Trip Report ABD Dis-Exclusive Southern California Dec 13-18, 2015

[Skip3key]

Day 3 Part 2- Finally at Disneyland!

So, the most important thing about this post is to know that this is our first ever trip to Disneyland, so absolutely everything was new and magical! We have been regulars at Disneyworld since about 2009 as you can see in our signature, but it was so exciting to come to this new and old Disney place all at the same time! The most amazing thing about Disneyland vs DisneyWorld is the fact that everything is so super close... walking from The Grand Californian to the Disneyland Hotel took about 5 minutes... amazing how you step out of the hotel and into Downtown Disney! Hang a left to get to the Disneyland Hotel, hang a right to get to the main entrance to the park, also about 5 minutes away! Then you look up and see a low riding monorail zooming over your head... so neat! Go out of the hotel the other way and walk right into California Adventure... no waiting, no busses, just walk right in.

So, when we left off, it was 6 pm on Tuesday evening and we were walking over to Steakhouse 55 for an amazing ABD dinner. The restaurant was ready for us and we walked right to our tables and sat down with salads already on the table and unlimited wine and beer at the ready ... and the wine definitely was a very nice wine...smooth and delicious! Here is the salad... Chopped hearts of romaine with blood orange and caesar dressing... I don't even like caesar dressing and thought it was delicious!


And for our entree we had choice of Moroccan Spiced King Salmon, Pan Roasted Half Chicken, or the grilled Filet Mignon with Cabernet Demi-Glace.... Being this was SteakHouse 55... how could we not get Steak! We both got the filet which came with sides of Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and greenbeans with applewood smoked bacon...This was melt in your mouth buttery, hot, salty and wonderfully perfectly cooked goodness... probably one of the best steaks we have eaten in all of Disney (and we have done a lot of steaks...but have yet to try the Yachtsman.. so I don't want to say Steak house 55 is the absolute best...yet... but its on the list!)



It did take a little while for the food to come out, but it didn't matter, we had a great time with our new friends from Philly at our table swapping Disney and life stories and just relaxing. Once we couldn't eat any more...more came out in the form of dessert! I did't get a picture it seems, but it was a vanilla Creme Brûlée with cinnamon spiced mini doughnuts, chantilly creme and raspberry compote... and it put us over the top!

We were given our 4 day Park Hopper Pass at Dinner and at about 7:30pm we left the restaurant and headed to the park... on our way we passed this! An iceskating rink! In Downtown Disney!



Since you walk right past the Monorail station, we decided to ride it into the park. I was a little nervous about my first entrance into the park being through this "backdoor" way which leaves you off near Nemo Subs and Tomorrowland, but also wanted to stay with our group since I felt like a fish out of water not knowing our way around.

So when we got on the monorail, you had to have a valid ticket since the monorail actually takes you in the park- not like DisneyWorld where anyone can just hop on the monorail for fun. There are, of course, no magic bands, but a paper ticket that I was super nervous I (or really more nervous that Eva) would lose the whole time- so I was kind of militant about holding onto both of them for us. Also interesting as that they used what looked like a cell phone to take your picture the first time you used your multiday pass... and then each time we went in a park, they would pull up our picture to make sure it was us (no fingerprints!). More on how I ended up feeling about the "old ways" (paper ticket, fast pass machines, ect) in Disneyland vs the "new ways" (magic band, fast pass+, etc) later.

We ended up in quite a line to wait for the monorail and in retrospect, should have just walked to the main entrance, but finally we were up, and as we walked next to the open monorail doors to find a seat, we were shocked to find out that you can't stand and ride like in Florida, and that many of the seats face out the windows. We walked all the way to the end and couldn't find a seat and were just about to turn back to wait for the next one, when a cast member suddenly asked us "how many?" to which we said "6".. and he pressed a series of number on the very last car and a magical door opened up to our own private capsule on the end! Pixie Dust! We actually had the pleasure of riding with the monorail "pilot" in the head car in Florida years ago before the accident stopped all that, and I didn't know that option even existed anymore and we were over the moon!! Here we are inside!



And here are some more of our ABD peeps enjoying the ride too!



We took the quick ride into the park and was dazzled by flying over the Nemo Submarine ride and the absolutely enormous Autopia track, and seeing the Matterhorn for the first time...finally! Once we came off the monorail, it was so disorienting...everything so familiar, but so different. I am an over planner for every Disneyworld trip, and I am the one who navigates us everywhere we go, but I really did not plan or look at maps of Disneyland... so I felt a bit panicky when I saw how many people where there that night. It was all we could do to follow that Orange ABD sign that Summer Rose was holding as she slipped and twisted and walked around and in between group to get us where we were going - we had VIP Seats reserved for the 9pm showing of Fantasmic! So many more people then I anticipated in the park... and I didn't take into account how much smaller all the walkways are and how much closer all the attractions and buildings are to each other- most of the time we were here I think the attendance was labeled something like a 6-7 out of 10 on one of the web sites, but felt like a 9 out of 10 in the Magic Kingdom to us.

We finally made it to our VIP seats which ended up being near New Orleans square ( I know where that is now)... and turned out to be fantastic seats. Here we all are waiting for it to start! (Not everyone joined us, there were only 11 of us here as many went off on their own or back to the rooms).


So.... if you have never seen this show.... DO NOT MISS IT! It was fantastic and full of such amazing effects and surprises that I was actually sitting there with mouth agape, entirely astonished at what we saw.... Craig actually said he had more fun watching our faces light up then the show....It was one of the more amazing shows I have seen and has now taken the top prize as my favorite Nighttime Disney show ever... it beats Fantasmic in DHS by a country mile. I will not spoil a minute of this as it was that good. Run...don't walk... and see it!

After Fantasmic, they told us we could continue to sit in the VIP section and wait for the fireworks show at 9:30, but the winds were too much that night and by 9:45 they called the show cancelled. Just as we were about to get up, a cast member walked up to us and asked if we wanted some anytime fast passes .... ummm.... yeah!! And he gave us enough for all 11 of us to have 2 each! OMG how did we get all this pixie dust? Could it be the magical aqua ABD lanyards around our necks? Those lanyards seemed to get us all kinds of perks throughout the trip! I want to wear them at home now!

Most of our group then grabbed some Hot Chocolate (it was nippy by now) and headed with our new anytime fast passes to Indiana Jones! My goodness that was a long walk to get from the entrance to the actual ride! It was fun and the Queue was themed really great and had some fun interactive parts. Liked the ride so much more then the Dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom ... smoother and just more fun!

We then headed to Space Mountain with the Star Wars Overlay with fast pass #2- got there at 1030pm and it had a 70 minute standby time listed...we were through in less then 10 minutes and boarding...again, this ride had some things better then its Florida counterpart, like the ride vehicle itself. We sat side by side and felt more like a traditional rollar coaster and was more comfortable. The actual track I thought was not nearly as fast or fun as Floridas SM. The Star Wars overlay was a superfun addition though!

We did one more ride, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger, with only a 5 minute wait... and then we were pooped... the park was open until midnight I believe, but the big day had caught up with us. We left the park at 11 and were in the room by 11:15. We decided to leave the park by monorail so we wouldn't see the castle or main street until the next morning when we knew we were entering before the park opened by the main entrance...wanted to have that magical moment preserved....

Managed to snap these lobby shots from the 3rd floor where our room was as we walked through... can see the gingerbread house in the second photo , though its actually much larger then it appears from so far away in this picture!

Whew... what a day! And tomorrow starts even earlier as its an early park entry that we have to beat and are meeting at 6:15am!



Day 3 Apple Watch Stats: 12975 Steps or 6.08 miles

 

[OKW Lover]

Following along eagerly!

Question about the evening meals at the Loews. Were they in a separate function room or were they just a section of the restaurant? Our past experience (as recently as last July) with the food there for BSM hasn't been good. Wondering if they've improved it based on feedback from prior groups.

BTW, you had two great guides! We had Dean three times now and had Summer Rose in July.

 

[Skip3key]

I start this tour on Sunday and your review has me even more excited!

OMG I am super jealous! You are going to have a simply magical time!! Enjoy it and do everything optional ! Say hello to Dean and Summer Rose for us if you get them! They are the best!

 

[Skip3key]

Following along eagerly!

Question about the evening meals at the Loews. Were they in a separate function room or were they just a section of the restaurant? Our past experience (as recently as last July) with the food there for BSM hasn't been good. Wondering if they've improved it based on feedback from prior groups.

BTW, you had two great guides! We had Dean three times now and had Summer Rose in July.

We only had the one Welcome dinner at Loews and it was in a separate room inside the restaurant. I thought the food was better then expected for hotel buffet, but not like Disney Signature restaurant food...if that helps! Passable, but not memorable.

 

[FeFeMJ]

I am loving your trip report! I'm signed up for the dis exclusive trip in Oct. and can't wait!

 

[scottmel]

Enjoying your report and comparing it to our trip this past July. I have to admit I was sort of dreading the Hollywood part of the trip but we ended up loving it. I can't recall seeing one homeless person or feeling uncomfortable with any one. Wonder if the star wars movie brought people out? We found in and out burger and loved it! Had two pre trip days and ate there three times!!

I agree with your assessment of the disney grand hotel. Nice but I wasn't blown away either

 

[BluesTraveler]

Following...please don't give away too many spoilers! Love reading the trip reviews but this is a trip we're considering so I don't want to know too many surprises...

 

[skunkvette]

The Steakhouse 55 welcome dinner was indeed fantastic, one of the best meals we have had on an ABD.

Great start for the trip report. I did this December of 2014 with the DIS. It was a great trip. I'd love to do it again someday.



We're on that ABD as well. We're looking forward to it.

Looking forward to meeting you on the Northern Italy ABD, it will be a great trip!

 

[sillymoose]

I am loving this trip report! I hadn't even known about this ABD tour before joining here, and it sounds like the most magical trip ever. Hope I'll be able to do it one day

 

[OKW Lover]

I am loving this trip report! I hadn't even known about this ABD tour before joining here, and it sounds like the most magical trip ever. Hope I'll be able to do it one day

We've done it more than once and enjoyed it every time. Do yourself a favor when it is time for you to do it and book one of the special DIS exclusive departures. They customize the trip and include a lot of extra surprises.

 

[Skip3key]

Day 4- Part 1 Wednesday Dec 16, 2016: Disneyland, Disneyland, Disneyland!!

We had to get up at a super early 5:30am to meet everyone at the Starbucks in Downtown Disney by 6:15am....but at least ABD picked up the tab for our morning pick-me-up of choice! Once everyone was ready, we walked down to the park entrance and walked into the most amazing sight ever.... an almost entirely empty Main Street! Just a few cast members scattered here and there... it was an amazing sight to behold and made you feel so special...I wanted to try to remember everything, the sounds, the smells, to take a page from Pollyanna and make a smell memory!




Its true... as this was our first vision of Sleeping Beauties castle... it does kind of shock you at its size since we are used to the grand scale of Cinderellas castle, but there is such an amazing aura of charm that surrounds Sleeping Beauties Castle, a sense of profound nostalgia, and comfort. My best way to describe it, is like meeting a family member for the first time, but instantly being comfortable and familiar with each other because of your blood connection. We walked up to just before the castle and turned left... we had a place to be and we would be back real soon for pictures!



Im sure it depends on the time of year and availability of certain people and attractions as to what you get to see and do on each of these tours, but we were fortunate enough to get to get an in depth look at the Haunted Mansion with its "nightmare Before Christmas" Overlay next! We met the cast member craftsman who is in charge of the placing up and down of the overlay which usually starts in early September and goes until early January each year. My take home favorite points were that it takes 18 days to place everything, and all of the decorations are actually stored inside the Haunted Mansion itself the rest of the year! It was just great to see, but now I am anxious to go back and see the Disneyland Haunted Mansion without the overlay!



After the Haunted Mansion it was about 7 am and the park was just opening for EMH... so we quickly all went to the front of the castle and did group and individual pictures ... and we met the Disneyland cast member Ambassador! This is a great honor and a very difficult position to obtain, I think it may even be harder become then the American Idol from what Summer Rose explained!



Just as the crowds were catching up to us, we dove into the Plaza Inn for a Character Buffet Breakfast. This was absolutely a highlight of the trip... I cannot believe how much better the characters are in California compared with Florida- they are so much more fun! They goof around and act more silly and free, and they interact with each other! At one point we had Dale sword fighting with Captain Hook who had a lightsaber, and then suddenly Tigger was outside banging on the window at them and then ran away to come in the main doors to the restaurant!



We saw characters and combinations of characters who never see in Florida! At this breakfast we had Chip & Dale, Cap'n Hook, Tigger, Minnie Mouse, the Baboon from the Jungle book (who incidentally was taken by a Tauntaun, Eeyore and the Fairy Godmother! As for the breakfast, seemed standard Disney stuff, Mickey Waffles, eggs, fruit, toast , breakfast meats, pastries... even chicken fried steak! But the food wasn't the main focus, the characters had us rolling with laughter... super fun!



After breakfast we headed back stage at Indiana Jones ride and got to get up close and personal with a ride vehicle... of course there are no pictures backstage, but it was so sweet to see, and we learned that the replacement cost of each vehicle is about 1 million dollars! Each!! We were supposed to actually ride Indiana Jones next, but the ride was down (we learned that it goes down frequently because of water bottles being dropped on the track).. so we headed next door to the "Jingle Cruise" and got a boat all to our own! Gosh I love seeing the backside of water so much!! I love the Jingle Cruise overlay...but I wish so much they would fix the speakers on the boats...I know its supposed to sound old and crackly, but you can hardly understand the jokes in the back of the boat...



Our next stop was something I was really looking forward to... Walt's original apartment above the Fire Station on Main Street... this is another of one of those magical places that no one should spoil for you... you just have to see it for yourself... so no giveaways... except there it is!



Ive reached the picture limit and it isn't even noon yet... this is gonna be a long day... continued in the next post!

 

[Skip3key]

Day 4 Part 2- Wednesday Dec 16, 2016, Disneyland, Disneyland, Disneyland!!

After seeing Walt's apartment (we did it in 2 groups), we then headed back to New Orleans Square to visit the Dream Suite which is right near Pirates...again, I am not going to spoil it with any pictures, but OMG...it is a dream.... if only Walt could have lived to enjoy it!!



Ok... one little spoiler... here is the view from the balcony of the Dream Suite.... can you imagine??? If you really want it to be spoiled, I'm sure you can find you tube videos or pictures in Google...



Indiana Jones is right near the Dream Suite, so next we rode it as a group... so much fun!!! Fun fact... the vehicles can't go backwards!


At this point it was about 11:45am, and we were cut free to go have lunch on our own for about an hour... we were each given a coupon with about a $20 value that we could use. I wish we had known when lunch time would have been so we could have made reservations, but there was no way to know... places were getting overrun, so we just walked up the river until we found the Hungry Bear, and decided it would be nice to sit outside on the river and watch the boats go by...

As far as ambiance, I liked it a lot... we love to eat outside anytime we can... but as far as the food...yuck! We only used one of our $20 coupons and split a burger and fries ... cold and hard and flavorless... but I guess it was food. We aren't generally fans of quick service, so maybe we are just snobs... after lunch we headed back to New Orleans Square and hopped the train to go to Toontown as we were meeting at Minnies House. Once there we got to go backstage! These teal lanyards work everywhere!



Again, since we were backstage, there were no pictures allowed, and Im sure all these backstage talks are different each trip, but this time we got to talk with the guy in charge of the fireworks and learn about Disney fireworks and how much more regulated they are in California then Florida due to the winds and proximity to residential areas/dryness- they get cancelled frequently due to this. (California they get cancelled if over 8 MPH, where in Florida its more then >30MPH).

We then got to go to Mickey's house and meet the Main Man himself.....



At this point it was about 2:30pm and we were cut loose to go enjoy the rest of the day and dinner on our own... but before we left we did get a set of fast passes (5)! Again, no guarantees you will get them too....

There was VIP seating available if you wanted at the parade at 4pm, and again at 8:50pm and VIP seating for the 9:30 fireworks... but otherwise the rest of the day was as you wish!

We started walking out of toon town, and somehow, we ended up walking right into the line for a Small World... I was worried at first as the line was extending outside, and then I realized the ENTIRE line was outside! In fact, its really deceiving in California as most of the rides actually line up outside... so its not nearly as long as long as you think! I used the Disney App and timed the waits (its a different app from My Disney Experience, here is one just for Disneyland), and it was always spot on with its line wait time estimates...



After Small World we rode Nemo Subs.. we wanted ride the Matterhorn, but the line wrapped so long around the sidewalks I thought for sure it was longer then the 20 minutes the app said (later I would discover the app was once again, completely correct), so we hopped the monorail so we could get a little down time int he room and freshen up before the evening. We really needed to recharge (literally... my phone was super dead)... in the room by 4:10pm.

This is when we made one error. We wanted to try to get dinner reservations so we didn't repeat the lunch fiasco... when I looked at the app while we were at Minnies house earlier, there was very little available, but there was a Napa Rose reservation available at 8:30pm, so I nabbed it. Now that we were int he room, I realized that if we did eat at 8:30, we would miss fireworks and park fun. We then tried to call the reservation line to cancel, and were told that we needed to give 24 hours notice or we would be charged $15... we tried to explain we only made the reservation about an hour ago, and they said it didn't matter...grrrrr. ... so we had to endure the $15 charge as I had plans to hit a ton of rides tonight.

Around 5:30 we went out to Downtown Disney in search of food and decided to eat at "Naples Restaurante" and had only a 5 minute wait as a walk-up. Eva had the Calamari and wine and I had pasta and Amaretto Sour... both were OK... maybe a 2.5/5 rating, uneventful, but it was quick... on the other hand it was also pricey... I think like $85? I miss Disneyworld food....



We finished by 6:30pm and tried to go to the monorail to get back in the park, but it had a 25 minute wait, so we turned around and walked to the main entrance....OMG the line was HUGE!! We stood in line at least 20 minutes just to get back in... Disneyworld wins this one....

Park seemed packed now... people everywhere and super hard to navigate, had to have swivel hips to get through everywhere we went (its a Wednesday mind you). We walked to Pirates of the Caribbean and despite the long appearing line, it really was just a 20 minute wait... loved it... Disneyland wins this ride as being better and more complete storytelling.

We headed to Big Thunder Mountain next and used a Fast pass... again, I give DL the win here... fast ride and fast track... though I like the theming in the line queue better at MK.

My biggest goal of the night was to see the Dark rides in Fantasyland... so we headed there next and hit Snow White first, only to discover that all of Fantasyland closes down during the parade and fireworks!! Really?? All the rides literally close their doors!! Super upsetting....so our next mission became to get ahead of the parade and make it to Tomorrowland before we are trapped (we are not big parade fans... but it does afford us shorter lines for rides while other watch). We made it and did the Matterhorn with the 20 minute wait (boy that was a hoot! Rough and rocky but super fun!). We opted to not meet with the group for parade and VIP seating for the fireworks (I actually regret missing this), but we knew we had limited time for rides and opted to keep riding instead, but we did see the fireworks some as we walked around....



After Matterhorn we did Star Tours as a Walk on (even though the cast member actually made us walk back about 50 feet to enter the area that was roped off for a line despite the fact there was no line! No one! He could have just let us in! He then acted like he had never seen us before when 2 minutes later we came up in the line area! Are we on candid camera?) After Star Tours, we decided to do Space Mountain again with the Star Wars overlay, and we got pixie dust! As our car came to the unloading area, they accidentally forgot to stop us and sent our entire car through again!! Whoo hoo!!

Since it was late, and we had no other rides with Fast Pass accessibility on our agenda, and since our fast passes were only good that day, we paid it forward and made some kids night by handing them fast passes as they walked up to the 90 minute standby line for Space Mountain... we then headed to Mr. Toads Wild Ride as our final ride of the night, and in the room by 11pm totally exhausted only to find a magical surprise had been left for us by our guides.... they are the best....but I will leave it at that for now.... expect surprises around every corner with ABD for sure...

Tomorrow is Disney California Adventure Day!! A whole new park!!

Day 4 Apple Watch Stats: 25,614 steps or 12.06 Miles (whew!)

 

[carpenta]

Great pictures and you earned a bunch of " kama kredits " for making those kids night. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks.

 

[scottmel]

Great post! I agree with u about the pixie dust with the teal lanyards. When we were there in July I commented to my dh and dd that it was disappointing fantasyland had no fast passes. A cast member overheard us and wrote on a slip of paper to show the cm at each ride in fantasyland we were to enter thru the exit line we hit around 5 rides in a row in fl and I too gave my fast passes away. Not much fast passable honestly. Glad u enjoyed waltz apartment so much I am not a big history person so I wasn't that excited . Loved the fireworks thing too !!

 

[OKW Lover]

As for the breakfast, seemed standard Disney stuff, Mickey Waffles, eggs, fruit, toast , breakfast meats, pastries... even chicken fried steak! But the food wasn't the main focus, the characters had us rolling with laughter... super fun!

This quote is from your Plaza breakfast. We've been less than impressed with the breakfast at the Plaza. Found it was pretty much tasteless and by the time you got to eat (with the characters coming by often) it was cold food too. Hopefully they will improve this or move that breakfast to another venue.

At this point it was about 11:45am, and we were cut free to go have lunch on our own for about an hour... we were each given a coupon with about a $20 value that we could use.

Despite my comment above about the Plaza food for breakfast, we've always enjoyed lunch at the Plaza. Fried chicken especially!

 

[Skip3key]

Day 5 Part 1- Disney's California Adventure!

Todays adventure begin with us having breakfast at the Storytellers Cafe from 7-8am which in in the Grand Californian Hotel (have I said yet how great it is to have everything so close together?) We just walked right in, and again, there are characters galore... and while we have to hunt for Chip N Dale while in Florida, they are just everywhere we are in California...along with some new friends! Again its just standard breakfast to fuel us on for the day... but it did have eggs Benedict as well!

After probably a 2 minute walk, we were at the DCA entrance from the Grand Californian Hotel which ends up spitting you out in the Grizzly Peak area right by .....Soarin'! This was the first day of the new metal detectors being in place and lucky Eva got "randomly selected" to be detected (she would also get "randomly selected when we went back to Disneyland the next day"....wish we got "randomly selected" to win the lottery this often!).


I just think this part of the park is particularly beautiful... very Red Wood Forest looking ( I think...only seen it in movies)... love all the Grizzly Bear statues and touches... we went right over to Soarin' which I was amazed to see was in its own free standing hanger! But of course! That makes perfect sense and was such a cool and perfect lead up to the ride with all the historical pictures and early aircraft theming... I absolutely loved it!



We got to hear all about the ride and ask questions about how it works from a creative cast member who was just super and knowledgable. We then we split into 2 groups and got to experience the ride in 2 different ways... One group sat in the top row- center section (the BEST spot) and did the ride itself, while the other group went behind the screen and watched the ride from an entirely new vantage point! Then we switched! The screen is actually a metal material with thousands of tiny holes like you can see right through from the back... we could watch everyone enjoying the ride! Here we are saluting before we took off ourselves...

The new laser projectors are so super clear...none of the imperfections that take you out of imagining it is real... and the smells are SO MUCH more pronounced here! I could actually smell the pine which I really can't remember ever smelling before, and the orange and the sea air were definitely more present... I can't wait for the new movie and that there will now be 5 smells! As we were leaving Soarin' I realized that the park was open and there was hardly anyone at Soarin' waiting to ride! A far difference from EPCOT!

After we left Soarin', we walked over to where the actual park entrance is and the whole scene turned from the red wood forest to Old Hollywood and really reminded me of DHS in Florida... but watch out! This one has street cars rolling by!



After goofing around a bit.. we strolled down the street to the Animation Center where we learned to draw our favorite Mouse... I had always wanted to try to go to the animation drawing place in DHS, and I know it is gone now, so I am really glad we got to do this! Though our artist seemed to be going super fast and it was hard to keep up!



Continued on next post!

 

[Skip3key]

Day 5 Part 2- Disney's California Adventure!

After the Animation Studio we headed right back up the street to the focal point of DCA... it is to DCA what the Castle is to DL... The Carthay Circle...


We spent at least the next 60 minutes or so touring this location and had one of the nicest, and most knowledgable cast members leading the way. He was fantastic and his depth and breadth of knowledge about Disney and the parks was super impressive as well as his storytelling ability, which kept us all captivated. I don't have many pictures of this location, and I believe its because I was just too busy listening and absorbing the moments... This is such a beautiful restaurant and will be a must do on any future trips. There was a special location we were treated to next very close by that I won't spoil... but was also super cool... and I snapped this little picture while there... I'll just say....1901....


About this time we all walked over to the Boardwalk area as a group to ride Toy Story Midway Mania together... we were supposed to do Radiator Springs Racers as a group, but as luck would have it, the ride was closed due to a state inspection that was taking place. ABD was able to give each of us fast passes for RSR so we could do it on our own later in the day, as well as another stack of 5 fast passes to do with as we wanted. After TSM, it was about 11am and we were cut loose to have the day on our own. 11 of us stayed together and walked over to ride California Screamin' all together and it was really sweet! A very good and fast coaster..



We were going to ride the ferris wheel, but after almost every single person on the trip who had done it before telling us it was "Mickey's Wheel of Death" and that none of them would even consider riding it again, we decided to not go there and tempt fate... Our entire group of 11 stayed together and walked all the way back to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror which is our all time favorite ride at WDW... and it did not disappoint here! There were some very interesting differences, but still a super fun ride.

After this our groups split up and we found a very nice place to have lunch called the "Wine Vineyard" where we could sit outside and people watch. We used the other $20 coupon we had left from the previous day which we had not used, and Eva had the calamari and I had a nice caprese salad along with a pot of coffee instead of wine as we were starting to lose some steam...

After lunch we decided to try out Radiator Springs and see what all the fuss was about! OMG it is so cute! I absolutely love the immersive theming... Now we have yet to see Harry Potter at Universal (Its on the list for our next Florida visit), but if this is any indication of what Avatar and Star Wars Lands might be like...I'm excited!



The ride was super fun too... a bit like Test Track in some ways, but so much better and longer and with an actual story! I wish we had ridden it again, but the lines were just too much!

After RSR we walked through the Bugs life area (again, super cute- but really just for kids) and just had to burn another fastpass on the Tower of Terror... then we walked leisurely up to Hollywood Blvd and strolled some shops and got an obligatory churro (mmmm!) and then decided since the hotel is SUPER CLOSE... we would catch a quick cat nap so we could party like a Rock Star later (ALL NIGHT LONG!...nah, not really... but pretty close!). So nap time it is from 2-4:30-ish.

We actually had to meet everyone in a meeting room in the Hotel for our last night, sad night, ABD slideshow and fun at 5:30 (I have no idea when Dean and Summer Rose had time to get a slideshow together! ) Super fun...

After the slide show we all walked back to DCA together for dinner at Carthay Circle!! Yippee!! The place was so nice and we had our own private dining room... we sat with our besties from Philly (can you imagine... Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles fans breaking bread and laughing and having a good time?! Disney Magic at work! )

Here was our place setting... complete with a magical set of 60th Anniversary ears for each of us to wear for World of Color!


We were treated to magical cocktails as well that had a giant "diamond" shaped ice cubes in each to celebrate the 60th! Our table had Manhattans and Martini's...mmmm!! (also had wine with dinner provided as well)



I have not done much food porn on this trip report since its more about the trip and not the dining, but this dinner was really great... we started with a basket of the Carthay Signature fried biscuits stuffed with white cheddar, bacon, jalapeño, and apricot honey butter.. they come 7 to a basket, which means on a 4 top, there is always some fighting! They are warm, sweet and delicious! (7= 7 dwarves!)


After the biscuits came a salad, and while delicious, I didn't share a picture of it because...well... it is a salad and I only get 10 pictures per post and I want to finish with dinner on this post!

Our choice of entree included an Angus Beef "Delmonico" with chipotle sweet potatoes, bacon, onion ketchup... which I had... and was Delicious! (not as good as Steakhouse 55, but delicious!).



And Eva had the Sword Fish with roasted Cauliflower, pearl onions, and tangerine-jalapeno salsa... she also felt is was delicate, full of flavor and wonderful.


And just when we felt we couldn't eat another bite...along comes dessert.... a chocolate holiday cookies n' cream cake with winter orange chantilly.... and we all licked our plates clean...



So now we are full, and tipsy, and giddy with laughter ... having had a wonderful meal with wonderful new friends... and the evening isn't even close to being over yet! See next post!

 

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Day 5 part 3- December 17, 2015... Disney California Adventure.... and Trader Sam's

So dinner lasted from about 6:30-8:30pm and then we as a group...all wearing our light up World of Color 60th anniversary Mickey ears...walked all the way through DCA to watch World of Color together! I bet we were a sight!



Once at the water area, we had VIP seats and were able to watch the show huddled together as it was a pretty chilly night... and it was so neat to see them use water in such creative ways ... no fireworks, just water! And our ears all turned colors in unison with the show! So magical! The 9:00 show was the World of Color Christmas show!



After the first show, we headed down the boardwalk in a group of about 15 of us and found a little Mexico like area where some of us got coffee or hot cocoa or beer, and then we went right back to our seats to watch the 1015 show which was the World of Color 60th Anniversary show. Both were equally amazing, but I must say I liked the 60th show a little bit better!

After the show we walked back to the hotel ... walking through the Grizzly area (really wanted to ride the water ride....but super afraid I would get soaked since I am a water magnet)... and dropped off our stuff at the room as now it was time for ....Trader Sam's!



By this time the excitement, exhaustion, alcohol and overwhelmingness of Disney really took me over as I have no pictures! Suffice to say, we loved Trader Sam's in California. Such a better vibe then Florida...we went over there with about 10 of us... and as we walked over, Craig, who was absolutely an amazing host and Dis ambassador, grabs Eva and I and walks us over to Disneyland Hotel while everyone else went ahead because he had to show us an amazing map in the lobby. He gave us our own personal tour complete with super amazing Disney facts and stories... we felt so special! It was so sad when we got to where the map was supposed to be... and it was gone! Craig was so upset! Apparently it was moved for a Christmas set-up! It didn't matter.. we enjoyed every minute of this special attention!

While in the Disneyland Hotel lobby we were looking at a large wall of Disney Memorabilia, when we saw this Donald Duck puppet and Eva totally freaked out because the suddenly remembered she had that exact puppet as a child and had completely forgotten that memory until that moment! I swear she almost cried! Thanks Craig!




We then went to Trader Sam's and had drinks and laughs and relived the trip with our new friends and watched some really drunk girls flirting with some very strange guys until about 1:15 am when exhaustion just took us over.... What a super end to a super day... in bed by 1:45am! Next day is going home day...but not until the afternoon!! And we still have a day left on our park hopper! Stay tuned!

Day 5 Apple Watch Stats: 16,954 Steps or 8.12 miles

 

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Realized I forgot to add our walking steps/mileage to each day, so have edited at the end of each day to note what we walked in green.... total for the 6 days ended up being 91,926 steps or 43.25 miles!

 

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Day 6, December 18, 2015...Last Day, Sad Day...

So before we get into the last day, just wanted to note that we were watching the last season of American Idol last night (I know...geeks), and they are in Hollywood week, which is the best part of the show (love seeing them under stress!)... when I spied that ever distinctive and crazy carpeting of the Loews Hotel we stayed at for this trip! As we watched AI it was so much fun to see all the familiar things we saw on our trip at the hotel... from when they were getting breakfast in the hotel restaurant we ate at, to the rooms and halls, to the aerial shots of the hotel and the Dolby Theater next door (wish we would have gone in there!)... just fun to see! crazy carpet!


Now on to our regularly scheduled program! Today is the last day... but knowing that our 4 day park hopper passes were still good today, we decided to leave later in the afternoon and get some park time in. Our flight was leaving at 5:30pm, so we had to be at the hotel ready for the towncar to take us to the airport at 3pm.

The final event for ABD with us was breakfast back down in the Storytellers Cafe same as yesterday. Since last night ran so late with going to Trader Sams, we barely got up at 8:15am and had to rush to make it to breakfast by 8:30am! Some of our fellow ABDers were still there, so we got to say good-bye to most of them, but had missed a few and that was sad. We did, however, make a plan with a few of them to meet up at the canoes in Disneyland at 11am to ride as a group for one last ABD hurrah! Awesome!

Check out time is 11am...so after eating we went back up to the room to pack....so MUCH stuff!! We bought so many new t-shirts at imagineering and in the park that we really didn't need to bring so many! I am glad ABD gave us the new little travel bag... we needed it! About 10:30 we went and left our bags with bell services (super busy in the lobby on a Friday morning...took 15 minutes to wait in line to leave our bags!) We walked to the main entrance of the park where both of us were "randomly picked" to go through the metal detectors, and hopped on the train at the main entrance to take us to New Orleans square...ran to the canoes and were there at 11:01am! Right on time!

Here is the view of DCA across the esplanade from us on the train at the Main Entrance- so close!



We really wanted to ride the canoes since they will be shut down for who knows how long as they do the Star Wars land expansion... and I am so glad we did! I wanted pictures of us in the canoe, but couldn't get anyone to help us out with the picture, and I was too paranoid I would fall out or lose my phone in the water.. but just to say... these are real canoes and they are 100% human powered! It was super fun, but quite a workout! It didn't help that the only ones really rowing were those of us on the right side... no help fro the left side! I did get a picture of us in line before we got on...


After the canoes we all wandered back over to New Orleans to get some Mickey Beignets ad Mint Julips- some thing else that we needed to knock off our list of "have to do".. and they were pretty darn tasty! The mint julip (non-alcoholic) was refreshing and sweet.. the beignets came in 2 flavors, regular and peppermint! Yum! Non-quite like real New Orleans Beignets...but a valient effort for sure!



At this point we said good-bye to the rest of the group we were still with and went our separate ways... we wanted to see the Big Thunder Ranch and pet the animals that were still there as this lovely and nostalgic part of the park will be no more as it will be lost forever to make way for Star Wars Land... don't get me wrong, I love Star Wars and am excited for the new plans, but also super sad to lose this innocent and charming area...



Disneyland was getting super crowded now, so we decided to walk over to DCA through the esplanade...just because we can! It was a super easy and quick walk...



I have to say, I really loved DCA...I can't believe how packed DL can be... it can feel like a 8-9 out of 10 day, and then you walk over to DCA and it feels like a 3 out of 10 ... just open and free! Where it can feel stressful trying to navigate between and around everyone on DL, at DCA there are wide open spaces and I felt relaxed... Dare I say I may actually prefer DCA to DL? Heresy!

We leisurely walked and looked in some shops, and then decided to walk back to Carsland as I didn't really get to explore the town much when we were there yesterday... on the way we walked by Tower of Terror and grabbed a fastpass...more on that in a bit....



We ended not riding anything, but just taking in the park ... its just so pretty and tranquil...Back through the hotel for some last minute gifts at World of Disney in DD and then met the towncar at the hotel at 3... amazing how much you can see and do in just 4 short hours since everything in so super close! We were at LAX by 4pm, checked bags, through security and at our gate by 4:30 for our 5:30 flight... not a hiccup!