BE's Never Ending TR -- That kind of ... Ended? Or did it?

[DizNee Luver]

Loved that Capt Hook was being so playful!!! He was funny when we last saw him too.....one of the boys was handing him the autograph book & asked if he needed a hand.......you should have seen his reaction.......

Brer Fox at Minnie's? AWESOME!!! We've seen him at Goofy's & Storytellers but never at Minnies.....he's always fun too!!!

Looks like a wonderful meal!!

 

[smile4stamps]

I LOVE Minnie & Friends first thing in the morning!! The characters are always so much fun then.. I just love character meals lol.. Still contemplating Goofys for next week.

 

[Belle Ella]

Characters were coming in quick succession at this point, two of whom were very big surprises for the both of us. One I had never gotten to see in the Parks before, another I didn't even think made an appearance outside of the character meal over at the Paradise Pier Hotel (currently called Mickey's Surfs Up). I'm talking about Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh and Daisy Duck, respectively! I had completely bounded past excited at this point and cannot think of a word that could describe how happy I was. What a great idea this character meal had been.

So how about some more photos?

Eeyore!





The lovely Daisy Duck!




love the shoes​

This was the second time I have been able to get a photo with Daisy - I saw her (along with Donald) in the Western gear back in January for the Kickin' Country weekend - but this was the first time I got to see her in her pink dress. Very, very adorable. Rabbit showed up quickly after she did and I was surprised by just how yellow he was. It was like looking at a walking, brightly colored Easter egg. Not that I'm complaining This really shouldn't have been all that surprising considering how neon-orange Tigger is. I've done the Winnie the Pooh & Friends character meet and greet over in Critter Country a few times before but have only ever seen Eeyore, Pooh and Tigger so getting the chance to see Rabbit at breakfast without stalking down the meet and greet all day just hoping the timing would work out was a big plus. We had been debating on how much longer we would stick it out to see who would show up when Meredith caught sight of him first. It was a no brainer at that point, we were definitely sticking around a little while longer and we were rewarded with a couple more characters to call it a morning.

Rabbit!




the tail tales, part three



Fairy Godmother!

​

Our final character of the meal had to announce his presence just the way any youngin' would do: By jumping into the spotlight and throwing his arms up in the air! I can't imagine who else would do this other than Max. Or as everyone else around us liked to call him, Baby Goofy. I don't think he was very fond of that name but I'm guessing those kids aren't as well acquainted with Max as Meredith and I would be - I have loved Goof Troop and A Goofy Movie since I was a kid. Actually, I should go and watch that again. But we were quick to point out his awesome style choices (it's the bright pink shoelaces, I'm telling you) so we were all fast besties for life.

Max has arrived!




no, not baby goofy

​

I've done a few character meals by now and every single time they just seem to get better and better. And luckily I wasn't quite as awkward interacting with them as I am sometimes. The interaction is what makes everything extra-super-duper fun, although just going for the food and to get an easy character photo and/or autograph has always been just as worth it for me. But today was a home run for us, hands down. To recap we'd seen Chip, Dale, Tigger, Geppetto, Minnie Mouse, Rafiki, Captain Hook, Br'er Fox, Eeyore, Daisy Duck, Rabbit, Fairy Godmother and last but not least, Max. That's a 13 character haul right there. Not too shabby (unless you are superstitious about the number 13) considering that as we got up from our table and took our exits (stage right) it was just minutes past 9 am and Disneyland's official opening. It was time to hit the Park!!

 

[Belle Ella]

I LOVE Minnie & Friends first thing in the morning!! The characters are always so much fun then.. I just love character meals lol.. Still contemplating Goofys for next week.

It's definitely my opinion that character meals are always best when done at opening. It just seems to me like it would be a little too chaotic otherwise. When you are there first you have a little more time to interact with the characters without a lot of other families milling about - and you know how kids can be. Sooner or later they'll waltz right up to the character you were just about to get your photo with and leads them away. *cough* Not that I have anything against the kids. Half the fun is also watching their interaction with the characters. They are so much better at it than I am.

Do it! Do it! So says me, the enabler.

Loved that Capt Hook was being so playful!!! He was funny when we last saw him too.....one of the boys was handing him the autograph book & asked if he needed a hand.......you should have seen his reaction.......

Brer Fox at Minnie's? AWESOME!!! We've seen him at Goofy's & Storytellers but never at Minnies.....he's always fun too!!!

Looks like a wonderful meal!!

I always have some fun exchanges with Captain Hook so I was glad he was there.

Other than wandering around Critter Country, M&F is the only place I have ever seen Br'er Fox. Way back in the beginning days of my TR (you were one of the first people who posted in it - sharing photos from M&F after we talked about making my first PS) Minnie & Friends was the first character meal I ever did and he was the first character we saw that morning and even escorted Frick off to get her food while I accidentally deleted the photos of it. I have seen Honest John at Goofy's though, and we all know how much I love him.

Score! He should be out for the Halloween festivities. I get to see him again in just a week!

 

[JH87]

LOVE the character breakfast pics! Minnie and Friends is definitely something I would do on every trip if the people I was traveling with were more into it. Definitely the best character interaction. I am so jealous that you met Daisy!! I think DLR is really starting to bring out a lot of the more rare characters these days and I am happy. The Sheriff of Nottingham has made a lot of appearances at the villain meet and greet this year, and Rabbit has been around the Pooh and Friends meet and greet quite a bit too recently. I hope they keep bringing out the old favorites That's one thing I am jealous of WDW is the variety of characters they have out over there.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Yay for Daisy & Rabbit......SCORE!!!!!!!

Hey, speaking of Frick........how is she??? I remember reading about your adventures together & I'm guessing she hasn't done a trip with you in a while!!

 

[Belle Ella]

Laurie, you don't remember? It definitely happened along the course of this TR but she and I aren't really on speaking terms anymore. Well, I guess you could just say we're no longer friends. It's been well over a year (almost two, I believe) since we've stopped talking. I got fed up with things in the friendship and then I guess she thought I was badmouthing her over here and there you have it.

Jillian, I didn't even know that the Sheriff of Nottingham was a character they could have out. That's pretty awesome. I've been avoiding Halloween threads like the plague because I want a tiny bit of surprise when I'm there in 1 week and I don't want to see any photos just yet. I'm so excited to see some more characters, that's for sure. Any other new additions?

 

[DizNee Luver]

That's what I get for not reading into depth on these reports.....I have a hard time reading them word for word, so I go for the pics & look for explainations or descriptions. Sorry to hear that.....always hard when friendships sizzle out. I think you figure out your true friends when they stick with you thru good & bad, lulls in talking, etc. You know I've got your back!!

 

[Belle Ella]

It wasn't actually during a TR - but remember how the second version of the thread (before creating this one) was a lot of chit-chat? That's when I brought it up now and again. I wont lie, I still wonder what she's up to from time to time (especially when I see something Betty Boop). But that ship has sailed and it's for the better. I can't tell you how much I really resented her for a lot of things and it was not healthy for me.

 

[JH87]

I was pretty amazed when I found out that the Sheriff even existed at DLR too! I found out via MouseWait and was pretty excited to see him in person. He's pretty funny. I think he's the only one I saw that really took me by surprise. Gideon and Honest John made quite a few appearances too.

 

[Sherry E]

It wasn't actually during a TR - but remember how the second version of the thread (before creating this one) was a lot of chit-chat? That's when I brought it up now and again. I wont lie, I still wonder what she's up to from time to time (especially when I see something Betty Boop). But that ship has sailed and it's for the better. I can't tell you how much I really resented her for a lot of things and it was not healthy for me.

I definitely recall the tension with Frick (or maybe 'friction with Frick' is a cuter term?). That stuck out in my mind because a lot of what you explained in your TR reminded me of a certain friend of mine (hint hint: the one who may or may not be showing up at DLR during my holiday DLR trip) and various scenarios that have come up over the years, such as wanting to get up early and get to a character meal on time, for example. Resentment does build - there is no denying that.

Anyway, what an awesome number of characters you got to see at Minnie & Friends! Laurie has mentioned seeing 14 characters in the past, and I think that might be the record so far. But they definitely churn 'em out at M&F! That's how Goofy's Kitchen used to be in the old, old, old days - it was the only character meal at that time so they did not skimp on the characters at all. They would come to the table every few seconds. Now, there don't seem to be enough characters to go around for every character meal, so Minnie & Friends gets the mother lode!

I was chuckling about the "plastical." Too funny! I, too, had an image in my mind of being able to run with reckless abandon through the lands and not so much through the backstage areas, so that was interesting to hear. Great job on the 5K!! You made good time.

I don't think I have missed this is your TR so far but if I have, point me to where I can find it. Have you mentioned the Little Mermaid ride yet? If so, what did you think of it? I am curious to hear if you had similar thoughts about it to what I thought (you had already tuned out of my TR when I mentioned that ride because the TR is Halloween-related). Is a Little Mermaid review coming up, or have I missed it somewhere along the line?

 

[Belle Ella]

I definitely recall the tension with Frick (or maybe 'friction with Frick' is a cuter term?). That stuck out in my mind because a lot of what you explained in your TR reminded me of a certain friend of mine (hint hint: the one who may or may not be showing up at DLR during my holiday DLR trip) and various scenarios that have come up over the years, such as wanting to get up early and get to a character meal on time, for example. Resentment does build - there is no denying that.

Love the term, you're a lot better at coming up with things like that, and catchy titles, than I am. I'm just an uncreative person sometimes. Sometimes personalities and life experiences just clash and there's no getting around it regardless of how long you've been friends. And besides, who knows what will happen in 10 years. We've gone through phases of not speaking for a couple of years at a time (that happens when you've known each other for 20+ years) so maybe at another point in time we can start things up again, but it's not something I'm actively planning. Things will happen how they happen.

Anyway, what an awesome number of characters you got to see at Minnie & Friends! Laurie has mentioned seeing 14 characters in the past, and I think that might be the record so far. But they definitely churn 'em out at M&F! That's how Goofy's Kitchen used to be in the old, old, old days - it was the only character meal at that time so they did not skimp on the characters at all. They would come to the table every few seconds. Now, there don't seem to be enough characters to go around for every character meal, so Minnie & Friends gets the mother lode!

Darn, we were only 1 away from tying! I should go back and see what the character haul was the other times I did M&F and see where they fell. It was definitely more than I expected. Every time I thought to myself "that's probably the last one" another character popped up behind me and I heard Meredith point them out - she had the better view since I was facing a window. It would be nice if Goofy's would add a few more back in but I've never been disappointed by the selection, that's for sure.

I was chuckling about the "plastical." Too funny! I, too, had an image in my mind of being able to run with reckless abandon through the lands and not so much through the backstage areas, so that was interesting to hear. Great job on the 5K!! You made good time.

I was wondering if anyone would notice my new word!

I don't think I have missed this is your TR so far but if I have, point me to where I can find it. Have you mentioned the Little Mermaid ride yet? If so, what did you think of it? I am curious to hear if you had similar thoughts about it to what I thought (you had already tuned out of my TR when I mentioned that ride because the TR is Halloween-related). Is a Little Mermaid review coming up, or have I missed it somewhere along the line?

Actually, I'm in the middle of typing up my LMAUA portion of the TR right now. Funny timing, lady. But nope, you haven't missed it. I'll let you wait in anticipation a little while longer for that one!

I was pretty amazed when I found out that the Sheriff even existed at DLR too! I found out via MouseWait and was pretty excited to see him in person. He's pretty funny. I think he's the only one I saw that really took me by surprise. Gideon and Honest John made quite a few appearances too.

You know, I cannot figure MouseWait out to save my life. At leas the lounge/forum thing. It's too complicated for me. Well, no, that's not the right word. I need more separation and it's just too clomped together for it to make sense in my head, if you can understand what I mean. I need real forums and sub-forums like we get on the DIS. But it's awesome when you can find something new like that. I guess that's what I have you for. But I still mainly want to see Honest John - er - Sir John Worthington Foulfellow.

 

[Sherry E]

I think we should co-author a book! You take all the photos, of course. I'll come up with the titles. And then we will both write the text. Now...a book about what, I'm not sure. But maybe we can become millionairesses!

All right, if I must wait for the Little Mermaid review, I will exercise patience. I'd read some reviews from other random DIS'ers when that ride first opened, but I haven't really read too many reports from people I know or from my immediate DIS-circle of friends yet, so I will be waiting with baited breath for your recap!!

 

[smile4stamps]

I'm so jealous of you meeting Rabbit!! I've NEVER seen Rabbit out! At DLR or WDW!! I even did the Winnie the Pooh breakfast at WDW and no Rabbit there!!

I caught your "plastical" too! But I was trying to fall asleep (as you know!) so I didn't comment on that!

 

[smile4stamps]

I think we should co-author a book! You take all the photos, of course. I'll come up with the titles. And then we will both write the text. Now...a book about what, I'm not sure. But maybe we can become millionairesses!

All right, if I must wait for the Little Mermaid review, I will exercise patience. I'd read some reviews from other random DIS'ers when that ride first opened, but I haven't really read too many reports from people I know or from any of my immediate DIS-circle of friends yet, so I will be waiting with baited breath for your recap!!

You both are much better writers than I am... if it wasn't for the thousands of pictures I took I don't think I would have a TR and the words just don't flow from me very much!!

 

[Belle Ella]

I think we should co-author a book! You take all the photos, of course. I'll come up with the titles. And then we will both write the text. Now...a book about what, I'm not sure. But maybe we can become millionairesses!

All right, if I must wait for the Little Mermaid review, I will exercise patience. I'd read some reviews from other random DIS'ers when that ride first opened, but I haven't really read too many reports from people I know or from my immediate DIS-circle of friends yet, so I will be waiting with baited breath for your recap!!

Haha, it sounds like a plan to me, Sherry. Then we can go to Disneyland more often.

So I've gotten the review part written but still have to finish the rest of my post before I actually post it. Just a little while longer. I wont lie, writing reviews aren't really my strong suit but I definitely put my opinion down and I'm always willing to answer more to-the-point questions about certain aspects of it. Mostly it's just an all-encompassing response for now. But yeah, it's one thing to take in a review from someone you've never met whose tastes you don't know than it is to take in a review from someone you've had some kind of rapport with in the past.

I'm so jealous of you meeting Rabbit!! I've NEVER seen Rabbit out! At DLR or WDW!! I even did the Winnie the Pooh breakfast at WDW and no Rabbit there!!

I caught your "plastical" too! But I was trying to fall asleep (as you know!) so I didn't comment on that!

I'll forgive you Paula! Trying to fall asleep is always a very important thing.

Wait ... WDW has an entire Winnie the Pooh breakfast? For reals?

You both are much better writers than I am... if it wasn't for the thousands of pictures I took I don't think I would have a TR and the words just don't flow from me very much!!

Yeah, but Paula, pictures say 1,000 words. Duh.

 

[smile4stamps]

Haha, it sounds like a plan to me, Sherry. Then we can go to Disneyland more often.

So I've gotten the review part written but still have to finish the rest of my post before I actually post it. Just a little while longer. I wont lie, writing reviews aren't really my strong suit but I definitely put my opinion down and I'm always willing to answer more to-the-point questions about certain aspects of it. Mostly it's just an all-encompassing response for now. But yeah, it's one thing to take in a review from someone you've never met whose tastes you don't know than it is to take in a review from someone you've had some kind of rapport with in the past.



I'll forgive you Paula! Trying to fall asleep is always a very important thing.

Wait ... WDW has an entire Winnie the Pooh breakfast? For reals?

Yup! But after the character meals at DL it pales in comparison. It only has Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglit (who is hard to find at DLR!) The biggest advantage to that character meal though isn't the characters. Its when you get an early morning ADR (PS in DL speak) you actually get to enter the park before ANY lands are open so you walk down a basically empty Main Street.



Yeah, but Paula, pictures say 1,000 words. Duh.

Well in that case I have about 2million words in my TR lol!

 

[Belle Ella]

See, that's the spirit!!

 

[Belle Ella]

Now, where was I? Oh yeah, it was just after 9 am, Disneyland was officially open to the public, and Meredith and I had just left the Plaza Inn after our character breakfast so it was time to get some rides in. We were both pretty much on the same page about where to go first: Space Mountain! The good thing about staying at the Plaza Inn until a few minutes after 9 was that the bottleneck of people trying to get into Tomorrowland for Star Tours had died down so it was smooth sailing (er ... Donald Duck waddling) for us back to Space where we snagged some Fast Passes and hopped in the standby line.

​

After Space Mountain we pretty much repeated the same morning tour I had been using all weekend long, but like I already mentioned there was more waddling like Donald Duck involved than skipping or walking on my part. I suppose I should try and explain that, the only problem being that I don't even remember quite how the topic came up. I believe it was while we were being led down Main Street earlier in the morning for breakfast and I was talking with Meredith about my penchant for skipping and somehow we got on the topic of doing a Donald Duck impersonation instead. Of course, me being the silly little girl that I am (who said I was turning 25?! ) I couldn't just talk about it, I had to do it! So for pretty much the entire day I started randomly waddling like Donald Duck whenever I was in a good mood, which was pretty darn often so there was a lot of waddling to be done. Like, say, from Tomorrowland and Space Mountain allllllll the way over to Frontierland and Big Thunder. And then allllllll the way over to New Orleans Square and Pirates. And then allllllll the way over to ... wait, that was it for the moment!

While we had been in the queue for Pirates, just about to board our ships, I got a text from my mother that she was already on her way from the HOJO. But of course we were just getting onto the ride and I wasn't going to be that annoying jerk who wouldn't put their phone away while on the ride so I pocketed it and I would text her to find up where to meet at when we got off the ride. Considering the fact that I don't exactly get reception inside the ride it was a moot point anyway! So when we got off I shot my mother a quick text and had her meet us at the Hub so we could all decide where to go next. It was guaranteed that at some point we would be hopping over to California Adventure because I promised my mother I would take her on both Tower of Terror and California Screamin', not to mention we had to check out The Little Mermaid, Ariel's Undersea Adventure for the first time (although Meredith had seen it on a previous trip in the summer if I remember correctly). We all figured there was no time like the present so that's where we decided to go next and by 10:30 am I was going through the new entrance gates at DCA for the first time. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Considering I have no experience with WDW and DHS I have no reason to be disappointed in the new gates, especially considering I know all about the historic (and sadly, no longer existing) California landmark they are meant to represent. I for one absolutely love the proposed changes to DCA and I cannot wait until it's all over and I get to walk down Buena Vista Street.

​

For now, however, entering DCA is a bit of a pain in the rear. When all is said and done you should just continue straight through the gates to Buena Vista St. and beyond but while that is under construction a temporary entrance path has been created, taking a sharp right literally just as you pass through the front gates. It could be worse and at least the pathway is pretty wide, but the CM's who were there to direct traffic were just confusing the patootie out of me. All of my life it has always been drilled into my head to "keep to the right, keep to the right", but for some asinine reason they were having us all keep the left which literally made no sense at all. So of course everyone, or at least me, was keeping to the right without any conscious thought only to be told differently by CM's and nearly running into other people who were either following directions or in the middle of changing their walking lane. Yeah, it got pretty frustrating. But other than that it was all hunky-dory.

​

OK, so maybe (just maybe) it was because the gates they were using for the exit were to our right as we entered and they were trying to eliminate cross traffic, but still going against what has been ingrained in our heads as a culture just seems silly to me, but I digress.

So first up over at DCA was Tower of Terror so we made our way through the world of walls that seperates Condor Flats from the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area (soon to be Hollywoodland I guess). It was also the first time I have gotten to see the construction for the Carthay Circle Theatre in person. Although I've been following the construction through photos online they don't come close to giving you an idea of just how big the final product actually is. At least I was blown away by the actual scope of the thing, finished or no. It was pretty much the same reaction I had had to seeing the rock work for Carsland. I hadn't been expecting it to be that much larger in person. Yeah, I was impressed. But anyone who knows anything about me should know why the Carthay Circle Theatre has a special place in my heart: it held the official premiere for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs back on December 21, 1937.

Jazz approves!

So back to our trek through the world of walls. Eventually we made it to Hollywood Pictures Backlot area where I tried to explain to my mother what all of that icky scaffolding was for. I failed miserably and pretty much left it as an "ElecTRONica sucks" rant. Say what you want about it, but my opinion still stands that what it's done to my favorite area of DCA is just horrible. The entire Park already looks like a construction zone but at least that's because it is a construction zone. Plus it's not my kind of thing in general. I really think it's overstayed it's welcome, but that's not a decision that is left up to me, so I was very glad when we finally took a right at the Hyperion Theatre and had the Hollywood Tower Hotel within out sights.

Now, I've been on TOT a few times (well, maybe twice) and in my head I know I enjoy the ride, love it even. But for some reason it still scares the bejesus out of me while I'm standing on the outside looking in. I had told my mother I would take her on this but at that moment, while we were grabbing FP's and talking about just hopping in line right then and there because there was no wait, I felt absolutely sick to my stomach and ready to cry. But my mother and Meredith pretty much guilted me into it and I couldn't say no. I've done this before, right? Why was I so terrified. But I guess that's what makes this ride so awesome in the first place. And of course it was a complete and total walk-on and I suppose that was a good thing because it didn't give me too much time to stress over how freaked out I was. But to make a long story short, I survived! And I got out of our elevator laughing at myself for just how silly I was being before. My mother, of course, absolutely loved it and knew she wanted to go again later in the day with out FP's.

​

Next up on our DCA adventure was going to be California Screamin' and we decided to head through A Bug's Land to get back to Paradise Pier. We got a little sidetracked though as we passed the new Little Mermaid ride with a wait time of 5 minutes posted. It was on the way so why not? Besides, that would give us time to collect a Screamin' FP when our window opened back up. So The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure it was!

Now here's something else that I had been following the construction of closely. I remember back when the construction for the ride first started, I remember when the ride building was erected, I remember when King Triton from the old Ariel's Grotto over in Disneyland (now Pixie Hollow) was added, and I remember counting down the days until the ride opened even though I wasn't there in person. Between all of the rides that opened up this summer there was really only one that I actually wanted to see, and this was it. I was getting to see the finished building for the first time which was just as gorgeous as I remembered from the photos. I was getting to see the small touches added to the walkway with seashells and some gorgeous mosaics which were just as gorgeous as I remembered from the photos. And although the wait time said 5 minutes it was a complete walk-on at 11 am. For my first time on this ride I wanted to just soak everything in and so I left my camera at my side which means no pretty-pretty-pictures to share, but I can at least share my thoughts:

I should preface this by saying that, while Ariel is not my favorite Disney Princess nor is The Little Mermaid my favorite Disney movie, it's been a big part of my childhood and I am still a very big fan. On top of that, Ariel is easily my mother's favorite where Disney is concerned (mostly because she's a redhead). I very, very much enjoyed this ride. Is it perfect? No, not by a long shot but it's definitely more of a success than anything else. The things that it has going for it? It uses some of my favorite songs from the movie (Part of Your World, Under the Sea, Poor Unfortunate Souls, and Kiss the Girl), and they are the original recordings at that. Can you imagine how disjointed it would feel if a song you know by heart was just suddenly a little different? The animatronics were also completely top-notch with a huge standing-ovation from me for Ursula. The movement is just so fluid and it's unlike anything else Disney has presented us with. Talk about a huge step forward in technological advancement. I think it's a definite must-see for that reason alone. One of the downsides for me is that, since it's a re-telling of the story instead there's bound to be a bit of a choppy feel to it. At around 6 minutes long and with some pretty in-detail scenes how do you pick what to include and what to toss out. It feels a little disjointed and actually reminds me of Snow White's Scary Adventures more than it does, say, Peter Pan which is a little more fluid. It's really the only complaint that I have with the ride and can make it feel like it's missing something I'm sure. I guess you could say I have another complaint - it was over too soon! But that partly falls hand in hand with it feeling choppy. You come to the happily ever after a little too fast without a real resolution on what happened to Ursula. But as Scuttle says in his own words, that's how he remembered things and that's all that matters. Maybe we should feel 'Scuttled'. The other part is that I just want to clamshells to move a little slower so I can sing along a little longer, lol. All in all I still give it but probably an 8/10.

Oh, and my mother gave it a big smile (obviously a good sign).

And so from there we were on our way to Screamin' and of course talking about either loving or being petrified of roller coasters. Guess which end of the spectrum I tend to lean toward. A funny anecdote from Meredith, I guess that Screamin' is so smooth a ride for her dad that it's relaxing enough to fall asleep on. Or take a nap. Or something like that. Well, it may be smooth, but no way would you catch me falling asleep on a ride that goes upside down. That darn loop still does me in, although it's the wave section that gets my tummy the most nervous. Well, we grabbed another set of FP's and hopped back in the standby line! And you can now add this to the list of rides my mother just loves.

Oh, and I suppose I would normally put our ride photo here, but there was too much glare on the preview screen for us to take a snapshot of it. So no proof for you! You just have to take my word for it

There was really only one other thing that we wanted to try in DCA and that was Soarin' over California. Unfortunately the standby line was too long for us to even tempt it and we couldn't get FP's again just yet so we simply had to make a mental not to come back later. Considering we would be returning later in the evening for another round of terror and screaming it shouldn't have been too big of an issue. And so we decided to head back over to Disneyland!

Now, you're probably wondering to yourself, that's it for DCA? Why no Toy Story Midway Mania? Well, for starters I'm not a big fan of 3-D and I don't think any of us were really interested in standing around and waiting for that. I don't even think my mother would have known to ask if we could ride it, and Meredith didn't mention it so I was happy to keep on our merry little way. That's not to say I wont go on it ever, but it didn't suit my mood at the moment. Okie-dokes?

Now the question is, do I have any idea what we did for the next hour? Well ... no, I don't. For a whole hour I had absolutely no photos or no check-ins on Gowalla which means I have no recollection of what we did. I must have blacked out. Or it was an invasion of the body snatchers type thing. Your guess is as good as mine, honestly. What I do know is that Meredith and I split up from my mom for a short while while she disappeared into NOS to place an order for a personalized parasol for herself. But whatever we youngins were off doing without the adult-folk it was short lived and soon we were sitting at a table trying to figure out where she was while listening to some music, courtesy of the Royal Street Bachelors over by The French Market. And funnily enough, my mother was relaxing at a table around the corner waiting to figure out where we were too. Go figure. It was at this point, with my iPhone battery rapidly approaching only 10%, that we decided it was time to take a short lunch break for the afternoon and head back to the HOJO so this little lady could change and charge her phone, before taking a booth at Mimi's for some grub!!

 

[smile4stamps]

Whew!! That was quite the update!! Yup.. No pics, no Gowalla = no idea!! Lol.

I think the little mermaid ride is over to quickly too!! still love it though!! How funny that you were writing about it and I was posting pics of it in my TR!