The Wettest, Merriest, and Happiest Birthday/First Visit Nov/Dec 2012 TR! 2/13 FINAL!

My Mom is in love with the Stitch pillow pet, so it's currently sitting under our tree for her gift!


I also have issues with blisters...on the bottom of my feet. It's the worst! I have to rotate shoes when we're at the parks and I have two pairs of flip flops that don't give me blisters. I don't know what I'm going to do when it's cold at the parks!

When we moved into our house, my parents got us one of those heaters for our patio as a house warming gift. My parents are borderline ridiculous, so it's a funny gift. But I'm sure as we become more and more Floridian, we'll love it!

Oh I hope your Mom loved it! It's so darn cute, Matt uses it sometimes when we're watching TV in bed. :goodvibes

Ugh, blisters are my worst enemy. Matt thinks I have weird feet or something because he rarely gets them in Disney! I bought new New Balance sneakers which seems like they'll be good for the parks, and then hopefully I'll find a good pair of either Tevas or something else for when I want to wear something that can handle water.

Haha, I could see that heater being really nice for when it's cold out but you want to sit outside! I just wasn't a fan of it when it was so humid outside.


The Finding Nemo sub/thing/area looks cool!

I NEED a Disney pillow pet. Ack, they're all so cute! Love the Stitch one.

I've never had Earl of Sandwich before but man, even your 'super lame phone' picture makes it look good! Yum yum.

It was a really neat area!!

Yeah, I have Eeyore and I really love him. They're super soft and comfortable. It's hard to not want to buy another one, hahaha.

You need to eat at EoS at some point! It's just so good. I'm sure we'll go there at least once during our next trip!


What lens did you use for most of your photos? A 50?

I sympathize with your feet. I am about your size and while I'm fairly active, I can't say I walk 10 miles a day like we did at DLR. I brought my New Balance walking shoes (I do my 5K walks in them) and TOMS. I switched back and forth. My ankles hurt horribly in the NBs and my arches/bottoms of my feet killed me in the TOMS. I couldn't win. DH wore Chucks every day. I would get home and fill up bags of ice and wrap my feet with them both during our mid-day breaks and at night when we would get home.

Maybe when I lose 100lbs...

I actually was using my 35mm f/1.8! However, on my camera, I have the whole 1.5x magnifying thing happening, so it's more like a 50mm, which is kind of a bummer for shots where I want to get more of the scenery in. My only "wider" lens is my kit lens, which isn't anything amazing. I do love my 35mm though for everything else. It's SUCH a great lens.

OMG I totally hear you! I actually just bought a brand new pair of New Balance sneakers for our trip, and I'm starting to break them in. I own 3 pairs of TOMs but could never wear them all day in Disney! I know the bottoms of my feet would hurt like crazy, plus my feet always get hot in them so I'm fairly certain I'd develop terrible blisters... kind of like I did in NYC when I got lost trying to find our office and I was wearing TOMs. :rotfl: I'm thinking about trying on Tevas so I have something that I can walk around in but that's breathable.

I'm sure if I lost weight my feet wouldn't get so sore, so I just need to continue the weight loss! I do know because of all my ankle sprains from playing basketball and softball, that my feet are pretty much forever messed up, but I'm sure it'd help.


Yay! Glad to see more chapters! Can't wait to keep reading :)

I'm glad!! :) I'm planning on having longer updates because I REALLY want to have this TR done before we leave for Disney World in 3 weeks! Buuuut we'll see, that's kind of an ambitious goal. :rotfl:

You are totally making me want to go to Disneyland! I've been there but not since 09.

Oh you should so go back! I just really loved it! I can't wait to go again!
 
Chapter Nine: “Oh my God, are they really RUNNING?!”
Day 2: November 30th, 2012


I woke up to Matt’s alarm going off at 7am, and I’m not going to lie… while I was excited for another day in the parks, I had a really hard time getting myself out of bed! I think the exhaustion from the previous day had settled in, but as soon as I recognized where I was, I got up and got going pretty quickly!

I ate my leftover bread pudding, after warming it up a little in the microwave. It was pretty mediocre, but at least it was something to eat! I put on my sneakers and they were still a little damp, but the blow dryer definitely helped!

We were out of our room by 7:25, and headed over to the Main Gate of Disneyland. We arrived at around 7:35ish, to some lines but nothing too awful!

file-22.jpg


file-23.jpg


In Disneyland, they don’t open the gates until around maybe 5-10 minutes before park opening, and there is no opening show like Magic Kingdom.

Our plan was to head over to the Candy Palace so we could get in line for the infamous Candy Canes. Jen, AKA Nermel9, had tweeted to me about these amazing candy canes that they make in the park, and they were featured on Food Network, etc. They make them fresh in like 3 batches, but only make 120 per day, so it’s not super easy to get your hands on them.

After her heads up, I read up about them on the Disney Food Blog and thought it’d be awesome to get a couple! The other thing I read about them, though, was that people would literally RUN DOWN MAIN STREET to get in line for them.

Um, RUN? That must be a joke. Who the heck runs for candy canes?

Anyway, as soon as the gates opened, I saw about 3-4 middle-aged women get through the gates and yes, they RAN. I knew they were running for the candy canes. Hahahaha… Matt and I looked one another and were kind of bewildered because we had no clue that people really were going to RUN for them.

We chose the non-running path and just walked briskly. There really was no reason to run; we got into line and were probably around 30 people back.

file-24.jpg


file-25.jpg


file-26.jpg


We stood in line and found out that they way they do it is they give out wristbands that tell you what batch number you are and when you can come back to get them. If you don’t come back before 4, they will sell yours to someone else.

We waited for a little while, and I decided to just take photos while we stood around.

file-28.jpg


file-29.jpg


We weren’t too worried about it, and finally the line began to move as they gave out wristbands. We ended up being part of the first batch, so we were told we could come back after 9:30.

file-27.jpg


file-40.jpg


I was a little worried as tons of people went past us while we’d been waiting in line for our candy canes. But honestly as we started to walk past Main Street towards Tomorrowland, we weren’t too worried about crowds at that point.

file-30.jpg


file-31.jpg


We decided our first thing to do was either ride Space Mountain or just grab some Fast Passes. With the wait being a whopping 10 minutes, we actually decided to go with FPs so we could go on a few other rides before they got crowded.

file-32.jpg


file-33.jpg


We headed out of Tomorrowland, and clearly the crowds were just INSANE.

file-34.jpg


Matt had expressed interest in going on the Matterhorn, and after I’d read up on the new sleds, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go on it because I’d heard of people saying they were extremely uncomfortable.

file-35.jpg


file-36.jpg


We walked over anyway and I told Matt I was more than happy to let him go on, while I took some photos and held onto our backpack. So off Matt went! It was kind of weird to not be going on a ride with him, just because I don’t think I’d EVER gone on anything by myself before on our trips!

file-37.jpg


file-38.jpg


Off he went, and I waited for his bobsled to come around the corner…

file-39.jpg


file-41.jpg


file-42.jpg


As you can see, the bobsleds are definitely cramped, but Matt had a smile on his face so I was guessing it wasn’t too awful.

He got off and told me I HAD to ride it, that he’d hold onto our backpack and take photos while I went on. Considering it’s a Disneyland classic, I decided to just go for it. If he is 6’5 and can ride it, I can ride it at 5’9!

Oh mind, you there was literally no wait for either of us. As you’ll see in the photos below, the same family that rode with Matt rode in front of me. No one was in the area to ride it!

file-43.jpg


file-44.jpg


Anyway, while the bobsled is definitely not roomy for your legs, it’s really not bad at all. It is VERY similar to Space Mountain Disney World in terms of the way you are seated, so maybe because I was used to that, this totally didn’t bother me much.

If you’re like me and you’re not tiny, I suggest pulling the seatbelt out before you actually sit down so you have a much easier time buckling it in.

Funny enough, I went on the opposite track than Matt had just gone on, and it was actually pretty fun! Well I mean, I just thought it was really neat to see something that had so much history, you know?

I think Matt’s description of the ride was best: “It’s like a somewhat cheesy 60s pre-cursor to a lot of Disney Imagineering, especially Expedition Everest.”

That being said, it’s definitely a must-do if you go to Disneyland, but I also wouldn’t say it’s something you have to ride repeatedly, either.

We both were very happy we got to ride it during our trip, new bobsleds and all! I’ve heard one side is smoother than the other, and I believe it’s the Tomorrowland side. It’s definitely jerky but I wouldn’t say it’s any jerkier than Space Mountain Disney World!

(Keep reading below!)

Continued in next post
 


Chapter Ten: Okay dude, enough of the enthusiastic clapping&
Day 2: November 30th, 2012


After we left the Matterhorn, we decided to go on all of the classic Fantasyland rides that you cant find in Disney World.

Our first stop was Mr. Toads Wild Ride!

file-45.jpg


I have to be honest, this ride would have scared the bejesus out of me as a kid. I mean, seriously, its kind of like a little nightmare youd have as a kid!

That being said, I still really enjoyed it and loved seeing this ride, which was replaced in Disney World by Winnie the Pooh.

All of the classic dark rides are very close to each other, so we walked a short distance and hopped on Snow Whites Scary Adventure.

file-47.jpg


Id been on this in Disney World, and because it no longer exists there, we felt we had to go on it in Disneyland just because. I still think its terrifying when the Evil Queen turns around and her face changes, for real!

file-49.jpg


After SWSA, we hit up Pinocchio aaaand yup, again, pretty creepy for a little kid to go on. I think it was at that moment I realized how many classic Disney movies have some seriously crazy stuff going on in them that can really scare a little kid!

file-50.jpg


file-51.jpg


file-52.jpg


Im pretty sure we tried to go on Alice in Wonderland but it was closed, so we figured wed come back later to ride it.

We headed out of Fantasyland over towards Frontierland, and I made us stop near Big Thunder Ranch to get a photo near the sleigh! Unfortunately it was super wet so I was not hopping in that thing.

file-53.jpg


We noticed there was NO line at all for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We obviously decided to go on it, especially without a line!

file-54.jpg


It also dawned on both of us that we hadnt been on BTMRR in nearly 2 years because it was closed in Disney World last January!

file-55.jpg


file-56.jpg


We had a lot of fun on it, and opted to sit in our own cars because there was seriously no one on it and then I could take more photos/video.

file-58.jpg


file-61.jpg


Matt pointed out the turtles to me and I got very excited. I basically LOVE turtles!

file-62.jpg


file-63.jpg


Its fairly similar to WDWs version, but is in need of some TLC for sure! I believe they are closing it in January for a fairly long time, so Im glad we got to ride it with no line!

I do remember that on this ride, there was a man clapping his hands over and over again; evidently he was VERY excited to be riding for a second time in a row or something, hahaha. He seriously clapped the entire time we were on it, so I was kind of glad to be exiting the ride.

After we got off, we were both starving. That bread pudding wasnt really cutting it for me, and I think Matts Pop Tart hed eaten wasnt doing the job either, so we decided to look for some place to get food!

We spotted a few people sitting outside of the River Belle Terrace, so we decided to see what they had for food.

Matt went with a coffee and pancakes, bacon and eggs, and the bacon didnt actually look horrible!

file-64.jpg


I decided to go with chocolate milk and the infamous Mickey Mouse pancakes, which were actually pretty adorable. And yes, Im clearly 5 years old.

file-65.jpg


As we went to pay, the CM at the register complimented my Minnie headband/bow and asked where Id bought it, or if I made it. I told her I made it and she wanted to know how, hahaha. It made me happy that someone enjoyed my bow enough to want their very own!

We sat down and ate our food and it was actually pretty good! Well I mean, I was just happy to be eating actual food at this moment. Though I did feel slightly guilty to be eating the super cute Mickey pancake& but he was delicious.

After we finished eating, I looked at my watch to see that it was only 9:15. We had done a LOT in an hour and 15 minutes, seriously!

Next update, we do some exploring, experience Space Mountain for the first time, and meet a character Ive been looking forward to the most!

Continued in next post
 
I love your TR!! I want to see your Minnie ears. I made the bow on mine too. Can't wait for your next chapter.
 
You are an updating machine! Perfect for me, I like to just keep reading and reading! So will this new change about AP discounts effect (affect? sheesh.) you in 2013? I was thinking that the premium "golden ticket" would still get you your 20%, but I wasn't sure? I cannot believe how much you got done in and hour and 15 minutes! I was even perplexed when you ordered breakfast food after all that...I though it surely would have been lunchtime!!!
 


It still cracks me up that people get so serious over candy canes over there! I bet they were so good though!

The Matterhorn! Oh man, how I wish I could ride this! It looks like SO much fun! It's such a classic, ahhhhh. I need to go to Disneyland, it's really not funny anymore.

You're so right, a lot of the classic Walt Disney films are pretty freakishly scary. I mean, the evil hag in Snow White alone gave me a nightmare once. You know the part where Snow White is like tending to her newly baked pie and suddenly she just APPEARS in the window? :eek: Scary stuff. And the whole Pinocchio Please Island turning bad little boys into donkeys thing? EEK!!! Haahah, I will never understand that, but still love it.

Hope you got a chance to ride Alice! Your pancakes look YUMMY!
 
Your tr is making me desperately homesick to go back to DL...

So you got golden tickets for the infamous DL candycanes huh... I assume you will be showing photos later along...lol...? (I actually saw a Christmas at Disneyland Food Special Guy Fieri (he of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives) did and he showed them making those candy canes... people really do go wild for them ... so I'm curious to hear your review...

I happen to fall into the camp that likes the Matterhorn... probs more for the Dis history of it as much as the ride... how cool would it have been to see Alpine Climbers scaling that thing?

Love me some BTMRR... It was down in Florida when we went- we were there at the beginning of the month... (OMG... it feels like forever...)

Wow IASW... fabulous... really lovely...
 
Hahaha the candy cane situation sounds INTENSE there!! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of that experience!

Awwwwwww Mr. Toad!!! I miss that ride SO much!!! (I know it's entirely random, but was the fortune teller there Madame Sara like it was in WDW? I would always like to point out that her name was spelled the same as mine! (Sans an h) :thumbsup2)
 
Agreed that the Tomorrowland side of Matterhorn is a tiny bit smoother. When I went, I went 4 times in a row because there were no lines and rode each side 2 times.

I went on all the Fantasyland rides (Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, SWSA etc) when I was 6, and that pretty much explains why there was NO pressure at all on DD4 when we were there to go on those rides. DH. went on Pinocchio and SWSA and said he knows she would have hated it.
 
I'm so glad to hear that you go so much done in the morning. I just made 10:20 reservations at Minnie & Friends and was worried about how much we'd be able to get done before heading there. I'm hoping that day will be an 8am opening, but it hasn't been posted yet. My orig res was for 10:45, but the characters leave at 11:30, so I pushed it up b/c I was worried about missing some at the later time. Hopefully we can be productive that morning. Hate to waste morning hours!
 
I love your TR!! I want to see your Minnie ears. I made the bow on mine too. Can't wait for your next chapter.

Haha thanks! :) They were Minnie ears, but rather a Minnie-themed bow/headband. If you look in photos in my update, you can see that I'm wearing it. It's pretty low-key but perfect and I adore it! I actually made a bunch for different characters. Planning on wearing them in Disney World! :goodvibes

You are an updating machine! Perfect for me, I like to just keep reading and reading! So will this new change about AP discounts effect (affect? sheesh.) you in 2013? I was thinking that the premium "golden ticket" would still get you your 20%, but I wasn't sure? I cannot believe how much you got done in and hour and 15 minutes! I was even perplexed when you ordered breakfast food after all that...I though it surely would have been lunchtime!!!

Oh I know! Or well, I'm trying to get updates out faster, mainly because I REALLY would love to have this TR done before our Disney World trip... or at least mostly done. I think it's wishful thinking unfortunately, but we'll see. Otherwise I'm going to be overwhelmed with writing TR updates when I get back! :rotfl:

Ugh, that new AP change is SUPER lame and I think it will affect us in WDW, but not in Disneyland. Looks like DL is keeping the 20% discount, so at least we have that.

Haha, I know! Let's see, listed out, we did:

  • Got in line and got our wristbands for the Candy Canes, 1st batch
  • Got Space Mountain FPs
  • Matt rode Matterhorn
  • I then rode Matterhorn
  • Rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
  • Rode Snow White's Scary Adventure
  • Rode Pinocchio
  • Rode Big Thunder Mountain
  • Aaand ate pancakes/breakfast

We were on a mission to get stuff DONE! Hahaha.


It still cracks me up that people get so serious over candy canes over there! I bet they were so good though!

The Matterhorn! Oh man, how I wish I could ride this! It looks like SO much fun! It's such a classic, ahhhhh. I need to go to Disneyland, it's really not funny anymore.

You're so right, a lot of the classic Walt Disney films are pretty freakishly scary. I mean, the evil hag in Snow White alone gave me a nightmare once. You know the part where Snow White is like tending to her newly baked pie and suddenly she just APPEARS in the window? :eek: Scary stuff. And the whole Pinocchio Please Island turning bad little boys into donkeys thing? EEK!!! Haahah, I will never understand that, but still love it.

Hope you got a chance to ride Alice! Your pancakes look YUMMY!

Hahaha, it cracked me up, too! I was laughing so hard at the women running down Main Street. That being said, they were amazingly good.

Matterhorn is one of those rides you just have to go on because of the history, like you said. It's not the best ride you'll ever go on but with all of the history around it and just seeing how things have progressed since then, it's a must-do. So that being said, you should start planning a DL trip... NOW, hahaha.

I'm so with you on the films! They were really traumatizing! The Evil Queen is just scary in general, and Pinocchio was pretty awful with the Donkey thing... I just don't get it!

We'll see about Alice... and those pancakes were delish!


Your tr is making me desperately homesick to go back to DL...

So you got golden tickets for the infamous DL candycanes huh... I assume you will be showing photos later along...lol...? (I actually saw a Christmas at Disneyland Food Special Guy Fieri (he of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives) did and he showed them making those candy canes... people really do go wild for them ... so I'm curious to hear your review...

I happen to fall into the camp that likes the Matterhorn... probs more for the Dis history of it as much as the ride... how cool would it have been to see Alpine Climbers scaling that thing?

Love me some BTMRR... It was down in Florida when we went- we were there at the beginning of the month... (OMG... it feels like forever...)

Wow IASW... fabulous... really lovely...

Aww, I am excited to go back next year!! It was so much fun visiting.

Haha, yes, photos are being saved for later, I promise! And I'll talk about if they were worth the money, too. Haha, I'd heard about the Guy Fieri's special! I think I need to watch this!

I agree with Matterhorn. It's really awesome to see. It's something I'll be sure to ride every trip we go, just because. I would have loved to see the climbers, that would have been so neat!

Ohhh I am VERY excited to ride BTMRR in a few weeks in Disney World and to see the refurb! I especially love riding it at night!


Hahaha the candy cane situation sounds INTENSE there!! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of that experience!

Awwwwwww Mr. Toad!!! I miss that ride SO much!!! (I know it's entirely random, but was the fortune teller there Madame Sara like it was in WDW? I would always like to point out that her name was spelled the same as mine! (Sans an h) :thumbsup2)

It WAS intense! I was kind of shocked about the people seriously running for them. :rotfl:

Mr. Toad was great! It made me kind of sad it's gone in WDW but I also now can cherish it every time we go to DL. I can't remember if the fortune teller was there or not! Next time we go I am totally going to look!


Agreed that the Tomorrowland side of Matterhorn is a tiny bit smoother. When I went, I went 4 times in a row because there were no lines and rode each side 2 times.

I went on all the Fantasyland rides (Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, SWSA etc) when I was 6, and that pretty much explains why there was NO pressure at all on DD4 when we were there to go on those rides. DH. went on Pinocchio and SWSA and said he knows she would have hated it.

Okay, so I am remembering correctly then! Matt didn't complain about the side he went on at all, but someone later on in my TR was telling us that Tomorrowland was smoother. It was a lot of fun! I think next time I'll try to do the same and ride both sides if there aren't any lines.

Haha I'm glad there's no pressure on your DD4 because some of that stuff is pretty scary for little kids! I know I would've been traumatized as a kid if I'd seen some of that stuff. I was a pretty big wuss though in general when I was little; I was TERRIFIED of the Haunted Mansion when I went on it as a 6 year old. The only part I opened my eyes for were the Hitchhiking Ghosts sitting in our Doom Buggy after my Dad told me to open them :rotfl:
 
I'm so glad to hear that you go so much done in the morning. I just made 10:20 reservations at Minnie & Friends and was worried about how much we'd be able to get done before heading there. I'm hoping that day will be an 8am opening, but it hasn't been posted yet. My orig res was for 10:45, but the characters leave at 11:30, so I pushed it up b/c I was worried about missing some at the later time. Hopefully we can be productive that morning. Hate to waste morning hours!

Oh man, we seriously got a TON done that morning! You will be totally fine if you are at the main gates for opening! I think you'll be able to get a lot done like we did... and I mean, that was with us standing in line for the Candy Canes for a good amount of time. You're especially fine if it's a weekday. Even if it's a weekend day, you should still be totally okay! I'll get into the crowds later for our Saturday in the parks.. :thumbsup2
 
Oh man, we seriously got a TON done that morning! You will be totally fine if you are at the main gates for opening! I think you'll be able to get a lot done like we did... and I mean, that was with us standing in line for the Candy Canes for a good amount of time. You're especially fine if it's a weekday. Even if it's a weekend day, you should still be totally okay! I'll get into the crowds later for our Saturday in the parks.. :thumbsup2

It will be a Friday. The one preceding President's Day. Not sure how that will affect crowds, but I decided that if we're missing park time to have a character meal, doing it on the most crowded day of the trip probably made the most sense. :confused3 I'm probably over-thinking. I *think* it will be an 8am opening looking at past years park hours, but it may be 9.

We watched the Guy special too. The candy cane part was my favorite. I'd never actually seen candy cane made before. Really neat. It looked like they were pulling taffy.

And I'm worried about my 5 (gonna be 6 on the trip) yr old with the dark rides. She did OK in WDW in 2011, but in some ways I find she's more scared now. The 2 year old is pretty fearless in general, but I have no idea how he'll react. Fingers crossed.

Really enjoying your trip report. Thanks for sharing!
 
I watched the Guy Fieri special, too, and I'm envious of those fantastic looking candy canes!! I'm also surprised at how much you accomplished in such a short time!

At WDW I usually rotate between Crocs flip flops and tennis shoes, but then I usually ditch the tennis shoes for the crocs. Last March was the first time that I had Disney blisters and I thought I was going to die! I'm on the hunt for more comfy shoes for our next trip which is coming up in March!
 
Oh!! Now I see it!! I was on my phone and the pics were tiny. Your headband is adorable! Would you mind if I borrowed your idea to make headbands for my DDs?
 
Thanks for the awesome trip report! We were there at the exact same time, but, unfortunately, I came down with a HORRIBLE stomach flu/virus type thing and could not go to the parks any of the three days we were there!

I am enjoying living through you!
 
It will be a Friday. The one preceding President's Day. Not sure how that will affect crowds, but I decided that if we're missing park time to have a character meal, doing it on the most crowded day of the trip probably made the most sense. :confused3 I'm probably over-thinking. I *think* it will be an 8am opening looking at past years park hours, but it may be 9.

We watched the Guy special too. The candy cane part was my favorite. I'd never actually seen candy cane made before. Really neat. It looked like they were pulling taffy.

And I'm worried about my 5 (gonna be 6 on the trip) yr old with the dark rides. She did OK in WDW in 2011, but in some ways I find she's more scared now. The 2 year old is pretty fearless in general, but I have no idea how he'll react. Fingers crossed.

Really enjoying your trip report. Thanks for sharing!

Hmm, I still think you'll be totally fine as long as you're there at opening, I really do. :thumbsup2 Our weekend was definitely a busy one, and we still managed to get all of that done!

Yes, it's super neat! I have a couple of photos coming up in an update of them making the candy canes!

That's tough with your kids! I think if they did okay before, they'll be okay now. But again, when I say I was terrified of them, I was also a total wuss when I was a little kid honestly. :rotfl:

Glad you're enjoying it! Starting to try to get out more updates before we leave for our Disney World trip here in a few weeks! :scared1:


I watched the Guy Fieri special, too, and I'm envious of those fantastic looking candy canes!! I'm also surprised at how much you accomplished in such a short time!

At WDW I usually rotate between Crocs flip flops and tennis shoes, but then I usually ditch the tennis shoes for the crocs. Last March was the first time that I had Disney blisters and I thought I was going to die! I'm on the hunt for more comfy shoes for our next trip which is coming up in March!

I neeeed to watch this special evidently! Everyone has seen it but me! Hahaha... and yeah, I couldn't believe how much we'd gotten accomplished!

I went with ordering Crocs and I hope they work out well! I normally am noooot into Crocs whatsoever but I wanted to have something else to wear while in Disney World to alternate with my New Balance sneakers. Hopefully it all works out well, though I'm also going into the trip armed with moleskin, Johnson's Foot Soap, bandaids, extra pairs of socks, and everything you could think of! :rotfl:


Oh!! Now I see it!! I was on my phone and the pics were tiny. Your headband is adorable! Would you mind if I borrowed your idea to make headbands for my DDs?

Haha no worries, it was a pretty low-key headband because that's more of what I was looking for! You can absolutely use that idea and make headbands for your DD! They're super easy to make, though a few of mine fell apart, but we'll get to that later... Mostly due to getting soaking wet. :(

Thanks for the awesome trip report! We were there at the exact same time, but, unfortunately, I came down with a HORRIBLE stomach flu/virus type thing and could not go to the parks any of the three days we were there!

I am enjoying living through you!

Okay, this just made me so sad for you! I don't know what I'd do if I got sick and missed out on the parks during our trip. I am SO sorry that happened to you! :( I hope you can plan another trip and go back soon!!

Thanks for reading along though. :goodvibes
 
Hey guys! Just a quick little note here... I am trying my best to get as much of this TR finished before we leave for Disney World in um, 16 days. (16 days?! :scared1:)

That being said, I am pretty sure I won't get it completely done before then, soooo you'll have to deal with a bit of a hiatus while I'm visiting my home away from home for 10 days.

Hopefully I can get a few more updates done over the next week or so, though with all of the planning/packing/making sure we have EVERYTHING ready that we need, plus ya know, work, I'm pretty sure my time is going to be consumed by all of that.

Anyway, glad you're all reading, and I promise that this TR will be completed, it just might take a little longer than I'd hoped. :goodvibes


Chapter Eleven: Pewpewpewwwww… ZERO POINTS? REALLY?
Day Two: November 30th, 2012


I left off with us accomplishing a TON in an hour and fifteen minutes. To recap, we:

---Got in line and got our wristbands for the Candy Canes, 1st batch
---Got Space Mountain FPs
---Matt rode Matterhorn
---I then rode Matterhorn
---Rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
---Rode Snow White's Scary Adventure
---Rode Pinocchio
---Rode Big Thunder Mountain
---Aaand ate pancakes/breakfast

So! After eating our pancakes, we headed back outside, and decided to explore New Orleans Square a little more since Matt needed to finish drinking his coffee.

file-66.jpg


file-67.jpg


file-68.jpg


I just seriously love that area of the park. Definitely my favorite “land” in Disneyland, and it’s up there for my all-time favorite. I’d probably tie it for first with Frontierland in Disney World.

file-70.jpg


file-71.jpg


We walked around a bit and decided to go find the elusive Club 33. I know, it’s super cool if you eat here and all that jazz, and if ever given the opportunity, I would eat there, buuut… I don’t know, I get the appeal, just not sure it’s worth all of the hype!

file-69.jpg


Maybe it is, but it definitely is a hidden little spot in the corner of New Orleans Square!

While we walked around, I discovered another popcorn-turning puppet… This time it was Oogie Boogie! I wanted to steal him and take him home so he’d make popcorn for me whenever I wanted him to.

file-72.jpg


file-73.jpg


After we explored for a bit and Matt had finished his coffee, we headed back towards Tomorrowland because I was REALLY feeling the itch to do a little Space Ranger pewpewing.

As we walked over, I had to take a photo of the one thing we were both really bummed out about being closed… INDIANA JONES! Wompwomp.

file-76.jpg


Of course it re-opened the week after we left. We were bummed out but realized we’ll be back in Disneyland again within the year, so we’d just ride it then!

We finally made it back to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and I was super excited to ride this!

file-78.jpg


file-79.jpg


Again, not much of wait at all, so before we knew it we were in our little spaceship. The guns here you can completely remove from the holder and shoot anywhere you want. I also liked that they lit up/vibrated whenever you hit a target!

file-80.jpg


Except I had an epic fail for the first 1/3 of the ride as I was sitting there holding my trigger down, thinking I was racking up this CRAZY high score, and I look down quickly and see my score is a big fat ZERO.

I had no idea that on this one you have to continuously click the trigger vs. just hold it down like you can in Disney World. UGH! I was so far behind Matt, I knew I had no way of winning.

file-81.jpg


I really enjoyed this version of the ride, and I’m still not sure which one I like better. While I enjoyed being able to remove the guns and have more free reign, I felt like sometimes I was so focused on shooting I’d forget to spin our little spaceship, haha.

I basically love both versions though because it’s just fun and I’m a competitive person. Matt is not competitive at all, but he’s a good sport in riding with me whenever I ask to go on.

After we got off and Matt destroyed me, we decided to use our Space Mountain Fast Passes!

I was really excited to check out Space Mountain in Disneyland because I’d heard it was actually a bit different than Disney World. Some even said they thought it was better! So I was most definitely looking forward to seeing for myself.

As we walked up, the wait was still a quick 10 minutes, so we decided to hold onto our FPs for later and just do the standby entrance.

file-82.jpg


It was weird to be walking through a queue that was actually outside before you went inside as you got close to the loading area. I have to say, though, that the inside part of the queue was SUPER neat.

file-83.jpg


There were space ships hanging around and you looked down on the loading area as you waited in line, so it was kind of neat to be able to see people blasting off. There was also really awesome space music, so I thought the loading area part of the queue was pretty fantastic.

file-84.jpg


As you can see, the seating on Space Mountain in Disneyland is not in tandem like Disney World, and you sit next to the person you’re with. Basically, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain are the opposite of each other in the both of the parks!

file-85.jpg


I was actually excited to sit next to Matt while we rode! Also, the seats were much more like BTMRR’s.. so you're not sitting basically so that your legs are sprawled out in front of you like in Disney World, like on the bottom of the spaceship...

Before we knew it, we were blasting off into Space Mountain!

I was seriously surprised at how SMOOTH the track was! I was totally prepared for the insane whips around the corners that always make me scream in sheer terror every time I’ve been on Space Mountain in Disney World, but instead I was pleasantly surprised by a much smoother ride.

The other interesting thing I noticed was how much more I could see inside Space Mountain this ride! The “stars”/galaxy were much much brighter than in WDW, but I still couldn’t see much in front of us.

Obviously very similar theming, but the music on the ride was also different.

We had a blast on this, but I have to say, I missed the whole part when you get off and you stand on the moving floor and look at the little space dioramas/make ridiculous faces as you pass the monitors in Disney World! Here, you just ran up a flight of stairs and down a hall.

It’s really hard for me to compare the two Space Mountains to each other because while they’re both rollercoasters with the same name, they’re also very different from each other.

I loved how smooth the track was in Disneyland’s version, but as Matt put it, there is something oddly endearing about Disney World’s bumpy/jerky version.

I would most definitely say that Disney World’s version is by far and away a lot more terrifying/scary/brings out my “I’m being murdered” scream.

I basically love both for their own reasons, and was very excited that we would be riding Space Mountain again later on!

Oh, and yes, as you’ve probably guessed, Disneyland does not enforce the return times on your Fast Pass. As long as you return after the earlier time, they’ll let you on.

You might get an eye roll from a CM, but they’ll still take it. We took advantage of this later on, which we’ll get to in another update.

After we got off of Space Mountain, I ran into Star Traders because I wanted to trade a Vinylmation! I’d seen that they had a mystery box and a clear trading box in there the previous evening, so I made sure to bring a bunch of traders in my backpack for today.

(Keep reading!)

Continued in next post
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top