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

[Malroy]

I love your trip report!!! You and your hubby appear to be around the age of me and my BF (I am 24, he is 25) and i love seeing people our age enjoying disney! It also makes me think about when we will be able to go just the two of us for the first time!!!

 

[Aurora1972]

WOW! Disneyland looks like it has gotten super busy! Adorable picture of your niece in the jacket. That Mickey Mouse pretzel looks so yum. You take such great pictures! I'm hoping for a better camera by my next visit.Can't believe we are already close to the end of this trip. But that just means you'll start your new TR soon I hope!

 

[marDgreen88]

Sleeping Beauty is, in my opinion, one of the most BEAUTIFULLY animated movies... just, ever. It's just beyond gorgeous. That walk-thru does sound awesome.

Did you know that the Snow White fountain had forced prospective, too? I forgot where I heard it, but they made the statues of the dwarves and Snow White all the same height, so they put her up higher to mask it, because obviously she is much taller than them in the movie!

I'm sorry, I don't usually go out and say that I hate a lot of things, but I cannot stand rude guests, and I cannot stand clueless parents. When you combine those two things... HATE. Just no.

RSR LOOKS AMAZING!!! It's funny that you said that about it being similar to Test Track, because I always thought that too! (From pictures, of course.) I love the outdoor part of Test Track (in fact, it's the only part I really care about if I'm being honest) so I think I would like this ride better because of the entire ride experience! It just looks awesome. And I love Cars! It's just too cute.

Okay, this is a super random/Disnerdy thing to say, but I always think the Disneyland FPs look so funny with all the open space under the return times! Why aren't they just shorter? The things I notice.

MICKEY PRETZEL. THAT'S LIKE A FOOD DREAM OF MINE.

 

[Aussiesalad]

Totally followed you on instagram haha

Yikes how did I get behind by 4 updates!! You're churning them out at lightning speed girl!!

The castle looks so flippin beautiful when its all christmassy!! And I LOVE that you can walk through it!!

Disney rules at forced perspective forever and always!!!

I can always appreciate an EXTREME CLOSE UP!!!!

That is such a cute photo of you two in front of the castle, you both look so happy!!

EEK not a fan of the creepy popcorn churner at all!! Clowns are just not right!

I’m sorry but I would never do the canoeing. It looks like so much work, and I’m sure with my luck some person would splash water all over me/in my mouth, but whatever floats your boat! (haha, get it? Bad joke.)

I laughed at your terrible joke BUT I completely agree with you. Those are my thoughts exactly when I see people doing that!

Your niece looks SO cute in the jacket!! Such a great buy!!

 

[danimaroo]

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.

Thank you very much! I'm so happy that you are enjoying my TR and the views of someone who is new to it all, haha. Hungry Bear was delightful and I'm sure we wil return!!

RSR was super fun, though I just couldn't believe the amount of people in that line who were waiting for over 2 hours! Crazy.

Glad to know I'm not alone in thinking those crowds were insane! Good lord, I couldn't believe them all! I think next DL trip during the holiday season will be in early-mid November.

Awesome updates!

Thanks! I know I'm cruising through them but I have to get this darn TR done so I can start my WDW TR!

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!

I was so excited to run into him! He was seriously so awesome to meet. I was bummed about Sally not being there, but Jack more than made up for it!

OMG a Cars fan would go NUTS over it! It was pretty impressive, much like the rest of CarsLand.

Beignets were delicious! I would most definitely eat those all up again, haha.

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.

It pretty much IS TT, just different theming and then the outside is different. I mean, theming-wise, it's better than TT in my mind. But actual ride, I prefer TT, especially the outside park and how fast you go. I have to be honest, I REALLY don't understand why they would bring CarsLand to WDW. It just seems pointless to me, especially since Test Track already is at WDW. RSR is way too similar. I'd much rather see a Star Wars Land! I mean, they already have Star Wars Weekends, why not make a darn land since it's so popular!

Haha she looked adorable in her little Minnie jacket, I won't lie.

OMG, those crowds were bonkers. Like, Christmas time bonkers. It wasn't ideal at all, but fortunately that was the only time we dealt with crappy crowds. I was a little sad about not going on IASW but we also got to ride it a lot so I was okay with it.

Haha, yeah, that HM Holiday is just so darn neat. I can't wait to see it again! You WILL make it there one day, darn it!

I loved all of the little touches in Santa's little cabin! It was adorable.

I love your trip report!!! You and your hubby appear to be around the age of me and my BF (I am 24, he is 25) and i love seeing people our age enjoying disney! It also makes me think about when we will be able to go just the two of us for the first time!!!

Thank you so much! We are slightly old than you two, but close enough, right?! And I'm totally with you! I love seeing people our age enjoying the parks, too. Going by yourselves is AMAZING! I love visiting the parks just Matt and me. Our honeymoon in Disney World was really our first actual REAL vacation together, and it was awesome!

WOW! Disneyland looks like it has gotten super busy! Adorable picture of your niece in the jacket. That Mickey Mouse pretzel looks so yum. You take such great pictures! I'm hoping for a better camera by my next visit.Can't believe we are already close to the end of this trip. But that just means you'll start your new TR soon I hope!

It was SO busy! Agh, I wasn't prepared for THAT many people I guess... but we still managed around everyone!

Thanks, I thought that photo was pretty adorable. She's such a cute peanut!

The pretzel was very tasty!

Thank you so much for the compliments on my photos! I'm still learning but I'm getting there. I love my new camera though!

And yes, sad this one is coming to a close... but I am BEYOND excited to start my WDW TR here soon. It is going to be such a fun trip report! I've already edited all of my photos for that one, so I'm ready to roll! Just gotta finish this one and then I can start writing! I hope I'll see you over there!

Sleeping Beauty is, in my opinion, one of the most BEAUTIFULLY animated movies... just, ever. It's just beyond gorgeous. That walk-thru does sound awesome.

Did you know that the Snow White fountain had forced prospective, too? I forgot where I heard it, but they made the statues of the dwarves and Snow White all the same height, so they put her up higher to mask it, because obviously she is much taller than them in the movie!

I'm sorry, I don't usually go out and say that I hate a lot of things, but I cannot stand rude guests, and I cannot stand clueless parents. When you combine those two things... HATE. Just no.

RSR LOOKS AMAZING!!! It's funny that you said that about it being similar to Test Track, because I always thought that too! (From pictures, of course.) I love the outdoor part of Test Track (in fact, it's the only part I really care about if I'm being honest) so I think I would like this ride better because of the entire ride experience! It just looks awesome. And I love Cars! It's just too cute.

Okay, this is a super random/Disnerdy thing to say, but I always think the Disneyland FPs look so funny with all the open space under the return times! Why aren't they just shorter? The things I notice.

MICKEY PRETZEL. THAT'S LIKE A FOOD DREAM OF MINE.

The walk-through was gorgeous! I was just in awe the whole time I was walking through it.

I didn't know that, but Disney and their trickery! I love that fountain, it's a wonderful place to kind of hide out for a bit and just take in the scenery, and offers wonderful views of the castle, too!

OMG, same here. These women WERE TERRIBLE. I just can't even deal. Glad you understand, hahaha.

You would love RSR, honestly! It's a really fabulous attraction and the scenery is really impressive. I'd definitely go on it again, just hopefully with less insane lines/waiting!

Hahaha you know what's funny, I was thinking the same thing when looking at my photos! There's just so much random space! BUT I think it's because they are going to start enforcing return times there, like in WDW, so it'll probably start printing that little note about having to return during that hour. I just heard somewhere they were starting that next week, but who the heck knows!

The pretzel was tasty... AND adorable, what more could a girl ask for?!

Totally followed you on instagram haha

Yikes how did I get behind by 4 updates!! You're churning them out at lightning speed girl!!

The castle looks so flippin beautiful when its all christmassy!! And I LOVE that you can walk through it!!

Disney rules at forced perspective forever and always!!!

I can always appreciate an EXTREME CLOSE UP!!!!

That is such a cute photo of you two in front of the castle, you both look so happy!!

EEK not a fan of the creepy popcorn churner at all!! Clowns are just not right!

I laughed at your terrible joke BUT I completely agree with you. Those are my thoughts exactly when I see people doing that!

Your niece looks SO cute in the jacket!! Such a great buy!!

Heck yes, and I followed you back!

Hahaha it's not you, it's me! No, it really is! I am trying to get through this TR so I can start writing my WDW one. I mean, I could probably start it now but I really want to make sure I put in 100% time for each TR, making sure I keep up with the details. I know if I had 2 going on at the same time I would get confused to probably write them too quickly.

I know! I loved it with all of the lights on it. It's just beautiful. I can't wait to go back and see it again...

Bahaha, I'm the queen of extreme close ups on poor Matt. He tends to be the victim!

Thank you! I liked it, too... and enough to put it on our Christmas card!

Clowns are evil. Just evil.

Bad joke and all, no thanks on the canoeing! I've heard of people getting that swamp water on them and I really just don't need that happening in my life. Splash Mountain was more than enough for me, hahaha.

Thanks, she looks so cute. Such a little Minnie Mouse.

 

[Malroy]

Thank you so much! We are slightly old than you two, but close enough, right?! And I'm totally with you! I love seeing people our age enjoying the parks, too. Going by yourselves is AMAZING! I love visiting the parks just Matt and me. Our honeymoon in Disney World was really our first actual REAL vacation together, and it was awesome!

I am also terrible at judging ages But, I do generally feel like after 25 it is acceptable to lump most everyone like 35 and under into "around our age"
We've been talking a lot about getting married (probably waiting until I graduate from college in about a year) and originally i wanted to go somewhere tropical for a honeymoon but now we are contemplating doing a disney honeymoon! aaahh!!

 

[danimaroo]

I am also terrible at judging ages But, I do generally feel like after 25 it is acceptable to lump most everyone like 35 and under into "around our age"
We've been talking a lot about getting married (probably waiting until I graduate from college in about a year) and originally i wanted to go somewhere tropical for a honeymoon but now we are contemplating doing a disney honeymoon! aaahh!!

Haha no, I'm 28 and Matt is 30, so you were super close! And I totally agree, just lump us all together!

Can I just say a Disney Honeymoon is seriously amazing?! We had the BEST time and I wouldn't change it for the world! You can relax but also have the freedom to go play in the parks, too! Also, we waited til I was done with college to get married, too.

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty-Four: We escape the crowds and do some California Adventuring!
Day 3: December 1st, 2012

We wandered over to New Orleans Square at this point to kill more time and to also check out the Court of Angels area. It’s this little corner that has super pretty lights, and they also had a Christmas tree up!

Sorry for the bad photos, we were using my iPhone and it was dark in that area.

There was a little shop set up in there, as well, that was selling Christmas ornaments. Matt spotted an awesome one of Mickey as the Ghost Host from Haunted Mansion and immediately bought it. I can’t seem to find the photo I took of it on our Christmas tree, but this is what it looks like:

I love how Mickey even has the serious look, haha.

Our FPs for BTMRR were ready so we walked back there and were excited to go on at night! I love BTMRR so much when it’s dark out.

After we got loaded, I asked Matt to take a photo with me. This is how it turned out. Me smiling all nicely, my husband… yawning.

Hahaha, gotta love him!

We enjoyed our trip on BTMRR but decided we needed some food! We noticed a nearby restaurant, Rancho Del Zocalo, and thought Mexican sounded decent.

Holy coooow the line was crazy! But at that point we were both basically of the mind that no matter where we went, the lines would be insane, so eating here would probably be best. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got our food and went to pay for it.

As we were checking out and talking to the CM, she wished me a Happy Birthday and somehow the topic of it being my first trip came up. The CM didn’t understand why I didn’t have a First Visit pin, so she insisted on giving me one!

(I totally took this photo once we were back in the room, but whatever!)

I thought that was nice of her, even though we were at the very end of our trip, haha. But I was happy to add it to my awesome pin collection I have at home!

We sat down outside and of course, they had those pesky heat lamps running. Wompwomp.

I took this terrible photo on my phone of my food.

We both got the Carne Asada & Red Chile Enchilada Platter. We both actually enjoyed the food! I mean, not the best Mexican you’ll ever eat but it was pretty delicious, and they gave you a lot of food for $12 (well minus that awesome AP discount we got on all of our food, woowoo!)..

After we finished eating, we decided to escape the crowds in Disneyland for a bit in hopes of lighter crowds over in California Adventure, PLUS we had FPs from earlier in the morning to use!

You see the ridiculous amount of people on Main Street?!

Matt spotted this awesome Ratatouille display on Main Street. Not a good photo since we were moving through crowds, but it was a super cute display!

This was the CP set up near the train station. There were just MOBS of people all around, it was seriously insane.

But we escaped! And somehow I managed to get my nice camera out!

I felt more comfortable having it out with less people around, especially because I really wanted to get photos of awesome displays in California Adventure.

Matt always loved these old cartoons, so he was beyond happy to see these.

The crowds were WAY less insane over in California Adventure, which we definitely were happy about.

We roamed past Carsland to look at everything lit up. It was beautiful!

We had Screamin’ FPs to use though, so we continued in that direction..

Oh man, seeing this area lit up made me appreciate this park a bit more! Everything looked beautiful.

One of my faaaavorite favorite photos of the trip has to be this one below of Mickey’s Fun Wheel. Seriously, it’s such an awesome sight to see at night!

Matt was starting to get annoyed with my photo-taking, because I have this knack for just stopping and taking photos without saying anything, and he ends up walking ahead then wondering where the heck I am. So Matt told me he was totally cool with me stopping to take photos, but to just nudge him when I wanted to stop.

I kind of forgot when I went to take a photo of the tree… so Matt photobombed my photo…

and then made this face.. His annoyed ”DANIIIII!” face:

(Keep reading!)
Continued in next post​

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty-Four: We escape the crowds and do some California Adventuring! CONTINUED
Day 3: December 1st, 2012

Haha, I’m kind of the worst! But I did nudge him so I could take a few more before we got near Screamin’!

We used our Screamin’ FPs and the guy didn’t even bat an eye at the fact we were using them nearly 12 hours later. Screamin’ was super fun to ride at night and I’m glad we were able to do it!

Of course, for our final ride on it, Matt made a face that literally made me have to stop us in our tracks because I couldn’t stop laughing. I mean, I’m like 99% sure I remember people stopping and pointing at our ride photo.

This is why:

He’s all mine, ladies.

Bahaha it’s my favorite when he does them when I don’t expect it because when I see the picture and then look at the sheepish grin on his face, it just kills me every time. Matt truly is the king of absurd ride photos.

We waved goodbye to Paradise Pier and took our time walking since we had time to spare before we need to head over to the viewing area for World of Color.

It was so perfect that night and I was SO HAPPY for no rain for a bit!

We decided to go back to Carsland to check it out at night. That area is just awesome at all times of day, seriously. I know I’ve said it like 5 times but the decorations were just amazing.

Honestly, my photos don’t really even capture it all. But yeah, I look forward to going back again and honestly spending more time in that area… we at least need to get some food there!

We left Carsland and headed back over to the viewing area for WoC. We handed our FPs and there weren’t many people there yet. We initially thought about sitting near the front area but heard that you could get wet from the water, so we opted for a spot a little further away. We plopped ourselves right down since we had around an hour to wait til the show.

At some point a family of 4 came over and sat next to us. They started talking to us and they were seriously the NICEST people ever! Their kids were also super cute and well-behaved.

It kind of cracks me up now because if you were to picture the perfect Disney family to put in a commercial, this family was it. The parents were both good-looking, the kids were adorable, and they were so excited about seeing World of Color for the first time.

But yeah, we talked to them for a LONG time about Disneyland, Disney World, and they were telling us about how they were heading for a Disney cruise a few days after. It helped pass the time until World of Color really quickly! I love meeting nice people in Disney, it makes me really happy.

World of Color finally was starting and it began with an awesome Prep and Landing holiday show. Warning, you are about to hear my favorite parts of World of Color with photos, so if you don’t want spoilers, skip this. It’s a 20-minute show, though, so I clearly don’t cover EVERYTHING here, haha.

Then World of Color began and I was beyond impressed. Unfortunately, just as it began, it started. To. RAIN. Nooooo. I was so bummed out! The rain held off all day and now it was showing up again! I thought maybe it was from the water show but it was definitely rain. Blargh.

But we didn’t let that stop us from enjoying the show!

I nearly lost it when they showed scenes from WALL-E, and soon after showed Up (and played that tear-jerking theme)… I adored with Up how they had the house lift through the air, so I obviously took photos!

No but really, I was so happy to see those two movies get love. I just love them so much that seeing that made me tear up.

The addition of the entire Brave part was GORGEOUS. Seriously, it was unreal. The landscapes from that movie are stunning, so integrating it all into World of Color was a beautiful thing.

I really, really loved this show. It was really beautiful and so well-done. I could have definitely done without the rain misting in my face, but otherwise we really enjoyed ourselves!

Next, the sad part. We say goodbye to Disneyland for real, head home, and I give you guys my FINAL thoughts! Yes, it'll be the end of this TR. Woooompwomp.

Continued in next post​

 

[onelilspark]

So now that you've seen World of Color, did you do Fantasmic at HS? Because we did Fantasmic back in October and I couldn't help but compare it. And WOC is just SO GOOD that Fantasmic didn't really live up.

 

[gardengirl2790]

I just have to say that seeing your husband's face on 'Screamin made me laugh out loud! Too funny!! Thank you for this trip report. You two are really sweet, and it's a great report to read.

 

[Aurora1972]

World of Color looks AWESOME!! I love it that Wall-E got some love. That was my DS's favorite movie when he was 4. I will be interested to read how you rate World of Color in comparison to other Disney shows..

 

[mouseketeer70]

Oops! I just woke my husband up when I busted out laughing at that ride photo! You look like you are having the time of your life and Matt, well, now I'm laughing again
World of Color looks amazing!
Can't believe this trip is almost over. You guys seriously packed in so much in such a short visit!

 

[Aussiesalad]

I love that cute serious Mickey ornament!!

EEK that is sooo many people on main street!! Seriously mob city!

I love how Mickeys fun wheel looks at night! All those changing colours just look so beautiful! And the reflection is gorgeous!!

Matts annoyed face cracks me up. I swear I have about 40 photos of Josh like that!

HIS SCREAMIN FACE IS AMAZING!!!!

WoC makes me sooooo happy! I just love everything they did with it!

Awh I'm sad it's over ...butttt super excited to hear about the next trip too

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Seriously. Every. Single. Update. I learn something new about Disneyland from you! I LOVE the shot of the wheel (sorry, forgot what its name was) and the reflection on the water. You got some great night shots Dani!

Matt was starting to get annoyed with my photo-taking, because I have this knack for just stopping and taking photos without saying anything, and he ends up walking ahead then wondering where the heck I am.

HA! WELCOME TO MY WORLD!!!!!! I cannot tell you how often this happens to me! I had to stop taking as many shots this trip with Savannah b/c she was getting annoyed with me! I started my TR, btw!!!

 

[arbolita]

I love that Haunted Mansion Mickey ornament!

DCA looks so great at night, especially the new areas and Mickey's Fun Wheel. Gahhhhh I reallyreallyreally hope I'm able to get there this year!

Also, this:

Matt was starting to get annoyed with my photo-taking, because I have this knack for just stopping and taking photos without saying anything, and he ends up walking ahead then wondering where the heck I am.

Hahahaha - totally me and my husband. I can only imagine that will be multiplied by 100 during our first Disneyland trip.

 

[cfw213]

So sad your TR is almost over! Were you there for three full days? Do you think it was enough? I'm in the rough planning stages of a DLR trip in May 2014 and was just thinking about timing!

 

[izzie-wizzie]

Ohhhhhh wow - i have a serious amount of love for the Ghost Host Mickey!!

 

[Susan121302]

YH's faces crack me the heck up. I am so sad it's almost over. I will have to read your DWorld TR just for the heck of it. Even though, deep down...it's just a tease since we have no plans to go back.

 

[danimaroo]

So now that you've seen World of Color, did you do Fantasmic at HS? Because we did Fantasmic back in October and I couldn't help but compare it. And WOC is just SO GOOD that Fantasmic didn't really live up.

Haha, we actually have never seen Fantasmic! It's just never been at the top of our list, nor do we really want to wait in a long line for it... so we haven't seen it! I'd like to at some point, though admittedly, it's not at the top of my list.

I just have to say that seeing your husband's face on 'Screamin made me laugh out loud! Too funny!! Thank you for this trip report. You two are really sweet, and it's a great report to read.

Hahaha, when I started writing the update and came across that photo, SO DID I! What a goober! But that's one of the many reasons I love him; he makes me laugh so hard with his ridiculous ride faces.

But thank you, I'm so happy you've enjoyed this trip report as it has been an absolute pleasure to write.

World of Color looks AWESOME!! I love it that Wall-E got some love. That was my DS's favorite movie when he was 4. I will be interested to read how you rate World of Color in comparison to other Disney shows..

It IS awesome! I was so happy to see Wall-E up there. It's my favorite Pixar movie to date. Just because you mentioned it, I'll be putting a little ranking in my Final Thoughts about shows that I've seen and how I'd order them!

Oops! I just woke my husband up when I busted out laughing at that ride photo! You look like you are having the time of your life and Matt, well, now I'm laughing again
World of Color looks amazing!
Can't believe this trip is almost over. You guys seriously packed in so much in such a short visit!

Hahahhaa, that is awesome! I laughed really hard at it, so I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought it was hilarious!

We have a blast when we're in Disney! It's just natural for us, haha.

And I know, I'm sad it's over but good Lord, when I look back on this trip now I'm blown away by what we accomplished in just 2 1/2 days!

I love that cute serious Mickey ornament!!

EEK that is sooo many people on main street!! Seriously mob city!

I love how Mickeys fun wheel looks at night! All those changing colours just look so beautiful! And the reflection is gorgeous!!

Matts annoyed face cracks me up. I swear I have about 40 photos of Josh like that!

HIS SCREAMIN FACE IS AMAZING!!!!

WoC makes me sooooo happy! I just love everything they did with it!

Awh I'm sad it's over ...butttt super excited to hear about the next trip too

Me too! It was perfect for us to buy, especially since Matt loves Haunted Mansion so much.

It was insane. Like, I just can't even fathom what the parks are like on Christmas.

Yeah, it's so beautiful! I think I liked Paradise Pier a lot more at night when it's all lit up.

Hahaha, that is his annoyed face. He was getting sick of my stopping to take photos and not telling him. I tried to be better about it on our Disney World trip but sometimes just told everyone to go ahead without me and I'd catch up.

Yeah, it really is hilarious. I was dying when I saw it... and saw it again while writing my TR! Bahaha that's my husband.

World of Color is really, really neat. I would probably cut 5 minutes off of it, but otherwise we enjoyed it!

That's how I feel... sad this is over, but BEYOND EXCITED for my WDW TR!