TLinden16
Scotty and Ray at Jelly Rolls are the best!
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2002
- Messages
- 16,243
Day 5--Thursday October 13, 2005
I woke up early to bring my luggage over to the Grand Californian. I figured it would be easier to bring the luggage over before the parks and Downtown Disney opened, so I was out the door of my room at the Disneyland Hotel at about 7:00 a.m.
When I arrived to check in at the Grand Californian, the desk clerk called someone in the back and someone from VIP guest services came out to greet me. She had me pre-checked in, and told me that she had upgraded me to a pool view room. She assisted me with dropping my bags off with bell services. She took my cell phone number and promised to call me when my room was ready.
I then walked over to Disneyland, and got in line to get in the park. I have to say that the line to get in the park took forever once they opened the turnstiles. I always seem to pick the wrong line. There were maybe 50 people in front of me, and I didnt get in the park until 8:15.
Once in the park, I made my way back to Fantasyland, where I road Pinocchio and my beloved Mr. Toads Wild Ride twice. I then headed over to Tomorrowland and took a ride on Buzz Lightyear. I grabbed a fast pass for Space Mountain and headed over to ride the Storybook Canal. This ride was cute, but a bit lame. Great for little ones, I guess, but not worth the 15 minutes I waited in line for it. I then took a ride on the Matterhorn and the Alice in Wonderland rides (this was another cute little ride).
I grabbed a chocolate muffin at a cart, and made my way over to Adventureland. I took a ride on Indiana Jones, followed by the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. I then went and watched the Enchanted Tiki Room Show.
I then headed over to Blue Bayou for my lunch reservation. The line to check in was long and disorganized. There were a lot of people who were trying to get in as walk ins in the line. Both the guests and the cast members seemed totally confused. They really need to have separate lines for check ins and walk ins/people who want to make reservations for another date.
After waiting in that line for 15 minutes, I was finally able to check in, and was seated in a table by the water right away. I decided to try the Monte Cristo sandwich after hearing many good things about it. I decided to get it with potatoes au gratin. My sandwich was at my table about two minutes after I ordered it. The sandwich was good, but not great. The potatoes were cold and bland. I was in and out of the restaurant in about 30 minutes. I was a bit disappointed by how quickly they push you out of there--if I ever go back, I would make sure I ordered a salad just to have some extra time in the restaurant, and a more leisurely meal.
After lunch, I headed over to California Adventure. It was just a few minutes before the start time for the Aladdin show, so I decided to see if I could get in for the show. I was able to get in and get a decent seat up in the balcony, which was fine by me because I didnt have to wait a half hour to get it. I really enjoyed this show. It was a lot of fun, and the Genie was hysterical. I loved all of the little current affair jokes they throw in there (like at the end when Jasmine says she wants to be with Aladdin, Aladdin says something about him being a poor street rat, and the Genie says, It worked for Britney and Kevin.). They really did a fantastic job on this show.
After the show, I took another ride on the Tower of Terror and Soarin, and headed over to the Grand Californian to see if my room happened to be ready yet. While I was waiting to speak with a desk clerk, my cell phone rang. It was the person from VIP guest services letting me know that my room was ready. She gave me my room number and when I told her that I was in the lobby, she came out to greet me. She told me they were giving me three free breakfasts, but when she realized that I only had two more mornings there, she changed one to a free dinner. She took my preferred seating times, and told me she would make priority seatings for me, and bring the vouchers to me room.
I headed up to my room, which was on the sixth floor (I cant recall the number off the top of my head). When I got to my room, the door was ajar. I shock my head and thought to myself, Dont let this be the start of problems at this hotel. There were maintenance men in the room working on a drawer. I stood down the hall and waited a few minutes until they left the room.
I finally entered my room, and right away I loved the room. The furnishings were great, and everything was so fresh I felt like I was the first person to stay in that room. There were lots of little amenities in the room--not just shampoo and conditioner, but also lotion, a sew on and sew forth kit, bubble bath, mouthwash, toothbrushes and toothpaste. There was also a laundry basket, a scale (I dont want to know how much I gained after all the food I ate), and bathrobes.
When I opened the drapes in the room, I was pleasantly surprised by my room view. Not only did I have a pool view, I also had a wonderful view of California Adventure! Straight ahead, I could see California Screamin, the ferris wheel, the Golden Zypher, and Maliboomer. To my left I could see the top of the Tower of Terror and Grizzley Peak! It was beautiful!
The person from VIP guest services came up to my room and dropped off the meal vouchers and priority seating cards. She told me to call them if I needed anything.
I quickly got settled in the room, and headed back out to go to Disneyland for my Imagination to Celebration tour. Since I had a bit of time before the tour, I went through Security and entered California Adventure through the Grand Californian entrance, figuring it would be easier than using the main security lines.
I walked over to Disneyland and checked in for my tour. There was a total of ten people on my tour--me, a family of six from Washington, and three Japanese girls who spoke very little English. Nikole was our tour guide. The tour began in front of the Mickey 50th topiary at the front gates, where we posed for a group picture.
We then walked in to watch the Magical Moments show (or whatever the movie is called--Im sure having a hard time remembering the name of everything). While we waited for a show to start, she told us about some of the pictures and artifacts in the room. I really enjoyed the movie--Steve Martin and Donald Duck were hysterical.
After the movie, we walked up Main Street, making a few stops along the way to look at some windows, and notice the vents where the bakery smells are released into the park. She talked a bit about the gold vehicles on the attractions, and pointed out a gold popcorn cart (telling us about the vents on the popcorn carts, too). She talked a bit about the Partners Statue, and we made our way into Fantasyland.
After briefly talking about the original rides that were still in the park, we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain to ride on our first ride of the tour. Along the way, we saw Woody and Cowboy Goofy. Woody was dragging someones rolling backpack behind him, which was pretty funny.
We then headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean for our second ride of the tour. She pointed out some hidden Mickeys along the way.
After Pirates, we stood in New Orleans Square for a few minutes, and she talked about the area. She then told us that we would be moving on to our final attraction of the evening. She had us guess, and I hopefully said, Splash Mountain. She told us that it was going to be Buzz. After seeing the disappointment on my face, and the faces of the two kids from the family from Washington, she said she would take a vote and let us decide what ride. Most folks didnt care, but about half of us decided on Splash Mountain, so we headed over to Splash Mountain. I rode in the very front on Splash Mountain, and I have to say that being in the front seat on that ride is very thrilling. You almost feel like you are going to fly right out of the log when you are going down the big drop! It was awesome.
After the ride, we had to rush to the parade viewing area through heavy crowds. We came across a group of girl scouts in matching shirts. Nikole had her horse whip thingy up in the air, and I had my hands up in the air so that the folks in the back of our group wouldnt lose sight of us. One of the girl scouts thought that I was in trouble and was being escorted out of the park, which was pretty funny.
We finally made it to the parade viewing area with about 15 minutes to spare. The viewing area was right next to the Matterhorn. There was a snack box with a small batter of water, potato chips, a chocolate chip cookie, and an apple in it. We were also given a light up pin, a copy of our group photo, and a commemorative ticket book.
The parade itself was fantastic, and it was nice to have a front row seat for it. The cast members were very good at shooing guests away if people tried to get into the area where our seats were located. It was fun seeing so many characters in the parade, and I absolutely loved the jester costume that Goofy was wearing.
After the parade, I was chatting with my new friends from Washington, and they were kind enough to invite me to join them the following evening, when they would be taking a VIP tour of Disneyland. The VIP tour included seating at the train station for the fireworks! It was very sweet of them to invite me to join them, and I accepted their offer.
I then headed out of the park and walked back to the Grand Californian. I ran into my new friends from Washington as I entered the building--they had taken the monorail out of the park after the tour.
I made a quick pit stop back at my room to freshen up, and headed down to Storytellers for dinner to use my voucher for dinner. I was seated right away, and had a wonderful server, Brett. The voucher entitled me to the dinner buffet, or I could order off the menu--getting an appetizer, entrée, and soda. I opted to order off the menu. I started off with a Farmers Market Salad, which was awesome. It had mixed greens, carrots, candied nuts, and cheese. It was very tasty. For my entrée I got filet mignon with mashed potatoes. The filet mignon was better than the one I had at Granvilles earlier in the week, and the potatoes were delicious. Although I was tempted to try a dessert, I was just too full.
After dinner, I went back to the room. I wound up going down to the pool and sticking my feet in for a while. I just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful night and the beautiful view of California Adventure lit up at night.
I went back to the room and crawled into bed. I closed the sheer curtains, but left the drapes open so I could enjoy the lights of the park while I drifted to sleep.
I woke up early to bring my luggage over to the Grand Californian. I figured it would be easier to bring the luggage over before the parks and Downtown Disney opened, so I was out the door of my room at the Disneyland Hotel at about 7:00 a.m.
When I arrived to check in at the Grand Californian, the desk clerk called someone in the back and someone from VIP guest services came out to greet me. She had me pre-checked in, and told me that she had upgraded me to a pool view room. She assisted me with dropping my bags off with bell services. She took my cell phone number and promised to call me when my room was ready.
I then walked over to Disneyland, and got in line to get in the park. I have to say that the line to get in the park took forever once they opened the turnstiles. I always seem to pick the wrong line. There were maybe 50 people in front of me, and I didnt get in the park until 8:15.
Once in the park, I made my way back to Fantasyland, where I road Pinocchio and my beloved Mr. Toads Wild Ride twice. I then headed over to Tomorrowland and took a ride on Buzz Lightyear. I grabbed a fast pass for Space Mountain and headed over to ride the Storybook Canal. This ride was cute, but a bit lame. Great for little ones, I guess, but not worth the 15 minutes I waited in line for it. I then took a ride on the Matterhorn and the Alice in Wonderland rides (this was another cute little ride).
I grabbed a chocolate muffin at a cart, and made my way over to Adventureland. I took a ride on Indiana Jones, followed by the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. I then went and watched the Enchanted Tiki Room Show.
I then headed over to Blue Bayou for my lunch reservation. The line to check in was long and disorganized. There were a lot of people who were trying to get in as walk ins in the line. Both the guests and the cast members seemed totally confused. They really need to have separate lines for check ins and walk ins/people who want to make reservations for another date.
After waiting in that line for 15 minutes, I was finally able to check in, and was seated in a table by the water right away. I decided to try the Monte Cristo sandwich after hearing many good things about it. I decided to get it with potatoes au gratin. My sandwich was at my table about two minutes after I ordered it. The sandwich was good, but not great. The potatoes were cold and bland. I was in and out of the restaurant in about 30 minutes. I was a bit disappointed by how quickly they push you out of there--if I ever go back, I would make sure I ordered a salad just to have some extra time in the restaurant, and a more leisurely meal.
After lunch, I headed over to California Adventure. It was just a few minutes before the start time for the Aladdin show, so I decided to see if I could get in for the show. I was able to get in and get a decent seat up in the balcony, which was fine by me because I didnt have to wait a half hour to get it. I really enjoyed this show. It was a lot of fun, and the Genie was hysterical. I loved all of the little current affair jokes they throw in there (like at the end when Jasmine says she wants to be with Aladdin, Aladdin says something about him being a poor street rat, and the Genie says, It worked for Britney and Kevin.). They really did a fantastic job on this show.
After the show, I took another ride on the Tower of Terror and Soarin, and headed over to the Grand Californian to see if my room happened to be ready yet. While I was waiting to speak with a desk clerk, my cell phone rang. It was the person from VIP guest services letting me know that my room was ready. She gave me my room number and when I told her that I was in the lobby, she came out to greet me. She told me they were giving me three free breakfasts, but when she realized that I only had two more mornings there, she changed one to a free dinner. She took my preferred seating times, and told me she would make priority seatings for me, and bring the vouchers to me room.
I headed up to my room, which was on the sixth floor (I cant recall the number off the top of my head). When I got to my room, the door was ajar. I shock my head and thought to myself, Dont let this be the start of problems at this hotel. There were maintenance men in the room working on a drawer. I stood down the hall and waited a few minutes until they left the room.
I finally entered my room, and right away I loved the room. The furnishings were great, and everything was so fresh I felt like I was the first person to stay in that room. There were lots of little amenities in the room--not just shampoo and conditioner, but also lotion, a sew on and sew forth kit, bubble bath, mouthwash, toothbrushes and toothpaste. There was also a laundry basket, a scale (I dont want to know how much I gained after all the food I ate), and bathrobes.
When I opened the drapes in the room, I was pleasantly surprised by my room view. Not only did I have a pool view, I also had a wonderful view of California Adventure! Straight ahead, I could see California Screamin, the ferris wheel, the Golden Zypher, and Maliboomer. To my left I could see the top of the Tower of Terror and Grizzley Peak! It was beautiful!
The person from VIP guest services came up to my room and dropped off the meal vouchers and priority seating cards. She told me to call them if I needed anything.
I quickly got settled in the room, and headed back out to go to Disneyland for my Imagination to Celebration tour. Since I had a bit of time before the tour, I went through Security and entered California Adventure through the Grand Californian entrance, figuring it would be easier than using the main security lines.
I walked over to Disneyland and checked in for my tour. There was a total of ten people on my tour--me, a family of six from Washington, and three Japanese girls who spoke very little English. Nikole was our tour guide. The tour began in front of the Mickey 50th topiary at the front gates, where we posed for a group picture.
We then walked in to watch the Magical Moments show (or whatever the movie is called--Im sure having a hard time remembering the name of everything). While we waited for a show to start, she told us about some of the pictures and artifacts in the room. I really enjoyed the movie--Steve Martin and Donald Duck were hysterical.
After the movie, we walked up Main Street, making a few stops along the way to look at some windows, and notice the vents where the bakery smells are released into the park. She talked a bit about the gold vehicles on the attractions, and pointed out a gold popcorn cart (telling us about the vents on the popcorn carts, too). She talked a bit about the Partners Statue, and we made our way into Fantasyland.
After briefly talking about the original rides that were still in the park, we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain to ride on our first ride of the tour. Along the way, we saw Woody and Cowboy Goofy. Woody was dragging someones rolling backpack behind him, which was pretty funny.
We then headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean for our second ride of the tour. She pointed out some hidden Mickeys along the way.
After Pirates, we stood in New Orleans Square for a few minutes, and she talked about the area. She then told us that we would be moving on to our final attraction of the evening. She had us guess, and I hopefully said, Splash Mountain. She told us that it was going to be Buzz. After seeing the disappointment on my face, and the faces of the two kids from the family from Washington, she said she would take a vote and let us decide what ride. Most folks didnt care, but about half of us decided on Splash Mountain, so we headed over to Splash Mountain. I rode in the very front on Splash Mountain, and I have to say that being in the front seat on that ride is very thrilling. You almost feel like you are going to fly right out of the log when you are going down the big drop! It was awesome.
After the ride, we had to rush to the parade viewing area through heavy crowds. We came across a group of girl scouts in matching shirts. Nikole had her horse whip thingy up in the air, and I had my hands up in the air so that the folks in the back of our group wouldnt lose sight of us. One of the girl scouts thought that I was in trouble and was being escorted out of the park, which was pretty funny.
We finally made it to the parade viewing area with about 15 minutes to spare. The viewing area was right next to the Matterhorn. There was a snack box with a small batter of water, potato chips, a chocolate chip cookie, and an apple in it. We were also given a light up pin, a copy of our group photo, and a commemorative ticket book.
The parade itself was fantastic, and it was nice to have a front row seat for it. The cast members were very good at shooing guests away if people tried to get into the area where our seats were located. It was fun seeing so many characters in the parade, and I absolutely loved the jester costume that Goofy was wearing.
After the parade, I was chatting with my new friends from Washington, and they were kind enough to invite me to join them the following evening, when they would be taking a VIP tour of Disneyland. The VIP tour included seating at the train station for the fireworks! It was very sweet of them to invite me to join them, and I accepted their offer.
I then headed out of the park and walked back to the Grand Californian. I ran into my new friends from Washington as I entered the building--they had taken the monorail out of the park after the tour.
I made a quick pit stop back at my room to freshen up, and headed down to Storytellers for dinner to use my voucher for dinner. I was seated right away, and had a wonderful server, Brett. The voucher entitled me to the dinner buffet, or I could order off the menu--getting an appetizer, entrée, and soda. I opted to order off the menu. I started off with a Farmers Market Salad, which was awesome. It had mixed greens, carrots, candied nuts, and cheese. It was very tasty. For my entrée I got filet mignon with mashed potatoes. The filet mignon was better than the one I had at Granvilles earlier in the week, and the potatoes were delicious. Although I was tempted to try a dessert, I was just too full.
After dinner, I went back to the room. I wound up going down to the pool and sticking my feet in for a while. I just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful night and the beautiful view of California Adventure lit up at night.
I went back to the room and crawled into bed. I closed the sheer curtains, but left the drapes open so I could enjoy the lights of the park while I drifted to sleep.
Day!
