The Boys are Back! August Trip Report

[zeitzeuge]

Day 1 - Thursday Night

It has been quite a while since we had been to Disneyland. We normally try to go twice a year, but it's been since October of 2010, so we were more than ready for our Disneyland fix.

We arrived at our hotel around 6pm. I forgot how much LA traffic sucks. We had Club 33 dinner reservations and for a while there, I was panicking that we were going to be cutting it close. We stayed at Castle Inn. We don't spend a lot on hotels since we use it for a place to sleep and shower, that's all. I have to say that I wasn't impressed with Castle Inn at all and probably won't be staying there again. It's decently located, but the beds were rough and they never cleaned our room every day. I'd rather spend the extra cash on Fairfield Inn or something like that.

Once we got situated and ready, we headed to Disneyland a little early to pick up our free parkhopper for the evening. We decided since we had 3 full days after this in the parks, that we were going to take it easy. We strolled around Disneyland, taking in the sights and sounds, before heading to Club 33 at 8pm for dinner. We have been to the Club a few other times the last couple years, but it has always been with friends, so it was really nice to be able to experience dining there by ourselves. Our waiter was so nice and attentive and found himself chatting with us frequently. I love how they remember you every time they see you. Makes a person feel special. Our dinner was amazing as always. They recently changed the menu. I had Salmon and my partner had Chateaubriand. Of course, we finished the evening with Bailey's and coffee and dessert. He had Creme Brulee and I had lemon cheesecake with banana's foster sauce.

We didn't take tons of pics like we did our previous visits. I figured we had so enough and didn't want to spend time taking pictures and wanted to concentrate on just enjoying ourselves instead.

I tend to go crazy when I take pictures.


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Day 2 - Friday

We were up early as usual to hit the parks. Slightly hungover I might add.

It was a beautiful day in Southern California. Hell, anything compared to the 110 degree temperatures we have been dealing with in Dallas, is heaven to us. We spent most of the morning wandering around, buying our first set of mickey ears, which is our tradition and starting our pin lanyards. We collect a pin lanyard every trip as a way to sort of commemorate each trip.

We had breakfast at Carnation Cafe and stuffed ourselves on Mickey waffles. The hubby doesn't look happy. He hasn't had his coffee yet.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

These are were the stupidest looking ears we had ever seen. Mater ears, complete with teeth and wearing a Goofy hat. What's not to love?

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


We always start off our day with Storybook Land and Casey Jr. It's a tradition that we don't ever miss:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We checked out the new Star Tours. We both loved the revamped attraction. Although it made both of us slightly queasy every single time we rode it, which was a total of 4 times. We wanted to see as many of the scenes as possible, but as luck would have it, 3 of the 4 times, our ride destinations were the same. How does that happen? We loved listening to all the inside jokes, seeing hidden mickeys and stuff throughout the queue.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


We strolled through our favorite area, NOS. We could spend hours there.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

 

[zeitzeuge]

We headed over to ride the Haunted Mansion and Winnie the Pooh.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

By this time we were starving, so we headed back to Cafe Orleans for Gumbo, Pomme Frittes and a virgin Mint Julep. Best meal in Disneyland.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Of course, we still can't keep out phones put away for very long.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We spent the rest of the afternoon over at DCA, riding our favorites and checking out Goofy's Sky School (nice retheme) and Little Mermaid. We thought it was really well done for a dark ride. Not an E ticket by any means, but a good solid D ticket. Loved the theme of the queue and building. Also checked out the Paradise Pier Garden (?) or whatever it's called now. Such an improvement over what was there before.


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We headed back to Disneyland to check out Soundsational, which we both really loved. Such an improvement over that Celebrate Street Party thing. I think we got to see the parade a total of 3 times, so we got our fill.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

After heading back to the hotel for a much needed nap, we went back to check out ElecTRONica and World of Color. Had a blast at ElecTRONica, which we didn't expect and even enjoyed playing games at Flynn's, despite the fact that we realized we sucked at all video games. World of Color of course was amazing as usual. We got front row in the blue section, right up against the railing. We were drenched by the end of the show. Not just a little......completely soaked.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Couldn't get ONE decent shot of Laserman show:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Did I mention the drinks were strong?

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

As if our drinking wasn't finished, we decided to end our night by heading down to Trader Sam's. The place was packed, but as luck would have it, when we walked up, two spots opened up at the bar. Great high energy atmosphere, funny bartenders, drinks that cause effects in the bars, and we even got some souvenir glasses to take home.

Two of the middle glasses, we got to take with us:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr



Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Day 2 and 3 coming up!

 

[zeitzeuge]

Day 2 - Saturday

We took a stroll up and down mainstreet, doing a lot of shopping and having some coffee. This was Magic Morning Hours (or whatever you call it) and rather than hitting all the attractions, we use this time to relax and enjoy Mainstreet with very little people there.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Did I tell you all we got new ears? Some, limited edition ones we found at World of Disney store. I can't even begin to tell you how many people stopped us and asked about the Muppet Animal ears. It was constantly all day long. I'm not even going to say how much these things cost. Oh well. It's a vacation and it's a time to splurge, right? Yeah, tell my credit cards that.....


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


The attractions still didn't have much of a wait, so we headed to Finding Nemo, Space Mountain and rode Star Tours again.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


I miss the Ol' Girl. But can't wait until she's all refurbed so my kidneys can enjoy a ride and not feel like they're being beaten to a pulp:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Then dragged my partner kicking and screaming to IASW. He says it's good for cooling off and a nap. He humors me.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Then we headed over to Toon Town. Not sure why, but we never go here much. We ride Roger Rabbit if there's not a 2 hour line and walk around for about 30 minutes, then we're done.

See? Only 5 minute wait!

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Have I mentioned we can't pass up a shopping opportunity?

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Loved how the area was completely dead with the exception of a handful of people:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We went through another favorite attraction, the Castle Walk through and then rode Snow White, Pinocchio and Peter Pan, all within about an hour.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We wanted to go to the Tangled Meet and Greet, but it was closed:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

How about another ride on Casey Jr and Storybook?

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

 

[zeitzeuge]

Headed back to Frontierland, Adventureland and NOS riding Jungle Cruise, Thunder Mountain, POC and HM, then decided to hop on the train. We tried for 3 days to get on the Lilly Belle, but every time, we got conflicting information. No matter what we were told to do, we were told that wasn't right and to go to someone else. We'll try again another trip.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


It was great to see all the horse drawn trollies and vehicles out on mainstreet all weekend:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


As dusk was settling, we headed back to Fantasyland and rode all of the darkrides again.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


The line for Peter Pan sucked. As you can tell........

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

As you can see, we wandered all over the park which is typical of us. Riding any attraction that didn't have too bad of a wait, snapping pics along the way.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We decided to hit Fantasmic! this night and somehow again, was able to walk up to a crowded area and got in the front row. People waved us down and so we joined them. Think it's the first time we've seen the show this close. Typically, we hang out on the bridge over POC and watch from there. Didn't take many pics at all due to the railing being in our view the entire time. We then sat and watched Magical from NOS, which was a first. Not as good as watching it from the HUB, but we still enjoyed it. We made sure we saw it from the HUB our 3rd night.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We LOVE NOS at night....

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

 

[zeitzeuge]

Day 3 - Sunday

This morning, we were starving for breakfast and didn't know where to eat since we already did Carnation Cafe' the day before. So, we wandered by the Plaza Pavillion and saw they were serving breakfast buffet. We didn't realize it was a character breakfast. We figured, what the hell, why not? Turns out after you pay for two people plus purchasing the pictures they kind of shove in your face, thats one expensive breakfast. But we had a great time getting pics with some of our favorite characters and some you rarely see.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


More wandering around Mainstreet:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Back to DCA for a while, to ride our favorites one more time: Screamin', TOT, Little Mermaid.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Luckily, got on Midway Mania right after opening. Notice the 3rd set of ears. These light up and I'm sure irritated everyone around us that night:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

I got a salute!

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Ate lunch at the Italian restaurant next to the Blue Sky Celler. Sorry, my memory isn't so good with names.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


This land is going to be amazing:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

 

[zeitzeuge]

Back at Disneyland to hop on the monorail to go to DTD to shop. Just a favorite random pic:

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

Once shopping was done, we went back to DL and spent our last day riding all we could and soaking up all the Disneyness we could. We don't like to waste a single moment.

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

One last trip on Casey...

Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


We always end our last night and last ride on Storybook. A special thing happened that just made our night. There's a CM whom we love who works there. Older woman, who I think has worked there for years. She's funny, engaging, knowledgeable and you can tell just LOVES her job and meeting people. We see her every time we ride Storybook and we ride it at least 3 times a day, so she's bound to remember us.

It was late and she walked up to us in line to chat. She told us how much she loved how we wore our ears, our Disney shirts and all of our pins. She loves to see people keep the Disney spirit alive. Made us feel good. Once we got on the boat, she told us to find her afterwards.

She came back a cast member pin. Then she asked for hugs and we took pictures. I can't begin to tell you all how this made our night and ended it on such a perfect note. So after our parting hugs and goodbyes, we rode everything in fantasyland one last time before heading to The Tiki Room to squeeze in ONE last attraction at exactly 11:55pm.

What a perfect trip.


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

We love her and will never forget how she made our trip perfect. Can't wait to get back and see her again. She's a CM that's one in a million.


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr


Disneyland August 2011 by DallasDisneyDork, on Flickr

The End......

 

[JH87]

I always enjoy your TRs. I love that part about the CM. She seems so sweet! I love when you encounter someone like that.

It's so weird when I read that people get soaked in the 'wet zone' for WOC. I saw it in January and stood in the wet zone and didn't even feel a mist.

I am also glad to read that you enjoyed the Little Mermaid ride. I have been reading lots of negative reviews on it, but I LOVED it.

So jealous of your Club 33 visit!

 

[zeitzeuge]

I always enjoy your TRs. I love that part about the CM. She seems so sweet! I love when you encounter someone like that.

It's so weird when I read that people get soaked in the 'wet zone' for WOC. I saw it in January and stood in the wet zone and didn't even feel a mist.

I am also glad to read that you enjoyed the Little Mermaid ride. I have been reading lots of negative reviews on it, but I LOVED it.

So jealous of your Club 33 visit!

The CM was so wonderful and she made it special for us every time we saw her this trip and previous. She never forgets. We need more CM's like that.

We were shocked by how wet we got too at WOC. The wind must had been blowing just right. LOL

I really did love the LM. It's not an E ticket, but I thought it was just wonderful. We rode it 3 times.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Wonderful pictures!!! I loved all the different ears you got....don't think I've seen any of them before!!

I'm always in awe of the Club 33 pictures. So much history & elegance. I've been in the lobby (with the tour) & could hardly contain my emotions.

The crowds didn't look bad at all for the summer......I kept reading others reports on how bad the crowds were. We went last summer the end of July & first part of August & thought it was a great time to go. We didn't find the crowds bad at all. This summer with the Star Tours reopening & the Little Mermaid opening, I guess that has added to bigger crowds this summer. I hate to think what next summer will look like with CarsLand opening!!

Thanx for sharing your pictures & report of what looked to be a very memorable trip!!

 

[zeitzeuge]

Wonderful pictures!!! I loved all the different ears you got....don't think I've seen any of them before!!

I'm always in awe of the Club 33 pictures. So much history & elegance. I've been in the lobby (with the tour) & could hardly contain my emotions.

The crowds didn't look bad at all for the summer......I kept reading others reports on how bad the crowds were. We went last summer the end of July & first part of August & thought it was a great time to go. We didn't find the crowds bad at all. This summer with the Star Tours reopening & the Little Mermaid opening, I guess that has added to bigger crowds this summer. I hate to think what next summer will look like with CarsLand opening!!

Thanx for sharing your pictures & report of what looked to be a very memorable trip!!

Thank you so much! The crowds were borderline unbearable on Saturday. Friday wasn't bad, but it was still extremely busy. Saturday was just irritating. LOL Sunday we enjoyed so much more as the crowds were more manageable.

 

[Hawleys]

Amazing pictures! Looks like you had a great trip.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Amazing pictures! Looks like you had a great trip.

Thank you! We had an amazing time!

 

[LizfromOz]

Great review and pictures. I wanna come to Disneyland with you guys!!

Oh well, only 12 more months till our next trip

 

[ArdyG]

Enjoyed your trip report - short, sharp and to the point with lots of pictures. I also love how in your photos you and your partner look so happy (well, in most of them) to be at Disneyland. Cheers.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Great review and pictures. I wanna come to Disneyland with you guys!!

Oh well, only 12 more months till our next trip

Thanks so much! Come on along, the more the merrier.
Hopefully your 12 months will go by quickly. I know ours did when we started planning. Before you know it, it snuck up on us.

Enjoyed your trip report - short, sharp and to the point with lots of pictures. I also love how in your photos you and your partner look so happy (well, in most of them) to be at Disneyland. Cheers.

Thanks! I like to show more pics with just a little text, making it easier to look through. And yeah, from time to time, I like to post a few showing us how irritated we get standing in line or just so tired we're about to drop. lol

 

[dsny1mom]

Great TR! Thanks for taking the time to share.

The CM that sprinkled that pixie dust on you is refered to as Grandma Pat. A truely amazing person. She "gets the magic" and spends every moment at DL that she can trying to train new CMs how to get the magic too. If DL could just clone her. LOL

dsny1mom

 

[skiingfast]

Really admire the new lanyard to fill with pins each trip. Great idea. Glad you guys took it slow just enjoying being there.

Will you be doing Halloween at Disney again?

 

[zeitzeuge]

Great TR! Thanks for taking the time to share.

The CM that sprinkled that pixie dust on you is refered to as Grandma Pat. A truely amazing person. She "gets the magic" and spends every moment at DL that she can trying to train new CMs how to get the magic too. If DL could just clone her. LOL

dsny1mom

Thanks for letting me know that about Grandma Pat. You're right, if Disney could clone her and all CM's were like her.....she's absolutely amazing.

Really admire the new lanyard to fill with pins each trip. Great idea. Glad you guys took it slow just enjoying being there.

Will you be doing Halloween at Disney again?

THanks! It's our way of remembering each trip. We don't spend tons of money on many other things, maybe a tshirt, coffee mug and thats it. Our main expenditure is the pins. Now, we're running out room to display them. lol

 

[ssuriano]

Great TR and awesome photos!

 

[zeitzeuge]

Great TR and awesome photos!

Thank you so much!