"Geographically Challenged" Best Friends Meet Up In Disneyland! *May 5-8, 2010*

[pixleyyy]

In honor of my 36th birthday today, I'm posting my favorite moment of the trip - meeting the big cheese himself!

We made our way out of California Adventure, through the beautiful Grand Californian Hotel, out to Downtown Disney and then to Disneyland. Again, we went with no huge plan other than to enjoy ourselves and stick around for the fireworks in the evening.

We flitted around for a bit, stopping first to ride It's A Small World. Can you guess what time we got there?

This was my first time seeing It's A Small World in Disneyland with the addition of some of Disney's popular movie characters. I strictly adhere to the "no flash" rule, so getting pictures inside the ride was very, very difficult for me. My favorite addition was Lilo and Stitch on their surfboard, but it came out very blurry. Also loved Jasmine and Aladdin on the flying carpet. This guy was pretty cute to see too:

I will admit to taking a phone call while on the ride. My oldest, Chase, called while we were riding and I let him listen for a bit. He told me about his great day at school and suddenly it hit him... he said "Mom! Are you on Small World? Oh no...." He talks like this ride is his arch enemy, but I bet he would have traded being at home for being here with me on Small World.

After another rousing verse of "It's a Small World After All..." we disembarked and were promptly blocked by the Celebrate Street Parade. We took off towards Toontown and it was a pretty good time to go.

After a quick stop at a counter-service for a free cup of ice water (we were parched!) we headed for Mickey's house. I'd missed seeing Mickey in his classic costume (I saw him only as Chef Mickey) at Disneyworld, I knew I wanted to see him while in Disneyland. Bek and I walked the queue... and walked... and walked. In the end there were probably 20 people ahead of us in line. They let most of them through then held the rope at us.

When it was our turn we were the first ones through to see Mickey. I've got to tell you, I got the little flip-flops when I saw him... he is the epitome of Disney for me and so symbolic of my love for the magic Disney provides. I was just so happy to see him!

Now, after the flip-flops I did a double-take... Mickey was so short! He was dinky. Tiny. This guy was one short mouse. I've seen Mickey before but he's never been this small. Sheesh! I can't believe I was taller than him!

Bek and I took turns taking photos for one another and then took one together with the big cheese himself.

Mission accomplished, we had met Mickey!

 

[pixleyyy]

Up next was Minnie. We walked towards her house and saw the line for her... the outside line in the blazing sun. We were hot already and standing in the sun didn't sound very fun so Bek and I decided to skip seeing Miss Mouse. Oh well.

After a bit of perusing the shops (we did a very good job of perusing this trip... hit them all at least once I think. LOL) we left Toontown. I had mentioned to Bek that I'd never been on the Storybook Land Canal Boats and she suggested we go now. The line was very short and we jumped right on. I was pretty impressed with what I saw. All those teeny tiny plants, all those miniature houses and castles and cities. It was relaxing and adorable to see.

Up next was Fantasyland. Bek and I wanted to cover it today, before the hoardes of locals took over tomorrow (Saturday). Most of the rides were a pass for us, but the one we both really, really wanted to go to was Peter Pan's Flight. This is my favorite non-thrill ride in all of Disney. I just love the way it makes me feel, how I'm out there flying and part of the magic that is Peter Pan. The wait time said 20 minutes but we probably waited closer to 30, half of it in the hot sun. Let me tell you, it was worth it. I still love that ride as much as ever.

Bek and I were getting hungry now and we knew just where we wanted to eat. There was this place I kept hearing about on the DisBoards called Cafe Orleans that supposedly had fabulous Monte Cristo's, garlic fries and Beignets. Neither Bek nor I had every been there before so we just headed to New Orleans square and expected to see it. We walked around New Orleans square, and around again and even caught a glimpse of Tiana, who had just finished a show.

We finally gave up and consulted the map. We were nearly in front of it! The reason we didn't see it was because they have temporary walls put up that make it hard to see the sign. We had walked by it at least 2 or 3 times already this trip. Doh!

We made our way to the counter and requested seating outside. We were seated in a matter of minutes and enjoyed people watching and chatting. First up for the meal was the Pommes Frites... fries with Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley. Bek and I shared an order and they were SOOOOO delicious!

Then came the Monte Cristo. This is like a heart attack on a plate - ham, turkey and swiss cheese coated in batter and fried then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Let me tell you, it was soooooo worth it! It was absolutely delicious. The best part of the whole meal was the little tub of berry puree you see by the grapes. YUM! I could eat just that berry puree and be perfectly happy. And I would NEVER have thought to eat berry puree with a sandwich like this, but it tasted so yummy!

This was the most fabulous meal ever! It was so yummy and rich (and we'd filled ourselves up with Pommes Frites) that we couldn't even order the beignets. We saw a dad and son who ate the same thing we did but then shared 2 orders of beignets afterwards. There was no way Bek and I could have done that! As it was we only ate half our sandwiches and we were stuffed. Guess we'd have to plan a trip back for the beignets.

After eating our fill we just took in the ambiance a little, enjoyed the cool evening air and decided to go shopping. Remember those Vinylmation characters I told you the kids asked for? Well, they have this set called "Cutesters" and it's nothing but cute little girly things - cupcakes, Minnie's dress, Fairies, an owl, a tree with critters on it, etc. ADORABLE! They were so cute and I knew I had to have one for Carissa. But in the time we'd spent here I had yet to find a store with them in stock. They had them on display but didn't have any for sale. So we looked in nearby stores, on a mission to find a Cutester.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I haven't had breakfast ... your meal at Cafe Orleans is making me drool! I cannot wait to try those Pomme Frites myself!

 

[pixleyyy]

It was starting to get late and Bek was getting pretty worn down. She offered to take a load off and save us a seat for the fireworks, so we headed to the hub. Despite it being only 7pm, with the fireworks not schedule until over 2 hours later, the hub was pretty busy and the benches were getting filled. We found a bench that was 1/2 empty and took a seat. It was nice to relax for a few minutes after all the walking in the sun we'd done today. After a bit I took back off, in search of the Cutester. Bek happily stayed behind to guard our bench.

I will admit to making a few stop on the way to wander next to the castle in search of the Snow White fountain. I'd heard of it but never been there before. While walking back from the fountain I caught a glimpse of the castle at dusk and took a few minutes to stop and take photos. And in the few minutes I stayed there to take photos, mess with the settings (I'm really trying to improve my photography) and take more photos, the sky was subtly shifting into darker shades of blue. Isn't it beautiful?

Well, despite my search, my walk from Tomorrowland to Frontierland, to Critter Country (where I stopped for a yummy treat to munch later - marshmallows covered in caramel, peanuts and then chocolate. YUM!) there were no Cutesters to be found. I was so bummed!

In time I made my way back to Becky, who was ready for a bathroom break and a chance to stretch her legs. I held down the bench while she did that and made a trip to the lockers, where we'd stowed our sweatshirts. By the time she got back I was very happy I'd thought to bring them, as it was getting chilly now that the sun was down.

While waiting I tried taking a few night photos from my bench. This one is my fave, looking into Tomorrowland.

It was great to sit and relax and both Bek and I took time to catch up with our families back home.

I could tell time for the fireworks was getting near, as cast members came along asking all those people camped out in the hub to stand up and move forward. Bek and I stayed put. Having held down a bench for this long had it's privledges. LOL

The announcements began and I started to get excited about seeing my absolute favorite part of Disney... the fireworks. And of all the fireworks I've ever seen at Disney, "Remember, Dreams Come True" is my hands-down favorite!

Then the lights went out on Main Street and everyone got quiet. Julie Andrews voice filled the air and then the music that makes me tear up just to think about ... a little girls voice singing:
Star light, starbright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have this wish I wish tonight
We'll make a wish and do as dreamers do
And all our wishes will come true.

*sigh* I love that. I can't even describe how magical those words are for me. And to hear them in Disneyland is, itself, a wish come true.

The Disneyland fireworks are so good because they encompass all that is fabulous about Disneyland, all the attractions and rides and show. For instance, here's what they looked like at the Pirates of the Carribean section. See the skull and crossbones?

I love how the castle changes colors, how the fireworks are so precisely choreographed, how they each element is so perfectly coordinated for the particular attraction or song. I took lots of pictures. Here's some of my faves:

The park was open until midnight tonight, so when the fireworks were over Bek and I busted butt for the one ride we hadn't been able ride yet - Finding Nemo! This ride wasn't here my last trip to Disneyland so I wanted to check it out, yet the line had been really long all trip and I just couldn't see waiting 1/2 an hour for it. Even right after the fireworks we had a 20 minute wait, but we decided now was as good a time as any. I can say that I was really unimpressed with it. I mean, the addition of the special effects is good but it's still really boring and in such tiny, cramped quarters. Bek did say it's better in the daylight and she may be right, but either way it's not one I'd be in a hurry to ride again.

Bek and I had Space Mountain fastpasses to use and headed that way next, only to find that it was currently closed. We never did get there for a 2nd ride this trip.

We had really exhausted what we wanted to do in the parks today. Our feet were tired, we were tired and we decided to just call it a night. On our way out we did run into this little lady...

It was nice to see her, since we'd missed her at her house earlier in the day.

This pic of us three girls was a fitting end to another day of our girls trip.
Back to the hotel we went and pretty much straight to bed. We hoped that the air conditioner was quieter, but really we were both too tired to care.

 

[pixleyyy]

Sorry, I haven't been on the boards lately. Suffering a little Disney withdrawal, coupled with all my end-of-the-year and graduation stuff for my preschool. Now that it's all over and summer is here I finally have time to finish my trip report. Watch for it soon...