Nov 20-24

[Elk Grove Chris]

Had a blast at DL with the family Thanksgiving week, lots of people there, but still pretty manageable with a little game plan. No real missteps at all during the trip, even got to go solo for part of Saturday while everyone else was Christmas shopping.

We spent the 19th at Universal; I had resisted the pleas of my family to stop there for a day or two for years. I finally caved in and took them. Except for Transformers, found the rides/attractions to be mediocre, and the best part of the tram tour was the Jimmy Fallon videos.

And why do you have to get wet on every single thing you go on?

Overall I am glad we went, we saw something different and had a good time at the City Walk the night we drove down-hmmmmmmmm Karl Strauss Brewery. We stayed at the Sheraton, very nice, close enough to walk, uphill, about 8 minutes to City Walk/Universal.

We left the park around 5, huge mistake. It took almost 2 hours to get to Anaheim.

We checked in to the Park Vue Inn on the 19th, right across the street from DL. Easy check in, rooms clean, unfortunately they didn’t have two adjoining room upstairs like I asked. It got a bit noisy towards the end of the trip.

Tuesday-Nov 20th

We had one Magic Morning with the park hoppers we got at Costco, pretty good deal for the 4-day hoppers. Well they had hoppers, I upgraded to a PAP last trip so I wouldn’t be blocked during the holiday.

Now to say that my Wife and Daughter are not early risers is a bit of an understatement, my Son and I usually rise well before the sun makes an appearance. My Mom was with us for this trip too, she doesn’t have a problem getting up early, but needs an hour before her meds kick in, so I had to factor that in each morning.

We made it to the security line by 6:45; the line was half way back to Harbor Street. I was hoping they would let me in with my family for MM with my AP, CM didn’t even blink when I asked, she said come on it. Sweet! I think we made it into DL a few minutes past 7.

I made a b-line to get us some FPs for Star Tours, something we could all go on. My Wife is not the big coaster type; she will do BTMRR, but not Space Mountain. I grabbed the FPs and we all walked on after about 5 minutes through the standy line.

Next up was Space, my Mom loves this one. People were already cycling through for their second and third rides, took about 25 minutes to get on.

We pressed on towards the Matterhorn, I had warned them that I thought it was even rougher with the refurb (on my back anyways) but onward we went, until we encountered the CM who told us the ride wasn’t running yet. We stepped over to Fantasyland.

Peter Pan was at its usual 40 minutes wait already so we hopped on to Snow White. Pinocchio was next, also a walk on.

We made our way to Frontierland for my Son’s favorite ride, BTMRR. By the end of the trip his favorite ride would be Screamin. I think I generally like most of the rides more at night, but this one seems to be my favorite at night.

Haunted Mansion was next, our group is mixed on the overlay, I prefer the original. NOS had a few people in it; the wait was about 10 minutes to get on our buggies.

We then made our way to POC, also about a 10 minute wait.

Breakfast is my least favorite meal inside the parks (love me some Steakhouse 55 though), the offerings are pretty bland. We have not been back to Carnation Cafe since the refurb and menu revamp, the lone bright breakfast spot for me before. Today we settled on the River Belle Terrace since it was close by. The potatoes were good, everything else was average.

While I was off to get another set of FPs for ST, the rest of the family checked out the shops in NOS. I met up with them at the Jungle Cruise. Wait was about 20 minutes. We heard a few new jokes.

We went to go see if Matterhorn was running, yep. Forty-five minutes later we were on, and everyone in our group agreed that the ride was indeed bumpier and shakier. Only ride on Matterhorn for us the whole trip, just didn’t agree with my back or my Mom’s knees and hip.

Crowds weren’t too bad yet, but picking up.

We wandered over to IASM, 60 minute wait, no thanks.

I grabbed a FP for SM as they headed to the Main Street shops. I went to City Hall to pick up our tickets for the Fantasmic dessert package. It was getting on a quarter past noon now, so we headed over to Café Orleans to check in for our reservation. We ordered a regular and cheese Monte Cristo and some pommes frites, more than enough for the five of us. Everything tasted great, they were quite busy, not taking any walk ups.

We needed a few minutes to recover from the feast. We wandered over to the Pioneer Mercantile to check out the holiday offerings. It looked like the merch had been picked over pretty good already. My Wife, Son, and Mom headed back to the hotel for a break at 2:30.

My Daughter and I headed to CA for some Screamin. She was pretty impressed with Buena Vista Street. She did a pretty good job of not looking into Carsland as we walked by, we would all hit that first thing tomorrow morning.
Screamin was packed, standby was 45 minutes, SRL looked like 45-60 minutes. We did get on before several of the single riders we initially lined up behind before we switched to the standby line. We grabbed a FP, return time was 5:45, we could make that.

We made our way to the Tower of Terror, it was about a 40 minute wait at 3:30. My Daughter wanted to do Silly Symphony Swings, so we made our way all the way back to the Pier. It was a short wait to get on, maybe 10 minutes.

Decided to take a break at the Cove Bar. I had a beer, my Daughter ordered some pomegranate juice thing, the CM asked for her ID. We were confused, she’s only 17, looks like she is 14, we didn’t even see that there was an alcoholic version as well. We had a few laughs over it; secretly I am sure she was feeling a bit smug that the CM thought she was older.

Off to hit Screamin again to use our FPs. Got a text to meet them at DL for Star Tours.

Crowds not too bad, I mean there were a lot of people in both parks, but we could move around pretty easy. We all really like the ST queue, so the 15 minutes we waited didn’t seem long at all. We all headed over to SM to use our FPs while my Wife made her way to get our spots lined up for Fantasmic. I thought getting to the podium at 7 would be soon enough, but she wanted to get there just a bit earlier to make sure my Son wouldn’t have to sit behind anyone. He’s 11, about average height for his age, so I didn’t think there would be any problems. She got there at 6:50 and was the first one in line.

The wait for SM was at 65 minutes around 6:30, took us about 25 minutes to get on with our FPs. We started moving towards Frontierland, rode BTMMRR and grabbed a FP for later. We weren’t super hungry since we had a big lunch and we knew we were getting the goods later when we watched the show, so we grabbed two bowls of gumbo and I spelled my wife in line.

Check in was right at 8, we snagged seats 5-9, great seats. We wandered around Critter Country and didn’t get back to take our seats for the show until 8:30. Every seat was already filled except ours when we got back. The CM was great, got us some coffee and cocoa right away. If you can swing the dessert package, I highly recommend it just for the seats alone. I know my back would have been killing me sitting on the ground trying to save a spot for a few hours.

Fantasmic was great as usual, miss the eels. Stayed and watched the fireworks from our seats. I don’t remember that much snow coming out of the machines before, the gingerbread scent a nice bonus.

My Wife and Mom headed to the room after the fireworks. Me and the kids rode BTMRR 2 times and slowly made our way out of the park at 10. Great first day!

 

[ttig34]

Enjoying your report so far. Looking forward to Day 2!

 

[KCmike]

Great report Chris! Save some for the Picture of the Day thread.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Enjoying your report so far. Looking forward to Day 2!

Thanks

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Great report Chris! Save some for the Picture of the Day thread.

Thanks Mike, I am sure I will have a few left over.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Wednesday-Nov 21

Pretty overcast this morning, a little chilly in my shorts. The security line was not as bad this morning. We got to the CA gates right as they opened at 7:30. I headed for the RSR FP line while everyone else headed toward the single rider line. I got in line by the Disney Junior Stage, not a few minutes later people were all the way around the street across from the Hyperion Theatre.

Talked to a few of the guys in line, one in front of me was from Washington, DVC owner, not sure if they get credit for getting others to sign up but I got that vibe. Guy behind me lived off the same street I did just a mile down the way, small world indeed. Line moved pretty fast once the clock struck 8. I believe I got to the FP machines in less than 20 minutes, return time at 1:05, and disconnected.

The rest of my family was all the way to the umbrella in the SRL, ride wasn’t running yet. I went through the exit and met them there. Turned out to be a short wait as the ride was racing along at 8:40. Twenty minutes later we had all gotten on our cars.

My daughter checking out the firetruck:

They all made their way to the three little pigs for some coffee n croissants’ while I headed to get us some FPs for Soarin. Man, needed a FP to get some coffee. Line was right at the door when they went in, took thirty minutes to get to the counter.

Hoping that everyone was still in Carsland,

we headed to Toy Story Mania. No such luck, 50 minute wait. About half way through the line I ducked out and grabbed some FPs for Screamin. I am going to need to get on this ride more often, my kids creamed me again.

My Mom wanted to go on Ariel so we made our way around the Pier. Fifteen minutes later we were on, she really liked the ride. Fumbling through the FPs I had I realized Screamin was also disconnected, so away I went. Other the TSM and Carsland, it didn’t really feel all that crowded.

We ambled over to Screamin. This was the first time my Son actually wanted to try it. Up until now, his biggest ride was SM. One time through and he was hooked, became his new favorite ride by the end of the trip. My Wife sat this one out as usual and took picks of us blasting off.

It was approaching noon, so we headed towards the wharf to get some snacks. We all shared some rice bowls, we had a 5:00 ressie at the Carthay later and didn’t want to get there full. Aladdin sounded good to everyone so off we went. We got there 30 minutes before the show and the lines were packed, we ended up way up top.

Great show as usual. I think all three main actors were different that any we had seen before. Miss the real flying carpet. Love the show, but I think I am ready for something new.

Everyone decided to head back to the room to relax and to change into big boy pants for dinner. I grabbed another set of FPs for Screamin and met them in the room. It sure is nice staying right across the street, but I think we will opt for somewhere with covered hallways next time, starting to get a little noisy outside.

I think my Wife was the only one that actually got a nap, too noisy for the rest of us. Our rooms were near the corner of the building and housekeeping set up camp right outside our rooms for several hours, of course only when were there trying to rest.

We all headed back to CA around 4. Decent crowd getting in to both parks, but not too bad.

We decided to use our FPs for Soarin, whoa, FP line was all the way out to Taste Pilot’s. We got through the line and off the ride in about 40 minutes. We went to check in at Carthay around 4:45 for our 5:00 ressie. Forty five minutes later we finally had a table, dang. Worth the wait though. Looks like a lot of the staff from the Napa Rose moved over here, we had the same server before over there, which was good, he was excellent.

We decided to stuff ourselves and get the WOC of tickets. We shared the biscuits and stuffed grape leaves for appetizers. Biscuits were good, small though. The entrees were outstanding. My Wife had the short rib ravioli

my Daughter had the cavatelli pasta with lamb, my Mom had the same minus the lamb, my Son had the chicken schnitzel

and I had the rib eye.

The only complaint my Wife had was that there weren’t enough ravioli as we kept stealing them from her, we all agreed this was the best dish of the night, outstanding snap on the fresh pasta. Dessert was probably the weakest course, but still good. We shared the chocolate cake, brownie sundae and apple strudel cheesecake.

We were all stuffed, decided to chill out on a bench across from the wharf and people watch for a while. We made our way to the WOC area around 7:30, it was packed. Both kids snagged spots near the front of our section to get a good view, the rest of us all hung out at the very back. We had an unobstructed view until right before the show started. My wife had to move to the side so she could see; she is just a shade over 5 feet tall. I stowed the camera so I could enjoy the show, never been able to get good shots of WOC anyways.

We waited out the crowd for a few minutes after the show ended, didn’t really make any difference. Huge bottleneck by the wharf to Carsland as they had people roped off for the next show. We moved on over to check out the single rider line for RSR.

Line was all the way out to the sign. Right as we got there it was announced that the ride was temporarily down. That cleared the crowd considerably in the SRL, which surprised us as the stopages have been pretty short, we moved up past the bridges. Twenty minutes later the ride was operational again, another 20 minutes and we were on. This ride is pretty spectacular at night with all of the lights on the rocks and the neon coming from the rest of the land.

My Wife and Mom were done for the night. The kids and I rode Screamin 3 times and called it a night around 10:30.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Thanksgiving-Nov. 22

I was out the door and headed toward the security line right at 7. Headed toward CA, third gate, third person in line. Magic Morning crowd was slow arriving across the Esplanade. Gates opened at 7:30, rest of the family was just making their way through security. As soon as they all got in my Daughter joined me with their passes in the RSR FP line, third back in line again.

Line moved very quickly at 8, they headed for the RSR SRL, we did the same after getting the FPs. We made our way on to the ride in less than 15 minutes, they already cycled through and were going again. Not sure of the accuracy, but the standby line posted a wait of 120 minutes at 8:15.

We decided to check out Flo’s for breakfast. OMG, OMG, OMG, THEY HAVE RACER 5 IPA. I guess it was a bit early for a beer, even for a good beer, I shall return. We shared a couple of the American breakfast’s and the brioche French toast. Pretty good, except for the eggs, which pretty much suck resort wide. While they were finishing up, I took my coffee and strolled over the Screamin to grab some FPs.

We were hoppin today, over to DL to get some small world. The crowd was up now; we entered with the mob a quarter of 10. I hightailed it over to get FPs for ST and met them right as they got in line. It didn’t take long to get on the ride, maybe 15 minutes.

We made our way to HM next, also a pretty short wait.

They headed toward Big Thunder Ranch to get us some seats for the Billy’s. I made a stop to get FPs for BTMRR. The machines were not cooperating, CMs helping out people left and right, very efficient. We love the Billy’s, but I am not a fan of the holiday show or the outdoor venue. We just love the Golden Horseshoe and their regular show.

We had a good time; the bears were giving us all kind of love.

My Mom got in on the act:

Liver Lips McGrowl would not leave my Daughter alone until he got a big kiss. It took him a good 14 tries before she gave in.

So we made our way through Fantasyland towards Tomorrowland. Uh-oh, my Daughter spies Flynn, now she’s the stalker. Unfortunately, there are about 60 minutes worth of kids in line to see him, well probably Rapunzel, but 60 minutes worth nonetheless. Off to Buzz Lightyear!

As they got in line I grabbed us some FPs for SM, 60 minute wait at noon. Return time not bad, 3 something.

Buzz was packed, 25 minutes to get on. Man, I got creamed again. Apparently I am allowing my kids too much time on the video games. I am getting owned this trip.

My Daughter and I made our way to the shops on MS, everyone else went back to the rooms for a break. I am pleasantly surprised at the crowd levels so far. There are ton of people here, but we are doing a lot of things and it is pretty easy to move around. I still think it was more crowded last month when my Son and I attended a Halloween Party, but I am still bitter about my perceived oversell of the event probably, maybe.

My Daughter suggested we hit Gibson Girl and get some ice cream, excellent idea. No place to sit, so we checked out the MS cinema and lost ourselves quite easily for 25 minutes. We really had the place to ourselves most of the time, very few people came in and those that did didn’t stay very long. We then checked out the Gallery, we both love the art work, the concept stuff is so amazing, another 30 minutes whisked by.

Back out in the sun, it was quite pleasant today, mid 70’s or so. We got on the double decker bus and enjoyed the ride.

We did the castle walk-through, then back on the bus.

We grabbed some sidewalk to watch the parade. I sat down, my Daughter checked out the Emporium. I thought I was plenty early an hour before the parade, but the shaded side of MS was half full already. The hour went pretty fast as carolers showed up not soon after I sat down, and they were not far away.

We all loved the parade. What we didn’t love were the rude people that crowded in behind us. I have no problem with people standing behind me for parades or shows, especially kids so they can see. But, have some manners! Two of the three kids that got right behind us were fighting the whole time, parents doing nothing, and dropping candy and popcorn all over my kids. My kids just laughed it off, I should have too, but I have no patience for rude or mean people. Their kids probably didn’t know any better, they were pretty young, but the parenting skills were non-existent. Fortunately, the only real thing that bothered me the whole trip, and it was pretty trivial.

A brisk walk would cool me off, so I headed off to get some FPs for BTMRR. Everyone else headed to Star Tours. I caught back up with them and got in the FP line. So my Son loves Star Wars, as do I, we have probably ridden this ride 30-40 times the last couple of years. He has yet to be the Rebel Spy. So as we sit down, we are all pointing to him, he is making goofy faces. Yep, they picked my Wife sitting right next to him. We all had good laugh on that.

It was about 4, we had a reservation at Ralph Brennan’s in DTD at 5 for Thanksgiving dinner. Nice easy ride on the Monorail and we should have some time to walk around. Whoa, big time line waiting for the Monorail. We had to wait for 5 rides to cycle us on; we called to let them know we might be a little late. We made it with 5 minutes to spare, still had to wait 30 minutes for a table inside, lol.

They had Cajun turkey and turducken tonight. We started with some garlic bread and fried artichokes, yumm. We ordered two of the double chocolate bread puddings early since they take 30 minutes to make. Not sure why we always order two when we know one would be enough for all us. I got the Cajun turkey, my Wife and Daughter shared the turducken, my Son got the kids burger, Mom got some sides. Everything was great, this has been our favorite DTD restaurant for some time now.

We spent some time checking out the stores in DTD, I could have taken a nap on a bench if they would have let me. We slowly strolled back to the Esplanade and made our way into CA around 8. Ten minutes later we were in line for RSR using our FPs, 10 minutes later RSR was out of commission. Fortunately, the disruption was short, ride was operational after 20 minutes, then it took us about 30 minutes to get through the FP line.

My Mom and Daughter joined me for TOT, FPs we collected earlier dropped us right in. We gave away some FPs for Screamin we had and headed over to DL. My Wife and Mom went back to the rooms, took the camera and our extra backpack filled with sweaters. I really love taking pics in the land, but it sure feels good to ditch the gear every once in a while. There were a lot of people leaving DL as the fireworks were finishing.

We went to SM to use some FPs, short wait to get on. Gave away our second set, getting tired. Headed over to BTMRR and rode it twice. We left, tired, and getting cold, around 10:50. Twas another great day.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Friday-Nov. 23

Seriously foggy this morning, ground really wet. Crowds at security gates pretty light, we make it through quick. EMH at CA for hotel guests, we are let in at 7:30, held at rope. I get in the RSR FP line right about at the doors for the Carthay Theatre. I am actually surprised how few hotel guests are getting in the FP line. Spoke too soon, a bunch jump in right before 8. I takes us about 15 minutes to get FPs.

Grizzly in the mist:

My Daughter and I headed for the RSR SRL, 25 minute wait. Standby wait posted at 150 minutes at 8:25.

As I go to get FPs for Screamin my Mom and the kids make their way for some coffee at Flo’s, decent crowd there. We decide to go next door around 9:30.

We all split, my Wife heads to Jolly Holly to get us some coffee, I hit ST for some FPs, everyone else makes their way to Peter Pan. Wait wasn’t too bad, 30 minutes, enough time to enjoy coffee and cinnamon twists.

We got on Alice next, short wait.

Fantasyland was filling up, but not terrible, looks like a typical weekend crowd. My Wife and Daughter hang out, hoping to catch Flynn today. My Mom and Son grab some shade and a seat, I grab some BTMRR FPs.

Aw, no Flynn this morning, just Rapunzel. The little kids are all good with that, my 17 year old was a bit bummed-picture time anyways.

Off we went to NOS to check out Pirates. Moderate line, 25 minutes and we were on.

We all got on the train in NOS, they did a full circle tour. I jumped off at Tomorrowland and got some FPs for SM. Standby line was a little less than an hour right at noon. I hopped back on the train and met them in NOS.

We checked in early for our table at the Blue Bayou to get one near the water. I don’t think any of the full service eateries were taking walk ups the whole time we were there. Service was prompt and very good, food was pretty good too. My Mom had the Portobello mushrooms, the portion was huge, and pretty tasty by my accounts. My Wife had the crab cakes, My Daughter and Son shared the short ribs, I had the same. We shared some crème brule for dessert.

We finished lunch around 2:00, NOS was getting a bit packed.

We headed over to use a set of FPs for SM and grab another set. Standby line was still hovering around an hour.

My Mom and Wife hit the hotel, the rest of us hit Screamin.

We went through the standby line in around 20 minutes then used a set of FPs for another round.

We walked the long way around the Pier, checking out the Midway and headed back to the room around 4.

The whole week we were there, there was one, sometimes two, guys making balloons for tips on the corner. On this night, I guess the one guy wasn’t making much business. As we waited for the light, he proclaimed to no one in particular that he would eat a balloon unless someone bought one from him.

Challenge accepted.

Several groups gave up a green light to call his bluff; to his credit he ate a balloon. As we caught the next green light I remarked to my kids that that is why you stay in school so you don’t have to eat balloons for a living. Lady next to us told her kids to listen to me as my Son said we should bring him some ketchup on our way back.

They all decided to not add a day to their hoppers, they wanted to relax and do some shopping. I was disappointed and yet elated by their decision at the same time, rare that I get to be in the parks by myself doing whatever I want.

We headed back to CA around 5:30, just in time to get caught up in the Pixar Parade. We got as far as the Wine Country Trattoria and were held there as the parade went by. We got to scoot across towards the wharf as the Incredibles went by.

We grabbed one more set of FPs before they shut it down for WOC. We rode 3 times in a row, last time waiting about 30 minutes in the normal line. Next up was their last ride for RSR.

We got in the RSR FP line about 6:30, standby wait was 120 minutes. We got on in about 15 minutes.

We decided to get some mini churros at the Cozy Cones. They were pretty good; the chocolate sauce that comes with them is way too sweet. They took a last look at Carsland, looking pretty sweet all decked out.

We headed over to Soarin, used our FPs and got on pretty quick. We took a seat as my Wife went in the Fly n Buy store to look for a pin for her friend, something with a dragon for Chinese New Year. No luck.

They all said goodbye to CA as we headed into DL right at 8. We got in pretty quick, not a lot of people going in. We hit Star Tours first, short FP line. Space Mountain was next, standby less than an hour. We gave away some BTMRR FPs. I think they were getting their fill of DL, gasp!

We waded through the throngs in the Hub waiting for the fireworks. Of course we had to walk all the way around toward the castle then down the MS on the west side. We stopped near the tree to watch the show. The fog was really rolling in now. About half way through the show, you couldn’t see the fireworks any more, just little dots here and there. We all bid DL goodnight and goodbye for them until next visit.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays:

I would be back tomorrow, Han Solo.

 

[KCmike]

Great great report Chris! I especially love the shots of the Matterhorn with the looks like Lemon tree in the foreground and the foggy Grizzly Mountain. So many fantastic shots. I'm in awe!

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Great great report Chris! I especially love the shots of the Matterhorn with the looks like Lemon tree in the foreground and the foggy Grizzly Mountain. So many fantastic shots. I'm in awe!

Thanks Mike

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Saturday-Nov. 24

I was off to the parks by myself as they all slept in. They would be shopping all day; they thought they were going to have the better time. They didnt, well not by my accounts, later, after we swapped notes, it sounded like they had the bigger crowds too.

I made my way to CA, made it to the gates by 7:20. Smallest crowd I have seen in the morning all week. Common theme, least crowed day of the five I was in the parks. Crowds felt like a normal weekend crowd, if not actually a bit lighter. No need to grab any FPs today for RSR. I made my way to the far right of the crowd so I wouldnt get pinched by the firetruck near City Hall in Carsland.

Radiator Springs Racers not working this morning, ew.

I walked over to Screamin, went on twice just walking on through the line. They only had two coasters running this early.

I walked around a bit soaking things in.

I made my way over to DL around 9. Popped in to Jolly Holly for some coffee and a snack. Hmmm, cheese Danish, ew cherry, gross, not like I needed to eat the whole thing anyways.

I had two missions today, find the fleece jammies my daughter almost bought the other day and a pin with a dragon on it. Well, three missions, have fun also. So it was getting a bit warm around 10. I would go check out the Disney Store downtown for the jammies since that is where she saw them and then drop off my sweatshirt at the room.

No jammies. Back to DL to check in the Emporium, only large, big enough for me. Went across the street, nope. Went in to Disney Clothiers, nope. CM was very kind and called the Mercantile in Frontierland to see if they had any in small, they did. I walked over briskly, they held the second to last small pair for me, score. I thanked them all as I was sweating now. Oops, I guess I had 4 missions, get the tote too for a gift. I went back in and got the reversible tote. Ok, going back to room to drop off the goods and my sweatshirt for real this time.

They hadnt left yet, wow. Fortunately the door between our rooms was mostly closed so I was able to sneak in the bag. We all left the rooms around the same time; I made it back to DL around a quarter of 11. Crowds were picking up a bit now, but still nowhere near what I expected for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I knew almost all the APs were blocked but I thought a lot of the other tourists like me would still be there.

I ended up grabbing a FP for HM then wandered around Critter Country and NOS.

Time for a corndog, Stagecoach Café here I come. Corndog great, fries soggy, aw. Zocalo Park was empty, nothing in there at all to check out.

Off to Toontown, had not been in there all week. A whole lotta people were in Toontown. Memory card in camera full, time to swap.

Hmm, I thought for sure I had some extra cards in my bag. Apparently I didnt. What are the chances that the Photo Supply on MS would have some compact flash cards? That would be 0.0 percent. Ok, I remember seeing a Best Buy kiosk in DTD, next stop. Out of stock. Hmm, I knew there was a Target down the street, and maybe a Best Buy the other way, last resort. I went back to the room just to make sure I didnt misplace any between my main camera backpack and the sling pack which I used most of the week. Whew, I found two more cards hiding in the other bag.

I was still having fun, just doing a bit more walking than I thought I would today. I made my way back to DL around 1. Crowds still pretty decent. Decided to rest a bit by jumping on a horse drawn trolley. Just as I am sitting down, Goofy comes around the corner, goofing around as usual, pretends to get his hand caught in the ice cream cart and wildly swings it out right in front of our horse. OOH, he got a bit startled. Good thing we had a full trolley, two thousand pounds of horse bucked the trolley and we got quite the shake. CMs were great in calming him down, and we were off towards the castle after a few minutes.

Back to Toontown to check out the decorations, not as good as last time I think. Lots of people back here, little dudes all over the place.

There were just too many people around to get any good shots of anything at ground level, like the fountains. I headed over to Star Tours and used a FP I got earlier.

Crossed back over to CA around 2, not very busy over here either, looked like Carsland had a crowd though.

Still needed to get the dragon pin so I checked out the cart next to coffee cart outside the wharf bridge, score. Hit Screamin 3 times in a row. Standby line was 10 minutes each time. CM said it was like that all day.

My family never goes on Mickeys Fun Wheel for some reason, so I hit that up, great views.

I was remembering something, some reason I needed to go back to Carsland and brave the crowds. Oh yeah, Racer 5 IPA at Flos. I love to people watch, so cold beer sitting outside in the shade was perfect. You know, if one beer is good, two should be great, right? Right!

Back to Screamin, rode several more times with very short waits at 4:00. I decided to head back to DL around 5.

MS and the Hub were packed as people were waiting for the parade.

I made my way over to NOS and used my FP for HM, standby line was a 15 minute wait.

Sat down and soaked it in for a few minutes, got on the train and rode it to MS. Goodbye Disneyland, see you probably next August.

Made it back to the room a little after 6, they were all hungry. We headed to DTD to east at Naples. We had a great meal, a fitting end to a great trip.

So dont be scared of the Thanksgiving crowds too much, we encountered a lot of people but not as many as I thought we would. Crowds were heaviest early in the week; Thanksgiving evening was pretty light, as was Friday. Saturday by far had the lightest crowds. We have been the week after Thanksgiving before and that was pretty sweet, crowd wise, but I would definitely come back Thanksgiving week.

 

[tksbaskets]

Very nice trip report. I was a bit late to the party but enjoyed all the pictures and your commentary. Thank you for sharing.

TK

 

[ashnjam]

Great report and pictures! Thanks.