"I Think I Might Be a Disneyland Person!" - Feb. 2016 ~ Updated 2/19/21: TR Complete!!!

[Tracy161]

As I headed into Carsland, a Photopass photographer was available, so I stopped for some quick pics in front of a lit-up Carsland:

Yay, great pictures!!!

And then right after that I found that our “one hour” wait actually meant 33 minutes:

That's usually a great surprise, especially when you're not committed to a ride queue!

I’d say it’s like Test Track, but with much better scenery and a story featuring Disney characters. Very fun!

Sounds awesome! It wasn't there when I was, so I'd be anxious to check this out someday.

Looks like Dug found a nearby place to charge a phone:

Ahh, the never ending phone charge dilemma every dedicated Disney goer experiences I bought an extra charger this trip so I was carrying two at all times... and some days that just barely got me through the end of the night! Darn you, MDE and Instagram

 

[khertz]

Oh good grief. A long wait for Napa Rose that turned into a short one and short wait for RSR that turned into a long one!! I'm glad for you the meal was good at least, and that you stuck it out for RSR and it was worth the wait. We all love that ride too!

 

[afwdwfan]

And then right after that I found that our “one hour” wait actually meant 33 minutes:

Isn't that how it always works? You sit there and it will be every bit of an hour or longer. You go do something else and it is ready early.

For those that haven’t been there, I’d say it’s like Test Track, but with much better scenery and a story featuring Disney characters. Very fun!

Very much so!

I think the intent was for Izzy to eat some of this, but I think she barely touched it.

Sounds about right...

 

[schmass]

Your meal at Napa Rose looks delicious! That was smart to use the 1 hour anticipated wait to run over to RSR - too bad that it kept breaking down. I'm glad you got to ride, though - looks awesome!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I love this picture. I don't know why. I just do! ha!

I don't like scallops but those look really good!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

All caught up!!!

I love the princess pictures! If we ever get out there that's a must do meal for us too!

And who knew Nape Rose would move faster and RSR slower? But that ride looks totally amazing and some day we'll get back out there and ride it!

The food looks delicious! And I lol about Izzy and the butter! Charlotte was the same way. She would just eat the surface with the butter and ask for more butter. She really thought she was pulling one over one us, Thankfully she has moved on from the butter obession!

 

[Dugette]

Whew, that must have been a stressful wait for RSR. Every time it broke down, I'm sure you were thinking, "I'm never getting back to dinner."
Glad to see it all worked out in the end and that you were able to finally ride. I don't think I've encountered a DISer who hasn't loved that attraction; I'm happy to see you felt the same.

Yeah, I was a little worried that Napa Rose would refuse to seat our party without me and such, but it worked out ok. Worth it to get in a ride on RSR, for sure!

Man, all your dishes from Napa Rose (Lounge) looked delicious! Between the attractions, the proximity to everything, and the food you are really selling me on a DL trip. I need Alex to get stationed somewhere out west next.

Haha, yes, you need to give it a try. I mean, it's missing important things like Epcot, but if you go into it expecting something familiar-yet-different, it's pretty awesome.

Yay, great pictures!!!

Thanks! I love Carsland all lit up at night!

That's usually a great surprise, especially when you're not committed to a ride queue!

I know! The one time the wait is shorter is the one time I'm not there!

Sounds awesome! It wasn't there when I was, so I'd be anxious to check this out someday.

Yes, definitely get out there to ride it sometime! (barring any motion sickness, I suppose)

Ahh, the never ending phone charge dilemma every dedicated Disney goer experiences I bought an extra charger this trip so I was carrying two at all times... and some days that just barely got me through the end of the night! Darn you, MDE and Instagram

Yeah, and I don't even have Instagram, haha! We do bring extra chargers, but they get drained between us too.

Oh good grief. A long wait for Napa Rose that turned into a short one and short wait for RSR that turned into a long one!! I'm glad for you the meal was good at least, and that you stuck it out for RSR and it was worth the wait. We all love that ride too!

Haha, yes, the waits were opposite of what we needed at that moment. But, yes, all worthwhile!

Isn't that how it always works? You sit there and it will be every bit of an hour or longer. You go do something else and it is ready early.

It's the law of waits. Or something.

Very much so!

Wish they had this one at WDW.

Sounds about right...

Ha, you might be able to relate...

Your meal at Napa Rose looks delicious! That was smart to use the 1 hour anticipated wait to run over to RSR - too bad that it kept breaking down. I'm glad you got to ride, though - looks awesome!

The food was really good! I wish the wait timing had worked out a bit better, but at least that time wasn't wasted, I guess! Love that ride so much!

I love this picture. I don't know why. I just do! ha!

I do too, actually.

I don't like scallops but those look really good!

Dug loves scallops, but really only has them on trips, it seems. I'm pretty sure he liked these quite a bit.

All caught up!!!

I love the princess pictures! If we ever get out there that's a must do meal for us too!

Yes, it was a much better princess meal than I expected - one of my favorites!

And who knew Nape Rose would move faster and RSR slower? But that ride looks totally amazing and some day we'll get back out there and ride it!

Yes, I hope you get out to ride it again someday!

The food looks delicious! And I lol about Izzy and the butter! Charlotte was the same way. She would just eat the surface with the butter and ask for more butter. She really thought she was pulling one over one us, Thankfully she has moved on from the butter obession!

Ha, good to know Izzy's not the only one! I'm not sure when she's going to outgrow this butter thing, though.

 

[Dugette]

Cars Land at Night

We enjoyed our meal at the Napa Rose Lounge, though Izzy didn’t really eat much. Dug and I took turns trekking around the Chef’s Table to get to the restrooms – cool to see. I think this was the bar:



I was trying to clean up a mess of Cheerios and Fruit Loops while Dug was gone and I somehow knocked a glass of water off the table in the process. However, I used my super-mom skills (gained through meals spent sitting next to a toddler) to catch the glass mid-air! It did splash a bit on Dug’s phone on the arm of this chair, though:



Luckily, it was fine. Glad it didn’t spill – I think the waiter would have been irritated – he seemed to dislike us a bit. Maybe we were not snooty enough to eat there, even in the lounge, I don’t know.

One of the things I wanted to try at Disneyland, after reading the food blogs and such, was the Napa Rose hot chocolate. Mostly because I wanted to know what a $15 hot chocolate was like (and I enjoy hot chocolate, as I am not a coffee drinker). So, I ordered that:



As you can see, it came with some little desserts. I think there was also a chocolate cookie that this one snatched:



The verdict? It was quite good, very chocolate-y. The accompaniments were nice. I enjoyed it, but I’d consider it a one-time splurge unless I am in Disneyland and it’s super cold or something, maybe. But nice to try it.

For a lounge, this was not a cheap meal (over $100), but it was a nice way to have a taste of Napa Rose without actually dining at the restaurant itself. (And we had more than enough food.)

We were heading back into California Adventure through the Grand Californian entrance by about 8:30pm. No issues going through later in the day. (I think after 11am they no longer require a meal receipt from non-guests.) I do have a photo I took looking back at some guests talking to security, so I think I had some sort of story, but I sure don’t remember what. Sorry. I guess somebody had a security incident of some sort? I won't post the picture of them, since I don't recall what happened. That's what I get for getting so behind on my Trip Reports.

We made our way back to the beautifully lit Cars Land. Dug had the Rider Swap and took his turn over at Radiator Springs Racers:









Looks like he loved it too.

Izzy and I went over to Mater’s ride again:



I think I was trying to document that this lady ahead had a Minnie bow hood on her sweatshirt, just like Izzy:



They really light this ride up at night too (plus fun music):



On board:



We had a fun time! Izzy really got a kick out of this ride.

After that, Izzy and I ventured over to the Cozy Cone to check it out and to meet Lightning McQueen:





Funny how you can see Tower or Terror in the background there!

This was a fun meet – the cars actually have some ability to interact, unlike at WDW. Lightning McQueen can move his eyes around and talk. I don’t have video and can’t recall exactly what our interaction was like, but I think he was quiet at first, allowing Izzy to take this picture:



And then he probably revved his engine and scared her, prompting me to help out:



Behind the scenes of a photo with distractible Izzy:



And a decent enough one:



As we walked away, we saw Mater cruising down the street:







I knew that meant he was on his way to the meet and greet spot, so we hopped back in line to meet him too. I think Dug had joined us by then. More pictures of the area:







Izzy got a huge kick out of seeing Mater pull up (I think we were first in line?) and the CM was great too. She told Izzy that Mater wanted to have light-up wheels just like Izzy had light-up shoes:





Then Mater honked his horn, scaring Izzy again:



Back into my arms:



Managed to get a family photo with half of Mater :



Despite Izzy getting a bit spooked, these were really cute meets!

Up next: One more character meet and my solo night begins!

 

[Dugette]

This is the Night

After our fun in Cars Land, we began our journey out of the park. But, as we were strolling along, we ran across Mickey, so stopped for a quick meet:









And some video:

Izzy had fun playing around with Mickey, as you can see. Good way to end the night. Well, that and browsing the window displays:



She was out in her stroller shortly after that, though:



It was close to 10pm and had been a very long day for her (and all of us)! My day was not yet done, however, but I accompanied Dug and Izzy back to the room so that I could change before heading back over to Disneyland (have I mentioned how much I LOVED being close enough to do things like this?!)

View looking towards Disneyland from outside of our room:



After changing and walking back, I was ready to re-enter Disneyland around 10:20pm (open until midnight):



I guess there was a little line. Dug was back in the room with Izzy and had to deal with a crabby kid when he got her out of the stroller at some point after she’d been sleeping for a while in it.

But back to Disneyland! I entered during the parade:



That was nice and all, but I was there to ride things this night. I had a heck of a time trying to get anywhere, though, with all the crossings closed for the parade. A little parade video as I was walking around:

Given my lack of navigational ability, I ended up getting back to It’s a Small World and hitting a dead end blocked by Paint the Night, so I figured it was a good time to turn back and do the Matterhorn, as I had passed it on the way :





The Single Rider line on the right was a walk-on, so I did that first. That is one rough ride! But, I persevered and came back to try the left side too. Single rider again, but a little bit of a wait on this side:



Again, fun ride, but I found myself wishing I had a pillow pet to sit on.

Next up, with the parade out of the way, I headed for Indiana Jones. On the way:





I did Single Rider on Indiana Jones and it was so strange. It involves walking in through the long exit corridor as people are coming out, so that was odd. There is also a dead-end queue you just stand around in looking lost until a CM sends you somewhere. And you have to go up and down an elevator to get where you belong. At some point, you get to the pre-show movie room:



Oh, and here’s that elevator:



And finally onboard:



Is that Baymax?!

Anyway, I LOVED that ride. Super fun. Hard to describe, but really unique and exciting.

After that, I hustled on over to Splash Mountain. I headed into the queue (not sure if I did standby or single rider?):



And nobody followed me. Nobody. Do you know what that means? I was pretty happy to have my very own log boat :





I am a terrible singer, but with no one else within earshot, I was belting out Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah here :



Selfies are also allowed when you’re the only passenger, haha:



And probably the only ride photo I’ll ever have like this:



So awesome! They offered that I could ride again, but I wanted to get one more attraction in, despite my fondness for Splash. I was definitely on a Disneyland high now. I made a quick stop at the Splash Photopass to add that one to our card (no Magic Bands here! ) It was 4 minutes until midnight. Most people would start leaving now, right? Maybe, but not me. I asked the Photopass CM which ride I could get to within 4 minutes and she suggested Pirates, so I took off in that direction. And I made it at like 11:59pm:



I was the very last person to enter the queue. One CM rolled her eyes when I cruised in and another CM said to “lock it up” after me. Empty queue:



Apparently nobody had entered in the last couple minutes and they didn’t expect me to fly in there at the very end.

Time to queue up:



Oh, wait, there’s nobody else here!!!

The people that pulled up in this boat to exit thought that it was awesome I was waiting for my very own boat:



Some of them were like, “BEST NIGHT EVER!!!” when they realized it.

And, soon, I was off on my very own pirate adventure :



Blue Bayou, we’ll see you soon :



A video clip of the calm and quiet:

Photos to prove it was just me, since there’s no ride photo here:





So fun to ride this one solo! I love Pirates as it is, but Disneyland Pirates is amazing. And being able to sing loudly and badly and really look around at everything is amazing. I’m pretty sure I was talking back to the pirates at some points.

I was pretty much walking on air on my way out:



Way too much solo fun for this thrill-ride-loving introvert!

As I passed the photo shop, I remembered that I needed to combine a couple Photopass cards, so stopped inside and waited a few minutes for a CM to open up:



And then, when one did, I realized there was a hidden line that went out a different door. Ugh. I wasn’t willing to wait again for something unimportant, so I just left:



You can see ToT from everywhere, even our hotel:



I was back at our room by 12:30am (not bad, considering I entered Pirates about 30 minutes prior and it’s about 15 minutes long). I looked forward to sneaking into the room and getting some much-needed sleep. And that’s when the magic all faded away…

Izzy and Dug were wide awake and Izzy was ANGRY. She was insisting on pooping on the potty, but had nothing happening. I think she might have already gone, but I can’t recall. At any rate, she had it in her sleepy little head that this was what she HAD to do and could not rest until it was done. Which meant nobody could rest. My notes say, “special candy”, so I’m guessing we tried to bribe her to go to bed with candy (she still wore a pull-up at night at this time, so even if she did have something eventually, it would be okay).

I got myself ready for bed, but we were still dealing with the endless screaming at 1am. I remember trying to explain to her that she needed to be quiet or we might get kicked out of our room (she was LOUD), but she didn’t seem to care. This was a particularly bad meltdown and I don’t think any of us got to sleep before about 2am, when she must have just scream-cried herself to sleep. At some point in there, we made the decision to scrap our plans for an early morning at Disneyland, as like 3 hours of sleep just wasn’t going to cut it. Given the rough night, we decided to change our goal to be arrival at Toontown for the 10am opening (or so we thought ).

So, mostly a great day, but a really rough night! Luckily, like 1.5 years later, I mainly remember the amazing solo night and can barely recall the tantrum (I might have forgotten entirely if not for my notes). That solo time is one of my all-time best Disney park memories.

 

[AprilRenee]

Wow! Amazing solo night!! We've never done solo nights before. Maybe with this super close hotel at Disneyland we should try it out!

And omg about the tantrum! What a rotten way to end a night! Children!

 

[amazingact21]

The one family photo almost looks like Mater is photobombing you guys. Love it.

That's a very strange way to get to Indiana Jones, but maybe they hadn't planned on single rider when they initially built the ride? I know you mentioned you loved it, is it better than Dinosaur? I'm not a fan of Dinosaur but am wondering if I'd like Indiana more.

That sounds like an amazing solo night! Oh my gosh, just incredible! A log flume completely to yourself on Splash AND THEN a whole boat on Pirates. I think that's my favorite part. You were, literally, the last guest on the attraction. Had the whole ride completely to yourself.
That's like a Disney goal for everyone!

But what a bummer that Izzy had a rough night. I know that can be really stressful, and it's especially worse when it's the middle of the night and you just want to sleep. I hope she woke up well rested the next morning!

 

[soniam]

Oh man. That night sounds bad. I definitely don't miss those days. I am glad it was fantastic before that at least.

 

[afwdwfan]

Luckily, it was fine. Glad it didn’t spill – I think the waiter would have been irritated – he seemed to dislike us a bit. Maybe we were not snooty enough to eat there, even in the lounge, I don’t know.

You had the nerve to bring a kid.

Despite Izzy getting a bit spooked, these were really cute meets!

That's great! I loved the Cars meets. That's awesome that you were able to see both Lightning and Mater.

I accompanied Dug and Izzy back to the room so that I could change before heading back over to Disneyland (have I mentioned how much I LOVED being close enough to do things like this?!)

It's so fantastic!

Again, fun ride, but I found myself wishing I had a pillow pet to sit on.

Hmmm... right next to the Matterhorn would be a great place to open up a pillow pet gift shop. Why haven't they done that yet?

And nobody followed me. Nobody. Do you know what that means? I was pretty happy to have my very own log boat :

Awesome!!!

And probably the only ride photo I’ll ever have like this:

That is a picture to frame!

So fun to ride this one solo! I love Pirates as it is, but Disneyland Pirates is amazing. And being able to sing loudly and badly and really look around at everything is amazing. I’m pretty sure I was talking back to the pirates at some points.

Your own boat for Pirates too??? Awesome! Great way to end the night!

I looked forward to sneaking into the room and getting some much-needed sleep. And that’s when the magic all faded away…

Uh oh...

So, mostly a great day, but a really rough night! Luckily, like 1.5 years later, I mainly remember the amazing solo night and can barely recall the tantrum (I might have forgotten entirely if not for my notes). That solo time is one of my all-time best Disney park memories.

That's great! I'm glad that the solo fun outweighed the meltdown.

 

[ajsary]

I am a terrible singer, but with no one else within earshot, I was belting out Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah here :

I love this so much! I am a terrible singer as well, so I applaud your decision to seize the opportunity and sing your heart out here. What an awesome experience you had!

 

[schmass]

What a night!! That looks amazing. Glad you had so much fun and got so much done in a short time. That is really strange about the single rider line for Indy, though. And I agree with you, the Matterhorn is so rough!

Cars Land looks so cool all lit up at night!

Sorry you had to deal with an angry toddler when you returned!

 

[MeghanEmily]

He wanted me to do some poses, which is not really my talent, but I tried :



Ka-Chow:

Bahaha awesome!

And butter for Izzy :

Naturally!

Up next: What’s this $15 hot chocolate like?

Wait, what?!!

The verdict? It was quite good, very chocolate-y. The accompaniments were nice. I enjoyed it, but I’d consider it a one-time splurge unless I am in Disneyland and it’s super cold or something, maybe. But nice to try it.

Sounds delish! Worth a splurge once or twice.

I love this outfit on Mickey!

And nobody followed me. Nobody. Do you know what that means? I was pretty happy to have my very own log boat :

And probably the only ride photo I’ll ever have like this:

No way! How cool!

 

[Verstehen]

Being the last on a ride is such a cool and unique feeling! A few weeks ago my dad and I were on the last Kilimanjaro Safari for the evening. It was so cool to walk around a completely empty Africa (of course as we exited, we eventually merged with the Pandora crowd, but that's another story).

 

[khertz]

What an awesome way to spend some solo time in DL!! I have totally done the very strange single rider queue at Indiana Jones and felt like I was going the wrong way the entire time lol Very nice getting yourself on Pirates that close to closing and having a boat to yourself!

Ugh, sorry it dissolved once you got into the room with a melting down child. That is never fun but especially not in the wee hours of the morning!!

 

[Frozen2014]

Great review. Such precious memories with your little one. I love how you returned to DL at 10:30pm after walking DH and DAD back to the hotel. Wow...that is such an amazing picture on Splash! How cool you were the only one. Near too with Pirates. We managed to get our own boat first thing in the morning (but family of 4...nor solo). You miss getting the warning that the drop us coming when there is an empty boat in front of you...lol.
Loving your review.

 

[Dugette]

Hi, everyone! I'm sorry I'm not the speediest trip reporter these days - it's been a challenging year, but I'm still here, just not as much as I'd like to be. And I'll be MIA for another week ahead - guess where we are heading on Sunday?!? That's right, off to WDW! We are cashing in our free 6-night stay at Art of Animation! An AoA front desk CM (possibly manager) personally called me today to see what room requests we had. Has anyone had this happen before? I never have, so was wondering if it all is related to having that free "courtesy" stay? Man, I would run out of plastic cups and toilet paper any day for this payoff. (that's what got us this free stay - mediocre mousekeeping on our trip last December)

So, since I don't have time to update this TR right now, thought I'd treat you to a fully completed vintage 1985 Trip Report. (yes, I know, some of you weren't even born yet, haha) If you are a very observant person, you may have noticed I have a rather unconventional childhood TR in my signature. Up until recently, I thought that was my first "trip report." Well, I was wrong. Turns out that when I took my first Disney trip in 2nd grade, my teacher had me keep a journal - so I took photos of it for you. If you can decipher my 7-year-old printing skills, enjoy the major blast from the past - only two parks!

I'll post it in the next post. See you all soon!