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Saturday, January 11, 2014

Day 4: January 11, 2014

Started off for the park at 4:30 with a dinner reservation at Blue Bayou for 7:40 pm, just in time to finish dinner and then be in the perfect spot for Fantasmic.

As they say, the best laid plans of Mickey Mouse....

Drove halfway to Anaheim before realizing I had left the Glow Ears at home, sitting there waiting in their Disney bag. OK, so we can still enjoy the show, right?

Maybe not. It might have been a good idea to check the schedule before leaving the house, or at least before getting to the park. No Fantasmic tonight, nor World of Color. Obviously, I should have realized they would be down for the seasonal changeover. At least we didn't drag the ears along for nothing.

The upside: since there was no Fantasmic, the paddlewheeler, or Mark Twain's Wild(erness) Ride, was still running in Frontierland, so we checked that off.


And how could we leave Frontierland without some shoot-em-up action at the firing range?
Having exhausted Frontierland's post-sunset possibilities, we struck off for Adventureland. Going around through the New Orleans side, we came to Tarzan's Treehouse, another new one for me. I remember when it was Swiss Family Robinson, 
but did not remember having been on it back then either, so we braved the fearsome ascent.


Barely did we catch our breath coming down from the tree, but found ourselves facing one of the most terrifying trips on Earth's Happiest Place: Indiana Jones's Adventure! As if the ride were not scary enough, the line for it is almost always an hour or more. I have (less than) fond memories of waiting in that line on a hot day, with the sun beating down through the jungle canopy and the rising odor of...well never mind. Tonight, the wait sign said "35 minutes"! So of course we dropped onto that one. Little did we know...

the line had been abandoned due to "transportation malfunctions." Two of these were announced while we stood and waited. But since Carl had never been on the ride before, we toughed it out and were rewarded with probably the shortest IJ wait time in history. 
Then it was off to dinner at the Blue Bayou. We arrived at 7:14 (so precise for New Orleans) and were given a blinker instead of getting seated early. Took some pix while waiting.


Finally, the pager went off at 7:46 for a 7:40 reservation. 

We ordered (Carl) strip steak and (me) Portobello mushrooms. Both entrees were very nice, as well they should be for the price. We also sprang for the Louisiana lemonade, featuring a glow ice cube. Cute!



Left the park while the fireworks were going. A great evening!

Day 3: January 4, 2014

A short trip to the 'Land today. Arriving in late afternoon, it was more crowded than we had expected. Perhaps because it was the last weekend for holiday decor, parade and fireworks.

We started off for Frontierland, since I had never been on a single ride over there (well, they are a bit on the sleepy side), but everything was already closed to get ready for Fantasmic. So, off to Tomorrowland we went to try to get into Captain EO with time to spare before Fantasmic. No dice there, either. Instead, we got in line for Autopia, since it didn't look too long. Well...


When the ride is backed up with broken-down cars and there are a zillion FastPass ticket-holders returning when it does get going...the line is a little slower. We got out of our car just as Fantasmic was starting, but couldn't make it past the wall of people already planted in their fireworks viewing spots. This was disappointing, since we finally managed to get our second pair of Glow Ears (the secret was that carts had them even though shops did not---but no passholder discount at carts, arghh).


But the day was saved when we found out that our ears were also synchronized to the fireworks. Yay!

Other than Autopia, we covered just one ride: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Which was good if for no other reason than I spotted the hidden Mickey at the end of the ride.


Dinner was a challenge, as the entire park apparently ran out of chicken! We settled on pasta at the Plaza Inn. At least that's now checked off...

Next time, some show action with the ears for sure.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Day 2: January 1, 2014


Happy New Year!

The park was not too crowded in the early morning hours. Good time to get in some rides.

+Carl Lafky dropped off Buddy at the kennel at 9. Plenty of room in the inn.

Started off in search of (1) sweatshirt---it was chilly in the morning and (2) Glow with the Show ears. Found the very LAST pair in the whole park complex at Frontierland.

Picked up a set of park-themed Christmas ornaments for next year.

Off to California Adventure looking for another set of ears only to find we had already bought the last pair anywhere. They are supposed to have more in 2 weeks.

Stayed in CA to ride the roller coaster. A good ride but didn't see the hidden Mickeys. Maybe next time.

Wandered around Paradise Pier and rode the carousel and wheel before setting off for lunch. Tried Ariel, but it was all booked. Went to the Chinese place on the Wharf, which was really very good.

Back to Disneyland after taking the pup for a little walk.

After lunch, it started to get more crowded. We picked a shortline ride: Astro Orbitor, so that's checked off. Never heard of Pixie Hollow, which is right next to the Orbitor, so we stood in the line and found it was to meet Tinkerbell. Great! I let her know I'd be seeing her in a couple of weeks for the big run.

Still looking for short lines, went up to Toontown, but Roger Rabbit was on Fastpass for HOURS later, so checked off Chip N Dale and Donald's Boat, then took the railroad to try to get back to Frontierland. Missed our stop and ended up taking 1 1/2 loops around the park and getting off back at Main Street. Walked the Budster again, then went to Downtown Disney to get dinner early. Even at 5:30 House of Blues had a 30+ minute wait. Walked down to Disneyland Hotel and back.

Tired after dinner, so we departed about 8pm.



Rides:
  • California Screamin'

















  • King Triton's Carousel (CA)









  • Mickey's Fun Wheel (CA)
  • Astro Orbitor
  • Disneyland Railroad
  • Horsedrawn Streetcar, with Robert
  • Horseless Carriage

















  • Attractions:


    • Pixie Hollow
















    • Donald's Boat
    • Chip n Dale Treehouse


    Dining:


    • Starbucks!





    • Lucky Fortune Cookery
    • House of Blues



    Wednesday, January 1, 2014

    December 28, 2013

    Went to see Saving Mr.Banks with Peg and Al Brannick.

    Everyone cried :)


    Day 1: Boxing Day 2013


    Today we became Annual Pass holders at +Disney Parks  in Anaheim (Disneyland and California Adventure). Our goal is to visit every single attraction, ride every ride, do every activity in both parks in one year.

    December 26, 2013. Arrived at 8:00 am, dropped off Buddy at the kennel and got a scooter for Mother. The scooter was a big help in getting the maximum number of rides in a day.

    Attended with +Carl Lafky  +Caroline Reyes  and Neil Reyes, Alvin Brannick and Peg Brannick. This was Neil's very first visit to a Disney park.

    Rides:


    • Star Tours
    • Space Mountain
    • Small World
    • Jungle Cruise
















    • Haunted Mansion
    • Tower of Terror
    • Matterhorn
    • Pirates of the Caribbean


    Shows:


    • Main Street Christmas Parade
    • World of Color Winter Fantasy













    Meals:


    • Main Street hot dog stand
    • Catal (Downtown Disney)