"Why is EVERYTHING better here?" First trip to DL, May '14

[bellebookworm9]

Brave:

Fantasia 2000:

 

[bellebookworm9]

“Just Around the Riverbend” which then morphs into “Colors of the Wind”

a bug’s life:

The Old Mill/”Little April Showers”:

Pirates of the Caribbean:

 

[petals]

Thanks! My mom is always like, "Nobody wants to look at 45739845 pictures of the night time shows!"...but I do, and I think that sometimes others do as well. If you're willing and able to put in the bit of extra time and effort, it's no problem to get a good spot. Even if you're not right at the front, the show is so big that I think you could have a good view further back.

My mother is the same. She doesn't understand why I need to stop every few seconds to take more photos lol

 

[bellebookworm9]

More Pirates:

The Lion King:

“So Close” from Enchanted/Love Montage:

Beast's Transformation:

Finale:

 

[bellebookworm9]

And more post-show fountains:

Just as amazing as the first night and still totally worth a 90-minute wait. World of Color was truly just as epic as I’d hoped! We didn’t get quite as wet this night either; still considerably wet but not downright soaked. Walking back, people were still commenting on my poncho though. And this was the night that person #4, a guest this time, asked if PB and I were married. Oh boy, we’ve upgraded from just a couple to being wed. Another successful day completed, and Wednesday would bring us back to Disneyland!

 

[lucysmom]

Okay, well, I am just going to have to give WOC another chance. I saw it two Christmases ago from the handicapped section and really was not impressed. But, your photos are a whole different show. Perhaps if I can get to the railing, I can lean on it because standing would be difficult. However, since we go in the winter, I don't want to get wet. What to do? What to do? I am enjoying your report. Maybe strangers know something about you and PB that the two of you haven't discovered yet? Hmmm.....

 

[bellebookworm9]

Okay, well, I am just going to have to give WOC another chance. I saw it two Christmases ago from the handicapped section and really was not impressed. But, your photos are a whole different show. Perhaps if I can get to the railing, I can lean on it because standing would be difficult. However, since we go in the winter, I don't want to get wet. What to do? What to do? I am enjoying your report. Maybe strangers know something about you and PB that the two of you haven't discovered yet? Hmmm.....

I think viewing location accounts for a lot of how World of Color is perceived. You may be able to watch from where we were; the first night there was a lady in an ECV with her family right next to us, and I think she specifically asked. I also think the handicapped section is in the second raised row (so immediately behind where we were) and since they seat that area first, I would hope you could get a good view! And, being back in that next row might provide you a little bit of protection from the water.

As for me and PB, he is gay as gay can be, and I have never been attracted to him. But we've both said we would be fine being platonic life partners if all else fails for either of us in the romance department!

 

[luulu1999]

As for me and PB, he is gay as gay can be, and I have never been attracted to him. But we've both said we would be fine being platonic life partners if all else fails for either of us in the romance department!

OMG this almost made me spit our my coffee the gay as gay can be part too funny

 

[lucysmom]

A life-long friend is a grand gift indeed. Hurray for both of you. Now, regarding WOC, when we went, the handicapped section was where there were already benches. It seemed to be in the back. Is that what you are thinking? Maybe they have a new area?

 

[bellebookworm9]

OMG this almost made me spit our my coffee the gay as gay can be part too funny

Glad I could add some humor to your day.

A life-long friend is a grand gift indeed. Hurray for both of you. Now, regarding WOC, when we went, the handicapped section was where there were already benches. It seemed to be in the back. Is that what you are thinking? Maybe they have a new area?

Yes, it seems there were some changes when I was there from what has been posted on the DIS. The ECVs were no longer in the back row, as I have seen on other maps. This time they were in the second row of the viewing area. So we were in the very front section, and they were in the tier immediately behind/above us.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Wednesday morning we arrived at Disneyland by 8:45am. I got Woody on my ticket today, and I think PB had Minnie.

PB headed towards the Adventureland rope so he could get FPs for Indiana Jones, while I waited by the Fantasyland rope to go meet Merida.

When they moved the rope, people took off running. I was like, “Seriously? The rides aren’t going anywhere!” I was the first one back at Merida’s area. Captain Hook was wandering by, and actually stopped to take a photo with a couple of guests who were taking pictures by it’s a small world (which was closed for refurb).

A couple families joined me, including one mom and her little girl, Isabella. Isabella and I chatted about the characters she had already met that morning, like Mickey, Goofy, and Tinker Bell. Merida was supposed to be out at 9, but around 9:15 a character attendant and Photopass person came out and said she had some trouble getting out of bed that morning and wouldn’t be there until 10. Boooooo.

So I went to meet PB at the Storybook Land Canal Boats, where he showed up just a couple of minutes after I did. Our plans were already off track! He said that Indy was down for the moment and they weren’t giving out Fastpasses, but he was given a voucher good for any ride at either park (except RSR or WoC) for the rest of the day (we didn’t end up using it though). Our predicted wait for the Boats was 7 minutes; it was actually more like 20. I think there were only two boats in service though so that probably didn’t help.

We boarded the “Wendy” and were on our way!

This was part of the Three Little Pigs village, I believe:

This was the Big Bad Wolf’s cave:

And the brick house of the Three Little Pigs:

Alice’s village:

London Park, where the Darling children played with Peter Pan:

Agrabah:

The Magic Lamp inside the Cave of Wonders:

Seven Dwarfs Cottage:

Lady Tremaine’s chateau from Cinderella:

Cinderella’s castle and pumpkin coach:

A “Patchwork Quilt” from the Silly Symphony short, Lullaby Land:

Toad Hall, from The Wind in the Willows:

Dutch Windmills from The Old Mill:

Pinocchio’s village, featuring Gepetto’s wood carving shop:

Prince Eric’s castle and ship:

I didn’t have my camera ready in time, but behind this colorful waterfall is King Triton’s palace:

 

[bellebookworm9]

Continuing on, we passed by the Frozen meet & greet, which was at 120 minutes. Still ridiculously long, but nowhere as insane as WDW’s 5 hour waits.

And we saw this very pretty carriage by the Big Thunder Ranch.

Our next ride was Big Thunder Mountain, but oh hey, that was temporarily closed too. So we continued on to Adventureland to see if Indy was back up. It wasn’t, so we hopped on Jungle Cruise instead.

“Don’t worry, I checked, they’ve all got their trunks on!”

“Do you see what they did to my Jeep? Now I’ll never get it to turn over!”

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this, there must be 1000 rocks on that beach.”

“The backside of water”

Trader Sam!

I think Indy was back up and running, so we grabbed some FPs. Then we went up into Tarzan’s Treehouse. So many stairs, my legs were shaking by the time we were done!

Sabor scared the crap out of me when I first saw this movie.

And down in the base camp:

There was a bellows you pumped with your foot that would make the pots rattle.

As you exit, there’s this box hanging from a rope. If you pull on the rope, all these crazy animal noises start happening. We definitely weren’t expecting that!

 

[petals]

Tarzan's treehouse sounds cool. I think it might have been one i'd have skipped but seeing your pics I want to see it now

 

[bellebookworm9]

Tarzan's treehouse sounds cool. I think it might have been one i'd have skipped but seeing your pics I want to see it now

It was cute to see once, not something I'd do every time- but certainly better than the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse at WDW. Also, I saw your posts over in the WoC thread...have no fear, the lines for WOC FPs are non-existent. Even though we kept checking back, that's cause we were being picky, and there was never a line any time we stopped by!

 

[bellebookworm9]

I don’t remember why we stopped in New Orleans Square, maybe to get PB a cup of water, but Tiana had a very short line, so I got a photo with her.

Then we backtracked to Big Thunder, which was up and running by now. I believe the wait was less than 20 minutes, and their queue was super cute!

Our train:

Fake turtles:

They had a super cool dynamite part at the beginning that we don’t and their special effects seemed better over all, but I think our ride is longer. Heading back to New Orleans Square, we had a short wait for the Haunted Mansion.

Madam Leota:

Ballroom table:

“I do…I did…”

“Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!”

Beware of hitch-hiking ghosts!

Our hitch hiking ghost special effect is better since it was refurbed and enhanced a couple of years ago, but other than that, the rides are almost identical! Except, of course, that this stretching room is actually a downward elevator, where ours has a legitimate stretching ceiling. We stopped at Splash Mountain to get our FPs.

Our Indy FPs were good by now so we headed back to Adventureland.

It was a cool ride, but we didn’t do it again. I’m surprised they don’t take your picture on this one, it seems like that last second escape from the boulder would be a perfect time-they even have the flashing lights! Part of the reason I thought it was just okay was the vehicles. They’re identical to the ones on the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom, which is not a ride I enjoy. All that jerking movement has me trained to cower in my seat for fear of giant carnotaurs jumping out at me!

Then it was back to Critter Country:

 

[707MickeyGirl]

I love this TR. It's almost like being there! Thank you for sharing - I can't wait to see how it ends.

 

[petals]

It was cute to see once, not something I'd do every time- but certainly better than the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse at WDW. Also, I saw your posts over in the WoC thread...have no fear, the lines for WOC FPs are non-existent. Even though we kept checking back, that's cause we were being picky, and there was never a line any time we stopped by!

I'm just scared we're only going to have one or two chances to see it and that we're not going to get a good view of it

 

[bellebookworm9]

I love this TR. It's almost like being there! Thank you for sharing - I can't wait to see how it ends.

Spoiler Alert: It ends with me getting on a plane to go back to Buffalo.

But in all seriousness, I'm glad you're enjoying the report!

I'm just scared we're only going to have one or two chances to see it and that we're not going to get a good view of it

If my math is right, you're going starting on November 17th. Crowds at DCA (according to touring plans) are between 1 and 4 until Saturday the 22nd. Getting a FP should take no time at all, unless you have to keep checking back to get the section you want. As long as you're willing to put in the time to line up 90 minutes prior, you will have no problem at all. (Our crowd levels were 6 and 1 on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.)

 

[bellebookworm9]

Winnie the Pooh was nearly a walk on.

We thought their ride vehicles were much cuter than our honey pots. I thought this little bumbleheffalump was adorable.

“Owl” was our beehive for the day, and we got squished into the last row. There was hardly any legroom!

Their ride is almost the same as ours, but PB insisted that their heffalump and woozle scene was better. On to Hungry Bear for lunch!

Despite it being almost noon, there were only three registers open, which caused quite a crowd. After we ordered, I went to grab a table (very easy to find one, surprisingly) while PB waited for the food. It felt like forever, but it was about 20 minutes from the time we stepped in line until we had our food. PB ordered the Fried Chicken Sandwich with fries.

I decided to give the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich a go, and substituted Sweet Potato Fries.

I’d never had this type of sandwich before but it was very good! Definitely fresh and healthy tasting. Loved the sweet potato fries as well, can’t go wrong with those. I couldn’t finish the whole sandwich, in part because it was huge, and partly because it was just a little too “different” for me to be able to eat it all.

For dessert, we split the Lemon Bumblebee Cupcake. It was $5+ but so worth it. Look at all that filling! (This is a true to size representation-determined by the fact that I put my actual thumb over the photo and was like, "Oh hey, this cupcake was gigantic!")

After lunch, our FPs were good for Splash, so we headed over there and almost walked on right away. I think our ride is a little better, and it was weird to be riding in single file logs. They also don’t have lap bars! (But then again we didn't either until two years ago.) We tried to make funny faces for the picture.

There was a showing of Tangled at the Fantasy Faire Theater at 1:20, so we went over there after Splash. We were super early, so had a bit of a wait. Some of it was standing outside, but most of it we were allowed to sit in the theater.

Mr. Smythe and Mr. Jones, our narrators:

Rapunzel, dreaming of going to see the floating lights:

A “theatrical representation” of Rapunzel’s hair:

A “theatrical representation” of their boat:

And a happily ever after, of course:

I thought this was a super cute little show. It was only about 20 minutes long but it was funny with a lot of tongue in cheek humor for the adults. Mr. Smythe and Mr. Jones added a lot to the show; one of them played Mother Gothel. Her wig was black on one side and grey on the other, so the actor had to face a certain way depending on if “she” was young or old. At one point, he even flipped the wig to cover his face to he could be facing the other way! I’m sad we never got to see the Beauty and the Beast show, but I definitely recommend making a stop here if you can! Also hoping the Frozen Sing-Along at DHS this summer has a similar sense of humor!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Since we were right there, we headed into the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

“Make it blue…no, pink!”

By this point it was 2pm and we were getting tired. We stopped by Snow White’s Grotto…

Before continuing into Tomorrowland, where we eventually found the monorail station.

For whatever reason, they still allow you to ride up front with the driver here. I hadn’t had the opportunity to ride up front at WDW before that tragic accident a few years ago, and PB had never even been there until almost a year after it happened. Maybe it’s still allowed at Disneyland because there’s less traffic? We only saw two monorails at a time, and I think they only have three or four total anyway, in comparison with our twelve. Regardless, there was actually no wait for the front, and a man and his daughter rode up front with us.

About to pass through the Grand Californian:

There’s the Disneyland Hotel:

After we got off at the DTD station, we passed by the Lego store, where I was happy to see my favorite movie in Lego form:

Not sure how a Disney property store got the rights for Gandalf the Gray, but it’s still pretty cool!

A few more shots around Downtown Disney:

House of Blues:

My destination was Wetzel’s Pretzels. I’d never had one at WDW and was also under the impression that our store had closed. I guess it did, but there are still kiosks at Downtown Disney over by Cirque du Soleil. I asked for a regular salted pretzel with cheese sauce and a fresh strawberry lemonade. Didn’t take a picture, because I figured it’s a pretzel and everyone knows what it looks like. Drank most of my lemonade on the walk back to the hotel, and it was so refreshing. But that pretzel was anything but ordinary. It was the best pretzel I’ve ever had in my entire life. So fresh and buttery, I’m daydreaming about it now! I can’t recommend them enough and I’ll definitely be stopping by the one at WDW in August! Back in the room, it was time for our daily nap/relax time before an evening of downtime and fun.