It's Always Sunny in California...eh? L'l bit! A Photo Tri

[simon8899]

^Well at least the kid has not puked over you. Already had that "experience" years ago inside a HUSS Frisbee.

 

Overall your TR makes me want to re-visit the California parks - but will have to wait some time as US-Northeast, US-SFOG/SFOT and Canada are planned for me before re-visiting, likely 10 years down the road...

[jenseib]

^Well at least the kid has not puked over you. Already had that "experience" years ago inside a HUSS Frisbee.

 

Overall your TR makes me want to re-visit the California parks - but will have to wait some time as US-Northeast, US-SFOG/SFOT and Canada are planned for me before re-visiting, likely 10 years down the road...

 

Oh yuck!!! Yeah....glad that wasn't the case at all!!!!

 

I have a lot of plans and not enough money! But my husband does seem to like Disney, so when all fails I can get him there over many other places, so thats a plus. He also is now a fan of Universal. I can't get him to travel more yet....still working on that one.

[jenseib]

After our thrilling ride we headed over towards Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree….again with me taking pictures along the way.

 

 

 

 

Again the line wasn’t too long and moved pretty fast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon it was our turn and this one took us by surprise. Every time we whipped around a circle our wagon went flying to one side. We were laughing so hard. And the seats are slippery so my rear was sliding back and forth and I am sure I was smashing poor Cass. It was great fun, but I don’t think it would be on I would go on over and over either. I am sure Claire would love it though.

 

After that, we had finished with Carsland and I was getting hungry. We decided we should head over to Paradise Pier and ride California Screamin before we ate for obvious reasons. Also, Toy Story Mania is over there and we wanted to get to that before the crowds came in.

 

Look who we ran into as we made our way over.

 

 

 

I am going to warn you now….You will see many pictures of the Ferris Wheel. I just love taking them…now would I ride it?????? Never in a million years. That is a death trap! Cass mentioned she would like to and I told her she could but I will sit it out. There is no way I am going to get in a swinging car and sit up high like that. You will fall to your death surely!!!!

 

 

 

We were walking fairly fast, but I was still able to keep shooting.

 

 

This spot made me long for a Disney cruise.

 

 

 

 

We made a quick potty stop before riding as well…for obvious reason!

 

 

And we got in line and again it wasn’t too long of a wait.

 

 

I’ll admit I was nervous about this ride. I knew it had a takeoff like Rocking Roller Coaster and that tickles me so much and I just hold my breath. It wasn’t too bad and I was squealing along the way.

 

It was a fun ride and I am so glad I rode it.

 

Again Cass has the cool pose while I am trying to smile, but just look plain dorky.

 

[TBpony414]

Yay! I've been waiting and wondering when you'd start posting about your recent trips. Imagine my surprise when I realized I'd somehow missed that you'd already posted several installments! I've been to CA before for typical tourist stuff but never to WDL or DCA so it's nice to see your report and get a good idea of what it's like. Your hotel looks beautiful and I LOVE that headboard!! Please tell me you got a picture of it lit up and sparkling?! How cool. I've never seen a rotating shower head either. The pool looks gorgeous and enormous and the monorail slide is really neat, too bad it closed so early though. Looks like Cass and you had a blast together.

[Chrisrad]

Awesome TR - I love the detail! And I enjoyed seeing parts of the hotels I've never seen.

 

I'm loving your comments about CA!! I've lived here my whole life so I take a lot of things for granted.

 

I'm also hoping you saw World of Color in an actual viewing area? I've seen it a few dozen times and you have to watch it in the designated viewing areas - I've tried a bunch of 'outside' areas and nothing compares; the bridge has the BEST view.

[jenseib]

Yay! I've been waiting and wondering when you'd start posting about your recent trips. Imagine my surprise when I realized I'd somehow missed that you'd already posted several installments! I've been to CA before for typical tourist stuff but never to WDL or DCA so it's nice to see your report and get a good idea of what it's like. Your hotel looks beautiful and I LOVE that headboard!! Please tell me you got a picture of it lit up and sparkling?! How cool. I've never seen a rotating shower head either. The pool looks gorgeous and enormous and the monorail slide is really neat, too bad it closed so early though. Looks like Cass and you had a blast together.

 

I don't think I ever got a good picture of the headboard lit up. I think the best one I got was posted already. I really was on the go so much that I would forget which pictures I took and which I hadn't. Sometimes I would say to myself...be sure to get a picture of that and then put it off till later and forget, or other times I thought I took something I didn't.

 

We had so much fun together and it's been a long time since I have laughed that much. We really were a perfect match.

[jenseib]

Awesome TR - I love the detail! And I enjoyed seeing parts of the hotels I've never seen.

 

I'm loving your comments about CA!! I've lived here my whole life so I take a lot of things for granted.

 

I'm also hoping you saw World of Color in an actual viewing area? I've seen it a few dozen times and you have to watch it in the designated viewing areas - I've tried a bunch of 'outside' areas and nothing compares; the bridge has the BEST view.

 

Thanks for reading along with me.

I really loved CA and I hope to see more in the future.

Yes, I got to see the show twice more throughout the trip! I do love it! It's amazing the things they can do with water...and color!

[jenseib]

We had one more attraction we wanted to do before getting some lunch….Toy Story Mania! It had just turned 10, which meant the public was now being let in so we quickly walked over there before the crowds got too big.

 

One thing I learned about California….most of the queues are outside. I guess that is because it doesn’t rain much there?...in Sunny California! This is one thing that WDW does better. Inside queues often means better theming.

 

 

It was strange to see Mr. Potato Head right outside with us.

 

 

While we waited in line I took a picture of one of the Death Traps cars.

 

 

This was probably the longest line we waited in so far today, but again it kept moving and soon we were on it. It was a very fun ride and I can’t tell the differences from this one to WDW’s version. I would say they are pretty much the same ride. Of course my arm was killing me and Cass really kicked my butt in the score. I can’t wait to play against Claire at WDW where I am sure I have a much better chance at being the winner!!! (and now that I am back from that trip…I did!)

 

As we left we went through this cute room at Andy’s house, so of course I stopped to take a picture.

 

 

You could look down from here and see the dump shop that we would be exiting through.

 

 

And out we went. Paradise Pier has some cute theming, but I will admit this kind of stuff at Disney is not a turn on for me. I don’t like this kind of stuff at Animal Kingdom either.

 

 

 

We passed Buzz out for a greet and I took a quick picture.

 

 

Later in the week we walked by this same spot and I said to Cass “I bet this is where Toy Story characters meet” and she was like….”Um, yeah, you took a picture of Buzz there the other day”. LOL! Being tired really works on the memory! (That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it!!)

 

I loved this row of Palm trees.

 

 

 

We came up to Goofy’s Sky School and Cass asked if I wanted to jump on this one since the wait wasn’t too long. She described it as Barnstormer on Steroids. Ok, sounds fun.

 

 

 

The line actually moved slower than we thought it would, but it wasn’t too bad.

 

 

 

 

Almost there.

 

 

We got in our little car and I expected it to be like a Wild Cat ride, which goes up and down and really jerky.

 

 

 

It became very clear to me soon that Goofy does NOT know how to fly and Cass had lured me onto a Death Trap!!!!

 

 

This ride would round the corners and I swear every time I felt like we were going to fly off the track. Yes it was jerky and that made me more nervous because I expected us to be jerked right off those tracks at any moment….and we stayed up high too! I could see my death at every turn!

 

 

I think Cass was just laughing away as I mumbled about how horrible this ride was and I was sure to die at any moment. And of course at the end of the ride it jerks you to a stop….and then we both started laughing about it.

Let’s just say I won’t be going back on that ride anytime soon!

 

By now I was getting pretty darn hungry and we decided to find lunch. Cass suggested heading to the Grand Californian and check if our itinerary had arrived yet and then getting lunch there.

 

As we walked by this ride, my first thought was death trap….and what a stupid ride. Not something I would think would be in a Disney park…they also had swings….which are also in the category of Death trap as well. So this area of Paradise Pier would not be one I would want to hang out in long. For one I wouldn’t ride the rides and 2, with all those Death Trap rides…..bodies will be flying all over the place!

 

 

 

 

Before going into GC, we did stop and get fastpass for World of Color for the evening. Let’s just say the machines are a bit different than WDW’s were and it took us a few minutes to figure out why nothing was coming out for us. LOL!

 

 

We used the CA entrance into GC and it was really neat to have an entrance like that. That is a real nice perk!

Going into the resort…all I can say is WoW!

 

 

You do get a Wilderness Lodge feel from it, but it is different. I really did like this resort and I bet it is beautiful during the holidays.

 

We headed to the check in desk to see if our packets for the conference had arrived. See the CM lady in the middle? That’s Linda and we end up working with her on the next day and she is really nice and the last original CM at GC that has been at the resort since opening day.

 

 

It was a little busy, but we didn’t have to wait too long to be seen.

 

 

When it was our turn we asked and got the deer in the headlight look. Too bad we didn’t have Linda today, because I bet she would’ve at least known what we were talking about. Our CM did go and ask and was told nothing yet today and probably not till tomorrow. This was disappointing, but we kind of expected it. In the past, with conferences like this, you could pick up your packet at least a day early and of course you usually knew your itinerary for the most part a few weeks in advance. We heard things were being changed and the person in charge is now different too, and basically at this point nothing was going smoothly. We could live without the itinerary, but it was annoying, especially when trying to plan out the rest of the week, but we also received tickets in that packet and Cass and I wanted that ticket in our hand as soon as possible as we wanted to do early entry into Disneyland the next morning. The current tickets we had were only 2 day tickets and today was day 2 of using them.

 

We thanked the CM for looking, grumbled amongst ourselves and headed to find some food.

 

 

Of course I had to take some pictures of the resort while we were there.

 

 

 

 

We decided to see if Story Tellers had any openings. This is a table service restaurant that also does character meals for breakfast. Lunch was just basic lunch. Cass had eaten here the day before and said it was pretty good.

 

 

We were in luck and seated right away. The place was practically empty. That is another difference between here and WDW. You can often get walk up reservations for many of the sit down meals, especially lunch.

 

 

 

 

We made our selections and I chose a flatbread pizza.

 

I went outside while we waited for the food to find a map and I think I called home and did something else. While out there I got a text from Cass who said they wanted to know what I wanted on my pizza and I told them just plain. I think I had the choice of adding chicken. When I came back she said she told them plain, but it appears my text didn’t come through, or at least in time. We did have this issue a lot. Our texts were not always going back and forth with each other. I guess it was because she has a Canadian phone, and though she had paid for unlimited texting, she had turned off all the other functions and I guess the phone was confused at times. LOL Or my phone didn’t like her phone?

 

Anyways, the food came and it was very good. Cass had ordered a sandwich but it came with avocado on it. She asked not have that and they brought it to her on the side instead. She said she never had avocado before and tasted it and it wasn’t anything special to her and she slide it over and I ate a l’il bit of it too.

 

My pizza was good and I think I ate the whole thing. I forgot to take a picture till I was half done.

 

 

Once I was done eating, I took a few more pictures and then made a run to the restroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch we headed back to CA as we still had a few things we wanted to accomplish today. We walked by Soarin’ which was down while we were there, so I never did get a chance to ride that, but I hear it’s pretty much the same thing as WDW.

 

 

 

Sooooo…..we’re just strolling down this road and I sort of look up and tell Cass….”Look how blue the sky is with all those white puffy clouds”….and then it hits me….it’s not the real sky I am looking at, but that back drop.

 

 

We had quite a good laugh over that one. Of course it became a joke with us during the rest of the week.

 

 

 

 

We never rode one of these, but I guess if I can get back with the family it might be fun to do for a short little trip.

 

[simon8899]

And the Wild Mouse - Goofy's Sky School - from Mack has even less steep dips than the standard Mack variant.

 

You should try those on a German carnival...

[Chrisrad]

It's funny that you mention how there are lots of open tables at DLR restaurants. I've never even thought about how you can walk into most DLR restaurants to get a seat - it's something I'm so accustomed to.

 

But WDW on the other hand, that was a shock - I had no idea that it was pretty much impossible to walk into a restaurant to get a table without making a reservation.

 

As for Paradise Pier, just think.. that's the new and improved version! You missed the off-the-shelf drop tower.

[bert425]

It's funny that you mention how there are lots of open tables at DLR restaurants. I've never even thought about how you can walk into most DLR restaurants to get a seat - it's something I'm so accustomed to.

 

But WDW on the other hand, that was a shock - I had no idea that it was pretty much impossible to walk into a restaurant to get a table without making a reservation.

 

 

we've never had trouble at either DL or WDW just walking in without a reservation (even at places like Blue Bayou, or Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom) - the only time we even had a wait, was once at Sci-Fi Diner, and we waited about 20 minutes.

 

we don't like to make reservations, because we tend to just eat when hungry.

 

but it always seems to work in our favor that it's just the two of us, and it seems it's easy to find a table for Two, when most of those waiting to be seated are families or groups larger than 2

[jenseib]

And the Wild Mouse - Goofy's Sky School - from Mack has even less steep dips than the standard Mack variant.

 

You should try those on a German carnival...

 

I think I'll pass! I don't mind the hills, it's the fact that we are doing hairpin turns! LOL

[jenseib]

It's funny that you mention how there are lots of open tables at DLR restaurants. I've never even thought about how you can walk into most DLR restaurants to get a seat - it's something I'm so accustomed to.

 

But WDW on the other hand, that was a shock - I had no idea that it was pretty much impossible to walk into a restaurant to get a table without making a reservation.

 

As for Paradise Pier, just think.. that's the new and improved version! You missed the off-the-shelf drop tower.

 

You are so right!! At WDW it's nearly impossible to get a walk up at almost all the restaurants.

 

I heard it used to be different and this is better. I am not a fan of Carnival type stuff at Disney parks. I get that enough at other places.

[jenseib]

It's funny that you mention how there are lots of open tables at DLR restaurants. I've never even thought about how you can walk into most DLR restaurants to get a seat - it's something I'm so accustomed to.

 

But WDW on the other hand, that was a shock - I had no idea that it was pretty much impossible to walk into a restaurant to get a table without making a reservation.

 

 

we've never had trouble at either DL or WDW just walking in without a reservation (even at places like Blue Bayou, or Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom) - the only time we even had a wait, was once at Sci-Fi Diner, and we waited about 20 minutes.

 

we don't like to make reservations, because we tend to just eat when hungry.

 

but it always seems to work in our favor that it's just the two of us, and it seems it's easy to find a table for Two, when most of those waiting to be seated are families or groups larger than 2

 

You are lucky. It's rare, well especially during busy times. Ironically when we were down there in March and it was insanely busy, my parents walked up and got one at Sci-Fi. I tried one day at a few places and they were all booked for the whole night. But that was fine.

[jenseib]

Princess Sofia was out and I took a quick picture on the way by.

 

 

Hey! Look who is in the streetcar!

 

 

 

Our destination is just ahead.

 

 

Actually we were just getting Fastpasses. Oh how I wish WDW still had the paper FP’s. I am already dreading how it will work on my upcoming trip with magic bands. (and now that I am back, let’s just say the whole My Disney Experience at WDW was much WORSE than I even imagined…not a fan at all)

 

After getting our passes, we still had some time to kill, so we went this way.

 

 

I tried to get this window shot, but I got a lot of reflection instead.

 

 

This was on the wall as we entered and I got a terrible shot of it.

 

 

We went in here to see something Cass wanted to look at and we came into this room….. I was not expecting this. It was really neat in here.

 

 

 

Cass had a mission. She wanted to see the Zoetrope.

 

 

This thing was so cool and pictures can NOT show how it works. I found this youtube video and it explains what a zoetrope is and at the end it shows this one in motion. Basically with strobe lights, it plays tricks on your brain and makes it look like everything is in motion. Cass tried to take video of it and it didn’t turn out right. I have seen some on youtube by others, but again, they can’t capture what you actually see. I strongly suggest you watch the youtube video to understand and see it. (it’s only 2 minutes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This thing was super cool and I am glad we spent some time here watching it and seeing it.

 

Next we headed to Turtle Talk since we had some time still.

 

 

 

 

 

This theatre was nicer than the one at WDW, it had real seats instead of benches.

 

 

The show itself is pretty much the exact same though.

 

 

After we had fun with Crush we headed out and I noticed there was an area down some stairs so we decided to take a look that way.

This area was really cool and I am not sure how to describe it, but it had stations of interactive stuff and Cass and I both thought our girls would love this area.

 

 

 

 

 

The next room we came to was Beast’s library. Very cool! I am not sure when this was made, but it had some similar things to what the new Fantasyland has in WDW. I had never heard about this area at all. Again it did have some interactive things in there as well.

 

 

 

 

 

A really bad picture of me from my phone.

 

 

We left that area and went to the next room. I have no clue what this next picture is of.

 

 

Again, more interactive things in here and I played with one.

 

 

 

We did some sing along thing and Cass and I both did the practice run of singing Hi Ho…and then when it came time to do the real deal…..Cass became completely quiet…..that stinker!

 

 

They then played back what you sang……let’s just say I won’t be winning any awards anytime soon.

 

Here is another picture I took, but again, no clue what it is or why I took it.

 

 

And then we headed back outside.

 

 

I believe we went through a dump shop once again.

 

 

And we did browse a bit. I found a lot of things I wanted to buy this trip, but I just didn’t want to pay what the price tags showed for them.

 

It was now time to head to Tower of Terror.

 

 

It is similar inside, but a bit different.

 

 

 

 

 

When we came to the boiler room, it was very different and there were 2 levels and we went upstairs.

 

 

 

Soon we were in our seats and I knew this was different than WDW. I knew we didn’t get pushed out in the hall like the WDW version does. I am trying to remember how it exactly worked, but we went up so far and then doors opened.

 

 

I believe we then went up some more and the doors opened again and more of the story was told/showed…..and then BAM! We are dropping. I knew to expect it yet I didn’t. I was laughing so hard and we were going up and down and up and down. I think this went more than any WDW version I have done. Oh…and this one has just one set version, it doesn’t randomly select a drop sequence like at WDW.

We were squealing and laughing so much.

When we got off we went to look at our picture. I had to crack up again, as of course Cass has the cool pose going on and I look like I am about to wet my pants.

 

 

That was a lot of fun!

[jenseib]

After we left the ToT we had a mission. The next show of Aladdin would be showing soon and this is one thing I really wanted to see on this trip, so we headed over that way.

 

 

We had to make a choice as to which level we wanted to enter. Honestly, we had no clue what each meant and just picked one that we thought was a balcony.

We did have to wait around for a bit, but not as long as I thought we would have to. Soon we were being let in and up the stairs we went…what a killer. We entered at the top of the middle balcony and then we decided to head down the stairs to the first row and found a pretty decent seat.

 

 

 

They did give some instructions before the show started, like those of us in the first row were not allowed to stand and bend over to see what was below us, eventually we would be able to see it all.

 

The show started and it is basically a shortened version of the movie. I took a zillion pictures of this show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aladdin was falling into the cave here. They had really great affects and stunts.

 

 

One thing missing from this Aladdin version was Abu. He did not have his sidekick at all in this show.

 

 

 

 

Carpet, however, was in the show.

 

 

Here comes the Genie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course you “ain’t never had a friend” like Genie and this production was very fun and had me doing a toe tap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

Continuing on with more pictures from the show……

 

 

 

Back to Jasmine…..who does not want to get married to just anyone…..

 

 

Lucky for her, Prince Ali is about to enter.

 

 

Cass quickly tapped me to show me where Prince Ali was entering…I had read about this, and seen videos, but almost forgot. What a show stopper this is! Wow!

 

 

This song is by far my favorite from Aladdin and is one of my top favorites of all Disney songs, and this performance did not disappoint at all.

 

 

Sadly, as you may have noticed, some of my pictures during the show came out a bit blurry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He’s waving right at me!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Jasmine is not impressed with Prince Ali at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jasmine is upset and still does not want to marry Prince Ali…..

 

 

But Prince Ali…aka Aladdin….comes and sweeps her off her feet, literally, on a magic carpet ride. Now I read about this as well and I knew the carpet was to fly over the audience, but many times it has issues and doesn’t fly. Well luck was on our side and we got the full treatment today. The pictures are dark and it really is hard to capture them flying, but I have a few not so great ones to share…..a little tid bit for you…those are doubles flying…it transforms from the stage to the flying carpet quickly and there is no way the 2 could get up there that fast….and I think that is part of the reason why it is so dark. They used an Aladdin double a couple of different times during the show.

 

 

 

My friend, Janet, had the most amazing flying carpet picture from her trip last Dec. The lighting is just right and she got a fabulous angle of it.

 

As they flew, scenes of what they were flying over went across the stage.

 

 

 

 

 

After they are done flying through the theatre it transforms back to the stage where they are flying on a stationary carpet. These pictures I think turned out pretty nice.

 

 

 

I assume when the actual flying carpet is not working, the whole sequence is done down on the stage on this carpet.

 

 

Of course they are all happy now!

 

 

 

 

Jafar, however, still wants to have the power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

Continuing on with more pictures from the show……

 

 

 

Back to Jasmine…..who does not want to get married to just anyone…..

 

 

Lucky for her, Prince Ali is about to enter.

 

 

Cass quickly tapped me to show me where Prince Ali was entering…I had read about this, and seen videos, but almost forgot. What a show stopper this is! Wow!

 

 

This song is by far my favorite from Aladdin and is one of my top favorites of all Disney songs, and this performance did not disappoint at all.

 

 

Sadly, as you may have noticed, some of my pictures during the show came out a bit blurry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He’s waving right at me!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Jasmine is not impressed with Prince Ali at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---- --- --- -----

 

Jasmine is upset and still does not want to marry Prince Ali…..

 

 

But Prince Ali…aka Aladdin….comes and sweeps her off her feet, literally, on a magic carpet ride. Now I read about this as well and I knew the carpet was to fly over the audience, but many times it has issues and doesn’t fly. Well luck was on our side and we got the full treatment today. The pictures are dark and it really is hard to capture them flying, but I have a few not so great ones to share…..a little tid bit for you…those are doubles flying…it transforms from the stage to the flying carpet quickly and there is no way the 2 could get up there that fast….and I think that is part of the reason why it is so dark. They used an Aladdin double a couple of different times during the show.

 

 

 

My friend, Janet, had the most amazing flying carpet picture from her trip last Dec. The lighting is just right and she got a fabulous angle of it.

 

As they flew, scenes of what they were flying over went across the stage.

 

 

 

 

 

After they are done flying through the theatre it transforms back to the stage where they are flying on a stationary carpet. These pictures I think turned out pretty nice.

 

 

 

I assume when the actual flying carpet is not working, the whole sequence is done down on the stage on this carpet.

 

 

Of course they are all happy now!

 

 

 

 

Jafar, however, still wants to have the power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genie is traveling the world with his new found freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought this show was wonderful. So much fun, great sets and props and just a lot of fun. Cass said she saw this on the Fantasy last fall and it was very good there but this one had more to it, as I am sure on a moving ship with only so much space, not everything could be the same.

We waited a bit for the crowd to leave so we were not herded like cattle out and then made our way out.

 

We browsed some stores after the show then.

 

 

And then we made our way to the front. It was time to head over to Disneyland.

 

 

Park hopping here is super easy…just across the way is Disneyland!

 

 

Over that way is the entrance from the offsite hotels I believe.

 

 

 

 

Since you go to bag check on the sides, to park hop you do not need to go through them again, which is really nice.

 

Ariel was out meeting in front, so I snapped some quick pictures as we walked by.

 

 

 

When we entered, this park felt busier.

 

 

Cass pointed out that a lot of the pathways are narrower here which makes it often feel fuller than it really is…that being said, it was still pretty busy.

 

We stopped and watch these guys for a minute or too.

 

 

 

And then down the hub we went.

 

 

This horse was coming towards us so we stopped to take a picture.

 

 

Through the lens of my camera I realized the horse was coming right at me and it took me a minute to realize why…the tracks turn and he had no choice as I was standing in the middle of them. LOL

 

 

[jenseib]

We kept moving along and spotted the Mad Hatter out for a meet and greet. I took some quick shots of him as we walked by.

 

 

 

He wasn’t cooperating and looking directly at me like I wanted him too.

 

 

We had a mission, a ride both of us wanted to ride, so I followed Cass as she led the way through Adventureland.

 

 

 

 

DL felt more crowded to me, even with the narrower paths.

 

 

I never did make it to Tarzan’s treehouse, but I took pictures of it several times.

 

 

Ok….I have one favorite ride above all others at WDW and DL has its own version which is different and longer. I HAD to ride it.

 

 

The line was long, but we got in anyways.

Hey look the D Suite is right there!

 

 

 

 

Of course I occupied some of the time by taking pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we made it in and loaded onto our boat. The queue and loading area is totally different than WDW’s version. You also start out going around the Blue Bayou restaurant and you can see people dining.

 

I attempted to take a few pictures on the ride, but most did not come out very well.

 

 

 

There are some scenes that are close to the same and some are very different.

 

I believe the skull on the headboard is a real skull!!

 

 

 

The treasure room is very different and it is towards the beginning of the ride.

 

 

Of course the ride has some familiar scenes in it too!

 

 

We Wants the Redhead!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Now Captain Jack is sitting at the very end. At WDW he looks so real! This one…..not so much. The 2nd time we rode this ride I noticed it more and thought “wow, he looks really bad!” and at that same moment Cass turned to me and said the same thing. He was kind of dirty looking and just not quite right.

 

 

So my thoughts on DL’s version of Pirates? I loved it! I would not say it’s better than WDW, but I love them both equally. It’s different and fun and I am really glad to finally see this version of it.

 

The exit area of the ride comes out here so I had to get a few more shots.

 

 

 

 

Off we went. Another ride that was on our list was the Matterhorn, so we headed that way.

 

 

 

 

 

Before riding this bad boy, I needed to make a potty run!

 

 

How cute is this area????

 

 

 

I snuck a picture inside because it was just themed so well.

 

 

When we came out we went to check the wait time…..the line was quite long, but we planned to use the single rider line. Well they informed us the ride was not running right now and they were not sure when it would be back to running. We could wait if we wanted to, but we chose to keep moving.

 

I then spotted these ladies walking in high heels. I have no clue how they could be comfortable walking around a park in those things. I took a quick crappy picture of them because I was just amazed.

 

 

I can’t even stand in those type of shoes, let alone walk in them!

 

Onward we went. We spotted It’s a Small Word. And yes I would have LOVED to ride the original version, but sadly it was down for refurbishment, which was the case with a lot of rides and attractions while we were there that week.

 

 

 

We came across some ducks that were just so darn cute. Of course I got a picture.

 

 

 

And it was time for a snack for me! I was getting pretty darn hungry and I needed something to tie me over.

 

 

Ok, maybe not so much hungry….but I NEEDED a Mickey bar! LOL

[jenseib]

Since we were in the area of Small World still, I decided it was time to take a few more pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

And now it was time to head to Toontown.

 

 

 

 

We checked out some wait times and looked around, but we had limited time right now and everything was pretty busy today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey! There’s Goofy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole area looked like a lot of fun and great for kids. I am so happy there still is a Toontown left somewhere! I think Claire would enjoy this area, though she is becoming more of a thrill seeker these days.

 

 

 

We then checked out Storybookland and it was a super long wait for that as well. UGH…..I will tell you now, we never rode it. It was either a super long line or it was closed for weather. It also seemed to be closed in the evenings, so my guess is that this ride does not stay open all day.

 

 

 

We then headed towards the back side of the castle and look who we found?

 

 

 

I assume this is where Anna and Elsa meet. A few days later while in line for another ride, I heard a Mom and daughter discuss possibly popping in over there to see them. She didn’t seem to realize that the line there was for THEM. I let her know that she could wait a very long time in line and she might want to ask how long the wait is before getting in line.

 

We also checked the wait for Pinocchio and Peter Pan. Both had extremely long waits.

 

 

 

The backside of the castle….we had something else in mind now!

 

 

 

 

Our plan? To go INSIDE the castle! They have a little passageway inside that tells the story of Sleeping Beauty. I had almost forgotten about this, but never fear, Cass was on the ball and took me through it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was really neat. Not the best attraction, but something different and again, I know this would really be a highlight for Claire. Heck it was a highlight for me and I am an adult. LOL. I had always wanted to go INSIDE Cinderella’s castle as a kid and see her “stuff”. But we all know you just walk through and unless you have a reservation to eat…or one of the lucky few now a days to win a castle suite night’s stay, you really don’t have any chance of going IN the castle. I think if WDW had had something like this, I would’ve been a little more satisfied as a kid.

[cfc]

They used to have a "bottomless pit" in Sleeping Beauty's Castle that featured a cool echo effect when I was a kid. But I think people yelling certain "choice" words and phrases and having them repeated numerous times prompted Disney to remove it.

[WFChris]

I'm not 100% sure, but it's my understanding that Captain Jack Sparrow intentionally looks a little fake in order to fit in with the other audio-anamatronics found throughout the ride.

[jenseib]

They used to have a "bottomless pit" in Sleeping Beauty's Castle that featured a cool echo effect when I was a kid. But I think people yelling certain "choice" words and phrases and having them repeated numerous times prompted Disney to remove it.

 

That would be cool too see, but yeah I can see a lot of children and adults doing that.

[jenseib]

I'm not 100% sure, but it's my understanding that Captain Jack Sparrow intentionally looks a little fake in order to fit in with the other audio-anamatronics found throughout the ride.

 

That could be. I know at WDW he looks fabulous! Super real. In fact my daughter Claire often comments at how real he looks and it's creepy!

[jenseib]

Once we exited the castle, I found this dude and he was just standing there waiting for a fist bump!

 

 

A look up at the castle. What was neat about the inside walk through…you actually go up and over and come out the other side. I hadn’t realized that while we were walking inside of it.

 

We headed through the castle then and I just had to take a picture of this guy with his cute sweatshirt….and princess back pack!

 

 

AHHHH! Flowers in Feb!

 

 

 

 

Time to head to the front. We have to get some dinner and then watch World of Color!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walt is still here!

 

 

And then a quick walk over to CA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our destination! Dinner was going to be had in Carsland tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

This area is so pretty at night.

 

 

 

Our final destination!

 

 

Dinner tonight was at Flo’s. Cass and I had been looking at the food porn thread on Dis and the food here looked really good and was a must do on our list!

 

 

 

 

A look at Radiator Springs.

 

 

We somehow went in the wrong door. I think maybe we had a potty stop and went in through a door near there? Anyways, the line wasn’t too bad so we just hopped over/under the queue rope and got in line. It didn’t take too long to get up to order…but longer than it should have.

 

 

 

 

We discussed what we were going to have, both of us settling on the Turkey dinner, but I was going to get peas and carrots, while Cass decided on the roasted corn medley. I told her I like corn…..but was a little leery what it meant by medley? How many kinds of corns are there?

 

This was a picture in a glass case. I think it was kid’s offerings?

 

 

And you can barely make it out….but this was some cute silverware that looked like tools. And no they don’t let you use stuff like this. I am not sure if they ever did, but I would assume people would steal it left and right.

 

 

We made our orders and then waited and waited and waited. The ordering went fast, but when it came time for them to get the food out to you they were slower than molasses.

 

 

 

While waiting a person in the next line over asked the food counter people if she would change her roast beef to turkey would it come out faster because she had been waiting so long. I quickly told her that wouldn’t help because I have been waiting on turkey. LOL.

 

Finally it came and Cass had gotten hers first so I went and found her at a table. Getting back there was a chore too. Strollers in the middle of the aisle way and then the people were standing in the small space left talking. I was tired, hot and hungry and I am sure my “excuse mes” had a ring to them of “Get the heck out of my way!”

 

I also got a shake to drink. I think it was cookies and cream or something along that line.

 

 

Sad to say, but the meal was just OK. I don’t think I found butter for my roll and that’s disappointing and it just didn’t taste as good as it looked all around. The shake was really good though.

Cass said hers wasn’t that great either and told me I should be glad I didn’t get the corn medley as it wasn’t very good at all.

I think the gravy was part of the problem….it had that cheap gravy taste. I think it might have been better if I had asked for no gravy.

 

After we were done we cleared away our plates (they use real utensils here) and I took this cute picture.

 

 

And then we headed out once again.

I swore I took pictures during this time, but I guess it was another night. I was a bit chilly and Cass had been looking for a few specific things, so we shopped around a bit. I found a really cute Carsland sweatshirt/hoodie, but it seemed really thin and for the price I just couldn’t justify it. Boy, later that night I regretted that!

 

It was time to start making our way over towards Paradise Pier for our FP to see World of Color.

 

 

 

I don’t think we had to wait too long and we were let in to find a place. We picked a spot off to the left side along a railing and then we chatted. The wind was a little breezy and it started to get cold. Not winter cold, but cold enough for someone in short sleeves. Even Cass, who is almost always hot, said that her arm facing the wind was getting pretty darn cold.

It was funny, because I was pretty cold, but at least talking sort of kept my mind off of it a l’il bit. I think I may have called home during that time too… and though I jumped around to keep warm and complained a bit, there were people there wrapped up completely like it was winter! There was a guy with jeans and a hoodie and a scarf or something wrapped around him and he was sitting on the ground shaking. Seriously! It wasn’t that bad!

I did however feel that if the parents looked away from the kids near us in strollers….. then I might steal one of their blankets to wrap up in. Hah!

 

 

 

 

It did start eventually and it was totally worth our cold wait!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me tell you that my pictures do not do this show justice at all. I just kept snapping and I am not impressed at all with what I got. The show is beautiful…..so much color…and so stimulating. I really enjoyed it and the music with it is great as well.