Trip Report The “lets count the ways Land is greater than World” as seen through the eyes of the #noobsfromgeorgia.

Whelp, this may be a record start of a TR for me. I’m sitting in LAX right now waiting to board and doing my best to put off grading the 30 term papers I need to have done by Monday so why not start this report! There is no true PTR to reference for this trip other than the breadcrumbs I dropped over in the Deja Vu TR. The lowdown is as follows:
The crew: DW, DD, and Myself

Lodging: 1 night at Paradise Pier and 4 nights at The Grand Californian.
The plan: 2 days at Disneyland and 2 days at California Adventure in the following order CS/DL/CA/DL

Despite the title, I promise this wont be a dump on WDW TR but it was hard to ignore the things that DL does so dang well. That said, lets do this.

This journey starts with a night at the Holiday Inn & Suites Atlanta Airport-North. We’ve stayed here once before for a Disney trip and had a great experience. What is nice about this place is you get to park your car for the length of the trip just for staying the night at the hotel and they shuttle you to and from the airport. This is especially nice when you have an early flight, which we did. The accommodations are nice enough and serve the purpose.

We let yelp help us find dinner and found a fantastic taco stand located in a hole-in-the-wall in the bad side of town. Worth it!

As I said before we had to fly out at 06:13 which meant we had to get up early. Andrew W.K woke us up at 04:10 so we could get down to the lobby for the 4:40 shuttle. This was still better than the 3:00 wakeup call we would have had to do if we drove straight from home!

My naive mind had me thinking we would be the only folks at Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Action-Jackson- Atlanta International Airport and Spaceport. Yeah, it was hopping!

We had a mild wait to get through security and were soon enjoying some bagels at our gate with 30ish minutes to spare.

This was our first time flying American and I would absolutely fly them again! The complementary in-flight movies/TV on demand for laptops and iDevices was appreciated and every row had charges to plug your devise in! We got seated and I immediately had to embarrass the kid before watching The Avengers: Half Ya’ll Gonna Die.

 

[lostpro9het]

The two major letdowns of DL’s Christmas program are it’s fireworks... and it’s parade. Both are long hold overs that do not even measure up to the regular programs.. let alone be upgrades. The fireworks feel like a county fair compared to Rememeber.... and compared to wdw’s current show you’d wonder why anyone bothers

This was one of our takeaways from this trip. WDW's parades and fireworks far exceeded the DL offering. It wasn't even close.

A few minutes into the parade the DD had entered the park and made her way to where we were standing. We had about 10 minutes to get from Main Street to New Orleans so we got going. Blue Bayou is really tucked away down a little alley behind PotC. We made it through the crowds and checked in and seated.

IMO, there are slim pickings for sit down dining inside of DL based on menus. We chose BB because of the setting. We thought it would be cool to eat in the restaurant that overlooks Pirates similar to how San Angel Inn overlooks The Grand Fiesta Tour. Also similar to SAI, BB was all atmosphere with mediocre, at best, food. We reviewed the menu's ahead of time and unlike WDW the menu and pricing actually matched what was in the restaurant!

We quickly ordered and were presented the bread service. The bread was actually pretty decent.

DW went with the Chicken Maison

The DD went with the sustainable fish

I went with the gumbo and a salad.

Again, the food was meh but I'm pretty sure they know its the atmosphere that brings them in here, just like SAI. We had no plans of ever returning, irony would challenge this, though.

As we exited the Club 33 entrance caught my eye.

 

[flynnibus]

This was one of our takeaways from this trip. WDW's parades and fireworks far exceeded the DL offering. It wasn't even close.

Note tho that this is a Christmas anonomly. Their regular parades tend to be very very good... and Remember is a fireworks show for the ages. Wdw only recently started catching up with FoP and the new fireworks show.

It is the one negative to DL in Xmas season.... :/

 

[lostpro9het]

After diner we did some more browsing and people watching before our SM FP kicked in. Crowds were mild and we were still 2 days out from Thanksgiving. The go-go-go of the trip was taking a toll on the ladies and they decided they wanted to head back after SM so we got one more ride in before heading back for the night.

After SM we made for our room only stopping at VGC gift shop to pick up a resort pin. While we were there we also picked up the DVC member pin. We picked up the Stitch version of this pin on a previous visit and didn't realize it was going to be a series with different characters.

The resort pin was pretty unique, too. It was a stained glass pin unlike any of the other resort pins we have.

That concluded our first DL night. We went to bed plenty tired and having no regrets.

 

[PacNWTigger]

I love your Voltron legos!! Good catch @imahistorygeek !!

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

That door in Toon Town totally got my husband. Sometime I still think about that and laugh.

 

[Kiwiduck]

I think I remember saying this was the worst Disney parade I'd ever seen. I kept waiting for something to happen beyond the floats. The fireworks were equally disappointing.

I hope you got to see the Viva Navidad parade at DCA? I like it much better than the Christmas Fantasy parade, it's probably my personal favourite entertainment offering at any park.

 

[lostpro9het]

I love your Voltron legos!! Good catch @imahistorygeek !!

I love them too! And most definitely NOT Transformers. The reminiscing was real.

That door in Toon Town totally got my husband. Sometime I still think about that and laugh.

It was hilarious watching adults and kids fall for it.

I hope you got to see the Viva Navidad parade at DCA? I like it much better than the Christmas Fantasy parade, it's probably my personal favourite entertainment offering at any park.

We caught some of it on the first day.


Morning came fast and we had a 07:00 date with CA. Again I went down to SB early to get some coffee and breakfast while the ladies finished getting ready.. The folks at SB knew me by name already, I felt like I was cheating on my beloved Dunkin. Today was another beautiful morning and was slated to be a beautiful day. It was still funny seeing the locals bundled up like a foot of snow was on the ground. We didn't see our line holding jerk, I mean friend today and it might have been the smoothest entry as the family in front of us didn't need to have their picture taken and the CM wasn't older than dirt.

As we entered the park we made straight for Carsland. As we walked I signed us up for MaxPass and grabbed an 8:00 FP for Incredicoaster. We had a short wait for RSR. While in the queue I got a notice that our FP got changed to an anytime multi experience FP since Incredicoaster was down. This allowed me to make another FP and Incredicoaster was an option so that's what I grabbed!

We decided to head towards Guardians next but noticed Mater's had no wait so we got our spin on. While in the queue I got another notification that my Incredicoaster FP got changed to a muti experience again and I could also make another FP, so you know what I did? You guessed it.

So now were up to 2 any time/experience FP, an Incredicoaster FP, and already had a RSR and Mater ride in and it was only 7:20! Today was looking good but the fun didn't end there.

 

[lostpro9het]

So heading towards GotG my phone buzzed again. "No Way!" I thought to myself but sure enough, Incredicoaster was down here is another multi FP and an opportunity to make another FP. So we're now up to 3 any ride FPs and an Incredicoaster FP and it was only 7:35, did I mention how much I Iove MaxPass?

We walked the regular queue this time and got to see few artifacts that we didn't get to see during our FP rides..

 

[lostpro9het]

I mentioned earlier that that there was a unique artifact in the Collector's room that Rocket liberates during the breakout. Here it is, and a few other artifacts.

Oh, I'm now up 2-0

As we exited the ride my phone buzzed...you get it by now, right?

So here it is 7:51 and we each now have 2 any time/experience FP, 1 8:05-9:05 any experience FP, 1 8:10-9:10 any experience FP, and 1 8:20-9:20 FP for Incredicoaster AND we were heading to our 4th ride of the day! [INSERT LOVE FOR MAXPASS HERE]

One item I neglected to mention earlier was the DD decided to change her ever changing mind once again. Prior to the trip she said she didn't want any kind of traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and whatever Disney food would be good. This was fine by me but this also meant we didn't make any reservations for Thursday. Whelp, yesterday she decided she now wants a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Obviously the day before Thanksgiving was ridiculously limited. In fact the only availability was for Goffy's character buffet and Steakhouse 55 neither of which were candidates for what we wanted. So in between racking up FPs I was regularly checked the app for dining openings. More on this later.

 

[lostpro9het]

Riding a FP high we made our way over to Monsters. This really is a cute little ride and very well themed.

As we exited the ride we made our way towards Pixar we noticed a really cool mural behind a bench. The piece is made up of cups, bowls, silverware, and other bits and pieces.

As we turned towards Pixar we also noticed the regulars were about to be let in so we just stopped for a moment and enjoyed the human stampede as 8:00 hit.

As we made it to PP we stopped to do a little shopping. The DD must have gotten inspired at Monsters because she picked out a perfectly paired set of hair ties.

 

[PacNWTigger]

Did Roz say anything to you guys at the end of the ride on Monsters Inc?

 

[imahistorygeek]

Did Roz say anything to you guys at the end of the ride on Monsters Inc?

I think so. I was trying to listen because I’d read it was sorta personalized. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what was said.

 

[Rista1313]

My husband wanted the Voltron so bad! No luck for him.....but we did end up going to see the Bumblebee movie on Christmas eve.

 

[LadyBelle]

Best. Present. EVER!!!!

 

[ThemedScream]

So here it is 7:51 and we each now have 2 any time/experience FP, 1 8:05-9:05 any experience FP, 1 8:10-9:10 any experience FP, and 1 8:20-9:20 FP for Incredicoaster AND we were heading to our 4th ride of the

Those multi experience FP that have a starting time don't actually expire after an hour - they're good until park closing that day! And I agree, Maxpass is awesome.

 

[lostpro9het]

Did Roz say anything to you guys at the end of the ride on Monsters Inc?

She sure did but for the life of me I can't remember what!

My husband wanted the Voltron so bad! No luck for him.....but we did end up going to see the Bumblebee movie on Christmas eve.

I rarely want anything, to be honest, but this guy triggered something deep. I may even mount this on my wall at work. To put things in perspective, I haven't even mounted my bachelors and masters degrees at work yet and I've been there a year and a half.

Best. Present. EVER!!!!

Heck yes! Red Rider and his carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle can take a back seat.

Those multi experience FP that have a starting time don't actually expire after an hour - they're good until park closing that day! And I agree, Maxpass is awesome.

Good to know. We had plenty of riding planned so using them in a timely manner posed no problems. When I first heard of MP I immediately thought "Cash Grab" because, ya know, Disney. This is one of the rare things where I'll say Disney did it right. Sadly, I don't know that they could ever implement it as well at WDW. Orlando has pigeonholed themselves into an extended planning corner that I don't think they can get out. What is great about the FP system at DL is that its a fair, day of, system that allows nice flexibility to how a day plays out. I was a fan of the paper FP system at WDW and I'm still a fan of it at DL.

So we were at Pixar Pier and figured we'd use up one of the FPs and gave TSMM a whirl. While in the queue I hit a bit of luck. I scored a Story Tellers ADR for Thanksgiving at 8:50.

There were two downsides to this, though. One, we would have to leave DL at peak fireworks/fantasmic time. Two, the price for a buffet when you're not a buffet eater. There is a ridiculous premium for this dinner and we are not big eaters so it felt like a waste to go there BUT it was a Thanksgiving dinner so I was ok with it but still kept searching the app, just in case.

So our ride vehicle came up and we were on our way. I bested the ladies once again despite the DDs assurance that I would not.

Incredicoaster was still down so we decided to head back to Carsland for some more RSR.

Here is some of that theming I talked about before, air filter garland!

 

[lostpro9het]

After RSR we made for GothG again since the Incredicoaster was still on a delay. Not sure I mentioned it yet but another great thing about GotG is that the music is not always the same, similar to how RnR is. This combined with the quantity and quality of drops really makes this an awesome ride! Sadly our ride pic was a bust this go-around.

Another thing I was looking forward to this trip was the Animation Academy. I really enjoyed it at WDW before they pulled it. When we arrived the schedule showed it was going to be a Nightmare before Christmas hour so we decide to come back at a later hour.

The lunch hour was approaching so we decided to hit the Festival of the Holidays booths again. To start things off I grabbed a 9 Bonfires Blazing Golden Stout by Karl Strauss, still decent.

The kiddo grabbed some milkshake concoction.

Our first food item of the day would end up being the best of the whole trip, IMO. The Turkey & Stuffing Tamale with Cranberry Relish.

This guy was soooo good. It was essentially Thanksgiving dinner in a corn husk! We fought off the temptation of just eating more of these and continued on to other booths. The DW was happy too because, for a reason we would realize later, the CM gave her an AP button when she ordered her food with the passport we purchased the day before.

 

[lostpro9het]

So as we continued on the DD decided she wanted an Angry Dog, no problem! We made our way around to Pixar Pier so she could get her spicy treat. The AD booth was cute and the theming extended all the way to the condiments!

She approved of the dog. As she enjoyed her lunch we enjoyed what we picked up during the walk over. We picked up a Jalapeño Latkes with Chipotle Crema (left) and a Pozole Rojo Beef with Hominy Polenta (right)

The latkes had some nice heat to them and tasted pretty good. The rojo beef really challenged the turkey & dressing tamale as top option. To wash things down I tried something new. I went with a Winter Michelada with Modelo Negra and Brown Sugar Rim. To me, it tasted like an adult V8. To my DW it tasted like garbage. I'm a V8 fan so I really enjoyed this.

While I finished my michelada the ladies decide to go win some prizes at the boardwalk.

 

[lostpro9het]

After our lunch the Incredicoaster was finally up so we got our ride on. We grabbed a selfie with Jessie along the way.

I honestly have no idea what I'm doing in this picture. I'll chock it up to FP delirium.

It was after this ride the DD decided she wanted a nap. We were happy that she was proactive in preventing a repeat meltdown and we told her to text us when she got to the room. The DW and I decided to take a ride break and explore a little bit.

I made some friends along the way.

We even got to see Emo Doc Mcstuffins!

 

[lostpro9het]

We came to realize there was an area of the park that we had not yet visited. Somehow we managed to walk all around Pacific Wharf an pay it no mind. We walked through it this morning but didn't look around at all. PW has some good food and drink options as well as Ghirardelli and Boudin Bakery. We only walked by the Bakery because we figured we would do this with the kiddo later this evening.

What was of more interest, to me anyhow, was Pacific Wharf Distribution company.

We went with the Oktoberfest Untappd notes: 3.75/5 mild Oktober but decent flavor, repeatable.

And the Aurora Hoppyalis Untappd notes: 3.5/5 Nice ABV, slightly citrus and a hint of pineapple. At the end of the day its an IPA.

We strolled and sipped for a bit. The DW decided there was a must have churro that we needed to find. After a little Googling we located the churro cart in question over in Grizzly Peak. It was a basic churro drizzle in chocolate and covered in peppermint pieces. It was actually pretty good but I can't remember if this was her favorite churro or not.