Happy New Year Trip

[RI Disney Star]

We next went to the 12:00 Mickey and the Magical Map show. This was really awesome. We loved all of the shows. Amazing how they can put Mickey in the map. JC loved this. The dancing and singing, combined with all the characters made for a really great show.















On a side note…there was one thing that we didn’t like about the show. When the dancers were only dancing, not singing, they all seemed to be chatting amongst themselves. I found that annoying and very unprofessional.

 

[RI Disney Star]

After the show we headed into Mickey’s Toontown.

First stop, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. We didn’t get fast passes for this ride and I’m glad we didn’t. The queue line was so much fun here. Sorry but I didn’t get any pictures here. When in line, knock on doors, turn knobs, do anything you think you can do and some of them will interact with you (you hear voices, a monsters head will appear, etc.). The whole area around Roger Rabbit is fun. Outside the ride, make sure you pick up the phone, you’ll hear police messages. JC loved the Gag Factory.





Continuing on, Minnie’s House was next.









Off to Mickey’s House.







Mickey’s Barn



Meeting Mickey. This is where JC really came out of his shell. He actually ran up to meet Mickey.









After seeing Mickey, Jessica and JC went through Chip and Dale’s Treehouse.



What a bunch of nuts!



We then went onto Donald’s Boat, the S.S. Miss Daisy.




Goofy’s Playhouse was next. We didn’t go inside the house (not sure why). There weren’t many kids in the outside playground. JC was able to run around here. The kids were running and jumping on top of the watermelon. JC tried so hard to do it but was unable to. Then one of the bigger kids showed him how and he finally did it. I wish I had gotten a picture of his face then but I didn’t. Here’s a picture of him on the slide, in the pumpkin and on top of it.



Look at that sweet face inside the nose!





Then we met Goofy. The first thing JC wanted to do was tell Goofy that he was his Grampa’s favorite. Goofy liked that.





We wanted to go on Gadget’s Go Coaster but they were working on it. We asked if it would be running anytime that day and they said no. So having seen everything in Toontown, we headed back to the hotel for our naps.

 

[RI Disney Star]

Random shots of Toontown.









Minnie's House


Mickey's House...don't you just love that mailbox!


Goofy's Playhouse






On the way out we ran into Minnie and Daisy.







On the way back to the hotel we see this little car. After taking all the pictures of JC in the little cars in Toontown I jokingly said we should take a picture of him in here. But…not wanting to go to jail, we did not.



Coming up... Flag Retreat Ceremony and our final night at DL

 

[DizNee Luver]

I've never seen the magical map show.....where was this?? ......and I would agree, the performers should stay in character the whole time.....chit chatting during a dance number is very unprofessional.....so not Disney-like!

Isn't ToonTown fun? I love all the little details.....very whimsical & fun! JC really seemed to be warming up to the characters!!

 

[RI Disney Star]

I've never seen the magical map show.....where was this?? ......and I would agree, the performers should stay in character the whole time.....chit chatting during a dance number is very unprofessional.....so not Disney-like!

Isn't ToonTown fun? I love all the little details.....very whimsical & fun! JC really seemed to be warming up to the characters!!

Mickey's Magical Map is in the Fantasyland Theater to the left just before you get to Toontown. It really is a good show. You should see it next summer.

Toontown was so much fun!

 

[RI Disney Star]

After our refreshing naps, we headed back to DL. This is our last night and we plan to make the most of it.

First we wanted to see the Flag Retreat Ceremony. This is something everyone should see at least once. It is a very moving ceremony. Veterans are invited to participate, the Dapper Dans sang patriotic songs, I’m not sure who the 3 men who did the actual Retreat were but I think they were Disney security. This is the first time I saw this but it won’t be the last. I took a video of it so I don’t have pictures. Go to youtube, you’ll find much better videos than mine. It’s worth watching.

We took a picture with Walt and Mickey with the castle in the background. You will notice that the castle had the snow on it but the Christmas decorations were gone. Most of the decorations were gone by this point.





Next we went to Tomorrowland and saw Captain EO. Jessica had never seen this. Anytime she had gone to WDW they had Honey I Shrunk the Audience instead. JC refused to wear his 3D glasses. He was not a big fan of the 3D movies.

Autopia was next. We noticed that the FP return time was for 30-90 minutes later so we decided to grab FP’s and eat and then go on Autopia.
We ate at Tomorrowland Terrace, I had a cheeseburger…it was alright. It was really big though, I think it was 1/3 pound. I only ate about half of it. I don’t remember what Jessica had, I think JC had chicken nuggets. Like I’ve said before, this trip was not about the food.

After we ate we went back to Autopia. This is where Disney failed. When we got to the CM we showed her our FP’s. She told us we could go in any line because they were both about the same. They were both about the same time because she was letting anyone into the FP line. So we ended up waiting about 25 minutes for this ride. I got this really cool picture of Jessica and JC. I was in the car ahead of them so I just put my camera in the air and took a picture not knowing if they would even be in the picture. Take a look, I think it is awesome.





After Autopia we went on It’s a Small World. JC loved this ride. He really liked all the visuals they had here. I took a lot of pictures so sit back, relax and have a look.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Ok, so the show is where the Princess Fantasy Faire used to be held.....we'll look for it this summer.

Absolutely love the Flag REtreat!! Very moving ceremony....always makes me sad when people pass by without stopping or talk loudly thru the whole thing.

Isn't Small World amazing with the holiday overlay? Love it!!!

 

[RI Disney Star]

Ok, so the show is where the Princess Fantasy Faire used to be held.....we'll look for it this summer.

Absolutely love the Flag REtreat!! Very moving ceremony....always makes me sad when people pass by without stopping or talk loudly thru the whole thing.

Isn't Small World amazing with the holiday overlay? Love it!!!

You must go to the show. It was amazing.

I loved the Flag Retreat. My husband is a veteran so I'll have to get him to participate next time.

I loved It's a Small World with the holiday overlay. I wish that we could have gone sooner to see the Haunted Mansion. Another reason to go back.

 

[RI Disney Star]

After It’s a Small World we went on Peter Pan’s Flight. There was approx. a 30 minute wait here. This is such a fun ride.



After this we went over to Snow White. We just walked on here. Again this was fun.



Pinocchio came next. Again we walked on. I think most people were in line for Peter Pan and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.



















Last ride was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The wait time was about 20 minutes.





It was real close to closing so we hurried over to the Tomorrowland Station to take the Monorail to Downtown Disney. When the Monorail came into the station the conductor walked down to the control station. We were waiting for him to come back to see if we could ride in the front. While we were waiting another couple went down to the control station and asked so he let them ride. We decided to wait for the next Monorail and when it came in we asked as soon as the conductor came out of the Monorail. They don’t let you ride in the front in WDW anymore but the last time that I did they gave us Pilot Licenses. They didn’t do that here. It was fun riding in the front. JC loved it.

Look at that face!


On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Lego Store.







We then walked back to the hotel and went right to bed.

Tomorrow…character breakfast, Pasadena and Santa Monica.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Looking forward to seeing your Pasadena & Santa Monica pics! Did you get to a beach??

 

[RI Disney Star]

Looking forward to seeing your Pasadena & Santa Monica pics! Did you get to a beach??

We did get to Santa Monica Pier which is interesting and quite different from Disney. I'll write all about it.

I had a minor setback this week. Thursday went for blood work and my white cells were low and I had a small fever. They immediately hospitalized me and put me on strong antibiotics. They were trying to look for a source of infection and never did find one. I got released today with strong instructions that I get to a hospital if I get another fever.

I'm flying to Florida tomorrow, staying with my Mom for some R&R. I'll try to get the rest of this report done while there.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We did get to Santa Monica Pier which is interesting and quite different from Disney. I'll write all about it.

I had a minor setback this week. Thursday went for blood work and my white cells were low and I had a small fever. They immediately hospitalized me and put me on strong antibiotics. They were trying to look for a source of infection and never did find one. I got released today with strong instructions that I get to a hospital if I get another fever.

I'm flying to Florida tomorrow, staying with my Mom for some R&R. I'll try to get the rest of this report done while there.

Oh no.....sorry to hear that you were in the hospital. I think some R&R is just what you need!!! The report.....can wait!!!

 

[mumto2]

Loving this TR! we didn't make it to Roger Rabbit or to Chip and Dale's (shocking I know since they are DS's favorites) because we didn't check the hours until it was too late. Oh well, just another reason to go back!

 

[RI Disney Star]

If anyone is still interested, here is the rest of my TR. I apologize for taking so long but really wanted to get it done. To update you on my health, I just finished 7 weeks of chemo/radiation. It was pretty brutal but it is over now. At the end of next month I will be having surgery and then I should be cancer free. Woohoo!

But…and here is some exciting news, in 2 weeks I will be going to Alaska. We will spend a night in Seattle, a night in Vancouver, 7 nights on a cruise and then 5 nights in Alaska. I am so excited and can’t wait.

So, here is the rest of my report.

Friday
This morning we had a 9:00 reservation for Surfs Up Breakfast with Mickey and Friends at the PCH Grill. In hindsight, we should have gone to a different restaurant because except for Stitch we had seen all these characters in the park. We still had a wonderful time.









Don’t you just love the expression on the little girl’s face in the background.

 

[RI Disney Star]

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel. Jessica and JC went to Build a Bear while I went to rent a car in Downtown Disney.

Time to bid goodbye to Disneyland.

Christmas tree at the skating rink at Downtown Disney. I wish we had more time to go ice skating.

 

[RI Disney Star]

We then headed to Pasadena to visit my cousin. We spent about an hour at his house and then he took us on a tour of the area.

First we went to the Rose Bowl. It’s in a really pretty area of Pasadena.


Next we went to the Hollywood sign. The street we turned on had a sign that said “no access to the Hollywood sign” but my cousin knew better. Just the locals trying to keep the tourists out. We found a good spot to view the sign.

 

[RI Disney Star]

Then we went to Santa Monica. We found a parking garage across from the pier. It cost $20. My cousin thought that was a lot of money, Jessica and I (being from the northeast) thought that was cheap.





Looking down the beach from the pier. We were amazed that you could see mountains and the beach at the same time!


Cirque du Soleil is on the beach.


We had fun on the pier. Jessica and JC rode the roller coaster. You can barely see the top of JC’s head in this picture. They are in the second to last car.


We watched the sunset from the end of the pier.


Then we went down to the beach and put our toes in the water. It was very cold.




Jessica’s toes!


The pier at night!



We left the pier and walked around Santa Monica. They have a street blocked off so it is a pedestrian mall. We found a little Italian restaurant and had dinner. My cousin then took a bus home and we headed to the airport. We took the redeye home, getting home at 7:00 a.m.

 

[RI Disney Star]

To summarize, we had a wonderful time. We pretty much saw everything that we wanted to. Unfortunately, we were there during the transition week from Christmas and we were there on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. For that reason, there were no fireworks, no World of Color, no Fantasmic, and the only parade was the Pixar Parade at California Adventure. All the more reason to go back someday.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my review.