Matt's February, 2015 Dapper Day Trip Report

[whoever]

Here we go... Matt's February 2015 Dapper Day Trip Report!!!!

By now everybody should know the usual suspects, so I'll dispense with introductions.. if you are curious, check out my previous trip reports. The timing on this trip was a bit constrained. We'd be going over Friday after the girls got out of school and coming back Sunday night. We'd need every minute possible. I took Friday as PTO, but ended up working until almost noon anyway much to the dismay of Amy. That didn't bode well for the start of our weekend as we were getting ready pretty much until the second we walked out the door.

By 14:12 we were ready and jumped on the road to brave rush hour Phoenix traffic to pick up Katherine, and then Charlotte. Twenty-six minutes later we had Katherine buckled in and went to grab Charlotte. While I was waiting for Amy to go get Char, I called the Grand, pre-checked in, and locked in my room configuration selection. Through the Dapper Day website, I wasn't able to specify the configuration we needed with bunk beds for whatever reason, so this was a bit of insurance given our late check-in. My preferred room now locked in, I was wished a magical day and we hopped onto the highway at 15:08.

Leaving Phoenix was SLOOOOOOOOOW. Rush hour traffic = half an hour to go 5-6 miles. FINALLY after what seemed an eternity, we were free of grid lock and moving.

The girls all plugged into their respective devices...

Once you get out in the desert, it's FLAT... and empty..

Which with AZ's generous speed limit makes for some easy driving at a fair pace without breaking the law... merely stretching it a tad... CA isn't quite so generous, so take advantage of it where you can.

Doesn't bode too well for the fuel economy though so a fuel stop at 17:16 at the Flying J, last stop in the land of low fuel taxes, and a favorite of ours both coming and going. Twelve minutes later, we were fueled, the girls changed out of their school clothes, and a few snacks from the Wendy’s at the Flying J.

Around 18:40 we encountered some serious gusting winds starting at Coachella. The gusting wind lights/signs weren't keeping up apparently as they were dark.

We finally rolled into our California home at 20:25. So good to be home again.

 

[whoever]

This was the smoothest check in I've had in all my times staying at the Grand. Pulled up, right up front, unloaded in record time, walked right up to reception and chatted while they went through the specifics. One thing I've observed over the years is there's nothing to let the cast member know you are a repeat patron. That always struck me as odd with the type of company Disney is. You'd think they'd know your habits, desires, preferences, etc.

When it finally came time to get my room assignment, my spirits jumped when I saw the location. It was the Grizzly Peak view I've been wanting for so long, 2341. The weekend was definitely off to a great start. I collected the family from the chairs in front of the TV and we were off to our room, a wonderfully short walk and up one floor. As we got settled, I called bell services, and we settled into the room. More on that a little later. Once bell services dropped off the bags, a mere few moments later there was a knock at the door.. I wondered if he had forgotten something... I opened the door to find a cast member with a platter... what could it be???

A welcome treat from our nearest and dearest friends!!! Thanks Powers girls!!! We wish you were here too.


While the girls were devouring the cookies, Amy and I spent some time taking in the views on the patio.

Oh how we wished we could have gone down to Napa for a delicious meal... maybe next time.

While we were out there, we were able to catch the fireworks.

Amy decided to get ready for bed, and I slipped down to the Gift Shop to get us some warm stuff for tomorrow. I really love that the Grand is finally getting its own branded merchandise. That gift shop would be my Achilles heel this trip, but a T-shirt for me, long-sleeved shirt for me, and a super-soft hoodie for Amy. I'd be back in there once or twice over the weekend, and even got the girls most of their souvenirs from the shop over the weekend. A few libations to take the edge off from the drive and it was time for a well-deserved sleep. We'd have Extra Magic Hour in the morning and would need it.

 

[wiscbugs]

Ready another great Dapper Day report!

 

[Speechphi]

Wow you got this started quickly! Can't wait to read the rest

 

[whitneyebz]

Fun! We're from Phoenix also, and I think we did good leaving at 7pm and arriving 11:30 (CA time due to time difference)...so it took 5.5 hours. It was the perfect way to beat rush hour traffic! We, too, stopped at the same gas station before the border (my DH knows what he's doing, lol!). Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[Disneyluvr2]

Great start, Matt! Now get to the good stuff!

 

[gardengirl2790]

Following along, we love the Grand too!

 

[whoever]

Following along, we love the Grand too!

While I love the Grand, this room was TIRED. In my 7 times staying at the Grand, I've never had a room in this condition. I'll have a review as part of the TR, likely at the end.

Great start, Matt! Now get to the good stuff!

Its coming. I also had a touch of the DL Dapper Day Flu, so I pretty much didn't eat any meals for four days of this past week. I lost about 10# as a result, so maybe I should do that more often.

As far as the TR goes, I've sorted the 2300+ pictures I took and I've only got about 300 pics left to post-process after some serious work this morning. I'm in San Diego most of next week, but I'll get SOME update up this weekend yet. My Saturday was a Picture-heavy and activity-heavy day, so it will be slow going. I've got surprisingly little on Sunday after we dappered up for some reason. Probably due to the pouring rain.

 

[Disneyluvr2]

Feel better soon Matt! DizMe and I have both been sick since we got home from our Dapper trip. I feel better today but still have the energy of a 3 day old corpse! This was a nasty bug for sure! Hope Amy and the girls are feeling OK.

 

[whoever]

Saturday, 2/28/2015

Time changes are always rough for me going West. I just can't sleep in. For whatever reason, when I go East, I can get up local time perfectly even with a three hour time difference, but going west, I'm going to get up on Arizona time. For this trip, that meant 04:00... I grabbed my phone, turned off the alarm I would not need, surfed the internet, checked the weather, and finally decided to just get the day started. Started with a cup of coffee from the in room maker. Not bad...Not good either. I enjoyed it on the balcony while I watched as Cast Members readied for the day.

You can see Grizzly Peak behind the tree to the right... Another floor up and the view would be perfect!!

There's talk of doing something with this area where the monorail runs in the not too distant future. Not sure how that's going to go for the feel of the area...

Amy was up not too long after, and the girls slowly stirred in their usual order of Victoria first, Charlotte second, and Katherine, the one who likes to sleep in the most last. We got ready, packed supplies and provisions for inclement weather, and left the room at 06:33 for our 7AM Extra Magic Hour. Eight minutes later we were through bag check and waiting in line a few people deep at the Disneyland turnstiles. Amy had forgotten her phone, so she had run back to the room pre-bag check and joined us a few minutes later

The Momma's girl was very happy to see her when she joined us.

I'm kind of surprised there's not an option to keep your picture on file with Disney if you are a frequent visitor..

About the only time you'll see Charlotte run is at Disneyland... in fact she practically floats she's so happy most of our time there.

Quick picture in front of the castle which they were so gracious to take down the scaffolding and tarps a mere day before our arrival. That's Disney magic right there.

The parks were REALLY empty both EMH... it wouldn't stay quite so low attendance wise as the days progressed.

 

[whoever]

The turnstiles opened at 07:00 sharp, and there was no rope drop this morning, just GO, so we did our usual thing and headed for Peter Pan out of habit fully knowing it was closed for refurb. We passed it and as we had previously discussed, made our way towards Alice. We arrived only to find they weren't yet running, so a quick 180 and we headed back for Dumbo and jumped in queue at 07:10.

A fun spin above Fantasyland complete, we hoofed it over to Alice and made our way in queue at 07:18. Remember how I said I don't think Charlotte actually ever touches the ground in Disneyland? On our way down the vine Katherine lamented how much better it used to be. I found that pretty funny because she never saw it in its original configuration pre-fall-risk-expansion. Must have been watching a bunch of vintage YouTube videos again.

A blissful six minutes later it was time for a spin in the teacups... Charlotte LOVES the spinning attractions.

One whirling dervish behind us, we made our way through a still empty Fantasyland to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The ONLY ride in Disneyland as Katherine and I will both correct people on.

After escaping from the consequences of our wild driving, we hopped on King Arthur's Carousel at 07:37. Victoria absolutely loses it when she sees a carousel... She's an addict and we've looked at 12-step programs for her.

Charlotte's horse was a bit slow for her, so she spurred it into action with a few slaps on the rump.

Katherine thought it would be funny if her horse wore my C33 cap.

Carousels..... SERIOUS BUSINESS!!

 

[whoever]

Victoria satiated for the moment on her carousel fix, it was time for some Pinocchio fun.

Our final attraction for EMH would be Snow White's Scary Adventure at 07:50. I can't wait to see what they do with this for the planned renovations in the upcoming year. If the projection mapping plussing they did on Alice is any indication I'll be pleasantly surprised.

We made our way through a still deserted Fantasyland, grabbed the stroller we left somewhere by canal boats and then headed towards Frontierland via Big Thunder Trail. We stopped by the World of Color Fast Pass Distribution center and grabbed a round for the family. Big Thunder wasn't running yet and Pirates appeared to have a line half the way back to River Belle Terrace. A debate ensued with me championing Haunted Mansion with the kids dissenting and insisting on Pirates. As we were negotiating, they must have opened the doors to Pirates because the line was nearly instantaneously swallowed by the queue. Pirates it was to be.

I was happy to see that after six months of being gone the guy balancing with the stack of hats is back.

 

[whoever]

I never get tired of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean. It's simply the best attraction created in a Disney park to date in my opinion. Once we chattered up the lift hill, floated through the exit to the queue, it was 08:25 and time for some Haunted Mansion fun. Amy stayed with Victoria while the two older girls and I headed on over for some spooky fun.

You'll have to excuse some of the sensor grain in some of these shots. f/2.8 just can't hit the shots in such a dimly lit environment without some serious noise on my body. Could have swapped over to the f/1.4, but it didn’t have the focal distance I was aiming for. I REALLY need that 85mm f/1.4 I’ve been lusting after.

And here I bring you the many faces of the black widow bride. I've said it before, but this new projection mapping is GREAT!

The graveyard... TOUGH to see with the human eye... even tougher to shoot.

 

[whoever]

By 08:41 we decided we would not be the thousandth and thousand and first/second happy haunts and departed the second best attraction in Disneyland. We were running short on time, so one more attraction, a quick snack, and then we had to scoot to meet up with some friends. We landed on Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road. I grabbed a rider swap before boarding the train, and we had some real fun on this one. This latest refurb is astounding. LOVE IT!!!

Can I get a second vote on tear down the Paradise Pier? Sure, the Grand can be seen barely poking above the berm, but the green and browns blend in just fine. Paradise Pier... breaks the illusion.

By 09:06 it was time for that much needed pick me up, so we ventured over to the French Market. The line for the Mint Julep Bar was longer than any attraction I think I had waited on to that point. Shame they can't figure out an expedited method to serve more people quickly. Grabbed Amy a Latte and some Beignets for the girls to recharge on.

After the snack it was time to boogie. We had 10:00 reservations over at Steakhouse 55 with our friends the Flowers and it was already 09:37. We made our way down Main Street and headed for Downtown Disney. We were about to Catal I think when who did we run into Joe, Theresa, and Ian. I was afraid we were late, but we were just right. We made introductions with the girls as the Flowers had never met Katherine, Charlotte, or Victoria. Once the introductions were done, chatted as we strolled towards the Disneyland Hotel. Katherine had somehow found a ladybug and was carrying it and attending to it very closely. It ended up flying off before we made it to the restaurant much to her dismay.

We arrived at our destination, and Joe inquired with the hostess. While we were waiting, the kids were playing and getting to know each other. Katherine was particularly smitten with Ian. Charlotte just wanted to lay on every chaise/chair around. We were called up by the hostess a few minutes later and taken to our table. Joe and Theresa both got some up close and personal time with our children as Katherine scooted down next to Theresa and Victoria got the chair next to Joe. We placed our orders, I the New York Steak and Eggs, Amy got the Huevos Rancheros, and we grabbed a few of the Kids' Junior Scrambles with REAL bacon instead of the Turkey bacon provided. Theresa ordered a Sunrise Burrito and Joe opted for the Two Times Four. In hind sight, we should have ordered the Two Times Four for the girls and just had them split it.

While waiting for the food to arrive, we chatted, and Katherine challenged Theresa to a few games of tic-tac-toe. Be warned... she's a reigning champion. Victoria amused herself by stacking, restacking, and restacking the jelly containers. When the food arrived everybody dug in. Katherine quickly obliterated what was placed in front of her. It was right about this point where she saw Joe's pancakes and lamented not having any. Charlotte chimed in with pancake envy as well, and Joe being the kind person he was had no choice but to relent and share some with the two of them. Many thanks for that, you are a generous individual. Katherine then spotted his sausage and started negotiating for some of it as well. That kid is going to have to go into sales or something in her future.

We settled up on the bill, made our way to the reception area, and said our goodbyes for the day. It was hard prying Katherine away from Ian and only the lure of a pressed penny opportunity got it done. I didn't snap any pics, so I'm going to steal a few of Joe's to help fill in my TR. Thanks Joe!!

Before we left the Disneyland Hotel, we found this quiet little theater area right next to the restaurant. Made for a good opportunity to reorganize things while the kids were entertained.

 

[whoever]

After the filling breakfast, we swung by the Fantasia Gift Store. The girls love to blow their Disney allowance here for some reason despite my caution to wait until the last day and pick what they really want after seeing EVERYTHING. Katherine ended up getting a mood bracelet which would be lost by the time we left the resort. Charlotte got a Frozen Figurine set which exceeded her money by 50%. She borrowed it from Victoria with the promise that Victoria could play with it any time she wanted. We concluded our ill-planned shopping experience at 11:25 and made our way back towards Disneyland.

I peeled off along the way and returned the large item to the room while the girls continued on to the park. After the quick detour, I headed towards the park and met up with the family in the queue to Small World. I passed the Disneyland band on my way into the park... I was a bit sad I didn't have time to stop and watch their performance.

I wish the water was on the Matterhorn... would have made for a beautiful shot.

Katherine was being a bit of a snot

And the soon to be lost mood bracelet.... I think blue means calm... yeah... not so much.

 

[whoever]

Once we took a trip around the world we decided to head to Toon Town at 12:12. We wandered around a bit and decided to head into Mickey's house for a Meet and Greet at 12:20.

Victoria LOVES "Geeki"

Twenty six minutes later, it was decided after much deliberation that we would brave the posted Twenty-five minute queue wait for Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin. FORTY-FIVE minutes later we were finally loading into our cabs. While the forty-five minute wait in queue wasn't how I wanted to spend my day, the Roger Rabbit Queue is simply one of the best themed queues in the entire park. I think it may even beat out the Indiana Jones queue and that's a tall order. Love it, and SO interactive.

I really like the attraction experience as well. You don't often find attractions where you can look back and not see things you aren't supposed to see. RRCS is one of those rides because the ride vehicles spin based upon how you want to spin them. Only thing which would have made it better is if it went up to the second floor and burst out of the show building like the original plans called for.

Hi Amy, Victoria, and Charlotte!

Charlotte is all muscle... or not.

Katherine bending some bars

 

[Disneyluvr2]

Great trip report Matt! I LOVE your BTMR photos! OK...keep going!

 

[whoever]

We spent a fair amount of time taking in all the interactive parts of Toon Town. I especially liked the fireworks factory and the electric company. The girls browsed the Gag Factory for a good amount of time, and both INSISTED than I buy them Minnie Shoe slippers. They weren't good enough saleswomen to get me to comply.

We decided we'd had our fill of the East end of the park for now, and made our way over towards Frontierland via Fantasyland and Big Thunder Trail. I still had a rider swap pass which would get the girl on for a quick spin through the wilderness at 13:58. I really wish I had positioned myself a little bit better on this one. While I caught them having fun on the last downhill, not quite as good as the angle from my October trip. That rider swap pass paid off as they were through queue and off the attraction within twelve minutes.

We stopped for some snacks and made a last minute decision to jump on the Twain right as it was getting ready to pull away from the dock at 14:18. It was a fair bit windy which cut the heat of the mid-day sun and we enjoyed a leisurely float around Tom Sawyer Island. The girls insisted on trying every deck, stem to stern during the voyage.

I love the look of Fowler's Harbor when the slip is empty. Extremely well themed.

Gettin' it done on Splash. Hope it's open on my next trip. I love me some Splash Mountain.

I really wish they'd bring back the burning settler's cabin, but in this day and age that'd never fly.

I also wish they would de-pirate lair Tom Sawyer's Island. Granted most kids today don't read and probably don't know who Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Injun Joe were, but it was always one of my favorite parts of the park and now even the vista looking past the fort is ruined with that pirate galleon.

If it weren't for the Space Mountain Spires peeking up, you'd think you'd have stepped back in time..

 

[whoever]

At 14:36 we docked and departed. The kids had some apples with caramel dip (that mess frustrated the heck out of me much to the amusement of Amy). She went and browsed around the Pioneer Mercantile while I dashed into the Golden Horseshoe to grab a pile of napkins to de-caramel the older girls. I took them in to find her and we browsed around for a bit and meandered over to the Adventureland Bazaar. We were deciding what to do next, but Victoria refused to get out of the stroller. Amy took off with her while I took Katherine and Charlotte into the Jungle Cruise queue at 14:50. They were both having a hard time listening to me, and kept crowding the people in front of us, which is a major pet peeve of mine. Kids can be so frustrating sometimes.

We piled into the back of the boat and left the dock. Our skipper was great and had a few zingers I haven't heard before.

Is it just me or does this elephant look extra mad?

Katherine getting into the native ambush..

Strained sisterly love... that lasted all of 1/100th of a second till they were back on their respective sides of the boat.

I love where the lands collide and you get juxtapositions... Here we have the Sub-Saharan Africa smashing into South Pacific Polynesia smashing into Victorian Americana smashing into camouflage.

We disembarked at 15:17 and I texted Amy to find out where they were at while the girls went into the Bazaar to keep looking at stuff they wanted. Amy was getting us a spot over at the Cafe Orleans. I rounded up the girls and headed over. Let me say I've only eaten at Cafe Orleans three times now, but it has fast become my favorite NOS dining establishment (well.... C33 is, but as far as accessible restaurants go you can't be Cafe Orleans, not even Blue Bayou for convenience/quality ratio). We walked up right as our table was ready at 15:23 and we were ushered into the restaurant and seated at the furthest interior table next to the order station. We placed our orders and waited. It was just going to be the four of us dinning as Victoria was passed out in the stroller. They were kind enough to let us wheel it in and position it at the head of the table.

A short time later, our food arrived. Amy and I were splitting a bowl of New Orleans Gumbo and an order of Pommes Frites. Dipping the Pommes Frittes in the gumbo is a favorite of ours, but the supplied Cajun Remoulade is equally yummy. The girls each got a Salmon Kid's meal. Katherine pretty much licked her plate clean. Charlotte not being as industrious of an eater left some which Katherine, Amy, and I all split. We rounded our meal out with an order of Mickey Beignets. These are different than the ones served at the Mint Julep bar. They are only slightly dusted with sugar and served with both a Fruit Coulis and Vanilla Bean Crème Anglaise. Delicious.

We concluded our meal at 16:16 and I paid. They gave me a C33 discount vs. my AP discount (I think they were the same amount though) likely due to my ball cap. Usually they ask if one is a member, which was odd. We caught part of the parade on the way out and left the park at 16:26 on our way across the esplanade to DCA.

 

[whoever]

We hit DCA, cruised through the stores on the East side of Buena Vista Street with strict instructions to my party that we were just using the stores as an expedited walk-through. I caught Amy veering off towards the Dooney section and quickly course-corrected her. We exited at Elias and Co. and there was a show going on near Carthay Circle. The girls were rocking out. Charlotte can't hear music without starting to dance.

Katherine and I peeled off as we passed Cars Land for a quick stop by the Karl Straus Truck for a Tower 10 for myself. We regrouped in Pacific Wharf and started our walk towards Mickey's Fun Wheel of DOOM!! The line for swinging Gondolas was 45 minutes... WOW!! Victoria wasn't going to take no for an answer, so into line we jumped. When they said 45 minutes, they meant exactly that. By the time we got up to load, it was getting cooler and the wind was picking up. The clouds were looking more ominous on the horizon as well.

Fifty-four minutes after jumping in queue, we had gone round and round (I think we hit at just the right time where you get a full-round and then start the unloading process 3 cars at a time) and it was time to start heading for the hotel. We made our way around the lagoon and fought our way upstream with the parade traffic like so many salmon trying to return to their spawning place against the flow. We had to take several out of the way detours and finally got stuck where we could not proceed any further between Ariel and the Painted Ladies.

As the parade finished, it started to sprinkle. We dropped the stroller, tossed the umbrella over it, and jumped into queue for a trip under the sea at 17:50. We'd stay dry by going under the sea... how ironic. I really hope they do some plussing of the closing scenes of this attraction. There's so much of the story left untold.

We emerged to find we had missed most of the precipitation, but it started to sprinkle again on our way back to the grand, so we ducked into Rushin' River Outfitters as I wanted to check out the new Grizzly River Run merchandise. Unfortunately, the only shirts I liked were women's shirts, so no acquisitions of that merch this trip. We crossed the walkway and headed into the Grand, bypassing our room and heading for the gift shop. I wanted Amy to line up what she'd like as far as souvenirs go. I'd make a return trip at the end of the night to get our items and needed to know what to buy. We finally hit the room at 18:25. Amy set to getting Victoria settled and the girls and I started to prep for our night excursion over to Disneyland.