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]

Since we were in GP we decided to stay and explore just a bit.

We even saw a very lonely looking photo CM so we tried to brighten her day a bit.

We made our way back towards Buena Vista Street and made some new friends along the way while catching up with some old friends.

According to the Facerbooks this was THE place to take a selfie in front of...I don't get it but I also don't get selfies in front of purple walls so, yeah.

 

[lostpro9het]

So we continued along towards the Animation Academy. I'm a terrible artist but had a lot of fun trying. The CMs were very efficient in getting guests in and ready to draw.

After art time we decided to take advantage of the Disney Visa photo op. There was just a couple ahead of us so we had a minute to chat up the CM checking folks in. She was bundled up in a full length wool coat, standing in the sun, while it was 74ish out, and still looked cold. Mind you, I'm standing in front of her in shorts and a t-shirt. I had to ask her so I did, "Are you really cold?" to which she answered "Yes, very". She went on to talk about how this one time they had snow a few years ago and how horrible it was for a two days. It was around this time that we were asked to come on back. Today's character would be Pluto.

Aw, look how cute he is!

Wait, what?

Ok, I can play along.

And finally.

 

[lostpro9het]

After our visit with Pluto we decided head back towards Pixar Pier. We figured we would grab a beer and a snack and look around some more. We passed some Hollywood entertainment along the way.

Don't tear up now...

The queue for the Carsland photo was low so we hopped in before grabbing our snacks.

I didn't go blue steal because I didn't think you all could handle it, so you get magnum.

When we walked up to the food and beer cart we noticed something around back that we hadn't noticed before. There was a patch of grapevines and some beautiful flowers back here that I don't think gets noticed with all the carts in front of them.

We grabbed another Cookies Galore Milk Stout, still tasty.

We paired the above with the Reuben Potato Tots with Russian Dressing and Rye Toast. This was also very tasty and repeatable.

While the DD was getting the tots she was also given another AP pin. This got us thinking and investigating a bit. We would find out that apparently last year "regulars" couldn't get the passports as they were limited to AP holders. It seems this year's change wasn't relayed to the food cart CMs who assumed anyone with a passport was an AP holder. Oh well, more pins for the DW!

 

[flynnibus]

I’m feeling a trend.... hanging in dca more than dl

 

[lostpro9het]

I’m feeling a trend.... hanging in dca more than dl

We scheduled 2 full days in each, no hoppers, so the park time was preplanned. Future visits will probably involve a 3-4 day hopper ticket.

After our snack we decided that since we planned to close the park out we should probably get a little nap in first. We got an Incredicoaster in before making our way out.

We decided to hit DTD for some shopping so we exited through the front and caught some more Hollywood entertainment along the way.

Our only stop in DTD today was the Disney store. The DW went with a couple of DL Ts and a keychain.

Also thanks to the Facerbooks, we learned that there were a limited run, 2655 each, of gift card pins out this week. The caveat is you had to buy the $100 gift card to get the free pin. Well, we had already planned on some gift card purchases the following week to pay on our October Bermuda cruise so this just meant we could get free pins! This store might have had 3 complete sets and when we returned the following day we noticed they only had two individual cards left so we got a set just in time.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

I think they both look good! I assume it’s Piglet?

 

[lostpro9het]

I think they both look good! I assume it’s Piglet?

Yes, sir! Its crazy how easy the professional makes it look. There has to be a ton of practice in what they do.

So all rested up we decided to make our way back to Pixar to get a quick ride in before dinner.

While we still had a few tabs left on our FotH passport we decided to try something that looked really good earlier. We walked over to PW to try out Lucky Fortune Cookery. They had some promising looking bowls to try out. Plus, like almost all food options, 10% for DVC members! We each tried a different Asian chicken rice bowl. Starting top left going clockwise we had the Spicy Korean, the Teriyaki, and the Thai Curry. All three were excellent and some of the better QS food we've had in any Disney park.

Since we were right there we hit up the PWDC again and tried two different beers:
Karl Strauss's Red Trolley Ale, Untappd notes: 3.5/5 Textbook red worth repeating.

Karl Strauss's Follow the Sun Untappd notes: 3.25/5 Good Hot weather pils, slightly sweet.

There was a stage nearby with a Latin group playing some season tunes so we enjoyed our dinner with some entertainment.

After dinner we took the long way around to GotG.

 

[lostpro9het]

So we made our way to GotG and hit the FP line. While in the queue I hit a bit of luck. I was able to get a Thanksgiving dinner ADR inside DL! The downside was it was at Blue Bayou. Still, the price point was better and we wouldn't have to leave DL at a peak time so I added the BB ADR and dropped the ST ADR. My fingers were crossed that tomorrow's dinner would be better than yesterday's.

After our ride the kiddo decided she was done for the day. We reminded her that we still had several FPs that we could use anywhere but she insisted she was tired so we sent her on her way with the requirement that she text when she gets there. DW and I decided to use up the remaining passport tabs and get some riding in. First thing we grabbed was the Warm Bourbon Cider with House-made Bourbon-infused Marshmallow.

I thought it was tasty but lite on the bourbon flavor. We also made good on catching the bakery our. This place smelled amazing and as you enter they hand you a sample of what they've made.

 

[lostpro9het]

We finished up the bakery tour and made our way across the alley for our Ghirardelli samples.

We then made our way over to RSR for our final Carsland ride of the trip.

 

[lostpro9het]

After RSR we used up our last tab from our passport for the Black Forest Yule Log and another AP pin.

Since the kiddo left us we had a small surplus of open FPs so we knocked out a TSMM and a couple of Incredicoasters.

After all that riding the park was about to close so we made for the resort. I thought it was interesting that GRR had a posted 2 minute wait.

And with that, we concluded our last night at CA. We still have a full day at DL tomorrow!

 

[flynnibus]

No comments about the girherardelli ice cream shop and it's displays? That place is pretty neat.

 

[lostpro9het]

No comments about the girherardelli ice cream shop and it's displays? That place is pretty neat.

To be honest, I'm not sure I've ever been to Ghirardelli at WDW, I know, that may be Disney sacrilege. While I do like a good No Way Jose, I'm not big on ice cream or shakes. We only popped in to grab the DW some peppermint bark samples, a real vice for her. My opinion on it was that it was cute little candy shop but nothing other than the mural on the back wall really caught my eye. I think if I was more of a fan in general I'd have more input on it but at the end of the day I equated Ghirardelli to free chocolate. I can feel you judging me already

[TANGENTTIME]
T-minus 2.5 days til we're back at to the bubble! We're excited to try NYE for the first time and to see what the crowds will be like during the subsequent week. I don't know what I'm more excited about, Storm along bay OR swimming in the Epcot fish tank again! I brought up the "DVC box" today to do an inventory and did a grocery run to prep us for the week.

Don't judge me @wdisney9000! I know I'm violating the Terrapin embargo but look, POG beer!!! How could I go to Disney and not try a POG based beer?!?! I feel so ashamed right now.

[/TANGENTTIME]


So, our final morning had arrived! Like the previous 4 days the weather was beautiful! Again, I felt like Norm from Cheers walking into Starbucks getting breakfast while the ladies finished getting ready. For a SB, this place was excellent in their customer service. We ended up being 3rd in line and behind a small family that needed to get their pictures did. Despite the delay I managed to get a "people free" pic of the front.

Again, the Facerbooks told us this was the thing to do in DL so we lemming'd up and did it.

We planned on a Matterhorn ride first thing so we cut straight through the hub and castle to get there.

 

[PacNWTigger]

Did you guys do the castle walkthrough?

 

[ThemedScream]

Also thanks to the Facerbooks, we learned that there were a limited run, 2655 each, of gift card pins out this week.

Doh, I would have totally picked those up! I'm a bit of a pin addict, and I've been buying gift cards like crazy for our trip. I didn't even see them.

I thought it was interesting that GRR had a posted 2 minute wait.

When I was there a couple of days ago I noticed it had a 4 minute wait and thought that was pretty unusual.

Again, the Facerbooks told us this was the thing to do in DL so we lemming'd up and did it.

Jimberly is a treasure.

 

[lostpro9het]

Did you guys do the castle walkthrough?

Not sure what you mean here. Is there a tour that takes you through the castle?

Matterhorn was on a delayed open so walked over to SM to get a ride in.

After that we gave Buzz another go.

Followed by some Star Tours.

We then just started to wonder around taking things in but not before a bathroom break. While the ladies were doing their thing I was totally creeping Fairy Godmother.

 

[lostpro9het]

Again, just wandering with no real destination in mind. We were utilizing MaxPass again but still just going with the flow taking things in.

We passed a couple popcorn carts along the way. Oogie Boogie might have been my favorite of the trip.

 

[lostpro9het]

Since we were in the area and the overlay was so awesome we decided to hit up HM again.

Here is a video from the stretching room.


After HM we hopped on the train and took it towards Toontown.

Since we didn't get Roger Rabbit in the day before we figured we'd give it a go. The theming was very good but everything was very dark making it difficult to get any decent pictures.

 

[MinnieM123]

Oh, I'm so happy they still have an Animation Academy out there! I was so bummed when they took away the drawing class at WDW. It's so much fun, and no one's drawing is perfect--it's just a really pleasant activity, and so glad you got to enjoy it out in California.

 

[lostpro9het]

Oh, I'm so happy they still have an Animation Academy out there! I was so bummed when they took away the drawing class at WDW. It's so much fun, and no one's drawing is perfect--it's just a really pleasant activity, and so glad you got to enjoy it out in California.

It sure was a welcome sight. It was far from perfection but a ton of fun.

So after Toontown we made our way over to Nemo so the DD could experience it. I neglected to get any pictures but loved her reactions to the ride. I really believe she felt like we were deep sea diving. The looks on her face while were making our "descent" were reminiscent of how I felt as a kid.

After Nemo we decided to get some lunch. We couldn't think of a better place than Bengal Barbecue. We decided to share a few items. First up was the Banyan Beef Platter

We also got a side of Safari Skewers, essentially bacon wrapped asparagus

A Chieftain Chicken Skewer

And a pair of Banyan Beef skewers.

And for dessert, for the DD, a dole whip.

 

[ELeigh]

Finally caught up after starting late on this TR. I will also be in WDW for New Years I'm curious to see just how crowded it will be.