The Wettest, Merriest, and Happiest Birthday/First Visit Nov/Dec 2012 TR! 2/13 FINAL!

[onelilspark]

I'm sure Matt is thrilled you posted the picture of him snuggling with Oswald.

I would totally do that to my husband too.

[Fantasyland Mom]

Oh, where to start!?

I am so impressed with the Blue Bayou! I know you said the pictures aren't great, but I really can tell the ambiance through them. I just love those lanterns hanging above your heads! And I am a HUGE seafood lover, so I'd have trouble deciding between those yummy dishes.

Well, the good news is that he DIDN'T puke on you, right? It still stinks that he felt like it, though. Of course, SM kind of makes me feel like that even when I haven't been eating huge amounts of food. It's weird to remember that you don't sit in front of him on the DL version. I was like, "Where is she!?!?"

I completely understand the lady sobbing, too. Mostly because I only saw the pictures of the snow and got misty. I don't know if I'd ever be able to handle that in person!!

I just love those particular Oswald and Mickey stuffies. If I ever re-do Sawyer's room, I'm thinking of going for a classic Mickey theme and putting those in there...guess I better buy some! And if I decide not to re-do his room, they'll fit right in in our playroom or living room!

OMG! Snuggly Matt is just too cute! I'd snuggle with Oswald, too!

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I'm so glad you are back to this TR. Seriously, so glad! I've been checking very regularly since I knew you returned from WDW, welcome back!

Sorry you are bummed that vacation is over, it's always such a downer to get back to the real world.

I'm really enjoying your PTR for WDW too, I'm trying to take my time so I don't finish with it too quickly. Now I'm following you on twitter too! I'm not a stalker, I swear!

[stacy~**]

Yay, Dani is back!! I enjoyed following your pictures on Instagram and will definately move over to your WDW report when it starts.

BUT SO happy to have you back on this report. Loved the Blue Bayou review. Our DL trip this summer just so happens to fall on our 12 year wedding anniversary. Guess where dinner will be that night? It will be quite the splurge as I am typically a cheap (and fast) diner at Disney.

LOVE the pin you got on the tour! Makes me feel better about the cancelled parade!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Hahaha Matt really does look like he's regretting the jambalaya/Space Mountain combo in that picture! Little does that happy woman know....

[PracPerfPatricia]

Awwww... that is one cute photo of Matt snuggling Oswald...

The fact that it was so rainy and your photos still look so awesome and so much fun is a testimony to quite how magical Disneyland is...

I am sorry that you didn't totally love your Decorations at Dis tour... I think if it hadn't been raining and you had gotten your VIP seating-it would have been a totally different thing... I still think that I'd considering doing it... in fact your whole TR makes me NEED a trip to Disneyland even though I am still writing a TR from a Disney World Christmas trip... But it really is different...and I can totally justify those differences to plan a trip...

I think that your meal at the Blue Bayou sounds great and the atmosphere looks amazing...

I feel for Matt afterwords though... he really looks a bit "off" on that Space Mountain... that could have gotten ugly...

Snowing on Main Street... Pure Perfection...

[LisaAnn06]

Hi Dani-

Just subscribing to your thread. I've been following since slightly before you left for your most recent trip and I love the style of your writing! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your Disneyland trip and the newest one!

[marDgreen88]

Blue Bayou looks beautiful. I'm not a seafood fan but I would totally go there and get a salad or something. Hahha, it's just so pretty.

Thank God that Matt did not hurl over you or any other unsuspecting Space travelers. That would have been just... so bad. I've been thrown up on before (AT at theme park, actually) and it just isn't great. At all.

Snow on Main Street is the best thing that could ever happen to anyone.

[Susan121302]

I cannot even express how excited I was to stumble across this TR! I lived and breathed the TR you wrote last year after your trip to the BCV because DS and I had a BIG trip booked in Sept of 2012 staying at the BCV. And I also lived and breathed your previous TR because darn it, you just crack me the heck up! So anyway, I was perusing through the D-land Disboards in prep for booking a possible DL trip in August, when who do i see but Dani! YAY! Ok, back to reading this TR.

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by Aussiesalad

Dinner at the Blue Bayou looks stunning! I just love that you can eat inside the ride!! It's seriously on my list of things to do next trip!

Oh gosh I've totally made the face that Matt is making on Space.
It's a horrible feeling when it hits you in the middle of the ride that hmmm maybe you should have waited a little longer to let that food settle.

Ahhhh the snow on main street is PERFECT!!! Disney is so on it with their smells!

I love your Mickey and Oswald! They are beyond adorable

It really was awesome. I had no idea how cool it was until we walked in the restaurant. You should for sure do it! I'd definitely go again, probably will next trip maybe for lunch!

Bahahaha, the face just made me die laughing. I just felt bad he wasn't feeling so hot on it!

Yes, Disney is basically pro at making you happy, seriously. Right down to scented snow.

They're pretty cute! Now they're sitting on a shelf in our bedroom, bein' all cute all the time... and also avoiding my dogs destroying them. Our pug mix Milo would think Oswald was a toy for him to play with, no doubt, haha.

Originally Posted by onelilspark

I'm sure Matt is thrilled you posted the picture of him snuggling with Oswald.

I would totally do that to my husband too.

Bahaha, I actually asked if I could post it and he smiled and said it was fine! He's a pretty good sport about me posting absurd photos of both he and I... WE HAVE NO SHAME, haha!

Originally Posted by Fantasyland Mom

Oh, where to start!?

I am so impressed with the Blue Bayou! I know you said the pictures aren't great, but I really can tell the ambiance through them. I just love those lanterns hanging above your heads! And I am a HUGE seafood lover, so I'd have trouble deciding between those yummy dishes.

Well, the good news is that he DIDN'T puke on you, right? It still stinks that he felt like it, though. Of course, SM kind of makes me feel like that even when I haven't been eating huge amounts of food. It's weird to remember that you don't sit in front of him on the DL version. I was like, "Where is she!?!?"

I completely understand the lady sobbing, too. Mostly because I only saw the pictures of the snow and got misty. I don't know if I'd ever be able to handle that in person!!

I just love those particular Oswald and Mickey stuffies. If I ever re-do Sawyer's room, I'm thinking of going for a classic Mickey theme and putting those in there...guess I better buy some! And if I decide not to re-do his room, they'll fit right in in our playroom or living room!

OMG! Snuggly Matt is just too cute! I'd snuggle with Oswald, too!

Blue Bayou really was awesome! Super dark but the lanterns were perfect. Both of our dishes were super tasty, though I was in love with my crab cakes. I wish I could eat them right noooow.

Haha and yes, good news is he didn't throw up on anyone and ruin Space Mountain forever. He was fine after we got off, but I was laughing so hard at that photo of him, hahaha. And yeah, it is weird with the ride being SO different. Now that I just went on Space Mountain again in Disney World, I forgot how different they are from each other in many ways. I was next to him but happened to look like Jabba the Hut so I cut myself out of that photo, hahaha.

Yeah, the snow definitely choked me up a little bit. It was honestly amazing. And seeing Matt's face as the snow fell just made me such a happy lady!

I think that sounds awesome for Sawyer's room! I always tell Matt that all of these things we buy in Disney will probably just end up in our future kid's room. Actually, at some point I should just re-do our guest bedroom and make it awesomely themed with Disney stuff.

I might be biased, but I agree with the cuteness of that photo.

Originally Posted by mommy2allyandaveri

I'm so glad you are back to this TR. Seriously, so glad! I've been checking very regularly since I knew you returned from WDW, welcome back!

Sorry you are bummed that vacation is over, it's always such a downer to get back to the real world.

I'm really enjoying your PTR for WDW too, I'm trying to take my time so I don't finish with it too quickly. Now I'm following you on twitter too! I'm not a stalker, I swear!

Aww, thank you! I'm glad I'm back, too!! I am going to try to get updates done as quickly as possible so I can mosey on over to starting a WDW TR! But this is good, because it buys me time to edit photos and also get our PhotoPass+ CD back, too.

It really is hardest the first week when you get back, but it'll be okay! We're keeping ourselves going with some very fun plans for the future.

Haha, who are you on twitter?! I hope I'm following you back! And don't feel like a stalker, I love when people follow along/want to actually read my stuff. Feels like I'm not talking to an empty room or something, haha.

Originally Posted by stacy~**

Yay, Dani is back!! I enjoyed following your pictures on Instagram and will definately move over to your WDW report when it starts.

BUT SO happy to have you back on this report. Loved the Blue Bayou review. Our DL trip this summer just so happens to fall on our 12 year wedding anniversary. Guess where dinner will be that night? It will be quite the splurge as I am typically a cheap (and fast) diner at Disney.

LOVE the pin you got on the tour! Makes me feel better about the cancelled parade!

Yes I am! WOOHOO! And that's awesome, I'm glad you followed along with all of my IG photos! I somehow managed to take so many photos on that trip, it's going to take forever to go through them all.

OMG, you are going to love Blue Bayou! I definitely would like to go back next time we are in Disneyland. It's a splurge but definitely worth it!!

And yeah, the pin was a nice little memento, even though I was sad about the parade. Good one to add to our collection!

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

Hahaha Matt really does look like he's regretting the jambalaya/Space Mountain combo in that picture! Little does that happy woman know....

Hahaha, it seriously had me dying. So funny. The lady had no idea he was very close to throwing up on her head. I don't think she'd be so happy after that.

Originally Posted by PracPerfPatricia

Awwww... that is one cute photo of Matt snuggling Oswald...

The fact that it was so rainy and your photos still look so awesome and so much fun is a testimony to quite how magical Disneyland is...

I am sorry that you didn't totally love your Decorations at Dis tour... I think if it hadn't been raining and you had gotten your VIP seating-it would have been a totally different thing... I still think that I'd considering doing it... in fact your whole TR makes me NEED a trip to Disneyland even though I am still writing a TR from a Disney World Christmas trip... But it really is different...and I can totally justify those differences to plan a trip...

I think that your meal at the Blue Bayou sounds great and the atmosphere looks amazing...

I feel for Matt afterwords though... he really looks a bit "off" on that Space Mountain... that could have gotten ugly...

Snowing on Main Street... Pure Perfection...

Haha, I thought it was, too!

Very true about Disneyland! Though I really am hoping next time we go it's not as rainy because whew, it was a bit much at times.

Yeah, I feel like if the VIP tour had happened and it wasn't raining, we totally would have been more satisfied with the tour and felt like we got our money's worth. But I also think it's better for people who have done no research on the parks/it's their first day in the parks. And you should so go to Disneyland! Very big differences, for sure.

Blue Bayou is definitely a treat! I would love to go back again next trip!

Hahahaha, yeah, poor Matt. I had no idea!

The snow was just amazing and beautiful and I was so so happy in that moment..

Originally Posted by LisaAnn06

Hi Dani-

Just subscribing to your thread. I've been following since slightly before you left for your most recent trip and I love the style of your writing! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your Disneyland trip and the newest one!

So glad you're following along!! I hope I'll see you over in my WDW TR when I start that one as well, and I hope you've been enjoying this TR!

Originally Posted by marDgreen88

Blue Bayou looks beautiful. I'm not a seafood fan but I would totally go there and get a salad or something. Hahha, it's just so pretty.

Thank God that Matt did not hurl over you or any other unsuspecting Space travelers. That would have been just... so bad. I've been thrown up on before (AT at theme park, actually) and it just isn't great. At all.

Snow on Main Street is the best thing that could ever happen to anyone.

Yeah there's all sorts of good non-seafood type dishes there, so you'd have plenty to choose from!! I'm just a crab cake nut... and they were gooood! That and the restaurant itself was just amazing.

Bahaha, it would have been awful, but thankfully he was okay. Being thrown up on is probably the worst thing that could happen to me because then I would throw up. Though I've gotten better with that over the year's, especially when I was a nanny!

You speak the truth on the snow. It's just the best.

Originally Posted by Susan121302

I cannot even express how excited I was to stumble across this TR! I lived and breathed the TR you wrote last year after your trip to the BCV because DS and I had a BIG trip booked in Sept of 2012 staying at the BCV. And I also lived and breathed your previous TR because darn it, you just crack me the heck up! So anyway, I was perusing through the D-land Disboards in prep for booking a possible DL trip in August, when who do i see but Dani! YAY! Ok, back to reading this TR.

Hi Susan! I remember you from my WDW TR!! So happy you found my DL TR!! YAYAY! And even better, you stayed at my favorite resort! How was your trip?! I hope you loved it!

Thank you for the awesome compliments, I'm a total dork but I really do have so much fun/laugh a LOT in Disney, must be because it's my super happy place.

Totally hope you get to Disneyland, it's amazing! And I hope to see you when I start my latest Disney World TR after I finish this one!!

[LisaAnn06]

Loving experiencing Disneyland thru you lol. I've never been before and didn't have much desire to until I started reading this. I didn't realize it was as big as it is. I haven't been to Disney World since 2001 when I was in Jr. High but am so itching to go back! I will definitely be following your next trip report and have recently finished your other ones.

[danimaroo]

Originally Posted by LisaAnn06

Loving experiencing Disneyland thru you lol. I've never been before and didn't have much desire to until I started reading this. I didn't realize it was as big as it is. I haven't been to Disney World since 2001 when I was in Jr. High but am so itching to go back! I will definitely be following your next trip report and have recently finished your other ones.

Haha aww, well thank you! It's a pretty awesome compliment that my TR is making you want to go to Disneyland!! It's weird, because it's big but it's not. Everything is VERY compact and they do a pretty good job of using their space wisely since they have much less to work with than Disney World does.

So glad I'll see you over on my WDW TR, as well!

[danimaroo]

Chapter Eighteen: Snaggin' 3 sets of Fast Passes in a half hour isn't a bad start to the day!
Day 3: December 1st, 2012

We woke up at 7am again, and I’m pretty sure both of us were emitting some choice words when the alarm went off. We were both exhausted and our bodies were screaming, “PLEASE GOD NO MORE,” but we both pushed through the pain and got ready relatively quickly. We needed to be up and at ‘em for California Adventure!

We managed to get out the door by 7:25 or so, and strolled over to wait in line at the gates of California Adventure. Fairly certain when I instagrammed this photo, I made a comment about how it was far too early, hahaha.



At around 7:50, they let everyone in. Apparently Matt and I have this ridiculous knack for ALWAYS choosing the wrong line, seriously. We got super held up behind people who needed to sign their APs, which was very time-consuming. It’s crazy how in WDW, it’s very different. All you do is pop your ticket in the machine, scan your finger, and you’re on your way. That was one thing that I hope Disneyland moves over to in the future; lines at the gate would get SUPER backed up due to these issues.

Anyhoot, we finally got in the park and immediately headed towards the rope and waited for rope drop. We actually found ourselves in a great position for getting to Radiator Springs relatively quickly. We figured we’d try to just ride is right away versus getting in line for FPs, which had its own separate queue off to the side.

After we waited about 5 minutes, a cast member notified everyone that Radiator Springs Racers was down, and so basically it wasn’t worth us rushing towards. Annoyed, we turned around and got into the massive line for Fast Passes that had already formed.



I have never seen a line and queue area for fast passes for a ride like this. Seriously, it was impressive.



We waited for a few minutes and finally our line started to move forward. We finally got towards where they show the FP return time and I was amazed at how quickly the numbers were changing!





Finally we got towards the front.. It took forever, but we got FPs!





We were hoping it’d actually open up again by the time our fast passes were ready, because it’d actually been down the night before, as well.

After that, we headed straight over to get Fast Passes for World of Color. Our original plan was that we were going to eat at Carthay Circle and do the WoC package, but we figured if we could just get WoC FPs, then we’d cancel our reservation since we didn’t really want to have our precious park time on our final day eaten up by the restaurant. That and we would save a bunch of money.

So! We headed on over in hopes of getting good FPs. For those of you who have never been to Disneyland, World of Color requires fast passes in order to get into the viewing area for the show. You basically have to get these fast passes pretty early in the park, or do one of the dining packages. The FP system for World of Color is separate from the rest of the FP system, so you don’t have to worry about “wasting” an FP on them.

The later you show up, the worse your viewing spot can get. They are color-coded so when you show up, a CM directs you as to where your standing area is.



It was a relatively quiet morning, and getting our World of Color FPs was pretty easy!



We got Fast Passes for the first show in the Blue Section, which was one of the better viewing areas. At that point we decided to cancel our dinner reservation for Carthay Circle, and then we continued over to Paradise Pier.



A little fun fact I’d learned about the California Screamin’ Fast Pass system… It’s disconnected from the rest of the park. Meaning, we could get Fast Passes even though we’d just picked some up for Radiator Springs Racers. So of course, we grabbed them! And thus, we officially grabbed 3 sets of fast passes in a half hour!



After we grabbed FPs, we hopped right in the standby line since the wait was pretty much nonexistent.



Much to Matt’s dismay, I had my iPhone out and ready for some photos!





I actually have no idea what Matt was telling me in this photo, but it pretty much cracks me up because he looks very bewildered… and I know how much you guys just love these awesome photos of Matt looking his very best, no?!



I had to grab a quick photo of our ride photo because I look like I’m truly having the time of my life, while Matt on the other hand looks like he is just NOT feeling it, hahaha.



Matt really makes some of the best faces for attraction photos, both intentionally and unintentionally.

We started to head out of Paradise Pier, but I wanted to stop and watch people launch off… and listen to Neil Patrick Harris’ different spiels!



We were both considerably hungry, so we wanted to find a place that had something decently substantial for breakfast. We came across the Pacific Wharf area and decided to see what they had…



I ended up ordering an Egg, Bacon, and Cheese croissant..



And Matt went with their Breakfast Boule:



We grabbed our food and found a nice place to sit outside to enjoy our breakfast.



The food was actually really good! The bread that came with Matt’s was super delicious and fresh, too. And I loved that both came with grapes on the side, because I love me some grapes.

We really enjoyed just watching the bird around the water and taking it a bit easy because we were both pretty pooped, so I recall really enjoying this breakfast.

We finished up and decided to head towards Carsland to see if Radiator Springs Racers was back up and running… and it wasn’t. I was starting to get a little nervous that we wouldn’t get a chance to ride it!



(Keeping reading below!)

Continued in next post

[danimaroo]

Chapter Nineteen: That's a whole lotta different Christmas trees in one area!
Day 3: December 1st, 2012

I was really hoping itd get back up and running because it looked like it would be a blast.





We decided to take our time walking down the street and I took a LOT of photos of all of the decorations, especially all of the different Christmas trees Cecil had mentioned during our Tour the day before&













I was very impressed with all of the details they put into everything in that area, especially for the Christmas decorations!

We headed out of Carsland and decided to make our way over towards Hollywood Studios (haaa, still weirds me out to say that).. I popped into Off the Page to trade a Vinylmation, and ended up getting Marie!



We also looked around and spotted this really neat Haunted Mansion shadowbox, but decided to wait and decide on whether or not we d buy it later..

On our way out, I saw this and I remember tweeting Marissa (mardgreen88) this photo because she is a huge Once Upon a Time fan. We watched the first season and really loved it, but were waiting to watch season 2 once its on DVD/blu-ray.



I had really wanted to ride Tower of Terror just to see how different it was from Disney Worlds version, but Matt wasnt feeling it, so he encouraged me to go on alone and hed wait for me outside. I had no problem with that, so off I went!





It was funny, Matt suspected that the tower was shorter than WDWs, and sure enough, it is. I couldnt really notice the difference, but yeah. It is definitely not as wide, and thats because your elevator never leaves the elevator shaft like it does in Disney World.

The queue for DL isnt really in a hidden area like WDWs, and when you enter the building, its kind of different.







That being said, its still very creepy!

There wasnt really a line, so I walked up and was put in row 2.



I waited in anticipation, as I was very curious to see how intense it would be!



So I thought it was a ton of fun, but it is very different than Disney Worlds. As I mentioned before, in Disneyland you just move up and down, versus going through that creepy area before entering the shaft where you get dropped in Disney World. So its a much quicker ride in Disneyland. That being said, the drops were still a ton of fun and it was still a blast to ride. Id say Disney Worlds is probably better just because of the extra room you go through, basically the Twilight Zone, before being dropped.

We had a pretty fun crowds on our elevator, but I just looked like I had no friends. Hahaha..



On my way out, I traded another Vinylmation and got Madame Medusa, but I didnt take a photo of her because I knew I was going to trade her (since I already have her in my Villains collection).

As I made my way over to Matt, Stitch just walked right in front of me, like it aint no thang.



Sulley and Frozone also strolled by me, but I didnt get a photo.

Then out of nowhere, Minnie was walking towards me!



It was kind of interesting in Disneyland how characters would just randomly roam around versus having specific meeting areas. Youd just see them hanging out wherever! I think their backstage area though must have been near the ToT shop exit though just because of how many characters I was seeing.

Anyway, I found Matt and we headed over to Starbucks because we were both in the mood for some coffee! I saw one of the delicious Disney brownies begging me to buy it (funny how that works, no?), so we got a brownie to split!



I decided to go with my usual Iced nonfat caramel macchiato and Matt went with his usual Vanilla Latte.



The brownie was SO good. I would highly suggest trying it if you like a good fudgey brownie. I wanted to eat the whole thing myself, but alas, I had to share with Matt.

We enjoyed our lattes then headed out of the park for some fun!

Next, we head back to Disneyland for a bit and explore one of the coolest parts of Disneyland...

Continued in next post

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Those trees are SO COOL!!! I love them! Ok, I haven't been to DL since I was 13 and you are totally making me want to go back. It's like a totally different place...I guess that means I'm old b/c it's been SO long that they have changed everything.