Five Days in Wonderland: Our Halloweentime Trip: 10/21-10/26

[Lucrezia]

Hello, DISers! +waves excitedly+ Welcome to my (first-ever) trip report!! We had an amazing time, and literally JUST got back last night. I figured I might as well write this ASAP, while it’s still fresh on my mind, and since I don’t have to work today, I figured---why not? Lol. So, here goes, and forgive me if I don’t write this properly/if some pictures don’t show up, etc. Remember, I’ve never written a TR before.

THE CAST:


Me, Lucrezia (think: Aurora from “Sleeping Beauty”): You can also call me Lu, Lucy, Lulu, Crezi, Zia, and any other nickname you can come up with. Trust me, I’ve heard them all before. Lol. I grew up in Spain and the US (my parents had houses across both), and speak a few different languages. I own two dance studios, one in Europe and one here in California, where I teach lessons. I’m also an author of fiction novels, mostly YA stuff, which are quite popular in Europe. I absolutely love, love, love Disney movies (my favorite being Lion King), and Disneyland. I plan on going to WDW soon (never been), hopefully early next year. I’m twenty-five and my favorite ride is Pirates of the Caribbean.


My fiancé, Trent (think: Prince Eric from “The Little Mermaid”): Trent is slightly less enthused by Disneyland than I am. At least, he claims to be. Secretly I think he quite loves it. He freely admits to enjoying Disney movies, mostly the older ones. His favorite DLR ride would either be Thunder Mountain or RSR. He proposed to me at Disneyland, in New Orleans Square, my favorite land in the whole park. We’ll be getting married next year, on Christmas Eve, in NYC. He is twenty-six (almost twenty-seven), and owns a cocktail lounge (read: bar) in San Francisco. But he’s also on his way to becoming a practicing psychiatrist... I’m so proud of him!!


My niece, Ana (think: Wendy from “Peter Pan”): Ana is ten and lives in Spain with my sister, Verónica (though she is entirely fluent in English and spends a lot of time in the US with Trent and I). She adores Disney everything, and her favorite movie is UP. She used to loathe scary rides and couldn’t go on any serious coasters. In fact, she had a saying---if it has drops, dips or spins, I won’t ride. Lol Now, though, she loves scary rides and is even more adventurous than I am. +gasps+ Her favorite ride changes a lot, but the last time I saw her, I think it was either Space Mountain or Matterhorn.


My other niece, Lucia (think: a younger version of Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”---the animated film, that is, not the horrendous Tim Burton remake): Lucia is five, nearly six, and Ana’s younger sister. She loves Disneyland, but is pretty freaked out by the characters. Not the princesses or the “face characters,” but the other ones. Goofy and Pluto, for example. Her favorite ride is the Monsters, Inc. dark ride in DCA.


So, that’s everyone! It was originally supposed to be just Trent, Ana and I. Since we were going to Mickey’s Halloween Party, we thought it would be best for the character-timid, five-year-old Lucia to stay with her parents in Spain. The parties go on until fairly late, after all, and she’s so young. At first she was fine with this idea, but as our trip grew closer she changed her mind and asked if she could come with us. Of course we couldn’t say no. So, four people it was.

ON WITH THE SHOW!


DAY ONE: Monday, October 21st


We (Trent and I) woke up early to attend to any last-minute packing. The girls slept in. At this point, they’d been with us in California for a week, and during that time had been so excited about Disneyland it was all they could talk about... lol Our flight was at ten-ish (can’t remember the exact time), so we had to wake them up fairly early. They were very groggy and tired on the way over, but snapped out of it once we got to the airport. I got a couple of obligatory “bad airport” photos...








The girls hadn’t eaten anything before we left, so they were hungry and requested a Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Here’s what they got (albeit minus a few bites):





It was hot chocolate froyo with little M&Ms on top. They didn’t love it, but they didn’t hate it either. As we waited, I took a couple more bad pictures. Here’s a salvageable one of my carry-on, a Dooney & Burke weekender:








That pic doesn’t nearly do it justice. It’s much cuter in person. I bought a whole ton of bags from the Dooney & Burke Disney line, including an over-the-shoulder barrel purse, an iPhone case, a few wristlets, a cosmetics case, and the weekender. All are insanely adorable and I recommend them highly (but beware---they’re very expensive!).

We were flying Virgin America, SFO to LAX. Because we were sitting first-class, we got to board a bit earlier than everyone else, which was nice.






That is the one and only photo I managed to get on the airplane. And yes, the blond hair and arm you see reflected is, of course, moi. +waves excitedly again+


I had some good reading material to pass the time:





You eagle-eyed DISers will probably recognize the DLH print in that photo, behind the book. I forgot to take a photo of it, so this was taken AFTER we had already gotten to the hotel. +shakes head shamefully+ I swear I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached... Anyway. Just pretend like the background is of the airport instead and we can all move along...

I read the book, which I found on Amazon, to my nieces during the flight and each night before they went to sleep during our stay. They seemed to enjoy it very much. It was a fun read, and I even bought the sequel online for our next trip in December. I’d recommend it... nothing like reading about Disneyland when you’re in Disneyland!


More to come in next update.... (I promise it’ll be less boring, lol)

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY ONE: Monday, October 21st---Continued

Our flight was pretty good. It went by fast and having first-class seats is never a bad thing. After a nice, smooth landing, we went to collect our bags and our car arrived---which wasn't actually a car but a LIMO!







I forgot to get a picture of the outside, but trust me, it was nice. My nieces were understandably thrilled... seriously, what is it with kids and limos? Lol.

We drove to Anaheim from there. I passed the time reading some more of the Disneyland book I brought to the girls. They were bouncing off the walls with excitement.

We were staying at the DLH for the first couple of days, and then we would switch over to the GCH. I've done the switch before, but this time, for some reason, it was the hardest. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself.

After the uneventful limo drive, we ended up at the DLH. As I mentioned in my last post, Lucia's freaked out by the characters. We were staying on the concierge floor of the Adventure tower (I think that's the name), so I decided to head to that tower while Trent checked in and wait in the lobby. (Sometimes there are characters in the main tower lobby, by where you check in, so I always make sure to avoid that area when Lucia's with us.)

Here are some more lousy pictures, this time of the Adventure Tower lobby:







Trent joined us not longer after and the four of us headed to our room. Here are some photos:





Our view:













More to come

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY ONE: Monday, October 21st---Continued

So, after dropping off our bags in our hotel room, the four of us decided to head up to the concierge lounge. For those of you who have never booked the concierge, it's really a cool experience. You get access to this lounge, where they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as snacks. There's a high-end coffee machine Trent was obsessed with (I don't drink coffee so I can't vouch for the greatness of it, but he raved), and lemonade and juice for the kids. There's also pastries, Crustables PB&J sandwiches offered pretty much all day, and some seasonal goodies as well. Since it's fall, we got to try these ah-mazing mini pumpkin pies. Words can't express their deliciousness.

Here are some pictures:





















The concierge costs a little extra, but I think it's worth it because it includes meals, snacks, and drinks. Even my nieces, notoriously picky eaters, enjoy it. PLUS, it includes a great view of the fireworks---they play all the firework music along with the show, and it's just like being right there on Main Street. I'd definitely recommend.

After getting a bite to eat and a coffee for Trent, we headed for the park. We had to make one godawful stop to get our first-ever APs. It took like an hour to complete this, and by the end of it, we were all hot and miserable. While Trent waited in line, I was able to grab a few pictures of the esplanade:







I had dressed in warm clothes because we were planning on staying in the park all night. We had tickets for Mickey's Halloween Party, and since that went on until late, I wanted to dress accordingly---it gets pretty cold at night, after all. However, as we waited in line to get our Annual Passes, I quickly started to regret this move. I was wearing a long-sleeved top and long pants, with a pair of warm shoes. And it was brutal out. As in, hot and sunny. Before we had even crossed the turnstiles, I was falling apart, and Trent and the girls weren't fairing much better.

Against my better judgement, after the agonizing AP wait, we decided to head to Disneyland. I consulted a wait-time app on my iPhone and then the four of us started for Adventureland. As usual, we were in a scramble to get away from Main Street, because it's costume central over there and if Lucia sees a character, she'll freak.

Thankfully, Trent has gotten good at distracting her. So has Ana. While they were keeping her calm and oblivious, I navigated us through MSUSA, and to Adventureland. Sadly I didn't get any Main Street pictures---not yet, anyway.

For some reason, we had never done Indiana Jones. I guess it has to do with the fact that we used to have two little girls with us who hated/couldn't ride any scary E-ticket attractions. But now that Ana's older and braver, it was at the top of our list.

The wait was 45 minutes, I think, but since we'd never done it before, we decided to go for it. "We" being Ana and I, that is. Trent was a trooper and volunteered to wait outside with Lucia while we rode. He really is the best.

While we were in the queue, he grabbed himself a FastPass for Indy and kept Lucia entertained. I think they might've gone on Jungle Cruise, but I'm not 100% sure.

Some bad queue pictures:







While we were in line, I gave Ana The Speech. Some of you parents/aunts/uncles out there might know about The Speech, where you tell the child with you that they shouldn't be scared, that it's just a ride, that if they get nervous that they can hold your hand, etc. Well, I gave Ana my own version of The Speech, telling her if she gets freaked out, she can close her eyes, that no matter how scary it is, it can't be any scarier than a Stephen King novel, and so forth. Midway through, she stopped me and said, "I really don't think I'll be scared, Aunt Lucrezia; I'm ten now."

Well!

It amazes me how fast they grow up. One minute, Ana's hiding behind my back to hide her view of the Haunted Mansion exterior, and the next, she's telling me to shut up and let her ride Indiana Jones in peace. Lol.

You gotta love kids, am I right?

More to come...

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY ONE: Monday, October 21st---Continued

Right, then. Soooo, after a surprisingly short wait, Ana and I boarded Indiana Jones for the first time ever.

And it... was... EPIC. We both seriously loved it, especially the drop near the end when the big ball thingy comes at you. So fun!

My one and only complaint is that it was a little loud for my liking. I have pretty sensitive ears, and a lot of the attractions and shows at Disneyland are too loud for me. I usually end up having to plug my ears through some of the louder rides because of it, which is no fun. (File that away for later, because my sensitive hearing becomes a reoccurring theme here.)

Anywho. It was great, and afterwards, the four of us headed up to NOS to ride a shared favorite of ours:





Yep, POTC! Sorry for the lousy queue pictures. My Pirates photos never come out right.

We snaked around the ride during our wait in a way we never had before, and I saw an elevator that I assume goes to the Disney Dream Suite? Someone correct me if I'm wrong...






Either way, I thought it was kind of cool.



After POTC, we had a reservation at Blue Bayou. It's a standard tradition that whenever we come to Disneyland, we have to do a Blue Bayou dinner on our first night. It's the perfect way to kick off a vacation.

Because of Mickey's Halloween Party, we got the chance to order off either the lunch menu, or the dinner menu. The menus themselves are pretty similar, but we got a few extra options having them both.



My niece Lucia ordered the Louisiana Lemonade, which came with a color-changing glow cube she got to take home:



Now, around this time, I started to feel sick. I was hot and had these weird stomach pangs. Because I'm a dance instructor, I thought I might've pulled a muscle or something. However, these stomach pangs were worse than normal and very painful.

Because of this, I was too distracted to get ANY pictures of our dinner. I'm still kicking myself for that one. I know that I got the filet mignon, which was very good. I have no idea what Trent and the girls ordered, but they liked theirs as well.

For dessert, Ana got this special Halloween demitasse treat, and I finally remembered to take a picture:



She loved it.

At this point, my stomachache had subsided---instead, it was replaced with a horrendous migraine. Sometimes, I think I have the absolute WORST luck. Not only did I get a headache, but I had no Advil with me to take. I knew I was going to have to go back to the DLH and take something. But when we left the restaurant, NOS was already starting to get crowded, thanks to MHP, which would be starting soon.

Trent asked me if I wanted to just skip the party because of my head. I told him I didn't want to do that because of the girls, but they said they were both too full and tired to do the party. Honestly I think they were both in need of a nice nap.

I asked Trent if he wanted to stay in the park with Ana and Lucia while I ran back to the DLH, but he said he didn't want to do it without me. Anyway, we ended up giving away our tickets because none of us were really "up for it."

I felt like kind of a loser. We'd only done two rides and were already calling it a night. Doesn't get much worse than that. Trent was really sweet about it and understanding; even Ana and Lucia didn't seem to mind. They were pretty exhausted.

We had tickets for two more MHPs, one on Wednesday and one on Friday. But I was still disappointed that we had wasted our money.

We went back to the hotel and I took some Advil. Eventually, it kicked in, and I felt a bit better. We went to the concierge lounge to play cards and read a bit, then went to sleep.

Thus concludes our lackluster Day One. I promise it gets better from here, really.

More to come...

 

[DisneyFan3113]

I'm following along! So bummed we went to DLR at the same time and never ran into each other. Maybe someday! Great TR so far, btw.

 

[Lucrezia]

I'm following along! So bummed we went to DLR at the same time and never ran into each other. Maybe someday! Great TR so far, btw.

Thank you!!

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd

After the disappointing Day One, I woke up the next morning feel determined to hit a lot of rides/get better pictures/be more prepared. This time around, I packed plenty of Advil in case I got a migraine again (which, thankfully, I did not), and went upstairs bright and early with Trent to the concierge lounge while Ana and Lucia slept in.

Here's a picture of DTD I got from our room:



And Paradise Pier, way off in the distance… as you can tell, it was kind of muggy and overcast out, which didn't bother me too much (it's really sunny days that kill me):



Upstairs in the concierge, Trent got one of his infamous coffees while I took pictures of the breakfast offerings:











I wasn't hungry, but I grabbed these two mini pastries for Ana and Lucia to eat once they woke up:



They really enjoyed them.

Not long after, we went to line up for the monorail. Since we were staying at the DLH, we got Magic Morning privileges at Disneyland. The first ride I wanted to do was Space Mountain, since it was in its Halloween form---Ghost Galaxy---and I've never tried it before with that overlay.

Our fellow Magic Morning monorail-goers:



And here are some pictures I took during the nice, leisurely ride:



The Disneyland turnstiles and esplanade, where all the non-Disney hotel people had to line up. Not too bad, right??



WRONG!



Thankfully we didn't have to get in that line… God bless Magic Mornings!



We never made it to Nemo, so these are some of the only pictures I have:







More to come---stay tuned!

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd---Continued

Where did I leave off? Oh, that's right. The monorail.

And the good ol' Matterhorn Mountain:





Okay, Mini-Rant Time: Why do so many people have Matterhorn hate?? Pretty much all my friends loathe this ride. They say it's too "bumpy" and jerks them around. I guess I'm really good at steadying myself, because I never have a problem with being lurched around. In fact, Matterhorn is one of my favorite rides! I'll admit, it's not the smoothest ride in the park (certainly Space Mountain is far, far smoother), but I wouldn't say it's capable of doing any serious damage, either. Yet almost everyone I talk to seems to despise it… even Trent! Grrr.

Rant over. We can now get back to our regularly scheduled report.

As you can see, the park was pretty desolate:





A "juicy" (no, not really) behind-the-scenes picture…



And some more of the delicious photographer's porn: Matterhorn Mountain. Why oh why is this attraction so fun to take pictures of? Oh, that's right: It's gorgeous.





The monorail is probably my favorite place to take pictures from. It goes slow enough that they don't usually come out too blurry, and you get a great bird's eye view of the park.

At this point, my nieces were just about bouncing off the walls with excitement. They had woken up still a bit tired from the night before, but their energy had quickly returned to them… and I'm sure it had absolutely nothing to do with that chocolate croissant and mini muffin I gave them…

As I mentioned, the first ride of the day was Space Mountain. Since Trent had let me ride Indy with Ana the day before (and no, in case you were wondering, he never ended up using that Fast Pass), I let him go on it first while I did some kiddie ride with Lucia. I can't remember what it was, since I didn't get any pictures.

The one and only photo Trent took of Space Mountain:



Sigh. I think he's an even worse photographer than I am. Lol.

When we met back up, he stayed with Lucia while Ana rode again, this time with me. Here's the not-much-better picture that I took:



There was literally no wait, so I didn't have much time to take any better ones. Did I mention that I love Magic Mornings??

Okay, now for my review: It was… FANTASTIC! I've heard mixed things about Ghost Galaxy, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say, I loved it. I don't think it was better than Space Mountain is in its normal form, but it's certainly just as good! Again, it was a tad loud for my liking… but not too bad. Ana and Trent loved it, as well, and they're harsher critics than I am.

In the spirit of trying new things, we decided to do Star Tours next. Somehow this is another attraction we had yet to try. I'd heard lots of good things about it here on the Boards, so I was eager to see what the hype was about. And luckily, this was one all four of us could do together.

Here's some lousy Tomorrowland shots:





Queue pictures time!!





And now, my review: Loved it!! I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this one, but all my expectations were exceeded. I've always been a fan of 4D-style mini movies, and this one didn't disappoint. I had been hoping Lucia or Ana would get picked as the rebel spy, though, and was a little sad that none of us were chosen. It became my mission to have someone in our group get picked before the trip was over (and if that would mean riding Star Tours a billion times, so be it).

Afterwards, we each rode SMGG one more time, taking advantage of the wonderfully nonexistent line… which had grown a bit during our Star Tours ride:



It still wasn't too bad, though, and moved very quickly.

All right, so one thing you all should know about me is that I'm a firm believer in ghosts, and have thought for a very long time now that Disneyland is haunted. (No, I'm not crazy… hear me out first!) I've read a book on the subject and did some online research. It's pretty creepy stuff. I love a good ghost story, though, especially around Halloween. And the more research I did, the more I found out about all the deaths that have happened in Disneyland over the years and the rumored "ghosts" that haunt the park.

Still with me? We're about to get to the reason why I'm telling you this.

The last time we visited the park, I indirectly had a creepy encounter at Blue Bayou. And this time, we had another spooky experience, this time on Space Mountain, which is one of the attractions that's rumored to be haunted.

After Trent and Ana rode, they came outside to meet up with Lucia and I. Trent, who knows about my beliefs, told me that during the ride something kind of odd happened. He felt someone run their fingers up his leg.

At the time, he thought Ana had somehow reached across him and was doing it to mess with him, he just couldn't see her arm in the dark. But she swore she never touched him.

A ghostly encounter, or just his imagination? I'll let you decide.

More to come...

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd---Continued

So, after hitting up the rides in Tomorrowland, we headed to NOS. At this point some of us were getting a bit hungry (cough cough Trent cough cough), and therefore we went to an old favorite of ours, the Mint Julep Bar.

They had pumpkin beignets there as a seasonal offering, which sounded great to Trent (he's already a big beignet fan in their normal form). He picked us up a bag and got us each a mint julep while Lucia, Ana and I found seating.

Here's my breakfast:



It was delicious. I think I liked the pumpkin beignets more than the normal ones, even.

Once we finished, the four us headed over to Indiana Jones. I don't remember the wait, but I guess it must've been decent because Trent and I were both able to ride this time.

A queue picture:



After Indy, we crossed the esplanade and headed over to California Adventure, for lunch at Flo's. The beignets had been a nice snack, but they hadn't entirely filled some of us up (cough cough Trent cough cough).

I've been curious about Flo's for awhile now. I've heard some mixed things about it, but the idea of eating in Cars Land was just too enticing to pass up.

Picture time!







I got a few more of the interior, but none of them turned out very well.

While Trent ordered---the pork loin for him, turkey for me, and I think the girls got the mini sandwiches---I found us a prime seat inside, right next to a window that overlooked RSR.

Our view:



I dropped my things there and told Trent where we were sitting, then made a quick run to the restroom. Well, when I came out, Trent and the girls were nowhere to be found.

My tray was there, waiting for me, but they… were not. Okaaay, I thought, that's a little weird. Since my food was there, though, I decided to sit and see if they'd show up.

Minutes ticked by. My "prime spot" allowed lots of people to stare at me as they walked by, like I was a freak for eating alone… seriously, guys, what's wrong with eating by yourself? I started to get kind of nervous and finally texted Trent a message along the lines of, Where r u guys??

He texted me back, We're eating outside.

I guess what had happened was that he didn't like the table I had picked (the sun was right on him), and so he had moved the girls outside. Well, that's fine, but it would've been nice if you'd stuck around long enough to tell me!

Men.

Once the confusion was over, I grabbed my tray and met up with them. We had a better view of Luigi's at Trent's table. I purposely ate fast so that I had time to grab some Cars Land pictures while they finished.









As you may've noticed, I AGAIN forget to take pictures of our food. What is wrong with me?? I did remember in time to grab a couple of shots of what remained on our plates after we had finished.

Here's Trent's leftovers:



And here's mine:



No pics of Lucia's or Ana's (my bad!). We all really enjoyed our lunch and I would go to Flo's again, if just for the great view.



Do you see what I see…?



More to come...

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd---Continued

More Cars Land pictures:







Flo's V8 Cafe menu:







More to follow...

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd---Continued

After that, Trent, Ana, Lucia and I headed back to the DLH for some much-needed R&R.

We had arranged for an "in-room celebration" to surprise my nieces. For those of you not in the know, an in-room celebration is when you get your room decorated with special Disney merchandise and decor. We've done it once before, a few years ago, to celebrate my nieces' first trip to the DLR.

I hadn't planned on doing it again, but then I heard about the Skellington Mickey package. It was Halloween-themed and sounded amazing. I knew Ana & Lucia would just love it, so I decided to splurge and arranged to have it done… the day after we arrived at the resort.

Why wait until the next day, you ask? Well, for one thing, it would completely blindside my nieces if they already had been expecting something (which I don't think they had). But the real reason is that the last time, having the room decorated on the day we arrived actually hung us up and made us have a later check-in than we'd desired.

So, Day Two it was.

When we got to our room, this is how the door looked:



Right away, when they saw that, Lucia and Ana both turned to me with stunned expressions.

"There's not going to be a character in there, right??" Lucia asked, as if she seriously thought I planned on torturing her by arranging for her biggest fear to be waiting inside our room maniacally. Lol.

I assured her there wasn't. Trent gave Ana the key and she got to open the door. As soon as she did, the girls both gasped.

It was completely dark, save for the glowing toys set up around our room. Here's a few bad pictures that in no way capture the delightful spookiness:







Once we got the lights turned on…





These fake cobwebs were all over the room:







These little pumpkins were scattered all across the floor:



















Gummy worms, anyone? My sister is going to kill me for all the junk food I gave her daughters…



Note the Dooney & Burke iPhone case, blond hair, and chipped nail polish. Yep, that's me all right.











More to come soon.

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd---Continued





















Okay, I swear that's the last of the in-room celebration photos. I guess I went a little crazy with the picture-taking…

More to come.

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd---Continued

Sometime later, we hopped back on the monorail and returned to Disneyland. Here are some more monorail pictures:















I think we did Star Tours and maybe Indiana Jones, but I can't quite remember. Afterwards, we booked it over to New Orleans Square just as it was getting dark, to cross off another yet-to-be-tried ride: Haunted Mansion Holiday.

Of course we (minus Lucia) have all done this ride in its normal form loads of times. But during the holiday season? Nope. I was glad, too, because since the scariness was tuned down a bit, Lucia was even willing to give it a try. Score!

A very bad, lone photo (hey, give me a break, it was dark out!):



My review: GREAT ride! I still love Haunted Mansion without the Halloween/Christmas overlay, but it was a nice change of pace. The ballroom scene in particular was spectacular. I loved the smells and the huge gingerbread piece! Also, the graveyard scene at the end… how cute! I'm glad it'll still be like that when we go again in December, because it's one of those rides you HAVE to do over and over again (which we couldn't do because of the long wait).

Up the trail we went, to Critter Country. A ride on Splash Mountain was long overdue…

While Ana and I did Splash, Trent took Lucia on Winnie the Pooh. I'm glad he did it and not me because I really hate that ride. Lol.

Splash Mountain was great, as usual. Ana always gets a little nervous when we're about to do The Big Drop at the end, and admittedly, so do I. In fact, I almost always close my eyes when we go down. I know, I'm such a baby.

The animatronics make me wish I could've ridden American Sings, though, before they closed it. I think the animatronics are probably my favorite part of the ride, even.

I asked Ana if she wanted to do it again with Trent, or stay with Lucia and I. It's always hard to tell if she's actually enjoying herself, or just putting on a brave face because she doesn't want to admit she's scared of something.

She said she wanted to do it again quite convincingly, though, so while they rode I took Lucia to Pooh Corner. I absolutely love this place.









Gotta love Mike and Monsters, Inc., am I right??





I thought these his-and-hers aprons were adorable, and once Trent & Ana emerged from Splash, I showed them to him. He was not so amused.





Coming up next---our dinner at Steakhouse 55! Stay tuned…

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY TWO: Tuesday, October 22nd---Continued

After leaving Critter Country, we returned to the DLH for our dinner reservation at Steakhouse 55.

For those who don't know what/where that is, it's an elegant steakhouse at the DLH, right next to Goofy's. It seems to be one of those undiscovered gems people sometimes overlook. The food is great, the servers are almost always exceptional, and it has a perfect "retro" theme and feel to it that Trent and I love.

Okay, enough gushing. Time for some pictures (I took these at the END of our meal, so you'll have to excuse the to-go bag):













Yeah. Pretty awful pictures, eh? Well, trust me, the restaurant is much much prettier in person than these photos show.

I think I ordered the salmon. Trent got the pork chops and raved about them. We split a side of risotto that was unbelievably good. I have no idea what Ana and Lucia ordered…

…and, again: No food pictures.

Argh. I am an idiot.

Anyway, the meal was delicious. I liked the risotto so much I wanted to take it to-go (as evidenced by the doggie bag in the above picture). I was pretty sure we had a microwave at the concierge, but since we were checking out the next day and checking in to the GCH, I asked Trent if our suite at the GCH would have a microwave? For some reason, I couldn't remember.

Trent assured me there would definitely be a microwave there. So, my reluctance diminished, I asked for the risotto to go (file this away for later; though you can probably see the direction it's headed).

As we walked back to the Adventure Tower and to our room, I got a couple more (bad) pictures:





When we finally reached our room, I think I fell asleep the second I hit the pillow.

More to come…

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY THREE: Wednesday, October 23rd

On Wednesday, we had MM at DCA, and I was determined to get a Fast Pass for RSR.

We woke up early and got ready in a blur. Well, Trent and I did. The girls only take about three seconds to dress and brush their hair, so they spent most of that time sleeping in and watching Disney movies off my laptop. Ah, to be a kid…

DTD was completely deserted:





As we walked through BVS, I got some photos:













I quite like this one… I think it looks "artsy":











I love BVS. It's probably my favorite land in all of California Adventure. I like it even more than Cars Land.

While I took pictures, Trent lined up for the RSR Fast Pass. MM can be sometimes unpredictable in that the line for the actual RSR might be really short, or surprisingly long. I thought, at the time, that the best option was to just grab a FP and play it safe. Well, I was wrong---but we'll get to that.

The girls and I met up with Trent and I took a few pictures. Here's the super-short line for the FP machine (it wouldn't start moving until 8, when the machine officially opened, so we had to wait in that same spot awhile):



And our view:









More to follow shortly...

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY THREE: Wednesday, October 23rd---Continued



Trent started to get antsy as we waited for the FP to open. He didn't quite get why we were waiting in line for some dumb ticket when we could be RIDING the actual attraction. I tried to explain to him my reasons, but he still didn't understand.

I told him I'd go check out the wait for the actual ride and see how short it was while he held my place. Ana stayed with Trent, and Lucia came with me. I took some pics as we strolled down Cars Land:







There was a swarm of people ahead of me, all going straight to RSR. I decided it wasn't worth it and turned around to head back to the FP line.

When we got back, Trent was talking with the guy in line behind him. Apparently the guy's wife was riding RSR over and over again because there wasn't a line. I started to kick myself for not checking how long the wait was.

Lighting and Mater came out of Cars Land, briefly, and I got a few pictures:







My nieces were thrilled. They know all the names of the Cars Land characters, even though they've only seen the movie once. Aren't they amazing?

The line FINALLY started moving and we quickly collected our Fast Passes. Because it looked like we had wasted a chance at a wait-free ride on RSR, I developed a better plan for our next DCA Magic Morning: Go on RSR several times, then, right before DCA opens to the normal public at 8 AM, get in line for the FP machine. Brilliant, aren't I? And this strategy was entirely Trent-approved.

More to come...

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY THREE: Wednesday, October 23rd---Continued

After getting our RSR Fast Passes, we headed over to Condor Flats to ride one of my all-time favorites…





I absolutely LOVE this attraction. Unfortunately, Trent feels… well, differently.

He hates it.

Trent has a fear of heights. So do I, but his is more severe. He's fine with most rides---roller coasters, ToT, etc.---but for some reason, Soarin' is the one that sends him over the edge.

He only rode it once before with me. It was the first time for both of us, and while I had a great experience and instantly fell in love with the ride, he ended up feeling nauseous and telling me, "I'm never doing that again."

But Trent also has a hard time saying no to me. A little persuading and now, two years later, he's willing to give it another try. Go me!

There was no wait, so we got right on. I was just about jumping up and down with excitement. Soarin' and RSR are probably my favorite rides in all of DCA.

My happiness quickly died though as soon as our feet left the ground. I could tell right away that Trent was not enjoying himself. He looked really uncomfortable and freaked out, which is rare for him, and he was grabbing onto the hand rests with a fierce death grip. Poor guy!

For the record (and I have to add this or Trent will get mad at me), he usually doesn't act like such a big baby. He's usually very brave and charming and manly. Not little-girlish at all. And, ironically, the REAL little girls, Lucia and Ana, had a terrific flight and seemed in awe the whole time. It was Trent who was acting like the five-year-old. But I still love him.

After the ride ended and we got off, Trent told me, "Okay, now I'm really never doing that again!"

I laughed and said, "Trust me, buddy, I don't want you to."

To be continued…

 

[Lucrezia]

DAY THREE: Wednesday, October 23rd---Continued

I got some more photos from Condor Flats (Trent needed a second to collect himself):





We moved on toward Hollywood Land to do another favorite---Monsters, Inc.



Lucia adores this one. The whole time during our ride, she had a big smile on her face and wide eyes full of wonder. And she gets so excited at the end when Roz talks to us. It's the cutest thing.

From there, we continued on toward Tower of Terror. As I've mentioned before, I have very sensitive ears. The people on ToT seem to think that part of the ride is screaming as loud as their lungs can handle. Literally every time I've ridden I've gotten stuck with a group full of rowdy, inconsiderate Screamers. So now I can't go on ToT---which sucks because I really enjoy the ride itself.

While Ana (yep, that's right, my niece is growing up!) and Trent took a tour of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, I stayed outside with Lucia and read her some more of that Disney book. (Funnily, one of the characters in it is also named Ana.) I was able to take a few pictures, too:









She said she wanted to do Monsters, Inc. again, but I told her we should wait for Trent and Ana first. When they came out, I think we went over and did indeed ride Monsters, but I don't have any pictures to prove it.

We returned to Cars Land and rode Luigi's.









There seemed to be some kind of commercial filming during our ride. They had this crew board the ride before us normal folk, complete with a director, actors/actresses, and cameras. My nieces thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Here's a picture of the commercial people:



During the ride, the actors and actress fake-smiled and fake-laughed like they were having the time of their life. Unfortunately, they chose the wrong time to try and film it, because all the normal people kept bumping into their tire and ended up trapping them against the railing thing. The director did not look happy. But Trent and I found it hysterical.

Okay, it's review time: I really enjoy this ride. I like the feeling of floating about, and it's kind of fun when you accidentally ram into the other tires. However, it's so darn short!! You get on it after a long wait, expecting at least a few minutes of fun, and it feels like five seconds later the ride's over and you're thrown out again. I mean, come on! They couldn't make it ANY longer? POTC goes on for like thirty minutes, but Luigi's is three seconds?? That's just so unfair.

…and, rant over.

More to come.

 

[Lucrezia]

Great pics!

Aw, thank you! I lost my camera literally JUST before our trip, so I had to use one that I would've rather not have. The fact that they didn't all come out blurry is a victory in itself lol.