Katiebell and Son - Fly Away Home

[disneynerd420]

I'm loving the TR! I can't wait to see more. I enjoyed the time I spent with my mother on my last trip but Mike is very lucky to have a Disney loving mother like you.

 

[kokotg]

Enjoying your TR! It was definitely hot that week...and it sounds like you even left before the worst of it (I think Wednesday was the day it was 101).

 

[Katiebell]

Welcome aboard, Disneynerd and kokotg! The more the merrier...

 

[Katiebell]

We headed over to Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen for dinner -- if you go there for dinner, try to go on a night when they have live music and ask to sit in the room with the band. It's really too loud for conversation, but the show is wonderful! We were greatly entertained by Mr. Kenny Sara and the Sounds of New Orleans:

They played several jazz standards, including one of my personal favorites, Take Five. The drummer (Mr. Kenny Sara!) got the names of everyone in the restaurant who was celebrating a birthday, and then he sang a very jazzy version of Happy Birthday, "Happy Birthday, to...Bobby...and Carlie...and Sara...and Phil...and....somebody else..." Everyone was laughing Finally, at the end of the song, he remembered "somebody else's" name, and they got wished a Happy Birthday, too.

We had amazing soups, and an appetizer platter, and shared Chocolate Souffle Bread Pudding for dessert, which was to DIE for.

Headed back to the park....augh...crush of people everywhere! The line for BTRR was too long, so we grabbed FP's. Fantasmic viewing was totally full, so we were herded along through Adventureland with everyone else. Indy, of course, had a long line, but the Jungle Cruise was a short wait, so we hopped on that. We had a hilarious skipper -- the Jungle Cruise at night is a totally different experience, and if you have a good skipper, it can be a lot more fun

As we made it to Main St. they were announcing that the fireworks might be canceled due to high winds So we wound our way through the crowd to the train station, thinking well, if the fireworks are canceled, then we can catch the train back to New Orleans, walk to Frontierland, and finally ride Big Thunder. But when we got to the train station, they decided the fireworks were a go, after all! A CM told us we wouldn't see much on the ground because of the trees, and directed us to stand up on the station platform, just outside the roped off area for reserved "premium seating". So, we didn't get to sit in folding chairs, and no dessert buffet (but the bread pudding at the Jazz Kitchen was way better than anything they were serving on that buffet!). Other than that, we had the same view. Show was wonderful. Tink flew, and then later, Dumbo flew. Some of the songs made me cry. I sang along with "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", and Mike put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Aw, I love you Mom." And that made me cry too.

So, we hopped on the train, through the crush of people again and used our FP's for Big Thunder. Then we crossed over to Fantasyland, but all the lines were long so we decided to call it a night. Mike has a lonnnnnng stride and can easily make it through crowds, so he volunteered to go get our stuff out of the locker and then just meet me back at the hotel. I wandered through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, taking in the nighttime sights:

My camera doesn't take such great pics at night, but I really liked this shot of Mickey and Walt facing away from the castle, looking up Main St. toward the train station. Almost looks like they are discussing what they want to do next:

So...finally made it to the Monorail, then DTD, then back to the hotel to crash for the night. We were meeting Sea and his family in the morning at California Adventure!

 

[seacrestpromo]

We have to eat at RBJK sometime...it is crazy, but we have never been there! Well, that is going to be our goal in the next few months. LOL!

Great report! Can't wait to read more - I think the best stuff is coming up LOL!

We headed over to Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen for dinner -- if you go there for dinner, try to go on a night when they have live music and ask to sit in the room with the band. It's really too loud for conversation, but the show is wonderful! We were greatly entertained by Mr. Kenny Sara and the Sounds of New Orleans:

They played several jazz standards, including one of my personal favorites, Take Five. They drummer got the names of everyone in the restaurant who was celebrating a birthday, and then they sang a very jazzy version of Happy Birthday, "Happy Birthday, to...Bobby...and Carlie...and Sara...and Phil...and....somebody else..." Everyone was laughing Finally, at the end of the song, he remembered "somebody else's" name, and they got wished a Happy Birthday, too.

We had amazing soups, and an appetizer platter, and shared Chocolate Souffle Bread Pudding for dessert, which was to DIE for.

Headed back to the park....augh...crush of people everywhere! The line for BTRR was too long, so we grabbed FP's. Fantasmic viewing was totally full, so we were herded along with everyone else. Indy, of course, had a long line, but the Jungle Cruise was a short wait, so we hopped on that. We had a hilarious skipper -- the Jungle Cruise at night is a totally different experience, and if you have a good skipper, it can be a lot more fun

As we made it to Main St. they were announcing that the fireworks might be canceled due to high winds So we wound our way through the crowd to the train station, thinking well, if the fireworks are canceled, then we can hop on the train back to New Orleans, walk to Frontierland, and finally ride Big Thunder. But when we got to the train station, they decided the fireworks were a go, after all! A CM told us we wouldn't see much on the ground because of the trees, and directed us to stand up on the station platform, just outside the roped off area for reserved "premium seating". So, we didn't get to sit in folding chairs, and no dessert buffet (but the bread pudding at the Jazz Kitchen was way better than anything they were serving on that buffet!). Other than that, we had the same view. Show was wonderful. Tink flew, and then later, Dumbo flew. Some of the songs made me cry. I sang along with "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", and Mike put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Aw, I love you Mom." And that made me cry too.

So, we hopped on the train, through the crush of people again and used our FP's for Big Thunder. Then we crossed over to Fantasyland, but all the lines were long so we decided to call it a night. Mike has a lonnnnnng stride and can easily make it through crowds, so he volunteered to go get our stuff out of the locker and then just meet me back at the hotel. I wandered through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, taking in the nighttime sights:

My camera doesn't take such great pics at night, but I really liked this shot of Mickey and Walt facing away from the castle, looking up Main St. toward the train station. Almost looks like they are discussing what they want to do next:

So...finally made it to the Monorail, then DTD, then back to the hotel to crash for the night. We were meeting Sea and his family in the morning at California Adventure!

 

[JoBird]

KB- we passed by the Jazz kitchen place a thousand times- even stopped and looked at the menu- but didn't know if it was any good-- and- I had gotten REALLY sick from our dinner at Blue Bayou- so we passed on it. It looks fun and I would try it next time I'm there.



That is just so sweet- MM saying "I love you Mom". You'll cherish that memory forever in your heart.

WE never got to see the fireworks there. The one night they were showing them-- there were high winds-- we had sat out in front of the castle for an hour and 20 minutes waiting ( i was sick from our dinner at BB) and then at the last minute- they cancelled them. I was sooooooo upset. The night after that, we had been in Hollywood, but made it back to the hotel in time to see them from the end of a hallway. ANd then the night after that, they had started the switch over to Nighttastic-and so no fireworks were shown.

I got gipped.



So glad you had a special moment with your son.

Jo

 

[seacrestpromo]

Ack!! You never told us that Jo! How awful! What did you order at BB? You really need to finish up your DL and Hawaii TRs. You can't take any more trips until that is done first!

KB- we passed by the Jazz kitchen place a thousand times- even stopped and looked at the menu- but didn't know if it was any good-- and- I had gotten REALLY sick from our dinner at Blue Bayou- so we passed on it. It looks fun and I would try it next time I'm there.



That is just so sweet- MM saying "I love you Mom". You'll cherish that memory forever in your heart.

WE never got to see the fireworks there. The one night they were showing them-- there were high winds-- we had sat out in front of the castle for an hour and 20 minutes waiting ( i was sick from our dinner at BB) and then at the last minute- they cancelled them. I was sooooooo upset. The night after that, we had been in Hollywood, but made it back to the hotel in time to see them from the end of a hallway. ANd then the night after that, they had started the switch over to Nighttastic-and so no fireworks were shown.

I got gipped.



So glad you had a special moment with your son.

Jo

 

[Katiebell]

Jo...good heavens...

You didn't ride IASW.

You got sick at the BB -- I've ALWAYS had fabulous meals there, the only thing that made me queasy was the prices!

You didn't get to see the fireworks.

You had no fun in California Adventure.

Girl...as far as I'm concerned...you have never been to Disneyland. Period.

Next time, we'll show you how to do it right! Even if I can't get the time off to come meet you, you'd be in great hands with Sea and his family

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Show was wonderful. Tink flew, and then later, Dumbo flew. Some of the songs made me cry. I sang along with "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", and Mike put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Aw, I love you Mom." And that made me cry too.

That is such a sweet story! I always cry the first time I see Disney fireworks shows on every trip. No one does fireworks like Disney does! How sweet of your son to tell you he loves you! I'm enjoying your TR, thanks for posting it.

 

[Katiebell]

That is such a sweet story! I always cry the first time I see Disney fireworks shows on every trip. No one does fireworks like Disney does! How sweet of your son to tell you he loves you! I'm enjoying your TR, thanks for posting it.

Welcome, DisneySuiteFreak Yeah, I'm really lucky to have such great sons. They are all adults now, and I always say even if they weren't my kids, I would still want to be friends with all of them.

I have to say...I looked at your TR and WOW. I LOVE your pics, those nighttime shots are gorgeous. You have inspired me...I want to buy a much better camera!

 

[Katiebell]

Saturday morning, I let MM sleep in a bit...

I tried very hard to keep in mind....here in the real world MM works 9 am - 6 pm, so getting up at 7 am while on vacation wasn't really on his list of favorite things to do. I get up anywhere between 5 am and 6:45 am, so 7 am was sleeping in for me.

We had agreed to meet our Dis-friends -- Sea (Tom), his wife Lena, and their son Chris -- at DCA at 9:30. We stopped at Jamba Juice in DTD for breakfast. If you don't have a Jamba Juice where you live, it's a smoothie place, but probably one of the first chains that started the whole smoothie craze. We got some kind of tropical frozen juicy concoctions, MM got a breakfast pretzel thingy, and I got a cup of apple cinnamon oatmeal...yum The receipt seemed kind of high to me...and when we picked up our stuff, sure enough, they had added on a third smoothie. The girl at the counter apologized and refunded the extra money, but told us to take it anyway.

We met Sea at the "C" in "California" -- right where he said he'd be They had also brought a dear family friend, Cornelia, a very nice lady who used to take care of Lena's mother. Lena and Chris were with her getting an AP. Finally, everyone was ready to go in -- we gave our extra smoothie to Chris and he was happy...

I'm not sure exactly what order we did everything in, I don't have notes, only the order of pics in my camera But it went something like this:

Chris ran ahead to grab FP's for Grizzly River Run for all of us
Soarin' Over California (my FAVORITE RIDE ANYWHERE)
ToT (everyone rode but me, I've done it twice but now I always take the exit at the end of the queue because I don't do drop rides )
Monsters Inc.
Mike had to run back to the hotel because he forgot to take his morning medicine and couldn't do without it
We poked around the Animation exhibits, got a pic with the hag from Snow White, then Mike showed up again and we saw Aladdin:

Great show! Even though the cobra/Jafar special effect at the end of the show didn't work, so that was a little disappointing...but I love that show anyway...

Headed back toward Grizzly to use our FP's, stopped at Whitewater Snacks inside the Grand Californian for lunch -- very good, not too expensive. MM and I split a generous order of nachos and a grilled chicken sandwich.

Then we all rode GRR and got soaked! Good tip I didn't know that Sea and his group shared with us: there are free lockers outside of GRR you can put your stuff in to keep it from getting wet while you are on the ride...

Then we went to the pier. Lena and Cornelia went back to GRR to ride again, and the rest of us rode California Screamin' Sea recorded the ride, and we did a shout out video...more like a "scream out" video, for our Dis friends

We met back up with Lena and Cornelia, and got a pic with Jesse (in order, it's me, Cornelia, Jesse, and Lena):

And headed over to Toy Story Midway Mania...

 

[seacrestpromo]

Hi KB! Great TR!!! Hey remember "Cucamonga Cornelia"? LOLOL!!! Hugs!!!

 

[Katiebell]

Oh yeah...how could I forget! Told you I was going by memory only, and the order of pics in my camera...

When we were in Animation, we went to Turtle Talk with Crush. As Crush answered questions from people in the audience, he gave them silly "Surfer-Style" names. Cornelia asked him about sea turtles in Belize (her native country), and he dubbed her "Cucamonga Cornelia" so we called her that the rest of the day...

(((hugs))) back to you and the whole Sea crew!

 

[Katiebell]

Lena and Cornelia came back with two FP's for GRR (it just occurred to me how funny it is that the abbreviation for "Grizzly River Run" is GRR ) Chris and MM grabbed those and headed back for another water ride. Didn't take too long (hooray for FP's!) and we met up again at Toy Story Midway Mania.

TSMM is one of Sea's family's favorite rides -- it's a ride, it's a game, it's 3D, it's nostalgia...what's not to love? I do miss the ride queue from WDW -- it made me feel like I was shrunk down to toy-size on my bedroom floor when I was 8 years old. Even the giant ViewMaster reel is authentic -- I'm almost positive I had that same reel when I was a kid!

Here are Sea, Chris, and MM getting ready to play:

We had to explain to Sea that you don't actually need 3 pairs of glasses to get the full 3D effect Sea, Chris, and Lena are all experts at the game and get outrageously high scores, so they paired off with us newbies to ride with us and give us pointers for better scores -- Chris with MM, Sea with me, and Lena with Cornelia.

After TSMM (we might have done it twice...or I might have that mixed up with another day..) we made our way back toward the entrance, stopping to check out Blue Sky Cellar, to see what changes are coming up for DCA. There are some great things -- a Little Mermaid dark ride, an entire Cars land, a gorgeous Fantasmic-calibre show over the lagoon called "World of Color":

One thing I'll really miss is that they are changing the entry plaza area to look like Hollywood when Walt first arrived in the 20's --which is cool -- but they are taking out my beloved sun sculpture and the beautiful blue tile wave fountain:

I hope that's not the last time I will see that landmark in DCA. I think we did one more ride on Soarin', then decided to head over to DL.

This is what I wanted: to see the parade, to catch the Scot Bruce Elvis show in Tomorrowland, to see the swing dancing at Carnation Gardens, see the fireworks, and see Fantasmic.

I told them my "want to do" list.

Chris' eyes got big. Like this: He said...."Well...it's not impossible."

Sea said, "Not impossible, will take some planning and timing, though."

Lena and Cornelia were totally game.

MM said, "Mom, I'm exhausted. I have to go back to the room to rest for a bit, and I'll meet up with you guys later..." He looked like this:

Wimp.

MM went back to the hotel...and the rest of us settled down on the curb on Main St. to wait for the parade.

 

[trixiequilts]

This is what I wanted: to see the parade, to catch the Scot Bruce Elvis show in Tomorrowland, to see the swing dancing at Carnation Gardens, see the fireworks, and see Fantasmic.

I told them my "want to do" list.

Chris' eyes got big. Like this: He said...."Well...it's not impossible."

Sea said, "Not impossible, will take some planning and timing, though."

Lena and Cornelia were totally game.

MM said, "Mom, I'm exhausted. I have to go back to the room to rest for a bit, and I'll meet up with you guys later..." He looked like this:

Wimp.

This is me right now, KB! ----------->

If I ever get all the way out there, I totally want to meet you and Sea at the "C"!!! You do Disneyland the way I'd want to do Disneyland!!!

 

[Katiebell]

This is me right now, KB! ----------->

If I ever get all the way out there, I totally want to meet you and Sea at the "C"!!! You do Disneyland the way I'd want to do Disneyland!!!

Whoo hoo, Mayer saLUTE:

That would be so fun! I know DL isn't nearly as big as WDW -- and I truly do love WDW! -- but DL really is such a blast. We found plenty to do, and weren't a bit bored in 5 days there. It's really nice to be able to get from point A to point B this way:




without worrying about:








And making sure when you get there, that you have ADR's 6 months in advance.



There are a lot of differences between DL and WDW to explore -- all of DCA, IASW is a HUGE beautiful structure (extremely cool at Christmas, they do an outdoor lightshow at night, timed to music), we have New Orleans Square instead of Liberty Square, Toon Town is different from the country fair theme at WDW...it's still Disney and still wonderful, but definitely a different experience. And you've never seen Fantasmic until you've seen it on the Rivers of America. Wow.

We would most definitely any Mayer friends who could come visit DL!

 

[disneynerd420]

Sounds like some good times. I'm waiting for the next part.

 

[trixiequilts]

KB~I just got to thinking and wondered if you and Sea did the MAYer salute when you met up that day? You know...

???

Because if you did, next time forget about the "scream out"...I want to see a video of the salute!!!



Keep up the good work, I can't wait to read more!

 

[Katiebell]

KB~I just got to thinking and wondered if you and Sea did the MAYer salute when you met up that day? You know...

???

Because if you did, next time forget about the "scream out"...I want to see a video of the salute!!!



Keep up the good work, I can't wait to read more!

I'm not sure how we'd do that in RL for the camera...although I'm sure Sea could figure out a way. He's hilarious, like a real movie director, telling you where to stand, and when it's time for "Action!" He's very good at letting you improv what you are going to do, too. Did you see our shout out video? He filmed the whole ride on CA Screamin', then added on a bit at the end late at night, when we were exhausted, totally wiped out It was a really busy evening...but so much fun! I'll try to post my next installment soon, maybe tonight...

 

[Katiebell]

(whew, sorry it's been a while since my last update...life gets away from ya, ya know? )

We settled down on the curb in front of the Penny Arcade on Main St. Sea and Lena said that the parade was really more of a street show, and they knew that the performers would be stopping at that exact spot so it would be a great view. Chris went to scope out some pin trading, while the rest of us took turns grabbing snacks. Sea hoofed it over to Adventureland and brought back Bengal Barbeque. Near the entrance to Tomorrowland, I got the BEST corndog I've ever had. Lena and I went in to the candy shop and got a couple of things, including this marshmallow/caramel/chocolate thing that their family has dubbed the unfortunate name of "poop on a stick" It did sort of look like that, but thank goodness it TASTES better than it sounds. In fact, it was pretty darn delicious. So we had a bunch of things on sticks, perfect "waiting for parade" food.

Great show, the dancers were very talented and fun to watch. Somehow Sea talked me into joining him in the conga line in the street, and talked his accomplice...er, wife...into immortalizing the moment for posterity on video. Good heavens.

The rest of the afternoon and evening were a blur. It think it went something like this:

We rode some rides? Maybe Buzz Lightyear?
Sea and I sighted Elvis in Tomorrowland. That's right, folks -- Elvis is ALIVE! He must have just been living with aliens...

They say you are either a Beatles fan or an Elvis fan -- if that's so, then I am most definitely a Beatles fan. But Elvis is still the King, and Scot Bruce puts on a fabulous tribute show. AND he is cute as a puppy Definitely worth seeing...

Lena, Cornelia, and Chris had disappeared, and I found out they were saving us a spot front and center of the castle for the fireworks. We traded off, Sea held the spot, while the rest of us went over to watch the swing dancing. Well, Lena, Cornelia, and I watched, while Chris danced. He's quite good, and he never lacked for dance partners. He tried to get each of us out on the floor with him, but we all declined. Can't speak for his mom or Cornelia, but I'm NOT a dancer, at least not real dancing where the girl has to follow the guy and somehow be psychic which way he intends to go I'm one of the biggest klutzes imaginable -- once I actually managed to throw myself headfirst into a trashcan full of thorns while pruning my roses. AND break my wrist while I was at it. But that's another story...

MM FINALLY showed up, and met us right before the fireworks started -- how did ANYONE ever FIND each other before we all had cellphones??? Chris and Lena took off to snag a spot for Fantasmic right after the first show ended. MM was a little concerned, saying, "Sheesh, he can't be having much fun at all -- running for FP's for all of us, missing the fireworks..." I said, "MM, honey...he is a happy young man, don't worry. He spends practically every weekend at Disneyland." Sea assured us that Chris had seen the fireworks numerous times and that they didn't mind at all playing tag team to save good spots, especially knowing that MM hadn't been to DL for ten years.

My camera really isn't great for night photos...I've gotta get a better camera...but here are a couple of the fireworks that turned out okay:

We braved the crushing crowd to catch Fantasmic -- the new dragon is incredible:

Sea and Lena told us that Maynard was hosting at the Tiki Room so we had to see the show there:

I have no pics of Maynard, but I have to tell you...still photos wouldn't do his performance justice, anyway. He sings and dances with the birds, does goofy announcements in a booming "Tiki God" voice, and we were all He is a DL legend, famous for his stints in the Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion. Just go to YouTube and search for "Maynard Disneyland" and you can see him in action.

By then...we were completely exhausted. We said our goodbyes and thanks to Sea and his crew, and dragged ourselves back to the hotel...