Trip Report It's a Great Big Beautiful California- COMPLETED

OK...I would like to first apologize for all of the trip reports I have neglected. Work was chaos, the holidays consumed my world, and well...life happened...a lot. But...I will do my best to do more reading and commenting in the near future.

I also have a trip report of my own to bring you...a trip that I still can't believe has come and gone. The reporting is also going to take a little bit longer since I'm doing something a bit different this time. I'm going to be posting on here as well as another forum (I know...such a traitor), so it's going to be a more time consuming process.

Now, for those of you who don't know me and aren't familiar with my trip reports...I'm Sandy ... aka HouCuseChickie (and also TiggerTrigger in a few other places). Obviously, I'm the one with the hat and glasses!

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Sorry, huge pictures. I borrowed them from my Facebook galleries.

And another huge picture, but these are our girls (younger one pictured with me above)...
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That's Kendall (age 9) on the left and Sammie (age 7 and very toothless) on the right. It's hard to believe these two were just 4 and 2 on my first trip report.

Finally, we've got DH...who will be referred to as such throughout, unless I slip up. LOL. He probably wouldn't be too happy that I'm using this pic, but this was him at the end of "Movember" after growing out his moustache. We're all happy that he shaved it off on December 1st.

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So, that's us...but it's been a while since I did anything with my PTR, so some refreshers and updates on the details of the trip...especially the final details. And for those of you who have seen my previous reports, I promise you tons and tons of pics- and even a few videos, but let's recap a bit with the plan and get up to date on some things.

This all started as a "Let's go to Disneyland for the 60th anniversary festivities" trip, which spiraled into so much more. DH reminded me (aka- total guilt trip) that I'd promised him a ski trip. Well, the only way I could get this to work with Disneyland and not have it get too crazy with the budget (or so I thought) was to ski in California. So, the Big Bear- Mammoth-Tahoe debate was started and Mammoth won. All my CA friends said it was better skiing than Big Bear and it's closer and a smidge cheaper than Tahoe.

Plans and costs started to get crazy as dates and transportation started to factor in. We were planning on Disneyland from December 27th-31st and Mammoth on December 31st-January 3rd. In fact, this is what we had the girls believing were our vacay dates until the very end (more on that in a bit). But...I remembered how my parents saved a ton flying on Christmas last year and the dog's boarding facility would take her no later than December 23rd, so leaving on Christmas day started to sound like the better plan. In fact, the one-way cost of our Christmas day flights was something like $150 cheaper per person than the flight I was eyeing for the 27th. So, a Christmas day departure became a reality...and the trip grew by 2 days. But before all was said and done, the trip grew by 1 more day. January 3rd was a Sunday and flights were much more expensive than January 4th. The kids were still off from school on the 4th, so we extended the trip 1 more day. We also decided the extended trip would be the kids' big Christmas present. More on that coming up.

Somewhere in the process of this, as I was planning details of our drive to Mammoth, I found out that California has really strict tire chain laws during winter. Couple that with the taxes that can double the cost of your rental and I decided to bite the bullet and fly from LA to Mammoth. I waited and waited for prices to drop back to the lows I'd seen earlier in the year and by late September, it finally happened. Or so I thought. Just days before the trip, I realized I booked our air in reverse. Instead of LA to Mammoth, I booked Mammoth to LA. I was under a lot of stress at work at the time of this booking and even though I checked things at least 5 or 6 times, I misread all of it. It would have cost more than twice the price of those flights to change everything, so we just ate the cost, booked a rental, came up with a plan for the tire chains, and nervously prayed we wouldn't need to use our plan. There are a couple of silver linings with this that will come at the end of the report.

Now here's where some of the biggest fun came in during the pre-trip time. In late November/early December, it hit me that I really needed a plan to give the girls all of their trip gifts as well as the big gift. We'd be leaving for the airport before 7am on Christmas morning, so there was no time for anything but the big gift that day. Now, we're a dual religion household and between me celebrating Hanukkah and DH celebrating Christmas...I figured we could work it all out with that. Before looking at the calendar, I decided we'd do gifts for the 8 nights of Hanukkah and the 12 days of Christmas. I just didn't realize that it would all match up perfectly so we'd have 20 straight days of gifts. It may sound like a lot, but it was all trip related stuff...stuff to show the girls that $ goes into the fun stuff and the necessities... and that it can be just as fun (if not more) to have it all be part of amazing experiences. Sammie still believes in Santa, so I also had to make it believable. So, I wrote a rhyming letter from Santa talking about how the Christmas gift is so big that DH and I would need to play elves for 11 of the 12 days of Christmas. It even had Santa's signature and the North Pole seal.

During Hanukkah, the kids got things like snow boots, Disney Vans, ski bibs, winter gear, clothes, etc. The 12 days of Christmas were a bit more fun. We started out with character hats for autographs like they requested when we were at the GF back in August, a whale watching cruise, made with the magic wands, a GoPro style camera to record their adventures, stockings full of pins/new lanyards/lip balms/etc., and one of my fave days- Star Wars tickets. We gifted them Star Wars tickets for the trip on the day the movie opened, but it's how we did it that made it a ton of fun. Back in 2014, we built lightsabers for them in DHS and they've held up really well. So, on Dec 18th, while the girls were eating breakfast, I came out of the bedroom wearing one of those audio Chewbacca mask and challenged DH to a lightsaber battle with Sammie's purple lightsaber. DH had Kendall's red one hidden under the couch and we battled it out in the living room. It would eventually hit the kids that they were seeing the movie, but initially, they were more interested in the mask. In fact, here's Sammie (as Chewbacca) wishing everyone a very merry Christmas.



My MIL almost ruined the surprise on Christmas Eve, but thankfully the kids didn't hear and they went to bed totally clueless. Before they woke up, I modified the countdown calendar they'd been using to show the 25th instead of the 27th as our departure day, had a new letter from Santa revealing the surprise, and put the packed bags around the tree- with bows on their packed carry ons. What's really amazing is that when the focus for gifts was shifted away from toys, the only thing the girls were really wishing for this Christmas was for the trip to get here sooner. So, they actually received their Christmas wish.

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The girls were so tired when we woke up them up and were reading without really comprehending when they first read Santa's note, but they read it a second time- it all clicked- and we had some utterly giddy girls.

Coming up...Christmas Day- Travel Day
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We return to the table and it's not much of a wait for the main course to be served.

The girls each got some kind of taco dish.

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I know it's out of focus, but DH got some kind of pasta.

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And I had duck confit.

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My duck was a smidge dry, but was still very tasty. Everyone else loved theirs as well.

We were now on to dessert. First up is mine. I don't remember all of the components, but it was minty!

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Next was DH's. Our server explained it was like a HoHo, so I thought it was a take on a buche de noel...but it really looked like a HoHo.

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I'm not sure why I didn't photograph Kendall's. She just had a bowl of ice cream, but this was the largest scoop I've ever seen dished out for a child. It looked like they took a pint of extra dark chocolate and scooped it into the bowl.

Sammie got their take on a push pop...and she loved it!

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So, I mentioned earlier that our girls were the youngest children we saw at the check in area of Carthay Circle. This would be the same up in the dining room. I saw a couple of older teens in there, but that was it. Well, as we were finishing up...a group of ladies walked by and one woman stopped to compliment us and the girls. She said they behaved beautifully and she was incredibly impressed. She said she'd never dream of taking her grandchildren to a restaurant like this, but that our girls did so well. I thanked her for the compliment, but it made it even more clear that we stood out a bit. Still, better to be complimented than be the ones causing people to cringe and complain.

I didn't take any pictures of them, but we were seated right near the Hyperion and Buena Vista private dining rooms. The doors were open, so got to peak inside. I don't know what the other private rooms look like, but these were exquisite. All in all, if I were having a wedding, I think I'd want all of Carthay Circle to myself and my party. It is not a cheap meal, but it lived up to expectations and then some.

I took a couple of pics on the way out...

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This was actually the lights in the elevator. It didn't really photograph, but they had this pretty iridescent finish on the globes.

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So, we left Carthay Circle with time to burn before WoC. We had seen some lights over in the Grizzly Peak area that we wanted to see at night. As you could tell from previous pics, the holiday decor in that section was woodsy/outdoorsy. Well, we had seen these jars up in the trees that appeared to have fairy lights. I suspected it would look like fire flies in mason jars at night. They didn't photograph very well, but that's exactly what they were...and I kind of loved them.

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We decided to head back towards the Paradise Pier area and saw something we haven't seen since WDW 2010.

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We can see that the first WoC is about to start, so we decide to head to Sky School...

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We could hear enough of this WoC and it most definitely was a Frozen thing. I was sooooooo happy I did not choose this show. I was at least able to see little bits through the trees.

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If you've ridden Primeval Whirl in AK at WDW, you will have a good idea of what Sky School is like. It doesn't spin quite like Primeval Whirl, but it's another crazy maus kind of coaster. Sky School hurt my hips more than Whirl, but nothing too bad. While nothing overly special, I do like these kinds of rides.

When we finish up, the first WoC is winding down. DH is kind of tired and cranky and asks if I can cancel our dinner reservation at Carnation Cafe the next night. It was too late to call, the Disneyland app isn't as good for this kind of stuff as the MDE one is for WDW, and my phone was being a pain because it was old and really needed to be replaced. So, we were stuck with the reservation...which really didn't bother me, although I had thought about going to Catal if I could get it canceled. Oh well.

So, we just sort of chill out and veg in this seating area just to the left of Sky School as we wait for it to get closer to WoC time. We head over once our arrival window opens, hand over our vouchers, and start scouting out spots. Much of the Carthay Cirlce section was empty, but most of the part right up by the elevated railing was occupied by people in wheelchairs and scooters. We head down to the other end and find a spot on the steps that we decide to claim. The steps gave us a built in place to sit until the show started and there was still plenty of space around us to stretch out.

So, now that we're in place...I take some pre-show pics...

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Oh yea...you see that light post in the middle of my pics...yeah, that would be my one complaint about the Carthay viewing spot. You'll see that darn thing in a lot of my pics. Still, it was very chilly and I was happy to not be right on the water. The prospect of getting wet from the show was just not appealing. There were also some effects that went off along the fencing area by us that aren't really visible to those in front of us, so that was another pro.

When we sat down, I also had the girls take out their made with the magic wands and turn them on. I knew they would glow with the show, but as we were sitting there...we realized the wands were lighting up in the same colors and patterns as the Fun Wheel. Cool and sort of creepy at the same time.

I'm just going to share a handful (a really big handful) of WoC pics.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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I'm not a huge NPH fan, but it didn't ruin the show for me. In fact, K really liked him and told us her fave part was when NPH asks Walt what he'd change and he wouldn't change a thing. I don't think she grasps that NPH didn't really have an interview with Walt back in the day. LOL. Beyond that, it's an amazing show and I teared up a number of times. After seeing this person, I truly hope the imagineers working on Rivers of Light at AK are using WoC as inspiration.

Oh, and I know feelings are mixed on WoC FPs vs. dining packages, but it was really nice not having to fight the crowds. We also met a few nice people near our spot who also did the package. All in all, it was this very nice relaxed experience where we weren't having to hold spots for hours.

We make our way back and leave Disney property for the night.

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We're all exhausted and plan on using our magic morning at DL the next day (meaning getting into DL at 7am and need to be there and through bag check EARLY). So, everyone pretty much passes out for the night.


Coming up...December 30th at Disneyland
 

Pooh'sBuddy

Well-Known Member
Oh, wow. Carthay looks amazing. I'm glad you had a good dinner and overall experience. How sweet that the girls got compliments. Two reasons we pick our restaurants carefully: entree options and behavior concerns (although, we've gotten compliments, too).

Once on Goofy's ski school was enough for me. That is awesome that their wands matched Mickey's Fun Wheel. Did you do the app game before the show started? Both the hubby and I did it, and one of us was a bit better than the other (no names will be mentioned). You had a great spot. I'm not a NPH fan, either.

We didn't make it to Aladdin :(; we were never around that area near show times and didn't make it a point to try. I wish we had.

You also found the four leaf clover in Bug's Land!!! Look up in your churros (not a fan, either) picture, if anyone hasn't seen it yet.

And lastly, :jawdrop: that CM was totally out of line. I won't get on any of the many soapboxes applicable, but darn o_O!! Will leave it at that.
 
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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh, wow. Carthay looks amazing. I'm glad you had a good dinner and overall experience. How sweet that the girls got compliments. Two reasons we pick our restaurants carefully: entree options and behavior concerns (although, we've gotten compliments, too).

Once on Goofy's ski school was enough for me. That is awesome that their wands matched Mickey's Fun Wheel. Did you do the app game before the show started? Both the hubby and I did it, and one of us was a bit better than the other (no names will be mentioned). You had a great spot. I'm not a NPH fan, either.

We didn't make it to Aladdin :(; we were never around that area near show times and didn't make it a point to try. I wish we had.

You also found the four leaf clover in Bug's Land!!! Look up in your churros (not a fan, either) picture, if anyone hasn't seen it yet.

And lastly, :jawdrop: that CM was totally out of line. I won't get on any of the many soapboxes applicable, but darn o_O!! Will leave it at that.

I'm so glad we went for Carthay. The kids menu had a lot of options, but also not standard kids menu options. I've also read that they are pretty inflexible when it comes to requests for things outside of the posted kid menu. It's not an issue for the girls, but I could see how it could be a problem for parents who have kids that refuse to eat anything but chicken nuggets and pizza.

I had heard about the app game, but my old phone's battery would drain so quickly...one of its many issues. So, I just didn't even bother.

What's crazy with Aladdin...we spent less time waiting standby than the majority of the FP crowd spent waiting. Sure...they got seats on the bottom, but we got in a number of things while those people just stood there.

I had heard about the four leaf clover, but we didn't even go looking for it...all stemming from some strange four leaf clover issues in our family. Funny though that it shows up in my pics. I didn't even notice!

In the end, I think I'm more offended that she referred to all of our Disney gear/attire as a problem. The religious and discrimination issues weren't appropriate conversation for a CM to be holding with a park guest, but to call me out on my bag, the kids' shoes, etc. doesn't sit well with me. I know it's been over a month, but I'm still tempted to reach out to Disney. This just went so far beyond a CM having a bad day and snapping at a guest.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
December 30th...our last true Disney day

So, WDW has EMH and DLR has Magic Mornings. At peak times, Magic Mornings seem to be offered for both parks on every day. Guests at the three Disney resorts and AP holders are usually eligible for Magic Mornings every day of their stay (although, I read that they have a history of pulling the privilege from passholders from time to time). Guests who buy 3-5 day passes are also entitled to one Magic Morning. I planned ours for our last day to cover everything open (of interst) during MM that we didn't get to do the other day and then use the early entry to put us in position for our must do's that aren't open during MM.

DL was set to open at 7am for MM entry. Between walk, bag check, and the biggie...crowds, the goal was to get out around 6:30am. As you can see from this pic below...not everyone is totally awake.

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Sammie did spot a hummingbird buzzing around the bird of paradise, which started to get her a bit pumped for the day. It was pretty dark out there, so I was surprised she could see it.

There weren't very many people along the way or at bag check, so it wasn't long before we were in the line waiting to get in.

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We stuck with the plan of picking the line on the far left. The lines on the right were really building. The other day, those lines were used for standard entry when we arrived and the far left had just been for MM, but from what we could tell...all of them - at least at the start - were being used for MM.

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Getting pretty close to 7.

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And I've got our tickets ready to go...

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(pardon my now totally chipped manicure)

The CMs are now getting in place.

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There really wasn't much lag time from this point and when the gates opened. I was missing MK's Welcome Show at this point, but the CMs did countdown with the crowds as they got ready to open.

So, we rush into the park and it's all a big blur...

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Good morning Walt!

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Like EMH, not everything is open during Magic Mornings. This is a list of what's typically open in DL...

Alice in Wonderland » Track ride in the dark
Astro Orbitor » Very mild midway-type thrill ride
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters » Space-travel interactive dark ride
Disneyland Monorail » Scenic transportation
Dumbo the Flying Elephant » Disney-fied midway ride
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage » Simulated submarine ride
King Arthur Carrousel » Merry-go-round
Mad Tea Party » Midway-type spinning ride
Matterhorn Bobsleds » Roller coaster
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride » Track ride in the dark
Peter Pan's Flight » Indoor fantasy-adventure ride
Pinocchio's Daring Journey » Track ride in the dark
Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough » Walkthrough exhibit
Snow White's Scary Adventures » Track ride in the dark
Space Mountain » Roller coaster in the dark
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue » Space-flight simulation ride

Pardon the descriptions...I copied this list from Touring Plans.

The goal was to hit things we hadn't ridden that were on our must do list that also don't have a WDW counterpart and weren't things we rode 2 days ago. Hey, when it's peak crowds and you only have 3 days...you need a solid plan. So, we head through the castle and into Fantasyland.

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Nope... not Mr. Toad again.

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We're starting off on Alice. It was one of my musts and it was something like a 60-70 min wait the other day each time I checked.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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I really enjoyed it, but I do love Alice. This would also be the moment I realized DH was hitting his I'm ready to go home phase. I usually need at least a week on vacation to unwind, but 2 weeks is better. DH, on the other hand, starts getting homesick around 5 or 6 days in...and gets cranky as a result. So, his response to Alice was more of a, "that's it!??!?!" This was day 6 of the trip, so his ready to go home attitude was right on cue. The only issue...we had a full day at Disneyland to still get through, 4 days in the mountains, and a travel day left to go. I gave him a bit of a suck it up buttercup sort of pep talk (hey, the buttercup works with he flowers in Alice...it's a wildflower!). And on to the next ride...

This was next on our list...

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CLASSIC!

We'd actually tried to ride the other day, when we'd finished up on Mr. Toad, but one of the CMs that works the attraction was in crowd control mode at the time and told us it was closed due to the afternoon parade. And with the first PTN starting at 5:45, it wouldn't be opening again. So, while the wait never looked bad pre-parades...we wanted to make sure we got it in early since we weren't sure if or when we'd be back in Fantasyland.

We make our way towards the queue and peak down to IASW (I've already been given a hard no on riding this again today).

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We board our boat immediately...because I guess we're the only people using MM for this ride.

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It may not be a high speed thrill ride, but I think it's pretty cool to pass through Monstro.

The miniatures are all very cute, but the big props go to the CMs manning this ride. While I could tell our girl was tired, they have a pretty lengthy script that they need to recite with each cruise. You could argue that Jungle Cruise skippers have to say a lot and have comedic timing as well, but I think it's harder to keep people's attention when your dialogue isn't peppered with corny humor. So, I just sat back...took it all in...and took pictures.

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First time spotting the Casey Jr. Circus Train

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OH NO!!!!!!!!!! The world is being taken over by DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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We leave our boat and trade it in for a submarine.

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Obviously, the kids are too young to have ever gone on the original and as far as DH can recall, he'd never been on either...but I had been on WDW's numerous times before they were removed. I know it's not the same, but I still thought they should get a chance to experience it.

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This view right here brought back a flood of memories.

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We each grabbed a seat and it were ready for our voyage.

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I know people have complained about the Nemo theme, but even the original was cheesy. It still retains some the old cheesy charm, so I'm glad we rode it. And I didn't feel a single drip!

It's almost 8am, so we decided it was time to get in place to ride one of our biggest musts that we have yet to ride.

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We did make a quick stop by Space Mountain, but the line was already pretty long so we kept going after popping through the store (I was really just hoping to see if they had any of the Star Wars Dooneys so I could see it in person).

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No bags. But that's OK...I liked the previous Star Wars pattern better.

So, we keep heading towards our spot for rope drop.

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We say hi to Walt and Mickey again...

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Crowds are starting to build in...

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And now we're getting in position and waiting for the ropes to drop.

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We could see the physical ropes coming down and the crowd quickly began to push forward. We knew the bulk of the people in our group were going to Indy..and it was smooth sailing to our next ride as soon as we got past those crowds.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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PotC is one of those can't miss attractions for us. No trip to the Disney parks feels complete without it, and since DL's is consdiered to be the best...even more reason we had to go on. So, we're just working our way through the queue area (since there's very few people there)...

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I don't normally take a ton of pics on PotC, mainly due to light and my camera's ISO limitations, but I did want to try and get some Blue Bayou pics from the ride.

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However, I do sometimes try and get one or two things of note on the ride- even if they're blurry or out of focus...

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THE REDHEAD!!!

And we're off...and I think I meant to photograph the lights, but it looks more like I'm taking a pic of the Columbia.

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As for PotC...no doubt about it...DL's beats WDWs. I do miss the whole fort setting in the queue, but that's really about it.

After this, I suggested the Jingle Cruise...since we didn't ride the other day and I'd heard the CA gags are different than the ones at WDW. I also grabbed some FPs for Indy along the way.

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The park hasn't been open very long, so all of the big attractions were still the main early mornings draws, so this didn't have any line either. We literally walk right onto a boat and we're off...

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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This, by far, was my favorite joke. It's the piranha scene and they're celebrating ... wait for it ... Piranhakkah!!!

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And we're back from our cruise.

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Most people say it's a tie between DL and WDW for Jungle Cruise. While I think WDW's back side of water is nicer, and the rides are fairly even in regular mode, compared to the Jingle Cruises we've been on at WDW...DL's Jingle Cruise experience was a lot better.

We still had a lot of time until Indy and I was going to use that as well as our location to my advantage. If you've ever read my TRs, you know that the Tiki Room is another big fave of mine and I wasn't letting this family leave DL without going into the orginal.

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We made it inside just before the next show started. Now, as much as I wanted to see this...I wasn't expecting to get emotional. Maybe it's because most of the CMs we've had at WDW don't seem that into it and don't even have us wake up Jose, maybe it's because this is the original, or a combo of both. The CM running things made a joke about how he'd normally tell us to grab a Dole Whip, but we're out of luck because the Dole Whip stand isn't open yet. I wish I could remember what he said after that, but it was a mini intro, and you could tell this man really loves the Tiki Room...and then he told us to wake up Jose. And seriously, I was in tears. So, here are few Tiki Room pics.

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And I'm a happy girl!

We're back out and we're walking...

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Someone looks a lot more lively than she did the last time I photographed her on this day.

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more walking...oh, and before I forget...while we're walking, I start to notice something I was wonder if we'd see. People wearing Rose Bowl gear. If we weren't heading up to the mountains on the 31st, heading to Pasadena on New Year's for the parade was an idea. Actually, if we wound up being snowed in back in LA, it was one of our back up plans. Still, it was kind of neat to see the influx of Rose Bowl people trickling into DLR. OK...back to walking...

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It has no wait...so why not?

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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I don't know why I bother trying to take pics inside, but here they are...

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Sammie was thrilled that we got a second time on HMH, but I'm now really over the whole NBC theme and am ready to hear Grim Grinning Ghosts. Sadly, not gonna happen this time.

Now, everyone was really questioning my sanity when I suggested we ride Splash...

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Let's see...they usually cut back on the soaking when it's cool and the line is usually a lot shorter when it's cool because too many people are afraid they'll get wet. Everyoe puts their faith in me and we head into Splash.

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And I think we all look like we're having fun in this picture.

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We were dry and while I know some say the rides are identical, minus the boat style...I think Disneyland's is better. It also runs much better.


Coming up...a return to Indy, a change of plans, the great Twain pout-fest, a thundering ride, and ready for Monte Cristos

Oh...and a little side share...the girls wanted to share their Super Bowl face painting. I know, totally unrelated :)

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Your girls are troopers! I don't think I could ever get my DD up at that hour for a park. :hilarious:

The girls normally get up at 6am for school, so they stomach the early call a lot better when it's to do something fun. Sammie is pretty easy because she's naturally an early riser, but Kendall is starting to learn the fine art of sleeping in...and she likes to kick when disturbed while in deep sleep! :jawdrop: Just wait until Jan 1st when I'm layering them up into ski gear around the same time! o_O
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Dec 30th continued...

We leave Splash nice and dry and make our way to Indy...

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Caught some music along the way...

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It's Indy time!

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And we're on our way out.

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It's a fun ride and I think Sammie even kept her eyes open for the bulk of it this time.

We still have a lot of time until our 11:30a lunch and we're looking for things to do. Kendall suggested the Matterhorn and the wait time on the app didn't look too awful...so we start heading that way.

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Had to take a pic of Sam's Japanese Tsum Tsum hair tie as we walked (still bummed K lost hers)

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DUCKS!

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It was sometime around this point that we turned around. We got to the Matterhorn...could see the line...and could tell it was longer than the posted wait. There was a sign saying the line was 45 min from this point...and then the line snaked quite a bit before that point. We decided we'd hold off on the Matterhorn until later and decided to head to Frontierland. Everyone, except Kendall was on board with this plan. She was content to wait 2 hours if need be to ride the Matterhorn...and our unwillingness to wait would start a mega pout session with Miss K. Soooooooo much fun. GRRRRRRRRRRRR

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The FP return time for BTMRR looked like it would work with our lunch reservation, so we grabbed some FPs.

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We had time, so I decided it was time to do something classic. I had wanted to do this...

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But the Mark Twain was right there and about ready to take a new batch of passengers...

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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And with Rivers of America about to close for a major overhaul, I thought it would be nice to see it in its original state for the closure and construction.

Time to get on board...

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Oh look...it's Princess Pouty Pants!

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I keep her in the corner of my eye and stake out a spot at the railing to take some pics...

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Hey, if I'm not going to get on the Columbia...might as well take some pics as we pass.

I also stepped inside to take some interior shots.

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And I'm back outside.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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That's a real goose...Canadian...of course.

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I've found the child that doesn't currently hate me.

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MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!

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Oh look...I found the other child...and she is still being all kinds of hateful.

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Yup...there was all kinds of snarling and growling when I made her get her feet off the seats.

And we're almost back...

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The most boring light I've ever photographed.

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
And a not so boring light.

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And we're off...and have a moment to take in the music from the band.

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I'm really glad we got the time to ride the Mark Twain. Considering the changes anticiated for RoA and the legacy in the park, it was definitely a good choice.

Oh look...a Davy Crockett roasty toasty!

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We head past the Golden Horseshoe...

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And decide to explore some Frontierland shopping before our BTMRR FPs.

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...well, not before looking at the backside of Adventureland (see what I did there?)

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and I turn a bit and back to Frontierland LOL

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light

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And we're finally shopping...like I said we'd be. And I see a light that looks like DL's mini version of the lights in the WL lobby at WDW.

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and another cool light...

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and more lights...

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I also made peace with Kendall by finding her a magnetic Donald Duck that would take the bulk of the $ left on her remaining gift card. We also found a 3-set card with earrings that had Donald studs...and it was more than she had left. She was sad, but it's OK...she'll be getting a nicer pair for Valentine's Day...that she really won't get to wear until softball season ends.

We head over to...

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as our FP window was about to open. I think the window opened at 11:15a and we had an 11:30a lunch reservation...so it's was going to be tight. It was about 11:10am and the CM at the entrance who overheard us discussing timing told us to go get in line. You don't have to tell me twice. So, I took a few pics as we made our way through the FP line.

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Almost to the front of the line...

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And we're on!

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HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Now you see this? This is the dynamite scene. No, it's not well photographed, but it's cool...and everything is pointing to WDW also getting it with the upcoming BTMRR refurb.

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And we say farewell to Big Thunder...

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We have about 5 min (if that) to get to Cafe Orleans to check in for lunch. Thankfully, we're not far.

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We've arrived...

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And here I am waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay at the back of the check in line.

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I take some pics as I wait, but I'm getting a bit bothered and frustrated...

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See, I know that at DLR, it's the norm to not book dining reservations for MOST TS spots...or at least not way in advance. But everything I read and was told said to throw all of that at the window for this Christmas to New Year's time frame. So, here I am waiting in this rather long line and nearly everyone around us was trying to get in as a walk up. I know space is limited, but I thought dual lines...reservations vs. walk ups would have been helpful. At first it seemed like the walk ups ahead of us were being seated ahead of those with reservations. The woman behind me was already all flustered because the French Market was overflowing with people and Blue Bayou was turning everyone away without reservations. I was just getting really anxious...and then, all was better. A CM with a tablet started calling through the line for people with reservations to raise their hands. Some, he was checking in directly while others were waved to the front. I got waved to the front.

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It was at this point that I was able to fully hear what was going on. People in line without reservations were only being given the option of making a reservation to return at a later time. The times being quoted were between 2:30 and 4:30pm...so, at least 3 hours in the future before these people would be seated. Still, you can see the edge of the French Market here and see why they were trying to skip it as well as why I didn't want to bank on any counter service for this trip.

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It's finally my turn to check in...

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And I'm given a buzzer...

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Now, if you've ever heard anything about the food of Disneyland, you've probably heard about the famous Monte Cristo sandwich...and you've probably heard about it being served at Blue Bayou. Well, what not everyone knows is that the sandwich is also usually served at Cafe Orleans...and I believe they share a kitchen...so it's truly the same, minus the presentation of the sauces and garnishes. I know some people say it's not always on the Cafe Orleans menu; however, Allears is pretty good at posting menus and I've always seen the main version as well as the 3-cheese listed on the menu...and always for less $ than Blue Bayou.

We listen to the music as we waited...

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The wait was less than 5 minutes and we were escorted to an outdoor table right along the main walkway through this part of the park...

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Still really thanking myself for making reservations at places where we were told we shouldn't need them.

I thought it would be a great spot for people watching...

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Well, it was really more that we were on display. It was kind of fun, but I could see how it could bother some people. The musicians that I photographed that were in costume and performing over by the French Market came by and wanted to make sure we were trying certain 'musts' on the menu and then after our food arrived, random guests outside the restuarant stopped at the fencing by our table to ask us what we were eating.

In any event, I take some pics as we wait...

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