sophies*mom
A dream is a wish your heart makes.
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2011
- Messages
- 573
Great trip report! I love that it is so detailed, I feel like I'm there with the two of you 
Can We Move Here and Be Panchos Handlers? A Sept '11 Throwback TR (Complete)
- Thread starter tayalltheway
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- Status
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Glad you liked our Photopass photo shoot.
All the castles are SO different! Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland definitely looks like a bit of a dwarf when you compare it to the other castles around the world, but it's quaint and we enjoy it. We were really glad to be reunited with Pancho again. He's definitely our best donkey friend.Great trip report! I love that it is so detailed, I feel like I'm there with the two of you
Thanks for reading! I'm glad that you're enjoying
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Chapter 42
Costume Party
Since we were heading to the exit from this park anyway, we thought it would be fun to take a Main Street Vehicle back to Town Square. Suddenly, the fire engine pulled up!
We climbed aboard and had it all to ourselves besides the driver.
It was fun taking the ride down Main Street and hearing the driver point out some of the little details. First we passed the Carnation Plaza Gardens, which is another of the places that are gone from Disneyland a year and a half later. Now thats Fantasy Faire!
We enjoyed talking with the driver. He had been driving the fire engine for many years, so he was a fount of knowledge.
We arrived in Town Square and disembarked. The driver gave us both Disneyland Firefighter stickers that we quickly donned. We decided to get a couple Photopass pictures in front of the Mickey pumpkin.
The photographer told us to look scared
We noticed that Suzy, one of the mice from Cinderella, was meeting outside the Opera House, so we decided to go over.
Not sure whats going on in this picture. Maybe shes showing her muscles ?
Next, we wanted to get a picture with Pluto in his Halloween costume. We complimented him on his fancy collar.
Donald was dressed in his pumpkin costume.
And Goofy was a skeleton.
With that, we had met all of the Fab Five in their Halloween garb, so we could officially check that off our list! Now it was time to park hop.
We made our way over to DCA and walked past Condor Flats (because with the crazy blocked off Buena Vista Street, this was pretty much the only way to get anywhere in the park).
Continuing our walk along construction walls, we ended up in Hollywoodland.
We decided to take some pictures in front of the Hollywood sets.
Alas, Aladdin was dark today, so wed have to complete our viewing of the show some other time.
We kept checking out various facades along the street.
And Tracy tried to get into this house.
Now, we actually had a dark ride we hadnt experienced yet, so we made our way into the short queue for Monsters, Inc.Mike and Sully to the Rescue.
The whole queue area of this ride has some awesome details.
We got ready to board our taxi, and we were on our way through Monstropolis.
The ride was fun. I think its a great Disney dark ride in the spirit of the classics, and I love that it doesnt usually have much of a wait. At the end, Roz told us she liked our ears, so that was fun too.
Continued in Next Post
Costume Party
Since we were heading to the exit from this park anyway, we thought it would be fun to take a Main Street Vehicle back to Town Square. Suddenly, the fire engine pulled up!
We climbed aboard and had it all to ourselves besides the driver.
It was fun taking the ride down Main Street and hearing the driver point out some of the little details. First we passed the Carnation Plaza Gardens, which is another of the places that are gone from Disneyland a year and a half later. Now thats Fantasy Faire!
We enjoyed talking with the driver. He had been driving the fire engine for many years, so he was a fount of knowledge.
We arrived in Town Square and disembarked. The driver gave us both Disneyland Firefighter stickers that we quickly donned. We decided to get a couple Photopass pictures in front of the Mickey pumpkin.
The photographer told us to look scared
We noticed that Suzy, one of the mice from Cinderella, was meeting outside the Opera House, so we decided to go over.
Not sure whats going on in this picture. Maybe shes showing her muscles ?
Next, we wanted to get a picture with Pluto in his Halloween costume. We complimented him on his fancy collar.
Donald was dressed in his pumpkin costume.
And Goofy was a skeleton.
With that, we had met all of the Fab Five in their Halloween garb, so we could officially check that off our list! Now it was time to park hop.
We made our way over to DCA and walked past Condor Flats (because with the crazy blocked off Buena Vista Street, this was pretty much the only way to get anywhere in the park).
Continuing our walk along construction walls, we ended up in Hollywoodland.
We decided to take some pictures in front of the Hollywood sets.
Alas, Aladdin was dark today, so wed have to complete our viewing of the show some other time.
We kept checking out various facades along the street.
And Tracy tried to get into this house.
Now, we actually had a dark ride we hadnt experienced yet, so we made our way into the short queue for Monsters, Inc.Mike and Sully to the Rescue.
The whole queue area of this ride has some awesome details.
We got ready to board our taxi, and we were on our way through Monstropolis.
The ride was fun. I think its a great Disney dark ride in the spirit of the classics, and I love that it doesnt usually have much of a wait. At the end, Roz told us she liked our ears, so that was fun too.
Continued in Next Post
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Chapter 43
We Can Draw!
We exited from Monsters, Inc. back out into Hollywood Land. Its funny seeing this picture of the stage that used to be for Disney Dance Crew and is now for the Mad T Party.
We stepped into the animation building, and I took a picture of the Once Upon a Time wall, which I love.
Heading over toward Paradise Pier, we rode The Little Mermaid one more time, and this time it didnt stop so we got the full experience.
I really liked the ride! Its a lot of fun and a nice dark ride. On the other hand, I cant imagine waiting in the absurd lines that this ride has at WDW. 5 minutes is the maximum amount of time Id wait to ride. We kept walking through Paradise Pier.
And finally we stopped when we reached our lunch destination: Corn Dog Castle.
First of all, I just love the fact that this restaurant exists and is as blatantly cheesy as possible. But second, we were already in love with a menu item we hadnt even tried yetthe Hot Link Corn Dog!
These corn dogs are as big as your arm (almost literally), are hand-dipped, fresh, and oh so delicious-looking. We love corn dogs, and we love almost any type of sausage, so this was a match made in heaven for us.
The corn dogs were fantastic! One of the best meals wed had so far on this trip, and very affordably priced as well. Of course, what the picture doesnt show is the fact that we each got corn dogswhich was WAY more food than either of us neededand we both finished the whole things. We were both feeling a little ill afterward, but it was worth it. We just vowed that in the future, we would split one dog between the two of us.
While we were feeling overfull and a little sick, the most obvious thing to do was hop on a ride. At least we were smarter than we might usually have been, and we picked Mickeys Fun Wheel. Non-swinging, of course.
Here was our view from the top.
We returned to earth feeling slightly less like we were about to explode, so that was progress.
Next, we decided to take a spin (literally) on Toy Story Mania.
I was almost glad for the twenty-minute queue today because it gave us more time to digest. ALMOST glad
We were very excited when we got a Bullseye car!
Tracy and I both got beavers, and I was the best in the vehicle.
We exited Paradise Pier and walked past Pacific Wharf.
We had plans to return there a little later in the day, so we didnt actually venture in.
Next, it was back into the construction in Hollywood Land.
We were heading to a new experience that I was excited for even though I knew almost nothing about it. Of the priority seating vouchers that came with our Costco package, we had so far only used the one for Aladdin. Now, however, we decided to turn in another set to get into Animation Academy.
I didnt really know what to expect from this attraction. First off, I assumed Id be pretty terrible at drawing whatever character we were supposed to do. We filed into the attraction through the exit about two minutes before the rest of the guests were let in, and we took seats in the front row.
Our class began with us watching a trailer for The Lion King 3D, which was just about to return to theaters. Then, the animation instructor came to the front of the class and told us wed be drawing Piglet. We started the step-by-step process, and I realized that neither of us was doing that badly. It was actually a lot of fun. By the end, both of us had made clearly recognizable Piglets in less than a half-hour. I was thoroughly impressed with the whole experience!
On the way out of the building, we stopped for a minute at the seizure-inducing (yet very impressive) Toy Story Zoetrope before heading back out to the street. We went into Off the Page to look around, and it quickly became one of my new favorite stores in DCA. Ive always been fascinated by Disney animation, and I love all the beautiful works of art they have for sale there. I took a picture of the window display, which featured a larger-than-life version of one of the Olszewski "Gallery of Light" dioramas. I really want all (or at least one) of these.
Continued in Next Post
We Can Draw!
We exited from Monsters, Inc. back out into Hollywood Land. Its funny seeing this picture of the stage that used to be for Disney Dance Crew and is now for the Mad T Party.
We stepped into the animation building, and I took a picture of the Once Upon a Time wall, which I love.
Heading over toward Paradise Pier, we rode The Little Mermaid one more time, and this time it didnt stop so we got the full experience.
I really liked the ride! Its a lot of fun and a nice dark ride. On the other hand, I cant imagine waiting in the absurd lines that this ride has at WDW. 5 minutes is the maximum amount of time Id wait to ride. We kept walking through Paradise Pier.
And finally we stopped when we reached our lunch destination: Corn Dog Castle.
First of all, I just love the fact that this restaurant exists and is as blatantly cheesy as possible. But second, we were already in love with a menu item we hadnt even tried yetthe Hot Link Corn Dog!
These corn dogs are as big as your arm (almost literally), are hand-dipped, fresh, and oh so delicious-looking. We love corn dogs, and we love almost any type of sausage, so this was a match made in heaven for us.
The corn dogs were fantastic! One of the best meals wed had so far on this trip, and very affordably priced as well. Of course, what the picture doesnt show is the fact that we each got corn dogswhich was WAY more food than either of us neededand we both finished the whole things. We were both feeling a little ill afterward, but it was worth it. We just vowed that in the future, we would split one dog between the two of us.
While we were feeling overfull and a little sick, the most obvious thing to do was hop on a ride. At least we were smarter than we might usually have been, and we picked Mickeys Fun Wheel. Non-swinging, of course.
Here was our view from the top.
We returned to earth feeling slightly less like we were about to explode, so that was progress.
Next, we decided to take a spin (literally) on Toy Story Mania.
I was almost glad for the twenty-minute queue today because it gave us more time to digest. ALMOST glad
We were very excited when we got a Bullseye car!
Tracy and I both got beavers, and I was the best in the vehicle.
We exited Paradise Pier and walked past Pacific Wharf.
We had plans to return there a little later in the day, so we didnt actually venture in.
Next, it was back into the construction in Hollywood Land.
We were heading to a new experience that I was excited for even though I knew almost nothing about it. Of the priority seating vouchers that came with our Costco package, we had so far only used the one for Aladdin. Now, however, we decided to turn in another set to get into Animation Academy.
I didnt really know what to expect from this attraction. First off, I assumed Id be pretty terrible at drawing whatever character we were supposed to do. We filed into the attraction through the exit about two minutes before the rest of the guests were let in, and we took seats in the front row.
Our class began with us watching a trailer for The Lion King 3D, which was just about to return to theaters. Then, the animation instructor came to the front of the class and told us wed be drawing Piglet. We started the step-by-step process, and I realized that neither of us was doing that badly. It was actually a lot of fun. By the end, both of us had made clearly recognizable Piglets in less than a half-hour. I was thoroughly impressed with the whole experience!
On the way out of the building, we stopped for a minute at the seizure-inducing (yet very impressive) Toy Story Zoetrope before heading back out to the street. We went into Off the Page to look around, and it quickly became one of my new favorite stores in DCA. Ive always been fascinated by Disney animation, and I love all the beautiful works of art they have for sale there. I took a picture of the window display, which featured a larger-than-life version of one of the Olszewski "Gallery of Light" dioramas. I really want all (or at least one) of these.
Continued in Next Post
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
- Messages
- 7,614
I kind of felt the need to post these here, since they seem relevant:
Pancho and Pinocchio (I think the spotted son's name is Pinocchio).
Pancho and Pinocchio (I think the spotted son's name is Pinocchio).
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
It's so much fun! We do it a lot these days and I've never been disappointed
I kind of felt the need to post these here, since they seem relevant:
Pancho and Pinocchio (I think the spotted son's name is Pinocchio).
Love your donkey pictures! We haven't gotten to pet Pancho since we moved here because they always have him in the private enclosure... Looks like you caught them on a good day!
They definitely were! Disney always does their baked goods just right
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Chapter 44
Hopping Mad
Our next stop was A Bugs Land, which we hadnt actually gone into yet.
We passed through pretty quickly without stopping to do anything. The land is really well themed though.
I love the firefly lamps.
As we were getting close to the exit from the land, we saw that Minnie was doing a meet and greet in her adventurer outfit, so we got in line. Unfortunately, we got there just as she was going in, but fortunately, the handler told us that Pluto would be right out. We asked if hed be wearing any special outfit, and she said just his normal collar. We were okay with that, so we waited around for a couple minutes until our favorite Disney dog appeared.
Next, we exited A Bug's Land and started making our way toward Grizzly Peak. We stopped at a PhotoPass photographer who had set up shop in front of the waterwheel there.
It was officially time to try out another ride we hadnt experienced yetGrizzly River Run.
Tracy and I always have mixed feelings about water-based thrill rides in theme parks. On the one hand, theyre obviously fun and I suppose it CAN be nice to get wet on an extremely hot day. 90% of the time, however, the weather just doesn't present that perfect combination of hot and sunny such that you will dry relatively quickly. I hate it when my shoes get wet almost beyond description. It just makes it miserable to walk around afterward. And if its cloudy at all or if you go into an air conditioned building, being wet just makes you cold.
Hence, we had always had a love/hate relationship with Kali River Rapids at WDW. It looks like so much fun plowing through the rapids when you watch it from the queue area, but they ensure that you get drenched. We had read that Grizzly River Run was supposed to put Kali to shame in its theming and execution, so we decided we needed to try it out.
Our first move upon reaching the front of the line was to put on our ponchos. We didnt feel like getting soaked because it was only in the 70s outside. When we got into the raft, we took our protection a step further and put our feet into grocery bags. We were determined not to wind up with soaked shoes for the rest of the day.
These precautions in place, we had a fun ride. It definitely is well-done, though maybe a little overhyped. For the most part, we stayed pretty dry, but our feet were the unfortunate exception. The rafts are built such that water just pools at the bottom, so even our bags werent enough to keep us dry. We emerged from the attraction wetter than we would have hoped, and we decided we just needed to go back to the hotel and change.
Luckily, Grizzly River Run is right next to the DCA entrance at the Grand Californian, so we just had to head back across the street and we were at Paradise Pier. We took off our shoes and tried blow-drying them for a few minutes. They got better, but were still a little damp. Our clothes were entirely doomed and we ended up just changing outfits completely. It was at this moment that we vowed never to do another raft ride again unless we could figure out a better system for staying dry. Weve just never found it to be worth the trouble.
We headed back to the parks through the Grand Californian in our dry clothes and mostly-dry shoes. I took a couple pictures of our favorite bear mural and stained glass doors at the Grand as we walked through because we knew this would probably be our last time through that area in daylight.
Passing by World of Disney, I took a picture of one of our favorite princess scenes in the windows.
This time, we headed into Disneyland.
We stopped for a couple PhotoPass pictures at the train station.
Heading through Town Square and up Main Street, we got some of our last views of the castle during the day.
We went over to Tomorrowland because we had some Space Mountain Fastpasses to use up. Tracy posed well for the picture, but my eyes were closed
Next we crossed the park over to Frontierland and just walked around that area and New Orleans Square. We saw this interesting bird hanging out in the middle of the Rivers of America.
It was time for a snack, and we knew we couldnt leave Disneyland having only been to Pooh Corner once. Heading into Critter Country, we were trying to decide what we wanted. Another Tigger Tail was the obvious choice, but we wanted to mix it up a little bit. We saw some delicious looking Chocolate Pecan Turtles in the case and decided to try one.
It tasted as good as it looked, and Pooh Corner further solidified itself as the top snack location we had found on this trip.
We had another set of Fastpasses built up, so we started making our way to Adventureland via New Orleans Square.
Indiana Jones had become one of our new favorite rides in either park, so we had to get one last ride in.
We had a lot of fun, and we were very glad that Indy was open on our trip since it was slated to be the next huge refurbishment. And with that, it was already time for us to park hop again. We were starting to get hungry for dinner and knew exactly where we wanted to go.
Continued in Next Post
Hopping Mad
Our next stop was A Bugs Land, which we hadnt actually gone into yet.
We passed through pretty quickly without stopping to do anything. The land is really well themed though.
I love the firefly lamps.
As we were getting close to the exit from the land, we saw that Minnie was doing a meet and greet in her adventurer outfit, so we got in line. Unfortunately, we got there just as she was going in, but fortunately, the handler told us that Pluto would be right out. We asked if hed be wearing any special outfit, and she said just his normal collar. We were okay with that, so we waited around for a couple minutes until our favorite Disney dog appeared.
Next, we exited A Bug's Land and started making our way toward Grizzly Peak. We stopped at a PhotoPass photographer who had set up shop in front of the waterwheel there.
It was officially time to try out another ride we hadnt experienced yetGrizzly River Run.
Tracy and I always have mixed feelings about water-based thrill rides in theme parks. On the one hand, theyre obviously fun and I suppose it CAN be nice to get wet on an extremely hot day. 90% of the time, however, the weather just doesn't present that perfect combination of hot and sunny such that you will dry relatively quickly. I hate it when my shoes get wet almost beyond description. It just makes it miserable to walk around afterward. And if its cloudy at all or if you go into an air conditioned building, being wet just makes you cold.
Hence, we had always had a love/hate relationship with Kali River Rapids at WDW. It looks like so much fun plowing through the rapids when you watch it from the queue area, but they ensure that you get drenched. We had read that Grizzly River Run was supposed to put Kali to shame in its theming and execution, so we decided we needed to try it out.
Our first move upon reaching the front of the line was to put on our ponchos. We didnt feel like getting soaked because it was only in the 70s outside. When we got into the raft, we took our protection a step further and put our feet into grocery bags. We were determined not to wind up with soaked shoes for the rest of the day.
These precautions in place, we had a fun ride. It definitely is well-done, though maybe a little overhyped. For the most part, we stayed pretty dry, but our feet were the unfortunate exception. The rafts are built such that water just pools at the bottom, so even our bags werent enough to keep us dry. We emerged from the attraction wetter than we would have hoped, and we decided we just needed to go back to the hotel and change.
Luckily, Grizzly River Run is right next to the DCA entrance at the Grand Californian, so we just had to head back across the street and we were at Paradise Pier. We took off our shoes and tried blow-drying them for a few minutes. They got better, but were still a little damp. Our clothes were entirely doomed and we ended up just changing outfits completely. It was at this moment that we vowed never to do another raft ride again unless we could figure out a better system for staying dry. Weve just never found it to be worth the trouble.
We headed back to the parks through the Grand Californian in our dry clothes and mostly-dry shoes. I took a couple pictures of our favorite bear mural and stained glass doors at the Grand as we walked through because we knew this would probably be our last time through that area in daylight.
Passing by World of Disney, I took a picture of one of our favorite princess scenes in the windows.
This time, we headed into Disneyland.
We stopped for a couple PhotoPass pictures at the train station.
Heading through Town Square and up Main Street, we got some of our last views of the castle during the day.
We went over to Tomorrowland because we had some Space Mountain Fastpasses to use up. Tracy posed well for the picture, but my eyes were closed
Next we crossed the park over to Frontierland and just walked around that area and New Orleans Square. We saw this interesting bird hanging out in the middle of the Rivers of America.
It was time for a snack, and we knew we couldnt leave Disneyland having only been to Pooh Corner once. Heading into Critter Country, we were trying to decide what we wanted. Another Tigger Tail was the obvious choice, but we wanted to mix it up a little bit. We saw some delicious looking Chocolate Pecan Turtles in the case and decided to try one.
It tasted as good as it looked, and Pooh Corner further solidified itself as the top snack location we had found on this trip.
We had another set of Fastpasses built up, so we started making our way to Adventureland via New Orleans Square.
Indiana Jones had become one of our new favorite rides in either park, so we had to get one last ride in.
We had a lot of fun, and we were very glad that Indy was open on our trip since it was slated to be the next huge refurbishment. And with that, it was already time for us to park hop again. We were starting to get hungry for dinner and knew exactly where we wanted to go.
Continued in Next Post
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Chapter 45
Mmm, Soup
After hopping to DCA, we stopped first back at The Little Mermaid for another go. We figured that since there was no line, there was nothing to lose. I took a picture of Max because we love him.
Having come back to the surface, we now made our way over to the adjacent Pacific Wharf.
We hadnt really ventured into this area yet, so first we looked around for a minute.
Between the Cars Land construction walls and the lack of Ghirardelli, there really didnt used to be much going on over there.
Now it was finally time for dinner. Tracy had chosen the Pacific Wharf Café having read excellent reviews about their bread bowls, and we were psyched to try some.
Our initial plan had been for Tracy to get the Clam Chowder and me to get the Broccoli and Cheese soup in bread bowls. Im allergic to celery, especially when its raw at all, and we had just recently come off a bad experience in Boston where the celery in our soup wasnt cooked enough and my mouth got all itchy. We were not looking to recreate that experience; hence, I was staying away from anything with celery in it at all. What we didnt realize was that this would include the Broccoli and Cheese soup. What? Who puts celery in Broccoli Cheese soup?? Usually its one of the only ones I know Ill be safe with.
So we had to change our plans. I had to go with the one soup on the menu without celery in the list of ingredientsthe Santa Rosa Corn Chowder. Once I read the description, I got in the mood for it and it started sounding quite good. Unfortunately, Tracy had been looking so forward to trying a couple bites of my Broccoli and Cheese soup that she decided she would be too sad not to get to try that. She realized she cared more about that than the Clam Chowder anyway and decided to go for the Broccoli.
Im sure our debate made us look like slight loonies to the folks in line with us, but luckily, we finally got our decisions resolved. My Santa Rosa Corn Chowder looked quite delicious.
It was really good and had a nice zing to it. Theyve since gotten rid of this soup and all the other ones without celery from Pacific Wharf so I cant get soup there anymore. Theres a version of Corn Chowder available at the French Market, but I havent tried it out and dont know for sure that it is devoid of celery.
Tracy really enjoyed her Bakersfield Broccoli and Cheese soup.
Of course, while the soups were delicious, what we were really excited for was the sourdough bread bowls.
This was before we knew about the Bakery Tour, so we hadnt yet tried any of the sourdough goodness that comes out of the Boudin Bakery. The bread bowls were so incredibly tasty. Definitely my favorite bread bowl I had ever had. We each devoured as much as possible, but it was way too much food for us to finish. We ended up finding a very pleasant duck hanging out in the water near our table, and we fed him lots of bread.
After dinner, we got up and took pictures in the big net full of fish. I feel like the picture would be a lot more dramatic from the opposite side of the water as it would look like you were actually in the net
The sun was beginning to set on our last day here, so we started to get our last set of dusky pictures. First Tracy posed with the Paradise Pier sign in honor of our temporary home.
I went and posed in the gazebo where Sailor Mickey did his meet.
We started down the ramp toward Paradise Pier and I liked the attraction posters that adorned the wall.
One ride we hadnt gone on yet was King Tritons Carousel. It never has a line and we thought it looked like fun.
We quickly were let on and grabbed our choice sea creatures. Sea lions are my favorite animal, so of course I hopped on one of them.
Meanwhile, Tracy made fast friends with this seahorse.
There were other awesome options too, including this adorable otter.
After the loading time was complete, we were on our way through the sea. Obviously it was just a normal carousel, but we still had a lot of fun.
After getting off our new undersea friends, we started to make our way out of Paradise Pier. Tracy stopped to pose with our hotel behind her.
And I took a picture with the whole section of the park looking quite fun behind me.
Alas, now it was time to leave that part of the park behind us and start making our way toward the exit for the final park hop of the trip.
Continued in Next Post
Mmm, Soup
After hopping to DCA, we stopped first back at The Little Mermaid for another go. We figured that since there was no line, there was nothing to lose. I took a picture of Max because we love him.
Having come back to the surface, we now made our way over to the adjacent Pacific Wharf.
We hadnt really ventured into this area yet, so first we looked around for a minute.
Between the Cars Land construction walls and the lack of Ghirardelli, there really didnt used to be much going on over there.
Now it was finally time for dinner. Tracy had chosen the Pacific Wharf Café having read excellent reviews about their bread bowls, and we were psyched to try some.
Our initial plan had been for Tracy to get the Clam Chowder and me to get the Broccoli and Cheese soup in bread bowls. Im allergic to celery, especially when its raw at all, and we had just recently come off a bad experience in Boston where the celery in our soup wasnt cooked enough and my mouth got all itchy. We were not looking to recreate that experience; hence, I was staying away from anything with celery in it at all. What we didnt realize was that this would include the Broccoli and Cheese soup. What? Who puts celery in Broccoli Cheese soup?? Usually its one of the only ones I know Ill be safe with.
So we had to change our plans. I had to go with the one soup on the menu without celery in the list of ingredientsthe Santa Rosa Corn Chowder. Once I read the description, I got in the mood for it and it started sounding quite good. Unfortunately, Tracy had been looking so forward to trying a couple bites of my Broccoli and Cheese soup that she decided she would be too sad not to get to try that. She realized she cared more about that than the Clam Chowder anyway and decided to go for the Broccoli.
Im sure our debate made us look like slight loonies to the folks in line with us, but luckily, we finally got our decisions resolved. My Santa Rosa Corn Chowder looked quite delicious.
It was really good and had a nice zing to it. Theyve since gotten rid of this soup and all the other ones without celery from Pacific Wharf so I cant get soup there anymore. Theres a version of Corn Chowder available at the French Market, but I havent tried it out and dont know for sure that it is devoid of celery.
Tracy really enjoyed her Bakersfield Broccoli and Cheese soup.
Of course, while the soups were delicious, what we were really excited for was the sourdough bread bowls.
This was before we knew about the Bakery Tour, so we hadnt yet tried any of the sourdough goodness that comes out of the Boudin Bakery. The bread bowls were so incredibly tasty. Definitely my favorite bread bowl I had ever had. We each devoured as much as possible, but it was way too much food for us to finish. We ended up finding a very pleasant duck hanging out in the water near our table, and we fed him lots of bread.
After dinner, we got up and took pictures in the big net full of fish. I feel like the picture would be a lot more dramatic from the opposite side of the water as it would look like you were actually in the net
The sun was beginning to set on our last day here, so we started to get our last set of dusky pictures. First Tracy posed with the Paradise Pier sign in honor of our temporary home.
I went and posed in the gazebo where Sailor Mickey did his meet.
We started down the ramp toward Paradise Pier and I liked the attraction posters that adorned the wall.
One ride we hadnt gone on yet was King Tritons Carousel. It never has a line and we thought it looked like fun.
We quickly were let on and grabbed our choice sea creatures. Sea lions are my favorite animal, so of course I hopped on one of them.
Meanwhile, Tracy made fast friends with this seahorse.
There were other awesome options too, including this adorable otter.
After the loading time was complete, we were on our way through the sea. Obviously it was just a normal carousel, but we still had a lot of fun.
After getting off our new undersea friends, we started to make our way out of Paradise Pier. Tracy stopped to pose with our hotel behind her.
And I took a picture with the whole section of the park looking quite fun behind me.
Alas, now it was time to leave that part of the park behind us and start making our way toward the exit for the final park hop of the trip.
Continued in Next Post
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Love those bread bowls! Since they no longer have any soups there without celery, we've come up with our own bread bowl method since moving out here. We buy one of the big round loaves from Pacific Wharf, then bring it home and make our own bread bowl out of it and fill it with broccoli cheese soup from Costco. It makes for a delicious meal for pretty cheap, and it's so incredibly filling!
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Chapter 46
The Last Hop
On the way out of DCA, we stopped in front of Grizzly Peak and took some pictures with that whole area. They turned out really nice because of the dusky light.
We continued toward the exit.
I had to stop and take a picture with the giant bear.
We actually went out through the Grand Californian exit because we had different plans for heading into Disneyland than the usual routine. I stopped to take a picture of our favorite Beauty and the Beast window display at World of Disney.
Cinderella too.
We hadnt yet ridden a ride that's very important to any Disney parks experiencethe Monorail!
Disneylands monorail setup seemed so bizarre to us having been used to the WDW form of transportation. Here its actually a ride requiring you to enter the park first. We arrived at the station as one monorail was pulling away, so we waited for the next one.
When ours did arrive, it was Monorail Orange.
We climbed aboard. The first thing we noticed about these monorails as opposed to the WDW ones is that they definitely feel a little smaller and more claustrophobic. Its also a little weird that they dont have air conditioning, but that wasnt an issue tonight.
We began our journey. Now, we had made sure that even though Disneyland is much more a part of the larger metropolis of Anaheim, we stayed inside the Disney bubble from the moment we hit Disney property on the first evening of our trip. We had never ventured beyond the confines of the parks, Downtown Disney, and the hotels. Hence, it was really weird riding the monorail and realizing we were right next to these busy streets.
The monorail took us past the main entrance to Disneyland, and we could see DCA in the distance.
Suddenly, we had entered the park and were zooming around high above Tomorrowland and the Nemo submarine lagoon.
We circled around past the Matterhorn.
And finally, we unloaded in Tomorrowland. We started our walk toward our last destinations of the night.
We walked past the Matterhorn as it looked gorgeous in the sunset.
We werent really back for any specific ride, but rather to just experience the last hour or so of park operation. We headed across the hub and took a few final PhotoPass pictures in front of the castle.
Next, we continued into Frontierland where the Mark Twain was looking very pretty in the dusk.
We liked this duck chilling on a crate. He got to live IN Disneyland, so we were really jealous of him right about now.
The sun continued to set.
Here was the Sailing Ship Columbia, docked where we wouldnt get to ride until our next time here.
Continued in Next Post
The Last Hop
On the way out of DCA, we stopped in front of Grizzly Peak and took some pictures with that whole area. They turned out really nice because of the dusky light.
We continued toward the exit.
I had to stop and take a picture with the giant bear.
We actually went out through the Grand Californian exit because we had different plans for heading into Disneyland than the usual routine. I stopped to take a picture of our favorite Beauty and the Beast window display at World of Disney.
Cinderella too.
We hadnt yet ridden a ride that's very important to any Disney parks experiencethe Monorail!
Disneylands monorail setup seemed so bizarre to us having been used to the WDW form of transportation. Here its actually a ride requiring you to enter the park first. We arrived at the station as one monorail was pulling away, so we waited for the next one.
When ours did arrive, it was Monorail Orange.
We climbed aboard. The first thing we noticed about these monorails as opposed to the WDW ones is that they definitely feel a little smaller and more claustrophobic. Its also a little weird that they dont have air conditioning, but that wasnt an issue tonight.
We began our journey. Now, we had made sure that even though Disneyland is much more a part of the larger metropolis of Anaheim, we stayed inside the Disney bubble from the moment we hit Disney property on the first evening of our trip. We had never ventured beyond the confines of the parks, Downtown Disney, and the hotels. Hence, it was really weird riding the monorail and realizing we were right next to these busy streets.
The monorail took us past the main entrance to Disneyland, and we could see DCA in the distance.
Suddenly, we had entered the park and were zooming around high above Tomorrowland and the Nemo submarine lagoon.
We circled around past the Matterhorn.
And finally, we unloaded in Tomorrowland. We started our walk toward our last destinations of the night.
We walked past the Matterhorn as it looked gorgeous in the sunset.
We werent really back for any specific ride, but rather to just experience the last hour or so of park operation. We headed across the hub and took a few final PhotoPass pictures in front of the castle.
Next, we continued into Frontierland where the Mark Twain was looking very pretty in the dusk.
We liked this duck chilling on a crate. He got to live IN Disneyland, so we were really jealous of him right about now.
The sun continued to set.
Here was the Sailing Ship Columbia, docked where we wouldnt get to ride until our next time here.
Continued in Next Post
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Thanks for reading! I'm so glad you enjoy them
Hope you enjoy hearing about all our adventures as locals too!tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Chapter 47
Now Its Time to Say Goodbye
Time was getting away from us as Disneyland ticked closer and closer to closing for the night. We went over to Critter Country next on our tour of the park at dusk.
While there, we bought one last snack to have a little later. Next, we walked back through New Orleans Square seeing our last glimpses of the illuminated Haunted Mansion.
With night having officially fallen, I thought the Mark Twain looked beautiful with Big Thunder Mountain looming behind it.
Big Thunder had to be our last stop as the night wore down. With just a couple minutes left until park closing, we hopped into the non-existent line.
I think we rode twice in a row, and by the time we were done, Disneyland had closed for the night. We started the walk out through Adventureland.
Rather than leaving, however, we found a seat on one of the porches along Main Street to eat our last snack. It was, of course, a Tigger Tail. You didnt think wed leave having only had one of these delectable desserts, did you?
While on our porch, we reflected on the trip and just how much we had loved Disneyland. I think it was during this time that we first started to think about the possibility of living here someday. It was very much a pipe dream at this point and could easily have been chalked up to the end-of-trip blues, but the thought definitely crossed our minds.
We loved hanging out on this porch and people watching. We decided this was OUR porch, and we continue to refer to it as such to this day.
While we sat there, the park started to empty out around us.
Finally, we began to get worried that we would get kicked out before too much longer, but we werent ready to say goodbye yet. I know I was getting choked up at the mere prospect of leaving.
So rather than head out just yet, we walked back up to the hub for a last look at all the pumpkins they had around the Partners statueone for each land. Here were our favorites.
Finally, we said our farewells to Walt and Mickey, thanking them for our amazing trip.
I took a series of pictures down Main Street and later stitched them together as a panorama.
We got ready to bid farewell to the castle. While its size had seemed almost comical upon our first glance, now it just seemed like home.
Main Street was almost entirely empty now. We knew we needed to start heading down.
As we passed our porch, I took a picture. We knew this would always be a special place for us at Disneyland.
We reached Town Square and took one last picture.
Finally, we passed back under the archways, taking some pictures of the attraction posters.
Turning back for one last look at the train station, we went through the exit, leaving the Happiest Place on Earth behind us.
Continued in Next Post
Now Its Time to Say Goodbye
Time was getting away from us as Disneyland ticked closer and closer to closing for the night. We went over to Critter Country next on our tour of the park at dusk.
While there, we bought one last snack to have a little later. Next, we walked back through New Orleans Square seeing our last glimpses of the illuminated Haunted Mansion.
With night having officially fallen, I thought the Mark Twain looked beautiful with Big Thunder Mountain looming behind it.
Big Thunder had to be our last stop as the night wore down. With just a couple minutes left until park closing, we hopped into the non-existent line.
I think we rode twice in a row, and by the time we were done, Disneyland had closed for the night. We started the walk out through Adventureland.
Rather than leaving, however, we found a seat on one of the porches along Main Street to eat our last snack. It was, of course, a Tigger Tail. You didnt think wed leave having only had one of these delectable desserts, did you?
While on our porch, we reflected on the trip and just how much we had loved Disneyland. I think it was during this time that we first started to think about the possibility of living here someday. It was very much a pipe dream at this point and could easily have been chalked up to the end-of-trip blues, but the thought definitely crossed our minds.
We loved hanging out on this porch and people watching. We decided this was OUR porch, and we continue to refer to it as such to this day.
While we sat there, the park started to empty out around us.
Finally, we began to get worried that we would get kicked out before too much longer, but we werent ready to say goodbye yet. I know I was getting choked up at the mere prospect of leaving.
So rather than head out just yet, we walked back up to the hub for a last look at all the pumpkins they had around the Partners statueone for each land. Here were our favorites.
Finally, we said our farewells to Walt and Mickey, thanking them for our amazing trip.
I took a series of pictures down Main Street and later stitched them together as a panorama.
We got ready to bid farewell to the castle. While its size had seemed almost comical upon our first glance, now it just seemed like home.
Main Street was almost entirely empty now. We knew we needed to start heading down.
As we passed our porch, I took a picture. We knew this would always be a special place for us at Disneyland.
We reached Town Square and took one last picture.
Finally, we passed back under the archways, taking some pictures of the attraction posters.
Turning back for one last look at the train station, we went through the exit, leaving the Happiest Place on Earth behind us.
Continued in Next Post
tinkerbells mum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,045
It's sad your trip is coming to an end, its been great hearing about and seeing Disneyland xx
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
It is sad to see this one coming to an end, but at least sometime soon I'll get to describing and showing all of our current adventures in Disneyland, so you'll have that to look forward to!
tayalltheway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 431
Chapter 48
Drown Your Sorrows
We exited the esplanade and headed back toward Downtown Disney.
Our time at the parks may have been over, but the night was still quite young. We were going to soak up as much Disney as possible before our last sleep at Paradise Pier. We had already seen two of the three Disney hotels, and now it was time to complete the trifecta.
We went to the Disneyland Hotel and walked under the glorious sorcerers hat, but our real destination was a little establishment in the middle of the hotels grounds. Because whats the best thing to do when youre sad? Drink!! (Im kidding, kids. Stay in school.)
We did want to try out something at Trader Sams Tiki Bar. We had heard tangential accounts of nights spent here by the WDW Radio team when they had visited Disneyland, and after reading some Yelp reviews, we decided to try it out.
As we were arriving, there was a great little band finishing up their set out on the patio. We were sad to have missed them based on what we heard. We grabbed a table outsidethe only one availableand waited for a while to see if a waiter was going to come around. We checked out the menu while we waited.
I love that theres a whole story behind the bar here and how it's related to the Jungle Cruise with some throwbacks to the Adventurers Club, which we were sad we never got to visit in WDW before it closed.
It seemed like we were out of luck waiting for someone to come take our drink order, so I went into the bar instead. I had to wait a really long time to get to the front as several people in front of me were ordering some of the specialty drinks like the Uh Oa, which has a whole show associated with its presentation.
When I finally got the bartenders attention, I ordered a Piranha Pool for Tracy and me to share. We were neither awake enough nor looking to spend enough money at this point in the trip to both get our own drinks.
Here it was in all of its glory.
Heres how it was described: It will take some skillful navigating to get you through this one! A mixture that's sure to attack your thirst for adventure! (Strawberry Vodka blended with Pineapple Juice, Cream of Coconut, Strawberry Puree, and Blue Curacao)
Tracy was beginning to wonder where I had gone in the 20 minutes while I was waiting to order, but she was glad I returned with a drink! It was really tasty! It was hard to say if it was particularly strong because we were splitting, but we were here much more for the atmosphere than for the alcohol.
After we finished, we decided to head over to the big outdoor fireplace that was burning just across the sidewalk. We had been getting a little chilly, so it was nice to sit here and soak up some heat.
Unfortunately, it was time for our night to be coming to an end. Though neither of us wanted to go to bed with the prospect of flying home in the morning, we were exhausted after our long trip. So after about a half-hour in front of the fire, we went back to Paradise Pier and hit the sack for the last time.
Overview of September 21, 2011
Highs
- Being reunited with Pancho
- Getting to meet all the remaining characters in their Halloween costumes
- Discovering Animation Academy
- Two delicious meals and a delectable final dessert
- Claiming our porch and creating some great final memories at Disneyland
Lows
- Getting a little too soaked on Grizzly River Run
- Trying to get service at Trader Sams
- Our last day in the parks
Weather
Mid 70s and sunny. Perfect California weather for our last full day.
Food of the Day
Hot Link Corn Dog from Corn Dog Castle
Continued in Next Post
Drown Your Sorrows
We exited the esplanade and headed back toward Downtown Disney.
Our time at the parks may have been over, but the night was still quite young. We were going to soak up as much Disney as possible before our last sleep at Paradise Pier. We had already seen two of the three Disney hotels, and now it was time to complete the trifecta.
We went to the Disneyland Hotel and walked under the glorious sorcerers hat, but our real destination was a little establishment in the middle of the hotels grounds. Because whats the best thing to do when youre sad? Drink!! (Im kidding, kids. Stay in school.)
We did want to try out something at Trader Sams Tiki Bar. We had heard tangential accounts of nights spent here by the WDW Radio team when they had visited Disneyland, and after reading some Yelp reviews, we decided to try it out.
As we were arriving, there was a great little band finishing up their set out on the patio. We were sad to have missed them based on what we heard. We grabbed a table outsidethe only one availableand waited for a while to see if a waiter was going to come around. We checked out the menu while we waited.
I love that theres a whole story behind the bar here and how it's related to the Jungle Cruise with some throwbacks to the Adventurers Club, which we were sad we never got to visit in WDW before it closed.
It seemed like we were out of luck waiting for someone to come take our drink order, so I went into the bar instead. I had to wait a really long time to get to the front as several people in front of me were ordering some of the specialty drinks like the Uh Oa, which has a whole show associated with its presentation.
When I finally got the bartenders attention, I ordered a Piranha Pool for Tracy and me to share. We were neither awake enough nor looking to spend enough money at this point in the trip to both get our own drinks.
Here it was in all of its glory.
Heres how it was described: It will take some skillful navigating to get you through this one! A mixture that's sure to attack your thirst for adventure! (Strawberry Vodka blended with Pineapple Juice, Cream of Coconut, Strawberry Puree, and Blue Curacao)
Tracy was beginning to wonder where I had gone in the 20 minutes while I was waiting to order, but she was glad I returned with a drink! It was really tasty! It was hard to say if it was particularly strong because we were splitting, but we were here much more for the atmosphere than for the alcohol.
After we finished, we decided to head over to the big outdoor fireplace that was burning just across the sidewalk. We had been getting a little chilly, so it was nice to sit here and soak up some heat.
Unfortunately, it was time for our night to be coming to an end. Though neither of us wanted to go to bed with the prospect of flying home in the morning, we were exhausted after our long trip. So after about a half-hour in front of the fire, we went back to Paradise Pier and hit the sack for the last time.
Overview of September 21, 2011
Highs
- Being reunited with Pancho
- Getting to meet all the remaining characters in their Halloween costumes
- Discovering Animation Academy
- Two delicious meals and a delectable final dessert
- Claiming our porch and creating some great final memories at Disneyland
Lows
- Getting a little too soaked on Grizzly River Run
- Trying to get service at Trader Sams
- Our last day in the parks
Weather
Mid 70s and sunny. Perfect California weather for our last full day.
Food of the Day
Hot Link Corn Dog from Corn Dog Castle
Continued in Next Post
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