Just the Two of Us: A Spectacular Visit (DLR + Universal) - final thoughts added 7/17
- Thread starter shosh1530
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shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Day 3 - Disneyland (part 2: "Butter my Biscuit!")
We stopped at Bell Services on our way into the Grand Californian and they brought up our bags about 5 minutes after we got to our room. DS immediately had to get comfy in one of the robes and relaxed with his ipad while I unpacked.
I was worried that he might fall asleep and we'd have a repeat of the previous day's grumpy wake up, so I convinced him to head down to the pool before we headed back to the park for our Fantasmic Dining Package.
It was after 4 pm and the pool was pretty packed. We found one lounger to set our stuff on and DS bee lined it for the slide. The water felt chilly at first but not nearly as bad as January. After I got used to the temperature we made several trips up and down the water slide before doing the hot tub for a few minutes.
We went back to the room to shower and snack since we'd be having dinner rather late. We both decided to wear our mouse ears that we got the year before and DS wanted to wear his two pin lanyards. On our way out he insisted on getting a photo with the hotel's beautiful stained glass doors fully closed – not an easy feat considering the amount of foot traffic that comes through.
There was no line for security exiting the Grand into Downtown Disney. All of DS's pins set off the metal detector (oops!) but the guard smiled and waved him through.
We re-entered Disneyland around 6:45 pm and DS wanted to look in the Plaza Point Christmas shop where we had bought ornaments on our last visit. They were doing some remodeling, so there was much less merchandise and space in the store. We also looked at some pins at a nearby stand and I ended up purchasing one from the Main Street Electrical Parade (Pete's Dragon is one of my fave Disney movies so I loved getting a pin with Elliott on it).
It was close to 7 so we headed over to River Belle Terrace. I checked in on the app as we walked, but at the hostess stand we were redirected over to the side of the restaurant. There was only a short line and we got checked in quickly.
I had lucked out in booking the Premium Dining package the day reservations first opened and was even luckier that they seated us right on the railing. The table had a paper placard with our last name, as well as special lanyards, which my kid loved.
Our waiter quickly took our drink orders and and confirmed that we could order off of the special event menu or the regular menu. I was excited to see the menu had added bread service and was also intrigued by plant-based chili on the special menu. I was really torn as I loved the BBQ tofu dish on our last visit and ultimately decided to get that again. DS also got the kid's tofu and was mostly excited for the tater tots.
We had a great view of the Rivers of America from our table and could see people starting to gather for the 9 pm Fantasmic show.
Our bread basket came with a few pieces of cornbread (very yummy), biscuits, and sweet butter. I don't think DS has ever had a traditional biscuit before and he exclaimed "Well, butter my biscuit!" after trying one (imagine this with an overly dramatic attempt at a southern accent). I found this hilarious and he insisted that this was a phrase that people use (certainly not people I know). It became our catchphrase for the rest of the trip whenever we were excited about something.
My strawberry-pistachio salad came next and was quite good. The main entrees came not long after. My tofu dish was good, but not quite as scrumptious as I had remembered. DH had actually ordered it last time and I only had a few bites. It is tasty but I got tired of so much tofu after a bit. Plus I was already really full from the bread and salad.
DS devoured the tater tots and picked at the tofu, but I was just happy he was eating something.
I was worried that DS would be bored waiting so long for the show, but he seemed to love just soaking up the atmosphere. The service was excellent and we felt totally catered to all evening. My son got a huge kick out of anything where he feels like a VIP. At one point I had to ask for them to stop bringing out lemonade because he'd already had 3 glasses.
We only had about 30 minutes left to wait by the time our desserts came. DS got the chocolate oreo pudding. I didn't try it, but it looked delicious.
I ordered the chocolate and raspberry dome. It was quite intriguing! The chocolate sphere opened up to reveal layers of berries, raspberry cake, and mango sorbet inside. Fancy!
We were both so full that we swore we would not eat the rest of the trip. We decided to head to the bathroom before things got started and the hostess directed us over to the bathrooms in Adventure Land.
I had not seen Fantasmic in at least two decades and all the nostalgia flooded in with the opening music. Our view from the railing was good, although I would have preferred to be center with the water projections rather than off to the side. My favorite parts were when the boats with live actors come out as I didn't really remember that part at all. I was especially delighted by the Black Pearl making an appearance and DS was excited too as he loves the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I only wish my photo had come out better and that I had taken more photos of the show.
We stayed to watch the fireworks from our table after the show and it was nice to be able to just stay seated to see them. The view was obstructed partially by the trees though and we had to keep turning our heads back and forth between the fireworks and the projections over the Rivers of America. I'm sure the experience from the castle must be better.
The DAS I booked for Indiana Jones so many hours earlier had turned into a multi-experience pass (the ride must have gone down), so I asked DS if he wanted to ride anything before we left. He decided on the Jungle Cruise, which we both thought was good since we had never ridden it at night. The walk through Adventure Land was crazy crowded with everyone streaming out of the area.
We entered through the exit area with a few other DAS holders and got a seat at the front of the boat. This was good for me as I had a hard time hearing when we rode on our last trip. The ride definitely feels a bit ominous at night!
I asked DS if he wanted to try and stay for the parade, but we were both really tired. We made our way through the crowds along Main Street and through Downtown Disney to the hotel. I think DS may have fallen asleep the second he laid down. My tummy still almost hurt from being so full, but it was a thoroughly fantastic and special evening (like Butter my Biscuit special).
I quickly turned in to bed too. We both needed some good rest to get ready for California Adventure in the morning...
We stopped at Bell Services on our way into the Grand Californian and they brought up our bags about 5 minutes after we got to our room. DS immediately had to get comfy in one of the robes and relaxed with his ipad while I unpacked.
I was worried that he might fall asleep and we'd have a repeat of the previous day's grumpy wake up, so I convinced him to head down to the pool before we headed back to the park for our Fantasmic Dining Package.
It was after 4 pm and the pool was pretty packed. We found one lounger to set our stuff on and DS bee lined it for the slide. The water felt chilly at first but not nearly as bad as January. After I got used to the temperature we made several trips up and down the water slide before doing the hot tub for a few minutes.
We went back to the room to shower and snack since we'd be having dinner rather late. We both decided to wear our mouse ears that we got the year before and DS wanted to wear his two pin lanyards. On our way out he insisted on getting a photo with the hotel's beautiful stained glass doors fully closed – not an easy feat considering the amount of foot traffic that comes through.
There was no line for security exiting the Grand into Downtown Disney. All of DS's pins set off the metal detector (oops!) but the guard smiled and waved him through.
We re-entered Disneyland around 6:45 pm and DS wanted to look in the Plaza Point Christmas shop where we had bought ornaments on our last visit. They were doing some remodeling, so there was much less merchandise and space in the store. We also looked at some pins at a nearby stand and I ended up purchasing one from the Main Street Electrical Parade (Pete's Dragon is one of my fave Disney movies so I loved getting a pin with Elliott on it).
It was close to 7 so we headed over to River Belle Terrace. I checked in on the app as we walked, but at the hostess stand we were redirected over to the side of the restaurant. There was only a short line and we got checked in quickly.
I had lucked out in booking the Premium Dining package the day reservations first opened and was even luckier that they seated us right on the railing. The table had a paper placard with our last name, as well as special lanyards, which my kid loved.
Our waiter quickly took our drink orders and and confirmed that we could order off of the special event menu or the regular menu. I was excited to see the menu had added bread service and was also intrigued by plant-based chili on the special menu. I was really torn as I loved the BBQ tofu dish on our last visit and ultimately decided to get that again. DS also got the kid's tofu and was mostly excited for the tater tots.
We had a great view of the Rivers of America from our table and could see people starting to gather for the 9 pm Fantasmic show.
Our bread basket came with a few pieces of cornbread (very yummy), biscuits, and sweet butter. I don't think DS has ever had a traditional biscuit before and he exclaimed "Well, butter my biscuit!" after trying one (imagine this with an overly dramatic attempt at a southern accent). I found this hilarious and he insisted that this was a phrase that people use (certainly not people I know). It became our catchphrase for the rest of the trip whenever we were excited about something.
My strawberry-pistachio salad came next and was quite good. The main entrees came not long after. My tofu dish was good, but not quite as scrumptious as I had remembered. DH had actually ordered it last time and I only had a few bites. It is tasty but I got tired of so much tofu after a bit. Plus I was already really full from the bread and salad.
DS devoured the tater tots and picked at the tofu, but I was just happy he was eating something.
I was worried that DS would be bored waiting so long for the show, but he seemed to love just soaking up the atmosphere. The service was excellent and we felt totally catered to all evening. My son got a huge kick out of anything where he feels like a VIP. At one point I had to ask for them to stop bringing out lemonade because he'd already had 3 glasses.
We only had about 30 minutes left to wait by the time our desserts came. DS got the chocolate oreo pudding. I didn't try it, but it looked delicious.
I ordered the chocolate and raspberry dome. It was quite intriguing! The chocolate sphere opened up to reveal layers of berries, raspberry cake, and mango sorbet inside. Fancy!
We were both so full that we swore we would not eat the rest of the trip. We decided to head to the bathroom before things got started and the hostess directed us over to the bathrooms in Adventure Land.
I had not seen Fantasmic in at least two decades and all the nostalgia flooded in with the opening music. Our view from the railing was good, although I would have preferred to be center with the water projections rather than off to the side. My favorite parts were when the boats with live actors come out as I didn't really remember that part at all. I was especially delighted by the Black Pearl making an appearance and DS was excited too as he loves the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I only wish my photo had come out better and that I had taken more photos of the show.
We stayed to watch the fireworks from our table after the show and it was nice to be able to just stay seated to see them. The view was obstructed partially by the trees though and we had to keep turning our heads back and forth between the fireworks and the projections over the Rivers of America. I'm sure the experience from the castle must be better.
The DAS I booked for Indiana Jones so many hours earlier had turned into a multi-experience pass (the ride must have gone down), so I asked DS if he wanted to ride anything before we left. He decided on the Jungle Cruise, which we both thought was good since we had never ridden it at night. The walk through Adventure Land was crazy crowded with everyone streaming out of the area.
We entered through the exit area with a few other DAS holders and got a seat at the front of the boat. This was good for me as I had a hard time hearing when we rode on our last trip. The ride definitely feels a bit ominous at night!
I asked DS if he wanted to try and stay for the parade, but we were both really tired. We made our way through the crowds along Main Street and through Downtown Disney to the hotel. I think DS may have fallen asleep the second he laid down. My tummy still almost hurt from being so full, but it was a thoroughly fantastic and special evening (like Butter my Biscuit special).
I quickly turned in to bed too. We both needed some good rest to get ready for California Adventure in the morning...
CandyMouse
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2008
Glad you had a good time at River Belle, looks like it was an ok view. I tried to get the premium package for my DH and I but wasn't successful, we did the standard package for lunch. Our food was good and they were able to do my catfish plain, which I really appreciated. I'm sensitive to spicy food, so that was very helpful. We were able to get a few rows back in the center for our view of Fantasmic. We would have liked to sit at a table though, my DH has had knee surgery on both legs and it's hard for him to sit on the ground. It's funny, we also did Jungle Cruise after Fantasmic/Fireworks and then had a dole whip!
BroadwayHermione5
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2017
Riverbele looked amazing!
Living42Day
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 29, 2021
Loving the trip report, but holy moly girl! You have a lot of strength and patience to handle meltdowns like that. I think after something like that, I would have packed up and went back home. I would be so worried it would happen again. Glad you were able to power through and looks like you all still had a fun time.
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
It was! I think it was my favorite part of this trip, although DS preferred the dessert party.
Tasscrapper
I belive in dragons, unicorns, good men and other
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2008
I'm enjoying the trip report. Can't wait for the dessert party. 
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Day 4 - DCA (Part 1: Avenger's Campus & Pixar Pier)
We managed to sleep in a bit (7 ish) after our late night at Disneyland (well, at least late for us, I don't know how people can stay until midnight). Our plan was to head into DCA on the early side and do all the rides we've never done.
DS and I were both looking forward to the vegan breakfast shawarma that we had on our last trip, so we decided to just do breakfast in the park. There was no line to enter through GCH when we got there around 8:30. I immediately mobile ordered the kid's breakfast plate for DS (Nano Eggs-periment 101, $8) from Pym Test Kitchen and we headed over to Avenger's Campus.
This was probably the only time of day where I didn't have to circle for several minutes to get a table outside of Pym Test Kitchen. There were plenty to choose from. Our mobile order came up right away and I went inside to get it. The plate comes with scrambled eggs, focaccia toast, turkey bacon, mandarin orange, and milk or bottled water. Unfortunately, there was no way to customize and leave off the bacon and the staff would not remove it when I picked up the tray. So I just grabbed some napkins and pitched it.
I dropped off the food for DS and then walked over to the Shawarma Palace food cart. There was no line and I able to get the Impossible Breakfast Sha-warm-up ($13) with no wait.
It was slightly weird to sit and eat breakfast so early in the day rather than rushing to rides, but also really relaxing and nice. And it set the pace for another non-rushed day for us.
DS ate his eggs and toast and had several bites of my shawarma. It has plant-based egg, non-dairy cheese, tater tots, and Impossible sausage patty, with a spicy maple syrup on the side. The picture isn't great, but it is so yummy!
We booked a DAS for Web Slingers and somehow DS was still hungry (even after we both vowed to never eat again the night before). I mobile ordered him the Quantum Pretzel ($13) from Pym's and we sat another few minutes to enjoy some of it.
The pretzel is definitely huge, so we broke up most of the pieces and wrapped them in napkins to snack on later. We decided to head over to Cars Land to do a few rides and look around while we waited for our Web Slingers return time.
As we were leaving Pym we saw that Scarlet Witch was just coming out and only a few people were waiting. We jumped in line to meet her. DS offered to take my photo as he knows what a huge fan I am, but the cast member offered to take one of all of us.
Wanda/Scarlet Witch asked if DS was my son and then told me how lucky I am when I said yes. We all did our best Scarlet Witch poses, but the sun was in DS's eyes so they were mostly closed in all the shots.
Our previous trips into Cars Land have focused solely on Radiator Springs Racers, but we already knew it was going to be down today (it ended up coming back online the day after we left). We had never ridden the other two rides in Cars Land, so we headed over to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and got in the stand by line.
The line moved fairly fast and we were loaded on the tractors in less than 10 minutes. The ride is cute and fun and thankfully did not make me too dizzy despite the tractors swinging around a bunch.
We headed over to Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters next. The line seemed fairly long for early in the day, I'm guessing because RSR was closed. The line was probably 20 minutes total and DS got pretty antsy while waiting.
He really wanted one of the blue-green cars and they must be popular because right as we were about to get in the car another kid raced past us and and tried to get in the driver's seat, practically knocking DS over. I thought for a second the two kids were going to get into a wrestling match, but I instinctively (and I hope politely) said "Sorry, this one is ours" and the kid went to another empty car of the same color.
The ride spins you around a bit but was quite fun and I only felt a little dizzy after. It was almost time to ride Web Slinger's so we headed back to Avenger's Campus.
We entered through the Lightning Lane and were immediately able to go into the pre-show. This was probably my 4th time on the ride but one of the most enjoyable as I felt more able to take in all the details.
The line moved quickly and we were loaded in car with a mom and baby. Despite trying my hardest, I still got the lowest score of all of us (well, I guess I did beat the baby). I just have to be ok with the fact that I am terrible at all these ride shooting games.
After we exited the ride, DS said he wanted to do Toy Story Midway Mania. We had a longish wait, so we headed over to Pixar Pier where there were a lot of rides we hadn't done before.
On our way out of Avenger's Campus, I noticed this Stan Lee plaque. We stopped to take a photo as we are huge Marvel fans. I was wondering how I never noticed it before, but it turns out it was new since our last visit.
We made it to Pixar Pier and jumped on Golden Zephyr first as there was no line. The mini-rockets go up high and out and I discovered this type of ride definitely make me a bit dizzy. But we were able to check it off the list.
Jumpin' Jellyfish was up next and DS seemed willing to ride. He got nervous on our last trip and asked to get off before the ride started. This time he got on without issue, although he still said he was a little nervous.
I was hoping that success on this ride, might entice him to try Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout. It is pretty tame compared to Guardians though and I barely got the drop feeling at all on the ride.
The view from the top was pretty nice though. DS said after we got off that the ride made him even more scared at the idea of Guardians. So we'll have to save that for a future trip.
The line for Goofy's Sky School was long and since we did that last trip we skipped it. We headed over to Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind and waited about 15 minutes stand by. DS got a bit annoyed waiting for this ride and kept reminding me that he didn't really like this movie. We had some pretzel pieces to tide him over and he survived the wait. The ride wasn't super memorable and I probably wouldn't wait for it again.
Our return time for Toy Story had arrived, but unfortunately right when we went to scan in everyone started leaving the line. A cast member explained that the ride was down and that our DAS should turn into a multi-experience pass in a few minutes.
I tried to be patient waiting for the ME pass to come up, but it didn't seem to be happening. I eventually cancelled it so we could book Grizzly River Run as DS wanted to do that next. We slowly made our way over there and were able to enter the Lightning Lane by the time we got there.
Grizzly has been one of our favorite rides in the past and it did not disappoint. There was a large family on the raft as we entered so DS and I both got seats on the ends and knew we would get wet. I thankfully managed to lift my feet up and keep them from getting soaked, but my whole left side got thoroughly splashed.
It was getting close to lunch time and DS wanted to eat at Pyms again. That didn't appeal to me so I put in a mobile order for both Pyms and Lucky Fortune Cookery and we walked over to pick my order up.
We saw a Guest Services umbrella along the way with no line, so I stopped into ask them about the how it works when you have DAS and a ride goes down in case it happens in the future. The affirmed that the DAS would eventually turn into a ME pass, but said I probably didn't wait long enough. They kindly went ahead and added the pass to our account.
DS said he wanted to ride Soarin' next, so I booked a regular DAS for that and planned to use our ME pass after we took our hotel break.
I picked up my vegan Bahn Mi from Lucky Fortune and carried it back over to Pyms. Unfortunately, Avenger's Campus was packed and there were no tables available. We circled around several times and DS eventually found an empty table in full sun that had no chairs. I went inside to grab his food and then we hunted for extra chairs, eventually finding two we could bring over.
The full sun was not great, but we did have a good view of the Avenger's building for when the show with Black Widow and Black Panther started. DS only picked at his Mini-Pasta and Impossible Meat-Balls ($9), but at least had a few of the meatballs.
My Impossible Bahn Mi ($14) was so delicious. It was my first time trying it and I was skeptical about the impossible meat for this type of dish, but it was definitely one of my new favorite things in the parks. I couldn't help comparing it to the mediocre bahn mi sandwich I had at Universal just two days earlier. This was so many orders of magnitudes better for the same price. The bread seemed to be fresh warm sourdough and the flavoring was just perfect (although I picked a few of the jalapenos off to make it less spicy). And it came with a side of lemongrass-cucumber salad that was also delicious.
We walked over to Soarin' after finishing lunch, but by the time we got there DS no longer felt like riding. I suggested maybe checking out Animation Academy, but it became clear that he was cooked so we headed back to GCH for a break.
My goal was to rest but again to avoid napping, so we chilled in the room for a bit. I enjoyed some relaxing time on the balcony while DS watched his iPad.
We eventually made our way to the pool and got in some more slide time. It was closer to 3 and the pool was more crowded than the previous day. But we managed to find one lounger (we aren't really lounge people anyway).
The lines for the slide weren't to long and we must have gone down at least 10 times. It isn't the biggest or scariest water slide, but we still had loads of fun. DS liked how one of the life guards at the top would ask Disney trivia questions while you would wait and then we had fun making up our own trivia questions and quizzing each other.
We ended our pool time with the hot tub and then went back to the room to shower and get dressed. We wanted to try and get in a few more rides before our World of Color Dessert Party, especially since DCA would be closing early for grad night...
We managed to sleep in a bit (7 ish) after our late night at Disneyland (well, at least late for us, I don't know how people can stay until midnight). Our plan was to head into DCA on the early side and do all the rides we've never done.
DS and I were both looking forward to the vegan breakfast shawarma that we had on our last trip, so we decided to just do breakfast in the park. There was no line to enter through GCH when we got there around 8:30. I immediately mobile ordered the kid's breakfast plate for DS (Nano Eggs-periment 101, $8) from Pym Test Kitchen and we headed over to Avenger's Campus.
This was probably the only time of day where I didn't have to circle for several minutes to get a table outside of Pym Test Kitchen. There were plenty to choose from. Our mobile order came up right away and I went inside to get it. The plate comes with scrambled eggs, focaccia toast, turkey bacon, mandarin orange, and milk or bottled water. Unfortunately, there was no way to customize and leave off the bacon and the staff would not remove it when I picked up the tray. So I just grabbed some napkins and pitched it.
I dropped off the food for DS and then walked over to the Shawarma Palace food cart. There was no line and I able to get the Impossible Breakfast Sha-warm-up ($13) with no wait.
It was slightly weird to sit and eat breakfast so early in the day rather than rushing to rides, but also really relaxing and nice. And it set the pace for another non-rushed day for us.
DS ate his eggs and toast and had several bites of my shawarma. It has plant-based egg, non-dairy cheese, tater tots, and Impossible sausage patty, with a spicy maple syrup on the side. The picture isn't great, but it is so yummy!
We booked a DAS for Web Slingers and somehow DS was still hungry (even after we both vowed to never eat again the night before). I mobile ordered him the Quantum Pretzel ($13) from Pym's and we sat another few minutes to enjoy some of it.
The pretzel is definitely huge, so we broke up most of the pieces and wrapped them in napkins to snack on later. We decided to head over to Cars Land to do a few rides and look around while we waited for our Web Slingers return time.
As we were leaving Pym we saw that Scarlet Witch was just coming out and only a few people were waiting. We jumped in line to meet her. DS offered to take my photo as he knows what a huge fan I am, but the cast member offered to take one of all of us.
Wanda/Scarlet Witch asked if DS was my son and then told me how lucky I am when I said yes. We all did our best Scarlet Witch poses, but the sun was in DS's eyes so they were mostly closed in all the shots.
Our previous trips into Cars Land have focused solely on Radiator Springs Racers, but we already knew it was going to be down today (it ended up coming back online the day after we left). We had never ridden the other two rides in Cars Land, so we headed over to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and got in the stand by line.
The line moved fairly fast and we were loaded on the tractors in less than 10 minutes. The ride is cute and fun and thankfully did not make me too dizzy despite the tractors swinging around a bunch.
We headed over to Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters next. The line seemed fairly long for early in the day, I'm guessing because RSR was closed. The line was probably 20 minutes total and DS got pretty antsy while waiting.
He really wanted one of the blue-green cars and they must be popular because right as we were about to get in the car another kid raced past us and and tried to get in the driver's seat, practically knocking DS over. I thought for a second the two kids were going to get into a wrestling match, but I instinctively (and I hope politely) said "Sorry, this one is ours" and the kid went to another empty car of the same color.
The ride spins you around a bit but was quite fun and I only felt a little dizzy after. It was almost time to ride Web Slinger's so we headed back to Avenger's Campus.
We entered through the Lightning Lane and were immediately able to go into the pre-show. This was probably my 4th time on the ride but one of the most enjoyable as I felt more able to take in all the details.
The line moved quickly and we were loaded in car with a mom and baby. Despite trying my hardest, I still got the lowest score of all of us (well, I guess I did beat the baby). I just have to be ok with the fact that I am terrible at all these ride shooting games.
After we exited the ride, DS said he wanted to do Toy Story Midway Mania. We had a longish wait, so we headed over to Pixar Pier where there were a lot of rides we hadn't done before.
On our way out of Avenger's Campus, I noticed this Stan Lee plaque. We stopped to take a photo as we are huge Marvel fans. I was wondering how I never noticed it before, but it turns out it was new since our last visit.
We made it to Pixar Pier and jumped on Golden Zephyr first as there was no line. The mini-rockets go up high and out and I discovered this type of ride definitely make me a bit dizzy. But we were able to check it off the list.
Jumpin' Jellyfish was up next and DS seemed willing to ride. He got nervous on our last trip and asked to get off before the ride started. This time he got on without issue, although he still said he was a little nervous.
I was hoping that success on this ride, might entice him to try Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout. It is pretty tame compared to Guardians though and I barely got the drop feeling at all on the ride.
The view from the top was pretty nice though. DS said after we got off that the ride made him even more scared at the idea of Guardians. So we'll have to save that for a future trip.
The line for Goofy's Sky School was long and since we did that last trip we skipped it. We headed over to Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind and waited about 15 minutes stand by. DS got a bit annoyed waiting for this ride and kept reminding me that he didn't really like this movie. We had some pretzel pieces to tide him over and he survived the wait. The ride wasn't super memorable and I probably wouldn't wait for it again.
Our return time for Toy Story had arrived, but unfortunately right when we went to scan in everyone started leaving the line. A cast member explained that the ride was down and that our DAS should turn into a multi-experience pass in a few minutes.
I tried to be patient waiting for the ME pass to come up, but it didn't seem to be happening. I eventually cancelled it so we could book Grizzly River Run as DS wanted to do that next. We slowly made our way over there and were able to enter the Lightning Lane by the time we got there.
Grizzly has been one of our favorite rides in the past and it did not disappoint. There was a large family on the raft as we entered so DS and I both got seats on the ends and knew we would get wet. I thankfully managed to lift my feet up and keep them from getting soaked, but my whole left side got thoroughly splashed.
It was getting close to lunch time and DS wanted to eat at Pyms again. That didn't appeal to me so I put in a mobile order for both Pyms and Lucky Fortune Cookery and we walked over to pick my order up.
We saw a Guest Services umbrella along the way with no line, so I stopped into ask them about the how it works when you have DAS and a ride goes down in case it happens in the future. The affirmed that the DAS would eventually turn into a ME pass, but said I probably didn't wait long enough. They kindly went ahead and added the pass to our account.
DS said he wanted to ride Soarin' next, so I booked a regular DAS for that and planned to use our ME pass after we took our hotel break.
I picked up my vegan Bahn Mi from Lucky Fortune and carried it back over to Pyms. Unfortunately, Avenger's Campus was packed and there were no tables available. We circled around several times and DS eventually found an empty table in full sun that had no chairs. I went inside to grab his food and then we hunted for extra chairs, eventually finding two we could bring over.
The full sun was not great, but we did have a good view of the Avenger's building for when the show with Black Widow and Black Panther started. DS only picked at his Mini-Pasta and Impossible Meat-Balls ($9), but at least had a few of the meatballs.
My Impossible Bahn Mi ($14) was so delicious. It was my first time trying it and I was skeptical about the impossible meat for this type of dish, but it was definitely one of my new favorite things in the parks. I couldn't help comparing it to the mediocre bahn mi sandwich I had at Universal just two days earlier. This was so many orders of magnitudes better for the same price. The bread seemed to be fresh warm sourdough and the flavoring was just perfect (although I picked a few of the jalapenos off to make it less spicy). And it came with a side of lemongrass-cucumber salad that was also delicious.
We walked over to Soarin' after finishing lunch, but by the time we got there DS no longer felt like riding. I suggested maybe checking out Animation Academy, but it became clear that he was cooked so we headed back to GCH for a break.
My goal was to rest but again to avoid napping, so we chilled in the room for a bit. I enjoyed some relaxing time on the balcony while DS watched his iPad.
We eventually made our way to the pool and got in some more slide time. It was closer to 3 and the pool was more crowded than the previous day. But we managed to find one lounger (we aren't really lounge people anyway).
The lines for the slide weren't to long and we must have gone down at least 10 times. It isn't the biggest or scariest water slide, but we still had loads of fun. DS liked how one of the life guards at the top would ask Disney trivia questions while you would wait and then we had fun making up our own trivia questions and quizzing each other.
We ended our pool time with the hot tub and then went back to the room to shower and get dressed. We wanted to try and get in a few more rides before our World of Color Dessert Party, especially since DCA would be closing early for grad night...
evilmommie
Disneyland CM Alumna 80's-90's
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2016
Love the pics! You and your son have such a great time together. So awesome.
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Disney really seems to be our jam! It's funny because we took him to Disneyland when he was five and we had a pretty awful time. He was overwhelmed and terrified of almost every ride. At the end he said the things he liked was getting to buy a toy and eating pizza.
So I'm excited that he now loves it and asks to go all the time. I figure that may not last forever so I'm already trying to figure out our next trips (Halloween or Christmas? WDW?). He's very into the idea of visiting every Disney park in the world and we spent time during the pandemic fantasizing about various trips. We'll see if those ever come to fruition (the idea of a long international flight with an unpredictable kid kind of scares me, plus of course $$$).
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Glad to hear you are enjoying it! It is fun to relive it all.
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Glad you are enjoying it!
Yeah the Pym's table situation is crazy. Too bad it is my kid's favorite place in DCA. I'm going to have to start just taking the food elsewhere even though it comes in non-disposable dishes. It was no nice to eat in some of the other areas like Paradise Gardens and not have to have the table piranhas circling
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Day 4 - DCA (Part 2: World of Color Dessert Party)
It was probably after 5 by the time we headed back into DCA from the hotel. The main event for the evening was the World of Color Dessert Party and I was hoping to do a few rides and grab dinner beforehand.
We still had the DAS that we booked for Soarin' earlier that day. The Lightning Lane line looked very long, but thankfully didn't take too long. I've never gotten the front row on this ride and was really hoping we would this time, but no luck... We were second row off to the side.
After exiting the ride, we stopped briefly to look in the gift shop across the way. We were planning to make our way to Pixar Pier and try for Toy Story (using our multi-experience pass) and DS said he wanted to try the Pixar-Pal-Around ferris wheel (formerly Mickey's Fun Wheel aka Mickey's Wheel of Death).
DS and I had a pact that I'd ride any ride that he was willing to go on, but I was counting on him never wanting to do the Wheel of Death. I'm not the hugest fan of heights and once had a total breakdown riding a local ferris wheel on a windy day. This particular ferris wheel has some swinging cars that look absolutely terrifying! We agreed that we would ride, but only if we got a non-swinging car.
As we headed that way, I tried to book a DAS for the non-swinging car, but could only find the swinging option in the app. We stopped by guest services and they explained we just have to get the swinging DAS and tell them when we check in that we wanted non-swinging. I'll admit this made me very nervous, but I went ahead and booked.
We got to TSMM and of course it had just gone down (for like the third time). There was hardly any line at Jessie's Critter Carousel, so we did that to check it off our list of rides we never did before.
DS and I both rode on turtles and he adorably waved his hat around and said "yeehaw" most of the ride.
Next up was the terrifying Ferris wheel. We went through the exit to use the DAS and they did give us a placard specifying "non-swinging." We didn't have to wait long and I probably asked at least 5 times for the cast member loading the ride to reassure me that it would truly not be a swinging car.
DS didn't really seem to be scared at all (even though he refused to do the gondolas at the San Diego Zoo the year before). I'll admit that the views of the parks were quite spectacular.
We could see both Space Mountain and the Matterhorn over in Disneyland. I was also amazed that no tables appeared to be set up yet for where I was pretty sure the dessert party would be happening in a little over an hour.
DS had a cute conversation with the couple sharing our car (and their adorable toddler). He was asking them what big rides they had done and when they asked if he had rode Space Mountain, he exclaimed "No! I've only ever ridden Hyperspace Mountain." I love that in his mind they are very separate rides.
It was also neat to see the Grand Californian from the top of the wheel. I felt pretty safe inside the "cage" and only felt nervous a few times. We could hear lots of people screaming from the swinging cars.
We checked on Toy Story one more time after we exited but it was still down. It was almost 6:30 so I checked our mobile order options to grab some quick food. DS wanted to try Boardwalk Pizza but it wasn't showing up for mobile order. I decided to head that way and see if it was open for walk up orders.
Boardwalk was indeed open and had basically no line. I think the pizza here looked way better than what we saw at Alien Pizza Planet the day before. DS got a slice of cheese pizza ($8), while I mobile ordered the Impossible BBQ Burger ($14) from Paradise Garden Grill next door.
There was plenty of seating outside of the two restaurants (with tons of shade no less). We grabbed a table and my order was ready within 5 minutes. I was a little weary of having my second Impossible food item of the day, but it was so, so good. The veggie burger is topped with bbq sauce, crispy onions and coleslaw. It was definitely the best burger I've had at Disney so far. I usually detest potato salad, but thought this particular side was pretty good.
As we finished our meal, I checked on Toy Story and it was up! So we walked quickly to get in line, using our multi-experience pass from when it first went down that morning. The line was fairly long and it took about 15 minutes. I was getting a little antsy because I wanted to get over to line up for the dessert party.
The last (and only) time I rode TSMM, DS and had gone in a car with my husband and I rode alone. I totally forgot to put on my 3D glasses that ride and couldn't figure out for the first two-thirds of the ride why the graphics were so bad! So it was nice to have a do-over. It was a lot more fun riding with a companion and actually seeing the 3D.
I wanted to line up for the dessert party by about 7:30 with the hopes of getting one of the tall tables. We were cutting it close and both needed the bathroom to boot. We saw the line had started forming already as we went to the closest restrooms. But in just the two minutes we were inside I swear it doubled!
The line up area was at least shady and we had a fun time playing some trivia on the Play Disney app while we waited.
Some cast members were coming through the line with tablets to check us in by 7:50 and I was able to request the taller tables. They led the first part of the line to their tables shortly after that and right around 8 our group was taken to get seated.
We were seated pretty much center with just one row of low tables in front of us (and then of course all the standing folks already waiting for the show that weren't doing the party). It was nice to have a seat!
They brought out dessert plates almost immediately. I had been torn about whether to try and order a non-dairy plate, but didn't really want to get just a plate of fruit for the high cost. I figured I could at least sample the desserts and save the leftovers for DS later.
We both ordered the cherry fizz non-alcoholic drink and DS even managed to talk his way into a glow cup. He also went to town on his plate, trying everything and even shockingly eating much of the cheese. He really seemed to like the soft cheese and took all my crackers to have with it.
Shortly after we got our drinks, a couple was sat at the table with us. DS had a fun time asking them lots of questions, although they had more of date night vibe and might have been slightly less thrilled.
I tried each of the desserts and thought the rice krispie treat thing was pretty yucky (DS ate all of his). The raspberry cookie was quite good and I had to restrain myself from eating the whole thing. The blue raspberry bundt cake was also yummy. I thought the triple chocolate cheesecake was delicious, but there was no way to convince myself that it was filled with dairy so I only took a few bites.
It was getting chilly as the sun went down so DS got some hot chocolate and I got some chamomile tea. Our server offered to take our picture with the pier all lit up behind us.
This was right at 9 pm and you can see the crowd-level of the roped off area in front of us (I'm assuming these were people that did the other dining packages or had gotten a spot in the virtual queue. There were some folks with kids on their shoulders so I was glad to be at high table with a pretty clear view.
Right after our pictures were done, the announcer came on and the show started. This was both our our first time seeing World of Color. What a show! I enjoyed all the color lights, water projections and music (and even fire!).
I'd like to see the show again to really take it all in. It is kind of a blur in my memory. This was a grad night (meaning park closed at 9 pm for the special event), so people started streaming out once the show was done. We probably could have lingered a few minutes, but DS was ready to go. They had already given us a box for our leftover desserts before the show and we took that with us.
We followed the stream of people and fought our way to the left to try to get over to the cutoff for the Grizzly Peak area. We were able to go through the GCG private entrance and head back to our room.
As we walked we compared the two shows from the previous night and this evening. DS thought both the dessert party and World of Color were the best. I loved Fantasmic just a smidge more and loved the really relaxed dinner we had as part of that package, so it wins my vote. I felt lucky that we got to experience both (just don't look at my credit card bill!).
I couldn't believe we had only one day left before heading home. Could it possibly be any more awesome that the past two days....?
It was probably after 5 by the time we headed back into DCA from the hotel. The main event for the evening was the World of Color Dessert Party and I was hoping to do a few rides and grab dinner beforehand.
We still had the DAS that we booked for Soarin' earlier that day. The Lightning Lane line looked very long, but thankfully didn't take too long. I've never gotten the front row on this ride and was really hoping we would this time, but no luck... We were second row off to the side.
After exiting the ride, we stopped briefly to look in the gift shop across the way. We were planning to make our way to Pixar Pier and try for Toy Story (using our multi-experience pass) and DS said he wanted to try the Pixar-Pal-Around ferris wheel (formerly Mickey's Fun Wheel aka Mickey's Wheel of Death).
DS and I had a pact that I'd ride any ride that he was willing to go on, but I was counting on him never wanting to do the Wheel of Death. I'm not the hugest fan of heights and once had a total breakdown riding a local ferris wheel on a windy day. This particular ferris wheel has some swinging cars that look absolutely terrifying! We agreed that we would ride, but only if we got a non-swinging car.
As we headed that way, I tried to book a DAS for the non-swinging car, but could only find the swinging option in the app. We stopped by guest services and they explained we just have to get the swinging DAS and tell them when we check in that we wanted non-swinging. I'll admit this made me very nervous, but I went ahead and booked.
We got to TSMM and of course it had just gone down (for like the third time). There was hardly any line at Jessie's Critter Carousel, so we did that to check it off our list of rides we never did before.
DS and I both rode on turtles and he adorably waved his hat around and said "yeehaw" most of the ride.
Next up was the terrifying Ferris wheel. We went through the exit to use the DAS and they did give us a placard specifying "non-swinging." We didn't have to wait long and I probably asked at least 5 times for the cast member loading the ride to reassure me that it would truly not be a swinging car.
DS didn't really seem to be scared at all (even though he refused to do the gondolas at the San Diego Zoo the year before). I'll admit that the views of the parks were quite spectacular.
We could see both Space Mountain and the Matterhorn over in Disneyland. I was also amazed that no tables appeared to be set up yet for where I was pretty sure the dessert party would be happening in a little over an hour.
DS had a cute conversation with the couple sharing our car (and their adorable toddler). He was asking them what big rides they had done and when they asked if he had rode Space Mountain, he exclaimed "No! I've only ever ridden Hyperspace Mountain." I love that in his mind they are very separate rides.
It was also neat to see the Grand Californian from the top of the wheel. I felt pretty safe inside the "cage" and only felt nervous a few times. We could hear lots of people screaming from the swinging cars.
We checked on Toy Story one more time after we exited but it was still down. It was almost 6:30 so I checked our mobile order options to grab some quick food. DS wanted to try Boardwalk Pizza but it wasn't showing up for mobile order. I decided to head that way and see if it was open for walk up orders.
Boardwalk was indeed open and had basically no line. I think the pizza here looked way better than what we saw at Alien Pizza Planet the day before. DS got a slice of cheese pizza ($8), while I mobile ordered the Impossible BBQ Burger ($14) from Paradise Garden Grill next door.
There was plenty of seating outside of the two restaurants (with tons of shade no less). We grabbed a table and my order was ready within 5 minutes. I was a little weary of having my second Impossible food item of the day, but it was so, so good. The veggie burger is topped with bbq sauce, crispy onions and coleslaw. It was definitely the best burger I've had at Disney so far. I usually detest potato salad, but thought this particular side was pretty good.
As we finished our meal, I checked on Toy Story and it was up! So we walked quickly to get in line, using our multi-experience pass from when it first went down that morning. The line was fairly long and it took about 15 minutes. I was getting a little antsy because I wanted to get over to line up for the dessert party.
The last (and only) time I rode TSMM, DS and had gone in a car with my husband and I rode alone. I totally forgot to put on my 3D glasses that ride and couldn't figure out for the first two-thirds of the ride why the graphics were so bad! So it was nice to have a do-over. It was a lot more fun riding with a companion and actually seeing the 3D.
I wanted to line up for the dessert party by about 7:30 with the hopes of getting one of the tall tables. We were cutting it close and both needed the bathroom to boot. We saw the line had started forming already as we went to the closest restrooms. But in just the two minutes we were inside I swear it doubled!
The line up area was at least shady and we had a fun time playing some trivia on the Play Disney app while we waited.
Some cast members were coming through the line with tablets to check us in by 7:50 and I was able to request the taller tables. They led the first part of the line to their tables shortly after that and right around 8 our group was taken to get seated.
We were seated pretty much center with just one row of low tables in front of us (and then of course all the standing folks already waiting for the show that weren't doing the party). It was nice to have a seat!
They brought out dessert plates almost immediately. I had been torn about whether to try and order a non-dairy plate, but didn't really want to get just a plate of fruit for the high cost. I figured I could at least sample the desserts and save the leftovers for DS later.
We both ordered the cherry fizz non-alcoholic drink and DS even managed to talk his way into a glow cup. He also went to town on his plate, trying everything and even shockingly eating much of the cheese. He really seemed to like the soft cheese and took all my crackers to have with it.
Shortly after we got our drinks, a couple was sat at the table with us. DS had a fun time asking them lots of questions, although they had more of date night vibe and might have been slightly less thrilled.
I tried each of the desserts and thought the rice krispie treat thing was pretty yucky (DS ate all of his). The raspberry cookie was quite good and I had to restrain myself from eating the whole thing. The blue raspberry bundt cake was also yummy. I thought the triple chocolate cheesecake was delicious, but there was no way to convince myself that it was filled with dairy so I only took a few bites.
It was getting chilly as the sun went down so DS got some hot chocolate and I got some chamomile tea. Our server offered to take our picture with the pier all lit up behind us.
This was right at 9 pm and you can see the crowd-level of the roped off area in front of us (I'm assuming these were people that did the other dining packages or had gotten a spot in the virtual queue. There were some folks with kids on their shoulders so I was glad to be at high table with a pretty clear view.
Right after our pictures were done, the announcer came on and the show started. This was both our our first time seeing World of Color. What a show! I enjoyed all the color lights, water projections and music (and even fire!).
I'd like to see the show again to really take it all in. It is kind of a blur in my memory. This was a grad night (meaning park closed at 9 pm for the special event), so people started streaming out once the show was done. We probably could have lingered a few minutes, but DS was ready to go. They had already given us a box for our leftover desserts before the show and we took that with us.
We followed the stream of people and fought our way to the left to try to get over to the cutoff for the Grizzly Peak area. We were able to go through the GCG private entrance and head back to our room.
As we walked we compared the two shows from the previous night and this evening. DS thought both the dessert party and World of Color were the best. I loved Fantasmic just a smidge more and loved the really relaxed dinner we had as part of that package, so it wins my vote. I felt lucky that we got to experience both (just don't look at my credit card bill!).
I couldn't believe we had only one day left before heading home. Could it possibly be any more awesome that the past two days....?
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Day 5 - Conquering All the Mountains (Part 1: Matterhorn)
Our last day in the parks had arrived! We woke up around 7 and when I peaked out our balcony door, I could see people already lined up in the courtyard to enter Downtown Disney.
We aren't rope drop type people (makes DS super anxious), so we were in no rush. We had reservations for Disneyland in the morning and also plans to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade at night.
But first breakfast... DS wanted to try room service so I placed an order for the kids scrambled eggs ($12 I think, but then add service fee and gratuity). The cast member on the phone was very helpful and offered us extra fruit instead of the bacon. I also ordered a side of sourdough toast and made some oatmeal in the room for myself.
Our tray of food came quickly and was so lovely compared to what we received from room service at the Hilton Universal. I added all the extra berries to my oatmeal and had some of the toast. DS pretty much ate everything!
We were ready to head down by 8:30. Our room was super far from the elevators and seeing all the people lined up made me realize that we were just off the courtyard where we go to enter DTD/DL. We decided to explore a bit and found the stairway that leads directly to the courtyard. Judging by all the dirt and trash in the stairwell it is probably meant for emergencies and staff, but there weren't any alarms or signs saying not use it.
The stairwell definitely saved us some steps! DS was quite enamored with this snail that we found at the bottom of the stairs and talked about "him" for days (we don't see many in Arizona).
There was almost no wait to get through security and only short lines at the gates. The fire truck was pulling up once we were in so we opted to ride that down Main Street.
DS wanted to do Matterhorn first so we booked a DAS with a short return time and headed that way. He also mentioned riding Alice in Wonderland but the line looked long. The Tea Cups had no wait though so we opted for that.
This was our first ride on it (well at for me since I was probably DS's age) and probably my last. DS made us spin so fast! I got very dizzy and didn't feel well for a few minutes afterwards.
Once I recovered, we got in line for the Matterhorn. I was excited that DS was willing to ride this again as he was super nervous about it on the last trip.
We were loaded in a bobsled with some teenage boys and were off! Our last ride was in the evening and it was so dark I couldn't see anything. I was able to spot the yeti this time and we had a fun ride.
As the ride came to the end all the boys in our bobsled were cheering. The teens told us how awesome they thought the ride was and DS heartily agreed.
I offered to book a DAS for Alice next, but DS wanted me to book Rise of the Resistance. We decided to hit up Mr. Toad's Wild Ride while we waited since it was on DS's list of rides he had never done. The standby line was only about 10 minutes and had some fun things to see as we moved through.
He actually had ridden Mr. Toad age 5 but thankfully didn't remember how scared he was of it. This time he said it was fun but weird.
I guess I took a lot more pictures for our last day and have already hit the limit. To be continued...
Our last day in the parks had arrived! We woke up around 7 and when I peaked out our balcony door, I could see people already lined up in the courtyard to enter Downtown Disney.
We aren't rope drop type people (makes DS super anxious), so we were in no rush. We had reservations for Disneyland in the morning and also plans to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade at night.
But first breakfast... DS wanted to try room service so I placed an order for the kids scrambled eggs ($12 I think, but then add service fee and gratuity). The cast member on the phone was very helpful and offered us extra fruit instead of the bacon. I also ordered a side of sourdough toast and made some oatmeal in the room for myself.
Our tray of food came quickly and was so lovely compared to what we received from room service at the Hilton Universal. I added all the extra berries to my oatmeal and had some of the toast. DS pretty much ate everything!
We were ready to head down by 8:30. Our room was super far from the elevators and seeing all the people lined up made me realize that we were just off the courtyard where we go to enter DTD/DL. We decided to explore a bit and found the stairway that leads directly to the courtyard. Judging by all the dirt and trash in the stairwell it is probably meant for emergencies and staff, but there weren't any alarms or signs saying not use it.
The stairwell definitely saved us some steps! DS was quite enamored with this snail that we found at the bottom of the stairs and talked about "him" for days (we don't see many in Arizona).
There was almost no wait to get through security and only short lines at the gates. The fire truck was pulling up once we were in so we opted to ride that down Main Street.
DS wanted to do Matterhorn first so we booked a DAS with a short return time and headed that way. He also mentioned riding Alice in Wonderland but the line looked long. The Tea Cups had no wait though so we opted for that.
This was our first ride on it (well at for me since I was probably DS's age) and probably my last. DS made us spin so fast! I got very dizzy and didn't feel well for a few minutes afterwards.
Once I recovered, we got in line for the Matterhorn. I was excited that DS was willing to ride this again as he was super nervous about it on the last trip.
We were loaded in a bobsled with some teenage boys and were off! Our last ride was in the evening and it was so dark I couldn't see anything. I was able to spot the yeti this time and we had a fun ride.
As the ride came to the end all the boys in our bobsled were cheering. The teens told us how awesome they thought the ride was and DS heartily agreed.
I offered to book a DAS for Alice next, but DS wanted me to book Rise of the Resistance. We decided to hit up Mr. Toad's Wild Ride while we waited since it was on DS's list of rides he had never done. The standby line was only about 10 minutes and had some fun things to see as we moved through.
He actually had ridden Mr. Toad age 5 but thankfully didn't remember how scared he was of it. This time he said it was fun but weird.
I guess I took a lot more pictures for our last day and have already hit the limit. To be continued...
shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Day 5 - Conquering All the Mountains (Part 2: Splash Mountain)
We still had more than hour for our RotR return time and DS wanted to head through New Orleans Square for our tradition of beignets and mint juleps. We stopped to get a picture of him with the Sword in the Stone and someone offered to take a photo of both of us so I got in on the action too.
As we were walking out through the Frontier Land exit, DS found Clopin's Music Box near Fantasy Faire. How have I never noticed this before? He enjoyed turning the crank and watching the movements inside.
I had also never noticed the sweet scene in the gift shop to the left as you exit with Cinderella's coach and some woodland animals.
I placed a mobile order with the Mint Julep stand while we walked and our treats were ready when we got there. We sat for a few minutes in the shade for a few minutes and people watched.
DS mentioned wanting to ride the train as it had pulled into the station nearby and people were boarding. I jumped at this chance as I remember loving it as a kid and we've had bad luck with getting to ride on our last visits (it was closed when we visited in 2016 and our first 2020 visit, and had gone down when we tried to ride in January).
We tried to rush to the platform but the gates were already closed and we weren't able to hop on.
DS wanted to ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh so we decided to do that as we headed up toward Galaxy's Edge to ride RotR.
As we started to pass Splash Mountain, I pointed out to DS that the line was only 5 minutes and asked DS if he wanted to ride. I was shocked to hear him say "Let's do it!" especially after our aborted attempt at the Jurassic World ride at Universal earlier in the week.
I was not dressed for the ride at all (heavy jeans, tennis shoes that I did not want to get wet), but you have to take opportunity when it knocks. We made our way through the queue and probably waited 10 minutes total. I was kind of waiting for DS to change his mind, but before we knew it I was seated in the front of the log with him behind me.
It's been a long time since I've been on Splash Mountain and I forgot there was more than one drop. I got quite wet on the first one and then randomly had an entire curtain of water hit me about 2/3 of the way through ride.
That final drop is pretty scary! DS and I didn't get any wetter than we already were with the final spash down and he thought the ride was super fun. He was pretty wet but thankfully had quicker drying clothes. I was thoroughly soaked but my shoes at least stayed dry.
DS wanted to look in the Winnie the Pooh gift shop and I went to find the bathroom. When we were done we noticed that there was a character meet and greet with Winnie the Pooh so we got in line.
Can you tell that I'm a Winnie the Pooh fan? I didn't expect to get a hug and got pretty excited!
The cast members also kindly took a pic with my phone of the three of us. If you look closely you can see how wet I am above the knees.
Next up was the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride. This is one of DS's favorites and I love that I have converted him into a 100 Acre Woods fan.
And already the picture limit... Next up Galaxy's Edge and Big Thunder Mountain.
We still had more than hour for our RotR return time and DS wanted to head through New Orleans Square for our tradition of beignets and mint juleps. We stopped to get a picture of him with the Sword in the Stone and someone offered to take a photo of both of us so I got in on the action too.
As we were walking out through the Frontier Land exit, DS found Clopin's Music Box near Fantasy Faire. How have I never noticed this before? He enjoyed turning the crank and watching the movements inside.
I had also never noticed the sweet scene in the gift shop to the left as you exit with Cinderella's coach and some woodland animals.
I placed a mobile order with the Mint Julep stand while we walked and our treats were ready when we got there. We sat for a few minutes in the shade for a few minutes and people watched.
DS mentioned wanting to ride the train as it had pulled into the station nearby and people were boarding. I jumped at this chance as I remember loving it as a kid and we've had bad luck with getting to ride on our last visits (it was closed when we visited in 2016 and our first 2020 visit, and had gone down when we tried to ride in January).
We tried to rush to the platform but the gates were already closed and we weren't able to hop on.
DS wanted to ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh so we decided to do that as we headed up toward Galaxy's Edge to ride RotR.
As we started to pass Splash Mountain, I pointed out to DS that the line was only 5 minutes and asked DS if he wanted to ride. I was shocked to hear him say "Let's do it!" especially after our aborted attempt at the Jurassic World ride at Universal earlier in the week.
I was not dressed for the ride at all (heavy jeans, tennis shoes that I did not want to get wet), but you have to take opportunity when it knocks. We made our way through the queue and probably waited 10 minutes total. I was kind of waiting for DS to change his mind, but before we knew it I was seated in the front of the log with him behind me.
It's been a long time since I've been on Splash Mountain and I forgot there was more than one drop. I got quite wet on the first one and then randomly had an entire curtain of water hit me about 2/3 of the way through ride.
That final drop is pretty scary! DS and I didn't get any wetter than we already were with the final spash down and he thought the ride was super fun. He was pretty wet but thankfully had quicker drying clothes. I was thoroughly soaked but my shoes at least stayed dry.
DS wanted to look in the Winnie the Pooh gift shop and I went to find the bathroom. When we were done we noticed that there was a character meet and greet with Winnie the Pooh so we got in line.
Can you tell that I'm a Winnie the Pooh fan? I didn't expect to get a hug and got pretty excited!
The cast members also kindly took a pic with my phone of the three of us. If you look closely you can see how wet I am above the knees.
Next up was the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride. This is one of DS's favorites and I love that I have converted him into a 100 Acre Woods fan.
And already the picture limit... Next up Galaxy's Edge and Big Thunder Mountain.
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shosh1530
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2020
Day 5 - Conquering All the Mountains (Part 3: Big Thunder & Galaxy's Edge)
We headed up to Galaxy's Edge, but by the time we got to Rise it was of course down. The cast member at the entrance told us our DAS should turn into a multi-experience pass, so we walked around Galaxy's Edge for a bit waiting.DS got pretty antsy wanting to ride something, so we found a guest services umbrella. They weren't sure why our multi-experience pass wasn't showing up but they had us cancel the Rise DAS and gave us one for Millenium Falcon with an immediate return time.
We also had a pre-booked DAS for Big Thunder Mountain from when we registered in advance and I realized our return time window was open. This may be the first time I've actually been able to use one of the pre-booked slots.
We headed over to Big Thunder and had a super fun ride. And I got to hear DS say over and over (and over) the rest of the day how we rode the "Wildest Ride in the Wilderness" in his best twangy voice.
I mobile ordered some food from Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo as we headed back to Galaxy's Edge. I was torn about getting lunch as we had a dining package at the Plaza Inn for 2:20 pm but there was no way we could hold out until then. So my plan was to try and do a light early lunch and then eat again.
We went through the Lightning Lane for Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run and walked right to the party with Hondo (who was actually working this time). We were grouped with two other parent/kid duos who had never been on the ride before.
One of the other dads asked if his kid could pilot. I hate being pilot on our last trip, so had no problem giving it up, but the kid was maybe 4 years old. Between him and DS piloting we had a very bumpy ride. DS had to reach over and do our jump to light speed as the little guy couldn't reach the controls.
In the end, the four year-old probably piloted better than I would have and we all had a fun ride.
Rise of the Resistance had come back up while we were in the Millennium Falcon line and I had been able to book a DAS with a short return time. I changed the return window on our mobile order and headed over to Rise.
The ride was amazing even though this was maybe our fifth time on it. DS was a little nervous about the small drop portion, but did fine with it.
We next went over to Docking Bay to pick up our food. This was our first time eating here as we usually default to Ronto Roasters. The Star Wars theming is fun and I wish I had taken more photos of it.
I had ordered DS the Ithorian Garden Patty Bun ($10). It is a small Impossible burger on a bao bun. DS was quite skeptical of it, but tried it and ending up eating all of it.
I had the Felucian Kefta & Hummus Garden Spread ($13), which has Impossible meat-balls, hummus, and pita bread. It was quite tasty and very filling.
While we were eating, DS asked me over and over again how proud I was of him riding Splash Mountain. I told him he had "conquered" all of the Disneyland mountains now and he proclaimed that he wanted to do all of them in one day, which would require only require a ride on Space Mountain (DS of course correct me to say, Hyperspace Mountain).
I booked a DAS for Hyperspace Mountain with return time of about an hour. I suggested to DS that we try riding the train to kill some time and we headed over to the Fantasy Land/Toon Town train station.
We lucked out and were able to board a train right away. DS wanted to ride in the caboose and we were surprised to find it empty.
After we pulled away from the station we could see some folks in the stage area where the Lion King show was supposed to be happening. I knew that it had been cancelled that day (we sadly never got to see it). It looked like some of the cast were practicing and all wearing masks.
It was cool to see the back side of It's a Small World. We were surprised and delighted to see Captain Hook by a train crossing barrier waving to all the passengers. I wasn't quick enough to get a photo.
I couldn't remember where the Grand Canyon and dinosaurs were along the train route. We hadn't gone through that part as we pulled into Tomorrow Land, so I suggested we ride the whole train route so we could rest and catch that part.
Another family got on at Tomorrow Land, but only rode one stop because the caboose area was pretty stifling hot. I think they moved to another spot, leaving DS and I alone for the rest of the journey.
The Grand Canyon and dinosaurs came up before Main Street. It was fun and nostalgic, but not quite as mind-blowing as I remembered from a kid perspective.
Our favorite part of the ride was when the train went through Splash mountain. I had no idea that it did that. The last time I rode the train was probably before Splash was built.
We exited the train when we got back to Tomorrow Land. As we headed toward Hyperspace Mountain, DS asked me to take a photo of him with the Matterhorn in the background. He wanted me to document all of Mountain expeditions.
To be continued...
deejdigsdis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2009
Enjoying your report! And how cute is that -- DS asking you how proud you are that he rode Splash Mountain! I keep hearing about random soakings in Splash Mountain that don't seem to be drop-related. Not sure if I will get my 6 year old on the ride if there are random soakings. She has watched the ride on YouTube multiple times and really wants to go on it, but she hates getting her face wet. If I don't know when to cover her we might need to pass.
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