Trip Report Disneyland Forever! July 2016

Hello! Welcome to another trip report by me! A little backstory...last year hubby (Brad) and I (Amy) bought Premier Passes that cover both Disneyland and WDW, we bought them in Disneyland. We have been lucky (or crazy) enough to be able to use them a lot. So as the passes were coming in on their expiration date we decided to sneak in one last trip to Disneyland, as a way to make it a complete circle of start to end on our passes. (If you are interested and haven't read them yet I've done a few trip reports this year, they are pretty rockin' if you want to go back and read them!;))

We went to Disneyland from July 24-July 29 (actually getting home on the 30th). So we left on Sunday the 24 on an afternoon flight. My husband had to work Sunday morning so we left later which is odd for us because we normally leave super early (first flight of the day) and come back on the last possible flight of the day.

As you can see the airport was pretty empty when we arrived. On our last trip to WDW we upgraded as a present to each other to first class. Apparently hubby has gotten fond of first class because he did it again for us, I'm not complaining as I like the extra room and drinks!
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Here's us on the plane!
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A little coffee and Bailey's for me and a rum and Coke for hubby!
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A couple of pictures out the window as we approach Los Angeles.
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Unfortunately, you can also see some of the wildfires in these two pictures.
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Finally we have landed!
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Once we landed we had to get to Disneyland. For the second time, we hired a Lansky car service. Their service is excellent. We did not plan to go anywhere other than Disneyland so we didn't want to rent a car so this was a good option for us. I don't like that all the car rentals are off site at the airport it just seems to take forever to get going. I like that the driver meets us at baggage claim and is parked close by. Plus it is nice not to have to worry about driving and traffic. We also made a quick stop at a Target to get some water, seltzers, soda and light snacks for the time we were there.

I'm going to add some tags quick to some of the people I have seen following my trip reports before. I know I will forget some people, but everyone is welcome! @figmentfan423 @Gabe1 @Songbird76 @PacNWTigger @fractal @PUSH @JenniferS @BuddyThomas @MinnieM123 @MouseDreaming @MOXOMUMD @donaldtoo @betty rose
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
So to close out our first full day....After Paint the Night got done we moved closer to small world to watch Disneyland Forever fireworks. I like the projections and viewpoint from this location. We got a decent spot, but we did have some annoying girls nearby. They were Japanese or Chinese and every time a firework went off or the song would change they would screech really loud, and scream (maybe with delight) and giggle. But there wasn't really anywhere to move to at that time so I tuned them out the best I could.
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Next we took a spin on Autopia, the line was only about 10 minutes and it is fun. I like Disneyland version, because it has more of a park atmosphere which is prettier to me than the MK's Speedway.
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Then it was time to start heading back to the hotel but first we wanted to get a treat. So we got ice cream sundaes from the ice cream parlor! Brad got chocolate ice cream and I got cookie dough. I'm usually a chocolate all the way, but for some reason the cookie dough was calling me and now I still kind of craving cookie dough ice cream. This may be controversial and maybe a little ironic but I could have done without the chocolate chip cookies on the sundae.
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Coming up next...a day at DCA!
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
Such a fun start! I totally agree about the rental cars at LAX. That is a horribly frustrating experience, so I'm glad the car service was an option for you! Your first full day at Disneyland looks like it was a blast. I love the Paint the Night pictures, and I am with you on the mesmerizing Mickey float. It's hard to look away!

Looking forward to more :)
 

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Hello! Welcome to another trip report by me! A little backstory...last year hubby (Brad) and I (Amy) bought Premier Passes that cover both Disneyland and WDW, we bought them in Disneyland. We have been lucky (or crazy) enough to be able to use them a lot. So as the passes were coming in on their expiration date we decided to sneak in one last trip to Disneyland, as a way to make it a complete circle of start to end on our passes. (If you are interested and haven't read them yet I've done a few trip reports this year, they are pretty rockin' if you want to go back and read them!;))

We went to Disneyland from July 24-July 29 (actually getting home on the 30th). So we left on Sunday the 24 on an afternoon flight. My husband had to work Sunday morning so we left later which is odd for us because we normally leave super early (first flight of the day) and come back on the last possible flight of the day.

As you can see the airport was pretty empty when we arrived. On our last trip to WDW we upgraded as a present to each other to first class. Apparently hubby has gotten fond of first class because he did it again for us, I'm not complaining as I like the extra room and drinks!
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Here's us on the plane!
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A little coffee and Bailey's for me and a rum and Coke for hubby!
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A couple of pictures out the window as we approach Los Angeles.
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Unfortunately, you can also see some of the wildfires in these two pictures.
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Finally we have landed!
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Once we landed we had to get to Disneyland. For the second time, we hired a Lansky car service. Their service is excellent. We did not plan to go anywhere other than Disneyland so we didn't want to rent a car so this was a good option for us. I don't like that all the car rentals are off site at the airport it just seems to take forever to get going. I like that the driver meets us at baggage claim and is parked close by. Plus it is nice not to have to worry about driving and traffic. We also made a quick stop at a Target to get some water, seltzers, soda and light snacks for the time we were there.

I'm going to add some tags quick to some of the people I have seen following my trip reports before. I know I will forget some people, but everyone is welcome! @figmentfan423 @Gabe1 @Songbird76 @PacNWTigger @fractal @PUSH @JenniferS @BuddyThomas @MinnieM123 @MouseDreaming @MOXOMUMD @donaldtoo @betty rose

A little late to the party (I'm behind all over this site :confused: ;)), but, following...!
Great start!
Thanks for the tag...! :)
 

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
Okay, so we dropped our bags off in the room and organized for a couple minutes and then it was time to hit the parks for the rest of the afternoon/evening!

After tearing up with happiness to be back I managed to get a decent shot of the train station. I loved that even though the trains weren't running because of construction the trains were still at the Main Street and New Orleans station for people to explore (more on that later).
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Since hubby was wearing his Jungle Cruise shirt he wanted to do Jungle Cruise first which was fine with me because it is awesome! I hadn't noticed the laundry out to dry from the queue before so I thought that was a fun detail.
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Then we did the Haunted Mansion.
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Then time for dinner at the French Market. Cajun meatloaf for me and Jambalaya for hubby!
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Afterwards we listened to some jazz on the river, rode Big Thunder and the fireworks were going off while we were riding so finished watching them when we got off the ride.
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As always, great pics!
Haven't been to DLR since June of '10, and I'm really missing it.
That food looks awesome! I pretty much love anything Cajun, food-wise...! :hungry:
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Such a fun start! I totally agree about the rental cars at LAX. That is a horribly frustrating experience, so I'm glad the car service was an option for you! Your first full day at Disneyland looks like it was a blast. I love the Paint the Night pictures, and I am with you on the mesmerizing Mickey float. It's hard to look away!

Looking forward to more :)

Thanks for reading! The car service really worked for us the last couple of trips since we weren't going away from Disneyland. I like that it is an easy option.

Want one of those cookie sundaes NOW! :hungry:

Do they still have the create-your-own ice cream bars at Clarabelle's in DCA? Those were THE BEST!!!

As far as I know they are still there. I haven't gotten one for a few trips. Last time we went to clarabelle's I got an Oswald hot fudge sundae, it came with chocolate dipped bananas (those there the Oswald ears).
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
A little late to the party (I'm behind all over this site :confused: ;)), but, following...!
Great start!
Thanks for the tag...! :)

As always, great pics!
Haven't been to DLR since June of '10, and I'm really missing it.
That food looks awesome! I pretty much love anything Cajun, food-wise...! :hungry:

Even though you are a little late, thanks for showing up! And don't worry I'll be posting some more food pics, maybe even some BBQ!:)
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
DCA Day!
We decided to start the day at DCA and in the end only visited this park. We joined the rope drop crowd and headed to Radiator Springs. For all the times we have ridden this ride it is the first time we actually went into the regular standby line. When we got to the ride they already had the wait time at 40 minutes, geez, talk about wait time inflation we only had about 30 people ahead of us in line!

Looking forward from the rope drop.
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I think the gas name is funny, I know it isn't pronounced like butt but that is what I think of when I see it...butt gas! Hahaha (sorry I work with middle school kids, so sometimes I have their humor!)!
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After Racers we tried the new Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters. It was a cute ride!
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Then we went over to Tower of Terror. The news of them changing it to Guardians had just come out a couple days ahead of our visit or maybe while we were there, so I did take a lot of pictures. I won't bore you with all of them though.
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I also played with the settings on the camera, I thought a few black and whites would look nice.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
After Tower we wandered over to the Hyperion Theater and got our fast passes to see the Frozen stage show. We got passes for the second show which meant we would be staying later than we wanted for the afternoon but it all worked out in the end.
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Then we took a spin on the monsters Inc ride, I think it is really cute. Hubby finds it mildly interesting but it was only a 5 minute wait.
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We had planned to ride Soarin' but the wait was about 45 minutes, so we snagged a fast pass that we could use later before our Carthay Circle lunch. So we continued on to Paradise Pier via the Grizzle Peak area. It is a pretty area, and we observed the rafts on the raft ride but did not ride. I always end up getting soaked and that was not an experience I wanted to go through that day.
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donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
DCA Day!
We decided to start the day at DCA and in the end only visited this park. We joined the rope drop crowd and headed to Radiator Springs. For all the times we have ridden this ride it is the first time we actually went into the regular standby line. When we got to the ride they already had the wait time at 40 minutes, geez, talk about wait time inflation we only had about 30 people ahead of us in line!

Looking forward from the rope drop.
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I think the gas name is funny, I know it isn't pronounced like butt but that is what I think of when I see it...butt gas! Hahaha (sorry I work with middle school kids, so sometimes I have their humor!)!
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After Racers we tried the new Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters. It was a cute ride!
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Then we went over to Tower of Terror. The news of them changing it to Guardians had just come out a couple days ahead of our visit or maybe while we were there, so I did take a lot of pictures. I won't bore you with all of them though.
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I also played with the settings on the camera, I thought a few black and whites would look nice.
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Great pics, again! :)

On a side note:
No matter how much I read about it, the re-theming of ToT just has me baffled... :confused: :cautious: :cool:
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Great pics, again! :)

On a side note:
No matter how much I read about it, the re-theming of ToT just has me baffled... :confused: :cautious: :cool:

THanks! I am a little upset about the retheming of TOT, but the one in DCA isn't as good as Hollywood Studios. I like that the one in HS travels out to the drop shaft. But I'm not hopping mad about the change either, but if they want to change then on in HS then we've got some problems!:cool:
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Continuing with our morning at DCA....
We left the Grizzly Peak area and rode the Little Mermaid ride as like most of the time it is a walk on.
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Then we went counter-clock wise and rode the Golden Zephyr. I think it is cute and provides some good views but is way too short. Brad vetoed Jumping Jellyfish (he said the hump in the middle of the seat is uncomfortable for him :cautious:) and Goofy's Sky School was about 20 minutes and I find that ride a little jerky so I was okay passing on that one.
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We did go on Mickey's Fun Wheel, but since Brad gets motion sickness he claims the swinging ones bother him so we went on the stationary ones. I do love the views from the wheel too.
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We went on Toy Story Mania next, I won!!!:) It is usually really close when we play this game (unlike Buzz) but I really leapt ahead during the alien ring toss and that was surprising because that is usually where it falls apart for me.

Then we rode the carousel and passed this time on California Screamin'. We usually only ride it once per trip anyway, because of his motion sickness and I get headaches with rides that go upside down. It is fun to watch the cars launch though.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
So we meandered through the Wharf area and walked through the Boudin bakery area and sampled some of the tasty bread. Watching them make the bread was kind of cool. I wish it would have had more smell though, I love the smell of fresh bread.
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We also just sat for a bit in the shady quiet area. We also went in the Ghiradhelli shop for a free taste of chocolate!
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We then used our fast passes for Soarin'. A good ride as usual. The people next to me were a bit annoying, they had a conversation about them being at the Great Wall of China, and then would call out the wrong names of the places we were flying over and how they should go to those places. I was tempted to join their conversation when we flew to Paris and tell them about my experience on the top of the Eiffel Tower. I wonder what their reaction would have been? ;)

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Then it was time for lunch at the Carthay Circle. I love this restaurant. I think it is my favorite Disney restaurant in any location. I love the the background music, the decor, service, and the food.:inlove::inlove: The lounge is even fun and relaxing to be in. Love, love, love it!
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We were seated in the Hollywood room instead of the main dining room. We have been seated here before, actually at the same table. I don't mind the Hollywood room, it is still classy to me. When we were seated in this room we were the only ones in it. Shortly after we ordered our drinks a family arrived: mom, dad and four kids ranging in age from teen to maybe 7 or 8. (Do you sense a story coming on....)

So the family sits down and to us it seems like they are having a normal lunch with normal conversation. Then the dad, who we thought had a loud voice, starts lecturing the kids about table manners and how to act and just correcting every little thing they might be doing wrong and telling them how to behave in restaurants and not to talk loud. To us the kids seemed well behaved and weren't being rude at all. So after they order the Dad gets a phone call. So Mr. Etiquette does what? Takes the phone call and sits at a table near us to have his conversation! He sat with his body turned to the wall but we could still hear his conversation! :facepalm: We thought it was highly ironic that he was giving lectures of how to behave (when the kids weren't misbehaving) and then rudely leaves his family for a phone call, and then sits near other restaurant patrons to take the call! I guess he didn't see that as rude! :cautious: We laughed about it and made a couple jokes (we don't know if he or the family heard us). When he returned to his family he complained that his appetizer was cold! :banghead:

Oh one more thing about the family. They were doing the Frozen dinner package and had to call the manager over because they were upset because their lunch time conflicted with the show time they were supposed to go to. And the manager got quite the dressing down because they didn't know that they had to schedule the lunch at a time that wasn't at the same time as the show. :confused: Oh my!

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You can see the edge of the family in the left corner.
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