GatorChris
Not of This World
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
- Messages
- 3,245
I wouldn't classify this as a Trip Report. I can hardly read that much info much less write it. But I thought I'd drop some pics and some observations of the week before Thanksgiving. It really was a great trip - 6 full days in the parks and 1 partial on Sunday. Edit: Super star sighting below!
First, you may have read about the unbelievable line to get in last Monday. Streching from the DL gate to nearly the DCA gate. It was madness. Like I said before, the secret is out....mid-November is no longer a secret.
We have made a habit of staying at the HoJo on our November trips. With big rooms and views of the park from the superior rooms, we wanted to do this again. This was the first time that the stay here wasn't great or good. More like average. When I pay for a room with a view, I expect a view. When we got to our room, it was nothing but trees. So I called to switch rooms. The only other room available had a partial view thanks to more giant trees, but this one didn't have the second sink, so that was a bummer. Plus we had hot water troubles all week - even after we called about it. Pretty disappointed this time around. Not even picture worthy views for this post.
We had some friends stay at the Grand Cali and they invited us over for a swim. The kids thought that was the highlight of the trip. As for you adults, that waterslide is not meant for you. I'm just a 160lb dude and that water couldn't push me very far. I got stuck twice on that short little slide. But the atmosphere there was amazing.
The Matterhorn's new seats were surprisingly comfortable. I found that as long as I leaned forward with hands on the bars, it didn't hurt like it used to. So bravo to Disney for helping with that.
If you follow me at all, you know that Splash Mt is my favorite ride. So my family and our friends decided we needed to have the "Babe Log" and the "Bro Log". Right when we got on it, they put a father in front of us with his little girl so we were like, "Ah, man. No Bro Log." And then we saw the picture of what he did in front of us and he instantly became part of the "Bro Club". I was able to snap this photo right before Disney took it down. Hehe.
Christmas lighting is amazing as always. Plus they have the fireworks every night during the season. That's one of the reasons I like to go then. I really wish they'd have a nightly firework/night show each night at Disney.
And how about that new Soarin' Around the World! Wow, that was totally awesome. I expected it to be OK or as good as the last one. But from the very first scene, it was incredible. I rode that one a lot.
Tower of Terror....we hit that one a lot, too. Gonna miss Rod Serling.
Has anyone else seen Frozen Live? Good grief, that show is awesome. We were all bummed to lose Aladdin, but this show is great in every way.
I said this in another post: the current Christmas WOC show is the best WOC show ever, IMHO. Just amazing.
We were lucky enough to be there for the first return showing of PtN. We got to sit over near IASW where it first comes out. It was like a rock concert when the music started. We had great seats that we had hung onto all day for the Mickey Birthday Parade, Christmas Parade, and then PtN. Totally worth it. Seeing that parade made my trip. Here's a pic of me and my son laying around waiting for it to start. Enjoying the good life!
One of the best parts, though, was getting to meet Tom Bell from Dis Unplugged and Webmaster MaryJo. We got to talk Disney and the boards and everything! It was really great.
As for dining, we really really really enjoyed Jazz Kitchen. With some Gluten Free offerings, it made my wife happy and me even happier. Great food - can't wait to hit that again. We also had three nights where dinner became ice cream. One of the nights, we got to eat with the famous Chris McP, entertainment manager at Disneyland. Also in the pic is Christiana, entertainment manager for the Dapper Dans and the Pearly Band. It really was an honor to sit down and talk Disney with them. Amazing people.
Overall, this trip was amazing, even though we didn't get to hit Haunted Mansion (I know!). Can't wait to get back and hit all the things I managed to miss on a week long trip.
First, you may have read about the unbelievable line to get in last Monday. Streching from the DL gate to nearly the DCA gate. It was madness. Like I said before, the secret is out....mid-November is no longer a secret.
We have made a habit of staying at the HoJo on our November trips. With big rooms and views of the park from the superior rooms, we wanted to do this again. This was the first time that the stay here wasn't great or good. More like average. When I pay for a room with a view, I expect a view. When we got to our room, it was nothing but trees. So I called to switch rooms. The only other room available had a partial view thanks to more giant trees, but this one didn't have the second sink, so that was a bummer. Plus we had hot water troubles all week - even after we called about it. Pretty disappointed this time around. Not even picture worthy views for this post.
We had some friends stay at the Grand Cali and they invited us over for a swim. The kids thought that was the highlight of the trip. As for you adults, that waterslide is not meant for you. I'm just a 160lb dude and that water couldn't push me very far. I got stuck twice on that short little slide. But the atmosphere there was amazing.
The Matterhorn's new seats were surprisingly comfortable. I found that as long as I leaned forward with hands on the bars, it didn't hurt like it used to. So bravo to Disney for helping with that.
If you follow me at all, you know that Splash Mt is my favorite ride. So my family and our friends decided we needed to have the "Babe Log" and the "Bro Log". Right when we got on it, they put a father in front of us with his little girl so we were like, "Ah, man. No Bro Log." And then we saw the picture of what he did in front of us and he instantly became part of the "Bro Club". I was able to snap this photo right before Disney took it down. Hehe.
Christmas lighting is amazing as always. Plus they have the fireworks every night during the season. That's one of the reasons I like to go then. I really wish they'd have a nightly firework/night show each night at Disney.
And how about that new Soarin' Around the World! Wow, that was totally awesome. I expected it to be OK or as good as the last one. But from the very first scene, it was incredible. I rode that one a lot.
Tower of Terror....we hit that one a lot, too. Gonna miss Rod Serling.
Has anyone else seen Frozen Live? Good grief, that show is awesome. We were all bummed to lose Aladdin, but this show is great in every way.
I said this in another post: the current Christmas WOC show is the best WOC show ever, IMHO. Just amazing.
We were lucky enough to be there for the first return showing of PtN. We got to sit over near IASW where it first comes out. It was like a rock concert when the music started. We had great seats that we had hung onto all day for the Mickey Birthday Parade, Christmas Parade, and then PtN. Totally worth it. Seeing that parade made my trip. Here's a pic of me and my son laying around waiting for it to start. Enjoying the good life!
One of the best parts, though, was getting to meet Tom Bell from Dis Unplugged and Webmaster MaryJo. We got to talk Disney and the boards and everything! It was really great.
As for dining, we really really really enjoyed Jazz Kitchen. With some Gluten Free offerings, it made my wife happy and me even happier. Great food - can't wait to hit that again. We also had three nights where dinner became ice cream. One of the nights, we got to eat with the famous Chris McP, entertainment manager at Disneyland. Also in the pic is Christiana, entertainment manager for the Dapper Dans and the Pearly Band. It really was an honor to sit down and talk Disney with them. Amazing people.
Overall, this trip was amazing, even though we didn't get to hit Haunted Mansion (I know!). Can't wait to get back and hit all the things I managed to miss on a week long trip.
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