For the First Time In Forever.....A Disneyland reopening TR, Dark Ride photos and The End 5/8

[cruisehopeful]

The Club 33 meal looks fabulous! Glad you had a nice time.

 

[Steppesister]

The Bacon Mac n Cheese from the Cozy Cones. I don’t care for the cone part, but the Mac n Cheese is very good.

That's been on my list forever. I need to go back to DLR!

I found these earrings at the Ink and Paint store and she bought me a few pairs of them.

A few pair....???

Then we headed to Club 33. We were lucky enough to score another reservation for dinner. There was a new menu and this one had much more variety than the menu they had upon reopening.

Yay!!! And yes, that menu looked spectacular!

The Summer Peach, Vanilla Creme Fraiche Semifreddo, Lemon Pound Cake, this was soooo good! The in season peach was delicious as was the cake and semifreddo.

OH wow, that looks so pretty! And delicious too!

 

[DnA2010]

Well Toontown is about to go down for a MAJOR refurb so they probably won't do both at the same time.

For the new coaster etc right?

I can give you some pointers....

I'm going to need them!

OH man that sucks.

Right! I should have complained but meh, just too busy.

I found these earrings at the Ink and Paint store and she bought me a few pairs of them.

Those are so pretty!

However the clear winner in this game was Fran, and again she was ecstatic about having beaten me.

Is there a pattern developing here...

Jenny and I both ordered French Martinis, these are sooooo tasty! You wouldn’t hardly even know that there was alcohol in them.

I just googled to be sure what's in it, yum!

For our first courses, both Fran and I ordered the Summer Zucchini Involtini, Taleggio Cheese, Mache. It was delicious!

That looks so cute and yummy!

Local Goat Cheese, Focaccia Crouton which was superb!

Mmmm local goat cheese! I'm not a huge raw tomato fan, but those look nice and fresh

I’m pretty sure that the fish was swordfish. It was really good, but alas I was getting pretty full….I think Fran finished off my piece for me. I did eat quite a bit of it though!

Looks like a pretty heavy whitefish, which I believe swordfish is...either way, yummy!

Mine was served with this Late Harvest White.

That reminds me...

he Summer Peach, Vanilla Creme Fraiche Semifreddo, Lemon Pound Cake, this was soooo good! The in season peach was delicious as was the cake and semifreddo. I believe that Fran got this as well. No idea what Jenny ordered!

It looks sooo good! I love peaches too, so this would be up my ally, although I generally go for chocolate stuff...good think D is good about sharing

nless otherwise requested this is made with decaf coffee because they don’t want two stimulants working in your system.

That's interesting! I would have never thought either.

suggested that we check out Galaxy’s Edge after dark since he was the only one who had seen it.

I love GE at dark- we watched fireworks from there on our last trip and it was pretty neat

oops that's not the one I meant to quote, but yay for the falcon anyways!

 

[traceyg]

Yay! I'm finally caught up, so I figured I'd post about how much I am enjoying your TR.
I grew up in Los Alamitos but moved away during my high school years. We ended up in Texas and I think there's a vacuum here that keeps people. lol
We went to DL often as a family and I miss being so close.
I had leukemia in 2016 and spent the better part of 8 months in and out of the hospital. Needless to say, the second that my oncologist said I could travel I was making reservations at WDW. After I had those reservations secured my grown daughter, who lived in Utah, let me know that her boyfriend's family was taking a trip to DL. So, like any other Disney fan would do, I bought plane tickets and park tickets and we went west! lol We stayed at the Grand for that trip. Our room looked out into trees. sigh So now, after reading your report I have become terribly "home" sick and I am feeling the need to try the Grand again (and maybe get a better view?)
Like your ride and food list, I now have a true Bucket List. (almost dying will do that to you!) I forgot to add eating at Club 33! I could foresee trying to get my name in the bucket to join if it was just me, but my husband would kill me! lol He is NOT the fan that I am unfortunately. He does love me though and therefor we are DVC members 2x over. If you've ever watched Phenomenon with John Travolta and the part where Robert Duvall is in the bar and says something along the lines of "he buys her chairs".... my husband "buys my chairs" ie- He knows how much Disney means to me so he goes (and buys) to keep me happy. Thanks for including that in your TR.
Membership at one location grants you access to the others, correct? Have you eaten at any of the others? My older kids and I have a game where we point out random things in the parks to each other- the entrances to the Club 33's are one of those things.
I can't wait to read more! I hope your days aren't hectic anymore and you're enjoying time at the parks instead!

 

[franandaj]

I have no idea what the question was, but... beignets is always a good answer!

Works for me!

Oh, I get this.
I did manage to get in a road trip, but... other than that, can't seem to catch my breath! (And it's only going to get worse next month.)

I know what you mean.

Lengthwise or width-wise?

Ha! I didn't ask.

I've heard good things... I would love to try that.

It's very good, I've had it a few times.

So, wondering... does that little fan make much of a difference on a hot day?

Actually it does! You at least can have a little breeze blowing on your face.

Really like this shot.

Thanks!

Or you could say you're about 10 months early...

And I'm sure she made sure to remind you!

At least several times that day.

Nice shot of you all.

Thank you!

I Googled... sounds good to me!

Yes, it's one of my new "drinks of choice."

So I looked over the menu and picked my choices... and this was the starter I picked.

I wanted this one too, but the Nicoise implies olives and they said that there was olive juice in the marinade. I couldn't taste it in the bite he gave me, but my zucchini were really really good!

And Michael and I are on the same page again, here.
But that tomato salad almost won me over.

I love a good tomato salad!

What a great shot!!! You guys are obviously having a ton of fun!

We were! We were laughing most of the night!

This was a very close second for me. But tonight, I'm just feeling more like...
...this one.
Tomorrow, if you ask again, I might change my mind.

Either one would be a good choice.

And this for dessert.

Peaches are awesome for dessert.

Huh! Really!

Caffeine picks you up, booze drags you down. I guess they don't want you pulled in both directions.

Very nice of them. That tray sounds wonderful, too.

It was impressive.

Very nice of them. That tray sounds wonderful, too.

It was very impressive. They said that they gathered all the stuff from Main Street bakeries and candy shops.

And they did! Nice shots!

Thank you again!

This one is my fave of the bunch.

OK, I'm not sure I chose a fave.

A serious looking group of bad-a****

ugh... agh.... can't... breathe...

Sure sounded like a fun night.

It was! Luckily we've had a few since then as well!

 

[pkondz]

I know what you mean.

Actually it does! You at least can have a little breeze blowing on your face.

Huh. I didn't think it would. Or at least not much.

I wanted this one too, but the Nicoise implies olives and they said that there was olive juice in the marinade. I couldn't taste it in the bite he gave me, but my zucchini were really really good!

ohhhh... yeah, that might be a no for me too, then.

We were! We were laughing most of the night!

Good!

Caffeine picks you up, booze drags you down. I guess they don't want you pulled in both directions.

Huh. I can see that, but... wouldn't have occurred to me!

It was! Luckily we've had a few since then as well!

Great!

 

[franandaj]

The meal looks delicious!! And the menu sounded great. I would have had a really hard time to choose. Everything sounded amazing!

It was probably the best meal that I've had there, and that's saying a lot!

Galaxy‘s Edge looks great at night! We had a very late reservation at Oga’s at WDW and leaving the park was as good as empty. So creepy in that part as it felt like you truly where in another world.

I can see that. There weren't very many people while we were there. I had a few more pictures of the Marketplace that I meant to include, but in my haste to put up the update I forgot. Oh well....

 

[afwdwfan]

Hi! Long time no see... I can't say I've caught up on everything in detail, but I did read through your trip updates. This is the first that I've really seen of the Avengers Campus and it looks incredible! We're considering maybe going back to Disney World this summer... I did look into Disneyland just because our youngest absolutely loves all things Spiderman and shooting webs. Not sure we're ready to pay for flights and attempt the post covid airline situation with the kids in tow.

In any case, I'm glad to see that you and Fran have been able to return to the parks to spend some time with friends! I hope to get back sooner rather than later this time around.

 

[franandaj]

I understand. This last month and a half feels like we've had something on the calendar practically every night. Just a lot going on.

For me it's been every day is filled with stuff to do, by the time evening rolls around, I barely have the strength to cook dinner.

Looks pretty tasty to me!

It's a favorite!

I feel like Halloween came and went without me really noticing.

Yeah, the most I celebrated was noti ING the decorations at DL.

Oh, man. This is getting to be a thing. Revenge is going to be sweet, though!

Hopefully soon!

Well, you have to finish your meal if you want dessert. Those are the rules.

If they were the rules in my house, I'd never get dessert!

Smart, thinking long-term. That entree would probably be my choice as well.

It definitely had the most potential for leftovers.

Looks awesome! I'm a sucker for good peach desserts.

Me too! Too bad it's a mostly summer kind of thing.

Well, that's very thoughtful of them!

Lovely! Looks like they did an amazing job.

And you'll get to see it soon!

 

[franandaj]

The Club 33 meal looks fabulous! Glad you had a nice time.

Thanks! It was very wonderful!

 

[franandaj]

That's been on my list forever. I need to go back to DLR!

No matter how often you go there is still not enough time for all the deliciousness!

A few pair....???

Well three....

Yay!!! And yes, that menu looked spectacular!

It was probably one of the best meals I'd had there!

OH wow, that looks so pretty! And delicious too!

 

[Steppesister]

Hey Alison!

Still here. Finally have internet back and am able to check-in on the threads I have missed so much! I think I was caught up so read the rest of the chatter. Looking forward to another chapter!

 

[franandaj]

For the new coaster etc right?

Actually I'm not sure, I think it's more than that.

I'm going to need them!

The thing is you have to work as a team so if you ride with Dorian, he'll need to know too!

Right! I should have complained but meh, just too busy.

I know what you mean.

Those are so pretty!

Thank you! I'm wearing them now!

Is there a pattern developing here...

No, I think she just got lucky a few times....

I just googled to be sure what's in it, yum!

We should have some while you're here!

That looks so cute and yummy!

It was delicious. I wish it had been on the menu longer.

Mmmm local goat cheese! I'm not a huge raw tomato fan, but those look nice and fresh

I miss all the summer foods......

Looks like a pretty heavy whitefish, which I believe swordfish is...either way, yummy!

Yup! Super good!

That reminds me...

We still haven't finished all the ice wine from the last time! I better bring a bottle to my parent's house!

It looks sooo good! I love peaches too, so this would be up my ally, although I generally go for chocolate stuff...good think D is good about sharing

Yeah, sometimes it's a hard choice!

That's interesting! I would have never thought either.

I know! I've ordered it thinking it will give me a "pick me up."

I love GE at dark- we watched fireworks from there on our last trip and it was pretty neat

Maybe I'll do that someday.

oops that's not the one I meant to quote, but yay for the falcon anyways!

 

[franandaj]

First of all to the TR!

Yay! I'm finally caught up, so I figured I'd post about how much I am enjoying your TR.

Thank you for posting, it's so much more fun when people interact!

I grew up in Los Alamitos but moved away during my high school years. We ended up in Texas and I think there's a vacuum here that keeps people. lol
We went to DL often as a family and I miss being so close.

I know Los Al! I'm not sure why TX likes to suck people in, but I know a lot of people who have moved there and never come back!

I had leukemia in 2016 and spent the better part of 8 months in and out of the hospital.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that you are recovered!

Needless to say, the second that my oncologist said I could travel I was making reservations at WDW. After I had those reservations secured my grown daughter, who lived in Utah, let me know that her boyfriend's family was taking a trip to DL. So, like any other Disney fan would do, I bought plane tickets and park tickets and we went west! lol We stayed at the Grand for that trip. Our room looked out into trees. sigh So now, after reading your report I have become terribly "home" sick and I am feeling the need to try the Grand again (and maybe get a better view?)

I can completely relate to this!

Like your ride and food list, I now have a true Bucket List. (almost dying will do that to you!) I forgot to add eating at Club 33! I could foresee trying to get my name in the bucket to join if it was just me, but my husband would kill me! lol He is NOT the fan that I am unfortunately. He does love me though and therefor we are DVC members 2x over.

Well at least he has granted you DVC membership. I think that's one of the best things I've ever bought!

If you've ever watched Phenomenon with John Travolta and the part where Robert Duvall is in the bar and says something along the lines of "he buys her chairs".... my husband "buys my chairs" ie- He knows how much Disney means to me so he goes (and buys) to keep me happy. Thanks for including that in your TR.

Not familiar with the movie, but I get the concept.

Membership at one location grants you access to the others, correct?

I'm not a member, but from what I understand they are two different entities, you have to pay initiation and dues for locations on each coast to have access.

Have you eaten at any of the others?

I have only had the privilege of dining at the original Club 33, but from what I understand all other locations have just appetizers and snacks, not full meals.

My older kids and I have a game where we point out random things in the parks to each other- the entrances to the Club 33's are one of those things.
I can't wait to read more! I hope your days aren't hectic anymore and you're enjoying time at the parks instead!

I hope to post more! I hope things slow down a bit now that the holidays have arrived.

 

[franandaj]

Huh. I didn't think it would. Or at least not much.

You'd be surprised how much air those little fans move. Although we certainly don't need them now.

ohhhh... yeah, that might be a no for me too, then.

Yeah, not a fan of olives or their juice.

 

[franandaj]

Hi! Long time no see... I can't say I've caught up on everything in detail, but I did read through your trip updates.

Glad to see you back on the boards Andy! I read your Covid story on pkondz's TR and that sounds awful. I'm glad you were able to keep your family safe, and you recovered well!

This is the first that I've really seen of the Avengers Campus and it looks incredible!

They did do a pretty awesome job. I can't wait until the super cool ride opens up!

We're considering maybe going back to Disney World this summer... I did look into Disneyland just because our youngest absolutely loves all things Spiderman and shooting webs. Not sure we're ready to pay for flights and attempt the post covid airline situation with the kids in tow.

We're still considering our trip in February although I do share your trepidation of flying during Covid times.

In any case, I'm glad to see that you and Fran have been able to return to the parks to spend some time with friends! I hope to get back sooner rather than later this time around.

It's been such fun getting back out there. Even if it's just the two of us it's so much nicer that sitting home alone with our cats! But it's even more fun with all the friends that we have been able to connect with over our love of Disney!

 

[franandaj]

Hey Alison!

Still here. Finally have internet back and am able to check-in on the threads I have missed so much! I think I was caught up so read the rest of the chatter. Looking forward to another chapter!

Well you made it just in time! I'm hoping to get in a bunch of stuff over the holidays so that I can post more updates and be more caught up around here!

 

[franandaj]

Hey folks! Remember me? Who hasn’t posted an update in over a month!

So I have to apologize for another absence. Life has just become so hectic. We are at my parents house over the Christmas Holidays and I'm hoping for some downtime while here and that I can post a few updates, or at least get them ready to post. I have three more after this one, until we go back, the day after we drive home, and then there will be a fourth one….

The Christmas crazies on our eBay stores died down the few days before we left, but we were going strong up until a week before Christmas. The remainder of that down time was spent packing and getting ready to drive to San Jose. The farthest we had traveled since Feb 2020 was Anaheim to stay at the Grand. We did drive to Riverside one night to see a show, but we didn’t stay overnight.

On kitty news we had an interesting development this week. Bear with me, this is a long one, if you just want to read the Disney update, skip the text in green and in red. Those of you who were reading my thread with the “What I did over Covid times” update, you’ll remember that Fran signed up for a Facebook group that finds volunteers for cats that need transporting. We’ve taken two on a journey from South LA to Hemet to folks who adopt out cats. We also took three kittens to the free spay neuter clinic for a woman who had to work. And also recently we picked up an adorable kitten from a family living in the projects in LA to a woman who helps relocate cats. We don’t know what happened to him, but evidently he was very sick (though we couldn’t tell by looking at him when we dropped him off with her.)

So I wasn’t surprised when she volunteered us to transport a cat from Downey (not too far from us) to Sacramento. We wouldn’t drive all the way to Sacramento, but the lady taking the cat would meet us at my mother’s place in San Jose. I asked the woman giving up her feral cat, who was taking him? She said that there was a woman who gave a home to “unadoptable feral cats”. Now I believe it was on this thread when I mentioned Clancy to you folks. He showed up back in July and never left.

I asked, “Do you suppose this woman might take two cats?” I explained Clancy’s situation and she gave me the number of the woman in Sacramento. Long and short, she said she would take the cat, turns out that the other cat got a sweet deal and didn’t end up getting relocated.

When I left off with Clancy on this thread, we were going to just pull up the bed, grab him and put him in a crate. Well something happened between that post and the day we were going to do that. We caught him by surprise while he was out from under the bed. He may have been using the litter box in the bathroom and tried to get away and ended up getting stuck in the shower.



I tried to give him some treats and when I dropped them in front of him he ABSOLUTELY freaked out. He started hissing and running around like a wild animal. Bouncing off the walls, and getting himself trapped in the corner of an open door, he finally ran into the laundry room and tried to climb the closed door. He crawled up the walls and eventually landed behind the washing machine. After that, we knew there was no way to catch him and put him in a crate. So we gave up and started seeking out rescue organizations to take him. None of them returned our emails.

So you can imagine how thrilled we were when we found someone to take him. I got some meds from the vet that would supposedly calm him down, I was hoping sedation, but they won’t give those out. I started dosing him Monday in his food, and Tuesday before bed I gave him a double dose, and at 5AM Wednesday I gave him a 1.5x dose. Well, when Michael and I got in his room (wearing long sleeves, him a leather jacket, and thick gloves) there was no sign that the cat had been drugged.

He was crazy nuts! First we took the mattress and put it straight up on it’s side. Then we moved the boxsprings (they were two splits under the King Size mattress.) Clancy kept moving around the room from hiding place to hiding place, hissing and swatting at Michael. At one point he climbed the walls and I was fearing for my Disney artwork because he knocked two different pictures off kilter and clawed the frames trying to get away from Michael. At one point he grabbed the moulding on the top of the window and hung there. Michael was able to grab him and I had the carrier ready but he wiggled out of Michael’s hand as he tried to get him across the room.

After another 15 minutes we finally trapped him between one of the box springs, my suitcase, and the bathroom door. This time I was ready with the carrier open at Michael’s side and he dropped the cat in and slammed the door of the carrier. And from then on, we never heard a peep out of him.

The drive itself was no picnic. We sailed through most of Los Angeles, and we hit a little traffic on the Northern edge of the County, but soon we were driving well over the speed limit. Until we hit Frazier Park. I know most of you don’t know where that is, but it’s more than halfway over what we call the Grapevine. It should be smooth sailing from here. However, amidst the traffic, I looked at Google directions that were telling me to get off the freeway and take a frontage road to save 1 hour 30 minutes.

This is what it looked like getting off at the off ramp where we exited.



Well once we got down the mountain, the sun started to set, and then we found the rain storms that are predicted in California all week. And this wasn’t just some rain, this was torrential rain coming down hard. If you’ve driven the I5 in the Central Valley at night, there are no lights, there are barely any reflective thingies to show you where the lanes are, and people were still driving like there were normal conditions. Around 6PM both Fran and I agreed it wasn’t worth risking our lives and booked a room for the night at the next place to turn off the freeway.

It rained almost all night, but when we woke up it was clear and at 5:45AM they said there was a two hour window of no rain for the Central Valley. We jumped out of bed, ate the free breakfast of waffles, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and whatever else Fran had, and we got on the road. We ended up meeting the cat lady about halfway between my Mom’s and Sacramento, I mean she WAS taking this nutso cat! We gave her a wad of cash, the carrier and the towels and finally our problem was solved.



Just a note, she is someone crazier than us! She has 32 cats in her house. All Feral. She has a wing for the ones who are FIV positive. This woman is a saint!

On another front my 60 day window recently opened for my WDW trip. I really wasn't feeling it, when the window hit. I didn't even get up at 3AM to make dining reservations. But over the next week, I somehow got my Disney fever again and made a bunch of reservations and other plans! A few other folks are going to be there at the same time and now we have a bunch of plans together for the last portion of the trip.

Now I'm really looking forward to this trip! However, even before WDW I've got a trip to the Grand Californian with more friends from the DIS at the end of January. And before that Fran and I will be celebrating 25 years together with a swanky dinner and some of our closest friends! Lots of good times ahead!

Anyways I hope to be better with the updates, and even a new TR in a couple months!

So our last update was a lovely dinner with Jenny and Michael followed by a stroll around Galaxy’s edge. A week later, Su-Lynn (chunkymonkey) and her hubby came to town. I met up with them on their second day at the parks. She scored us a BG for Webslingers and I was able to get out to the parks before the return time closed. Back when I wrote my notes for this update, they weren’t really enforcing return times, and now the ride is on a simple queue system as opposed to BG.

This is one of the random things on the wall in there.



And Peter Parker preparing you for your tour of the facility.







Steve kicked butt on the ride and later he shared with me some of the "tricks" he used. I’ve been on it a couple times since then, and his advice was, “Don’t shoot the Red Spiders who are the lowest score, try for anything and everything else.” I’ve blown up some really cool stuff since then and unlocked some neat effects. I can’t wait to try it again next month!



Steve and I decided to ride Guardians as the line was totally short. Su-Lynn wanted to do some shopping and she doesn't like that ride at all.



We saw The Wasp on the way over to the ride.



Finally I got Elvis’ Burning Love, the last of the six songs, since the reopening. I wasn’t able to link my photo (which is weird because I was able to link the photo when we rode later.)



After the ride we met Su-Lynn in the big Marvel store in Stage 17. I think she bought something for her sister. I remember going to the register but I think Steve and I were talking MCU lore so I wasn't paying attention. After spending the day with him I realized I need to rewatch all the Marvel movies again! And we finally finished with The Falcon and the Winter Solidier and Loki. Now we need to catch up on the New Boba Fett series (even though that isn’t Marvel.)

Su-Lynn was hungry so we placed a mobile order at Pym's Test Kitchen. She and Steve mobile ordered a drink. I wasn't going to get one until I noticed that they had these cool beakers back. I got the X-Periment. Patrón Silver Tequila, with Mango and Habanero Syrups, and Mango Flavor-filled Boba. I was a little concerned about the Habanero syrup and it was a tad bit spicy but not too much. I was able to finish it.



She ordered the PB3 Superb Sandwich. warm PB&J with Banana and Candied Bacon on Pym Particle Bread, served with Micro Banana Smoothie and crispy Potato Bites.



And the Quantam Pretzel. 453.8 grams, Bavarian-style, with Sharp Cheddar Cheese-Beer Sauce



I thought the PB&J was gross and ate mostly pretzel.

We took a picture in the Doctor Strange area,



Steve and I rode Guardians again.



Then we tried to ride Radiator Spring Racers but it was down. I did get a few snaps of the holiday decorations.













[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

By this time park hopping hours opened up and we went over to Disneyland to ride HM with the NBC overlay.











































After that I was starting to tire out, I did one last ride with them on Buzz and I got my best score ever! It may have had something to do with getting stuck in front of a 10,000 point target for about 3-5 minutes where I could continually point and shoot at it.





We took one last picture before I headed for home. I’m sure that they stayed almost to the bitter end of the night!

 

[DnA2010]

Doing a read n run, but wow that cornering the cat story!