A trip of Firsts - Halloween Trip Report 2013 (completed 2/2/2014)

[Vala]

Day 3 – Friday 18th – part 1: It’s Friday

Our first morning without a character breakfast. Still up early and in front of the line. I can sleep when I am dead.



Upon entry (or maybe I better say us trying to enter) Andrea still doesn’t have a picture showing for her Annual Pass. We get it re-taken. If that helps finally, no problem.

Well at least this photo shows up, so fingers crossed….



Off to Pixie Hollow where we are the first visitors of the day. One doesn’t get waved in by Tink personally too often.





I like it when the Photopass people are on the ball and actually take pictures of you interacting with a character. Thankfully the Pixie Hollow people are top notch there most of the time.







Meanwhile there’s a CM at the entrance who tells us Iridessa has meanwhile joined Tink. Sure, let’s do another round then.













The line at the Royal Hall to meet the princesses is only 10 people deep – time to try there again as well.

We meet Aurora again







She’s joined by Ariel this morning.

 

[Vala]

Day 3 – Friday 18th – part 1.5: It’s Friday continued

Completing the cast as usual is Cinderella. (I think she was always on the announcement board when we passed through the area.)





Now that’s funny… I’ve met every regular princess but Snow White now. Looks like she’s limiting her stalking to France.

Originally the plan is to go on Small World. But when we stop at Pixie Hollow one of the CMs who meanwhile know us pretty well is at the entrance and tells us Fawn is about to come out. Okay, I guess all good things come in threes…







Tink really gets excited about the photo I took off her when she visited Paris.






Time for some rest. And where can you catch a break better than at the Royal Theater?

 

[scrpbookr]

I'm really enjoying your trip report! Thanks so much for sharing! I'm subscribing so I can ealsity follow along with the rest!

 

[Vala]

Thank you for reading along. I am glad you enjoy it.

 

[Vala]

Day 3 - Friday 18th - Part 2: Dream Theater

You may have noticed I have quite taken a like to the Royal Theater. The show is awesome, the seating is nice - All photos I am posting have been taken from different seats. We couldn’t really find an awful one – and not to be ignored: tasty food within reach too. Wonder if Maurice's gives discounts to regular visitors?





That’s the Garlic Cheddar Sourdough twist I was raving about earlier. Delicious. De-li-cious.





"Give me back my stranger!"
















Flynn and Rapunzel again don’t come out after the show.

After a ride on Buzz we decide to head on to Critter Country. Both my mom and my boyfriend’s mom love Eeyore. That means I can never come home with enough Eeyore shots.

Unfortunately the Pooh gang is on a break. The stores are really not crowded though and we find a nice CM who calls the character hotline for us. We’re still looking for Jack Skellington and Flik. Lucky us – Flik will be out today… in 10 minutes. 10 minutes from Critter Country to Bug’s Land…. I don’t think so. Not unless beaming technology is invented that is. But Jack is meeting near Haunted Mansion. Off we go!

Due to an insane line for Haunted Mansion it’s a little harder to find Jack than we expected, but a nice CM shows us where he has relocated to. Actually he’s at the Rivers of America now, but with a still decent line.



I’m hoping Andrea has that other for the camera we seem to me looking in. That or Photopass did not upload something and I didn’t notice it. Not too much of a problem anyway cause as soon as we have our photos the CMs announce Jack is leaving to get Sally. You know where this is going, right?









Andrea kindly keeps our spot in line while I run to get us a slot for Haunted Mansion which we go on after the pictures.

Afterwards it’s Pooh time!










As we found out shortly before our departure Minnie’s Fly Girls will be closing soon. JJ had been speaking very highly of it. We head over to DCA to check it out.

 

[Vala]

Day 3 - Friday 18th - part 3: Let's go fly a kite

On the way we pass the Mad Hatter and Alice playing Musical Chairs at Coke Corner and some chipmunks having fun with the band at the Firehouse Show.





At DCA Andrea’s pass still isn’t connected to her photo. Not. Funny. Anymore. ><

Heading for Condor Flats we meet our first of the Citizens of Buena Vista Street. I get to have a nice chat with Donna the Dog Lady. She is quite impressed when I guessed the name of her dog right.



Minnie’s Fly Girls.



An absolutely adorable show.

If you never had the chance to catch it I’ll give you a short rundown. Minnie is the pilot of an airline called “Minnie’s Fly Girls”. Her crew is prepping for the next flight with the help of Lee who's the head of the runway.

The show features several songs about travel or flying, for example the “Let’s go fly a kite” tune from Mary Poppins.













Very, very sad that it has gone away and I hope they bring it back soon.

Unfortunately Minnie doesn’t stay for pictures. At least the Photopass photographer is still at the plane. With the Planes borders even those shots look kind of cool, don't they?

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love how all the characters sign your drawings!! I even like the Planes borders.

 

[Vala]

I love how all the characters sign your drawings!! I even like the Planes borders.

Thank you. I love to draw and a couple of years ago I realized it would be an original idea to get drawings signed. I got some very good reactions from that too.

 

[Vala]

Day 3 - Friday 18th - part 4: Eyes of the Squirrel


The new plan is to ride Toy Story Mania. Note the word “plan”? When we walk through the Grizzly River Run area I spot more fur… the mighty squirrel hunter Dug is out to meet his fans!









As you can tell from the pictures there's really a lot of squirrels in that area.





Afterwards we check the schedule and realize it’s almost time for the Wilderness Explorers graduation ceremony anyway. We get a snack and decide to wait.



Our nice and helpful guide is still waiting for Russell to conduct the ceremony.



She asks everyone to keep an eye out for Kevin, but while some lucky people are able to spot her I never manage to get a picture. Yes, she’s really that fast.

Russell makes his way to us





and we take the Wilderness Explorers oath together.



After the little ceremony we all get our sticker to show we are now Senior Wilderness Explorers and Russell is happy to pose for pictures.



Andrea remembers I ordered something in Off the Page which we really badly need to pick up. Detour!

The Detour turns into a small roadblock cause Jake is meeting.







When the CM tells us Sofia is coming out soon traffic comes to a full standstill. Wow, that young lady gets a long line quickly.





I found it so nice that they have a princess border for her on Photopass.

 

[Vala]

Day 3 - October 18 - part 5: The Ugly Bug Ball

It’s easier to take the route through Bugs Land at the going rate. At Bugs Land we actually aim for the restrooms. Plans foiled again. What's moving over there? Antlers???? Flik!!! It’s amazing how fast the need for a restroom can be forgotten about. LOL









Finally we make it to Toy Story Mania. I’ll be getting hooked on rides if we contiue like this.

The pin trader route through Paradise Pier brings up a new trading board and a very intriguing sign at the Paradise Garden restaurants.



No pins there though. Shame, on our last trip we really had had a flood of lanyards there.

On the way to the exit we decide to stop, not having realized it’s already time for the Pixar Play Parade. I always love a good parade.















On the way out there’s Pluto and he’s in the mood to play.

 

[Vala]

Day 3 - October 18 - part 6: Big Parade


Disneyland is closing early because of the Halloween party. That’s why we made a reservation for Goofy’s Kitchen. Why no Halloween party you ask? Well, I’m a pin collector. If you are you probably have heard of the Disney Soda Fountain pins. Well, the Disney Soda Fountain is in Downtown Hollywood. As luck had it… the next day they had their annual Nightmare before Christmas event. As bad luck would have it: DSF was closed for refurbishments to a Ghiradelli store. That meant the event was in the El Capitan Theatre. Which of course was still operating with the normal show times. Translated to: my friends were going to pick me up at 2.30 AM. Character hunting until 1, pick up at 2.30, jetlag and trying to keep an eye on expensive pins adds up to “so not a good idea”.

We’re still running early for Goofys and decide to check if we can find an acceptable parade spot. It’s hot and sitting down in the shade does sound like a game plan. We park ourselves pretty much right across the parade route from our last “point of view.”













































Come on, you didn’t really think I’d let you off without at least one parade picture spam?

 

[Vala]

Day 3 - October 18 - part 7: Dinner time

Off to Goofy's Kitchen.

Turned out a number of people had the same idea we had... very busy.

But this time Goofy is at the photo stop.



Our first visitor is someone we have never met at Goofy's before: the Mad Hatter!





Striking a pose for my friend JJ.



Next up is Aladdin - I sure like those visitors today.





Then Pluto stops by.



Unfortunately this is followed by a longer break as we experienced it at breakfast too. I had spotted Minnie and that's why we were still waiting at that point. She's coming back from her break, but Chip makes it to our table first.





We decide not to wait for Dale anymore. It's almost 10 PM at that point already and I got an early start tomorrow. I'm sad to miss out on one of my favorites, but I at least need a little sleep.

 

[Vala]

Day 4 - Saturday 19th - part 1: Hollywood Hills

Ever wonder how Hollywood looks at night?

Well we didn’t venture too far off the path, but I can show you a picture of El Capitan Theater at 3.30 AM in the morning.



The line sneaks through a back alley a couple of times. Not exactly a place where I’d spend more time than necessary.

Due to the overwhelming demand that has been there for Soda Fountain pins lately they’re determining your place in the actual pin buying line by assigning you a random number drawing via raffle. Look at this unsuspecting newbie’s ticket.



In the end there’s actually less people in line than necessary to sell out the pins. But still a low number is nice, it means you get to trade earlier.

JJ saves me a spot at her table and I spend a couple of hours trading. It’s quite impressive what pretty current Paris princess pins can get you nowadays.

Traffic back to Anaheim is way more easy than we all expected. Andrea has gone off to take pictures while I was away and we want to meet for lunch at Flo’s Cafe. That gives me some time to go off and explore California Adventure.









The Newsboys are stopping for a performance.







It’s a cute little show. I liked Minnie’s Fly Girls better overall, but it does make good use of the surroundings of Buena Vista Street and fits the area like a glove.

JJ made me pinky swear not to go to Mad T Party without her. She’s been raving about T for 1.5 years, so that’s one promise I am definitely going to keep. The stage in Hollywood Backlot doesn’t really count as T Party, right? In the end I am almost lured too close when I spy something blue hiding in a place offering some shadow… Frozone!



Sulley’s line for the Monsters U shot is just being closed, but I am lucky and make it in the line as last person for an incredible duo!



(Finally get my drawings signed… yay!)





A couple of minutes later Sulley is back too.

 

[Vala]

Day 4 - Saturday 19th - part 2: Rockin' down the Highway


Back to Cars Land.







Mater is out meeting.





And I’m really lucky, Red is arriving too while I am strolling around taking pictures.







Yeah, I know… about to eat lunch and still this delicious smell lured me in. Churro Bites. So good.



Flo’s Café.



We went there cause the roast pork loin with Coca Cola barbecue sauce had really intrigued us.



That’s it, with a side of coleslaw and mashed potatoes. It was really good, though a bit different than I thought. Although I am not actually sure what I expected there. LOL

We also decided to share two of the desserts, the chocolate mud pie and the apple cheddar pie.





The chocolate cake was good, but the apple cheddar was our favorite hands down.

After lunch we ride Toy Story Mania again before making our way back to Disneyland.

On the way we finally catch Duffy at his spot in the cutest Halloween outfit ever!











That way back of course took a little longer than planned… always someone visiting on Buena Vista Street.

 

[Vala]

Day 4 - Saturday 19th - part 3: Return of the Jedi

At least there is good news: Andrea’s photo had finally materialized!

We’re on our way to Buzz, but the plans are foiled again. (Maybe I should have called this report “the one where all plans were foiled” instead. ) There’s a Photopass photographer coming towards us and he’s carrying something I haven’t seen with a Photopass guy in a while… a light saber. Star Wars magic shot!



We finally make it to Buzz. And I get the killer highscore.



That’s me in tied first place. I don’t quite know what hidden target I hit, but boy did I hit it.

Afterwards we’re off to the carnival. Martin was lucky enough to catch Maleficent, maybe we’ll be lucky too. Wait time is almost 40 minutes and when we make it in has grown to almost an hour.

It’s not Maleficent, but the Evil Queen again.



There’s another pin trader a couple of people in front of us. He has no pins of her on his lanyard and her Majesty does give him an earful about it.

I’m more lucky, especially when she discovers my Paris Evil Queen Pin Trading Night pin after inspecting my lanyard.



“You can stay.” Wait, does that mean I get to join the Royal Court?



More pumpkin pictures:













On our round through Fantasyland we bump into the Mad Hatter again.



Pixie Hollow has Tink and Iridessa meeting at the moment. I knew the chance to see Terence was really small after what we were told before. But you can’t blame a girl for trying, right?

Maybe the Fairy Godmother can help.



That’s a picture of the Rivers of America taken shortly after 4 PM. The first tier at the river was already full with people waiting for Fantasmic!



Off to Haunted Mansion before we go to have dinner at Carnation Café.





Three cheese Monte Cristo and La Salade de Maison. Both really good.

Another spin on Buzz and we’re done for the day. Lines are crazy. Busiest day of the trip by far.

We head over to Garden Walk to check it out. I guess it is probably too late in the day, but the mall (that’s what it is considered, right? An outdoor mall.) is practically deserted. We only see people lining up for a Halloween party in a club, that’s it.

On the way over we hear screaming from California Adventure all the way to Harbor Boulevard. Now I am seriously intrigued. Seems this is coming from the Mad T Party… which is where JJ will take me tomorrow…

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

This is good!!

 

[daisy_77]

Great trip report! Thanks so much for sharing

 

[Vala]

Thank you for reading along.

 

[Vala]

Day 5 - Sunday 20th October - part 1: Teddy Bear

JJ’s coming in today. As she’s driving in from the LA area she won’t arrive until late morning though. That means we’re alone for our first venture of the day… Storyteller’s Breakfast at the GCH.

A shot of the restaurant:



Extra waffles and pancakes:



Contrary to Martin and Amy we are lucky enough and Chip and Dale are there.









Chip is really cute – for some reason the pen I give him so isn’t working (and I had tested it before we left even) and when I start to apologize he proceeds to tell off the pen!

We also meet Meeko



Saying hi to Martin and Amy.



and the Brother Bear bears.







The breakfast is nice and we really like going there. Though again we can’t help but notice that the character number has gone down here too. Terk is missing and no guest star around either – we met anyone from Rafiki to the Brers there.

Off to the park.

The line at the pumpin for once is pretty small, so we join. As small as it is, it is moving very slow.



Then the photographer asks me “what do you do if I meet a dog for the first time?" Well that depends on the size… a childhood friend of mine was very badly bitten by a dog, so usually if I meet a big dog I’m going the other way. But I guess that is not the response he wants to hear. I go with “umm… let it sniff my hand?” That was the answer he wanted to hear. And look who appeared on my photo!



Halloween candy at the Candy Palace.









A quick Fantasyland check brings up Peter Pan and Hook near Pixie Hollow.



At Pixie Hollow Silvermist is with Tink, so we decide to skip that line.

We’re meeting JJ for the first set of the Dapper Dans. Meanwhile we take a quick peek at the Royal Theater to check out the crowds. Wait a minute, why is Flynn wearing a skunk on his head? That would be cause it’s not Tangled being performed, it’s Beauty and the Beast. The CM at the entrance informs us that all shows today are Beauty and the Beast. Okay, I guess there goes that part of the day schedule then.

After riding Buzz we find Stormtroopers roaming the area again.

 

[Vala]

Day 5 - Sunday 20th - part 2: If you go away

JJ is waiting for us at Market House. She’s not very amused either when we break the news about the Fantasy Faire shows to her. We wait for a while and wouldn’t you know it… no Dappers. We do a quick scan of the area, sometimes they switch locations. No such luck.

City Hall isn’t helping either. They tell us the Dappers may move around. Yes, so we noticed.

While JJ is off asking Mickey and the Disneyland Band finish their set at the train station.





Meanwhile it’s time for the second Dapper Dan appearance at Coke Corner. There’s already a couple of other fans waiting when a CM appears who catches on what we are waiting for and informs us that the Dapper Dans are not appearing today at all. Grrrr. We do find Mary Poppins at Coke Corner though, I guess that counts as success of some sort.



We decide to go on Haunted Mansion because JJ hasn’t seen the Holiday version yet.

After that it’s time to switch parks: off to DCA for Minnie’s Fly Girls – with a small stop at Coke Corner to take pictures of Musical Chairs.





The Fly Girls – last day.























JJ is our lucky charm, this time Minnie is coming out for photos.