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

[DnA2010]

Oh my gosh what a great set of updates!! I was pretty much going to book myself a trip just from reading the last 3 updates! I actually did go onto Allegiant and price out a budget trip and then got myself under control, and reminded myself I am living through trip reports for a while yet as we have to get my Dh finished his school he is taking and we are looking to buy a bigger house...

Anyways, I digress!

TOT- I actually like the WDW and DL versions equal right now...overall I agree that WDW's rocks the world with the moving ride vehicle, but all 3 times we rode it we found the drop sequence a little lame for us (I personally like them big long drops) and we got a series of short, smaller drops each time....I think had a got a sequence with a big drop I would have a clear winner...

I loved your Storybook pics! they are soooo clear and details- just wow!!!

And then the ones right before you went into the castle...those pictures alone have made me NEED a holiday trip! I love the walk through, it is so classic!

I love the part of Alice where you go outside...I don't know why really, I think early childhood memories of getting to silently gloat over all those people waiting in line who would watch the cars come and go...when I went as a kid we always went at busy times, so there was a sense of victory when we popped out

Pictures with Jack=totally awesome, what a score!

Canoes are another childhood memory, so I am sad I haven't been able to do them on my past 3 trips as they have not been going...


I do not like clowns either and that popcorn spinner is one heck of a creeper, wowzas!


Great updates! Looking forward to see what happens next!

 

[lsulindy]

I've heard that the outside part of Alice in Wonderland was much better before they added the rails. You jutted back and forth and it seemed like you were going to fall off the track. Guess I'll never know!

I am so looking forward to the castle walkthrough. Your pics came out great. I really wish I knew how to work a camera. It's been a desire of mine for a long time, but I've never bit the bullet and learned!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

What great updates!!! Thank you!

I can definitely see how DL looks familiar but different at the same time...it definitely has to be a weird feeling...one of these years we will go...

Weird Alice in wonderland had an outside part!???

I dont like clowns either...I have never seen 'It'...and knowing it has a clown I NEVER will...LOL
side note...I hope the boardwalk gets rid of their "clown pool"...creepy!!

What a cute Christmas card that must have been!

 

[cfw213]

I think I've commented before but I am loving your TR! I've even looked into a Disneyland trip for next year because it looks so awesome. Can't wait for your WDW TR

 

[GatorMommy2007]

A trip whammy! Yay! Ok, don't throw rocks, but I don't "get" NBC. I need to watch it again as an older adult. One of my favorite companies makes a lot of NBC items! I love the way the characters look, and your Jack meet up makes me want to give it a try!

 

[DharmaLou]

Gorgeous shots of the castle! Your Xmas card photos are great!

We met Jack as well - he was my DD's #1 guy for a looonnng time (before she started her princess love) so it was a thrill for her. Bummed we didn't see Sally, but she was busy reattaching her arm. Jack & Violet had a great conversation and he posed for some really awesome photos with us.

 

[danimaroo]

Wow, Aurora's castle is gorgeous and LOVE the Christmas decorations!!!! I'm glad you got so many shots!

BTW, the movie is a Stephen King book that they made into a movie, called "IT". You think Pennywise was scary in it? Did you read the book?!?!? OMG, so scary.

You can meet Jack and Sally?!?!? WHERE have I been? I'm just blown away with each update. Thanks for the triple, btw, perfect timing since we leave today! I bet you will be finished sometime around when we get back and then we'll both be doing our WDW TRs at the same time!

BAH YOU ARE IN DISNEY WORLD RIGHT NOWWW! I hope you're having so much fun on your mother/daughter trip!!

Aurora's Castle was beautiful. I was just surprised about how well-done it was!

Funny enough, I tried reading the book when I was done with reading Pet Semetary and The Shining, but I just couldn't do it. That's one book I just don't think I'll ever get myself to read!

We totally stumbled across Jack and Sally honestly! It was right across from the Haunted Mansion near the water... but it sounds like that is their normal meeting spot since he did return later! Whether or not it's a year-round thing, I'm not sure!

Hope you are having tons of fun!!

It's not a straight drop, it's multiple drops, but it's always the same sequence. For once or twice, not too bad, but if you are riding it all the time, I guess you would start to know what to expect.

Going to read the new updates now!

So weird! I think I'd probably have figured that out if I had gone on it more than once. That DOES get boring! I actually have a totally funny story in relation to the drop sequence from our WDW trip that we just took and my trip on ToT, hahaha.

Those pictures of SB castle are gorgeous!!!

Thank you! I was really pleased with how some of them came out!

I LOVE that photo of y'all in front of the Castle! So cute for a Christmas card too, but just a great photo of the two of you. The decorations are amazing. I feel like I have said that on all of your updates, but it's so true!!

The Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through is awesome! When we went the first time, I didn't realize it was an ACTUAL walk through, I thought they just had a fancy name for walking through the Castle the same way you can at WDW to get to Fantasyland. So on our anniversary trip when we walked through for real, I loved it! Those dioramas are awesome and you got some really great pictures of them! Ours came out really dark. My favorite is the book at the end and her dress changing colors. I'm really not even a huge fan of Sleeping Beauty, but that walk through is really well done.

More great pics on Alice in Wonderland! Such a cute little ride.

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!

That scene TERRIFIED me as a kid!! I was sleeping over at my grandma's and she only had 5 channels so she was trying to find something to watch for me at night and stopped on EXACTLY that scene because it was a clown. I was scarred for life!!!! I swear that night I slept with my legs curled up as tight as I could get them to my body because I was SURE that freaky clown was hiding at the bottom of the sheets and was going to pull me down!! I can't even see pictures of that clown from It without hyperventilating.

Awesome pics with Jack too! I still have not seen that movie, but I will have to be sure to watch it before any potential holiday trips to Disneyland.

Aww thank you so much! I really liked that photo of us together! Sometimes we actually have photos where we look nice, hahaha. Other times, noooot so much.

Haha I think I've now said how much I loved the decorations like 50 times in this TR, so it's all good. THEY REALLY WERE AMAZING!

That is SO funny about what you thought the walk-through was! I had no idea about it either until I think I read it on someone's blog! I'm not a big fan of Sleeping Beauty either but I loved that area. And yeah, I happened to have a fast lens on my camera so that helped my photos. Otherwise I'm pretty sure they would've come out blurry, haha.

So basically you and I had the SAME EXPERIENCE WITH PENNYWISE! I did the same thing; I was flipping through the channels as an innocent little child when I came across that scene and well, you obviously know the rest. As awful as it is, I'm glad someone else understands what I am talking about over here!

You most definitely will want to watch NBC before you do Disneyland during the holidays! It'll make the HM Holiday waaaay more of a fun experience for you! Otherwise you may be a little lost on what's going on in there, hahaha.

Oh my gosh what a great set of updates!! I was pretty much going to book myself a trip just from reading the last 3 updates! I actually did go onto Allegiant and price out a budget trip and then got myself under control, and reminded myself I am living through trip reports for a while yet as we have to get my Dh finished his school he is taking and we are looking to buy a bigger house...

Anyways, I digress!

TOT- I actually like the WDW and DL versions equal right now...overall I agree that WDW's rocks the world with the moving ride vehicle, but all 3 times we rode it we found the drop sequence a little lame for us (I personally like them big long drops) and we got a series of short, smaller drops each time....I think had a got a sequence with a big drop I would have a clear winner...

I loved your Storybook pics! they are soooo clear and details- just wow!!!

And then the ones right before you went into the castle...those pictures alone have made me NEED a holiday trip! I love the walk through, it is so classic!

I love the part of Alice where you go outside...I don't know why really, I think early childhood memories of getting to silently gloat over all those people waiting in line who would watch the cars come and go...when I went as a kid we always went at busy times, so there was a sense of victory when we popped out

Pictures with Jack=totally awesome, what a score!

Canoes are another childhood memory, so I am sad I haven't been able to do them on my past 3 trips as they have not been going...

I do not like clowns either and that popcorn spinner is one heck of a creeper, wowzas!

Great updates! Looking forward to see what happens next!

Haha maybe Disneyland should look into hiring me. They pay for my trips to Disneyland and Disney World, I write super detailed Trip Reports that make people want to visit their parks, and then I get paid. Doesn't that seem like a brilliant idea?! NO?!

It's so hard to want to plan a trip badly and then stop yourself because reality kicks in. It's THE WORST, especially right after you get back and you're sad about not having another trip planned right away!

So fun fact I learned during our first time on ToT. The drop sequence is way more intense if you go on it during EMH! I swear, it was so ridiculous I left the ride shaking. I have not once had a drop sequence like that one since then, and I swear it's because I've only gone on it during the mornings on every other ride! There were shorter drops BUT the key to that one being terrifying was that they would lift you up and drop you without stopping at any point, then do it again! It resulted in me screaming like I was suffering death.

I'm telling you, that storybook deal was just stunning. I loved walking through the castle and seeing everything, and I'm not even that big of a fan of SB!

Hahaha that is so funny and true about Alice! While we were waiting to go on I was jealous of all the people riding it as they passed by us!

I was very happy we caught Jack! He was so much fun to chat with.

I could see canoeing being fun as a kid! But as an adult, nooooo way. Though I'm expecting our future child(ren) to probably want to do it, hahaha.

Yeah he was a mega creeper... but I still had to take a photo of him!

I can't wait to update here soon! I'm actually trying to stay ahead and get the entire TR written so I can basically at that point just keep putting updates up until it's finished. But man, you don't realize how time-consuming they can be! They're still so much fun to write because it reminds me of how much fun we had on our trip!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

You are right Dani! I'm sitting by the pool at POP as I type this!!! WOOT!

 

[danimaroo]

I've heard that the outside part of Alice in Wonderland was much better before they added the rails. You jutted back and forth and it seemed like you were going to fall off the track. Guess I'll never know!

I am so looking forward to the castle walkthrough. Your pics came out great. I really wish I knew how to work a camera. It's been a desire of mine for a long time, but I've never bit the bullet and learned!

Oh crazy! I had no idea they even changed it! THAT makes way more sense to me as to what the part was all about. I was just not really getting what the whole outside part was about, haha.

OMG, even then, the photos do it no justice. And thank you! I'm STILL learning my camera, honestly, but in the process of learning I've managed to get a few decent photos here and there! I honestly wish I had more time to learn. What I really need to do is just sit and read my books I had about my camera, yeesh!

What great updates!!! Thank you!

I can definitely see how DL looks familiar but different at the same time...it definitely has to be a weird feeling...one of these years we will go...

Weird Alice in wonderland had an outside part!???

I dont like clowns either...I have never seen 'It'...and knowing it has a clown I NEVER will...LOL
side note...I hope the boardwalk gets rid of their "clown pool"...creepy!!

What a cute Christmas card that must have been!

Aww thank YOU!

Yeah, it's a weird feeling honestly because things are just... off! But at the same time, some things aren't off, so it gets very confusing.

Yup! A lot of the Disneyland rides have outside parts/queues/or just ARE outside. It makes sense since California doesn't see a whole of of rain in that area.. except, ya know, for when we show up.

Haha don't ever see It. EVER! And yes, the Clown pool at the Boardwalk gives me the creeps. I would never in a million years ask for a Pool View there. I can only imagine waking up in the middle of the night, looking towards our balcony and seeing that clown staring back at me. NOPE!

I will post a photo of the Christmas card at the end of this TR, since it really was all Disney-photos that were on it!

I think I've commented before but I am loving your TR! I've even looked into a Disneyland trip for next year because it looks so awesome. Can't wait for your WDW TR

Thank you so much!! I'm glad my TR was shown Disneyland in such a positive light that you're looking into a trip there! I'm telling you, Disney should just hire me to write TRs for them so people will want to go, hahaha.

I can't wait to share my WDW with everyone soon! I'm hoping in the next week or two!

A trip whammy! Yay! Ok, don't throw rocks, but I don't "get" NBC. I need to watch it again as an older adult. One of my favorite companies makes a lot of NBC items! I love the way the characters look, and your Jack meet up makes me want to give it a try!

Haha, yes indeedie, trying to crank this TR out so I can start my WDW one!

No rocks are being thrown, but man, we love NBC! I think you have to honestly like Tim Burton in general. His style is very different. I grew up watching Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands on repeat, so I think I was just used to his different types of movies, haha.

You should definitely give it another shot!

Gorgeous shots of the castle! Your Xmas card photos are great!

We met Jack as well - he was my DD's #1 guy for a looonnng time (before she started her princess love) so it was a thrill for her. Bummed we didn't see Sally, but she was busy reattaching her arm. Jack & Violet had a great conversation and he posed for some really awesome photos with us.

Thank you so much!!

I'm sure your DD was super excited! I sure was! We didn't see Sally either, so I feel your pain on that! Jack was fantastic, though, and it definitely sounds like you guys had a great experience with him, as well!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I've seen parts of the Alice ride and Canal ride on Disneyland Fun DVD and thought they looked super-cute. I'm sure my kids would love them!

Okay, the clown. I can't even remember what I wanted to write because that darn clown is on my mind. I HATE CLOWNS! And, yes, I was traumatized by IT as a child. Why did my parents even let me watch it?? Did I mention that we're going to the circus next weekend? How do I explain to the kids why Mom is freaking out!?

A fried green tomato sandwich is awesome in my book! Heck, anything with fried green tomatoes would be awesome! Than again, I AM from Georgia. I have to like them. (But really they are just sooooooo yummy!) A nice peppery ranch sauce would probably be yummier than a mango slaw, I think. That's my expert opinion.

 

[mouseketeer70]

Pennywise...my older brother used to make me watch those movies and between the Clown-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Chucky...yep, scarred for life!
But meeting Jack...seriously cool!
And you're right it would be great if Cinderella's Castle had something more than a resturant.
Glad you were able to get some good Christmas Card photos too!

 

[lsulindy]

Oh crazy! I had no idea they even changed it! THAT makes way more sense to me as to what the part was all about. I was just not really getting what the whole outside part was about, haha.

OMG, even then, the photos do it no justice. And thank you! I'm STILL learning my camera, honestly, but in the process of learning I've managed to get a few decent photos here and there! I honestly wish I had more time to learn. What I really need to do is just sit and read my books I had about my camera, yeesh!

Apparently, there was no rail or walkways for maintenance crews, and an OSHA employee commented on it, so they closed the ride that day and added the rail and walkways on either side of the tracks. I read up on it b/c there was a rumor for a while that Alice would be closing for my trip. Apparently the rails and walkways were done quickly and with little time to plan and were "temporary" until a better solution was found. I guess for a few years there's been rumors that it was about to close to install a better solution, but it has yet to happen.

If you read about it, there are a lot of people pretty upset with how it looks now. Both from on the ride and from the exterior.

Here are a few before pics

Sorry for all that. I'm a nerd and intrigued by weird things.

 

[arbolita]

I've finally finished catching up (you know, once this TR is nearly over, haha)!

One of the things I'm most excited to do on our eventual trip to Disneyland is to go on all the dark rides that either either never or no long exist(ed) in WDW. There's just something so undeniably Disney about them!

And I'm all about that fried green tomato sandwich from Hungry Bear. As soon as I first heard about it, I knew I'd have to order it. Even better that most people really seem to enjoy it!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your time in Disneyland, and to follow along on your WDW trip report!

 

[danimaroo]

I've seen parts of the Alice ride and Canal ride on Disneyland Fun DVD and thought they looked super-cute. I'm sure my kids would love them!

Okay, the clown. I can't even remember what I wanted to write because that darn clown is on my mind. I HATE CLOWNS! And, yes, I was traumatized by IT as a child. Why did my parents even let me watch it?? Did I mention that we're going to the circus next weekend? How do I explain to the kids why Mom is freaking out!?

A fried green tomato sandwich is awesome in my book! Heck, anything with fried green tomatoes would be awesome! Than again, I AM from Georgia. I have to like them. (But really they are just sooooooo yummy!) A nice peppery ranch sauce would probably be yummier than a mango slaw, I think. That's my expert opinion.

Yeah your kids would probably LOVE both of those ride, honestly! They're great for younger kids and won't traumatize them, haha.

Yeah, clowns are the worst. I am still mad I sad that seen with Pennywise, I had nightmares after that point and would worry about there being terrifying clowns down in the sewers. Noooot awesome. Hahaha, that's tough about the circus! I wouldn't even know what to do with myself.

TOTALLY agree about the peppery ranch sauce on the fried green tomato sandwich! That would be SO good! I liked the one Matt had but he is not a fan of mangos so I think that part he didn't like. But the ranch would be tasty!

Pennywise...my older brother used to make me watch those movies and between the Clown-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Chucky...yep, scarred for life!
But meeting Jack...seriously cool!
And you're right it would be great if Cinderella's Castle had something more than a resturant.
Glad you were able to get some good Christmas Card photos too!

OMG, why are older brothers so terrible?! My younger brother was the one who tortured me though, haha.

Jack was fantastic! I am so happy we got to meet him. And yeah, Cinderella Castle should so do the same walkthrough. It would be BEAUTIFUL!

And thanks! Our Christmas card was all Disneyland, all the way.

Apparently, there was no rail or walkways for maintenance crews, and an OSHA employee commented on it, so they closed the ride that day and added the rail and walkways on either side of the tracks. I read up on it b/c there was a rumor for a while that Alice would be closing for my trip. Apparently the rails and walkways were done quickly and with little time to plan and were "temporary" until a better solution was found. I guess for a few years there's been rumors that it was about to close to install a better solution, but it has yet to happen.

If you read about it, there are a lot of people pretty upset with how it looks now. Both from on the ride and from the exterior.

Here are a few before pics

*snipped the pics*

Sorry for all that. I'm a nerd and intrigued by weird things.

WHOA! That looks COMPLETELY different and honestly WAY cooler! I mean, seeing that CM clean it, I can understand why they were probably concerned about someone being hurt but it also looked WAY better. I hope they find a way to make it closer to what it was because that would be way more fun to go on when it comes to being outside!

I've finally finished catching up (you know, once this TR is nearly over, haha)!

One of the things I'm most excited to do on our eventual trip to Disneyland is to go on all the dark rides that either either never or no long exist(ed) in WDW. There's just something so undeniably Disney about them!

And I'm all about that fried green tomato sandwich from Hungry Bear. As soon as I first heard about it, I knew I'd have to order it. Even better that most people really seem to enjoy it!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your time in Disneyland, and to follow along on your WDW trip report!

Oh hey girl!! Glad you are here and you are caught up! Hahaha, and don't even worry about it. I've been trying to finish this TR but it's taking awhile! Still a few more updates left, so that's good!

You are going to love all of the dark rides! Some of them are a bit wonkier than the others, but I have to say I've found a new love for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! That is one I will definitely go on every trip to Disneyland.

That sandwich I thought was really good! Matt doesn't enjoy mango very much so I think that was the only part he didn't love, but I thought overall it was great with the sweet potato fries!

Thanks! I'm excited to finish this TR up and get started on my WDW TR, too!

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty-Two: "Ready... Set... GO!": Our first experience on Radiator Springs Riders!
Day 3: December 1st, 2013

We left off as we were heading over to California Adventure to use our Radiator Springs Racers FPs!

Fortunately when we arrived, it was actually up and running, yay! But we also noticed crazy wait times; OVER TWO HOURS for standby, and I heard a CM tell a woman that single rider was 45 minutes! HOLY COW. I was very happy we had FPs, but had a feeling we’d end up having to wait a little bit.

Unfortunately we had a slight wait, which I wouldn't have minded except for the women and their children behind us. HOLY COW I've never run into such awful women.

What’s funny is it was the same woman I’d seen earlier in front of me with her double stroller nearly running people over! She wouldn't budge or move for anyone with her stroller while she was on her phone.

Anyway, her and her kids and her friend were behind us and the kids were climbing all over, running ahead, and basically just running wild. Don't get me wrong, kids are kids, but the mother was not paying attention at all.

The woman was just focused on her phone and at one point she dropped her phone and literally screamed so loud that everyone in line was staring at her.

I finally put my arm on the railing so the kids would stop climbing all over next to us and wouldn't fall and crack their heads open, and that at least helped alleviate their obnoxiousness.

Awesome parent of the year aside, we did end up striking up a conversation with a man in front of us who was there with his two kids. I think we talked about Seattle because he had family that lived there or something. He was pleasant but was asking me tons of questions about iPhones, haha. I think he had a Blackberry or something? I don’t know, but he was pleasant enough.

We finally made it to the front and got ready to hop into our car!

The cars are pretty much the same seating as you see in the Test Track vehicles.

We got in and we were off. Driving through this area was really neat, and you really felt like you were in the movie.

The animatronics were INSANE. I mean, I couldn't believe that these weren't real cars talking to us. Okay well I could but they were pretty amazing to see.

Before we knew it, we were outside and ready to race!

Aaaand our car lost, WOMPWOMP.

So, my thoughts? It was a super neat ride, and overall was extremely impressive. However, it’s very similar to Test Track and in terms of the outside part of the ride, I’d say I most definitely prefer Test Track and the speed you gain on that ride. RSR is way more of a hilly/slower ride until the very end. I did love the racing aspect of it though, I thought it was fun since I'm a competitive person, haha.

This is something I would wait in line for 15-20 minutes for, but anything longer and I’d pass. If I had a little girl or boy that was a Cars fan though, oh my goodness, I’m sure his or her mind would be blown by it. Definitely a fun time!

We headed out of Carsland towards the front of the park, and we ran right into Pluto looking all adorable in his Christmas getup! We waited a few minutes and I got to meet my favorite little pup in Disneyland!

At this point we needed a break from the park crowds and wanted to get our final bits of shopping done, so we headed over to Downtown Disney!

I can’t remember where this was, but we came across this awesome Hatbox Ghost statue! I had a hard time not getting it for Matt..

I also traded Vinylmation, and got this one from the Disneyland Paris Park series!

On our way out, I took a photo of this hanging outside, because I thought it was kind of hilarious that there was a Disney World banner there.

We decided to go to World of Disney to do some shopping for my niece, my sister, and our co-workers. We ended up getting my niece, in addition to her cute Minnie Mouse, this ADORABLE little jacket for her to wear!

And obviously, I’m going to post the photo my brother sent to me after they got their Christmas package of little Melina, looking adorable.

We picked up some fun gifts for my sister, including Jack Skellington earrings and a stuffed Eeyore:

We bought a cute Mickey Santa Vinylmation for my collection:

And then we bought our friend Brian, who was dog/house-sitting, a fun Disneyland t-shirt!

We couldn’t forget our co-workers, so we bought them cute rice krispy treats, and grabbed ourselves some for later!

After we got all of our gifts for everyone, we decided to stop by Jazz Kitchen Express for some tasty beignets!! We decided to eat them outside, and they were SO GOOD.

Like, I wish I could be eating them right now. Yum. I highly suggest trying them from Jazz Kitchen!

After we finished up, we started to head back to our room to drop everything off and take a mid-day break! Along the way, we were looking down at those memory stones and came across one of someone from our town! So weird and random that we happened to randomly stumble across this one in particular!

Due to how much our feet had been hurting the previous day, we decided to take a longer break today and really get ourselves refreshed for the rest of our night! I’m pretty sure we also took the opportunity to do a lot of our packing so we wouldn’t have to worry about it later that evening.

A little while later, I got myself all ready to roll for more fun!

(Keep on readin'!)
Continued in next post​

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty-Three: Heading back into Disneyland... and things are gettin' cray cray!
Day 3: December 1st, 2012

At this point we headed right back into Disneyland and the crowds were pretty insane, especially with the first night of the Candlelight Processional happening in a few hours.

As some of you know, Candlelight Processional is a big deal in Disney World and they have tons of showings for it, etc. In Disneyland, they’ve only historically had 2 nights of the CP, both during the first weekend of December.

This year, they decided to expand it to 20 nights, but still decided to have it in by the train station on Main Street. That being said, it was a total nightmare getting through that area when we arrived!

We weaved our way through the groups of people standing around and headed back towards Big Thunder Mountain. The line was 40 minutes, so we opted for Fast Passes!

We decided to head towards Fantasyland to see what the wait times were for IASW, and went around Big Thunder, which seemed weird since there is no “back” side of Big Thunder that you can walk around in Disney World!

Matt really had to go to the bathroom, but there was a huge line, so while he went to the bathroom, I took it as an opportunity to go check out Big Thunder Ranch, which they completely changed for the holidays into the Jingle Jangle Jamboree!

There was a little stage towards the back where there was fun live music going on, which you can sort of see here..

I really loved all of the pretty lights and awesome decorations they put up in this area.

Matt found me and we decided to stop by Santa’s cabin to see what was in there! It was too cute for words!

Santa wasn’t home, but it was wonderful checking out his little cabin… even though I guess we were kind of technically breaking in? Haha not really, but hopefully Santa was cool with us taking photos of the inside of his cabin.

We headed out of the Jamboree area, and had to take a photo of this sign. It made us both laugh and think of our boss at work, who more often than not says BAH HUMBUG (even though we know he secretly likes Christmas):

By the time we left the area, it was starting to get dark! I love the carousel at night..

We headed over to IASW because we really wanted to marvel at it more. It was just too pretty not to when you’re so close to it!

Unfortunately the line was crazy long, so we just opted to take some photos instead..

We were both kind of hungry, so we headed back towards Frontierland and decided to split a Mickey Mouse pretzel.

We sat down on a bench right near BTMRR and ate our pretzel, commenting on how insane the crowds had gotten to be. It was BUMPING.

After we finished our delightful pretzel, we decided to use our Haunted Mansion fast passes we’d grabbed earlier. Oh my word, the line was ginormous, even to get into the FP line!

When we got towards the front where they check FPs, the CMs wished me a Happy Birthday, and then as soon as they saw our FPs were “good” from hours ago, I’m pretty sure we got an eye roll, and a knowing smile, hahaha. But they still let us through, so whatever!

We really enjoyed our final ride on Haunted Mansion Holiday! I still think that’s something ANY NBC fan has to see at least once in their life, it’s that impressive, I promise.

Next, we finish hanging out in Disneyland, then escape the crowds for some Adventuring!

Continued in next post​

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Another great set of updates! It is so fun to read your take on DLR stuff that we do frequently. We love Hungry Bear and eating overlooking the water. It is great, and I'm glad you finally got to ride RSR and park hop back and forth. We couldn't believe the crowds for the processional either. We went on one of the last nights this year and it was the most crowded we have seen Disneyland ever.

 

[DisneytheKid]

Awesome updates!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Ahhhhhhhh that is the coolest thing ever that you met Jack!!!! Too bad Sally wasn't there too, but still AWESOME!!!

The Cars ride looks really cute! I can see how a Cars fan (my niece in particular!) would go nuts over that!

Those beignets look so good!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I can totally see how the Radiator Springs ride is like Test Track. Totally. And if they bring it to WDW, it'll be like having two Test Tracks (baby...zoom!).

I love that little Minnie jacket! I want one in my size!

Not gonna lie, pictures of those crowds make me a little claustrophobic. I love September at WDW for a reason. Too bad IASW had a horrible line. I'd hate to miss it being so close!

I'm jealous that you not only got to meet Jack (how cool is that!?), but that you just got to hop on HM Holiday pretty much anytime you wanted. Awesome! I need to make it there one day. I know I keep saying that.

Santa's cottage is TOO CUTE, even if you were breaking and entering! Love the kids' notes in their wonderful big handwriting.