Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate's Life for We Halloween *2012* PTR has begun!

[TheColtonsMom]

As cold as it is I make soups constantly in the winter. I can pull off a version but there is nothing like Chef Oscars...maybe I am missing the atmosphere?

 

[skiingfast]

As cold as it is I make soups constantly in the winter. I can pull off a version but there is nothing like Chef Oscars...maybe I am missing the atmosphere?

Do you have thier recipe? Still it may take eating it just off main street to be the same.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Do you have thier recipe? Still it may take eating it just off main street to be the same.

Here is link to Disneyland's Recipe. It's not just me alot of people say the recipe they give you at DL doesn't taste like the one at DL

http://www.ehow.com/how_5356907_make-baked-potato-cheese-soup.html

But for at home this one seems to come out better for me anyway

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/baked-potato-soup-i/Detail.aspx

 

[TheColtonsMom]

So avid readers just wanted to let you know that there will not be an update today unless I have lots of energy tonight.Had food bank volunteer time earlier and then I have auditions for the middle school play from 3pm to 5 pm and darts from 7 to 10. If I don't get one up late tonight I will be back tomorrow.

 

[skiingfast]

So avid readers just wanted to let you know that there will not be an update today unless I have lots of energy tonight.Had food bank volunteer time earlier and then I have auditions for the middle school play from 3pm to 5 pm and darts from 7 to 10. If I don't get one up late tonight I will be back tomorrow.

I'm guessing you got busy. Hopefully you got some rest too.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I'm guessing you got busy. Hopefully you got some rest too.

Yesterday was a bit crazy but I am working on the next "episode" right now LOL

 

[skiingfast]

Yesterday was a bit crazy but I am working on the next "episode" right now LOL

Can't wait!

I didn't have the soup but I did have baked potato for lunch today.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Today the plan was to use our passes for Toontown Morning madness. I was really glad we had this "early" opportunity as the last time we were here in 2008 on the teenager trip we went through toontown but it was a madhouse and since that trip was mostly geared to my teenage daughter we kind of looked it over since we had never seen it and moved on from the sea of little kids. Now we had a little kid and knew we would want to spend time here but as it was Christmas week I can tell you every other time we passed it that week it was crazy in there and I thanked Disney we had done it this way.

The first clock for clock quest on Main street while waiting for the only rope drop we made it for this trip. (the character meals usually interferred with this on this trip)

Ah our destination

Since we had all the character meals and the characters available for autographs & pictures here were ones we had, We rode Rodger Rabbits cartoon spin for the first time for all of us..loved it!

By this time people were lined up pretty thickly already for the show so we staked out a spot for the show. No pics of the show, none of us had seen it before and we got kind of caught up in it. The jokes were kinda corny but a really enjoyable show.

After the show they passed out buttons to show we were honarary citizen's of toontown.

Next we headed for Colton's #1 mission in TT Gadgets Go Coaster, to say he liked this is an understatement we rode it 3 times in a row LOL. A little review of GGC, even though this is a "kiddie ride" DH & I enjoyed it too and got to take turns riding with Colton. My son was not even born when Tail Spin aired (but his big sisters werre fans when they were little) he had no idea who Gadget was but loved the gadgets especially the hand crank! The spitting frogs were a hit too.

By the time we finished the mini roller coaster marathon the lines for the houses that contained a character meet and greet had wait times of over an hour so we decided to skip those we will have to check out Mickey & Minnie's homes at a later date as after this day we never got back to TT on this trip.

Next stop was Donald's boathouse named Daisy. Colton had alot of fun playing that he was the captain. (fully immersed in piloting the ship, it was hard to get him to look our way for a picture he was too busy.

Another clock for the quest (notice the time??? this clock was very wrong it was not 7am or 7pm I would notice this throughout the resort very few of the clocks with the exception of main street had the correct time so much for keeping track of where we were when with this quest) This one is on top of the clockshop in TT you would think at least that one would be right.

Next up.. Goofy's house, he was around front doing his thing with a really big line but Colt just waved (Goofy waved back) he didn't want to stand in line he got to play with Goofy last night!

Daddy & Colton at Goofy's

Colton thought the gas pumps were weird

And in the Dog pound

I always love this pic when I see it! Every one I have seen every kid has a GREAT face! Colton was no exception.

As we bid farewell to Toontown, Another clock this one is on top of TT city hall...this one was wrong too but not as far off as some.

Coming up breakfast at Riverbelle Terrace and a surprise meeting

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Can't wait!

I didn't have the soup but I did have baked potato for lunch today.

You should have made some extra ones while you were at it for the "other" non DL potato soup recipe LOL I always make extras now just for the soup the next day.

 

[6Smiles]

Looks like you had an adventuresome trip. I just joined in and read your entire thread. Love the facial expressions of Colton.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Looks like you had an adventuresome trip. I just joined in and read your entire thread. Love the facial expressions of Colton.

Welcome aboard we are only at the beginning of day 3 and lots more to go! I think I almost want to drag it out as long as possible because I am thinking I will miss it, when it comes to an end I will have the same feeling I did when the trip ended. But as soon as this does end I will be starting the PTR for our next adventure our first Halloweetime visit to DLR! So stay tuned.

 

[skiingfast]

You should have made some extra ones while you were at it for the "other" non DL potato soup recipe LOL I always make extras now just for the soup the next day.

Not a bad idea. Next time i will.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

You will notice that there are not alot of pics on this post. The truth is dealing with todays crowds was about the best we could do at times so we did shoot alot when we got away from the crowds but there were long stretches without any pics on this day.

So when we arrived at DL my DH sent out a "Hello from DLR" type message from his phone to his Facebook page. Got a message back something like "seriously or are you kidding?" turns out a friend from High School he had re-connected with on FB was also at DL! So we made arrangements to meet at the Riverbelle for breakfast.

Believe it or not my DH and I were just discussing it and we cannot even remember what we ate LOL and in the whole excitement of the meet no food porn either.

Usually the Riverbelle is a place I like for sitting on the terrace and people watching/ watching the boats go by,(mostly because Walt liked to do this, feels like touching history, I mean he might have sat right here!) but on this day we were lucky to find a crowded table inside there was nothing on the terrace. Had we actually found a seat on the terrace all we would have seen was a wall of people as one of the very very long long lines (complete with crowd control CMs)for something (we think it may have been pirates yikes!) was wound around the front of the terrace.

So anyway Josanne arrived and we visited. she & I got along on first meeting, she & Brant reminisced. Colton turned on the charm and she of course fell in love LOL She was there with a group of friends without their children so we only got this little bit of time this trip but It went so well that when we come backin Oct 2011 she is going to come spend the day with us and bring her three daughters.

Some pics of the meet.

After breakfast we said good-bye and headed over to IJ to get FPs.
Well I wish we had a pic of this but the standby line was 90 minutes and the fast pass line was 50. For me a FP line this long totally defeats the purpose No way I was waiting that long. With both these lines so long that little adventureland alley was totally crazy! This was the first time but not the last time this day the crowd control CMs were the only thing keeping it from being completely bogged down. Made sure to make a point of thanking them as we walked by.

A cardinal rule of mine is that every time I take my time to complain about someone or some service I have to put just as much effort and time into complimenting someone or some service. Having worked in Customer Service for most of my life I know how it feels when someone takes a minute to thank you for doing your job well, even if it is your job. Plus it keeps my Karma in balance. After Goofy's I figured I owed some good for you's ( I actually did stop by City Hall at DL to compliment the Goofy's restaurant manager for the way he handled my complaint). I worked really hard at balancing my karma during the trip. These crowd control CMs have a job they rarely get thanked for I am sure I saw a lot of people that had to follow the crowd flow that wanted or tried to cut through being really awful to some of these CMs...next time you see them say thank you, you will get some really big smiles and thanks for noticings back from them I promise.(well I also got a few puzzled looks from the CMs and from other Disney guests too)

So since even a fastpass for IJ was out we moved on to the Jungle Cruise the line was long (they were using the upstairs) but there is lots to see in this line and I really enjoy the "radio broadcast" and it was still a shorter wait than the FP for IJ LOL. So mystery solved Colton's first Jungle Cruise was in daylight. We actually had a pretty good tour guide (not the best of the trip but more on that later) I enjoyed the re-introduction to the backside of water. Colton couldn't turn his head fast enough to see everything, he laughed alot, the pirhana freaked him out a bit he said they were too dangerous.

Once off the Jungle cruise we followed the crowd out of Adventureland as it was crowded to the point where it was really bothering me...(I grew up in So Cal and crowds never bothered me, now that I live in the country a crowd that would give a New York City sidewalk a run for it's money is too much for me!) we made our way out and hit the frozen treat cart by the ROA. Those who have been reading since the beginning may be able to guess where we headed to escape the crowd that was blanketing both Adventureland and NOS. So with a Monster energy drink for the flagging DH, a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar for Colton and the (Absolutely necessary for this next attraction in my opinion) traditional frozen banana for me.

So off we go...to the next part of the trip report see you tomorrow

 

[6Smiles]

Welcome aboard we are only at the beginning of day 3 and lots more to go! I think I almost want to drag it out as long as possible because I am thinking I will miss it, when it comes to an end I will have the same feeling I did when the trip ended. But as soon as this does end I will be starting the PTR for our next adventure our first Halloweetime visit to DLR! So stay tuned.

I am enjoying your trip report and dragging it out seems like a great idea to postponing the end. I am so looking forward to Halloweentime at DLR as it will be our first time too. I look forward to seeing your plans for your upcoming trip as well .

 

[BellaBaby]

Is the food good at RiverBelle Terrace? My DH and I would love to sit outside and people watch as you said Walt did, so hopefully it won't be as crowded when we go. Do you need to make a resv. for this one?

My DH taped "Walt Disney- The Man Behind the Myth" off CNBC last week and we've watched it twice so far. So I'm really interested to see Walt's park again after six years and look alot more closely at things.

Great update--looking forward to more!!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Is the food good at RiverBelle Terrace? My DH and I would love to sit outside and people watch as you said Walt did, so hopefully it won't be as crowded when we go. Do you need to make a resv. for this one?

My DH taped "Walt Disney- The Man Behind the Myth" off CNBC last week and we've watched it twice so far. So I'm really interested to see Walt's park again after six years and look alot more closely at things.

Great update--looking forward to more!!

The food was OK but nothing to write home about on this trip.(or I would remember what I ate) I remember it better but I am going to cut some slack on this trip the place was a madhouse and there were ALOT of cranky people in line. Honsetly I would have skipped it this trip and eaten elsewhere (i can be flexible) if we hadn't made plans to meet Josanne there. No reservations for this one it is technically counter service.

How did I miss DVRing that! EEK! :scared Just hit the DVR it is on again Sunday. set it to record. I feel much better now!

This trip you are reading about was after 8 years away my longest ever...all I can say is the more things change the more they stay the same...I know I love most those things (even if it is a trashcan or a bench) that I can remember from childhood but some of the new stuff is pretty good too.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I am enjoying your trip report and dragging it out seems like a great idea to postponing the end. I am so looking forward to Halloweentime at DLR as it will be our first time too. I look forward to seeing your plans for your upcoming trip as well .

Whoo Hoo another Diser at Halloween!!!! Have you checked in on the October thread?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=39630085#post39630085

And, if you are planning on doing it, the thread on whos going to the Halloween TOT Party.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2638955

 

[TheColtonsMom]

So where we left off was at the snack cart by the ROA.

Those in the know already knew this of course. Ever since I was a child I always eat a frozen banana while waiting for and riding over on the rafts to what was Tom Sawyer Island in my youth.

As crowded as NOS was at this point in time I wasn't sure I would make it onto areft before the banana was gone but amazingly we were on the 2nd raft after we arrived at the launch point.

The crowd was amazingly thin on the island and a blessed relief from AL & NOS.

We spent a blissfull hour or so (almost 2) away from the crowds exploring the island there are some fun interactive spots like trying to pump all the water out of the wreck in order to find the treasure. It was a great opportunity for Colton to just run around a bit and for all of us to be away from the buffeting of the crowds.

There is a really nice Photo opportunity once you find the treasure trove. Colton was really excited and wanted pics all over it he had fun posing over & over. Can't wait to do pirates lair in October when he has his pirates costume on those pics are going to be awesome!

DH got some nice shots of the Columbia from the island as it went by us.

We also spotted a Disney Cat from the island...the first one you will notice is indeed a Disney cat but look above it's head on the tracks there is another OH I wish we had the telephoto lens at this moment!

Well we had to leave the island sometime so back to the rafts.

We headed over to critter country and got a FP for Splash Mountain.
Then hit Winnie the Pooh. I do love me some Tigger and loved this ride as did my boys. So we rode it again then headed for pooh corner. BTW even though disney dining had told me we could use our snack vouchers at pooh corner we founf this was not true...All the bakeries and candy shops items are merchandise not food! In case anyone wondered.

We were in our FP window so we hopped down to BTMRR and got a fast pass for that too.

We headed to the fast pass line at Splash as we had only had to kill 45 minutes we were already in our window...I cannot believe people are still standing in lines 2 hours long at DL a decade after the FP came into being. Even if you didn't know ahead of time wouldn't you wonder what FP lines were? wonder how those other people got to bypass the lines? Ask a CM at some point? But hey less of a wait for me so they can go on being oblivious.

COLTON LOVED SPLASH MOUNTAIN! I am talking whooping jumping up and down screaming laughing loved it. MOM DAD THIS IS MY FAVORITE RIDE! came out of his mouth repeatedly! This child was walking on air. He has never seen song of the south, he wanted to know the whole story about brer rabbit brer bear and brer fox wanted to go again right NOW! I mean an completely over the moon totally excited kid. He had half the crowd laughing and smiling. We had to commemorate the moment so here is where he pressed his very first pressed penny ever.

We had some time before BTMRR (due to the crowd all day we were trying to stick to one area at a time so we wouldn't have to fight our way back & forth through the crowds wasting precious time)

We hit the Reindeer round-up which was blissfully un crowded since Santa was gone for the year. Well a couple things about the whole experience... they have decorations and stuff piled all around the reindeer enclosure. Colton at 48" tall could not see over all this stuff to see the reindeer. This child is not a lightweight but we had to lift him to see them. Other parents were letting their children scramble up on top of the decorations which I could not imagine letting my child do. The harried CMs in this area spent their time asking people to get their children down as this was unsafe. I know the blockages are to keep both the reindeer and the children safe but I think a much better way would have been a 2nd fence with a space in between as a buffer zone. The kids just want to see the reindeer and the current set up makes this nearly impossible.

Another thing... these critters are not native to Southern California..they were hot! most of them were sleeping in the little shade they had available everytime we went by and those that weren't looked miserable. Colton being Colton said it must take them a long time to recover from flying all over the world they must be really tired. If you are going to have a herd of reindeer on display in a hot place they really need to be indoors where climate can be controlled. I felt really bad for these poor guys. The only time our whole trip I saw most of them up and moving is the day it rained they loved it.

Once we finished Reindeer round-up we were in our FP window so we walked over to get another FP for Splash then headed for BTMRR.

Another big hit he loved this too! This would have been the perfect first real roller coaster! Should really have done this one before Matterhorn! He really loved the dynamite chewing goat, the spraying skunks and everything else. As you will see Splash and BTMRR would become his mantra we could have spent 4 days hopping between these 2 and I would have had one happy kid.

We headed back through the craziness of NOS to see what kind of route we would have to follow in order to get to BB for our reservation later. There was no clear way that we could do this easily. By this time it was dark already and the crowd control CMs were out with their lit batons. Colton thought they were baby lightsabers (star wars again LOL) we had many good interactions with these CMs and Colton made many of them laugh with his Jedi moves.

We finally got a CM that could tell us how to best get through to BB when the time came standing at the bottom of the stairs to Tarzan'a Treehouse so after getting our instructions on how to get there we went up the stairs and checked out the treehouse. The last time I was in the treehouse it was still Swiss Family Robinson, I know kids today have no idea what that is so I was interested to see what it was like in it's new state. I loved the "remember" items like the fact that there was a copy of the book "Swiss family Robinson" in Jane's things. It really did a good job of showing some moments from the Tarzan movie. We enjoyed it.

Next up that Splash FP. Colton was just as happy if not more so this time around as now he knew the storyline a bit (I wonder that Brer Rabbit now gets stuck in honey instead of tar must be a PC thing Disney doesn't really promote SOTS much anymore)

Well it was about an hour til our BB reservation so we headed down to NOS to see if the route the CM gave us would work out for us. When we got to NOS we saw the shortest line for POC we had seen all day 45 min wait...well we had an hour until dinner we could do it right? So we did.

The family behind us had never been on POC and asked us some questions about it specific to what might scare their 2 little ones. While Brant & I talked with the parents (who were holding the really little one) Colton and thier little girl prob age 3 or 4 were having their own conversation which I was using Momdar to keep track of their conversation too. This is when I knew our earlier moment at the partner's statue had taken hold. Wow what a kid. This is kind of how that conversation went.

She asked him if he was scary and he told her about the youtube video he watched. He got down on his knees so he would be at her eye level and told her the following. "Mr Disney made Disneyland with his Imagination for us! Mr Disney likes kids he would never make anything that would hurt a kid." She smiled and told her Mom it would be OK they could hold hands if she got scared but nothing would hurt them. Teary eyed I looked into the eyes of another teary eyed mom and knew I wasn't the only one with Momdar.

The little girl then asked her mom if they could give Colton one of her bracelets to help them both be brave. Since the little one was really little, the older one was sporting 2 WOC bracelets from the picnic. She gave Colton the red one (his favorite color) he thanksed her and we all chatted about random stuff while the two of them played with the bracelets. Then got on our boat they were directly behind us I asked the other people in the boat to let us know if the bracelets became a problem we would have them shut them off. I pointed out the BB and told Colton that we were eating there tonight. The lady in front of us said she too had always wanted to eat there and they had PS for the next day. Loved this ride of course it has always been a favorite but this is the first time we have ridden it since the Jack Sparrow additions. Colton loves the POC movies so as I knew he would he liked it but he made sure I knew SM & BTMRR were still his favorites. We exited the ride directly across from BB at exactly 2 minutes until our PS time LOL I doubt we would ever manage to pull this off so well were we to plan it.

Next post will be BB and the end of this crazy crowded day at DL.

 

[BellaBaby]

Another teary-eyed mom here! That Colton-what a kid!! So cute!!

Did the little girl make it thru OK without being too scared?

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Another teary-eyed mom here! That Colton-what a kid!! So cute!!

Did the little girl make it thru OK without being too scared?

She did - the two of them touched base all thorough the ride...like did you see that! wow that connonball almost hit us! I thought that barrel was gonna fall! That dog is too smart to give them the keys. etc the whole boat ws laughing by the end.