"I Want to walk where Walt walked." WDW Nut makes a Pilgrimage-TR Wrap-Up 5/14

[kaoden39]

I could die a happy woman if I never experienced an earthquake!

Here's an interesting article on Disneyland and quakes: http://thedisneyblog.com/2010/04/04/disneyland-feels-baja-california-earthquake-of-7-2-revised/ I was concerned when I read that the rides were all closed...good to know it's standard procedure.

I have lived in California my whole life so they are not that big of a deal to me. Now a tornado that scares me. We have had like 2 tornado warnings and they scared me nearly to death. I think that it is the shock with earthquakes that does it.

It seems like good practice to close the rides and check everything out. They just were saying on the news that they raised the earthquake to a 7.2 which is pretty big.

There were two earlier about 40 or so miles from me and they were a 4.0 and a 4.1 and we didn't even notice them.

 

[franandaj]

I could die a happy woman if I never experienced an earthquake!

Oh C'mon, what a better way to be inducted into the California lifestyle? I always say we're so spontaneous, and that's reflected in our natural disasters!

This is coming from someone who lived on the epicenter of the 1994 quake, where many people died and homes were destroyed. It's a serious matter, for those who lose their lives and homes, but for those who only experience the small effects, if you can't laugh at it afterwards, you'll go mad with fear of the next one.

 

[onelilspark]

South of the border, but yeah I felt it! At first I thought my Vertigo was having a relapse. Then was the furniture started swaying I realized what it was. They just showed a "tweet pic" of Main Street on TV News and people are streaming out of there, all the rides were shut down as soon as it hit. They have to check everything when something like this happens.

Is that what it feels like? Vertigo? I've experienced that. I hate it I am glad there's the SOP, it just threw me for a loop when I first saw it!

We usually split the Vintner's table between the two of us, we sit at the Chef's Counter and since Chef Sutton sort of knows me from the cooking school, he's always really nice to us (he's probably nice to everyone) and gives us little extras too.

What a great idea! Man, I'd love to be tight with a Disney Chef...

Yay V&A's, In my Dining Review (link in my sig) are some pics from when we ate there in January, 3rd time, it's a great place to eat!

I probably lurked if I didn't comment on it...I love reading dining reports, it certainly won't hurt to check it out again

I have lived in California my whole life so they are not that big of a deal to me. Now a tornado that scares me. We have had like 2 tornado warnings and they scared me nearly to death. I think that it is the shock with earthquakes that does it.

It seems like good practice to close the rides and check everything out. They just were saying on the news that they raised the earthquake to a 7.2 which is pretty big.

There were two earlier about 40 or so miles from me and they were a 4.0 and a 4.1 and we didn't even notice them.

Tornadoes scare me. Blizzards, ice, 6 inches of snow in 2 hours? Psh, peace of cake, I'll be on the roads (Ok, maybe not, but it doesn't freak me out at all.) But Tornadoes, I can't even watch them on TV. Frightens me. We keep talking about moving to Florida (I can deal with snow, but I hate the cold!) but they get a lot more Tornadoes than we do in Western NY! Hurricanes I'm fine with...you can see them coming!

Oh C'mon, what a better way to be inducted into the California lifestyle? I always say we're so spontaneous, and that's reflected in our natural disasters!

This is coming from someone who lived on the epicenter of the 1994 quake, where many people died and homes were destroyed. It's a serious matter, for those who lose their lives and homes, but for those who only experience the small effects, if you can't laugh at it afterwards, you'll go mad with fear of the next one.

Hah, I like that...Californians' natural disasters are spontaneous! I hate hearing about them, but at the same time, I'm so glad it didn't happen 2 weeks ago. I'm a little selfish I suppose!





And on a completely separate note (that I've posted on my PTR too, I'm just so excited about it!) Nothing to do with Disney, but the Eagles just traded McNabb! GOODBYE!

 

[BippityBoo]

WOW! Your ravioli looks to-die-for I love mushrooms...GREAT choice! Also, I am happy you could dress casual and really enjoyed yourself. Jumping over to your PTR

 

[Angel16]

Happy Easter! Woo Hoo, just dropped by and see you have a trip report on Disneyland! We leave two weeks from today. Got to go read.....but it is late......maybe tomorrow. Thank you for all the pictures


PS- Sorry so big, but I am excited!
Angel 16

 

[franandaj]

Is that what it feels like? Vertigo? I've experienced that. I hate it

Actually it's not so much like that, but since we're far enough away the intial ripples felt that way. However, once the more intense shaking came on, it's more like being on a boat when a series of waves come by, but more acute, at least when you are far from the epicenter, like we were for this one. When you are on the epicenter it feels like the earth is being ripped out from under you, and your whole house is one of those bouncy things that is turned on high and auto bounce. Since that one happened at 4:30AM and I was shaken from sleep I don't remember much. But I could swear that I bounced out of my bed several inches if not feet.

Either way, tornadoes and hurricaines scare me too.

 

[kaoden39]

Either way, tornadoes and hurricaines scare me too.

Me too!!

 

[onelilspark]

WOW! Your ravioli looks to-die-for I love mushrooms...GREAT choice! Also, I am happy you could dress casual and really enjoyed yourself. Jumping over to your PTR

It was really good ravioli!!

Happy Easter! Woo Hoo, just dropped by and see you have a trip report on Disneyland! We leave two weeks from today. Got to go read.....but it is late......maybe tomorrow. Thank you for all the pictures


PS- Sorry so big, but I am excited!
Angel 16

Have fun on your trip!!

Actually it's not so much like that, but since we're far enough away the intial ripples felt that way. However, once the more intense shaking came on, it's more like being on a boat when a series of waves come by, but more acute, at least when you are far from the epicenter, like we were for this one. When you are on the epicenter it feels like the earth is being ripped out from under you, and your whole house is one of those bouncy things that is turned on high and auto bounce. Since that one happened at 4:30AM and I was shaken from sleep I don't remember much. But I could swear that I bounced out of my bed several inches if not feet.

Either way, tornadoes and hurricaines scare me too.

Oh that does not sound like a fun time. I think I'll pass, thanks

Me too!!

We should start a club.

 

[kaoden39]

Sounds like the club for me!!

 

[that's nice]

All caught up!

Sorry I haven't been posting much but I have been reading.. as you know writing a TR is a full time job!

You had a full fun packed day!

Your drawings were great! I'm no artist, I wonder what it would look like if I tried to draw that.

I love your food descriptions! I usually just say yea it was good or bad. LOL

Great pic of you and you BF in front of Main St station!

I was a little disappointed with Wishes this time. I can tell the differences in the fireworks- they changed them a bit. More explosions coming up from behind the castle and less explosions up in the sky. (hope that makes sense)

 

[hucifer]

Hi Onelilspark! I have been reading your TR and really enjoying it. I've never been to Disneyland, so I'm living it through your words. It looks like you guys are having a great time.

I cannot believe those breakfast prices! $17 for an omelette? Then again, this was probably a character meal, right?

 

[PoohsFan1]

We went through the tunnel and eventually saw this:

...wait...where's the Castle? I knew from reading the Disboards that I needed to prepare myself for the size of the Castle, but even with that, I was still surprised. Every time I walked by, I commented on it. It's that much different!





I am so enjoying your TR!! I am also a WDW vet who is visiting DL for the 1st time this July! Wow-- your pic of Main Street with the castle just looks so odd!! The Castle is so pretty but so different from the one in WDW. I keep telling myself it will be a lot smaller but I still think I will be surprised when I see it. I am looking forward to more reports-- I am so excited for my trip to DL!!

Another WDW vet who is venturing to the West Coast to walk where Walt Walked , except we have to wait until next September to do so....no worries, we have 2 trips to WDW planned before that, so it will be O.K. ...it's funny how you talk about size comparisons....I was telling my mom that we decided to go to DL next September. Her response was, "Wow, you are really going to see a HUGE difference between the two." I told her I was up for the challenge and cannot wait.....BRING IT ON! . To the OP....I am absolutely loving your TR and I am surely going to show this to my DH when he gets home....we are both very excited about going to DL for the first time.

 

[katiebelle21]

Hi! I am joining in a little late. I am enjoying your trip report! It's funny how DL and WDW are so alike and so different. Napa Rose looks delicious!!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I just joined your TR and love it so far! Especially all the pics of food. One thing I noticed about Napa Rose, the portions seemed tiny and the prices huge. Was I the only one who notice that

 

[Pixieflip]

Just the trip report I needed...one from a WDW vet like me! Love your comparisons and hilarious description of Mickey's Fun Wheel!! You have me laughing out loud!!

 

[onelilspark]

Sounds like the club for me!!

It's a good club, we're all sane.

All caught up!

Sorry I haven't been posting much but I have been reading.. as you know writing a TR is a full time job!

You had a full fun packed day!

Your drawings were great! I'm no artist, I wonder what it would look like if I tried to draw that.

I love your food descriptions! I usually just say yea it was good or bad. LOL

Great pic of you and you BF in front of Main St station!

I was a little disappointed with Wishes this time. I can tell the differences in the fireworks- they changed them a bit. More explosions coming up from behind the castle and less explosions up in the sky. (hope that makes sense)

To be honest, I've always liked Wishes, but I never got why people were so into them. But I'm that way with fireworks in general. So when I say that I loved the DL fireworks, I mean it!

We ordered the picture from Photopass, but it hasn't come yet. I'm not so patiently waiting

Hi Onelilspark! I have been reading your TR and really enjoying it. I've never been to Disneyland, so I'm living it through your words. It looks like you guys are having a great time.

I cannot believe those breakfast prices! $17 for an omelette? Then again, this was probably a character meal, right?

We had a wonderful time! Yeah, breakfast was a little steep. Even for a Disney Character meal. I had a bit of sticker shock when I first started looking (we went to the cheap one!) Goofy's Brunch was $30. Chef Mickey's breakfast is $26.62...and Goofy's doesn't have Mickey! I couldn't pass up a Character breakfast though, so I picked Storyteller's based on the fact that I could order off the menu and not have to step over little kids to get my food!!

Another WDW vet who is venturing to the West Coast to walk where Walt Walked , except we have to wait until next September to do so....no worries, we have 2 trips to WDW planned before that, so it will be O.K. ...it's funny how you talk about size comparisons....I was telling my mom that we decided to go to DL next September. Her response was, "Wow, you are really going to see a HUGE difference between the two." I told her I was up for the challenge and cannot wait.....BRING IT ON! . To the OP....I am absolutely loving your TR and I am surely going to show this to my DH when he gets home....we are both very excited about going to DL for the first time.

Thanks for reading along! There's definitely differences, but as long as you realize that, you'll have a great time!!

Hi! I am joining in a little late. I am enjoying your trip report! It's funny how DL and WDW are so alike and so different. Napa Rose looks delicious!!

Thanks for joining! It was like I was in the Twilight Zone!

I just joined your TR and love it so far! Especially all the pics of food. One thing I noticed about Napa Rose, the portions seemed tiny and the prices huge. Was I the only one who notice that

Thanks for joining!
Here's my take on portion sizes: Typically at higher end restaurants, the portions are smaller. Plus you're in a resort area where people are generally not going to be asking for doggie bags. There's also the issue where across the country, portions sizes at restaurants are huge. They're a lot larger than what they should be. If I may generalize here, most Americans like to see a lot of food on the plate because they think they're getting a good deal. I'd personally like to see a better quality food and less of it...I'm not going to eat it all anyway! I liked the portion sizes there. When I walked away from the table I was full, I wasn't stuffed, so I could really enjoy my evening!

Just the trip report I needed...one from a WDW vet like me! Love your comparisons and hilarious description of Mickey's Fun Wheel!! You have me laughing out loud!!

Thanks! I'm glad that this trip report is helping so many other WDW vets!

 

[onelilspark]

Our third day dawned and we managed to sleep in a little bit We still got to the park right at opening, but we were really well rested...maybe it was the wine

I had purchased the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland (which was super helpful btw) and while I wasn't following the Touring Plans, I used them to determine which ride(s) we needed to head to first thing. Indiana Jones was one, so we made our way over. On our way, we stopped at the Adventureland "Bridge" to get a picture. You see, this is tradition in my family. When my Mom & Nana first went in 1972 to WDW, they took a picture of them on the bridge. On my first trip in 1988, my Mom and I took picture (I'm in my stroller!) And every year since, we've taken a picture! This one is from our 2009 trip in February:

So of course I needed my picture in the same spot in Disneyland!

We continued on our way to Indiana Jones and after a short wait, we were on the ride!
Here are some pictures of the line, I was in love with the theming!

The ride is designed similar to Dinosaur at DAK. And about half way through the ride, we stopped. Everyone else we were with in the car knew this wasn't supposed to happen, so we were clued in. And what area were we stuck in? The snakes of course:

(Sorry it's dark, it was poor lighting.) We were seated for about 20 minutes or so, during which we did have Cast Members come around and let us know what was going on. One of the "Jeeps" broke apparently. The neat thing was, we were right past the middle of the ride, so when they walked us off, the jeep behind us went back through the start of the ride...we got to preview the rest of the ride walking with the lights on! It was so cool. Granted I would have wanted to ridden the ride all the way through, but hey, I'll take a little Backstage Magic! There was a CM at the end who was handing out Fast Passes so we could come back on the ride later in the day.

By this time we were getting hungry, so we made our way back over to the Blue Ribbon Bakery (where we got the cookie 2 nights ago) for breakfast.
My boyfriend had a massive Cinnamon Roll:

And I got a chocolate croissant:

I always wish they had the option to warm up the croissants! Breakfast was good. The Cinnamon Bun was delicious!

After breakfast we headed over to Tomorrowland and hopped on Star Tours (my boyfriend is a huge Star Wars fan.)

They're the same ride in both DHS and DL, so I can't really compare them. DHS seems like it was designed better while you're waiting...DL seemed cramped. But while on the ride, our pilot still had a sticker that said, "remove before flight" that DHS' version doesn't have. So just for that, and the fact I got such a kick out of it, I have to give this showdown to DL!

Next we got on Buzz:

Where I beat my boyfriend this time Mission accomplished

We grabbed Fastpasses for Space Mountain and headed back to Fantasyland. I was really looking forward to Small World, I have no idea why, but I was so excited for this ride!

I thought the loading outside was really neat. Obviously it's not something they can do in FL. Heading into the ride:

...I have a ton of pictures from the ride, so I'm going to have to continue the post!

 

[onelilspark]

I knew that DL had added all the Disney Characters in the ride, so I made it my mission to capture every one on film. I didn't use flash, so these are a little grainy.

Alice and the White Rabbit:

Cinderella:

Pinocchio:

Aladdin & Jasmine:

Mulan

Simba & Pumba:

Three Caballeros:

Ariel:

Flounder:

Nemo:

Lilo & Stitch:

Jesse:

Woody:

Ending scene:

Leaving the ride:

 

[hucifer]

It's funny. When I read WDW trip reports, I don't care about park pictures because I've seen it all. But I'm fascinated with your pictures! It's weird to see IASW with so many different dolls. And to see DL be so different from MK. Oh, and I don't think your pictures look grainy at all...especially considering you didn't use a flash!

 

[BippityBoo]

I loved this update!!! What a great idea to have a tradition of taking a picture in front of Adventureland. I need to figure out a place for my family to do something. I am sure it is nice to look back and see how much you have grown over the years

I would have been SO scared if I would have gotten stuck with the snakes. I am terrified of snakes. But how cool that you got to walk through the ride

I LOVE the IASW!!! All of the princesses are ADORABLE and the outside is so impressive! Wish they could do that at WDW.

Your boyfriend's cinnamon roll is making me hungry..looks so good!