Sherry E
Currently tag-less...
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2008
- Messages
- 19,646
I have just returned, sunburnt and exhausted and aching. When we left on Thursday for DLR, it was 97 degrees. I was afraid that would be the case over the weekend, but thankfully it cooled way down. I will probably do a trip report (if anyone wants to read it), but here are some quick highlights I wanted to share:
1. Thursday night, we ate at ESPN Zone - super crowded (almost like it was a weekend), but the waitress (Amy) was GREAT and the food was GREAT! I highly recommend eating there if you can somehow make a PS for it.
2. I got a Premium AP!!! I applied some tickets I had for it and paid only $191. I began using it right away for discounts on all our meals, and that really helped.
3. Carnation Cafe (which I usually LOVE) was having a bad night. The food was not as good as it usually is and the service was BAD. I love CC but was very unhappy with it this time.
4. Goofy's Kitchen - as usual - had the best spread of any buffet and the characters were out in full force and it was well worth the money we spent.
5. We ate at Storytellers Cafe for late lunch and their food was great. I prefer their lunch/dinner menu over their breakfast food.
5. Just ate at Naples today and it was GREAT. Service and food was great.
6. We ate at Rainforest Cafe for breakfast - portions were kind of small but otherwise, a great time because nobody was there and we had the table of our choice - next to the aquariums.
7. We ate dessert at Blue Bayou. The wait was too long, even with the PS. The girl at the front desk had an attitude. The waitress was super nice and the Flying Dutchman was good but I don't know if I would eat it again.
8. Toy Story Mania is AWESOME! We rode it three times and it broke down once while we were in line but it is addictive. Buzz Lightyear is still fun, but Toy Story is better!
8. The TOTP was CROWDED - and I did not see one single LGMH the entire Disneyland trip, NOR did I see any of the Dream Squad anywhere in DLR. We got lots of good candy (chocolate mostly) at the TOTP.
9. We tried Photopass for the first time and I am a fan now! All the photographers were so helpful in being patient to get the best pictures and making sure nobody got in our way. They had us do the silly poses so that will be cool to see.
10. Pirates Lair was closed the whole time - they are using that for Miley Cyrus' b-day thing today. The ToonTown Post Office building was covered and under 'beautification.'
11. It is confirmed - SMALL WORLD WILL HAVE DISNEY CHARACTERS IN IT WHEN IT OPENS NEXT MONTH. A CM confirmed it - there will be Disney characters subtly placed throughout IASW - permanently - and you will start noticing them when IASWH opens next month.
12. We smelled the gingerbread on HMH - the gingerbread coffin house is so amazing. Wait till you see it.
13. Mr. Potato Head is NO LONGER sold at the Gag Factory in ToonTown. The CM told me that he wondered if Mr. Potato Head was going away from DLR completely, but he admitted that Potato may be exclusively sold at EngineEars from now on, and nowhere else in DLR.
14. Our room at PPH was haunted - we had a drawer in the armoire that would not stay shut and kept popping out, and the water in the sink smelled like sulfur - ick! That was the first time I have had that experience at PPH. Also, they forgot to give us our parking pass. BUT they had the adorable new bottles of shampoo, etc., with the Mickey heads on them like the ones in the DLH! We got the Key to the Magic and they spelled my name wrong, but it was cool to have. We used the GCH entrance to DCA to ride TSMM.
15. I saw the Goofy head rock in POTC and it looks very much like his hat, but I don't know if it is supposed to be Goofy or just a rock that looks like his hat!
16. The Halloween merchandise is amazing. Cute Mickey pumpkin mugs. Here is a tip for anyone who loves Halloween - go into Department 56 in DTD and check out their AMAZING Halloween Display in the back of the store - it is like a Halloween amusement park with a Ferris wheel and spinning pumpkins and everything. IT is stunning - I had to take pictures of it!!!
As I think of more things I will post - or just do a full trip report. After Thursday, the weather was perfect and it never rained. The crowds were bad but not as bad as I expected. We walked right onto POTC twice in a row. Later on in the day, the wait was 30 minutes.
1. Thursday night, we ate at ESPN Zone - super crowded (almost like it was a weekend), but the waitress (Amy) was GREAT and the food was GREAT! I highly recommend eating there if you can somehow make a PS for it.
2. I got a Premium AP!!! I applied some tickets I had for it and paid only $191. I began using it right away for discounts on all our meals, and that really helped.
3. Carnation Cafe (which I usually LOVE) was having a bad night. The food was not as good as it usually is and the service was BAD. I love CC but was very unhappy with it this time.
4. Goofy's Kitchen - as usual - had the best spread of any buffet and the characters were out in full force and it was well worth the money we spent.
5. We ate at Storytellers Cafe for late lunch and their food was great. I prefer their lunch/dinner menu over their breakfast food.
5. Just ate at Naples today and it was GREAT. Service and food was great.
6. We ate at Rainforest Cafe for breakfast - portions were kind of small but otherwise, a great time because nobody was there and we had the table of our choice - next to the aquariums.
7. We ate dessert at Blue Bayou. The wait was too long, even with the PS. The girl at the front desk had an attitude. The waitress was super nice and the Flying Dutchman was good but I don't know if I would eat it again.
8. Toy Story Mania is AWESOME! We rode it three times and it broke down once while we were in line but it is addictive. Buzz Lightyear is still fun, but Toy Story is better!
8. The TOTP was CROWDED - and I did not see one single LGMH the entire Disneyland trip, NOR did I see any of the Dream Squad anywhere in DLR. We got lots of good candy (chocolate mostly) at the TOTP.
9. We tried Photopass for the first time and I am a fan now! All the photographers were so helpful in being patient to get the best pictures and making sure nobody got in our way. They had us do the silly poses so that will be cool to see.
10. Pirates Lair was closed the whole time - they are using that for Miley Cyrus' b-day thing today. The ToonTown Post Office building was covered and under 'beautification.'
11. It is confirmed - SMALL WORLD WILL HAVE DISNEY CHARACTERS IN IT WHEN IT OPENS NEXT MONTH. A CM confirmed it - there will be Disney characters subtly placed throughout IASW - permanently - and you will start noticing them when IASWH opens next month.
12. We smelled the gingerbread on HMH - the gingerbread coffin house is so amazing. Wait till you see it.
13. Mr. Potato Head is NO LONGER sold at the Gag Factory in ToonTown. The CM told me that he wondered if Mr. Potato Head was going away from DLR completely, but he admitted that Potato may be exclusively sold at EngineEars from now on, and nowhere else in DLR.
14. Our room at PPH was haunted - we had a drawer in the armoire that would not stay shut and kept popping out, and the water in the sink smelled like sulfur - ick! That was the first time I have had that experience at PPH. Also, they forgot to give us our parking pass. BUT they had the adorable new bottles of shampoo, etc., with the Mickey heads on them like the ones in the DLH! We got the Key to the Magic and they spelled my name wrong, but it was cool to have. We used the GCH entrance to DCA to ride TSMM.
15. I saw the Goofy head rock in POTC and it looks very much like his hat, but I don't know if it is supposed to be Goofy or just a rock that looks like his hat!
16. The Halloween merchandise is amazing. Cute Mickey pumpkin mugs. Here is a tip for anyone who loves Halloween - go into Department 56 in DTD and check out their AMAZING Halloween Display in the back of the store - it is like a Halloween amusement park with a Ferris wheel and spinning pumpkins and everything. IT is stunning - I had to take pictures of it!!!
As I think of more things I will post - or just do a full trip report. After Thursday, the weather was perfect and it never rained. The crowds were bad but not as bad as I expected. We walked right onto POTC twice in a row. Later on in the day, the wait was 30 minutes.
I'm still madly trying to figure out how to buy 2 Deluxe Passes from a SoCal Costco, but other than that, I'm ready! Too bad you didn't see any LGMHs. I'm hoping I'll see some on our trip (17-21).
I'm sure we'll be having some dialogue in the days to come 
I really hope that you do a trip report. I can't wait to read it. 
... JC
