He's with the Band! a DL Performing Arts TR- 7/13/15 A little Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum!

[rentayenta]

Nice down day. I love my pool days at the GCV. One of my favorite DVC pools.

Mug, coffee, verandah? Heaven.


Joshua is small and loves the sofa bed at the GCV. He weighs all of 70 lb though. I haven't tried it. The girls both found it comfortable but Joshua is the one who has slept on it many nights in a row.


I think single rider for the Matterhorn is the best single rider line around. It's not like I could even remotely chat on that ride. I do like the newer bobsleds.

 

[Leshaface]

Woah, I was soooo behind!

Aw look at Evan! I bet you were proud.

That is pretty crazy about the cheer rules when you were in HS. So it was based off of popularity of who got chosen to be on the squad?

Oh my, your mom does take great photos!

Eric's Matthehorn description is dead on

Aw, too bad you guys didn't enjoy Flo's. We are a big fan of their breakfast menu.

Great photos outside of Flo's!

Don't you just love RSR! Such a fun and cute ride. Haven't been on it at night yet but I bet it's 100 times better than during the day!

Oh no your poor mom! But glad the meds eventually did their job and worked for her.

The pool! And those loungers are heaven. DH took a nap so hard on them this past July, that he was snoring!

 

[teekathepony]

Sounds like a great down day (other than your poor Mom! Glad your Dad got her all fixed up, hopefully!)

Those pool chairs look heavenly!

Yeesh, that really is awful that you had to battle so much for your ticket upgrade, but yay for a victory!

 

[franandaj]

At least you were able to take some time and relax for a little bit. I'm sorry your mom wasn't feeling well that day, but I do know for a fact that it gets resolved and everything is still OK for the rest of the trip.

 

[eandesmom]

Nice down day. I love my pool days at the GCV. One of my favorite DVC pools.

Finding a lounger is a bit stressful but once you have a spot, heaven!

Mug, coffee, verandah? Heaven.

What more does anyone need?

Joshua is small and loves the sofa bed at the GCV. He weighs all of 70 lb though. I haven't tried it. The girls both found it comfortable but Joshua is the one who has slept on it many nights in a row.

Well, none of you (other than Michael) are terribly tall so I think that would help a lot. If it didn't have the ridge in between the cushions and the rounded top, it would have been fine but those 2 things combined, UGH!

I think single rider for the Matterhorn is the best single rider line around. It's not like I could even remotely chat on that ride. I do like the newer bobsleds.

You would be chattering! Not chatting I might bit my tongue if I tried lol. I dunno, single rider for EE and RRC are pretty awesome, CA Screamin too!

Woah, I was soooo behind!

Aw look at Evan! I bet you were proud.

I will keep him!

That is pretty crazy about the cheer rules when you were in HS. So it was based off of popularity of who got chosen to be on the squad?

Mnnn, probably partially but not totally. To make it to the final tryout in front of the school it was all based on "skill". My squad of 8 was a super eclectic mix of jocks (3 gymnasts, 1 runner, 2 soccer), popular people who didn't do much else (1) and then me, the band/vocal jazz/ASB geek. Some of the athletes were super popular but others weren't. It was pretty cool. My school really had a pretty cool group of kids were you could float between groups and not be limited to once circle. I wasn't very close to any of the girls prior to making it, but wasn't "not" friends with any of them either if that makes sense.

Oh my, your mom does take great photos!

she does!

Eric's Matthehorn description is dead on

Isn't that funny?

Aw, too bad you guys didn't enjoy Flo's. We are a big fan of their breakfast menu.

Great photos outside of Flo's!

The breakfast menu looks good, haven't tried it yet but I would.

Don't you just love RSR! Such a fun and cute ride. Haven't been on it at night yet but I bet it's 100 times better than during the day!

It is very cool at night! But during the day you get all the canyon colors. Both are amazing.

Oh no your poor mom! But glad the meds eventually did their job and worked for her.

It was definitely a wrinkle we hadn't expected

The pool! And those loungers are heaven. DH took a nap so hard on them this past July, that he was snoring!

Eric was out COLD!

Sounds like a great down day (other than your poor Mom! Glad your Dad got her all fixed up, hopefully!)

I probably got the best end of the deal on the down day for sure

Those pool chairs look heavenly!

They are!

Yeesh, that really is awful that you had to battle so much for your ticket upgrade, but yay for a victory!

It was worth the battle for sure

At least you were able to take some time and relax for a little bit. I'm sorry your mom wasn't feeling well that day, but I do know for a fact that it gets resolved and everything is still OK for the rest of the trip.

Why yes you do, you have major insider knowledge!!!!!!!



I had a pretty good day all things considered. Eric was frustrated and my dad, well I think he turned it around as you will see.

 

[natebenma]

Oh, that is such a bummer about your mom's back. What a shame that she was in pain on vacation.

Sounds like you did ok with the day. We had the beignets and I agree- YUM!

Unfortunately, I can totally relate to the grumpy teenager not getting his way and being "tortured" by having to go to the pool. Glad you were able to get him in to the water (by whatever means) and that you did get to DL for a ride.

Good job on the ticket upgrade. I certainly found the CMs at DL to be somewhat less accommodating to requests than the ones at WDW usually are.

I'll be interested in hearing what you end up with for dinner. Naples pizza is right across the way...

 

[eandesmom]

Oh, that is such a bummer about your mom's back. What a shame that she was in pain on vacation.

It was. It has been an unfortunate trend for my folks when traveling that some one is injured or sick. Then again, they travel a LOT so the odds are NOT ever in their favor.

Sounds like you did ok with the day. We had the beignets and I agree- YUM!

I could eat a whole bag of those right now

Unfortunately, I can totally relate to the grumpy teenager not getting his way and being "tortured" by having to go to the pool. Glad you were able to get him in to the water (by whatever means) and that you did get to DL for a ride.

Hence my fear with those 2 and Hawaii. Their explanation (as not to spoil things but the pool attitude actually gets worse) is that it was TORTURE to be near the parks but not able to go in and ruined the idea of the pool for them. They are confident that won't be an issue in Hawaii.

Personally, I think had a friend been there, the pool wasn't an issue but missing that...it had zero appeal.

Good job on the ticket upgrade. I certainly found the CMs at DL to be somewhat less accommodating to requests than the ones at WDW usually are.

It was a combination of clueless and then not accommodating. Overall, sad to say, I found the CM service not as good in general and it wasn't limited to Guest Services.

I'll be interested in hearing what you end up with for dinner. Naples pizza is right across the way...

Dinner up next!

 

[eandesmom]

Back at the room we discussed our dinner options. I have to admit, my brain has gone a bit fuzzy here. I THINK that the scooter had already arrived but, maybe it hadn't and was being delivered the following day. I honestly can't remember. What I do recall is that mom was adamant that it be THE closest place possible, but that she also get the heck out of the room. I am pretty sure she had the scooter though so am not really sure why it had to be so close but that is what was preferred. Options were discussed and, given the Easter crowd, a quick reservation made.

With that, we headed out.

In her opinion, DTD was too far away.

Which didn't leave many options.

We decided to go here

Storytellers Cafe, which is located in the hotel and about as close as was humanly possible other than room service or the lounge.

Yep, picture shamelessly stolen from the web as the only pictures I took were of food!

Admittedly, for me, going here for dinner through me for a loop. It was so NOT what had been planned and we did have a breakfast booked later in the trip at the same restaurant. But it was a menu that appealed to both my folks and admittedly, was quite close

I had



Pan-seared Crab Cakes
Served with Lemon-Basil Mayonnaise and Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts

Which no longer appears on the menu

And



A salad that doesn't appear on any menu anymore either. There is a similar one

Los Angeles Farmers' Market Field Greens
with Blue Cheese, Roasted Pecans, and a Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Except mine had pears and was a side salad. BOO for the removal of both of these items if you ask me.

Mom's appetite wasn't huge so she settled for this



Chicken Quesadilla
Seasoned Shredded Chicken Breast and Melted Cheese between soft Flour Tortillas served with Guacamole, Salsa, and Anaheim Peppers

Which frankly looked really small to me but the ratio of quesadilla to guac was quite nice and to be fair it was an appetizer item, not an entree.

Eric had a surprising choice.



Four-Cheese Ravioli
Served in a Rich Vegetable Broth with Roasted Peppers, Spinach, Asparagus, and Whole-roasted Garlic Cloves

I was absolutely shocked that he wanted this. I a) had no idea he liked asparagus enough to get a pasta with it and b) thought he didn't care for cooked spinach in pasta and c) have never ever seen him get a pasta that was broth based.

I have NO clue what my dad got although it may well have been the same as Eric's and would explain why I didn't take a picture.

Honestly? It was a GREAT dinner. Great service, great ambiance (it was hopping) and really good food, Eric ate up every bite as did the rest of us. It was just a super relaxing nice dinner, almost kind of a bonus prize. We hadn't really planned any other "nice" sit down dinners for the week, expecting to be in the parks and doing a lot of counter service. And, with my premium AP discount of 20%, it was quite reasonable.

As we chatted over dinner my dad had a question.

"How late are the parks open tonight?"

Well, DCA closes at 8 but but DL is open until 10.

It was about 7:30.

Dad wanted to go to Disneyland!

Who were Eric or I to say no? It had not even occurred to me to bring it up but YAY Dad!

We finished our meal, headed up to the room to get mom settled and grab some warmer clothes, I was NOT going to freeze again.

At 8:18 pm, we were here!



And promptly hit the restrooms



I think so at any rate, I cannot imagine why else I’d have a picture of Eric in front of guest relations!

First lit up castle sighting of the trip. SO pretty!



Which means of COURSE you have to get a picture in front of it!



Oh my goodness, are you all as SICK of that sweatshirt of Eric's as I am? LOL Even funnier is it used to be Evan’s. Years of TR's of boys in the same sweatshirt. Really they do have other options.









As the CM took our pictures she said, "aren't you excited the parks are open an extra hour tonight?"

What?

Really?

We didn't know!!

Apparently both parks had their hours extended due to the crowds. YAY us and the late night gamble of coming into the park just went from 1.5 hours to play to 2.5! Woot! As you can see in the photos, our smiles got bigger.
Enough of that, let’s go on some rides! Which way?

This way!



Up first?



Yep. Snow White's Scary Adventures. Didn't see that one coming did you? Dad wanted to hit the dark rides in Fantasyland and surprisingly, Eric was more than happy with the plan. Heck, both of us were just happy to be in the park with my dad and didn't much care what we did!

And.....yeah. Not exactly a great ride for pics so that is all you get.
Next up?

A CLASSIC!



I had not been on Mr. Toad since....2001. No joke. That ride, perhaps more than any other, makes me think of my dad and our first trip to DL when I was 14. It makes my heart smile in every possible way.

Apparently a visit to Pinocchio was next. Why this turned out red…I have no clue!



Given that that I took two of the same picture I guess that was the lighting?

Having had our fill of Dark rides for the moment, we decided to do another one. Well, sort of. It is in the dark. A never done for Eric and for me…yep....not since 2001 (and honestly I don’t think I got on it then either). It was a MUST do.

Leaving FL, it was dark and…crowded!



See!



Everyone else in the park thought so as well. The line was crazy!



However, we found friends in line, a couple of families we are close to and it was a ton of fun hanging out with them as we wended our way through the seemingly endless queue. It's funny, when you are used to knowing exactly how a line winds around, to be in a "new" one is oddly unsettling as the frame of reference is totally off. Soon enough our now expanded group was all in the same boat and sailing by a personal favorite.



It was completely empty, dinner long over at this point.

Sadly after this, the pictures did not turn out at ALL. But oh how magical the DL pirates is. I had forgotten. I swear it is twice as long and really, twice as good. The three of us literally walked off that ride on a complete Disney high. Such a high we decided to go for a bit of a walk and try our luck despite the fact that it was now 10:30. Heck, we HAD slept in after all and Dad was still going strong. Although now that I think about it, both he and Eric had a nap. LOL!

Where to?

Why the wildest ride in the wilderness of course!



It had re-opened very recently after a major refurb and we were dying to check it out.

Pick a park, any park and I tell you....this is one of the BEST rides in the dark, anywhere!



Dad seemed happy



We just sat back, camera away, and enjoyed the ride.

Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so worried. I adore BTMRR and all it’s clickety clackiness. This, this was different. And yet….it was SO good and frankly SO much better! I won’t spoil anything but oh they did a wonderful wonderful job with it.

With that, the park was closed and it was bedtime.

I think we wore Eric out.

He seriously passed out in this position on the couch. I had to wake him to move him over to the trundle.

 

[KatMark]

What an awesome and fun update, Cynthia.

Your crabcakes look delicious. Boo for them no longer being on the menu (what is the name of the place you ate...I don't think you mentioned it).

LOVE the photopass pictures. But Eric...STOP GROWING!

And for Dad wanting to go to the parks. I knew Eric would not grumble over it. And how great that you got on some of the dark rides and then got on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride which brought back memories of your first trip with your dad. And then Pirates! And Big Thunder. You did a great job in just a couple hours.

Poor Eric...despite a nap he was still beat.

 

[natebenma]

Wow!!! Awesome update with a bunch of stuff you had not planned on doing but ended up really liking.

We didn't eat at Storytellers, but I remember reading a menu and thinking there were a few interesting offerings there.

Woo-hoo on some unplanned DL time.

We didn't do any of those 3 dark rides (only Peter Pan), but I agree with you that DL Pirates is Da Bomb!!! Also love Big Thunder Mountain anytime, anywhere.

 

[CarolynK]

I think I would have been a bit grumpy to just go to the hotel restaurant; it's great that your dinner turned out better than you expected.

What a great evening you guys had at the park!! I may have already said this, but reading about your trip really makes me want to go back to DL

 

[jedijill]

Dinner looked delicious! Your dad sounds like a hoot! An extra hour on a bonus trip to DL! Sign me up! What a fun night.

Jill in CO

 

[Poolrat]

I am glad dinner was settled quickly. Storytellers turned out to be nice for you. We had a good meal there too but opted for the buffet. For me I felt I had more options and could control some things better allergy wise.


YAY for going back into the park and an extra hour. Oh yes great to hit the ones no longer at MK and then the better Pirates and the new and improved BTMRR. I agree I like the changes.


Too funny about Eric passing out. Growing boys need their sleep.

 

[afwdwfan]

Storytellers Cafe, which is located in the hotel and about as close as was humanly possible other than room service or the lounge.

I'm glad you had a nice dinner there. We never ate there, since park time was really more of a priority for us than dining options, but I thought it looked like a great place to eat, the menu looked good and it was always nearly empty every time I walked by.

Dad wanted to go to Disneyland!

Your dad is awesome!

As the CM took our pictures she said, "aren't you excited the parks are open an extra hour tonight?"

What?

Really?

We didn't know!!

Bonus park time, on top of your bonus park time!

I had not been on Mr. Toad since....2001. No joke. That ride, perhaps more than any other, makes me think of my dad and our first trip to DL when I was 14. It makes my heart smile in every possible way.

I rode that for the first time since it left WDW... it brought back great memories for me too, but I swear I didn't remember the part at the end after the train. Must have been a bit over my head back in the day...

It's funny, when you are used to knowing exactly how a line winds around, to be in a "new" one is oddly unsettling as the frame of reference is totally off.

I can completely relate to that.

Sadly after this, the pictures did not turn out at ALL. But oh how magical the DL pirates is. I had forgotten. I swear it is twice as long and really, twice as good. The three of us literally walked off that ride on a complete Disney high.

That is an incredible ride. How did you manage to go so long without riding it??

Pick a park, any park and I tell you....this is one of the BEST rides in the dark, anywhere!

Love it day or night, but you're right, after dark there's just a little something extra special about it.

He seriously passed out in this position on the couch. I had to wake him to move him over to the trundle.

If I feel asleep like that, it would take me about 2 hours to get all my limbs stretched back out and then another 3 hours before I could actually walk upright.

 

[Flossbolna]

I am so happy that you had such a brilliant end to a day that started out rather unmagical. Storytellers seems to be a wonderful place - I woudl love to eat there on my next visit.

And how great that you got more use out of the additional day that you put on Eric's ticket!

I agree with you on BTMRR, it is a fantastic ride at DL!

 

[eandesmom]

What an awesome and fun update, Cynthia.

Your crabcakes look delicious. Boo for them no longer being on the menu (what is the name of the place you ate...I don't think you mentioned it).

Storytellers Cafe. There are only 2 restaurants at the hotel other than the counter service so it' snot like we had a lot of options. Napa Rose looks lovely but was not at my price point for that evening for sure. Sad they aren't on the menu any more, I did like them.

LOVE the photopass pictures. But Eric...STOP GROWING!

I know, it's crazy. I swear that some of the shirts I got him for Christmas seems short already!

And for Dad wanting to go to the parks. I knew Eric would not grumble over it. And how great that you got on some of the dark rides and then got on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride which brought back memories of your first trip with your dad. And then Pirates! And Big Thunder. You did a great job in just a couple hours.

Poor Eric...despite a nap he was still beat.

We did so much more than I was expecting, it was a great evening!

All that growing makes a kid tired.

Wow!!! Awesome update with a bunch of stuff you had not planned on doing but ended up really liking.

Well, it wasn't a structured or planned day originally so most of it was pretty easy to roll with. The dinner threw me for a loop but it worked out ok. I am SO used to my family going where I tell them and being happy about it, it was odd to have folks with different agendas along.

We didn't eat at Storytellers, but I remember reading a menu and thinking there were a few interesting offerings there.

Too funny, I remember checking out the dinner menu before the trip and thinking there wasn't quite enough options or...not enough options at the price point I wanted for a certain 13 year old. LOL! It worked out well though.

Woo-hoo on some unplanned DL time.

We didn't do any of those 3 dark rides (only Peter Pan), but I agree with you that DL Pirates is Da Bomb!!! Also love Big Thunder Mountain anytime, anywhere.

I am so glad we did all of them, it was the perfect bit of nostalgia for me with my dad and Eric got a kick out of them. It didn't hurt that his night ended with 2 of the heavy hittters.

I think I would have been a bit grumpy to just go to the hotel restaurant; it's great that your dinner turned out better than you expected.

I was a bit grumpy but what can you do? It was probably bumming me out more than anything as in general the whole eating thing was NOT going how I'd envisioned it for the trip, between the battle over ESPN, the horrible dinner at Flo's and now this. I was very relieved it worked out so well.

What a great evening you guys had at the park!! I may have already said this, but reading about your trip really makes me want to go back to DL

Me too!

Dinner looked delicious! Your dad sounds like a hoot! An extra hour on a bonus trip to DL! Sign me up! What a fun night.

Jill in CO

My dad is a hoot it was a great night! I hadn't expected it as I figured someone needed to be with mom at all times but between the scooter and the drugs she could get around "enough". I wouldn't have brought it up so was pretty excited that he did.

I am glad dinner was settled quickly. Storytellers turned out to be nice for you. We had a good meal there too but opted for the buffet. For me I felt I had more options and could control some things better allergy wise.

I never thought about a buffet that way before. In the end I actually think dinner was a better choice for us there, than breakfast.

YAY for going back into the park and an extra hour. Oh yes great to hit the ones no longer at MK and then the better Pirates and the new and improved BTMRR. I agree I like the changes.

It was a great night, did so much more than I expected and had an absolute blast.

Too funny about Eric passing out. Growing boys need their sleep.

It makes my body hurt just looking at that!

I'm glad you had a nice dinner there. We never ate there, since park time was really more of a priority for us than dining options, but I thought it looked like a great place to eat, the menu looked good and it was always nearly empty every time I walked by.

It was NOT empty when we were there, I'm a bit surprised given how busy it must have been on your trip at the parks!

Your dad is awesome!

My dad rocks!

Bonus park time, on top of your bonus park time!


I rode that for the first time since it left WDW... it brought back great memories for me too, but I swear I didn't remember the part at the end after the train. Must have been a bit over my head back in the day...

I can completely relate to that.


That is an incredible ride. How did you manage to go so long without riding it??

I've spent very little time at DL. 1 trip as a kid, 1 in college and then not again till 2001 where I had a 1 and a 2 year old and an ex who helped with nothing and was pissed that we were there and went out of his way to make everyone miserable. So I was with the kids all the time and not on rides. We did DCA in 2010 but not DL. Crazy huh!

Love it day or night, but you're right, after dark there's just a little something extra special about it.

If I feel asleep like that, it would take me about 2 hours to get all my limbs stretched back out and then another 3 hours before I could actually walk upright.

Me too!

 

[Pinkocto]

What a great evening! Glad dinner turned out delicious. And what fun that your dad wanted to go into the parks! Hooray for adding the extra day earlier. And totol bonus on the EMH. I absolutely love those dark rides in Fantasyland!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Storytellers Cafe, which is located in the hotel and about as close as was humanly possible other than room service or the lounge.

It sure looks like a classy spot.

Honestly? It was a GREAT dinner. Great service, great ambiance (it was hopping) and really good food, Eric ate up every bite as did the rest of us. It was just a super relaxing nice dinner, almost kind of a bonus prize.

Hooray for bonus pixie dust!

Dad wanted to go to Disneyland!

Who were Eric or I to say no? It had not even occurred to me to bring it up but YAY Dad!

Exactly! Now that's the spirit!

Oh my goodness, are you all as SICK of that sweatshirt of Eric's as I am? LOL Even funnier is it used to be Evan’s. Years of TR's of boys in the same sweatshirt. Really they do have other options.

Hey, if it ain't broke...

As the CM took our pictures she said, "aren't you excited the parks are open an extra hour tonight?"

What?

Really?

We didn't know!!

I had not been on Mr. Toad since....2001. No joke. That ride, perhaps more than any other, makes me think of my dad and our first trip to DL when I was 14. It makes my heart smile in every possible way.

I loved Mr. Toad when I was a kid, and I tried so hard to get my kids to ride it when we were there...but they were more interested in the headliners. Makes me sad...especially because, as Andy pointed out, I'm shocked the ending to that ride still exists!

It's funny, when you are used to knowing exactly how a line winds around, to be in a "new" one is oddly unsettling as the frame of reference is totally off.

I totally get where you're coming from!

But oh how magical the DL pirates is. I had forgotten. I swear it is twice as long and really, twice as good. The three of us literally walked off that ride on a complete Disney high.

Agreed! So much better!

Pick a park, any park and I tell you....this is one of the BEST rides in the dark, anywhere!

Totally agree there too! And again, it seemed like it was the best version of this ride.

 

[Poolrat]

I rode that for the first time since it left WDW... it brought back great memories for me too, but I swear I didn't remember the part at the end after the train. Must have been a bit over my head back in the day...

I loved Mr. Toad when I was a kid, and I tried so hard to get my kids to ride it when we were there...but they were more interested in the headliners. Makes me sad...especially because, as Andy pointed out, I'm shocked the ending to that ride still exists!

I LOVE Mr. Toad. One of my favorite memories was riding with my mom and her reaction to the ending. She just broke out in a fit of giggles and we had many rides to HE**. So unexpected yet the best part!!!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Fantastic meal at Storytellers. Shame they removed some items from the menu.
YAY for extra time in the park and bonus to have the extra hour.
Great rides! I love them all at DLR. Always the best.