Part 2 continued:
I have to say this was the first time I ever rode Heimlich's chew chew train
So we met up all together to head over to
Disneyland Hotel and have our big dinner we all had been waiting for. We first walked over to the GCH and went through the lobby, gift shop, and took a look at the pools from fence. I also went up to the top floor of the GCH and went out onto the outside balcony area. I love it up there. It's so quiet and it seems like no one ever knows this place exists. You get great views of the pool area and out onto the DCA area. From there I took a few shots of the hotel from the top floor looking down into the main lobby area. I had these shots before but I love to try to capture something new. I have to say that I really missed staying here this time around. The location can't be beat and the pool area is just my cup of tea. I knew we couldn't stay long so by the time I took some shots it was time to hit the road and make our way back to Downtown Disney and head towards DLH.
We made our way pretty quickly through downtown disney and took in our first views of the new DLH pool area. I was skeptical about how it would turn out. I thought the pool area was fine already and wasn't too excited about water slides that let out into its own little pool area. I have to say that I was wrong. It looked very nice. It very much like an improvement over what had previously been there. So many palm trees swaying and with the new little restaurants/bars attached to the area it just made for a pleasurable experience.
We were early to Steakhouse 55 and we were all very hungry. So I went and asked if there was anyway that we could move up our reservation. They said no problem and we were seated immediately. This was a good sign and with many more to come.
We have eaten at many steakhouses around the country and I feel very confident in giving someone a recommendation if I feel like it deserves it. This one does! As we were seated I sort of felt a little under dressed. We were not wearing flip flops or anything crazy but at the same time we didn't dress up. It was not a problem though. We were treated like royalty the entire time. My family is very much a steak, potatoes, and bread lovin' people. Get these three things right and your golden with us. We ordered two filets, one ribeye, and the kids had their own steak which I can't remember now. First was the bread. Oh my goodness it was so good. Not the frozen tiny warm it up quick and serve it type. It was huge, warm, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. For our sides we had ordered garlic mash potatoes and the kids have french fries. Both were killer! Oh so good. I wish I would have gotten pics of the food but it was one of those things that you just don't stop to get pics. The steaks were tender the kind you could cut with a spoon. Again I highly recommend the Steakhouse 55 to anyone visiting Disneyland Resort.
The waiter was kind enough to take a picture for us to remember the meal.
Look at this old picture of Goofy's Kitchen
From there we wandered a little back onto the grounds of DLH. We got to see the new lobby area, the new disneyland map that lights up, and walk more out around the pool area.
It was nice to see the swing dancers again but I miss that they weren't in Disneyland in Plaza Gardens
It was then time to hustle back to DCA to catch World of Color for the second time on the trip. We had blue fast passes again. The first time we watched from the top tier of the blue section. I have to say that you can see very well from up there and we never had issues of someone sitting or standing in front of us. But this time we worked our way as close as we could get to the front. I was leading us down. We went past several hundreds of people already with their spots. I decided to keep working my way down until I got to the wooden floor area that overlooks the water. To my surprise there was no one down there. Now I should say there were some but not many. I couldn't believe it. We basically had the straight on shot of WOC right at the railing. I've always wanted to do this. My wife had always wanted to do this. No huge meal was ordered to get this prime spot. It was so unexpected. The show started and my jaw dropped. It was such a sensory overload. I had both the camcorder in one hand and my slr in the other. I am sad to say that I never took a shot with the slr. I had to catch this amazing experience on my hd camcorder. You see people that get wet sometimes from the show but we went for a majority of the show unaffected. That is until a certain part. I can't remember but it was towards 2nd half. It was like a storm came upon us. I had both of my babies (camera and camcorder) on me and WOC came down upon me. I scurried back several steps to get away from the downpour. I was very worried about the cameras but once the major storm had passed I was recording once again. We all looked at each other and just laughed. We had so much fun.
We did ride more Carsland rides that night. We rode RSR, Luigi's Tires, and of course Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. Being home now I miss this area the most.
We also took in the Mad T Party
Those were my babies
What a perfect night. You never know how everything will play out but this night was just perfect. I have sooo many shots from the day and night but hope this gives you a glimpse of what we encountered. I can't wait to share them with you on the Disneyland Picture of the Day thread in the Community section.
Up Next we be our final day at Disneyland.
I like the Instant Concert pic with Goofy.
I see at least 4 cameras, that IS pretty funny.
