RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Yes it's hard to get shots of the birds in motion! Trust me there were lots of bad shots in with the good ones! Thanks
A Fantasy Holiday - our first Disney Cruise, WDW, UOR, New York and DLR - COMPLETED 4/9
- Thread starter RachelleBeaney
- Start date
Yes it's hard to get shots of the birds in motion! Trust me there were lots of bad shots in with the good ones! Thanks
sayuracodfish
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
Love all the pictures Rachelle! This is one of my favorite shows at WDW tooDay 19 - Part 2 - Flights of Wonder
We sat down to watch one of my favorite shows in all of Disney World, Flights of Wonder. I really love how the humor of the show is cleverly mixed with the message about preserving these birds habitats by protecting our environment. The 'Tour Guide' who hates birds is hilarious and the birds are always so beautiful. Here are a sampling of some of the birds we saw.
This adorable little parrot was not in the mood to do what was asked of him that day - itm made the show even more comedic!
This African Crow hit me in the heads with his wings as he flew over me to steal a dollar bill from the lady right behind me! Jared got hit by him as he was on his way back to her with the dollar bill!
This owl honestly looked like a teddy-bear, like it wasn't real!
Continued in Next Post...
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Love all the pictures Rachelle! This is one of my favorite shows at WDW too
Thanks Kim
- Yes I always love watching free flight bird shows! If you ever get the Australia and visit Sydney you have to see the one at Taronga Zoo. The open air stadium overlooks Sydney Harbour and the bridge and opera house. Add the amazing view to the flying birds and the whole thing is worth the price of admission to the zoo (which is also an awesome zoo as it is!).
sayuracodfish
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
Todd and I would LOVE to visit Australia! Maybe someday....
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Well if you do you have to let us know and we can join you and show you around!
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 22 - Part 1 - Flurries and Bridges
Today was the coldest day we experienced in New York. When we awoke it was about -8 and by the time we got going it was still -6. And of course, this was the day we decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge (you know a bridge, over cold frozen water... where it's windy!). I never really felt cold in New York with all the layers I was wearing, except for that day when we walked the Brooklyn Bridge.
Walking the bridge had been an idea given to us by our wonderful cabbie, and we thought it would provide great views of the city and a pathway to Grimmaldi's - which was voted the best pizza in New York, and was located in Brooklyn just near the base of the bridge.
When we got to the bridge it had started to flurry! I was super excited because, though light, it was snowing and I had never seen snow fall before. Here are a few pictures of me with a couple of small snowflakes around me!
The Brooklyn Bridge is about a 1.8 mile (around 3km) walk. The walkway, which is suspended above the road, looks old (it's made of wooden slats) and you really feel the history of the bridge while you walk it.
We found the Empire State building from the bridge
The city skyline was somewhat hidden behind the bridge's cabling, but it made for interesting photos!
We also found this adorable wall of padlocks that couples had attached to the railing along the walkway - some of which marked proposals, others just said "name" loves "name" but it was just so beautiful to see and remind us there is indeed love in this world, and you can find it if you look.
We looked down over the road part of the bridge - am just noticing the giant potholes now - could use some work New York City!
Continued in Next Post...
Today was the coldest day we experienced in New York. When we awoke it was about -8 and by the time we got going it was still -6. And of course, this was the day we decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge (you know a bridge, over cold frozen water... where it's windy!). I never really felt cold in New York with all the layers I was wearing, except for that day when we walked the Brooklyn Bridge.
Walking the bridge had been an idea given to us by our wonderful cabbie, and we thought it would provide great views of the city and a pathway to Grimmaldi's - which was voted the best pizza in New York, and was located in Brooklyn just near the base of the bridge.
When we got to the bridge it had started to flurry! I was super excited because, though light, it was snowing and I had never seen snow fall before. Here are a few pictures of me with a couple of small snowflakes around me!
The Brooklyn Bridge is about a 1.8 mile (around 3km) walk. The walkway, which is suspended above the road, looks old (it's made of wooden slats) and you really feel the history of the bridge while you walk it.
We found the Empire State building from the bridge
The city skyline was somewhat hidden behind the bridge's cabling, but it made for interesting photos!
We also found this adorable wall of padlocks that couples had attached to the railing along the walkway - some of which marked proposals, others just said "name" loves "name" but it was just so beautiful to see and remind us there is indeed love in this world, and you can find it if you look.
We looked down over the road part of the bridge - am just noticing the giant potholes now - could use some work New York City!
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 22 - Part 2 - To Brooklyn
The East River was so so cold as we walked across the bridge. A lot of it was covered in ice and it was creating the coldest wind I've ever felt in my life!
Our zoom lens could see all the way to Liberty Island and Lady Liberty herself!
Here's more of what I mean't about the cabling blocking the city views!
If you look really closely you'll see the Statue of Liberty behind me! We didn't visit her on this trip as we've seen her multiple times and we knew how cold it would be on the boat to the island!
When we had cleared the edge of the bridge we could actually see more of the city skyline. I was interested to note the new World Trade Center building. It's the weird triangle facade building with the antenna like thing on top! Though it seems to me that it isn't taller than the Empire State Building, apparently it is and is now the tallest building in New York City (it's 104 floors and 546m tall where as the Empire State Building is 102 floors and 443m tall). We'd heard conflicting information about whether or not it was being built as the tallest building in New York when we visiting while it was being constructed.
It had warmed up a little at this point - but here is a picture that Jared took to show just how cold it was that day!
We were now on the Brooklyn side of the bridge....
Once again, you can see just how cold it was from how much ice was floating in the East River!
We finally made it into Brooklyn - here are a few of the sights from area near the river.
We found Grimmaldi's pretty easily and it was indeed some of the best pizza I've ever had. Everything was fresh, wood-fired and gourmet and the place had a very grimy New York charm to it! I can see why it is so beloved. We ate the whole pie and we don't normally get through one together so that should be an indication of how yummy it was.
After lunch Jared's goal was to buy his 30th birthday present from all his and my family, a Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster. We decided to take a cab back into Manhattan and we then spent an awful long time in a music store while Jared decided which guitar to get and then while the store looked for an appropriate hard case for Jared to carry the guitar in. Other than a drum kit (which are expensive and he won't be getting for a while) Jared now owns every instrument he plays. He already had a bass and acoustic guitar, and of course and piano and keyboard but not an electric! He picked this really really pretty blue one (a Fender Stratocaster)!
We were exhausted by that point so we decided to have an afternoon nap ready for our visit to the Walter Kerr Theater for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which we were seeing that night...
We ate dinner somewhere I can't remember that night, but I do remember I had Parmesan truffle fries which were amazing! I also remember it was quiet close to the theatre and so we arrived in plenty of time.
The show was brilliant, perhaps my favourite show we saw on Broadway during our time in New York. It was the Tony winner after all so it ought to have been good (though we saw another Tony award winner on a previous trip to New York, Memphis, and really didn't like that!). What was surprising to me though, was how funny it was and how clever the story was. If you don't know, the premise of the show is that a poor man, named Monty Navarro, whose mother has just died, discovers his mother was actually a member of the fabulously rich D'Ysquith family and he is therefore 9th in line to the Earldom of Highhurst, a large castle like manor in the country. He then plots to kill and/or create accidents that will end the lives of all those D'Ysquith's who are in line before him so he can inherit the Earldom. One actor plays all the D'Ysquith heirs (male and female) and is HILARIOUS, and each member of the family dies in the funniest way. Really if you are ever looking for a good musical to see in New York, this is it!
Continued in Next Post...
The East River was so so cold as we walked across the bridge. A lot of it was covered in ice and it was creating the coldest wind I've ever felt in my life!
Our zoom lens could see all the way to Liberty Island and Lady Liberty herself!
Here's more of what I mean't about the cabling blocking the city views!
If you look really closely you'll see the Statue of Liberty behind me! We didn't visit her on this trip as we've seen her multiple times and we knew how cold it would be on the boat to the island!
When we had cleared the edge of the bridge we could actually see more of the city skyline. I was interested to note the new World Trade Center building. It's the weird triangle facade building with the antenna like thing on top! Though it seems to me that it isn't taller than the Empire State Building, apparently it is and is now the tallest building in New York City (it's 104 floors and 546m tall where as the Empire State Building is 102 floors and 443m tall). We'd heard conflicting information about whether or not it was being built as the tallest building in New York when we visiting while it was being constructed.
It had warmed up a little at this point - but here is a picture that Jared took to show just how cold it was that day!
We were now on the Brooklyn side of the bridge....
Once again, you can see just how cold it was from how much ice was floating in the East River!
We finally made it into Brooklyn - here are a few of the sights from area near the river.
We found Grimmaldi's pretty easily and it was indeed some of the best pizza I've ever had. Everything was fresh, wood-fired and gourmet and the place had a very grimy New York charm to it! I can see why it is so beloved. We ate the whole pie and we don't normally get through one together so that should be an indication of how yummy it was.
After lunch Jared's goal was to buy his 30th birthday present from all his and my family, a Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster. We decided to take a cab back into Manhattan and we then spent an awful long time in a music store while Jared decided which guitar to get and then while the store looked for an appropriate hard case for Jared to carry the guitar in. Other than a drum kit (which are expensive and he won't be getting for a while) Jared now owns every instrument he plays. He already had a bass and acoustic guitar, and of course and piano and keyboard but not an electric! He picked this really really pretty blue one (a Fender Stratocaster)!
We were exhausted by that point so we decided to have an afternoon nap ready for our visit to the Walter Kerr Theater for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which we were seeing that night...
We ate dinner somewhere I can't remember that night, but I do remember I had Parmesan truffle fries which were amazing! I also remember it was quiet close to the theatre and so we arrived in plenty of time.
The show was brilliant, perhaps my favourite show we saw on Broadway during our time in New York. It was the Tony winner after all so it ought to have been good (though we saw another Tony award winner on a previous trip to New York, Memphis, and really didn't like that!). What was surprising to me though, was how funny it was and how clever the story was. If you don't know, the premise of the show is that a poor man, named Monty Navarro, whose mother has just died, discovers his mother was actually a member of the fabulously rich D'Ysquith family and he is therefore 9th in line to the Earldom of Highhurst, a large castle like manor in the country. He then plots to kill and/or create accidents that will end the lives of all those D'Ysquith's who are in line before him so he can inherit the Earldom. One actor plays all the D'Ysquith heirs (male and female) and is HILARIOUS, and each member of the family dies in the funniest way. Really if you are ever looking for a good musical to see in New York, this is it!
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 23 - Part 1 - A date to skate
We had a date to skate this morning, at the famous Rockerfeller Center Ice Rink. We had even bought VIP skating passes which meant we could sit in a warm room and drink hot chocolate and eat biscuits, skate, and then enjoy more hot chocolate and biscuits! This turned out to be a wonderful wonderful thing, especially for me. I knew, going in, that because I have torn ligaments in both my ankles, skating tends to hurt me. But I really didn't want to pass up an opportunity to ice skate on one of the most famous rinks in the world, and I knew Jared would enjoy it.
We arrived and had a look around, it took a while to work out where the VIP tent was and how to get there.
30 Rock!
There weren't many people out on the skating rink that morning...
Finally we found the VIP tent and got our skates and headed out on the ice. Well, after two laps I was almost in tears my ankles were hurting so badly. It didn't help that I hadn't skated in years (I used to actually be pretty good - well not at anything fancy but just at skating, we used to visit the skate rink in Perth a lot and I was very proficient at rollerblading as a kid) and I was rusty and unsure which was worse on my ankles. I decided that I would have to rest and take my skates off so I did, and I told Jared he should continue to enjoy the rink. So because I was out of commission I took about a million photos of him on the ice so prepare for lots of pictures of him skating!
I love this one - the little kid was passing him constantly - and Jared was mad he was being out-skated by a kid. He likes to tell everyone that later in the morning this kid fell on his butt and Jared did not so all was once again right with the world!
This was Jared's one and only trick - lifting one foot off the ice!! Lol
Continued in Next Post...
We had a date to skate this morning, at the famous Rockerfeller Center Ice Rink. We had even bought VIP skating passes which meant we could sit in a warm room and drink hot chocolate and eat biscuits, skate, and then enjoy more hot chocolate and biscuits! This turned out to be a wonderful wonderful thing, especially for me. I knew, going in, that because I have torn ligaments in both my ankles, skating tends to hurt me. But I really didn't want to pass up an opportunity to ice skate on one of the most famous rinks in the world, and I knew Jared would enjoy it.
We arrived and had a look around, it took a while to work out where the VIP tent was and how to get there.
30 Rock!
There weren't many people out on the skating rink that morning...
Finally we found the VIP tent and got our skates and headed out on the ice. Well, after two laps I was almost in tears my ankles were hurting so badly. It didn't help that I hadn't skated in years (I used to actually be pretty good - well not at anything fancy but just at skating, we used to visit the skate rink in Perth a lot and I was very proficient at rollerblading as a kid) and I was rusty and unsure which was worse on my ankles. I decided that I would have to rest and take my skates off so I did, and I told Jared he should continue to enjoy the rink. So because I was out of commission I took about a million photos of him on the ice so prepare for lots of pictures of him skating!
I love this one - the little kid was passing him constantly - and Jared was mad he was being out-skated by a kid. He likes to tell everyone that later in the morning this kid fell on his butt and Jared did not so all was once again right with the world!
This was Jared's one and only trick - lifting one foot off the ice!! Lol
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 23 - Part 2 - Skating on Ice...
Finally my ankles felt rested enough that I decided to give skating another go. I didn't want my memory of the morning to be the pitiful two laps I managed and all the pain I was in. I was a little more practiced when I went out there this time, and Jared stayed behind to take pictures so he wouldn't distract me from my goal - 3 more laps!
I got through my 3 laps just fine and was only feeling a little pain when I stopped (though I knew it would get worse if I kept going) so I told Jared to get back on the ice so I could take more pictures of him enjoying the rink!
This was my favourite staking photo of the day - I don't know why - it just was!
The rink was very beautiful - I liked the statue and waterfall besides it...
After Jared was done on the skates we headed back into the VIP lounge and grabbed some biscuits and hot chocolate (Jared may have had the coffee) and just relaxed looking out over the rink.
The room was beautiful!
As we were walking into the rink that morning I noticed a Swarovski shop just next door in the Rockerfeller Plaza shopping area. I asked Jared if I could just look at it after our skate, and since I had such a horrible morning skating and hurting my ankles he agreed (yes I was sooky and it worked) and so I got to buy this beautiful earring and necklace set!
We ate lunch at one of the cafes at the Rockerfeller Plaza before heading to our next activity.
Continued in Next Post...
Finally my ankles felt rested enough that I decided to give skating another go. I didn't want my memory of the morning to be the pitiful two laps I managed and all the pain I was in. I was a little more practiced when I went out there this time, and Jared stayed behind to take pictures so he wouldn't distract me from my goal - 3 more laps!
I got through my 3 laps just fine and was only feeling a little pain when I stopped (though I knew it would get worse if I kept going) so I told Jared to get back on the ice so I could take more pictures of him enjoying the rink!
This was my favourite staking photo of the day - I don't know why - it just was!
The rink was very beautiful - I liked the statue and waterfall besides it...
After Jared was done on the skates we headed back into the VIP lounge and grabbed some biscuits and hot chocolate (Jared may have had the coffee) and just relaxed looking out over the rink.
The room was beautiful!
As we were walking into the rink that morning I noticed a Swarovski shop just next door in the Rockerfeller Plaza shopping area. I asked Jared if I could just look at it after our skate, and since I had such a horrible morning skating and hurting my ankles he agreed (yes I was sooky and it worked) and so I got to buy this beautiful earring and necklace set!
We ate lunch at one of the cafes at the Rockerfeller Plaza before heading to our next activity.
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 23 - Part 3 - Top of the Rock
After lunch we headed to the Observation Decks at the top of the Rockerfeller Plaza, or as it's known Top of the Rock. The building, as many would know, houses the NBC offices and so we were given a bit of history on the NBC before heading into the elevator to head to the viewing platforms.
I really enjoyed Top of the Rock. We had visited the Empire State Building on every other trip and wanted to get a different high up view of New York this trip, and I enjoyed the experience of Top of the Rock as well as the views from Top of the Rock much better than those from the Empire State Building and here is why:
Firstly, the elevator. It seems silly but the elevator on the way up to the viewing platforms is fun. NBC historical news stories are projected on the ceiling and the shaft is lit up with colorful lights and the trip is almost like a mini-ride.
Secondly, the Top of the Rock has 3 observations deck as opposed to the Empire State Building's 2. And you have to pay extra to get to the 2nd viewing level of the Empire State Building. While the Top of the Rock isn't as tall as the Empire State Building it has better barriers to the views. The first two levels only have clear plexiglass and the top level has a low wall with a short iron balustrade so you can take pictures with no interference. This is opposed to the 80th floor viewing platform of the Empire State Building which has iron mesh higher than your head making clear pictures hard unless you can stick your camera lens through one of the mesh holes.
Thirdly, when you are not on the Empire State Building you can get a view OF the Empire State Building! It was so much fun to be able to use the Empire State Building as a focal point in our pictures.
And Lastly, Top of the Rock is more towards the end of mid-town and so you get a more central view of Manhattan. I will say though if you are looking to see the Statue of Liberty Top of the Rock may not be for you. On a clear day you can see it well from the Empire State Building, but only on a clear day. We managed to just see it from Top of the Rock, only because we know where it is and could make it out as a tiny little dot on the horizon, and we had a very clear day.
Oh and it is also marginally cheaper than the Empire State Building (not enough for that to have been a main point though!)...
Anyway, now that I have raved about how I loved Top of the Rock, here are the pictures we took from it.
Central Park as a winter wonderland!
As you can see, this was taken through the clear plexiglass on one of the lower observation decks (we didn't know at that point there would be clear views from the top deck!)
We had arrived at the top deck!
It was such a beautiful winter day! Completely clear blue skies!
The Empress of New York!
If you look very closely on the right side of the photo where the river is you can just see the Statue of Liberty - it was a VERY clear day though!
Love this photo!
I believe Jared is trying to pick it up and take it home!
The Chrysler building was not as easy to photograph!
Continued in Next Post...
After lunch we headed to the Observation Decks at the top of the Rockerfeller Plaza, or as it's known Top of the Rock. The building, as many would know, houses the NBC offices and so we were given a bit of history on the NBC before heading into the elevator to head to the viewing platforms.
I really enjoyed Top of the Rock. We had visited the Empire State Building on every other trip and wanted to get a different high up view of New York this trip, and I enjoyed the experience of Top of the Rock as well as the views from Top of the Rock much better than those from the Empire State Building and here is why:
Firstly, the elevator. It seems silly but the elevator on the way up to the viewing platforms is fun. NBC historical news stories are projected on the ceiling and the shaft is lit up with colorful lights and the trip is almost like a mini-ride.
Secondly, the Top of the Rock has 3 observations deck as opposed to the Empire State Building's 2. And you have to pay extra to get to the 2nd viewing level of the Empire State Building. While the Top of the Rock isn't as tall as the Empire State Building it has better barriers to the views. The first two levels only have clear plexiglass and the top level has a low wall with a short iron balustrade so you can take pictures with no interference. This is opposed to the 80th floor viewing platform of the Empire State Building which has iron mesh higher than your head making clear pictures hard unless you can stick your camera lens through one of the mesh holes.
Thirdly, when you are not on the Empire State Building you can get a view OF the Empire State Building! It was so much fun to be able to use the Empire State Building as a focal point in our pictures.
And Lastly, Top of the Rock is more towards the end of mid-town and so you get a more central view of Manhattan. I will say though if you are looking to see the Statue of Liberty Top of the Rock may not be for you. On a clear day you can see it well from the Empire State Building, but only on a clear day. We managed to just see it from Top of the Rock, only because we know where it is and could make it out as a tiny little dot on the horizon, and we had a very clear day.
Oh and it is also marginally cheaper than the Empire State Building (not enough for that to have been a main point though!)...
Anyway, now that I have raved about how I loved Top of the Rock, here are the pictures we took from it.
Central Park as a winter wonderland!
As you can see, this was taken through the clear plexiglass on one of the lower observation decks (we didn't know at that point there would be clear views from the top deck!)
We had arrived at the top deck!
It was such a beautiful winter day! Completely clear blue skies!
The Empress of New York!
If you look very closely on the right side of the photo where the river is you can just see the Statue of Liberty - it was a VERY clear day though!
Love this photo!
I believe Jared is trying to pick it up and take it home!
The Chrysler building was not as easy to photograph!
Continued in Next Post...
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LivingforDisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2014
Great trip report, I am loving see all this
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 23 and Day 24 - Part 4 - I'm on top of the world...wait...Manhattan is the whole world right...
We tried some artsy shots next! I really love these pictures!
A kind stranger agreed to take a picture of us with the Empire State Building jutting out from between our heads!
We had another rest that afternoon ready for another trip to Broadway that evening to see Beautiful - the Carole King Musical. I tried on a few outfits but one thing remained on - my beautiful new jewellery!
We had booked dinner at this amazing little Italian restaurant near the hotel and I had the most amazing truffle and mushroom pasta (if you are sensing a pattern to my eating habits this holiday you can see that truffle is a very common occurrence - I do love it so much!)
The show was wonderful, it featured all the best of Carol King's music, and she really did write a lot of good songs. The story line was a little slow and plodding but the lead who played Carol was brilliant! I can see why she won the Tony!
Our last day in New York we were completely exhausted so we rested in the morning, went to lunch at McGee's pub (the inspiration for McClaren's pub in How I Met Your Mother) and then rested more in the afternoon before seeing Aladdin on broadway that night.
Aladdin was good - really good - I really loved it, but it wasn't as brilliant as I thought it would be. The staging was wonderful - Friend Like Me might just be the best thing I've ever seen on stage, but the story lacked...something - something that Mary Poppins and the Lion King have. Both of those shows added enough gravitas to pass as Broadway shows I guess, but Aladdin didn't really have that. Also the first half did drag a little in order for the show to be long enough to fill two halves. I think the main reason I wasn't completely wowed by the show though was the fact I have now seen lots of stage versions of Aladdin, all of which were shorter, and all of which were Broadway quality in their execution. Still the genie was AWESOME and I loved the songs, and the flying carpet (not quiet as good as the Fantasy's flying carpet) but I guess you could say I wasn't blown away because nothing surprised me. Still it is a great night out and so much fun to watch. I did enjoy the addition of Aladdin's thieving friends too!
The last day went very quickly (there was a lot of sleeping so we would be ready for 4 more days of theme parking at Disneyland) and then we were leaving - well we got delayed for 2.5 hours on the tarmac waiting to be de-iced because unlike the rest of the 5 days we were in New York it decided to snow really really heavily the day we left. As frustrating as that was, and as sad as we were to miss a late night at Disneyland because we landed so late, it was good to finally be back at 'our' park. Driving down to Anaheim we had a private car and a wonderful driver who was actually an actor, who kept us entertained the whole drive. When we finally arrived at the Camelot Inn and Suites we were happy to finally feel 'home' looking over our beautiful happy place, the wonderful Disneyland resort!
Continued in Next Post
We tried some artsy shots next! I really love these pictures!
A kind stranger agreed to take a picture of us with the Empire State Building jutting out from between our heads!
We had another rest that afternoon ready for another trip to Broadway that evening to see Beautiful - the Carole King Musical. I tried on a few outfits but one thing remained on - my beautiful new jewellery!
We had booked dinner at this amazing little Italian restaurant near the hotel and I had the most amazing truffle and mushroom pasta (if you are sensing a pattern to my eating habits this holiday you can see that truffle is a very common occurrence - I do love it so much!)
The show was wonderful, it featured all the best of Carol King's music, and she really did write a lot of good songs. The story line was a little slow and plodding but the lead who played Carol was brilliant! I can see why she won the Tony!
Our last day in New York we were completely exhausted so we rested in the morning, went to lunch at McGee's pub (the inspiration for McClaren's pub in How I Met Your Mother) and then rested more in the afternoon before seeing Aladdin on broadway that night.
Aladdin was good - really good - I really loved it, but it wasn't as brilliant as I thought it would be. The staging was wonderful - Friend Like Me might just be the best thing I've ever seen on stage, but the story lacked...something - something that Mary Poppins and the Lion King have. Both of those shows added enough gravitas to pass as Broadway shows I guess, but Aladdin didn't really have that. Also the first half did drag a little in order for the show to be long enough to fill two halves. I think the main reason I wasn't completely wowed by the show though was the fact I have now seen lots of stage versions of Aladdin, all of which were shorter, and all of which were Broadway quality in their execution. Still the genie was AWESOME and I loved the songs, and the flying carpet (not quiet as good as the Fantasy's flying carpet) but I guess you could say I wasn't blown away because nothing surprised me. Still it is a great night out and so much fun to watch. I did enjoy the addition of Aladdin's thieving friends too!
The last day went very quickly (there was a lot of sleeping so we would be ready for 4 more days of theme parking at Disneyland) and then we were leaving - well we got delayed for 2.5 hours on the tarmac waiting to be de-iced because unlike the rest of the 5 days we were in New York it decided to snow really really heavily the day we left. As frustrating as that was, and as sad as we were to miss a late night at Disneyland because we landed so late, it was good to finally be back at 'our' park. Driving down to Anaheim we had a private car and a wonderful driver who was actually an actor, who kept us entertained the whole drive. When we finally arrived at the Camelot Inn and Suites we were happy to finally feel 'home' looking over our beautiful happy place, the wonderful Disneyland resort!
Continued in Next Post
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 26 - Part 1 - Into the Storybook
Since, thanks to our delayed flight, we hadn't gotten to sleep until 1am the morning of our first day at Disneyland, we decided we'd not try to be at the parks for opening, which was late anyway at 10am. Still the excitement of being at Disneyland hit me the next morning and I was awake at 8:30 so we decided we would just head into the parks for opening!
We arrived at the gate at 9:55am and were probably in the park about 15 minutes after opening. We knew it would be a really quiet period at Disneyland so we weren't too worried about crowds. That morning was looking very dark and gloomy indeed (especially for Anaheim - this was our fourth trip there and I've never seen it rain at Disneyland) so that was a little depressing. However, my mood is always lifted walking towards the magic that is Disneyland and it was improved even more when we rounded Town Square into Main Street and saw that the Sleeping Beauty Castle was not under scrims (I had thought it would be!). It was a perfect picture and we walked slowly enjoying the view, along with the beautiful spring flowers in Town Square and the hub. We stopped in at the Photo Shop on Main Street to pick up our photopass plus card and I had a wonderful chat with an older CM who was so happy when I mentioned how happy I was to be at Disneyland, as it was my favorite Disney park! I asked him for a birthday badge for Jared (who I insisted should have one as he barely wore his birthday badge at Walt Disney World!) and the CM asked if I would like a first visit badge (this happens to us a lot at Disneyland, I guess CM's hear our Australian accent and assume that we are visiting for the first time). I informed the CM this was actually my fourth visit to Disneyland and he was impressed and said, 'well that makes you an honorary citizen' and he came back with a birthday badge for Jared and an honorary citizen of Disneyland badge for me! I was so happy!
We pretty much power walked to Indy after that as the rain had started to fall. When we got there the wait was only 10 minutes (30 minutes or so after opening) and we waited maybe 15. I did notice that Disneyland's posted wait times during our visit tended to be on the short side, and the waits were a little longer than advertised. I enjoyed Indy, as I always do and as we were leaving we discovered the ride had broken down and the CM's were out stopping anyone from entering the line. We must have been one of the last people to ride before the shut down so we were well pleased with our choice to head there first.
You may have noticed I have no pictures of anything yet, and that is because it was still raining. We had put our trusty Tokyo Disney poncho's on (we'd been smart enough to realize we needed to pack them that morning - though the color of the sky did make it pretty obvious rain was imminent). We speed over to Tomorrowland and hopped into line for Space Mountain, taking our poncho's off as we went, only to realize we had to put them back on as part of the line was out in the un-covered part of the outdoor queue. We waited about 15 - 20 minutes with a posted wait of 10 and were completely flummoxed to find that no one was being held in the indoor queue that you wind through before you get to the main boarding room! We actually were concerned about how long we would wait with the line outside but it turns out they weren't using the indoor queue (other than the main boarding room) which was strange as they had people standing in the rain outside!
I really enjoyed our trip to Space! I love how smooth the ride is and I love love love the onboard soundtrack. Jared and I always disagree which Space Mountain is better (he thinks Magic Kingdom, I think Disneyland) but he always has to concede that the soundtrack on Space Mountain at Disneyland is awesome! He thinks the Magic Kingdom version feels faster (which I think it does) and that's why he likes it better!
After we exited the Space port the skies had begun to clear and the sun was coming out. And that was the end of the rain during our Disneyland visit (I was pretty happy that after 2 hours it was gone never to return!).
We had a plan to visit all the dark rides in Fantasyland that we hadn't experienced before (because we never prioritized them). So to start we took a trip on Pinnochio's Daring Journey. It was probably the weakest of all the dark rides at Disneyland - seriously, they built that in the 80's, but still fun...The cars were awfully cute though!
Then our next stop that morning was a boat ride we had never experienced (and no it's not it's a small world). It was time to head into Storybook Land and visit our favorite make believe Disney places.
While it was still a little overcast the blue skies were appearing!
Monstro was ready to gobble us up and we were excited for him to do so!
This ride is so beautiful, so quaint and so unbelievably cute, I just loved it! I remember as a kid going to this place in Canberra (our horrid capital city - yes we Australians are not really that proud of our capital and no one else in the world knows what or where it is) that had miniatures of towns, cities and gardens and just loving it so much. This reminded me of that place and took me back to my childhood a little, but with Disney added in!
Arendelle, the newest addition, was beautifully done!
The detail everywhere is stunning!
Ah, shalom and welcome to Agrabah!
This part of the attraction was beautiful! The gorgeous cherry blossoms all around the resort made it even more beautiful!
Into the Cave of Wonders...
Cinderella's Castle looked a little smaller than in Orlando! But the effect was well done!
Arendelle up close!
We also passed Prince Eric's castle
The music they pipe into each section adds wonderfully to the ride. I loved hearing Ariel sing as we floated past Prince Eric's castle, the Arabian Nights music as we floated past Agrabah and into the Cave of Wonders, and Let it Go when we went past Arendelle!
After we were done in Storyland we headed out of Fantasyland. The sky was still looking a little ominous, as was the Matterhorn, which was shut for yet another big refurbishment (seriously, didn't they just do one in 2012).
The Tea cups weren't moving as it had been wet that morning - made for some rare photos with empty cups!
Continued in Next Post...
Since, thanks to our delayed flight, we hadn't gotten to sleep until 1am the morning of our first day at Disneyland, we decided we'd not try to be at the parks for opening, which was late anyway at 10am. Still the excitement of being at Disneyland hit me the next morning and I was awake at 8:30 so we decided we would just head into the parks for opening!
We arrived at the gate at 9:55am and were probably in the park about 15 minutes after opening. We knew it would be a really quiet period at Disneyland so we weren't too worried about crowds. That morning was looking very dark and gloomy indeed (especially for Anaheim - this was our fourth trip there and I've never seen it rain at Disneyland) so that was a little depressing. However, my mood is always lifted walking towards the magic that is Disneyland and it was improved even more when we rounded Town Square into Main Street and saw that the Sleeping Beauty Castle was not under scrims (I had thought it would be!). It was a perfect picture and we walked slowly enjoying the view, along with the beautiful spring flowers in Town Square and the hub. We stopped in at the Photo Shop on Main Street to pick up our photopass plus card and I had a wonderful chat with an older CM who was so happy when I mentioned how happy I was to be at Disneyland, as it was my favorite Disney park! I asked him for a birthday badge for Jared (who I insisted should have one as he barely wore his birthday badge at Walt Disney World!) and the CM asked if I would like a first visit badge (this happens to us a lot at Disneyland, I guess CM's hear our Australian accent and assume that we are visiting for the first time). I informed the CM this was actually my fourth visit to Disneyland and he was impressed and said, 'well that makes you an honorary citizen' and he came back with a birthday badge for Jared and an honorary citizen of Disneyland badge for me! I was so happy!
We pretty much power walked to Indy after that as the rain had started to fall. When we got there the wait was only 10 minutes (30 minutes or so after opening) and we waited maybe 15. I did notice that Disneyland's posted wait times during our visit tended to be on the short side, and the waits were a little longer than advertised. I enjoyed Indy, as I always do and as we were leaving we discovered the ride had broken down and the CM's were out stopping anyone from entering the line. We must have been one of the last people to ride before the shut down so we were well pleased with our choice to head there first.
You may have noticed I have no pictures of anything yet, and that is because it was still raining. We had put our trusty Tokyo Disney poncho's on (we'd been smart enough to realize we needed to pack them that morning - though the color of the sky did make it pretty obvious rain was imminent). We speed over to Tomorrowland and hopped into line for Space Mountain, taking our poncho's off as we went, only to realize we had to put them back on as part of the line was out in the un-covered part of the outdoor queue. We waited about 15 - 20 minutes with a posted wait of 10 and were completely flummoxed to find that no one was being held in the indoor queue that you wind through before you get to the main boarding room! We actually were concerned about how long we would wait with the line outside but it turns out they weren't using the indoor queue (other than the main boarding room) which was strange as they had people standing in the rain outside!
I really enjoyed our trip to Space! I love how smooth the ride is and I love love love the onboard soundtrack. Jared and I always disagree which Space Mountain is better (he thinks Magic Kingdom, I think Disneyland) but he always has to concede that the soundtrack on Space Mountain at Disneyland is awesome! He thinks the Magic Kingdom version feels faster (which I think it does) and that's why he likes it better!
After we exited the Space port the skies had begun to clear and the sun was coming out. And that was the end of the rain during our Disneyland visit (I was pretty happy that after 2 hours it was gone never to return!).
We had a plan to visit all the dark rides in Fantasyland that we hadn't experienced before (because we never prioritized them). So to start we took a trip on Pinnochio's Daring Journey. It was probably the weakest of all the dark rides at Disneyland - seriously, they built that in the 80's, but still fun...The cars were awfully cute though!
Then our next stop that morning was a boat ride we had never experienced (and no it's not it's a small world). It was time to head into Storybook Land and visit our favorite make believe Disney places.
While it was still a little overcast the blue skies were appearing!
Monstro was ready to gobble us up and we were excited for him to do so!
This ride is so beautiful, so quaint and so unbelievably cute, I just loved it! I remember as a kid going to this place in Canberra (our horrid capital city - yes we Australians are not really that proud of our capital and no one else in the world knows what or where it is) that had miniatures of towns, cities and gardens and just loving it so much. This reminded me of that place and took me back to my childhood a little, but with Disney added in!
Arendelle, the newest addition, was beautifully done!
The detail everywhere is stunning!
Ah, shalom and welcome to Agrabah!
This part of the attraction was beautiful! The gorgeous cherry blossoms all around the resort made it even more beautiful!
Into the Cave of Wonders...
Cinderella's Castle looked a little smaller than in Orlando! But the effect was well done!
Arendelle up close!
We also passed Prince Eric's castle
The music they pipe into each section adds wonderfully to the ride. I loved hearing Ariel sing as we floated past Prince Eric's castle, the Arabian Nights music as we floated past Agrabah and into the Cave of Wonders, and Let it Go when we went past Arendelle!
After we were done in Storyland we headed out of Fantasyland. The sky was still looking a little ominous, as was the Matterhorn, which was shut for yet another big refurbishment (seriously, didn't they just do one in 2012).
The Tea cups weren't moving as it had been wet that morning - made for some rare photos with empty cups!
Continued in Next Post...
Last edited:
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 26 - Part 2 - It's the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness...
We were super excited to head towards Big Thunder Mountain next, as it has been closed on it's giant refurbishment during our 2013 trip and we hadn't seen it since it had been improved. For the first time in all my trips to Disneyland we took the path from Fantasyland to Frontierland past the Big Thunder Ranch. I think we've always gone back out to the hub to get back into Frontierland before and entering it and the Big Thunder Ranch path was just so much better! It's so quiet and beautifully landscaped and it gives you great views of Big Thunder Mountain. I'd always concluded that Disneyland's Frontierland was one of the weakest of all the Frontierlands i'd visited and I feel now I must apologise to poor Disneyland for that, as I hadn't really appreciated all that Frontierland had to offer before walking that path! It is awfully quiet too, which makes you feel like you must be the only person at Disneyland. Though it's a very interesting place to put the new Fantasmic Fastpass booth!
Here is some of what we saw along the way.
When we got to Big Thunder Mountain the wait was listed as about 20 minutes but we got on in about 15 (yep it was a quiet time of year - YAY). The time passed really quickly as we took about a million photos in the queue while we waited. We both easily agreed that Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain queue is superior to the Magic Kingdom's (being able to see the town and the coaster while waiting helps). And since the refurb I'd say the ride is superior too!
We enjoyed our ride on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! The changes they've made are small, but brilliant, especially in the dynamite cave, but the whole thing just seemed newer, smoother and more polished than other times we've ridden. A real win for the refurb (even if it did take over a year!). We were also lucky enough to be at the front of the train which allowed us to take a few cool pictures!
Dynamite goat!
Continued in Next Post...
We were super excited to head towards Big Thunder Mountain next, as it has been closed on it's giant refurbishment during our 2013 trip and we hadn't seen it since it had been improved. For the first time in all my trips to Disneyland we took the path from Fantasyland to Frontierland past the Big Thunder Ranch. I think we've always gone back out to the hub to get back into Frontierland before and entering it and the Big Thunder Ranch path was just so much better! It's so quiet and beautifully landscaped and it gives you great views of Big Thunder Mountain. I'd always concluded that Disneyland's Frontierland was one of the weakest of all the Frontierlands i'd visited and I feel now I must apologise to poor Disneyland for that, as I hadn't really appreciated all that Frontierland had to offer before walking that path! It is awfully quiet too, which makes you feel like you must be the only person at Disneyland. Though it's a very interesting place to put the new Fantasmic Fastpass booth!
Here is some of what we saw along the way.
When we got to Big Thunder Mountain the wait was listed as about 20 minutes but we got on in about 15 (yep it was a quiet time of year - YAY). The time passed really quickly as we took about a million photos in the queue while we waited. We both easily agreed that Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain queue is superior to the Magic Kingdom's (being able to see the town and the coaster while waiting helps). And since the refurb I'd say the ride is superior too!
We enjoyed our ride on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness! The changes they've made are small, but brilliant, especially in the dynamite cave, but the whole thing just seemed newer, smoother and more polished than other times we've ridden. A real win for the refurb (even if it did take over a year!). We were also lucky enough to be at the front of the train which allowed us to take a few cool pictures!
Dynamite goat!
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 26 - Part 3 - Yo Ho Yo Ho - and a bottle of rum!
Next we sailed off to the Caribbean with pirates (oh and Johnny!). Jared was determined to conquer this dark ride with lots of photos of those infamous pirate scally-wags and the interuder Johnny Depp - I'm sorry I mean Captain Jack Sparrow. I really can't tell to this day if it actually is Johnny Depp hidding in the ride all day running back and forth to each part he's in or if it's an animatronic - I mean I know it's an animatronic but he looks so real!
We glided past the beautiful Blue Bayou (don't worry, we would eat here and get more pictures later!). It's awfully hard to get photos because the lights are so far away and the part nearest the lagoon is not lit, at all!
Blurry pirate skull came next! Oh wait - that's just the bad photography!
I love the next few photos of the Pirate Grotto area! And I also love the Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean. Really, it isn't worth going on the ride at the Magic Kingdom - and we don't! The second drop is also still always a surprise to me, not sure why!
Finally we entered the battle at the Fort. Is it my imagination or was this animatronic once Captain Barbossa? Or is that the Magic Kingdom version? Cos it definitely wasn't Captain Barbossa this ride!
Ah there's Johnny!
I think we got a better picture of the famous gaol, dog, bone, pirates scene (what do people call it!) later - but still - I was happy enough with these ones!
As we ascending back to Louisiana (I've always wondered how we get from the Bayou's of New Orleans to the Caribbean so quickly!) Johnny asked us for some rum!
Back outside we went to check in for our lunch reservation at Cafe Orleans. We'd never eaten here before so I was really looking forward to it, especially to try the much lauded monte cristo sandwich. We started with the Pomme Frittes which were SO addictive (and filling). Jared ordered a savory crepe with gumbo and I ordered the fabulous three cheese monte cristo. Ok, wow! This may have been one of the best meals we had our whole trip (I mean non-fancy meals). The monte cristo was perfect, the blueberry sauce divine, the mix of all the cheese my very own heaven! The pomme frittes were everything advertised and more and Jared's chicken gumbo crepe was so tasty (though a little spicy for my taste). YUM!
Continued in Next Post...
Next we sailed off to the Caribbean with pirates (oh and Johnny!). Jared was determined to conquer this dark ride with lots of photos of those infamous pirate scally-wags and the interuder Johnny Depp - I'm sorry I mean Captain Jack Sparrow. I really can't tell to this day if it actually is Johnny Depp hidding in the ride all day running back and forth to each part he's in or if it's an animatronic - I mean I know it's an animatronic but he looks so real!
We glided past the beautiful Blue Bayou (don't worry, we would eat here and get more pictures later!). It's awfully hard to get photos because the lights are so far away and the part nearest the lagoon is not lit, at all!
Blurry pirate skull came next! Oh wait - that's just the bad photography!
I love the next few photos of the Pirate Grotto area! And I also love the Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean. Really, it isn't worth going on the ride at the Magic Kingdom - and we don't! The second drop is also still always a surprise to me, not sure why!
Finally we entered the battle at the Fort. Is it my imagination or was this animatronic once Captain Barbossa? Or is that the Magic Kingdom version? Cos it definitely wasn't Captain Barbossa this ride!
Ah there's Johnny!
I think we got a better picture of the famous gaol, dog, bone, pirates scene (what do people call it!) later - but still - I was happy enough with these ones!
As we ascending back to Louisiana (I've always wondered how we get from the Bayou's of New Orleans to the Caribbean so quickly!) Johnny asked us for some rum!
Back outside we went to check in for our lunch reservation at Cafe Orleans. We'd never eaten here before so I was really looking forward to it, especially to try the much lauded monte cristo sandwich. We started with the Pomme Frittes which were SO addictive (and filling). Jared ordered a savory crepe with gumbo and I ordered the fabulous three cheese monte cristo. Ok, wow! This may have been one of the best meals we had our whole trip (I mean non-fancy meals). The monte cristo was perfect, the blueberry sauce divine, the mix of all the cheese my very own heaven! The pomme frittes were everything advertised and more and Jared's chicken gumbo crepe was so tasty (though a little spicy for my taste). YUM!
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 26 - Part 4 - A New Orleans Afternoon
New Orleans Square and the Rivers of America were looking heavenly that afternoon with all the spring flowers out! I took most of these next lot of photos while Jared found the toilet, in and around New Orleans Square.
The sky was now a perfect blue and the clouds had completely cleared! It was beautiful!
After our New Orleans photo shoot we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. We were excited as this was our first time riding the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland without it's awful Nightmare Before Christmas overlay (we really don't enjoy that version). I was also very bossy and told Jared he had to get two photos on the ride - the singing busts and the hitchhiking ghosts!
Why he is so happy to be visiting the home of 999 Grim Grinning Ghosts with room for one more I'll never know!
If you look in the background of this shot you can see poor old Splash Mountain with all it's tarping and construction mesh. I was so sad all of Critter Country was closed off - I really wanted to try a tigger tail!
I really enjoyed our trip to the REAL Haunted Mansion - and Jared got the exact two photographs requested of him!
Continued in Next Post...
New Orleans Square and the Rivers of America were looking heavenly that afternoon with all the spring flowers out! I took most of these next lot of photos while Jared found the toilet, in and around New Orleans Square.
The sky was now a perfect blue and the clouds had completely cleared! It was beautiful!
After our New Orleans photo shoot we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. We were excited as this was our first time riding the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland without it's awful Nightmare Before Christmas overlay (we really don't enjoy that version). I was also very bossy and told Jared he had to get two photos on the ride - the singing busts and the hitchhiking ghosts!
Why he is so happy to be visiting the home of 999 Grim Grinning Ghosts with room for one more I'll never know!
If you look in the background of this shot you can see poor old Splash Mountain with all it's tarping and construction mesh. I was so sad all of Critter Country was closed off - I really wanted to try a tigger tail!
I really enjoyed our trip to the REAL Haunted Mansion - and Jared got the exact two photographs requested of him!
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 26 - Part 5 - Spring is in the air...
Spring had certainly sprung at Disneyland, even though it was only the very first day of March and therefore, the very first day of spring. It's hard to describe how utterly perfect Disneyland is in spring. Having only ever visited during fall/Halloween or Christmas seasons we'd never seen the park at this time of year and I have to say, it is now officially my favorite time to visit Disneyland! Sure the park is pretty during the other seasons but there is nothing better than the beautiful color bursting from the flowers and trees during spring, especially those gorgeous pink cherry blossoms. I also feel like Disneyland, being created to emulate a well landscaped park mixed with amusement attractions, is how it is meant to be in spring (well probably in summer also but I wouldn't be visiting that time of year!). It is stunning any time of the year but spring at the park took my breath away! We spent the next half hour just wandering around taking pictures - including this must have picture of my Honorary Citizen of Disneyland badge!
Look at that cherry blossom!
And a partners statue we could see!
The colours of the flowers were beautiful! Every part of Town Square was alive with colour and blossoms!
Main Street began with a patch of bright yellow and pink blooms.
I loved the daisy's - they are such a happy flower and feel like they belong in the Happiest Place on Earth.
We were having such an amazing time at Disneyland so far! I mean, it was only around 3:45pm (the park opened at 10) and we'd already ridden Indy, Space, Big Thunder, Pinocchio, Storybook Canals, Haunted Mansion and Pirates and eaten the most delicious lunch, the rain had stopped and we had taken a whole lot of fabulous photos so we were so happy and content, but also tired. We therefore decided to head out of the park.
After a quick bit of shopping in Downtown Disney we left the resort and got back to the Camelot at about 4:30pm. When it came time to get ready for the Napa Rose reservation I really really couldn't move from the bed so we cancelled it and ordered in and ate in bed! We were happy and satisfied at the success of our first full day at the wonderful Disneyland Resort.
Continued in Next Post
Spring had certainly sprung at Disneyland, even though it was only the very first day of March and therefore, the very first day of spring. It's hard to describe how utterly perfect Disneyland is in spring. Having only ever visited during fall/Halloween or Christmas seasons we'd never seen the park at this time of year and I have to say, it is now officially my favorite time to visit Disneyland! Sure the park is pretty during the other seasons but there is nothing better than the beautiful color bursting from the flowers and trees during spring, especially those gorgeous pink cherry blossoms. I also feel like Disneyland, being created to emulate a well landscaped park mixed with amusement attractions, is how it is meant to be in spring (well probably in summer also but I wouldn't be visiting that time of year!). It is stunning any time of the year but spring at the park took my breath away! We spent the next half hour just wandering around taking pictures - including this must have picture of my Honorary Citizen of Disneyland badge!
Look at that cherry blossom!
And a partners statue we could see!
The colours of the flowers were beautiful! Every part of Town Square was alive with colour and blossoms!
Main Street began with a patch of bright yellow and pink blooms.
I loved the daisy's - they are such a happy flower and feel like they belong in the Happiest Place on Earth.
We were having such an amazing time at Disneyland so far! I mean, it was only around 3:45pm (the park opened at 10) and we'd already ridden Indy, Space, Big Thunder, Pinocchio, Storybook Canals, Haunted Mansion and Pirates and eaten the most delicious lunch, the rain had stopped and we had taken a whole lot of fabulous photos so we were so happy and content, but also tired. We therefore decided to head out of the park.
After a quick bit of shopping in Downtown Disney we left the resort and got back to the Camelot at about 4:30pm. When it came time to get ready for the Napa Rose reservation I really really couldn't move from the bed so we cancelled it and ordered in and ate in bed! We were happy and satisfied at the success of our first full day at the wonderful Disneyland Resort.
Continued in Next Post
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 26 - Part 6 - Photopass photos
So we forgot to upload our Photopass photos from Disneyland along with the other photos so I had forgotten to include the first days few pictures - And here they are - there were only 4 of them!
Continued in Next Post...
So we forgot to upload our Photopass photos from Disneyland along with the other photos so I had forgotten to include the first days few pictures - And here they are - there were only 4 of them!
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 27 - Part 1 - Racing to Radiator Racers
With the parks opening at 10am each morning we were visiting the Disneyland resort getting to the park for rope drop was easy! We arrived at DCA this morning at 9am though, planning to be one of the first in line to ride Radiator Racers that morning. about 9:10am we realized I had forgotten our Photopass card so Jared raced back to the hotel to grab it. We were probably only 10 people back in line to our entrance gate that morning and when we were allowed in the park at 9:35am for rope drop we were about 6 rows back from the front of the rope.
We were on Radiator Racers in 5 minutes (even though the posted wait was already 25) and Jared once again went into dark ride photo mode.
I was happy we got on so quickly!
Mack is hard to get, he kind of pops out at you!
This was a fun photo! Yes, we got Luigi's!
We were racing before long - and no we didn't win
- In fact in the 5 times we rode this attraction on that trip we didn't win once! It must be rigged!
After riding once we hopped back on via the single rider line. Ahh, I do so love that single rider line! The wait was 45 minutes and we walked straight on. As far as single rider lines go it's one of the best to use as the seating numbers are uneven, so groups of 2 have spare seats with them, as do groups of 4 and 5, who are split up 2 and 2 and 2 and 3. We have never waited much more than 15 minutes for this wonderful attraction using single rider, even when the wait times are close to 2 hours!
I believe we got a better photo of this later - but for contrast sake:
Doc was impossible to get a good photo of! By the time got to him he was either moving or you were so this is all we managed!
Our second ride ride photo (not sure where the first one is) - even as single riders we ended up in the same car (it doesn't always happen but it can!)...
Continued in Next Post...
With the parks opening at 10am each morning we were visiting the Disneyland resort getting to the park for rope drop was easy! We arrived at DCA this morning at 9am though, planning to be one of the first in line to ride Radiator Racers that morning. about 9:10am we realized I had forgotten our Photopass card so Jared raced back to the hotel to grab it. We were probably only 10 people back in line to our entrance gate that morning and when we were allowed in the park at 9:35am for rope drop we were about 6 rows back from the front of the rope.
We were on Radiator Racers in 5 minutes (even though the posted wait was already 25) and Jared once again went into dark ride photo mode.
I was happy we got on so quickly!
Mack is hard to get, he kind of pops out at you!
This was a fun photo! Yes, we got Luigi's!
We were racing before long - and no we didn't win
- In fact in the 5 times we rode this attraction on that trip we didn't win once! It must be rigged!After riding once we hopped back on via the single rider line. Ahh, I do so love that single rider line! The wait was 45 minutes and we walked straight on. As far as single rider lines go it's one of the best to use as the seating numbers are uneven, so groups of 2 have spare seats with them, as do groups of 4 and 5, who are split up 2 and 2 and 2 and 3. We have never waited much more than 15 minutes for this wonderful attraction using single rider, even when the wait times are close to 2 hours!
I believe we got a better photo of this later - but for contrast sake:
Doc was impossible to get a good photo of! By the time got to him he was either moving or you were so this is all we managed!
Our second ride ride photo (not sure where the first one is) - even as single riders we ended up in the same car (it doesn't always happen but it can!)...
Continued in Next Post...
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Day 27 - Part 2 - The Carsland road less traveled
After our rides on Radiator Racers we had a new mission. To walk the much less traveled road to Paradise Pier from Carsland via Pacific Wharf. It was much less traveled as we had never been down the Pacific Wharf entrance into Carsland, and what a mistake that had been! It is by far the most beautiful part of the whole area and the views of those amazing Radiator Springs rocks are wonderful! They did such a good job on the rocks - they look so real! It is also a GREAT place to take photos, and we ran into a Photopass photographer who clearly agreed.
This is Jared's shocked face at my apparent lack of driving ability - or so we were told by the Photopass photographer!
We then decided to take our own photos of the gorgeous area.
Side bar - don't you just love Jared's cruise t-shirt!
The entrance itself is so cleverly done to make you really believe you are in the middle of a giant rocky dessert with canyons and mountains, not Carsland in Disneyland! And it really is the path less traveled - there was no one on it that time of morning and we had the place all to ourselves.
After a while we realized we needed to get going in order to make it to Toy Story before the wait time got to long. We walked briskly over to the ride only to discover it had a 30 minute wait already. We were resigned to wait as we knew it would only get worse (and we'd been so spoiled by frequent 10 and 15 minute waits we felt as though we could handle a 30 minute one once - yes we are such wait snobs - we are so used to theme parking well we don't like to wait more than 30 minutes for anything!).
The Fastpasses for Screamin' were for around the time we thought we'd get off Toy Story so we grabbed some and proceeded to the Toy Story line. The line was constantly moving and I received a compliment on my beautiful Tinkerbell jumper I'd purchased the day before so the wait really wasn't that bad. The ride actually kept pausing after every game, which was weird, though it gave us a chance to practice shooting targets (though not for any points!). I got a measly 66000 (or a rabbit) and Jared came off with 118000 (a beaver).
We used our Fastpasses for Screamin' next though they weren't really needed (the wait was about 5 - 10 minutes for standby) and while we were careening over Paradise Pier I had an idea for an awesome ride photo! Luckily Screamin' is the one ride at Disney that I remember where the ride camera is!
Look who got bunny eared!
After that we rode again with a 5 minute wait. Look who had the good ride photo idea this time!
He even got the bow to sparkle! Don't know how he managed that!
It was midday by this point and we had a reservation at Carthay Circle but on our way there we had to stop to get a photo that had alluded us on our previous trip.
Yes that silly hitchhiking shot in front of the Carsland sign! Last trip a giant sun ray ruined it! This time however I'm happy to say it came out fine!
As did this weird picture the Photopass photographer made us do - perhaps they were planning to put a character in it - though I don't see one!
Continued in Next Post..
After our rides on Radiator Racers we had a new mission. To walk the much less traveled road to Paradise Pier from Carsland via Pacific Wharf. It was much less traveled as we had never been down the Pacific Wharf entrance into Carsland, and what a mistake that had been! It is by far the most beautiful part of the whole area and the views of those amazing Radiator Springs rocks are wonderful! They did such a good job on the rocks - they look so real! It is also a GREAT place to take photos, and we ran into a Photopass photographer who clearly agreed.
This is Jared's shocked face at my apparent lack of driving ability - or so we were told by the Photopass photographer!
We then decided to take our own photos of the gorgeous area.
Side bar - don't you just love Jared's cruise t-shirt!
The entrance itself is so cleverly done to make you really believe you are in the middle of a giant rocky dessert with canyons and mountains, not Carsland in Disneyland! And it really is the path less traveled - there was no one on it that time of morning and we had the place all to ourselves.
After a while we realized we needed to get going in order to make it to Toy Story before the wait time got to long. We walked briskly over to the ride only to discover it had a 30 minute wait already. We were resigned to wait as we knew it would only get worse (and we'd been so spoiled by frequent 10 and 15 minute waits we felt as though we could handle a 30 minute one once - yes we are such wait snobs - we are so used to theme parking well we don't like to wait more than 30 minutes for anything!).
The Fastpasses for Screamin' were for around the time we thought we'd get off Toy Story so we grabbed some and proceeded to the Toy Story line. The line was constantly moving and I received a compliment on my beautiful Tinkerbell jumper I'd purchased the day before so the wait really wasn't that bad. The ride actually kept pausing after every game, which was weird, though it gave us a chance to practice shooting targets (though not for any points!). I got a measly 66000 (or a rabbit) and Jared came off with 118000 (a beaver).
We used our Fastpasses for Screamin' next though they weren't really needed (the wait was about 5 - 10 minutes for standby) and while we were careening over Paradise Pier I had an idea for an awesome ride photo! Luckily Screamin' is the one ride at Disney that I remember where the ride camera is!
Look who got bunny eared!
After that we rode again with a 5 minute wait. Look who had the good ride photo idea this time!
He even got the bow to sparkle! Don't know how he managed that!
It was midday by this point and we had a reservation at Carthay Circle but on our way there we had to stop to get a photo that had alluded us on our previous trip.
Yes that silly hitchhiking shot in front of the Carsland sign! Last trip a giant sun ray ruined it! This time however I'm happy to say it came out fine!
As did this weird picture the Photopass photographer made us do - perhaps they were planning to put a character in it - though I don't see one!
Continued in Next Post..
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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!
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!
