adSimba’s Impossible trip

[ADLFAN]

I love your report so far! It is so hard not to tire yourself out in those first few exciting days, isn't it? We are bringing 3 kids ages 6, 7, and 8 in early September and I really plan to take a good 3 hour break every hot afternoon at the pool or taking an air conditioned nap. Otherwise I'm afraid they'll be too beat and not want to go to Disneyland! ☺

 

[adSimba]

I think that is a good plan... it would have helped me... no two kids are alike, but for the most part 'C' didn't seem to be any more tired than any other day, even though he work up earlier, stayed up later and walked all day, I was tired, but CinderellaLove was exhausted by the end of day 2. 'C' also liked scarier rides than I or CinderellaLove...

Oh to have the endurance of a child...

my biggest problem is that time seemed to simply float away, we would go on two rides that were close to each other, with short lines (less than 20 min each), and somehow after the second, it was 2 hours later! that was my biggest frustration of the trip, I swear I used to ride tons of things in the first few hours the park was open.

also, you picked the other best time of the year to go! good choice. Probably on purpose, early September is when people are afraid to take their kids out of school so crowds should be much lower, but still great, just cooler than summer weather, (more on that in future posts)

 

[adSimba]

Chapter 11: Time for a break: Wednesday May 13th

CinderellaLove and I have always disagreed on one thing, I LOVE breakfast buffets,. and she hates them. I'm sure that I am partly influenced by untold amounts of breakfast meats. (as a child in a family of 8, you got one sausage link or were lucky to get 2 strips of bacon) I think that in the 10 years we've been married I've only ever compelled her to eat at a breakfast Buffet a few times in Reno, with one enormous exception... Disneyland Character breakfasts.

In my eyes, if we don't have enough money to do one on our trip (they are pretty expensive, the bill for this one was $105) we don't have enough money to go to Disneyland.

We ate at the Lilo and Stitch Aloha breakfast back in 2007 or so,

but we haven't been back to the paradise pier hotel otherwise since. As far as I can tell it all looks about the same, just different characters (besides stitch, poor Lilo).

well and the addition of Chilaquiles which while looking a bit horrifying were amazing

I'd remembered hearing the trip report from the DisUnplugged which said you need to get these and rush to get the tomato avocado salad on top. It made them perfect and a new all time favorite Disney food, even for CinderellaLove who got seconds, a thing unheard of for her and buffets at all.

we were quickly rushed by my favorite Disneyland costumed character.

who took a shine to (and a lick of) 'C'. Originally we had planned on a different breakfast location, but I found that Stitch could only be reliably found here, so our choice was made for us.

Later on, I kind of forced a moment with Stitch, (because I'm 7 years old, and wanted a turn)

He then noticed my Doctor Who/Stitch shirt. He started to make a bid deal of how much he loves the Doctor. and I told him I had the **** custom made because I loved him and the Doctor so much, (and nobody makes cool shirts in tall) he thought that was pretty awesome

We had a moment to eat, and soon Minnie and Daisy came by!

'C' got kisses from them both, and turned his attention back to his croissant, the restaurant had a 'dance party', and he was a little shy to get involved. I was glad he was eating. Since we had all gotten to our second plate (perhaps more for myself) the waitstaff decided it was a good time to bring us a treat!

a simple but tasty chocolate cupcake with a dark chocolate ganache-like frosting. a simple thing for our anniversary, but it did indeed make us both feel quite special.

When we were done, we saw Pluto across the room, I know it is bad form to 'hunt' down a character at a meal, but we had been there over an hour, and after getting told that many characters he would want to meet when we asked him (like Remy, who is at DL paris) are not at Disneyland 'C' decided that he most wanted to see Pluto.

Fortunately Pluto was on the other side of the room, were there were almost no guests, so, nobody got put out, and Pluto licked him too, he must have tasted good that day. Then the dance party started again, 'C' was already a few feet away, he walked up towards Stitch, who he had met before

Stitch waved him over and 'C' joined in!

Gosh, I love him! (both hims)

we proceeded to Downtown Disney (which was confusing on how to get to from the Paradise Pier Hotel) and looked at a few shops, 'C' had been agonizing on which hat to buy for the past few days (I had been making it hard for him, because I was sure he would not put up with a hat) and finally he settled on this one

It looked great on him for the 5 minutes that he was willing to wear it. We made him wear it longer until he gave up and said we could have it, because he was not even willing to carry it anymore, and it went so well with his shirt and everything... oh well.

I also saw a shirt that I would have bought in an instant, if only Disney made things in tall

(I have a long time history with my brother involving Chip and Dale, I am Dale, and proud of it!) I'll just have to see if I can make one of my own...

Soon after I finally got to go to the Wondergound Gallery. I've been wanting to make it there since I first heard of it.

CinderellaLove and I desperately wanted to own just about every single thing in the store. In the end I settled on this

a pseudo concept art print by SHAG, I love how it incorporates so many wonderful things from Disneyland in one idea, in a bright happy way.

now, Finally! poor 'C' got to go to the store he had been dreaming of since he learned of it years prior.

The Lego store!

'C' Was duly impressed by the massive Lego creations, he went for as close a look as he could

He bought a Minecraft Lego set, which was probably his best purchase of the trip.
then While CinderellaLove and I sat for a rest, he participated in an outdoor Lego race car activity with other children

It is awesome that they have things like that for children.

Finally, before heading back to the hotel for a multi-hour nap, we did something only few have ever done,

we went to the California Churro Cart and got one of everything!(except plain and the ice cream sandwich which was met with mixed reviews) From left to right; Pineapple, Red Mango, Pumpkin Spice, Apple Cinnamon, Strawberries and Cream, Salted Caramel, and at the bottom, the Oreo churro.

This is actually the photo the California Churro Cart guy took for the company instagram account.

for review:
Pineapple, was fine but tasted nothing like pineapple
Red Mango, like all other mango foods, besides actual mangoes, just tastes like generic sweet fruit
Pumpkin Spice, was mostly cloves, with a strong cinnamon background
Apple Cinnamon, was mostly nutmeg with a strong cinnamon background
Strawberries and Cream, did have the slightly bitter taste people on Yelp have mentioned, but was strongly strawberry anyway, and the bitter taste was completely hidden by the Oreo cream,
Salted Caramel, was my absolute favorite, especially with the Oreo cream, it tasted exactly like what was offered.
Oreo, on the website was listed as tasting nothing like an Oreo, I don't see how people thought that, it was just like an Oreo to me. especially with the cream. probably the best non traditional Oreo, Oreo product I've ever had.

Also for full disclosure, the only churros we finished completely were the Salted Caramel and Oreo, the rest were at least a third to a half left when I threw them away.

it sounds wasteful, but at $4 each ($5 for the Oreo one) this came in at less than 1/2 the cost of our Pizza port meal, and would have been enough for lunch for 1 or 2 more people easily. (also I got to use the Oreo cream with all of them!)

Coming Soon: the Chef's Counter at the Napa Rose! stay tuned.

 

[adSimba]

Chapter 12: Napa Rose Chef's Counter: Wednesday May 13th

Being somewhat refreshed by our afternoon nap, (but still rather full from those churros) it was time for the most anticipated meal of our trip (and perhaps my whole life)

My family sat at this counter

it's the closest one to the entrance, not that that means much, it was in front of the cold service preparations.
Our Server was Rodney (the head server, and he deserves it). If you look up "Rodney Napa Rose" on Google you will hear all about how awesome he is. Honestly I think he is the best server I've ever had anywhere, ever.
We really looked forward to enjoying the “Tasting Menu.” As I mentioned before, we are die hard foodies and there is little that can put us off, except extreme spice, caffeine (CinderellaLove is allergic, but it wouldn't have been an issue anyway, nothing was made with coffee) or alcohol (CinderellaLove has been through AA and I have no problem being a teetotaler). We were assured that these things would not be an issue, and they were not.
Ironic to the last statement, one thing I was really looking forward to was the flight of three non-alcoholic "wines." Sadly, we came to the park the day after the Tinkerbell half marathon and, because runners want to be at the top of their game, many, many of them went with the non alcoholic flight with their meals. Rodney did not think that they had had a chance to replenish their stores yet (only 3 days later) but sent a server to check the wine cellar.

When Rodney came back as we were served our amuse bouche, he sadly informed us that there was no Navarro Vineyards Gewürztraminer, but there was still the Navarro Vineyards Pinot Noir Grape Juice. As a consolation, and because we were wearing our anniversary buttons, he gave us complementary Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Juice.

Our amuse bouche was a Parmesan Cheese Pouffe with a marscapone filling, placed in a Sungold tomato sauce and garnished with garlic flowers. This was the only thing that we all received which was the same, we all enjoyed it's sharp Parmesan flavor, and marveled at how it was indeed so puffy.

While 'C' ate his Pouffe Rodney came by with a large stack of Disney Coloring pages and real Crayola crayons (it's fancy here, none of that RoseArt garbage)

He asked 'C' what he thought about the park and later in the meal complemented his artistic abilities. He was probably by our table every 20 minutes or so and each time spent a minute or 2 talking with 'C' in this picture is how 'C' felt when riding, and after riding his favorite ride, TOT.

CinderellaLove and I enjoyed the atmosphere while Cecilia and her cohort prepared appetizers for a special party (I think it was wedding related)

I forget his name, when I asked questions she was very forthright, he tried to use very erudite cooking terms. I asked if he was filling something with mascarpone, he started to go into some detailed explaination about something and Cecilia cut him off and said, 'yes, it is a herbed mascarpone cheese, the thing am using is a plain mascarpone." One thing they were preparing this:

It is the Seven Sparkling Sins, and everything looked so fun and delicious. CinderellaLove and I teased about how we really wanted that (of course it was a $45 appetizer to share, so we did not anticipate getting one as part of a $100 meal)

Soon our first course (appetizers) came,

I got the Tender Mediterranean Octopus Carpaccio, served with Fingerling Potato (basically it was a potato salad but there were only 2 small pieces of potato, surrounded by pickled vegetables), Green Garlic Coulis, and Red Fresno Chile Vinaigrette
It was fine, even good, but not something I would order again, CinderellaLove found it more enjoyable than I did.

She however got this

Three of the Seven Sparkling Sins, a Seared Ahi Nacho, Shrimp in Cucumber Wrap With Lemon Dill Creme, and a Curried Crab Taco

These were all AMAZING! so delicious, hers was much better than mine.

'C' got his dinner at the same time too,

a Cheese Pizza with Fire-roasted Roma Tomato Sauce. Rodney managed to secure some peperoni for 'C' as a treat, as it was not on the menu.
it was a fairly large personal pizza, probably 7 inches. CinderellaLove and I both tasted it and enjoyed it, but it seemed to be a blend of at least 60% Parmesan/Romano/Asiago cheese to perhaps 40% mozzarella, giving it a very distinct and mature flavor for a children's menu item. 'C' however has odd tastes and strong flavors are not a problem.

Soon our second (Fish) course was served

I received the Sautéed Sustainable Fish of the Day, that day it was Sea Bass, with
Applewood-smoked Bacon, Castroville Artichokes, and Sungold Tomato Sauce (again my side item was basically potato salad, this time served hot) it was mostly Yukon gold potatoes, but the bacon was amazing as was the bass. next to the fish is a Sungold tomato, slightly stewed, a very nice bright accompaniment to the heavier rich flavors on the plate.

CinderellaLove got a Pan Roasted Diver Scallop (the menu item contains 2) on a sauce of lobster and lemon accented with vanilla. While this was being prepared I asked what the tall decorative item was, Cecelia said it was basically a Ruffles potato chip. (I love her she is great) The scallop was cooked well, CinderellaLove said it was perfect. We agreed that the sauce from this is the best thing we ate at Disneyland, and one of the best things we have ever eaten ever. Rodney said it would be a crime to waste any and suggested that we dip our bread in it to get every drop, we did.
While he was with us, he then brought out a bottle of the Navarro Vineyards Pinot Noir Grape Juice

at first taste neither CinderellaLove or I were very fond of it, I thought that the juice was exceedingly sweet, and had overpowering tones similar to prune, or pure cherry juice. Definitely a sipping "wine" (it was funny they always referred to it as our wine, even though the bottle says juice).

It did make for a beautiful photo.

While Here Rodney continued his conversation, skillfully distracting 'C' and helping him to endure a multi-hour meal. He asked 'C' to draw a picture of the TOT and complemented him on how much detail he put in, to be fair, it is pretty good for a 6 year old.

At this time we also received our intermezzo

a Mayer Lemon Sorbet. CinderellaLove and I have a deep fondness for Mayer lemons, Our first house had a Mayer lemon tree, and we grew to love the unique sweetness they have. Unfortunately they are difficult to find in California, if you don't have your own tree, and impossible to find in Idaho.

I suppose we did all received the same thing here too. A perfect moment in sorbet.

We then received our third (Entree) course

CinderellaLove got the Sonoma Rabbit and Forager Mushroom Risotto, with Golden Carrots, Sweet Peas and Grana Padano. It was very good, but we were suprised by how little rice was in the dish.

I got something that I forgot I had teased about as a worst case scenario, months prior, shortly before making the reservations, we had watched Ratatouille, and this was served

Sautéed Veal Sweetbreads and Morel Mushrooms served with Rainbow Carrots, Fava Beans and Orange Glaze.

I initially regretted not remembering this, but I wouldn't have said no. I knew if there was anywhere in the world that I would trust the preparation of sweetbreads, it would be here. The worst thing about eating these was the mental hurdle, fortunately my personal boundaries are week and I only hesitated a moment.

These had been seared and caramelized, while the exterior was almost crispy, the interior texture was extremely smooth, tender and moist, additionally the flavor was quite mild and creamy, almost like a naturally occurring mousse. The translucent brown sauce was much like a mild teriyaki, perhaps what teriyaki would be without soy sauce.

After this was our final savory course (the meat course)

CinderellaLove received Pan-roasted Angus Beef Filet Mignon with Braised Kobe Beef Cheeks, Fennel Puree, and Sonoma Mushrooms, all of the meat was incredibly tender and moist. The piquant fennel puree provided an interesting counterbalance to the heavier flavors of the beef.

I was served the Herb-roasted Colorado Lamb Chop and Braised Lamb Brisket, with Cumin-Cabernet Sausage, Spring Leeks, Preserved Lemon, and Mustard Sauce

In this I had a ten year desire come true, (it's an odd desire) but I had once been in a specialty shop in an obscure part of a Northern California city, they had house made minted lamb sausage, I really wanted to buy some, but at the time it was not feasible. I was never able to make it back, and I have never seen lamb sausage available anywhere else since. This dish provided me with an impossibly perfect idea of what it may have been like. The lamb chop, while more rare then I tend to eat my meat was also ideal. wonderfully complemented by both sauces, a mustard on top and a mint at the bottom.


It is interesting to note that during the meat course, both CinderellaLove and myself found our 'wine' to have completely different characteristics. It was light and delicious with this meal, and we understand why it would have been served as the final in the trio.

While we were enjoying our meat course, some Disney execs came by (there were many in the park all week) one came up to 'C' and started talking to him, I was distracted by my food, but a few minutes later when I looked at him again, I saw she was still there, but she had crouched to his level. I could not believe the time and attention he had received that night. I was afraid that he would be bored to tears, I was ready to let him play video games on my phone most of the night, but everyone was so concerned with his enjoyment as much as ours that he was never bored.

Lastly came our desert course.

I got the Wine Country Warm Country Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Buttered-oat Coconut Crust and Strawberry Sorbet

it was good, the top of the pie is what a Christmas butter cookie wishes it was. The rhubarb was wonderfully tart, but again CinderellaLove enjoyed mine a little more than I did, but I am hard to please, and often suffer from "I want what you are eating" syndrome.

CinderellaLove got the Peanut Butter Croquantine with Manjari Chocolate Ganache with Caramelized Bananas.

The penmanship on these plates was amazing, by the way. The beautiful spun sugar circle was the first thing I wanted to try and tasted horribly burnt. but everything else on the plate was fantastic, a perfect peanut butter mousse, with a delicious ganache, the bananas were understated, but as that is hard to do was it's own small miracle.

'C' got the Balboa "Beach Sand"

A Blue Tahitian Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée "Ocean" with Graham Cracker "Sand", some fun Fish and a Beach Umbrella! he did not enjoy the caramelized sugar but the presentation, and everything else he loved, especially the fish.

Rodney came once again to ask how things were, and 'C' mentioned how much he loved the Swedish fish. Rodney had a gift for him:

Rodney explained that he was from Hawaii, and that in Hawaii, turtles are a symbol of wisdom and longevity. It was a simple, but charming parting gift from him.

As we waited for our payment to be processed (it took a lot of gift cards) Rodney brought us chocolates

He also brought 'C' some extra Swedish fish.
Then our bill came back

I had to sign a receipt for every $50 gift card.
This was by far the most expensive meal I've ever had

As I mentioned in a previous post, I typically think that tips should not mean a person makes more than $50 an hour to wait tables. I did not feel so here, In my wallet I had $32 and I left it all, wishing I had more to leave him.

I have never had a more impressive dining experience in my life, every single thing was good (and there were many) some were the best I've ever had.

While I cannot make this a regular experience (and would not even if I could afford that) I absolutely think that this was the meal of a lifetime, and that anyone who has the opportunity should avail themselves of it. I look forward to having an excuse to do this again one day.

 

[wiscbugs]

Looks like an amazing meal!

 

[MommyJKM]

You only left a $32 tip on a $250 bill???

 

[adSimba]

You only left a $32 tip on a $250 bill???

As I mentioned in a previous post, I typically think that tips should not mean a person makes more than $50 an hour to wait tables. I did not feel so here, In my wallet I had $32 and I left it all, wishing I had more to leave him.

Also, that is a 13% tip, not like it's that far from standard

 

[ADLFAN]

I think it would be nice if we were like Japan and didn't have to tip anyone!

 

[ADLFAN]

That meal looks very interesting but I don't think my tastebuds have matured enough to appreciate it yet! Well, except the dessert!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That meal looks wonderful and for the quality and attention you got $100 seems more than reasonable - actually quite the value all things considered. Glad to hear your son was entertained - I would always worry that my child would get bored and one of these but seems like they made effort to ensure that was not the case.

Not sure if you saw it but as part of the 7 in 7 the podcast crew recently did they filmed at Napa Rose and they invited the crew back to film them prepare the Pan Roasted Diver Scallop - really cool to see:

 

[adSimba]

Once again super frustrated with the forum system, I spent a half hour on this one, and literally less than 5 minutes from when I hit 'save draft' my computer had errors and had to be reset. I came back to my work gone again....

 

[adSimba]

I think it would be nice if we were like Japan and didn't have to tip anyone!

I agree, but I don't get to change it unfortunately.

That meal looks very interesting but I don't think my taste buds have matured enough to appreciate it yet! Well, except the dessert!

LOL I doubted myself there for a bit too

 

[adSimba]

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted, but I am back ready to battle the system again more to come soon....

 

[adSimba]

Chapter 13: Plaza Inn Breakfast! Thursday May 14th

Sorry for being such a baby about this, I'm going to make it work this time! Especially since I have recently found that I am going to be returning for an unbelievably crowded Christmas at the parks.

Thursday started with the three of us being only slightly revived by the prior day's 'rest' if you can call it that. But eager to continue we headed out

glad to once again miss out on the decent hotel breakfast for something better. ... hopefully...
We got to the park during early entry, even though you are not allowed to go early with a CM because of rules. However when You have Reservations for breakfast, the rules bend for you

We met our Disney angel at the westernmost ticket gate to the park where with a little explanation (the computers were down and we didn't have printed reservations) we were let in to attend Breakfast with Minnie and Friends.

The photo op picture is fairly uninspiring with the lack of a character to stand by, but besides my hair being blown around this was one of our best group shots I think.

We rushed in because we had reserved the first reservation time of the day, there might have been 2 or 3 families let in before us, and I wanted to get the most advantage I could out of having the place mostly to ourselves.

I was not disappointed, the first thing we did (after we were seated) was look up and see the Fairly Godmother steeling herself for a day of smiling. (fortunately she did not see us see her before she was in character)

She was lovely and charming. When she saw C she asked why he wasn't at school. He didn't have an answer so I brazenly said that Disneyland was more important. She asked him how old he was and he told her '6' she started counting on her fingers and when she got to the second hand she said 'oh, so I guess that makes you more than a handful?' absolutely charming and adorable. .

We decided to go get some food before we missed anything else but then we turned to see

Chip! I believe I mentioned in a previous post, there is a very special place in my heart for Chip and Dale! I greatly hoped that Chip's goofier brother would show up soon as I had heard from random internet strangers that this breakfast was the one place a person was likely to get a photo with the two.

We rushed to get some food and got back just in time for a one on one with Eeyore!

CinderellaLove loves Eeyore so this was really special for us

We hurried to sit down to eat, when about 5 minutes later my favorite fellow from the 100 acre woods joined us!

My dad has a framed photo of Tigger and myself from a trip I made back in 98. C was beside himself with happiness about all of the characters who came to us! I was glad he liked the food because otherwise I don't think he would have gotten to eating anything!
A few bites later and out of nowhere Captain Hook came up and started trying to steal C's Sausages. LOL

It was funny because C seemed to be just slightly uncomfortable with Hook, but he was putting up a brave front.

After Hook wandered away someone else showed up:

We were glad to see Minnie It was her breakfast after all!
As C tucked into his eggs and croissant it was no bother to us to see Pooh!

When we finished taking photos with Pooh, I looked around and was delighted to see Dale!

We got a photo or two with him,

Then the most wonderful thing that could have happened, happened! Chip came over too!!!!

When I said I wanted a photo with just me and them they kindly obliged in their own special way

Before this trip I had known about this breakfast option, but never gave it a thought because I didn't want to 'waste' my early morning lowest crowd best temperature time of the day on eating, which I could do before coming in!
I have never been so wrong about a Disneyland thing before. The food was a solid grade B quality, much better and more variety than the hotel breakfast, which was good itself. But the character interaction was worth so much more than the 2 or three rides we might have gotten on in that hour.

But for us, the best part was we didn't have early entry so this all took place before the park opened to the public anyway..AND somehow all of that talking eating and photo taking only took us 45 minutes, we got out of the meal and were let into the park 15 minutes early and got to run to be almost first at the ride of our choice, which was Alice in Wonderland (the line for it had been oddly crazy the last few days) but that is for another post...

 

[dancin'bec]

Great trip report! Following along....

 

[adSimba]

Chapter 14: Rainin' on my Parade Thursday May 14th

This was the first time we have had a chance to go to Disneyland since the Alice revision, and we were all very impressed! we really look forward to seeing how Peter Pan turned out since it was still under construction during this trip.
The projection mapping was really impressive, sadly there was one scene where a computer was not working and it was showing a computer loading screen.

After the ride (the park was fully open by this time) we rushed to our favorite bathrooms in the park, where CinderellaLove took a dozen photos of the tile work

And I got the picture of C with the White Rabbit. As I believe I mentioned before, the park was full of execs who were making sure everything was perfect for the 60th anniversary, on our way to Small World I saw a group of them conversing and mentioned the projector issue. You might have thought I told them it was on fire, they asked which scene was missing, I had no idea, obviously, and they thanked me and ran as a group to fix it.

While I think my portrayal of them seems a bit cynical, I honestly was incredibly impressed that there attention to the guest experience was that important.

As the morning progressed the sky became darker and we rushed to the outdoor rides that we knew would close or at least be uncomfortable if ridden on when raining. First we hit Small World, since we were practically there

I think the ominous clouds add an interesting effect to the facade, and I can't say how much I love this ride more, now that classic Disney characters are incorporated. I remember reading about how die hard historians were aghast at the idea of 'blatantly commercializing the ride' but from the beginning I was eager to see these tasteful and subtle improvements.

My absolute favorite was the Lilo and Stitch addition (I am partial to him) but I loved the surfing motion, I also loved Aladdin an Jasmine on the carpet

Getting to look for these added a fun element to this somewhat long and predictable ride. I hope that the Christmas overlay can enhance this in some way.
After this we ran across the park for one more wet outdoor ride before the rain started. Splash Mountain. There was a 30 minute wait in stand by or a fast pass that started in 20 minutes. We elected to get the pass and ride Winnie the Pooh first.

C still cannot contain his excitement for being here. Also since we already saw all of the 100 Acre Wood folks at Breakfast, he didn't ask us to wait in line to see them! we then hurried over to Splash Mountain, it was now starting to sprinkle just a little bit but the FP line was less than 5 minutes.

After basically running through the line, we made it! on our own log. C really enjoyed the show part of the ride and didn't get too scared from the drop. Fortunately CinderellaLove and C were wearing their ponchos because right as we got to the bottom of the drop, the ride broke.... I don't have any photos from the 30 minutes we sat, and the rain started to pour, because my phone was in my pocket and I was wedged into the seat. but this photo I found is of the spot where we got stuck

you would think that the rock outcropping would have helped, but instead it just gave the water a centralized point to drop from, onto me. The seats were incredibly uncomfortable and everyone else (there were 4 or 5 packed logs near us) was getting just as grumpy as we were. Finally they stopped playing the laughing place music, which was getting really irritating. and then 10 more minutes later, they walked out to that little walkway area and helped us out of the boats. Everyone was soaked.
I did get the one benefit of walking on the ride and perhaps, but you know, probably not, touching the animatronics, and also the wall which may or may not oddly have been fuzzy and not hard like it looks.
Also I got these pics of back stage.

btw, that girls hair turned out perfectly.
When we got to the exit, the ride attendants were already tired of giving out special passes to angry people, but they tried hard to nice. it ended up being scanned into the bar code of my pass, so I didn't have anything else to hold. We then retreated, like many others to the underside of the Hungry Bear restaurant, we were grumpy and wanted to complain about things, but it was amazing that we found a table to sit at and regroup out of the rain.

The line for Haunted Mansion looked short, and said 10 minutes so we got in line, but it still took more than 20 minutes to get to the front. C loved it, but only after the stretching room, becasue of all of the screaming people. We got off and, even though we had spent a lot of time sitting, we were beat.

We decided that it would be best for us to go eat and spend more time in comfortable places out of the rain. We decided on Cafe Orleans,

BTW, in all of this rain on an 'off day' it never got less crowded.
We Shared a basket of pomme frites,

which we had loved before, but more so now with the Cajun Spice Rémoulade, ask for more it's amazing!
We also got both kinds of Monte Cristo

The standard, and

the Three Cheese. This was new since our last trip too. CinderellaLove and I differ completely on these, She is a purest, and only wants to eat the original style, while I was bowled over with how fantastic the 3 cheese was.

With our special pass to not wait in any line burning a hole in my pocket, we headed over to the Indiana Jones ride. we took the FP line and were on in less than 10 minutes. (mostly walking through the empty corridors of the long queue) Shockingly C, our intrepid fan of TOT, hated the ride because it was too scary. go figure. It started to clear up a bit and we trudged on. Jungle cruise had a 15-20 minute wait and we sat on wet seats

But the view was good and we still liked it a lot.

after this CinderellaLove was rather uncomfortably cold. and since we didn't pack any (as we were assured that it would never rain or get cold on our trip this late into May) we searched all over for a hoodie. She settled on this one

even though we were not happy to need to spend $65 to not be miserably cold, she has gotten great use out of it, and has worn it more at home than any of her other hoodies.

It was still cold out, but had totally stopped raining, so I grabbed some Big Thunder FastPass that were also close to the real time but a much shorter line than standby. I then went back to catch up with CinderellaLove and 'C' in Adventureland where we enjoyed the Tiki Room, with a Dole Whip.

C in now enamored by both, he even tried to replicate it in his room for over a month, (we have a plush parrot on a ring that hangs from the ceiling from a party we had years ago, and he would tap on the ring with a gift wrap tube yelling 'wake up Jose!)

We got in line for Big Thunder a few minutes early, the attendant didn't care so we were on it pretty shortly.

CinderellaLove and I both agreed that the extensive renovation was well worth it as the ride was amazingly smooth and comfortable. C loved it too. We did not however like the insanely loud explosion scene

the visual effects were great but the noise was awful. I held CinderellaLove's ears, and she held C's ears (I was behind them)

At this point, the fumes we were running on were nearly out. We crossed over to to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, because it had just opened from a referb that day.

and it was about 430, then we went back to our hotel (with a quick stop at Gibson Girl) and we were done for the day.

The day was however not totally done with us, that night, Disneyland closed at 7pm for fireworks testing, so at 8:30, we ran outside and saw this (more or less) from our hotel

The fireworks testing lasted at least a half hour. Then we went to bed.

 

[adSimba]

Update!!

I made a hoodie of that shirt I wanted from Disneyland

 

[dancin'bec]

Good job on the hoodie! Sorry about getting stuck on Splash Mountain. Some day it'll be one of those moments that you look back on and laugh!!

 

[adSimba]

Chapter 15: Last Day =( Friday May 15th

I wish I could say that going into this last day I was as eager as the first, but I was not, and CinderellaLove was less so, However C was still ecstatic, and we knew what we had gotten ourselves into. Anyway it was our last chance to go on our favorite rides from both parks!

It was still pouring when we arrived a little after rope drop

but this was the day that Sorin' had come back from it's lengthy referb so it was at the top of our to do list, to be followed by our favorite things.

as you can see, despite the new-ness of it all the rain did dissuade many people from this area of the park this early. We got inside quickly and were surprised to not see any visible changes to the interior. Thankfully Patrick Warburton was still the flight instructor.

as we got into the line there was just one space left, it was taken by a singe rider who I struck up a conversation with (I've never been able to understand the whole Disneyland alone thing I tried it once and was so lonely...) I heard him say hi to someone who he worked with, and asked him what he did, he said 'oh I work on this obscure children's show' to which I said 'my kid is 6, which one? I've probably seen it' and he told me he was a body double for a kid on the show 'Lab Rats'

(he fills in for Leo, the black kid).

I somewhat rudely immediately turned away from him to grab C, and let him know that I was talking to someone from his very absolute favorite (at the time) television show. C and this guy talked for a few minutes about the show and C told him about how he had us make him a body suit so he cold be Chase for the previous Halloween (the white boy in front) it was a mind blowing experience for C.

CinderellaLove and I both were terrified the entire time we were on the ride (I don't remember feeling that way before) but we both felt like we would fall out of the tiny harnesses and plummet 50-80 feet to land on hard cement, we did not enjoy the ride. and will only go on it one more time when they finally make it Sorin' over the World.

It was still raining and we hoped to see our Disney angel, who gave us tickets for this day the day prior because she had a morning shift. We had a gift for her and had plans to eat dinner with her that night at Blue Bayou as a way to say thanks. We also went to get out of the rain because she worked in the Animation building. (I rushed over to get FP for RSR again, hoping it would not be too late, I got one just before the closed due to rain.) We did another drawing class, this time it was piglet, and they didn't turn out quite as well...
We also caught Turtle Time with Crush, I think I have done this before but it was way more fun with C, I'm glad we were able to go while he was still young enough to be caught off guard and believe it is really him.

Crush was awesome, as expected, and really interacted with the kids and adults.

at this point the rain was starting to let up but it was still really overcast. we headed to C's favorite ride one more time
The Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror (he would get a little upset if we didn't say the whole name)

somehow we didn't get the ride photo from this one, which is a shame, becasue I will never go on it again.
I got a quick shot of the catch of the day

and we went to find food
We were all hungry at this point, but we wanted different things, so I ran with C to get a corn dog from Corn dog castle. CinderellaLove got a Chicken Bowl from the Lucky Fortune Cookery

which turned out to be incredibly disappointing (when we used to go to Disneyland more regularly they didn't keep this location open if it wasn't busy, and we didn't go when it was busy) we had been looking forward to eating here for like 7 years and it was only just OK.
Then they both came to eat with me at the Cove Bar,

Where I ordered the Lobster Nachos

without jalapenos, it was very cool of them to not only let my family eat the food from other locations at the table, but
PRO TIP! C got a free soda because he was a kid at a bar, we didn't even order any drinks.

These Nachos are one of the best things I have ever had. I have so many favorite Disneyland foods, but these fall into the top 7, which is really saying something.

it was now almost time for our fast pass at RSR so we headed to cars land the 'back way' which is definitely the most beautiful way to go

Anyway when we got there they had just re opened from the rain, so there was almost no line!
we walked through the fun queue and got to see things up close!

the line was maybe 15 minutes.
When we got off the ride the line was much longer, but we still had our Fast Passes!! and since they closed the FP machine after me, there was almost nobody in the FP line!
So we went again!

Knowing this was our last time in Radiator springs for this trip we caught a few more photos

and headed out, to make a quick stop at the Ghirardelli Ice cream shop

this is something that we needed to do this trip, since we aren't able to make it any more to the shops in San Fransisco or Monterrey Ca. C just got a simple scoop of Chocolate chip

and CinderellaLove and I got sundaes,

mine was 'The Strike it Rich Butterscotch Hot Fudge Sundae' it was too good to take a picture before half devouring it.
The Sun had quite fully come out by now and it was time to head to Disneyland!

 

[adSimba]

Chapter 15: Last Day (part 2) =( Friday May 15th

With delicious ice cream in our tummy's and beautiful weather finally coming back, it would be hard for anyone to not be having a great time, but upon our mid-day entry into Disneyland one of the most perfect scenarios happened!

CinderellaLove got to see Cinderella, with almost no line. Cinderella was astonished to see that CinderellaLove had her Cinderella/Doctor Who shirt on.

Cinderella of course loved it, and had a very pleasant chat with CinderellaLove. In which she and I were 'invited' to come back sometime and have tea in the royal courtyard. It was a very fun moment.

we then went over to Pirates of the Caribbean (which is CinderellaLove's favorite ride) and up to the Rabbit roundup, which by all rights should not have been happening, being so far removed from Easter, but I didn't care because it was great to get photos with so many Disney bunnies

I'd never seen Thumper in the park before so this was a big treat!

Rabbit is also fairly hard to catch, he really liked C

Rabbit even tried to keep him

but his handler made him let go
Then another rarity, the White Rabbit

who had much more time for us then he did for Alice

I swear Mickey and Pluto (in rabbit ears) were there too, but I cant find any photos of it.
We made a quick trip to the big thunder bathrooms (which people say are great but I thought were only good because they are hard to find) I took C on a quick ride on Big Thunder (one of my top picks) CinderellaLove stood that one out. And after that we had reservations soon for the Blue Bayou Fantasmic! package, we showed up about 20 minutes early (because that's when we agreed to meet with our Disney Angel) we got in 10 minutes later and had a perfect spot by the water

about right here, we waited for about 25 minutes before ordering, but after many test messages we did not hear anything from her as the meal was almost over she wrote and said that her schedule changed and she was working at that time... she texted on a break.

Honestly the food was only mediocre. the best thing was the 'free' dessert that came with C's food. the portions were small (not that we were that hungry) but the Mint Julep flowed freely and the view was awesome.

after this CinderellaLove took C to Rodger Rabbits Car Toon Spin as one of his top picks, and since I knew where to find her, and still had a gift we made for her (a bleach T-shirt with the outline of Idaho, where we are from) I hoofed it to the other park to deliver it.
On the bright side I was able to see a few parts of the SoundSational parade

When I got in the Animation Building, I asked for her and was told she was in the middle of a presentation, but should be done in about 15 minutes, I looked over and saw there was no line for the Anna and Elsa meet and great and thought it would be really funny so...

I went ahead, I think they thought I was creepy since I was alone, but I thought it was very amusing. Elsa, true to form was rather cold but Anna tried really hard to be welcoming, She asked about where I was from and asked if it snowed there, I said it did and she said maybe they would visit sometime, it was wonderfully awkward.

I then waited for a few minutes and she was incredibly gracious, I'm not sure if she liked it at all, or was just a good gift getter...

I ran back across both parks and caught them in Toontown, where we enjoyed Rainbow water and walked through Minnie's house for some calorie free cookies

But it was getting dark, and time to head to our seats at Fantasmic!
I tried to take photos but it was dark and all of my pictures were unrecognizable.

I've never eaten at the Harbor gallery before (though I hear the Lobster rolls are amazing) and so I had no idea how far we would need to walk to get to the entrance for the Blue Bayou seating. everyone made it seem like it was really close and I wish someone would have just said that it was across from the gates of Haunted mansion.We ended up only having one row of people in front of us. And waited only 20 or 30 minutes, It was well worth the price and time.

This was the thing I most looked forward to doing with C, and he was filled with as much wonder as I was myself with the fantastic show and all of the emotion that it brings.

Despite all sanity, we went back to our hotel right after the show and fireworks were over, we were exhausted and as sad as it was to be over, it was also nice to not need to keep walking like that anymore.