The Trip With A Surprising Amount Of Fake Doors, A Disneyland Adventure Jan 2020 **Completed 10/9**

[DisneyyDaydream]

Omg



I don't think I would've recognized him at all actually now that you say that.

I'm usually really bad at recognizing celebrities so I don't know how I did it! But it was like a light bulb went off in my head and I was just like "Yeah. That's him." like it was someone from my high school or something lol

Following! I'm dying to go to DL and hoping my DD and I will make it next summer! And now I want to eat at both Goofy's and The Plaza Inn , thanks to your trip report.

How sad that HM was down for refurbishment

Can't wait to read more, and hear what was so funny!

HM is one of my absolute favorites so I was totally bummed it was down! But I knew it was going to be so I had already gotten over my heartbreak by the time we got there.
I hope you're able to go! It's such a different, yet similar, experience. It's hard to explain but it's an absolute must do!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 2, Part 2
January 26, 2020
"Those Are The Calves Of A Dancer!"

Sorry for my lack of updates! It’s been almost 2 months since I updated. Yikes! I went back to work right after my last post and things just got super busy. It feels like I just got back to work, not like I’ve been back for 7/8 weeks! I turned 29 on May 2nd and it was weird having a birthday during quarantine. It didn’t feel like my birthday at all. I was able to celebrate with my parents and we ordered food from a local pub that I love after I worked most of the day and my dad bought me a carrot cake. Funny enough, the day that I’m typing this up (June 14th, it might actually end up being a different day when I finally post lol) is Mel’s 29th birthday. Happy birthday to us both!

Back to the report!

When I last left off, I alluded to a certain situation that happened between Mel and her good friend Mother Nature. As we were walking from New Orleans Square towards Critter Country, a little something caught my eye. Piqued my interest, if you will. “Oh, hey Mel you got a little mustard on the sleeve of your shirt.”

“That’s not mustard.”

…Excuse me?

“That’s bird poop.”

And that’s when I lost my mind. I started laughing so hard, we had to stop for a couple of minutes. When did this happen? How long has this been on her shirt without her saying anything? Why was my first instinct that this yellow-hued substance on the top of her sleeve was mustard when neither of us hadn’t eaten anything even related to mustard? I had so many questions.

She told me that when we were waiting outside for the Tiki Room doors to open, a passing bird decided to take a quick bathroom break. Right on her shoulder. Once the initial shock wore off, she decided not to tell me just yet so that I wouldn’t laugh my head off throughout the Tiki Room. Which is fair. Because I would have.

After I recovered my composure, we continued on to Critter Country to take a quick visit to some of our favorite cuddly friends on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The ride was posted at a 15 minute wait, but after only 10 we were boarding our beehive.





Any time a ride has a possibility of having a different color, or character, or name for a ride vehicle, Mel and I like to guess which we think we will get. Winnie the Pooh’s bee hives all have names on the back. I read a couple of them outloud to Mel as they passed, so she knew what some of the options were. “This one is Flu-Dee. That’s a weird one.”

“...Flu-Dee? That literally says Floody.” Mel said as she looked at me with absolute confusion.

Oh my bad, I’m on vacation. Reading and comprehension skills aren’t required!

The ride was cute and fun and the story line made a bit more sense than the WDW version, except there was no bouncing with Tigger. So, it’s a toss up. But I’ll give the point to WDW, solely for the bouncing.

By the time we were off the ride it was about 1:30 and we were growing hungry. I knew that one of the quick service restaurants near us offered soup and mac and cheese in a bread bowl so we set our sights, and our rumbly tumblies, on Harbour Galley. The restaurant is a cute little walk up counter with a couple of tables for outside seating sprinkled around the front and down a tiny path.


On the left: Mel's Broccoli and Cheddar soup served in a sourdough bread bowl $11.49
On the right: My Sriracha lobster mac and cheese (Seasoned Lobster with Mac 'n' Cheese in a Fresh-baked Sourdough Bread Bowl) $12.49

I don’t see the sriracha lobster mac and cheese on the menu anymore (well, the one that was updated in Feb 2020), so I’m not sure if you’ll still be able to get it when the parks reopen but it does seem like a regular non-sriracha version was available at one point.

We both really enjoyed our lunch and I thought the sriracha added a nice level of heat to the creamy mac and cheese without being too overpowering.

It started to get a little chilly, so I threw on my jacket and we powered on back towards Sleeping Beauty Castle. We took a couple of minutes to walk through and look around before we headed towards our Small World Max Pass.






The wait time was posted at 25 minutes, but we waited only 9 and soon we were setting sail on the Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed.



We both agreed that the addition of the Disney characters throughout the ride was a cute touch and made the otherwise drawn out ride a bit more interesting. WDW should take note. Throw Alice in England, throw Mulan in China, Cinderella in France! DLR has the clear advantage.

While we walked around Fantasyland we came across Peter Pan and Wendy hiding from Hook. A little boy named Alex, who didn’t speak much English, walked up to Peter and Wendy when they were pretending to hide in a “locked house,” and unsure of what they were doing, crouched down next to them and hid with them. It was super cute and I lost it when Hook walked up to Alex, pretended to knock on his “locked door”, and Peter shouted “Alex! Don’t let him in!” A solid 10/10 character interaction.


Look at Alex, not letting Hook in. A hero.

We hopped on line for Pinocchio’s Daring Journey next, waited a solid minute of the posted 10, and were transformed from some wooden puppets to a couple of real boys. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ride, because just like the movie, it’s a bit depressing and spooky. The bad kind of spooky. The donkey scene always rubs me the wrong way.



We scurried across to Mr Toad’s Wild Ride next, which neither of us had been on when it was in WDW. The wait time was posted at 30, which wasn’t that bad of a wait, especially when we saw another celebrity.



***Continued in next post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 2, Part 2.5
January 26, 2020
"Those Are The Calves Of A Dancer!"

This time it was Caroline Rhea! Aunt Hilda from Sabrina the Teenage Witch herself! Mel and I both had mini freak outs since we both are big fans of the 90’s TGIF sitcom. She looked just like how she looks on tv in person! So exciting!

But 15 minutes later, we boarded our motorcar and were cruising right towards hellllllooooo. It was a really fun ride and made me a little sad that it’s gone from Florida. In all honesty, I don’t think I would wait the full 30 minutes that the ride was posted at but for 15 minutes, I was happy.

Next, I decided to get cherry cotton candy that I had seen on DFB and a water for us to share while we jumped in the line for Alice in Wonderland, which also had a 30 minute wait. Now I’m not sure where I went wrong with this cotton candy. I could’ve sworn that DFB said the cotton candy was SOUR cherry. Sour. S-O-U-R. And that spoke to the sour lover in my soul. And I also could’ve sworn the cast member working the cotton candy cart said that this elusive delicious cotton candy was the last one. I was pleased. Yes, give me. Give me.



I was wrong. Dead wrong. Wrong in every aspect of the word. This wasn’t sour cherry. This was barely even cherry. It was like a bunch of chemicals once thought of a cherry and they bottled that idea. I quickly pulled up DFB on my phone and scanned the post about the cotton candy. No where did it say sour. I had scammed myself.

And the icing on the chemical cherry dusted dryer lint cake was that we proceeded to see the cherry cotton candy everywhere. At every cart. Even the ones that probably didn’t sell cotton candy, they all were shilling this stuff. Ugh, the disappointment.

We could only stomach about half before we put it in my backpack and left it there for the rest of the day.

The ride was very cute, and I was very surprised for some reason that it takes you out on top of Mr Toad’s.



After our whirlwind trip down the rabbit hole, we headed to the Storybook Land Canal Boats. We jumped in line at 4:16, ready to wait the 25 minute posted time, but only had to wait about 19 before we boarded what was supposed to be our gentle voyage to take a peek at some of the mini replicas of cartoon sets. Did that happen? I wouldn’t be able to tell you.


***Insert fun facts about this ride that I would be able to tell you if I had to been able to hear what was going on. I'm not salty, no not at all lol***

The entire ride the man sitting next to me talked loudly to his daughter about every single thing. The bridge? He loudly said hello to it. The buildings? Oh they are so pretty, they are so fascinating! He proceeded to quack at each and every duck. I couldn’t hear a single thing the cast member was saying because I had Mr Sideshow chatting away in my ear.

The ride couldn’t end fast enough- and according to Mel, even if I had been able to hear what was happening it really wasn’t worth it anyway. It was pretty boring. Pretty, but boring.

We headed into Mickey’s Toontown next where we had a 5:05 Max Pass for Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. The first time I had ever gone to Disney World, Mickey’s Toontown Fair still existed but for some reason I never stepped foot in it, so this was an entirely new experience for me.

Trying to kill some time before our Max Pass, we explored Toontown and all of the little interactive touches the land has. If you go, touch everything! Try to open all the doors, turn all the knobs, pick up all the phones. The details are awesome. Mel ended up getting arrested for prank calling Jessica Rabbit, but luckily, I was able to bail her out. The jailbird and myself headed into Mickey and Minnie’s houses after.


Once a prank caller, always a prank caller.

They were both super cute and incredibly themed but felt icky and sticky- you know, the feeling you get at Chuck E Cheese’s where you know at least 8 kids have stuck their boogers on everything within the past half hour. There was a 10 minute wait to meet Mickey out in his movie barn but the line wasn’t really moving and we decided to just move on to our Max Pass instead.





Mickey get's up at 5am every day. He must be exhausted!

Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, ohh Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. I had heard this ride is super fun so I was excited to ride it, especially since our Max Pass let us wait only 10 minutes of the posted 45. Since you’re able to spin the cars (not as much as the Tea Cups), we decided to each get our own ride vehicles. And that’s all I can tell you.

I spun my vehicle one singular time and somehow got stuck backwards. No matter how many times I tried to spin myself to face forwards, I wound up backwards. So just like the Canal Boats, I have no idea what happened during the ride. I was facing the wrong way!


Notice those blurry pictures? That's all I could see the entire time! Now it's like you got to experience that with me. You're welcome!

Mel seemed to be enjoying it thought- since all I got to see was her reactions to everything.

After Roger Rabbit, Mel parked herself on a bench to rest for a few minutes while I went off to explore the rest of the character houses and Donald’s Boat. Chip ‘n Dale Treehouse was super cramped! I felt like I was crawling through!


The chipmunks use acorns in all of their decoratingggggg...

We headed out of Toontown after and set our sights on a classic Disneyland snack!

***Next up: What is the classic Disneyland snack? Will I ever get to ride a ride without an issue? Will I stop laughing about Mel's bird poop incident? Stay tuned. Dun Dun Duuuuuun*** ​

 

[dorospin]

Hey hi hello. Even though the craziness is still going on, I go back to work tomorrow. We've been open throughout everything, and I took a couple of weeks off but tomorrow. I return. But don't worry, I've got my masks ready, my hand sanitizer packed, and I'll be keeping at least 6 feet away from everyone!

But let's think back to happier times!

Day 2
January 26, 2020
"Those Are The Calves Of A Dancer!"

Today was the day, our 1st day in the parks!

I woke up at 5:30 after tossing and turning a lot throughout the night. For some reason it always felt a bit too warm in the AirBnB no matter how low we set the thermostat. But I still managed to get about 8 hours of sleep- which is really impressive for me in general.

We took our time getting ready and were ready to hit the road by 7:15, which obviously meant that it wasn’t until 7:30 when we tried to get a Lyft.

View attachment 490931
This was from a later in the day, but the weather was cool enough throughout the day for boots and long sleeves. Some of the best park touring weather, I would say!

Things went super smoothly, except not at all. For some reason the app wasn’t working on Mel’s phone even after she refreshed the app a few times. Finally I was able to get us an uber on my phone and after an 8 minute wait, Nancy finally whisked us away towards the promised land.

Still new to DLR, we had Nancy drop us off at the DTD dropoff at 7:49 and we breezed through the non existent line for security.

We sprinted through DTD passing by families who hid their children’s faces in terror. Wait, no, no. We walked our usual “only slightly faster than a snail” pace, not too sure why the families still hid their children’s faces.

We got in line to enter the park at 8:04, 4 minutes after official park opening and the line was super long, backed up to about half way across the esplanade.

View attachment 490937

The line moved a lot faster than I expected, and by 8:10 we were scanning our tickets.

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Our breakfast reservation wasn’t until 9:10, and I was really adamant about not exploring too, too much until after breakfast. I didn’t want to get too far exploring, only to have to turn around and come back to eat. I wanted to go, go, go!

We stuck around to Main Street and the hub (is it called the hub in DLR or is that just a WDW thing?) and took in all the sights, sounds, and Disney smells.

View attachment 490928

Mel is a huge photopass fan, so she made sure we hopped in line for the photographer in front of the partner statue. She is such a fan, that this became our one and only photopass of the trip. Big fan, little commitment. I took a couple of pictures of the small Disney character statues that circled the Partner statue to entertain myself as we waited.

View attachment 490925

View attachment 490927
I have no idea what actually happened to our photopass picture, oops!

After we put on our fakest smiles we decided to see if we could check in for breakfast. We were going to the Plaza Inn! The Plaza Inn in Disneyland is much different than the one in Florida. Yes, both are located on Main Street. Both are towards the end on the right hand side (if memory serves correct, which it doesn’t always so sorry if that’s wrong). But Cali Plaza Inn is a character “All-You-Care-To-Enjoy” breakfast and quick service the rest of the time; Florida Plaza Inn is table service 24/7.

Mel was super excited about our breakfast plans- it’s a character breakfast that features a lot more rare to find characters. Initially, I had been unable to find us reservations and Mel hid her broken heart. But a couple of days before our vacation, I was on lunch at work and decided to just look. Just give a peak. To see if anything, anything at all popped up. And low and behold it did. Mel was over the moon!

The line to check in was a bit long but it moved quickly and at 8:40, we were able to check in for breakfast. By 8:49, we were on line for pictures with Minnie. The photopass photographer for Minnie offered to take a few pictures with my phone and we obliged. I have an iPhone 11 pro and I’m not really sure what happened to the photographer but all he managed to take was pictures of his own hand. Don’t get me wrong, he has wonderful looking fingers but uh. What?

We were seated at a 4 top table outside and although it was kind of chilly outside, we were seated under a heat lamp which was nice and toasty. Much better table placement than Goofy’s.

View attachment 490922

The food was NOT serve your own, which I thought was weird. It felt like a cafeteria instead of a pricey Disney buffet. The server at the station I got most of my food from seemed really uninterested and almost like I was bothering her asking for a couple strips of bacon and a spoonful of eggs. She was nicer to Mel (who had somehow wound up a couple of people behind me online) so maybe she just didn’t warm up to my wonderful personality. Which is fair.

View attachment 490921
Left: My plate
Right: Mel's plate (she ended up asking for extra bacon for me, since I was bummed I wasn't drowning in bacon)

While the breakfast foods weren’t serve yourself, the drinks were so we made them regret such a decision and helped ourselves to coffee, orange juice, and a coke. The food was pretty good, we both had pretty similar plates and more or less the same opinion. We both thought the bacon, sausage, and potatoes were pretty good and the waffles tasted fresher than normal. The eggs on the other hand were a completely different story. I usually don’t hate Disney eggs- even at a buffet. But these eggs, oh these eggs. You could instantly tell they came from some sort of powder and had a grainy feel to them. 10/10 do not recommend.

The first character that came to our table was the Fairy Godmother. She was super lovely and super sweet. When she found out it was our first visit, she excused herself from the table and came back a few moments later with 1st Visit Buttons. That Disney magic in action!

View attachment 490923

After the Fairy Godmother, out waltzed Hook and Mel fell head over heels in love. She is now part of his crew cleaning the poop deck and pointed out his strong calves.

We waited around a bit but characters seemed to be going to every table but ours. We managed to get a quick meet in with Chip and Alice before we decided to cut our losses and move on. All in all there were 9 characters (not counting Minnie) that you could meet, and although they don’t guarantee a meeting with each character, getting to interact with only 4 was a bit disappointing.

View attachment 490930
Not pictured: Hook's dancer calves

***Continued in next post***​

Love the character pictures!! I haven't gotten one with Hook yet!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Love the character pictures!! I haven't gotten one with Hook yet!

He was a lot of fun to meet! This was the first time we've met him or see him out and about!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Oh hey, look! It's me. Back with an update.

Day 2, Part 3
January 26, 2020
"Those Are The Calves Of A Dancer!"

After our visit to Fab Five’s neighborhood, we decided a snack was in order. One of the classic Disneyland snacks that I knew without a doubt that we needed to try was churros. Crispy, sugar-coated, fried goodness? How could we resist?! So we headed to the churro cart near Small World, ordered 2 churros and a coke, and handed the cast member the $14, 21 diamonds, and 3 goats that they cost. $14 for 2 churros and a coke! Crazy!

There were a couple of tables and chairs sprinkled nearby so we sat and dove right in- with a couple of avian onlookers. But oh man, those churros were so good. Light, airy, and a nice crispy outside/gooey inside situation. I’m not usually one of those people that goes crazy over the classic Disney snacks. Mickey ice cream bars? Ah, I can do without. Mickey pretzels? If I don’t have one, I can go on living life. But these churros? These churros were clearly sent straight from heaven. The fuss about these edible fried lightsabers is well deserved.



We didn’t stay with our new bird friends for too long and headed off towards Star Wars Land. Confession time! Mel and I have both never seen a single Star Wars movie. Now before you bring out your pitchforks, let me explain something. You may notice in our California Adventure day (whenever I get around to posting it, which at this rate will be in 3 years), I am wearing Darth Vader Minnie ears and I mentioned earlier about losing a Darth Vader keychain in the LaGuardia airport. You see, I have never seen a Star Wars movie- but I am a big fan of the Darth Vader character that does (did?) meet and greets in WDW. I don’t know what it is about him but I think he’s so great. So yes, now you may bring out your pitchforks. I just thought I would make that confession first.

Anyway, before I rudely interrupted myself, we headed off towards Galaxy’s Edge to take a peak around. We popped our heads into a couple of stores but the true awe and wonder were lost on us. We had no clue what anything was and it was a bit too dark to see a lot of the detail since we went after sunset. From what we could tell, it felt really reminiscent of the Morocco pavilion in Epcot- just on a larger budget and scale. We vowed to come back on Wednesday and take a better look around during the day (spoiler alert: we did not).



Now thinking back on it, I wish I had done some research on Galaxy’s Edge because those ronto roaster wraps look fantastic! We actually did have reservations for Oga’s Cantina but I ended up cancelling it when our flight was originally cancelled and things got pushed around.

After our adventure exploring the Edge of the Galaxy, we decided another voyage on the Caribbean was in order and headed back to Pirates, which was posted at a 15 minute wait. 6 minutes later, we were plopping down in the back row and setting sail.

Since we still had about 45 minutes until our dinner reservation, we decided to take the train from New Orleans Square around the park. It was waiting for us when we got to the station so it was clearly fate!

The train is a cute idea if you need to pass some time and get off your feet for a few minutes. And it takes you to the Grand Canyon. And back in time! It’s a ride and a time machine all in one. What a bargain!

We got off at the Fantasyland station at 7:56 and walked back to New Orleans Square. If you’re wondering why we didn’t take the train back, it’s because it ended up breaking down at the Fantasyland station so it forced us to get even more steps in.



We ended up checking in for our 8:10 reservation at Blue Bayou about 5 minutes early. I didn’t request a water front table because I was sure it would be an extra long wait and we wanted to make sure we were out in time for Fantasmic. I was certain that we would get a perfectly acceptable table no matter what though. Ah, famous last words!

At 8:24, our names were called and we were led to our table. We were lucky enough to get a water view table- in the sense that if you stood on your tip toes and squinted really hard you could probably see the water of Pirates. Probably. We were all the way at the front of the restaurant, more or less the first table when you entered. I was a little disappointed but all in all, it is what it is, and I was just happy to be in the restaurant at all.



Blue Bayou, must like San Angel, is very, very low light and the menus actually include a little built in light which we thought was super cute. I ordered a Mint Julep and double made sure to tell the waiter, yes I would love to pay even more for a glow cube. Mel stuck with coke. We placed our order for the rest of our food and sat in semi-awe (of what we could see from our seats) and anticipation.

Our waiter was back quickly with rosemary bread and salted butter and our drinks. A coke for Mel and a glow cube-less Mint Julep for me. Dang. I guess he could sense my disappointment and awkwardly asked me, “You ordered a glow cube with that, didn’t you?”

My drink stared back at him, dark and glow-less.

Before I could say anything, he scampered away and reappeared in seconds with a glow cube in a separate cup that I plopped into my drink like the child I am.

The world back in order, we helped ourselves to the bread- both were delicious. You could truly taste the rosemary in the bread and the salted butter added a bit of depth.


Look at that Glow Cube- look at her glow!

Our meals came out shortly after:


On the left, my Surf and Turf: (Split lobster tail, petite filet mignon, au gratin potatoes, chef's choice vegetables, and cabernet sauce) $52
On the right, Mel’s Roasted Chicken Maison (Au gratin potatoes, chef's choice vegetables, and roasted shallot demi) $35

I thought the lobster tail was buttery and delicate, while the filet melted in your mouth. The potatoes on the other hand? A solid Nope/10. The au gratin had formed almost a thick gel on top like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for far too long and had started to congeal. No thanks. Mel agreed that the potatoes needed some serious work. She thought the chicken was good but the best part of her meal were the carrots and green beans.

We finished up our meal and paid the bill, thanking our lucky Disney stars we were out in time for the 9:30pm fireworks.

***Continued in next post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 2, Part 3.5
January 26, 2020
"Those Are The Calves Of A Dancer!"

Mickey’s Mix Magic. Oh Mickey’s Mix Magic. It was almost like Disney couldn’t decide between a fireworks show, a projection show, or a light show and said “Ya know what, let’s give them all. Just throw it at them. Don’t be shy about it.”

There was a lot happening, but it was still cute. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, but I’m happy that I did.



After the fireworks, a lot of guests cleared out so we were able to get seats on one of the small walls in front of the Rivers of America. The 2nd showing of Fantasmic didn’t start until 1030 so we had a little bit of time to relax before the show started.

Now I am not a big fireworks person, I am not a big show person. I like to watch them once on a trip- unless you're Rivers of Light, in which case I am fine with absolutely zero times per trip. However! I love me some Hollywood Studios Fantasmic. Disneyland had big shoes to fill.

I know this is a semi-unpopular opinion, but I thought the Hollywood Studio’s version was better! Maybe I’m biased because the things I like about WDW’s version are the things that people like about DL’s version. DL had more acting and less projections and for some reason, I like that more in WDW! Give me projections or give me death!




If you squint, it's not a blurry pic. Not at all

I was able to get Mel and I a Space Mountain Maxpass for 10:55-11:55 after Fantasmic so we zoomed over to Tomorrowland. We got in line at 11:07, hunkering down to wait the ginormous, unbearable 15 minute wait. We waited about 11- moving the entire way.


Nothing blurry about this one

Space Mountain used to be my favorite right in WDW when I first went when I was 15. Over time, my love has faded and other rides have won over my heart. But oh man! The WDW version of Space has nothing on DL. It was so much smoother and felt so much faster. Mel can’t stand WDW’s Space- in fact, it’s a rare trip if I can get her to agree to go on it with me one time. But she has been converted to the DL version. In fact, it was her favorite ride all trip.

We still had a little bit of time before the park closed so we popped on over to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which was posted at a 5 minute wait. Aka immediate walk on.




Mel’s score on the left (143,300) , Mine on the right (41,300)
Clearly I have talents, and clearly they aren’t Buzz.



By the time we were off the ride, it was 11:44 and we were exhausted. So what did we do? Well we walked all the way across Downtown Disney to the Disneyland hotel to get our lyft. Why? We like to torture ourselves with more walking after a day filled with walking.

But by 12 we were back in our chariot (lyft ) and being escorted back to our castle (Air BNB ). We were “home” by 12:12 and knocked out in bed by 12:40.

***Next up: Day 3! Will we love DCA as much as DLR? Will we ever get a good table at a table-service restaurant? Stay tuned. Dun Dun Duuuuun***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Hi guys!

I know I haven’t updated in a few months, but wow a lot has happened since my last post!

Mel and I both turned 30!

I turned 30 on May 2nd and Mel’s birthday was a couple of days ago, on June 14th.

Every year, no matter how old I get, my mom makes me a homemade cake and decorates it. This year her theme was Coco, cute!

Unfortunately we weren’t able to celebrate her birthday together but she came up to me for the weekend for my birthday. We spent Friday night and Saturday at a local bar that I have been known to frequent with a few of my friends (one of which came up from North Carolina- talk about a long drive for only a couple of days!), eating loads of food, and hanging out at the pool.



It was my first time even hearing of Ace Pineapple Cider and wow, I may or may not have had far too many of these. But they are so good! They went down like juice I tell ya.

Sunday before Mel headed back home, we went down the shore with my parents, my sister, and her fiancé and I drowned myself in oysters, crab legs, and Dippin Dots. It was a perfect birthday weekend!



Top right corner is a Summer Watermelonade: Ciroc watermelon vodka, pink lemonade, and a splash of club soda

What did I treat myself to for my 30th birthday? Well, actually I treated myself to a new tattoo about a month before my birthday.


Robert Frost inspo anyone?

I am also now fully vaccined since my last post and whether or not you plan on getting it, I really feel like I can start enjoying life again. Safely still, but more at mental ease.

And the most exciting update? Mel and I are going back to Disney World! October 2021 baby, we will be back! We are only going for a long weekend, but since we haven’t been to WDW since 2018, I will take any amount of time I can! We are flying in on October 15, spending 3 days in the parks, and flying back to New York on the 19th. We are also staying off property for the first time and currently looking at Air BNBs.

I hope to get this report finished by then- fingers crossed lol.

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3, Part 1
January 27, 2020
"I Was Just Wondering If My Hand's Always Been This Yellow..."

My alarm was set for early the next morning- we’re talking 6:45 early, but I managed to wake up on my own at 6:44. Our plan was to leave by 8:30. We were ready to go by 8:35 and in our lyft by 8:46- so only a couple of minutes behind schedule. That’s good for us!

From this:

To this, in record time lol:

I took this sometime later in the day but we love a quick little OOTD

We had pre ordered our drinks in the Starbucks app and by 8:53 we were happily sipping our cold brews in the back of our chariot being whisked away to DCA. We were dropped off at the Harbor Blvd drop off (we finally learned of the errors of our ways lol) at 9:14 and by 9:15 we were walking through security.


Cold brew and California just became the perfect combination.

Today was DCA day! Right away I was given intense Hollywood Studio vibes- they feel so similar at first!


Hollywood Studios, dat you??

We walked up Buena Vista Street before turning left towards Hollywood Land. Monster’s, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue! Was posted at a 5 minute wait so we hopped on and waited just that. The ride was super cute, I’m a sucker for a dark ride. Mel loved the room with all the different doors. We didn’t know that Roz talked to you and were super confused when Roz started commenting on Mel’s glasses! Those Disney touches, man!



Philharmagic had a show starting at 10a, which was only 15 minutes away, so we decided to wait for the show. DCA’s version didn’t have quite as many effects but it was nice to not get hit in the face with water from the back of a dusty chair in front of you. The base show was the same, but given the fact that I didn’t get hit with chair water right between the eyes, I have to give the edge slightly to DCA.



We then took a nice stroll up past Pacific Wharf and towards Paradise Gardens Park. I took a few pictures on the way because, ooh that view! Just the view of the Pixar Pal-A-Round reflecting off the water is well worth the trip to California alone.



Little Mermaid was posted at a 5 minute wait so we hopped on line and a mere 2 minutes later we were boarding our clamshell and going under da sea. WDW and DCA have the exact same versions of the physical ride, however DCA has a super short queue compared to the roughly 7 miles that you walk in Fantasyland.



Once we made it back on dry land, Mel and I decided a quick snack was in order. I had heard that one of the iconic foods in Disneyland are the hand dipped corn dogs and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I needed one. Corn Dog Castle had a minimal wait (it was only about 10:45 at this point- but we weren’t the only ones eating corn dogs before 11am!) so we quickly joined and placed our order for 2 original corn dogs and 2 cokes.

We stood off to the side and waited for our order. “Order for Malone-y!” the cast member shouted. “Malone-y!” Surely this couldn’t be Mel’s order. But alas, Malone-y and Mel are one in the same.

With corn dogs in hand, we parked our butts at a nicely shaded table in the side eating area and ordered our tickets for Universal while we snacked. Which is probably some sort of mortal sin and probably why Mel got preemptively pooped on by a bird the day before.


Corn dog with apple slices for me, chips for Mel

The corn dogs were good- they were nice and crispy which is what I think is pretty important when searching for a nice and crispy corn dog. So all boxes were checked.

***Continued in Next Post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3, Part 1.5
January 27, 2020
"I Was Just Wondering If My Hand's Always Been This Yellow..."

Once we were properly snacked, we headed towards Pixar Pier, but not before taking a quick detour at the Silly Symphony Swings. Mel is not a fan of theme park swings so I put on a brave face and battled the 5 minute wait solo. The swings were great. They were exactly what you would think they were- no more, no less. I did feel slightly dizzy after but the feeling quickly subsided as we journeyed on.

We had a max pass for the Incredicoaster from 10:55-11:55. The posted wait was 25 minutes but with the power of the pass we only had to wait 7. What a great coaster! For some reason, I wasn’t expecting the loops even though you can see them. Disney isn’t hiding them. They are literally in the background of some of the pictures I took of the area. But being the super spy I am, I was completely unaware of them.



We loved the ride so much, we snagged an immediate use max pass right after and in less than 2 minutes, we were shooting off around pixar pier.



I had heard good things about the treats at Adorable Snowman, so we stopped to appease our sweet teeth. I ordered the Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait.


Non Dairy Lemon Soft-serve with blue raspberry swirl

Mel stuck to the classics with It’s Chocolate! In a cup


Which- hold onto your hats- is chocolate soft serve

My parfait was good but there was so much lemon compared to the rest that I ended up scraping some of it off to get to the blue raspberry before I was too full to eat any more. The parfait also got a little melty, and weirdly enough stained my hand slightly yellow for the rest of the day. Odd!


I covered my tattoo on my wrist since it's my last name fyi lol

But we couldn’t focus on hand stains for too long! We had to press on!

***Next up: Where are we headed? Will I ever post more often than once every few months? Stay tuned. Dun Dun Duuuuun*** ​

 

[buzzrelly]

Happy birthday to us both!

Happy Birthdays!

She told me that when we were waiting outside for the Tiki Room doors to open, a passing bird decided to take a quick bathroom break. Right on her shoulder. Once the initial shock wore off, she decided not to tell me just yet so that I wouldn’t laugh my head off throughout the Tiki Room. Which is fair. Because I would have.

Oh, no!

We both agreed that the addition of the Disney characters throughout the ride was a cute touch and made the otherwise drawn out ride a bit more interesting

I cannot wait to see that! I'm a huge fan of the normal, IASW, I'm sure I'll love it even more!

We scurried across to Mr Toad’s Wild Ride next, which neither of us had been on when it was in WDW.

Same! I'm excited to ride this one too!

The entire ride the man sitting next to me talked loudly to his daughter about every single thing.

Ugh, that is SO rude! And annoying!

These churros were clearly sent straight from heaven.

Yum! Definitely on my list!

We were lucky enough to get a water view table- in the sense that if you stood on your tip toes and squinted really hard you could probably see the water of Pirates. Probably. We were all the way at the front of the restaurant, more or less the first table when you entered.

Aw, that's kind of a bummer, but it still looks fairly decent.

I like to watch them once on a trip- unless you're Rivers of Light, in which case I am fine with absolutely zero times per trip.

Hah! Wen this was showing, I would always think, maybe this time I'll stay, and then end up feeling like, nah…I don't need to stay for it.

I know this is a semi-unpopular opinion, but I thought the Hollywood Studio’s version was better!

That's interesting. You're the first person I've heard say this. I actually haven't seen WDW's version in years so I probably won't even be able to compare. But I'm looking forward to seeing this!

The WDW version of Space has nothing on DL.

I have long stopped attempting to ride SM…it's just too jerky and I feel like I've been beat up after riding. But this one I will make an exception for!

And the most exciting update? Mel and I are going back to Disney World! October 2021 baby, we will be back!

Yay! How fun! Are you going to the Boo Bash?

I had heard good things about the treats at Adorable Snowman, so we stopped to appease our sweet teeth. I ordered the Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait.

Non Dairy Lemon Soft-serve with blue raspberry swirl

Now, THAT is the perfect picture right there

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Happy Birthdays!

Thank you!

I cannot wait to see that! I'm a huge fan of the normal, IASW, I'm sure I'll love it even more!

It's such a great touch! Between the characters and the outside queue- Disneyland's IASW is just *chef's kiss*

Ugh, that is SO rude! And annoying!

It would've been one thing if he only made his own commentary once or twice but it was literally non stop. Non. Stop.

Hah! Wen this was showing, I would always think, maybe this time I'll stay, and then end up feeling like, nah…I don't need to stay for it.

I've seen it twice, which in my opinion was 2 times too many. The only reason I got roped into it the second time was because I was going to the dessert party. The desserts made it tolerable but only barely lol.

That's interesting. You're the first person I've heard say this. I actually haven't seen WDW's version in years so I probably won't even be able to compare. But I'm looking forward to seeing this!

I've noticed that! It's funny because the things that I like better in HS are the reason's that people like DL's better. It's still definitely a must-see though.

I have long stopped attempting to ride SM…it's just too jerky and I feel like I've been beat up after riding. But this one I will make an exception for!

I have a soft spot for SM- it was my absolute favorite ride when I was 15. I still have an old school paper fast pass for it but even I have to admit, Cali's SM is so much smoother and really, just an all around better ride. Definitely try it!

Yay! How fun! Are you going to the Boo Bash?

As of right now, no. It's only going to be on the night we fly in and for the price of it, it's not really justifiable right now. We definitely thought about it (and tbh are still thinking about it lol).

Now, THAT is the perfect picture right there

Every once in a while, my obsessive picture taking gives me a good shot lol

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

The One With A View- An October 2021 PTR
Hey hi hello.

I’m back with a mini-PTR for Mel and my October trip, currently called “The One With A View.” As I mentioned in a previous post, after almost 3 long, long years, Mel and I are going back to WDW! We are flying out October 15th, spending 3 days in the park, and flying back home on October 19th.

Since fast passes aren’t a thing currently and ADR’s aren’t ready yet for our park dates (we are staying off property btw), we managed to do all of our trip planning relatively fast and pain-free.

The first thing we booked was our flight. I live very, very close to 2 airports (I’m more or less equal distance between the 2) and drivable distance to a 3rd. However, Southwest no longer flies out of Newark and there’s no way I would be able to convince someone to drive to JFK when LaGuardia is only about 30/40 minutes away. So that left LaGuardia.

I used to hate LaGuardia with every fiber of my flying soul. But since the remodel, I love it. Well, love as much as someone can love an airport.

We will be flying out of LaGuardia on the 15th at 1:20pm and landing in MCO at 4:05pm. The dreaded return trip will be the 19th, leaving MCO at 2:10pm and touching down in New York at 4:55pm. Ah yes, just in time for rush hour. My fave.

We stayed in an AirBnB for our trip to Disneyland January 2020 (which is this trip report, in case you fell behind anywhere). It was super convenient and budget friendly. So when we realized that on-property hotels for this trip were way out of what we could afford, getting an AirBnB seemed like a no brainer.

Mel is usually in charge of looking for the AirBnB and giving me options. I had my requests- which was 1. A private bathroom. When I was browsing the AirBnB’s near Disneyworld, I noticed that more than a few of them had a shared bathroom. Shared. With strangers. Now let me tell you, I’ve been through college. I lived in a dorm room. I have gone through the ropes of sharing a bathroom with 20 other girls and it wasn’t bad. But now? Now the thought of sharing a bathroom with a stranger is a living nightmare. What if Mr. Stranger and I need to shower at the same time? What if Mrs. Other Room needs to brush her teeth while I’m shaving my legs? The potential anxiety is overwhelming!

With that in mind, Mel sought out a few potential places to stay and sent me the links to check out. The very first one she sent I was sold on. The One With The View. Lemme tell you, the “view” looks incredible. It’s less than a mile from Disney and located on Lake Bryan. There’s several pools (heated, how bougie), a hot tub, a pier with a raised wetland walkway, and a seasonal tiki bar. Oh...there’s also 2 fitness centers but pfffft. There are 2 “bedrooms” (one is a separate bedroom and one is set up like a studio) and 2 full bathrooms.

And the view! Did I mention the view?!

And the 2nd best part (besides the view)? It was way, way less per night than a Disney Resort. Sold! Or booked, whichever.

The next step? Buying tickets! We usually have annual passes but after our October 2018 trip, we both decided to let them lapse (which in hindsight was a solid choice), so this time we were buying just 3 days. No park hopper. We are really trying to budget ourselves this trip since we are planning on a longer trip in either February or April 2022.

Saturday we will be doing Epcot, Sunday will be Magic Kingdom, and Monday will be another Epcot day. We really wanted to maximize our Epcot time with F&W and since we are planning the next trip already, we figured we just needed to get our feet wet to tide us over until then.

We are PROBABLY only going to do 2 ADR’s- Chef Art Smith’s on Friday night and Via Napoli on one of our Epcot days. Other than that, I will be shoving the UK’s fish and chips into my mouth so fast small children will run away in terror. Oh and maybe a corn dog nugget or 2 from Casey’s on Sunday.

Once we book our ADR’s, I will fill you all in. And I hope to have another post about our Disneyland trip this weekend. I was supposed to have my family over for a BBQ but the weather forecast is showing rain so a nice solid cancel on that. Which means more Disboards time. I have most of the next post typed up, but I haven’t uploaded any pics or anything like that yet.

Talk to you all soon.

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3, Part 2
January 27, 2020
"I Was just Wondering If My Hand's Always Been This Yellow..."

After our frozen treats, we headed into Cars Land. The theming is really as amazing as everyone says! I know right now everyone is focused on the theming in Galaxy’s Edge, TSL, and Pandora, but man! Cars Land is a work of art.

Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree was posted at a 20 minute wait so we jumped in line at 12:21pm and waited just about that. Mater’s is pretty much the West Coast version of Alien Swirling Saucers in HS- so if you aren’t a fan of those, you might want to opt out of Mater’s. However, I loooooooove Alien Swirling Saucers, so it was a given that I would love Mater’s. And I did. Thoroughly.







We had a max pass for Radiator Springs Racers from 1:10-2:10 followed by a lunch reservation at 2p in Downtown Disney, but it was only about 12:40 or so at that point so we sat outside of Flo’s V8 Café to decide what to do next.



One of us (it was probably me tbh) had the brilliant idea of going on Luigi’s Rollickin Roadsters to kill some time (and because it looked cute) since it claimed to be a 15 minute wait. Claimed. Luigi had other plans. We got on line at 12:58 and it was pretty much non stop moving until we were next to board. And then everything stopped. And we waited. And waited. Cast members said nothing. Luigi kept singing. We weren’t sure whether to abandon our dance recital or wait it out.



Finally at 1:23, the ride started working again. We should've skipped it in hindsight. It was neither of our favorite rides but I’m glad we got to experience it. A definite one and done, no thank you ma’am.


Just looking at this picture makes me side-eye. Luigi's

It was 1:30 when we finally entered the FastPass line for Radiator Springs (which had a 60 minute stand by wait) and a wave of sheer panic washed over me. It was already 1:30, the FastPass line for the ride wasn’t short, and we had lunch reservations in Downtown Disney in 30 minutes. We are not fast walkers- this could be a disaster.

Luckily, we only waited about 10 minutes before we were cruising in our yellow car and gearing towards the finish line. No one is lying when they say this ride is a definite must do. It puts Test Track to shame.



Emerging as winners, we booked it from Cars Land, out of DCA, and towards our lunch reservation. La Brea Bakery Café is situated pretty close to the entrance of DCA so we managed to check in for lunch at 1:57. All that worry for nothing! We were seated right away and shortly after placed our order for 2 cokes.

For our meals I ordered the Montecito salad and French Onion soup and Mel had the Classic Club with fries.


French Onion Soup- with La Brea Bakery Croutons, Melted Gruyère and Parmesan Cheese. $10.50
Classic Club- Roasted Turkey, Pecanwood Smoked Bacon with Roma Tomatoes, Butter Leaf Lettuce, Mayonnaise and Avocado on Toasted French Bread with choice of Side. $17
Montecito Salad- Baby Spinach, Baby Arugula, Roasted Beets, Candied Walnuts, and Goat Cheese with Grilled Onion Vinaigrette. $14.50

My soup was just a classic French Onion soup, but that’s essentially what I was looking for. The salad? Oh man! What a great salad! The pickled onions (which aren’t even listed in the description) were a little tart but they mixed so well with the goat cheese and beets, and the walnuts added a delicious sweet crunch. If this is on the menu when you go to La Brea in DTD, I highly recommend it!

Mel thought her club was also outstanding and loved that the bread was fresh and the use of shredded turkey instead of a classic sliced was a nice touch.

After we were thoroughly stuffed, we waddled back to DCA and saw another celebrity! Well Mel did, but she didn’t manage to snap a pic. Who did she see? Frankie Grande! Ariana’s brother (I think he was also on a season of Big Brother a few years ago).

Early in the day we had stopped by Disney Animation and had taken note of a sign outside of Animation Academy that had the times of the classes and what characters they would be doing in what class. This was a brilliant idea! We had already chosen that we wanted to draw Remy at 3:30 and now was that time!

We managed to get back to Hollywood Land and into the Disney Animation building right at 3:29. Talk about a close call! Animation Academy brings back all the feels. Mel and I were huge fans of this when it was in Hollywood Studios but have never been to any of the classes since it moved (and moved).


The top pic is one of my finest photography attempts. It's not even cropped like that. I genuinely took this pic and thought "That'll do..." So I guess...that'll do.

The classroom was much bigger in DCA and set up differently but the essence was still the same.


Mine is on the top, Mel's is on the bottom

***Continued in next post***
​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3, Part 2.5
January 27, 2020
"I Was just Wondering If My Hand's Always Been This Yellow..."

After our art lesson, we decided to ride Monster’s Inc again since the wait was back to 5 minutes. As soon as we entered the ride, it changed to 20- which is more or less what we waited. It’s a good dark ride, so we accepted.

After a quick cruise around Monstropolis, we headed towards Grizzly Peak for our Soarin’ 4:35p-5:45p maxpass.





We breezed past the 40 minute wait and in 9 minutes we were buckling up in our Row 3 hang gliders. The major difference between DCA and Epcot’s Soarin' is that in DCA you end your journey in Disneyland instead of Epcot but the scents are still the same.

Another unpopular Courtney opinion time! I don’t like the smells piped in during Soarin' at either park. They all smell like bathroom air fresheners to me! Maybe I have a poorly working nose or something.

We continued on around the park and stopped for a quick (slooooow) spin on the Golden Zephyr, which was posted at a 5 minute wait.



If you want to take some gorgeous photos of the Paradise Gardens Park/Pixar Pier area of DCA, you need to ride the Golden Zephyr. I never saw the wait times for this over 10 minutes all day and views are absolutely incredible. I spent the entire time snapping pictures.




We scooted on over to TSMM next, and thanks to our 5:35p-6:35p MaxPass, we were on and off the ride way before the posted 35 minutes. I am not great at TSMM- I am better than I am at any version of Buzz or MIB in UO, but I am far from great.




My score vs Mel's. Mel got best in vehicle! That has never happened before!

At this point, Mel and I were starting to hit a wall. But you know what could fix this wall? A good, messy, sugary churro. We stopped at Señor Buzz Churro cart and got a churro each, a coke, and a bottle of water. We again were forced to hand over both of our entire life savings to pay for our snacks but oh man! Churros hit different in California, I swear to it.


I got the Caliente churro ($5.75)- which is a churro coated in the dust of a thousand red hots; Mel got the Cinnamon Sugar Galaxy (Edge?) churro ($5.75)- which is essentially a regular churro.

As we were sitting and snacking, I managed to get us an immediate use MaxPass for Incredicoaster. Properly snacked, we were off!
We were off Incredicoaster by about 6pm and left with the decision of what to grab for dinner. We were between a couple of choices: did we want Mexican? Did we want Asian? Did we want to eat corn dogs and churros all night? We settled on Smokejumpers Grill in Grizzly Peak.


I ordered the chicken tenders with onion rings instead of fries ($10.99) and Mel decided on the spicy mac and cheese with a side of onion rings (it’s no longer on the menu but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it was probably between $11-$15). I also went with a seasonal lemonade; while Mel went with a coke.

The seasonal lemonade caused a lot of commotion, who would’ve guessed? I’m allergic to pomegranate so I wanted to make sure the lemonade wasn’t pomegranate since it was a rich red color. “No, it’s cranberry!” said the cast member at the register taking my order. Great, I’ll have one. “It’s actually pomegranate,” said the cast member handing out said lemonade. Ding dang. I was going to cancel the lemonade since I can’t drink it and Mel wasn’t interested in it. “No, it’s actually cranberry with a lavender salt rim,” a 3rd cast member interjected. Say less. I’m sold.

My chicken tenders and onion rings were good- nothing special but they hit the spot- and the lemonade was refreshing. It wasn’t too sweet which I liked but the salt was a bit weird. Which isn’t surprising since it was lavender, but you know, I like to act shocked about these things.

The mac and cheese was way too spicy for Mel. Upon ordering, the cast member warned Mel it was hot but we are used to Disney levels of spicy (which means it's not spicy at all) but oh no no, no. This was actually hot. Mel picked at it, but mostly just ate her onion rings.

We sat for a few minutes after our meal and tried to decide what we wanted to do. This was our only chance to see World of Color but we were exhausted. It was only 7:50 at the time and World of Color wasn’t expected to start for a while. We knew we would have another long day tomorrow, so we decided to cut our losses and headed out of the park.

Getting our Lyft home was quick and painless and by 8:15, we were walking through the door. I took a quick shower, watched an episode or 2 of The Office, and by 9:30 I was dreaming visions of sugary churros dancing in my head.





I'm going to try to post at least once a week, but I'm going down the shore next weekend so I hope to have another post up before then. If not, hopefully early during the week. I'm really, really trying to get this done before October lol. Good luck to me!

***Next up: Our last day in Disneyland! Will we live up our last day in Anehiem? Will we get to do all of our must-dos? Stay tuned. Dun Dun Duuuuun***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Hey hi hello

Things have been a bit busy here lately. I went down the shore a couple of weeks ago and did what I do best- ate lots and lots of boardwalk foods and nearly my weight in seafood.










I also got attacked by a seagull, but that’s a story for a different day.

I chopped off about 8 inches of my hair. On my own. I am not a hairstylist, but I literally just put my hair in a couple of hair ties and snip snipped it away.



And then dyed it “midnight blue black”, but that’s a story for a different day.

But! The most exciting recent adventure was my sister’s engagement party. My sister and her fiancé got engaged about a year ago but due to the pandemic, were unable to have a party that felt safe enough until now.




And guess who was asked to be my sister’s maid of honor?

Take a guess.

Take a wild guess.

It's me!

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 4, Part 1
January 28. 2020
"Just Wait Until My Toe Gets Run Over, And Then I'll Whoa"

Today was our last Disney day!

I woke up on my own around 5:45, a full hour before I needed to get out of bed, and scrolled through social media until it was time to get ready for the day.


I have no shame in a good public selfie.

We were both ready to go by 8:15 and by 8:30 our Lyft chariot was ready to whisk us away to our oasis. Starbucks. I bet ya thought I was going to say Disneyland. Starbucks first, always.



After a quick pit stop at Starbucks, we were dropped off by Harbor Blvd by 8:50 and a mere 8 minutes later, we were waltzing through security.



Our game plan for the day was to head right at the Hub instead of our usual left to finish exploring Tomorrowland and hit up a couple of remaining must-do’s we had.



I had managed to pick up a Star Tours Max Pass from 9:10-10:10 so that was our first stop. The posted wait time was 20 minutes, but we were on the ride in only 8. We were Gate C, Row 4, which I have no idea is significant or anything but I made a note of it. If you remember the last time I talked about Star Wars, I mentioned that I have never seen a Star Wars movie, not even a single second. I know literally nothing about it, except that Darth Vader is one of my all time favorite characters to meet (which is why I consider myself a Darth Vader fan. Because of his in park meets, not because of who he actually is lol). With that being said, my notes very accurately describe our tour around the stars as “No idea where we went. We had Kylo and a big octopus who was mad we told him to go away.”



After Star Tours, we continued on towards Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, which had a 20 minute wait. We ended up waiting about 30 but decided it was worth it to experience once per trip. The whole submarine experience was interesting but the stairs were super, super tight and the ride itself is pretty long and drawn out. Shorten it a little and make the stairs just a smidge wider and I would maybe go on it twice a trip. The choice is yours Disney, the choice is yours.



After our futuristic look at Tomorrow, we headed to Fantasyland to check out the wait time for Peter Pan’s Flight. The wait was 40 minutes and unfortunately the ride doesn’t offer Fast Pass or Max Pass. We got in line at 10:41 and spent our time playing on the Play Disney app. The games were silly but they made the time go by faster and we managed to make Tinker Bell appear on the lantern towards the front of the line. It was a cute little touch.



We were on the ride by 11:22 and setting sail on a flight around London.



Both WDW and DLR’s versions of Peter Pan are both good- but DLR’s version seemed to have a couple more dips and a couple more stars. Flying to Neverland across a starry night sky made the 40 minute wait worth it.

While waiting for our pixie dusted pirate ship, I had managed to snag us a Matterhorn Max Pass for 10:55-11:55, so we zipped over.



The wait was posted at 40 minutes, but with Max Pass we ended up waiting just over 10. And here is where Mel tricked me.

She downright bamboozled me.

I don’t enjoy water rides, at all. I am a poncho-wearer on water rides, if I go on them at all. As we were waiting on line, Mel turns to me and goes, “Wow, I didn’t know you get wet on this ride!”

I looked at her a little confused and told her that nope, you don’t. “Yes you do, I just saw someone come off completely soaked. I’m surprised you want to go on this one.”

I could’ve sworn that this wasn’t a water ride, I did my research! But I must’ve missed it. But I decided to put on a brave face. I could deal with a wet butt and soggy boots. I could.

Well, well, well. Turns out you do not get wet on the Matterhorn and Mel was hysterical after we got off that I had believed her.

The Matterhorn was good! If you are in Disneyland and miss the jerky-ness of WDW’s Space Mountain, then Matterhorn is for you baby! There was also a yeti who put Disco Yeti to shame. So all in all, Matterhorn is a nice mix of Space Mountain and Everest and not anything like Splash Mountain at all. So there!

After the Matterhorn, we decided a snack was in order so we headed over to the Small World Promenade to pick up a regular Mickey pretzel with a side of plastic cheese and a cinnamon sugar pretzel with some cream cheese to dip and took our snacks over the the Fantasyland train station to nom and wait for the train.



Both pretzels were delish- standard by Disney qualifications, but delicious nonetheless.

***Continued in next post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 4, Part 1.5
January 28, 2020
"Just Wait Until My Toe Gets Run Over, And Then I'll Whoa"

We waited only 5 or so minutes for a train to come and took a quick ride around the park to New Orleans Square where we had a lunch reservation waiting for us.


Listen, it's not as glamorous as a TTA shoe shot but we make due.


High quality blurry pics and all.

We checked in for our 1pm Cafe Orleans lunch reservation at 12:30 and spent our time waiting for our table by looking in the little shops in New Orleans Square.




At 12:55 we were seated outside on the patio (finally a nice table!) and quickly placed our drink orders. I, of course, went with a mint julep (no glow cube this time. I don’t think it was an option or else I would’ve gotten it. I’m sure of it) and Mel went with old faithful- a coke.



We decided to split an order of the Pomme frites and beignets for dessert, but made the mistake of each getting a 3 cheese Monte Cristo. We couldn’t finish!


Top left: Mint Julep, Top right: Pomme frites (not currently as a separate item, but now included with the monte cristo), Bottom left: Three-Cheese Monte Cristo ("swiss, mozzarella, and double crème brie fried in a light batter and served with berry puree, dusted with powdered sugar, parmesan-garlic pomme frites and Cajun-spiced remoulade) $21, Bottom right: Beignets! (not currently on the menu, but I'm sure they'll be back)

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That 3 cheese Monte Cristo is *chef’s kiss*. It is now my favorite west coast Disney food! I can’t put anything above my beloved Yorkshire County fish n chips, I can’t do it! But oh man. You need to try this Monte Cristo. The pomme frites and beignets were both decent but they weren’t given a fair shot when compared to that creamy, cheesy fried chunk of heaven. And eating it, I was now too a fried chunk of heaven.

After we rolled ourselves out of Cafe Orleans, we made the only logical choice we could. Big Thunder! During lunch, I had picked up a 1:40-2:40 Max Pass and we quickly bypassed the 25 minute wait. 8 minutes after getting in line, we were on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!

After the ride, I decided to hit up some of the shops on Main Street and I picked up a couple of t-shirts for my mom and a couple of souvenirs for my coworkers. While I was shopping, Mel was doing one of her favorite pastimes. People watching.

Once I spent more money than I care to admit, I met back up with Mel and we stumbled upon Cruella De Ville.



She complimented my makeup and said we would get along well. Mel and I always say that if we were Disney characters, Mel would be Ursella and I would be Cruella- and I was so excited she said she and I would get along well. Yes! We would! Destiny! She also kept referring to Mickey as Michael Mouse and it really tickled my funny bone. We snapped a couple of pictures and then dipped into the Opera House to catch the 3:20 showing of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.



We had a couple of minutes to share and checked out some of the items on display in the Gallery and then were ushered into the show.



I definitely feel like this is a must-do for the sheer fact that it is the last show that Disney himself worked on. It’s a part of Disney history!



It was also nice to sit down and relax for a bit, but ya know.

Somewhere along the line I had booked us a 4:10-5:10 Max Pass for Indy, so after the show we headed there next.

***Next up: Will Indy be just as good as the first time? Will we live up our last DLR day? Will I make a good maid of honor (see previous, previous post)? Stay tuned. Dun Dun Duuuuun*** ​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 4, Part 2
January 28, 2020
"Just Wait Until My Toe Gets Run Over, And Then I'll Whoa"

Indiana Jones was posted at a 45 minute wait, but with Max Pass, we waited a mere 20. The ride was just as good a second time and is easily one of Disneyland’s stand out rides. Also, the ride’s queue is well worth waiting in the standby line for. But why wait for standby when you can breeze on through with Max Pass. My notes say “please sir, no more sticks” and I really, really wish I remembered what this was about.

After saving Indy from a rock and a worm, we headed over to Pirates and set sail on our Caribbean cruise 17 minutes after jumping on line (which was posted at 15, so close enough).







It was now a little past 5 and we were growing peckish. I had been wanting to try Bengal BBQ so we retraced our steps back to Adventureland.



Bengal BBQ was pretty good but the portions were a bit on the small side, so buying more than 1 skewer seems to be the way to go if you are looking more for a meal. We picked up 3 different skewers and 2 cokes.


Pork belly skewer (“Grilled Pork Belly with Hoisin Sauce, Pickled Carrots and Daikon topped with Cilantro” $6.49), Safari Skewer (“bacon wrapped asparagus” $4.99), Banyan beef skewer (“hot and spicy” $5.49)

I didn’t try any of the pork belly but Mel said it was really good. I thought the Banyan beef skewer had a nice heat to it and while I was worried the safari skewer was going to be chewy, that ended up not being the case. I would say all 3 skewers are worth stopping by Bengal BBQ for, but if you are absolutely starving, maybe try to find somewhere else first.

After our light dinner, we scooted to Fantasyland to take another trip to a fiery demise on Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. We waited only 6 of the posted 20 minute wait and before we knew it, we were cruising through early 1900’s London.

Something I noticed that made me a little bummed was people kept sticking garbage in the statue of Mr Toad’s mouth. How gross!


Poor guy with his popcorn stuffed mouth.



Once we were back on mortal earth, we popped over to Pinocchio’s for a quick ride. Still not my favorite ride, but a nice wait to spend 5 or so minutes.

After we were cut loose of our strings, we decided to head over to the Red Rose Tavern to pick up dessert.


Look at all of those antlers in all of the decoratinggggg!

We both got the Grey Stuff Gateau (“white chocolate mousse and red velvet cake with a raspberry center” $5.99)



Mel thought DLR’s version was even better than Disneyworld and decided that the red velvet + raspberry ended up being a perfect combination. I wasn’t sold. I thought it was too much, too sweet. It needed a crunch or different added texture. But what do I know?

***Continued in next post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 4, Part 2.5
January 28, 2020
"Just Wait Until My Toe Gets Run Over, And Then I'll Whoa"

Once we were thoroughly sugared up, we headed over to The Many Adventures of Winne the Pooh, who was sporting a 5 minute wait. It ended up being a walk-on. Our beehive was orange and Floody! Floooooo-dy! It was destiny.





We shopped down Main Street afterwards before heading back to where the day started. Tomorrowland. I had grabbed a 7:50-8:50 Max Pass for Space Mountain, which was posted as a 25 minute wait. We waited only 8 with Max Pass and were quickly zooming through space. It was a great ride to end our Disneyland time.



At 8:13, we headed out of the park for the last time but our night wasn’t over yet.

We meandered our way through Downtown Disney and stopped at Salt and Straw for dessert #2 of the night. I’m not a big ice cream person (I know, I know. That’s appalling!) but I knew I wanted to try the strawberry balsamic. After careful consideration, Mel opted for the Pot Of Gold.


Left: Strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper in a cup (“It's triple Oregon Strawberry! Made with real Strawberries, Jam and Syrup from Oregon Hill Farms, Honey Balsamic from a fifth-generation beekeeper at Honeyridge Farms, and locally imported, rare Cubeb Pepper (not to make it spicy...just a trick we learned from the Italians to pepper Fruit to bring out the flavor).” Right: Pots of gold and rainbow in a cone (“First served in March 2013, this technicolor flavor is a trip back to Saturday morning cartoons and a big bowl of Cereal with Marshmallows. We meticulously sort hundreds of boxes of Cereal by hand, steeping the Whole Grain bits overnight in Cream to capture that bottom-of-the-bowl sweet Milk taste, and saving the mountains of Rainbow Marshmallow "charms" to stir into the finished Ice Cream”

I thought the strawberry balsamic was very unique and took a little getting used to while Mel thought her Pots of gold was delicious and tasted exactly like cereal and milk.

We continued our stroll through Downtown Disney towards our final destination of the night. Trader Sam’s. Mel and I are both big fans of Trader Sam’s and knew that we had to, haaaaad to go sometime this trip. When we got to the Disneyland Hotel, we were lucky enough to find 2 seats at the bar and quickly saddled up.



We both went with our go-tos. The Mosquito Mojito for me and the Shrunken Zombie Head (now renamed just as the Zombie) for Mel.


Mosquito Mojito (“trading for the ingredients of this refreshing antidote for malaria didn't cost Sam an arm and a leg. But it did cost him a mint! Strawberry rum, organic agave nectar, Falernum, mint, and freshly squeezed lime juice topped with soda water”) and Shrunken Zombie Head (“every time business shrinks for our favorite head salesman he celebrates with one of these supernatural potions. Reserved and aged rums, tropical juices, Falernum, and cinnamon”)

The drinks were just as good as the Polynesian counterpart, so good in fact that Mel ordered a second Shrunken Zombie Head. I opted to buy Mel’s souvenir glass for my collection.

The bar lacked participation at first but picked up as the night went on and as we were leaving, there was a line to get inside. We both decided that we prefer the Disney World version, but it was nice to experience the original.

We ordered a lyft from the Disneyland Hotel and were back “home” by 10:15. We packed up our things, and although it was a bit sad we were done with the Disneyland portion of our trip, we were very excited to move on to Los Angeles in the morning.

By 11:30, we were both snoozing away.

That's all for the actual Disneyland portion of the trip- we spent the next couple of days in LA and then our last day in Universal Studios. I plan to post quick recaps of the LA days and also about our time in Universal Studios in the next couple of weeks. We went to the Magic Castle, the Last Bookstore, and much more. If you're interested, stay tuned (if you're not, then see you in a little over 60 days for my October WDW trip!).

***Next up: LA here we come! Will the Magic Castle hotel live up to our expectations? Will that LA traffic karma finally hit us? Stay tuned. Dun Dun Duuuuun***​

***Next up: We start our LA ad