Our 3rd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November - November 22nd - 25th, 2013 Post #3416

[PrincessInOz]

Nice! Love the ones inside RSR.

That was a great 30 minutes in the day, wasn't it?

 

[ACDSNY]

I love when all of you are suppose to be checking out your new white wall tires you're all taking pictures. Cool shots of RSR.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love when all of you are suppose to be checking out your new white wall tires you're all taking pictures. Cool shots of RSR.

Really? We're meant to be doing that instead of taking pictures?????




(just remember....I'm trailing behind Bret and Alison in our respective TR updates of this day....but I AM sitting on the side closest to the mirror, mirror on the wall!)

 

[ACDSNY]

Well most peeps are checking out their wheels or their hair do.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Great pics!

Thank you wiigirl.

Great updates! Makes me want to hop on a plane and head back to California right now!!!!

Thank you Bob. While reading your trip report, I feel the same way and want to get in my car and drive back down to SoCal and visit the parks.

Nice! Love the ones inside RSR.

That was a great 30 minutes in the day, wasn't it?

Thank you PiO.

That was a great 30 minutes on Monday when we were all riding RSR three times.

I love when all of you are suppose to be checking out your new white wall tires you're all taking pictures. Cool shots of RSR.

It was a nice picture during Luigi's Casa Della Tires area. Thank you Angela.


The next post will be up shortly.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Day 3 – September 16, 2013 – Part 6​

On our last update, we got to ride Radiator Springs Racers for the 2nd and 3rd time on that day which was very neat where the 2nd time the ride broke down and the 3rd time we were asked if we wanted to go on again after the ride broke down. We all had a fun time riding RSR 3 times during that time.

We just got off RSR after riding it three times in a row and now it was time for our next ride of the day which was Soarin Over California at Condor Flats. Just when we were walking down in CL and heading on over to Soarin, Fran scooter is now having problems. Alison scooter had problems early that morning when we in DCA and now Fran is having problems just when we finished riding RSR.

I helped Alison pushed the dead scooter back to her room at the GCV while the others went on over to Soarin in Condor Flats. It took awhile for the two of us to push the scooter back to the room since neutral lever on the scooter was changing back to park mode and we had to stop to push the lever back to neutral so it would be easy to push it.

When we got back to her room, she swapped batteries with the scooter and it was running fine. She looked online to see what the problem were and found out that the batteries are the reason that the scooters are dying. Also when we were in the room, I realized that it was around 3pm and I told my DB and his GF that I would leave the DLR and meet up with them in Orange County at 3:30pm. But I texted him if he could give me another 30 minutes where I could leave the resort at 3:30pm and pick them up at 4pm. They had no problem with it so I got to stay in the park for another 30 minutes.

When she put the charged battery from the other scooter on the one that Fran used that Monday, we went back to DCA to meet up with everyone at Soarin. When Alison and I got back to DCA and at Soarin to wait for everyone, they were still on the ride so we waited awhile until they got out of the ride.

Everyone came out of Soarin and we are all back together. Now we are about to park hop on over to DL that afternoon. When we exited the park and now in DL in Main Street where we are on our way to ride the Haunted Mansion Holiday, I realized that my time during the DISMeet had come to an end. I was thinking of trying to squeeze in another ride in DL but I went over the limit with my DB and his GF and promised that I would pick them up at 4pm. I told everyone that I had to part ways at Main Street so I can get my DB and his GF.

But just before I parted ways, we got one more picture together right by the giant pumpkin Mickey at Main Street Town Square.

It was tough to leave in the middle of the day but I am glad that I got to come at the last second down to SoCal to hang out with PiO, DH, DS, Alison and Fran on those two days.

When they went up MS, I stopped at the Emporium to buy last second Halloween merchandise for my DB and his GF since they let me come along during the trip and I got them the Ghost Mickey antenna ball and a glow in the dark ghost which lights up in the dark. I bought a few more items for my family and friends while I was in the Emporium.

I stayed a little bit longer in the park after I parted ways with the group. But I did text my DB and his GF that I was running a little late but they had no problem with it. When I left the Emporium, I started to leave the park and always I do get a few more pictures of MS when I left.

The park didn’t look that busy around 3:40pm that afternoon which is a good thing for PiO, DH, DS, Alison and Fran. I later found out when my DB, his GF and I were driving home that they were able to go on a lot of rides at DL that day from the HMH, Splash, BLAB, PotC, PP, Star Tours, SMGG and seen the 8:15pm show of WoC that night.

I like to take a picture of the Mark VII Monorail’s passing by the Esplanade

I got back to BWAI around 3:50pm and I drove the car from the DLR to Orange County at Irvine University to pick up my DB and his GF.

When I picked them up, we started to drive all the way back home to Sacramento. We knew at that time when we left that Highway 5 was going to be very busy to leave SoCal since around this time is when most of the workers on SoCal are done for the day and the freeways are going to be a nightmare.

It took us almost 1 1/2 hours to get out of SoCal and towards the Grapevine. On the way back to Sacramento, we took I-99 instead of I-5 so we can stop at our grandmothers in Livingston.

We got to Livingston around 10:30pm that night and stayed for a while to rest up a little bit until we drove back to Sacramento.

It was around midnight when we got home to Sacramento which took a little longer than usual but we did stop at a few places on the way back like food, gas and stopping at our grandmothers house which is a nice place to stop while heading on over to SoCal.

This concludes the Last Second DISers Meet Up & Halloween Trip.


This has been a fun last second trip which it wasn’t supposed to happen. PiO asked me awhile back when she and her family are coming to the U.S. and going around the country that it would be nice to have a DISMeet when they are in SoCal at the DLR. When I looked at my schedule it was tough since I was going to be in SoCal during the D23 Expo trip in August and the two upcoming trips in November and December that it was tough to add another trip in. With this trip, I have been down to SoCal in four of the five months. That is a lot of trips to the DLR and this trip was a fun one which I will never forget for the rest of my life. I had to thank my DB and his GF a lot for coming down to SoCal to help her DB bring some of his stuff where he is going to Irvine University and help him get used to Irvine. Interesting that my DB GF went to Irvine for school and my DB stayed with her a few times where I got the opportunity to come down with him to go to DL. This time it was different where she is staying with her brother.

It was nice to see PiO again after meeting her last year in San Francisco at the Walt Disney Family Museum. It was nice to meet her DH and DS. They were fun and exciting to talk to during the whole trip and it was nice to get to know them. It was nice to hang out with Alison and Fran during the trip as well since I just see them in August during the D23 Expo. The best part of the trip for me was to hang out with PiO, DH, DS, Alison and Fran. It was also nice to meet BringUpDisney at the Cozy Cone Motel where PiO and BringUpDisney coordinate the DISMeet.

We had a blast where we got to do a lot of different rides, shows and eat at some different restaurants that I haven’t eaten in a long time and try something new (Paradise Garden Grill). All the rides were fun to go on with them during the trip even though I didn’t want to go on GRR but I did for PiO. I was able to pick up a few tips from PiO of how to take pictures on the dark rides. She encourages me to use more manual mode then the auto mode which I use a lot for my picture taking these last few years. But now for my upcoming trip, I plan on using manual mode more during the whole day. Now I just got to remember to switch the aperture and ISO speed when I am outside and inside at the parks.

The first day was just going around DL and looking at all the different Halloween decorations at Main Street, Halloween Carnival, Dia De Los Muertos, Ray Bradbury Halloween tree, treats and merchandise. I wasn’t able to go on Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy or the Haunted Mansion Holiday since all the rides wait times were really high during the whole trip. But I was glad that I got to come at the last second and have the DISMeet. The decorations are mostly the same like every other year during the Halloween season at the DLR but the Halloween Carnival was something that I didn’t experience last year since I was at WDW during the Halloween Season and Food and Wine Festival which was fun to go too.

I want to thank PiO (PrincessInOZ) & Alison (franandaj) for letting me come along and hang out with them during the trip.

Now this concludes the September trip and now I am getting ready for my next trip which is about less than a month away. It is my favorite time of the year to visit the DLR which is the Christmas season in which the park is decorated with Christmas decorations. I have been going to the DLR during the Christmas season for so many years in a row and still as great as always. This will be my third time in a row in the month of November which I mostly go in December. But with basketball season so busy in December, I chose to go in November which is not that busy. This November trip will be a fun trip since my DA (the DA that goes with me to DL a lot during the Christmas season and D23 Expo trips in the past) and I will be going down with her colleague that she works with in Sacramento. She will be bringing her daughter and along her DD2 (this is not the people that went with me during the January trip earlier this year that went along with me and my aunt). They have been to the DLR a lot in the past but have never been to the DLR during the Christmas season which will be exciting for them. It will be nice to hang out with more people at the parks and do other activities. The one thing I am looking forward to the most during the upcoming trip is seeing the new World of Color show “Winter Dreams” which is a brand new show for the Christmas season. So I am looking forward to it the most.

Right now, I will doing a pre-trip plan of what we are planning to do during the November trip. But for now, I am working on the planning of what rides, shows, etc. to do at the trip but one thing that we have got for now is dining reservations is eating at the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends on Saturday the 23rd at 10am and Ariel’s Grotto for lunch at 11:20am on Sunday the 24th.

Since I am now finished with this trip report, I still have to finish up the D23 Expo trip in August. So stay tune for the D23 Expo trip report update.

 

[kmedina]

I need to come back later to read, but I had to share a few things quickly. I am glad you talked me into Cafe Orleans. The Monte Cristo and beignets were amazing. No one helped me eat the Monte Cristo, so I still have more than half to eat. The beignets went so fast I almost ordered a second serving. We decided to go back to the room after dinner. I will just catch Fantasmic next time. We are officially annual pass holders, so I need to go back at least 2-3 times within the year.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[PrincessInOz]

Awww Bret. The pleasure was all mine! I had such a blast hanging out with you and Alison at DLR. I really thank you and your DB for making the trip down when I was there. Whilst the days would have been fun, they were definitely the richer and sweeter for having you, Alison and Fran along.

Hopefully, it is the first of many meets at DL.


(And next time....we're getting on those swinging cars!! )

 

[ACDSNY]

Nice wrap up to your September trip, it looked like you all had a great time at DL. I'm looking forward to your pics of your upcoming Christmas trip.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I need to come back later to read, but I had to share a few things quickly. I am glad you talked me into Cafe Orleans. The Monte Cristo and beignets were amazing. No one helped me eat the Monte Cristo, so I still have more than half to eat. The beignets went so fast I almost ordered a second serving. We decided to go back to the room after dinner. I will just catch Fantasmic next time. We are officially annual pass holders, so I need to go back at least 2-3 times within the year.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Nice to hear from you Kim and glad that you and your family are enjoying your trip at the DLR. Glad that you enjoyed Cafe Orleans tonight. The Monte Cristo can easily fill you up just half way and nice to hear that you enjoyed the beignets. I was surprised that you didn't stay to watch F! when you were eating at CO. Hopefully you will be able to see F! during your next trip to the DLR. I am so glad that you got your Annual Passes during the trip. Which AP did you get? Maybe within the year of your AP that we might be able to cross paths at the DLR.

Awww Bret. The pleasure was all mine! I had such a blast hanging out with you and Alison at DLR. I really thank you and your DB for making the trip down when I was there. Whilst the days would have been fun, they were definitely the richer and sweeter for having you, Alison and Fran along.

Hopefully, it is the first of many meets at DL.


(And next time....we're getting on those swinging cars!! )

I had a fun time hanging out with you and Alison during the trip. I wished that it would have been longer on Monday but I was glad that my DB and his GF came down that week and I was able to come along with them. This was a memorable trip and this year alone is one of the most funnest times going down to the DLR. My past trip reports have been mostly solo or with my DA. But this year alone, I got to enjoy it with family members and friends and I can't wait to do that again later next month and December.

I am hoping that this will be the first of many meets at DL and maybe you can come down to Sacramento one day where Angela, Usnuz and I live at.

I'll remember to be prepared for the swinging gondolas when you are in town.

Nice wrap up to your September trip, it looked like you all had a great time at DL. I'm looking forward to your pics of your upcoming Christmas trip.

Thank you Angela. It was a memorable trip and I will never forget this one. I will be looking forward to the November trip.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sacto is not that far from SF. I would love a return trip there at some stage and head on towards Lake Tahoe. Who knows? One of these years, it may actually happen.

 

[ACDSNY]

We'll be here waiting for you. I still need to check out the Bacon & Butter place downtown.

 

[PrincessInOz]

We'll be here waiting for you. I still need to check out the Bacon & Butter place downtown.

It's on my bucket list. Wouldn't it be great to have a NorCal/SacTo DisMeet there?

 

[ACDSNY]

It's on my bucket list. Wouldn't it be great to have a NorCal/SacTo DisMeet there?

 

[mvf-m11c]

I am finally able to write up my trip report during the D23 Expo since I have been writing up the September DISMeet trip report. The September trip was very fun since I was able to have fun with PrincessInOz as well as franandaj. It has been almost two months since I have done my last update on the D23 Expo trip report. Now I have the time to write it up so let’s get back to the D23 Expo trip report since last August.

Day 3 – August 10, 2013​

After looking around the Collector Forums and picked up my iPhone case, I started to walk around the whole showroom floor. I had some time to walk around the showroom until I met up with my DA since she was still in the D23 Arena watching the “Let the Adventure Begin: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios”.

An empty queue for the Dream Store which was really the first day but the 2nd day was a walk-in. This what happened last time during the 2011 D23 Expo when they have a separated queue for the Dream Store and it was busy on the first day. But that Saturday, there was no need for the queue since most of the good stuff was already bought on Friday.

Disney Planes stand

I actually didn’t stay too long after picking up my iPhone case since I had about two bags of merchandise from the Mickey’s of Glendale store and the Dream Store. So I decided to head back to the room to drop off all the merchandise.

A look at the check-in area while I head on out of the Anaheim Convention Center

It took me about 10 minutes to get from the ACC to Best Western Stovall’s which takes a while then going from the hotels on Harbor Blvd to the DLR.

After I dropped all the stuff and was back at the ACC for the D23 Expo, I just walked around the showroom floor until my aunt is out of the D23 Arena.

The whole showroom floor started to get a little busy even though about part of the attendance is in the D23 Arena. So it would be very busy that day when the attendees are out of the Arena.

They had the DLR ticket booth stand which they are selling DL tickets and they did offer the twilight tickets.

The Disney Infinity game area

The cast of Kickin’ It

People are now lining up for the next opportunity to get ShowPass for the later seminars that day

The attendees are now getting autographs from the cast of Shakin’ It

After looking around for a while in the showroom floor, I went to the lobby area on the outside of the Expo. I didn’t go outside the building but in the lobby area so I can meet up with my DA. Since she didn’t have her phone with her since she didn’t want to give her phone to the check-in area for all electronics since the “Let the Adventure Begin: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios” seminar at the D23 Arena didn’t let any electronics in.

So I had to wait outside to meet with her. It took a while for her to get out of the D23 Arena and meet up with me so we can get in line for the Disney Legends Ceremony after the “Let the Adventure Begin: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios” seminar.

When she finally got out and met up with me outside in the lobby area close to the entrance to the queue for the Disney Legends Ceremony. We headed on over to the queue which was not that full. It was long but it wasn’t that long where you can’t even get in the arena.

Over close to the wall was the Sorcerer’s line which I can tell that they had the lanyards.

The Disney Legends Ceremony didn’t start until 2pm but it was running a little late to get the guests in since the Live Action seminar ran a little late.

When my DA was at the Live Action seminar, everyone got the Malificent horns which was neat.

Now we are walking into the D23 Arena for the Disney Legends Ceremony.

We had nice seats which was in the arena seating area instead of getting up close since we like our spots.

That will be it for this post and I will have more from the Disney Legends Ceremony.

 

[PrincessInOz]

That's one set of cool Maleficent horns, Bret. Love that picture of you!

 

[mvf-m11c]

That's one set of cool Maleficent horns, Bret. Love that picture of you!

Thank you PiO.


The next post will be up shortly.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Day 3 – August 10, 2013​

On the last update, I just finished shopping at the stores at the D23 Expo. After bringing all the stuff back to the hotel, I got back to the Expo and waited until my DA got out of the D23 Arena during the “Let the Adventure Begin: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios” seminar. She was excited to go the seminar while I walked around the showroom floor to shop. Now that we are together after the seminar, we started to get in the queue for the Disney Legends Ceremony at the D23 Arena. We were lucky to get good seats for the Legends Ceremony.

We waited a little longer at the D23 Arena where the “Let the Adventure Begin: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios” seminar ran a little late. This is the 2nd Disney Legends Ceremony I am about to see since the first one was back in 2009 for the first ever D23 Expo. I remember that Legends Ceremony a lot back in 2009 when Beatrice Arthur, Betty White and Robin Williams were made Disney Legends at the D23 Arena. The 2011 Disney Legends Ceremony was a great one and we didn’t get to see it in 2011 since it was on Friday and my DA and I were at the stores. This time, we were determine not to miss the 2013 Disney Legends Ceremony this year where we missed the 2011.

At the beginning of the Legends Ceremony the host for the Disney Legends Ceremony was Tom Bergeron.

The Co-Host was the CEO and Chairman of the Walt Disney Company Bob Iger.

It was nice to hear Bob Iger during the Disney Legends Ceremony talking about the history of the Disney Legends history.

There were a lot of Disney Legends in attendance

The next scene was a salute of the following Disney Legends who passed away since the last Disney Legends in 2011 with a group of singers.

Annette Funicello

Lucille Martin

Norman “Stormy” Palmer

Mel Shaw

Robert Sherman

Ginny Tyler

Ray Watson

Both Tom and Bob were on stage to announce the first inductee to the Disney Legends.

The first Disney Legend honoree was Tony Baxter. I have loved all of Tony Baxter’s work at Disneyland from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Star Tours (the one that opened in 1987 before the updated version), 1983 re-modeled of Fantasyland, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and a whole lot of other projects around the world. I could go on and on with all the work that he has done and it was great for him to be a Disney Legend. He was the honoree I was looking forward seeing Tony being inducted into the Disney Legends Ceremony.

The Dream Finder with Figment and Darth Vader made an appearance with Tony and Bob while accepting his Disney Legends award.

It was nice to see another seminar with Tony Baxter after my DA and I got to see him on Friday during the “Undiscovered Disneyland” seminar which he and Josh Shipley were showing clips from Disneyland in the past.

The next honoree to be a Disney Legend was Ed Wynn. Wynn provided the voice of the Mad Hatter of the 1951 movie of Alice in Wonderland. His best film appearance was as Uncle Albert in the movie Mary Poppins.

Ed Wynn’s granddaughter accepting the award on his behalf. Also on stage was the Mad Hatter and Alice.

That will be it for this post and I will have more from the Disney Legends Ceremony.

 

[PrincessInOz]

That's a sad list of legends.

 

[kmedina]

Nice to hear from you Kim and glad that you and your family are enjoying your trip at the DLR. Glad that you enjoyed Cafe Orleans tonight. The Monte Cristo can easily fill you up just half way and nice to hear that you enjoyed the beignets. I was surprised that you didn't stay to watch F! when you were eating at CO. Hopefully you will be able to see F! during your next trip to the DLR. I am so glad that you got your Annual Passes during the trip. Which AP did you get? Maybe within the year of your AP that we might be able to cross paths at the DLR.

Thanks. Crap got the premium (for parking and increased discount percentage). Xander and I got the deluxe. If we choose to go on a blackout date, we can upgrade later. I was trying to keep costs down a little, since I promised Crap the trip would be cheaper than our DCL/WDW trip in 2011. Before placing my PhotoPass order, we are $156.50 under that trip. I preordered the CDs, so I doubt I will need to spend much more. I decided not to make any books this time. I am tentatively planning our next trip for 03/14-03/16 for my birthday. It would be nice to do all of our birthdays there, but Crap does not want his there. We are definitely going 12/05-12/08 for Xander's birthday. I am really behind on reading. I will catch up this weekend.