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

[tksbaskets]

What a great installment. I guess early September is the time to go for short lines at TSMM!

I really enjoyed your pictures. I'm even more excited to see CL in December.

TK

 

[kmedina]

It is awesome that you had a good return time to RSR despite entering the park after opening. That encourages me. We made some mistakes last trip that I do not want to make this time. I am glad it seems like you are off to a great start on your DISmeet. You got a lot done. The swinging gondolas are cool, but it is harder (for me anyway) to get non blurry pictures. Xander prefers the stationary ones too, so it will be a while before we swing again. Loving the pictures, especially the ones on the Little Mermaid. They are leagues better than the ones Crap took of the same ride.

 

[mvf-m11c]

What great pictures you got of the morning. I'm glad you folks got on so many rides that morning! Good choice to avoid the swinging Gondolas!

Thank you Alison. We all took a lot of pictures when we were on the rides and Ornament Valley at RSR. We all had a great morning where we did quite a number of rides that morning and this is only the beginning. I never like to ride the swinging gondolas and it was a good thing that PiO changed her mind when we were about to enter loading area. I did tell her and everyone that I don't like to ride the swinging gondolas but if I had to ride the swinging gondolas it would be for her.

What a great installment. I guess early September is the time to go for short lines at TSMM!

I really enjoyed your pictures. I'm even more excited to see CL in December.

TK

Thank you TK. The park crowd levels was not that bad on Sunday morning where we did quite a number of rides that morning. It was close to 8:30am when the wait time for TSMM was only at 10 minutes. Just when PiO and I got off TSMM the wait time went up to 20 minutes.

Glad you are enjoying my pictures from this past trip. After writing my trip report, I am getting more and more excited for the November and December trip.

It is awesome that you had a good return time to RSR despite entering the park after opening. That encourages me. We made some mistakes last trip that I do not want to make this time. I am glad it seems like you are off to a great start on your DISmeet. You got a lot done. The swinging gondolas are cool, but it is harder (for me anyway) to get non blurry pictures. Xander prefers the stationary ones too, so it will be a while before we swing again. Loving the pictures, especially the ones on the Little Mermaid. They are leagues better than the ones Crap took of the same ride.

It was very nice to get a good return time to ride RSR that morning. I thought that when we got to the park after the park opens at 8am, I thought our times would be in the afternoon. Getting a FP at RSR can be still long in the morning but it is not as bad as it was last year when you get to the park when it opens at 8am and your return time is around the afternoon or nighttime. I would get to DCA during the rope drop so you will be able to get a FP for RSR in the morning to afternoon so you won't have to wait until later during the day.

I haven't written this yet on my trip report yet since we are not at that point yet but after we used our FP's for RSR, we would go back to the RSR queue to get another one. But when we looked at the return times, it was during our activities with Alison and Fran so we didn't get the 2nd set of RSR that day. It would have been nice to get them and enjoy RSR at night which is fun.

The DISmeet is off to a great start by meeting up with PiO and her family and going on a lot of rides that morning.

The non-swinging will always be my choice over the swinging.

Thank you Kim.

 

[franandaj]

Oh yeah, and I meant to reply earlier that I never get sick of that waterfall on Ornament Valley either!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Oh yeah, and I meant to reply earlier that I never get sick of that waterfall on Ornament Valley either!

Just like in the movie Cars when Lightning McQueen and Sally went on a drive and McQueen seeing the waterfall, I just can't get tired of that scene every time I ride RSR or seeing it at the walkway.

Hope you and Fran are having a great time in WDW.

 

[ACDSNY]

Great pics Brett. Your pics get better every trip.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Great pics Brett. Your pics get better every trip.

Thank you Angela.

My aunt bought tickets to Disney on Ice: Passport to Adventure which will be at Sleep Train Arena on October 10, 2013. I will be going along with my aunt, cousin Chris, my aunt BF, DD3, and her family. It should be interesting to watch another Disney on Ice show.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Day 2 – September 15, 2013 – Part 2​

We left off where I met up with PiO and her family that Sunday morning at the Esplanade. We entered Disney California Adventure after it opened at 8am and we did quite a few rides that morning from TSMM, MFWoD, TLMAUA, & now we are riding RSR. We were lucky to get FP’s that morning which was early that morning which mostly would be later during the day. Now back to the trip report and at RSR.

We just got a paint job by Ramone and now we are getting ready to race and what better Crew Chief to have is Doc Hudson.

Guido and Luigi

Lightning McQueen and Mater

Here is our picture during RSR.

After we got off RSR, PiO and her family was getting a little hungry but we didn’t want to eat a big meal. So we head on over to the Cozy Cone Motel. We got churro bites and DS got a soft serve ice cream.

While we were having our treats, a DISer that PiO talk to about meeting was going to meet her at the Cozy Cone Motel where we are having our snacks. I forgot the name of the DISer and her child that we met up that morning. When you read this post PiO, can you tell everyone the name of this DISer. The one thing I know about her that she is from NorCal.

After she and her child left, we started to head on out of Cars Land and on to our next ride. DS wanted to ride Grizzly River Run and PiO told me that we will head on over to GRR. DS wanted to ride GRR which is one of his favorite rides at DCA and the other wet ride that he likes to ride is Splash Mountain at DL. He wants to go on both rides that day. I am not a huge fan of GRR since I don’t like to get wet and I do have my camera equipment so I don’t want it to get wet. But just in this one year alone, I have ridden GRR as many times in my whole life ever since it opened in 2001. But this was for PiO and her family so I went along with it.

When we were passing by Soarin, we thought about going on the ride but the wait time was at 25 minutes so I head on over to get FP’s while everyone else is watching Minnie’s Fly Girls Charter Airline show.

When I put in the tickets, we got one of the Mad Arcade token. But we will not be using it that night since we will be at DL that night.

After getting the FP’s and meeting up with PiO and her family, we head on over to Grizzly River Run.

When we got over to GRR, the wait time to get on the ride was 15 minutes which was not that bad. But when we got in line, it took way longer to go through the line. It was like around 30 minutes to get through the stand-by queue to get on the ride. This was also a great opportunity to try something new when riding GRR, I brought my rain cover bag for my DSLR so I am able to take pictures while riding GRR while it won’t get wet. The rain cover is for my camera that when it is raining but it is a great opportunity to test it out on GRR and take some pictures. PiO and her family put their cameras away so they won’t get wet. PiO brought a rain cover backpack which is very neat so her bag didn’t get wet during the ride. Here are some pictures during GRR.

DH, PiO, & DS while riding GRR

During our ride experience, we all did get wet on GRR. I believed DS got wet the most which he wanted the most. I definitely got wetter than the June trip when I rode it with my cousin Chris. In Just 4 months, I have ridden GRR as many times as the other times I have ridden in the past.

After riding GRR, we head on back to Condor Flats to ride Soarin since we have FP’s to use that day. By waiting in the stand-by queue for a while, it was time to use the FP’s. So at least waiting in that line got to our FP return time for Soarin.

We had to wait awhile to get on the ride since one of the simulators was down during that time so we waited awhile. But it was worth the wait since we got the middle top. We were really lucky to get the best spot on Soarin. The ride is fun and a classic.

After we rode Soarin, it was time to have lunch. We decided to head on over to DL to have lunch but we didn’t know where to eat. I mentioned to them that Hungry Bear restaurant at Critter Country is a nice place to eat and with a lot of different variety. Everyone was fine with the decision to eat at Hungry Bear.

We left DCA and on over to DL. When we got to the Storyteller’s Statue at Buena Vista Street, we all had to get a picture of it.

Back at the Esplanade, PiO wanted to get a picture of the Esplanade Compass which is the center of the DLR.

We were now in DL and we walked on over towards Critter Country to have lunch at Hungry Bear restaurant. The park was not that busy that afternoon where it was really nice in the afternoon.

But before we head on over to Critter Country, PiO went on over towards Star Tour in DL to get FP’s. She has written on her pre-trip report that she and her family are looking forward to riding the new Star Tours. So we she head on over to Star Tour in Tomorrowland while DH, DS and I head on over to Splash Mountain.

PiO met up with us at CC, we head on over to Hungry Bear restaurant to have lunch. We were all hungry since we had a snack at the Cozy Cone Motel. It has been awhile since I have eaten at Hungry Bear restaurant. It is so nice to eat while watching the ships go down the River of America.

I had the Crisply Chicken Sandwich, PiO had the Holiday special meal which is a Fish Sandwich hand-breaded cod fish filet, creamy tartar sauce and jicama mango slaw, DS got the Classic Cheeseburger and DH had Big Al’s Chicken Salad without the chicken. We also got a side of Sweet Potato Fries as well.

All of us got out our cameras and taking pictures of the food that we got that day. I mostly am the one in my group when I am with my family and friends taking pictures of the food porn. It was very neat to see PiO and her family taking pictures of the food as well. You can tell that we will be taking a lot of pictures of the food porn during the trip.

After we finished lunch, DS wanted to go on Splash Mountain but the wait time for Splash was already at 40 minutes so going on Splash with that wait time was too long. I can’t remember this really well but I believe that DS and DH went on Splash through the single rider line. (PiO, when you read this update can you clarify again what your DH and DS did at that time when you and I rode Winnie the Pooh ride twice in a row).

When DH and DS went to ride Splash Mountain, PiO and I rode Many Adventures with Winnie the Pooh. It was a good opportunity to go on this ride with PiO so we will be able to take the dark ride pictures. During our first experience, we were in the back side of the honey pot car.

Then after we rode Winnie the Pooh ride, we went back on it again. It was a walk-on to get on Winnie the Pooh ride. Every time I think of Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride at DL and compare it to WDW “The Mandy Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” the WDW version gets a long line while the DL is a walk-on. Maybe it is the location where the DL version is in CC at the backside of the park while the WDW version is in Fantasyland.

Pictures from our two rides through on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I used the 18-105mm lens and the settings were set at f/3.5 at 3200 Iso.

After PiO and I got off The Many Adventures with Winnie the Pooh, we met up with DH and DS. Then we head on over to Tomorrowland to use our FP’s for Star Tours.

While we were walking on over Tomorrowland, we used our tickets to get FP’s for INDY. So we were able to get the Indy ticket and now we head on over to Tomorrowland to get on Star Tours.

That will be it for now and I will have more lateron.

 

[kmedina]

I love the pictures you got on the Pooh ride. My eyes do not even see the sites as well as your camera. It cracks me up to see you all holding up a camera on RSR too. You guys sure did get a lot done in a short amount of time. I bet touring with you would be pretty cool, since you really know how and when to do it. Seems like you were all having a great time.

 

[tksbaskets]

Hi Bret,
I loved your RSS ride photo! So much to comment on. Are the churro bites good at the Cozy Cone?

We've never been on the GRR ride. If we have a nice day in December we may do that.

I'm the only one who takes food porn pictures in my family. My sons joke about "Don't take a bite of that before mom gets a picture".

You got some great pictures on Winnie the Pooh.

The Walt and Mickey statue picture is the best!

Thanks for sharing.

TK

 

[mvf-m11c]

I love the pictures you got on the Pooh ride. My eyes do not even see the sites as well as your camera. It cracks me up to see you all holding up a camera on RSR too. You guys sure did get a lot done in a short amount of time. I bet touring with you would be pretty cool, since you really know how and when to do it. Seems like you were all having a great time.

Thank you Kim. We all had used our cameras on RSR which was fun and we all got great photos during the ride. With the time we had at both DL and DCA, we accomplished a lot. It was fun and glad that I came down that weekend.

Hi Bret,
I loved your RSS ride photo! So much to comment on. Are the churro bites good at the Cozy Cone?

We've never been on the GRR ride. If we have a nice day in December we may do that.

I'm the only one who takes food porn pictures in my family. My sons joke about "Don't take a bite of that before mom gets a picture".

You got some great pictures on Winnie the Pooh.

The Walt and Mickey statue picture is the best!

Thanks for sharing.

TK

Hi TK,

The churro bites are just like regular churros at the park but the only difference it the chocolate sauce that comes with it. I don't like chocolate so I didn't taste the sauce that comes with the churro bites.

I will commend you a lot if you ride GRR during your trip in December. During December since it will be cold, it should be a walk-on where during the hot days it will get long lines.

My DB and I like to take pictures of the food porn when we eat at different restaurants and he did took some pictures of the food porn during the 2012 August trip with his GF.

Glad you are enjoying the pictures.


The next update will be up shortly.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Day 2 – September 15, 2013 – Part 3​

After PiO and I got off the Many Adventures with Winnie the Pooh and met up with DH and DS, we head on over to Tomorrowland to use our FP’s for Star Tours. But on the way, we stopped at INDY to get FP’s.

We were now in Tomorrowland and used our FP’s for Star Tours and we only had to wait about 5 minutes to go through the line and board the Starspeeder 1000. The wait time for ST was at 25 minutes which was not a bad wait time where when it first opened in 2011 that the wait time was close to an hour. Now all of a sudden in just a couple of years, the wait time is 30 minutes or less in the afternoon. I believed that PiO told me that this was her DH and DS first time riding Star Tour ever since the update. I can tell that DS was getting excited to ride this ride.

Starspeeder 1000 with R2D2

C3PO looks good as always

Just about to board the Starspeeder 1000

For our destination, we got the Stormtrooper scene at the beginning. The next stop was the Wookie planet Kashykke and just when we left the planet, we got a transmission from Admiral Akbar. And our last destination was Coruscant.

After we got off Star Tours, DS wanted to go back on it again and so we went back to the Star Tour FP’s distribution area to get more Star Tours FP’s.

While we were in Tomorrowland, I told them about the Iron Man Tech at Innovention and it was getting warmer that day so it was a nice idea to go and relax in Innoventions and see the Iron Man Tech.

So we head on over to Innoventions.

The view on the upper level of Innoventions is a nice place to see Tomorrowland and the Matterhorn.

It was busy at Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy

When we entered Innoventions and just when we were walking on over to the Iron Man Tech, DS saw the Disney Infinity games. He went straight on over to the gaming area to play Disney Infinity. So we all left him and told him to meet us at the Iron Man Tech area when he is done. PiO told me that ever since they got to the U.S., he hasn’t played much video games and this was a great opportunity to play Disney Infinity while at the park.

The three of us head on over to the Iron Man Tech area and it was nice as always when you are at Innoventions.

When DS met up with us, we started to head on out of Innoventions and it was time to use our FP’s for INDY. So we all head on over to Adventureland to use our FP’s for INDY. I was looking forward to the new Mara’s lighting effect when you enter the Chamber of Destiny.

When we got to INDY, we only waited about 15 minutes in the queue.

When we got to the loading area, we asked for the front row so we can take pictures during the ride. PiO had her camera ready to take the dark ride photos as well as me. I was looking forward to the Mara lighting effect at the Chamber of Destiny.

Here are some pictures from INDY. When I looked at the pictures, almost about half of them were blurry.

After we rode INDY, it was time to use our FP’s again so we head on back to Tomorrowland to ride Star Tours again. Talk about from going from one land to the next where we were in Tomorrowland then going on over to Adventureland to ride INDY and back to Tomorrowland to ride Star Tours.

So we all got to Star Tours to ride it for the 2nd time. It has been awhile since I have rode Star Tours two times in one day and maybe we will get a different ride experience where the first one was okay but not the scenes I was hoping for PiO and her family. The wait time just like the first time and we boarded without waiting too long.

Our destination starts off with Darth Vader which was the best opening scene. Then we head to the planet Tatooine. Just when we left the planet, we got a message from Admiral Akbar. Our last destination was at Coruscant.

We got two scenes that we got from the first ride experience but glad that we got two different scenes (Darth Vader and Tatooine scene). Out of all the times I have ridden Star Tours, I have got a new different ride experience ever since this ride opened in 2011. I have ridden Star Tours at least 15 times and I have never got a same experience. With 54 different ride experiences on Star Tours, it will happen one day when I get a ride experience the same.

Just when we got off, it was close to 4:15pm and I told PiO and her family that I am going back to my hotel room to go get my tripod. I only had about an hour to get back to the room and pick up my tripod so I can meet up with everyone at the Fantasyland Theatre where we will be watching the 5:40pm show of Mickey and the Magical Map.

PiO and her family are going to stay in the park to go on more rides while I head on back to my room. So we parted ways until I met up with everyone at the Fantasyland Theatre.

It took me awhile to leave DL while the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational parade was going on at Main Street. So it took me awhile to leave DL and I was able to get back to my hotel room at 4:45pm.

When I was back at my room to get my tripod, I also changed since I was a little sweaty that afternoon with PiO and her family. I was at the DLR since 7:30am and finally got back to the room before 5pm. Mostly I don’t stay that long in the parks since I like to get some rest and be ready for the nighttime shows but it was fun to be in the parks with PiO and her family.

It was around 5:15pm when I left my room and I walked really fast to get to the Fantasyland Theater to meet up with everyone. The DLR was getting a little busy with more and more people entering the park around 5:30pm.

I walked really fast from the turnstiles over to the Fantasyland Theatre and I saw PiO, DH, DS and along with Alison and Fran on their scooters right outside at the Fantasyland Theatre. It was nice to see everyone together and I just made it in time. I have just talked to Alison during the D23 Expo event in August when I was with my DA.

Then we were all escorted to the FL Theatre. We got the 2nd row in the center at the FL Theatre. I have just seen Mickey and the Magical Map on Saturday and seeing it again from a different spot was very nice. Everyone in our group all had our cameras ready to take pictures of the show. Since I brought my tripod, I set my video camera up on the tripod and I had my DSLR in my hands to take pictures. PiO gave me some great tips of what settings to use during the show.

I have not uploaded the video from the 5:40pm MatMM but I will try to upload it tomorrow.

Here are pictures from the 5:40pm Mickey and the Magical Map show.

Apprentice Mickey

King Louie

Mickey sinking into the map

That’s it for this post and I will have more from Mickey and the Magical Map.

 

[kmedina]

Crap would love to ride Star Tours twice in one day as he is a huge Star Wars fan. I am okay with once a trip or even less. We are skipping it on our upcoming Disneyland trip. We may hit the one at DHS if we do well in EMH.

Cannot wait to read your review (and see the video) on a Mickey and the Magical Map. Great pictures. I am glad you made it on time.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Crap would love to ride Star Tours twice in one day as he is a huge Star Wars fan. I am okay with once a trip or even less. We are skipping it on our upcoming Disneyland trip. We may hit the one at DHS if we do well in EMH.

Cannot wait to read your review (and see the video) on a Mickey and the Magical Map. Great pictures. I am glad you made it on time.

Star Tours is a fun ride but just like you I would just ride it once a day. You will like the DHS version of Star Tour as the exterior of the building is way better then the DL version.

My impression of the show is that it is nice to see Disney characters that you don't see too often at the parks like King Louie (except if you see him during Fantasmic!) Pocahontas & Mulan. Seeing the talking Apprentice Sorcerer Mickey is even better. The music is very good along with the background where Mickey is sinking into the map and reappearing later on during the show. I will get to those pictures later on during the next update. Thank you Kim. I was just able to make it in time at the FL to meet up with everyone just before we were escorted into the FL Theater.

Here is my video that I have taped at Sunday during the 5:40pm show.

Disneyland Mickey and the Magical Map Full Show 9/15/13

 

[kmedina]

Star Tours is a fun ride but just like you I would just ride it once a day. You will like the DHS version of Star Tour as the exterior of the building is way better then the DL version. My impression of the show is that it is nice to see Disney characters that you don't see too often at the parks like King Louie (except if you see him during Fantasmic!) Pocahontas & Mulan. Seeing the talking Apprentice Sorcerer Mickey is even better. The music is very good along with the background where Mickey is sinking into the map and reappearing later on during the show. I will get to those pictures later on during the next update. Thank you Kim. I was just able to make it in time at the FL to meet up with everyone just before we were escorted into the FL Theater. Here is my video that I have taped at Sunday during the 5:40pm show. Disneyland Mickey and the Magical Map Full Show 9/15/13

I do like the Star Tours building at WDW better. We rode the last time we were there. It was shortly after the new version was released. To me, the new version is better. Seems a little more current (even though that little guy is probably all grown up by now).

Thanks for the review and video. I subscribed to your channel, because I never get sound through my iPad app for DIS or Facebook. It has to be a setting but I cannot figure it out. Once I subscribed, I was able to watch it directly on YouTube. I did not finish it though, because I told myself I can wait less than 3 weeks. If I change my mind, I will go back and finish it.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I do like the Star Tours building at WDW better. We rode the last time we were there. It was shortly after the new version was released. To me, the new version is better. Seems a little more current (even though that little guy is probably all grown up by now).

Thanks for the review and video. I subscribed to your channel, because I never get sound through my iPad app for DIS or Facebook. It has to be a setting but I cannot figure it out. Once I subscribed, I was able to watch it directly on YouTube. I did not finish it though, because I told myself I can wait less than 3 weeks. If I change my mind, I will go back and finish it.

The new version of Star Tour is way better over the old one. But I do miss the old version of Star Tours.

That is nice that you are able to see part of the video that I videotaped that day.


The next post will be up shortly.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Day 2 – September 15, 2013 – Part 4​

After a great afternoon where PiO, her DH, DS and I rode a lot of different rides at DCA and DL, it was time to meet up with Alison and Fran at the Fantasyland Theater to watch the 5:40pm show of Mickey and the Magical Map. I was able to make in time to meet up with everyone for the show.

Back to the pictures from the 5:40pm Mickey and the Magical Map show.

Pocahontas

Mulan

Rapunzel

Flynn Rider and Rapunzel

Mickey trying to paint the dot

Sebastian during the Little Mermaid scene

Mickey and Yen Sid

Princess Tiana

The show was now over and we waited awhile in the FL Theater when the other guests leave the area so Alison and Fran can get back on their scooters. MatMM is a very nice show with a lot of performers, talking Sorcerer Mickey and King Louie, the princesses, & Sebastian. It was really nice to watch the show up close where the other times I have watch the show from far distance.

When Alison and Fran got back in their scooters, it was time to have dinner at Café Orleans. So we all head on over towards New Orleans Square to have dinner. Alison and Fran made reservations at 6:15pm at CO so we had a short window to get from the FL Theater all the way towards CO in NOS.

Just before we got over to NOS to have dinner at CO, there was something going on at Frontierland at the Dia de Los Muertos. There must have been something taping in that area where it was all blocked off to the public and a lot of taping was happening.

When I looked at the signage, it was in Spanish and it was from the Univision channel.

There was a band group that was playing musical instruments

When we got over to NOS, Fran had some problems with her scooter. She told Alison that her battery was low on her scooter. A few times during the day that her scooter wasn’t running and we all helped to push her scooter.

When we checked in at Café Orleans, our table wasn’t ready so we got one of the buzzards until our table was ready. The restaurant was busy that night and we waited awhile until all six of us are seated. We were seated outside and it was a nice night where it wasn’t that hot and it was going to be a great night to watch the fireworks.

Café Orleans menu

There was a Café Orleans special menu during the Halloween season. The special were a Coq Au Vin, Pumpkin Beignets, and the Minnie Demitasse which I had at the Jolly Holiday Bakery the other day.

While we were seated and got our drinks, we all wanted to get a picture together. PiO’s DH took the picture of Alison, Fran, PiO and me at the table. We all handed our cameras to him and he took pictures of the four of us at the table.

This will be it for this post and I will have more from dinner at Café Orleans.

 

[kmedina]

I saw the pumpkin beignet on the Disney Parks Blog and was seriously coveting them. Then, I read that they were at Cafe Orleans. After reading Alison's review, I have been wanting to dine at Cafe Orleans. My only dilemma is I was planning on watching Fantasmic that night and cannot see doing TS dinner too. We only have one day, so I have to make the most of our time. It has been a long time since we've seen Fantasmic, but I have never had a Monte Cristo there. I love Monte Cristos. Pumpkin beignets sound amazing, and I love the regular beignets there.

What would you do if you had to choose? Dinner (Monte Cristo and pumpkin beignets) at Cafe Orleans or QS at jolly Holiday and watch Fantasmic?

Glad you enjoyed the show and dinner. It seems like it was a great night. The four of you look happy in the picture. Great pic.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I saw the pumpkin beignet on the Disney Parks Blog and was seriously coveting them. Then, I read that they were at Cafe Orleans. After reading Alison's review, I have been wanting to dine at Cafe Orleans. My only dilemma is I was planning on watching Fantasmic that night and cannot see doing TS dinner too. We only have one day, so I have to make the most of our time. It has been a long time since we've seen Fantasmic, but I have never had a Monte Cristo there. I love Monte Cristos. Pumpkin beignets sound amazing, and I love the regular beignets there.

What would you do if you had to choose? Dinner (Monte Cristo and pumpkin beignets) at Cafe Orleans or QS at jolly Holiday and watch Fantasmic?

Glad you enjoyed the show and dinner. It seems like it was a great night. The four of you look happy in the picture. Great pic.

The pumpkin beignets are only available at Cafe Orleans. We did talk about getting the pumpkin beignets when we were eating at CO but we were full from the appetizers and entree's that we had that night. Cafe Orleans is a very nice restaurant at New Orleans Square where it can easily fill you up from the Monte Cristo. When is the last time you have seen Fantasmic!? You will like the Monte Cristo sandwich at CO. I can't even finished the Monte Cristo since it fills anyone up quickly.

You can make a reservation at CO and have your dinner during the first show of F! at 9pm. So you are able to do both events during your trip and be able to have the Monte Cristo and the pumpkin beignets. I have never tried that way before by Cafe Orleans and watching F! or the tables at the River Belle Terrace. I know that it will be difficult to see F! from the CO dining area but it is a way to watch F! and eat at CO. Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe at Main Street is a very nice place to get treats and have sandwiches. When I went to the Jolly Holiday Bakery last month, I didn't find too many different Halloween special dishes. Another restaurant that you might consider is the French Market which has some Halloween dishes.

We did enjoy MatMM. You and your family will like the show and the good thing about the show is that you don't have to wait a long time to see the show since there are multiple showtimes. You can just walk up when it is about to start and see the show. But if you want to get up close seats, I would get there at least 30 minutes early. It has been a long time since I have ate at Cafe Orleans and it was nice to have it with Alison, Fran, PiO and her family. The night was great and I will write up my trip report of how it was that night. We all had a great time at CO that night. Thank you Kim.

 

[kmedina]

The pumpkin beignets are only available at Cafe Orleans. We did talk about getting the pumpkin beignets when we were eating at CO but we were full from the appetizers and entree's that we had that night. Cafe Orleans is a very nice restaurant at New Orleans Square where it can easily fill you up from the Monte Cristo. When is the last time you have seen Fantasmic!? You will like the Monte Cristo sandwich at CO. I can't even finished the Monte Cristo since it fills anyone up quickly. You can make a reservation at CO and have your dinner during the first show of F! at 9pm. So you are able to do both events during your trip and be able to have the Monte Cristo and the pumpkin beignets. I have never tried that way before by Cafe Orleans and watching F! or the tables at the River Belle Terrace. I know that it will be difficult to see F! from the CO dining area but it is a way to watch F! and eat at CO. Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe at Main Street is a very nice place to get treats and have sandwiches. When I went to the Jolly Holiday Bakery last month, I didn't find too many different Halloween special dishes. Another restaurant that you might consider is the French Market which has some Halloween dishes. We did enjoy MatMM. You and your family will like the show and the good thing about the show is that you don't have to wait a long time to see the show since there are multiple showtimes. You can just walk up when it is about to start and see the show. But if you want to get up close seats, I would get there at least 30 minutes early. It has been a long time since I have ate at Cafe Orleans and it was nice to have it with Alison, Fran, PiO and her family. The night was great and I will write up my trip report of how it was that night. We all had a great time at CO that night. Thank you Kim.

Thanks Bret. The last time we watched Fantasmic at Disneyland was in the summer of 2009. We saw it in December of 2011, but I prefer the Disneyland version. Although, I prefer the seating situation at WDW, which is why we see it there more often.

I have seen people dining at the restaurant during Fantasmic but always assumed they could not see very well. Many people stand in front of them in the walkways. The CMs try to keep them clear but it takes time to get one group out before the next group moves in.

I may give that a try though. If it does not work out, I can convince Crap that I really want to watch and hope he lets us stay for the second show. We have to get up early for the airport the next day, so I doubt he will allow it.