Somehow I didn't realize there were new messages here (apparently dating back to 4 days ago)! I didn't get any e-mail alerts until Linda/azdisneylover posted! What's funny is that I was even in the TR section, commenting on other folks' trip reports, a couple of days ago and still didn't see that I had new messages in my own thread.
I just assumed that there wasn't any new activity. I think that when a thread drops down past the #10 spot on the page (because the forum is hoppin' and many people are doing reports), I just assume that there are no new posts in it (and we can't always rely on the e-mail alerts).
Anyway, I still have one final Wrap-Up post to put up, to complete the December 2012 trip report. I was trying to search for a couple of links to include in it and couldn't find them, but I got an additional piece of info yesterday that I will add in to one of the paragraphs.
Nice update and how sweet of your friend to treat you to breakfast.
I'm still here.
Thanks,
Jenny!
I'm glad you posted because you reminded me that I have to include a link to your last DLR holiday TR (from November 2011) in the brand new Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread. We hit the page limit on the previous Superthread, and I had to begin a new one. In the new thread, on Page 1, have a separate post just for links to holiday trip reports, both the in-progress reports and the completed ones. I put a bunch of them in, but I knew I was leaving out some specific ones that I wanted to include and I couldn't recall whose I had omitted. When I saw your post with the "Strike Yer Colors..." title, I realized yours was one I had intended to add to the list of links!
Yes, DizNee Luver/Laurie was very kind to treat me to Surf's Up. I felt guilty about it because it was not necessary! We were at separate tables, after all. Plus, she had also treated me to Goofy's Kitchen back in December 2011.
Finally made it over here to check out your mask photos. Gorgeous photos! And gorgeous masks. I hope my crew will allow me a few moments to appreciate them! My mom used to have some hanging in our entryway when I was a kid and they really creeped me out! (She also had a huge painting of two owls in the living room. It was dark brown owls in a tree with dark brown/black leaves. The only color was the yellow/orange eyes of the owls. When you got up during the night, there were just these eyes looking at you. I don't know what she was trying to do to us!) Anyway, thanks so much for sharing. I'm glad they'll still be up for the Mardi Gras festivities during our trip.
Hopefully I can catch up with the rest of your report soon!
lsulindy -
Welcome! I'm so glad you made it over here, and I wish that I had seen that you posted before now! (I don't know why I didn't get an e-mail alert.)
Thank you! I knew the mask photos would be of particular interest to you, as you are a Mardi Gras attendee and a New Orleans resident. I definitely wanted to make sure that you saw the photos before your trip, as some of the masks are more 'out of the way' than others and not necessarily as noticeable. (Even Laurie/DizNee Luver didn't notice many of them!)
I am pretty sure that
all of the masks will still be up during
Disneyland's Mardi Gras celebration - I can't really see why any of them would be taken down. At first I thought that maybe the decorations/enhancement team might take down the masks that looked too Christmas-y and just leave the rest of them up. But the cool thing about those masks is that none of them - not even the red one - look too Christmas-y so they should all be able to stay up into March.
Many of the masks you will see if you kind of walk along the outskirts of New Orleans Square, parallel to the Rivers of America. There is a series of masks adorning the lampposts right along the pathway between NOS and RoA. And there are masks on both sides of those posts (which are
not identical, but are the same theme and color). Those are the easier ones to spot.
Then, when you walk into the alleys and side streets of NOS you will spot more masks (like the red one and the white/gold one). There is one post with a mask located in the Cafe Orleans seating area (so I had to wait for people to finish eating before I could get to it!
). There is a double-sided post/mask (the really cool one with the red & blue coloring) that is located sort of on the edge of the Pirates of the Caribbean queue. And then, of course, there are masks hanging from some of the balconies or ironwork.
Okay, I was
about the painting of the owls! I must agree - that would have totally creeped me out to see those yellow eyes in the middle of the night. I think that anything that has a face of some sort - a painting or a sculpture or a mask - would start to unnerve me after a while because I've probably seen way too many TV shows or movies where paintings some to life, or dolls come to life, or whatever it is. Whenever something with a 'face' comes to life in TV or films, it's never a good thing!
Also - and I can't recall if I read this in your own Pre-TR or in another TR, as I read bits and pieces of many reports but don't always have time to pop in and comment - but I know you were saying that people have an idea about Mardi Gras in New Orleans as being this wild event all of the time, when it actually is quite family-friendly. I think you're right - the image that most folks (who don't live in NOLA) have is that Mardi Gras is one long debauchery-filled sort of celebration, and that it doesn't come across as necessarily family-friendly.
One of my (former) friends is from New Orleans and he has always talked about Mardi Gras as though it is as big of a 'holiday' as Christmas. He and his family always attend the festivities every year, including the young kids. He has never mentioned anything inappropriate happening at the parades or the daytime events.
I hope you get a chance to catch up on this TR but I totally understand the lack of time to do that, especially when you're preparing for your trip and working on your own Pre-TR!
Just got back a few days ago from my DLR trip and see that you have posted a new one. I will tell you a lot about the experience at GK during my visit which everyone in my party really liked it a lot. Thank you Sherry for the tips at GK.
Very nice photos from your room that morning. A little cloudy that night which is typical in SoCal.
Nice to see that you had breakfast at PCH Grill Surf's Up that morning with Liza and Laurie. I might have to try that character breakfast one day at the PPH. That was very nice of Liza and Laurie to treat you and take you home later that day. It was nice of you to write up about the PCH Grill Surf's Up breakfast and compare it with GK which you have eaten at a lot in your past trips.
I like all of your photos with the characters and it was neat that you were able to see Stitch that morning for breakfast.
Bret -
Thank you.
As I mentioned to you in your TR, I'm so glad that Goofy's Kitchen was a success - for the most part. Of course, it's not good that the 2 Princesses in the restaurant never made it to your table to meet DD2 since she loves Princesses. But at least the other characters came over and the selection of food was appealing.
I thought the clouds moving in made for more dramatic pictures that morning. The clouds added an extra layer to the sunrise photos that wouldn't have otherwise been there on a clear day.
It was very nice of Laurie to treat at Surf's Up, and for Liza to drive me home. I treated Liza to breakfast, so it got a little confusing for the server because he had to put my meal on Laurie's tab and then apply my AP discount to my bill for Liza's meal. But it all worked out okay!
Of course, we only
saw Stitch. He didn't pose for any photos with us.
The main reasons I like Surf's Up are because Mickey is there, and Daisy Duck is there. It's good to have a character meal with Mickey, and I'm actually shocked that Surf's Up is not much busier than it is for exactly that reason - people want to meet Mickey. I guess that a lot of folks don't want to walk across the street to get to the PPH. I would bet that if Surf's Up were located in the DLH or in one of the parks, it would be much busier all of the time.
All in all, though, I'm a Goofy's Kitchen gal through and through and it would be hard for any other character meal to impress me soooo much that I put it above Goofy's.
Where can I find your GK tips? We'll be doing that and Minnie & Friends. I don't know why but I tend to get flustered and frazzled at character meals, so any tips are appreciated!
lsulindy -
I don't know if I gave Bret/mvf-m11c any specific tips for Goofy's other than just sharing my experiences there. He knows that I've been going there a long time.
I've been eating at GK on just about every single DLR trip (with the exception of 2 or 3 visits) since 1992, and I've gone to DLR a lot since 1992. Goofy's Kitchen is definitely one of my few areas of Disneyland resort 'expertise,' I guess you could say (along with the holiday season, Halloween Time and the Paradise Pier Hotel) - especially the GK breakfast/brunch. So I just relate my experiences eating there after each trip, in this thread - except for that my usual GK companion stood me up on this past December 2012 trip so I skipped GK for the first time in a while.
You can also find tips on the
Character Meals Super Thread!! which will tell you everything about the character meals at the DLR.
Bret -
Thanks for posting the link to Laurie's thread. I'm sure Laurie appreciates it too!
I love that lightning Mickey shirt!
wiigirl -
Welcome!
I'm glad someone else likes that shirt! I knew that most people would like the glasses ("HIP") shirt, but the lightning shirt seems to be hit or miss. I like it because I think it is a creative design, but also it can be worn during the Halloween Time season and make sense within that theme!
There was also a really cute DJ Mickey shirt that I wanted to get, but I had to limit my shirt-buying to 2 shirts.
Finally got caught up while everyone is asleep! DH will be getting up in a couple of hours to head out of town to work. (4 days out, home for 3, makes life interesting to say the least). Great trip report. Absolutely love all the photos, especially of the flowers. The yellow daisies during winter. Cool. I can't believe you only went on 3 rides the whole time you were there. I am glad you had a better trip than the one prior.
Hi,
Linda!
I wondered where you had disappeared to and why you hadn't popped in to comment! I'm glad you made it back before the thread is closed (at Page 250, which will be soon). I figured you would have had some interesting observations about the awkwardly amusing 'table sharing incident' when I was eating my peppermint ice cream, but I think some readers skipped over that part.
Yes, the yellow flowers during Christmas time were quite funny. My favorite flowers were the vibrant red, white and green ones at the Candlelight Processional stage - which I couldn't even see at night, during the actual ceremony. They were only visible in the daytime.
Which Mardi Gras mask was your favorite? Which Adventureland mask did you like? I kind of think I like the 'teeth' mask that TK mentioned a while back!
The trip was better than the one in December 2011, but my friend still stood me up/blew me off...so that part didn't make me happy!