Pumpkins, and candy, and Mickey, oh my! (TR complete!)

[mommaU4]

I'll tell my bladder that next time.

Yes, you do that!

Great trip report. I've really enjoyed reading along, but I'll have to say, I don't know about all that food porn... I guess I'll just have to manage with that.

I am glad you and your family had such a great time. Your kids are darling. Noelle's 80's costume was priceless.

Thanks, I'm glad you're reading along. Oh, and what's that you say? More food porn? Well, ok, I'll see what I can do.

 

[mommaU4]

After Ruben and the kids took off, I headed over to Cafe Orleans. Our dinner reservation was for 5:30, but I wanted to get there early to greet everyone, so I got there around 5:10 or so.

I stood off to the side of the check in podium and waited. I thought I saw Melody (tinkermell) walking by, but she didn't look in my direction and since I hadn't met her on the last trip, I'd only seen her picture, I was too nervous to walk up and ask if she was tinkermell. LOL So I waited.....

One by one the group started to arrive. Some I was meeting for the first time, which was very exciting! And some I'd been lucky enough to hang out with before. All total I'd say we had about 17 ladies there.

Once we'd all arrived, I checked us in, and we chatted while waiting to be seated. I'm not sure how long it took to be seated, time passed quickly for me since I was enjoying talking with everyone, and when it's a large group it does always seem to take longer to get the tables prepared for some reason.

We ended up with three tables inside.

Table One had:
MamaKate/Katie
Katie's DD
Stacielee/Stacie
Stacie's DD
oscarkitty/Vicki
LBPirateGirl/Maggie
toocherie/Cheryl
Zoemakes5/Michelle

Table Two had:
myself
Dangermouse/Callie
Mary Jo/Mary Jo
lulubelle/Linda
Linda's DD

Table Three had:
tinkermell/Melody
wendylady36/Wendy
Stacerita/Stacie
Stacie's mom

I wish I could have table hopped or cloned myself for the evening, because there were some that I was meeting for the first time that night and I would have liked to chatted with more them then I did, but it's difficult with a large group. I enjoyed visiting with my table of course. I met Linda and her daughter Brianne for the first time and really enjoyed my time with them. While it was good to chat with Callie and Mary Jo again.

Some people mentioned after the meet, that it had been cold in the restaurant. I'm so hot all the time, I didn't even notice it. And others mentioned the slow service. Again, I guess I was so busy blabbing away with my table mates, that I didn't notice that either. Guess it's good to be oblivious!! haha!

At one point I wanted to run around and take some pics of everyone, so I grabbed my camera. Yes, this was our camera, the one that had acted up in the beginning. I went to the table with Melody, Wendy, Stacie and her mom and tried to take their pictures.
Ladies, if you are reading, you might recall the flash didn't go off? Well, it wasn't working!!!! I thought, "Oh no, not again!!!!" It had been doing so well ever since that first day.

Just then our food arrived so there was no time to fiddle with it anyway. Callie and I shared a meal. We ordered the:
Pommes Frites - Traditional French-fried potatoes tossed with Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley, served with a Cajun spice remoulade (these were sinfully good!)

Mardi Gras Chicken Sandwich - Succulent chicken breast, marinated in olive oil and Cajun spices, then lightly blackened. Nestled on a toasted multi grain roll with our own avocado giardinere relish, crisp lettuce and tomatoes. Served with tossed, tender greens (good, but not anything I'd rave about)

And the "Mickey" shaped Beignets - Topped with powdered sugar and served with raspberry coulis and vanilla creme anglaise (also delicious!! I could make a meal of these and the Pomme Frites and nothing else!)

As the waitress brought the beignets, Callie said to me, "Your not taking any food pictures." So I grabbed my camera again to see if by some miracle it would work.

I managed to get one shot of the beignets before it shut down on me again. Oh well, dessert is the best part right?

A few of the ladies had to leave right after the meal as they were going to the MToT party or had family waiting for them. Only a handful of us remained so we headed out of the restaurant to brave the evil Friday night crowds which were unlike anything I'd seen in goodness knows how long!!

We went on Pirates. That was fun. Then we made our way to the Mark Twain. I think that was Wendy's idea. Something about her not having been on it for almost two hours and missing it desperately.

Actually we wanted to watch the fireworks from the top deck of the boat, something I had never done before. It was really neat to see. After the fireworks, it was getting pretty late, and I figured it was time to call Ruben and see how he was managing with the kids, so I said good bye to those who were left and went off to meet up with Ruben again.

I told him my sob story about the camera and not getting any pics, so he took a look at it and declared it was the battery. Easily fixed by running into a nearby store and buying some batteries. Ugh. Figures! Well, at least it wasn't something serious, and we had our camera back for the rest of the night.

I snapped a pic of this tree in Frontierland, which of course doesn't do it justice. It was decorated so cute, filled with little pumpkins.

While I'd been waiting to meet up with them, I'd decided to buy some popcorn for the kids. Apparently I wasn't the only one with that idea. LOL They had bought some too. So now in my cupboard I have two of these buckets. Which is fine, they are cute with Jack and Sally on them.

I was pretty tired. Crowds always do that to me, so we started making our way out of the park. The girls got in one last shot with Minnie:

Adam spotted Donald on the way out, and they all stopped for a pic with him. Funny how Adam hates to be in the shots with the characters unless it's someone he thinks is cool. I guess Donald fits in the cool category.

Some of the decorations on the way out:

Even though I didn't get any shots of the mini meet, all is not lost! Stacie and Michelle were nice enough to post some pics on another thread once we got back. So without further ado here are some of the wonderful DIS ladies!! (thanks Stacie and Michelle for letting me use your pics)

Stacie/Stacielee, Callie/Dangermouse (smoking), me (scolding Callie for smoking, lol), and Wendy/wendylady36

Starting on the left: Mary Jo/Mary Jo, Callie/Dangermouse, me, Brianne, Linda/lulubelle.

Starting on the left: Christine, Stacie/stacielee, and Maggie/LBPirategirl

From the left: Vicki/oscarkitty, Michelle/Zoemakes5, and Katie/MamaKate (due near Christmas!)

In the back: Stacie/Stacerita
Front, from left: Melody/tinkermell and Wendy/wendylady36

From left: Maggie/LBPirategirl and Cheryl/toocherie

From left: Wendy/wendylady36, Melody/tinkermell, Stacie/Stacerita, and Stacie's mom

A few more shots:

I had a great time seeing everyone. I cannot wait until March for our next trip!

Up next: Our last day at Disneyland!! A whole year of annual passes, many different trips......and still never been dreamed. It's our last day, last chance! Can we do it?? Will this trip end on a magical note? Or will the weekend crowds, sure to be worse then today's crowds, end it on a sour note?
Stay tuned for more!

 

[wendylady36]

Ladies, if you are reading, you might recall the flash didn't go off?

Nope! Don't remember that at all!

And the "Mickey" shaped Beignets - Topped with powdered sugar and served with raspberry coulis and vanilla creme anglaise (also delicious!! I could make a meal of these and the Pomme Frites and nothing else!)

Me too! pomme frites and beignets, yummy yummy! I know where I'm going in January!

I managed to get one shot of the beignets before it shut down on me again. Oh well, dessert is the best part right?

You know what? I didn't even remember they were shaped like Mickey's head. Someone was describing them in, I think, the Disneyland food post, and I had no idea what they were talking about and everyone was replying saying they were the beignets. I just didn't believe they were shaped like Mickey's head.
I guess I was too busy scarfing them down and making sure Stacie didn't steal any from me.

Then we made our way to the Mark Twain. I think that was Wendy's idea. Something about her not having been on it for almost two hours and missing it desperately.

Yep! Totally my idea. Wendy + Mark Twain =

Up next: Our last day at Disneyland!! A whole year of annual passes, many different trips......and still never been dreamed. It's our last day, last chance! Can we do it?? Will this trip end on a magical note? Or will the weekend crowds, sure to be worse then today's crowds, end it on a sour note?
Stay tuned for more!

Oh! Oh! I know what happens!!!!

 

[toocherie]

After Ruben and the kids took off, I headed over to Cafe Orleans. Our dinner reservation was for 5:30, but I wanted to get there early to greet everyone, so I got there around 5:10 or so.

I stood off to the side of the check in podium and waited. I thought I saw Melody (tinkermell) walking by, but she didn't look in my direction and since I hadn't met her on the last trip, I'd only seen her picture, I was too nervous to walk up and ask if she was tinkermell. LOL So I waited.....

One by one the group started to arrive. Some I was meeting for the first time, which was very exciting! And some I'd been lucky enough to hang out with before. All total I'd say we had about 17 ladies there.

Once we'd all arrived, I checked us in, and we chatted while waiting to be seated. I'm not sure how long it took to be seated, time passed quickly for me since I was enjoying talking with everyone, and when it's a large group it does always seem to take longer to get the tables prepared for some reason.

We ended up with three tables inside.

Table One had:
MamaKate/Katie
Katie's DD
Stacielee/Stacie
Stacie's DD
oscarkitty/Vicki
LBPirateGirl/Maggie
toocherie/Cheryl
Zoemakes5/Michelle

Table Two had:
myself
Dangermouse/Callie
Mary Jo/Mary Jo
lulubelle/Linda
Linda's DD

Table Three had:
tinkermell/Melody
wendylady36/Wendy
Stacerita/Stacie
Stacie's mom

I wish I could have table hopped or cloned myself for the evening, because there were some that I was meeting for the first time that night and I would have liked to chatted with more them then I did, but it's difficult with a large group. I enjoyed visiting with my table of course. I met Linda and her daughter Brianne for the first time and really enjoyed my time with them. While it was good to chat with Callie and Mary Jo again.

Some people mentioned after the meet, that it had been cold in the restaurant. I'm so hot all the time, I didn't even notice it. And others mentioned the slow service. Again, I guess I was so busy blabbing away with my table mates, that I didn't notice that either. Guess it's good to be oblivious!! haha!

At one point I wanted to run around and take some pics of everyone, so I grabbed my camera. Yes, this was our camera, the one that had acted up in the beginning. I went to the table with Melody, Wendy, Stacie and her mom and tried to take their pictures.
Ladies, if you are reading, you might recall the flash didn't go off? Well, it wasn't working!!!! I thought, "Oh no, not again!!!!" It had been doing so well ever since that first day.

Just then our food arrived so there was no time to fiddle with it anyway. Callie and I shared a meal. We ordered the:
Pommes Frites - Traditional French-fried potatoes tossed with Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley, served with a Cajun spice remoulade (these were sinfully good!)

Mardi Gras Chicken Sandwich - Succulent chicken breast, marinated in olive oil and Cajun spices, then lightly blackened. Nestled on a toasted multi grain roll with our own avocado giardinere relish, crisp lettuce and tomatoes. Served with tossed, tender greens (good, but not anything I'd rave about)

And the "Mickey" shaped Beignets - Topped with powdered sugar and served with raspberry coulis and vanilla creme anglaise (also delicious!! I could make a meal of these and the Pomme Frites and nothing else!)

As the waitress brought the beignets, Callie said to me, "Your not taking any food pictures." So I grabbed my camera again to see if by some miracle it would work.

I managed to get one shot of the beignets before it shut down on me again. Oh well, dessert is the best part right?

A few of the ladies had to leave right after the meal as they were going to the MToT party or had family waiting for them. Only a handful of us remained so we headed out of the restaurant to brave the evil Friday night crowds which were unlike anything I'd seen in goodness knows how long!!

We went on Pirates. That was fun. Then we made our way to the Mark Twain. I think that was Wendy's idea. Something about her not having been on it for almost two hours and missing it desperately.

Actually we wanted to watch the fireworks from the top deck of the boat, something I had never done before. It was really neat to see. After the fireworks, it was getting pretty late, and I figured it was time to call Ruben and see how he was managing with the kids, so I said good bye to those who were left and went off to meet up with Ruben again.

I told him my sob story about the camera and not getting any pics, so he took a look at it and declared it was the battery. Easily fixed by running into a nearby store and buying some batteries. Ugh. Figures! Well, at least it wasn't something serious, and we had our camera back for the rest of the night.

I snapped a pic of this tree in Frontierland, which of course doesn't do it justice. It was decorated so cute, filled with little pumpkins.

While I'd been waiting to meet up with them, I'd decided to buy some popcorn for the kids. Apparently I wasn't the only one with that idea. LOL They had bought some too. So now in my cupboard I have two of these buckets. Which is fine, they are cute with Jack and Sally on them.

I was pretty tired. Crowds always do that to me, so we started making our way out of the park. The girls got in one last shot with Minnie:

Adam spotted Donald on the way out, and they all stopped for a pic with him. Funny how Adam hates to be in the shots with the characters unless it's someone he thinks is cool. I guess Donald fits in the cool category.

Some of the decorations on the way out:

Even though I didn't get any shots of the mini meet, all is not lost! Stacie and Michelle were nice enough to post some pics on another thread once we got back. So without further ado here are some of the wonderful DIS ladies!! (thanks Stacie and Michelle for letting me use your pics)



From left: Maggie/LBPirategirl and Cheryl/toocherie

I had a great time seeing everyone. I cannot wait until March for our next trip!

Up next: Our last day at Disneyland!! A whole year of annual passes, many different trips......and still never been dreamed. It's our last day, last chance! Can we do it?? Will this trip end on a magical note? Or will the weekend crowds, sure to be worse then today's crowds, end it on a sour note?
Stay tuned for more!

Oh my gosh--I HATE those pictures of me!!!!!! LOL

What was I looking at in the second one???????

 

[mommaU4]

I guess I was too busy scarfing them down and making sure Stacie didn't steal any from me.



Yep! Totally my idea. Wendy + Mark Twain =

I hope Stacie doesnt' see that!

And look how quickly you've gotten over Edward. Well, how can a hot vampire compare with a ride on big ole Mark Twain?

Oh my gosh--I HATE those pictures of me!!!!!! LOL

What was I looking at in the second one???????

I thought you looked good! And I'm pretty sure you were looking at some cute guy. Don't worry, I won't tell Boy A, B, C or D.

 

[wendylady36]

And look how quickly you've gotten over Edward. Well, how can a hot vampire compare with a ride on big ole Mark Twain?

I hope he doesn't read this!

 

[travelmel]

Great pics of the entrance decorations in the dark. I've never seen them like that before.

 

[jnjusoioa]

Today was our first day in the parks and I couldn't wait. The beds at HoJo are very comfy and I slept ok, but for some reason I kept waking up. Wide awake, positive it was time to get up for the day. First time that happened it was midnight. Second time it was 3 a.m.

Finally it was time to get up, get dressed and head to the Disneyland. The park opened at 9 a.m. and we got there around 8:15. I found a spot in line while Ruben and the two older kids went searching for a brick that another DISer had asked us to find and photograph for her. And they snapped some shots near the CA letters.

They opened the gates around 8:45 and after we grabbed a stroller (freebie with Disney Visa, we use it to hold our stuff instead of a locker) we took some pics with Goofy. I loved his skeleton costume!

Mickey too!

First stop on Main Street was the Blue Ribbon Bakery for some breakfast goodies. I'd heard so much about the chocolate croissants, the cinnamon rolls and the seasonal pumpkin muffins, that I had to try them. (Warning: Time to let the food porn begin! LOL)

Of the three, the pumpkin muffin was the best. They were all good, but that's the only one I'd order again. Very moist with the right amount of cream cheese frosting.

From there we headed straight for Pirates of the Caribbean my favorite ride in the park. I was so glad it wasn't closed after all.
Some shots to show how empty the park was. If only it was like that all the time!

We did POTC, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and tried to do Splash but it was down at that moment.

Some pictures of the mansion with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. I love that ride. It's a close second to Pirates for me.

After the ride we got in line to see Jack and Sally. It was a pleasant surprise to see them as I'd been told they were only out on week-ends. I am so happy they've been added to the park now. I was surprised to see how quickly the CMs cut off the line for them, but then I saw how much time they devoted to each guest. At least while we were there, the interaction with them was great.

Noelle had a giant pen she used for autographs. (you can see it in Sally's hand in the first pic) Jack asked her what she feeds her pen to make it grow so big. LOL
She said "Nothing" and he acted very surprised and said her pen must be starving then.

I can't remember what all was said, I just remember how clever they were.

As we were walking through NOS we ran into Captain Jack and snapped a quick photo with him. He was being chased by kids and grown women alike. LOL He was rather on the small side. My 11 year old DD was almost as tall as him.


OK, I'm at my image limit and my eyes are closing so I'll stop here for now. Coming up in Day Three....more rides, fun, characters, and food porn!

Hey There, I am going to jump on this trip report too. I was lucky enough to take a quick weekend trip out to CA for a meeting and even luckier to get to visit DL on Halloween. The most awesome was seeing the overlay at the HM, I am a huge Nightmare fan. But even better was gettingn to meet Jack and Sally, how cool was that!!!! It was such an awesome surprise, I didn't even know they had the characters, and they were so great. It would be cool if they kept them out till Christmas and had Jack dressed in his Santa get up, I will be anxious to hear from people that visit during the Christmas season if they are still out. I am really torn as to go at Halloween or Christmas for my trip next year!!!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Hi Beth - just catching up with your last two updates. That soup looks . I love potato soup but that looks even better. Everything looks yummy. I hope I get to meet some DISers when we go next year. The pictures are great. Where did you get that lanyard? did you make it? I love to see a picture of your bracelet as well. Looks like you girls had a lot of fun. I love looking at pictures so I can "see" who I'm talking to.

 

[kaoden39]

I love your trip report. It's funny but everytimne I take our camera somewhere the batteries die. I do mean everytime. Scotty always tells me that the batteries are fine but they always die. Today our son's middle school jazz band is playing at Branes and Noble, you can be sure I am taking new batteries with me. About time I figured that out.

I hope your inlaws are okay with this new batch of fires.

 

[mommaU4]

Great pics of the entrance decorations in the dark. I've never seen them like that before.

Thanks, our camera is lousy at night shots, but we wanted to take some regardless. It doesn't begin to do it justice though. Much cuter in person.

Hey There, I am going to jump on this trip report too. I was lucky enough to take a quick weekend trip out to CA for a meeting and even luckier to get to visit DL on Halloween. The most awesome was seeing the overlay at the HM, I am a huge Nightmare fan. But even better was gettingn to meet Jack and Sally, how cool was that!!!! It was such an awesome surprise, I didn't even know they had the characters, and they were so great. It would be cool if they kept them out till Christmas and had Jack dressed in his Santa get up, I will be anxious to hear from people that visit during the Christmas season if they are still out. I am really torn as to go at Halloween or Christmas for my trip next year!!!

Hi, thanks for reading!

I love Halloweentime at Disneyland. It's my favorite time of year. I like Christmas too, but Halloween wins by a slight margin for me. The overlay at the Haunted Mansion is really impressive. I love it.

I'm glad you were able to see Jack and Sally. They are such a neat addition to the park. I think your idea of keeping them out through Christmas in his Santa suit is a wonderful one! I hope Disneyland does that. They were sure popular when we were there.

Did you make it back to Big Thunder Ranch? The pumpkins back there are amazing. Really works of art.
As for next year, why choose between Halloween and Christmas? Do both!

Hi Beth - just catching up with your last two updates. That soup looks . I love potato soup but that looks even better. Everything looks yummy. I hope I get to meet some DISers when we go next year. The pictures are great. Where did you get that lanyard? did you make it? I love to see a picture of your bracelet as well. Looks like you girls had a lot of fun. I love looking at pictures so I can "see" who I'm talking to.

The lanyard was something we had from the ladies only trip last April. But the lime green mickey I had hanging from it, I bought there at Disney. They sell them up near the cashiers for around $2-$3.
Did you see the recipe for the soup? I posted it on another thread. Let me know if you want it.

I love your trip report. It's funny but everytimne I take our camera somewhere the batteries die. I do mean everytime. Scotty always tells me that the batteries are fine but they always die. Today our son's middle school jazz band is playing at Branes and Noble, you can be sure I am taking new batteries with me. About time I figured that out.

I hope your inlaws are okay with this new batch of fires.

Ugh, dumb old batteries. We had charged the camera the night before and hadn't used it that much during the day, so I don't know why it wasn't holding a charge. It didn't even occur to me it was the battery. I thought something was going wrong with it again. Oh well.

Thanks for asking about my inlaws. They are fine.

 

[mommaU4]

Thanks again for reading along everyone. And just to let you know I added a group picture to that last update I did of the mini meet.

Also a funny story that I forgot to mention about Minnie. When we got there that last morning (Friday) it was so crowded and the line for Minnie on Main Street was so long, that we didn't wait but we stood for a minute and watched.

There was an Asian lady in her early 20's or so, up next in line and she was just beside herself to see Minnie! I've never seen anyone, not even a kid act like that. She was shrieking and squealing and jumping up and down. She hugged Minnie, and then stood there forever talking to her and touching her. It was funny and a tad scary at the same time!

Anyway, that night after the mini meet, when we were all on the way out, and saw Minnie again on Main Street only the line was much shorter so we stopped to take that pic I posted of Minnie and the girls. Guess who we saw in line again???

The same lady! Once again she was just overjoyed to see Minnie, ran up to her, was hugging her, etc. And this time, she had bought Minnie a card. She gave it to her, and the CM that was there took it and was reading it to Minnie. It was pretty funny. I can only imagine what "Minnie" was thinking.

 

[toocherie]

I can only imagine what "Minnie" was thinking.

Ummmmmm-WACKO?????????

and "I'm glad I'm in this costume so this nut-job doesn't know what I look like for real?"

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Ummmmmm-WACKO?????????

and "I'm glad I'm in this costume so this nut-job doesn't know what I look like for real?"

Poor Minnie. She was probably crying out of fear inside her costume.

 

[mommaU4]

Ummmmmm-WACKO?????????

and "I'm glad I'm in this costume so this nut-job doesn't know what I look like for real?"

No kidding!!
I so wanted to walk up to her and say, "You do know this is just a person in a costume, right?"

I like taking pics with characters as much as the next person, but this was too much. I wonder how many people they see like that though?

 

[mommaU4]

Poor Minnie. She was probably crying out of fear inside her costume.

Good thing there is a perpetual smile on her face.

 

[jnjusoioa]

I wish I could go at both Halloween and Christmas but don't have the funds, however I believe Halloween is winning out. We even made it over to CA for the trick or treat party, but it was so crowded since it was Halloween night and I really feel like we missed a lot of the characters, etc. It seems like there were a lot of characters out, rare ones?? Is that normal?? We did walk through Big Thunder and I remember looking at some of the pumpkins but by this time I was dragging, so I really need to go back and experience it more. Now if I only had someone to travel with that would love Halloween and Disney as much as me.

 

[jnjusoioa]

I really am thinking that Halloween is winning out. I have to totally try one of those chocolate Tigger tail croissants, they look amazing. Also, what is in a Tinkerbell Twist?? They look yummy.

 

[Lizzybear]

Just found your newest TR and am really enjoying it We did the drive from Anaheim to Vegas a month ago and I agree it is pretty boring, though rather a novelty for a Brit like me to drive through the desert and use cruise control! (yep that is exciting for me, I think I need to get out more! ) We saw the same fall decs in the Bellagio too but it was soo busy when we were there and couldn't get many good pics. We saw some of the Halloween decs at DL but since it was only just October the parties hadn't started yet so some stuff wasn't out yet. Were the crowds light for your trip? When we went it was surprisingly busy I agree Cafe Orleans is great, I could go for some pomme frites right about now!

 

[mr.bungle]

great TR! looks like you were in my neck of the woods for a while. i work just up the street from the Promenade in Westlake and I used to live in Simi Valley. Looks like you guys had a good time i'll be in vegas in 3 weeks for my wedding!!