Trip Report Wishes Heads West!

Hi friends! It’s been a while, but I’m back for another trip report! For those who don’t know me, I’m Brooke, a Disney World local who hangs out with @blreinsel a lot I reported on our summer of fun last year and have truly been slacking this year.

I’ve visited Disney World 80+ times in the last 10 months, but this week is a first for me! My family and I flew west to visit Disneyland! We will be spending one day in each park (which is nowhere near enough ) Wednesday and Thursday and I can’t wait!

Disneyland veterans- what do I absolutely need to know (what should we ropedrop, favorite snacks?) I’ve done a minimal amount of research which is very unlike me, but I want to experience everything without a lot of bias and expectation.

 

[wishes2013]

We headed back across the walkway to Thunder Mountain (11:00). Then we headed back to Main Street for lunch. We arrived early, and they were still switching over to lunch, so we had to wait a bit. They gave us a menu to look at, we traded some pins, and received some buttons from the hostess!

We were seated outside, which was beautiful! My mom, dad, and I ordered the fried pickles, which is one of their specialties. They were so good, I couldn’t wait for them to cool down before eating them. I burnt my mouth pretty bad!

I ordered the roasted turkey sandwich. My dad had the special turkey club, mom ordered the meatloaf, and Lauren had whatever the gluten/dairy free turkey sandwich was. Everything was so good, and we were stuffed!

This was my sandwich, we were too hungry to get pictures of anyone else's

I think we stopped for these pictures after lunch

@blreinsel and I's go to pose

 

[wishes2013]

Stopping here for now to look for more pictures...

 

[blreinsel]

Yessssss I can't wait to get Dylan to do the signature pose with me.

 

[Darstarr]

I have been waiting for the rest of this. I do love Disneyland. I also need to say you, your sister and mother are so photogenic! Dad too. Dont want to forget about Dad

 

[wishes2013]

Our next stop was Fantasyland. Most of the dark rides here had really short waits, so they had us take the wheelchair right through the exit. We were able to get on all of the rides in a really short amount of time! We rode Snow White’s Scary Adventures (12:28) which we miss so much at WDW. It was always one of our favorites that we rode over and over again. Then we rode Pinocchio (12:34), Mr. Toad (12:41), and Peter Pan (12:48). I believe we had gotten a return time for Peter Pan before getting on the other rides. My sister and I think we may like DL Peter Pan a little better than WDW, but it’s a close call.

We headed to Dumbo (1:17) and then Small World (1:45). We loved small world! I thought everything about it was wonderful, including the extra characters. I also really liked the way that the surrounding area was themed. The small gift shop, the pretzel stand, all of it had the same familiar small world theme and characters. Even the Fuel Rod exchange was adorable!

One of my favorite moments happened while we were in the queue for small world. Peter Pan was running around with a group of little kids, playing hide and seek. They were having a blast and I just thought it was the cutest thing!

We ended up grabbing a fastpass for small world, intending to ride it again later. We jumped in line for Matterhorn and ended up waiting quite a while, almost an hour. I absolutely hated it. It was so jerky and not enjoyable, but it had to be done.

We headed to Toontown and got a Fastpass for Roger Rabbit. We walked past the houses and went into Mickey’s. We didn’t want to wait to meet him today, so we walked back out. The line for Minnie’s house was really long, so we headed back out towards small world for the parade at 3:30

 

[wishes2013]

I LOVED MICKEY’S SOUNDSATIONAL PARADE!! I thought it was so fun and different, which could just be because I see Festival of Fantasy all the time. We did find it odd that Mary Poppins is what they chose to close the parade with.

We went back to ride Roger Rabbit at 4:00. I liked the ride, but my dad and I kept the spinning to a minimum. Definitely not my favorite, but still enjoyable.

We got on the Storybook Land Canal Boats at 4:20. This was one ride I was really looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. This may be one of my favorite rides of the day. I loved everything about it, from the music, to the scenes, and that a cast member was narrating the ride live. Our cm was wonderful! I wish we could have gone back to this later, but we didn’t.

 

[wishes2013]

We rode the teacups (4:30) and then did the castle walkthrough. Some guy had a snack in his hand that looked incredible, so I had to ask him about it. It was the garlic bagel twist, which them immediately ended up on my must do list. Before snacks, we headed to the Carousel. Belle showed up right as we got on and watched our ride from the wheelchair entrance. Then once we all got off, she got on a horse with the next group! Another super cool magic moment that I’ve never seen at WDW!

We did the Casey Jr. Circus Train (5:20) and Alice in Wonderland (5:32). Then, the moment I had been waiting for for all of an hour- Garlic Bagel Twist! It was really good, and I would definitely get it again. We found it at Maurice’s treats, but I did see it somewhere at DCA the next day.

Then we headed towards Adventureland for Dole Whips and the Tiki Room. We all tried the loaded Dole Whip which was incredible. I believe it was orange and pineapple swirl with fruit and crystallized hibiscus. Again, an incredible treat. I’d get them all the time if we had them here. I also really wanted to try the pineapple lumpia, since Pandora’s version is incredible. I was talking with a cm who did a college program at WDW, she said the DL ones are a little more like a churro on the outside.

Unfortunately, the Tiki Room was down so we had to move on. We didn’t make it back for another show later, so I guess that means I need another trip!

We crossed the hub and headed for Tomorrowland. First up was Buzz Lightyear (6:42). I did not like this version. @blreinsel knows that this is one of my favorites at WDW, but I thought this was so much harder. I had no idea where I was aiming or if I was hitting anything. I think I lost.

We rode Autopia (7:15) and Nemo’s Submarine Voyage (7:45). Nemo was interesting, but not something I’d run to ride again. It was pretty long, and a little cramped for my liking. We had a return time for Space Mountain, so I headed to the Tomorrowland Dance Party while the rest of the crew headed to Space Mountain. I don’t like coasters, especially in the dark, so I sat this one out. The dance party was fun, with lots of characters. Minnie, Pluto, and the Mary Poppins penguins were out when I arrived. Minnie left with the penguins, and Chip, Dale, and their girlfriend Clarice came out to join Pluto. They were having a blast, until they started fighting over Clarice.

Then, the DJ put on High School Musical. @blreinsel and I are BIG fans. We did the dance at her wedding, so I was so happy to see that the characters were doing the dance!

We went and rode Astro Orbiter before heading to find a spot for fireworks, and apparently we didn't take any pictures

 

[wishes2013]

Fireworks started at 9:30 and was the first time I got a little teary. The show was Disneyland Forever, and the opening was incredible.

We headed through Adventureland to get some food for Lauren. We grabbed some of the Beef Skewers, and I totally forget which ones. Dad and I shared one, and Lauren had her own. It was really good! I don’t think I have pictures, because we were in a rush to get to Fantasmic!

I didn’t end up getting Fastpasses for the show, which was maybe a mistake. I had talked to a cm earlier, and she said the later show wouldn’t be full, and they usually end up letting people into the fastpass section for the last show. They didn’t, and we ended up on the patio of the Riverbelle Terrace Restaurant. There was a pole in our way, but we made do. I made a run for beignets, and they did not disappoint!

After Fantasmic! We headed to Pirates for another ride.

We then went to Indiana Jones for one last ride. We contemplated heading back to small world but didn’t want to rush and we had some shopping to do! We wandered in and out of the shops, including Starbucks. We both (Lauren and I) have all the old series Starbucks mugs, and wanted some from here even though they have changed. We also both got a T-shirt. There was a lot of really cute stuff, but I know I can get the WDW version with my AP discount, so I held back.

We meant to stop by this area during the day and completely forgot. I love the story behind this little grove, and Lauren loves the dwarves.

With that, we headed for the entrance. We turned in the wheelchair and headed back to our hotel. We crashed close to 2am and set the alarms for the next day.