Trip Report Land & Sea - Baja Style! - Complete

And it's been a while

Well here we are again after a pretty long Disney hiatus, minus a holiday resort-only visit.

In just a few weeks, we're off to the grand state of California! On this journey, we'll visit the Disneyland Resort and sail the Disney Wonder.

Here we are!

As you can see (or sea - get it?) we're on a cruise. We have been cruising during the hiatus.

We've sailed Celebrity:

If you haven't sailed Celebrity and you're looking for a bit more refined and adult (mostly-kid free) experience, this is the line for you. Plus, drinks are included. Lots of drinks. The food tastes better (for the most part) and you have a much better variety. The Edge class of ships are beautiful.

Then we hit this up:

This was a true kids-free experience. The food is amazing! By far the best food I've ever had on a cruise ship. There's some really great outdoor spaces as well. They're working out new cruise line issues so there were some hiccups. Entertainment isn't great and the pool is miniscule. We also had the pleasure of running into a former DCL server we had on the Dream or Fantasy (I can't remember). It was an awesome experience.

We just finished up sailing on this lady:

We liked Celebrity so much we sailed again on the Millennium. This is Celebrity's oldest ship (22 years I think) and there were some spots showing age, but I'll tell you, this in no way detracted from the experience. It's just been Revolutionized (refurbished in fancy terms) and most of the ship is looking great. Again, the food choices....

Embarkation Day Desserts

This is what the dessert presentation looked like every single day.

If you're on the fence about Celebrity, do it.

Next up - our plans!

 

[lostpro9het]

45 minute stand by for Rise:

Heading to get some Mickey Kart on.

 

[lostpro9het]

Day 2 about to go down. Our secret passage into CA from the resort is pretty…pretty…pretty…pretty nice.

P.S. Sorry about my Larry David moment.

 

[Sbk1234]

My respect for you just went higher due to the Larry David reference.

 

[Bullseye1967]

How did I miss this? Great start to your TR!

 

[lostpro9het]

Riding rides and making friends! Web slingers was fun and we scored an Elvis track on Guardians.

My respect for you just went higher due to the Larry David reference.

Yes! All the respects!

How did I miss this? Great start to your TR!

Welcome aboard!

 

[lostpro9het]

Ducked out for a little Trader action for snacks and libations before closing out the park. A bit chillier today but got a boatload of riding in and managed to save most all our genie+ pics for tonight.

 

[imahistorygeek]

@Zipitidoda you’ll be happy to know that @imahistorygeek bested me with her blue deck tonight. I just didn’t have an answer for her flying this game.

This is nothing but pure luck. Most of the time, I lose horribly.

Disneyland’s Space Mountain has absolutely ruined the WDW version for me. 1000x better.

The music is what really sells it. When you ascending and you hear the countdown, there's just a tiny bit of dissonance in the music to make you clench your gut in anxiety.

Had to do a double take with those pictures. Never seen @lostpro9het without the neck-beard before.

This was the best comment!

Just saved myself a $15 copay on a chiropractor visit.
View attachment 629467

Jokes on him. I always pay full price.

So looking forward to this trip report.

I have to thank you for the details you gave when you went to California and used DVC Rental Store. We got a great deal on Grand Californian for this July, and would no way have been able to afford a stay there otherwise.
My hubby says he will have some random craft beer in your honour when we are there. He hates spending money.

Have a great trip.

Twins! Sean also HATES spending money.

 

[imahistorygeek]

The past two days have been pretty great. Sean's been on about the great weather, but it's actually been sort of chilly. If you're used to WDW's weather where it's pretty warm/hot all the time, this is very different. Not bad, just different.

I stand by everything I said last time in our first DL TP, DL pretty much outshines WDW is a lot of ways.

Food and Wine has been great. I don't quite have them ready to post here. They have this awesome Sip and Savor pass that could potentially save you money depending on the food you buy. Plus, if you're a Disney Visa holder, you get $5 off your pass. You just have to actually bring the card with you to the park.

All you WDW's on the fence about DL, do it. I know you're thinking it's just two parks, but the quality of what you get will make up for it. I know flights are a barrier for some (they're not cheap), but if your a saver of dollars (or any other currency), save up your dollars for this.

 

[Sbk1234]

I LOVE Trader Sam's! There were times I'd go there without stepping foot in the parks. Of course, that's because those were times I couldn't get a ticket for whatever reason, but still, it's the next best thing, especially for those who remember the Adventurers' Club.

 

[lostpro9het]

California Adventure day two is about to go down. Queued up for the CarsLand 1k. I feel good about my chances at placement.

 

[lostpro9het]

Still riding rides and making friends

 

[lostpro9het]

And, yes, we are hydrating between rides.

 

[lostpro9het]

Philharmagic or Muppets?

 

[lostpro9het]

Philharmagic:

 

[amjt660]

we scored an Elvis track on Guardians.

the song that describes how @lostpro9het feels about @imahistorygeek


Max

 

[lostpro9het]

Chilled at the pool for a bit, cleaned up, did some shopping, met some friends, and now its dinner time!

 

[imahistorygeek]

Philharmagic:
View attachment 629962

I've finally found an attraction that is better at WDW. The addition of Coco was fine. It didn't add or take anything away from show. The one thing about the version is that at the beginning with Sorcerer Mickey, the screen is very small. The whole thing was meh at best.

 

[lostpro9het]

Batuu Tough Mudder in eight minutes!

 

[imahistorygeek]

We've used Genie+ this entire trip. It was really great at California Adventure. We found the best way to use it was during the late afternoon/evening when it was busier. If you use it all in the AM, then you'll be waiting in long lines in the afternoon if you want to ride something again.

It has been a hit or miss at Disneyland Park. A lot of things (big rides) have been down today and that has negatively affected LL returns. There have been some very long LL lane lines. Plus, it's a Saturday and this may be normal for the park. We used our G+ at DL the first day with no real issues.

Would I get it again? Yes, for Disneyland Park and maybe for California Adventure. It's easy to use and really does save you time.

 

[imahistorygeek]

First real train ride!

It was easy requesting a Lyft from the resort and the route was easy. The train station is beautiful and now we're just waiting on our train to San Diego.