Candlelight & Cannonballs! (MANY MARDI GRAS MASK PICS!) Dec. 2012- Start Pg.235/#3524

[Sherry E]

Continuing on along Buena Vista Street...

We left off at Trolley Treats' window displays...












And into Clarabelle's we go (which was probably also selling the Dreyer's peppermint ice cream since they carry Dreyer's anyway, but I didn't ask)...















A lot of people waiting to eat in the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe...







Inside Trolley Treats... I don't know if you can see it in these pictures, but there is ribbon candy and other candy-ish things hanging from the garland strings...















Milk for Santa!


















I think this was inside Elias & Co. The open layout of the shops and restaurants allows you to roam from one to the other to the other, and often I forget which store I have wandered into!














So cute!

More adventures on Buena Vista Street, coming up...

[Carolwoodpr]

I see a trip to Clarabelles in my future. I also wished I drank coffee because that Mickey coffee cup is calling my name!

Awesome photos as usual Sherry, your talent is amazing.

[Sherry E]

Post #2 for today - More Buena Vista Street fun from Monday, November 12, 2012...

Lots of shiny, colored mouse wreath things!




















I love the assortment of beautiful ornaments sold during the holidays - all sorts of styles and colors, but all distinctively Disney!

























More glare/reflection-filled window displays...

More coming up from Buena Vista Street, 11-12-12...

[Sherry E]

Post #3 for today - Continuing on along Buena Vista Street (11-12-12)...

Some goodies are in the works at Trolley Treats!









I love the juxtaposition of the bright green and red!
















The beautiful Buena Vista Street tree...


































I turned around and barely caught them as they were going by - hence, I cropped off the top of her head!







Santa Mickey appears to have replaced Snowman Mickey as the popcorn bucket of the moment...








Hey! Hollywood once again has some decorations on the posts! It's been a few years since it was decorated in any way!

More from California Adventure's holiday festivities (11-12-12) coming up. We will get to Cars Land very soon!

[PHXscuba]

No peppermint Dreyer's at Ralph's? That's absurd!! I hope it's just temporary. Do you have a Vons near you? I'm pretty sure we've seen the peppermint Dreyer's at our Safeway (same company as Vons). And I agree that the low-fat white stuff is not nearly as good. I made that mistake one time.

I had a peppermint-chocolate chip milkshake from Chick-Fil-A yesterday (I had to rescue the junior-high carpool and needed something to tide me over). The flavor was good but you shouldn't have to chew a shake. Too many bits I kept having to pull out of my teeth. I think that's why I prefer ice-cream creations to shakes.

I still think the Trolley Treats decor is among my favorites of the new stuff.

PHXscuba

[Carolwoodpr]

Thanks for all of the pictures Sherry! I am in love with the BVS tree and the ornaments and what is under the tree, and just everything about it. I think that is the one thing I can't wait to see more than anything else on our trip. I need to see it lit too. But I absolutely love the ornaments you took pics of that are on the tree.

[Sherry E]

Post #4 for today - Continuing on in California Adventure, 11-12-12...

It was a sunny day in Hollywood!





























Back inside Elias & Co.... I heard that this was the first tree at DLR to have actual tinsel. I hadn't thought about it before but now that I do, I realize that I guess I haven't seen tinsel on any other DLR trees (and I have looked at many, many trees all over DLR)! Lots of garland, lots of ornaments, lights and other decorations, for sure, but not really actual tinsel! Very interesting!









Here they are again!






















I decided it was time to head to Ghirardelli in search of possible free peppermint bark samples!

On the way to Pacific Wharf I passed this little guy, who had quite the line of people waiting for a PhotoPass picture with him! He was positioned at the entrance to Cars Land that is adjacent to the Bug's Land entrance (in other words, not the red rock entrance). I had to snap the few pictures I managed to get of him very quickly, in between posing guests!












Don't worry - I will get back to Radiator Springs shortly. First things first! Treats! And sure enough, Ghirardelli was giving out samples... Yum! Gotta love that Ghirardelli! Even though I quickly discovered that they are not selling any special holiday ice cream treats this year (in other words, no peppermint ice cream), they are selling the peppermint bark and other holiday chocolate goodies.

The lady handing out the samples at the door told me that I could buy one of their sundaes and crumble up the peppermint bark on top of it to make a holiday treat. (Um...yeah, but I can do that at home too! The idea is to get something that is specially made by Ghirardelli just for the season and sold in the parks!)











NOW it's time to visit Radiator Springs! Yep, the red rock entrance impressed me just as much on this trip as it did back in June!







Inside Flo's...I guess the silver hue of the trees is supposed to mimic a chrome sort of feeling, which jibes with the whole car theme!

More from Flo's and Cars Land's holiday merriment (11-12-12) coming up in the next post!

[kaoden39]

Great updates. I hope that you get picture of the Buena Vista Street Santa. I want to see if he is more Victorian in looks.

[Sherry E]

Post #5 for today - more from Flo's and Cars Land (11-12-12)...

A gingerbread holiday Mater!


















Just one of the many makeshift Christmas trees around Cars Land!



















Another tree...












Over at the Cozy Cone...






















The wonderful gingerbread cone display (which is a miniature version of the Cozy Cone property itself!) inside the "office"...





Also inside the "office" of the Cozy Cone...

More from the Cozy Cone and Cars Land coming up!

[kaoden39]

I love, love, love the Carsland decorations. They are quirky making them great fun to me!

[Carolwoodpr]

Loving all of your updates Sherry. I can't wait till you go in December so we can see more pictures too. You make it seem like I am right there with you because your pictures are that vivid, that realistic, that amazing. Thanks for that feeling. I still want to meet you one day, but until then I will just look at your pictures, read your words and feel like we have been friends for years.

At the snow mater picture area, was there a Photopass person there?

[Sherry E]

Originally Posted by Carolwoodpr

I see a trip to Clarabelles in my future. I also wished I drank coffee because that Mickey coffee cup is calling my name!

Awesome photos as usual Sherry, your talent is amazing.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by PHXscuba

No peppermint Dreyer's at Ralph's? That's absurd!! I hope it's just temporary. Do you have a Vons near you? I'm pretty sure we've seen the peppermint Dreyer's at our Safeway (same company as Vons). And I agree that the low-fat white stuff is not nearly as good. I made that mistake one time.

I had a peppermint-chocolate chip milkshake from Chick-Fil-A yesterday (I had to rescue the junior-high carpool and needed something to tide me over). The flavor was good but you shouldn't have to chew a shake. Too many bits I kept having to pull out of my teeth. I think that's why I prefer ice-cream creations to shakes.

I still think the Trolley Treats decor is among my favorites of the new stuff.

PHXscuba

There wasn't even a telltale "Limited Edition" tag where the regular peppermint ice cream should have been, so it was as if it had never been there. And as I mentioned, the Slow Churned kind was not in a pink carton this year so I even almost overlooked that. By the way, they also had Slow Churned Pumpkin ice cream too - not the full-fat kind, so that would seem to imply that they didn't get the "real" stuff in this year.

I don't have a Vons that's real close to me. I'd have to walk quite a ways - and through a not-so-great couple of blocks that I'm not comfortable with - to get there. I've done it before, but usually my dealings with Vons/Safeway are online orders every month. And the online list of groceries does not include peppermint ice cream. When I have to visit a store on foot, I go to Ralphs or Whole Foods or CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens.

I agree - if there are going to be things to chew in the ice cream, it might as well be a sundae or something like that instead of a shake.

I like the Trolley Treats decor a lot.

Originally Posted by Carolwoodpr

Thanks for all of the pictures Sherry! I am in love with the BVS tree and the ornaments and what is under the tree, and just everything about it. I think that is the one thing I can't wait to see more than anything else on our trip. I need to see it lit too. But I absolutely love the ornaments you took pics of that are on the tree.

The BVS tree looks nice when it's lit up, but it doesn't make quite as much of an impact as the Main Street tree does in Disneyland at night.

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Great updates. I hope that you get picture of the Buena Vista Street Santa. I want to see if he is more Victorian in looks.

Thank you. I tried and tried to get a photo of the Elias & Co. Santa from the front, to have a clear shot of his outfit. The line of people waiting for him blocked the front view, and the only view from the side had a big tree in the way!

I'll try again when I'm back at DLR at the end of next week.

Originally Posted by kaoden39

I love, love, love the Carsland decorations. They are quirky making them great fun to me!

I love them too because I mainly love themes of any kind on general - even if it is a theme I'm not thrilled with (say, a Western theme or something), as long as there is dedication and commitment to that theme in all of the details and decor, I'm on board! If they did it just half-heartedly and didn't totally delve into the car theme, it could be a dud or it could seem weak. But Disney really embraced the cars theme and went all out with the decorations so they get a big from me!

Originally Posted by Carolwoodpr

Loving all of your updates Sherry. I can't wait till you go in December so we can see more pictures too. You make it seem like I am right there with you because your pictures are that vivid, that realistic, that amazing. Thanks for that feeling. I still want to meet you one day, but until then I will just look at your pictures, read your words and feel like we have been friends for years.

At the snow mater picture area, was there a Photopass person there?

Thank you. Yes, there was a PhotoPass person there. As I mentioned above, there was a long line of people waiting for PhotoPass pictures with the Snow Car (in the daytime and at night).

[Sherry E]

I was on a roll with the photos 2 days ago - 125 photos covering 5 posts - but am still encountering a lot of technical difficulties/computer problems, so I sometimes have to stop when I am making progress, which is very frustrating!

Anyway, let's pick up where we left off at the Cozy Cone and Cars Land (11-12-12), shall we?

The locked office at the Cozy Cone is a true Disney gem - full of little hidden details. Be sure to take some time to peer through the glass at what's inside - during the holidays or during any other time of year.


I love it when Pixar adds in 'cameo appearances' from other Pixar characters to their current movies (or in this case, their current land)...








I love the contrast of the bright orange against the bright blue sky!










Time for a random flower picture - a little bit of beauty in the middle of all of those car parts!








These decorative stars light up at night...















Notice the star way up at the top...




















I arrived at Sarge's Surplus Hut (why do I keep wanting to call it Sarge's Sunglass Hut?).

At this point I realized that my camera battery was about to die. Although I had a spare battery with me, after my Catalina Island experience (fiasco) in July - when one battery took hours and hours to charge - I knew that I would have to take the dead battery to be recharged right away while I was using the spare, because the spare would probably die in a couple of hours at the rate I was going with photos - and then I would be left without any working batteries for a while!

Here is Sarge's Christmas tree...

I asked a CM (who was standing at the entrance to Sarge's) if there was anywhere in Cars Land that I could get my camera battery recharged. She told me that the only place to have that done would be in Disneyland itself, and that I'd have to pay the hefty locker rental fee to do it. If I rented a locker I could plug my charger in and charge my camera battery all day if I needed to.

I asked if she was certain that I had to rent a locker, as I'd heard that the camera shop on Main Street would recharge the batteries.

The Sarge's CM said, "No...they don't want to be responsible for that..."



I was a bit annoyed that I would have to pay for a whole locker rental just to charge a camera battery - and I had the charger with me - but there was no way the spare battery would last through the rest of the day and evening so it was necessary, I figured.

I switched batteries in the camera and took a few more photos before heading off to Main Street...









Mater's Christmas tree...

I left Cars Land - but would return later, for some more photos and some better-than-expected nighttime pictures - and moseyed across the Esplanade to Disneyland, to get a locker and start charging my camera battery.


Fortunately, before I went to the lockers I decided to stop in the Camera Shop, just to confirm that what the Sarge's CM told me was true.

It was not true. The Sarge's CM gave me incorrect information. Luckily, the Camera Shop CM told me that they could charge my camera battery right there in the shop, for free!!!! They even had a charger in the back that would take my battery, but I left my own charger for them to use! I would not have to rent a locker to do it. The Camera Shop CM told me that the locker rental is for charging cell phones, not camera batteries! There is nowhere in the park that will charge your cell phone for you, but the camera battery is not a problem!

So I happily left my charger and battery at the shop.

Since I did not have to pay the money for an unnecessary locker rental, there was one thing that I was going to spend the money on! And what was it?

Peppermint ice cream from Gibson Girl, of course! YUM! It was already hot, so it was time for a refreshing holiday treat! As enticing as the holiday cones are, I opted to go with the cup - a safer option given my previous history with cones!


Two scoops in a cup = $4.49
Tax = $.35


TOTAL = $4.84 (there is no Annual Pass discount at Gibson Girl)












I also peeked in on a couple of window displays, such as the ones at the Candy Palace...

More from Disneyland (11-12-12), coming up in the next post!

[tksbaskets]

What great pictures at CL and so happy that the Camera Shop would charge your battery for free - and so close to the place where yummy ice cream is served.

I can understand your reluctance to go for a cone....such harrowing experiences in our past tend to stick with us. Sounds like a great trip so far~~

I'm off to see if DH left me any peppermint ice cream. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Sherry E]

Continuing on at Disneyland (11-12-12)...

More window display excitement on Main Street...








Let's take a look at some treats inside Candy Palace... $5 is a lot for one single cupcake. That had better be one delicious cupcake! (Why do I have a feeling that the cupcakes look much better than they taste?)











I do enjoy the Santa ears on top of the cupcake...













The seasonal snowman marshmallow thingies...











Interestingly, last year I got a couple of the gingerbread cookies with red chocolate ears. In years prior I had gotten the regular kind that you see here, with the normal milk chocolate-dipped ears. I particularly enjoyed the taste of the red ears, for some reason - but they were nowhere to be found this year! I checked the Market House (where I got them in 2011) and the only gingerbread to be had was this kind. The red-eared cookies disappeared!











A random bowl o' candy display!










Onward through Disneyland, I noticed some of the famous Disneyland ducks!













I decided to head to the Jingle Jangle Jamboree - formerly named Santa's Reindeer Round-Up...











I wanted to make this a black & white shot, but I didn't have the patience at that moment to find the B&W setting on the camera and I usually do not like to edit/post-process my pictures for Trip Reports unless it's a rare occurrence. So you'll just have to imagine it in B&W!!

























Even though the reindeer were gone, and even though this location is no longer called Santa's Reindeer Round-Up, there was plenty of reindeer-accented decor all over the place...

More from the Jingle Jangle Jamboree (11-12-12) coming up!