I haven't eaten there in a long time, and the last time I did I was there for a solo lunch, but I don't recall too much having changed at that point. Since then there have been more efforts to 'modernize' Dupar's and the other longtime establishments in the historical part of the Farmers Market to try to keep up with The Grove, but hopefully the same basic coffee shop/diner food is intact. Dupar's has hung in there a long, long time so they must be doing something right!
I used to eat a late breakfast/early lunch at Dupar's with my grandmother every Saturday when I was a child. I have fond memories of their food. They are largely "known" for their bakery items, especially their pies. In fact, not only does Dupar's serve slices of pie inside the restaurant, but they also have a separate bakery/counter service place outside of the restaurant, in Farmers Market, for anyone who wants to take a whole pie home, or other baked goods.
If you guys opt to go with something counter service-ish instead of table service, I will mention that there is a place called Charlie's inside the Market that supposedly has good burgers. (It's in the same food court area where the Gumbo Pot can be found.) Charlie's is another place that was there way back when I was a kid and it looks like an unremarkable sort of establishment. I used to eat hot dogs there as a teenager, but never burgers. On a Travel Channel show called
Burger Land last year, one of the places mentioned in the Los Angeles episode as being a great place for a burger was Charlie's (to my surprise)! Who knew?
Magee's is well-known for its corned beef and has been at Farmers Market forever. In fact, there is a photo on display there that was signed by all 4 of the Beatles on a day when they visited Magee's.
Patsy D'Amore's is another longtime establishment, with B&W pictures of Frank Sinatra and other entertainers who were customers near the counter.
Bryan's Pit BBQ has been at the Market forever.
Also, I would suggest a stop at Littlejohn's English Toffee -- another place that has been there forever and ever. Not only do they whip up a good batch o' toffee but they have other freshly made delicious treats like peanut brittle, etc.
Hi Allyson!!
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