The 0% Chance of Rain TR - Now with Rain! Oct '16

[tzeitel]

Our October 22-27 trip was a bit last minute for me - I plan so far in advance everyone makes fun of me. I think the planning is half the fun (and price)! Since it was a bit late (started planning in mid Sept) we did not have many options on flights/hotels/car rental etc but i think we did ok.

In the blink of an eye I booked pretty much everything we needed. Got tickets and the hotel (BW Stovall's) through lmtclub (saved $53 per ticket), booked a car through Dollar ($126 for the the week), and booked our flights through SW and Frontier. I love SW, can always find the best deals and times for us...by booking way in advance. This time I could find a good time to return home but not to fly to SNA. After looking around I saw Frontier had a sale - $44 each way. Sweet, right? Except you have to pay for bags, carry-ons (except a personal item), and even to pick your seat! Want a can of soda? that will be $3. I hate all those fees! Still, it was a lot cheaper than anything else I could find - it came to $60 per person. The SW flight was booked using miles (2) and gift cards from reward sites (1).

The other thing I was hoping to do is the Ralph Brennan's Haunted Gingerbread House event. Last year it sold out super fast and we missed it. This year I went on their FB page and asked them about dates since I could not find anything on their site. It was meant to be! they only do it on one weekend, and while we usually avoid weekends at DLR this time we were arriving on the weekend they had the event. Their tickets went on sale on Sept 26 and they did not mention it on their site - only on their FB page. I was able to grab DD and I a spot on the 23th which was Sunday (we arrived on Sat) which worked our perfectly With a "handling" fee the event came out to $51 for the both of us - you could add a 3rd person for an extra $12.

Since we had done the Halloween party twice before I figured we could skip it - DD had other ideas. As late minute as it can get, DD starts with "Halloween party yay!". DD has autism and is non verbal so for her to tell us she wants to do the party is a big deal. She would not stop telling us she wanted to do the party. So I gave in an had to call Disney to see if there were any dates still available - it had sold out completely online the day before. The auto message that put me on hold said 2 dates were still available - 24th and the 26th. After being on hold for around 10 minutes I got an agent and only one day was left - the 24th. I told her to BOOK IT!!!! yes, magic, yes happy, happy Disney CM - just BOOK IT!!!!

After that it was all pretty much set. I just had to book a park n' fly in Denver - we live 2 hours away from the airport and since we fly early we always stay in Denver the night before. We called the vet to book our cat a "vacation" - she loves it, they always have a couple of cats staying at the same time, cats have their own room with a window wall, and the employees are super nice.

Next will come the good stuff - photos! Mostly of food, yeah I am one of those who takes photos of their food. But also of the haunted gingerbread event, our room etc.

 

[tzeitel]

Photobucket used to be great - remember when there were not hundreds of ads everywhere, when you could actually edit a photo without a video popping up to slow everything down? I get they are a business and have to make money while I use it for free, but I miss the old PB with minimal ads and no interruptions - I think it even worked better back then. Anyway -

I really meant to take more photos of the exterior and surrounding area where we stayed at since it is an area I did not find much info on. we stayed at the Best Western Stovall's on Katella. First of all - it was pretty easy to get to DLR. This BW is right next to a place called Coco's (did not eat there but it always had a lot of people there at all hours) which is on the corner of Katella and Disneyland Dr. You just cross Katella and walk down Disneyland dr. We never felt unsafe walking this way at any time. There were always people walking back and forth from the parks even late (10-11pm) at night. We passed Paradise Pier, crossed DL dr (there are a few spot where you can cross) and cut through the Grand Californian. Just go through the lobby and you will see signs (to the left) for the parks. It was an easy 10-15 minute walk.

I think most people prefer to stay on Harbor since it is a little closer. I went through lmtclub for the hotel and did not find a better deal anywhere - I looked every day to see if I could find a better rate.

​

Our room was clean, in good shape, the shower had good water pressure. The staff was very nice. Breakfast was pretty big - eggs, bacon, pastries, waffles, bagels, cereal, coffee, milk, juice etc. DH hated the coffee in the room, he said the one in the breakfast area was a little better. He is picky about his coffee (I work in an Italian cafe and he is now spoiled) and could not find a "decent" cup of coffee the entire trip (he tried lattes and black coffee in several spots but no dice). They have a water station by the front desk where you can fill your water bottles - we did this every morning before heading to the parks. We did not use the pool but saw several people there, it is in a separate area and it kinda closed in (so you cannot see the people in the pool from the parking lot). Only complaint was that there was no safe in the room. You have to go to the front desk for a safety deposit box. Would stay there again if the price is right - I can still find better deals on harbor by booking super early...which I like to do

 

[tzeitel]

We arrived at 9:30AM, grabbed our bag and went in search of our rental. We have rented a car twice before and it was super easy, and super fast...not so much this time. We got a great deal ($126 for the week) from Dollar which we have used before. Some rental desks are in one area, near the baggage claim. Others are in the garage, right next to the cars. Dollar is right next to the cars. So you just go to baggage, step outside, turn left and walk....and walk...and take an elevator...and walk a little more. Not a huge walk, it just feels like it when you know you are SO CLOSE!!! We get to the office and are told that they have no cars atm....hmm, ok. they are driving some from another location and it would be about 20 minutes. The agents were super nice and they did upgrade us to a 2016 Altima - we had booked economy, basically a bicycle with a basket The car was very nice and we even got reimbursed for gas. It took us 17 minutes to get to the BWS, our room was ready (yay!) so we dropped our bags, and headed to the parks.

DH & DD were hungry (I was too excited) so we decided to eat in DtD. I mentioned the food trucks but DH had something else in mind. He was a chef at WDW for 13 years and in that time he worked and opened many restaurants - his first job was making pb&j sandwiches at the luau! One of the places he opened was the ESPN Club at the Boardwalk. He wanted to try the West coast version - and we love the chili cheese fries! We were seated right away (it was around 11:45ish) and there were only a couple of table occupied. By the time we left they did have a line in the lobby and most tables were full. The food was fine - although they use cheese sauce on the chili fries which I love but DH hates - the service was friendly and fast. The restaurant itself is huge and dark. I know it is because of the big screen but it felt like an old movie theater and not a classic movie theater more like an 80's-90's theater with stick floors and a musty smell. The ESPN at the BW in WDW feels lighter, there are tons of windows and the radio booth is visible. I would not go back but that is just because there are many other places I like better. But on a long trip where I hit all my favorites an still have room for one more place I would go - I do love their chili fries and boneless wings!

Chili Cheese Fries


Kids Burger and Fries


Buffalo Boneless Wings
​

 

[tzeitel]

Depending on the day there were 2 or 3 food trucks between the DLH and DtD, I should have overruled DD and DH and tried them - maybe next year . Here is what the truck area looked like -

​

We upgraded my 5 day PH tix to an AP since we are still planning on going back fro my birthday in May. As I mentioned before I got our tixs from lmtclub at a $55 savings over the DLR price, I was a bit worried about how much it would be to upgrade but they did bridge the price from the DLR price (not the discounted price). We ended up paying $264 to upgrade.

​

We had to wait like 10 minutes in line to get the pass but we had thought of this as our "bonus" day since it was a weekend and we knew it would be busy in the parks. Basically we would just take our time and not run around trying to do anything specific. To get through the DL gate was no big deal, by now there was not much of a line. We went to City Hall and got DD's DAS pass and they gave us a return time for POTC which had a 50 minute wait. I steered us towards something I had never done at DLR (but have done at WDW) - The Tiki Room No wait but the room was pretty full. we did not get a Dole Whip this time since I was still stuffed from lunch. On our way to POTC we grabbed a FP for Indy. We got 8:15-9:15pm at 1pm so not too bad for getting a FP at such a late hour.

​

We ended up going on quite a few rides by using FPs and DD's DAS -

Tiki Room
POTC (50 min)
Mr Toad (20 min)
Pooh (5 min)
Carousel (5 min)
Small World (45 min) - went down for overlay on Monday so had to do it
Buzz - got a FP
Star Tours (80 min)
Nemo Subs (30 min)
Indy - FP

I wanted to try restaurants we had not done before so for dinner I booked Carnation Cafe. We had a 6pm ADR and got there like 15 minutes early, they told us we had to wait. We decided to go get DH a new hat - he lost his 2013 Food and Wine hat on POTC, yep on our first ride. Lost and Found told us that if they do not find it floating at the end of the night that it will probably be found when they drain the ride - which is done once a year. It was ok, DH got a Twenty Eight and Main Nautilus hat. I picked it out, it is Disney but does not scream Disney.

At 6pm we went back to the podium and then were given a pager. We waited another 10 minutes and got buzzed. I was pretty disappointed in Carnation Cafe. maybe my hopes were too high, or the time of day had something to do with it. The restaurant was dark and did not look particularly clean. The food was fine, nothing to go back for, and the service was horrible. We saw our server twice - when he got our order and when he brought the check. A runner brought our food, we had to flag other servers down to get drink refills. I was not fast enough to get DD and DH's food (they both had the chicken fried chicken) but they both liked it although DH said the chicken portion was tiny. I had the sourdough bacon cheese melt (that is the one photo I did get ).


​

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Nice TR so far! How old is your DD (not sure if you mentioned it or if I missed it)? Woot woot on the party!! Whatcha think of this month on myVMK? And hilarious TR name

 

[tzeitel]

Nice TR so far! How old is your DD (not sure if you mentioned it or if I missed it)? Woot woot on the party!! Whatcha think of this month on myVMK? And hilarious TR name

Hi! My DD is 14 (yep I am old lol). last month on MVK was a disappointment - was hoping for the whole NBC pin set. But this month seems to be going much better!

 

[tzeitel]

Ok, so I did not forget about this TR I was just too busy at work. Now I come back to finish (or at least get a little further in) and I cannot find my travel notebook! Pretty weird since I always know where it is and I actually was using it last week (planning for may) plus it is bright pink - not easy to miss!

Anyway....after dinner we went on Indy. While there I spotted someone with a poisoned apple mug! So of course I had to ask where they found it. She said Gibson Girl had them. After Indy we went to GG and got the chocolate chip hot fudge sundae with the poisoned apple mug. there were 3 types of sundaes you could get, you could not buy just the mug. It came to $17.27 and there was no AP discount.

​

After that we walked back to the hotel. It was dark by then (almost 9pm) but there were lots of people (tourists and CMs) walking in the area.
Sorry I do not have specific times etc (it is all in my notebook) but will try to add them later. I am working with receipts and the order of photos on my phone

On Sunday we got up and went to the breakfast area at the hotel, DD got a banana, DH tried coffee again (nope), and I refilled our water bottle. We made it to DCA for opening. we are not usually rope drop people but it is easier when the park opens at 9AM and it is just a short walk from your hotel (unlike WDW and their 8am openings and having to wait for a bus that is not filled to capacity).

This is what it looked when we got there.

​

Hotel guests did have EMH, CMs looked like they were herding cats trying to keep non-hotel guests inside the ropes. I wanted to ask a GS CM a question about DD's DAS but she was right next to the rope and a CM got pretty aggressive trying to keep me from her. I explained I did not want to go around the rope but she did not seem to believe me (can't blame them since I saw several ppl trying to sneak in), I told her that DD and DH would stay far away from the rope while I talked to the GS CM. After I asked my question I slowly backed away with my hands up and made no sudden moves. We waited another 5 minutes and everyone ran for RSR, we got a DAS pass for it and went to Soarin'.

Not many people go the Soarin' way that early I guess so there was a small line that moved the whole time. There were FP available for 20 minutes later. There was a family behind us on their first DL trip, I told them to ask for the top row so you do not see everyone's feet while flying Really liked the new film, although I do think that the CA version was appropriate for the park, while this new version goes better with WDW since it is in Epcot.

We went on Monsters Inc, and then watched the preview of Doctor Strange. They had Benedict Cumberbatch's costume on display.

​

 

[tzeitel]

We left the parks around 11AM for a light lunch at Earl of Sandwich. Love EoS! If you sign up for their emails/rewards program they send you a freebie, plus a brownie on your birthday. They had just switched their rewards program so they gave me a $5 bonus and I had a brownie waiting for me (ok DH but I ate it). DD had the kids pizza, DH had the Italian and I had the Chipotle Chicken Avocado. Mine was awesome! I usually (usually as in the once a year we go there) get the Hawaiian but the Chipotle looked so good and it was! DD and DH liked their I guess, I was too busy with mine to ask So busy in fact that I forgot to take photos until after they both had started on their food - so here is some half eaten food....

​

DD and I had an appointment with a haunted mansion at Ralph Brennan's so we left DH to his own devices (Trader Sam's Tiki Bar) and we walked over to RB. It was already looking a little cloudy and windy even though there was no rain in the forecast. There was a short line that had the look of the event we were looking for - people with boxes and bags full of decorating stuff. We had gone to WM at home and picked up a few things - Halloween themed sprinkles, plus skeletons, ghosts, and bats made of candy. Nothing big but I wanted to take something extra since the info on the ticket said we could bring extra stuff to make our houses unique. We were more middle of the road in this dept. I saw some people with nothing and then I saw some people that went all out. I spoke to a few ladies that said they do this every year and they also do the Christmas gingerbread event RB hosts.

​

The hosts checked our names at the entrance of the restaurant and again at the top of the stairs (where the event was held). There were long tables set up and it was assigned seating. DD and I were taken to the middle of a long table (fit 5 groups of 2 with the space of one person in between parties), we sat across each other. The info said that soft drinks were included, what I did not realize was that they offered lunch at the event. Not sure we would've had lunch there anyway since it would take time away from our house building but i did see several people have lunch.

​

You get a gingerbread house, some Halloween candy and 2 pastry bags of icing (orange and black). The RB chef comes in and gives a little talk about how he started this event a few years ago and he was so glad that it has taken off. He then starts the instructions on how to put your house together - he was very nice and if someone's house fell down or looked like it would not make it, he would fix it for you. Ours had no problems - I give DD all the credit, she loves all things baking and cooking (DH is a chef and very proud of her skills) while I tried to put one of the walls as part of the roof. We did get drinks I got a soda, DD got a chocolate milk...and we ate some of the candy (ok I did DD looked at me like I was crazy taking our "building materials").

​

One of the candy pieces was a marshmallow door, everyone got one but they were all different. ours said - IM A GONE. Also, while looking around I saw something (or someone) odd - Santa! I took a photo - I try to not take photos of strangers but he looked just like Santa and I thought it was so appropriate that Santa was at a Haunted Mansion gingerbread event Anyway, it is a little blurry but I was trying to not be too obvious....

​

The Ralph Brennan's Haunted Mansion Gingerbread Workshop was $51.23 for 2 seats (plus fees from Eventbrite who sells the tickets), you can get a third seat for an extra $10. It includes the gingerbread kit, small treat bag, plus non alcoholic drinks. The workshop is usually the last weekend before Halloween. I bought the tickets on Sept 27th and the Oct 23rd was the only date available by then. the RB website did not have any info, I found what I needed on their FB page.

​

By the time DD and I got out of RB it was sprinkling and windy. I called DH and he was back in our room so we headed that way. I carried the house wishing I had brought a cardboard box like I saw others do. Trying hard to get to the room before the downpour and not to trip...I tripped, but thankfully I caught myself in time and did not drop the house. The previous year they sold out super fast. Not sure if we would do it again, but we really enjoyed it. The house sat on our hotel room table the rest of the trip, DD wanted to take it home but we could not have brought it on the plane. It started to rain really hard by the time we decided to head back so we just went to target for a couple of things we needed and then went to Outback for dinner. I had $75 in gift cards to Outback so that helped the budget

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Awesome! I can't wait to hear about the Party