Trip report! Oct. 13-15 ....a week later

[KirklandTutu]

Trip report! Oct. 13-15 ....a week later…

About a month ago, we (DH and I) decided that we needed a weekend break and that Disneyland was what the doctor ordered. DH was also recently diagnosed as hypoglycemic, and with the tools in hand now to control it, we wanted a short run through before going on a longer DW vacation in February. So, yay, a good deal on the hotel and airfare, a couple of last minute priority seatings, and off we go. Although, lesson learned, going to Disney without a plan is never a good idea.

We checked into Disneyland Hotel and were into California Adventure by 10am on Saturday. First order of the day was to find good protein for DH (and heck, me too). We came armed with appropriate snacks because in the past it's always seemed difficult to find food, especially in the AM. So, what a pleasant surprise to find that Pacific Warf now has bread bowls filled with eggs and a side of bacon…although, truth be told, I had a delicious corn dog (and lordy, was that thing huge, I had to eat it sideways). Thats a treat that in the past I've never gotten to have because soybean oil makes me sicker than anything…but now that they've switched to a different vegetable oil, I can eat all the fried foods I want! Well, while at Disney at least.

Anyhoo…I think we tried to get on Mulholland Madness twice on Saturday, both times it had shut down. Got on Soarin with a fast pass, did Tower of Terror (woohoo!), Monsters Inc., Bugs Life, walked around, saw lots of Candy Corn and headed back to DLH. Room wasn't ready…so walked around DLH exploring (wow to the waterfall area and Koi pond), had some Chicken Tenders and a beer and finally our room was ready. Although I shouldn't sound annoyed, it was ready precisely at 3pm. I was just tired and wanted a nap.

I have to say, at first I was loving the room. A king bed overlooking the pool (though we paid for a downtown Disney view…so I assumed it was an upgrade?), that gorgeous armoire that I could look at for hours, and a good shower. Then I climbed into the bed and ick. Not sure if its an old mattress or what, but not comfy at all--and the sheets and bedding just felt cheap.

We had reservations at Catal, which is somewhere I've always wanted to eat at. I had the olives (yummy) and tuna tartar (v. tasty, but quite different and surprising from other tuna tartars I've had). DH had the chicken, which was v. good and quite well cooked. The wine also, v. v. nice. For desert I had a chai martini. I highly recommend it.

Here's where the lack of planning mistake comes in. We made our way back to Disneyland, and for the first time ever I actually witnessed the crowds and craziness that is fifteen minutes before the fireworks. We usually make a point of not moving out of the lands once it's about an hour before fireworks…and it seems, for good reason. Wow is all I have to say. That is quite the craziness some of you go through in order to see fireworks from main street or the hub. I'll leave it to you, I'll just keep watching from Fantasyland and Frontierland. We then got caught in all the craziness just before the second showing of Fantasia, again, something that I'll just leave to the rest of you. So, we rode rides (Splash, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, Pirates) and I got to drive the boat on the Jungle Cruise (my favorite ride of all time…cheesetastic, I know). Although when I told the skipper that, I think he thought I was a head case. Big surprise of the night was when the line for Space Mountain fifteen minutes before closing was at 45. I must plan better next time!!! I'm usually an expert planner, even during Holiday season…not this time, though.

We got back to the hotel and then discovered the worst part about our room…the noise coming from The Lost Bar. Good god people, shut up already.

Day two will come tomorrow…or soon, sometime…

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm reading! That was a jam-packed first day!!!

Bread bowls with eggs, that sounds good (I'll skip the bacon unless they have soy'con, LOL).

Interesting about the soybean oil making you sick...did they change that out b/c of the trans fat thing? Is soybean oil a trans fat?

Then I climbed into the bed and ick. Not sure if its an old mattress or what, but not comfy at all--and the sheets and bedding just felt cheap.

The bedding at Paradise Pier felt the same way...not all that much nicer than the cheapie TravelLodge on our trip back up to WA.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I'm reading, too, keep going!

We were also there on the 13th, and the crowd was insane!!! We had managed to collect 3 sets of fastpasses (Big Thunder RR, Buzz Lightyear, Autopia) during the day to use in the evening. Thank goodness, otherwise we wouldn't have waited in any of those long lines! Well OK, we did wait in line for Pirates, but only because even that long line moves fairly quickly, and we wanted it to be our last ride.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

You pay extra for a "view room", not a specified view. Though you can request "pool view" or "park view", you are not guaranteed your request, but they will do their best to give you what you requested.

In September 2006 we paid for a view room, and requested Bonita Tower and a waterfall (pool) view room. I'd heard that the waterfall drowned out the sound of people in the pool area, so thought that was a good idea. We were instead placed in Sierra Tower in a pool view room on the 6th floor. We actually liked being a few steps closer to the park at the end of the night, and didn't hear noise from outside from the the 6th floor, so it was fine.

This year I again requested a waterfall view room in the Bonita Tower (not sure what it's renamed to now), though I did not pay for a view this time. We again were placed in Sierra with a pool view, though it was on the 3rd floor this time. We were situated right over the entrance to the building, and heard people all day and all night! Folks were in the pool and bar until very late, and conventioners seemed to be up before dawn, chatting outside the building.

 

[gnbuggy]

Chai Martini?? Sign me up. I hope Ill remember that for my next trip. What kind of cuisine is Catal?

 

[KirklandTutu]

Interesting about the soybean oil making you sick...did they change that out b/c of the trans fat thing? Is soybean oil a trans fat?

I'm one of those soy intollerant people. Apparently, if you were fed soy as a baby instead of milk, it's a common thing. Soy milk and things fried in soy bean oil is the worst for me. With everything else (prepared foods with a touch of soybean oil, for example) I can take a tiny bit, but if I have enough of it over a couple of days, then I'm in the bathroom for an entire afternoon.

Partially hydroganated soybean oil is probably the most used trans fat, since it's so cheap.

 

[KirklandTutu]

You pay extra for a "view room", not a specified view. Though you can request "pool view" or "park view", you are not guaranteed your request, but they will do their best to give you what you requested.

Thank you for the clarification, this trip felt hurried from the getgo, the booking of a room not being the least of the rushed things.

I Did love the Pixie Dust borders! which I forgot to mention earlier, it made me want to have magical dreams...ones that were ruined by the Lost Bar folks.

 

[KirklandTutu]

Chai Martini?? Sign me up. I hope Ill remember that for my next trip. What kind of cuisine is Catal?

What kind of cuisine is Catal?
It's delicious cuisine.

I think it's general mediterranean, but it might have a more specific region to it that I'm unaware of.

 

[KirklandTutu]

Day Two!!! Sunday, Oct 14.

and I planned! I drug DH out of bed in order to be in line before the park opened. I made my coffee (french press in the room) and we were out early enough to get this beautiful shot

We decided to avoid the Nemo nuttiness, and instead we headed to Frontierland (btw, DH insists that if you live a good life, you come back as a duck in Disneyland)

we hit BTMRR (first ones on w/ a fastpass for later...although I think we had to convince the CMs to open for us, not sure if they were playing or not) Splash Mountain (w/ a fastpass for later) the HoneyPots (oohhhwoooonooooo Blustery Day!!!!), Pirates (is anyone else ever freaked out by the upped canon shots?), Haunted Mansion (we liked last years Gingerbread house better), Space Mountain (w/ a fastpass for later), Buzz (DH won, of course), and Honey I shrunk the Audience (which still makes me scream)...all before 10am. Thats right folks...the secrets is heading straight in the opposite direction of Nemo!

We had a late breakfast at Cafe Orleans, part of our plan with dealing with DHs hypogyclemia...eggs in the morning! mmmm. I really enjoyed the creole eggs benedict and beignets (which I have always wanted to have--another cheer for new frying oil!). I could eat beignets all day long, without stop...except for the jittery sugar high. And who knew? a free Zero orniment.
I stayed away from the Nescafe. *shudder*

We used the remainder of our fastpasses (sat through a minor breakdown at Splash), walked through innoventions for the first time (wanted to see Asimo, but missed him), got another fastpass for Space, then gave up on the crowds and went back to DLH for a nap. How funny that it was quiter in the day there than in the evening.

And question, has anyone ever had a bird 'visit' their room? Those signs cracked me up.

I'll continue later with our *drumroll* Halloween Tour!!!

 

[BecBennett]

And question, has anyone ever had a bird 'visit' their room? Those signs cracked me up.

What?!?

 

[KirklandTutu]

What?!?

On the sliding glass door in our room, there was a cautionary sign about not leaving them open because birds like to come in for a visit. Oh yes, got many laughs out of that one.

Back to the report!!!!
*ahem*

So, after a choice nap, we headed out for our Halloween Tour (ooooohahhh). I read the reports before, so I was prepared, and honestly I enjoyed it. Would I have preferred a tour that was like Walk in Walt's Footsteps, only the spookey version? yes, but it was still fun. And on a busy day, I was more than happy to have a quick on to three big rides.

We met at the Tower of Terror with Marilinda (I think that was her name), who was the cheerful hostess for introduction of the trip. Luckily, we had a great bellhop, and, of course at the end, Austin appeared with one of the creepiest expressions I've ever seen. It was great. Outside of the TOT, we got these

...probably my biggest complaint of the tour was the fact that the necklaces had blinky settings as well as normal. Why why why?!?!?! all those blinking lights were just annoying.

If you've read the reviews of the Halloween tour, you know what it's all about. I think that if you go into it knowing what to expect, then it isn't bad and actually entertaining. Perhaps alot of it has to do with the 'spirit guide' too, and I have to say, Austin sold it. Oh, and our group was great at single file lines! hahaha

Anyhoo, we headed out of the park for a late dinner (got freaked out by one of the pin traders yelling out that he wanted one of the tour keys we had) at the Jazz Kitchen.

First off, that garlic bread was insane! Was there a whole clove of garlic on there? yummmmmmmmmm. DH got the Grilled Tournedos of Beef, which was v. tasty and done v. well. I got the Crab Stuffed Gulf Shrimp which was mmm mmm good, though not v. hot. I can't remember what we had for dessert, but it was good...and first ever tasting of chicory coffee was definetly a good thing.

BIggest complaint was the service. It's not that it was rude or outright bad in an obvious way, it's just that the server seemed to be a bit of a dingbat. Maybe thats why the shrimp wasn't hot, she just forgot about it. Like she forgot about the garlic bread...and the sugar for the coffee. Now that I think of it, alot of things were cold. Still tasty though!

We also just happened into a great view of the fireworks

I was surprised, in a good way. I don't know how many tables there would have a view, but I recommend it.

Anyway, back into the park we went. Space Mountain saw our lovin again, along with every Fantasyland ride (with the exception of the merry-go-round). We closed out on Peter Pan and headed back through the Main Street shops, where I had a surprise and saw something that I've never seen before

Sleeping that night was not fun, because there wasn't alot of it. Curse you Lost Bar!!!!

...to be continued...

 

[bumbershoot]

"Haunted Mansion (we liked last years Gingerbread house better)" What gingerbread house?


I would love to do a tour...

What is that last picture?

 

[beansf]

I love the notion about the ducks!

 

[gnbuggy]

A duck? Maybe a cat?
We did that tour in 2004, it was very good, but DH didnt want to spend the $ for it this trip. Hes not really sold on the "magic"...yet. I just came across my amulet a couple of weeks ago.

 

[KirklandTutu]

The Gingerbread House in the Haunted Mansion's ballroom is real gingerbread, and last year it had a look of 'things' coming out of it, this year it was different. DH preferred last years, I was too busy looking at other things I think.

The last picture is of scenes they have up high in one of the shops on Main Street. If you're going down the street, facing the castle, it's the first shop on the left. There's a couple of different scenes up around the top inside, I'd never noticed them before.

And I agree, I want to be a Disney Cat!

 

[KirklandTutu]

Final Day! Monday, Oct 15.

And wow, was it crowded.

DH convinced me to sleep in (which for us is 8am) and once we had 1st breakfast and checked out, we were at Disneyland at about 9:30. The parks opened at 10 and it looked like the lines were halfway to the California sign, at least. Thank goodness for early entry. Not that it helped much. I don't know how people stand for two hours in a line...hence, I still haven't seen Nemo.

So instead...mmmm, the Matterhorn. btw, lesson learned this trip, we should NOT share a seat on this ride. From there a lil Space Mountain, and then we decided to not even try to brave the crowds and went for the lesser attractions. I finally went in Innoventions, which I'm sure would be more interesting were I into computer games. I enjoyed seeing the house in the middle from afar, but would have loved a walk through version. We also wanted to see ASIMO, but alas was not meant to be. We walked through Main Street, saw some cartoons and then it was time for 2nd breakfast at Carnation Cafe.

Strange, but true, the eggs at Carnation Cafe were the best I've had in a long, long time. Apparently, they bake them. The chef there is great, not sure if he does any actual cooking, or just walks around saying hi to everyone. Yet again, I just said no to the Nescafe.

After 2nd breakfast, we went to the 50th exhibit. Last time we were there I didn't get to spend nearly the time I wanted to, so this time I think we spent at least half an hour with the exhibits before watching the film. If you haven't, I suggest you do.

For the most part, the rest of the afternoon was spent doing non ride activities. There was alot of walking through shops and other things we might not normally take time for.

The Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room (which thank god hasn't changed like the god awful one in WDW), I had never paid attention to the front courtyard, who knew there was so much going on out there? I had my first ever Dole Whip...which is good but I'm not sure it's deserving of cult status. The Tarzan Tree House we never do because we usually do Adventureland at night, and what a view from the top. The railroad (rawr, dinosaurs), Pirates (again), AND.....Indiana Jones! we walked by the tip board, did a double take, asked for clarification. It had been open for an hour around 1pm or so.

Alright, question on Indiana. I've never heard him say "I've got a bad feeling about this" before when the giant rock is about to roll, but it's a great homage. Is this new?

Anyhoo, had a fit of giggles when the ride stopped right before it was our turn to be let off, I thought 'here we go again!' ...but it was only a moment before it was going again.

We also did a trip around on the riverboat and I was surprised by this

I never realized that the splashdown for splash mountain went clear into the river. It makes sense though, I just normally have my eyes shut so tight to keep my contacts in from any errant water, I just never realized.

So, we had a late lunch at Cafe Orleans. Tasty again. Pommes Frites, FAB! yay for no soy oil! I LOVE fries. We also had one each of the crepes, and argued over which was better. It's funny, though, DH is convinced that Monte Cristos shouldn't be fried and is always dissapointed when they are, not sure what planet his idea of a Monte Cristo is from.

Anyhoo...off to California Adventure for some quick rideage before catching the plane. On our way to try for Mulholland Madness ONCE AGAIN, I finally saw the elusive ferral cat of Disney!!!

And, as said before, while DH might think a perfect life reincarnated is a Disney Duck...I say a Disney Cat.

We saw Push briefly (love him!) as he was heading out. And finally! got the Mulholland Madness! although they kept turning on the breaks midway, and FYI, it is not as exciting a ride when it does that. *sigh* Last ride we hit was California Screamin. Talk about a great way to end. I love, love that ride. No time will be like the first time however, when we didn't know about the launch and were the first ones on that morning. hehehe.

So, off to catch the taxi, off to the airport. Though, yawn, four hour plane delay. Thank goodness for the Mac with DVDs, otherwise I might have cried.

and....scene!

We had a late lunch at Cafe Orleans

 

[gnbuggy]

I think everyone has their eyes shut at the bottom of Splash. D-SIL and I didnt know it went by the river until last May (after many trips).
I dont know how ferral the cats are. We saw one getting food, from hands at the Hungry Bear. It was a beautiful cat.
What a wonderful trip.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I think everyone has their eyes shut at the bottom of Splash. D-SIL and I didnt know it went by the river until last May (after many trips).

I noticed this for the first time a few weeks ago while sitting on a bench at the Pirate's Lair across the water. I was just people watching, watched a group in a canoe pass by, then a log full of people...HEY!

When DH and the boys joined me I excitedly told them my discovery, and DH says a slow, "Yeahhh... You didn't know that?"

 

[gnbuggy]

I noticed this for the first time a few weeks ago while sitting on a bench at the Pirate's Lair across the water. I was just people watching, watched a group in a canoe pass by, then a log full of people...HEY!

When DH and the boys joined me I excitedly told them my discovery, and DH says a slow, "Yeahhh... You didn't know that?"

My Dh just noticed that the top of the "mountain" in DCA is shaped like a bear. Where has he been when I take his and DSSs picture with that in the background? He was kinda excited when he noticed it. I felt bad b/c I had the same reaction as your DH.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

I really enjoyed your TR and the pictures were great, really getting me excited for our next DL trip in three weeks! Thanks!