A Solo Adventure Down to the Land of Magic!-Updated 6/5!!

[katt789]

So this update will be pretty short, but the next 2 have all the pictures that I had too many, and thus had to make it into 2 updates, SO, here goes.

I was just on my way back to DisneyLand after returning to the hotel for a quick break, I meandered through the park with the thoughts of Splash, it was freakin hot! Surprise, hot day, splash had a huge wait time, so I decided to save it for another day. However, since I was in Critter Country anyway, I decided I may as well jump in line for some of my favorite friends!

(there was a Pooh Bear there too, but somehow it got deleted off my photobucket, and I just don't want to go through the effort of redoing it right now)

I seem to remeber a lot about being in this line irritating me, whether it was other families, kids, parents not really parenting, or the cms, I can't remember now, but there was something annoying there. The wait time for Splash was still way too long, and even the single rider entrance had a line winding its way around, so I decided to head back to the hub for some dinner.

I had decided on the Plaza, as they had some nice stuff on the menue (they have character meals in the morning, and then convert to a counter service for the rest of the day) on my way in, I saw some friends that were worth getting excited for, Alice & Mad Hatter were on their way in for the day! Now that I knew where one of the secret doors was, I knew where to keep my eyes on for the next day.

I headed into the plaza, and decided that thanks to the giant lunch I had, a kids meal would be totally acceptable.

Isn't it cute?!?! I thought it was adorable! Haha, I also really enjoyed it! I really didn't need a lot of food right now, so the size was perfect, and hey, normally a portion like this would be what I eat, I made a mental note to order kids meals more often in Disney. I also noticed that they had slices of Red Velvet, and Carrot cake out on display. Om nom. Red velvet, and disney carrot cake is just the GREATEST, so I put it on my list of things to try the next day (I was limiting my treat intake haha)

I finished dinner, and since it was right there, I figured I would check the time for Alice's ride.

Nope, wait time was still too long. I'd save it for tomorrow, my big day in DL. I wandered through Main Street, and made sure to pick up some jewelry on my way out, it was coming up to time to use that WOC fast pass, so I figured I'd head over to CA and ride my favorite ride one last time before the show!

Gotta love that ride at night! It adds so much to the creepiness! On my way back over to the lagoon I was getting a little chilly, so I stopped at a stand to grab a hot chocolate, and got distracted by some sparkaly silver Minnie Ears, totally adorbs! (yes, I did buy them, and yes, you can see them in my next TR haha). It was now time for the waiting for the show. It was so pretty with Paradise Pier all lit up!

With my fast pass, I was standing in the blue section, and was up on the 3rd tier. I had 45 minutes to wait for the show, and definitely took a seat on the ground and played some Diner Dash while I waited. This was another point that I noticed another difference, in WDW, it's very very easy to start a conversation with people beside you, even if you are travelling solo, in DLR, I found people would completely ignore you if you were beside them and not travelling with them. Weird.

So, up next, World Of Color. Would I enjoy it? Would I think "meh, WDW has better shows" Who knows, you'll just have to stay tuned

 

[shan23877]

I think that a kids' meal is actually a good portion size for an adult. I don't blame you at all!

Too funny that I'm reading about the sparkly silver ears because that's how I picked you out of the crowd outside of CP!

I can't wait to hear about World of Color. I have heard about it a lot lately, but have no idea what it is.

 

[IheartDDuck]

You are so right. The Genie is definitely the best part of the Aladdin show. What I love is that he ad-libs all the time, to make it more current. Totally the reason to go and see it.

 

[Merida]

I'm a little behind!

The Ariel ride looks adorable, even though pretty much ALL of her outfits are ridiculously dated. I've always wanted to love that kind of dress because Anne Shirley was obsessed with puffed/leg-o'-mutton sleeves, but then I saw a picture. What an awkward period of fashion!

I'm not sure how I feel about dedicating whole park sections to one movie/franchise (Carsland, Bug's Life Land, etc.). I know the theming and everything will be great in Cars Land, but it feels so limited! I like having things in the park that aren't directly pulled from the movies. Especially for attractions! Or at least done the way ToT is - some tie in, but still not just reliving the TV series.

The kid's meal is so cute! I love the little plate. And is that real silverware??

The World of Color fastpass and needing to be in line for hours kind of freaks me it. It involves a level of diehard planning and execution that I don't think I'm capable of! At least, not on vacation!

 

[katt789]

I think that a kids' meal is actually a good portion size for an adult. I don't blame you at all!

Too funny that I'm reading about the sparkly silver ears because that's how I picked you out of the crowd outside of CP!

I can't wait to hear about World of Color. I have heard about it a lot lately, but have no idea what it is.

The kids meal was just enough food! Hhaha! That's right! Gah! I found another couple of pairs while I was there in April but couldn't justify buying them yet, soon!! Hooooly, World Of Color, it's just so utterly wonderful, the update is coming now!

You are so right. The Genie is definitely the best part of the Aladdin show. What I love is that he ad-libs all the time, to make it more current. Totally the reason to go and see it.

Definitely! I mean, the show was full of talent, and the people were awesome, but I think it might have something to do with the fact that I'm always drawn to shows with lots of dancing (being a dancer) haha

I'm a little behind!

The Ariel ride looks adorable, even though pretty much ALL of her outfits are ridiculously dated. I've always wanted to love that kind of dress because Anne Shirley was obsessed with puffed/leg-o'-mutton sleeves, but then I saw a picture. What an awkward period of fashion!

I'm not sure how I feel about dedicating whole park sections to one movie/franchise (Carsland, Bug's Life Land, etc.). I know the theming and everything will be great in Cars Land, but it feels so limited! I like having things in the park that aren't directly pulled from the movies. Especially for attractions! Or at least done the way ToT is - some tie in, but still not just reliving the TV series.

The kid's meal is so cute! I love the little plate. And is that real silverware??

The World of Color fastpass and needing to be in line for hours kind of freaks me it. It involves a level of diehard planning and execution that I don't think I'm capable of! At least, not on vacation!

haha! The Ariel ride is great! And her outfits are kinda ridic, I do love the "kiss the girl" dress, but I'm glad they changed up her park dress to the bluey one!

I like the themeing of the areas, and I really do like the Storybook Circus at WDW, I like how it's a theme, but it's not all one movie, I guess it kinda just ties in with the different MK lands themselves. We'll see how everything else looks

Yes it was real!! I think it must be because it's a TS breakfast they don't want to have to change out the silverware! Hhaha

WOC really isn't that bad, I didn't even really know what I was doing, just followed the herd, it's like grabbing TSM FP, and the cm's ask you if you have done it before/know what you're doing, so she explained that I just went to the color coded area, and should be there about an hour beforehand. The FP just get you better viewing spots, you have to be there an hour before anyways!

 

[katt789]

Alright, so this will be a quick double update of pictures, and AWESOMENESS. First, I'll explain World of Color a bit (the best I can), the Disney explaination is "a nighttime water spectacular weaves water, color, fire and light into a kaleidoscope of fantasy & imagination. More than 1000 jets of water form incredible shapes in tiem to music as Disney characters come to life on a shimmering veil of mist."

I heard a lot of people talking about the fountain show at the Belagio, saying that the water part of it is like that, I guess it kinda is? (I've never seen that show) Basically, there's TONS of water, thant is all sprayed, misted, shooted, through the air, and has color in there somewhere, sometimes the water takes shape and Disney movies are projected on it, along with Disney music. There are happy moments, heartstrung moments, (is that even a word?) and crying moments. So, here we go! (also, this is the FIRST post I have gotten to lazy and sick or resizing photos, so they may be large, although they are taken from my Iphone...)

And that's it....LOL, of course not!! I just have too many pictures...so, read on!

 

[katt789]

And there's the show! Now, what did I think of it? Seriously, the most incredible show I have seen, EVER, absolutely amazing, beautiful, stunning, emotional LEGENDARY!! I DIED!! SERIOUSLY!! I am going to include a link to the current video in HD of World of Color, and I seriously suggest you watch it, it's half an hour long, but it's SOOOO worth it!

World of Color <-- Click me!

I die, every time, I was sooo soo soo close to crying (I think if I wasn't solo, I probably would have cried, but being alone that just seemed a little weird. I wished I had had someone with me to talk to about it as I left the park, share our thoughts on how amazing it was. The 3 parts that got me the worst were the very very beginning (and if you don't want anything spoiled, skip past this next part)


are during the Lion King King scene, there's the stampede, and after the stampede, everything goes black, silent, there's no water going, and you just hear Simba going "Dad? Dad!?" and your heart breaks. Then near the end,there's a song "so close, yet so far away" and there's a "so close....." and Belle collapsed over the Beast going "I love you" "yet so far" and the finale starts and I'm all "ASDNMDFOGSNDFNDJFNDFMDFA?!?!?!ewfa" Pretty much...I die...every time! Tearing up thinking about it!



So yeah, you should probably watch that video, and if you are in DCA, GO WATCH THE SHOW!!! As I exited DCA, I figured it would be a good time to go check out some of the shopping in World of Disney in Downtown Disney, so I headed there before home. I bought a couple of things, but took some pics of the adorable kids clothes I found (and things I am SO buying for my kids!)

Some adorable options for little boys, and some for girls:

Then costumes! I seriously find that there are some of the costume dresses that look better when smaller (such as Belle) I find once it's in a bigger size, because of the layering, it just doesn't look good. Here are the ones I love the most!!

After wandering though DTD I headed home for some sleep!! It was my last day in the parks tomorrow, and I had a lot to accomplish!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I have heard great things about that show. I haven't seen it yet, but I don't want to watch it online either, because I want to see it for the first time in person. I was soooo tempted to watch it, but I resisted.

I would totally cry like a baby.

 

[shan23877]

Wow! Sounds incredible! I may watch the video (but Maddie is still awake and since we share a bed now, she'd never go to sleep if I watch it now )

The show at the Bellagio is NOTHING like that. At the Bellagio, it's basically just fountains choreographed to music, like the fountain of nations. If you've seen Ocean's 11, that's what the guys are watching at the end.

I loved that Tiana dress, but couldn't talk Maddie into it at the BBB either time. It's so beautiful! But, the Tiana dress that I made her is really close to that one, so that made me feel good!

 

[katt789]

I have heard great things about that show. I haven't seen it yet, but I don't want to watch it online either, because I want to see it for the first time in person. I was soooo tempted to watch it, but I resisted.

I would totally cry like a baby.

I believe you! Watching it in person is just so amazing, and I've definitely been watching Disney videos and have someone who's going on an upcoming trip be all "I wanna watch" and I'm all "NO!! YOU HAVE TO SEE IT IN PEERRRSSSOOONNN"

yup...basically..

 

[katt789]

Wow! Sounds incredible! I may watch the video (but Maddie is still awake and since we share a bed now, she'd never go to sleep if I watch it now )

The show at the Bellagio is NOTHING like that. At the Bellagio, it's basically just fountains choreographed to music, like the fountain of nations. If you've seen Ocean's 11, that's what the guys are watching at the end.

I loved that Tiana dress, but couldn't talk Maddie into it at the BBB either time. It's so beautiful! But, the Tiana dress that I made her is really close to that one, so that made me feel good!

Gah! It is fantastic! Hhaha!! That would definitely keep me up, whether I'm her age or my age lol! I did know that! (the ocean's 11 thing) I think it was just when someone was all "what is this thing even?" somebody would reply with "like the bellagio show but more awesome" Yup, so much awesome!

GAH! I want the Tiana dress, I would totally be Tiana for halloween if I could!!

 

[katt789]

I woke up with visions of magical color still running through my brain, seriously, SUCH an amazing show, I was still so in love with it the next day. I dressed quickly, put on some sunscreen, and headed out for a full day at Disney Land, considering it was now during the week, I figured the crowds wouldn't be as high, good plan? Well, we'll see!

I got into DL pretty quickly, it wasn't quite 9 o'clock yet, so I stopped on the corner of Main St & the hub at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe and grabbed some breakfast, a ham and cheese quiche, and a cup of fruit, along with a coffee of course!

It was pretty good, especially considering how much egg goes into it, and I'm not a huge fan of egg stuff, unless it's covered in ketchup (which I didn't do) and I liked it! Yay for new taste buds?! Haha!! The fruit was great, nice and fresh and delcious. With my tummy full of yummy breakfast, and my coffee being sucked down, I headed toward Fantasyland, I had some rides to ride before the crowds got too big.

I started with Mr Toad's Wild Ride, it was only a 10 minute wait, and I was in right away!

My verdict: HOW is it a kids ride?! I seriously was uncomfortable in some parts, I wouldn't want to be a small kid on that ride, I just found it freaky. Up next, another one of the dark rides, Snow White's Scary Adventures.

That last one is kinda hard to see, but you can just see the evil queen and the lightning bolt, and I thought it was a nice shot, so there’s that! Haha! It was definitely different than the WDW version, I definitely didn’t like it as much either, it was scarier, darker, and in the forest scene, the trees were animatronics and would move around and come towards you in the darkness. Freaky!

With that, I was basically done with Fantasyland, kinda sad I know, but there wasn’t much else I was really interested in, so back over to Frontierland it was, and back to one of my favourite rides of DLR.

I tried to get some good shots while I was waiting in line, and it wasn’t a long wait either! Such an awesome ride, I hope some of the refurb it’s going under in WDW is bringing it up to par with DLR’s, that would be great! One thing I wasn’t the biggest fan on, was how much you slide around in the seat while riding solo. Since I was right around the area, I jumped back over to another one of my favourites, Pirates of the Caribbean!

I love the architecture of the outside of the building, it’s just so beautiful, I would LOVE to go into the suite (I’m 98% that it’s up there somewhere, the suite that was built for Walt & his family to stay in while they were there? Someone feel free to correct me on that one) BUT if it is up there, I’d LOVE to see it!

The wait was only about 5 minutes posted, and wasn’t any longer than that. It’s SOOO dark inside there, I still can’t get over it, and all the animatronics are just incredible! I wrote in my TR journal at this point that “it’s le burr out, I want my pants…oh wait…I can get back to the hotel & back in under 10 minutes!” however I simply hoped it would warm up, so I wouldn’t have to wait any park time running around, it was sure to be warmer later in the day. I quickly circled around to see if any of the Mardi Gras friends were out…they weren’t….sad face. Oh well, Haunted Mansion was right around the corner, let’s go there next!

I made an observation at this point that there are a LOT of young parents, I’m talking, mid to late 20’s with 3-6 year olds, that would be like me having a kid now…and these families/parents didn’t look like they were struggling or anything, they all looked rather well off, oh well, maybe it’s just the LA crowd? Who knows?! I got stuck on HM for a very short period of time, it was no worries for me.

I headed through into Critter Country just to check everything out, Splash Mountain had a 10 minute wait, and as I stood there watching some logs go down, I noticed that everyone had private cars, and there were a lot of empty ones, no one wanted to get wet on this cold morning (including me!) Since it was my third or fourth morning of getting up SUPER early in the morning, I was starting to crash (already, I know!) so I stopped at a churro cart to grab a snack and a diet coke. In case you didn’t know what a churro looks like, here’s a picture of one:

Pooh and Tigger were out bouncing around (and they were doing something adorable right before I snapped the picture, I was trying to get a picture of it, but JUST missed it and now, can’t remember what it was, ha!)

When I finished my snack, I figured, “Hey, why not? You only live once, right?” And jumped on Splash…would it be a good choice? Well, I was seated in the front…there’s your first bad sign….and then got absolutely soaked, we’re talking DRENCHED on the way down into the laughing place. Since you are sitting single file, the water came up on BOTH sides of the log, and I was just plain wet, all over, including my bag, and I was wearing jeans. It was time to go back to the hotel. It was already a chilly day, it was just too wet and cold.

You can’t really see how wet I am in that picture, but it sure is wet, ugh. Worst ever. Actually, that’s a lie, the worst ever was that my BAG was soaked (and by the end of the NEXT day it was still wet, I had to put it in the dryer the day I got home to attempt to try it). I had to head back into the parks without one later, just my wallet, camera, and phone. Well, let’s hope the afternoon would be warmer and dryer!

 

[Am588]

I'm really enjoying your TR! Great job!

 

[katt789]

I'm really enjoying your TR! Great job!

Thanks!! I'm glad you're here to enjoy and you're liking it!

 

[katt789]

Alright, so you guys are going to have to bare with me, not only is the TR (finally) almost over, but I only have about 15 pictures for the rest of the day. I did a lot, but didn't photograph it, I think I was kinda over it by this point, so there'll be a lot of talking, but not too much visual stuff haha!

I had last headed back into the parks (California Adventure to be specific) without a bag, and had considered buying one, as I'd seen some cute Ariel ones, but with me being me, I'm just too picky (and really prefer cross body bags now) so I figured I wouldn't waste my money and just stick with my pockets.

Next, I headed over to Tower of Terror! The wait time was still super low, so I jumped in line, rode, and jumped right back in line again! The second time, the cm running the ride was clearly new or something; he didn't check the seatbelts as securely as everyone else does, and it took a while for the doors to close, which just made me uncomfortable. The last ride I want to malfunction is the one where I'm supposed to be falling to my doom.

After that shaky experience, I figured I'd try something more tame, and headed for Monster's Inc, but it was closed I didn't get to watch my favorite monsters save the day again! Oh well, I DID get to see a tribute to all nations, but mostly America! (Also known as the Muppets!) I made it just the nick of time and thoroughly enjoyed it, as per usual!

At this point I figured I had done enough exploring around DCA, and walked over to DLR for some more over there (although I would be staying far away from Splash this time! ) Just as I walked under the train station, I saw that Donald was out! Heck yes! My favsies! Now, here was another awkward cm moment, as I reached the front of the line, I started to hand my camera to the handler, and she went "you want me to hold it?" no...I want you to take my picture with it....really?! Okay...people really weren't used to solo travellers.

With a street full of magic ahead of me, I put the incident behind me and headed down Main street, stopping in a couple of shops and flipping through a bunch of non-fiction books. I love to read/learn all about Walt Disney/his life/how he created the magic he did, and I really wanted to buy all of the books, but with held my urges, my wallet couldn't handle it right now, haha! It was around this point that I turned on my camera to check the picture of Donald & I...and a message flashed saying there was no memory card, and the picture hadn't been taken! OH NO!! I really wasn't happy, especially since I then tried to take a picture, and the message flashed right back up, the cm had seen, and not cared...really?....not impressed.

It was time for lunch, I had had enough, maybe I was getting hangry (hungry angry), so I headed back to French Market.

I got the Roast Beef Royale; it was a little bit too well done for my taste, but still good. The potatoes weren't as good as I remembered from the first night, I definitely should have gone for the chicken again. The cornbread, A++ Yay!!

....And now that I've given you one picture, I'm going to stop so this update isn't ages long....

 

[katt789]

After I finished my lunch at French Market, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I wandered back around to meet some more princess! The wait was posted at 45 minutes, and I got in line around 2:52, and played some games on my phone while I waited. I noticed that there are seriously SO many things that amuse children, you can occupy them by just letting them run in circles, and most parents would start yelling at their kids once they left the single file line, like, let them be kids, they'll probably cry less. I dunno, my opinion haha. Soon enough, it was my turn to make new friends, first up, Cinderella!

She was good, she honestly looked so much like one of the girls I used to work with at the theatre, (she wasn't) it wasn't something I noticed until I was looking through all the pictures later though! Belle was next, she was the same as lunch the previous day at Ariel's Grotto.

And last was Tiana again.

I was in and out by 3:20, so the wait was just under what was posted! Yay! This afternoon I was really just wandering, I knew I still wanted to ride the Alice in Wonderland ride, and should probably check out Tomorrowland at some point, so I headed that way. I noticed that the hub was all roped off, found out it was for filming (some had been roped off the day before too) I later found out it was for the Modern Family episode! Yay!

I wandered through Tomorrowland a bit, but didn't end up riding anything, but took some pictures on my way back to the corner of fantasyland.

Alice's ride was up next! It was posted as a 20 minute wait, and I figured this was shortest it would be all day, so I got in line, killing time with Diner Dash yet again haha.

I actually ended up loving the ride! Although you never actually see Alice, and you see the mad Hatter once, it was still awesome. I guess it's kinda from Alice's perspective. On this ride (along with Mr Toad, & Snow White) I made the decision that I would never want to be any level of intoxicated at Disney, I could never imagine anyone who would do drugs and then go into the park, that's just asking for a freakout! Hahah!!

I cut through the castle back to the hub to head over to the Plaza, I had seen red velvet cake there the day before, and seriously wanted some, and that's exactly what I did!!

It was good, not dry, but not moist, definitely no Starring Rolls cupcake, that's for sure! It had weird icing bits on it too that I didn't really like, but it was red velvet! And one of my treats of the day! It was nearing the end of the afternoon, when I had been told to go back and check if Flynn was out, so I headed that way, and unfortunately, the cm said he wasn't (yeah, that's right, if you ask, they will tell you if he's in there or not...) At this point, I was pretty much done with DL, so I headed out, stopping for some autograph books and pin trading starter kit for my mom & I when we go to WDW in Sept (downside, noticed the other day that the autograph books have "Disneyland" written on them...whoops).

Surprise! I jumped over to DCA one last time for 2 more rides on Tower of Terror! Haha! The wait was still non existant, but my hips were absolutely killing me (I have arthritis in them...damn all that dancing!) and I just couldn't deal with it anymore, so back to the hotel it was! I packed, and napped til just past 7 pm, where I decided I'd head back out for my absoulte favorite discovery of the trip, World of Color.

I headed to Paradise Pier, grabbed a hot chocolate to stay warm, and a corn dog to eat (whoops, 4 treats in one day...haha). And picked a spot to watch the show. Ugh. Seriously. The GREATEST thing I have ever seen, it is BY FAR my favorite nighttime show, I would go back to DLR for JUST that, I really really really wish they could figure out a way to have it at WDW, that would just be awesome.


And that, my friends is the end of my trip. I apologise that the TR took absolutely forever, and it was kind of winding down in info and stuff at the end, I just kinda sucked at this one. All in all, DLR was Disney, and I had some great moments, some wonderful discoveries, but never once felt as at home as I did in WDW. I know most of it was the way that some people acted towards me because I was solo, and I do my best not to let that bug me, but it just wasn't as magical as at WDW where it was completely and totally acceptable. Would I go back to DLR? Yes (especially since I have the pass haha) but it would have to be with someone! Disney is Disney, and is magical, but I just find a greater home in Floridia, but everyone has their favorites, and they are always different.

I would definitely recommend the Ramada Maingate to ANYONE, it was super close, and super nice for what I paid, a good hotel, it was also nice to have the continential breakfast as well, even if it wasn't much!

I hope all of you have enjoyed reading along, and if you want to continue on Disney journeys with me, feel free to check out the "Year of PTR/TRs" in my signature for more adventuring!!

Have a magical day!!

 

[Monica D]

Great trip report...I loved it!

I'm sorry people weren't more friendly. Now, if we sat next to you at DL (especially my mother in law, who makes friends with EVERYONE), we would definitely talk to you and probably invite you to hang with us!

And can I just say how cool it is that you went alone (and still did everything you wanted)? You are brave, girl! Wish I had the (you know what) to do that.

I look forward to reading many more great trip reports!

 

[wiscbugs]

Great report (along with all the others you've done). So when's the next trip?

 

[katt789]

Great trip report...I loved it!

I'm sorry people weren't more friendly. Now, if we sat next to you at DL (especially my mother in law, who makes friends with EVERYONE), we would definitely talk to you and probably invite you to hang with us!

And can I just say how cool it is that you went alone (and still did everything you wanted)? You are brave, girl! Wish I had the (you know what) to do that.

I look forward to reading many more great trip reports!

First off, I apologize for not replying earlier! Haha! And hey, it's okay! I went alone, I had an awesome time, and did pretty much everything and it was still worth it in the end! haha

Great report (along with all the others you've done). So when's the next trip?

Thanks!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! My next trip after the DLR one was in April, and another quick 2 dayer in July (check my signature for links!) I'm also going back for a long trip in 4 days (there'll be a link to that in the April TR)