Avalon's Birthday Bash, September 2016! Updated 10/12: Completed!

[avalon451]

Hi, there! My name is Gail, and my husband's name is Al, and if I tell you anything else about us, I might have to kill you, so...

Wait. That didn't come out right. Let me start again.

Hello, we are a nice suburban couple with 3 daughters who may or may not be teenagers, and WE'RE NOT BRINGING THEM WITH US THIS TIME---!

Ahem. Sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm a little excited, because this will be my FOURTH trip to Disneyland (no other DL properties under my belt yet), but only my husband's SECOND. He spent most of our first trip in the Grand Californian Hotel, with our oldest daughter, who was twelve at the time and barfing her guts out. Yeah, not the best trip, for any of us. I mean, we managed to salvage it and have an okay time, and even my daughter felt better on some days and got into the parks, but it was kind of a bummer all around. That was back in March of 2008. DD and I did a "do over!" trip the following October to make up for her sad time, and that trip was fantastic. It's detailed in a TR in my signature.

Then life happened, and lots of other stuff happened both good and bad, and here we are 8 years later. I did a little solo trip last year for 4 days. DH encouraged me, because of a lot of stressful things we'd been through, and I'd always wanted to try a solo trip, and we had a little extra money sitting around from my part time job. So I did that, and it was fun, but a little lonely. I really enjoyed setting my own pace and doing my own thing, but I found that I really missed sharing the experience with my loving peeps. Also, I'm a slave driver... but only to myself. I tried to do too much (just because I could) and gave myself bad blisters and exhaustion.

This year happened. Lots of stuff happened. The kids graduated from various institutions. We took the girls to Maui last month for 8 days to say, "Yay, you graduated from (middle school, high school, college)!" Our oldest daughter is engaged, and is planning her wedding for June 2017 (gulp! How did she grow up so fast?).

Meanwhile, I'm turning -- lord, I hate even saying it, I sure don't feel it-- *COUGH52COUGH*

Hang on, folks, I swear I just turned 32 the other day. This can't be happening to me. Dangit.

Well, DH and I were talking about it the other day--- well, no, this was last March. See? I'm losing it. I can't even keep track of time. ANYWAY, we were talking about how much fun the original DL trip was even though we were trading off hotel duty with Amazing Barf Girl. I told him that after my solo trip, I kept thinking about how much fun it would be for just the two of us to go. He looked at me funny and said, "Well, why don't we?"

I love this man. We've been married 27 years and counting, and he still makes my lil' heart go pitter-pat.

So, you know how it goes. You think about a DL trip, and pretty soon you're sneaking over to the airfare websites, and the hotel websites, and looking up current ticket pricing at the discount ticket agents. You run a few numbers. You stare hungrily at your savings account balance. You calculate when the kids will all be in school or otherwise employed/occupied, and when you might be able to get out of work. I mean, I do this all the time, in years when I know for a fact that Disneyland is just not gonna happen any time soon. It's entertainment for me. But this time there was that glimmer of hope.

Hey, my birthday looked good. September, the younger two will be back into their school routine of high school and college. Hopefully the oldest will be employed by then (please God, I was thinking, last March, as she was finishing her senior projects in graphic design-- God is good to us, she was working at her first professional job even before graduation in May, and is making a fantastic salary for a 21-year-old). My job and DH's job are both fairly slow then, and the summer vacation rush is over.

So I worked it all out, and a few days later, presented DH with a fully-formed idea: "You. Me. A nice bottle of wine, candlelight, maybe dinner at Napa Rose, and a visit to a little guy named Mickey. Whaddaya say?"

DH says, "Happy birthday, Baby."

 

[avalon451]

The Support Team:

Here's my lovely DD's. Standing, Liz, 21 years old and recently graduated from Cornish in Seattle with a degree in visual communications/graphic design. She is engaged to a nice, talented, hard-working young man who is also graduating from Cornish. He teaches classical piano and plays in a band. Sitting on the left, Rhiannon, 18 years old. She just graduated from high school, and started community college. She wants to be an MRI tech. On the right is Fiona, 14 years old, who just started high school, where she's in the marching band and is enjoying her band geek peeps.



I don't know why I feel the need to tell you about my DDs, since they are not coming with us this time, but they are my staunch support team, so I guess they warrant "support staff" status. Anyway, they're the best, and they are holding down the fort while we're gone. Well, to some extent. You know, feeding the cats, getting the mail, keeping the house reasonably clean, eating healthy... ok, ok. Probably best not to speculate too much about what goes on while we're gone. The house tends to have that "just been tidied up in a mad frenzy" look to it when we get back from trips. But whatever. They are responsible and know how to function, and there's lots of family and neighbors nearby to keep tabs on them.

I'm a former English teacher, a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, more recently a part time kindergarten teacher, and for the last 4 1/2 years I've worked at the local library, which I love. DH is an engineer; he's been at Boeing for over 30 years, the last-- oh, gosh, I guess 20 years?-- as a managing supervisor. These numbers mean nothing to me, I still swear to you we're really in our early 30's. In our dreams, I guess. DH is your typical engineer: he's practical, deals in facts, is active and interested in many hobbies, and likes to get things done quickly and efficiently. However, the first time he hit Disneyland he admitted he was amazed at the power of its HAPPY. Not a man given to excessive sentiment, he shows us by his actions how much he loves us, rather than with flowery words or gestures; but the first time he saw our youngest's eyes sparkle with the reflective light of the Disneyland fireworks, her expression of awe and wonder, he nearly cried. Yep, pure marshmallow inside, especially where his daughters are concerned.


At first blush you would probably not peg me as a Disney fanatic. I used to make fun of people like me. I do, however, have an OCD streak about planning some things; so when our first trip rolled around in 2008, and I started doing research, I found these boards, and I was in hog heaven. I was addicted. The planning turned out to be a large percentage of the fun and anticipation of a trip. I quickly learned everything I could about our destination, helped by the lovely folks on these boards, and by the time we actually got there, I knew more than most AP holders. We stayed at the GCH the first time, and I'll never forget my first walk through DTD and seeing the names of the restaurants and shops that I'd heard about... Catal... Uva Bar... Tortilla Jo's... La Brea Bakery... The Disney Store... and then of course actually being on Main Street was amazing, the first time.

I will admit to one shortcoming: I can do without much of the music that is constantly tinkling. Call me a heretic, but I contend that one can hear just so many renditions of "Surrey with the Fringe On Top" before snapping.

My DH mentioned to a co-worker about our upcoming trip, and she started telling him lots of tips and tricks. He stopped her and said, "Seriously. You don't know my wife. Anything you tell me, she already knows."

 

[avalon451]

The SETTING:

Birthday trip 2017: Me, DH, Disneyland Resort, Tuesday, September 13 (my birthday) through Saturday, Sept. 17th.

Folks, this is 4 days away. Less, even.

But never fear! Because this obsessive planner has been at it since March! So, you ask, whaddaya got?

I got the following: AlaskaAir out of Seattle around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, which will put us in to SNA around 10:30 a.m. I have a newly downloaded Uber app on my smartphone which will get us a free or nearly free trip to the parks.

I have a reservation at the Desert Inn and Suites, directly across from the parks, with a request for a top floor room, as far forward as possible. I stayed there last March on my solo trip, and it was perfect. Not fancy, but very clean. Friendly service. Adequate breakfast. Location, location, location. I could see the cross walk from my window; it was a 5 minute walk to the turnstiles (aside from security). Also, the nice people there upgraded me to a parlor suite, which I certainly didn't need, but was lovely and roomy, and top floor, far forward. This year, I got the room for $99 a night when I booked it last March.

I have 5 day parkhoppers from Way.com. Well, I talked myself into 1-park-per-day tickets, but who am I kidding, I need parkhoppers. So those will get upgraded our first day.

I have the following reservations: for my birthday the first night, we're doing the chef's counter at Napa Rose.

Wednesday, Blue Bayou lunch at 11:40. I was a tad late making that ressie, so we may have to wait for waterside, but we'll check in early anyway and ask for waterside.

Wednesday evening, WOC dessert party.

Thursday, Carthay Circle lunch at 1 p.m.

Friday, A Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour. I'm so excited about this; we haven't done a tour yet, and I think we'll really love it. We both love the historical side of things, and while I've read a lot about the park's beginnings, I know I'll still learn a lot.

Saturday, we're doing a character breakfast at Minnie and Friends at the Plaza! I did this with DD13 on our do over trip, but this will be a new experience for DH. I think it will be fun. I love character interactions, and I've been reading up on all the fun things you can ask the characters when you meet them. DH loves Goofy, so I considered doing Goofy's Kitchen, but a., I didn't want to spend time to go out to DLH for it, and b., I'm hearing that you only get to take a picture with Goofy at the start, and that there's only like 5 characters there any more. Also, it sounds a bit noisier than I had in mind. We will get our Goofy meet n' greets in the parks where possible.

We fly out of SNA around 6 p.m., which means leaving the parks (again, via Uber) around 3-3:30.

Lots to do and see! After my solo trip last year, though, I'm determined to take it at a reasonable pace. I do not NEED to do EVERYTHING every day! I've planned much more carefully this time, concentrating on different areas of the parks, spreading the love around, and allowing plenty of time for breaks, meandering, and noshing. Also, I'm carrying with me the mindset that every plan has its limits, so I will ROLL with the changes. Whatever keeps us happy.

My favorite person in the world, DH, my partner in crime, my love and my best friend, is the perfect companion for this trip. He and I have been married long enough that we sense each others' moods and needs and are able to adjust accordingly. He's very patient and willing to roll with the changes, too. He's a slim, agile guy (a runner, unlike my pooh-shaped physique) and he will happily be our FP runner when needed. Two years ago, we took our dream trip for our 25th anniversary: 3 weeks in England, Scotland and Ireland. I remember feeling a little apprehensive beforehand, because we'd be together 24/7 for the whole trip. Normally we're busy with work, kids, chores, etc. But it was wonderful. We found out that after a quarter century, we still really love each other and get along great, and we are very patient with each other's quirks. So this makes me look forward to this trip even more.

The plans: oh, the plans. I struggled over them for weeks. I've been fooling around with Touringplans and the Lines app, obsessively checking the wait times on different rides at different times of day. I finally finished a fairly rudimentary set of plans yesterday. It's nothing unexpected or a great revelation; just a mishmash of what I've learned here and on the apps, with a little common sense thrown in. Thankfully, the crowds are looking lower, and the weather is looking to turn out lovely: low to mid 80's. I was really worried about the notoriously terrible heat of September, but it looks like we're lucking out.

I'm going with mostly "opposite of MM day", since we're coming in on a Tuesday and only have one MM. We'll do plenty of parkhopping, but for starting out in the mornings, I've decided to rope-drop Disneyland on Wednesday, rope drop CA on Thursday, DL again on Friday (doing the tour that day so it's only for an hour anyway) and then using our MM at DL on Saturday. Thursday will be mainly CA. It's an odd day because CA closes at 5 p.m.; some private event, I assume. But that's ok; we'll close down DL and probably bar crawl around DTD, ending up at Trader Sams. Did I mention how I'm kinda looking forward to doing this one sans kids? We're normally very moderate in our drinking habits; we're "one glass of wine with dinner twice a week" kinda people. However, given the unique opportunity and the fact that we're staying nearby with no need to drive... well, let's just say, bring on that Krakatoa Punch.

That's the basic plan! Enough for now, I gotta get some sleep if my silly brain will let me.

 

[avalon451]

I posted this over on the planning thread but I'm so excited I'm posting it here, too!

DH got us into Club 33 for lunch for my birthday-- TOMORROW!

Ok, like I wasn't already completely bouncing around here getting ready for our flight out early tomorrow morning....

DH works for Boeing, has for 32 years. He mentioned to his boss quite awhile ago that we were going to DL, and said, "You don't know of any connections we have to Club 33, do you?" She said, "Actually, the company does have a membership; I know the guy who manages it... let me see what I can do." I knew nothing about his inquiries; it was a surprise. DH JUST got the call a few minutes ago saying they'd got us in for lunch tomorrow, our first day, at 1:30!!!!!!

He came into the bedroom where I was packing and said, "Now, what time are we getting into the parks tomorrow?" I said, "Like, 11:30, 12?" "What are we doing for lunch?" "Well, I thought we'd just grab something quick service for a snack, since we're having dinner at Napa Rose at 5:30." "How about Club 33 at 1:30?" I was like, "Whaaaaa?" He started to explain and I threw a shirt at him and screamed, "No way! How did you do that?" He was laughing his head off and then told me the story.

I never thought I'd get in there, like, ever.

I've been on the phone trying to move our Napa Rose chef's counter reservations to Thursday or Friday night; got a message in waiting for a callback. We had ressies for 5:30; there is no way I'm going to be able to eat lunch at 1:30 and then go do justice to the chef's counter at 5:30, nor would I want to crowd those two awesome experiences. (eta: got in at the dessert counter for the late seating Thursday night instead )

I'm so super uber excited!

 

[casagray]

Happy Birthday! Hope you are having a great time at the best place to be on your birthday! And Club 33 - how awesome!!

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Happy birthday yesterday! It was my 14th wedding anniversary - great day!

My birthday is October 13th and I'm planning on Chef's Counter for that night too, so hopefully your review will be up before I go (?).

I love your writing, btw. I'll be following along your TR once you're back and down to earth again.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I am joining in!
I hope you're having fun at Disneyland and have an amazing birthday! We were just there the week before and miss it so much!
Wow Club 33! Someday, for me...well, maybe never, LOL. Can't wait to read about your trip!

 

[avalon451]

Rats, ended up having to divide the post in two.. Part one and part two follow:

 

[avalon451]

Trip report, Day 1!

Finally! We got back Saturday night, late, and then I was busy with family stuff and a big stinkin’ interview for a promotion at work, on Tuesday. Now that that’s off my mind, I can concentrate on reliving our lovely week last week. So….

Here we GOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!

Tuesday, September 13th, I turned 52 years old about 3:30 a.m. And I was awake for that, because, heck, who could sleep when you’re going to Club 33 for your birthday lunch?

My nails were ready:



I did sleep a bit, but woke up around 3. We both got up shortly after 4, so we could get ready and head out to the airport around 5 a.m. It takes a bit less than an hour in good traffic to get to SeaTac airport for us. We parked the car, shuttled into Alaska Airlines, got our bags checked and waltzed through security (thanks, TSA precheck!) by around 6:45. Got our Starbucks fix and headed to the gate to wait for the 7:45 boarding. Yada yada, nothing unusual, got to SNA a few minutes early, all was good.

I’d downloaded Uber to use for the first time, along with a code for up to $22 free ride credit for first time users. It worked like a dream. Our ride came within 5 minutes. A personable young guy named Jesse jumped out and helped us with our bags. It turns out he’s planning on moving up here to Port Townsend in the next couple of years. So we chatted about how nice it is around there. He very kindly said “No problem” when we asked if we could stop at a store to just grab a rack of bottled water; he drove to the CVS, and DH jumped out, bought the water, and was back in a couple of minutes. Then he dropped us off at Desert Inn and Suites with a cheerful wave.

We were doing great for time; it was only just 11 a.m. We checked in; the room wasn’t ready yet, as expected, so we put our stuff in the lockers available there and headed out to the parks. Nice short walk!

Because we were early and I’d decided to upgrade to parkhoppers, I decided to go ahead and do that before we went in. To my surprise, they were able to see how much we’d paid for our tickets, and we lost any advantage we’d have had from buying through WAY.com. The upgrade cost us $60 apiece instead of the expected 40. Oh, well. I was in too good a mood to complain about it. A side note, though; later, on Saturday, we went to use our 1 magic morning that had come with the special WAY.com 1 park per day tickets (unusually, they provided 1 MM even on 1-park-per-day) and the MM did not show up as available. I don’t know if that was because we upgraded at the park itself, like how you don’t get a MM if you buy at the park? Anyway, I kicked up a fuss on Saturday, and a supervisor came over and okayed our early entry.

So, we hopped on over to Disneyland. Right off the bat we got our picture taken in front of the floral Mickey, with a Pascale special effect! (having trouble getting this off PhotoPass, darnit, have to try later)

Then we wandered onto Main Street, taking in the sights and sounds. At the podium in front of City Hall, a young lady gave me a birthday badge.

Got our picture taken in front of the castle!


We walked up through Adventureland, and first pulled a FP for Haunted Mansion Holiday. Uh oh, the return time was 1:20-2:20. Our lunch reservations at Club 33 were at 1:30. Hmmm…..

My first ride is always Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s my favorite. DH was enjoying the ride as well, as it had been 8 years for him since the first and only time he’d ridden! Hey, you know the scene where the guy is lying around with the pigs, who are grunting? Well, the pigs are still there grunting, but the guy is missing. He must be getting some touchups to his paint, or refilling his rum supply, or something.

DH with Jack Sparrow:


Next we walked up to Winnie the Pooh and rode. All through this trip, DH and I just got a kick out of the little kids’ dark rides. They’re so funky and cute. We turned around in the right place and saw the heads mounted from the Country Bear Jamboree, too, and managed to freak out the lady in the car behind us, who turned to see what we were looking at, and was like, “Whoa!”


It was 1:00. I thought maybe HM might let us on early if we explained about our lunch reservations. I approached the CM at the front of HMH, and explained, showed her our FP with a return time of 1:20, and showed her our reservation printout for Club 33 at 1:30. She sighed and said, “Yeahhhh… you’re not gonna make it.” Then she hemmed and hawed a bit, and then pulled out a universal, “Ride Anytime” FP! That was really nice of her. We could have used it anywhere, but we used it as it was intended, later, on HMH.

Next we wandered over to the New Orleans Square area, in anticipation of our lunch reservations.

Should I reiterate how this amazing event happened, in case you didn’t read my Pre trip report? Okay, I will.

DH has worked for Boeing for 32 years; he’s a second-level engineering manager and oversees a large (100+) group of engineers and drafters. When I was talking about the difficulty of getting into Club 33 some time ago, I did say something to the effect of, “I wonder if Boeing has a corporate account?” He scoffed, “Probably, but you’d have to be a top executive or else really really know somebody important.” However, unbeknownst to me, he got talking about the Disneyland trip to his boss. She is not a DL fan, has not been to any of the properties. However, she mentioned Club 33 because she knew another manager who’d been there and had really regretted not picking up a shot glass for his collection while he was there. DH said to her, “Yeah, my wife would kill to get in there. I don’t suppose you know who handles the corporate account?” To his surprise she replied, “Oh, yes, I know the guy who manages that membership. Hmmm. Let me talk to him.” DH didn’t really expect anything to come of it, but to his surprise, she came back to him and said, “Yes, _______ thinks he can get you in on your wife’s birthday. It’s kind of short notice, so it’s only lunch. But you have to get that shot glass for me so I can give it to that other guy.” The whole thing wasn’t confirmed until the day before we left. DH was checking his work email from home every couple of hours. About 3 p.m., he came into the bedroom where I was packing, and told me he’d wangled entrance to Club 33. I could hardly believe it!

So, here we were at 33 Royal Street, the site of the original door into Club 33. We admired it. Then we walked over to where the Court of Angels is now blocked by a gate of stained glass. Then we stood around by the NEW, lovely door into Club 33. There was a couple there taking a picture of themselves in front of it. I asked them, “Would you mind taking a picture of us? Because we’re having lunch there.“ They were like, “Oh, lucky! Have a great time!”



Finally, nervously, I pushed the intercom buzzer. A soft voice inquired, “Hello, may I help you?” I replied, “Yes, we’re here for our lunch reservations for 1:30?” “And your names?” “Gail and Allen R____”

The door opened, and a young blonde woman smiled and said, “Hello, welcome! Please come in.”

We walked through the little reception area, where she noted our arrival in the book, and ushered us through to the Court of Angels waiting area. I remember hanging around in here before they closed it off for the renovations. She offered us water while we waited, and poured us heavy crystal highballs of water infused with cucumber and mint, from large glass dispensers along the wall. She offered to take our picture standing on the staircase.



After only a few moments she came back and said they were ready to seat us up in the restaurant. So we ascended those pretty blue stairs all the way to the top.

You’ve probably seen pictures. I’ll post some, but they’re not as nice as ones that show you practically each step of the way like these ones:

When we got to the top and went through the frosted glass double doors, two young men checked us in at the desk, then the young lady led us through the hallway straight ahead, to our table in the Grand Salon.


There were only 3 other tables there the whole time we were there. One was a table of four older ladies lunching, apparently also a birthday, by the looks of the gorgeous little elaborate cake that made an appearance toward the end of their meal. One of them looked like someone I should know, an older actress, perhaps, but I’m not sure. (ETA: I researched it, and I'm pretty sure it was Kris Jenner. We're keeping up with the Kardashians, not that I've ever wanted to!) Another table was seated shortly after us, 2 young good-looking couples, dressed fairly casually. Then a pair of ladies also celebrating a birthday, possibly mother and daughter.

When we got to our table, the young lady took a gold-cushioned footstool from under a side table. I later learned that that half-table and the mirror above it were from the set of Mary Poppins. The footstool was carried over to our table and set by me, so I could put my bag on it.



On the table was the very elegant table settings, with the signature Club 33 china and linen napkins held by heavy sterling fleur-de-lis napkin rings. There was a small vase with a couple of white rosebuds in it, and a silver-grey card propped up against it, tied with a grey ribbon, that said, “Happy Birthday!” on it. The “I” in birthday was dotted with a Mickey head. Attention to detail, people.



The waiter was a dapper guy who reminded me a bit of a game show host. He handed us our menus, pointed out the classic cocktail menu, and promptly fetched us our authentic cocktails, just like Walt might have had. Al had a Sazerac, and I had a real mint julep. I’ve had them before, but this one was really good. The ice was very fine and piled up, the mint very fresh, and mix of bourbon and simple syrup was a perfect balance.








Holy smokes, only 10 pics per file? This is going to take several posts. I'm a picture heavy type poster.

(continued, next post!)

 

[avalon451]

Throwing a few more pictures in here, of the ones we took at the floral Mickey. I had to call DL guest services to get them unlocked; for some reason they weren't showing as part of my 1 week photopass package.







And, one "extra magic" picture with Pascal!

 

[whoever]

Great TR!!! waiting on the pics with baited breath.

 

[avalon451]

Dang, pics aren't showing up? I thought I fixed that last night. I'm working through Dropbox, and at first it was just showing links, so I copied and pasted images directly. I guess that didn't work, either. Ok, will work on it some more.

 

[avalon451]

(part 2)

We spoke with the waiter about our gluten intolerance issue. This has never been an issue in finer restaurants. It just isn’t—they make most everything from scratch as you order it, and most chefs are masters at improvisation when necessary. So no surprise that it was the same here. They brought out warm, buttered and herbed gluten free bread for us. Okay, it was hamburger buns cut up, obviously, and dressed up with the herbs. We got this a lot, even at Carthay Circle. (surprisingly, Blue Bayou had yummy little brown dinner rolls; not sure why they weren’t available here or at Carthay Circle).



Here’s a picture of the menu, both sides:





Lunch is a fixed price. You choose your appetizer, soup/salad, your main course, and your dessert. We decided to do the four-course wine flight along with it.

Al had the grilled mushrooms to start



I had the "Lobster Rockefeller" in which they left the breading off the oysters to make it gluten-friendly. It was so delicious!



The waiter started us off with a wonderful little glass of dry champagne, a fitting start to our celebration.



We both had the corn soup with blue crab. I forgot to take a picture; it was so good we ate it fast!

The two young couples seated across from us asked the staff if they could go out on the balconies. Somebody on the boards here advised me, “Be sure and check out the balconies,” and I didn’t really know what they meant until we followed suit and went out there, before our main courses came. It was so amazing!





I should really reiterate that while the food was very good, we are kind of foodies and, living near Seattle, have access to many great fine dining experiences. We’ve had amazing meals before. The food here was wonderful, but it wasn’t any more wonderful than many other lovely meals we’ve had in Seattle (most notably and most expensively, our last anniversary dinner, the tasting menu at Alterra on Capitol Hill. BEST meal we’ve ever had, ever. If you can, go, but you might have to take out a second mortgage on your house.) The difference in this experience was really the exclusivity and the ambiance of it all. There is an indescribably delicious contrast in looking down from these lovely, quiet, secluded balconies, high above the busy, bustling New Orleans Square, looking over the crazy crowds on the Rivers of America. You are both literally and figuratively above it all. You are in one of the most exclusive and coveted clubs in America, and you can feel it in your bones, as you lean on the elaborately scrolled wrought-iron balustrades, watch the ravening hordes below (whom you will shortly join and be one of in the next hour or so), and contemplate going back to your elegant table, your wine, and the wonderful meal.

 

[avalon451]

(Part 3, more balcony pics and the rest of our meal)









We went back to the table and our main courses arrived. I had the filet mignon with the blackberry braised short rib and grilled corn. It was perfect, of course. Al had the seared fish of the day, which I believe was rockfish, and was delicious.





I used the rest room. They are located back through the frosted glass doors, and across the balcony. It was small, but very elegantly appointed. The stalls are small individual rooms, each with a half-circle of stained glass, Tiffany-style, inset above the door. The wash basins are china. The towels are thick, soft heavy linen-like paper, embossed. There is a glass jar with tiny bottles of mouthwash (yes, I took one!) In the little entry salon, there is a double vanity with chairs in front of the mirrors, and tissue boxes. There is also a beautifully-upholstered chaise longue. I’ve read that you are not supposed to take pictures in the restroom; however, I didn’t see the signs that are supposed to be posted to that effect, and it was completely empty, so I did anyway. I think I will refrain from posting them here, though, for propriety’s sake; it would be just my luck if somebody who worked for DL read this, and DH got in trouble with the Boeing corporate membership sponsor. We’re hoping to get back some day!

For dessert, there was nothing on the menu that was completely gluten free, and they offered us sorbet. Ugh. Really? We had the same issue everywhere, Carthay Circle and Napa Rose included. “Would you like some sorbet?” Thank you, no, and please don't tell me that you can't come up with a gluten-free chocolate mousse or flourless chocolate cake or a brownie or carrot cake or SOMETHING... come on, there's dozens of delicious mixes available on any supermarket shelf that you could make, freeze individually, and then dress up gourmet-style. Anyway, one of the options was a fruit, cheese and madeleine plate, which sounded marvelous, so they brought us that and just left the madeleines off (putting on some more of the gf hamburger buns- turned- garlic bread-- what? Why? We didn't eat the bread). It was lovely, with a delicate little piece of honeycomb, delicious cheese, and sliced peach. They stuck a birthday candle in a piece of cheese for me, and they poured us a nice glass of Sandeman port to finish our meal with.







We dawdled along over our dessert wine, then dawdled around the entry way, taking pictures, perusing the keepsakes, admiring the artwork

 

[avalon451]

(part 4)

We dawdled along over our dessert wine, then dawdled around the entry way, taking pictures, perusing the keepsakes, admiring the artwork







the grandfather clock and the vulture from the old trophy room,



and Lillian’s harpsichord (which has been played by Elton John and Paul McCartney at various times!).



We weren't allowed to go into the lounge, but I wandered partway down the hallway anyway when nobody was looking. There's the wine storage, and some of the beautiful private booths along this hallway:

View attachment 196477



Looking back toward the foyer:



We purchased the required shot glass for Al’s boss, and also a large, heavy highball glass with the 33 logo on it. I also purchased a beautiful Christmas ornament that looks like the front door of Club 33, front and back.

 

[avalon451]

(part 5)

We wandered back downstairs to the Court of Angels again, and took more pictures. There’s a lantern with Tinkerbell inside:





Which reminds me, upstairs in the foyer, over the window by the guest book, there’s a small replica of Peter Pan statue that is in Hyde Park, in London (you can see it in the movie Hook; Robin Williams wakes up next to it near the end of the movie; we visited it once 20 odd years ago).



More pictures from the courtyard below:








We wandered into the little nook where the two ladies who act as hostesses and doorkeepers sit at their desks, and thanked them.

Then we finally took a deep breath, and stepped back out into reality, in the alleys off New Orleans Square.


(wow. It took a long time to figure out the picture posting here, and I messed up the order a lot. Going to go back and get rid of the useless and duplicate posts, and try to get more streamlined from here on out!)

 

[whoever]

Love it, such a wonderful experience you got! The East balcony looks considerably more spacious than the West Balcony.

 

[avalon451]

Day 1, Continued.... back to reality!

So there we were, standing in New Orleans Square, feeling rather forlorn, and somewhat drunk. (a cocktail and four pours of wine midday? Even with a meal, that's more than we're accustomed to.) Know what, though? Disneyland is pretty fun any time, but it takes on a particular hilarious shine when you're a bit tipsy.

I had to duck into a quiet corner (next to Cristal d'Orleans, looking through the window at the tiaras) and return a call from work. I'd applied for a higher position at a different branch library, and during my birthday lunch, I'd ignored a call that went to voice mail. It was the branch manager requesting me to come in on Thursday for an interview. I had to tell her I was in Disneyland till Saturday (I was pretty cheerful about this) and she promised to try to schedule the interview for the next week and get back to me.

We went into the shop Cristal d'Orleans, and it's a good thing I kept my tipsy head on my shoulders, because I was admiring the tiaras, and my husband was in an expansive mood and would have bought me anything if I'd indicated the slightest desire to look like a princess. I told him I didn't need a tiara, I already felt like a princess today.

We wandered over to Haunted Mansion Holiday, which by then had a wait time of 35 minutes, and used our universal FPs. Al had not been on the HMH "Nightmare before Christmas" version before. It's so... much. Nightmarish. Frantic. Funny. Even more funny when you're kinda drunk.




Next we walked over ROA to pull FPs for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We stopped to watch the jazz band for a bit. We admired the Dia de los Muertos display by Rancho de Zocalo. Then we went back through Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise. We had a good guide. Again, a good ride to do slightly tipsy-- we were laughing and groaning and reacting to his jokes, more so than most of the other cruisers, so he ended up kind of playing to us.



Next, we went to the Tiki Room, and (again) I really think it's best to do it when you are a bit tipsy. You're much less inhibited about singing along. We took a selfie:



Then we went back and rode BTMRR with our FPs. Al really liked that one; he had not experienced it before. It's thrilling but not too crazy. As we found out on this trip, Al doesn't enjoy the adrenline-junky rides as much as he did when we were younger. I still like them, but he found he couldn't take the big drops any more. Which is fine.

We walked back to Splash, intending to make it the last ride before going back to check into our room, in case we got soaked. The standby was only about 15 minutes. Had a great ride and didn't get too wet. However, I've read on here that since last year's refurb, parts of the ride are unaccountably dark and neglected looking, as though they couldn't be bothered to fix up the animatronics, so they just turned the lights off. It's pretty noticeable, and kinda bothersome. C'mon, Disney, get with it.



After Splash, we walked into Pooh's Corner and the sweet shop to look at the treats, since I am a Tigger Tail fan. We each got a little treat, me my Tigger Tail and Al a regular chocolate/caramel wand. I couldn't eat more than a few bites of my Tail-- they used to cover them with orange candy coating; now they use orange sugar, which makes it kind of too sweet and crunchy.

We walked back down through the park toward the gates. It was around 6 p.m. and very busy and crowded. We were both coming down off our little wine-and-luxury high.

(I'm going to pause here, and mention that I hope I don't offend anyone with my talk about our drinking during this trip. Please let me assure you that I'm very conscious of the serious issues surrounding alcoholism. I have a couple of siblings who struggle with this addiction and are recovering, and I have the highest respect for those who deal with it. While my husband and I do imbibe occasionally, I hope you don't get the wrong impression. We are normally very moderate and responsible drinkers, and have never had a problem with overindulgence or binge drinking. We are VERY rarely tipsy, only maybe when we go out two or three times a year for a special occasion and share a bottle of wine with dinner. And we never drive in that condition. In this case, we were letting go more than usual, because we didn't have our daughters with us to set a good example for, which we're usually very conscious of. And we were staying in walking distance, and had no driving to do. So when we felt like it, we imbibed and enjoyed it. But we are quiet drinkers and don't get loud or obnoxious when we've had a few. We just get quietly, intensely funny. Or at least, we seem intensely funny to each other!)

We walked on back to the Desert Inn to get our room assignment. As I have stated, when I made reservations back in March, I'd put in a request for top floor, as far forward as possible. Last year, they upgraded me to a suite, and I was on the fifth floor very close to the front. This time, to my surprise and disappointment, we were assigned room 323. This is still technically "top floor"-- the rear of the motel is only 3 floors high-- but it was far, far back. You walk all the way back into the J-hook at the back of the property, which they call the "courtyard" but we called the Hole. The rooms surround the courtyard, overhanging, with palm trees. It's dark; almost no daylight penetrates this area. Our room was only about 5 rooms in from the very back of the property. There is only one window opening out onto the walkway; nothing at the back of the room like I'd had last year. As soon as we walked in I called the front desk about it. "We are 98% full;" I was told, "There's nothing else available." I was frankly pissed. What's the use of booking so far in advance and being a repeat customer? I'd been singing the praises of this place all over the DISboards, and they let me down. It seemed pretty clean, except the carpet had a grungy look to it; I kept my socks on. The water pressure is ABYSMAL. I didn't recall it being that bad when I stayed there last year. It's like trying to take a shower underneath a half-filled watering can... which is held at about shoulder height. I hate those short shower heads that you have to duck under.

Anyway, I was unhappy with the room and feeling kind of let down, and frankly missing my kids. It was my birthday, and I'd had a lovely day; we were supposed to go back to the parks in the evening-- but I was coming down off an adrenaline high after too little sleep and more wine than I'm accustomed to, and I was not feeling like going back, and feeling guilty for NOT going back and taking advantage of evening hours. So I was getting shaky and a little weepy-- unusual for me. We called the girls and talked to them for awhile. They were fine. I cuddled up with DH on one of the beds, and realized the advantage I had this time-- I had my very favorite person with me, warm and comforting, to make me feel better. Which he did. "I'm wiped out, why don't we just relax here and call it a night?" he said. So we did. The air conditioner was noisy, and had a tendency to over-chill the room quickly. We had a tough time during our stay keeping the room at a good temperature; it seemed either stifling or icy.

When DH eventually fell asleep around 9, I was still logging my experiences from the day in my little notebook. Out on the walkway, I heard a guy start up a phone conversation. It seemed to be business-related (I could hear most of it clearly through the room door) but it wasn't quick and concise, it was long, rambling and above all, LOUD. This guy apparently felt he had to yell into the phone. Finally I threw on shorts and a t-shirt and opened the door. The guy stood several rooms over but was still loud enough to wake the dead. He saw me, and I raised my hands to the side in the universal "What the hell?" position. He went silent long enough to jerk his chin at me like, "What do you want?" And I said simply, "Can you quiet down, please? Trying to sleep." He had the audacity to look outraged. I stared him down. He backed down, turned away from me, and lowered his voice. His conversation continued after that, but thankfully it was quieter and he soon ended it. I was sorry/not sorry I was looking b****y, but hey... common courtesy, people. I was guessing the conversation didn't take place in his own room because he didn't want to disturb his own kids or companions- but why then choose to disturb everybody else in the courtyard?

All in all, it was a bit of a letdown after a good day. I felt like a tired toddler who'd been overstimulated at her own birthday party; I tried to recognize this with humor and remember that the next day would be another day of celebration, hopefully with some good rest to back it up. Thank the Lord for earplugs. I put mine in, and settled down, and slept reasonably well.

 

[wildflower329]

Really enjoying your TR so far! I am so jealous you got to go to Club 33 Where outside of Seattle are you from? I grew up in Kirkland and then up north in Stanwood/Marysville. We just moved to Eastern WA about 2 years ago.

 

[avalon451]

Really enjoying your TR so far! I am so jealous you got to go to Club 33 Where outside of Seattle are you from? I grew up in Kirkland and then up north in Stanwood/Marysville. We just moved to Eastern WA about 2 years ago.

I grew up in Lynnwood, moved to Kent for 9 years when we were first married, and we're now in the Everett area. Eastern Washington, it's like a whole different state, eh?