Bring Back HYPERSPACE Mountain! Sept 2016 TR - NEW 3/17 COMPLETED! THE END!

[cinderkelly]

Woo hoo! I'm very impressed you've started your TR already! You're so on the ball! Going back to read!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'm here and will actually read the updates soon (gotta get to bed now). Can't wait to hear all about it!

Yay!!

Woohoo, I'm here!!!

Yay!!

LOVE In N Out! That was our first lunch of our most recent trip, too. We tried our burgers animal style (dh thought it was super yum, I wasn't as sold, give me a regular In N Out burger and I'm a happy girl lol). Oh and one of our basket of fries was 'well done' I love me some crissssspy fries

I like the grilled onions as a topping more so than the special sauce but it's good either way! I love the fries there too! We ate it a lot on this trip...as you will see, hehe.

I didn't realize you had gone to Legoland on this trip, how cool! We were debating between that and Universal for our first full day of this past trip, ultimately deciding on Universal (but now looking at your photos I think we would've been just as happy with Legoland, plus it would've been cheaper ). Can't wait for your next installment!

I had no idea we were going to do Legoland but when my brother in law suggested it we were totally on board. It's a cute park and there is a cute Legoland Hotel attached to it. It sort of got us prepped for Disney a bit, waiting in line, walking a lot. Although it was a lot cooler in Carlsbad than it was in Anaheim, by 5pm it was really windy and cold!

Did you get cold weather in Cali during the evenings? For us the weather plunged like 15 degrees after sunset so we always had to bring a sweater or something just in case we didn't go back to the room. On our first night we were really cold so after that we were prepared, but then it warmed up again later in the week.

Can't wait to have in n out!!!! Loving this report so far!

Thank you!!! And thanks for reading!!

Here's an example of a great idea being poorly executed. At that point, why bother having you enter your info?

I was so confused as to why I had to enter my flight no, then thought, oh cool it's so they can pace themselves to get your order out when you need it, but overall it was an epic fail by them. I think they just didn't pay attention.

Getting a rental car is a pain in the bum there. And the renovations are a nightmare! They were doing the SW terminal last February when we went, and it STILL wasn't done in July.

Ugh it was such a pain. I think next time we'll have to bother someone to pick us up. I'd even be willing to pay for Uber - just too much of a hassle.

MMMMMMMM. I am now disappointed with myself that I only made it there once.

Don't worry I ate enough for the both of us. We ate there 4 times, I kid you not.

I might actually eat apples this way!

I love apples! And it was so yummy when made into a fry!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 3: Soarin' over Riverside County

On Sunday which was our 3rd day in California my sister woke up really early, like 5am and started texting me because she was jetlagged "What time are you getting up?" Of course I was still passed out and I told DH not to wake me up before 9am, but I ended up getting up around 8am anyways.

Today went to the Dessert Hill Premium outlets with DH's family. It's located near Palm Springs about 40 minutes away. It was a fun day of shopping and of course me and my sister went to the Disney outlet!

Here's me and DH that morning:

Driving around Riverside County is like being in that scene from the old Soarin' over California, where there are horseback riders in the Anza Valley (which IS located in Riverside County). It's all dessert, mountains and tumbleweed. My sister had never seen tumbleweed before (she's such a city girl) but she got a good dose of them this weekend!

The Disney Outlet:

I scored a couple of small things and some sleep shirts and we bought stuff for our nieces and nephew. There were great sales! Except that I'm not used to paying sales tax on clothes and shoes, which we don't in NJ.

DH's family ended up eating at the food court in the outlets but I wanted something better than the food court, so of course we went to the closest fast food joint...In-N-Out burger!

Yes we were eating it again. No, we weren't tired of it just yet.

It's ALWAYS packed in there no matter what time.

Oops this wasn't good for my sister's diet. But she didn't have any fries.

After In-N-Out we went next door to this store called Hadley. It's kinda like a specialty store which sells nuts and dried fruit, their specialty being dates. They used to be in a very old farmhouse type building but they built a new location and it's completely new now. I got some dates for my mom who likes them.

Here's CS posing and DH photo-bombing her:

California dates!

There is also a small cafe in the store and one of their specialty items is a date shake. You can get regular date or banana-date. I remember getting this before but I wasn't sure if I liked it and couldn't remember how it tasted so I ordered a regular date shake so we could all have a taste. It was good, but I forget how sweet dates are! It's like a vanilla shake with little bits that are kinda like raisins but not really. We all liked it but thank goodness we shared because it was way to sweet for me to finish.

Later that evening we had dinner at the house. We had to pack everything up again because we were leaving early the next morning for Anaheim!

DH's mom cooked most of the food, and Jimmy made some BBQ ribs. We also had steak, lamb, and we picked up some seafood boil from another one of my favorite spots to eat at, The Boiling Crab. It's like bags of seafood boiled in a spicy cajun sauce. If you go to one of their many restaurants you order what kind of seafood you like, like a pound of shimp, a pound of clams etc and then choose the sauce you like. We like the Whole Sha-bang which is a mixture of everything, and you also choose the spice level. It's delicious and we have imitators back here in NY but nothing is like the real Boiling Crab.

Shrimp and clambs in Whole Sha-bang sauce from the Boiling Crab.

Here's me and Maddie with the spread!

Later that night my sister brought out one of her many sets of glow sticks (she brings them for the parades and nigttime shows) and we had fun with Maddie!

The next day we were heading to Disneyland! It's too bad Maddie couldn't make it but she had already started school in mid-August. They were set to make the long drive back home the next day. But she's looking forward to our family trip to Disney World next summer! She's totally ready for it!

Coming up, our arrival at the Grand Californian!

​

 

[bcwife76]

YES! More In N Out!

Love some good bargains at the Outlet malls, but yes, when you're not used to sales tax it's a real bummer

Oh and to answer your question re: weather at night, no we had NO cool nights. Seriously. Our last night there (Thursday the 1st) was the coolest night and it was probably still 66F-70F. We never needed hoodies (or maybe we are cold blooded Canadians who felt it was so dang hot still lol) We all brought hoodies and besides the car ride home from the airport (brrrrr.....came home and it was about 16C/60F and we were in shorts haha) we used them on the plane rides and that was it.

 

[chunkymonkey]

YES! More In N Out!

It's like we had to get our fill before we leave. I don't even eat that many burgers regularly!

Love some good bargains at the Outlet malls, but yes, when you're not used to sales tax it's a real bummer

Yeah, it's weird to experience sales tax, and almost 10% too! Crazy.

Oh and to answer your question re: weather at night, no we had NO cool nights. Seriously. Our last night there (Thursday the 1st) was the coolest night and it was probably still 66F-70F. We never needed hoodies (or maybe we are cold blooded Canadians who felt it was so dang hot still lol) We all brought hoodies and besides the car ride home from the airport (brrrrr.....came home and it was about 16C/60F and we were in shorts haha) we used them on the plane rides and that was it.

It was cool for the nights we were there so we had to wear a cardigan or hoodie. Although I could have probably survived some of the nights without one. It was really nice weather.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 4 Part 1: Disneyland here we come! First stop - Tomorrowland!

Today was the day we headed to Anaheim! I had initially planned to leave really early, like at 6am but I wanted to get a chance to say goodbye to everyone, so we didn't end up leaving until closer to 8am. This gave everyone a chance to wake up and have some breakfast together! I felt it was important to say our goodbyes especially since we weren't sure when we'd get to see Maddie and her parents again.

Thanks Maddie for waking up early to see us off! Although she does look like she's about to pass out here.

In the background you can see our electric blue full-sized Camry that we got when Dollar ran out of compact cars, hahaha. It worked out though because we realized we had 3 large pieces of luggage we had to transport!

Here's a group pic of the whole family:

Good bye, for now! We will be seeing DH's parents and younger brother Jimmy again when we all have brunch at Goofy's Kitchen on our last day of the trip. Unfortunately Maddie had to go home but we'll hopefully see her soon.

We got into our car and headed to Anaheim! It was about an hour and 15 minutes to drive there which isn't too bad. Oh something to note that the carpool/HOV lanes are for 2 people or more so we always got to use them when driving around, so we avoided most of the traffic (although sometimes it could not be avoided at all).

Finally headed to Anaheim!

As we approached the Disneyland Resort, we saw many perfectly manicured palm trees, then the Paradise Pier hotel, which is right across from the Grand Californian. I was still getting used to the layout of the resort. Even though I had looked at maps I wasn't sure where everything was in relation to each other. I thought Paradise Pier would be really far, but it's not that far from the GC.

Finally we turned into the driveway for the GC.

We're here!

My first impression of the GC was...it was dark. We had to get used to the dimness of the "lodge" style setting. Kinda like AKL and Wilderness Lodge I guess.

The lobby area and interior space were very nicely themed with lots of dark wood, stone, and old fashioned touches.

Since it was only 9am our room wasn't ready yet, so they said we would get a text message instead. We opted for self parking and had our luggage stored with Bell services. I bought the park tickets online so I showed them our receipt and they handed us our 5-day park hoppers. It's been a while since I've had to use paper tickets! We picked up some maps and time guides. It's also been a long time since I've used a map. But let me tell you, I had to use them a lot on this trip!

While DH went to park the car in the self-parking lot across the street, CS and I went to the gift store in the lobby. It was much smaller than I expected. I loved all the Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration merchandise but wasn't sure if all of this stuff will appear at an outlet after the celebration was over, kinda like how they have all the stuff from 2015 for super sale. The CM working there said that today was the last day for ALL the 60th stuff, and it will all be taken away tomorrow. Taken to where?? I wanted to know. Regardless I refrained from grabbing one of everything.

I did however love these Diamond celebration ears because of the sparkly baby blue color, so I ended up getting these so I could wear them that day.

My sister bought herself a Diamond Anniversary Autograph Book which was really cute. It looked like this:

(Image from Mousesteps)

After DH came back, tickets in tow, we all headed into Disneyland! So excited to be back! Since I can barely remember the parks, it almost seems like the first time for me! DH thought I was nuts, he's like, you've been here about 4 times. I'm like, yeah but the last time was 8 years ago which is an eternity in Disney life. Duh.

Woohoo!

The path to Disneyland from the GC took us through part of Downtown Disney. I loved how the hotel was pretty much on top of DTD. It made it so easy to want to stop and shop all the time. I also like how it's still called Downtown Disney.

When we got to the bag check, the lines were getting long, and it seemed like we were waiting for some time even though it seem like there were 10 lines. This is unfortunately the reality at all parks now.

Soon we were inside the park area and we turned left to head into Disneyland. Turning right would lead you to California Adventure.

I shot this of us before we headed in:

We went to the turnstiles and scanned our tickets. When you first use your tickets they take a picture of you and then you have to sign your ticket. It was pretty quick for us, but on occasion we have been behind some folks who had to have their pictures taken and it took a while longer.

Entering Disneyland, the castle is kinda off to the side and you have to turn onto Main St to see it.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is so much smaller that it's hard to see it when you're far away!

Oh there it is! It's so small!

Today was a pretty crazy day. I told everyone we should focus on the things that are going away after today, mainly Hyperspace Mountain, so we headed to Tomorrowland first!

Tommorowland is similar to WDW except there is no Peoplemover, Star Tours is here, and the Astro Orbiter is on the ground instead of on top of another building. They also played Star Wars music the entire time. I loved it!

It was about 9:45am and the park was getting crowded. Tomorrowland was ALWAYS packed though no matter what time it was. Also, there was always a long wait on Star Tours which really surprised me.

We made a beeline for Hyperspace Mountain. It already had a 50 minute wait. In retrospect we should probably have waited on stand-by because that was the shortest time we would see all day. At times it would snake up to 90 minutes. But since we don't like to wait on line, we got fastpasses! 11:40am was the return time. Cool! We were definitely going on Hyperspace Mountain and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Hyperspace Mountain FP Obtained - Mission complete!

So now we decided what we should do...since we were in Tomorrowland we got some Buzz Lightyear FPs as well since the FPs for that ride are disconnected from the system, and you can hold them in addition to ones for other rides. The FP kiosks for Buzz are right next to the kiosks for Star Tours so DH figured that out the hard way by actually using the Star Tours kiosks and getting a "you are not eligible for another FP until such and such time" ticket. LOL. I forgot about how paper FP works so it was "all coming back to me now". *Cue Celine Dion!*

So we saw the Astro Orbiter had a fairly short wait of 20 minutes and since we know this ride at WDW moves slowly we decided to ride it. It's interesting how it's not on top of another building like WDW's is on top of the Lunching Pad. It's been a long time since I've rode the Astro Orbiter but I think they are pretty much the same.

Here we are on the ride! I must say, it's kinda a pain to get in and out especially with 2 people in a vehicle. Maybe I will make DH ride solo next time.

After that we went on Buzz Lightyear since the wait wasn't too long so we rode standby. We kept the FP for later.

The guns come out of the ride vehicle unlike the WDW one which is planted into the vehicle. I remember this fact from our previous trips. It's so much better this way!

DH always says he's going to beat me but about 80% of the time on the first round of the trip, I've beaten him and this time was no different. He subsequently gets the high score from then on but that first victory is the one that counts, right?



I also totally forgot that the ride picture can be emailed at this Buzz. We didn't have a photopass card yet so we bypassed the picture station. I should have stopped to email a souvenir of my high score.

My sister became re-obsessed with pressed pennies on this trip. I think it's because she's already collected most of the WDW ones so the DLR ones were all new to her. So she started off by getting these in Tomorrowland.

We then decided to go on the Submarine ride since the wait was about 20 minutes and was one of the shorter lines. On the way we passed by a vastly superior version of Jedi Training. I say superior only because as a spectator, you can dine at Galactic Grill and watch from a covered area. This was really nice! I'm sure the Jedi training part is the same

We got on line for the submarine. While waiting I thought, hey we don't have lunch plans, I could see if I could make ADR right on the spot? And I found a 12:30pm lunch spot at Cafe Orleans for 3 ppl. I was excited to try the Monte Cristo and everyone said sure, so I booked it!

Here's the submarine ride with Nemo and Friends:

It's a bit like the Living Seas with Nemo at WDW but you are in an enclosed ride vehicle with a bunch of other people and you're looking out through portholes. I guess not for the claustrophobic. It was fun to do once but we didn't need to do this again.

It was when we left the ride that I looked down at our FP for Hyperspace Mountain, and realized that it wasn't for 11:40am, it was for 12:40pm.

OMG. Mission fail.
I had made ADRs for the same time!

What do we do now? Stay tuned...

​

 

[bcwife76]

You made good time to Anaheim!

I fell in love with the GCH this trip when our friends stayed there. While I love the HOJO (think it's now my fave off site hotel there) I am trying everything in my power to be able to afford staying at the GCH for our Feb 2018 trip!!

Love those ears; bought mine last October and then DD8 bought the same pair this trip

Oh shoot, FP and ADR for the same time? Well I'm hoping you were able to scoff down the delightful Monte Cristo and were able to keep your FP for the ride too

 

[Elevationist]

Maddie didn't want to go on Ninjago, because she really wanted to get her face painted! I think she's gonna love Disney!

A girl after my own heart!!!

All the In-and-Out is making me laugh!

The Grand California looks GORGEOUS!!

How cool that ChunkySis got to start her vacation two days earlier than expected!

 

[chunkymonkey]

A girl after my own heart!!!

I totally thought of you when Maddie kept insisting on getting her face painted!

All the In-and-Out is making me laugh!

I needed my fix before we leave the west coast!

The Grand California looks GORGEOUS!!

The lobby and grounds area were nice. The pools were great too.

How cool that ChunkySis got to start her vacation two days earlier than expected!

Cost us all a bunch of sleep but she was excited!

 

[Dentam]

Just got a chance to read through your report today! Loving it so far and look forward to reading more!

 

[kastoney]

Hi Su-Lynn looks like a great start to your trip. Loving all the in and out burger you've worked in so far. So wish we had them on the east coast. We're contemplating a DL trip next September, so especially can't wait to see how things worked out for you.

 

[ArielSRL]

All caught up! Glad you got some fun family time and your precious In N Out!! Haha! Btw, I am exhausted already reading your report!

Glad you made it to DLR quickly and have Hyperspace Mtn FPs...am interested to see how you solve your dilemma!

 

[soniam]

I finally got caught up. I was hoping to finish yesterday at work, since it was one of those days where I was waiting on everything. However, I ended up having to leave early to avoid Bidengeddon. Similar to Obamageddon from my TR but less apocalyptic. Good memories of DLR. I am hoping to get back, but it probably won't be until 2018 Looking forward to the rest of your TR. Maybe a great start so far, I guess it depends how you end up dealing with the aADR/FP conflict

 

[chunkymonkey]

Just got a chance to read through your report today! Loving it so far and look forward to reading more!

Thank you!!

Hi Su-Lynn looks like a great start to your trip. Loving all the in and out burger you've worked in so far. So wish we had them on the east coast. We're contemplating a DL trip next September, so especially can't wait to see how things worked out for you.

Thanks Kari! I definitely think we need and In-N-Out on the East coast. I've heard the issue it hasn't come out here was the sourcing of the beef. It just wouldn't be the same out here I guess. I considering it a treat when visiting the in-laws! I should visit more often.

Our week in sept (labor day week) was definitely more crowded than I expected. I guess WDW gets ghost-town like during that time, but at DLR it was moderately crowded so it was surprising. My BIL Jimmy's girlfriend, who is a teacher, said that school didn't start in the area until the SECOND week of Sept. Just something to note in case you wanted really low crowds.

All caught up! Glad you got some fun family time and your precious In N Out!! Haha! Btw, I am exhausted already reading your report!

Thanks! Yes, it was definitely a more exhausting trip than to WDW. I think it's because so much was going on, everything was new to us, plus we had to drive all over the place. I definitely think on the next trip we'll take it easy!

Glad you made it to DLR quickly and have Hyperspace Mtn FPs...am interested to see how you solve your dilemma!

Hehe, you will see in the next post!

I finally got caught up. I was hoping to finish yesterday at work, since it was one of those days where I was waiting on everything. However, I ended up having to leave early to avoid Bidengeddon. Similar to Obamageddon from my TR but less apocalyptic. Good memories of DLR. I am hoping to get back, but it probably won't be until 2018 Looking forward to the rest of your TR. Maybe a great start so far, I guess it depends how you end up dealing with the aADR/FP conflict

Bidengeddon! Sounds like fun. Haha.
It was definitely a challenging day, let me tell you. There was lots of anticipation and excitement mixed with anxiousness. Geez I sound like I'm about go on a mission to save the world...but really, it's just a regular Disney vacation, LOL.

 

[franandaj]

I've seen your TRs for a while now, but I've only caught them when they're almost over. I'm glad to get in on one when it's just starting.

So where does DH's family live? You said boondocks, but I don't think from the shots of the house that it's someplace like Nuevo. That's serious boondocks! I'm guessing it's more like Perris or Moreno Valley.

I'm a local So Cal gal and DLR is definitely my home park. I was also surprised to see Hadley's new building. It's been 10 years since I've been out that way, and for a while we drove there every week.

That's a lot of In n Out. I love it, but not sure I could eat it three days in a row.

Glad you got there for the last of the 60th festivities and were there for Halloweentime. We were actually out there that same Friday, but we were all caught up in the Trader Sam's craziness.

Looking forward to how you solve the double booking dilemma.

 

[Saphire5742]

We're here!

Yay! Can't wait till I'm seeing the same.

DH thought I was nuts, he's like, you've been here about 4 times. I'm like, yeah but the last time was 8 years ago which is an eternity in Disney life. Duh.

I am perplexed by your husband's logic (if we can even call it that )

I shot this of us before we headed in:

Really great shot!

I forgot about how paper FP works so it was "all coming back to me now". *Cue Celine Dion!*

. I actually have zero experience with paper FP. Should be interesting

The guns come out of the ride vehicle unlike the WDW one which is planted into the vehicle. I remember this fact from our previous trips. It's so much better this way!

That does sound better. Maybe I can redeem myself there

My sister became re-obsessed with pressed pennies on this trip. I think it's because she's already collected most of the WDW ones so the DLR ones were all new to her. So she started off by getting these in Tomorrowland.

Didn't bother with them at WDW, but I think I just might for DL

 

[chunkymonkey]

I've seen your TRs for a while now, but I've only caught them when they're almost over. I'm glad to get in on one when it's just starting.

Thanks for reading!

So where does DH's family live? You said boondocks, but I don't think from the shots of the house that it's someplace like Nuevo. That's serious boondocks! I'm guessing it's more like Perris or Moreno Valley.

I'll send you a PM, just to respect DH's family's privacy, but it's near Moreno Valley...I think? I am not too familiar with the area, all I know is that it really is quite desert-like.

Yay! Can't wait till I'm seeing the same.

You will have a great time!

I am perplexed by your husband's logic (if we can even call it that )

I know, right? Men.

Really great shot!

Thanks!

. I actually have zero experience with paper FP. Should be interesting

Yeah I would definitely do research on the paper FP rules. We had to refresh ourselves a bit. Also note which FP are disconnected, and most of them aren't available during the extra morning hour (I think only the World of Color one is active)

That does sound better. Maybe I can redeem myself there

It's much easier for a mediocre player like myself to get good, and also for a good player to get even better (DH). Haha.

Didn't bother with them at WDW, but I think I just might for DL

My sister bought this little pressed penny display book. It was cute and she filled it up quickly. She didn't even get all the pennies either. That would probably take 2 or 3 books.

 

[franandaj]

I'll send you a PM, just to respect DH's family's privacy, but it's near Moreno Valley...I think? I am not too familiar with the area, all I know is that it really is quite desert-like.

That's close enough. Everything out there is very desert like. Heck most of So Cal is desert like. We just import water to make it an artificial tropical paradise.

Being from the tri state area, your idea of boonies is very different than folks who have spent time in small rural CA towns. Heck when it's practically a once in a lifetime event when your town gets its first stoplight or McDonalds, you know it's the boonies!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 4 Part 2: Double-booking dilemma and Cafe Orleans lunch!

I can't believe I booked an ADR at the same time as our Hyperspace Mountain FP. I kept getting the timing of everything confused on this trip. I dunno, maybe it was the time difference?

Considering I was looking forward to riding Hyperspace so much, I didn't want to jinx it and think we could just show up after the FP window expired. I know we could have said we had ADRs at the same time and arrived later, but considering the wait times were through the roof right now, I didn't want to chance it in case they were being really strict with the FP window.

So I tried to call the DL dining number to see if we could change or cancel without a penalty. I've had luck doing this in the past by saying I made a mistake booking on the app. First of all, I was put on hold for a long amount of time, longer than I've had to wait for Disney Disney Dining. Then, the CM I had was very unapologetic and said the only they could do was cancel with a 30 dollar penalty fee. There were no other times available that day. I kept the reservation then pondered what to do. I guess I could have called back and gotten a different CM and maybe a better outcome but I wanted to DO something and not just be on the phone for a while. I thought that maybe if we went to Cafe Orleans early they could perhaps seat us. It was about 11:30 at this time. Seemed like as good of a plan as any, so we headed to Cafe Orleans, which is on the opposite side of the castle.

When we arrived we told the CMs at the podium about our dilemma. They responded that they didn't have any availability to move it to any other time. BUT they also told me that as long as we checked in there at some point today it wouldn't be considered a cancellation even if it was a couple of hours lster. Good to know! One of the CM's asked what our FP was for, and when we said Hyperspace, he said, Oh I would DEFINITELY do that first.
It's a good thing I asked and now crisis averted!

We headed back to Tomorrowland to wait for our Hyperspace FP window open. In the meantime we got to use our Buzz Lightyear FP. This time I wasn't so lucky. But I totally believe I had a faulty gun because my score just wouldn't go up halfway through the ride...

As we were leaving Buzz we grabbed FP for Star Tours. This ride was packed all the time. I never thought it was so popular before, but I guess because it's part of Tomorrowland and is one of the first attractions you see, it gets more foot traffic? We had some time so we visited Star Wars Launch Bay to grab a picture with our favorite furry friend. The wait time was about 15 minutes.

We walked around Launch Bay a bit but I wasn't that into it on this trip, mostly because I had overloaded on it at DHS back in Feb. The DL version had the same stuff just laid out differently and it was more spacious. Still pretty cool to see though. They do not have Jawas there but apparently Boba Fett makes an appearance from time to time.

Finally it was time for...the moment I had been waiting all this time for...HYPERSPACE MOUNTAIN! The line was really long, about 75 minutes and I was hoping our wait time on the FP line wouldn't' be too long. In total I think we waited about 20-25 minutes.

I was so excited when we finally got to see the ride vehicles. I remember I LOVED this ride at DLR. I don't hate it at WDW, I just dislike it there. The ride vehicles are completely different and the WDW one uses a tobogan vehicle like the Matahorn which I don't enjoy, plus it's bumpy and jerky.

People were CLAPPING as they got off the ride. Was it really that good?

Finally it was our turn!!



YES.​

​

IT IS THAT GOOD.​

​

IT IS IN FACT, AMAZING!

From the first moment you turn the corner in your vehicle the Star Wars theme begins blaring. The soundtrack plays as you zip around a galactic war between the rebellion and imperial forces. Think Tie Fighters and X-Wings. It's soooo awesome, especially because DH and I are Star Wars fans. CS is not a big SW fan but she loved it too and thought it was an excellent ride!

And yes everyone clapped when the ride was over. Best ride ever!!

As we left we got another FP for later....very much later at 9pm. But hey, we get to ride it twice!!

Which puts us in another little dilemma...we have ADRs for the Paint the Night package at Blue Bayou at 6pm. I was assuming we would be getting the first Paint the Night parade at 8:45pm, but I was hoping to request the later parade at 10:15. In between, the Disneyland Forever Fireworks were set to go on at 9:30. The evening was packed! But since it's the last night for everything we had no choice if we wanted to experience it all and just kinda make it all work.

But now, it was time for some lunch! So back to Cafe Orleans we go. We were lucky the weather was nice or it would have been 10x worse for us to be walking back and forth. It was warm and sunny but no humidity which was great. We checked in at Cafe Orleans and waited for them to text my phone. In the meantime we all went to the stores nearby.

My sister loves the jewelry in this store. Reminds her of the same stuff they sell in that store in the Mexico Pavilion in Epcot.

I was texted about 15 minutes later. We were seated outside under a big umbrella. It was actually nice to sit and people watch. And there were a lot of people! It was packed that day.

I wanted to share with you my park bag. It's a Lesportsac with a Mickey/Minnie print and it looks like they are in Hawaii. It combines my two favorite vacation places, Hawaii and Disney into one, so of course I HAD to get it. Funny thing is that my sister ALSO got the exact same bag and she used hers too, so she had to stick a dangle-y thing on her zipper pull so we could distinguish her bag from mine.

OK time for lunch!! We were hungry! The day's activity had definitely worked up an appetite for us. Here's what we ordered:

We started with the Pomme Frites to share. Traditional French Fried Potatoes tossed with Parmesan, Garlic, and Parsley served with Cajun Spice Rémoulade. I had heard these were really good fries and it didn't disappoint. Crisp fries with grated Parmesan and garlic, what's not to love?

I was in a cheesy mood so I got the Three-Cheese Monte Cristo: Swiss, Mozzarella, and Double Crème Brie fried in a light batter and served with Berry Purée dusted with Powdered Sugar. This was really yummy, but very heavy. I liked the berry dipping sauce with the sandwhich. I think that definitely made it super good. It was too much for me to finish because the sandwich was HUGE! Luckily I was with two other people who liked it too. It kinda reminded me of a cross between puffy french toast from Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, and a grilled cheese sandwich. Best of both worlds!

DH got the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich: Fried Green Tomatoes and Zucchini, Pickled Slaw, and Cajun Rémoulade on a Potato Roll served with your choice of fresh Fruit or House-made Seasoned Chips. He enjoyed this, said it was a nice light lunch. I had a few bites and thought it was good too, although I would have preferred it without the remoulade.

Here's a picture of the cross section of sandwich:

My sister who said she was on a diet, got the "Crescent City" Salad with Pan-seared Atlantic Salmon ​

on top of fresh Mixed Greens, tossed with Caramelized Pecans, Red Grapes, Navel Orange Segments, Caramelized Onions, Chopped Green Onions, Roasted Sweet Corn, and Orange-Cilantro Vinaigrette.

She doesn't normally eat salads but tried her best to stay on track. She's a picky eater though so she ate the salmon, oranges, and grapes but left most of the greens. She thought the pecans were too sweet and the addition of corn was weird. DH and I ate the rest of her salad and we thought it was pretty good.

It was a good lunch. Pricey, but a welcome meal on our first day. I kept eating bites of the last quarter of my sandwich. I was really full but I couldn't stop eating although it definitely made me not want to eat the rest of the day.

After lunch DH and I decided that after Star Tours, we would leave the park and head to the resort to swim. The park was getting kinda crowded and we just wanted to relax before the evening's festivities. CS was on a mission to get more pennies and character pics around the park so she wanted to go off on her own. Before we split up we decided to take some pictures at the Castle before they removed the 60th decorations.

We found a few PP photographers and their lines were long. It was our last opportunity though so we waited.

So one of the photographers must have been really really bored...I mean, just look at this:

And this. I have no words for the picture below. No words.

I have no idea what he was making us do but it must have been pretty funny for him (and everyone else) to watch. Hahaha.

So CS went off to do her own thing and DH and I headed back to Tomorrowland to use our Star Tours FP.

Star Tours was fun and it is the same as the WDW one. Of course I wasn't the Rebel Spy (but it was an adult, and not a kid that was chosen!). It looks like the Jakku scene is not mandatory now, but I wonder if they will add any Rogue One stuff to the mix next year. That would be interesting.

Since we were in Tomorrowland, we tried to take the Monorail to DTD and then walk back to the resort. We wanted to see where it would drop us off in DTD. I say tried because when we got on line, the Monorail was at the station but it didn't move for quite some time. I think there were some technical difficulties so we ended up getting off the line since it hadn't moved. We did get these pictures though while on line.

We ended up walking out of the park and walking back to the Grand Californian. Before we left though, DH swung by Indiana Jones to pick up FP for the both of us. We texted CS to let her know since she had her own ticket, but I don't think she bothered to get one. The walk back to our resort was short. I think we waited in line a lot longer than the walk took us!

Coming up...the Grand Californian, Blue Bayou, Paint the Night...and Disneyland Forever!​

 

[ArielSRL]

I love cheese and I love berries but I don't think I've ever combined them....however, that really is tempting my taste buds right now! Oh and the Parmesan and garlic on the fries sounds divine!

Glad you were able to solve the ADR/FP dilemma! Glad the rude was all you expected and more! Sounds like a wonderful morning/early afternoon. Looking forward to the rest of the day!