Trip Report January 19-21

[Elk Grove Chris]

Saturday, January 18

My Daughters winter break was over, so we were taking her back to school in Long Beach. We were tagging along to check out apartments for the fall, not sure if she wanted to do the dorms again, oh yeah, and Disneyland is 25 minutes away!

We hit Long Beach around 2:30 on Saturday. First time on Jet Blue and flying into Long Beach. Liking Jet Blue, seats are wider, monitors for each seat, on time, smooth flight, only drawback is that there are only two flights a day from Sacramento. Grabbed our luggage and rental car and off to Anaheim we went. Check- in went smooth, stayed at the Anaheim Plaza Inn again. Older place, but clean and relatively close. Might check out a different place next time, beds a bit small and hard. Want to check out the Best Western, but it is always booked early.

We unpacked and made our way to Downtown Disney around 4.

My AP had lapsed so not hitting the parks today, had three-day hoppers and wanted to preserve the Magic Morning, would get an AP after using the MM on Tuesday. We had never checked out Trader Sam’s so we headed for the Disneyland Hotel.

Trader Sam’s is nicely themed, but very cramped inside. We walked around the grounds, place was packed, all pools full. Made our way back to DTD, hitting some shops here and there. My Son and I went to put our names on the list at Ralph Brennan’s for dinner, hour wait at 5. Checked out the Disney Store, my Wife wanted an Olaf plush, but he was nowhere to be found. Looked everywhere the next three days, nada.

When we were getting our table, guess who walked in, the Billy’s! I was talking to Dennis for a bit and he said they had just done a set at Knott’s. Didn’t want to bother them for a photo as they were trying to relax. But I took a hip shot from afar, so not best quality.

Dinner was outstanding, my Daughter had the fried chicken, my Wife had the pot roast, my Son had a bowel of gumbo, and I had the blackened Mahi-Mahi. The gumbo was good, but he preferred the Disneyland version, the rest of us thought our meals were outstanding. Love the live jazz music in the evenings. Sorry, no pics, was too into the food. Do not pass on the chocolate soufflé!

Sunday, January 19

My Son and I headed to the parks early, first in line at gate 26 a little before 8.

Runners still coming in, but the majority looked to have already finished. Some cool costumes, awesome effort on all of the runners. We were let in at 8:30 for rope drop, we were leading the charge until someone started running.

I thought for sure the snow would have been off the Castle by now.

Looked like crowd split in half for Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, we headed for Space Mountain. Walked all the way through the queue and on the ride by 9:05. We headed to Star Tours next, about a 10 minute wait in line. We hit the Wookie Planet and Hoth.

People were starting to poor in as we headed off to Adventureland.

We got through the Indy line in about 10 minutes, still my favorite queue. My Son was real bummed that BTMRR was still down, I was too.

We hit Pirates next, about 10 minutes to get on. Loaded boat, we were in front, we got pretty wet.

We skipped over to Haunted Mansion next, also about a 10 minute wait. Crowds coming in now pretty good.

We decided to head over to CA and see what was going on over there.

Carsland was packed so we moved on to the Pier.

Screamin standby was short, maybe 10 minutes. The anticipation…5-4-3-2-1.

We grabbed a FP after our ride. We contemplated getting in the 45 minute line for Toy Story, but decided not to. We are ok missing a ride or two during our visits, 30-40 minutes is about our tolerance wait level.

We putted around the pier for 20 minutes and then used our FP for Screamin.

It was little after noon when we got off, so we headed back to Disneyland for lunch at Café Orleans.

We pulled a FP for ST on a roundabout way to NOS.

We know that everything needs a fix or a sprucing up from time to time, but this was not a pretty site:

A lot of our favorite things were down, we knew it, but were bummed a bit nonetheless. BTMRR was down for our last three visits.

Checked in a little early for our 1:00 reservation, overheard they were not taking walk-ups today. We shared a cup of gumbo, pommes frites and a Monte Cristo. We could not finish the sandwich, so rich. No room for dessert.

We hopped on the Train at NOS, had a slight delay as the train in front of us was having issues.

After about 5 minutes we were on our way. Had similar delays at the rest of the stations, no worries, I love to sit on the train and people watch.

We had been experiencing a warm spell up north, hitting the 50’s in the day, but we were a bit warm today as it probably hit the mid 80’s.

Once off the Train we checked out the Disney Galleria. Love everything in there, two different artists drawing cells.

Headed over to the big board to check wait times, Space was down, doh.

We headed over to IJA and pulled a FP. Took a short breather at Aladdin’s Oasis. Headed over to the Hub next to snap some pics. MS to the Castle was packed.

Got in line for ST, not bad, 20 minutes and we were on. Hoth and Naboo this time. Spent some time in Star Trader, my Son was eying the build a droid area. We would come back for that and other shopping on Tuesday.

We crossed the park, pulled a FP for IJA and headed to the room for a rest around 4.

Made our way back to DL around 5:30. We entered CA and headed towards Radiator Springs Racers. Single rider line was 60 minutes, no thanks. Standby was at 80, ouch.

We made our way over to Ariel and walked right on.

We slowly cruised over to the Sorcerer’s Workshop and spent a good 15-20 minutes poking around. We split a chili dog at Award Wieners and made our way back over to DL.

As we entered, Step in Time was blasting. We actually waited a while to see Saving Mr. Banks, maybe about two weeks ago, so it was still fresh on our minds. I loved everything about the movie, the artistic liberties didn’t bother me a bit. My Son said he started to finally get some of the parade now (we all watched Mary Poppins together right after Christmas). Cool. You can explain things to your kids, through your lens, but when they get it through their eyes, it is a beautiful thing.

Our FP window was closing for IJA, so we headed that way. Really busy now, took about 30 minutes to get on with the FP. Didn’t mind too much, got to see everything in the queue this time around. Standby line was sitting at 70 minutes.

Made our way to HM again, about 25 minutes to get on around 7:30. As we were exiting a couple of young kids came running by and my Son jumped out of the way and twisted his ankle on the landing. He was in pain, our night was over. Back to the room slowly, ice bath needed for his ankle. Other than that, great day.

 

[thedlr]

Hey great trip report! We are going this weekend (Sunday/Monday). Looking forward to reading the rest.

 

[Piglet99645]

The kids and I go in 16 days. I can't wait!!! This thread has me really looking forward to things, and that sandwich looks amazing!

 

[luulu1999]

OMG I was really looking forward to riding screaming with my son who is now 48 inches and wants to ride everything....but that pic just freaked me out a little

 

[Maddie2]

Wow! Your photos are fabulous! The colors really pop and you have an amazing eye. Do you do photography for a living, or just a hobby?

 

[TheChapman6]

Holy park hopping batman. I see why people do use them but I'm not that adventure filled lol thanks for the shots of the food at cafe Orleans I'm drooling!

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Hey great trip report! We are going this weekend (Sunday/Monday). Looking forward to reading the rest.

Welcome to the DIS and thanks theDLR.

The kids and I go in 16 days. I can't wait!!! This thread has me really looking forward to things, and that sandwich looks amazing!

Thanks Piglet, have a great trip!

OMG I was really looking forward to riding screaming with my son who is now 48 inches and wants to ride everything....but that pic just freaked me out a little

It really is a fun ride, don’t sit in the front and you won’t see the drops coming.

Wow! Your photos are fabulous! The colors really pop and you have an amazing eye. Do you do photography for a living, or just a hobby?

Thanks Maddie, just a hobby, I get lucky once in a while.

Holy park hopping batman. I see why people do use them but I'm not that adventure filled lol thanks for the shots of the food at cafe Orleans I'm drooling!

Haha, yeah we move quite a bit. For some reason it feels like we do more, but I am sure we could just wait in a few more lines instead of doing so much walking.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Monday, Jan. 20

The Ladies were joining us today. They had spent yesterday shopping and looking at apartments, while we had fun in the parks. They insisted they had fun too, could not imagine that they had as good a time as we did.

Parks were open earlier this morning, 8, so thought we would be there bright and early to beat the sleepers. Well, of course I know my Wife and Daughter are sleepers, so my Son and I headed off to get in at rope drop at CA to get in the FP line for Radiator Spring Racers and give them and extra 30 minutes.

We were the only ones in line at 7:15, hotel guests pouring in at the other gates. CM at the gate asked us if we were staying onsite, I told her no, we were just early to get in for the rope drop. She asked for our tickets, scanned them, and let us in. SCORE!

We made our way to Carsland and headed for the single rider line. My Son is 12, he has no problem with the SRL instead of a long wait. Standby wait was 45 minutes at 7:20!

Sun was intense this morning, weird cloud cover, breaking every few minutes.

We thought about getting right back in the SRL, but there were a fair amount of people in it the second time around so we hit Screamin.

Could we get Toy Story in? Hmm, no better make our way to the RSR FP line as I had not heard from the Ladies yet. We got in the back of the hotel line just about where the two lines would join at 8. Got a text, they were in the parks. When the rope dropped I got their passes and told them to all take off for the RSR SRL. The FP return time was quick-9:05.

I met them at the exit. My daughter needed to get some socks because the tiny ones she had on were not working with her boots. As they looked around in Carsland to no avail, I made my way over to Tower of Terror to pull some FPs. TOT was not running yet, FP machines not operational.

I met them at Screamin. My Wife sits this one out, and TOT, and Space, she’s not big on the faster rides.

We were on quickly and pulled FPs after our ride. Churros for breakfast? Yes please! Used our FPs for Screamin.

My Wife headed to get us FPs for WOC in case we stuck around. Not sure we would, my Daughter’s classes started tomorrow and we did need to get her back to the dorm tonight in Long Beach. But just in case. The rest of us headed for TOT. My Son was ready this time to try it and he loved it. I actually sat it out as my back was killing me and I love this ride.

Back to Carsland to use our FPs for Racers as we were getting towards the end of the hour.

We headed over to DL around 10:45. Crowds not too bad yet.

I pulled FPs for Space, return time at 1:20. Standby line at Star Tours was at 60 minutes, nopes.

We headed over to Fantasyland and got in line for Peter Pan, 40 minute wait. My Wife had the kids do some postcards for the Grands. Always nice to get a postcard with a Disney postmark.

We all headed over for the 12:00 show of Mickey and the Magical Map. Not too bad of a crowd, we ended up with decent seats. We all liked the show, but thought it could have been a song or two longer.

This guy had a pretty deep voice, didn’t think he could pull it off with that frame.

We shared a few brats from Troubadour Tavern, they were quite good. All the tables were taken, so we parked it on the planter ledge. We got some of the pretzel bites too, a bit too salty.

We got in line for It’s A Small World, wait time listed at 20 minutes. Had to do it today as it was closing the next day to take off the Christmas spirit.

We slowly made our way across the park and pulled a FP for Indy, return time of 4:35 at 1:30. Pirates line was long, wait time was accurate as we got on the ride right at 30 minutes.

Made our way all the way back across the park to use our FP for Space. My Wife won’t go on this one, so she got stuck with all are stuff. I was in the last car this time, a bit faster it seemed at the back. Thought I lost my sunglasses for sure when I raised my hands on the first drop. Fortunately they fell on the floor next to me and got them back.

We did Buzz Lightyear next, line went out to the extended queue, but wait really was only 15 minutes. My Daughter was the grand champion, my Son could not believe it; he had never lost to her before.

Star Tours standby was at 55 minutes, too long for us. Ladies were ok too miss than one today. We made our way over to the Pioneer Mercantile to do some shopping, have a seat, and sip a Coke Zero. I just love people watching at the parks, always someone interesting walking by, snowflakes indeed.

We backtracked a bit to check out the Thunder Ranch area. You know when you are tired after walking all day and it seems like the person in front of you is going extra slow, you zig and they zag, cutting you off at every turn. I was literally behind an *** like that for a good 10 minutes…

We hit up the Jungle Cruise next, about a 40 minute wait at 3:30. We had a good skipper, cheesy jokes and all, very enthusiastic.

We took in some more shops in NOS. Sat in the bench outside the Court of Angels to say goodbye. Serious business the construction going on back there.

We used our FPs for IJA, even with FPs it took 30 minutes to get on. As I said before, this in one of the few rides I don’t mind a 30 minute wait as the queue is still so good.

Just as we are on the final stairs leading down to the jeeps, the lights come on, the ride is stopped.

The group next to us had been on the ride earlier and it broke down for a bit and were given passes to get back on. They left like 30 seconds after it broke down again, what? The ride resumed like 5 minutes later, they sure wasted some time leaving so early. CMs let the groups stuck on the ride go through for another ride, nice.

We thought about doing HM but decided to head back to the room to freshen up and put some big boy pants on for dinner. We headed for CA around 6:20. We had a reservation at the Carthay Theatre at 6:50, at our table by 7:00. Gave us a few minutes to enjoy a cocktail in the lounge. Left the camera in the room to give my back a rest, so no pics of the awesome food.

We started with the biscuits and pot stickers, they were great. My Wife and Daughter shared the Salmon, my Son had the pasta, and I had the NY steak. We shared a warm brownie dessert. Everything was fantastic, but we did miss the short rib raviolis.

We had pulled FPs early in the Day for WOC, but we were all too tired truth be told. We had to get my Daughter back to her dorm as she started class in the morning and it would have been pretty late if we stayed and watched the show.
There were two young couples right outside the Carthay that I gave the passes too. They had no idea what WOC was or where it was at. Pretty sure this was their first visit, hope they enjoyed the show.

 

[thedlr]

Thanks for noticing that was my first post. I actually registered just so I could reply to this thread.

Thanks again for a very detailed TR. I plan on lining up early for the RSR FP. That would be awesome if they let us in early too!

 

[mumto2]

Great photos! We are getting very excited for our upcoming trip, so it is great to live vicariously. Thank you for taking the time to post!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Nice to see another TR that you have started Chris.

The photos are just amazing every time I see them on your TR or the Disneyland Resort Picture of the Day thread.

The food at CO looks very nice and I love eating those Monte Cristo.

The ride pictures from CS are very nice.

 

[Nintfamily]

Great job! I am loving the pictures! I can almost taste the Pomme Frites and the Monte Cristos! YUM! Looks like you had a great time

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Thanks for noticing that was my first post. I actually registered just so I could reply to this thread.

Thanks again for a very detailed TR. I plan on lining up early for the RSR FP. That would be awesome if they let us in early too!

Thanks TheDlr

Great photos! We are getting very excited for our upcoming trip, so it is great to live vicariously. Thank you for taking the time to post!

Thanks Mumto2, have a great trip!

Nice to see another TR that you have started Chris.

The photos are just amazing every time I see them on your TR or the Disneyland Resort Picture of the Day thread.

The food at CO looks very nice and I love eating those Monte Cristo.

The ride pictures from CS are very nice.

Thanks Mvf-m11c, always love your photos and trip reports.

Great job! I am loving the pictures! I can almost taste the Pomme Frites and the Monte Cristos! YUM! Looks like you had a great time

Thanks Nintfamily, we had a great time indeed!

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Tuesday, Jan 21

Parks didn’t open until 10:00 today, but we had Magic Morning with our 3 day hoppers. My Son and I made our way to the gates about 10 minutes after 8.

We were in for rope drop at 8:30. My Wife was not going to join us this morning, she was going to do some more apartment shopping with my Daughter after her class and take her to Costco/Winco to stock up on some essentials.

Space Mountain was our first ride, we were on as soon as we walked through the queue. Ugly safety rails were going up, but it sure needs a cleaning.

Thought we were going to be on the first car through, when 3 CMs jumped on the ghost ship in front of us. Much darker this morning, no stars shining.

Star Tours was next, also pretty much a walk on. Yeah, Darth Vader this time! Wookie planet again and Hoth.

Made our way back to Space. A bit cooler this morning as we had cloud cover for quite a bit of the day. Turned into a gray fuzz, sorry, some blasé backgrounds in the photos today.

Short wait and we hit Buzz, my Son redeemed himself.

Crossed the park as the late risers were starting to invade Tommorowland. Pulled a FP for IJA and got in line. Wait listed at 10 minutes but it was much closer to 20.

We walked right on to Pirates.

Pretty much the same at HM, walked right in to the Stretching Room.

Made our way back to IJA to use our FPs, took about 10 minutes to get on around 11. What the heck, let’s do that again, so we pulled another FP. Had about an hour now before the FP was active.

Headed out to turn my 3 day pass into an Annual Pass. I knew I would be back for 2 solo days or so in September and maybe a holiday trip for the whole family. Looking forward to some solo time so I could practice some night shots-so hard with the family, feel guilty dragging the camera and tripod around at night when I am with them, so I rarely do.

We went back into DL to pick up a few items the Ladies had requested. Made our way into the Crystal shop to get some mugs engraved, aw no AP discount, aw cannot use rewards card. Another couple was quizzing the CM behind the counter, they were asking how much the castle was in the front window, CM said nonchalantly, oh, that, that’s $37,000, ouch.

It was past noon, were having some grumblings in our tummies. Thought we would try something a bit different for lunch, we had not been to the Hungry Bear in several years. We split a crispy chicken sandwich and some onion rings. Chicken was pretty good, sandwich was just a touch dry, the onion rings were nice and crisp.

We stuck around a while just checking out the people and watching the Mark Twain go by slowly down the river. Something was off, we were missing something, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Looked at my watch, a few minutes after 1, didn’t need to leave the park until 3 to catch our flight at 5. That wasn’t it. Hmmm, reached into my pocket, oh yeah, FPs for IJA, we had about 5 minutes left. Made it to the entrance with two minutes to spare, nice.

It took us about 20 minutes to get on. Left the camera in my bag to enjoy the full ride. We sat in the back, much bumpier in the back!

We still had one item on our list to get, a plush Olaf for my Wife. We backtracked to Pooh Corner, no luck. Pioneer Mercantile? Nope.

CM at the Fantasy Faire said there were none left park wide, bummer.

Hard to tell from the photo, but Monstro needs some tlc.

That is not a toad.

Off to Star Trader to make some droids! We pulled a FP for ST to give away, knew we would not be around to use it. Spent a few bucks in the arcade, machines need some tinkering, several ate our tokens.

Putted around Main Street, back into the Crystal Shop to pick up the glasses. Nicely packed and padded in individual boxes, thank you!

Headed to the Train. Circle tour as our farewell.

Parked it on the MS train benches for a good 30 minutes just soaking it all in and saying our goodbyes.

Interesting planes came flying by, one big one and 4 little ones behind it. Anyone know what that was all about?

Sorry, not a great photo, did not have my telephoto lens with me.

My Wife picked us up in the drop off area and we were off to the Long Beach Airport. Goodbye for now Disneyland, see you in September for sure, hopefully something will come up sooner! About 1500 more pictures to go through, hopefully a few good ones in the bunch to share later.

 

[Timon]

Very talented photographer!