Holy Huge Disneyland Trip Update, Batman!
Massively big, tons of photos under the cut, all work safe.
Disneyland Epic Trip of the Win, Part Deaux!
Whitten picked me up and we left my work at 4pm, got to SFO at 4:15 & through security at 4:30, way too early for my 6pm flight. I had left early cause it was supposed to be packed, oh well! I did a super-light packing job this time, nothing but my Targus backpack and a purse inside to carry into the parks - not even my laptop! As soon as I got in the car, I told Whits, "I don't have my laptop. I feel naked." It was so much easier than maneuvering a rolling suitcase & a bag though! I zipped through security, and when all the overhead compartments were filled with 3+ bags each person had, mine fit under my seat. No wait, no wrestling to make it fit, no waiting for baggage claim - I might have to do this every time! There was a pissy flight crew that tried to cut into the security line, and the security guy made them go to the back of the regular line - ha!
Flight was rough, but landed on time. The seats on United feel bigger than Southwest or Virgin - I had room to wiggle side to side, and was nowhere near the end of the seatbelt. Super Shuttle took forever to leave SNA, we were waiting 45 minutes for a full bus, then they took me to the wrong hotel (I had changed my hotel drop-off point 3 days earlier). They're cheap, but boy, do you get what you pay for. I got to the hotel around 9pm.
I got dropped off at Grand Californian, and as luck would have it, the gang was already there, meeting Julie for a drink at Napa Rose. We headed out to the parks and ate dinner at Redd Rocket's - I love their Chicken Fusilli, and it's easily enough for two people to share. Zan didn't want to do Captain EO, so it was Dave, Shelly & I - it was great! Just as cheesy as I remember it to be, they added some shaking to the dance numbers - a leftover from Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Somewhat out of place, but whatever. Then we did Space Mountain because the line was so short.
Headed out to the hotel around midnight, we smoked & drank till about 2am, then crashed.
Saturday
It's Club 33 day! We got up around 10, I slept like a log in the great Menage beds, till Shelly's fire alarm-type iphone woke me up at 8 - holy crap, that thing is loud. Dressed & out by 11, after a trip to the quick mart next door for girly supplies (damn you, red tide!), and watching a program on Australian jails (random!). Oh, we also saw a new Priceline commercial - Shatner has an evil twin! OMG!
The birthday girl!
Parking was a breeze, and after grabbing fastpasses for Soarin to use later in the day, we slowly made our way to the park in time for our 1pm reservation at Club 33.
Shelly & I cornered Mickey in the Lincoln lobby with no one around!
We did Haunted Mansion as a walk-in, and I really like the new portraits & bride. The last time I was at DL was in October, so I saw the NBC overlay last time.
We didn't want to risk being late for the ressie, so we hung out in NoS till 1pm, talking to the owner of Jewel of New Orleans about the store closing. They're staying open till April, then they'll be gone. I could never afford anything in there, but it was nice to look around in. Maybe they'll replace it with a villains store (hope hope)?
Hidden Mickey in the jewelry shop - not official per se, but they keep setting it up.
1pm, we go into Club 33. It's just as beautiful as I remember it, and this time, we rode up in the elevator. Wow, it's small!
We were seated in the main dining area, and given menus.
Monkfish, chateaubriand, salmon, chicken - the menu was varied, but I was surprised to see no vegetarian option.
On the balcony overlooking New Orleans Square.
As we were waiting (they told us it'd be about 25 minutes), I took tons of pictures, and a video showing the famous Club 33 wicker toilets.
Click to viewHere's the video of the walkthrough of Club 33 - crappy quality, but it gives you an idea of the layout.
The plaque in the smaller dining room says the capacity is 33, right next to the talking bird!
I also filled a plate from the appetizer buffet - the highlights were the amazing smoked cheddar and the cream of asparagus soup. That soup...I'm not really a soup person, but this stuff was amazing! They had tiny teacups for serving it, and though I had tons more food coming, I had to restrain myself from getting a second cup.
I had the chateaubriand, and it came with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The main course was excellent, and the mac n' cheese with truffles was really good - we requested a bowl for the table to share since it was Julie's favorite, and it was gone fast! The desserts were outstanding - the raspberry mousse, lemon tart and chocolate-dipped tiramisu were my favorites. Shelly got a fancy dessert for her birthday, and I had to eat Mickey.
The meal was $73, Pirate Punch alcoholic drink was $8, so with tax & tip, it was right around $100. Service was less attentive than last time, I had to ask for a refill twice, and Dave's water wasn't refilled. The waiter also didn't know what the Pirate Punch was, but our waitress did - something with XO Rum in it? It was good - and strong! We had seen that the private rail car, the Lilly Belle, was hooked up to the train earlier in the day, so we asked if we could ride it, but they weren't taking passengers that day, so they told us to try on Sunday. Otay, it's a passion of Dave's, so if we were able to get on, it'd be a dream come true for him!
After we bought some souvenir pins ($15 each), they gave us the pens used to sign the check, and we proceeded to waddle out of the secret club.
I had brought about 40 pins to trade, and gave Dave & Zan about 15, and Shelly had 30, so every time we saw a CM with pins, we'd yell, PINS!" and race over to them. I had gone through my whole stash in one day, so I was working on second trades (note: bring more pins next time, even ones I might like - better to upgrade a so-so pin than not have enough!).
We jumped on the train at Main Street and rode all the way around, since it was POURING rain! I ended up never having to use my umbrella, since we managed to magically avoid every downpour that weekend.
After the train, we saw the Lincoln show, the new show looks clean, but still not all that exciting or grabbing.
The Disney Gallery is always amazing, and makes me want to rob a bank to afford everything in there. A CM told us they kept the safe from the bank in there because the building was built around it - there's no easy way to get it out!
We got fastpasses for Indy, then did Pirates, HM, and the Tiki Room, where earlier in the day I had spotted the Uber Cast Member Extraordinaire, Maynard!
He switched places with the girl inside, just so he could do his spiel for us. That guy is truly amazing, and always has so much energy. Don't tell Securityland, but we had a flask of scotch that we were sipping from during the night - it made the blustery cold day more bearable.
Did a run over to DCA for Soarin, the Dave & I did California Screamin' - the line was less than 5 minutes. Thank Jebus for the rain, it kept everyone away! Met up with Shelly & Zan for Toy Story, then CA Screamin' again, and back to DL for dinner.
Dinner was a nightmare at Bengal BBQ - apparently, the credit card system went down parkwide (and I heard later, statewide), so after waiting in line for 20 minutes, it took another 20 for them to tell me they couldn't take my gift card for payment. Fine, I had cash...then they couldn't take that either! Something went wrong with the computers, so I ended up getting my food for free - it was a pain in the ass, though.
I am Tongaroa!
Big Thunder said 10 minutes, but was more like 25, but that ride is worth it. The goat trick doesn't work well in any seat but the back, but it's fun to scream "Goat! Goat! Goat!". Some jackass walked by us doing the annoying-fake-cough while D&Z were in the smoking section - dude, some people smoke. This smoking section is just about as far off the beaten track as it can possibly get, and D&Z only smoke in the designated areas. In order to walk by it, you have to go by the least used area in the entire park, which if you're truly allergic or sensitive to smoke, can be easily avoided. Go be offended somewhere else.
Next stop was a blast through Fantasyland, where Alice was closed due to rain, and Toad was closed due to WTF? Cruised into Tomorrowland, where we did Buzz with no wait. By this time, it was just about midnight, so we headed back to the hotel, packed & crashed.
Aww, teacups closed cause of rain.
Sunday
Woke up sick, sore throat and feeling run-down (more so than the normal Disney ass kicking). Packed everything into D&Z's car (they're going to take my backpack home with them so I don't have to carry it) & headed to the park - the wait to get into the garage was hideous. I think it'd be faster to walk from the hotel, but we weren't feeling all that great.
Ate "breakfast" at Stage Door Cafe, which had a 40 minute line for food, thanks to the corn dogs moving there temporarily while the Red Wagon is being refurbed - I had a corn dog & funnel cake (I wish the funnel cake came in half-portions), with a blue rice krispie treat for later - I didn't want to stand in line again! Did HM and Pirates, both with no wait, then raced back to the Main Street Station to meet up with Julie & Tom for the Lilly Belle railcar experience.
The car is amazing - red inside & out, all the chairs & loveseats are upholstered in thick velvet. The accessories are all permanently affixed, and we were in there all by ourselves - no CM telling us to sit down!
The PA system wasn't on back there, so it was a blissfully quiet (and dark in the tunnels!) trip till we got to Primeval World (speakers are external).
The brass light fixtures & sconces were beautiful, and there was a control panel built into one of the drawers of the side tables, so we could control the lights & fans.
The back door was locked, but you could see out, and I recognized it from seeing Mickey & Minnie on there in ads.
I, being the nosy klepto that I am, opened all the drawers and found tickets for the Lilly Belle, which I asked if I could have when we left. The CM's said sure, so I grabbed enough as a souvenir for all of us!
We said bye to Tom & Julie & headed into DTD for some shopping. I walked through the entire World of Disney, and nothing really called out to me - very strange. After hearing the screams that announced the Olympic hockey was over, we were shocked to find out that the yells were from a big group of Canadians at the outdoor bar in DTD. They actually got booed from some people - hey, take it easy, eh!
Broke down and bought a pin (I usually only trade for them, now that they're so expensive), the 2010 annual passholders pin. I still had $15 left on my Disney gift card from Allana & Ryan, but I can keep it till April.
Dave, Zan & Shelly went back to the hotel to pick up bags and take off, I went into California Adventure for the last few hours.
Sunday was packed in both parks - I've never seen DCA that full before! There were roving packs of cheerleaders, which I would have cheerfully taken out with a shotgun if I had had one. When they started their cheer wars, I wished for a hand grenade. Headed through the construction to the Animation Building - it's sad that they took out most of the seating, that's my favorite place to chill and watch the changing walls.
Watched the Muppet Show from the front row center, then Bugs Life same spot (not good for 3D effect).
Finally made it into the Blue Sky Cellar - never been in there before, and got some great pictures, then back to Grand Californian for pickup.
Story Time at Grand Californian in front of the fireplace, so relaxing. Kyle the CM was really animated, and even though there was only 1 kid there, he dutifully acted out all the parts of the story, and got us all (including a gaggle of teenage girls) to roar like a bear.
Got an apple icee which was really good from Whitewater Snacks so I could justify grabbing some paper plates there - I forgot it when SuperShuttle called, d'oh! Super Shuttle was 25 minutes early, then the guy disappeared for 15 minutes at the next pickup, and the next one, then drove like a bat out of hell to the airport. I guess there's really no great cheap option for shuttles, maybe next time I'll try the Disney bus. Wandered through SNA for a while, then got McDonalds & boarded right as I finished. Home by 11pm, where I ate my blue rice krispie treat then crashed hard.
California Adventure bids you good night.
Never did get one of those Disneyland pickles - oh well, maybe I'll share one with Bella in April!
Expenses
Hotel Menage: $70 (split with Shelly, adjoining with D&Z)
Tickets : AP $0
Flight $90 (United, through Travelocity)
Food $134:
Redd Rockets $10
Club 33 $100,
Stage Door $15,
Bengal BBQ $0 (would have been $9)
Transportation: Super Shuttle $14
I brought $200 in cash, and came back with $50, unheard of in my Disney trips! Other than Club 33, I spent very little on food this trip - I could have stayed well under the $50 I had on the gift card.
Total cost for trip: $308 ($208 without Club 33)
April trip expenses (Saturday-Tuesday):
Hotel: $87 Ramada (prepaid), $50 for Carousel?
Flight: $100 (prepaid)
Transportation: $20
Food: $100
To get in April:
salt grinder
random notes:
They had the coolest make-your-own-soda kit in SkyMall, I really want to do that, without the $200 price tag!
My April trip, I'm doing two things that I don't normally do - I'm flying in Saturday morning, and I'm not going into the parks Saturday (blackout date for AP). I could pay the extra $40 to get in that day, but I think I'll just explore the hotels, DTD, and maybe the outlet store.
I find I'm much less motivated to do DL commando-style (up early & stay late, hitting every ride possible) now that I go more often, but I think I have more fun just going with the flow. It'll be interesting to see how the dynamic changes with the kids on the trip in April.
iPhone corrects DTD (Downtown Disney) to STD, and "sick" to suck, then dick.
I catalogued all my pins on PinPics.com (view collection under courtneygregg), and found out I have quite a few possible scrappers, counterfeits and error pins. The Jessica Rabbit pin I traded at the Tuesday Night Trader pin meet in Vacaville is a fake - I was surprised at that, given how much the lady knew about pins. I have a few good pins I got while trading, but most of the pins from eBay are crap - not too surprising at $1 a pin. I don't really care though, I get them because I like them, so it doesn't matter if they're "official" or not. I think I like the thrill of the hunt better than the actual owning, but it makes me cry to think of how many pins I bought in 2000 and later sold. I wish I had them back, they were so cool! I had the entire set of Disney Store millennium pins....sigh.
Last shot - who wears this to Disneyland??!?!
