Some people ARE worth melting for ….. 40 Disney days – the trip of a lifetime updated October 10

[Pinkocto]

Great updates glad you’re back, but sorry about the post Disney blues

The fried pickles look scrumptious you managed a lot of rides that evening. Great fun! Glad you were able to stay awake for BTMRR.

How lovely to spend time with Alicia and Dan and little Q.

 

[franandaj]

Yay for the start of your day with Alicia, Dan and Q! Only a few more hours until I make my debut!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

You had a great start at DL for sure! Was Tom's breakfast what he ordered for sure?

Looks like so much fun with Alicia and family! I'm glad you enjoyed RSR so much! It was our family fav last Christmas for sure!

 

[dizneeat]

I would love to try this some day! Glad you had fun!

Radiator Springs is just awesome and the ride is so much fun. We were so lucky we were there at the right time and able to ride a few more times lateron in the trip. Ah, did I mention that it was such a fun ride?

Great updates glad you’re back, but sorry about the post Disney blues

Thank you! I don't know why, but this time the PDD really hit me hard. And all of that knowing that we have another great vacation on the horizon ........

The fried pickles look scrumptious you managed a lot of rides that evening. Great fun! Glad you were able to stay awake for BTMRR.

It is something we had not seen anywhere else before and it really sounded yummy. And believe me, they were ..... you just had to wait a little, as they were super steaming hot.
Somehow we seemed to get to most rides at the right time to have just a short line. But it had been a busy few days and once the evening drew closer I could definitely feel the long hours.

How lovely to spend time with Alicia and Dan and little Q.

We could not believe they would drive for 3 hours each way just to spend time with us but it was awesome to get to know them and then to bring their little one. Such a cutie. Alison joined us in the afternoon as well and we had such a blast.

Yay for the start of your day with Alicia, Dan and Q! Only a few more hours until I make my debut!

It was such a great day and we had so much fun .......
And yes, to top it all of, we got to meet another Disneyland expert lateron - the lovely Alison, oh, yeah, that IS you!

You had a great start at DL for sure!

Everything worked out so wonderful. Arriving early enough to be able to explore a bit and to meet up with so many friends during our stay was just awesome. Hence the title - so many people to be worth melting for ......
and YES, it was HOT.

Was Tom's breakfast what he ordered for sure?

Yes, it WAS what he had ordered, mistake was that he didn't read the whole description. The pancakes had peaked his interest and he just skimmed through the rest and read "egg" and "bacon" and thought it was right what he wanted. He had just skipped the egg "white" and "turkey" bacon. Thankfully the eggs and bacon on my order were more than enough to share.

Looks like so much fun with Alicia and family! I'm glad you enjoyed RSR so much! It was our family fav last Christmas for sure!

Meeting Alicia and Dan ....... and little Quentin was just so much fun. And later Alison would join us for the rest of that day as well. We were SO lucky with all those meetings.
And the racers were SO awesome, something I really wanted to do again and again and again ................

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 21

What a day, what a day, what a day! - Part 2

By then it was past noon and we were thinking of getting a bit of lunch.
Smokejumpers Grill was where we went to. I don’t remember what Dan and Alisha had, but Tom had the

Chili Cheese Fries and I was not particularly hungry, so had opted for the children’s

Chicken Nuggets and Fries. We found an outdoor table and sat there for a while enjoying the sunny day. But then it was time to move on. We had gotten a good impression of the park and now it was time to tackle Disneyland Park. So we left one park, walked across the esplanade and entered the other park. There were quite the crowds, but our friends insisted that we had to go on Star Tours, so off we went there.

Thankfully the line moved fast enough and soon we were seated in our Star Speeder. Those rides are always fun and even more fun since we had seen how they worked on a Disneyland Paris Tour. Next we were to get on one of the Mountains, Hyper Space mountain to be precise. How lucky could we have gotten, it had been down and just as we were about to turn away they opened it up again. So again, not much of a line.

We really enjoyed the ride, especially since the one at Walt Disney World had been pretty painful. Once we had gotten off, it was time to head to the hub to meet with Alison (franandaj) who was going to join us for the afternoon. Soon she arrived and again, it felt like meeting a good friend. So after a bit of chit chat we were on our way to our first adventure for all of us.
And off we went to ride the Haunted Mansion which would be closed the next day because of the holiday overlay.

There were quite the crowds as many people seemed to have the same ideas but soon enough we were allowed in and then after the stretching room we inched our way over to the doom buggies. Soon we were all seated and off we went to check if there was room for one more. When we got off we knew it was time to leave

and head back to California Adventure if we wanted to be on time for our afternoon entertainment. Again we crossed the esplanade and headed into California Adventure. Alison wanted to ride Soarin so we had a look at wait times and it was doable, so we jumped in line.

By then we knew that being seated in the middle of the screen helped with the buildings not leaning to one side, so we tried and got a seat in the middle and enjoyed our flight. But then we needed to hotfoot it over to the Hyperion to get in line for Frozen.

Alison had seen it before, but neither of the rest of us had, so we were eager to make this one. Boy, there were so many people.

Once the doors opened we all stayed together and were able to get some great seats, right in the middle of the theatre.

To be continued ....​

 

[franandaj]

Yay! We met up! I don't think I rode HM with you guys, something makes me think that we met back in DCA and then rode Soarin'. That was my first time on it.

 

[Pinkocto]

Tom’s fries look like ooey gooey goodness!

Fantastic timing with Hyperspace Mountain, wow!

I have not done DL’s HM without the overlay. One more reason to get back there. But the overlay is pretty cool.




Quite understandable about the PDD. Next years vacation is still after a whole school year. It is very hard to go back to work after so much fun and relaxing.

 

[WDW Fan]

We were at DL in September 2016 and saw which Frozen also which we absolutely loved!!! We also got to do the HM decorated for Halloween which is so great that we'd go back to DL just to do that! Glad to see that you're back to writing your TR.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Next we were to get on one of the Mountains, Hyper Space mountain to be precise. How lucky could we have gotten, it had been down and just as we were about to turn away they opened it up again. So again, not much of a line.

Lucky it worked out that way! That's always the best when you time it just right.

Once the doors opened we all stayed together and were able to get some great seats, right in the middle of the theatre.

This sounds like the perfect setup for a good show!

 

[kde175]

I'm still here, too!!! Missing you.

 

[thumper*]

Enjoying the updates

 

[dizneeat]

Yay! We met up!

I don't think I rode HM with you guys, something makes me think that we met back in DCA and then rode Soarin'. That was my first time on it.

You did ride it with us, Alison. I was no sure either, but Tom spotted you in the photo, leading "the pack".

Tom’s fries look like ooey gooey goodness!

They were really good - I should have had that instead of boring chicken fingers.

I have not done DL’s HM without the overlay. One more reason to get back there. But the overlay is pretty cool.

I wish we could go to DL for Christmas once .......... well, retirement cannot come soon enough. We love the HM and they are "kind of" the same in every park and then somehow they are different as well. Love the different mansions too.

Quite understandable about the PDD. Next years vacation is still after a whole school year. It is very hard to go back to work after so much fun and relaxing.

Somehow I found it so hard to get into TR mode. We had such a fun vacation this year and even got extended, but knowing that we would have to wait another year ........

We were at DL in September 2016 and saw which Frozen also which we absolutely loved!!

It was an unbelievable experience. Hope our photos in the next update do it a little bit of justice. We loved it so much.

We also got to do the HM decorated for Halloween which is so great that we'd go back to DL just to do that!

From the photos we have seen it looks great, so I wish we will get to see it someday ....... as I said ....... retirement

Glad to see that you're back to writing your TR.

Now that I would love to update it is testing season at school. But not much longer, it should stop after December 7! So I hope there will be more updates by then.

 

[dizneeat]

Lucky it worked out that way! That's always the best when you time it just right.

We had the best of luck with some of the rides and also got a lot of FP rides in.

This sounds like the perfect setup for a good show!

The seats were just awesome, and the show was great. We are always so happy to see one of the Disney shows and this one was top notch.

I'm still here, too!!! Missing you.

Great to know that you are still here. I do apologize for not being around much, but having two TRs to tend to got me even more distracted.

Enjoying the updates

Good to know! More coming up today.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 21

What a day, what a day, what a day! - Part 3

Once the doors opened we all stayed together and were able to get some great seats, right in the middle of the theatre. We leaned back and waited for Frozen to start and start it did and it amazed each and every one of us.

There were so many things to look at that sometimes you had a hard time knowing where to look first. It was an amazing show.
But with all things awesome and fun the show was over before we knew it, even though I think it is a 45 minute performance. Once we had made our way out of the theatre we were all sure it was now time for a bit of a break in this busy day and quickly found a lovely place to sit down, chat and sip some yummy drinks.

Lots of laughs were shared and alcohol was flowing quite a bit, which resulted in even more laughs, but again, all too soon it was time for Alicia and Dan to say their goodbyes as they still had a three hour drive ahead of them and Dan had to go to work the next day. So we all headed over to the Grand Californian,

where Dan and Alicia had parked their car and when it was brought around we all had very heavy hearts saying our goodbyes and hugging each other. Alison had called Fran to pick her up and since we still had a few presents for them at our hotel Fran had offered to drive us over to pick them up.

To be continued ....​

 

[dizneeat]

It's that time of year again ..........

YES
Tom has created some Advent/Christmas countdown calendars

Here are the links:

Disney food calendar
Funny ear-hat calendar ​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 21

What a day, what a day, what a day! - Part 4

Alison had called Fran to pick her up and since we still had a few presents for them at our hotel Fran had offered to drive us over to pick them up.
It took a while for Fran to arrive and it was fun to have time to spend with just Alison and chit chat a bit more. Once Fran arrived we all climbed into the car and in no time we found ourselves back at our hotel. Tom and I headed up and got their goodies and Alison reminded us that we still had time to head over to Disney’s California Adventure to see the World of Colour.
So, instead of having a break we told them that we would indeed head right over again. Fran then insisted on driving us over and we had the greatest fun when she decided to drop us off where she was not supposed to.
We thanked them both and were happy to know that we would see them again during our trip and headed back inside California Adventure. By now it had gotten dark and we hotfooted it over. Alison had told us exactly where to go to have an awesome view and boy was it a good spot.

It did not take long until the show started and we both were in awe.

We really really enjoyed every single minute of it. Once it was over we slowly strolled to the exit,

stopped in at some of the shops and I even picked up a single scoop of

Butter Pecan ice-cream at Clarabella’s Ice Cream Parlor. I had not even finished my ice-cream when we were back at our hotel, where we had a small(ish) late picnic dinner,

(and we did have more than just the liquid stuff ....)

before falling into bed. We talked for quite some time about the awesome day we had had and when we finally drifted off to sleep there was a lot to dream about for the following day.

To be continued ....​

 

[franandaj]

We did have some fun beverages and such. I forgot that we took you to and fro to your hotel and back....

Glad you enjoyed the show! I forgot that it was the one with Neil Patrick Harris back then. It's changed so many times since then!

Looking forward to our other fun times!

 

[MeghanEmily]

We leaned back and waited for Frozen to start and start it did and it amazed each and every one of us.

It's so beautiful!

Fran then insisted on driving us over and we had the greatest fun when she decided to drop us off where she was not supposed to.

Haha what Disney rebels you are! I can imagine this lead to some laughs!

It's so beautiful! I'd love to see this show someday

 

[dizneeat]

We did have some fun beverages and such. I forgot that we took you to and fro to your hotel and back....

I remember us all being in "good" spirits. I was thankful Tom didn't have to drive ..........
Oh and we will always remember Fran dropping us off at DL. Every time we went past we just had to giggle when she just turned in where only buses were to go. Oh the face of that CM at the gate

Glad you enjoyed the show! I forgot that it was the one with Neil Patrick Harris back then. It's changed so many times since then!

It was awesome!!! We were so glad that you had helped us to find the right spot. We both loved it so much.

Looking forward to our other fun times!

We sure did have a lot more FUN with you and Fran.

It's so beautiful!

Frozen was just awesome. The theatre is awesome, the way the use the stage is unbelievable.

Haha what Disney rebels you are! I can imagine this lead to some laughs!

We still giggle talking about you. You should have seen the face of the CM manning the gate.

It's so beautiful! I'd love to see this show someday

World of Colour was so worth seeing. It is just beautiful what can be done with water and a projection. And it was fun hearing the crowd ooh-ing and aaah-ing. And seeing Walt and Mickey walking through the castle is always a tear jerker for me.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 20, August 22

Taking it ALL in - Part 1

Despite the full day we had experienced the day before we were up early again. Too much to look forward to, so we were out of bed by 7, and showered and ready to head to breakfast by 8am. The hotel offered free breakfast, so we thought why not giving it a try. The breakfast room was just down the walkway and there was ample room for us, so we picked up a plate and went around the small buffet to pick up a few items. They had a lot of pre-made items, so Tom picked up

two of their small omelettes, some “grilled” ham, French Toast sticks and some breakfast potatoes, while I stuck to the

scrambled eggs, ham, breakfast potatoes and French Toast sticks as well. I took photos of our breakfast, while Tom went to get some syrup, ketchup and finally some juice and coffee.

He had also picked up two slices of bread, toasted them and got some Nutella as a reminder of home.

Back in the room after breakfast we were getting our things together and Tom went to try a bottle of the flavoured milk, Alicia and Dan had given us in their goody box the day before. It was root beer flavoured and even though it was something completely new to him, he enjoyed it very much.

And finally around 9am we were off to the parks. They are so close to the hotels and it only took us a few minutes to cross the street and walk up to security. Didn’t take long and we were at the turnstiles and inside the park. We had decided on doing Disneyland Park in the morning as we were to meet up with Alison lateron at California Adventure. We strolled down Main Street, peeked into the stores and then turned into Adventureland. There was just a very short wait for the Jungle Cruise, so we got in line

and soon found ourselves disembarking on our cruise. The skipper was really funny and into his act and had us all in stitches.

And soon we were off the ride again and walking towards the Indiana Jones ride. We thought about getting in line, but then saw that the ride was actually down, so instead we just grabbed a Fast Pass. We then proceeded to just follow the paths

and walk around for a while until we ended up at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The line didn’t look too long, so we got in line. Only then we noticed that there was quite the line, but it moved steadily and it did not take too long to make it to the trains and once it was our turn to ride we were even granted our wish of last row and off we went. We loved the ride, as it seemed to be really wild and we laughed hard all the way. Once we had gotten off we slowly made our way back to the Indiana Jones ride,

waited for about five minutes and then got into the Fastpass line. The line crept on forever it seemed, but finally we were seated and off we went. And while it is literally the same ride as the Dinosaur one at the Animal Kingdom, we really enjoyed this one so much more. It might have to do with the fact that Dinosaur is just too dark for us. Soon after we found ourselves at the castle again.

Next stop Fantasyland, where we watched Dumbo

and were amazed at how long the line for it already was, then turned to watch people and CMs riding the Carousel

and when we found ourselves at Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

we got right in line

and soon enough we were on our wild ride.
Once we got off it was time to make our way to the exit

and over to California Adventure where we were to meet up with Alison.

To be continued ....​