# Second All in One Disneyland TR Thread  - Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout Review 5/30-6/2



## mvf-m11c

Welcome to the second Disneyland trip report thread by *mvf-m11c*. For those who have followed me on My First Disneyland Trip Report Mega-Thread that started on October 2010 and ended during the November 2013 trip which I just have completed. It has been 3 and a half years since I started my first big trip report thread which has all of my trip reports from October 2010 to the November 2013. Now I am on my second one and it will continue during the December 2013 trip report which you will be posted shortly. I have done a lot of single Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Trip Report threads in the past and have never done a whole thread all about my trips until the one that just ended.  My old DL thread was a lot of fun and I will miss writing my DL trip reports along with other interesting events that I have done. I have done *21* DL trip reports on the old thread and this new one will be one of many to come in the future.

This is my thread of all trip reports at all the parks around the world. I have been going to Disney Parks since I was a young child and still continue to this day. I have a lot of great times at the parks and disappointing times at the parks. But no matter what, all the trips are special to me no matter what. Every trip is magical, but the best time for me and my family to go to the parks is definitely Christmas time at the Disneyland Resort.

For those who dont know me or have not followed my past trip reports at the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. This is me *(Bret)*






and I have been a long time lurker on the boards and member since 2009. Mostly I am on the Disneyland threads from the regular boards, Trip Reports & Community. I am a huge fan of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. I have been going to the Disneyland Resort ever since I was a little kid and have enjoyed going to the Disney Parks. I have been to Disneyland over 100 times in my life and counting. I have enjoyed every one of them with family, friends, & DISers that I have met in on the boards and met them in real life. I also have been to Walt Disney World 9 times in my life. I am also a Disneyland Annual Passholder since 2009 and still continue the enjoyment of being at the Happiest Place on Earth.

I like to videotape the nighttime shows (fireworks, World of Color, Fantasmic! at Disneyland & Disney Hollywood Studios, Illuminations, etc.) and take pictures of anything at the parks that are interesting from flowers, light fixtures, Halloween & Christmas decorations, etc. You can check out my pictures at Flickr or videos on Youtube account since the last 5 years. My favorite rides or transportation are the Disneyland Monorail, Walt Disney World Monorail System, Disneyland Railroad, Walt Disney World Railroad, Radiator Springs Racers, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blast (Disneyland Resort version) and I could go on and on at the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. I really enjoy the shows at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World (mostly particular nighttime show). They are the fireworks at the Disneyland Resort Remember Dreams Come True, BelieveIn Holiday Magic, Magical: Disneys New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations. At Walt Disney World is Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams, HalloWishes, & Holiday Wishes: Celebrate The Spirit of the Season. I also like Disney California Adventure World of Color, EPCOTs Illuminations, Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios nighttime show Fantasmic!.

I do take a lot of photography at the Disney parks. I shoot with a Nikon SLR camera and have been doing it for the last five years. I have taken over 30,000 pictures at the Disney Parks. I have a variety of lenses and filters to use when I am at the parks.

*The Main Cast of my other Travel Companions that have went with me to the Disney Parks*

This is the cast that I went to any Disney Parks through all my life and they have been all great and exciting to go.

My *DAF* (my moms sister & aunt that has been going with me the parks a lot). She is mostly known at DA on my trip reports but since my other aunt is with me during the trips we will call her DAF and my other aunt will be DAW. She is a fan of Disney but not as big as me where I always want to go to the Disney parks. But she has been going with me for a lot of years ever since I was a young kid. We have done our annual holiday trip to the DLR ever since early 2000 and still do it every year. She has been with me to a lot of other Disney events that is not at the Disneyland Resort from the D23 Expos, Walt Disney Studios Tour, & Walt Disney World.

My *DAW* (my dads sister). She just started to go on Disney trips ever since she went with me and my DB back in 2012 during the WDW trip. Ever since, she has been with me to three Disneyland Resort trips last year (January, June & December 2013).

My *DB* (brother). He is not a big of a fan of Disney Parks like me or my DA but he does like to go once in a while with his GF when they are in SoCal. We have been to a lot of Disney Parks (DL & WDW) over the years and he still enjoys going once in a while.

I could go on and on of the other party members that have been with me to the Disney Parks but my family on the top are the ones that have gone with me to the parks multiple times over the years.

*All my Disney Trip Counts through my life with family and friends*
*WDW Trip Counts:* 10 Trips (July 96, June 98, June 01, Mar 06, Mar/Apr 07, Mar/Apr 10, Dec 10, Dec 11, Oct/Nov 12, Oct 15)
*DLR Trip Counts: *60+ Can't remember them all

*You can check out my videos and pictures from my trip reports right here by clicking on the link.*
mvf-m11c Flickr page with all sorts of pictures at the Disney Park and other events I have over 30,000+  pictures from the Disney Parks, D23 Expo, food porn, etc.

mvfm11c YouTube page with all different videos from the Disney trips These include videos of the nighttime shows, parades, rides, and videos from Disney Special shows back in the early 90s.


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## mvf-m11c

*Disneyland Trip Reports:*

*2009*
*9/9/09 - 9/13/09* [post=33608075]DLR & the first ever D23 Expo[/post] on an old thread
*12/10/09 - 12/13/09* [post=34655147]My Birthday trip at DLR[/post] on an old thread​
*2010*
*3/16/10 - 3/18/10 *[post=35890997]Quick business trip at DLR[/post] on an old thread
*3/26/10 *[post=36049163]An unexpected day trip at DLR[/post] on an old thread
*6/10/10 - 6/13/10* [thread=2485662]DA birthday trip & the debut of WoC weekend[/thread] on an old thread
*8/13/10 - 8/15/10* [thread=2515453]YU-GI-OH! World Championship TCG Week & DLR[/thread] on an old thread
*10/1/10 - 10/3/10 * [post=38439390]Mickey's Halloween Party Weekend at DLR[/post] on Post #40 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*11/18/10 - 11/20/10 *[post=38996888]Holiday Trip to DLR[/post] on Post #131 (on the 1st TR Superthread)​
*2011*
*1/21/11 - 1/23/11 *[post=39679299]Short Solo trip to DLR[/post] on Post #379 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*2/19/11 - 2/21/11 *[post=40025706]I Survived President's Weekend at the DLR[/post] on Post #588 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*4/8/11 - 4/10/11 *[post=40698688]YU-GI-OH! TCG Tournament & DL[/post] on Post #740 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*5/27/11 - 5/29/11 *[post=41278373]A Soundsational Weekend at DL[/post] on Post #840 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*6/20/11 - 6/21/11 *[post=41584919]A Reunion with an Old Friend at DL[/post] on Post #957 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*8/18/11 - 8/22/11 *[post=42368230]2nd Annual D23 Expo & DL [/post] on Post #1106 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*9/24/11 *[post=42759685]Unexpected Trip to DL during the Halloween Season[/post] on Post #1273 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*11/18/11 - 11/20/11 *[post=43299643]Our Annual Holiday Trip to DL[/post] on Post #1334 (on the 1st TR Superthread)​
*2012*
*3/2/12 - 3/4/12 * [post=44226673]Break from the Real World[/post] on Post #1563 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*3/23/12 - 3/25/12 * [post=44434797]YU-GI-OH! 100th Tourney & Weekend at DL[/post] on Post #1674 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*6/9/12 - 6/12/12 * [post=45177437]AP Sneak Peek at DCA[/post] on Post #1889 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*8/13/12 - 8/15/12 * [post=45575426]I'm Racing Back to Cars Land with 'Bro and his Girl' in Tow[/post] on Post #2202 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*11/16/12 - 11/18/12 *[post=46851603]Our 2nd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November[/post] on post #2528 (on the 1st TR Superthread)​
*2013*
*1/12/13 - 1/14/13 * [post=47540085]DD2 First Trip at the Happiest Place on Earth[/post] on post #2624 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*5/3/13 - 5/5/13 *[post=48320826]A Day at the Walt Disney Studios and Archives and Disneyland[/post] on post #2815 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*6/28/13 - 6/30/13 *[post=48881547]Quick Trip with the Family during the Heat Madness[/post] on Post #2935 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*8/8/13 - 8/12/13 *[post=49231477]The 3rd Annual 2013 D23 Expo Trip[/post] on Post #3019 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*9/14/13 - 9/16/13 *[post=49649896]Last Second DISers Meet Up & Halloween Trip [/post] on Post #3084 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*11/22/13 - 11/24/13 *[post=50167988]Our 3rd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November [/post] on Post #3222 (on the 1st TR Superthread)
*12/26/13 - 12/29/13 *[post=50364586]Braving the Crowds after Christmas at Disneyland with Family & Friends[/post] on Post #3334 (on the 1st TR Superthread & Continuing on the 2nd TR Superthread)
*Day 2* - 12/27/13
*Part 1* [post=50736575]DCA Crazy Morning to get FP's for RSR and WoC[/post]
*Part 2* [post=50774101]Breakfast with the Princesses & Cruising into Radiator Springs[/post]
*Part 3* [post=50791719]Aladdin Show in the Hyperion Theater[/post]
*Part 4* [post=50792557]Let's go for a Cruise and Tire Too[/post]
*Part 5* [post=50835585]Snacking on a Cone and No way to the Wheel of Doom[/post]
*Part 6* [post=50861065]Dinner and Cars Land @ Night[/post]
*Part 7* [post=50882782]Winter Dreams & Sleep Time[/post]​
*Day 3* - 12/28/13
*Part 1* [post=50918096]Busy Saturday Morning at DL[/post]
*Part 2* [post=50920902]Break Time at the Plaza Inn with the Characters[/post]
*Part 3* [post=50948191]Cruising in Tomorrowland & Spinning Around in Fantasyland[/post]
*Part 4* [post=50948195]A Mint Julep Drink & Crowdland[/post]
*Part 5* [post=51010710]Floating down the Rivers of America and Flower Market Throwback[/post]
*Part 6* [post=51010732]Unexpected Problem and Dinner[/post]
*Part 7* [post=51042910]Floating down with Pirates and Animals[/post]
*Part 8* [post=51042919]Last Ride of the Night[/post]​
*Day 4* - 12/28/13
*Part 1* [post=51073913]Quick walk-in at the Disneyland Resort[/post]
*Part 2* [post=51073933]Quick walk-in at the Disneyland Resort Part 2[/post]
*Part 3* [post=51099454]Universal Studios Hollywood and the Studio Tour 1[/post]
*Part 4* [post=51099474]Studio Tour Part 2[/post]
*Part 5* [post=51130993]Universal Studios Hollywood Part 3[/post]
*Part 6* [post=51130998]Mexican Dinner & Last Night in SoCal[/post]​
*2014*
*4/25/14 – 4/28/14 *Time to put the Clipboard away and enjoy the Magic
*Day 1* - 4/25/14
*Part 1* [post=51360138]Going in Quickly and Dinner at our Favorite[/post]
*Part 2* [post=51387788]Nighttime @ Both Parks & Raining Night[/post]​
*Day 2* - 4/26/14
*Part 1* [post=51413479]Shopping Day at the WDI Store in Glendale[/post]
*Part 2* [post=51473341]Late to Easter[/post]
*Part 3* [post=51569463]Above on the Highway of the Sky[/post]
*Part 4* [post=51585071]Dinner at the Napa Rose with Friends[/post]
*Part 5* [post=51624329]Maleficent Sneak Peek, Shopping & Nighttime Photos[/post]​
*Day 3* - 4/27/14
*Part 1* [post=51652400]Getting FP's, TSMM & BTMRR Finally[/post]
*Part 2* [post=51672927]Back & Foward to both Parks Plus Lunch at ESPN Zone[/post]
*Part 3* [post=551694576]Life Could be Dream in Radiator Springs[/post]
*Part 4* [post=51738245]The World is a Carousel of Color[/post]​
*6/23/14 – 6/25/14 *A Fantasmic Summer at the DLR with my Aunt
*Day 1* - 6/23/14
*Part 1* [post=51756250]Arrived Safely & Going Under the Sea[/post]
*Part 2* [post=51756270]Short Wait on our Favorite Ride at DCA[/post]
*Part 3* [post=51795774]Pixar Play Parade Part 1[/post]
*Part 4* [post=51795780]Pixar Play Parade Part 2 & Dinner[/post]
*Part 5* [post=51818814]Staking a Spot for Fantasmic! & Part 1[/post]
*Part 6* [post=51818835]Fantasmic! Part 2[/post]
*Part 7* [post=51818849]Magical Fireworks at the RoA[/post]​
*Day 2* - 6/24/14
*Part 1* [post=51851297]Going Down the River with the Children of the World[/post]
*Part 2* [post=51851345]Collecting FP's on the Railroad[/post]
*Part 3* [post=51881197]Lunch at the Bayou & Frozen[/post]
*Part 4* [post=51881212]Mickey's Soundsational Parade[/post]
*Part 5* [post=51899742]Mickey and the Magical Map[/post]
*Part 6* [post=51899750]Riding Above the Highway of the Skies[/post]
*Part 7* [post=51899754]Aladdin Musical & Radiator Springs[/post]
*Part 8* [post=51899760]Disappointed during World of Color[/post]​
*Day 3* - 6/25/14
*Part 1* [post=51935737]Last Day of the Trip & Ride Crazy[/post]
*Part 2* [post=51935755]We're Leaving?[/post]​
*7/26/14 – 7/28/14 *Going Back Down South with Bro and his Girl
*Day 1* - 7/26/14
*Part 1* [post=52055825]Middle of the Nite Drive & a Friend Joining Us[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52055839]Coaster Rides and Tsum Tsum Hunting[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52088907]Let's go for a drive[/post]
*Part 4* [post=52088918]Solo Time & you life Could be a Dream[/post]
*Part 5* [post=52114562]Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there[/post]
*Part 6* [post=52114569]The World is a Carousel of Color[/post]
*Part 7* [post=52114582]Pirates taking Pictures in NOS[/post]​
*Day 2* - 7/27/14
*Part 1* [post=52140028]Solo Time in NOS[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52140041]The Scary Mansion and Above the Skies on the Monorail[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52166876]UVA Lunch & back to DL on the Monorail[/post]
*Part 4* [post=52166880]Magical & Spacel[/post]
*Part 5* [post=52205301]Staking a Spot and Fantasmic![/post]
*Part 6* [post=52205309]Magical Fireworks by the RoA[/post]
*Part 7* [post=52218192]Through the Haunted Jungle & Photo Time[/post]​
*Day 3* - 7/28/14
*Part 1* [post=52236516]The other party members aren’t here yet[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52236521]Finally rode AiW & BLAB[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52263850]The other Party Members arrived and it was time to leave as well[/post]​
*9/14/14 – 9/16/14 *Just in Time for Halloween Season in September
*Day 1* - 9/14/14
*Part 1* [post=52314892]Arrived Safely, Lunch/Dinner & HallwoeenTime[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52314912]Pumpkins Everywhere on MS[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52329154]Haunted Mansion Holiday 2014[/post]
*Part 4* [post=52329166]Dia de Los Muertos, Halloween Tree & Halloween Carnival[/post]
*Part 5* [post=52329213]Happiest Boat Ride on Earth & Tomorrowland[/post]
*Part 6* [post=52347561]Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks[/post]
*Part 7* [post=52347587]Second show of Fantasmic![/post]​
*Day 2* - 9/15/14
*Part 1* [post=52362589]Collecting FP's Everywhere[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52362593]Halloween Carnival at Big Thunder Ranch[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52383744]Haunted Pirates and Not-So-Scary Ghosts[/post]
*Part 4* [post=52383760]Racing on over to DCA and Back to DL[/post]
*Part 5* [post=52396462]Dinner at Carthay Circle and Roundtrip on the DLRR[/post]
*Part 6* [post=52396472]World of Color Preferred View[/post]​
*Day 3* - 9/16/14
*Part 1* [post=52419458]Morning with Alice and a look at the FNSV Lagoon without the Walls[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52419479]Finally the Monorail is running and Halloween Dec/Merch[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52419487]Aladdin Broadway and Going Home[/post]​
*10/14/14 – 10/16/14 *Halloween Party and DISMeet
*Day 1* - 10/14/14
*Part 1* [post=52493790]Got To SoCal Safely, DISMeet #1 PrincessInOz and Party Time[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52493801]Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade and closing out the Night[/post]​
*Day 2* - 10/15/14
*Part 1* [post=52514888]Meet-up that Morning and Ride City[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52514908]Fantasyland Rides[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52549930]DISMeet #2 franandaj & Lunch at the Market[/post]
*Part 4* [post=52549933]More rides at DL and now DCA[/post]
*Part 5* [post=52570270]Nighttime Photography and late Night Snack[/post]​
*Day 3* - 10/16/14
*Part 1* [post=52597999]Last Second Stop at DL & Casa Nueva[/post]​
*11/14/14 - 11/16/14 *Our 4th Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November
*Day 1* - 11/14/14
*Part 1* Quick stop at Casa Nueva and Holiday Season at the DLR
*Part 2* Christmas Party in Hollywood and A Christmas Fantasy
*Part 3* Dinner and Firework Nite
*Part 4* An Updated It's a Small World Holiday
*Part 5* The Real Holiday Version of Jingle Cruise Part 1
*Part 6* Continue with Jingle Cruise and All Done for Tonight​
*Day 2* - 11/15/14
*Part 1* [post=52691289]Getting Fast Passes along with Paradise Pier Holiday Decorations[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52691291]A Wonderland in Disneyland[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52691294]Haunted Mansion Holiday along with Cars[/post]
*Part 4* [post=52700471]World of Cars and Hollywood Decorations[/post]
*Part 5* [post=52700480]Viva Navidad Street Party & Downtown Disney Winter Village[/post]
*Part 6* [post=52700540]Heading back for Lunch at DL & Jingle Jangle Jamboree[/post]
*Part 7* [post=52715764]A Christmas Fantasy Parade changed Again?[/post]
*Part 8* [post=52715765]Dining Disappointment and Shots with my Tripod at Night[/post]
*Part 9* [post=52731517]Time for the Second Version of World of Color Winter Dreams[/post]
*Part 10* [post=52731532]Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 2[/post]
*Part 11* [post=52731547]Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 3[/post]
*Part 12* [post=52731557]Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 4[/post]
*Part 13* [post=52731567]Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 5[/post]​
*Day 3* - 11/16/14
*Part 1* [post=52756624]Cruising in the jungle during the Holiday Season[/post]
*Part 2* [post=52756631]Decorations on Storybook Land Canal Boats and It’s a Small World Holiday Again[/post]
*Part 3* [post=52756639]It’s a Small World Holiday Part 2[/post]
*Part 4* [post=52784911]More Wreaths and Last Ride on the Flying Tire[/post]
*Part 5* [post=52784920]Riding the Flying Tires and Watching Friends Play[/post]​
*3/8/15 - 3/10/15 *Flying Back with DD4 to the DLR


*5/30/15 - 6/1/15 *Back to the Diamonds at the Happiest Place on Earth


*8/12/15 - 8/17/15 *Fourth Annual D23 Expo Trip

*11/14/15 - 11/16/15 6*th Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November and Star Wars Season of the Force


​
 *Disneyland Trips with no Reports:*
*5/27/14 - 5/29/14
10/26/14 - 10/28/14
2/22/15 - 2/23/15 *Quick Walk-Up to DL
*5/20/15 *Quick Stop Before I going to Las Vegas
*5/26/15 - 5/28/15 *Solo Trip during the Diamond Celebration
*7/1/15 *Quick Stop Before I go to Anime Expo 2015
*7/5/15 - 7/6/15 *DISMeet Up after Anime Expo
*10/10/15 - 10/12/15 *Surprise Halloween Visit Before WDW
*12/4/15 - 12/6/15 *First Candlelight Processional Weekend
*2/27/16 - 2/28/16 *AP Days at the Disneyland Resort Weekend
*4/1/16 - 4/3/16 *Food and Wine at DCA is Back Baby.
*6/3/16 - 6/5/16 *Another Trip after Memorial Weekend
*6/19/16 - 6/22/16 
7/12/16
7/25/16 - 7/27/16
8/13/16 - 8/14/16
9/17/16 - 9/18/16
10/15/16
11/11/16 - 11/13/16 *7th Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November with my Cousin
*3/30/17 - 4/2/17
5/31/17 - 6/2/17*​

 *Walt Disney World Trip Reports:*
*3/26/10 - 4/3/10* [post=36049501]Spring break vacation at WDW[/post]
*12/10/10 - 12/17/10 *[post=38536860]My birthday trip at WDW[/post]
*12/9/11 - 12/16/11 *Friends and Family trip to WDW
*10/26/12 - 11/2/12 *Boo to You...and Food & Wine Too!
*10/16/15 - 10/23/15 *Riding Down to Diagon Alley with Food & Wine as Well
*10/4/16 - 10/9/16 *First Solo Trip to Florida and Hurricane Matthew​

*Upcoming & Future Disney Park Pre-Trip Reports*
*11/9/18 - 11/11/18 *8th Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November​

I will be posting all my updates on my trip reports when I am at the resort or on the road.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 2 – December 27th, 2013 – Part 1*​
Now is day 2 of the trip. After the first day, Silv and MP had an exciting time at the Disneyland Resort where we all got to have dinner at Tortilla Jo’s, head on over to DL that night where we got to go on some rides that night from the Monorail, It’s a Small World Holiday, Storybook Land Canal Boats and Captain EO. It was unfortunate that “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks didn’t play that first night on Thursday since it was a windy night. My DAW and Cousin C had a great time that night and they were also glad that Silv and MP had a great first day even though the park was really crowded that night. That first night on Thursday was busy as I have expected during Christmas break. But we all had a great time and Silv and MP were getting excited for the first whole day of the trip. 

It was a new day for all of us. This was the first full day of the trip where we will be heading on over to Disney California Adventure first thing over Disneyland. I had a hunch that DL will be very busy that Friday morning and we had dining reservation at DCA that morning. Even though Friday was an Extra Magic Hours at DCA, it was going to be busy to get into the parks during the break where I had planned out the trip where we will have to be at the parks first thing in the morning so we can get some rides done. Some of my party members don’t get up early in the morning like my Cousin C. He wanted to sleep in that morning but we told him to get up in the morning and he can go back to the room to sleep in so we can get FP’s for Radiator Springs Racers and World of Color: Winter Dreams. In order to get the FP’s at the parks, you have to be in the park in with your ticket/Annual Pass so you are able to get a FP or you won’t get it since it is not activated. He didn’t want to get up but he wanted to see WoC: Winter Dreams that night.

It was also my first time staying at the Anaheim Desert Inn & Suites hotel on Harbor Blvd where mostly I stay at Best Western Park Place Inn or Best Western Anaheim Inn. My DAW chose this hotel since we got two rooms at a reasonable price where we wouldn’t get it at BWPPI or BWAI. Even though we were all the way back at the hotel we had a nice time staying at the Desert Inn. 


We all got up early that morning so we can head on over to the DLR early that morning in order to get into DCA at 8am. Since it was during Christmas break and there are a lot of guests at the parks, we had to take advantage of the morning to go on the good rides and get FP’s for WoC: Winter Dreams and RSR. Mostly everyone got up around 7am and we all got dressed up and started to head on out of the Desert Inn and to the DLR. Cousin C wanted to sleep in but he will get up so we can get the FP for WoC: Winter Dreams and RSR to use later that day.

We left the Desert Inn around 7:30am and we walked all the way over to the Esplanade so we can get an early start at the Disney parks. 

It was nice that my DAW got the ECV when it was delivered at the hotel instead of getting the ECV at the DLR. It saved us time which was really key during the trip even during the Christmas break crowds. 





It was around 7:45am when we passed through the security area and at the Esplanade. When we looked in the direction towards Disneyland, the turnstile queue was already passed the monorail column and almost towards the center of the Esplanade. I knew that the crowds were going to be very high that Friday and it wasn’t as bad as I have originally thought where both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure turnstile queue would be close to each other. 





Both parks are not opened yet but we were in the park before the parks open at 8am that morning.

The first thing we did was to head on over to the RSR FP queue so we can ride RSR later that day. I don’t like riding RSR in the morning since it can be not up and running. 

When we were in Buena Vista Street, the queue was already towards “Off the Page” store/Animation Building at Hollywood Land. I wasn’t too worried about getting the FP for RSR but it won’t be in the morning and we should get a time in the afternoon which works out perfectly for us since we have breakfast at DCA that morning. 





Since it was going to take some time to get through the RSR FP queue, I got everyone’s tickets and AP’s so I can get the WoC: Winter Dreams FP’s at Grizzly River Run. When I get on over to GRR and get the FP’s for WoC: Winter Dreams, I will be back in time to get back in the queue with my DAW so we can get the RSR FP. While my DAW and Cousin C were in queue for RSR FP’s, Silv and MP went on over to do some shopping around the Hollywood Land stores while we are waiting. I thought that they would want to go on some rides that morning but they were interested in the shopping that morning.

So I head on over towards the direction to GRR and the park was not opened yet officially at 8am so I had to wait until it was time.




DCA is now opened at 8am and I head on over to GRR to get the FP’s for WoC: Winter Dreams that night while the others are shopping or in the queue for RSR. 

There were a lot of people heading in the direction over to GRR while some went on over to Soarin. Over at GRR, there was already a queue and it reminded me of the old days when WoC was new and people would head on over there first to get FP’s before Cars Land opened in 2012. 

I got the WoC: Winter Dreams FP for the first show in the blue section as expected when you get them first thing in the morning. But the time that the first show of WoC started was at 8:45pm which was an interesting time instead of 9pm or the time back during the November trip which it started at 7:45pm. 

After getting the FP’s for WoC: Winter Dreams, I head on back to the RSR queue to meet up with the other members of my party and they were right at the Carthay Circle Theater. Not even 10 minutes when the park opened and they were right next to the CCT. I got in the queue with them and we waited until we got our FP’s for RSR.

It took about 35 minutes when we were in the queue for RSR FP’s and were able to get the FP’s from 1pm to 2pm which is a great time in the afternoon. Since we had breakfast earlier that morning, we had plenty of time to ride RSR in the afternoon. 

We had an hour until breakfast and they didn’t want to go on any rides just yet. Cousin C went back to the room to rest up since he didn’t want to get up early that morning. So he head on back to the room while we were in BVS, Silv and MP wanted to do some shopping in the morning. I was a little surprise that they didn’t want to go on some rides at DCA that morning when it wasn’t that busy. But I didn’t want to spoil their great time at the DLR so I went along with it.




A nice look at the BVS Christmas tree.




There are a lot of people entering DCA that morning.




We head on in the Elias & Co. store as well as Los Feliz Five & Dime store. We did spent some time in the store looking at the merchandise. Silv and MP bought a few interesting merchandise in the store while DAW and I were just walking around looking at the stuff as well. 

Then we head on over to the other stores on the other side of the street which was Trolley Treats and Atwater Ink & Paint.

Some pictures of the treats inside the Trolley Treats store.








Some of the Christmas trees in the Trolley Treats and Kingswell Camera Shop that I missed during the November trip.








After we looked around the stores and bought a few goodies. They didn’t buy big items since they had to carry it that morning to the afternoon until we head on back to our hotel that afternoon. 

It was almost time for our breakfast and we started to head on over to our area.

The parks started to get a little busy that morning and the FP queue for RSR was already over when we passed by the return time sign.




When we were in Paradise Pier, we had some time to kill until our 9:30am breakfast so while we were right in Paradise Pier, they wanted to go on “The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure” ride. It was only a 5 minute wait time and we all head on over to go under the sea with Ariel and her friends. 

Paradise Pier looks so nice in the morning.





It only took 5 minutes to get through the queue and it didn’t took too long for DAW since she was using the ECV. Silv and MP went on together while DAW and I rode in the other clam shell. 

Pictures during the ride experience. I have took a lot of pictures during the ride and here are some of them.
































After we got off the Little Mermaid ride, it was time for our breakfast so we head on over to our destination. It is so nice to look at the flowers during the holiday season.




Walking over the PP bridge and looking at Paradise Pier Lagoon. The WoC platform is submerge in the lagoon.




The viewing area at Paradise Pier is all decorated with Christmas presents.




That will be it for this post and I will have more from DCA.

[post=50774101]Continue to the Next Update[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Running in and out....but I wanted to sub in to your new TR thread.

Looks like you had a great morning!  Looking forward to more.


----------



## tksbaskets

I'm all subbed in!  Great start to your thread Bret.  It really was busy this morning.  Your poinsettia picture is stunning with the drops of water and vibrant color.

I can't believe your companions didn't want to ride any rides that morning either.   Those fastpasses will come in handy later in the day.

Just as a comment - I dream of having gone to DL so many times I get to put 50+ in my trip report. 

Thanks for reporting your adventures.

TK


----------



## Sherry E

Hi, *Bret*!

I'm subbed!

I love the tree with the little train at the bottom of it (and a cupcake)!  I saw that tree in 2012 (though I don't think it had the cute train underneath it at that point), and I had planned on taking a look at it in 2013...but I think I somehow forgot to walk over to that spot in both November and December!  I remembered from 2012 that the tree was kind of in a spot that people would only see if they happened to enter or exit that way, but a lot of people entered through a totally different door.  So I knew I would have to make a point to go through that specific door to see the tree, and I got too busy and just ended up forgetting it.  

If you're done with the previous TR thread and want me to close it (it's more like a Mega-Thread than a Superthread!), I can go ahead and close it.  Technically, we don't really have to close it until it gets to page 250 (and you're not at page 250 yet), so you can leave it open for a while in case any other comments come in from new readers.  It's up to you!

I noticed you mentioned that this thread will be a thread for all Disney parks around the world?  Are you planning on visiting some of the other Disney parks?  That would be awesome! 

I would suggest that, for your purposes -- because your DLR trip reports are quite long -- that if you visit WDW or any of the international Disney parks you do separate TR threads for those in the appropriate forums rather than trying to put them in this thread.  If we're talking about just a 2-post highlight reel or something, that's okay in this thread, but a full, lengthy TR about a separate trip to another Disney resort (especially the kind of TR you usually do) should have its own thread so that this thread stays mainly about DLR trips, or about bigger trips that also include stops at DLR (like when you did the tour).

Another good idea that you may want to try -- but this one is totally up to you -- is to put a link at the bottom of each TR installment, directing the reader to the next installment.  This is something I vowed to do when I eventually start my next TR thread, because my last TR thread was so long and probably daunting for people to wade through if they were new to it.  People do not always want to go back to a Table of Contents or an Index to search for something, so the links are a good solution.

In other words, at the bottom of your earlier Day 2 post (above) you might want to put a link to the next post from Day 2 at the bottom, when you have the next post written up and put together.  Other DIS'ers such as *tayalltheway* and *lsulindy* (to name only a couple) have done that.  I think it works wonders in a really long thread, and I wish I had done it in my previous TR thread.  It helps the readers who are short on time to "cut to the chase" and bounce from TR installment to TR installment, without having to sift through the pages of chat and commentary if they don't want to.  Some folks may want to and have the time to read the other comments that have come in, but if not they can go right to the next TR installment and bypass all of that.

In fact, when I start another TR thread I plan to not only put a link at the bottom of each installment, directing the readers to the next installment, but I am also going to put a link at the top of each installment, directing the readers to the previous installment!  I noticed that sometimes readers were missing segments or sections of TRs in my last thread -- probably because they didn't want to go back through the pages to locate what they missed.  They would jump in on whatever the latest installment was and end up missing something pivotal!  

The last thing I -- as a fellow multi-TR thread writer -- want to do is waste my time, writing up installments and posting photos that people skip over or overlook.  The easier I can make it for people to get to the installments and new TRs, the better!  So I figured that I would put a link to the previous installment at the top of each new TR post, and a link at the bottom leading to the next installment!  That way, all the readers have to do is click links and go right to what they need.  I might even put a link to the beginning of the next Trip Report at the end of one completed Trip Report. 

Anyway, I just thought I'd toss out those thoughts before you get too far into this brand new, shiny thread!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Running in and out....but I wanted to sub in to your new TR thread.
> 
> Looks like you had a great morning!  Looking forward to more.



Thanks for following along the new Mega-Thread (that Sherry would call it) PiO. 

It was a nice morning where the weather was great. It would have been even better if we went on some rides that morning but we went to the stores instead. I had no problem what they want to do that morning but it would have been nice to go on some rides when the morning is so important.




tksbaskets said:


> I'm all subbed in!  Great start to your thread Bret.  It really was busy this morning.  Your poinsettia picture is stunning with the drops of water and vibrant color.
> 
> I can't believe your companions didn't want to ride any rides that morning either.   Those fastpasses will come in handy later in the day.
> 
> Just as a comment - I dream of having gone to DL so many times I get to put 50+ in my trip report.
> 
> Thanks for reporting your adventures.
> 
> TK



Hi TK. Thanks for following along on the new Mega-Thread. It was busy that morning to get into Disneyland and luckily we didnt head over there first thing in the morning since we have plans at DCA that morning.

We had a nice morning where we were able to get the FPs for RSR and WoC. It would have been great if we could go on some rides but overall it was a good morning.

Thank you for following along on my trip reports over the years and enjoy the new one.




Sherry E said:


> Hi, *Bret*!
> 
> I'm subbed!
> 
> I love the tree with the little train at the bottom of it (and a cupcake)!  I saw that tree in 2012 (though I don't think it had the cute train underneath it at that point), and I had planned on taking a look at it in 2013...but I think I somehow forgot to walk over to that spot in both November and December!  I remembered from 2012 that the tree was kind of in a spot that people would only see if they happened to enter or exit that way, but a lot of people entered through a totally different door.  So I knew I would have to make a point to go through that specific door to see the tree, and I got too busy and just ended up forgetting it.
> 
> If you're done with the previous TR thread and want me to close it (it's more like a Mega-Thread than a Superthread!), I can go ahead and close it.  Technically, we don't really have to close it until it gets to page 250 (and you're not at page 250 yet), so you can leave it open for a while in case any other comments come in from new readers.  It's up to you!
> 
> I noticed you mentioned that this thread will be a thread for all Disney parks around the world?  Are you planning on visiting some of the other Disney parks?  That would be awesome!
> 
> I would suggest that, for your purposes -- because your DLR trip reports are quite long -- that if you visit WDW or any of the international Disney parks you do separate TR threads for those in the appropriate forums rather than trying to put them in this thread.  If we're talking about just a 2-post highlight reel or something, that's okay in this thread, but a full, lengthy TR about a separate trip to another Disney resort (especially the kind of TR you usually do) should have its own thread so that this thread stays mainly about DLR trips, or about bigger trips that also include stops at DLR (like when you did the tour).
> 
> Another good idea that you may want to try -- but this one is totally up to you -- is to put a link at the bottom of each TR installment, directing the reader to the next installment.  This is something I vowed to do when I eventually start my next TR thread, because my last TR thread was so long and probably daunting for people to wade through if they were new to it.  People do not always want to go back to a Table of Contents or an Index to search for something, so the links are a good solution.
> 
> In other words, at the bottom of your earlier Day 2 post (above) you might want to put a link to the next post from Day 2 at the bottom, when you have the next post written up and put together.  Other DIS'ers such as *tayalltheway* and *lsulindy* (to name only a couple) have done that.  I think it works wonders in a really long thread, and I wish I had done it in my previous TR thread.  It helps the readers who are short on time to "cut to the chase" and bounce from TR installment to TR installment, without having to sift through the pages of chat and commentary if they don't want to.  Some folks may want to and have the time to read the other comments that have come in, but if not they can go right to the next TR installment and bypass all of that.
> 
> In fact, when I start another TR thread I plan to not only put a link at the bottom of each installment, directing the readers to the next installment, but I am also going to put a link at the top of each installment, directing the readers to the previous installment!  I noticed that sometimes readers were missing segments or sections of TRs in my last thread -- probably because they didn't want to go back through the pages to locate what they missed.  They would jump in on whatever the latest installment was and end up missing something pivotal!
> 
> The last thing I -- as a fellow multi-TR thread writer -- want to do is waste my time, writing up installments and posting photos that people skip over or overlook.  The easier I can make it for people to get to the installments and new TRs, the better!  So I figured that I would put a link to the previous installment at the top of each new TR post, and a link at the bottom leading to the next installment!  That way, all the readers have to do is click links and go right to what they need.  I might even put a link to the beginning of the next Trip Report at the end of one completed Trip Report.
> 
> Anyway, I just thought I'd toss out those thoughts before you get too far into this brand new, shiny thread!



Hi Sherry. Thank you for following along the new Mega-Thread.

The tree at the Kingswell Camera shop is a very interesting tree to look at. I really like the gingerbread train that is clear and it has lights in it. I wasnt able to see everything during the November trip and looked at your pictures and from other DISers pictures that I had to go in those different areas at the DLR that I have missed. When I go back in November with my DAF like we usually do during the holiday season, I will get to go around the DLR looking at all the holiday decorations that I have missed from this past year.

Im not ready to close the old trip report since I might use it to post something one day. There might be times that I would like to post something one day instead of the new Mega-Thread. I was really considering keeping the old one still going with the December trip report but it might cut it close with the posts that I might not be able to finish it. 

I meant to say that I will use the new DL Mega-Thread to link my other trip reports from WDW, etc. I know that you cant write up a WDW on a DL thread where it will be moved to the WDW trip report threads. I will be going back to WDW next year. I havent planned on any dates yet since I am looking at what season to go. I have been to WDW during every season from Spring Break, Summertime, Halloween and Christmas. I will still look at what time to visit WDW next year.

If I do separate trip reports from WDW or somewhere else, I will link them from this thread so I wont have to write those long trip reports on this thread. I write it up clearly on the first post of this thread. So for other trip reports at WDW or somewhere else, I will write them up on the specific threads.

That is a really good idea of linking the next trip report installment on the last installment so the readers will be able to follow each new installment. I will definitely consider adding a last link installment so the readers are able to go back towards the last one where they have missed. Thank you for the tip Sherry.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=50736575]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]​

*Day 2 – December 27th, 2013 – Part 2*

*Breakfast with the Princesses & Cruising into Radiator Springs*​

It was around 9:30am when we were at Paradise Pier right at the bridge and it was time for our breakfast. If you have wondered what place we will be having breakfast at Disney California Adventure and it is right at Paradise Pier, you would know what place we will be eating that morning. Yes, we will be eating at Ariel’s Grotto. 

This will be the fourth time that year (2013) that I have ate at AG. This time it will be there for breakfast which is my first time over lunch and dinner. My DAW wanted to take Silv and MP eat at AG since my DAW have enjoyed eating at AG every time we ate that year. It was going to be very interesting to see how the food is where my DAF didn’t enjoyed it during the November trip. Silv and MP didn’t know anything about the character breakfast until when we arrived at AG and they were excited. Only my DAW and I knew about it when we made the reservation 60 days in advance. 





We walked in AG and it was kind of busy that morning where there were a lot of families waiting to get in the restaurant. Luckily for us we have reservations that day so we didn’t have to wait a while. We thought that we would just walked down shortly but we had to wait awhile until we walked downstairs. It took about 5 minutes for us to wait until we walked downstairs.

When we got to the bottom, Ariel greeted us. Silv and MP went over to get a picture while my DAW didn’t want to get in the picture and of course I was taking pictures of them.




We were seated outside since the inside dining room was all filled up. This was the second time in a row for me to eat outside instead of eating inside on a nice day. I had no problem sitting outside that day since it was so nice. 

The weather during the trip was so nice and scary. Mostly during late December, it is cold and rain. But during that Friday morning, it was nice and there was barely any clouds. I wasn’t complaining of the weather during the trip but it did seem weird where it wasn’t that cold. I was wearing shorts that morning in December which is unheard of in SoCal.

We were seated outside close to the entrance/exit door to the dining room. My DAW enjoyed sitting outside since it was a nice day. Same thing for Silv and MP that seeing Paradise Pier from this view is very nice.




The menu was completely different when I looked online. There was some very interesting choices during breakfast.




We ordered our food through our server and the princesses were coming out one by one while they greeted the guests inside the dining room.

The first one that approached our table was Snow White. Silv and DAW told MP to get up and get a close up with Snow White so I can get a picture of them. 




Just awhile when Snow White greeted MP, Cinderella now came to our table.




Now came Tiana which was very nice to see which I have never seen her during our meals at AG. Mostly it is Snow White, Cinderella, Belle and Aurora. This time it was Tiana which was nice to see that morning.




And lastly was Belle.




I always thought if we all should get in the picture together but this trip was all for Silv and MP since they flew from Texas to join with us. It has been an exciting day to be with them and enjoy breakfast at AG.

After MP was able to see all the princesses that morning, it was time for breakfast. As always when we are about to eat, I like to get pictures of the food on the plates. I wasn’t able to get very up close pictures of bringing the food up close to me but I was able to get a picture of each dish that morning. 

Silv got the Fresh Berry Belgian Waffle plate with Apple-smoked Bacon and Bircher Muesli.




MP got the Spinach-Artichoke and Egg White Frittata with Avocado Relish, Hash Browns, and Bircher Muesli.




DAW got the All-American Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs, Hash Browns, Sausage, and Bircher Muesli.




I got the Red Oak-Smoked Honey-Whiskey Barbecue Glazed Tri-Tip with Scramble Eggs, Hash Browns, and Bircher Muesli.




The breakfast was very nice which was very surprising to me. I thought that the breakfast would be okay since the tri-tip that I had which is almost the same thing when I had during the November trip which was for breakfast. The dish was nice with the hash browns and eggs. Everyone else enjoyed the breakfast as well. 

This was a fine way to spend part of the day at DCA having breakfast at AG with DAW, Silv and MP. DAW told me afterward that we might not eat at AG for a while since we have done breakfast, dinner and WoC dinner. I also enjoyed eating at AG and I would also not eat at AG for a while since it is very expensive to dine at that restaurant. It will be a long time until I eat at AG during the character dining. I might eat at AG for the WoC dining one day..

After we finished breakfast, we were about to leave AG and be back upstairs. While we entered the dining room, it was all empty and we weren’t that last ones to leave AG that morning. It looks like they are getting it ready for lunch.




We were now back upstairs and about to do our next activity at DCA that morning.




We all head on over to Pacific Wharf so we can cross over to Radiator Springs.




When we walked on over to Cars Land from Pacific Wharf, we can see the queue to ride RSR was already on the walkway. I wasn’t that surprised to see the queue extended towards the view of Ornament Valley.




Over at CL, it was kind of busy to get on the rides like Radiator Springs Racers and Luigi’s Flying Tires. While we were here, Silv and MP went into the RS Curios shop and Ramone’s House of Body Art to look at souvenirs. While Silv, MP and DAW were in the stores, I was taking pictures outside waiting for them.

The Curios shop looks so nice during the holiday season.




The Route 66 Christmas tree next to Lizzie’s Radiator Springs Curios looks so nice during the holiday season.




When I head on over to the queue to get on RSR, the wait time was already at 180 minutes (3 hours). Talk about a long queue to get on the ride. Luckily, we won’t have to ride RSR at that time since we have FP’s that day.








When they were finished, we started to head on over to our next activity that afternoon. We walked on out of Cars Land and over towards A Bug’s Land so we can head on over to Hollywood Land.




A look at Red meeting with the guests.




After passing through ABL, we are now at the backside of Hollywood Land and over to our next destination that afternoon. Even at HL on the backside, it looks kind of busy as well.




Before the trip, MP gave me a list of what she wants to do at DCA and this is one of her must do lists at DCA which is Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular. She really like Broadway type shows since she has been to New York and she really wanted to see Aladdin. We went to watch the first show at 12:40pm and it was a little full. Since my DAW was using the ECV, we were able to go in the handicapped queue so we are able to watch the show in the Orchestra Section.




It only took about 10 minutes for us to wait in the queue until we are moved into the building.




That’s it for this post and I will have more from DCA that afternoon.

[post=50791719]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## wiigirl

Following along!


----------



## tksbaskets

Breakfast at Ariel's Grotto looked very good.  Looks like nice weather at DCA this day.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Lovely pictures Bret.  Looks like a nice way to start the morning at AG.


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## mvf-m11c

wiigirl said:


> Following along!



Welcome for following along. 




tksbaskets said:


> Breakfast at Ariel's Grotto looked very good.  Looks like nice weather at DCA this day.



The breakfast at AG was nice and it was way better then I have expected. But for the price at breakfast is quite expensive which is around $33 per person. It was one of those once in lifetime experience where I have ate at AG during lunch and dinner. For the price, I would eat at Goofy's Kitchen or Breakfast with Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn. The weather was just great during the trip. I was going to ask you what the weather was like during your trip in December just a few days before my trip?




PrincessInOz said:


> Lovely pictures Bret.  Looks like a nice way to start the morning at AG.



Thank you PiO. It was a nice breakfast at AG that MP had a fun time seeing the Princesses. It will be a long time until I eat at AG.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50774101]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – December 27th, 2013 – Part 3*

*Aladdin Show in the Hyperion Theater*​

We are now entering the Hyperion Theater for the 12:40pm Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular. MP has been looking forward to seeing this show since she likes Broadway type shows. She has been to a lot of Broadway shows in New York and shows that come in Texas. We were lucky that my DAW was using the ECV so we can be in the handicapped queue so we can get in the Orchestra section. 

We were close to the back of the Orchestra section and it was not that bad. It was going to be tough to get pictures during the show since we were in the back. But overall for the wait time, it was good. MP was getting so excited that she can’t stop talking about it until the show started. 









The last time I have seen this show was back in June with my DAW, Cousin K, and her mom. It was nice to see the show and MP was way more excited than Cousin K or her mom to see the show. 

Here are pictures from the 12:40pm show of Aladdin on Friday afternoon.

Enter the Cave of Wonder if you dare.




Get back here Street Rat.












What is for dinner Genie?












Prince Ali arrived!




























That is one big Cobra
























The Aladdin show was over at the Hyperion Theater and MP was so excited to see the show that she really enjoyed it a lot. Out of all the shows that we have seen during the trip, she really like this one the most out of all of them. Silv enjoyed the show as well especially the Genie which she liked the most. It is always enjoyable to watch the Genie make all these funny jokes. We all laughed a lot of his jokes to Jafar.

After we got out of the Hyperion Theater, it was almost time for our FP use on RSR. Cousin C texted us when we were in the Hyperion Theater to watch Aladdin and he was in the park and was already in Cars Land. So we all head on over to Cars Land to meet up with Cousin C so we can ride Radiator Springs Racers which everyone is looking forward to riding that afternoon. I knew that they will like the ride a lot and it will be a way shorter wait time then waiting in the standby queue for 3 hours. 

That’s it for this post and I will have more from DCA that afternoon.

[post=50792557]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50791719]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – December 27th, 2013 – Part 4*

*Let’s go for a Cruise and Tire Too.*​
After we left the Hyperion Theater after watching Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular, we are now heading back to Cars Land so we can use our Fast Passes for Radiator Springs Racers from 1pm to 2pm. We got a decent time to ride RSR that afternoon. Cousin C has texted us that he was already in Cars Land waiting for us since we were watching Aladdin at the Hyperion Theater. So the four of us headed on over to Cars Land to meet up with Cousin C so we can ride RSR.

When we got over to Cars Land, it was quite busy but it wasn’t that bad as was earlier during the day.




Cousin C was already waiting for us at the front entrance to RSR when I texted him to meet us at that spot so it won’t be too hard to find him. At first when he left and went back to the room to go back to sleep, he asked me where Cars Land was and I showed him a park map and told him where to go. It is a good thing that there are park maps so it would be easy to know where to go. For first timers, it can be very confusing. 

Just when we are about to enter RSR, the wait time was at 2 hours where a while ago when the queue for RSR was at 3 hours. So it went down 1 hour from the morning to the afternoon. 

We showed our FP’s to the CM’s and we are now walking in the FP queue. There were a lot of people in the standby and single rider queue. If we didn’t have the FP’s for RSR, we would have to wait a long time to get on the ride. 

We didn’t took the ECV into the queue since it could take some time to go through the handicapped loading area and we were right that it was a good idea to go through the regular loading area since it will take longer to go through the handicapped loading area.

















It is so nice to see the RSR cars. Each of them is different and not the same design.




DAW, Silv and MP rode in the front while Cousin C and I are in the back. Now for our cruise in the world of Radiator Springs. 

You can’t get tired of seeing Radiator Falls waterfall.




Watch out for Mack.




Passing by Van.




We are stopped by the Sheriff.




You can’t get tired of the tipping tractors. Wait only one is tipping?




When we entered the town of Radiator Springs, I was hoping for Luigi’s side over Ramone’s side. We were so lucky that we got his side.




Who are those good looking people.




Thanks for the tip Doc Hudson the legendary racer Hudson Hornet.




Now it is time for racing in Ornament Valley.












We didn’t win the race which I had no problem with but my DAW said that one day when we go back on RSR that she will get her taste of victory. 

Silv, MP and Cousin C really enjoyed the ride. They were amazed at the AA characters especially Doc Hudson which they like the most out of all the AA. They wanted to go on it again but it we did go back on RSR, we had to wait 2 hours to get back on the ride since the FP’s were all gone that day.

When we exited the RSR, we head on over to get a picture of us on the ride. Unfortunately, the ride picture during our run didn’t show. We were all disappointed that the ride photo was not showing during our experience. DAW wanted to get a picture of all of us on the ride. Even though we all had a great time riding RSR, it was a letdown that our picture wasn’t on the screen.

We exited RSR and back at the front entrance to get the ECV for DAW. Now the wait time was still at 2 hours.




When DAW got the ECV, we started to walk-on out of Cars Land but MP saw Luigi’s Flying Tires when we walked past it a few times and wonder what ride that was. When we looked at the wait time, it was at 30 minutes which was not that bad in the afternoon. She wanted to go on the ride since it was only 30 minutes so we head on over to ride Luigi’s Flying Tires. 




It was nice to ride LFT again after the last time I rode it was during the November trip in which I haven’t ridden LFT ever since it opened in the summer of 2012. DAW never rode LFT and she was looking forward to it as well. 

Going in the queue of LFT takes a long time where it takes a while to load and unload the guests in the tires. But it is always nice to walkthrough the queue of LFT since it shows a lot of interesting things to look at.

Francesco Burnoulli topiary looks so good every time I see it.








It was our time to get on the flying tires. Cousin C and I rode together while DAW, Silv and MP rode together. It was nice to ride LFT but it is not the same without the beach balls.




We will bump into you.









We all had fun trying to bump each other and we just kept going at each other without going into the other flying tires. After the ride was over, we got on out and off to our next activity that day at Cars Land. But that will be on the next post so stay tune of what we have done next at DCA.

[post=50835585]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Love your pictures of Aladdin and RSR.  Seems like you've gotten the hang of that lens and camera now.


----------



## tksbaskets

mvf-m11c said:


> Welcome for following along.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The breakfast at AG was nice and it was way better then I have expected. But for the price at breakfast is quite expensive which is around $33 per person. It was one of those once in lifetime experience where I have ate at AG during lunch and dinner. For the price, I would eat at Goofy's Kitchen or Breakfast with Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn. The weather was just great during the trip. I was going to ask you what the weather was like during your trip in December just a few days before my trip?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you PiO. It was a nice breakfast at AG that MP had a fun time seeing the Princesses. It will be a long time until I eat at AG.
> 
> 
> The next post will be up shortly.



Hi Bret,
The weather was really good for our trip.  We had one afternoon with a little rain but other than that sunny skies.

You had great pictures at Aladdin.  It's one of our favorites!  Your pictures on RSR made me smile.  It's a great ride.  SO much better than Test Track at EPCOT.

Thanks for sharing.
TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Love your pictures of Aladdin and RSR.  Seems like you've gotten the hang of that lens and camera now.



Thank you PiO. I'm still learning on how to use the new lens and DSLR. It will take some more practice until they are better.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> The weather was really good for our trip.  We had one afternoon with a little rain but other than that sunny skies.
> 
> You had great pictures at Aladdin.  It's one of our favorites!  Your pictures on RSR made me smile.  It's a great ride.  SO much better than Test Track at EPCOT.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.
> TK



That is good that your vacation that the weather was good to you and your family.

Thank you TK. It is nice to watch Aladdin once in a while in the Hyperion Theater. I can't get tired of RSR and still an amazing ride. I need to ride the new version of Test Track at EPCOT and compare the two of them which I like the most. But I will always choose RSR over TT.

Your welcome. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50792557]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – December 27th, 2013 – Part 5*

*Snacking on a Cone and No way to the Wheel of Doom *​
After we finished riding Luigi’s Flying Tires, some of our group was getting hungry even though we had breakfast at Ariel’s Grotto for breakfast. DAW wanted to go back to the Cozy Cone Motel to have the Chili Cone Queso which she was looking forward to getting since the June trip. So we all head on over to the Cozy Cone Motel.

My DAW was in the queue for Chili Cone Queso in Cozy Cone 3 while MP went on over to Cozy Cone 1 to get Churro Bites. I didn’t want anything since I was still full from breakfast which I did ate everything on my plate that morning. 

While I was waiting for them while they were in the lines, I looked in the lobby at the gingerbread house which is so nice to look at during the holiday season.




And of course the Cone Christmas tree.




Everyone is enjoying the snacks on that afternoon. It was kind of busy around the Cozy Cone Motel dining area where there wasn’t any spots to sit somewhere since it was already past lunch time. DAW and Cousin C really like the Chili Cone Queso and Silv and MP enjoyed the Churro Bites. 




After we finished snacking on the snacks at the Cozy Cone Motel, we started to walk on out of Cars land and on over to our next activity that day. The day was getting a little busy with more and more people in Cars Land and we are done that afternoon in CL.




We were now heading on over to Paradise Pier since MP wanted to go on a ride in PP. It is so nice to see the Christmas tree in PP when I go pass by it. It is not the tallest tree in DCA after they added the Buena Vista Street Christmas tree. It is nice to walk by the tree every time I am in DCA.




When we passed by the Christmas tree and now down close to California Screamin and Toy Story Midway Mania, I thought that she would like to go on one of those two rides. But it wasn’t those two rides since the wait times were in the hour range. There was no way I was going to wait that long in those lines during that time of the day.

The ride that she wanted to go on was Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Doom. I was completely surprised that she wanted to go on MFWoD that day. I knew that it was going to be in the 30+ minute wait time to get on the ride from the swinging to the non-swinging gondola. When she got to the queue, she went towards the swinging gondola. She, Cousin C and Silv went in the queue and asked me and DAW if we wanted to go on the ride and we both said no. There was no way I was going to go on the swinging gondola. 

For the regulars that have followed my old trip report threads that I don’t like going on the swinging gondola. There was no way I would even go on the swinging gondolas even if it was for them. I just don’t like going on them and won’t go on them if someone dare me or paid me to go on it.

So DAW and I waited on the sides until they got on and get off. The wait time was at 40 minutes so it was going to take some time until they get on the ride.




If I ever go on MFWoD, I would ride it first thing in the morning where it will be a walk-on or you will be in this long line in the afternoon.





There was Cousin C, Silv and MP riding the swinging-gondola and it was swinging a lot. Good thing that DAW and I didn’t ride the swinging-gondola that day. I don’t think I can handle it.




After they got off MFWoD, we started to head on out of the park and go back to the Desert Inn & Suites to rest up until we had to return back to DCA that night to watch World of Color Winter Dreams. DAW & Silv are glad to go back to the room to rest up after being in the park since 8am that morning. MP could go on but she knew that it was time to take a break. Cousin C had no problem with it and I could use the same thing.

While heading on back to the hotel, we stopped by Viva Navidad! At the PP dining area. We didn’t stop and do some of the activities but I did wish that we did. 








The Phineas and Ferb Holiday Edition show already ended and heading back to the back.








The Carthay Circle Theater looks so amazing every time I walk pass by it.




Just before we exited DCA that afternoon, we stopped at the Elias & Company store to buy some merchandise that Silv and MP looked at earlier that morning where it was not a good idea to buy it in the morning and had to lug it around the park. So they went back in the store and they did buy some stuff from shirts, jewelry, and Minnie ears that MP got. They did save some money thanks to DAW Premium AP that she upgraded during the trip. This is the first time that I didn’t have to use my AP since DAW got her AP.

After they bought the merchandise, we headed on out of DCA and back at the Esplanade. It was a little busy at the Esplanade where getting into DL would take some time. 




We got back to our hotel around 3:45pm which is a little late that afternoon. But it was enough time to relax while we have to use our FP’s for WoC: Winter Dreams at 8:45pm. It was nice to go back to the room to rest up after our feet were a little sore. We all had a great time at DCA that morning to afternoon which the crowds were high but not as high as I have expected.

That will be it for this post and I will have more from that night.

[post=50861065]Continue to the Next Update[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

It sure looks busy at the parks!  Nice pictures.  Seems like Orange is the new Red at Carsland; even for Christmas.  I remember seeing the pictures last year of the Christmas decorations but I hadn't realised how orange themed it all was last year.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> It sure looks busy at the parks!  Nice pictures.  Seems like Orange is the new Red at Carsland; even for Christmas.  I remember seeing the pictures last year of the Christmas decorations but I hadn't realised how orange themed it all was last year.



It was busy at DCA that day but I have heard that DL was way worse than DCA. Thank you PiO. Being around the Cozy Cone Motel feels so orange even during the holiday season. Maybe when I got pictures from last years it was dark around the Cozy Cone Motel.


A quick update for my upcoming trip to The DLR in April is that my DAF and I will be eating at the Napa Rose restaurant on April 26th at 5:30pm. We also got the Chef's Counter seats for dinner. We will also be having dinner with Alison (franandaj) and Fran that night. This will be our first time eating at the Napa Rose restaurant and we are looking forward to eating with Alison and Fran.


----------



## ACDSNY

I finally found my way over.

 Nice pics in the Little Mermaid and Radiator Springs Racers.  I can't imagine waiting 3 hours in the standby line.

 I absolutely love the entrance to the cave of wonders pic, stunning.

 Breakfast at AG looked good too.  It's been years since we've eaten there.


----------



## PrincessInOz

mvf-m11c said:


> It was busy at DCA that day but I have heard that DL was way worse than DCA. Thank you PiO. Being around the Cozy Cone Motel feels so orange even during the holiday season. Maybe when I got pictures from last years it was dark around the Cozy Cone Motel.
> 
> 
> A quick update for my upcoming trip to The DLR in April is that my DAF and I will be eating at the Napa Rose restaurant on April 26th at 5:30pm. We also got the Chef's Counter seats for dinner. We will also be having dinner with Alison (franandaj) and Fran that night. This will be our first time eating at the Napa Rose restaurant and we are looking forward to eating with Alison and Fran.



Awesome.  I'm sure you'll have a great DisMeet and enjoy the food.


----------



## ACDSNY

mvf-m11c said:
			
		

> A quick update for my upcoming trip to The DLR in April is that my DAF and I will be eating at the Napa Rose restaurant on April 26th at 5:30pm. We also got the Chef's Counter seats for dinner. We will also be having dinner with Alison (franandaj) and Fran that night. This will be our first time eating at the Napa Rose restaurant and we are looking forward to eating with Alison and Fran.



I'm sure you'll all have an awesome dinner.   Enjoy!


----------



## franandaj

I'm late, but it looks like I made it over in time for my cameo!  Looking forward to joining you and your DA at the Chef's Counter! It's been a couple years since my last meal at NR.  It's about time!


----------



## rentayenta

I'm here Bret.   Going to catch up.


----------



## tksbaskets

While I am envious of the pictures you take on MFWoD I can't even get my DH to go on the stationary gondolas.  I'll rely on your pictures to see the sights from there.

We enjoy the eating area on PP.  It's very relaxing and I really enjoyed the entertainment at Christmas time.


----------



## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> I finally found my way over.
> 
> Nice pics in the Little Mermaid and Radiator Springs Racers.  I can't imagine waiting 3 hours in the standby line.
> 
> I absolutely love the entrance to the cave of wonders pic, stunning.
> 
> Breakfast at AG looked good too.  It's been years since we've eaten there.



Nice to see you found my new DL Mega-Thread Angela. 

There was no way I would even wait that long for any ride even though RSR is an amazing ride to go on. I would not even wait two hours to go on it. But I can wait that long for the fireworks, Fantasmic, or WoC (if I want to get up close in the viewing area).

Aladdin show was nice and I need to use a telephoto lens for this show since using a regular lens is not enough to get up close pictures of the characters.

We all had a nice time eating at AG for breakfast and it might be a while until I eat there again.




PrincessInOz said:


> Awesome.  I'm sure you'll have a great DisMeet and enjoy the food.



My DAF and I are getting excited for the trip next month and a DISMeet at the Napa Rose.




ACDSNY said:


> I'm sure you'll all have an awesome dinner.   Enjoy!



Thank you Angela. We are really looking forward to eating at the Napa Rose for the first time. There are a lot of restaurants that I haven't eaten and it will be nice to try it for the first time.




franandaj said:


> I'm late, but it looks like I made it over in time for my cameo!  Looking forward to joining you and your DA at the Chef's Counter! It's been a couple years since my last meal at NR.  It's about time!



Nice to see you over here Alison.  I am really looking forward to eating at the Napa Rose with you and Fran. It is great to have dinner there at the Chef's Counter for our first dining experience. When was your last time eating at the NR? 




rentayenta said:


> I'm here Bret.   Going to catch up.



Hi Jenny.  It is nice to see you found your way to the new DL Mega-Thread.




tksbaskets said:


> While I am envious of the pictures you take on MFWoD I can't even get my DH to go on the stationary gondolas.  I'll rely on your pictures to see the sights from there.
> 
> We enjoy the eating area on PP.  It's very relaxing and I really enjoyed the entertainment at Christmas time.



I'm glad that you always enjoy my pictures from MFWoD. There was no way I would even gone on the swinging-gondolas that day. I hate the swinging-gondolas and won't break that streak of not riding the swinging-gondolas. I will be happily go on the non-swinging if they want to go on.

The Viva Navidad event at Paradise Pier was so great that I really regret of not spending more time there. If it is back during the holiday season, I will spend some more time over there later this year.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50835585]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – December 27th, 2013 – Part 6*

*Dinner & Cars Land @ Night *​
While we were relaxing in our room at the Desert Inn & Suites where we are staying during the December trip, we were almost ready to leave the room and have dinner that night. This time, we won’t be eating on property but we will be eating off-site. I love eating on-site and trying all these different restaurants. But with the high season, the restaurants at the DLR are hard to get in or we would have to wait a long time until we are seated. So this time, we decided to eat at Tony Romas on Harbor Blvd which is a couple of buildings down from our hotel. I haven’t eaten at Tony Romas on Harbor Blvd for a while and it is a nice place to get a good meal while off-site. 

It was around 5pm when we left our room to Tony Romas for dinner. We only stayed in the room for about an hour which wasn’t a long break but we had a lot of activities to do that night from World of Color: Winter Dreams and some rides if we can get on them that night. But since the parks have been crowded on Friday, it was going to be tough to get on some rides. 

It was not that busy at Tony Romas around 5pm when we were seated immediately. We all had something to choose from that night and it was nice to eat off-site.




For the price, we got to choose from a lot of different sides including the entrees. Silv and MP got the Original Baby Back Ribs which is one of the restaurants signature dishes. Cousin C doesn’t want me to take a picture of his plate but he also got the Original Baby Back Ribs with different sides.




My DAW got the signature salad which was the Tony’s Asian Salad.




For me I got the Filet Medallions with different sauces.




After we finished our dinner at Tony Romas, it was time for all of us to head on over back to the Disneyland Resort to enjoy the rest of the night.

When we got over to the Esplanade and about to enter Disney California Adventure, getting into DCA was a little busy that night to get in while DL was way worse than DCA.




When we got in the park that night, DAW had to go on in the Chamber of Commerce building or Guest Relations to check something out that night. So while we were waiting, MP and I were talking about the trip and she was glad that her mom and her were down here with DAW, Cousin C and I during the trip.




When DAW came out of the Chamber of Commerce, we started to head on over to our first activity that night. But first, we passed by the Buena Vista Street tree which is so amazing to look at during the holiday season.




I really like this picture of the Carthay Circle Theater with the Red Car Street Trolley passing by.




The first thing when we were in DCA was to head on over to Cars Land but this time to see it at night which is the best time to visit CL. I really enjoy seeing CL at night but it is so amazing when the neon lights are on. While it is great at night during the other times of the year, during the holiday season it is even more amazing with the Christmas decorations.




Fillmore’s Taste-In Fuel.




Sarge’s Surplus Hut with the red, white and blue lights along with the fireworks on top which is one of my favorite buildings during the holiday season.








Flo’s V8 Café Sign




Passing by Ramone’s House of Body Art




Everyone was so amazed of how Cars Land looks during the holiday season. DAW has seen CL at night but not like this during the holiday season with all the lights on with the Christmas decorations.




Lizzie’s Curios store




After looking at Radiator Springs (Cars Land) for a while, it was time to head on over towards Paradise Pier so we can get our spot for the 9pm World of Color: Winter Dreams show. We went towards the backside of CL passing by Radiator Springs Racers. We also passed by the backside of Flo’s V8 Café.




You can never get tired of seeing Radiator Falls waterfall from back here or riding RSR.




Before we head on over towards Paradise Pier, everyone was started to get a little thirsty that night and wanted a nice dessert after a nice dinner at Tony Romas. While we were in Pacific Wharf, we head on over to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop.




I have passed by Ghirardelli store a lot in DCA but I never go in since I don’t eat too many sweet treats or chocolate. But everyone wanted to get a chocolate drink or ice cream that night and we all went inside to get different items. 




After everyone got some kind of dessert at Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop, we started to head on over towards Paradise Pier to get our spots for the 9pm World of Color: Winter Dreams show. 

We were coming a little bit late since we spent some time in Cars Land and at Ghirardelli at the Pacific Wharf. We didn’t get to PP until 7:45pm. The CM’s let the guests in the viewing area for World of Color: Winter Dreams one hour until the show started so people won’t stake out a spot for hours. Luckily for us, we decided to go with my favorite spot in the blue section that night since it doesn’t require a lot of wait time. But we didn’t want to take any risks of not getting our spot that night since the parks are very crowded.

When we got to PP right at the area to get in the viewing area. Since DAW was using the ECV, we had the option of going in the handicapped section but we told them that we didn’t want to go in the handicapped section in the blue area but get the spot right at the green fire hydrant in the blue section. The CM’s had no problem letting us get the spot in the blue section with the ECV. We were let in a little early before it was 8pm and we were able to get that spot that night. 

Just when we got my favorite spot, the other guests were let in the viewing area and just in a few minutes, the viewing area was already packed at the bottom. So we just waited until it was time for the 9pm World of Color: Winter Dreams show. 




Even though I got to watch WoC: Winter Dreams during the November show, it was nice to come back and watch it again to see it. Even though some people didn’t enjoy the new show, I still love watching WoC and seeing all these different variations of the show. At first I was excited to watch it back in November but this time I was hoping that everyone will like this show. DAW has seen the original WoC in January and June and maybe she will like the new one. But that will be found out on the later post. 




It was almost time for the 9pm WoC: Winter Dreams show. This time, I was videotaping and taking pictures that night. I was also trying a new toy that I got for Christmas. Just before the trip, my other family relatives bought a GoPro Hero Black 3+ for me and my DB. Since I have been doing a lot of videotaping and taking pictures, it was a nice gift to get from them. It was very interesting to videotape WoC: Winter dreams that night with the GoPro along with my Sony video camera but it was nice to try it out and see if the video is good or not. GoPro are not that known for high quality dark videos like my Sony video camera. I didn’t get to use it on certain rides during the trip since I didn’t have a head mount or chest mount for the GoPro. 

But I will tell you the next time of how World of Color: Winter Dreams went for everyone that night.

[post=50882782]Continue to the Next Update[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

I keep meaning to try that Tony Roma's but haven't yet made it there.  Maybe one of these trips, we'll get there.

Nice pictures.  I love seeing CL all gussied up with Christmas decorations.  It's been quite a few years since I've seen the park all dressed up for Christmas.  Maybe next time.

Thanks for sharing.  Looking forward to WoC.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> I keep meaning to try that Tony Roma's but haven't yet made it there.  Maybe one of these trips, we'll get there.
> 
> Nice pictures.  I love seeing CL all gussied up with Christmas decorations.  It's been quite a few years since I've seen the park all dressed up for Christmas.  Maybe next time.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.  Looking forward to WoC.



You will like Tony Roma's. Maybe on the next trip when you come back in California. 

It is so amazing going during the holiday season and you will love it a lot. Even during the Halloween season is great as well. The Halloween season isn't as much as decorated during the holiday season but it is still great to go down and visit.

Thank you PiO. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50861065]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – December 27th, 2013 – Part 7*

*Winter Dreams & Sleep Time*​
Now it was time for the 9pm World of Color: Winter Dreams show. This was the second time for me watching the new WoC show during the holiday season since I was able to see it back in November. My DAF (who goes with me most of the time during the holiday season at the DLR) didn’t enjoy the new WoC: Winter Dreams show which it is more of an advertisement for the movie Frozen with Olaf as the host and most of the songs are Christmas songs instead of Disney songs. I was hoping that DAW would enjoy the show while Cousin C, Silv and MP are watching it for the first time. 

I didn’t take as many pictures of WoC: Winter Dreams that night since I was trying to enjoy watching the show and looking at all the little details. But I can always go back with my videos when I videotaped it. 

I haven’t uploaded my video of World of Color: Winter Dreams from the December trip but here is a link of my video of WoC: Winter Dreams from the November 2013 trip. World of Color Winter Dreams 11/24/13 Full Show

Here are pictures from the 9pm World of Color: Winter Dreams Show.
















Bambi and Thumper




Queen Elsa








Woody and Jesse




Little Green Aliens




Olaf during the song “In Summer” from the movie Frozen




















World of Color: Winter Dreams was over and the fountains still go off for a while until it was time to start the next show for the next guests that night.




When the show was over, the show was a little different from my November trip in which some scenes were taken out from the November show to the December show. They made it a little shorter from a few seconds. But the show was still very nice to watch that night. DAW was fine with Winter Dreams but she would see the original WoC over Winter Dreams anytime. Cousin C, Silv and MP enjoyed WoC: Winter Dreams for seeing it the first time. But if they had seen the original version, they would like it even more then Winter Dreams.

I packed everything up and DAW told us that it was time to head on back to the room and call it for the night. Since we didn’t took a long break in the afternoon and just getting about an hour rest, everyone was a little tired from today. I could have stayed a little longer that night but I was also getting tired and the crowd level was just so heavy. So I just went along with everyone else and call it for the night.

It’s always insane when you watch the first show of WoC and have to walk through all these crowds. But during the Christmas break, walking through the park at night was a little busier. I am so used to these heavy crowds during the summertime, spring break but this was my first time going during Christmas break in which I don’t experience too much.




When we were walking on out of the park, “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks was going on at DL and I was about to mention to everyone that if they wanted to see the fireworks at the Esplanade but they were all tired and wanted to go back to the room. When I watch the fireworks at DL, it is fun to watch it in DL when the music is playing. It is so different and not the same when you watch the fireworks outside of the park.

Just when we exited the park, Believe was almost done.




We got back to the room before 10pm that night and everyone was glad to be back at the room to rest up so we can enjoy the next day at the parks. Tomorrow will be at DL since we were in DCA that Friday. I knew that Saturday at the parks was going to be the worse time to visit since it is on a Saturday and the Christmas break crowds. 

That’s it for this post and stay tune for DL that next day.


[post=50918096]Continue to the Next Update[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

This is not one of my usual trip report updates from DL but I just got back home from working at the Sacramento Comic Con today and it will be a three day event from Friday to Sunday at the Sacramento Convention Center. The highlight of the event is Chris Hemsworth (actor of Thor), Bruce Campbell, Stan Lee and other celebrities are making an appearance at this event. But I was working as a vendor this weekend.

It has been a long day today and it was busy today with a lot of people at Sacramento Comic Con. I wasn't able to get pictures when it was busy since I was busy today. But it was a nice time tonight and I will remember to bring my DSLR tomorrow.

Here are some pics from earlier today before the event started.























The official Sacramento Comic Con 2014 shirt that I had to buy.





After work tonight, we ate at a restaurant called "Streets of London" Pub for dinner. Food porn pics from tonight.

Bangers and Mash




Fish and Chips




Pub Fries


----------



## PrincessInOz

Hope you enjoyed Sac ComicCon and that the stall went well.  Glad you got a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion.

Food looks good.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Hope you enjoyed Sac ComicCon and that the stall went well.  Glad you got a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion.
> 
> Food looks good.



The Sac Comic Con went well this past weekend. There were a lot of people in the Sacramento Convention Center on all those three days and the stall didn't too well. But overall it was a nice event. I was glad that I got the t-shirt that Friday since they were sold out on Sunday. 

Dinner was very nice on Friday. For Saturday, we had ate at Extreme Pizza and Sunday Chipotle. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50882782]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 1*

*Busy Saturday Morning at DL*​
After a great time at Disney California Adventure on Friday, now it was our third day at the Disneyland Resort. Mostly this is the last day of the trip when I go down for 3 days but since we are here for four days, this will be the last day at the DLR for all of us since we have three day passes. My DAW upgraded her Deluxe AP to the Premium which she will be able to go to the parks anytime just like me. But since this is the last full day, we had to make most of it with the heavy crowds during Christmas break. The first two days of the trip were busy as I have thought but it didn’t seem like it was that crazy as I have expected during Christmas break. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. 

It was around 7am when we all got up and mostly everyone was still tired from Friday night. We didn’t stay in the park till midnight since we wanted to get some rest for Saturday morning. Everyone got up except for Cousin C since he will possibly joining us later that day at the parks since he was going to see an old colleague from work who lives in Orange County. So everyone got us except for Cousin C so we can enjoy another day at the “Busiest Place on Earth”.

We didn’t leave the Desert Inn & Suites hotel around 8:20am since the ladies were all getting ready so we didn’t make it in time for the rope drop at DL. I wanted to get them in the park early so we can take advantage of getting on rides while the wait times are expected to be in the 30+ minute wait time on average for all the rides. I knew that we weren’t going to get on all the rides and shows during the trip but I was going to make sure that they get on some of the good rides during the trip.

My DA picked up the ECV at the front entrance of the lobby which was a good idea since it was tough to get the ECV into our room every day. This was a smart move to leave the ECV in the lobby of our hotel so we can get it and use the ECV at the DLR.

The day was so nice with no clouds and it was going to be a great time and I was able to wear shorts again during that day which is crazy to wear shorts during Christmas break.

When we were heading on to the Esplanade, there were a lot of families heading on over to the DLR. We knew that it was going to be a busy day as this would be the busiest out of all the days during the trip.




It took us awhile to get in the Esplanade since there were a lot of people trying to get in. Even at the turnstiles at DL were all the way to the Monorail columns. So it was going to take some time until we got in DL that morning.

We didn’t get in DL until 8:43am which was really late for which I come to the parks. It took almost 5 minutes to get from the turnstiles until we got in the park.




When we got in the park, we head straight on over to our first ride that morning and I wanted to get them on the Haunted Mansion Holiday. HMH is a very popular ride during the holiday season and it was time to get on it first thing or the wait time will be in the 30+minute wait time in the afternoon. So we head on over to the ride the HMH. 

There were a lot of people walking in Main Street that morning.




When we went through Adventureland, I thought about taking them on the Jingle Cruise but the wait time was already in the 20 minute wait time as Indy ride was already in the 35 minute wait time and it is before 9am. There was a traffic jam around Indy that morning.




We had to walk through all those crowds and we finally got to the HMH. The wait time was already in the 15 minute wait time and it was time to ride the HMH as our first ride that morning.




Since DAW was using the ECV, we went towards the handicapped queue.








It was nice to go back on the HMH again during the December trip in which I am really looking forward to see the dining room to see the gingerbread house. Silv and MP are looking forward to this ride while DAW is looking forward to seeing the HMH as the holiday version over the original version.

It was just 5 minutes since we had to wait in the queue which was not that bad and we started to walk in the Haunted Mansion and in the stretching room.








Now walking down the hall of portraits.




Now we are at the loading area and about to board the Doom Buggies. Silv and MP went together while DAW and I rode together.




Here are some pictures from our ride experience on the HMH that Saturday morning.








Madame Leota room




I was looking forward to the dining room and at the gingerbread house. The one with the Jack Skellington faces are now covering all the numbers and shows a different face expression.




In the attic and all those presents.




Is that Zero?




Santa is here. Oh wait its Jack Skellington.




There is Zero.












The Oogie Boogie at the end of the ride.




The mirror area and you can see me taking pictures while my DAW had gingerbread cookies in front of her.




Sally at the end.




And Jack




We got off the ride, Silv and MP enjoyed riding the HMH that morning and glad that we rode it first thing in the morning. Now we started to head on over to our next destination that morning.

That’s it for this post and I will have more from DL that morning.


[post=50920902]Continue to the Next Update[/post]​


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=50918096]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 2*

*Break Time at the Plaza Inn with the Characters*​
Just when we got off Haunted Mansion Holiday, it was time for breakfast that morning. My DAW got to have breakfast every morning but we didn’t get any breakfast at the hotel since we were heading on over to DL that morning. I mostly don’t get breakfast in the morning since I want to get as many rides and taking pictures of the park when it is not that busy in the morning. But since it was after 9am, they all needed to eat something. 

So we started to leave New Orleans Square and head on over to our next destination.




The restaurant that we are eating at breakfast at Disneyland was the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends. Very interesting that I just ate there one month ago with my DAF back in November and now I am back at the Plaza Inn having breakfast with DAW, Silv, and MP. Just before we got on over to Main Street Hub area, I told them to go to the Plaza Inn so I can get FP’s for a ride so we can go on later that day after breakfast. It was nice to have breakfast at the Plaza Inn with them and hope that everyone will enjoy the breakfast where DAF didn’t enjoy it during the November trip.

While the three of them head on over to the Plaza Inn to check-in for our 9:30am reservation, I head on over to Tomorrowland to get FP’s for Autopia. When I looked on my iPhone at the wait times and return times for the rides at DL, Space Mountain was already close to nighttime while Star Tours was in the afternoon. MP told that she would like to go on Autopia that day and the return time was close when we finish breakfast.  




When I was walking on over to TL, it was very busy around Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster. It was tough to walk through that area to get on over to Autopia. It just shows you even around 9:30am that the Christmas break crowds are already in the park.




I somehow made it over to Autopia FP distribution area. The wait time was around 10:30am to 11:30am which was a good time to return to ride Autopia when we were finish with breakfast.




When I got the FP’s for Autopia, I head straight on over to the Plaza Inn to meet up with everyone for breakfast that morning. Just like when I walked by the crowds around Star Tours and BLAB, it was just as busy when I was there awhile ago.




I went in the Plaza Inn and everyone was already seated on the left hand side of the restaurant. So I sat down with everyone and we had a nice seating area. They were seated at the table immediately when I walked in there was a long line to get in the Plaza Inn that morning. It was a good thing that I made a reservation at the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends or we would have to wait outside to get in.




It’s nice to see the Christmas tree in the Plaza Inn during the holiday season.




We all head on over to the lines to get food that morning and it did took a while to go through the lines to get food from the hot food, Mickey waffles, toasts, and even the drinks had a line. With the heavy crowds, even eating at the Plaza Inn was busy.

When we got our plates, we started to eat and here comes the characters that morning. We missed Eeyore and Perla. It was very neat to see Perla during our breakfast which I have not seen her out at the Plaza Inn for breakfast which I have seen Suzy. Perla is in the purple dress while Suzy was in the bluish type dress.




Max was out that morning and MP had a laugh with him.




Later on it was Eeyore.




After that, Tigger appeared. It was nice to see MP so happy to see all those different characters that morning. She told me later that day that meeting all those different characters were a real treat.




Just when MP sit down, Rafiki approached and they both played around at our table.




Than he came over to get a picture with DAW and Silv.




MP did get a picture with Rafiki when he was at our table.




Now Suzy made an appearance to our table that morning.




And just before we were almost done that morning for breakfast, Chip made an appearance. We didn’t see Dale that morning which was a shame.




We were in the Plaza Inn for breakfast over an hour which we had a fine breakfast. Even though my DAW thinks that the breakfast can be a little better, she would choose this one over Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel. We ate at GK back in January and she thinks that the food at the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends is better over GK. The good thing about the Plaza Inn during breakfast is that it is cheaper than GK. I like both places and it is nice to be at the Plaza Inn to have breakfast while in the park. Silv and MP liked the breakfast at the Plaza Inn which had a variety of choices. MP liked the Mickey shape waffles the most. I enjoyed eating at the Plaza Inn even though I was just there a month ago. It is nice to eat at sit down restaurants while I am so use to eating at quick counter restaurants at the parks. 

When we finished eating at the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends, it was time to use our FP’s for Autopia. So we head straight on over to Tomorrowland to use the FP’s for Autopia. 

The park started to get a little busy that day around the Hub.




Over at TL, the crowds were just crazy around Star Tours which we barely even moved.




The wait time to get on Star Tours from the stand-by queue was already at 70 minutes. I haven’t seen that long wait time for Star Tours ever since it reopened in 2011.




While looking at BLAB and Space Mountain, the wait times are already so high that it looked like afternoon times. BLAB was in the 40 minutes while Space was 90 minutes while we were passing by.

After walking through the crowds around TL, we finally made it over to Autopia. But everyone had to use the restrooms and we had time until it was time to use our FP’s. 

This will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update at TL that day.

[post=50948191]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


----------



## PrincessInOz

WOW!  Fairly busy day at DLR on that Saturday.  Love the pictures inside HM!  


Breakfast characters are fun at the Plaza.  Glad you enjoyed it.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
Your HMH pictures were outstanding .  The breakfast at the plaza seemed very nice.  We have had dinner at GK and not enjoyed that you can't really get good pictures with the characters as the tables are crammed together.  

WOW the park is busy this day.

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> WOW!  Fairly busy day at DLR on that Saturday.  Love the pictures inside HM!
> 
> 
> Breakfast characters are fun at the Plaza.  Glad you enjoyed it.



It was very busy at DL that Saturday. I knew that this was going to be the worse day out of the three days of our trip. We didn't get to do everything we wanted during the trip with the crowds. If we came during a different time like the January or June trip, we would be able to get a lot of rides done than during Christmas break. The pictures are getting better with the new DSLR and I am considering trying a f/1.4 lens one day when I go back.

It is nice to have breakfast at the Plaza Inn at DL. We got to see a lot of Disney characters and it was fun. 




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> Your HMH pictures were outstanding .  The breakfast at the plaza seemed very nice.  We have had dinner at GK and not enjoyed that you can't really get good pictures with the characters as the tables are crammed together.
> 
> WOW the park is busy this day.
> 
> TK



Hi TK,

Thank you. They are getting better and I am now considering renting a f/1.4 lens for the dark rides so the quality can be better. The breakfast at the Plaza Inn is always nice to have in the par. When I compare the experience at the Plaza Inn and GK, it does feel like GK is a little crammed over the Plaza Inn. But in certain areas at the Plaza Inn does feel like you are crammed. Maybe it is outside at the Plaza Inn that it feels crammed than inside.

The park was busy that morning and I knew that it was going to be a very busy day at DL.

The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=50920902]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 3*

*Cruising in Tomorrowland & Spinning Around in Fantasyland*​
After we used the restrooms after a great breakfast at the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends even though we didn’t see Minnie during her breakfast that day, it was time to go on another ride at DL during the heavy Christmas break. After walking by rides like Star Tours, Space Mountain, etc. and seeing all those long queues it was going to be very difficult to get on the big rides without the FP’s. So we were lucky to use the FP’s for Autopia that afternoon or we would have to wait in a long queue.

Just when we were about to enter Autopia, the wait time was in the 50 minute wait time and I knew that it was going to take some time to get through the FP queue.




When we were in the queue of Autopia, we were in there for about 15 minutes which took quite a while than I have expected. But it went by quickly that I didn’t look at it carefully.




Silv and MP went together while DAW and I rode together. I didn’t elected to drive since I was going to be taking pictures during our ride experience. 





Our pictures from our ride experience on Autopia. It has been years since I have rode Autopia at DL. It must have been over 7 years since I have rode Autopia at DL. I mostly don’t ride Autopia since I do a lot of driving when I am coming from Sacramento to Anaheim. It is always nice to go on a ride that I haven’t ridden in years. I do enjoy the track at DL over the MK at WDW which is more unique.









It looks like Silv and MP are way ahead of us.
















Almost at the finish line.




We finally caught up with them.




After we got off the ride, we all enjoyed riding Autopia. It has been fun to ride Autopia that day with my DAW. Even though we couldn’t keep up with them it was nice to ride with her while she was driving so I can get pictures during our drive.

We walked on out of Autopia and looking at TL started to get a little busy that afternoon.




MP wanted to get a picture of a driver license when we rode Autopia as a gift and it was quite a while to get one so we waited.




Just when she got her Autopia driver’s license, we started to go on to our next ride that afternoon. When we were passing by Tomorrowland, it was getting a little busy and it was tough to walk in certain areas around Disneyland. This is to be expected during Christmas break season. It was nice to come for this one time and I will not want to experience again when I have been coming to the DLR a lot during certain seasons. 

When passing by the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, the queue was extended on the other side of the Monorail track. I haven’t seen the queue extended that long during the busy times when the FNSV was new back in 2007. I remember that I have to go on the FNSV when the trip is over since the FNSV is now closed for a lengthy refurbishment until September. Just like BTMRR has been closed for over a year, the FNSV will be closed for less than a year. Even at the Matterhorn has a long wait time in the 60 minutes area. 








We head on over towards FL to go on some rides. I made an itinerary from MP must do rides during the day at DL. She wanted to go on the Mad Tea Party and King Arthur Carrousel. She also wanted to go on other rides in FL like Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride but the wait times for all three of them were in the 40+ minute wait time that it was tough to get on them while the other two rides are in the 20 minute range. 

So we started with the Mad Tea Party. DAW didn’t want to go on and I did the same thing of not riding the Mad Tea Party. It is another ride that I haven’t ridden in years and I wanted to talk to my DAW about our plans for that night. 

Silv and MP in the queue of the Mad Tea Party which took 15 minutes which was kind of fast when the wait time post on my iPhone App Mousewait stated at 20 minutes.




MP and Silv look so excited to ride the Tea Cups.








After they got off the Mad Tea Party, we all head on over towards King Arthur’s Carrousel. I was surprised that MP didn’t make the Tea Cup spin a lot with her mom. But she told us that she didn’t want to get her mom sick that afternoon. 

It was quite busy around FL that afternoon where a lot of the rides including KAC had a 25+ minute wait time.




When Silv and MP were in line for KAC, my DAW was just relaxing in her ECV while I was looking for a decent spot to get pictures of Silv and MP while riding KAC. While I was walking around, I looked at the Frozen Meet & Greet area and looked at the wait time and it was at 140 minutes. That is so crazy just to meet Elsa and Anna. I wouldn’t even consider waiting that long to meet them.




It took them 25 minutes to get on KAC. That was a very long time to get on KAC even during Christmas break. But we were here during the worse part of the day around noon which the crowds are now in the park. This time till 3 is one of the worse times when the park is busy during the day. 

Silv and MP were having fun riding KAC while I was getting pictures of them when they were circling.




When they got off, MP wanted to pull the Sword in the Stone right next to KAC.




They had a fun time riding KAC and MP trying to pull the sword out of the stone, we started to go onto our next activity that day. 

That will be on the next post so stay tune.


[post=50948195]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50948191]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 4*

*A Mint Julep Drink & Crowdedland*​
After Silv and MP rode King Arthur’s Carrousel, we all head on back where DAW was sitting on her ECV. We started to go onto our next destination that afternoon at Disneyland which was back to New Orleans Square. MP told me that she wanted to get a New Orleans Mint Julep at the Mint Julep Bar. That was one of the places that she wanted to stop during the trip to DL to get a Mint Julep drink. So we all headed on over to NOS from Fantasyland. 

So we took the backside to Frontierland passing by Big Thunder Ranch. When we passed by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which was all blocked off during the long refurbishment since it was down in January 2013. I am now glad that it is about to reopen after this weekend to the public. While we were in Frontierland right by the Rivers of America, NOS looked very busy and the Christmas break crowds have al showed up that day.




It was tough to walk through NOS that afternoon. When we were trying to get to the Mint Julep, the area to get to NOS from Frontierland River of America, the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean was extended towards the walkway and the CM’s were escorting the guests to go around and not towards the PotC queue. It was just a big messed that afternoon with the queues extended towards the walkway. I have never experienced heavy crowds this much when I went during 4th of July weekend. It took us a while to get to the New Orleans Railroad station area and of course another queue was extended towards the station which was the Haunted Mansion Holiday queue. It was just so busy that day.




We head on over to the Mint Julep Bar to get a Mint Julep for MP and we also bought some Mickey-shaped Beignets which are another popular treat at that place. It is too bad that there is no AP discount at the Mint Julep Bar just like the Tiki Juice Bar.




After we got our snacks at the Mint Julep Bar, DAW, Silv and MP went shopping at the stores in NOS. So it was going to be a while the ladies are shopping in NOS from Cristal d’Orlean, LeBat en Rouge, etc. stores which are very interesting to them. While they are in the stores, I looked around the second level of NOS where Club 33 is getting a makeover. It wasn’t too long when my DAF and I ate at Club 33 during the November trip. 




It is so sad to see the Court of Angels all closed when I walk in NOS where it will be turned as the new Club 33 entrance. 




When they were finished shopping in NOS which they bought a few things that day from pins, and some Nightmare Before Christmas shirts, we walked on out of NOS and on to our next adventure that busy afternoon. The whole day where it was just so busy. When passing by Adventureland, it was just as busy as being in NOS. Indy was over an hour and Jingle Cruise was close to 40 minutes. 




Over at the Hub, the New Year’s Eve Countdown screens are up and ready for the New Years. It would have been neat to be here for New Year’s Eve at DL which is something I want to do but that will be another time.




After walking through the Hub and we head on over towards Fantasyland. We went on over to watch “Mickey and the Magical Map” show. I knew that they will like this show since I have watched it almost ever single trip in 2013 except during the D23 Expo trip in August. DAW told me that they will like watching MatMM and it was a good thing that there were plenty of shows to choose a specific time. Even going towards IASW Plaza is just as busy that afternoon as well.




We got to the Fantasyland Theatre with 10 minutes to go and we were seated at the back which is to be expected when you show up just when the show is about to start. 

During the show, I didn’t take too many pictures of MatMM since I was enjoying it and videotaping that day. So I just got a couple pictures of this show since I have got a lot in the past trips. If I do watch this show in my upcoming trip and I don’t plan on spending time to get a front row spot, I will consider renting a telephoto lens for specifically for this show and F!. When the April trip gets closer, I will consider it.




Stitch coming out of the stage.




The show still is amazing every time I watch it ever since the show debut in May 2013. MP and Silv really enjoyed MatMM show that day. DAW enjoyed the show when we watched it back in June and it was nice to relax after a long day at the park.

When MatMM was over, we started to move on towards our next activity that afternoon. We were right next to Mickey’s Toontown Depot and I thought about getting everyone on the Disneyland Railroad but most of the guests that watch MatMM like us went in the depot and it was already extended towards the outside.








We were about to leave FL and go on over to our next activity but the 2:30pm “A Christmas Fantasy” parade was going on at IASW Plaza so we were going to be stuck in this area until the parade is over.




I do enjoy looking at IASWH during the holiday season.




Instead of waiting around IASW Plaza until the parade is over, we hea don over towards Mickey’s Toontown and maybe we will be able to go on some rides or do more shopping.




It was a little busy that afternoon at Mickey’s Toontown but it was not that bad than being at IASW Plaza during the parade. It is so nice to walk around Mickey’s Tooontown during the holiday season where it is all decorated.




It was packed everywhere where the wait times to see Mickey or Minnie was in the 50 minute wait time which was just crazy. Even Gadget’s Go-Go Coaster was in the 40 minute wait time.




We went into the Gag Factory store to look at any merchandise that Silv or MP wanted to buy while we were in Mickey’s Toontown but they didn’t find anything interesting to buy at the store. 

Just when we were exiting Mickey’s Toontown, “A Christmas Fantasy” parade was almost over and we were following the end of the parade so we can get to our next activity that afternoon. I wanted to get them to see the parade that afternoon but the timing was just off when MatMM was going on and we had a choice between the parade and MatMM. My DAW chose MatMM over “A Christmas Fantasy” parade that afternoon since they would enjoy MatMM over the parade.




That will be it for this post and you will find out on the next post where we went that afternoon at DL.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Great update.  Seems like it really was very very busy that day.  Glad that you could still get on some rides.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great update.  Seems like it really was very very busy that day.  Glad that you could still get on some rides.



Thank you PiO. It was so busy that day at DL which it was difficult walking around to certain areas. In NOS was just so busy with the queues extended towards the walkway for Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion Holiday. I don't want to experience it again for a while. Luckily we were able to get on some rides that morning to the afternoon.


----------



## mvf-m11c

This is not part of the December trip report but it was during a quick trip down to San Jose this week. So we will be doing a detour on the December trip report with a quick update from this week quick trip.


Just a few days ago before the trip to San Jose, I looked on Alison (franandaj) DVC PTR [post=50850795] You mean I DO get to go to WDW in 2014?? - Day 5 says we are Star Wars Weekends Out![/post] and I saw that she went to an exhibit in San Jose which is actually called Star Wars Where Science Meets Imagination. I was completely surprised that there was an exhibit in NorCal that I didnt know about until I read her DVC PTR. So when I talked to her if I should go see this and she recommended it. 

While I had some time off on Wednesday the 12th, I decided to make a quick trip to San Jose. It was not only just to go to San Jose, I also went on over to San Francisco to do some shopping in China Town. While I was going to San Francisco, it would be nice to make a detour trip to San Jose to see the exhibit. I was so glad to go down to San Jose to see the exhibit.

I left early Wednesday morning around 8am for a 2 hour drive to San Jose. But it actually took 2 ½ hours to get to San Jose around 10:30am since there were a lot of traffic going to San Jose. I bought my ticket online so I walked in to the Tech Museum of Innovation building. I have been in the room that was hosting the exhibit since the room was used for Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game Regional Tournaments being held. It was so easy to know where to go and I know my favorite parking spot right across from the Museum of Innovation which is across the street.





When I entered the building, I walked down and into the room which the exhibit was being held. It wasnt that busy that morning around 10:45am which was a good thing where it wont be that crowded to go through the exhibit. I chose that time in the morning where I wont have to deal with heavy crowds. 




The first area of the exhibit was models that were used in the Star Wars Movie 4, 5, & 6. There were also some smaller models from the other Star Wars movie 1 & 3. Some of these models were very big and so detailed.

X-wing Fighter model.




General Grievous starfighter model and on the left hand side is the Invisible Hand Trade Federation cruiser model from Episode 3.




Star Destroyer model




Naboo Royal Starship model from Episode 1




Y-wing Fighter model




Tantive IV model in Episode 4




In the area with all the different models, there were costumes of Han Solo and Boba Fett. These costumes were from Episode 4.




Boba Fett costume from Episode 4




The bigger size Millennium Falcon








After looking at the models, I started to move on to the next area of the exhibit. 




This was a costume of the Wampa from the planet Hoth during Episode V.




Imperial snowtrooper costume from Episode V.




Props from the Episode V and a small model of Luke Skywalker riding a tauntaun.




A Jawa costume from Episode IV. During this past weekend during the Sacramento Comic Con while I was working in the vendor stand, I saw a kid that was dressed up as a Jawa and had the voice of a Jawa. That was so neat that a lot of people attending the Comic Con were taking pictures of him.




Anakin Skywalker slave costume from Episode I.




Tusken Raider costume from Episode IV.




A model of Sebulbas Podracer from Episode I.








Small model of Sebulba




I will have more from the Star Wars Exhibit in San Jose.


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## PrincessInOz

I love Star Wars!  I'm so glad that Alison recommended that you go to the exhibition before it closed.  

Great pictures.  Those models are fantastic.  It was have been so cool to have seen them up close.

Thanks for sharing. 


Looking forward to more.


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## tksbaskets

Bret,
I loved seeing the Star Wars items from your convention.  I would have loved to see all the models and costumes from the different episodes.  Thanks for sharing! 

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> I love Star Wars!  I'm so glad that Alison recommended that you go to the exhibition before it closed.
> 
> Great pictures.  Those models are fantastic.  It was have been so cool to have seen them up close.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.
> 
> 
> Looking forward to more.



It was nice that Alison recommend to go and see the exhibit before it closes this upcoming weekend.

It was nice to see the models, props, costumes, etc. up close and it is different from seeing it in pictures on a computer. 




tksbaskets said:


> Bret,
> I loved seeing the Star Wars items from your convention.  I would have loved to see all the models and costumes from the different episodes.  Thanks for sharing!
> 
> TK



Glad that you like the first portions of the pictures TK> You would have enjoyed this exhibit a lot and I remember you had great times going to WDW during Star Wars Weekend. That is something that I will want to do when I go back to WDW.


The next update from the Star Wars exhibit will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Continue of the Star Wars Exhibition that I attended in San Jose last week.

The next item was Luke Skywalkers Landspeeder from Episode 4. 








Right next to the actual Landspeeder was a model of the Landspeeder.








A model of the Separatists Armored Assault Tank (AAT) from Episode II




Now was to the next part of the exhibit which was my favorite part of the exhibit. It had costumes, models and props from the movies.

Darth Vaders costume.






 

Darth Vaders mask from Episode III.




Medical droid in the back




Anakin robotic arm from Episode II








Head Display of General Grevious.




Model of General Grevious




Interrogator droid from Episode IV




The weapon displays that had the blasters and lightsabers.








Sith Lords lightsabers from Chancellor Palpatines, Darth Maul, & Count Dooku which you can barely see.




Obi-Wan Kenobis lightsaber from Episode III & Count Dookus lightsaber from Episode II &III




Mace Windus lightsaber from Episode II & III




Shaak Tis lightsaber from Episode III.




Storm Trooper costume




Miniature model of a clone trooper with Phase I Armor




*[Continue to the Next Post]*


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## mvf-m11c

*[Continued from Previous Post]*

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobis costumes from Episode III




Mace Windu costume from Episode I, II, & III and Master Yoda Puppet from Episode V & VI




The Wookie Costumes




Princess Leia costume as well as R2D2 and C-3PO








Padme Amidala Genosis battle outfit from Episode II




Droideka Destroyer Droid from Episode I & II




The Naked C-3PO from episode I




Trade Federation battle droid




Pit Droid in Episode I




A model of the AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) from Episode V & VI




Model of the AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) from Episode V & VI




Model of the AT-TE (All Terrain Tactical Enforce) from Episode II & III




Just when I was about to be finished at the exhibit, there was the Millennium Falcon experience at the end. I was considering trying it out but I didnt experience it which was a huge mistake after I left that afternoon in San Jose. 

Instead of leaving the exhibit, I went back all the way to the front entrance to experience it over again. Since I couldnt leave the exhibit which I wasnt able to re-enter, it was a good idea to look through everything again before I was finished that afternoon. 

I spent about 2 hours in the exhibit going through all the different areas of the exhibit and was able to see the videos, action stations. I was so bummed that I wasnt able to do the Millennium Falcon experience that day. 

After going through the exhibit, I left the Tech Museum and started to head back to my car and go on over to San Francisco for the afternoon. But before I left San Jose, I wanted to stop at one of my favorite restaurants when I am in San Jose. The restaurant is called Peggy Sues which is right across the street from the Tech Museum.




It is a 1950s inspired restaurant that takes guests to the days of drive-in movies, rock  n roll, etc. these. I have eaten at this restaurant a lot since it is right across the street from the Tech Museum and it has great Peggy burger and creamy milk shakes. 








I had the Porky Pig (Bacon Cheeseburger)




Also with Garlic Fries




After I finished lunch, I got back in the car and drove off to San Francisco.

Thats it from the quick trip to San Jose to see the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit which I want to thank Alison for mentioning it on her WDW PTR.

I will get back to the December DLR TR on the next updates.


----------



## PrincessInOz

What a great exhibition.  Lovely pictures.  Thanks for sharing.

And I love that Diner food.


----------



## tksbaskets

Was this a special display at the tech museum?  It really was an outstanding array of Star Wars memorabilia!  I could have spent hours there.  Your lunch looked great too.

TK


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> What a great exhibition.  Lovely pictures.  Thanks for sharing.
> 
> And I love that Diner food.



Your welcome. Glad you enjoyed seeing all the different pictures from the exhibit.

Peggy Sue's is a very nice diner that is across the street from the Tech of Museum. It is a little pricey for a burger but it is nice once in a while to eat at that place.




tksbaskets said:


> Was this a special display at the tech museum?  It really was an outstanding array of Star Wars memorabilia!  I could have spent hours there.  Your lunch looked great too.
> 
> TK



Yes it is. I have heard that it was open since Fall 2013. Now it is about to close after this Sunday. I was glad that i made a quick trip to San Jose to go see this exhibit. There was a lot of nice props, costumes, models, etc. at the exhibit. I know that you would have spent a lot of hours in the exhibit. 

Lunch at Peggy Sue's was good.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=50948195]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 5*

*Floating down the Rivers of America and Flower Market Throwback*​
After walking around Mickey’s Toontown when “A Christmas Fantasy” parade was going on around It’s a Small World Plaza, we followed the end of the parade and now moving on to our next destination that afternoon. It was around 3pm when the parade was just leaving around IASW Plaza. MP wanted to go on one more ride until we head on back to the room to rest up so we can enjoy DL later that night. 

We head straight on over to Frontierland going through the backside from Fantasyland. The whole day was just so crowded where it was tough to walk in certain areas like New Orleans Square, Fantasyland, etc. Originally it wasn’t that busy as I have thought during the Christmas break crowds. It was manageable but not like during the regular times I have visited the Disneyland Resort. 

When we were walking the backside of FL and towards the backside of Frontierland, we head on over to our next ride that afternoon. During our visit, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was down due to its long refurbishment. When BTMRR was supposedly to reopen in November, I would have the opportunity to ride it during the November trip or December trip. But the refurbishment went all the way to mid March. It was disappointed that BTMRR was closed during that long but I will be looking forward to riding it next month. 




The four of us went on over to ride the Mark Twain while it was in the docks. MP wanted to ride the Mark Twain through the Rivers of America. It was great to see Frontierland and New Orleans Square from the Mark Twain where both boats are out in the river. The boat just started to load the guests so we were able to ride it.




Now riding the Mark Twain down the RoA. While riding the Mark Twain, the crowds around Frontierland and NOS was so busy that afternoon.




Pirates of the Caribbean queue was extended towards the walkway of NOS so it was hard to maneuver to the alleys of NOS.




Even Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes were busy that afternoon as well.




A nice day riding on the Mark Twain down the Rivers of America.




An Indian Village is up ahead.




Just when we are approaching the port, we got to see BTMRR and it has progressed since I have seen it last from the Mark Twain which was back in June. I didn’t ride the Mark Twain in November.








MP and Silv enjoyed riding the Mark Twain that afternoon down the Rivers of America to see Frontierland from a different perspective. It is nice to ride the Mark Twain once in a while and see how busy the park is and see BTMRR while it is down. I can’t wait to ride BTMRR next month.

After we got off the Mark Twain, it was past 3pm and it was time to go back to the room and relax after a long morning and afternoon at Disneyland. Everyone was getting a little tired so it was a good idea to relax and then come back later that night to do more rides and the nighttime shows. 

When we were leaving Frontierland and walking down in Main Street, there was something that I wanted to see in MS before we left that afternoon. The park was a little busy that afternoon where it was walkable but still crowded.








Just when we were almost half way to exit DL, I wanted to go down the alley of MS between Disney Clothiers and the Market House to see the Main Street Flower Market on Center Street. The flower market is a throwback that was once here on Center Street at DL back in the old days. Today, you don’t see that flowers on the street. But this was brought back during the December trip which made it special during the holiday season.
















Just before we head on out of DL that afternoon, the ladies wanted to go in the Emporium to do some shopping before we left DL that afternoon. It was a good idea to buy something right now just when we left the park that afternoon so we won’t have to buy later that night.

I just waited right at the door while they were shopping. 




They were able to buy some more stuff from the Emporium which was nice since Silv and MP are from Texas and they are bringing back some souvenirs. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to be in with them since DAW has the Premium AP. 

I can’t get tired of seeing the Main Street Christmas tree.




We started to leave DL and head on over back to the room to relax and come back later that day. The park started to get more and more people in the park and there was already a long queue to get in just when we left. 




We walked on back to the Desert Inn & Suites where we were staying and rested up until we head on back to Disneyland that night.


[post=51010732]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51010710]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 6*

*Unexpected Problem and Dinner*​
Just when we got back to the room, we got a text from Cousin C that he was in the hospital in Orange County with his friend that lives in SoCal. DAW was so concern to hear that Cousin C was in the hospital when we were in the park that afternoon. What we have heard from his friend is that something got stuck in his throat when they were eating lunch that afternoon. She told us that he was okay and will be released later that night. 

So it was a good thing that he wasn’t in danger and his friend was able to take him to the hospital that day while we were in the park. DAW was about to go and get Cousin C from the hospital but the only problem is that we didn’t have the van since he drove it to meet up with his friend. She told us that she will drive Cousin C back to the hotel where we are staying. They won’t be back until later that night. We couldn’t do anything but just wait until he and his friend come back to the hotel that night. 

In the meantime, the four us just relaxed in the room till later that night until it was time to have dinner. It was around 6pm when we left our room and we head on over to Mimi’s Café which is on Harbor Blvd just right across the street from Howard Johnson Hotel or HOJO which they call it for short. 

The last time I ate at Mimi’s Café in Anaheim was back in January with my DAW. That was during lunch, this time we will be having dinner that night. 

There was a line to get in the restaurant that night so we had to wait a while to be seated. We were seated in 10 minutes which took a while that night to eat at Mimi’s Café. But around this time is dinner time so it was going to be busy everywhere that night. 




For dinner, Silv got the Pot Roast with Mash Potatoes and seasonal vegetables.




MP got the Saint-Malo Pasta with mussels and fresh linguine topped with a spicy pomodoro sauce. Served with garlic French baguette croutons.




DAW got the Fall Harvest Salade with seasonal salade with mixed greens, honey-glazed walnuts, dried cranberries, green apples and crumbled goat cheese, tossed in honey Dijon viniaigrette.




I got the Le Burger de Madame.




When I ate my burger, I could tell that it was not cooked properly. When I looked in the patty, it was undercooked. I was completely surprised to see that my burger was undercooked. So we asked our waiter to look at my burger and was completely surprised to see it undercook. So she took it and will tell the chef to make a new burger. It was disappointing to eat an undercook burger that night. I like eating at Mimi’s Café where there is one in the Sacramento area in Elk Grove. My DAW loves to eat at Mimi’s Café in Elk Grove and she was surprised that I got an undercook burger. 

It took them a while to make a new burger and our waitress told us that it was on the house and we weren’t charged for my burger that night. I was a disappointed that I had an undercooked burger but it was nice that the replacement burger would be on the house. 

After we finished dinner, we head on back to the room. When we got back to the room, we waited until Cousin C and his friend came back to the hotel. Luckily Cousin C was alright after going to the hospital that afternoon and his friend is driving him back to the hotel. DAW told us that we didn’t have to be at the room until he arrived so he told Silv, MP and I that we can go back to the DLR that night while she stays in the room until they get back. 

That was nice of DAW to stay while the three of us went back to DL that night. It was tough that Cousin C wasn’t that well this afternoon but he is in good care thanks to his friend that lives in SoCal. She told us that she would take him back to the hotel with the van which is so nice of her to do. 

That will be it for this post and stay tune of what happens later that night at DL.

[post=51042910]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

That's a super busy day at DL.  That part in front of PotC shows a ton of people.

Food looks great!  Shame about the undercooked burger but at least they comp'ed it on the bill.  I'm guess that's a sign of how busy the kitchen was.  Mimi's is usually pretty good with cooking meals.

Glad your cousin was okay.  That would have been scary to get that text and wonder how he was doing.


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## franandaj

I don't know how I keep missing that you are posting updates.  I guess we are just posting at different times of the day and I miss it in my UserCP.  I was like eight updates behind this time!

That's really scary about your Cousin, but glad that it was sorted out relatively easily and he was OK.

I can't believe how mobbed Disneyland is!  I would be bashing my head against the wall with those crowds!  I'm glad you were able to find time to sneak in some fun.  The wait times on Star Tours and Buzz were crazy!  Rarely do I ever see them longer than 30 maybe 45 minutes for ST and Buzz is almost always a 10 minute wait.

I don't blame you for eating off campus.  Without a reservation, you would be waiting forever to get a meal QS or TS.  Great pictures on HMH!  Looking forward to more! 




tksbaskets said:


> Was this a special display at the tech museum?  It really was an outstanding array of Star Wars memorabilia!  I could have spent hours there.  Your lunch looked great too.
> 
> TK



TK, this exhibit had been traveling around the US for nine years and San Jose is the last stop.  As we waited for the Millennium Falcon Experience on my visit I chatted with the guy running the queue.  He said that it had traveled all over and after the exhibit closes, all the pieces go back to their owners.  Many of them are from Lucasfilm, but there were a lot of pieces in the exhibit that came from Private collections.

It was really cool.  I'm sorry that you missed it if it was anywhere near where you live.


----------



## ACDSNY

Great Star War pics, I'm glad you made the day trip to San Jose.

 Sorry to hear about your cousin being in the hospital.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> That's a super busy day at DL.  That part in front of PotC shows a ton of people.
> 
> Food looks great!  Shame about the undercooked burger but at least they comp'ed it on the bill.  I'm guess that's a sign of how busy the kitchen was.  Mimi's is usually pretty good with cooking meals.
> 
> Glad your cousin was okay.  That would have been scary to get that text and wonder how he was doing.



It was super busy at DL. Luckily it was only for this trip and I would not want to experience it again. I t just shows that I have been going to the DL Rduring the slow days and this was not a slow day. It was insane around PotC where we couldn't walk from Frontierland to the alley of NOS.

It was disappointing that the burger at Mimi's Cafe was undercooked. It was busy that night where most of the tables were occupied. Mimi's is a good restaurant and we do enjoying eating at Mimi's in Elk Grove. It was nice that they comp'ed the burger that night for an undercooked.

It was good that he was doing alright that afternoon after being in the hospital. Luckily that his friend took him to the hospital in SoCal and brought him back to our hotel. It is always scary to get a text or call and hear what happens to a family member. 




franandaj said:


> I don't know how I keep missing that you are posting updates.  I guess we are just posting at different times of the day and I miss it in my UserCP.  I was like eight updates behind this time!
> 
> That's really scary about your Cousin, but glad that it was sorted out relatively easily and he was OK.
> 
> I can't believe how mobbed Disneyland is!  I would be bashing my head against the wall with those crowds!  I'm glad you were able to find time to sneak in some fun.  The wait times on Star Tours and Buzz were crazy!  Rarely do I ever see them longer than 30 maybe 45 minutes for ST and Buzz is almost always a 10 minute wait.
> 
> I don't blame you for eating off campus.  Without a reservation, you would be waiting forever to get a meal QS or TS.  Great pictures on HMH!  Looking forward to more!



It was scary to get a text that he was in the hospital when we were in the park. Luckily that his friend was with him and took him to the hospital and brought him back to our hotel that night. 

It was very busy at DL during Christmas break. Have you or Fran ever been to the DLR during Christmas break? Christmas break is one of the busiest times to visit the DLR and it is way busier then the summertime. I have experienced the summertime a lot and thought it was so busy but this is way busier then the summertime. Luckily it was only for this trip and if I ever do come back during that time of the year it would be during New Years Eve in which I want to experience it.The wait times for almost any ride during the busy afternoon was in the 20+ just for the non-busy rides. For the popular rides, they were in the hour range which is crazy. 

It is always nice to eat off-site once in a while instead of eating at the DLR. With the prices, it always nice to eat somewhere else and save some money like Mimi's Cafe or Tony Roma's. With the crowds during our trip, it would take even longer to get a table at the QC or TS. When we had a reservation at Tortilla Jo's on the first night, there was a long queue just to get in as a walk-on. Thank you Alison. I can't wait to leave for my trip next month.




ACDSNY said:


> Great Star War pics, I'm glad you made the day trip to San Jose.
> 
> Sorry to hear about your cousin being in the hospital.



Thank you Angela. It was worth a drive to San Jose for the Star Wars exhibit. 

It was scary at first to hear that he was in the hospital and glad that his friend from SoCal was there with him.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51010732]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 7*

*Floating down with Pirates and Animals*​
Since Cousin C was at the hospital and his friend driving him back to our hotel where we were staying during the trip, DAW decided to stay at the hotel while Silv, MP and I went back to DL that night. DAW wanted Silv and MP have a great time when they are here in California with us and not wait in the room for Cousin C since he is okay and is on his way back. So the three of us headed on back to DL that night and I can tell that it was going to be another busy night at DL during our trip in which there hasn’t been one day where it was not that busy. 

We got back to DL around 8pm that night which was about 4 hours since we left the park. It wasn’t as busy as I have originally thought that night. But since we entered the turnstiles, most of the guests should be around the Hub for the 9:30pm “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks. 




I took a picture of MP and Silv in front of the Main Street Railroad station. It was tough that DAW wasn’t with us that night but she wanted us to have a good time that night.




The first attraction we did that night was Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. I haven’t been to GMwML in a while and it was nice to go inside that night since it wasn’t that busy.













After we watched GMwML, we started to walk on over to our attraction that night. It was almost time for the 9:30pm “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks show and it was too late to get a good decent spot to watch the fireworks. Even when approaching the Hub, the area is all filled up with guests waiting for the fireworks. 

Instead of watching the fireworks that night, we decided it was a good idea to go on the rides while most of the guests are watching the 9:30pm firework show. The regular followers on my previous trip reports know that I like to watch the fireworks when I go to DL and we weren’t able to watch it on the first night since it was cancelled due to high winds. But with the guests waiting to watch the fireworks, it was a good time to go on rides. I don’t like to do that when I am in DL but it was for Silv and MP to get on more rides that night. I have heard and read from other DISers that it is a good idea to go on rides when the fireworks and Fantasmic! going on where the wait times on the rides are shorten.

It was a little busy in MS before the fireworks and it was a good time to go on rides that night.




So we head on over towards Adventureland to go on a ride that night.




The ride that we went on that night was Pirates of the Caribbean. When we were in New Orleans Square, the wait time was only 10 minutes which was not that bad when F! was going on at 9pm. This is the good thing of getting on rides when the F! or the fireworks is going on where the guests will be staking out a spot for the fireworks (just like me) since it only runs once a night and F! twice a night (depends on the park hours). 




It didn’t took too long to get on PotC that night and here are some pictures from PotC that night.








Treasure




















Jack Sparrow at the end of the ride




Silv and MP were impressed with PotC with the Jack Sparrow audio animatronics. It was worth the 10 minute wait to get on PotC where earlier in the afternoon the wait time to get on it was in the 40+ time area which was quite long. But that is what to be expected during the busy season at DL.

After we got off PotC, I had to take them on Jingle Cruise. When we passed by Jingle Cruise when we were about to ride PotC, the wait time was in the 10 minutes area which was kind of low during that part of the night. So I am hoping that the wait time will be around that time. The 9:30pm “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks was going on when we got off PotC. So it was good timing to go on another ride that night.

When we got over to Jingle Cruise, the wait time was only 5 minutes and there were no people on the second level of the queue which is a good sign to go on the ride that night.




It was a complete walk-on that night where we didn’t even wait 5 minutes to get on the next boat that night.




There was barely anyone on board.




It was neat that we almost had the boat to ourselves. There were about another 6 people on the boat with us which is not that much. Our skipper was very energetic on our cruise that night. His name was AJ and he was a very nice skipper.

During the cruise, I didn’t use my camera for most part of the ride since it was tough to get pictures at night even with the higher ISO and aperture on the Tamron lens.

During our cruise, AJ was energetic and even though it was dark where I haven’t rode JC at night in a long time it was great. During the cruise, there were some changes to the scenery where it was a little different from the November trip. At some areas of the ride, the Imagineers added Christmas decorations which was neat. It was great that they added some Christmas decorations to the ride experience then the queue.

When we were about to approach the dock and get off JC. Our skipper told us that we had to wait while another boat was put in the backstage dock so we had to wait awhile. While we were waiting, we got to see Trader Sam all dressed up during the holiday season which was one of the new additions since I have rode it back in November.




After finishing Jingle Cruise, we started to move on to our next activity that night. MP and I were talking about the original Jungle Cruise without the holiday decoration and I told her that most of the ride experience is the same without the holiday decorations. The big difference is the Christmas jokes on the ride where the Jingle Cruise experience is different form the regular version. Stay tune for the next update.

[post=51042919]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51042910]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – December 28th, 2013 – Part 8*

*Last Ride of the Night*​
After we got off Jingle Cruise that night, I had to get dessert that night with MP and Silv. What better place to get a dessert at the Tiki Juice Bar since we were in Adventureland. We got on earlier during the trip and I got to have another one that night. I thought about going to Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor to get a cone but I do enjoy a Dole Whip Float over ice cream at Gibson Girl. 

I know that it was a long shot if the Peppermint Ice Cream would be at Gibson Girl during this trip in which they didn’t have any during the November trip. I did eventually went in GB when we left that Saturday night to see if there was a chance that it would be in GB. Unfortunately GB didn’t have the Peppermint Ice Cream only the Holiday Waffle Cone. It was disappointing that DL didn’t have the Peppermint Ice Cream this year.

The wait time to get the Dole Whip Float was only 5 minutes which was very nice this late at night.




You know that I had to get one no matter what even during a cold night which wasn’t that cold in December which was shocking with all the weather we had these last few months in NorCal. I also got one for Silv and MP and they were glad to get one that night as well.




While walking down DL with our Dole Whip Floats, we decided to walk down in MS to decide what to do that night. With most of the ride wait times are very high even at night, we head on over to TL to do one more ride that we haven’t done yet during the whole trip.

Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle looks so amazing during the holiday season.




While walking by TL to get on over to our next ride, Star Tours was at 70 minutes that late at night which was shocking and BLAB was in the 30 minute wait time. We didn’t pass by Space Mountain but I knew that it was over an hour wait to get on the ride in the stand-buy queue.




The ride that we went on that night was the Disneyland Railroad at the Tomorrowland Station. I was surprised that we weren’t able to ride DLRR during the whole trip and it was a nice night to ride it. Even though there was a wait time at the station, we were able to get on the train that night.

Silv and MP were having a great time and it was fun to ride the DLRR even at night.




We decided to ride the DLRR all the way around the park so they are able to experience different lands when riding the DLRR. It is so nice to ride around the park even when it is dark at night we are able to see a lot of different areas that they won’t get to see when walking in the park.

Main Street Station








We were now in New Orleans Square




Just when we are leaving the NOS station, the second show of F! was going on that night.




After we got to Mickey’s Toontown Depot and passing by It’s a Small World Holiday. Just like all the rides during the whole trip, even IASWH had a long queue to get on that night.




When we got back to the TL station, MP and Silv wanted to ride it to the Main Street station which will be our destination since we plan on leaving the park that night and head on back to our hotel room. So we rode the DLRR all the way back to the MS station. 

And on the way, this time I had to get pictures from the Grand Canyon and Primeval World dioramas.












We approached the Main Street Station and we disembarked from the DLRR.




The three of us decided it was time to head on back to the room and meet up with DAW sand Cousin C who should be at the room at that time. It was already 11pm that night and I wanted to stay a little longer but I was getting tired that night.




They didn’t want to go in the store while we were in MS since we did most of our shopping that afternoon and it was a good thing or they would have spent even more money in MS.

We left the park and head on back to the room to meet up with DAW and Cousin C. On the way out, MP and Silv wanted to get one last picture at DL which was right in front of the DLR Sign right at Harbor Blvd.




When we got back to the hotel around 11:20pm, Cousin C was at the room and he was doing alright. It was a relief that he was doing well that night after being in the hospital in the afternoon. His friend that was with him for most of the day needed a drive back to her home in Orange County since she drove the van back to the hotel. So I took her back to her house in Orange County.

I took her back to her home in Orange County and we were talking on the way to her house that she is also an Annual Passholder at DL. It was neat that Cousin C friend is also a DL AP holder. I was surprised that she was an AP holder at DL and didn’t want to spend time with us at the parks. But I can understand that Cousin C wanted to enjoy his time with her in SoCal while the rest of us had a good time at DL that Saturday. We had a nice talk in the car about her and how she knew Cousin C. 

She was about 20 minutes away from the DLRR and glad she took her time to take care of Cousin C at the hospital and take him back to the hotel that night without having DAW or I go get him. We couldn’t get him anyway since he had the van. 

After I dropped her off at her house, I head on back to the hotel and I got back around 12:30am. It was late and when I got back I went straight to bed until I took a shower. 

That concludes Saturday or the trip and the next day will be a new one and the saddest part of the trip which is our last day in SoCal.

This was a nice day at the parks in which it was so busy as expected during Christmas break. But it was manageable to walk through except in certain lands at DL. We got to go on some rides and see some shows that day but we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to do that night so maybe when Silv and MP ever come back to California with us that we will be able to go on the rides that we wanted to go on but didn’t have the time. It was hard that Cousin C was in the hospital that Saturday but it was a good thing that his friend was with him and took care of him where we couldn't get to Cousin C since he had the van. In the end everything turned out alright. 

This was the last day at the DLR for all of us and we had one more thing to do that day in SoCal so stay tune for the last day of the trip.

[post=51073913]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Glad that Cousin C was okay in the end.  That would have been scary.

Great pics as always.  Sad that it was the last Disney day.

Looking forward to SoCal.


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## tksbaskets

You were smart to go on the rides during the fireworks.  We do that often.  THe lines for IASWH were really long even that late at night.

I love riding the railroad around DL.  We've never done that at night.  You got some wonderful pics of Silv and MP.  I'm sure they treasure them.

The last day coming up already??  When do you go back again?

TK


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Glad that Cousin C was okay in the end.  That would have been scary.
> 
> Great pics as always.  Sad that it was the last Disney day.
> 
> Looking forward to SoCal.



It would have been scary if someone happened to him. It was a good thing that nothing serious has happened.

Thank you PiO.




tksbaskets said:


> You were smart to go on the rides during the fireworks.  We do that often.  THe lines for IASWH were really long even that late at night.
> 
> I love riding the railroad around DL.  We've never done that at night.  You got some wonderful pics of Silv and MP.  I'm sure they treasure them.
> 
> The last day coming up already??  When do you go back again?
> 
> TK



It is a good move to go on the rides during the fireworks. I always have to watch the fireworks even when I am in DL but since we weren't able to go on a lot of rides earlier that day, it was a good idea to go on them during the fireworks and F!. The lines at IASWH was just busy and glad that we were able to go on it the first night of the trip.

I will never get tired of riding the DLRR along with the monorail. You should consider riding the DLRR at night when you are back at the DLR. Even though you can't see too much when riding the DLRR at night and there are times when it looks so amazing to ride it especially during the holiday season passing by IASWH. Silv and MP treasured the whole trip even when we were back in Sacramento from SoCal. I will get to that on another post when I get closer to finishing this trip report.

The last day in SoCal is coming up for the December trip. I will be going back next month in April on the 25th to 28th. It won't be too long until the next trip back to SoCal.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51042919]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 4 – December 29th, 2013 – Part 1*

*Quick walk-in at the Disneyland Resort*​
After a nice day at Disneyland on Saturday and an uneventful situation with Cousin C who was in the hospital but was able to be released that night, it was our last day in Southern California until we head back home later that Sunday night to Sacramento. Silv and MP are looking forward to going to Sacramento where we live since they have never been to Sacramento. On the last day for me during a trip, I do get a few hours in the park until it is time to leave and head on back home to Sacramento. 

But during this trip, we will be heading on over to Universal Studios Hollywood for part of the day. It has been a long long time since I went to Universal Studios Hollywood. I have been to Universal Studios Orlando a lot during the WDW trips the last few years and I haven’t been to Universal Studios Hollywood in ages. So it was nice to go back to USH with everyone in my party. 

It was around 7am when I woke up and everyone got up around the same time. Since Cousin C, Silv and MP only had 3 day park hopper tickets, we weren’t planning on going to the DLR that day. I was also not planning on going that morning as well since we plan on leaving around 10am to Universal Studios Hollywood. There was something that I wasn’t able to accomplish when we were there during the whole trip and it was kind of selfish of me to do a quick trip back to DL that Sunday morning when we should be packing all our bags and leaving that morning. I have done that on Saturday night by packing most of my bags. When I talked to DAW about it and she told me that I can go for less than two hours so I was excited to go back to the DLR for a couple of hours to go on a ride until it was closed for refurbishment. 

I left around 8:20am which was a little late that morning to head on over to the DLR since it was during Christmas break. But I was glad to go in for a few hours to do some things that I haven’t done during this trip.

When I got to the area around the security check-point, there was a long queue to get through. It was not only the middle but on the left and right hand side which took some time to get in the parks. I knew that it was going to be a very busy day just like the other days but to get through the security check-point area took some time. It almost took 5 minutes for me to get pass through the security area.




After waiting in the security area for a few minutes, I was now in the Esplanade and I head on over to DL which was after 8:30am. The turnstiles were not that long where it took quite some time to get through the security check point that morning. 




I entered the park and it was a little busy that morning where most people were walking in at Main Street and I head on over to the ride that I wanted to go on that morning.




Over at the Hub, it was not that busy.




I head on over to Tomorrowland and onto the ride. While passing by Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, the wait times were in the 20 and 10 minute wait time which was not that bad in the morning.

The ride that I went on that morning was the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. After hearing that the ride will be down for over 9 months for refurbishment. This is the first major refurbishment for the ride since the FNSV debut in 2007. I don’t the ride has ever closed for that long time and the lagoon drained during it’s opening in 2007 when it was converted to the FNSV. I have read rumors on a lot of these different sites saying that the FNSV will be closed and the attraction will be something like a Star Wars based ride. It was going to be sad to see this ride that has reopened after a long time and closed for a new attraction. The FNSV is one of the most expensive rides to operate and manage but to close a classic ride will be sad. I loved the original Submarine Voyage when it was here in TL during my childhood and it was nice to see it reopened as the FNSV experience. It is not the same as the original Submarine Voyage but it is nice to be able to ride in the subs that I have rode when I was a little kid. 

This was only going to be a fast ride as the only ride that day at DL so it was a good idea to go on it one more time if they are actually closing the ride. I read a few days ago that Bob Iger chairman and CEO of the WDC announced that the FNSV will be back when it opens in September. So it was nice to hear those comments that the ride will be reopened in September after its long refurbishment.  




The good thing about riding the FNSV is that in the morning there is a short wait time while it can get longer later in the afternoon just like any other ride. 

The sub that I was riding that morning was Mariner 407.




For the ride, I used the DSLR to take pictures where I didn’t bring my video camera. Mostly it is difficult to take pictures on the FNSV when in the caves. Here are my pictures from the ride experience that morning.

About to leave port.




I was on the starboard side of 407 Mariner which is the side that I want since you can see more on the starboard side than the port side. You can tell by the buoy where the Mine Seagulls are located in the lagoon.




The giant sea bass.












Now we entered the underwater caverns where it was going to be hard taking pictures. There were some shots that I was able to get some decent pictures while most of them are blurry due to no lights. But here are some pictures from the underwater caverns.













Underwater Volcano








Who is that blue fish on the right handside?




Now we are back outside the caverns and the two crabs are still fighting each other.




It was nice to ride the FNSV that morning in which it could be my last time riding it if the rumors are true. But after reading about Bob Iger comments about the FNSV, it made me not worry to much that it will be back up and running in the fall time.

When I got off the ride, I started to look at the lagoon before I left that morning.

When I looked at the Matterhorn from the TL which is my favorite side to look at it and the queue for Matterhorn Mountain started to be a little long that morning. But I wasn’t planning on riding it anyway.




I had a last look at the lagoon of the FNSV. When I go back next month to the DLR for my trip with my DAF, the lagoon will be drained and it has been a long time since I seen the lagoon drained. But it was during the construction of the FNSV. Now it will be for the refurbishment. I would say it has been over 7 years since I seen the lagoon drained.




307 Voyager heading on in the underwater caverns.




A look at the dock where some of the subs are on the side that morning like the 807 Argonaut & 107 Nautilus. 




[post=51073933]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51073913]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 4 – December 29th, 2013 – Part 2*

*Quick walk-in at the Disneyland Resort Part 2*​
Just after riding the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, I started to move on to the Hub to look at the New Year’s Eve set which will be used for New Year’s Eve. If I ever do come back to the DLR, this is something that I will want to do someday and be at the park during New Year’s Eve. During our first two days, the sets were not up and all of a sudden on Sunday, the sets are up in the Hub.





Big Countdown monitors on each side looking at Sleeping Beauty Castle.




I didn’t stay too long in DL that morning since I had to get back to the room and load up all of our bags since we will be leaving Anaheim that morning and on to our next destination in SoCal. But I had to do some last second wondering around the parks until I left that morning.





I started to leave the park that morning and there is a big bunch of people heading in that morning.




The Christmas tree at Town Square is so nice to look at each time passing by Main Street




I was in DL for about an hour that morning when I head on out. 




After being in DL for most of the morning, I head on over to DCA for a quick look around before I head on back to the room and meet up with everyone. 

It wasn’t as bad as DL that morning but still crowded.




One last look at the Buena Vista Street Christmas tree until it is taken down during the holiday season but it will be back up during the 2014 holiday season.








When I was around the Carthay Circle Theater, there was a stage along with light towers for the New Year’s Eve Celebration all set up for New Year’s Eve. Just like at the Hub at DL, the stage is all set up for New Year’s Eve at DCA.












Just for a brief moment in DCA, it was time to head on back to the Desert Inn and Suites with the rest of my party.




I exited DCA and now heading back to the hotel to meet up with everyone.




For only being at the DLR for about an hour, I head on back to the hotel before 10am. Everyone was all ready to go and all I had to do was just back all my bags in the van and we started to leave Anaheim and on to our next destination in SoCal.

We left around 10:30am that morning at the Desert Inn & Suites and now heading on over to Los Angeles. This will be it for this post and you will find out what we have done in SoCal that last day of the trip.

[post=51099454]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## ACDSNY

I'm finally caught up again.  I'm happy all ended well with your cousin.


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## PrincessInOz

Nice of your DA to let you head off to DLR for a couple of hours before heading out.  Seems like you made the most of getting on FNSV.  Nice pictures from the ride.


Look forward to you next update.


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## franandaj

Another great trip to DLR!  Thanks for all the wonderful pictures.  Less than a month until you are back and we go to Napa Rose!


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## tksbaskets

I'm glad you were able to sneak off to DL that morning and take a ride on the submarine.  I bet the lagoon looks strange without water.

We've never gone to Universal Studios so I'm looking forward to hearing about that part of your trip.


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## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> I'm finally caught up again.  I'm happy all ended well with your cousin.



It was good that nothing was wrong with him during the trip.




PrincessInOz said:


> Nice of your DA to let you head off to DLR for a couple of hours before heading out.  Seems like you made the most of getting on FNSV.  Nice pictures from the ride.
> 
> 
> Look forward to you next update.



That was so nice of her to let me go in the parks for a few hours to be able to ride the FNSV before it is closed for the 9 month refurbishment. It is nice to hear that the ride won't be closing permanently for a Star Wars theme attraction.




franandaj said:


> Another great trip to DLR!  Thanks for all the wonderful pictures.  Less than a month until you are back and we go to Napa Rose!



Thank you Alison. It was a fun trip to the DLR during the holiday season even though it would have been better without the crazy Christmas break crowds. It won't be too long until we are back in SoCal and my DAF and I are looking forward to the Napa Rose.




tksbaskets said:


> I'm glad you were able to sneak off to DL that morning and take a ride on the submarine.  I bet the lagoon looks strange without water.
> 
> We've never gone to Universal Studios so I'm looking forward to hearing about that part of your trip.



Thanks TK. It was nice of my DAW to let me go to the parks for a couple of hours before we left that morning in SoCal. Seeing the FNSV all drained during my upcoming trip later this month will be strange since it was drained during the construction of the FNSV. I have seen the lagoon drained during the old Submarine Voyage and it was so strange back then. 

The wait is no more and you will find out about what happened at Universal Studios Hollywood on the next post.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51073933]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 4 – December 29th, 2013 – Part 3*

*Universal Studios Hollywood and the Studio Tour 1*​
After we left the Desert Inn & Suites in Anaheim after being at the Disneyland Resort for 4 days (3 days for DAW, Cousin C, Silv and MP since I went on Sunday by myself for a couple of hours), we start to go on our next destination in Southern California. My DAW told me when we were in SoCal, she wanted to take Silv and MP to Universal Studios Hollywood. I had no problem of going to Universal Studios Hollywood with them since DAW wants them to experience something else then the DLR. It also was my first time going to USH in over 10 years which is around the mid 90’s. I haven’t been to USH in years and it was nice to go and see the difference when I last visited. I have been to Universal Studios Orlando four times since my last visit to USH in the mid 90’s. 

I was mostly driving all the way to USH that morning but Cousin C was able to drive until I need a break. It was nice that he was doing okay after a scary incident the other day. But he was okay and he was looking forward to USH the most out of all of us since this was the event that he wanted to see even over the DLR.

Before we head on over to Universal Studios Hollywood, we stopped at a Denny’s restaurant around Universal Studios Hollywood since everyone was getting hungry that afternoon around 11:30pm. I thought that we were about to try one of those interesting restaurants that my DAW was looking at in Los Angeles. She was looking at a restaurant that she saw on the Food Network Diners, Drive-In & Dives but it was out of our way and we didn’t have a lot of time at USH so we just stopped at a Denny’s on the way.

After we ate at Denny’s we head on over to Universal Studios Hollywood around 1pm. Very interesting for me is that I will be going to two different resorts on the same day (Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood). This is not the first time for me to be at two different theme parks that are owned by different companies in which I have been to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando during my Florida trips. 

We parked our cars and we walked through the Universal CityWalk on over to Universal Studios Hollywood park. The Universal CityWalk just like the Disneyland Resort where it is decorated during the holiday season. It almost feels to me that the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles is much bigger then Orlando when we were walking on over to the park. I believe that the Orlando CityWalk is bigger over the Los Angeles version. 








Universal Studio Store




We were at the front entrance to USH and it was all decorated with the Grinch Stole Christmas theme decorations.




The wacky Christmas trees




Before we entered the turnstiles to Universal Studios Hollywood, we had to pick up our ticket at the guests relations. We ordered the tickets online and my DAW had to pick up the tickets at GR. While she was in the queue, there was a problem with some of our tickets saying that we only had purchased three out of five tickets. My DAW told the staff that we had ordered 5 one day tickets where it only said three. So she had to talk with the management and showed her some email to confirm that she actually bought 5 tickets then the three. I was surprised to hear that we only got three tickets instead of five. I knew that my DAW bought five tickets since I was with her when we were purchasing the tickets on the computer.

So while DAW and Cousin C are at GR to work the problems, Silv, MP and I went inside USH.




When we got in Universal Studios Hollywood, it looked completely different when I have been here since the mid 90s’s. So it was all totally new to me since I am not a fan of USH. While we were walking in, SIlv, MP and I went in to some of the stores while we were waiting for DAW and Cousin C to come in the park. 

The whole day was busy as expected during the Christmas break.




Not only the rides and shows but the food queues are also busy that afternoon with long queues.




After going into some stores, we head on over to the Studio Tour which is the highlight of the park in my opinion. We have been talking about going on this ride when we were in USH. But I was worried that the wait time was going to be in the hour plus range since we came late that afternoon. When Silv, MP and I head on down over to the Studio Tour ride, the wait time was already at 70 minutes. 




We head on down the escalator and over to the USH ride. It has been years since I have went down the long escalators to the ride where the park is on a mountain and this is not flat like Disneyland. So I wasn’t used to taking escalators in the parks. Like at Universal Studios Orlando, there weren’t too many escalators like Universal Studios Hollywood.




While the three of us are waiting right at the front entrance of the Studio Tour ride for DAW and Cousin C, we were talking about the experience during the whole trip. Silv and MP were glad that it was with us. 




When DAW and Cousin C finally made it into the park, they told us about the ticket issue and my DAW showed the management the email of the ticket purchasing of five instead of three that was in the system. 

For all the trouble, we were given three priority front of line passes for the trouble. This was a great comp for all the trouble that my DAW had to endure at Guest Relations. So with one of our three front of line passes, we used the first one on the Studio Tour ride. It was great to get the front of line pass so we wouldn’t have to wait 70 minutes to get on the ride or we would have to wait a while that afternoon.

 We got in the line and moved towards the front waiting for the next tram.




So we had two priority passes to use that afternoon and you will find out later on the posts to see what the other two rides that we have used that day.




In less than 10 minutes since we got in the queue for the Studio Tour, we boarded the tram and now on our journey through the Studio Tour. It has been years since I have rode the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood since I have ridden the version at Universal Studios Orlando and a similar version at Disney Hollywood Studios Studios Backlot Tour.

The host of the Studio Tour was Jimmy Fallon the star of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”.

Here are some pictures from the Studio Tour and it was hard to memorize the whole experience since it was over half an hour tour. 
















We moved on to the King Kong 360 3-D. This was the highlight of the Studio Tour experience since it is the world’s largest 3-D experience. It was very interesting to go through the King Kong 360 3-D experience that it lived up to its hype after seeing it for the first time.




The show lived up to its expectations and now we moved on from the experience and to our next area of the tour.




Next was the Universal Picture Cars that were used in the movies.








Cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious




The Flip Car from Fast & Furious 6




Stage 55 which is the Fast and the Furious Extreme Close-Up that we didn’t go through during the tour. 




That will be it for this part of the post and it will be continue on the next post.

[post=51099474]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51099454]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 4 – December 29th, 2013 – Part 4*

*Studio Tour Part 2*​
We were passing by the Jurassic Park prop vehicles that were used in the second movie “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”. 








We were now in the Flood Flood attraction of the Studio Tour which the downhill flood effect has appeared in other films like Big Fat Liar and Fletch Lives. 








During this area of the tour which was around Western Street, our guide told us that part of this area of the studios was shot for the movie “Saving Mr. Banks”. The bank and town that was used in the movie where Mr. Goff works located in the outback town of Allora. I was fortunate to see the movie and it was neat to see the scene where they shot the movie at Universal Studios Hollywood. 








The King Kong Sea which is right next to a body of water around Skull Mountain Island. 




We were entering the soundstage building of “Earthquake” which I have experienced when I ridden the Studio Tour. It is design to like like the San Francisco subway station and experiencing an 8.3 earthquake. 




It was shaking on the tram.




And hot as well




We left the soundstage and back outside for the rest of the tour.




This was the Jaws event scene which we passed by it.




Some prop houses from the hit series “Desperate Housewives”.




During the holiday season at USH, at the Whoville is all decorated during the holiday season at part of Universal’s Grinchmas celebration. It was a musical spectacular for the guests that was riding the tram during the Studio Tour.








We were now entering the “War of The Worlds” set.












We are heading on back to the station and it was neat to look out from the top and see Warner Brothers Studios which is not too far away from Universal Studios Hollywood.




We have now got off the Studio Tour ride and now leaving the area to go to our next activity that day. It was nice that we got the front of line passes or we would still be in the queue to get on the ride that day. 

That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update at Universal Studios Hollywood.

[post=51130993]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## ACDSNY

That was great you were able to skip the 70 minute line with the Front of the Line passes.

 I haven't been to USH in many years so it's neat to see the changes.


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## PrincessInOz

What a pain to have to deal with admin to sort out 5 passes instead of 3.  That is usually my worst nightmare and I print a hard copy of everything.....just in case.  Glad to see that your DAW did the same thing.

At least you got 3 very valuable FotL passes for your time here.

I haven't been to USH since 2008.  But it's always a fun park to get to.


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## tksbaskets

Thank goodness you had a glitch and got the front of the line passes.  The lines are really horrible when you were at USH.

I went once to USO.  Such a different atmosphere than WDW.  How do you feel the two parks compare in California?

TK


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## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> That was great you were able to skip the 70 minute line with the Front of the Line passes.
> 
> I haven't been to USH in many years so it's neat to see the changes.



It was nice to skip the 70 minute standby queue with the FotL passes. We would have spent a lot of time in the queue and not to be able to do the other things that day. 

Just like you it has been years for me to be at USH and I can't remember what USH looked like back in the 90s.




PrincessInOz said:


> What a pain to have to deal with admin to sort out 5 passes instead of 3.  That is usually my worst nightmare and I print a hard copy of everything.....just in case.  Glad to see that your DAW did the same thing.
> 
> At least you got 3 very valuable FotL passes for your time here.
> 
> I haven't been to USH since 2008.  But it's always a fun park to get to.



It was a pain for DAW to go through and thanks to the customer service that we were able to get 3 FotL passes to use that day and it was well worth it later on to be able to skip those long queues.

USH is a nice park but I don't enjoy it as much as the Disney parks. 




tksbaskets said:


> Thank goodness you had a glitch and got the front of the line passes.  The lines are really horrible when you were at USH.
> 
> I went once to USO.  Such a different atmosphere than WDW.  How do you feel the two parks compare in California?
> 
> TK



It was good that it was all worked out by Guest Relations. It was nice to get the FotL passes for the trouble or we would have to wait a long time to get on the ride just like riding any of the big rides at DL.

When I compare the two parks in California, it is just like USO where it is not that enjoyable when I go in USH. It was nice to go back for the first time in years to USH but after being in the park later that day that I didn't want to spend more time there and want to head on out. USO is better in my opinion over USH where USO has much more things to do than USH where is only has USH park while USO also has Islands of Adventure. It will be very interesting in a couple of years how the newest expansion to USH "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" will do for USH after the big success of IoA WWoHP. I am also curious of how the new expansion of the WWoHP at USO will be like. It also gives me a reason to go back to USO when I got back to Florida.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51099474]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 4 – December 29th, 2013 – Part 5*

*Universal Studios Hollywood Part 3*​
After we got off the Studio Tour which was nice to ride that day where we didn’t have to wait in the long queue thanks to the mishaps with the tickets. My DAW was not that happy to work out the situation with the tickets that afternoon but in the end it worked out really well while we saved about an hour of wait time to get on the Studio Tour.

Just like since we got here at Universal Studios Hollywood, the whole day just have been busy. It almost feel like we are back in DL but on a less busy scale where we were barely walking to our next destination.




As you can tell from the wait times for the rides that they were in the 40 minute plus range. 




It was just crazy that whole day and it will be a long time until I come back to Universal Studios Hollywood in the near future. Well actually I might come back in 2016 where the new expansion “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” will make its way to the West Coast. After experiencing the WWoHP at Universal Studios Orlando at Islands of Adventure in Florida, I am excited to see what the new WWoHP will be like at Universal Studios Hollywood in a couple of years.

When we got back to the upper level of USH, the park started to get a little busy around that afternoon. It was not that busy around “The Simpsons Ride”.




But when we walked pass by the Simpson ride, it started to look like Christmas break crowds.




After walking on the upper level, we went to the lower level and towards our next destination that day. 




It has been a long time since I was in USH and I don’t like going down the escalators to the lower lot.




It was a little busy around the area but at least it was manageable then in the upper lot.




Our next ride at USH that day was Transformers the Ride 3D. This is one of the rides that I wanted to go on since it just opened in 2012.




The wait time to get on Transformers was 70 minutes which was a long time to get on just like the Studio Tour earlier that day. Buy since we got Front of the Line passes, we were able to skip the standby queue and enter the FotL queue which helped a lot.

It was a quick walk through the FotL queue.




We did hit the traffic and we only waited about 10 minutes to get on the ride which was way better than being in the 70 minute standby queue.




During the ride, I didn’t used my camera since I wanted to experience the ride and it was in 3D so the pictures wouldn’t turn out that well. The ride lived up to its expectations where it was great. My DAW didn’t like the ride that well since it was a little rough for her. Cousin C enjoyed the ride as well as Silv and MP.

When we got off Transformers the Ride 3D and back outside, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are greeting the guests. The wait time to get a picture with them is over 40 minutes which is better than 2 hours for a meet & greet with Anna and Elsa at DL.




While we were still in the lower lot, we went in the NBCUniversal Experience building. It features props, wardrobe and artifacts from the Universal film history.




The Original “Hero” DeLorean Time Machine was in the NBCUniversal Experience building.




Just when we were finished lookin in the NBCUniversal Experience building, we had one FotL pass to use that day before we called it at Universal Studios Hollywood. While we were still in the lower lot, we looked at what other rides to do. We thought about going back on Transformers but we didn’t want to go back on it. The other two rides that were in the lower lot was Jurassic Park: The Ride and Revenge of the Mummy. MP wanted to go on a rollercoaster during the trip in which we didn’t go on any during the DL trip. So she decided that we should use the last FotL pass for Revenge of the Mummy which is a rollercoaster type ride. DAW decided not to go on the ride since she doesn’t like to go on rollercoasters so the four of us went on the ride and I left my camera behind.

Luckily for us that we had the FotL pass to use so we wouldn’t have to wait about 40 minutes to get on the ride that day. The ride is an indoor steel rollercoaster that goes forward and backwards.

MP was glad that we went on Revenge of the Mummy as our last ride that day at USH. I was glad that it was a fine ride and it almost reminds me of Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom where it is not as scary at Revenge of the Mummy ride but it does have in common that it goes forward and backward.

When we met up with DAW, it was time to head on out of the park and leave Universal Studios Hollywood.




Going back up to the upper lot can be scary sometimes and daunting. Luckily it was just for this one day.





One last picture of MP, Silv and DAW enjoying the trip. Silv and MP enjoyed every minute with us when they got to SoCal.




On the way out of USH, it was neat to see the Christmas decorations.








Just ready to leave USH that day and it was not that bad for a few hours where we got to go on three rides and all those crowds.




That will be it for post and there is one more update from the December trip report until this will conclude the December trip report.

[post=51130998]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51130993]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 4  December 29th, 2013  Part 6*

*Mexican Dinner & Last Night in SoCal*​
Just when we left Universal Studios Hollywood park, we walked on back towards Universal CityWalk. There were a lot of people walking through the CityWalk that night.




We were originally going to leave Universal Studios Hollywood and get a head start on the road back to Sacramento where the trip is almost over. But before we left, everyone was starving that day so we decided to have dinner in USH. It was nice to have dinner at USH where there were a lot of interesting places to eat that night.

For that night we ate at Camachos Cantina a Mexican restaurant. Cousin C loves Mexican food like the time we ate at Tortilla Jos at Downtown Disney on the first night of the trip and what better place to finish a meal is to eat at a Mexican restaurant at the CityWalk.




Just by the entrance was a Christmas tree which I had to get a picture of.




Luckily it wasnt that busy that night as we were seated almost immediately in the restaurant.












Camachos Cantina menu




I had the Chile Verde which is tender braised pork smothered in special tomatillo sauce topped with red onions and cilantro. It also came with Mexican style rice and refried beans.




Cousin C shared with DAW and they got the Sepulveda Enchiladas which is two shredded beef enchilades with salsa roja, topped with crema Mexicana and it came with Mexican style rice and refried beans.




Silv got the Shrimp Taquitos which is four crispy rolled corn tortillas filled with shrimp, topped with creamy chipotle sauce, served with pico de gallo.




MP got the Chicken Enchiladas de Mole with Two shredded chicken enchiladas smothered in velvety mole sauce, topped with creama Mexicana.




After eating at Camachos Cantina, we head on back to the van in the parking lot and drove back home to Sacramento. It was about a 7 hour drive back home to Sacramento with a few stops on the way. I drove most of the way back home to Sacramento and we got home around 2am. Since we left around 7pm in SoCal and with all the stops on the way, I knew that we were going to be back home late that day.

This is a side when we got back to Sacramento the next day on the 30th. The next day, my DAW took Silv, MP and me to San Francisco. Since Silv and MP never been to California until this trip, DAW wanted to show them SF when they are here with us. It has been years since I have been at Pier 39 in SF since I mostly go to other parts of SF like China Town.

Here are some pics from that day.




We had lunch at Crab Stand




I had the New England Clam Chowder in the bread bowl




This concludes the December trip report where it was a very interesting one with all the Christmas crowds and both the Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood all busy. But we were able to do some of our activities during the trip. It would have been better if we went during a different time of the year to visit SoCal but that was the best time for Silv and MP to come to visit us. We did a lot of rides, shows, dining, etc. during the trip and we enjoyed it a lot. I did enjoy eating at those sit down character breakfast restaurants at Ariels Grotto and the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends. It is so amazing to see the Christmas decorations at the DLR every year and even though we were there during the worst time to visit the parks, it was enjoyable to be with DAW, Silv, MP and Cousin C. There were times where we didnt get to do all the stuff that we wanted to do like some rides at the parks, shows, etc. But we did do okay during the trip. Even though Cousin C was in the hospital during the trip, it was a good thing that he was okay. It was also neat to be able to go to Universal Studios Hollywood for the first time since the 90s. That was a long time ago since I have been to USH and it was nice to be able to go on some rides that day.

This concludes the December trip report during Christmas break. Now this trip report is over, a new trip is coming up shortly in less than 3 weeks. I will be heading back to SoCal with DAF in a few weeks. This trip is a relaxation trip in which we have been working a lot. With my basketball season over in February, it was time to have a nice relaxation at the Happiest Place On Earth. So stay tune for a pre-trip report update of what we are planning to do during the trip.

Thank you for following along the trip report.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Nice trip, Bret.

Those crowds look very busy at both DLR and USH.  That issue with the tix turned out to be for the best.  I think you made great use of the FotL passes.
Love the food porn.


And take a look at those sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf.  I was last there in 2012 and there were 5 lions in total.  Glad to see that they've come back.  


Look forward to the next trip and more pictures.


----------



## Sherry E

*Bret --*

I got caught up and now have some comments!

The HMH photos were great (especially the singing pumpkin heads inside the ride)!

I didn't realize it at first (back in September, during Halloween Time), but now I see that the purple and green zombies that appeared in front of DAW at the end of HMH were what the Limited Time Magic "Spooky Kooky" cookies (zombie cookies) were based on!  For some reason it didn't hit me until now.  I bought one of the cookies on September 13th and it was delicious, but when I looked at it I didn't realize that those zombies appeared at the end of the ride.  The frosting was melting off of the cookies, so the zombies didn't hold up too well to heat.

One of my favorite details of the Autopia ride is not only the Mouse Crossing sign, with the silhouette of Mickey, but also the tiny mouse-sized tunnel on the left side curb.  So clever and cute!

I don't know if I missed it somewhere, but what did Cousin C eat that landed him in the hospital? I know that something got stuck in his throat, but what was it?  I'm glad he was okay, but how scary!

I think you're right -- there are some areas of Goofy's Kitchen that seem a little cramped (though not all areas) and there are some areas of Plaza Inn that seem cramped (though not all areas).  When I ate outdoors at PI for lunch last December it did not feel too cramped, but when I ate inside at one of the indoor tables there it felt cramped.

I am both happy and annoyed that more decorations were added into Jingle Cruise between November and December.  When I rode JC in November I didn't even get to see the upstairs queue because the line was so short, so I missed those decorations.  The decorations on the boats were very minimal.  Had I known that so many more holiday details would be added in along the course of the ride I would have made a point to ride it again in December!

Don't even get me started on that darn peppermint ice cream fiasco from last year -- it was there at DLR; then it disappeared and was not due to ever come back; then it suddenly appeared again for Christmas week; then it disappeared again. 

Did you notice that the nighttime Winter Castle -- while still beautiful -- did not have as many icicle lights on it (or they were less visible) last year?  I noticed it right away in November and I was reminded by seeing your picture of the Castle at night during December.  The icicle lights were thinned out in some spots, leaving more of the Castle's color to be exposed.  In 2012 the Castle was brighter and more shimmery at night because there were more icicle lights.  Look at one of your photos of the Castle from 2012 and then compare it with your photo from 2013 and tell me if you see the difference.  

Good ol' DLR -- they add cool stuff for the holidays that we like, but then they always end up skimping in some other area, though it is not necessarily in areas that people will notice a difference.  If they thin out the lights on the Castle they probably assume it won't make a big enough impact to really bother anyone.

The lights on the GCH tree were different in 2013 as opposed to 2012 and years prior, as well!

Now I am curious -- which interesting restaurant from _Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives_ did DAW want to try (that you guys didn't have time for)?

About the USH holiday decorations -- You know, I think that Whoville looks really cute and I like the look of the decorations at dusk, as you all were making your way out of the park.  Other than that, I like that they have Grinchmas -- I think it's a fun idea for those who are fans of the Grinch -- and the wacky trees are clever.  However...it wasn't as colorful and whimsical as I thought it would be!  The colors seemed rather flat for the holiday season, and not terribly bright.  

Or maybe I am just spoiled by Disneyland!


----------



## franandaj

Finally got caught up!  I'm not sure when I was last at USH, but I know it was sometime when I was employed so had to be prior to 2002.  We must have had our company picnic there in 2001 and we upgraded our passes to that get a year free thing, and came back sometime in September if I recall correctly.  It must have been pre 9/11 so the first weekish.  Maybe 2000, but regardless it's been a long time!

I've been to Orlando twice since then!

I'm not sure I really want to go back, your pictures with the up the hill down the hill stuff make it seem very tedious, especially with the scooter.  Fran wasn't using it the last time we went there.

I'm glad that your family had a good time and you were able to get in most of the attractions you wanted.  That FOTL pass ended up helping out quite a bit.  Good Customer Service on their part.  Looking forward to the next trip where I have a Cameo and we get to have a GREAT meal together!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice trip, Bret.
> 
> Those crowds look very busy at both DLR and USH.  That issue with the tix turned out to be for the best.  I think you made great use of the FotL passes.
> Love the food porn.
> 
> 
> And take a look at those sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf.  I was last there in 2012 and there were 5 lions in total.  Glad to see that they've come back.
> 
> 
> Look forward to the next trip and more pictures.



Thank you PiO.

All the days that we have been at the DLR and USH were just busy and busy. The wait times were extremely high on all the rides. Getting the FotL passes with the ticket issue saved us hours of time on the rides. If you are going to USH during the Christmas season like I did, getting the FotL passes make sense. But for the price of getting FotL is a lot. It is good to get during the heavy season then the slower season. 

Camachos Cantina was very nice Mexican restaurant.

There were a lot of sea lions on the Fishermans Wharf in SF during our visit.

Thank you for following along PiO and this upcoming trip should be a fun one.




Sherry E said:


> *Bret --*
> 
> I got caught up and now have some comments!
> 
> The HMH photos were great (especially the singing pumpkin heads inside the ride)!
> 
> I didn't realize it at first (back in September, during Halloween Time), but now I see that the purple and green zombies that appeared in front of DAW at the end of HMH were what the Limited Time Magic "Spooky Kooky" cookies (zombie cookies) were based on!  For some reason it didn't hit me until now.  I bought one of the cookies on September 13th and it was delicious, but when I looked at it I didn't realize that those zombies appeared at the end of the ride.  The frosting was melting off of the cookies, so the zombies didn't hold up too well to heat.
> 
> One of my favorite details of the Autopia ride is not only the Mouse Crossing sign, with the silhouette of Mickey, but also the tiny mouse-sized tunnel on the left side curb.  So clever and cute!
> 
> I don't know if I missed it somewhere, but what did Cousin C eat that landed him in the hospital? I know that something got stuck in his throat, but what was it?  I'm glad he was okay, but how scary!
> 
> I think you're right -- there are some areas of Goofy's Kitchen that seem a little cramped (though not all areas) and there are some areas of Plaza Inn that seem cramped (though not all areas).  When I ate outdoors at PI for lunch last December it did not feel too cramped, but when I ate inside at one of the indoor tables there it felt cramped.
> 
> I am both happy and annoyed that more decorations were added into Jingle Cruise between November and December.  When I rode JC in November I didn't even get to see the upstairs queue because the line was so short, so I missed those decorations.  The decorations on the boats were very minimal.  Had I known that so many more holiday details would be added in along the course of the ride I would have made a point to ride it again in December!
> 
> Don't even get me started on that darn peppermint ice cream fiasco from last year -- it was there at DLR; then it disappeared and was not due to ever come back; then it suddenly appeared again for Christmas week; then it disappeared again.
> 
> Did you notice that the nighttime Winter Castle -- while still beautiful -- did not have as many icicle lights on it (or they were less visible) last year?  I noticed it right away in November and I was reminded by seeing your picture of the Castle at night during December.  The icicle lights were thinned out in some spots, leaving more of the Castle's color to be exposed.  In 2012 the Castle was brighter and more shimmery at night because there were more icicle lights.  Look at one of your photos of the Castle from 2012 and then compare it with your photo from 2013 and tell me if you see the difference.
> 
> Good ol' DLR -- they add cool stuff for the holidays that we like, but then they always end up skimping in some other area, though it is not necessarily in areas that people will notice a difference.  If they thin out the lights on the Castle they probably assume it won't make a big enough impact to really bother anyone.
> 
> The lights on the GCH tree were different in 2013 as opposed to 2012 and years prior, as well!
> 
> Now I am curious -- which interesting restaurant from _Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives_ did DAW want to try (that you guys didn't have time for)?
> 
> About the USH holiday decorations -- You know, I think that Whoville looks really cute and I like the look of the decorations at dusk, as you all were making your way out of the park.  Other than that, I like that they have Grinchmas -- I think it's a fun idea for those who are fans of the Grinch -- and the wacky trees are clever.  However...it wasn't as colorful and whimsical as I thought it would be!  The colors seemed rather flat for the holiday season, and not terribly bright.
> 
> Or maybe I am just spoiled by Disneyland!


Thank you Sherry. The pictures are getting better and better with every trip with the dark rides. I still have a lot to learn.

That is very interesting to hear that the zombie cookies at the end of HMH were close to the Limited Time Magic Spooky Kooky cookies. I really wanted to get one of those cookies during my trip in September but I was one day too late. 

It is so interesting how the Imagineers put all these details on the ride to make it more interesting. It has been years since I rode the Autopia and it was fun to ride it.

Cousin C was with his old colleague from work. He had a pea stuck in his throat.

So it wasnt me when we ate at GK. After looking at all different pictures of GK the seating areas were not all cramped. Outside at the Plaza Inn can seem like it is all crammed.

I thought the ride experience decorations on the JC should be left as is during the November trip since it does feel a little bit odd with the decorations during the December trip. I wanted to see what the queue was like upstairs but no one wanted to wait in that long queue so we never went upstairs as well. It would have been neat to see the decorations upstairs as well.

I wont talk about the peppermint ice cream.

I wasnt so sure of the icicles on SB Winter Castle this year when you compare it to the other years during the holiday season. When I looked at them so closely, it does look like in some areas of the castle when the icicles at night are not as bright as from the previous years. It did look like the castle this year looked less bright from the other years. I looked at both pictures from the 2012 and 2013 that when I compare them it does feel like the 2013 were less bright than the 2012.

This past year it seems like they added some new holiday merchandise during the holiday season than the other years where it is like the same thing over and over. It was nice that they added some new merchandise during the holiday season. You know that every year during the holiday or Halloween season that somewhere or something will be taken out for something new.

The place that DAW wanted to try during the trip in which we didnt have time was The Parks Finest which is about 10 minute drive from Universal Studios Hollywood. It is a BBQ restaurant that tri-tip and there signature homemade cornbread Bibingka. She wanted to try that place but leaving later that day changed our plans for the trip.

The Christmas decorations at USH was not that bad. I could have enjoyed the decorations a little more if we had time but we didnt have time to go through all those different areas but overall it was nice. 

Since we are Disney people and not big fans of Universal, we can be spoiled of Disneyland.




franandaj said:


> Finally got caught up!  I'm not sure when I was last at USH, but I know it was sometime when I was employed so had to be prior to 2002.  We must have had our company picnic there in 2001 and we upgraded our passes to that get a year free thing, and came back sometime in September if I recall correctly.  It must have been pre 9/11 so the first weekish.  Maybe 2000, but regardless it's been a long time!
> 
> I've been to Orlando twice since then!
> 
> I'm not sure I really want to go back, your pictures with the up the hill down the hill stuff make it seem very tedious, especially with the scooter.  Fran wasn't using it the last time we went there.
> 
> I'm glad that your family had a good time and you were able to get in most of the attractions you wanted.  That FOTL pass ended up helping out quite a bit.  Good Customer Service on their part.  Looking forward to the next trip where I have a Cameo and we get to have a GREAT meal together!



Just like you, I have been to USO way more times over USH. But there was a reason to visit USO during those times in Florida with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it will be the same thing for USH when it opens in a couple of years. 

There are a lot of hills at USH and have to go up and down the escalators which can be old and scary at times.

We were glad to get FotL passes so we didnt have to wait in those queue or it would have been a long time. The Customer Service at USH was great to work out the situation. We are looking forward to our trip in a couple of weeks and it wont be too long until it is time to leave.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I just concluded [post=50364586]Braving the Crowds after Christmas at Disneyland with Family & Friends[/post]. This was big trip in which we went during one of the busiest times at the Disneyland Resort which was during Christmas break. This was by far the busiest time I have ever been in the parks out of all the years I have ben to the DLR. But we were able to survive the crowds in which it wasnt as bad as I have originally thought. We were able to go on some rides in which we didnt do all the rides that we wanted to do but we were able to go on the rides that MP wanted to go on. It was nice to go to the DLR with my DAW, Cousin C, Silv and MP but it would have been better if we went during a different time of the season. We picked Silv and MP from LAX and we spent four days in SoCal and a couple of days in Sacramento where they had a great time. We spent three days at the DLR and spent half a day at Universal Studios Hollywood in which I havent been there since the mid 90s. I was glad that we all had a great time even though it was really busy. Now it is time to get to the pre-trip plans of the upcoming trip in less than a couple of weeks.

Now I am planning my pre-trip for April 25th to 28th, 2014 which is our time to get away from the real world and enjoy the Magic.

*Cast:* Me Bret 32 and my DAF 62

This will be our first trip to the DLR this year in which my last trip was in December 2013 and my DAF last trip since November 2013.

The trip will be here quickly when I am working on this pre-trip planning. Right now here is what this trip is all about. It was time for my DAF and I to take a break from the real world from work and basketball to have a nice relaxation at our favorite place on Earth. It almost feels like it has been months since I was at the DLR. This was the best time to have our vacation since I have been busy with work these last two months and was lucky to get some time off these coming weeks until the trip. Just like DAF, she was busy with work too and glad to take some time off with me. Originally we were supposed to go on May 2nd to 4th, 2014 but I was told that they needed me that weekend so they gave me the 25th to 28th as my time off from work. This will be another four day trip in SoCal which it is nice to be in SoCal longer then the three days that we have been. It really worked well since it will be during the off-season at the DLR. This should be a very fun relaxation trip for the two of us. 

Not only we are going to our favorite place on Earth, it will be even better where we will be eating at one of the restaurants that I have never ate at the DLR. The restaurant that we will be eating is the Napa Rose. The finest sit down restaurant at the DLR and after all these years, we have never ate at this place. I have heard great reviews about the restaurant that DAF told me that it will be nice to have dinner there one day. We will be having dinner with Alison (franandaj) and Fran for dinner on Saturday during the trip. They have ate at the Napa Rose and I have read from her past trip reports that they like eating at the Napa Rose. We also were able to get seats for the Chefs Counter that day. I have been recommended this by Alison and others that your first dining experience at the Napa Rose should be through the Chefs Counter. So the two of us are looking forward to having dinner at the Chefs Counter with Alison and Fran. This trip also has a bonus on one of the days during the trip. When I have been looking on the D23 website and found out that the Mickeys of Glendale store will be open to the Gold and Silver Members on Saturday the 26th which is the Walt Disney Imagineers store in Glendale California. I didnt know about the shopping day at the MoG store when I booked our dates a couple of days ago. So this trip will be even special with the shopping at the MoG store and the Napa Rose Chefs Counter experience. 

Also during the trip, I have got new stuff to use during the trip. Ever since the December trip, I have got some new toys to use for the trip. I have bought a Lowepro Pro Runner 350 backpack to replace my Lowepro Fastpack 250 bag which will carry even more camera equipment along with a tripod which my old bag didnt have. This will also be a great opportunity to carry my tripod on my backpack instead of carrying another bag which is a lot of weight on my shoulders. I also have borrowed my friends Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens which I am looking forward to use where I have used a lot of different lenses at the parks and this is the widest lens that I have ever used. I have read that photographers love the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens when used at the parks.  And lastly, I will be using my GoPro during the trip in which I didnt use it too much during the December trip. But this time, I got a head strap clip that I can wear the GoPro on my head. I plan on using the head strap while riding on rides at the parks. I am looking forward to wearing this when we ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which just reopened after over a year refurbishment. That is another thing that I will be looking forward to heading back to the DLR. There are four things that I am looking forward to the trip. During the trip, I will do my usual rides, shows, etc. and of course taking pictures at the DLR. The one that I am looking forward to do is the long exposure nighttime pictures that I have seen on flickr. This is something that I wanted to do at night where I dont set up my tripod and take long exposure shots. I have looked at *PiO*, *KCmike* & *Im mikey* of their long exposure nighttime pictures and it made me want to try it. Thats why I love the threads of trying new things during my trips.

We will be driving down from Sacramento to Anaheim like we usually do or anyone that is going down to Anaheim. I always say this over and over on my pre-trip plans but I just like driving then flying. Since I bring a lot of bags with me it does make sense to drive down to SoCal instead of paying for a rental car and possibly pay extra money to check bags on a flight like on every trip except with DAW where we go in a different direction to SoCal which is on I-5. DAF and I mostly go on I-99 to SoCal and hook up the intersection of I-5 to SoCal since we stop at Livingston (close to Merced) that is always on my way to Anaheim to see my grandmother. Than after we stop at my grandmothers house, we will head on over to Anaheim. We will be leaving on Monday morning back to Livingston and back to Sacramento that day. On the way back home, we mostly stop at Little Tokyo in Los Angeles on the way home to get some groceries that we cant get here in NorCal. 

We will be staying at Best Westerns Anaheim Inn which is our usual hotel where we stay during our trips to the DLR. We always enjoy staying at the Best Western hotels (Best Western Park Place Inn, Best Western Anaheim Inn & Best Western Stovalls Inn) when we go to the DLR. Mostly our favorite hotel is BWPPI but the price wasnt right and BW Stovalls was a little longer walk than the other two. I like staying at BW Stovalls when the D23 Expo happens at the Anaheim Convention Center. The tweener of the three hotels that we stay is BWAI where the price is right in between the two. BWAI is getting a major renovation where the front lobby was being worked on during the November trip and construction will still be going on until May. It didnt bother us during our November trip and I would say that it will be the same thing. 

I am planning on being in the parks for all four days during the trip. DAF has the DAP which she will be blocked out on Saturday during the trip. But with the shopping at the Mickeys of Glendale store that morning to afternoon and dinner at the Napa Rose, it will make up a great Saturday for her. She will be able to go in the parks on those other days during the trip. 

Our goals for this trip is to have a great relaxation trip and enjoy being away from work and everything. This will be fun with the shopping at the MoG store in Glendale and having dinner with Alison and Fran at the Napa Rose at the Chefs Counter. This will be our first time eating at the Napa Rose and it will be enjoyable dining experience. Also during the trip, I will be using new toys for the trip including my new Lowepro Pro Runner 350 backpack, GoPro head strap so I can videotape the rides & borrowing the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. Like any other trip that I have done in the past, we will go around the parks and do what we feel like. I plan on trying a new spot to watch RDCT fireworks instead of watching it in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle like I have done in other trips. 

Our DL plans for now and it will change when the trip gets closer and at the resort.

*Friday  April 25*: We Arrive in SoCal and staying at BWAI. We will settle in and then I will go to the parks later that night to go on rides and take pictures. I will also watch RDCT that night at this specific spot which I have been recommended.

*Saturday  April 26*: This will be the highlight day of the trip in which we will be going to Glendale in the morning to go shopping at the Mickeys of Glendale store during a D23 event. Later we will have dinner with Alison and Fran at the Napa Rose at the Chefs Counter. I will later go in the parks in the afternoon and night to take pictures.

*Sunday  April 27*: This will be another day in the parks going around and going on rides and taking pictures. I believe we will watch WoC that night and ride Radiator Springs Racers by getting FPs early in the morning. 

*Monday  April 28*: Will be the day that we will head on back home to Sacramento. But first, we will make a quick stop at Little Tokyo on the way home like we do most of the time. 

This is only part of the plan and there will be changes during the whole trip. We might add more sit down seating at the restaurants, rides, or even go and do something in SoCal. There will always be something unexpected during the trip which I like a lot. This will be one fun trip in which it will be nice to leave the real world.


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## PrincessInOz

Excellent!  

Your plans look great.  And you'll have new toys to bring and try out.  Looking forward to seeing your pics with the Tokina lens.


----------



## franandaj

Sounds like some great plans Bret!  I'm looking forward to our dinner at Napa Rose.


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## ACDSNY

Sounds like you'll be having a great time with your Aunt, Alison and Fran.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Excellent!
> 
> Your plans look great.  And you'll have new toys to bring and try out.  Looking forward to seeing your pics with the Tokina lens.



Thanks PiO. I am looking forward of trying all the new toys for this upcoming trip. The Tokina lens is something that I have wanted to try for a while since I have read a lot of threads from other DISers have said that they like this lens. As you know that we are looking forward to our dinner at the Napa Rose with Alison and Fran.




franandaj said:


> Sounds like some great plans Bret!  I'm looking forward to our dinner at Napa Rose.



Thank you Alison. I wanted to ask if you and Fran are thinking of going to the Mickey's of Glendale store in Glendale on Saturday where it is available to D23 Gold and Silver members? We plan on going to Glendale for that event. We are also looking forward to having dinner with you and Fran that night. I had to call the Napa Rose to make sure that our reservation is still on since I haven't received a phone call from them after making the reservation and I don't have a confirmation number. It is still a go and it will be fun.




ACDSNY said:


> Sounds like you'll be having a great time with your Aunt, Alison and Fran.



We will have a great time during this upcoming trip in which it won't be too long. 


With the trip happening in less than *5 days* with DAF, I have been talking to DAW about a upcoming trip with her and her BF DD4 (who is now 4 which she went with us during the January 2013 trip). Since DAW Premium AP is expiring at the end of June, she wanted to get one more trip before the AP expired. So we talked about it this past week and decided to go on June 20th to 22nd, 2014. She also asked her BF is DD4 can go with us during the trip and she had no problem with it. So I will be going back in less than two months after this upcoming trip. This should be another fun trip.


----------



## ACDSNY

Yay for planning another trip to DL in June.


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## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> Thank you Alison. I wanted to ask if you and Fran are thinking of going to the Mickey's of Glendale store in Glendale on Saturday where it is available to D23 Gold and Silver members? We plan on going to Glendale for that event. We are also looking forward to having dinner with you and Fran that night. I had to call the Napa Rose to make sure that our reservation is still on since I haven't received a phone call from them after making the reservation and I don't have a confirmation number. It is still a go and it will be fun.



We are not planning on the Mickey's of Glendale event.  

I wanted to ask, is the only way to make reservations for the Chef's Table by calling the restaurant directly?  Recently online reservations for DL opened up and one of my friends from the UK wants to make reservations there in November.  She asked me to find out if they can be done online, but I thought that for the Chef's Table they can only be made by calling the restaurant directly.

I'm definitely looking forward to Saturday night!


----------



## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> Yay for planning another trip to DL in June.



It is nice to have another trip after a couple of months from this upcoming trip.




franandaj said:


> We are not planning on the Mickey's of Glendale event.
> 
> I wanted to ask, is the only way to make reservations for the Chef's Table by calling the restaurant directly?  Recently online reservations for DL opened up and one of my friends from the UK wants to make reservations there in November.  She asked me to find out if they can be done online, but I thought that for the Chef's Table they can only be made by calling the restaurant directly.
> 
> I'm definitely looking forward to Saturday night!



That is correct. When I called Disney Dining (not the Napa Rose number), I asked if I can make the Chef's Counter reservation but the CM told me in order to make a reservation for the Chef Counter is to call the actual number of the Napa Rose. Luckily, the CM transfer my call to the Napa Rose phone number. They didn't pick up and so I left a message. A few hours later, they called me back and I asked them if they had the Chef Counter available for Saturday and I was able to get the four seats for this Saturday.  

I looked at the Disneyland Dining website and see if I can make an online reservation for the Chef's Counter. Unfortunately, it is only for the regular tables. So in order to get the Chef's Counter you have to call the Napa Rose.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Another trip for June?

Good for you.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Another trip for June?
> 
> Good for you.



That is correct. DAW wanted to get one more trip before her AP expires in June so this was the best time to go since we are all busy next month and June was the best time to go even during the summer crowds. 

I'm getting excited to leave tomorrow to SoCal. 

Thanks PiO.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Have a great trip, Bret.  Look forward to seeing the great pictures you'll come back with.


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## mvf-m11c

Thanks PiO. 

We got here safely and I am about to go to bed shortly. But here is a quick update of what we have done tonight.

We got to Anaheim around 3pm and we went to DL for a while until we head on over to the ESPN Zone to have dinner. After dinner, we went in both DL and DCA that night. We are hoping that we are able to watch RDCT fireworks that night but unfortunately it was canceled due to high winds. We were planning on watching it from IASW but this was the third time that I was planning on watching the fireworks in front of IASW and was canceled that night. It was a shame. But after the fireworks was canceled it started to rain so we decided to head on back to the room. Our first night is over and we are looking forward to the next day.

Here are some pictures from today.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Some really great pictures here Bret.  Well done!  

Shame about RDCT fireworks.  Maybe you'll find some time in the schedule to catch them this trip.  If not, maybe the next trip. 

Have a great day tomorrow.  Shop lots at Glendale!!  And enjoy your dinner.


----------



## kylie71

Really enjoyed your pictures Brett!  Have a great trip!

--Lori


----------



## Sherry E

I agree with what PiO said -- there are some really great pictures in this bunch you just shared!  I especially like the second photo (BTMRR) and the last 3 photos (of the teacups area at night, the pond/lake near the IASW mall/plaza and BTMRR)!

A couple of the photos I like because they seem new -- they don't appear to be angles or vantage points that you have covered in TRs before.  I think the IASW pond/lake shot is new for you, isn't it?  Or am I forgetting something?  It's always fun for people -- and sometimes challenging -- to try to find fresh new material to photograph at DLR if they've been there a lot, so I am always impressed if I see a subject or perspective I haven't seen before (no matter what type of camera is used, from camera phones to DSLRs and anything in between!)!

Good job!


----------



## mvf-m11c

We are now waiting in Glendale to enter the store. We have been here since 8am and still waiting to get in. It is taking a little bit longer than i have expected but it is nice to be in Glendale to see the WDI campus. I have heard that people waited since 6am to get in the store. We are now chilling outside to get in the store. While we are waiting, I have some time to answer some posts.




PrincessInOz said:


> Some really great pictures here Bret.  Well done!    Shame about RDCT fireworks.  Maybe you'll find some time in the schedule to catch them this trip.  If not, maybe the next trip.  Have a great day tomorrow.  Shop lots at Glendale!!  And enjoy your dinner.



Thanks PiO. I didn't took a lot of pictures that day which was a surprise. I was looking at new different spots to get pictures around the resort. It was not that busy that day and it would have been nice if I stayed a little later that night but we had to get up early to get to Glendale for the shopping at the Mickey's of Glendale store. It was a shame that RDCT was cancelled that night. This is the third time that during my last three trips that I was planning on watching the fireworks in front of IASW and was cancelled. Maybe I will go tonight after dinner but we will wait and see. 

Thank you PiO.




kylie71 said:


> Really enjoyed your pictures Brett!  Have a great trip!
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori. 




Sherry E said:


> I agree with what PiO said -- there are some really great pictures in this bunch you just shared!  I especially like the second photo (BTMRR) and the last 3 photos (of the teacups area at night, the pond/lake near the IASW mall/plaza and BTMRR)!
> 
> A couple of the photos I like because they seem new -- they don't appear to be angles or vantage points that you have covered in TRs before.  I think the IASW pond/lake shot is new for you, isn't it? Or am I forgetting something?  It's always fun for people -- and sometimes challenging -- to try to find fresh new material to photograph at DLR if they've been there a lot, so I am always impressed if I see a subject or perspective I haven't seen before (no matter what type of camera is used, from camera phones to DSLRs and anything in between!)!  Good job!



Thank you Sherry. I wanted to go on BTMRR yesterday but the line was long and it kept breaking down every time I was around the area.

During this trip, I plan on trying new spots that haven't done in my previous trips. I am hoping to go later to the parks today and the rest of these trip to find new spots to take pictures. The pond/lake shot was from the former Motorboat Cruise dock which is now a table sitting area. I have looked at other DISers pictures from the PotD thread and that shot inspired me to try it out. It is also nice to try a new lens for this trip (Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens) which most of the pictures you have see are from that lens. 

Thank you Sherry.


----------



## franandaj

Those are some nice pictures with a unique perspective. 
I hope you get into the store soon.

Looking forward to this evening.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Those are some nice pictures with a unique perspective. I hope you get into the store soon.
> 
> Looking forward to this evening.



Thank you Alison.

We are almost about to enter the store.

We are looking forward to dinner tonight as well.


----------



## ACDSNY

Cool shots Bret!  Enjoy your dinner tonight.


----------



## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> Cool shots Bret!  Enjoy your dinner tonight.



Thank you Angela. We had a great dinner last night. 


A quick update during the trip.

On Saturday, we went to the Walt Disney Imagineering building in Glendale for the D23 Mickey's of Glendale shopping. We didn't get to the Glendale around 8am where it started at 8am. We had to wait about 3 hours to get in the store which was quite long that morning to the afternoon. We did bought a lot of WDI merchandise at the MoG store. Some of the merchandise we have seen during the D23 Expo last year and there were some items that we have never seen. 

After we finished shopping at the MoG in Glendale, we head on back to Anaheim. I went in the parks a little bit that afternoon which was quite busy during the off-season at the DLR. I was able to go on the Monorail to see the FNSV Lagoon drained and it was weird to see it drained. Also I went to Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree which had some Easter decorations.













Later that night, my DAF and I head on over to the Napa Rose at the Grand California Hotel to have dinner with Alison (franandaj) and Fran that night. This was our first time eating at the NR and it was at the Chef's Counter which I have read a lot and have heard great reviews. We all had a great time eating that night at the NR at the CC. 









Some of the food porn from that night.












Chef Sutton was at the NR that night for a short time
























After dinner, I went with Alison and Fran to DCA and DL that night. My DAF went back to the room since she was blocked out that night with the DAP. We got to see the sneak peek of Maleficent at the It's Tough to be a Bug Theater. 




We went to the Off the Page store at DCA and Disney Gallery at DL that night where Fran bought some art work. After the shopping, we parted ways while they went back home. I stayed in the park for a while and got some pictures that night. That night, I was experimenting on long exposure nighttime pictures. Here are some of them from the other night.








This is one of my favorite ones where DCA was closed  that night around 11:40pm. 




That will be it for this post and I will have more when I get back home tomorrow.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Look at that dinner!!!  Food looks great.  You are making me envious....but it looks like you, your DA, Alison and Fran had a great time.  At least I get to live vicariously through you all.  


Love the night shots.  Looking forward to seeing what else you captured when you get home and write this up.  And I have a prediction.   I can see a lens acquisition happening in your future....real soon.


----------



## tksbaskets

Great pictures!  Dinner looks delish!  Did you like the movie?  I'm looking forward to seeing it when it comes out next month.

The Thunder Ranch flowers are stunning.

TK


----------



## ACDSNY

Love the look of the spring flowers at Thunder Ranch.  Your NR dinner looks so good and the night pics are really cool.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
If I'm able to swing a summer trip what hotel would you recommend as a back up if my DVC doesn't come through.  We like the 'condo' type rooms with a little kitchen and two TVs.  You have a lot of experience with the hotels that are handy to DLR.

Thanks!

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

It will be a while until I write up my trip report since I am busy with work. I will get to the posts that I have missed these last few days. 



PrincessInOz said:


> Look at that dinner!!!  Food looks great.  You are making me envious....but it looks like you, your DA, Alison and Fran had a great time.  At least I get to live vicariously through you all.
> 
> 
> Love the night shots.  Looking forward to seeing what else you captured when you get home and write this up.  And I have a prediction.   I can see a lens acquisition happening in your future....real soon.



The dinner was very nice. But my DAF likes Club 33 over the Napa Rose. I enjoyed the dinner that night. We all had a great time that night and it was nice to have dinner with them. 

Thank you PiO. I tested the long shot exposure and they turned out really well for my first time at the parks. I am now looking forward to more long exposure shots for my upcoming trips. You are correct that I might use a lens for my upcoming trip in June. I have thought about trying a telephoto lens for the upcoming trip. I am now thinking of buying the Tokina 11-16mm lens from my friend since the pictures during this past trip turned out really well.




tksbaskets said:


> Great pictures!  Dinner looks delish!  Did you like the movie?  I'm looking forward to seeing it when it comes out next month.
> 
> The Thunder Ranch flowers are stunning.
> 
> TK



Thank you TK. Dinner at the NR was very nice and it was nice to try it the first time since I have never ate at this restaurant. The Maleficent preview was very nice and after seeing clips of it during the trip, I will have to see it in the theaters. 




ACDSNY said:


> Love the look of the spring flowers at Thunder Ranch.  Your NR dinner looks so good and the night pics are really cool.



Thank you Angela. The flowers at BTR were very nice. I just missed Easter a week ago. Dinner at the NR was very nice.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> If I'm able to swing a summer trip what hotel would you recommend as a back up if my DVC doesn't come through.  We like the 'condo' type rooms with a little kitchen and two TVs.  You have a lot of experience with the hotels that are handy to DLR.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> TK



I'm glad to hear that you are thinking of going back to the DLR during the summertime and hope that it will be true. I mentioned it on Deej trip report thread of the possible hotels that will have the amenities that you are looking for. The hotels that will have the condo type rooms with a kitchen and two TV's are the Desert Palms hotel, Homewood Suites, Anaheim Residence Inn Maingate, Residence Inn Anaheim Resort Area, Hampton Inn & Suites,  Staybridge Suites Anaheim Resort. Most of these hotels are not across the street from the DLR (except for Desert Palms) which can be a big difference. As for the hotels that I have stayed in the past (don't count the DLR hotels), I have stayed at BWPPI, BWAI, BW Stovall's, Anabella, Desert Inn & Suites & HOJO. All of them don' have a small kitchen. 

Hope this helps.

I would mention it on the Disneyland thread and ask the other DISer about what other hotels that will have the amenities you are looking for.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – April 25th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Going in Quickly and Dinner at our Favorite*​
It’s time for the first day of the trip in April with DAF. This trip was all about for the both of us to relax after we have been busy with work these last few months. After working and coaching basketball these last 5 months, it was time to take a break from basketball and enjoy our favorite place on Earth which is the Disneyland Resort. We could have done something different instead of going to the DLR but we do enjoy going down and getting away from the real world and enter the world of Fantasy. 

This trip we did something that we have never done out of all the years we have been going to the DLR. If you have read my pre-trip report updates and have seen my latest live updates from last week, you know what we have done if not it was a real treat.

We also went to Glendale where the Walt Disney Imagineering facility is located during a D23 event. You will find out later on what we have done.

Also during the trip, I have brought new toys to use during the trip. The most recognizable equipment that I used during the trip was the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens which I have been recommended by other DISers and photographers as a great lens to use at the DLR. This was a very wide lens which makes it perfect to get a lot in the pictures. I have also planned on using the GoPro more than I have during the December trip. But this time I will be using a head mount strap which I can wear it on the rides and still be able to take pictures. It might not be as good as my Sony video camera but it is nice to have my hands free when using a video camera. Plus I was using a new camera backpack which is a Lowepro Pro Runner 350 AW which is to replace my old Lowpro Fastpack 250. The reason I got this new backpack is to carry more equipment with me and it also has a tripod holder which the Fastpack 250 didn’t have. I want to thank PiO (PrincessInOz) since she has the 200 model. It was tough to look for a bag that fits all my needs. It is way bigger than the Fastpack 250 and it will get time to get used to.

Now let’s get to the trip report. 

It was around 7am in the morning where I went over to DAF house and picked her up. This is like our usual time when we leave Sacramento and over to SoCal so we can get there in the afternoon. Since we weren’t in a rush to get to SoCal, we took our time.

When we packed all of our stuff in the car, we stared our journey down to SoCal. During the drive, we go down on Highway 99 since my grandmother lives in Livingston and it is always great to see her when we go down to SoCal. 

It took about 6 hours to get to Southern California and the first thing we did when we got to SoCal was to fill up at Costco in Burbank. Gas was not cheap when we were in Burbank to fill up at Costco. I believe it was around $4.19 for a gallon of regular fuel which is quite high. After that, we head straight on over to Anaheim and begin our four days of fun in SoCal. 

We got to Anaheim around 3pm which is not that bad for our time from Sacramento to Anaheim even with all the stops. Sometimes LA traffic can be quite bad but when we left Burbank to Anaheim, we got there quite early with barely no traffic on I-5.

When we pulled up to Best Western Anaheim Inn (which is one of our usual hotels that we stay in Anaheim), the lobby entrance was still not up and running and under construction. The lobby at BWAI was being fixed up since the November 2013 trip and it wasn’t up yet. But I have heard that BWAI will be all finished around the summertime. So it won’t be too long until it will be up.

When we checked-in our room was ready which it should be around this time of the day at 3pm on a Friday. We took all of our stuff in the room and we relaxed until it was time to head on over to the DLR. 

DAF was a little tired from the driving and we were planning on going to the ESPN Zone for dinner that night so we can watch the NBA Playoffs. Since she wasn’t ready, I went ahead on over to the DLR. I only had less than an hour in the park until we head on over to the ESPN Zone for dinner at 5pm.

I head on over to the parks by myself with the new equipment from the bag and the Tokina lens and my tripod on the back of my backpack which makes it easier to maneuver around the parks without the carrying bag for my MeFoto tripod. The only downside is that it just adds more weight to my shoulders. But it is nice to go around the parks and take pictures.

When I got to the Esplanade around 4:10pm, it was not that bad as I have thought. So I first head on over to Disneyland to look at some areas. I was also looking forward to trying the Tokina 11-16mm lens which I was able to get more into the pictures without walking back farther.




It was a little cloudy that day when I was in the park. I can tell that it might rain that night where I have checked the weather on my iPhone App and it should be later that night. Luckily, I had my umbrella, backpack rain cover and camera bags to use during that night if it rains.




When I entered DL, the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational parade was going on so I had to walk through all those crowds right close to the Main Streets building. Since it was the first parade, it started from It’s a Small World Plaza towards the end of Main Street Town Square. So I just walked by and didn’t stop to see the parade. I might think about seeing Mickey’s Soundsational one day where I haven’t seen it since the January 2013 trip. 

Since the parade was going on, I head on over towards Tomorrowland. While I was in that land, I can tell that it was quite semi-busy. The wait times for Star Tours was 30 minutes, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster at 15 minutes which was not bad times. But when passing by Space Mountain it was an hour wait time. 

I passed by the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage where it is all walled up for the long refurbishment. Luckily, I was able to ride it during the December trip. Just when I was right by the FNSV, I had to take a picture of Matterhorn Mountain with the Tokina lens and I had to get even closer since the lens is so wide.




When the parade has already passed by Fantasyland, I just see how busy it was. Storybook Land Canal Boats was about to open after the parade. This rides does close during the parades.




That is one big whale




I walked at the backside of Frontierland. I wanted to stop at Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree to see the Easter decorations. I didn’t stop too long at Big Thunder Ranch since I didn’t have enough time to be in the parks until I head on over to Downtown Disney to have dinner at the ESPN Zone.








After walking around, I was now at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was so nice not to see the walls around BTMRR after a 14 month refurbishment. I didn’t plan on riding BTMRR at that time and I was thinking of riding it later that night. But after looking at the wait times at night until this trip, it has been in the 30 to hour wait time. Unfortunately it was broken at that time when I passed by BTMRR.








There were a lot of people waiting to get on BTMRR at that time.




Just when I passed by BTMRR, it was around 10 minutes until it was time for dinner at the ESPN Zone in DTD. So I jettisoned out of DL.




I got out of the park and head on towards the ESPN Zone which is close to the Downtown Disney Monorail station. It was semi-busy at DTD where it was not that busy but it can be busy at some time during the day at DTD.

The World of Disney Store looks nice like every other year.




When I was close to the ESPN Zone, Disney is marketing the newest movie “Million Dollar Arm” with a marketing sign.




There was also a Million Dollar Arm Pitching Contest and it did look very interesting to try but I had to go on over to the ESPN Zone with DAF.




Pulling into the ESPN Zone for dinner that night and watching the NBA Playoffs. 




As for my regular visitors on my previous trip reports, we like to eat at the ESPN Zone which is our favorite sit down restaurant at the DLR. During anytime we are at the DLR, we at least eat at the ESPN Zone one time per trip. It is nice to be able to watch all different sports in one location where you can only watch one sport at a time at home (unless you have a lot of televisions in your living room to be able to watch all those sports).

DAF was already in the ESPN Zone when I got in and luckily for us, it wasn’t that busy when we got in the ESPN Zone where we only had to wait about 5 minutes to get seated. Our favorite place to eat in the ESPN Zone is the room on the right hand side which has the big projection screen and all sorts of other TV’s on the side.




For dinner, DAF had the Turkey Burger with fries while I had the Smokehouse Burger




We were in the ESPN Zone until 7pm which was about 2 hours in the restaurant to see all the different NBA Playoff games. We have stayed longer in the ESPN Zone than 2 hours. But I will tell you later on.

After we finished dinner, we head straight on over to DL that night. Luckily, entering the turnstiles that night was not that bad and it was way shorter when I entered the park later that day.




It was very nice that night and it wasn’t that busy in Main Street.




We head on over to TL that night and it wasn’t that busy but the queues to get on the ride were quite long.




While we were in TL, DAF has never seen the new Innoventions with the Iron Man Tech exhibit. She was right that she didn’t get to see the Iron Man Tech exhibit along with the new Thor and all new Captain America meet & greet. So we head on over to Innoventions that night.

It is so nice to see TL on the second floor of Innoventions.








Iron Man Tech Exhibit with the different suits.




A look at the Captain America Meet & Greet area




After looking around Innoventions at the meet & greet areas, we head on downstairs and exited Innoventions.

That will be it for this post and stay tune what has happened later that night.

[post=51387788]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


----------



## PrincessInOz

Your pictures look amazing, Bret.  Looks like it's all 'clicking' for you.

And anytime you want some help to spend YOUR money, you know I'll be right there cheering you along.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
I love the pictures you were able to get with your new lens!  I look forward to hearing more about your trip.  I saw a few pictures on the 'picture of the day' thread and they were outstanding


----------



## tksbaskets

Bret, we are booked for the second week in July!!  Do you have any idea what the weather and crowds will be like?

Looking forward to hearing more about your current trip!
TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Your pictures look amazing, Bret.  Looks like it's all 'clicking' for you.
> 
> And anytime you want some help to spend YOUR money, you know I'll be right there cheering you along.



Thank you PiO. The wide angle lens is very nice and I'm able to get a lot in the picture when you compare it to other lenses. 

I'm trying to be cautious of spending money on anything. If I had a lot of money, I would stay on-site and on new gear. I am still satisfy with the off-site and my camera equipment. 




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> I love the pictures you were able to get with your new lens!  I look forward to hearing more about your trip.  I saw a few pictures on the 'picture of the day' thread and they were outstanding



Hi TK,

Thank you. The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens is very nice and so wide. I have to move up closely to get those pictures where when I have the other lenses that I have used in the past where I don't have to move up. This was a good test of the lens and try new things during the trip.

Thank you TK.




tksbaskets said:


> Bret, we are booked for the second week in July!!  Do you have any idea what the weather and crowds will be like?
> 
> Looking forward to hearing more about your current trip!
> TK



I'm so excited for you and your family that you will be going in mid July during the summertime. I hope that you and your family will have a great time and try to stay cool. The weather in SoCal in mid July can be in the high 80s and 90s which is not that bad. But there can be times where it will be in the 100s. The crowd levels during your trip won't be as bad during 4th of July weekend. I would say the crowds will be in between the average to busy area since you are going during the summertime. It won't be busy like the Christmas break that you went last year. This is from my history of crowd levels of hearing and experiencing it. But it also has been strange lately during the slower times where it is way more crowded then expected. Remember to take advantage of EMH/MM during your stay at PPH since it will be very important to go on as many rides as possible that first hour. I know that you will ride TSMM a lot at DCA and I would get FP's for RSR instead of riding it in the morning. I am just superstitious with RSR when I try to ride it first thing in the morning and found out that it is down and it can waste part of your morning. I know that you and your family will have a great trip in July. 

I'm still working on my April trip report and it won't be too long until my June trip report.


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## Sherry E

*Bret --*

I have to get back to ESPN Zone again one of these days.  I haven't eaten there in years but I really liked it when I did.  I remember that my friend and I had a great server, and I ate chicken strips that were quite good.  I think I also had a milkshake there that was decent.

I really like the last series of photos, especially the ones of BTMRR and the one on Main Street that is sort of sepia, but not exactly sepia.

I notice (not just here, but also in my assorted Superthreads) that as you experiment with new lenses, equipment and gear, you are starting to express your creativity in photos more often now too, and changing the look of certain images more than you used to -- which is awesome!  Good job! 

I was recently looking at some short videos online, and the perspectives confused me.  I was trying to figure out where and how the people had the camera positioned to get the kinds of videos they were getting.  Then it hit me -- they must have been using GoPro cameras!

So you had a full array of gear with you -- backpacks, a tripod, the GoPro, your regular camera, lenses, etc.?  That is a lot to carry around DLR, but it shows your dedication to your craft.  I am such klutz that if I were to carry even some of that around DLR, I might get a few good photos but I would probably drop the expensive camera two minutes later!

Have you ever tried sports photography, like at basketball games and what not?  I'd bet that your photos would be great.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Sherry E said:


> *Bret --*
> 
> I have to get back to ESPN Zone again one of these days.  I haven't eaten there in years but I really liked it when I did.  I remember that my friend and I had a great server, and I ate chicken strips that were quite good.  I think I also had a milkshake there that was decent.
> 
> I really like the last series of photos, especially the ones of BTMRR and the one on Main Street that is sort of sepia, but not exactly sepia.
> 
> I notice (not just here, but also in my assorted Superthreads) that as you experiment with new lenses, equipment and gear, you are starting to express your creativity in photos more often now too, and changing the look of certain images more than you used to -- which is awesome!  Good job!
> 
> I was recently looking at some short videos online, and the perspectives confused me.  I was trying to figure out where and how the people had the camera positioned to get the kinds of videos they were getting.  Then it hit me -- they must have been using GoPro cameras!
> 
> So you had a full array of gear with you -- backpacks, a tripod, the GoPro, your regular camera, lenses, etc.?  That is a lot to carry around DLR, but it shows your dedication to your craft.  I am such klutz that if I were to carry even some of that around DLR, I might get a few good photos but I would probably drop the expensive camera two minutes later!
> 
> Have you ever tried sports photography, like at basketball games and what not?  I'd bet that your photos would be great.



The ESPN Zone is a very nice place to have a meal in order to watch all those different sports. As you have read from my previous reports that this is our favorite sit down restaurant. You should consider eating there one day. I have been trying a lot of new restaurants these last few trips from Ariel's Grotto, Napa Rose, Club 33, Goofy's Kitchen, etc. where I have never ate there in a long time or never. It is nice to try something new every time I go to the DLR.

Thank you. It is nice to add some touches to the pictures to enhance them. 

It is nice to experiment with new equipment when I go to the DLR. I have been enjoying these trips without paying close attention to the details. This past trip was all about details and trying new techniques. It was nice to do that during the last trip and I am hoping that I will be able to do that again during the next month trip. 

I have seen a lot of guests with GoPro equipment during my last trip from wrist straps, poles, body strap and head strap (which I used during my trip on certain rides). It was so neat of how guests used the small video cameras to show all these very interesting videos. I am uploading my video of BTMRR with the GoPro on my head while I had my DSLR in my hands during the experience. I really like how it went with the GoPro. I am thinking of trying a pole for the GoPro so I can get some very interesting videos. But right now, I am concentrating on the pictures over the video for now.

That is correct. I used a new backpack to carry more equipment and to be able to carry a tripod on the backpack without carrying another bag with me in the parks like I have in the past trips. I used the GoPro during the December trip but I wasn't able to use it on rides where it was a first. And finally using a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens where I can get wide picture shots so I can get more in to the picture then using the lenses that I have. It is a lot of weight and it can be very annoying to lug all that stuff around the parks. But I have no problem with that so I can get the pictures, videos, etc. during the trip. It will be the same when I go back to WDW in the near future. 

I am really considering sports photography. But the only problem is that you need very fast lenses in order to get the shots without the blur. The lenses I have now are good but they are not sports photography lenses. I have seen people with 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, etc. that are fast and able to get the player when he is moving at high speed. I am still learning of getting pictures with low light (for example like the parade at night). It will give me another good reason to invest in some new gear for certain events. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51360138]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]


*Day 1 – April 25th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Nighttime @ Both Parks & Raining Night *​
After we went through Innoventions, we started to walk around Tomorrowland that night. Most of the rides around TL were in the 30 minute range. We were trying to kill time until it was time for Remember Dreams Come True fireworks at 9:25pm. It was a nice night but there were times that night where it started to get a little cloudy. I can tell that it is possible that it might rain that night where I have looked on my iPhone and possible rain around the fireworks. We were hoping that RDCT would run that night.

There was a huge queue for Matterhorn Mountain when we went by it that night.




We walked on over to FL and by Mickey’s Toontown that night since we were planning on watching RDCT from It’s a Small World Plaza. Since IASW was closed for its refurbishment, I also thought that IASW would not have its lights on that night since it was closed. But I was determine to watch RDCT from IASW Plaza since the last two trips I tried to watch the fireworks from IASW Plaza and they were cancelled due to high winds. It was also windy that night and maybe the DLR will still give it a go that night.

So while we had time, we decided to ride the DLRR and we boarded from Mickey’s Toontown Train Depot.




Mickey’s Toontown Depot water tower.




We got to board the Ward Kimball Engine #5 along with the Excursion car set.




We rode the DLRR all the way to the Main Street station and we got off. While we exited the DLRR, we had some time to head on over to Disney California Adventure that night. We didn’t stay too long that night since we had to get back to DL that night for RDCT fireworks. We just walked-in quickly to look at some stores and the lands.





When passing Condor Flats and heading on over towards Grizzly River Run, the sign right next to Grizzly River Run and Soarin has changed back to its original sign. A while ago it had Dusty Crophopper and El Chupacabra to promote the movie “Planes”. Now it is reverted back to the original sign.




It was a little busy when entering Paradise Pier since the guests were getting ready for the 9pm World of Color show. Since we don’t have FP’s that night, we didn’t plan on watching the show from the other areas around Paradise Pier Lagoon.




We entered Cars Land for a quick walk-through and it was not that busy except for Radiator Springs Racers which was close to 120 minutes wait time in the standby queue. So we didn’t stay too long and just went by quickly.

Red passing by that night.




Over at A Bug’s Land




After being in the park for about 40 minutes, we started to head on back to DL that night so we can watch RDCT fireworks.




We re-entered DL that night and we head straight on over to IASW Plaza to watch the fireworks. I wanted to try this spot for a long time where I have watch the fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. As for my regular followers on my trip reports that I like to watch the fireworks in front of SB Castle. But I didn’t stake out a spot like I usually do for the fireworks so I wanted to try a different spot where I have heard that watching the fireworks in front of IASW is a nice spot with little time and good effects. 





We got on over to IASW Plaza with 30 minutes to go until the fireworks start at 9:25pm. While DAF decided to sit down right by IASW, I decided to take my tripod with me and get some long exposure shots that night. The one spot that is a nice spot to take pictures is at the Tea Cups. So I head on over to the Tea Cups to get long exposure shots. I wanted to try long exposure shots since I got back from the December trip in which I couldn’t do it since I was with DAW, my cousin, Silv and MP. So this time with DAF with me, I was going to get them.

Here are some shots from the Tea Cups that night.












After being at the Tea Cups for a while, I started to head on over to another spot to take pictures that night. This spot was at the former Motor Boat Cruise dock area which is now a seating area right next to Edelweiss Snacks. This spot and shot was from *I’m mikey* who I have checked it out on the Disneyland POTD thread and this was a nice spot with the water and a glimpse of IASW in the background.




With about 15 minutes until the fireworks, I head on back to IASW Plaza for the fireworks. It started to get cloudy that night and we can tell that it was going to rain shortly. Luckily, I had my rain gear with me in my bag so my equipment won’t get wet from the backpack, DSLR and of course me as well.




It was getting close for the 9:25pm RDCT fireworks show and there was an announcement that the fireworks was cancelled that night due to high winds. I was a little bummed again that the fireworks was going to be cancelled that night at IASW Plaza. This is now the third time in a row during my trip that the fireworks is cancelled due to high winds at IASW Plaza. I don’t know what the deal is with me for watching the fireworks at IASW Plaza. But it was just bad luck on those days when watching the fireworks at IASW Plaza. 

Just when we were putting away my tripod, now it started to rain that night. We put on our rain gear quickly that night. I also brought my rain cover for my DSLR so I was able to take pictures that night when walking through the rain.




We walked on over towards FL where no guests are allowed to enter around SB Castle since it was blocked out for the fireworks. Until it was clear around SB Castle, the guests will be able to go on the rides later that night.




We went through the backside of Frontierland to be able to see the updated version of BTMRR that night. Since I walked by the ride earlier that day and got some daytime pictures, I wanted to see it at night. When we got to BTMRR at Frontierland, BTMRR was closed that night and we could see guests leaving the queue. I can tell that since it was raining that night, BTMRR was closed due to the weather.




After passing by BTMRR that night, it was time to head on back to the room. DAF didn’t want to stay longer that night since it was raining and she didn’t want to get wet. I thought about staying that night to get exposure shots and with the rain makes it even better. But I was also tired from the driving that day and I didn’t have much energy left. Since we were getting up early to head on over to Glendale for the D23 event, I had to go back to the room to get some rest.

It was an early exit that night where I wanted to be in the parks for a while to get the nighttime pictures. So we head on out of the parks that night as well as the other guests since RDCT fireworks was cancelled that night. It was a shame that it was cancelled due to high winds but at least we didn’t spent hours staking out a spot in front of SB Castle.

We head on out of DL and got back to the hotel around 9:45pm. We spent about 6 hours in the parks that night with the only ride that we went on was the DLRR. We just went roaming around that day. I was able to get some nice photos that day with the Tokina lens and I was so amazed with that lens to be able to get a lot in the pictures. 

That concludes the first day of the trip and next day is the important one where we will be going to Glendale and having dinner with two DISers. Stay tune for the next day at the DLR.

[post=51413479]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Loving your pics, Bret.  Looks like you're getting the best out of that UWA Tokina lens.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Loving your pics, Bret.  Looks like you're getting the best out of that UWA Tokina lens.



Thanks PiO. The Tokina lens lived up to its expectations when I used it during the April trip. Now I want to experiment with others lens when I go back to the DLR like a telephoto lens which I am thinking about trying. But we will wait and see when the June trip gets closer.


I have just uploaded my video of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad during the April trip with the GoPro attached on my head while I was taking pictures with the DSLR. Here is the link on my youtube account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ap2Ns1qG3A It will be a wobbling since I had the GoPro on my head during the ride.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I'd also look into the new Sigma 18 - 35, f/1.8 lens as well as the telephoto.  That would be an even more awesome lens to take to Disney and for the low light photographs.  Seems like there are a few fans of this new'ish lens.  
But you'd lose the width that you get with the Tokina.

I thought you already had a lens at the tighter zoom end?  Or do you have a lens that takes you to 135mm only?


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## rentayenta

Ok wow, those shots are amazing. I rally like the one to the side of IASW and those tea cup shots are the best I have seen. 

We like ESPN Zone. There is something for everyone, the food is consistently good, and it's not too outrageously priced.


----------



## tksbaskets

First, I'm loving your new wide-angle lens.  Or rather I'm loving the beautiful pictures you were able to take with it.  I agree the the PP, the teacup picture was top notch! 

We had dinner at ESPN quite a while ago. Sounds like it's time to try it again. 

I'm enjoying your trip report.  Thanks for posting!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> I'd also look into the new Sigma 18 - 35, f/1.8 lens as well as the telephoto.  That would be an even more awesome lens to take to Disney and for the low light photographs.  Seems like there are a few fans of this new'ish lens.
> But you'd lose the width that you get with the Tokina.
> 
> I thought you already had a lens at the tighter zoom end?  Or do you have a lens that takes you to 135mm only?



I also have looked at the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens along with the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. I wanted to get more in the picture, the Tokina lens had that ability where the Sigma has a limited reach. But the low aperture makes it even more intriguing. I will consider trying out the Sigma in the future but first, I am thinking of getting the Tokina lens after the results from the trip. The Sigma has excellent low light for the dark photos and to be able to zoom in and out is a bonus. 

I have a kit telephoto lens when I purchased my first DSLR back in 2008. It is a Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6. The one that it took to 135mm was the Nikon 18-105mm lens which went to 135mm since the D7100 can be 1.3 times with it. I used that 55-200 lens during the Lunar Eclipse last month. I am thinking of getting a telephoto lens so I am able to get very up close shots which my other lens can't do.




rentayenta said:


> Ok wow, those shots are amazing. I rally like the one to the side of IASW and those tea cup shots are the best I have seen.
> 
> We like ESPN Zone. There is something for everyone, the food is consistently good, and it's not too outrageously priced.



Thank you Jenny. I have done a lot of experimenting on photo taking during the trip and I will do the same thing again when I head back next month.

There is always something for everyone to do at the ESPN Zone with the family where the kids & adults can play upstairs. The prices are very reasonable. 




tksbaskets said:


> First, I'm loving your new wide-angle lens.  Or rather I'm loving the beautiful pictures you were able to take with it.  I agree the the PP, the teacup picture was top notch!
> 
> We had dinner at ESPN quite a while ago. Sounds like it's time to try it again.
> 
> I'm enjoying your trip report.  Thanks for posting!



Thank you TK. The wide angle Tokina lens is very nice to use for a trip like Disney where you can get more in the picture than the other type of lenses. I'm glad to be able to use it during the trip. The long exposure shots were new to me and for a first try, it was good. I will still experiment with it again during my upcoming trip next month. It is so nice to be able to use the tripod more and more then just the nighttime shows (F!, WoC, fireworks, parade, etc.)

The ESPN Zone at night is a nice place to have dinner as well as lunch. It is always busy at night where there are sports fans watching there favorite teams play. The busiest I have seen the ESPN Zone is on Sunday morning to afternoon during Sunday Football. It is crazy on those Sundays to eat at the restaurant with those hardcore fans. I don't know if you know this but we have at ESPN Zone for over 4 hours one time to watch the NBA Playoffs. There was a rule for staying that long at the restaurant where you will have to spend at least $10 an hour in order to stay in the restaurant on a sports game day from the NFL, NBA, MLB etc. The most we spent at the ESPN Zone while staying to watch a sporting event was over $100 for two people. We have ordered a lot of appetizers and big meals so we can stay.

Thank you and I'm glad that you are enjoying it.


The next post will be up shortly. This next one is all words and have no pictures since I wasn't able to take pictures on-site.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51387788]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –April 26th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Shopping Day at the WDI Store in Glendale*​
Now it was the next day which is the most important day for both of us since it was our shopping and dining day in SoCal. I have been looking forward to this trip ever since we decided to eat at this particular restaurant at the Disneyland Resort. I have not done everything at the DLR and we wanted to try different restaurants since we haven’t eat at all the restaurants onsite. There must be over 10 different sit down restaurants on-site that we have ate at the resort and we have been trying all different sorts of places where we haven’t eaten before. This will be a very great trip and we will also be having dinner that night with someone else that night. You will have to find out later during the posts (unless you know already) to see where we ate at. Now let’s get back to the trip report where we have the morning.

It was early Saturday morning and we needed to get up early that morning so we can head on over to Glendale which is up north of SoCal. We are going to Glendale that morning in order to go to the Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters. WDI is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks around the world. There was a special event going on that day at the WDI headquarters where the WDI store is open to the public that day for the D23 Gold and Silver members. It was our first time going to the WDI headquarters in Glendale to go shopping at the WDI store. There were events in the past that the D23 members were able to shop at the WDI store but we have never done that. There were times we were able to shop for WDI products during the D23 Expo event. I was excited to be able to purchase some more WDI products that I missed out during the D23 Expo last year. DAF wasn’t able to shop at the Mickey’s of Glendale store at the D23 Expo last year and she was excited to be able to purchase that day.

We left the Best Western Anaheim Inn around 7am which was really late for us since I wanted to sleep in a little longer and it backfired on us. I should have known better to get up early and don’t show up when the event starts at 8am. We should have left the hotel around 6am or earlier so we don’t have to wait longer to get in the store or some specific items will be purchased before we get to them. 

It took about an hour to get from Anaheim to Glendale which traffic was kind of bad that morning in SoCal. Even on a Saturday morning, there is always going to be traffic no matter what. We got to Glendale around 8am and we had to find a parking spot around the WDI headquarters. We had to walk about two blocks away from the entrance to the WDI headquarters since most of the members were there in advance. 

Since it was a private site, we weren’t allowed to take any pictures. If WDI had no problem with that, I would have gone crazy with the picture taken. They were very strict with photography on site even they told all the people that entered the plaza area outside of the WDI store not to take any pictures. It was a shame but that is the rule. When we were in the plaza area, there were a lot of D23 members waiting to get in the store. We were given wristbands that day and they had numbers on them so when they called out the numbers, we were able to enter the store. 

We had to wait a while since we got to the store later that morning and we just sit outside that day. It was a nice day where it wasn’t that cold. We have chatted with other Disney fanatics that day. There was one family that they are locals and have attended Disney events in SoCal and around the U.S. It was nice to be able to talk to other people that day while we were waiting to get in the store.

I did spent some time walking around the plaza until it was time to go shopping and the plaza is very nice and well decorated. I could go on and on about the plaza if I had the opportunity to take pictures that day but I wasn’t. The neatest part of the day while waiting at the plaza was there was an old PeopleMover car and Skyway bucket from the last days of service at Disneyland. It was nice to see a PeopleMover car and Skyway bucket at the Plaza that morning. I actually had to get a picture of this on my iPhone even though we were warned to not take any pictures. But this is one that I had to get that day. There was also a Starbucks Café onsite. Since we don’t drink coffee or any of the other drinks, it was unfortunate that we didn’t get something that day. 

We waited until 11am where it was our time to shop at the WDI store. We had to wait three hours that day at the plaza which went really by quickly since I was on the iPad writing up part of the day during the trip and DAF had a book to read. 

While we were waiting outside to enter the store since the D23 staff was trying have a few people in there where it won’t be that busy, we saw a familiar face that day. One of the D23 staff members that was outside by the entrance to let the members in to shop is that we have seen her before. When we looked at her name, we can tell that it was guide during the Walt Disney Studios tour back from the May 2013 trip. You can click on this link: [post=48341792]A Day at the Walt Disney Studios and Archives and Disneyland[/post] Here name was Kelly and she was at the front entrance letting the people in the store. We had a nice chat with her and told her that we were in the group during the WDS tour in May 2013. What a small world where we get to see our tour guide from the May 2013 trip. We didn’t speak too long since we were heading in the store.

When we entered the store, it was a little small but not as smaller as the Mickey’s of Glendale store during the D23 Expo event. When we looked at all the different merchandise, most of the merchandise are the same when I shopped during the D23 Expo. I was a little disappointed that most of the merchandise were the same during the D23 Expo. But there were some items that I had the opportunity to buy where I wasn’t able to do that. They had some stuff that I was glad to get where they were out during the D23 Expo. DAF went shopping crazy that day where she found a lot of interesting items to buy that day. She must have spent over $200 that day which doesn’t sound like a lot when shopping that day but I have never seen her spent that much at a Disney store from the Expo, World of Disney store, etc. She spent more money than me during the shopping at the WDI store. I was a little surprise that she spent more than me that day but since most of the merchandise was the same during the D23 Expo event, I didn’t have to spend that much money. I must have spent about $80 that day from shirts & pins. She bought a jacket that was worth $100, shirts, cups & pins. This was the first time that she spent way more money than me on shopping at a Disney store. 

After we finished our shopping at the WDI store, it was around 12:30pm when we left the store. For those 3 hours which we waited to get in that morning, we were in the store for only one and a half hours which doesn’t seem that long for the shopping but most of the items that we have bought at the Expo.

So we head straight on back to Anaheim that afternoon to relax until it was time to go to the parks. We got back to Anaheim around 2pm from Glendale. Since DAF was blocked out that day since she has a DAP, she decided to stay in the room until it was time for dinner that night. I decided to head on over to the parks that day before it was time. 

This will be it for this post and stay tune what happened later that day in the parks before dinner.

[post=51473341]Continue to the Next Update Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Sounds like a good day shopping at Glendale; even if you had to wait a while to get into the store.

Good on your DAF for buying the things she wanted.

Looking forward to the dinner post.


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## tksbaskets

I'm glad the time went quickly and your aunt was able to find some treasures to buy.  Were you glad that you went to WDI?  It seems like it was a repeat of what was at the Expo.  Except seeing the cars from the People Mover.  That was a nice bit of history.

TK


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Sounds like a good day shopping at Glendale; even if you had to wait a while to get into the store.
> 
> Good on your DAF for buying the things she wanted.
> 
> Looking forward to the dinner post.



It was a good shopping day for DAF while it was a little disappointing for me. I did bought some items that I wanted to get during the D23 Expo event and most of the merchandise were the same. 

She bought interesting items that day and even though it was a long wait that morning to the afternoon.

You will have to wait a little while since I have been so busy these last few days and i will be busy as well this coming week.




tksbaskets said:


> I'm glad the time went quickly and your aunt was able to find some treasures to buy.  Were you glad that you went to WDI?  It seems like it was a repeat of what was at the Expo.  Except seeing the cars from the People Mover.  That was a nice bit of history.
> 
> TK



It was quite a long wait that morning. Luckily, I had my iPad and she had her book with her so the time went by quickly that morning. She was able to buy some nice stuff at the WDI store. there was no question that it was exciting to go to the WDI in Glendale. But I wish that I can take pictures that day. That is correct most of the WDI merchandise are the same items during the Mickey's of Glendale shopping at the D23 Expo. Some of the other parts of teh store had some merchandise that you can find at Disney parks and online which is interesting. That was so neat that one of the PeopleMover cars as well as one of the Skyway bucket cars were on-site. 


The next post will be up shortly. This will be my last update for a while since I will be out this week where I will be heading to Las Vegas to work at an AAU basketball tournament.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51413479]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –April 26th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Late to see Easter*​
We just got back to Anaheim after our shopping day at the WDI store in Glendale. Now I was about to head on over to the parks that day in the afternoon. I thought about resting in the room with DAF but i had some time to kill until it was time for dinner that night.

I got to the parks around 2:10pm that day and it was a little busy that afternoon at the parks. It wasn’t like summer crowds or Christmas break crowds but still a pack park on a Saturday afternoon. 




For the first part of the day at the parks, I head on over towards Frontierland to see if I could get on BTMRR that afternoon. It was a possibility that there would be a wait time in the 30+ minute area but anything could happen. 




When I got over to BTMRR in Frontierland, it was so busy around this area and there were people waiting to get on the ride outside of the queue. The wait time to get on it was at 45 minutes which was quite long that afternoon. So there was no way to ride it or even get a FP since the return time was till 6pm. So I will have to wait another day to ride BTMRR. It was a little tough to wait a little longer to ride BTMRR during the first two days but I will still be able to ride it before we leave.












It was nice to see the backside of BTMRR without the walls for over a year in the park and it looks good as ever.




In the back area of Froniterland was Big Thunder Ranch, I wanted to see the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree which Easter just passed a few days ago and there will be some decorations in BTR Jamboree. 




There weren’t too much events going on at BTR Jamboree that day with the Disney Perfroming Arts events.




More random pictures around BTR Jamoree before I went inside the Festival Arena.




Most of the decorations at BTR Jamoree were still there and it was decorated nicely for Easter.




















During the character M&G, I haven’t seen Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh in a long time and it was neat to see Rabbit along with Brer Bear and the White Rabbit.








I started to leave BTR Jamboree and onto other areas at DL that afternoon.




The other areas around BTR are also decorated with Easter decorations.




Big Thunder Ranch Springtime Round-Up or BTR Barbeque was all decorated during Easter. During each different season at DL, BTR BBQ is decorated during the holiday theme from Easter, Halloween, & Christmas.




A look at the back end of BTMRR and you can see the Dynamite eating Goat.









That’s it for this post and stay tune for more from DL that afternoon.

[post=51569463]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Nice to see BTMRR back up and running.


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## tksbaskets

Great pictures as always Bret!  I'm curious what was most noticeable by way of the extensive rehab when you rode BTMR?


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## mvf-m11c

I have some time to respond to some posts since I have been in Vegas since last Wednesday where I was working during a basketball tournament at the Las Vegas Convention Center. I'll show some pics from my trip shortly and I'll respond to some of the posts.



PrincessInOz said:


> Nice to see BTMRR back up and running.



It was very nice to see BTMRR up and running again. I will be looking forward to riding it again next month. It won't be to long until the next trip back to SoCal.




tksbaskets said:


> Great pictures as always Bret!  I'm curious what was most noticeable by way of the extensive rehab when you rode BTMR?



Thank you TK. BTMRR is a lot more smoother with the new track replacement and the new additions to the first cavern scene and the last cavern scene. You will really enjoy it when yo ride it in July.


As I have wrote on the top of the post, i have been in Vegas since Wednesday. I have been working during a basketball tournament at the Convention Center and it is finally over. Now I am resting in my room waiting to leave tomorrow morning back to Sacramento. I have been looking forward to going back home and being with my family. But I have been tired and exhausted these last few days. But I was able to enjoy some time in Vegas during my time off.

Here are some pics from my trip including from the event that i was working.

The view from the LVH hotel on Wednesday night was very nice.












The event at the LV Convention Center along with a Volleyball event.








I went to the Vegas Strip yesterday after the event and it was a big mistake since it was so busy that day but it was nice to walk around last night.


----------



## rentayenta

The backside of the goat. 

Love the Springtime photos and decor in Disneyland. I don't know that we've ever gone in Spring. Love the whole vibe.


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## PrincessInOz

Great pics from Vegas.

safe travel back.  Hope the tournament was a successful one.


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
We'll plan on riding BTMR in July for sure!  Your Vegas trip sounds like it was very busy.  I enjoyed the photos.  Was it really hot there?  I hope where you were working it was cool.  Were you a referee?


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## Sherry E

I enjoyed seeing the Vegas photos, *Bret*!  

For one thing, I haven't been there in sooooooo long -- since right before the Excalibur opened -- and I'd love to go back and see some of the nifty hotels that have opened up since I was there (though there is no way I would go to Vegas in spring or summer).  That's what I did in Vegas 24 years ago -- I wandered the Strip and explored the hotels (like The Mirage and Caesar's Palace, among others)!  

I noticed that pedestrians never stopped for lights in Vegas -- they always just plowed right ahead into the street.  I don't know if that still happens but it was interesting!

Also, I like the Vegas photos because it's something we don't see a lot of on this board.  Sure, there are people who stop in Vegas and take photos to share in their TRs from time to time, but Vegas is not as common a subject as DLR photos.  It's something new, in other words -- and something new for you to take photos of.  I don't know about anyone else, but I like to see you branching out and practicing your photography on other subjects (besides DLR) every now and then too!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Sherry E said:


> I enjoyed seeing the Vegas photos, *Bret*!
> 
> For one thing, I haven't been there in sooooooo long -- since right before the Excalibur opened -- and I'd love to go back and see some of the nifty hotels that have opened up since I was there (though there is no way I would go to Vegas in spring or summer).  That's what I did in Vegas 24 years ago -- I wandered the Strip and explored the hotels (like The Mirage and Caesar's Palace, among others)!
> 
> I noticed that pedestrians never stopped for lights in Vegas -- they always just plowed right ahead into the street.  I don't know if that still happens but it was interesting!
> 
> Also, I like the Vegas photos because it's something we don't see a lot of on this board.  Sure, there are people who stop in Vegas and take photos to share in their TRs from time to time, but Vegas is not as common a subject as DLR photos.  It's something new, in other words -- and something new for you to take photos of. * I don't know about anyone else, but like to see you branching out and practicing your photography on other subjects (besides DLR) every now and then too!*




Absolutely.

I've been trying to get him to photo walkabout in Sacto for quite a while!


----------



## Sherry E

PrincessInOz said:


> Absolutely.
> 
> I've been trying to get him to photo walkabout in Sacto for quite a while!



That sounds like a fantastic idea, *PiO*!  

Really, there are interesting -- end even beautiful -- photo subjects all around us, anywhere we go, and they are there to be appreciated!  Some subjects are more striking than others, of course, but it really just takes an open mind and being able to notice what's around us to find those little gems.  It could be something architectural.  It could be a unique cloud formation.  It could be the colors in a sign on a shop door.  It could be the way the sun is shining through tree branches.  There is always something interesting to see.  (I like to walk around my neighborhood and scout for little details that many people would overlook or take for granted.  One time I stood in the middle of a sidewalk, looking down at the fascinating spiral pattern a tree's roots were forming as they pushed up through the cement.  The passersby probably thought I was crazy!)

I think a Sacto walkabout would also be good because it would be a great way to start with a blank slate and dip into the creative well -- without any influence or predetermined ideas of what to photograph -- and find material that is fresh and totally different from what Disney parks offer.


----------



## mvf-m11c

rentayenta said:


> The backside of the goat.
> 
> Love the Springtime photos and decor in Disneyland. I don't know that we've ever gone in Spring. Love the whole vibe.



Glad you are enjoying the decorations at the DLR during Spring. It is very nice in Springtime with the Easter decorations in April and the flowers are very nice. It is quite busy during Spring Break and it was busy all week during the trip.




PrincessInOz said:


> Great pics from Vegas.
> 
> safe travel back.  Hope the tournament was a successful one.



Thank you PiO.

I got home safely yesterday night and it was a long drive all the way to Sacramento. Glad that the event is over. The event went really well for the first event in Vegas. The tournament organizers that put the tournament at Vegas this past weekend had another basketball tournament in Reno and they had over 1,000 basketball teams around the country. My boss sent me over to Vegas to oversee the Vegas tournament which was better for me instead of going to Reno.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> We'll plan on riding BTMR in July for sure!  Your Vegas trip sounds like it was very busy.  I enjoyed the photos.  Was it really hot there?  I hope where you were working it was cool.  Were you a referee?






Sherry E said:


> I enjoyed seeing the Vegas photos, *Bret*!
> 
> For one thing, I haven't been there in sooooooo long -- since right before the Excalibur opened -- and I'd love to go back and see some of the nifty hotels that have opened up since I was there (though there is no way I would go to Vegas in spring or summer).  That's what I did in Vegas 24 years ago -- I wandered the Strip and explored the hotels (like The Mirage and Caesar's Palace, among others)!
> 
> I noticed that pedestrians never stopped for lights in Vegas -- they always just plowed right ahead into the street.  I don't know if that still happens but it was interesting!
> 
> Also, I like the Vegas photos because it's something we don't see a lot of on this board.  Sure, there are people who stop in Vegas and take photos to share in their TRs from time to time, but Vegas is not as common a subject as DLR photos.  It's something new, in other words -- and something new for you to take photos of.  I don't know about anyone else, but I like to see you branching out and practicing your photography on other subjects (besides DLR) every now and then too!



Thank you Sherry. 

I haven't been to Vegas since 2008 and a lot has changed since I was last there. There are some new hotels that I have never seen or heard before and the walkways have changed a lot where you can't walk across the streets on the major roads on the Strip. I walked a little bit around that night and didn't stay too long since there were a lot of people that Sunday night. I was also worried since i might get jumped since i have my DSLR in my hands. It was just so weird for me to walk around Vegas by myself since I am not so used to walking around during a large crowd area (except Disney parks when crowded). 

I have seen a lot of people walk on the streets when the light is red and cars honking at each other to go or stop. I wouldn't even want to drive on the strip since you barely move an inch on the road. 

When I was about to head on the strip with my DSLR, I was thinking of not bringing it since there are a lot of people and there could be people that will try to steal my stuff from me. So it was also scary when you are a solo person. I was able to get some decent pictures of the hotels during that night. It was nice to try some new photos that day instead of a Disney trip but if I was with someone else, I would feel comfortable taking pictures. I wasn't comfortable taking pictures at the strip with the possibility that I might get my stuff stolen somewhere at the Strip even with all those crowds.




PrincessInOz said:


> Absolutely.
> 
> I've been trying to get him to photo walkabout in Sacto for quite a while!



I don't go out much in Sacramento (movie theaters, downtown, etc). I only go to my usual stops and places when I do work, shopping and family activities. I don't want to get my stuff stolen in Sacramento. There are a lot of great places to get pictures in Sacramento like Old Sac, Cal Expo during the California State Fair, Arco Arena (oops actually Sleep Train Arena), etc. 




Sherry E said:


> That sounds like a fantastic idea, *PiO*!
> 
> Really, there are interesting -- end even beautiful -- photo subjects all around us, anywhere we go, and they are there to be appreciated!  Some subjects are more striking than others, of course, but it really just takes an open mind and being able to notice what's around us to find those little gems.  It could be something architectural.  It could be a unique cloud formation.  It could be the colors in a sign on a shop door.  It could be the way the sun is shining through tree branches.  There is always something interesting to see.  (I like to walk around my neighborhood and scout for little details that many people would overlook or take for granted.  One time I stood in the middle of a sidewalk, looking down at the fascinating spiral pattern a tree's roots were forming as they pushed up through the cement.  The passersby probably thought I was crazy!)
> 
> I think a Sacto walkabout would also be good because it would be a great way to start with a blank slate and dip into the creative well -- without any influence or predetermined ideas of what to photograph -- and find material that is fresh and totally different from what Disney parks offer.



There are a lot of nice places around Sac that I could take pictures. However, since I am busy with other things like work it is tough to take my camera with me everywhere. It would be nice to take my camera with me and get great pictures but I just don't like taking it with me and have it get stolen. Mostly I am at my home on my computer where I am mostly all the time instead of going out. Times like going to the DLR where I like to be outside a lot since I am mostly a indoor person. There is no question that I will continue to improve my creativity of photography. 

Thank you for the suggestion PiO and Sherry.


----------



## PrincessInOz

mvf-m11c said:


> There are a lot of nice places around Sac that I could take pictures. However, since I am busy with other things like work it is tough to take my camera with me everywhere. It would be nice to take my camera with me and get great pictures but I just don't like taking it with me and have it get stolen. Mostly I am at my home on my computer where I am mostly all the time instead of going out. Times like going to the DLR where I like to be outside a lot since I am mostly a indoor person. There is no question that I will continue to improve my creativity of photography.
> 
> Thank you for the suggestion PiO and Sherry.



SacTo is a lovely town to take pictures.  But you don't even need to head out to town to take pictures.

It rained here the other day.  And I just grabbed my camera and headed out into the garden for 10 minutes and took pictures.  
























I'm focussed on water this month on the photoboard.  Hope to see you posting on those monthly threads.


----------



## Sherry E

^^Gorgeous photos, *PiO*!  

That's exactly what I meant.  There is beauty everywhere, or interesting things to see and photograph all around -- outside one's front door, around a corner, in a tree or in the sky, on a billboard, in a garden, in the rain, wherever.  (I am now sounding a bit like the kid in the movie _American Beauty_, who stares intently at the footage he shot of a plastic bag floating in the breeze and says, with a lump in his throat, "There's so much beauty in the world...")


*Bret -- *

I'm very glad your camera and gear didn't get stolen in Vegas!  I have no idea what the Strip is like now and if it is more dangerous than when I was there.  As I mentioned, it's been forever since I was last there.


----------



## ACDSNY

Cool pics of Vegas Bret.

 Wow is the backside of goat going to become as awesome as the backside of water?


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> SacTo is a lovely town to take pictures.  But you don't even need to head out to town to take pictures.
> 
> It rained here the other day.  And I just grabbed my camera and headed out into the garden for 10 minutes and took pictures.
> 
> I'm focussed on water this month on the photoboard.  Hope to see you posting on those monthly threads.



Very nice pictures PiO of the close-ups. I don't have a telephoto lens right now and I will consider getting one in the near future. Sac is a nice place to live and there are good places like parks to get nice pictures.

I have been so busy lately after getting back from Vegas and worked another Anime show this past Sunday. I have just been so busy lately and glad that my upcoming DL trip is not too long.




Sherry E said:


> *Bret -- *
> 
> I'm very glad your camera and gear didn't get stolen in Vegas!  I have no idea what the Strip is like now and if it is more dangerous than when I was there.  As I mentioned, it's been forever since I was last there.



I completely understand what you are saying Sherry. There are a lot of places around town that I can find something interesting and get a picture of. 

I was glad that nothing happened to my camera during my trip to Vegas last week. The Strip was so busy on Sunday night that it was a big mistake on my part to go and walk down the strip. I should have gone on Monday or Tuesday since most of the people would have left town.




ACDSNY said:


> Cool pics of Vegas Bret.
> 
> Wow is the backside of goat going to become as awesome as the backside of water?



Thank you Angela. 

It was nice to see the dynamite eating goat on the backside of BTMRR. Now I can't wait to ride it.


The next post will be up shortly.

For my upcoming trip in a few weeks, we have pushed our dates back just a few days. We were originally suppose to go to the DLR on June 20th to 22nd. But we are now moving it back a few days and we will be going on the 23rd to 25th. We will be staying at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Harbor Blvd which I will be staying for the first time since the other hotels are already full.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51473341]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –April 26th, 2014 – Part 3*

*Above on the Highway of the Skies*​

After walking through Big Thunder Ranch Springtime, it was time to head on over to the next area at the park that afternoon. The park crowd level started to pick up later that afternoon with more and more people already in Fantasyland. Rides like PP is always in the 30+ minute wait time area while the Meet & Greet of Anna and Elsa was in the 2 hour range. I can understand that people would like to meet them and get pictures with them but a 2 hour wait is crazy for a M&G.




I was in Tomorrowland while walking from Fantasyland. When in TL, the walls around the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage were up during my visit. The ride is expected to be down until September. There were a lot of rumors about the FNSV closing permanently for a Star Wars theme land. But after hearing that the ride won’t be closed, I was happy and it will be fun to ride it again later in fall.




I decided to head on over to my favorite ride at Disneyland. I always like to ride the Monorail at the DLR since I am a huge fan of trains and have loved the monorail when I rode it when I was a young child. 




When I was walking up towards the TL Monorail station, there was blue tarp covering in the direction of the FNSV lagoon. I have seen a lot of pictures from other sites showing the lagoon with the blue tarp. It was tough to get my DSLR through the gaps and get pictures of the construction but I will be able to get those when riding the Monorail when going over the lagoon.

A window decorations of the Mark I Monorails. The first DL monorails when it opened back in 1959. I can’t believe it has been over 50 years since the monorail began service at DL.




The Disneyland Monorail plaque which was named a historic mechanical engineering landmark back in 1986.




Monorail Orange was approaching the station.




I rode the monorail all the way towards the Downtown Disney station. Here is a tip for anyone that doesn’t know about the DL Monorail. You can actually ride the DL Monorail a round trip when you enter the TL Monorail station. But when you get on the monorail at the DTD station, you have to exit the monorail when you get to TL. This is not like the Walt Disney World Monorail where you can ride it round trip since the DL monorail requires a park ticket. 

Passing by Buena Vista Street at DCA.








Now entering the DTD station




After waiting at the DTD station to pick up the guests boarding the station, it was time to head on back to DL.

It wasn’t that busy at the turnstiles to enter DL that afternoon.




Now entering back into DL and over the FNSV lagoon. It was so weird to see the subs in the docks while it is all dried. I haven’t seen the lagoon dried when the FNSV was under construction in 2006. 












Passing by Matterhorn Mountain




Just about to enter the TL Monorail station and seeing the rest of the dried FNSV lagoon.








It was weird to see the FNSV lagoon all drained and not even any site of construction workers working on the attraction. It has been left alone for a while since the lagoon was dried. I have read that work on the lagoon have just recently started up.

After getting off the monorail, I decided to go back to the room and meet up with DAF so we can get ready for our dinner that night. So I walked on back to Best Western Anaheim Inn.

Just when I was walking down MS, there were people waiting on the sidewalks for the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. 




When I was passing by the Disneyana store, I had to go and see the Mechanical Kingdoms exhibit with the artwork.




I left DL before the 4pm so I can get back to the room and meet up with DAF so we can get ready for our dinner that night. I have been looking forward to this part of the trip when we made the reservations two months in advance. It was not only us but we had also asked two other DISers to join us for dinner that night and it was nice that they are going to join us for dinner.

Stay tune for what restaurant we ate that night and who joined us.

[post=51585071]Continue to the Next Update[/post]​


----------



## Sherry E

A 2-hour wait for any character is crazy and I won't be waiting that long!

The extra, extra, extra-vibrant Matterhorn picture, with the super-blue sky and super-green water, is very striking!  

I know there are a lot of rumors floating around about how the Subs are supposedly going to be removed in the not-too-distant future, but I have my doubts.  I don't think Disney is going to remove them before _Finding Dory_ comes out, if ever.  Why would they be working on the Subs now, if they were only going to close them forever later?


----------



## PrincessInOz

Interesting to see the lagoon all dried up.  I reckon that it's going to be amazing when they open it back up.  We were lucky enough to be in Anaheim in late June of 2007 when the ride re-opened.  It was the first one we hit first thing after rope drop.  Then....it had 3 hour queues before 9.20 am.  Rather similar to RSR.  

Nice pics from the monorail.  I need to get myself on that monorail again at some stage.  I haven't ridden it in a while.


----------



## tksbaskets

It was neat to see the pictures of the subs in dry dock!  Thanks for sharing them.  NEVER would I wait 2 hours for a character (one hour for Toy Story yes )  That's why DL has Character Meals!

Beautiful looking day~  I can't believe it's your last day to report.


----------



## rentayenta

Where do the mermaids live when the subs are under dry dock? 





Wow on the pics PIO.  Thanks for sharing those.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Sherry E said:


> A 2-hour wait for any character is crazy and I won't be waiting that long!
> 
> The extra, extra, extra-vibrant Matterhorn picture, with the super-blue sky and super-green water, is very striking!
> 
> I know there are a lot of rumors floating around about how the Subs are supposedly going to be removed in the not-too-distant future, but I have my doubts.  I don't think Disney is going to remove them before _Finding Dory_ comes out, if ever.  Why would they be working on the Subs now, if they were only going to close them forever later?



That is a long time for a character meet & greet wait time. I thought the Rapunzel m&g wait time a couple of years ago where the Frozen m&g is now today in the 30 minutes to hour range was crazy just for a character m&g. Then all of a sudden with Anna and Elsa m&g went to a new level of wait time. For anyone that wants to meet Anna & Elsa, I would do it first thing in the morning before it gets crowded later during the day. I can imagine it would be even worse at the MK at WDW with the Anna & Elsa m&g at Princess Fairytale Hall. I dont know what it is like at the MK but I would imagine it would be in that range or longer. 

Thank you Sherry. I got a nice picture of the Matterhorn from the Monorail. It is so fun to use Lightroom to enhance the pictures even more.

We always hear all these rumors about the subs going away ever since it closed for refurbishment earlier this year. The FNSV is one of the most expensive rides to maintain and I can see why management wants to close it so it wont be too expensive. But it is a classic ride and would be sad for it to go since it is one of my favorite childhood rides at DL when it was the Submarine Voyage. Im still sad that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage at the MK was taken out in the mid 90s. But at least it was replaced with a new land which is now the New Fantasyland. I was a little surprised that the construction crew wasnt working on the lagoon back in April and all of a sudden in late May I heard that construction crews are working on the lagoon. 



PrincessInOz said:


> Interesting to see the lagoon all dried up.  I reckon that it's going to be amazing when they open it back up.  We were lucky enough to be in Anaheim in late June of 2007 when the ride re-opened.  It was the first one we hit first thing after rope drop.  Then....it had 3 hour queues before 9.20 am.  Rather similar to RSR.
> 
> Nice pics from the monorail.  I need to get myself on that monorail again at some stage.  I haven't ridden it in a while.



It was weird to see the lagoon dried during the trip and it definitely needed a cleanup where it will be all nice and clean when it reopens in the fall time. I remember back in 2007 when the FNSV opened and this was the ride that everyone was waiting to get on first thing in the morning from the rope drop to MM. Now today it barely even goes over an hour during the busy season where I have seen that wait time in December. Even with RSR now two years old, the wait time to get on the ride is still as high as ever. 

Thank you PiO. The Mark VII Monorails are very nice to ride. Have you and your family rode the Mark VI Monorails at WDW during your trip last year when you went to the MK?



tksbaskets said:


> It was neat to see the pictures of the subs in dry dock!  Thanks for sharing them.  NEVER would I wait 2 hours for a character (one hour for Toy Story yes )  That's why DL has Character Meals!
> 
> Beautiful looking day~  I can't believe it's your last day to report.



Your welcome TK. It will be nice to see the lagoon filled up later this year. 2 hours for a character m&g is way too long and I would not even wait an hour for a character m&g (unless someone in my party wants to meet that character so much). I can tell that it will be a while until there will be another area for a m&g for Anna & Elsa. Have you read on the Disney Parks Blog from last month that a Frozen float will be added to Mickeys Soundsational Parade. It will be a pre-parade float that will be ahead of the parade. Im hoping that it will be up and running during my trip later this month so I will be able to see it and get pictures of it.

What do you mean my last day to report? I still have two more days to report and Im not even at the nighttime yet of the trip report. The next update will be the highlight of the trip.



rentayenta said:


> Where do the mermaids live when the subs are under dry dock?



I wonder the same thing. We all can't wait to see the FNSV reopen later this year.


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51569463]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 April 26th, 2014  Part 4*

*Dinner at the Napa Rose with Friends*​
When I got back to the room to get DAF, we were already to head on over back to the DLR to have dinner that night. For dinner, we are eating at the Napa Rose restaurant at the Grand California Hotel. This is our first time eating at the NR in which after all these years we have been coming to the DLR, we have never ate at that restaurant. It has been a lot of first times these last two years for me and DAF to try different restaurants that we are not used to eating. 

I made the reservation for the Chefs Counter 2 months before our dinner date since Disney dining does allow reservation up to two months in advance. This is common for the DLR dining where WDW does it differently like over half a year. I was fortunate to get the reservation at the Chefs Counter. 

For our first dinner at the NR, we were recommended by Alison (franandaj) to get the Chefs Counter which is limited for every evening at the restaurant. I believe there are only 16 guests each night that will be able to eat at the Chefs Counter (8 for 5:30pm which we got and 8 at 8:30pm). It was going to be very nice to be able to eat at the NR that night with Alison and Fran. 

When it was around 5pm, we started to leave our room and head on over to the GCH and meet up with them. 

While we were walking pass both parks at the Esplanade, there were quite long queues to get in the parks that time. Mostly around this time of the day where the parks started to get a little busy with the guests coming in the parks or hopping on over to the next park.

When we got to the GCH and at the NR, Alison and Fran were waiting in the lounge and we were able to find them. We were all in the lounge for a while until hostess took us to our seats at the Chefs Counter.

When we were about to be seated and passing by the wine room, I remember seeing Pixar Wine bottles from different movies that was supposed to be somewhere at the NR and they were right in a glass case. It was neat to see the Pixar Wine bottles that each one shows a different film.








We were seated on the left hand side of the Chefs Counter where there was another group already seated on our right hand side. At first, our impression of the NR was that it was nice and the service was great. It was neat to see the kitchen where the chefs were preparing the dishes for all the guests.




Just like the restaurant, the menu looks so nice.




There was a lot of different variety of dishes to select during our meal and by the menu it isnt cheap like the other DLR restaurants that we have ate in the past.




When we ordered our meal, we had the option of selecting dishes that we wanted to try or we could have done the random dishes. Since DAF can eat specific food, she was glad that she was able to have a good meal where the chefs are able to cook specifically for her.

We were first started off with the bread and Alison told us that the bread is so good that we should not stuff too much of it since we have dinner that night.




While we were waiting for our food to be ready, our waitress asked us if we wanted to get a picture together and it was nice of her to get a picture of all four of us.




First, we were started out with a small dish that wasnt in our order but a small started. I cant remember the name of this dish but it was very nice.




Our appetizers arrived and the first course for me was the Portobello Mushroom Bisque Cappuccino with Brandied Thyme Froth.




DAF had a special dish since she isnt able to eat any of the items on the starts so the chefs made a fish dish for her and she really enjoyed it.




Just like I was taking pictures of our dishes, Alison was doing the same thing with their dishes. I checked on her WDW thread that she already posted that night. Here is a link to her thread of that night and she did get pictures of their dishes that they ordered. [post=51478541] You mean I DO get to go to WDW in 2014?? - Single Digit Dance!!!!!![/post] 

Later that night, Executive Chef Andrew Sutton was in the kitchen for a while and he knew when he saw Alison and Fran and greeted them and it was nice to talk with him for a while.




For our next course, I got the Warm Local Beet Salad with Chenel Goat Cheese Panna Cotta Cara Cara orange, Wild Arugula, Hazelnuts and Blood Orange Vinaigrette.




DAF got another dish that wasnt on the menu and made for her. It was a rabbit type dish.




Our main course arrived and I got the Grilled Black Angus Beef Tenderloin with Scalloped Potatoes, Sauteed Asparagus and Coastal Mush room Sauce.




DAF got the Grilled Maple Leaf Farms Breast Duck with Fennel Orange Puree, Braised Lentils and Kumquat Marmalade.




We cant forget about dessert and there was a lot of interesting desserts to choose from on the dessert menu.








It was time for dessert after a very nice first three course meal. I am mostly never a dessert type of person so I was able to order something on the menu while DAF ordered a warm manjari chocolate truffle cake.




I was able to get a Seasonal Sorbet that night which was Strawberry Honey




After we finished our meals, we stayed in the NR for a while and see all the chefs working in the kitchen. It was so neat to watch the chefs make all these different dishes that night.




There was a party that night at the NR and we talked to the chefs of what they were making and Alison knew that one dish that the chef were making since it is no longer on the menu at the NR. 




We stayed in the NR until it was around 8:30pm which we were in the restaurant for 3 hours. Since it was time for the next guests to have the table, we started to walk-on out of the NR.




One more look at the Pixar Wine Bottles before we left.




Our first impression of the NR restaurant which was a nice place to eat. The food and service was so good and great. But when DAF and I talked about it we have to come back and eat at this restaurant in the future, she told me that one time is enough. We mostly dont eat at high quality restaurants like the NR or any four or five star restaurants. We treated both Alison and Fran that night and they had a great time eating with us at the NR that night.

After we exited the NR, since DAF AP was blocked out that night and she didnt want to pay a black out ticket, she went back to the room while I head on in to DCA with Alison and Fran.

Stay tune for the next update to see what we done later that night.

[post=51624329]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


----------



## PrincessInOz

Great dinner, Bret.  I enjoyed vicariously licking my screen when Alison posted it and I'm doing the encore with yours.  Love the food porn.  

And good on ya for treating Alison and Fran.


----------



## tksbaskets

mvf-m11c said:


> What do you mean “my last day to report”? I still have two more days to report and I’m not even at the nighttime yet of the trip report. The next update will be the highlight of the trip.
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder the same thing. We all can't wait to see the FNSV reopen later this year.
> 
> 
> The next post will be up shortly.



I read the link at the top that said 'Last Installment of the trip report' and thought that meant it was the last installment.    I'm so glad it isn't!

Thank you for the review and pictures of NR.  I agree with your DAF it looked like a lovely meal and event but for our family of four the cost would be over $200.  Now I feel like I've been there myself through your report.


----------



## PrincessInOz

mvf-m11c said:


> Thank you PiO. The Mark VII Monorails are very nice to ride. Have you and your family rode the Mark VI Monorails at WDW during your trip last year when you went to the MK?




Yes, we did.  But it wasn't quite the normal trip.


----------



## rentayenta

Wow Bret, your photos are gorgeous and dinner looks incredible. Maybe we'll shoot for the Chef's Counter at NR in December. I am thinking about there or Steakhouse 55.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great dinner, Bret.  I enjoyed vicariously licking my screen when Alison posted it and I'm doing the encore with yours.  Love the food porn.
> 
> And good on ya for treating Alison and Fran.



Thank you PiO. The dinner was nice and this might be the only time we ever eat at the NR. To try it was one of our goals of the things to do at the DLR and it was nice to do the Chef's Counter with Alison and Fran. 

It was nice to treat them that night.




tksbaskets said:


> I read the link at the top that said 'Last Installment of the trip report' and thought that meant it was the last installment.    I'm so glad it isn't!
> 
> Thank you for the review and pictures of NR.  I agree with your DAF it looked like a lovely meal and event but for our family of four the cost would be over $200.  Now I feel like I've been there myself through your report.



I see. I have those links on top of each posts of where the last update from my trip reports. Sherry mentioned this to me where it would be easy for the DISers to find the links to my previous updates so they won't be behind or looking for the start of the trip report. 

Your welcome and glad you enjoyed it. It was a nice experience to eat at the NR and I don't think we will ever eat there again unless it is a special event. The food was great but the price was so high even for just an entree or appetizer. I believe we spent over $300 for the four of us that evening. It was not a cheap dinner but it was nice.




PrincessInOz said:


> Yes, we did.  But it wasn't quite the normal trip.



Did something go wrong when you were riding the Monorail's? It almost feel like the Mark VI are breaking down more and more every time I go to WDW. They are over 20 years old when they debut in the early 90's and still looks like the future of transportation to me. 




rentayenta said:


> Wow Bret, your photos are gorgeous and dinner looks incredible. Maybe we'll shoot for the Chef's Counter at NR in December. I am thinking about there or Steakhouse 55.



Thank you Jenny. it was a great dinner and glad that Alison and Fran were able to join us that night. The Chef's Counter was nice to be able to watch the chef's cook in the kitchen. Whichever the two restaurants you are thinking about for your December trip, they are good choices. My aunt and I are thinking about eating at Steakhouse 55 for our November trip after eating at the NR this past trip.


For a quick update for my trip in a few weeks, we made reservations at the Blue Bayou on Tuesday June 24th at 11:30am. DAW (my dad's sister) enjoyed eating at the BB during our trip last year in June when we ate at the BB and she wants to eat there again. So this time, we will be eating during lunch in which I haven't done in ages. I will continue to update during our pre-trip plans.

During this past week, I was in San Francisco with DAW and DD4 and went to the SF Zoo. Here are some pictures from the Zoo.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Welcome back.  Seems like you had a good time at SF.  Nice pictures of the animals.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Welcome back.  Seems like you had a good time at SF.  Nice pictures of the animals.



Thanks PiO. It was nice to go to the SF and the weather was cold. I would rather be there in SF right now instead of being here in Sactown with the hot weather.


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51585071]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –April 26th, 2014 – Part 5*

*Maleficent Sneak Peek, Shopping & Nighttime Photos*​
After we finished dinner at the Napa Rose restaurant with Alison (franandaj) and Fran, we head on in Disney California Adventure from the Grand California Hotel. The only problem that night is that DAF couldn’t go in the park since she had the Deluxe Annual Pass. But she had no problem that night and told me that I should go with Alison and Fran that night in DCA. So she went straight back to the room while I joined them in DCA that night.

When we were in DCA, we head straight on over to A Bug’s Land so we can see the Maleficent Exclusive Sneak Peek at It’s Tough to be a Bug theater. Since the Maleficent movie is coming out one month after our trip in May, it was neat to see a clip of the movie. I have seen clips from Disney movies at DCA when the theater was at Muppet Vision 3D for TRON Leave a Legacy.









We were seating in the way back of the theater.




After watching part of the movie in the Bug’s Life Theater, I knew that I wanted to see the movie when it comes out. So when the movie came out on May 30th, I had to see it and it was a very interesting movie. There have been a lot of mixed reviews of this movie but overall it was good.

When we finished watching the Maleficent Sneak Peek at a Bug’s Life Theater, we head on over to Hollywood Land to go in the “Off the Page” store which sells paintings, movies, cels, etc. We went to the store to look at the paintings. Off the Page store doesn’t have many paintings like the Disneyana Shop in DL, but it is one of my favorite stores at the DLR.

Since Fran didn’t find anything at the Off the Page store, we head on out of DCA and over to DL that night. 

When we were walking on out of DCA, the 9:30pm Remember Dreams Come True fireworks was going on that time. We didn’t stop to see the fireworks until we were in DL.




We watched the fireworks right on MS close to Town Square which was very far back.




After RDCT fireworks was over, we head straight to the Disneyana Shop. I remember back during the September 2013 trip when PiO and her family were there and Fran was in the store for a long time looking at all the different art work and bought a lot of stuff that night. Just like this time, Fran was able to find a lot of interesting paintings in the store. I believe Fran must have bought over 5 different paintings that night and she had a CM go with them to take it back to her car. 

It was getting late for Alison and Fran, so they head on out of the parks and back to the car. I decided to stay in the park that night and get some nighttime pictures. So we parted ways that night. I had a great time with Alison and Fran when we had dinner at the Napa Rose and walk with them in the parks and look at all the different paintings.

Now I was by myself and walking around the park to look for nice spots to get some nighttime pictures of the park. I have brought my tripod with me when DAF and I left our hotel and it was nice to carry it on my bag instead of carrying another bag with me. It made it easy for me to take pictures while walking around that night and it was easy to access the tripod when I want to get a picture that night. The park was not that crowded that night since the fireworks was over and it was almost around 11pm.




I head on over to Frontierland to get pictures of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night. When I got there, there were no mine trains running and a lot of bright lights were on. I looked at the queue and they told the guests that the ride was down and the guests were leaving the queue. So it was broken that night. It was a shame for the guests to wait in the queue to get on the ride and find out that it is down. So I was able to get some pictures but not the ones that I wanted to get.

Some of these photos you seen are with the tripod on my camera since I was trying out long exposure shots. I have done long exposure shots for the fireworks but I have never done this for different areas around the park so it was nice to try something new during my trip.








After looking at BTMRR for a while, I decided it was time to head on back to the room and call it for the night since it was a long day. The River of America was quiet since both Fantasmic! show are now over.
















I can never get tired of seeing Sleeping Beauty Castle at night but it is even more amazing during the holiday season when the decorations are up.




This was my first attempt of taking a long exposure picture of Astro Orbiter with the light trail.




It was 20 minutes until midnight, so it was time to head on out of the park and back to the room. The park was semi-busy that night which there were quite a lot of people walking on out of the park.




I head on out of the park and my last picture that night was to get a picture of DCA turnstiles. With the Tokina lens, I was able to get up close so I was able to get the whole entrance. I was so impressed with the Tokina 11-16mm lens where I had to get up close to the entrance to get the whole thing where other lenses I have used in the past where I had to be way back in order to get the whole entrance.








I than head on back to Best Western Anaheim Inn where DAF was just resting until I got back. 

This concludes the Saturday part of the trip. Stay tune for the next day at the DLR.

[post=51652400]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## franandaj

I finally just sat down and got all caught up on your report.  Thank you so much for dinner that night. It was wonderful as was the company. I really enjoy fancy meals like that.

Im glad you and your DA had a good time shopping at MoG. We found a lit of things that were not at the Expo on our trip yesterday. I think we might have gotten the same jacket as your DAF. 

It was fun going through the park and seeing the preview with your we have yet to see the movie. I'm glad you were abke to go through the park and get some nighttime shots after we parted. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Good for you, Bret.  Those are very impressive pictures.

I think you should keep that Tokina.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
Your super long exposure shots are stunning .  

TK


----------



## franandaj

BTW how long were your shutter speeds on the long exposure shots?  They look really cool.


----------



## Sherry E

*Bret --*

I am definitely noticing a difference in your photos with the Tokina lens -- it has changed the look and feel of a lot of your shots.  I agree with *PiO* -- You should keep it!




(_By the way -- the Theme Week Countdown begins in the Christmas/Holiday Superthread on Monday, July 21st and ends with the final theme on Monday, November 3rd!  (There will be 22 themes in total this year, instead of 20, and there will be 2 brand new mini-daily themes added in, while one of the old daily mini-themes is graduating to a full weekly theme.)   I will see you there!_


----------



## rentayenta

Wow on the Astro Orbiter photo.  Its amazing. 

We saw Maleficent but not in 3D. How did you like 3D? It generally gives me a headache though I was tempted.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I finally just sat down and got all caught up on your report.  Thank you so much for dinner that night. It was wonderful as was the company. I really enjoy fancy meals like that.
> 
> Im glad you and your DA had a good time shopping at MoG. We found a lit of things that were not at the Expo on our trip yesterday. I think we might have gotten the same jacket as your DAF.
> 
> It was fun going through the park and seeing the preview with your we have yet to see the movie. I'm glad you were abke to go through the park and get some nighttime shots after we parted. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!



Your welcome and glad that you and Fran were able to join us that night. Maybe we can do it again during our trip in November. But we might think of going earlier depends on work from both of us. The meals were very nice and fancy and it will be a long time until we eat at the NR again. The next fancy restaurant on-site might be Steakhouse 55.

She had a great time shopping at the WDI store where I was a little disappointed of the choices where half of the stuff is where I could get at any Disney park or store. And the other was that the WDI merchandise were the same during the MoG store at the D23 Expo last year. She bought the WDI jacket which is around $100.

It was nice to go with you that night and see the Maleficent Preview. Every time I see any preview at any Disney park, I just have to go and see it. I was able to spend some time that night after we parted ways at the Disneyana store. 

Thank you Alison for a great time.




PrincessInOz said:


> Good for you, Bret.  Those are very impressive pictures.
> 
> I think you should keep that Tokina.



Thank you PiO. The shots are getting better and better with every trip. 

As you already know that I did buy the Tokina lens from my friend and I will be happy with using it more and more in the near future.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> Your super long exposure shots are stunning .
> 
> TK



Hi TK,

The long exposure shots were just as good as I have thought. I got to thank the DISers on the Disneyland resort PotD thread where I got the idea of the long exposure shots. I will be looking forward to taking more long exposure shots during my upcoming trip which wont be too long. I cant wait to leave in *9 days* until DAW and I are back in SoCal.

Thank you TK.




franandaj said:


> BTW how long were your shutter speeds on the long exposure shots?  They look really cool.



Most of the shutter speeds were set at 6 to 30 seconds. You have to lower the aperture and ISO if you want to take long exposure shots. When I left the aperture high (f/2.8 on my Tokina lens) and ISO it became more bright or even show a white picture. But if you lower the aperture and ISO, it can become very dark. You just got to get it at the right settings or it wont turn up as is. All the long exposure shots were taken with my tripod. It was nice to use my Lowepro Pro Runner backpack with the tripod attached to it where I dont have to carry another bag with my trip. 

Thank you Alison.




Sherry E said:


> *Bret --*
> 
> I am definitely noticing a difference in your photos with the Tokina lens -- it has changed the look and feel of a lot of your shots.  I agree with *PiO* -- You should keep it!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (_By the way -- the Theme Week Countdown begins in the Christmas/Holiday Superthread on Monday, July 21st and ends with the final theme on Monday, November 3rd!  (There will be 22 themes in total this year, instead of 20, and there will be 2 brand new mini-daily themes added in, while one of the old daily mini-themes is graduating to a full weekly theme.)   I will see you there!_



Thank you Sherry. The Tokina 11-16mm lens make such a big difference in my photography where I can get much more in the picture where the other lenses that I have used dont get as much. Im glad that I purchased this lens from my friend and will be using it a lot for upcoming trips. But I will be testing other lenses to show different pictures. 

I did see your post on the Christmas Superthread. I will be read and looking forward to the Theme Week Countdown. It has been a few years since you have started it and a lot of DISers have joined in since you started it.




rentayenta said:


> Wow on the Astro Orbiter photo.  Its amazing.
> 
> We saw Maleficent but not in 3D. How did you like 3D? It generally gives me a headache though I was tempted.



Thank you Jenny. The trails of AO are very neat with the long exposure shot.

Glad to hear that you were able to see Maleficent. When we watched it at Bugs Life Theater it was great and the seats in the theater during the preview were in use as well just like Its Tough to be a Bug show. I have no problem watching the movie in 3D. But it can give you a little headache when watching it too long. I dont even like to play my Nintendo 3DS on the 3D mode since it does give me a headache.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51624329]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 –April 27th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Getting FP’s, TSMM & BTMRR Finally*​
It is now our third day of the trip. Mostly we always leave on Sunday during our trip to Anaheim, but we pushed it back one more day so we can relax and enjoy DL where part of the day yesterday we were in Glendale during the WDI shopping and dinner at the Napa Rose with Alison and Fran. So we pushed it back one more day which does make sense for us so we can enjoy a full day at the parks. 

It was early Sunday morning and we were excited to go to the DLR that morning. Since DAF AP is not blocked that day where she was blocked on Saturday, it was time for the two of us to enjoy another great day at the parks. We got up early that morning so we can head on over to the DLR early that morning in order to DCA so we can get FP’s for RSR and WoC. 

We didn’t leave the hotel until 7:40am which was a little late but it was enough time when the parks open at 8am. So we rushed on over to the DLR so we can get to DCA.

DCA was open when we got in before 8am so we head on over to the RSR queue in order to get the RSR FP’s. I always have this weird way of not riding RSR first thing in the morning because when I try to ride RSR first thing in the morning, the ride is broken down and I have wasted part of the morning in order to do other things instead of waiting in a queue for the ride to be open. 




There wasn’t a huge queue for the RSR FP’s so we were lucky that it wasn’t that busy but it was busy for the guests to go through the standby queue. 




When we were in the queue for the RSR FP’s, we didn’t have to wait long which was a real shocker. I thought that we would have to wait later that day in order to ride RSR. But when we got the FP’s, the return time was not until 11pm which was a great time to return to ride RSR.

After we got our FP’s for RSR, we head straight on over to Grizzly River Run to get the FP’s for WoC. Interesting is that there was only one WoC show that night. In the past during the weekends and Friday’s, WoC was running twice a night. I looked on the schedule and saw that there was only one WoC a night at 9:45pm which was kind of late. 

We were able to get the blue section for the 9:45pm WoC show. 

After getting the WoC FP’s, DAF wanted to go on TSMM. It has been a while since I have been on TSMM. This is also a good opportunity to do two things at once. The first is riding TSMM, the second is that a DISer ask me to get a picture of the floor on TSMM. 

It wasn’t that busy in Paradise Pier that morning where most of the guests are at Cars Land.




When we looked at the wait time, it was already at 20 minutes. But we didn’t mind waiting that long. *TK* - I know that you would easily go on TSMM with that wait time.








For our score, I got 174,200 while DAF got 114,400. Not one of my best score but it was one of DAF best scores on TSMM. I really need to work on my arms so they won’t be tired of pulling the string.




Talk about a low score when you compare it to those other scores on the ride.




We got off the ride and now upstairs.




Here is a picture of the floor in the store after you get off TSMM.




After we finished riding TSMM and have some time until our FP’s are good for RSR, it was a good time to head on over to DL in order to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We weren’t able to ride BTMRR for the first two days of the trip so it was a good idea to head on over to DL and ride it. We didn’t spend too much time in DCA that morning but we were able to accomplish some of our goals.


After walking all the way from PP, we were now out of DCA and heading on over to DL.




We walked all the way over to Frontierland all the way to BTMRR. When we got over to BTMRR, the wait time was at 20 minutes which was not that long. But overall, it did felt like it was a 15 minute wait when we were in the standby queue.




Walking through the queue of BTMRR was very nice especially with it being down for over a year. When we looked at the town of Rainbow Ridge, it was all nicely done with new paint and the queue mostly looks the same as it was.




Before we got on the ride, I was testing out my GoPro on my head with the head strap. This was a nice way to record the ride while I was able to use my DSLR in my hands. So I was able to do two things at once.

Here is my video of  Disneyland Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on April 27th, 2014 when I had it on my head while I had my DSLR in my hands.

Here are pictures of BTMRR with the Tokina lens.




The cave scene during the first chain lift was enhanced and more looks like a cave.








Now this was the highlight of the ride which was the dynamite room which is changed. The effects shows like how the dynamite being light up and about to explode.
















The top area which had broken tracks from the old BTMRR, was took out and had dynamites.




Now backoutside












The new BTMRR is very nice and it was great to ride it. It was not as rough like the old version and it was smoother. Even though I do like the new version, it was sad that the old one is now gone. I don’t like the new tracks where it looks new where the old ones look like old tracks. DAF had a great time riding it and it was worth the 15 minute wait.





That is it for this post and stay tune what we have done later that morning at the DLR.

[post=51672927]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Love the BTM pictures, Bret.  Almost like being on the ride myself.  Almost.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
You are helping me get even more excited for our trip in 3 weeks   Indeed my family would have love a 20 min wait for TSMM.  We found on our December trip that going there first was the best thing for us as most head to RSR.  I think your tip is a great one - many times RSR takes a bit of maintenance in the morning.  We get our Fps when the park opens (after early entry time is up)  

BTMR looks nice.  It's on our list of 'must do's'!  I loved watching your gopro youtube.  Thanks for posting it.

TK


----------



## rentayenta

Thank you for the BTMRR pics Bret. BTMRR was closed on all three of our last trips to Disneyland and during our last trip to WDW. It feels like it's been forever since we got to ride the wildest ride in the wilderness. I cannot wait for this December.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Love the BTM pictures, Bret.  Almost like being on the ride myself.  Almost.



Glad you like the pictures from BTMRR PiO. It was so nice to ride the new version and it is a lot smoother. With wearing the GoPro on my head makes it easy to do two things at once and when I watched it on video, it also feel like I was there riding it. The only problem I have with the GoPro is the sound quality where it is not that good like my other video camera.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> You are helping me get even more excited for our trip in 3 weeks   Indeed my family would have love a 20 min wait for TSMM.  We found on our December trip that going there first was the best thing for us as most head to RSR.  I think your tip is a great one - many times RSR takes a bit of maintenance in the morning.  We get our Fps when the park opens (after early entry time is up)
> 
> BTMR looks nice.  It's on our list of 'must do's'!  I loved watching your gopro youtube.  Thanks for posting it.
> 
> TK



Glad that my trip report updates are getting you more and more excited TK. I am excited for you and your family when you go back to the DLR. The 20 minute wait time on TSMM is something you will keep doing over and over. That is my opinion of not going on RSR first thing in the morning with the possibility that RSR will be down. I have experienced it before and for a regular it make sense to ride it later with a FP instead of going on it first thing in the morning and find out that it is down and you could use that time to do other things instead of waiting in the queue of RSR.

Thank you TK. The video quality was very nice on the GoPro and overall it was nice. Your welcome.




rentayenta said:


> Thank you for the BTMRR pics Bret. BTMRR was closed on all three of our last trips to Disneyland and during our last trip to WDW. It feels like it's been forever since we got to ride the wildest ride in the wilderness. I cannot wait for this December.



Your welcome. It did feel so long for BTMRR to be closed for most of 2013 and now it is finally up and running again that I will want to ride it again in the near future. I'm sorry to hear that BTMRR was close during your last few trips. I know that you will like it when you ride it in December.


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51652400]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 –April 27th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Back & Forward to both Parks + Lunch at ESPN Zone *​
Just when we finished riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, it was time to head on back over to Disney California Adventure in order to use our FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers. Talk about just one ride at DL and heading on back to DCA. But we had to use them since we can’t ride on RSR during other times unless the ride breakdown during our return time. We have rode RSR and the ride was broken during our return ride and was able to ride it later during the day which is nice.

While walking on out of BTMRR, the wait time had jumped from 20 minute wait time to 30 minute wait time. It went up just a little but from the crowd level that day, it was going to be a busy day at the parks.

More and more people are now entering DL that morning where we are going back to DCA.




Luckily, it wasn’t that busy heading on in DCA that morning.




It is always nice to walk through Buena Vista Street when entering DCA. I do miss the old version of DCA with the Golden Gate Bridge. I can’t believe it has been a couple of years since BVS has been open and time goes by quickly. 




So we head on over to Cars Land in order to use our FP’s for that morning. Luckily DCA wasn’t that busy that morning where we were able to ride RSR around 10am. Even though the park started to get a little busy that day, the wait time to get on RSR was only 85 minutes during the standby queue was not that bad. I would not even wait that long even if it is under 90 minutes.




Stanley Oasis Water Tower




We had to wait about 10 minutes to go through the FP queue and to ride RSR. Unfortunately we were in the backseat during the ride. It almost feels like every time I ride RSR, I’m always in the backseat. 




It was nice to use the Tokina lens during the ride of RSR. But I did have some problems using the lens with the focusing. Some of the photos are nice while some of them are blurry. The other thing was that since the Tokina lens was so wide, I got a lot of the vehicle in the picture along with the other people it the car with us.

Also, I was using the GoPro that was on my head with the head strap just like when I used it during BMTRR that morning. It was neat to be able to do two things at once again and I wasn’t too worried about the GoPro head strap coming off my hat since it worked really well when riding BTMRR.

I can never get tired of seeing Radiator Falls waterfall.




With the wide angle lens, I was able to get a lot in the picture where it was a little difficult with the other lenses that I have used on RSR.




We went through Ramone’s House of Body Art.








Our picture while riding RSR. As you can see from my picture that I had my GoPro on my head during the ride. 




Just when we got off RSR, DAF wanted to get another FP for RSR. It was past 10am and it was possible that all the FP’s for RSR are gone at that time. It was a possibility that we might be able to get some FP’s that night. 

When we walked on over towards RSR FP entrance, there were times available that night. Luckily the times won’t conflict when we are planning on watching World of Color that night. We got a second pair of RSR FP’s later that day so we will be able to ride RSR at night which I haven’t done for a while. DAF was able to ride RSR at night during the November 2013 trip when her colleague and her family was with us during the holiday season.




After getting RSR FP’s, we head straight on over towards A Bug’s Life Theater so DAF will be able to see the Maleficent sneak peak. I was able to see the preview the other day with Alison and Fran now DAF wanted to see it this time. 




She was impressed with the movie sneak peak of Maleficent and she told me that she will want to see the movie as well as me. When you see a preview of a movie, you got to see it no matter what. I did that when Maleficient was released last month and I saw it the first day. DAF was able to see it later during the week and she like the movie.

After we watched the Maleficent preview, it was time to hop on over to DL that afternoon. This is why I like the Disneyland Resort over Walt Disney World when hopping on over to another park where DL & DCA are adjacent to each other while at WDW you will have to take a transportation to get to another park. This does save you time when taking a bus, monorail, boat, etc. when at WDW. 

It was a cloudy day at DCA that afternoon but from the weather report, it was highly unlikely that it will rain where it did rain on Friday night.




Back on over to DL that afternoon.




The first thing when we got back in DL that afternoon, was to ride the Disneyland Railroad. One of the trains was at the Main Street station and we were able to get on the train.

We rode the train all the way around until we got on over to the Tomorrowland Railroad station. 

When we got off the DLRR, it was time to go on my favorite ride at DL. It was the Disneyland Monorail. So we head on over to the Tomorrowland Monorail station to ride the Monorail. DAF got to see the construction walls of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and she was wondering when it will reopen and I told her that it will be open in September. When we come back in November, we will be able to go back on the ride when it reopens.




Monorail Mark VII Orange was at the station and we rode it towards Downtown Disney.




When we got to the DTD station, we decided to get off the monorail and go in DTD. Mostly we would ride monorail roundtrip back to DL but we were planning on having lunch at the ESPN Zone. We just ate at the ESPN Zone on Friday night and all of a sudden we are eating at the ESPN Zone again during the trip. DAF wanted to watch the NBA Playoffs in the ESPN Zone and since it was a Sunday afternoon, the playoffs was going on. 





Luckily, the ESPN Zone just opened a while ago for lunch so it didn’t take too long until we were seated where we didn’t have any reservation that afternoon.




We always enjoy eating in the room with the giant projection screen with all the different games to watch. This is why we like to eat in this area where you can watch a lot of different games at once. 




Since it was during the NBA Playoffs and it was a Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers game, the restaurant will let the customers stay in the room where we got to pay $10 per person per hour in order to stay and watch the games. This is for big games like the playoffs, NFL, etc. We stayed in the ESPN Zone for 3 hours to watch all the different games. It does sound like a long time where we stayed at the Napa Rose on Saturday with Alison and Fran for 3 hours which was long as well.

After lunch, we left the restaurant and started to go to our next destination that afternoon. You will find out on the next update. 

It isn’t too long until my trip which is about to come up shortly in less than a week. DAW and I are looking forward to going back to the DLR next week.

[post=51694576]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Great morning wandering around the parks, Bret.  I've never eaten at ESPN at DTD.  Is the food good there?


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## tksbaskets

I miss the Golden Gate Bridge too but in every other way I'm so glad that DCA looks less amusement park like and more Disney.  Do you know what I mean.

I loved your ride picture on RSR even if you're in the back seat.  I'd love to ride RSR at night.  We never have.  Perhaps this trip?

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great morning wandering around the parks, Bret.  I've never eaten at ESPN at DTD.  Is the food good there?



We did a lot of going back and forward to DL and DCA that day. Luckily we were able to do some of our favorite rides that day. As you know that we eat at the ESPN Zone for almost every trip that my DAF and I go to the DLR. It has been a long time since we haven't ate at the ESPN Zone during a trip together. The food is okay, nothing special like the other restaurants. If your family likes to watch sporting games, this is the best place to go and watch.




tksbaskets said:


> I miss the Golden Gate Bridge too but in every other way I'm so glad that DCA looks less amusement park like and more Disney.  Do you know what I mean.
> 
> I loved your ride picture on RSR even if you're in the back seat.  I'd love to ride RSR at night.  We never have.  Perhaps this trip?
> 
> TK



It is sad to see the Golden Gate Bridge gone at DCA but the new entrance looks amazing. BVS looks more like a Disney park than a amusement park of the former Sunshine Plaza. I can't believe it has been two years since BVS opened and I still remember the old Sunshine Plaza with the Golden Gate Bridge.

Thank you TK. The back seat is very nice but I do enjoy riding up front most of the time. As you can tell from most of my pictures that I am always in the center of the car while I am with someone else. You will to ride RSR at night. You just got to time it right to get FP's for RSR.


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51672927]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 –April 27th, 2014 – Part 3*

*Life Could be Dream in Radiator Springs*​
After we had lunch at the ESPN Zone, DAF and I went back to the hotel to rest up so we can all be ready for the nighttime at DCA. We plan on going back to DCA that night to be able to use our FP’s for RSR at night and to watch WoC. It was getting a little warm that day and the crowds are in the park around 3pm.

We rested for a while in the room for about two hours until we head on back to DCA that night. I could easily stayed in the park and meet up with DAF but I didn’t have my other equipment with me like the tripod so it was a good idea to go back to the room and rest up. I could have easily spend my time in the park to get more pictures with the Tokina lens but I always have to get a break after a long day in the parks during the morning to afternoon time. 

It was around 5pm and we started to head on out of our hotel and back to the DLR. When we got to the Esplanade, the queue’s to enter both parks were not that bad and we head straight on over to DCA.

When we got to the park and walked towards Cars Land, we still had some time until the lights in the town of Radiator Springs turn on. This is one part of the trip you got to see when you visit Cars Land when the lights of the town of Radiator Springs turn on just like in the “Cars” movie. The song “Sh-Boom” or referred to as “Life Could be Dream” is one of my favorite songs in the movie “Cars”. But it wasn’t dark enough yet and it was still daytime. So we had to wait awhile until it was time for the lights to turn on.

DAF wanted to go see the preview of “Maleficent” again that night and I had no problem with it. I have seen the preview three times during the trip with DAF twice and once the other night. When she was able to see the movie, she really like it as well.




Just when we got out of A Bug’s Life Theater, we moved on over to Cars Land to wait until it was time for the lights to be turn on the town of Radiator Springs. We got here a little early at RS and our FP’s were not ready until later that night. So we just walked around in CL until it was time for the lights to be turn on that night.

DJ’s Dance ‘n Drive show was going on at that time.




I always enjoy taking pictures of the pumps at the Curios Shop.








We also went inside as well.




The Cozy Cone Motel sign 




Mater was just leaving his M&G at the Cozy Cone




This was very interesting to see Red at the Cozy Cone M&G area. Mostly it is Lightning McQueen and Mater at the M&G area at the Cozy Cone. Maybe Lightning McQueen was out of town and Red took his spot to meet the guests.




We spent a lot of time in Cars Land to wait for the lights to be on that night. While we were waiting, we head on over to the Cozy Cone Motel to have a little snack that night. Since we ate a lot at the ESPN Zone earlier during lunch, we didn’t have to buy a large meal for that night. We both shared the Churro Bites and it is always nice to have the Churro Bites at the Cozy Cone Motel. 

After eating our little snack at the Cozy Cone Motel, we just waited around Cars Land until it was time. This was the longest time we have been in Cars Land since the AP sneak peek back in 2012 before it was open to the public. I still remember those early days of Cars Land during the preview and it was worth every second to see it for the first time.




It was finally getting a little darker and it was around 7:30pm when the song “Sh-Boom” started to play and everyone was so excited to hear the song play and the lights around the town of RS started to turn on. 

After the lights finally turned on, we had to wait a little longer until it was time for us to use our FP’s for RSR. Before we gone on the ride, I wanted to go on the walkway side to Pacific Wharf and get some pictures of RSR from Ornament Valley. Since I brought my tripod, I was testing the long exposure shot to be able to get some lights from the cars as they passed by. When it was daytime, I didn’t get much of the lights trails on the cars.




But a little later, the light started to get a little darker so I was able to get some of the trails.




It was finally our time to use our RSR FP’s, so we head on over to get on the ride before we had to go on over to Paradise Pier to get our spots to see the 9:45pm show of WoC.




The wait time was only 75 minutes which was not that bad at night. Any ride over an hour wait time does not make any sense to me as long we have FP’s for that ride.




We only had to wait 10 minutes in order to get on the ride which is a good thing with FP’s.




During the ride, I used the GoPro once again on my head and had my DSLR taking pictures. It was so nice to be able to ride RSR at night which has been a while for me. I won’t be showing a lot of pictures during the ride experience on RSR since the people that were in the front had their hands up for most of the ride which was a little annoying. 





We were able to go through my favorite side at Luigis Casa Della Tires.












It is so enjoyable to ride RSR at night. While we were leaving RSR, I had to get some shots of the cars with the light trails




It is so nice to see the town of RS with the lights on that night.








After we walked around RS, we started to go on out of Cars Land and on over to Paradise Pier to get our spots for the 9:45pm show of WoC. I was a little surprised to see WoC started at 9:45pm and only one show a night. But I will get to that on the next update. 

We walked on over towards Pacific Wharf and I had to get another picture of RSR from this side with the trails.




After we were there for a little while, we head on over to Pacific Wharf.

That’s it for this post and I will have more from DCA that night.


[post=51738245]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Love the night time shots of RSR.  The colours are just amazing at night.  Thanks for sharing.


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## rentayenta

Those shots are unreal!!! Especially the one with the lights coming on and the one of the track at RSR.    Like jaw dropping awesome! Your pics make me so happy.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Love the night time shots of RSR.  The colours are just amazing at night.  Thanks for sharing.



Thank you PiO. It's so amazing to see RS when the lights on the buildings turn on. Trying out the long exposure shots are doing good as I have hoped for. Your welcome.




rentayenta said:


> Those shots are unreal!!! Especially the one with the lights coming on and the one of the track at RSR.    Like jaw dropping awesome! Your pics make me so happy.



Thank you Jenny. I have seen other DISers pictures with the light trails on RSR and other rides so this would be nice to be able to get a picture of. Glad I had the tripod with me or it wouldn't be possible (unless you can keep your camera steady for a few seconds). Glad that you are enjoying the pictures from RSR.


I won't be able to finish the April trip report since I am about to leave tomorrow morning to Anaheim. I will post some pictures and updates from the trip.


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## kylie71

Amazing pic's Brent... I am trying to catch up!!!

Have a FUN and safe trip!

--Lori


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## franandaj

Great updates Bret! I hope you are enjoying the parks now.

I'm glad to hear that the RSR FPs are now last in almost until noon. I have never rode at night but I'm looking forward to it someday. I like to long exposure shots.  Its good to have a tripod or even a trash can for those shots o the headlight trails.

Your BTMRR shots were great also. I need to go on that ride again. We'll be back at the parks at least a couple times in July and one of our friends who has an AP wants us to go with him soon so that will be fun!


----------



## mvf-m11c

I will get to your posts Lori and Alison later.

We got here in Anaheim safely around 2pm. Right now we are waiting for the 9pm show of F!.  We checked in at Fairfield Inn hotel which is my first time trying since most of the usual hotels that I stay were unavailable.

We were able to accomplish a lot of rides today. We were able to ride RSR wither only a 30 minute wait time in the standby queue. The red was broken when we got there and they started to let the guests in and we were lucky to wait only. 40 minutes. We got to ride the Little mermaid ride and watch the Pixar Parade. When. We get back to the hotel, I will upload some picture from today. For dinner, we are at Plaza Inn which had great fried chicken and DAW had the salmon. We are off to a nice start and we still have a lot to do tomorrow and Wednesday.

As for the Monday Summer Surprise, I wasn't able to find out what happened today. So I will have to check out the sites later tonight.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Glad you're safely there.  Sounds like you are having a great time getting on the rides.  Looking forward to seeing the pics.  

Hope you like FI.


----------



## kylie71

Brett, the Monday surprise was all 7 of the Dwarfs we're out, at the Snow White Wishing Well....  doing a Meet and Greet!

Happy you made it safe!  Looking forward to reading your latest update! 
How do you like the FFI?  I have stayed there a few times...  did you get a Resort view?
Love the Plaza Inn fried Chicken, nothing better than sitting there people watching, and listening to the sounds of DLR, while eating the Yummy chicken!

Have a Blast!

--Lori


----------



## mvf-m11c

kylie71 said:


> Amazing pic's Brent... I am trying to catch up!!!
> 
> Have a FUN and safe trip!
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori. 

We are having a great time and just got back from the DLR tonight. It was a fun night and it was kind of ruined at the end. But i will get to that on the updates.




franandaj said:


> Great updates Bret! I hope you are enjoying the parks now.
> 
> I'm glad to hear that the RSR FPs are now last in almost until noon. I have never rode at night but I'm looking forward to it someday. I like to long exposure shots.  Its good to have a tripod or even a trash can for those shots o the headlight trails.
> 
> Your BTMRR shots were great also. I need to go on that ride again. We'll be back at the parks at least a couple times in July and one of our friends who has an AP wants us to go with him soon so that will be fun!



Thank you Alison. We had fun these last two days and I will be looking forward to update from this trip. A lot of pictures are coming in the future updates.

With RSR FP now connected to the other FP at DCA, it will be easier to get a FP later during the day where the earlier days is that it will be gone around 10am. We were lucky to get the nighttime FP's for RSR. It is amazing to ride RSR at night. The long exposure shots are getting better and better. It is good to have a tripod or use the trash can. Another is to have a remote control so you won't budge the camera when taking long exposure shots.

It was so nice to be able to ride BTMRR after it's long refurbishment. That is nice to hear that you will be going back in July to have fun with your friends. Hope you have a great time in July.




PrincessInOz said:


> Glad you're safely there.  Sounds like you are having a great time getting on the rides.  Looking forward to seeing the pics.
> 
> Hope you like FI.



Thank you PiO. We had fun these last two days and I can't believe the trip is almost over tomorrow or later this morning. I have uploaded some pictures from the trip and you can see them on my flickr signature below.

F! is one of my favorite nighttime shows and it was nice to be able to watch it last night.




kylie71 said:


> Brett, the Monday surprise was all 7 of the Dwarfs we're out, at the Snow White Wishing Well....  doing a Meet and Greet!
> 
> Happy you made it safe!  Looking forward to reading your latest update!
> How do you like the FFI?  I have stayed there a few times...  did you get a Resort view?
> Love the Plaza Inn fried Chicken, nothing better than sitting there people watching, and listening to the sounds of DLR, while eating the Yummy chicken!
> 
> Have a Blast!
> 
> --Lori



Thank you for the information Lori. We weren't able to see them around the Snow White Fishing Well yesterday.

Thank you. It was nice to be at the parks these first two days and I can't believe it is almost over. FFI is a nice hotel and the room is very Disney theme. We see some pictures of Disney parks and Toy Story decorations. There are so many people at FFI and it does take a while to get on the elevator since we are staying on the 6th floor. We did get a resort view and I didn't book a resort view. It was nice to get the resort view which is nice. It is a nice hotel but i would rather stay at BWPPI, BWAI or my usual hotels since there aren't a lot of people.

It has been a while since I ate at the Plaza Inn during lunch and we were glad to eat there yesterday. The chicken was nice and it filled me up that night.

Thank you


We had another fun day at the DLR and was able to do a lot of rides and shows. Here is a quick update from today or yesterday. We got to ride the DLRR, Monorail, & IASW. We got to watch Mickey's Soundsational Parade and to see the new Frozen pre-parade float which is nice. We got to watch Mickey and the Magical Map. At DCA, we got to ride RSR at night and watch WoC. We did get to eat at the Blue Bayou this afternoon around 11:30am and we were able to get a waterside view of the bayou and see the PotC boats go by.

Here are some pictures of the new Frozen pre-parade.
















Very interesting fact about the float is that it is actually the Ice Rink float during "A Christmas Fantasy" parade. It was odd that the DLR used an old float and convert it to a Frozen float instead of spending money on a new float.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Nice!

Did you enjoy playing with the new lens?


----------



## knewton64

JUST FAB!!!
Like the pics of BTMR
(u take great action shots)


Tho I did notice I am 'lacking' in one area per yer tr.......
PSSTTT!!!! 



I HAVE YET TO SEE THE MOVIE, 'FROZEN'!!
hhmmm......just 'may' have to put that on my things to do list......



SUBBIN' to yer tr -







T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret!
I thought I recognized that float.  It is probably very popular as Frozen is a very popular movie.  It's one of my new favs.

Are you at DL now?  What fun!!  We'll be there in less than 2 weeks.

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us! 
TK


----------



## Sherry E

*Bret --*

The 7 Dwarfs by the Wishing Well in DL were only one part of the #GetHappier Monday Summer Surprise.  

The next surprise on Monday was in DCA, and the CMs were giving away free Glow with the Show Ears and VIP viewing passes for WOC to some people (but someone else mentioned only getting a button because she didn't approach the right CM).  There was an alert about it on the Disneyland Today page.

We talked a lot about it in the Halloween Time Supertread as it was happening on Monday, and I was cheering on you and Jamie (DisneyJamieCA, who was also at DLR) to run, run, run and get whatever the surprise was going to be in DCA.  I am going to assume that she didn't get it either.

And then, let's not even get into the fiasco from yesterday morning -- which involved the Parks Blog posting about a July 17th Sneak Peek for the 60th Anniversary event and choosing a limited number of winners on a "first come, first served" basis, rather than leaving it open all day for a random draw or for a lottery.  The spots for the 60th Sneak Peek filled up in under 3 minutes.  I hadn't even seen the Blog when it first went up.  I caught it right after it had just filled up, and Mary Jo didn't see it until after it had filled up either.

A lot of people probably hastily entered to win the Sneak Peek before even thinking about whether or not they would actually be able to attend, and they will end up being no-shows (I saw one guy somewhere online mention that he won a slot -- and he was in Texas)....whereas people who could actually attend it on July 17th didn't even see the Blog announcement until they got home from work, and they never had a chance to enter!


----------



## kylie71

Awesome pics Brett!!   I hope you are having an Amazing last day!

Yeah, I have never been thrilled with the FFI. I would rather stay at the CCI..  Love the Boutique style, and the flowers!  

Looking forward to more pics and update, when you can. Have FUN!!

  Lori


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice!
> 
> Did you enjoy playing with the new lens?



Thanks PiO.

It was nice to use the Nikon 70-300mm lens. But it did lack the low light shots at night and dark areas. Next time when I rent another telephoto lens, it might be the 70-200mm f/4 lens that I wanted to use but it was a good idea to start off with the 70-300mm first. The next time I will rent something even better.




knewton64 said:


> JUST FAB!!!
> Like the pics of BTMR
> (u take great action shots)
> 
> 
> Tho I did notice I am 'lacking' in one area per yer tr.......
> PSSTTT!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> I HAVE YET TO SEE THE MOVIE, 'FROZEN'!!
> hhmmm......just 'may' have to put that on my things to do list......
> 
> 
> 
> SUBBIN' to yer tr -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> T.T.F.N.
> &
> CHEERS Y'ALL



Hi knewton64.

Glad that you are enjoying my trip report.

You got to see the movie Frozen. 

Thank you for following along. 




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret!
> I thought I recognized that float.  It is probably very popular as Frozen is a very popular movie.  It's one of my new favs.
> 
> Are you at DL now?  What fun!!  We'll be there in less than 2 weeks.
> 
> Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
> TK



Hi TK,

It was kind of surprise to see the DLR use one of the "A Christmas" Fantasy" parade floats for the new Frozen pre-parade float. I can understand to use the float when it is not being used until the holiday season. But it would have been better if they made a new float instead of using the ice rink float during the holiday season. I am also curious if DL is going to leave the Frozen float as is when we get to the holiday season or will it be converted back to the ice rink. Those are questions that I want to know. 

I got back yesterday night. We only spent 3 hours in the park yesterday to go  on some rides that we didn't go on the first two days like HM, PotC & Winnie the Pooh ride. I am getting excited for you and your family since you are only a few weeks away till your trip. I hope you have a great time and try to stay cool down there.

Thank you and have a great time again.




Sherry E said:


> *Bret --*
> 
> The 7 Dwarfs by the Wishing Well in DL were only one part of the #GetHappier Monday Summer Surprise.
> 
> The next surprise on Monday was in DCA, and the CMs were giving away free Glow with the Show Ears and VIP viewing passes for WOC to some people (but someone else mentioned only getting a button because she didn't approach the right CM).  There was an alert about it on the Disneyland Today page.
> 
> We talked a lot about it in the Halloween Time Supertread as it was happening on Monday, and I was cheering on you and Jamie (DisneyJamieCA, who was also at DLR) to run, run, run and get whatever the surprise was going to be in DCA.  I am going to assume that she didn't get it either.
> 
> And then, let's not even get into the fiasco from yesterday morning -- which involved the Parks Blog posting about a July 17th Sneak Peek for the 60th Anniversary event and choosing a limited number of winners on a "first come, first served" basis, rather than leaving it open all day for a random draw or for a lottery.  The spots for the 60th Sneak Peek filled up in under 3 minutes.  I hadn't even seen the Blog when it first went up.  I caught it right after it had just filled up, and Mary Jo didn't see it until after it had filled up either.
> 
> A lot of people probably hastily entered to win the Sneak Peek before even thinking about whether or not they would actually be able to attend, and they will end up being no-shows (I saw one guy somewhere online mention that he won a slot -- and he was in Texas)....whereas people who could actually attend it on July 17th didn't even see the Blog announcement until they got home from work, and they never had a chance to enter!



I did read on the Halloween Time Superthread that Monday night about the 7 Dwarfs at the DL Snow White Wishing Well. It was a shame that I didn't see them on Monday but it was going to be tough to find the Summer Monday Surprise.

That was nice of the DLR to give away GwtS ears to the guests. 

We didn't get into the parks until 4pm Monday since we had some issues with the ECV that my DAF was using. 

I read the blog on the Disney Parks blog and it will be very interesting to see what kind of sneak peek will happen during Disneyland 59th Anniversary. 




kylie71 said:


> Awesome pics Brett!!   I hope you are having an Amazing last day!
> 
> Yeah, I have never been thrilled with the FFI. I would rather stay at the CCI..  Love the Boutique style, and the flowers!
> 
> Looking forward to more pics and update, when you can. Have FUN!!
> 
> Lori



Thank you Lori. We only spent 3 hours in the parks yesterday and we had a great time where we got to do everything on our must do list. 

FFI is nice but I would not stay there again. One is that there are a lot of rooms and a lot of people where parking can be terrible and per day of $13 a night which is high as well. The location is not that bad (shorter than BW Stovall's where I stay a lot). The price was really high at $149 without tax which is kind of high. There are people on the boards like the hotel but this is not for me in my opinion. I have never stayed at CCI and I have read from other people that is is a nice place to stay. 

I will start on the trip report update until I finish the April trip first which I should post later tonight after the 2014 NBA Draft is over.


----------



## petals

joining in. Luvin all your pics


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## mvf-m11c

petals said:


> joining in. Luvin all your pics



Thank you petals. 


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51694576]Last Installment of the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 April 27th, 2014  Part 4*

*The World is a Carousel of Color*​
Just when we finished our fun time at Cars Land and to be able to ride Radiator Springs Racers at night, it was time to head on over to Paradise Pier and get our spot for the 9:45pm World of Color show. It was so unusual to come this late at night to watch WoC where it would be the second show that night. But on the schedule, it was only being played just once that night. I wonder if the DLR is only playing it only once just during our vacation in April and the show will show two showings during the summertime. 

During my trip just a few days ago in June when DAW and I went and watch WoC on Tuesday, there was only one show. It was kind of a surprise that WoC isnt playing twice during the summertime. 

We didnt get to the viewing area until 9:00pm and our usual spot was available. But the only problem with it that we didnt stay to watch that spot is that the hedge on the left hand side right next to the fire hydrant has grown a lot where it was tough to watch the show. We could have easily stayed and watch that spot but we tried another spot.




I was not happy with the spot to watch WoC from a different angle instead of my usual spot at the green fire hydrant.




While we were waiting, I played with the long exposure shots with the DSLR on the tripod and luckily Mickeys Fun Wheel was still moving that night.




Also the Golden Zephyr




Here are pictures from the 9:45pm World of Color show. The show has never got old to me or DAF since the show debut in 2010. I must have watched WoC over 20 times since the show debut and still hasnt got old one bit.




























































As always, WoC is one of our favorite nighttime shows at the Disney parks. It was nice to see the original version of WoC after watching World of Color: Winter Dreams during the holiday season back in November/December. Winter Dreams was nice but it doesnt tell the story like the original WoC show. 

After the show was over, I packed all my equipment and we started to head on out of the park. I could have gone on over to DL that night but I needed some rest since we will be leaving on Monday morning. So I just went back to the hotel with my aunt. 

When we were about to leave DCA, we decided to stop at the Elias & Company store to see some merchandise. I didnt buy any merchandise that trip which was unusual for me but I have seen all the same merchandise at the DLR. 

There was one item that was intriguing to buy. Since the movie Maleficent was coming out shortly, there was a hat with Maleficent horns. DAF like the hat but she didnt buy it. Later on when I checked the stores this past trip to see if the horns were still there and they told me that they were sold out in April. I was shocked that the Maleficent horns were sold out at the DLR. 


 

We left DCA and on our way back to BWAI to call it for the night. This was a fun day at the parks where we were able to do a lot of rides and shows that day. 


Since the last day is Monday but we actually didnt go in the park that Monday morning. Here is the story of why we didnt go in the park on Monday during the April trip. Since the parks opened at 10am since it is during the off season, we would go in the parks for a little bit until we head on home to Sacramento. But when we were about to enter the DLR around 9:45am, there was a huge line at the security check point. We were completely surprised to see a huge line to get through the security check area. DAF didnt want to wait that long to get in the park just for about an hour or two. So we decided just to go back to the hotel and start to head on back home to Sacramento. We didnt know why the line was that long to get in the parks. This is one reason why I dont like going on days when the parks are open at 10am since all the guests will be able to have breakfast and be up. Than they will all be in the parks around that time. 

It was a little disappointing that we werent able to go in the parks for about an hour but the line was just too long to wait and it will take a while to go through the security check area.

All of our bags were packed in the car since we planned on going in the parks for an hour or two but it was changed with the crowds. So we left around 11am on our way back to Sacramento. But before we head on back to Sacramento, we stopped in Los Angeles to Little Tokyo. DAF and I stop at Little Tokyo on the way back home to Sacramento since she likes to stop in and get some treats and food that we dont get in Sacramento. The place that DAF likes to stop is the Woori Market which was a grocery store that had a lot of interesting imported food from Asian and Japan. 

It was about an hour drive with traffic from Anaheim to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. 

When we got to Little Tokyo, we parked at the parking lot right next to the Woori Market on Alameda Street. Before we went in the Woori Market, we had to get something to eat so we at a restaurant called The Pho Shop which is right next to the entrance of Woori Market. It is like a Vietnamese type restaurant that serves very interesting food. We have ate here before during the August and November trip. 

After we finished eating, we head on over to Woori Market to do our grocery shopping. We always buys something at the market for my grandmother who lives in Livingston when we head back to Sacramento. 

Just when we were finished shopping, we left Little Tokyo and a 5 and a half hour drive to Livingston to see my grandmother. It is so nice to stop somewhere on the way back home so we wont have to drive straight to Sacramento.

It was around 6pm when we got to Livingston and we had dinner with my grandmother. Later that day, we head on home and got back in Sacramento around 10pm that night which we were in Livingston for quite some time. This concludes our trip report from the DLR in April.


This was another fun trip where we were able to do some first times like eating at the Napa Rose during the Chefs Counter with Alison and Fran. It was nice to be able to eat at the NR with them. We were able to go to the Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters in Glendale during the D23 shopping experience. Even though I didnt have a great shopping experience, DAF had a great time. 

This concludes the April trip report and stay tune for the June trip report which I just got back a few days ago. It was nice to be back home and it was also sad that it was over.


----------



## rentayenta

I want to see the WoC so badly. We missed it last trip but we want this next one. Your pics, as usual, are amazing! Care if I borrow one?


----------



## mvf-m11c

rentayenta said:


> I want to see the WoC so badly. We missed it last trip but we want this next one. Your pics, as usual, are amazing! Care if I borrow one?



I hope you are able to see WoC during your trip and get a good spot for the whole family. I am still curious if the DLR is going to play Winter Dreams during the holiday season or go back with the original WoC. it is likely that it will be Winter Dreams during the holiday season. It would be nice if they changed Winter Dreams a little bit to make it a story telling show like the original WoC show. Thank you Jenny. You can borrow my pictures.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 1*

*Arrived Safely & Going Under the Sea*​
It’s time for the first day of the trip in June with DAW (my dad’s sister). I was just there a couple of months ago with DAF (my mom’s sister) and this will be the second trip this year and it will be DAW first trip this year. Since DAW Annual Pass is about to expire in late June since she went with me last year in 2013 and upgraded her park hopper ticket to the Deluxe Annual Pass and later upgrade it to the Premium Annual Pass in December, it made sense for her to get one more trip to pay for the Premium Annual Pass since they are $699 today and she paid $629. For me it is always fun to go to the parks with my family members or friends. 

For this trip, it was all about relaxation. DAW has been so busy with work and traveling to Texas, she wants to have a break and what better place is to go to the happiest place on earth. For me, I really needed a break with all the basketball tournaments that I have been working since January and my big one when I went during Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas. It was nice to go again even if it is during the summertime when most of the days at the parks will be crowded. But we just go by my instincts of what we want to do and go on the rides or see the shows. 

Also during the trip, I have used some new toys. The most recognizable photography equipment that I used during the trip was the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G telephoto lens. Mostly when you go to the Disney Parks, you don’t use telephoto lens a lot unless you are on the Animal Kingdom Safari ride. But it was a good opportunity to try a new lens and use it at the parks where it would be perfect for the shows like Fantasmic!, Mickey and the Magical Map (unless you are way back instead of being up close), parades, etc. During the trip, I must have took over 1,000 pictures with the telephoto lens alone during the shows. It was tough to use it on the rides since I used the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens where I did buy it from my friend last month and I am still happy that I bought the Tokina lens. I rented the Nikon lens from borrowlenses.com that was recommended on the Photography threads. Also, I bought new microphones for my video camera and the GoPro. I noticed that the GoPro doesn’t have good sound quality so I decided to try and use a microphone with the GoPro to improve the sound quality and it made a big difference when I taped one of the night shows. 

Now let’s get to the trip report. 

It was around 7am in the morning where DAW picked me up instead of me picking her up at her house. This is like my usual time when I leave Sacramento and over to SoCal so we can get there in the afternoon. Since we weren’t in a rush to get to SoCal, we took our time. We didn’t leave until 7:45am which was a little late that morning but we still had plenty of time to get to SoCal and make it in the afternoon.

When we packed all of our stuff in the car, we stared our journey down to SoCal. During the drive, I mostly go on Highway 99 to visit my grandmother in Livingston but DAW told me to go on Highway 5 since it is faster so we went in that direction instead. I have driven down on I-5 before and it is okay in my opinion but I will still prefer I-99 since I am so use to going on that highway all the time. 

Very interesting, the traffic was not that bad when going down until you hit SoCal and we got to Anaheim around 2pm which was really fast. 

We head straight on over to our hotel which was Fairfield Inn Marriott. This was my first time staying at FFI out of all the trips that I have gone to the DLR. As for my regular followers, I always stay at the Best Western hotels but they weren’t available during our visit and this one was available that was on Harbor Blvd. I have heard good reviews about FFI and wanted to try this hotel for quite some time unless the BW hotels on Harbor are not available and this was the case. 

We pulled up to FFI and there was barely any parking spaces so we had to valet our car which makes sense since there aren’t enough spaces around the hotel and we weren’t leaving during the trip. 

We checked-in at FFI and the service was nice. We were on the sixth floor and we got the Disney park view. I was a little surprised that we got the Disney Park view where we ordered the regular standard view. That was nice of FFI service to give us a nice park view. 

When we were also at the front desk, we asked if the ECV was available. DAW was using an ECV during the trip in which she can’t stand and walk for hours at the parks so she rented an ECV from Deckertt’s that we have used in the past. There was a problem where the ECV was not delivered and she called them and told her that they didn’t placed the ordered. She told them that she ordered the ECV last month and they apologized for the mix up. So we had to wait a while until we head on in the parks until the ECV arrived. 

We were planning on going to the parks so we can watch the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational parade to see the new Frozen pre-parade float that was only shown before the 4pm parade. It will be available only during the 1st parade and not the 2nd. 

The ECV finally arrived around 3:40pm which was way late. So we had to change our plans that day since we couldn’t watch the parade at 4pm since there won’t be any good spots to watch the parade.

We head on out of the room and we were now back at the DLR. The first thing we did was to head on over to DCA since DL Main Street will be very busy around 4pm since the parade is coming from Fantasyland to Main Street.

When we got to the park, it was not that bad that afternoon. 




I asked her what she wanted to do first and she wanted to see the Little Mermaid ride since it was updated a couple of months ago. So we head on over to Paradise Pier to ride the Little Mermaid ride. 

Luckily, the ride wait time was only 5 minutes and it didn’t took too long to get on the ride.




Here are pictures from the Little Mermaid ride with the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens.




















































DAW was impressed with the Little Mermaid ride being updated in the “Under the Sea” room where it is darker. It does feel more of a dark ride now as is. 

After getting off the ride, she got back on her ECV and we started to head on over to our next attraction that day. 

[post=51756270]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51756250]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 2*

*Short Wait Time on our Favorite Ride at DCA*​
After riding the Little Mermaid ride, we head on over to our next attraction that night. It was off to a nice start with riding the Little Mermaid ride where it was updated and it does feel more of a dark ride. 

DCA didn’t feel that busy that afternoon or the first part of our day at DCA. Since it was during the summertime, I thought that the parks would be a little busy especially on a Monday for the locals to be in the parks until they are blocked out during the summertime. It was nice that it wasn’t that busy that day and we would enjoy some rides. I looked on my iPhone App and saw that the wait times at DL were high while DCA was not that high.

DAW wanted to ride Radiator Springs Racers but I told her that the wait times for RSR are in the hour plus or even it could be in the 2 hour range during that time of the day. The wait time had it at 90 minutes which is usual during that part of the day during the busy season. But it wouldn’t hurt to look at the wait time while passing by Radiator Springs Racers.

While walking down in Cars Land, it was not that bad walking down where Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree at 15 minute wait time and Luigi’s Flying Tires at 25 minutes.




When we got on over to Courthouse right next to the RSR, there was a huge group of people around that area. My guess that RSR must have broken down for a while and all the guests are waiting to go on the ride from the standby and FP queues. It has been awhile since I see RSR closed and a lot of guests waiting to go on the ride that afternoon. This is why I don’t like to go through the queue during the afternoon without a FP since you can be in the queue for a while until the ride restarts. 




DAW wanted to go on the ride even though the CM’s told everyone that it will be a 75 minute wait time in the standby queue while they are letting the FP guests to go on the ride with the single riders. I had no problem with it and maybe I could be wrong and we can go through the standby queue faster than the projected 75 minute wait time.




We were on the side of the standby queue waiting like all the other guests in order to ride RSR that afternoon. Luckily the queue was moving a few people at a time where they are letting the guests through the regular queue.




While we were in the standby queue, I pulled out the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G telephoto lens and got some up close shots of Cars Land while we were waiting in the queue to get on the ride.

The backside of the RSR sign




Ornament Valley




A look at Radiator Falls Waterfall








Interesting that we only had to wait 10 minutes through the queue and we were all of a sudden walking through the standard queue on RSR. There wasn’t any one in the standby queue and we were stopped right at the Service Center building.




After waiting for 5 minutes, we were now allowed in the main queue. But we didn’t have to go through the regular queue since DAW was using an ECV, we went through the handicapped side. 




We were lucky to get a front row section on the ride and it was nice to be up front. Since there weren’t any single riders, we were able to have the center part of the car free while DAW was on one side while I was on the other.

I switched back to the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens since it would be very difficult to get nice shots with the telephoto lens at that time. I also had the GoPro on my head with the headstrap.

I was surprised that we only had to wait less than 30 minutes to ride RSR that afternoon. I was never happy that the ride was broken down and able to ride RSR in less than 30 minutes from the standby queue.

Here are pictures during our cruise on RSR.




































Here is our picture on RSR that afternoon.




After the ride, DAW had to use the restroom so we head on over to the backside of Flo’s V8 Café. And on the way, I had to get some pictures while we were walking on over to the restroom.

The V8 Café logo on the railings








After we used the restroom, we started to head on over to A Bug’s Land.

A look at the Tower of Terror from Cars Land.




More shots with the telephoto lens that I used that afternoon.




One of the ABL light fixtures. 




We walked on over towards the backside of Hollywood Land and we decided to go in that direction to see something that I haven’t seen for a while. I will get to that on the next post update.

[post=51795774]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## tksbaskets

The picture of your DAW on RSR makes me smile.  The joy on her face is wonderful   The GoPro really isn't as obtrusive as I thought it would be.

I'm very glad the line moved quickly for you.  Your new lenses take some wonderful pictures.  I especially like the light fixture in A Bug's Life!

Thanks for sharing


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## tksbaskets

Bret,
What App do you use to track wait times?

Thanks!
TK


----------



## PrincessInOz

Catching up.


Great shots, Bret.  I like your edits in using the various filters.  

That tokina lens is a great pick-up.  Glad you got it.  You're doing great things with the lens and your pictures are really wonderful.
The telezoom pictures are lovely as well.  I think you'll appreciate getting a f/4...but if you're renting, why not consider the f/2.8?


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## franandaj

Nice start to your most recent trip. I find the telephoto lens to be very helpful during parades as well. You're getting some very nice pictures with that new lens.


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> The picture of your DAW on RSR makes me smile.  The joy on her face is wonderful   The GoPro really isn't as obtrusive as I thought it would be.
> 
> I'm very glad the line moved quickly for you.  Your new lenses take some wonderful pictures.  I especially like the light fixture in A Bug's Life!
> 
> Thanks for sharing



Thank you TK. It was very nice to be able to ride RSR with short waiting time. I thought that we were going to be in that queue for 75 minutes and it was less than half of the time which was very nice. She loves to ride RSR and this is her favorite ride. I know that your favorite ride is TSMM while mine is the Monorail. We all do have our favorite rides and they are different. The GoPro wasn't as obstructive as I have thought after these last two trips. Some people did look at me with a weird face with the GoPro as expected.

It was nice that the wait time for RSR was short and not that long for which it was a good thing or we would have not done other activities that day.


Thank you TK for following along. 




tksbaskets said:


> Bret,
> What App do you use to track wait times?
> 
> Thanks!
> TK



I use the Mousewait App. I have used other apps like Touring Plans which is nice. But they are always never correct with the wait times. I still use them to make sure what it would be like at that time. After being in the parks for all these years and know when are the busy times, it is easy to know what the crowd levels for the rides are like.




PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up.
> 
> 
> Great shots, Bret.  I like your edits in using the various filters.
> 
> That tokina lens is a great pick-up.  Glad you got it.  You're doing great things with the lens and your pictures are really wonderful.
> The telezoom pictures are lovely as well.  I think you'll appreciate getting a f/4...but if you're renting, why not consider the f/2.8?



Thank you PiO. I'm always trying new techniques with the filters and also Lightroom program. 

The Tokina lens was a great addition along with the Tamron lens. I can easily use the Tokina way more at the Disney parks since I can get wider angle shots and get more in the picture. 

The Nikon 70-300 f/4.5-5.6G telephoto lens is nice and it was expected that the lens would not be good at night when I took pictures of F! during the trip. The f/4 lens is the one that I am looking at so I can use it for another body. I can see myself buying a Full Frame Body in the future. I wanted to try a standard telephoto lens for this trip to see if I do rent the f/4 or f/2.8 telephoto lens in the future that I might need the teleconverter to go with them. There were times when I zoomed it all the way 300mm on the 70-300 lens. If the lens is on rental sale, I will definitely consider renting one of those two along with a teleconverter.



franandaj said:


> Nice start to your most recent trip. I find the telephoto lens to be very helpful during parades as well. You're getting some very nice pictures with that new lens.



Thank you Alison. The telephoto lens does makes a big difference in the up close shots like the parade, F!, & MatMM. The telephoto lens was a rental for the trip since I have a 55-200mm lens which is not powerful enough like the lens that I used during the trip. I will be renting more different kind of lenses during the future trips. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51756270]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 3*

*Pixar Play Parade Part 1*​
Just after we walked on out of A Bug’s Land, we were now at the backside of Hollywood Land right by the Tower of Terror. Very interesting is that when we were in the area right next to the ToT, there were people lining up for the 5:15pm Pixar Play Parade. 

It was about 10 minutes to go until the parade started right next to the ToT all the way over to Paradise Pier, DAW said since we were in the area for the Pixar Play parade, it made sense to watch it and there weren’t too many people in front of us. So we decided to watch the Pixar Parade that afternoon.

It must have been years since I have stake out a spot for the Pixar Play Parade. I have seen it over and over time and time again while walking in DCA. This was a nice way to watch the parade with little wait time. 

So the two of us waited until it was time for the parade. I used the telephoto lens for the parade to get those up close pictures. 

Some pictures of the Hyperion Theater while we were waiting.








Now it was 5:15pm and the Pixar Parade was now happening.

Monsters University Units




Baton-twirling bandleader Roz




Sulley in the drum float




Monsters University Logo




The end and you can see Mike




The Incredibles Units




Mr. Incredible




Mrs. Incredible




Frozone









Jack-Jack on Syndrome’s Omnidroid float








Finding Nemo Units




Squirt




Dora




Crush float








Water Squirting Baby turtles.








That’s it for this post and it will be continued on the next one.

[post=51795780]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51795774]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 4*

*Pixar Play Parade Part 2 & Dinner at the Plaza*​
We are watching the 5:15pm Pixar Play Parade in Hollywood Land right across from the Tower of Terror and we are part way through the parade.

A Bug’s Life Units

Heimlich




Atta and Flik




Slim at the rear




Toy Story Units




Little Green Men Soldiers




Little Green Alien








Buzz Lightyear float




Mr. Potato Head in a dump truck




There are a lot of Toy Story characters




Woody








Cars Units

It’s nice to see Lightning McQueen during the parade.




We can’t forget about Mater.




While the parade was going down on Hollywood Land, we were trailing the parade going down all the way towards Buena Vista Street so we can get out of the park and head on over to DL that day.

It took quite a while to walk behind the parade and head on out. I always have to get some pictures of BVS while we were walking on out of DCA.








We exited and now over at DL. It was quite a little busy that time around 5:45pm to enter DL where the turnstiles took a few minutes to get through.




There were people staking out a spot for the 6:30pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade on MS. I talked to a CM to talk about the new Frozen pre-parade float. I read on the threads that the Frozen pre-parade float is only available before the 4pm parade. Unfortunately since we got stuck at our hotel where the ECV came later that day, we weren’t able to see the float. Just as I expected, the float is only available before the 4pm parade. 





When we were walking down MS, DAW was getting hungry as well as me. We didn’t eat a meal on the road when we came down to Anaheim. It is rare that we don’t stop for food on the way. While we were in MS, there was a restaurant that I haven’t ate for a while and it seems like a good place to eat. There was something for DAW as well. The restaurant was the Plaza Inn. We have ate at the Plaza Inn during character breakfast with Minnie & Friends and I haven’t ate there during lunch in ages. So it was nice to be able to eat at the Plaza Inn for dinner.

I have read from another trip report about their experience at the Plaza Inn during lunch/dinnertime and saying how good the food at the Plaza Inn was at that I should consider eating there one day where I haven’t eat there in ages.

Current Menu at the Plaza Inn during lunch/dinner.




We were able to eat inside the Plaza Inn and it was really crowded inside where it was warm outside. Luckily it wasn’t that hot that time and good thing that we didn’t need a jacket. 

I had the Plaza Inn Specialty the three pieces of chicken, with mash potatoes & grave with a biscuit and vegetables. I was so stuff eating all the plate that I couldn’t even finish it all. It was so nice to be able to eat the chicken at the Plaza Inn that I don’t know what I have missed over the years that I have passed by the Plaza Inn.




DAW had the glazed salmon with couscous, salsa and vegetables. When we got our food, the salmon was not on the menu when we entered the Plaza Inn. It was a little surprise and also not a big surprise since the different websites that don’t have the salmon on the menu. There are times when there are special dishes during the seasons from the Halloween, Christmas, summertime etc. She was glad that she had a dish that she could eat. She did say that the salmon was a little overcook. It could have been when the salmon was sitting out in the warmer.




After we had our dinner at the Plaza Inn, we started to move on to our next destination that night. Since it was around 6:30pm, the second show of Mickey’s Soundsational Parade just started and is coming from Main Street Town Square. There was no way we were going down on MS, so we head on over to New Orleans Square.

Walking right by the Hub as we are trying to avoid getting stuck during the second show of Mickey’s Soundsational Parade.




We were in NOS and DAW had to use the restroom so we had to walk the other way towards the NOS Railroad station since the alleyway towards the restroom is closed off due to Club 33 construction. It will be nice when the alleyway in NOS is completed.




After we used the restroom, we started to go to our next destination. But that will be on the next updates.

[post=51818814]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Great pictures, Bret.  Love the close-ups of the parade.  

Seems like it's universal consensus that the fried chicken at the Plaza Inn is delicious!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great pictures, Bret.  Love the close-ups of the parade.
> 
> Seems like it's universal consensus that the fried chicken at the Plaza Inn is delicious!



Thank you PiO. It was nice to be able to use the telephoto lens for the Pixar Play Parade that afternoon in which i can't get up close pictures with the other lenses that I have.

The Fried Chicken at PPI is very nice and it is more juicy when you bite into it. It was nice that DAW found a restaurant that she can eat and it will be nice to eat there again in the future.


The next posts will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51795780]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 5*

*Staking a Spot and Fantasmic! Part 1*​
After we sued the restroom at NOS, we head straight on over to the sit down viewing area right next to the Rivers of America to watch the 9pm Fantasmic! show. It has been a long time since I stake out a spot in the sitting area for F!. This is DAW first time waiting with me for the 1st show of F! at 9pm. F! is one of my favorite nighttime shows at DL just like the fireworks and WoC. Alright, they are all my favorite activities to do at the DLR over the rides. 

When we got the viewing area, the middle section of the viewing area was mostly filled up but I mostly watch it on the left hand side since there aren’t too many people in that area. We got our spot with 2 hours to go until the first show started at 9pm. 

This is my favorite spot to watch F! every time I see the show. We were at the back area of the rope off area since DAW was using her ECV. This is a good spot to watch the show where if you have a ECV, wheelchair or stroller, you won’t have to break it down or being asked by the CM to move. There were a couple of people that were asked by the CM’s that they couldn’t have the stroller up during the show. 




We both got settled in until we waited for the 9pm show of F!. DAW rested in her ECV while I took some pictures with the telephoto lens while we were waiting in the viewing area.




I turned around and looked at the second level at NOS which is the balcony for Club 33 restaurant. It won’t be too long until Club 33 is reopened after a lot of work is being done since earlier this year. 




The Columbia started to move to its position for F! and the crew are hard at work getting it ready for the show.




All of the barges for F! are already set up for the shows.




The ducks are enjoying on the barge before F! starts.




While we were waiting, DAW wanted me to get her a drink at the Mint Julep Bar. She wanted to get a Mint Julep so I went on over to the stand and got her a Mint Julep. But while I was at the stand, I decided to get the Mickey-shaped Beignets. It has been ages since I had the Mickey-shaped Beignets.




Times goes by really quickly and with 30 minutes to go until the first show of F!, the viewing area is all filled up on our right hand side.




As well as the left hand side.




It was now 9pm and Fantasmic is about to start. I used the 70-300mm lens mostly for this show which I mostly use my standard lens for this show in the past. It was nice to be able to get the up close shots of the characters instead of the wide shots with the other lenses. 

I also used my video camera and also attached my GoPro on top of the video camera with an extension so I can have two items at once. I put it on the tripod which I had my hands on my DSLR.

Mickey Mouse
















Kaa the snake from the Jungle Book




King Louie and his monkey folloers




Pinocchio and the two female marionettes




Now it was the Peter Pan scene with the Columbia as the Pirate ship. This is where the telephoto lens come into play where I was able to get up close pictures with the characters.

Peter Pan vs Captain Hook








Wendy at the end of the ship battling two pirates.




Tick –Tock Crocodile








Captain Hook swinging around




That’s it for this post and continue on to the next post.

[post=51818814]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51818814]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 6*

*Fantasmic! Part 2*​
Belle and the Beast




Ariel and Eric




Snow White and her Prince




The Wicked Queen




The old hag




Mickey




Versus Maleficent




Murphy finally arrived. As why I call it Murphy it is called Murphy by fans after the Murphy law when the dragon went through delays back in 2009 when it debut where it had some problems and it didn’t run during F!. I remember those days in 2009 when Murphy wasn’t running and just seeing Maleficent way high up. It is nice to see it work consistently after every show. 








It’s getting hot here.












The Mark Twain is approaching.




There is Steamboat Mickey




Eric, Ariel, Beast and Belle on the bottom floor of the Mark Twain.








Cinderella




The Toy Story characters on top end of the Mark Twain




Sorcerer Mickey atop the tavern.








Mickey says “Some Imagination, huh?”




After F! was over and playing it’s exit music, we were still in the viewing area to wait for Magical: Disney’s New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations. DAW enjoyed F! and she was glad that we waited for the first show where she got to take a nap and to be able to see F! that night.

That’s it for this post and continue on to the next post.

[post=51818849]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51818835]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 7*

*Magical Fireworks by the RoA*​
After the 9pm Fantasmic! show ended. In just a couple of minutes. The 9:25pm show of Magical: Disney’s New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations started. I was behind on the first part of Magical since I was taking apart my video camera that was on the tripod and put my DSLR on so I can get the firework trails. I must have missed the first couple of minutes with Magical fireworks that night but I had the Tamron lens already to go for the fireworks with a Neutral Density 0.9 filter.

Watching from the RoA is okay where you can still see some of the fireworks from SB Castle but you will not be able to see Tinker Bell or Dumbo fly in this area unless you can see clearly through the trees. 

Here are pictures from Magical that Monday night.




















































After the Magical fireworks was over, it was time for us to head on out of the park and call it for a night. I would have stayed a little longer that night to get more nighttime pictures but I was tired from the driving that morning to the afternoon. 

We head straight on out of DL that night instead of stopping at my favorite place for dessert at the Tiki Juice Bar. When we went by it, there was quite a long line to get one that night and it was tough to wait that long that night since we were still a little worn out that day.

There were quite a number of people leaving DL that night just like us. It was nice to go back to the room and get some rest.

When we were heading on back to Fairfield Inn which is our hotel for the trip in which I mostly stay at the Best Western hotels. The only thing I didn’t like about FFI is that the elevators do take time even though there are four of them (three of them worked during our trip). It had so many young kids running around from the bottom to the upper levels. Even though we did enjoy the park view that we got during our visit, this might be the last time I will stay at FFI.

We called it for the night around midnight which we desperately needed. 

The first part of the day got off to a rocky start with the ECV issue where we did miss the first show of Mickey’s Soundsational parade at 4pm in which we wanted to see the Frozen pre-parade before the 4pm parade. But at least it made it up with riding RSR that afternoon in which we didn’t even wait over 30 minutes. We were able to watch Pixar Play Parade which was nice. We got to eat at the Plaza Inn during lunch/dinner in which we haven’t done in quite some time. 

The first part of the day is complete and will be the fun day on Tuesday.

[post=51851297]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Great close-ups of Fantasmic!  I think I definitely prefer the telezoom for this show than the wider lenses.

You did really well with your pictures.  

Interesting position for the fireworks.  I miss the castle; but they are still great from this angle.


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## rentayenta

Bret, your shots of F! are the best I have ever seen.  I am so impressed. 

Is that the first time you've tried the Plaza Inn's fried chicken? Isn't it amazing?! Its my family's favorite meal. We just _feel_ like we are in Disney while eating it. Only 150 days until we get to again.  Your photos make me happy, I miss Disneyland so much.


----------



## tksbaskets

What an action packed day you had!  I agree your pictures of F! are Fantastic!  We had the Plaza chicken this week too.  Yummy.

TK


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## ACDSNY

I'm finally caught up with the tail-end of your April trip and the beginning of the June one.  Your pics are amazing.  I loved the GoPro of BTMRR.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great close-ups of Fantasmic!  I think I definitely prefer the telezoom for this show than the wider lenses.
> 
> You did really well with your pictures.
> 
> Interesting position for the fireworks.  I miss the castle; but they are still great from this angle.



Thank you PiO. The telephoto lens is the right choice of lens to use for F! unless you want to get some wide angle shots of the Columbia and Mark Twain during the show. Even though the telephoto lens is nice to use but it did come at where I can't even go as low as 70mm with it and it shows.

Thank you.

I have watched, videotaped and taken pictures from this spot for the fireworks. It is not the same where you watch the fireworks in front of SB Castle but at least you can still see the fireworks from backstage and from the castle.




rentayenta said:


> Bret, your shots of F! are the best I have ever seen.  I am so impressed.
> 
> Is that the first time you've tried the Plaza Inn's fried chicken? Isn't it amazing?! Its my family's favorite meal. We just _feel_ like we are in Disney while eating it. Only 150 days until we get to again.  Your photos make me happy, I miss Disneyland so much.



Thank you Jenny. It was nice to use the telephoto lens for this show.

I have eaten at the Plaza Inn during lunch/dinner. The last time I have ate there was about over 10 years ago. I was surprised that I haven't ate at the Plaza Inn for lunch/dinner during those times. But I have tried all sort of different quick counter restaurants at the DLR. The fried chicken was so good and I can't believe i waited that long to eat it again. It won't be too long till your trip in December.




tksbaskets said:


> What an action packed day you had!  I agree your pictures of F! are Fantastic!  We had the Plaza chicken this week too.  Yummy.
> 
> TK



Nice to hear from you TK and hope you had a great time at the DLR. 

Thank you TK. Glad to hear that you were able to eat at the Plaza Inn during your trip and like the fried chicken.




ACDSNY said:


> I'm finally caught up with the tail-end of your April trip and the beginning of the June one.  Your pics are amazing.  I loved the GoPro of BTMRR.



Nice to see you caught back up on the trip report Angela. Thank you. It was nice to get decent video of BTMRR with the GoPro and i have experimented with other rides like RSR and many more to come if I ever do it again on the other rides.


The next updated post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51818849]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 1*

*Going down the River with the Children of the World*​
It was now the second day of the trip and it was our full day. We had a fun time on Monday where we were able to go on some rides that night and to be able to watch the nighttime shows at DL. Now it is a new day for the two of us at DL during the summertime. 

It was around 6:45am when I got up but DAW was still tired from last night since she didn’t go to bed until 3am. She was still a little tired from last night where I was able to get enough rest. So I had no problem letting DAW sleep so I just relaxed until she got up later that day.

She got up around 7:15am and was all dressed up until 7:50am. It was a little late for us to get to the park during rope drop at DL or DCA. 

We exited our hotel room on the sixth floor of FFI and headed straight on over to DL that morning. 

A view from the 6th floor from FFI




The view photo of the rooftop Mickey Mouse.




Just when we were walking through the bus loading/unloading area, there was some work being done by the security check point area. Looks like some new paint is being added.




It was a little late that morning to get to the parks but it wasn’t that bad when walking into DL that morning.




Over at the alley right across from Café Carnation was the old location for the MS Lockers where it was closed down and being converted into the First Aid station.




Even though the first aid station was located right at the Plaza Inn as its original destination. But it will be here at the former locker area. The old first aid station location will be a new area when the park is busy and will be used as a new route when walking down MS is busy during the nighttime.




It will be sad to see the old location for the locker area at MS to go away but it will be used for a real purpose.

We were walking down on over to FL and we were walking by Alice in Wonderland and see that there is a lot of work being done that morning on the ride. The ride has been down for a while since it was under refurbishment since the April trip.




While walking on in FL, DAW wanted to ride It’s a Small World. She loves IASW and sometimes she also drives herself nuts with the ride. The good thing about riding IASW in the morning is that there is barely anyone to go on this ride first thing where it is a walk-on. There are times when riding IASW Holiday during the Christmas season that it can get really busy in the morning. 

The wait time was only 5 minutes and we walk-on it immediately. 




We were fortunate to get the front where it will be easy to get pictures during the ride.








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After we got off IASW, we started to go onto our next destination. You would have guess that we would do something at DL that morning but we decided to go opposite of DL and head on over to DCA. Some of you are wondering why are we heading on over to DCA where we could do something at DL that morning when it was quiet. But we plan on getting some FP’s at DCA that morning where it will benefit us later that day. 

So we jolted on out of DL and over to DCA. DL started to get some more guests in the park but we were heading on over to DCA instead.




That’s it for this post and continue on to the next post.

[post=51851345]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51851297]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 2*

*Collecting FP's on the Railroad*​
After we left DL that morning after riding IASW, we are now heading on over to DCA that morning in order to get a pair of FP’s for World of Color and Radiator Springs Racers. It was nice to be able to watch WoC that night and to be able to ride RSR. But this time, we are getting our FP’s later that day in order to ride RSR when it is at night so DAW will be able to experience the ride at nighttime where she has experienced it during the daytime. We had to time it right since WoC starts at 9:45pm that night.

It wasn’t that busy heading on into DCA that morning where DL has a long line of people waiting to enter the park.




DCA is all decorated for 4th of July week which is about a week until our trip is over. It would have been nice to go back during Fourth of July week and see Disney’s Celebrate America: a 4th of July Concert in the Sky. I will consider that in the near future of when to see that firework show. I haven’t see it since 2007 on Fourth of July.




We first head on over to Grizzly Peak in order to get the WoC FP’s. Just like the April trip, WoC was only showing one show a night and it was the same time at 9:45pm. It was weird that WoC was only playing once a night instead of showing two shows a night. I can understand that the DLR is cutting the show down to one a night instead of two to cut the costs of using the fountain jets of WoC. There could be a lot of reasons why the DLR is cutting WoC to one show.




Even when coming around 9:25am and we were able to still get the blue FP for the 9:45pm show. 

The Rushin’ River Outfitters store.




After getting the FP’s we head straight on over towards the RSR FP queue in order to get the RSR FP’s for later that night. When we got there, the return time was from 6pm to 7pm. It was not late enough to get the FP’s. From yesterday when we were waiting for Fantasmic!, it didn’t get dark till 8pm. So we decided to wait around the area until it got closer to 8pm return time for RSR.

While we were waiting, we head straight on over to Golden Vine Winery right next to the Blue Sky Cellar so we can used the restroom.








It has been a while now for the Blue Sky Cellar to be closed since the last update was about the New Fantasyland Faire at DL. It has been over one year since it closed and wondering what will the DLR do with this building since they could use it for something really neat.




We did wait a while until it was time to get the FP’s. It was around 10am when the return time was till 8pm. So we waited quite a while in DCA that morning to get the FP’s for RSR at 8pm.




After we got the FP’s for both RSR and WoC, we head straight on back to DL. We could have stayed a little longer in DCA but we did most of the rides yesterday and we had lunch at DL that afternoon. 




Back over to DL in which we didn’t stay too long over at DCA.




It wasn’t that busy walking up on MS but it will get busy after 10am today.




We head straight on over to New Orleans Square to ride PotC until it was time for lunch. Unfortunately, the wait time for PotC was at 20 minutes and the extended queue was already out by the walkway. So PotC was put on hold that morning where there was quite a line to get on the ride even though it is the fastest loading ride at the DLR.




So we head on over to the NOS Railroad Station to ride the DLRR. It is one of my favorite rides at DL and still never gets old. 




The Water Tower




The Ward Kimball Engine #5 along with the Excursion Car Set is pulling up to NOS station.




We rode the DLRR all the way around the park.

To Splash Mountain




Fantasyland




All the way to the Grand Canyon




To the Prehistoric era land of the dinosaurs












Arriving in Main Street Railroad Station




Across is DCA and passing by is Monorail Mark VII Blue.




And all the way back to NOS Station




After we got off the DLRR, we started to go onto our next attraction that day at the park. But that will be on the next update.

[post=51881197]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Great update Bret.  Looks like you're all set for the night at DCA.  Looking forward to seeing what you get up to during the day.

The lenses are really showing off your skill as a photographer.


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## mvf-m11c

I have some more news. I just talked to my DB and his GF today. They are planning on going down south to SoCal to visit some friends, DB GF relative (who is going to Irvine) and going to the DLR later this month on the 26th to 28th. They ask if I wanted to go and I said yes. So I will be making another trip down south later this month. This is very exciting to go back down south to the DLR. This will be the third trip in four months (April, June, & July). We will still be planning on what to do those days. We will be staying at Best Western Pavilions which I have never stayed. It is on Katella Ave which is a few buildings down from BW Stovall's.


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## ACDSNY

Wow, you're putting your AP to go use this year.  Yay for a spur of the moment trip to DL.


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## PrincessInOz

Great news!  Looking forward to your trip.


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## tksbaskets

mvf-m11c said:


> I have some more news. I just talked to my DB and his GF today. They are planning on going down south to SoCal to visit some friends, DB GF relative (who is going to Irvine) and going to the DLR later this month on the 26th to 28th. They ask if I wanted to go and I said yes. So I will be making another trip down south later this month. This is very exciting to go back down south to the DLR. This will be the third trip in four months (April, June, & July). We will still be planning on what to do those days. We will be staying at Best Western Pavilions which I have never stayed. It is on Katella Ave which is a few buildings down from BW Stovall's.



Yeah!  It will be fun for you to visit DLR again this summer.  Fun for us too because you share your adventures with us


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great update Bret.  Looks like you're all set for the night at DCA.  Looking forward to seeing what you get up to during the day.
> 
> The lenses are really showing off your skill as a photographer.



Thanks PiO. Everything was all set up that night where we will get to watch WoC and ride RSR at night. It was a little tough that morning where we didn't get up early enough to get the RSR for for the morning. But since DAW never experienced RSR at night, this was the perfect opportunity to ride it. We did lose some minutes that morning just to get the right time for RSR. But it was worth it. 

The telephoto lens that I rented was nice but it is not as powerful as the f/4 or f/2.8. I will try those out one day and I might get one of them.




ACDSNY said:


> Wow, you're putting your AP to go use this year.  Yay for a spur of the moment trip to DL.



Last year AP from June 2013 to 2014, I went on 7 different trips and the AP paid for it. It is just a start and many more to come in the near future. It will be nice to go back next week, now I need to start on planning on what to do.




PrincessInOz said:


> Great news!  Looking forward to your trip.



Thanks PiO. We are looking forward to this trip.




tksbaskets said:


> Yeah!  It will be fun for you to visit DLR again this summer.  Fun for us too because you share your adventures with us



Thank you TK. It will be nice to visit again but I would still prefer the holiday season over the summertime where it can be quite warm.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51851345]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 June 23rd, 2014  Part 3*

*Lunch at the Bayou & Frozen*​
After we rode the DLRR all around the park that afternoon, it was almost time for our lunch reservation. It was nice to be able to eat lunch at a specific restaurant at DL. DAW and I have ate at this restaurant in the past. For the DISers that have followed my trip reports in the past, can you guess what restaurant I am talking about? If you have guessed Blue Bayou you are correct. 

We made the reservation a few weeks ago until the trip and we decided to have lunch at BB. It has been years since I ate at the BB during lunch where it was nice to have dinner. I also wanted to try a dish that was on the lunch menu at BB where it is not available during dinnertime. Also we got the earliest reservation time at 11:30am so we are able to get a waterside view of Pirates of the Caribbean. I have never got a spot right next to the waterside so this was going to be special to have lunch at BB.

While we were waiting for our reservation time, we went a little early to BB so we can guarantee our table at the waterside of PotC. It was around 11:15am when we head on over to BB. There were quite a number of people making reservations or checking-in. For people that want to eat at BB, I would recommend a reservation or you will be waiting a long time in NOS until you are seated.

Work continues on the exterior of Club 33












When we check-in at BB, we only had to wait 3 minutes outside until the CM took us in the restaurant. Luckily, we were able to get the waterside table at BB. It was nice to be able to get the table waterside during our lunch.












When we decided what to eat, DAW can only eat certain ingredients. So the manager came out and asked her what she can have in her dish and cant have. That was nice that the manager at BB came out and took her order. The last time we ate at BB back in June 2013, the Sous Chef came out and took the order. This time it was the manager that took in the order.

Seeing the boats go by at PotC was very nice. We have watch boat after boat passing by the restaurant that afternoon.

It didnt took too long until our food came out that day. I had the New Orleans Gumbo while she had the Blue Bayou House Salad which was ordered specifically for her.




For lunch, I had the Le Special de Monte Cristo Sandwich. I really wanted to try this version of the Monte Cristo at BB since I have eaten the Monte Cristo a lot at Café Orleans. When you look at the visual presentation of the Monte Cristo at BB, it looks completely different in presentation than at CO. 

When I looked at the price between BB and CO, BB costs $8 more dollars eating at BB over at CO. But BB comes with the NO Gumbo where it costs $6 at CO. So if you get the Gumbo at CO, you are paying almost the same price for the Monte Cristo at BB.

DAW had the Royal Street Seafood Jambalaya. But it was changed dramatically. Instead of the Cajun-style dirty rice in the Jambalaya, it was changed with Pasta in it. I forget what else it was changed but that was the big difference.




The Monte Cristo at BB was so good and it reminded me of the one at Café Orleans. It was nice to be able to have the Monte Cristo at BB that afternoon. The Monte Cristo can easily fill you up quickly that I was only to finish half the plate. DAW enjoyed her custom Jambalaya that afternoon. She really loves the service at BB where the manager came out and took her order since she can eat certain ingredients.

After we finished lunch at BB, we decided to head on back to the room and get some rest since we have a lot of plans late that afternoon and night. 




It wasnt that full that afternoon when walking on out of the parks but the ride wait times were still high in the afternoon. When passing by Indiana Jones ride, the wait time was at 50 minutes. Even Jungle Cruise was in the 20 minute wait time while there were people on the second level of the queue.




We were out of the parks so we can get some rest until we head on back later that day. Monorail Mark VII Orange passing by on Harbor Blvd.




We got back to Fairfield Inn around 1pm and we took our afternoon nap until we head on back to the DLR. We plan on going back to DL later that afternoon in order to see the Frozen pre-parade float before the 4pm Mickeys Soundsational Parade. We werent able to see the Frozen pre-parade float on our first day since we had trouble with the ECV. But this time, I was determine to see the float no matter what.

It was around 3pm and we started to get ready to head on back to the DLR and see the Frozen pre-parade float just before the 4pm Mickeys Soundsational Parade. I packed all my equipment with me since we werent coming back later that night. So I brought my video camera, lenses and tripod with me.

We got in DL before 3:15pm and there were some people waiting on the curbs on MS for the 4pm Mickeys Soundsational Parade.




The spot that we were planning on watching the parade was at IASW Plaza. We have watched the parade at IASW Plaza in the past and this is a nice spot to watch the parade when it comes from IASW. There are few people in this area when you compare to Main Street where people waited over an hour to get a curb spot. We only had to wait about 40 minutes at our spot. Since DAW had her ECV, we were able to get a good spot in the handicapped section.








We had to wait until it was almost time for the parade and the Frozen pre-parade float. So I tested out more pictures with the telephoto lens.




Mark VII Monorail Orange




Mark VII Monorail Blue




It was 10 minutes before Mickeys Soundsational Parade, the announcement was made and the Frozen pre-parade float is now arriving. The music was Let It Go from the movie Frozen. It was just the music and without the words. 

Here are pictures of the Frozen pre-parade of Anna, Elsa and Olaf that day while I used the telephoto lens. 














Anna




Elsa








For some of you that know this float, it did look familiar at first. I knew about what float it was before it was converted to the Frozen pre-parade float. Yes, it was Mickey and Minnie Ice Rink float during A Christmas Fantasy parade during the holiday season at DL. I first was surprised that DL converted the Ice Rink float to the Frozen pre-parade float. I thought that they would create a new float instead of using an existing float while it is backstage until it was time for the holiday season at DL. It did make sense to use it where it is backstage somewhere with the other floats during the holiday season.

DAW was excited to see the Frozen pre-parade float and told me that DD4 would have enjoyed watching the float and seeing Anna and Elsa.

After the Frozen pre-parade float left, it was almost time for the 4pm Mickeys Soundsational parade. I accomplished what I wanted to see that afternoon but DAW told us that we should stay around and see the parade while we have a great spot. It was perfect to use the telephoto lens and get up close pictures of the characters.

That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update.

[post=51881212]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51881197]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 4*

*Mickey’s Soundsational Parade*​
After watching the Frozen pre-parade, we were now waiting for the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational parade. It was nice to see the Frozen pre-parade and to be able to see Soundsational where I haven’t see the whole show since early last year. 

Here are pictures from the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational parade as I have used the telephoto lens to get the up close shots of the characters.












































































After Mickey’s Soundsational Parade passed by at our spot, we packed all of our stuff and we started to move on to our next destination that day at DL. 

[post=51899742]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​
That’s it for this post and stay tune in for the next update.


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## ACDSNY

That's cool you were able to get a waterside table for lunch at BB.  You took some great shots of the Mickey Soundsational parade too.


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## PrincessInOz

Love the table spot and food at BB.

Great pictures of the parade!


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## petals

Luvin the parade pics


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## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> That's cool you were able to get a waterside table for lunch at BB.  You took some great shots of the Mickey Soundsational parade too.



It was nice to be able to eat at BB at the waterside. I have read that the best opportunity to get a waterside at BB is to do the first reservation that is available at BB which was at 11:30pm. But the guests were let in at 11:15am and we were lucky to get the waterside table that day. It was nice to take pictures of Mickey's Soundsational Parade and to use the telephoto lens just made it even better.

Thank you Angela. 




PrincessInOz said:


> Love the table spot and food at BB.
> 
> Great pictures of the parade!



The food was good at BB and was nice to get a waterside spot.

Thank you PiO. It was nice to use the telephoto lens during the parade.




petals said:


> Luvin the parade pics



Thank you petals. 


The next updates are coming up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51881212]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 5*

*Mickey and the Magical Map*​
After watching the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade at It’s a Small World Plaza, I packed all of my equipment back in my bags and we head on over to our next destination at DL that afternoon. While we were in FL, we had enough time to be able to watch the 4:35pm Mickey and the Magical Map show at the Fantasyland Theater. It was about 10 minutes until the show started at 4:35pm so we had plenty of time to be able to get on over to the FL Theater and watch the show. 

I have seen MatMM a lot of times ever since the show debut last summer. I have watched it from different spots by up close or way back. DAW have seen the show every time we have come to DL.

We were able to get decent spot for the show at 4:35pm.

I used the telephoto lens since we were quite in the back of the seating area. This was a great opportunity to use the telephoto lens while we are back. If I did use the regular lenses, I would have to be up close in order to get the up close shots. 

This was at the minimum at 70mm with the telephoto lens and we were quite a way back and just able to get the whole stage.








You are an Apprentice Mickey








Mickey on the upper level




King Louie and the song “I Wanna Be Like You”.





Trumpet Man




Pocahontas singing “Just around the Riverbend”




Mulan singing “Reflection”




Rapunzel singing “I see the Light”




Flynn and Rapunzel




Sebastian and the cast singing “Under the Sea”




Stitch making an appearance and the song during this scene is “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride”












Mickey made his appearance from the Map




Princess Tiana and the song “Dig a Little Deeper”








This show has never get old and it is still nice to watch it even though we have seen it plenty of times during the trips.

When the show was over, I packed all of my stuff and we waited at the theater until it cleared out since it was full that show.

That will be it for this post and follow along the next post.

[post=51899750]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51899742]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 6*

*Riding above the Highway of the Skies*​
After we watched the 4:35pm Mickey and the Magical Map show, we started to go onto our next destination at DL that day. We had some time to kill until we head on back to Disney California Adventure so we can use our FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers. 

This is one of the busy times of the day where everyone is mostly in the park and are going on the rides. There are a few rides at that time that will be walk-ons. 

I asked DAW that we haven’t done my favorite ride at DL which is the Monorail and since we had time to kill, we head straight on over to Tomorrowland to ride the Monorail.

At first, I didn’t pay attention on the Mousewait App to see what the wait time was and it did bite me in the butt that day. 

When we were about to enter the TL Monorail queue, DAW asked me about the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and when it will reopen. I told her that it will reopen in late September. The FNSV has been closed since early January this year and the lagoon has been drained since then. It will be nice when the FNSV reopens in September.




The Monorail logo




While we were walking through the queue, there was a long line towards the TL Monorail station. DAW was wondering why is there a long line and I misjudge the timing when riding the Monorail. I should have known that there would be a long line at this time of the day to ride it. 

While we were in the line, I had to look through the blocked off FNSV lagoon and see the dried lagoon. It has been a while now since the FNSV has been closed and see the drained lagoon since the April trip. But this time, I was able to get a picture from the Monorail queue while we were in the line.




Monorail Mark VII Orange was just pulling out of the TL station and we had to wait for the next one.




It took about 15 minutes to go through the queue and to be able to ride the Monorail at that time. Monorail Mark VII Blue was the monorail that we rode at the TL station.




Passing by Disney California Adventure and the backside of Hollywood Land where the Mad T Party set is located.




Passing by Buena Vista Street




Condor Flats and right next to Soarin Over California.




The front entrance to the Grand California Hotel




We were now at the Downtown Disney Station and we were planning on riding the Monorail the roundtrip all the way back to the TL Monorail station. 

Back to DL and the Backstage area while riding the Monorail




A look at DL and the west turnstiles which was under refurbishment.




There were quite a number of people entering DL that afternoon.




We were now back in Tomorrowland and passing by the FNSV which was drained.
















Passing by Matterhorn Mountain




One last look at the lagoon while it is drained and you can tell from all the scaffolding that there is quite a lot of work on the coral and track.




After we rode the Monorail all around the DLR, we got on out and started to go on over to DCA. We did have time until our FP’s are ready at 8pm but most of the rides at DL were all busy and we had some ideas of what to do that day.

While we were walking on out of the park, there were guests waiting for the 6:30pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade and we just left at the right time or we would have to walk on the sidewalks and took time to get on out of the park.




A lot of Mickey shape Balloons





We exited DL and head on over to DCA. It was nice that DCA was not as busy to enter where DL had a long queue to enter that day.




We were now back at DCA that time and we head straight on over to Hollywood Land to see a show at that time. 

The Red Car Street Trolley passing by.




Can you guess what show we will be seeing at that time. The next post will tell you which show we saw at DCA at that time.

[post=51899754]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51899750]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 7*

*Aladdin Musical & Radiator Springs*​
We were now walking up to watch the 6:20pm Aladdin a Musical Spectacular at the Hyperion Theater. We did arrived just before the CM’s started to let the guests in the Hyperion Theater that night. It is always nice to be able to watch Aladdin at the Hyperion Theater. 




Since DAW was using the ECV, we were able to sit in the Orchestra area which was in the back and we got good center seats and not too many people heads were in our way when we watched Aladdin that night.

This was also a good opportunity to use the telephoto lens in the Hyperion Theater so I can get up close shots of the CM’s. Here are some of the pictures that I took. I have taken over 100 pictures from the show that day.

Your choking me!!!




Got you Street Rat.




The Princess Jasmine




I’m Genie




Mr. Aladdin sir








Who’s that flying in the sky.








There you go Master!!!








After Aladdin was over, it was time that we head on over to Cars Land and do some things before we ride RSR at night. 

So we head on over to Cars Land and get ready to use our FP’s that night for RSR. There was one problem, it wasn’t dark enough to ride RSR at night and we had about an hour to go until it got to 8pm. We decided that we should get something to eat before we ride RSR that night.

What better place to get a snack while at Cars Land is going to the Cozy Cone Motel.








DAW got the Chili Cone Queso with beef chili, cheddar cheese and corn chips served in a bread cone. For me, I got the Churro Bites with the chocolate sauce.




We just waited at CL until it was time to use our FP’s when it got to 8pm. I know that we could have gone on RSR immediately at 7pm to 8pm. The only problem is that it wasn’t dark enough where DAW has not even experienced RSR at night.

When it was almost 8pm, we decided just to go through the queue and to use the FP’s before the time goes past 8pm. When passing by the queue, the wait time in the standby queue was at 95 minutes.




I can never get tired of seeing Radiator Springs. Boy there were quite a lot of coins around the spring. I wonder if the cleanup crew takes the coins and it is all clear or they just leave them in the springs?




We didn’t wait too long to go through the queue when we had FP’s. But we did head on over to the handicapped loading area since DAW was using the ECV. 

It took about 10 minutes for us to go through the FP queue and to get on the ride that night. For us, we were able to get front row seats again just like the other day. It was always nice to be able to get the front row spot on RSR.

Here are pictures from RSR that night.

Radiator Fall. You can never get tired of seeing Radiator Falls from riding RSR.




Watch out for Mack!




Sally and McQueen. Which way will we go?




Went to the House of Body Art to get painted.




A new paint job won’t win you a race and Doc is correct.




Watch that tight turn




Taillight Caverns




Our picture from that drive and you can tell that I did wear the GoPro on my head that night.




As always, DAW had a blast riding RSR. I do enjoy riding it every time I have the opportunity. But I would not even wait in that long queue just to ride it where I have rode it plenty of times. 

We exited RSR and now back at CL, it was time to head on over to Paradise Pier in order to get a spot to watch World of Color that night. So we head on over to Paradise Pier. 

While we were walking on out, I had to get a picture of Ornament Valley while we were heading on over to PP.




We left CL and now over to PP.

That will be it for this post and stay tune to the next post.

[post=51899760]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51899754]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 8*

*Disappointed during World of Color*​
After we rode Radiator Springs Racers at Cars Land, we headed straight on over to Paradise Pier to watch the 9:45pm World of Color show. It was so unusual to watch WoC at 9:45pm since we are so used to two shows a night during the summertime. But since the April trip where they only played it once a night at 9:45pm, I thought that WoC will resume back to its two schedule shows a night. But this is a fact that it only plays once a night which is disappointing. 

When we got over to PP, we were there at 8:30pm and there were a lot of guests waiting to get in the viewing area. Since we didn’t have to go in the viewing area since we plan on watching at my favorite spot in the blue section which is right by the green fire hydrant. I have loved this spot every time I see WoC since you won’t be in the wet zone and I am able to get the whole show when I videotape it. There are times when I try different spots to watch WoC like I did during the April trip which was a disappointment. One day, I will go up close to the viewing area to get up close shots of the show. 

When we got in the queue, we were asked if we wanted to be in the handicapped section but I told them that we will be going down to my spot. We have watch WoC when DAW used the ECV at my spot. 

Just as expected that our spot was not occupied when we got to the viewing section at 9:00pm. So we just waited until it was time for the 9:45pm WoC show.





While I had the telephoto lens with me during the trip, I used it in action in the direction towards Silly Symphony Swings and with a long exposure shot.




While we were waiting for WoC, I played the Fun Wheel Challenge. It is like game like game board where you got to memorize the color. You can use your smartphones to play this game which is very nice to do when you are waiting for WoC. If you win the game, you are able to control the lights on Mickey’s Fun Wheel. I have played it in the past and I haven’t been able to win the game. One day, I will win it and control the lights on Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Doom.

It didn’t took too long until it was time for the 9:45pm World of Color show. I used the telephoto lens for this show in order to get the up close shots of the show where I have used my wide angles lenses for the show. 

I was also not satisfy during the show, when the show was going on there were CM’s in the VIP area and were blocking our view of the show. DAW was so upset that the CM’s were blocking our view of WoC. I was disappointed as well that they could have gone in a different spot to watch the show and not obstruct the view of the guests. I have seen CM’s in front of me in the past and they didn’t bother me that much until this trip where there were about four of them. But I was able to get some pictures without them that night.

Here are pictures from WoC that night.




“Every child is blessed with a vivid imagination” a quote from Walt Disney




















Ooh












You all look like little Ants




























Sorcerer Mickey




The end of World of Color








As soon as WoC was over, we started to head on out of the park that night. We could have gone on over to DL that night but DAW was tired and I was a little tired as well since we left early to DL that afternoon to watch Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. 

Passing by the Carthay Circle Theater




Just leaving the park where it is closed that night since it was passed 10:15pm and the park closed at 10pm. Most of the people went straight on over to DL while we head on out of the DLR that night.




We exited the DLR and head on back to Fairfield Inn around 10:30pm and called it for the night. 

This was another fine day until World of Color that night where the CM’s obstruct our view for most of the show. But we were able to do a lot of different rides and shows that day at both DL and DCA. We were able to see the Frozen pre-parade which I wanted to see and got the opportunity to see it. We did most of our favorite rides at both parks that day.

Now is the last day which is always the saddest part of the trip. What we will do on our last day, I will have it these next few days until I leave for another trip to the DLR on Saturday.

[post=51935737]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Another great set of pictures.  I think you'll be adding a long zoom to your bag soon.

Did you enjoy shooting WoC with the zoom?


----------



## ACDSNY

Another great update.  I love the last shot from WOC.  I wish I could find a spot that I could see the show from.  I always seem to be behind a bunch of tall people and all I see are the back of heads.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Another great set of pictures.  I think you'll be adding a long zoom to your bag soon.
> 
> Did you enjoy shooting WoC with the zoom?



Thanks PiO. I will be getting a telephoto lens in the near future but I just don't know when. I still have to try out the f/4 lens along with the f/2.8 lens one day.

Shooting with the telephoto lens from my favorite spot during WoC was nice. But I really need to get up close one day to get the fountains. I was satisfy with the pictures.




ACDSNY said:


> Another great update.  I love the last shot from WOC.  I wish I could find a spot that I could see the show from.  I always seem to be behind a bunch of tall people and all I see are the back of heads.



Thank you Angela. You should consider trying that spot one day if you get the blue FP and don't want to wait a while for a spot in the viewing area. It can be very difficult to get a good spot without seeing heads during the show. It was just unfortunate that the CM's were in our way during that night and blocked our view of the show. But it was just one night and I will still go to that spot every time I have the opportunity. 


The next updates will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51899760]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 –June 23rd, 2014 – Part 1*

*Last Day of the Trip & Ride Crazy*​
It was the last day of the trip which is always the saddest part of the trip. DAW had an amazing time during the June trip which she really enjoyed it where it was only the two of us instead of other people like she has been during the last three Disney trips. 

When we got up, we started to pack most of our bags since we have to check out of Fairfield Inn at 12pm. Overall, the experience at FFI was nice but I would not stay at this hotel again in the near future since the location is not that bad but the only problem I have with the hotel is that there are so many people and it can be very noise. I don’t like to be on the upper levels since it does take time to wait for the elevator. 

We didn’t leave the room until 8am since we packed most of our stuff until it was time to leave that afternoon. 

Then we were on our way back to the DLR and we went to DL that morning and got in the park around 8:15am which was not that bad since it opened at 8am.




There were some rides that we weren’t able to do during the trip since the wait times were high. The wait times at the parks during our trip were high but they aren’t even close to Christmas break. 

At the RoA, it was quiet where the boats are not in operation yet that morning.




While we were right in Frontierland/New Orleans Square, we had to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. When we tried to ride PotC during the first two days of the trip, the wait time was in the 30 minute range which was high but not too high and there were times where we saw the queue extended towards the walkway.




It less than a 5 minute wait to ride PotC that morning. I did took a lot of pictures with the Tokina 11-16mm lens and it was tough to get the right picture on the ride. I set the ISO at 6400 and when I ride it again in the near future, I am thinking of rising the ISO to 12,800.

Here are some pics from the ride experience.












After riding PotC, we head on over to Haunted Mansion. Riding HM with the regular overlay is nice but I would still prefer the Haunted Mansion Holiday during the Halloween/Christmas season at DL. 












It was only a 5 minute wait to ride HM that morning.

Once again, tried to take as many pictures inside HM but there is barely any light on the ride except in certain areas.

The room is actually stretching?




You wanna dance and have dinner with us?








We just finished riding HM and we moved on to our next place that morning which was Critter Country so we are able to ride Winnie the Pooh. This is one of the rides that is a walk-on at DL during anytime of the day until the afternoon.

The wait time was only at 2 minutes which was a walk-on that morning.

Here are pictures from Winnie the Pooh ride that morning.








We’ll save you Piglet.




















After we finished riding Winnie the Pooh ride, we were a little hungry that morning where DAW needs to have breakfast since we got to the parks early that morning at 8:15am. 

The restaurant that was close that served breakfast was at the River Belle Terrace. DAW was willing to try that restaurant that morning.




I had the Mark Twain which was scrambled eggs, country style potatoes, sausage with a biscut.




DAW got the Steamboat which is three pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon.




We ate inside and can see the other guests outside eating breakfast.




[post=51935755]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=51935737]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 June 23rd, 2014  Part 2*

*Were Leaving?*​
After we finished breakfast at the River Belle Terrace, it was almost time to head on out of the park and go back to Fairfield Inn so we can check out and start heading back home that day. 

Before we left DL that morning, I wanted to go towards FL and get some last second pictures until we left that day.

Of course, we had to pass by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to see what the wait time was like and it was at 20 minutes which was not that bad that morning.




We walked through the backside of Frontierland and head on the other side of Fantasyland where I got some pictures with the telephoto lens until we left the park that morning.




Olaf
















After we went through the Castle and heading on out of DL, we saw a few ducks swimming.




The park is got a little busy that Wednesday afternoon with more people now in the parks.




A look at the lantern up in the Fire Department.




The Ward Kimball engine #5 at the Main Street station.




We exited the park and now heading on back to FFI. While passing by Monorail Mark VII Red going down on Harbor Blvd.




We got back to the room around 11:30am and we started to take all of our bags that are in the room to the car.

We left Anaheim around 12pm and a 7 hour drive back up north to Sacramento. Mostly I stop on the way back to Little Tokyo but DAW didnt need anything at Little Tokyo so we just head straight on back to Sacramento.

It was around 8pm when we got back home to Sacramento with the usual stops on the way like gas up and eating on the way home. 

This concludes the June trip. This was a very nice trip where DAW had a great time and unexpectedly renewed her Premium AP during the trip. I was a little surprised that she renewed her AP and I originally thought that she wasnt planning on doing that. It looks like that she will be coming along with me in the near future to the DLR where she has to get at least three more trips if you dont include this trip. I was able to do my usual rides and shows during the trip. We were able to see the Frozen pre-parade which was very nice to see. The park crowd levels were average during the summertime in my opinion where it can get really busy during certain seasons. The weather has been nice where it wasnt that hot.

Overall the trip was good and now I am looking forward to my trip tomorrow. Yes, I will be heading back down this Saturday to Monday for another quick trip to the DLR. This will be the third trip in the last four months (April, June & July). I will be going down with my DB and his GF. I have went down with them during the August 2012 trip and we had a great time. I will be posting pictures and updating during the trip. So stay tune for the updates.

Thank you for following along the June trip report.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I was going to say how sorry I was to see the end of another TR but then I realised that it won't be too long to the start of the next installment.

Great pictures.  Glad to see that you're working out and experimenting with different settings.


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## franandaj

You got some great pictures of the Pixar Play Parade.  I usually get annoyed at this parade since it usually goes by when I'm trying to get somewhere and they block off the streets so I can't get to where I want to go and I'm forced to listen to the "5-4-3-2-1!" Countdown song the whole time!
Great F! shots!
That's great that you had lunch at BB.  I think they share a kitchen with Café Orleans for the Monte Cristo sandwich so it's the same one.
Nice shots of Anna and Elsa and the Soundsational Parade
You guys did a lot!  Even fit in Mickey and the Magical Map!
Wow!  They are really refurbing the Sub ride!!!
You guys are packing it all in Aladdin too!  We had a different Genie when we saw the show a couple weeks ago.  He was not as skinny.
I love World of Color, but Fran doesn't, however, I convinced her to go see it when my parents come visit in September so that will be nice to finally see it again.
The River Belle Terrace Breakfast looks good!  Sorry about the last day, but at least you are back there now!
I am all caught up now!


----------



## petals

awesome pictures. I love that last picture of the Ferris Wheel and Dumbo  in world of colour


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## mvf-m11c

I will respond to the posts later during the trip or when I get back home.

It has been a nice day today at the parks where it was warm and a little busy today. My DB, DBGF his GF and I arrived at the parks around 9am this morning which was a little late that day where we left Sacramento early that Saturday morning or night. 

When we got to the park that day, we were joined by DBGF friend who lives in SoCal and she was asked by DBGF to come down and join us that day at the parks. We first entered DCA that morning and was able to get FP's for RSR for 1pm to 2pm and able to get the blue FP's for WoC at 9:45pm that night. We were able to go on some rides at DCA that day from RSR, TSMM, ToT & Heimlich's Chew Chew Train today. We were able to park hop at DL that day and were able to ride BTMRR & Gadget's Go Coaster (it was a big mistake to go on that ride since the wait time was over 30 minutes). 

We had breakfast at Pacific Wharf Cafe which I haven't done in quite some time and had snacks at the Cozy Cone Motel. I have been resting since I have drove most of the night to SoCal. It won't be too long until we head on back to the DLR for the nighttime activities.

I will keep you all updated during the trip.

Here are some pictures from today.

DBGF, DB and DBGF friend while we were waiting for TSMM which we had to wait about 40 minutes.




A short wait time for BTMRR that afternoon.








Those three riding Gadget's Go Coaster while I watched them.




When we were through the queue of RSR, they added some mist machines through the queue to keep the guests cool while waiting to get on RSR.




Our picture during our ride on RSR.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
I really enjoyed all the great photographs from your last trip.  Especially the Winnie the Pooh ride ones, Olaf, and the diving duck!  We always enjoy seeing Aladdin and Mickey and the Magical Map.  Your pictures reminded me so of our last trip.  Good times.

Looks like you're having a blast with your DB and his DFs!  LOVED the ride picture from RSR!

Thanks for sharing,
TK


----------



## rentayenta

Bret, your photos are amazing as usual and just what I needed to see during this missing Disneyland phase. 

I can't believe you're back already!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> I was going to say how sorry I was to see the end of another TR but then I realised that it won't be too long to the start of the next installment.
> 
> Great pictures.  Glad to see that you're working out and experimenting with different settings.



It was a great trip where we did a lot at the DLR. This past trip was a nice one as well with my DB, DBGF, and her friend. But something else happened during the trip which you will find out when I do my updates.

Thank you. I am always willing to try new settings on my DSLR when I am at the parks. 




franandaj said:


> You got some great pictures of the Pixar Play Parade.  I usually get annoyed at this parade since it usually goes by when I'm trying to get somewhere and they block off the streets so I can't get to where I want to go and I'm forced to listen to the "5-4-3-2-1!" Countdown song the whole time!
> Great F! shots!
> That's great that you had lunch at BB.  I think they share a kitchen with Café Orleans for the Monte Cristo sandwich so it's the same one.
> Nice shots of Anna and Elsa and the Soundsational Parade
> You guys did a lot!  Even fit in Mickey and the Magical Map!
> Wow!  They are really refurbing the Sub ride!!!
> You guys are packing it all in Aladdin too!  We had a different Genie when we saw the show a couple weeks ago.  He was not as skinny.
> I love World of Color, but Fran doesn't, however, I convinced her to go see it when my parents come visit in September so that will be nice to finally see it again.
> The River Belle Terrace Breakfast looks good!  Sorry about the last day, but at least you are back there now!
> I am all caught up now!



The Pixar Play parade is nice but just like you, it can be annoying when I am trying to go to next destinations since it goes pass by Cars Land and Paradise Pier.

It was nice to have lunch at BB during the trip. I believe you are right that the CO and BB restaurants use the same kitchen. But the Monte Cristo plates look completely different from both restaurants and are not the same. 

The Frozen pre-parade float is a nice addition to the park so people can see Elsa and Anna instead of the M&G.

We did quite a lot that whole trip and was able to see MatMM after Soundsational Parade.

The FNSV has been down since early January and has been down this whole time. The ride should be up and running in late September.

I have seen different Genie's when I have watched the Aladdin shows in the past and this one was a very funny one. Everyone was laughing during his jokes. I should have videotaped it.

That will be nice for your parents to see WoC in September. 

The Riverbelle Terrace breakfast is nice and one my favorite quick counter breakfast restaurants. The trip was great and also this past trip.




petals said:


> awesome pictures. I love that last picture of the Ferris Wheel and Dumbo  in world of colour



Thank you Petals. 




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> I really enjoyed all the great photographs from your last trip.  Especially the Winnie the Pooh ride ones, Olaf, and the diving duck!  We always enjoy seeing Aladdin and Mickey and the Magical Map.  Your pictures reminded me so of our last trip.  Good times.
> 
> Looks like you're having a blast with your DB and his DFs!  LOVED the ride picture from RSR!
> 
> Thanks for sharing,
> TK



Hi TK

Thank you. The June trip was very nice where DAW and I were able to do a lot. I can never get tired of seeing Aladdin and Mickey and the Magical Map. 

We had a great time during the trip and there was another surprise to the trip in which you will find out when I do my posts.

Thank you for following along my trip reports TK.

I want to ask you how was your trip in July and how many times did you ride TSMM?




rentayenta said:


> Bret, your photos are amazing as usual and just what I needed to see during this missing Disneyland phase.
> 
> I can't believe you're back already!



Thank you Jenny. 

it wasn't too long when I was at the DLR in June and I just came back from the July trip.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
We had a GREAT time in July.  We went to DCA each time is was magic morning/early entry and those days rode TSMM at LEAST 6 times first thing in the morning.  When the ride wait was longer than 15 minutes we'd head over to Carsland, stopping to ride CS at least once as there was never a line in the morning.  I did get over 200,000 for the first time ever and DS#1 got over 400,000.   We love that Carsland has taken the early morning crowd.

Right at the regular park opening we would get our RSR fastpasses.  Like you've experienced many times in the morning the ride is down so it's best to be able to go later.

It was strange to see DL and DCA without the Christmas decorations and overlays.  We found we like the HM ride more with the overlay.  

I'm still thinking of doing a trip report for July so I'll keep you posted if I do.  In the mean time I'll enjoy your reports!


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> We had a GREAT time in July.  We went to DCA each time is was magic morning/early entry and those days rode TSMM at LEAST 6 times first thing in the morning.  When the ride wait was longer than 15 minutes we'd head over to Carsland, stopping to ride CS at least once as there was never a line in the morning.  I did get over 200,000 for the first time ever and DS#1 got over 400,000.   We love that Carsland has taken the early morning crowd.
> 
> Right at the regular park opening we would get our RSR fastpasses.  Like you've experienced many times in the morning the ride is down so it's best to be able to go later.
> 
> It was strange to see DL and DCA without the Christmas decorations and overlays.  We found we like the HM ride more with the overlay.
> 
> I'm still thinking of doing a trip report for July so I'll keep you posted if I do.  In the mean time I'll enjoy your reports!



Hi TK,

Nice to hear that you were able to have a great trip last month to the DLR. 6 times is a lot of times to ride TSMM. Glad that you were able to ride it a lot during the morning time. Congrats on getting 200,000 points on the ride. That is awesome that your DS got 400,000 on the ride. I have trouble of getting 200,000 lately until my trip last week where i got 245,500 points and I wasn't the high score on the car where someone got over 300,000 points.




With CL opened since 2012, it is so easy to ride TSMM in the morning where you won't see too many people until later during the day.

I would not even ride RSR first thing in the morning where RSR can be down. I always get the RSR FP's first thing in the morning and ride it later during the day.

It is a little different during the summertime where you have been going a lot during the holiday season. There are people like the original HM instead of the HM like my DB who loves the original over HMH. 

I will be looking forward to hear your adventures and hope you will write a trip report. From the way you said on your post, you and your family had an amazing time.


I have't done any updates these last couple of weeks since my trip last week since I have been out of town since last Tuesday. I am on the road and went to San Antonio, Texas with DAW who has a condo in Texas. She wanted me to come along with her since we were driving. It took about 3 days just to get from Sacramento to San Antonio. That was a lot of mileage to Texas. We are on the road and going back to Sacramento. 

We are now in El Paso, Texas and we will be heading on over to Las Vegas tomorrow and we will be back in Sacramento on Thursday night. I am looking forward to being back to Sacramento after all the traveling i have been doing these last few weeks.

When I get back on Thursday, I have another Anime show in Stockton this upcoming weekend and next weekend will be Fanniversary in San Francisco at the Walt Disney Family Museum. I will be very busy these next few weekends. I will start to work on my Disneyland trip report for July when I have time.


----------



## tksbaskets

mvf-m11c said:


> Hi TK,
> 
> Nice to hear that you were able to have a great trip last month to the DLR. 6 times is a lot of times to ride TSMM. Glad that you were able to ride it a lot during the morning time. Congrats on getting 200,000 points on the ride. That is awesome that your DS got 400,000 on the ride. I have trouble of getting 200,000 lately until my trip last week where i got 245,500 points and I wasn't the high score on the car where someone got over 300,000 points.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> With CL opened since 2012, it is so easy to ride TSMM in the morning where you won't see too many people until later during the day.
> 
> I would not even ride RSR first thing in the morning where RSR can be down. I always get the RSR FP's first thing in the morning and ride it later during the day.
> 
> It is a little different during the summertime where you have been going a lot during the holiday season. There are people like the original HM instead of the HM like my DB who loves the original over HMH.
> 
> I will be looking forward to hear your adventures and hope you will write a trip report. From the way you said on your post, you and your family had an amazing time.
> 
> 
> I have't done any updates these last couple of weeks since my trip last week since I have been out of town since last Tuesday. I am on the road and went to San Antonio, Texas with DAW who has a condo in Texas. She wanted me to come along with her since we were driving. It took about 3 days just to get from Sacramento to San Antonio. That was a lot of mileage to Texas. We are on the road and going back to Sacramento.
> 
> We are now in El Paso, Texas and we will be heading on over to Las Vegas tomorrow and we will be back in Sacramento on Thursday night. I am looking forward to being back to Sacramento after all the traveling i have been doing these last few weeks.
> 
> When I get back on Thursday, I have another Anime show in Stockton this upcoming weekend and next weekend will be Fanniversary in San Francisco at the Walt Disney Family Museum. I will be very busy these next few weekends. I will start to work on my Disneyland trip report for July when I have time.



Hi Bret,
WOW that's a lot of driving to be sure.  We leave tomorrow to go from Michigan to Texas to get our son moved into his apartment to start his new job next week.  1500 miles. DH and I will fly back Sunday afternoon.

Your TSMM score is AWESOME especially by yourself.  Without a partner to help unlock higher point items getting that high a score is remarkable. 

I've got to tell you the best I could muster on Buzz was 79,000.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Catching up.  Hope you enjoyed Texas!


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> WOW that's a lot of driving to be sure.  We leave tomorrow to go from Michigan to Texas to get our son moved into his apartment to start his new job next week.  1500 miles. DH and I will fly back Sunday afternoon.
> 
> Your TSMM score is AWESOME especially by yourself.  Without a partner to help unlock higher point items getting that high a score is remarkable.
> 
> I've got to tell you the best I could muster on Buzz was 79,000.



Hi TK,

Over 1700 miles to San Antonio from Sacramento was a long time and it took forever. It is so nice to be back home these last few days and it was a great experience. A little late to respond that you are now in Texas. Hope your son is doing well in Texas. 

Thanks TK. It has been a long time since I had a good run on TSMM. I was able to hit the big targets. 

If you need help with BLAB, I will be glad to help you with it and I could always use good tips on TSMM.

Hope you got back safely.



PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up.  Hope you enjoyed Texas!



I did enjoy Texas except for the weather which was hot. The food was great, San Antonio Comic Con went well and did a lot of fun things in Texas which I will write one day.


The July trip report will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=51899760]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –July 26th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Middle of the Nite Drive & a Friend Joining Us*​
This trip was with my DB (brother) and V (DB GF). It was exciting to go back to the Disneyland Resort after being there just less than one month ago with DAW. This was the third trip this year and it was going to be with DB and his GF while coming down to SoCal. Also there were other people that joined us during the trip which you will find out later during the updated posts. I was kind of surprised that DB and V wanted to go to the DLR in such a short time which was less than a couple of weeks until the trip. They were able to get time off while I just finished with summer basketball league with my high school team. So it was perfect timing to go back down south to SoCal. 

I was so busy these last few weeks with the DLR trip. I went on a road trip with DAW all the way to San Antonio Texas just one day when DB, his GF and I left SoCal back to Sacramento. I was on the road from Sacramento to Las Vegas to El Paso and San Antonio in three days. That was the longest drive in my life and we totaled over 3,500 miles round trip. DAW is from Texas and she has a place down there and I was able to meet up with Silv and MP (which were with DAW and I during the December 2013 trip).  There was a Comic Con in San Antonio during the trip and it was nice in San Antonio. I will write up a trip report later during our time in SA. And this past weekend, I worked another show which was in Stockton. 

During the trip, it was nice to be at the parks with DB and V. We went together during the [post=45841399]August 2012 trip report[/post]. Which was less than two years ago and they were able to experienced Cars Land and BVS when it opened during the summer of 2012. We also were joined by other people during the trip which you will find out later. 

Now let’s get to the trip report.

Mostly when I leave to SoCal, I leave around 7am and get to Anaheim around 3pm. But this time, V wanted to get to SoCal first thing when the DLR opens at 8am. So they wanted to leave around midnight on Thursday night and drive through the night all the way to Anaheim. I know that it sounds crazy to drive all the way to SoCal late at night. But she wanted to get as much out of Saturday. 

But our father told us that we should go to our grandmother’s house in Livingston on Friday night so we can get a head start during the trip. So we agreed to stop at our grandmother’s house and stay there for a while and leave in the middle of the night instead of driving through it. 

It was around 8pm when we left Sacramento while I picked up DB and V from their place in Elk Grove. We head straight on over to Livingston where our grandmother lives. This is where I mostly stop on the way when I go to SoCal. It was nice of her to let us stay for a part of the night so we can head on over to Anaheim in the morning time.

We got to her place around 9:30pm and we slept at her place until 2am in the morning which we left her place. Than it was a 5 and a half our drive all the way down to Anaheim. At least two of us were awake during the drive to make sure that we aren’t daydreaming when driving. I mostly droved the most down to SoCal and it was nice to have DB drive as well.

When we got to Anaheim, we head straight on over to our hotel that we will be staying which was Best Western Pavilion. This was the first time I have stayed at BW Pavilions and I never stay at this hotel since I stay at BW Park Place Inn, BW Anaheim Inn and BW Stovall’s. BW Pavilion was a block away from BW Stovall’s on Katella Ave. The reason we chose BW Pavilion was that the price was low over all the other hotels. My DB and I talked about the other hotels on Harbor that are across the street from the DLR and the price was just not right which the cheapest hotel across the street we found was at $159. That was way too much so we stayed at BW Pavilions for $109. 

We got in at BW Pavilions at 7:50am. We tried to check-in at BW Pavilions & the room wasn’t ready. So we had to come back later during the day to check-in at our room. So we just left our bags in the car and we head straight on over to the DLR.

The walk from BW Pavilions to the DLR was quite a long walk which took about 15-20 minutes which was a couple of minutes longer where I have stayed at BW Stovall’s. I thought that it was a breeze but later during the trip it was just too long. I will get to that later on during the posts.

We head on over to the DLR and we were at the Esplanade around 8:20am. Just when we were about to enter the Esplanade, the security check-in area was quite busy that morning.




We didn’t go inside the parks just yet since we were waiting for someone. V has a friend that is from San Diego which she was her roommate when she went to Irvine and will be joining us during our first part of the day. It was nice that V friend was going to join us at the DLR. 

Disneyland was quite busy to get in that morning while Disney California Adventure had some people going into the park.




V friend (Jen) finally showed up at 8:55am which was a little later than we have expected. But it was nice that she got here safely. The first thing we did was to head on over to DCA since they all want to ride RSR. So we head on over to DCA first thing and get FP’s for Radiator Springs Racers.

When we were in the park, we head straight on over to the RSR FP queue and we were able to secure nice times that day. It was around 9:02am when I got the FP’s and the return time was at 1:05pm to 2:05pm. It is now easy to get a FP for RSR later during the day which in the past they will be all gone by the morning time.




After we got the FP’s, they wanted to go and ride Toy Story Midway Mania. So I gathered all their Park Hopper tickets and I head on over to Grizzly River Run in order to get World of Color FP’s. I had no problem being the FP runner so they will be able to ride TSMM while I get the FP’s.

When I got to GRR, i remember seeing on the park hour calendar that WoC will only be playing once a night just like the June trip in which it was only playing once during the summertime which was kind of weird. Since it was late during the day to get FP’s, I thought that we would get the yellow section and there was only one show a night. But I was wrong and was able to secure the Blue section.




I head straight ton over to Paradise Pier to see if they are in the queue. It is nice to pass by PP and see Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Doom.




I head straight on over to TSMM and through the queue to see if they were half way or better through the queue. They were not even 1/3 through the queue and the wait time was like 45 minutes that morning.




They told me to get in the queue when it was close to the outside. I told them that it was okay and I’ll just wait for them but they insisted and told me to get in. So I did get in the queue and we waited about 20 minutes through the queue until we got on the ride.




V and Jen rode together while DB and I rode in the other.




For our scores, I had 171,500 while DB had 152,500. That was a low score for me at TSMM. But we were able to accomplish something I have never done on TSMM. The fifth mini-game scene on TSMM which is Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery, we were able to hit all the bulls-eye targets and unlock the extra points. This is one of the scenes that I have never accomplish and was able to unlock it with DB.




We didn’t have the high score on the ride in which it wasn’t a good ride for me.




After we rode TSMM, we head on over to Pacific Wharf to have breakfast. We were all hungry since we drove on Saturday night to Anaheim.




It was nice to have breakfast at Pacific Wharf. I haven’t eaten at the Pacific Wharf for breakfast in years and was nice to be able to have breakfast that morning.

I had the Breakfast Croissant Sandwich.




DB and V shared a Egg and Bacon Boule




Jen got the Sonoma Chicken & Apple Salad in a Boule




After we finished breakfast at Pacific Wharf, we head straight on out of the park until we had to use the restroom by the Wine Country Trattoria since we were able to ride TSMM and we had to come back later that day to ride RSR. 





We head on out of DCA while it was not that bad that afternoon which it was a little quiet (except for riding TSMM).




The four of us exited DCA and now back at the Esplanade to head on over to Disneyland.




That will be it for this post and it will continue on the next post.

[post=52055839]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52055825]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 July 26th, 2014  Part 2*

*Coaster Rides and Tsum Tsum Hunting*​
We were now in DL that afternoon and it was not as bad as I have thought when walking down Main Street USA. Most of the people that were at the park that morning while waiting outside of the queue when entering at 8am and they should all be in the park.




The first ride that we rode that morning was none other than Big Thunder Mountain Railroad since DB and V have never rode the new version which opened earlier this year. I have enjoyed riding BTMRR the last few trips and I was looking forward to riding it again.

When we got on over to BTMRR, I was planning on getting FPs but the wait time was only 20 minutes and they just said to ride it with a little wait time.




While walking down the queue, I had to get some pictures on the way.












The town of Rainbow Ridge looks so amazing.




We only had to wait about 15 minutes in the standby queue of BTMRR. V and Jen rode together while I rode with my DB. 

Once again during the ride experience on BTMRR, I had my GoPro on my head so I was able to video record the ride and to be able to take pictures with my DSLR in my hands.

Going into the first tunnel.




The caverns looks amazing.








Now this is the wildest ride in wilderness.








Cant forget about the Dynamite Eating Goat after the second chain lift.




The third lift which was the dynamite mine which is about to explode.








Passing by the town of Rainbow Ridge.




After we rode BTMRR, they wanted to go on over to Fantasyland to see if they could ride on Dumbo. I was surprised that they want to ride Dumbo that morning instead of going on any of the other big rides like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Indy, etc. But I had no problem with them for what they want to do since I am just following along with them.

The new Frontierland game was going on during the trip but it was not running that morning so I had to check back later to see it.




While we were walking on over to FL, Dumbo was not running while people were in the queue. So flying on Dumbo was no option unless we waited for a while to ride it. We also thought about riding Alice in Wonderland. It was just reopened after I left during the June trip with DAW. But the wait time was at 50 minutes which was way too long to wait. So that was no option as well. 

So we head on over to the north towards Its a Small World Plaza where the girls want to do some shopping. I had no problem with it and we head on over to IASW Plaza and at the store.

While the ladies looked at the store, they wanted to go on over to Mickeys Toontown and look at the Five and Dime store to look for something specific at the store. 




V told me that she is looking for Tsum Tsum plush when we were at the parks. It is a little mini plush ball of a Disney character. Without any luck, we didnt find it at any of the stores that we have been in the parks.




While we were in Mickeys Toontown, the three of them decided to ride Gadgets Go Coaster. The wait time was at 20 minutes which didnt seem too long but they waited actually 40 minutes in the queue. I decided not to ride it since I have rode it plenty of times in the past and after looking through the queue, it was going to be at least 30 minutes or longer to ride Gadgets Go Coaster.




While I was waiting for them, I took some more random pictures at Mickeys Toontown.




Chip n Dale Treehouse








After 40 minutes waiting in the queue for Gadgets Go Coaster, they were finally on the ride and on the lift.




When they got off Gadgets Go Coaster, we decided to head on out of DL and go on over to Downtown Disney to do some shopping until we had to use our FPs for RSR that afternoon. 

While we were walking on out of the park, we stop at other stores in DL like the Emporium on MS to look for the Tsum Tsum plush in the stores. We looked in the stores to see if they have them but they didnt. We asked the CMs about the Tsum Tsum, but they didnt know what we were talking about even though V described it to them. But they did told us to go to the World of Disney Store in DTD to see if they have it. So we head on over to the WoD in DTD to see if they have any.




The west side turnstiles was all finished after being down for a refurbishment.




We exited DL and we head straight on over to DTD and to the World of Disney store to look for the Tsum Tsum. We went through the whole WoD store to look for the Tsum Tsum and they didnt even have it. We asked the CMs at the store as well and they dont even know about it as well. V was a little disappointed that the store didnt have it. 

While we were in the store, Jen wanted to get an Olaf plush. She isnt an AP holder so I was able to help her save some money from the Olaf plush that she bought that day. 

After we finished in the WoD store, we head on over other stores in DTD to see if they have it. Unfortunately, no other store in DTD doesnt even know what we were talking about or know about it. V was a little disappointed that they didnt have it but she told us that she will find it from somewhere.

After being in DTD for a while, it was almost time to use our FPs for RSR. So we head on out of DTD and back to DCA. 

That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update at DCA.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I've been totally trying to avoid Tsum Tsum.  I understand it is highly addictive and I've got enough addiction going on right now and really can't add another one to the list.  

Nice pictures.  You know.....its been a while since I've spent quality time at  Toontown.  Love your pictures there.


----------



## kmedina

I will definitely read in a bit.  Thanks for the invite.


----------



## kmedina

Your pictures are stunning.  We barely missed you in June.  You arrived on the 23rd, and we left on the 22nd.


----------



## PrincessInOz

kmedina said:


> I will definitely read in a bit.  Thanks for the invite.



  Hope you've been well, Kim.  Missed catching you around the boards.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
You've sure packed a lot into your day already.  Your score on TSMM is a great score for me.  My fellas started teasing me that I would always get the cat as my prize.  I find the bulls-eye round the most challenging as well.

Breakfast looked delish.  It was fun that you shared your pictures of Toontown and Frontierland.  We really enjoyed riding BTMM and your pictures were GREAT!

Looking forward to more.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> I've been totally trying to avoid Tsum Tsum.  I understand it is highly addictive and I've got enough addiction going on right now and really can't add another one to the list.
> 
> Nice pictures.  You know.....its been a while since I've spent quality time at  Toontown.  Love your pictures there.






kmedina said:


> I will definitely read in a bit.  Thanks for the invite.



I was wondering what was Tsum Tsum when we were coming down that Saturday morning when we were driving. But when they told me about it and showed me a picture, I can understand why V wanted to get them. Anything Disney can get addicted from the pins, Vinylmations, etc.

Thank you PiO. We can go into Toontown during our trip in October. It is okay but it is amazing when Toontown is decorated during the holiday season.




kmedina said:


> Your pictures are stunning.  We barely missed you in June.  You arrived on the 23rd, and we left on the 22nd.



Glad to see you here Kim. It has been a long time since I have seen you on the boards. Thank you. Just one day during the June trip and it would have been great to meet you in person. Hope you have a great time for your upcoming trips to the DLR.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> You've sure packed a lot into your day already.  Your score on TSMM is a great score for me.  My fellas started teasing me that I would always get the cat as my prize.  I find the bulls-eye round the most challenging as well.
> 
> Breakfast looked delish.  It was fun that you shared your pictures of Toontown and Frontierland.  We really enjoyed riding BTMM and your pictures were GREAT!
> 
> Looking forward to more.



Hi TK,

We did quite a lot from the morning to afternoon at the DLR form DCA and DL. The TSMM score is okay but I also realized that my DB was also aiming for the high targets during the ride so I lost about another 30,000 points. The more i keep riding TSMM, I am hoping for a higher score. But you already saw my score on Monday during the trip which was not that bad for a single person.

The breakfast at Pacific Wharf is okay. It is nothing special but a nice breakfast. Your welcome. V and Jen wanted to do the shopping while we were in the parks to look for the Tsum Tsum and we were able to get on some rides at DL that afternoon.

Thank you TK for following along.


The next posts will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52055839]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –July 26th, 2014 – Part 3*

*Let’s go for a drive.*​
After we went through the stores in DTD to look for the Tsum Tsum that V was looking for and with no luck, it was time to head on back to DCA that afternoon in order to use our FP’s for RSR. This is what everyone is looking forward too even me where I have been a fan of RSR ever since it opened in 2012. 




We head straight on over to Hollywood Land and right on the other side of Cars Land instead of going through the regular entrance. 




Passing by the Tower of Terror which looks amazing every time I see it except that I don’t like to ride it.




While we were walking on our way to Cars Land and walking in A Bug’s Land, we passed by Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train. V said that we should go on this ride and we did ride it that afternoon. It was nice to ride Himlich’s Chew Chew Train where I don’t ride it often.
















After we rode Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train, we head straight on over to Cars Land in order to ride RSR.




The wait time was only 105 minutes which was still over an hour and a half. But luckily we had FP’s to avoid the long wait time. When we got the FP’s around 9am in the morning, I thought that we would have to wait longer to ride RSR in the afternoon. But with RSR now connected to the FP system, it is easier to get a FP for RSR later after the first one.




While we were in the FP queue, I noticed something new was added to Radiator Springs Racers since the last time back in June. They added some mist machines through the queue to keep the guests cool. It wasn’t there back in June and it must have been installed just when I left. It is a nice addition for the queue to keep the guests cool.








It only took about 10 minutes for us to walk through the FP queue and get on the ride. DB, V and Jen rode together up front while I was in the back. This has happen where I was in the back by myself while the rest of my party are up front. I have no problem with it but it seems like I went through the single rider line and rode it by myself. 

Once again by taking pictures with my DSLR in my hands, I had my GoPro on my head.

It is so amazing to see Radiator Falls Waterfall




Passing by Van




Sheriff pulled us over.




Sally and McQueen




We went through Ramone’s House of Body Art and was able to get a picture of us.




Shining paint don’t win a race.












Great race.




Our racing picture




After we got off RSR, we passed by Luigi’s Casa Della Tires and the wait time was only 5 minutes which was a little shock at that time in the afternoon. So it was a no brainer and we went on it that afternoon.




When we got on over to ride LFT, the girls went together while the boys rode together. 




During the ride, our tire wasn’t working really well where we leaned forward or any other direction, the tire didn’t really moved well. We had a defective tire while the ladies humped into us a few times while we didn’t get them once. 

After we finished riding LFT, it was time to have a snack and what better place to have a snack in Cars Land none other than the Cozy Cone Motel. The girls got soft serve ice cream since it was a warm day at DCA while I got the churro bites which is my favorite snack at the Cozy Cone Motel.




The girls were enjoying the soft serve ice cream and we moved on to our next part at DCA. We head straight on back towards ABL and to Hollywood Land. While we were passing by the Tower of Terror, the girls wanted to ride it. They asked if I want to go on it as well and I told them that I will wait outside of the entrance. 

I am not a big fan of riding the Tower of Terror. This is one of two rides that I don’t like to go on at DCA. The other is Grizzly River Run. So I just waited outside until they got on out of the ride. The good thing about waiting is that I can relax my legs especially carry the camera bag and my DSLR on my shoulder. 




They took quite a while to get on the ride and come out of it which took them about 15 minutes to go through the queue and on the ride.

When we met up with each other, it was time to head on out of the park and head on back to Best Western Pavilions to check-in to our room. We weren’t able to check-in at BW Pavilions that morning but it was already time to check-in since it was past 3pm. 

So we all head on out of DCA. It took us about 20 minutes to get on out of DCA and over to BW Pavilions. At first it wasn’t that bad but it did felt longer every time you walk back and forward to the DLR from BW Pavilions. 

When we got to check-in our room around 4pm, we all rested up. But DB, V and Jen were planning on going out. They were planning on visiting V brother who is going to Irvine University which is not too far from Anaheim. They planned this out that day to visit V brother. So they took my car and head on over to Irvine while I was resting in the room until it was time to head on back to the DLR that night.

That’s it for this post and continue on to the next post.

[post=52088918]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52088907]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –July 26th, 2014 – Part 4*

*Solo Time & your Life Could be a Dream*​
I left BW Pavilions and head straight on back to the DLR while DB, V and Jen went to Irvine to see V brother. So I was by myself at the parks until I met up with them later that night since we have FP’s for World of Color at 9:45pm. 




The walk from BW Pavilions to the Esplanade at the DLR is quite a long walk even though it is only less than 20 minutes but it did felt longer than normal where I walked from Best Western Stovall’s. 

I went to DL to see a new show that was added in early July where I didn’t get to see it during the June trip. Since DB, V and Jen were in Irvine, it was my time to do my solo time at the parks.




I head straight on over to Tomorrowland to see the exclusive sneak peek of Guardians of the Galaxy. DL has been promoting this movie a lot from the ads and at DL. I believe at the Starcade store, they had a lot of Guardians of the Galaxy merchandise. It replaced Captain EO during the summertime and I heard that Captain EO will be back up later on sometime after the summer season.





I got to see the show and it was very interesting. You did get to wear the 3D glasses like Captain EO. After seeing the preview, I had to see it in the theaters which is always a bad thing since seeing those clips will get you to see it. I was able to watch the movie when I was in San Antonio last week. 

After seeing the show, I went in the Startrader store to look at the Star Wars merchandise which they have some new stuff.




I didn’t stay too long in DL that night where I had to go on over to DCA to get our spots for the 9:45pm World of Color show. So I head on out of DL.

The work is continuing on the sides of Main Street where the former First Aid station used to be.
















I exited DL and head on over to DCA. This is why I love DL over WDW so much when jumping park to park where it is only a minute away while you have to take transportations on over to the other parks.





I still had a lot of time until I get on over to Paradise Pier to get a spot for the 9:45pm World of Color show so I just roamed around the park until it was time.

The Fountain at Buena Vista Street




While passing by Condor Flats, the sign is once again changed with the characters from the new movie “Planes: Fire & Rescue”.




Since it was getting dark, I remember to head on over to Cars Land and wait until the lights came on that night. It was perfect timing to wait until the town of Radiator Springs turned on the lights and play “Life Could be Dream” just like in the movie “Cars”.




I only had to wait a while until it was time when the music played and the lights turn on.




The music started and the lights came on one after another on each building.












You can never get tired of that music like in the movie.




















After being in the town of Radiator Springs, I start to head on out and on over to Paradise Pier to meet up with DB and V. I been told me V that Jen won’t be able to join us that night. But it was nice to have company during our first part of the day.








I was now in Paradise Pier and some of the guests were already in the queue for World of Color. But I didn’t have to be in the line since I was planning on being at my favorite spot. So I just walked around PP until DB and V are in the park.




That will be it for this post and stay tune what happened later that night at DCA.

[post=52114562]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Lovely pictures.

Seems like you're having a great time just taking pictures rather than getting on rides.
BTW - I am hoping you'll get on the swinging carousel car of MFWoD with me.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
Looks like another fun day.  I loved your ride shot on RSR.  I've never been on any rides in Bug'sLand so I enjoyed your Chew photographs.

It really is fun seeing the lights go on in Carsland.  Your photos are top notch showing all the wonderful neon lights. 

Did you like the Best Western hotel this stay?
TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Lovely pictures.
> 
> Seems like you're having a great time just taking pictures rather than getting on rides.
> BTW - I am hoping you'll get on the swinging carousel car of MFWoD with me.



Thank you PiO.

It feel like that with me more and more when I am at the DLR. During the earlier days, I have enjoyed going on the rides over the shows and pictures. Now I am mostly interested in those two things over the rides. Don't get me wrong on the rides, I do enjoy going on the rides like the Monorail, RSR, etc. but it is nice to try all new sorts of pictures. It is enjoyable to capture the moments at the parks and take all sorts of pictures from the rides, shows, flowers, etc. 

You know me that I hate riding the swinging-gondola on MFWoD. 




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> Looks like another fun day.  I loved your ride shot on RSR.  I've never been on any rides in Bug'sLand so I enjoyed your Chew photographs.
> 
> It really is fun seeing the lights go on in Carsland.  Your photos are top notch showing all the wonderful neon lights.
> 
> Did you like the Best Western hotel this stay?
> TK



Hi TK,

We had a fun day at the parks and it was nice to have company along with us. It would have been nice if Jen stayed longer but she was busy and we understood that. The RSR pictures are getting better and better with every trip. I don't go on the rides at ABL but it was nice to go on it with them and riding Heimlichs Chew Chew Train is great.

Seeing the neon lights turn on at the town of Radiator Springs is the best part of being in Cars Land where you can experience the same feeling like in the movie "Cars". Thank you TK.

For my own personal experience, I didn't enjoy this hotel as I have thought. The walk to the DLR was way longer than I have thought where BW Stovall's (which I mostly stay during the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center) was another 3-5 minutes longer walk. I was also very tired that day from the drive and didn't get any rest that day. So it did play a part of it. Also the hotel was doing some construction by installing an elevator since it is only a two story building and we were on the top. It did get a little noisy in the afternoon. There are people that like this hotel but we chose it was due to the price per night were it was about $50 cheaper than at BW Anaheim Inn where it was $159 a night and BW Stovall's was at $149. Next time, I would spend extra instead of walking more to the resort.


The next update will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52088918]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –July 26th, 2014 – Part 5*

*Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there *​
I was still roaming around DCA until I met up with DB and V so we can get good spots to watch the 9:45pm World of Color show. I was not smart of planning my time that night after being in Cars Land where I haven’t ate dinner yet and I didn’t know if DB and V have ate when they went to Irvine. This was not a great day of planning like I usually do at the parks. 

I was considering eating at Paradise Garden Grill but I didn’t have time to eat around that area and the other one was eating at Corn Dog Castle but the wait time was just too long. So it was not a great day of trying to get food when I was by myself.

While I was waiting for DB and V, I went over to the Golden Zephyr to take long exposure shots of the ride.








After waiting for a while for DB and V around PP, they finally arrived at 8:40pm. I asked if they want to get in the queue but we didn’t have to worry about it since we are planning on being at my favorite spot so we decided to wait a while until it was time to head on in the viewing area.




We decided to go on the Little Mermaid ride since the wait time was a walk-on that night.








I have been going on this ride a lot these last few trips with DB, V, DAF & DAW. This is almost like one of my usual rides at DCA lately. 





















































After we got off the Little Mermaid ride, we head straight on over to Paradise Pier viewing area for World of Color. It was around 9pm when we got into the viewing area and no surprised that our spot was not taken that night. This is why I love this spot so much with little wait time and a decent spot to watch World of Color without getting wet.




While we were waiting for WoC that night, I went on over to get dinner and I head on over to Lucky Fortune Cookery. I like to eat at this quick counter restaurant since it is fast and Asian food. 




Lucky DB and V didn’t eat that night and I asked if they wanted anything and they told me a rice bowl is nice. So I ordered a couple of Asian Rice Bowl for dinner that night.




No picture of the rice bowls since it was in the Chinese box and was dark that night when I brought it back to the viewing area that night. 

While I was eating, the Fun Wheel Challenge game was about to begin while I got back. The Fun Wheel Challenge game is a nice fun game where you use your smartphone and it is like a memorizing game where you match the colors like the classic game Simon. I have never once been able to control the lights on MFW and my DB took upon the challenge to do it. Unfortunately, he was not as fast enough to control the lights. He is way faster on the smartphone than me and just shows you that there are people that are so quick with matching the colors.




That’s it for this post and stay tune for World of Color that night.

[post=52114569]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52114562]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 –July 26th, 2014 – Part 6*

*The World is a Carousel of Color*​
It is almost time for the 9:45pm World of Color show at Disney California Adventure. Even though I do enjoy watching WoC at DCA every time I get the opportunity to come to the DLR, it almost feels like it is almost time to do an update to the show (not a new completely show like World of Color: Winter Dreams but add some new segments to the original show). The last updated of WoC was the Brave segment a couple of years ago and it hasn’t been updated since then. But first, the DLR should try to improve Winter Dreams which was a let down from last year during the holiday season. But I did enjoy it but it wasn’t as huge like the original WoC show.

It didn’t took too long until the 9:45pm WoC show started. I don’t like the new time of WoC which starts at 9:45pm from 9pm & 10:30pm in the past. I can understand why the DLR is cutting down WoC from two shows to one show a night where this is not the off season but it is during the summertime. The show does costs a lot to run and high maintenance with the fountains. 





“Every child is blessed with a vivid Imagination” Walt Disney








Little Mermaid scene




Finding Nemo Scene




Wall-E scene




UP scene




Aladdin scene




Rest in Peace Robin Williams




Applause




Brave scene




Pocahontas scene








Pyro scene 




Dumbo
























After the show was over, I broke down my tripod and video camera that was on the tripod and we started to head on out of the park. Mostly on average, I head on back to the room to call it for the night but DB and V wanted to go on some more rides that night. DCA was closed that night since it was past 10pm so we head on over to DL that night.

We walked on out with all the other crowds to head on over to DL while this is the great thing about DL and DCA where it is and easy walk on over instead of taking a bus or transportation to the next park like WDW.

This is it for this post and stay tune for DL that night.

[post=52114582]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52114569]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 July 26th, 2014  Part 7*

*Pirates taking Pictures in NOS*​
After we watched the 9:45pm World of Color show at Disney California Adventure, we head on over to Disneyland that night to do any last second rides. This is why I do enjoy going to the DLR over WDW where it is a short walk than by taking transportations over to the next park or destination. We didnt have time to see the second show of F! since it started at 10:30pm and we got in around 10:25pm. But we did plan on seeing F! the next day during the trip which you will read and see later on during the trip report. 

When we got to MS, I knew that going up on MS was going to be busy with all the guests leaving that night at the park. So the Disneyland Railroad was still going on that night and it is always fun to ride the DLRR every time at the parks.





There were a lot of people walking down on MS that night.








While we were waiting for the next train to approach the station, I saw a cat roaming along the tracks and I had to get a picture of the cat. I have seen cats roam around the DLR during the daytime but not at night which is a first for me.




The Ward Kimball Engine #5 with Holiday 2 car set approached the station and we boarded the train and on our way to New Orleans Square Station.








When we got to NOS station, we decided to get off and go on Pirates of the Caribbean. Since the second show of F! was going on when we approached the NOS station, it was not going to be a long wait to ride PotC. 




We only had to wait less than 5 minutes to get on the ride. While I was taking pictures with the Tokina lens, I also tried something new on my D7100 SLR. When I take pictures of the dark rides, I mostly use ISO 6400 but my camera can go all the way up to 25,600 ISO. But when I tested it out before the trip, it was so blurry on the bottom that it wasnt a good idea. So I tried to set it up at 12,800 and it first looked good. But when I took it on PotC, I can tell that the bottom had a bluish color on the bottom which isnt a good thing. Some of the pictures from PotC were cropped where it didnt look that well. It was a letdown to set the ISO at 12,800 but it was a good test to try it out on PotC where it is very dark.

I was also hopeful that with a higher ISO, I would be able to get more color instead of the red color during the town scene. Just like all my other pictures, I got more of the color red in the picture like when riding the ride. 

It would be perfect to eat at BB at this time of the night past 10:30pm.





















After we got off PotC, V wanted to check out the stores in NOS while they were still open. Most of them were already closed that night. It was past 11pm that night when we were still in the park.

While they were checking out some stores in NOS while they were open, I went along and took some long exposure pictures while I had the tripod on the back of my backpack.








Of course, I had to get some pictures of NOS. It was so weird to see NOS like this with the changes to Club 33. I was also one of those other people that dislikes the new exterior of the buildings at NOS. 












While I was taking some pictures in NOS alley, I also saw some other people that had a tripod and were taking pictures that night just like me. I asked them about the pictures and they do this all the time when they are at the parks. They are actually MiceChat employees that were there that night for Dateline Disneyland. That was neat that they were there at night taking pictures of NOS and a couple of days later, they posted them on the website.








DB and V were patient with me when I was taking pictures that night. Than it was time to call it for the night since it was around 11:30pm. We had a long day at the parks and it was time to call it for the night. 

I had my camera on the tripod to get any pictures that was interesting to take. I could have spent even more time in the parks but I was wiped out from that day and didnt get a long nap like I usually do. But after all, we did drive in the middle of the night and went in the park in the morning, afternoon and night.

PotC




Walking down MS and I should have set the exposure longer where you can see people in the pictures along with the shadows of the people.








We exited DL around 11:40pm and had a 20 minute walk all the way back to Best Western Pavilions. 




It was past midnight when we got back to the room and my legs were very sore after all that walking from the DLR to BW Pavilions. There was no question that we had a great day from the driving to Anaheim, going to the parks with V friend Jen and to be able do all the different activities that day. The only downside was all the walking from the hotel to the DLR where it felt even longer than normal for me. I have stayed at BW Stovalls which is about 12 minute walk to the DLR while the one at BW Pavilions felt like 15 to 20 minutes and it took a toll. I have learned from this trip never to stay at BW Pavilions in the near future with the walk and I dont like taking the ART bus which can take quite some time.

Tomorrow is a new day at the parks. This time it will be the three of us to enjoy the DLR. Stay tune for the next update.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Gorgeous pictures, Bret.  Interesting to see the changes to NOS.


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## tksbaskets

Bret,
I just love your long exposure shots.  Stunning.  The Zephyr shots are really cool.

Teresa


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## LongTimeFan

I am enjoying your trip report and love your amazing photos. The Zephyr, wow!
I was wondering what is your favorite spot to see WOC? I have never seen it and can't stand too long in one place, so if I could go closer to start maybe that would be helpful.
Can't wait for more of your report!


----------



## rentayenta

Your photos are stunning. I'm especially impressed with the World of Color water screen shots and the dark sky in Carsland. It really makes that neon pop! 

I need to see the changes to NOS in person. I'm not seeing dramatic change. I'm sure it's because I'm seeing it in 2D.


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## Sherry E

*Bret --*

Imagine my surprise at seeing a picture of the Paradise Pier Hotel in your last series of photos!  You never take any pictures of the PPH, so that was new!  I recognize that intersection so well, as that's where I always cross Disneyland Drive to get from the GCH to the PPH.

The Golden Zephyr photos are absolutely amazing!

How interesting that you ran into Mice Chat people in NOS!  Did you tell them you were doing a TR on The DIS?

I can't believe how empty it was along the Rivers of America!  Not a person in sight!

I honestly don't think I have ever seen the Lucky Fortune Cookery sign at night.  I've walked through the Pacific Wharf area of DCA at night, either on my to Cars Land or Paradise Pier or something, but I've never paid attention to the LFC sign.  The dragon looks cool in neon.  Are the rice bowls good there?  I always forget about that restaurant, to be honest, but I might enjoy a chicken rice bowl.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Gorgeous pictures, Bret.  Interesting to see the changes to NOS.



Thank you PiO. The pictures are getting better but my dark ride photos took a step back during this trip in which I increased the ISO to 12,800 where it showed a bluish blur on the bottom. NOS and the buildings changed a lot with the Club 33 expansion. You will see that it is different from your previous visits.




tksbaskets said:


> Bret,
> I just love your long exposure shots.  Stunning.  The Zephyr shots are really cool.
> 
> Teresa



Thank you TK. 




LongTimeFan said:


> I am enjoying your trip report and love your amazing photos. The Zephyr, wow!
> I was wondering what is your favorite spot to see WOC? I have never seen it and can't stand too long in one place, so if I could go closer to start maybe that would be helpful.
> Can't wait for more of your report!



Thank you LongTimeFan and thanks for following along. 

My favorite spot is in the blue section and the spot is right next to the green fire hydrant. This is the perfect spot if you don't want to get there early for a spot in the viewing area and you also won't get wet where the closer you are to the pier the greater chance you will get wet. You can show up less than 30 minutes and still be able to get the spot (unless other people know about it). 

Here is the link by Disneyland_1951 that talks about the green fire hydrant spot (which used to be the yellow fire hydrant).
Yellow Fire Hydrant Spot in the Blue Section




rentayenta said:


> Your photos are stunning. I'm especially impressed with the World of Color water screen shots and the dark sky in Carsland. It really makes that neon pop!
> 
> I need to see the changes to NOS in person. I'm not seeing dramatic change. I'm sure it's because I'm seeing it in 2D.



Thank you Jenny. I really need to go up close to get pictures of the fountains during WoC. I have never done that and I should consider it one day. It is so fun to be in CL when the neon lights turn on when the music is playing.

The changes to the buildings, stores, etc. made a big difference in NOS where it is not the same. The biggest change was that you could not enter the Court of Angels anymore since it is now part of Club 33. I wasn't able to get all the pictures that night but I did get pictures the next day so you can see the difference. 



Sherry E said:


> *Bret --*
> 
> Imagine my surprise at seeing a picture of the Paradise Pier Hotel in your last series of photos!  You never take any pictures of the PPH, so that was new!  I recognize that intersection so well, as that's where I always cross Disneyland Drive to get from the GCH to the PPH.
> 
> The Golden Zephyr photos are absolutely amazing!
> 
> How interesting that you ran into Mice Chat people in NOS!  Did you tell them you were doing a TR on The DIS?
> 
> I can't believe how empty it was along the Rivers of America!  Not a person in sight!
> 
> I honestly don't think I have ever seen the Lucky Fortune Cookery sign at night.  I've walked through the Pacific Wharf area of DCA at night, either on my to Cars Land or Paradise Pier or something, but I've never paid attention to the LFC sign.  The dragon looks cool in neon.  Are the rice bowls good there?  I always forget about that restaurant, to be honest, but I might enjoy a chicken rice bowl.



I do get pictures of PPH but I don't post them since I have done a lot of them. I was thinking about doing long exposure shots of the hotels but we were tired that night. I have take pictures of the PPH but they don't turn out that well especially at night. The times when I take pictures of the PPH or GCH entrance is when I stay at the Katella Ave hotels.

The Golden Zephyr pictures turned out really well. Thanks to the DISers of taking great pictures on the Disneyland Picture of the Day thread that help me get these ideas. 

What a coincidence that I ran into the MiceChat people when I was in NOS that night. I didn't tell them about the trip report that I was doing and it was a good thing that I asked them about the picture taking that night and told me that they are MiceChat photographers for the website.

There were some people right by the RoA that night but they were in the shots since I did a long exposure shot. You can barely see the guests in the picture. It would have been nice to not have them in it but it turned out really well.

LFT sign is really nice and colorful at night. The rice bowls are very nice. Nothing too special but it is nice to have a different cuisine instead of America, Mexican, etc. at the parks. This is a good place to have lunch where I mostly eat at this place when I watch WoC those nights.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52114582]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –July 27th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Solo Time in NOS*​
After a nice day at the DLR on Saturday, it is now Sunday and our second day during the trip. This is another day where we will get a whole day at the parks like the other one. But this time we will be all rested up even though we left the parks close to midnight on Saturday. 

We were still a little tired from Saturday at the Disney parks that we slept in a little longer. DB and V were so tired that they told me that they will go to the park later that day. I didn’t leave the hotel around 8:30am which is a little late for me when I go to the parks. But that Saturday night drained a lot from me where I wanted to sleep a little longer but I always wanted to get as much done in the morning time when it is nice and quiet at the DLR.

I left Best Western Pavilions hotel while DB and V stayed in the room and slept longer. It was around 9am when I got to the park which was a little late that morning. 




I head on into DL that morning to get some pictures and also ride the updated Alice in Wonderland ride in FL. This is one of the rides that I must do during the trip since it was down for most of 2014 with the enhancements. I was not able to ride it on Saturday since the wait time was way too high and maybe the wait time would not be that bad.

When in MS, the new Guest Flow Corridors is still under construction.




The park didn’t look that busy that morning where I got there an hour late when it opened at 8am.




I never go around Pixie Hollow that much and it was nice to see it.




I finally made it over to Fantasyland and see the updated Alice in Wonderland ride. It was nice to see it again without the walls. It does look completely different from a few years ago with the ugly tarps on the leaf pads.








Unfortunately, the line to ride AiW was at 50 minutes and there was no way I would wait that long to go on that ride that morning. So I just skipped it and maybe later that day I would be able to ride it with DB and V.

While I was in DL that morning, I went on over to Frontierland to see the new interactive game called “Legends of Frontierland: Gold Rush!” It is a experience that started in early July which guests can watch the story unfold and be able to create the story themselves. It wasn’t running that morning since it was early where it would start in the afternoon. So I just went around and took pictures of the different activities in Frontierland.












They even have a place where you can get a drink and play the experience as well.








While I was in Frontierland, I head on over to New Orleans Square to look at the rest of NOS where I didn’t take pictures the other night.




When I was in NOS, it was quiet that morning but it was a good opportunity to get some pictures while it was not that busy. I have said it on this trip report that I am not a huge fan of the updated NOS for Club 33 expansion. There were buildings, doors, etc. were all different when the tarps came down during the trip. I wasn’t able to see the whole new NOS during the other trips because of the construction. It was so weird to see it like this and I can tell that some parts of NOS was changed dramatically.




It is so weird not to be able to go in the Court of Angels where that is one of the newest additions for Club 33. There was a statue on the patio and it is now gone.




Here is a picture from the November 2013 trip report during the holiday season as you can tell from the changes to NOS.
















The new entrance to Club 33








The new buzzer 




After going around NOS, DB texted me and they were now in the park. They told me to meet up with them in Tomorrowland so I head on over to meet up with them.

That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update at the park.

[post=52140041]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52140028]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –July 27th, 2014 – Part 2*

*The Scary Mansion and Above the Skies on the Monorail*​
After spending some solo time in the park that morning, DB and V finally woke up and now are in the park waiting for me. They told me to go to Tomorrowland to meet up with them so we can go on some rides that morning. It was going to be difficult to go on the big rides since it is past 10am and the guests are now in the park. So we just played it by ears of what to do that day.

When I got on over to Tomorrowland, they were right next to the entrance of Space Mountain and they were waiting for me to ride Space Mountain. But the wait time was at 50 minutes and I wasn’t willing to wait that long. So we just got the FP’s for Space Mountain that day and the return time was really late till 2pm to 3pm which was late. But we were able to get FP’s for Space Mountain that day.

After getting the FP’s for Space Mountain, we head on over to watch “Guardians of the Galaxy” Exclusive Sneak Peek while Captain EO was closed for this preview. I was able to watch it and now it was DB and V turn to see it while we were in Tomorrowland.




We weren’t allowed to videotape or take pictures in the theater but I was able to get one picture while we were waiting for the show to start.




DB and V were impressed with the clip of Guardians of the Galaxy and were planning on seeing it when it comes out. They were able to see the movie just like me. But I was able to watch the movie when I was in San Antonio during my trip to Texas. The movie was not that bad for Marvel even though I am not a huge Marvel fan but it was fun to watch.

After watching Guardians of the Galaxy, we started to go on over to our next activity that day. V wanted to ride the Haunted Mansion which is one of her favorite rides. 

More pictures on the way over to NOS from my favorite view of the Matterhorn with the heart shape which used to be the former Skyway tunnel.




Passing by Sleeping Beauty Castle and I had to get a couple of shots while we were there.




Including right by Snow White Fountain












So we head straight on over to the HM and the wait time was only five minutes in which we only had to wait less than 2 minutes to enter the mansion. I elected to go with the 35mm f/1.8 lens during the ride so it will be easy to get the dark ride photos.

The stretching portraits








For the pictures on the ride, I used the 35mm f/1.8 lens and I also set the ISO at 12,800 to be able to set the shutter speed very high. But it actually backfire on me again just like PotC where they didn’t turn out that well. But I was able to get some on the ride. The bottom of the pictures were also bluish and blurry where I won’t even think about using ISO 12,800 again unless I am able to get the picture that I want with the high ISO.












Some of the pictures with the ISO 12,800 turned out okay.








Can’t forget about the hitchhiking ghosts.




V always enjoy riding the HM where she like the original over the Haunted Mansion Holiday during the Halloween/Christmas season. I do enjoy both of them but I would choose the HMH over the HM. 

After we finished riding HM, it was time for lunch and they asked me what restaurant to eat during that afternoon. There was one restaurant that I wanted to try after reading PiO (PrincessInOz) and Alison (franandaj) trip report back in September 2013 when I was with them for a short time that they ate at a restaurant in DTD which turned out to be a good experience. Alison have told me that I got to try this restaurant it was a perfect opportunity to eat there with DB and V. For the people that have read PiO and Alison trip report (which you already know PiO and Alison) you can tell where they ate during the trip.

So we head on out of the park but instead of walking out of the park through MS, I had to ride my favorite ride at DL which is the Monorail. So we walked all the way on over to Tomorrowland to ride the Monorail to head on over to DTD.

Before entering the Monorail queue, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was still closed for it’s refurbishment.




While walking through the queue, the blue tarp was still on the queue to prevent the guests from looking at the FNSV lagoon. But I had to get a picture of what the Lagoon is right now while it is drained. It didn’t seem like much has changed during the July trip which I got to see it during the June trip. But much has changed to the FNSV overtime.




We just missed riding Monorail Mark VII Blue to DTD so we had to wait for the next one to arrive.




After 10 minutes, Monorail Mark VII Orange approached the station.




We rode the Monorail all the way on over to DTD and passing by DCA.








We exited the Monorail and now in DTD. We are now off to eat at this specific restaurant that PiO and Alison recommended. I do enjoy walking by the Lego store in DTD and looking at the Disney characters that are made out of Lego.




That will be it for this post and stay tune where we ate that afternoon at DTD.

[post=52166876]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

I think I know where you're heading to eat.


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## tksbaskets

I don't know where they are headed to eat   WOW NOS looks really different....less New Orleans French Quarter... All for the Club 33 expansion?


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> I think I know where you're heading to eat.



I said too much and I had a hunch you knew immediately.




tksbaskets said:


> I don't know where they are headed to eat   WOW NOS looks really different....less New Orleans French Quarter... All for the Club 33 expansion?



You will find out shortly. NOS does look different. Were you able to walk around in NOS last month during your trip and get to see it up close and in person? It was all for the Club 33 expansion. 


The next posts will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52140041]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –July 27th, 2014 – Part 3*

*UVA Lunch and back to DL on the Monorail*​
We were now in DTD heading on over to lunch that afternoon. I have been wanting to try this specific restaurant since last year when two DISers have ate there last year for dinner but this time, I will have lunch instead. DB and V had no problem eating at this restaurant and have looked the menu on my phone. 

The restaurant that we ate that afternoon at DTD was UVA Bar and Café. I knew that you know the answer from my last post PiO and Alison. I wanted to try this restaurant for a while now and finally able to eat there. There was a certain dish that Alison recommended to me to eat at the UVA Bar and Café.

We didn’t eat outside that day since it was warm that afternoon since DB and V wanted to eat inside. So we were able to get a table inside the restaurant. It didn’t offer too many tables which is about 8 tables all together. 




The menu during our visit.




We started off with the Calamari. 




Not too long our entrees came out and it was time to have lunch.

V had the UVA Burger




DB had the French Dip 




And of course, I had to get the Lamb Burger that I wanted to try and it was so good that I really enjoyed the burger. The sea salt fries were amazing. 




I still talk about the lamb burger when I got back home from Anaheim. My DB and V enjoyed eating at the UVA Bar and Café that if we ever go back to the DLR, we will have to eat here again and maybe this time at night.

When I had to use the restroom which is on the upper floor which is also another part of the restaurant which is also a bar.




After we finished lunch, it was time to head on back to the park and do some other attractions. So we head on back to the DTD Monorail Station to ride the Monorail back to Tomorrowland.




We got to ride Monorail Mark VII Blue which was at the station and on our way back to DL.

DL didn’t seem that busy that afternoon where there wasn’t anyone at the turnstiles.




Now we were back in TL and seeing the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage Lagoon all dried up during the refurbishment. It has been a while since the lagoon has been drained and work is being done in the lagoon.
























We got back to the TL Monorail Station and exited the Monorail. After we got off, we still had time to wait until our FP’s for Space Mountain is ready. I remember around that time that one of the shows of Mickey and the Magical Map was about to happen in a short time and it was a good opportunity to watch the show until the FP’s are ready to be used later that day. So we head straight on over to the Fantasyland Theater to watch MatMM.

It took about 5 minutes to walk from TL all the way to the FL Theater and we just got there in time or not.

That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next one.

[post=52166880]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52166876]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –July 27th, 2014 – Part 4*

*Magical & Space*​
We were now heading on over to the Fantasyland Theater to watch Mickey and the Magical Map. When we got to the FL Theater, we just made it in time and even though we were in the back but our spot was nice. I have seen this show a lot since the show debut during the summertime of 2013. I have at least watch this show once per trip and even the show hasn’t change much but there were some new additions to the show which made it better. 

DB and V have never seen MatMM so they were excited to see the show that day.

During the last trip, I had the telephoto lens which helped me zoom in on the performers but this time, I just used my Tamron lens all the way to 50mm to get the whole entire stage.









Yen Sid 




King Louie




The ladies




Sebastian




Stitch made his appearance.




Nice tail. 








Princess Tiana












After the show was over, we started to head on back over to Tomorrowland to use our FP’s for Space Mountain. It is nice to ride Space Mountain once in a while. I don’t ride it too often like I have done in the past since DAF and DAW can’t ride intense rides like Space Mountain, Matterhorn, etc.




We just got to Tomorrowland just in time to use our FP’s for Space Mountain which was about to expire at 3pm. So we just made it in time to ride Space Mountain. The wait time was not that bad at 40 minutes at that time where it can be even longer to wait.








I have no problem with riding Space Mountain but the only thing I have problems when riding roller coasters is when I bring my bags on the ride. It will be hard for the bag to fall off the ride but thing is that there is barely any leg room when putting the bag between my bags when going on the ride. I have had bad experience with my bag on Matterhorn Mountain on the new bobsleds where you barely have any room for your own body even with a bag. I still hate those new bobsled cars where I like the old ones. 

We rode Space and it is so fun to ride it. I enjoy listening to the music every time I ride it. But I also enjoy riding Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy which is available during the Halloween season. I will have the opportunities to ride SMGG in September or October. You want to ride it PiO?

Our picture on the ride.




After we got off the ride, it was time to head on back to Best Western Pavilions to rest up so we can come back later at the parks to see a nighttime show. I always do this every time of a Disney trip which I got to get a nice rest in the afternoon and be ready for the nighttime shows.

So we head on out of the park and back to BW Pavilions.




While we were walking down on MS, the rope were up and people were waiting for the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. DB and V weren’t interested in the parade so we just skipped it that afternoon and head on back to the room.




We had a good morning and afternoon at DL and we will be back for the nighttime. Stay tune for the nighttime at DL and see what show that night.

[post=52205301]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## tksbaskets

WOW your burger did look yummy!  Perhaps DH and I will try and eat there in December.

It is strange seeing the Nemo lagoon drained of water.  Great shots from the monorail.

I really enjoy MATMM.  Nice show and a relaxing way to spend an hour.

Love your ride photo on SM.  I really liked the SMGG overlay when I was able to experience it.  Not your friendly ghosts but that kind of made it even better 

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
TK


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## PrincessInOz

Bret - I still dream about that lamb burger.  I don't know if I'm going to be able to fit a visit to the Uva Bar for that burger in the October trip....but I hope!!

And I absolutely wanna ride Space Mountain with the holiday overlay as well as HM.  We can ditch DS if he doesn't want to get on HM.  


I vary between preferring the telezoom and the standard lens for MatMM.  I think it is a stage that deserves the wider view but it is nice to see close-up details.


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> WOW your burger did look yummy!  Perhaps DH and I will try and eat there in December.
> 
> It is strange seeing the Nemo lagoon drained of water.  Great shots from the monorail.
> 
> I really enjoy MATMM.  Nice show and a relaxing way to spend an hour.
> 
> Love your ride photo on SM.  I really liked the SMGG overlay when I was able to experience it.  Not your friendly ghosts but that kind of made it even better
> 
> Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
> TK



You will like the UVA Bar and Cafe. It was nice that PiO and franandaj recommended it to me on their trip reports. 

I can't believe it has been 8 months since the lagoon has been drained and i read on MiceChat that it is all filled up but it won't reopen until late September which we won't be able to ride it for the upcoming trip in a couple of weeks.

Nice to hear that you enjoyed watching MatMM during your trip and like it. It is a nice show and a good relaxation place during the hot summer.

It has been a long time since I rode Space Mountain and I'm hoping to ride it during the October trip since DAW can't ride roller coasters.




PrincessInOz said:


> Bret - I still dream about that lamb burger.  I don't know if I'm going to be able to fit a visit to the Uva Bar for that burger in the October trip....but I hope!!
> 
> And I absolutely wanna ride Space Mountain with the holiday overlay as well as HM.  We can ditch DS if he doesn't want to get on HM.
> 
> 
> I vary between preferring the telezoom and the standard lens for MatMM.  I think it is a stage that deserves the wider view but it is nice to see close-up details.



If you want, we can plan on eating at the UVA Bar during the October trip at nighttime on Wednesday like you and Alison did last year. 

It is nice to ride SMGG during the Halloween season in which I didn't ride it last year when you were there. Maybe this time we will be able to ride it and we got to ride HMH.

It is nice to use the telephoto lens when you are far away from the stage while using a standard or wide angle lens when up close like during the trip last year. It was nice to watch the show up close last year and I haven't been staking out a spot for that show since any location is great unless you want to see the performers up close. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52166880]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –July 27th, 2014 – Part 5*

*Staking a Spot and Fantasmic!*​
We all went back to the room that afternoon to get all rested up so we can go back to Disneyland that night to watch Fantasmic! at 9pm. I have watched F! during the 9pm shows a lot including on my June trip with DAW where we will stake out a spot right by the Rivers of America in order to get a good viewing location. 

The thing is that DB and V were still tired that day that I would stake out the spot by the RoA so at least one person will have to be there. So like always, I always stake out a spot and spent a couple of hours to guarantee that spot. They stayed in the room until it was time that night.

I left BW Pavilions around 6:30pm and back on over to the DLR. After walking a few times back and forward from BW Pavilions to the DLR, I know that I will not stay at this hotel in the near future with all the long walking and it also takes a while for the ART buses to pick up the passengers to the DLR.

I got in the park around 7pm which was a little longer than I have thought since there were people waiting to go through the security check-point and turnstiles. 

When I got in MS, the 6:30pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade should be over on Main Street. But to my surprise, the end of the parade was still in Main Street Town Square and there must have been something wrong with the floats if it is still going on in MS where it is past 7pm. 




So I had to walk on the walkways since the parade was going on the main street so it was going to be a long walk on over to the New Orleans Square.




After getting through the busy Main Street during the parade, I was now in New Orleans Square and right by the viewing area. It was around 7:15pm when I got on over to the viewing area and it was not that full that night where the railing spots were taken and my favorite spot which is the back area of the rope off area is not all that filled.

But before I got my spot, I went on over to Royal Street Veranda to get the Steak Gumbo which I mostly get when I am at DL and waiting for F!.

It wasn’t that busy at 7:30pm that night where the front was mostly occupied while the back was open. The middle viewing areas are always open while the front and back are the ones that get filled up quickly.








I set up my blanket to mark my area for F! since I still have to wait for DB and V to come later that night. I told them to show up at least 15 minutes until the show started since there are people that try to force their way in at the last second. I have learned over time from all these past trips to bring a blanket so I can mark my spot for the shows. 

The Steak Gumbo was for dinner that night.




I just waited that night while it was time for the 9pm Fantasmic! show. I am so used to staking out a spot over the years that I have done it for myself and for other party members. I always keep myself occupy with my tablet or phone when I am at the DLR. 

When it was about time for F! to start, they showed up about 10 minutes until it started which was cutting it close. They got in the park late that night and it took them a while to walk on over to the viewing area by the RoA. At least they made it in time instead of coming during the show.

For the 9pm F! show, I used my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens for the show which I mostly use all the time. But during the June trip, I used the 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6G lens which got up close pictures. I like to use the Tamron where I can get wider shots while the telephoto lens are good for up close pictures of the characters. I am also considering renting a telephoto lens for my upcoming trip in a couple of weeks but in the end, it will be the regular lenses that I used. 

Mickey Mouse












Kaa the snake from the Jungle Book




King Louie and his followers




Pinocchio and the two female marionettes




The Peter Pan scene with the Columbia as the Pirate ship.












Belle and the Beast Princess float scene




Snow White and her Prince




Murphy finally arrived. As why I call it Murphy it is called Murphy by fans after the Murphy law when the dragon went through delays back in 2009 when it debut where it had some problems and it didn’t run during F!. I remember those days in 2009 when Murphy wasn’t running and just seeing Maleficent way high up. It is nice to see it work consistently after every show. 








Mark Twain scene with all the different characters.
















After F! was over and playing it’s exit music, we were still in the viewing area to wait for Magical: Disney’s New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations. DB and V haven’t seen F! in a long time and the last time they have seen F! when Maleficient didn’t have her full body and on a pole. Time has gone by for them since they have seen F! in person and enjoyed watching the show.

That’s it for this post and continue on to the next post.

[post=52205309]Continue to the Next Updated Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52205301]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 –July 27th, 2014 – Part 6*

*Magical Fireworks by the RoA *​
After the 9pm Fantasmic! show ended.  In just a couple of minutes. The 9:25pm show of Magical: Disney’s New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations started. I was behind at the beginning of Magical since I was taking apart my video camera that was on the tripod and put my DSLR on so I can get the firework trails. I also had to put on the 0.9 Neutral Density filter in order to be dark enough since the fireworks can be very bright at night without the neutral density filter.

Very interesting that I was at this same spot during the June trip and took pictures from this spot as well. I compared the pictures from both trips and the June trip which was brighter while the July trip turned out to be darker.

Here are pictures from Magical that Monday night.
































pimg]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5574/14935615649_06f918d325_b.jpg[/img]

























































After Magical fireworks was over, mostly this is the time that I head on back to the room and call it for the night but since DB and V were with me that day, we decided to stay in the park a little longer that night and go on a few more rides. I had no problem with that and stayed with them a little longer. 

Stay tune what we have done that night after the fireworks.


[post=52218192]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Nice night time shots.

I understand that the Mark Twain is out of action.  Is there a replacement for it in F!?

We may need to check with Alison about plans for the Wednesday.


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## tksbaskets

Great shots of F! and the fireworks.  You had to stake out your spot at 7:30 for the 9 pm show?  I don't know if my DH would want to wait that long.  We did enjoy our dessert package when we did that on our December trip.

Your dinner looked yummy.


----------



## kmedina

I think Uva is the only restaurant I have yet to try.  I like the progress with Nemo and just realized I never walked by there myself.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice night time shots.
> 
> I understand that the Mark Twain is out of action.  Is there a replacement for it in F!?
> 
> We may need to check with Alison about plans for the Wednesday.



Thank you PiO. It am ready to use another telephoto lens for F! since the one's that I took with the Tamron are nice. I just want to get some more up close pictures after the June trip. 

The Mark Twain will be down starting on this Friday the 5th and I believe it will reopen in November. As for the Mark Twain being down for F!, the show will go on without the Mark Twain. When the Mark Twain is down for refurbishment and F! is running, the characters will be on Tom Sawyer's Island with their flags as the place where they will be during the show. I have never seen the characters on the island when the Mark Twain was down but I have read and seen pictures of it. I don't know if DAW and I will see F! for this month trip but we could always change our minds when we are there.

Good idea. I would pm or email her of what we should do that day during teh trip in October.




tksbaskets said:


> Great shots of F! and the fireworks.  You had to stake out your spot at 7:30 for the 9 pm show?  I don't know if my DH would want to wait that long.  We did enjoy our dessert package when we did that on our December trip.
> 
> Your dinner looked yummy.



Thank you TK. That is correct. I always stake out a spot for the first show of F! so I can guarantee the spot that I like to watch the show which is right at the rope off area. It has been a while where I haven't had to wait over 2 hours for that spot. In the past, I spent at least two hours just to get the back area and it was quiet even at 7:30pm. So this is one of the few times where I didn't have to wait that long for F!. Staking out a spot for the fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle is even longer at 2+ hours for the curbside by the Hub. I always want to get the best spot so I can get good photos of the nighttime shows. I will have to do the F! Dessert package one day but since I have seen it so many times, I don't have to do it unless someone in my party doesn't want to stake out a spot for 2 hours or try to get a decent spot for the second show of F!.

The Steak Gumbo at the Royal Street Veranda is nice to have when waiting for the first show of F!. Some of my party members don't like the gumbo which they refer to it as dog food in a bread bowl.




kmedina said:


> I think Uva is the only restaurant I have yet to try.  I like the progress with Nemo and just realized I never walked by there myself.



You will like the UVA Bar and Cafe Kim. PiO and Alison recommended this restaurant to me in the past but I never had time to even go and eat there. Luckily I had time during the July trip and I can't believe it took me this long to eat at the restaurant. Maybe you will have time to be able to eat at that restaurant during your upcoming trip. The FNSV lagoon is making progress and it is all filled up as I have read. 


The next update will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52205309]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 July 27th, 2014  Part 7*

*Through the Haunted Jungle & Photo Time*​
After Magical fireworks was over, I thought that this would be it for the night since I mostly go back to the room after the fireworks or World of Color. With DB and V, they are trying to get as much done as possible during the trip. So they told me that they will want to stay until the park closes at midnight just like the other night. I was getting tired but I did rest up a lot while at the viewing area by the RoA for Fantasmic!. 

As we left the viewing area, V wanted to ride Jungle Cruise since we were right next to Adventureland. So we head on over to ride the JC and it was a walk-on that night. It is nice to be able to ride the original Jungle Cruise after it was transformed during the holiday season at the Jingle Cruise. It wont be too long until the holiday season comes back to the DLR and maybe it will be back up as the JC or not.

We boarded not a full boat that night. It was going to be tough to take pictures on the JC even with a high ISO and low aperture lens. The experience at night is totally different from the daytime where I really like the daytime more than the nighttime. I do enjoy both experiences to go through the jungle during the nighttime but you cant see everything when riding it at night.

All loaded




Some baboons still up this late at night?




Trader Sam is still up this late at night and doing his business as usual.




After riding the JC, I had to get my usual treat at night which is the Dole Whip Float. This is like my tradition every time I go to the DLR and get the Dole Whip Float at DL. Lately back in NorCal, there is a place in Roseville & Rocklin (up north of Sacramento) that is selling the actual Dole Whip Float. It looks a little different from the DL version but it does have the Dole pineapple juice along with the pineapple soft serve. I have been getting it lately every time I have the opportunity to go to Roseville or Rocklin to get the Dole Whip Float. The place is called OMG Yogurt and they have been selling the Dole Whip Float the last couple of years. 

It was quite a long line to get the float that night but we werent planning on going to DL the next day since DB and V only have a two day pass.




I did buy two Dole Whip floats for DB and V which they shared and of course I got one as well. It is like I am in heaven when I have the Dole Whip float or soft serve every time.




After we finished the Dole Whip floats, V wanted to ride the Haunted Mansion that night. I was a little surprise that she wanted to ride it again especially we rode it during the trip. But she really enjoys riding the HM. She is not a fan of the Haunted Mansion Holiday like the original one. We all do enjoy specific variations of the rides with the different overlays from Space Mountain and Its a Small World. 

Once again we rode the Haunted Mansion that night and I used the Tamron instead of the Nikon 35mm lens. It was difficult to use the Tamron where the aperture is higher over the 35mm lens. The pictures showed the difference with the Tamron lens.
















Here comes the bride








Hitchhiking Ghosts




After we got off riding the HM, we head on over to Critter Country. Since the second show of F! was going on when we got off and it was going to be crowded in NOS, Frontierland and Adventureland it made sense to go on over to CC for a little bit.

When we were in CC, DB and V went on Winnie the Pooh ride while I decided to take some long exposure shots of CC while I was waiting for them.








They were off the ride and we started to go on over to our next attraction that night. It was around 11pm that night and I was getting a little tired especially carry all my equipment on my bag. I was carry the tripod, video camera, DSLR and blanket that were all in my bag which is nice to have so I dont have to bring in other bags like I have done in the past.

We headed on over to Fantasyland through the backside of Frontierland. I thought about riding the newly updated Alice in Wonderland ride and I thought that the wait time would be down.

But when we got there, the wait time was 40 minutes which was quite long that night. I wasnt willing to wait that long to ride AiW but DB and V were willing to wait to get on the ride. So I told them that I will head on back to the room while they wait to go on the ride. I would have waited with them but I will have another opportunity to ride it on one of my upcoming trips. 

While I was about to walk on out of DL, I stayed in a little longer to get some long exposure shots while I had the tripod and the park crowd levels was not that high like earlier that night.




I never take any pictures of Pixie Hollow when the lights are on that night and it was nice to try to get some pictures of it.








I always enjoy taking pictures of Astro Orbiter with the long exposure.




Partners Statue that night




Even around 11pm that night, the park was busy but everyone was started to head on out that night.




I left around 11:30pm that night at DL and on my way back to the hotel. I got back to the hotel around 11:50pm which is just before midnight. DB and V were still in the park until it closed at midnight. The day was over and we only have one more day in SoCal until we have to go back home to Sactown. 

Stay tune for the third and final day of the trip report.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Great pics.
Love the ones inside HM.  You got wonderful pictures there.

We definitely need to indulge in dole whip float.  It's been way too long since I've had some.


----------



## franandaj

Yay! I finally got all caught up!

You had some great times and great pictures on your trip with DB and V.  I'm glad you enjoyed the lamburger, that is one of my most favorite meals at the DLR.

We need to talk via email about the trip in October, but since they haven't released the schedule yet we can't figure things out.  I have some plans that you might not be aware of, and might make the trip a lot better, we just need to figure out timing and stuff.


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## ACDSNY

Yay I'm caught up too!

 You had a great time on both trips and I love the Partners pics.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great pics.
> Love the ones inside HM.  You got wonderful pictures there.
> 
> We definitely need to indulge in dole whip float.  It's been way too long since I've had some.



Thank you PiO. The pics form HM were okay while most of them were not that great. I just chose the good ones where I had to crop them. I won't set the ISO at 12,800 when I ride the HM again.

You will have to get one when we are at the parks in October.




franandaj said:


> Yay! I finally got all caught up!
> 
> You had some great times and great pictures on your trip with DB and V.  I'm glad you enjoyed the lamburger, that is one of my most favorite meals at the DLR.



Thank you Alison. The lamb burger was very good and thank you for the tip about eating at the UVA Bar and Cafe. 




ACDSNY said:


> Yay I'm caught up too!
> 
> You had a great time on both trips and I love the Partners pics.



Thank you Angela.


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52218192]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 –July 28th, 2014 – Part 1*

*The other party members aren’t here yet *​
After another great day at the DLR on Sunday, it was the last day of the trip which is always the saddest part of any trip where the trip is almost over. But we all had a great time on the two days at the parks with doing everything that we wanted to do except of not riding Alice in Wonderland for me in which DB and V were able to do that Sunday night. This day we were planning on driving back home to Sacramento in the afternoon. DB and V didn’t want to do anything else while we were in SoCal since they did that on Saturday. I was able to go to the park that Monday morning since DB and V park hopper tickets were only for two days. 

This was also going to be another special day and make this trip even better even if it is only for about a few hours that Monday. Just about a couple of weeks until our July trip, two of my longtime friends (M and S) that I grew up in Sacramento are also planning on being down there in SoCal and going to the parks on Monday July 28th and Tuesday July 29th. I was shocked to hear that they were going to be down in SoCal and go a couple of days to the DLR. They were not coming alone during the trip in which they had other people with them. They have done the foreign exchange student program for a couple of years and had a Japanese teenager (SH) come to the U.S. and took care of him last year. He came back to the U.S. along with his mother (K). I was able to meet them before the trip and it was nice to meet them in person before we met up at DL on Monday. When they asked of what they wanted to do they wanted to go to the original Disneyland where they have went to the Tokyo Disney Resort. It was going to be fun in which I will be with two groups during the trip.

On that Monday morning, I was told they will meet up with me at the park at 8am when it opens. So I slept as much as possible so I will be able to enjoy the parks with them that day. I had to pack all of my bags up during that Monday morning and loaded them in the car except for other bags that DB and V would load up that day. Since they were not going to the park that day, they slept in and checked us out that afternoon.

I left the hotel around 7:30am and had that long walk all the way to the DLR. This was the last time and maybe in a long time when I will stay at BW Pavilions and have to deal with that long walk.

When I got the DLR well before 8am, the crowds to head on into DL was so crazy that morning where it was way past the Monorail columns. I knew that Monday during the trip was going to be busy but it was crazy that morning to get in to DL while DCA barely didn’t have anyone waiting to get in.




Also on that Monday, the construction walls are up on the center area turnstiles where it wasn’t up the other days.




Not much of a line to enter DCA while DL was crazy.




I waited a while outside until M, S, SH, K to got to the DLR. But I got a text from M that they are running a little late that morning and won’t be at the DLR at 9am. So they told me to do something at the DLR until they showed up. 

Since I Had an hour to kill until they arrived, I head on over to DCA while it was easy to get in the park while DL will take some time to enter.

When I was in DCA, I just wandered around taking random pictures while I was waiting for them.








BVS was all decorated with the Independence colors on the buildings.












So I just got myself a FP for Soarin and got one of the Mad Arcade free token.












After walking around Condor Flats, I head on over to Hollywood Land to get some pictures.




The Maleficent special food & drink was still happening at Awards Wiener.




It was quiet at Hollywood Land that morning where most of the people would be at Cars Land.








After being in DCA for a little bit that morning, I decided to head on over to DL and see if it is not that busy. But I can tell that it will be a busy day at DL and DCA. But DL will be way more busier that day.

I exited the park around 8:30am and head on over to DL. The turnstiles to enter DL was still busy that morning where it did took a while to go through the turnstiles.




When I entered DL, it was busy in Main Street where a lot of people were walking up the streets or going to the character M&G in Town Square.




There is more construction walls that are up on the Main Street buildings.




Stay tune for the next update to see what I have done at DL that morning.

[post=52236521]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52236516]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 –July 28th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Finally rode AiW and BLAB*​
I was walking in DL that morning waiting for M, S, SH and K until they arrived that morning. They were running a little late so I used this time to walk in DCA that morning and now in DL to do some other things until they arrive.

While I was in DL that morning, there was one ride that I wanted to do where I wasn’t able to do the first two days which was Alice in Wonderland. AiW was just refurbished with new enhancements to the ride and the exterior of the bride is completely different. It is nice to not see any tarps on the ride and it looks great. 

This time the wait time was only 10 minutes which was a no brainer that morning. I was a little surprised that the wait time was not even longer at 10 minutes but in the half hour range around 8:30am that morning. But I can’t complain about the wait time so I went in the queue to ride AiW.








I had the caterpillar all to myself which I was in the backseat and now going into the world of Alice in Wonderland. I was looking forward to see all the new enhancements to the ride and see what is new and what they have taken out.




This was a new addition to the ride which you enter the hole. 




Another new addition to the ride which was the screen of Alice chasing the White Rabbit.




Tweedle Dee and Dum




There is the White Rabbit




Flower bloom.




Some of the AA were left alone while there were a lot of video projections on the ride.




















Now looking at the new leaf and it was all covered up and it looks way better than before.








Time for a tea party and it was changed a lot where you don’t see the Cheshire Cat head I the clouds but a tea party instead.












Have a Merry Unbirthday Cake




Even though the ride is nice with the new enhancements to the ride but it just doesn’t have that vibe like the old ride. Maybe it is just me where I do like the classic rides and left as is. But the new enhancements to AiW are nice and the exterior looks way better with those tarps.

After riding AiW, I head on over to TL to go on another ride that I like to go on which is Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster. I have rode it a lot of times and have enjoyed playing the game. 




During the ride, I was able to hit the high value targets and was able to get a high score at 922,800 points which I just barely missed the 1,000,000 point mark.




It was close to 9am so I head on out of DL and so I can meet up with the other party members for that Monday morning at the park. The park was still a little busy that morning but not like Christmas break crowds or any high volume year. 




I left DL and now back at the Esplanade wait for them. Stay tune for the next part of the day at the DLR that morning.

[post=52263850]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Nice score, Bret.

It's been ages since I've been inside AiW.  Hmmm.  I don't think DS will want to go in; but that doesn't mean that I can't.


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
You sure were able to pack a ton into that first hour.  I have never ridden AiW.  Your score on BLAB was just outstanding!

Looking forward to hearing what you are able to do when your friends arrive. 

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice score, Bret.
> 
> It's been ages since I've been inside AiW.  Hmmm.  I don't think DS will want to go in; but that doesn't mean that I can't.



Thanks PiO.

You will want to ride AiW with all the newly refurbishment on the outside along with the interior work. We might have to put that during in on our trip next month.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> You sure were able to pack a ton into that first hour.  I have never ridden AiW.  Your score on BLAB was just outstanding!
> 
> Looking forward to hearing what you are able to do when your friends arrive.
> 
> TK



I only just rode AiW and BLAB while I was waiting for them that morning. I was glad that AiW wasn't a long wait time as I have thought. The BLAB score was very nice and I haven't had that good of a score in a long time.


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52236521]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 July 28th, 2014  Part 3*

*The other Party Members arrived and it was time to leave as well*​
After being in DL for a while I was waiting for the next party to be with at the park that morning is about to happen. Earlier during the day, I came to the DLR early so I can wait for M, S, SH & K that morning but they were arriving late and they told me that they would be at the DLR around 9am. So I just used that time to go in DL to go on some rides like AiW and BLAB. I was able to accomplish of riding AiW with the new updates and at least I was able to accomplish one of the rides that I wanted to go on at DL during the trip.

I exited DL before 9am and I just waited at the Esplanade until they arrived. It was about 5 minutes after 9am that they saw me when they were passing by the security check area. They were glad to see me and I was glad to see them that they got here safely. I did talk to SH and K before the trip and it was nice to see that they are having a fun time in the U.S. They were able to enjoy SoCal the first couple of days when they along with M and S were in SoCal.

This is SH and K first time at the DLR. They have been to Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan. When they were in the U.S., they wanted to come to the original Disneyland Park and see it in person. They have been talking about this to M and S ever since they got here and their dream is about to come true.

Before we head on in the parks, they had to buy their tickets so we had to wait at the tickets booth queues to get their tickets. They bought two day park hopper tickets since they will be hopping from one park to another that day.

It took about 10 minutes to go through the queue and purchase the tickets. Now it was time to head on over to the parks that morning. They wanted to go to DCA first over DL and so we head on over to DCA first thing.

When we got in DCA, M and S were so surprised to see the new entrance to DCA which is different when they were here since 2008. They were also looking forward to riding Radiator Springs Racers since it debut in 2012 and werent able to go on it yet. So it was like a first for all of them at DCA.

The first thing we did was to head on over to the RSR FP queue and it was around 9:30am when we were at the queue and the return time was till 3:20pm to 4:20pm which was not that bad at 9:30am that morning.




They got the FPs while I didnt get one since I will be gone by then. After getting the FPs, they wanted to get FPs for WoC. So as we were walking on over to PP, they saw the Little Mermaid ride and I told them that I will get the FPs for them while they go on the ride. They told me not to go out of the way for them and just go on with them but I told them that I had no problem with getting the FPs for WoC for them while they ride the Little Mermaid ride. So they went on the ride and I head on over to get the FPs for WoC.




They went on the Little Mermaid ride while I went on over to GRR to pick up the FPs. Very interesting that when I got the FPs the return time was in the yellow section around 9:45am. Even with only one show a night, I was able to get WoC FPs for them at the 9:45pm show.

When I picked up the FPs, I head on back to the entrance/exit of the Little Mermaid ride and waited for them until they got off. It was nice to relax a while after walking at DL for part of the morning and being with them for the first hour at the DLR.

They were done finishing riding the Little Mermaid ride and we head on over to Paradise Pier to go on more rides that morning. We were now approaching California Screamin and SH wanted to go on this ride. K told us that she wont go on the ride but when they asked me if I wanted to go on, I said that I will pass. But they insisted on me to go with them since it will just be the three of them so I was dragged on the ride. 

The wait time showed 10 minutes but it felt like 20 minutes to go through the standard queue. So we waited for a while to get on CS that morning.




It didnt took long until we got on CS and this was a good opportunity to take some pictures on the ride. I have never took pictures while riding CS since I put my camera away while riding rides like Space Mountain and CS. But this was a good opportunity to get some photos of CS since most of my other party members like DAF & DAW wont even go on any high intense roller coaster rides. I would not go on it as well like maybe once every two or three trips.

I used the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens for the pictures and it was nice to get some wide angle shots.
















I had to hold on to my DSLR tight so I wont lose it on the ride.
















That was a wild ride of riding CS that morning with M, S and SH while K was waiting for us. When we got off, we tried to look at our picture and for some reason, it wasnt showing on the screen where it must have been down during our ride. It was a little disappointing that our picture didnt show up but everyone had fun riding CS.

On our way out of CS, they wanted to go on Toy Story Midway Mania and I knew that the wait time was going to be in the 40 to 50 minute range wait time. But they were willing to wait in that queue to go and ride TSMM so I just went along with it and went on it with them. It was nice to use this time to talk to them about how they are doing and what they have been doing in SoCal these last couple of days.

It hasnt been long since I had to wait in that long queue to ride TSMM which I did the same thing with DB, V and V friend a couple of days ago.




While we were in the queue for TSMM, we have all been talking of what to do and not to do at DCA for that day along with plans for DL the next day in which they will be at the park . 








Very interesting, we werent escorted to the regular loading area for TSMM but we were loaded towards the handicapped section which was quite unusual. We didnt have anyone in our party that are handicapped and I wonder why they took us to that area instead of going towards the loading dock. 

It didnt took too long for us to get on the ride and it was time to ride TSMM. S and SH were together while M and K rode together while I was by myself. There was another person on the ride along with us which he was behind me on the ride.




For the score, I had 245,500 which was a good score in my opinion. I know that this score is nothing compared to your DSs TK where they can be in the 300,000+ range. 




Unfortunately, I wasnt the highest score on our ride in which someone got 272,400 points and they were the highest during that hour. I was surprised that someone else had a better score than me on the ride. 

Everyone really enjoyed riding TSMM and we are now back outside and walking through Paradise Pier. The next ride that we passed by was Mickeys Fun Wheel of Doom. I looked at the wait time and it was at 35 minutes to ride the swinging and 30 minutes for the non-swinging gondola. SH wanted to go on the swinging gondola. K didnt want to go on the swinging gondola and of course I said I would pass as well. They were really pushing me to go on the swinging gondola that afternoon when we got here. I told them that I never go on the swinging gondola and would not even go on. So while M, S & SH went on the swinging gondola, K and I just waited until they were on the ride. 

It was nice to have some time to talk with K and she really speaks good English. We had a very nice talk and she asked me what kind of rides to do at DL. I told her specific rides that Tokyo Disney Resort doesnt have and do go on them since DL in Anaheim and Tokyo Disneyland have different rides and are not the same. 

It took them 40 minutes to get on the swinging gondola and I got pictures of them. They can just see us enough where I was able to get pictures of them. Very interesting to see that they are with another group of people which means that the CMs are making room for the gondolas of where even with three people, they had to share with another group. 

K and I were watching them on the swinging gondola and they were having their fingers on the cage which means that they are scared. This is why I dont like to ride the swinging gondola where it moves a lot than the non-swinging gondola.








After they got off MFWoD from the swinging gondola, M and S understood why I dont ride the swinging gondola and they were holding on the cage every time it was moving up. 

We started to walk around PP until our next ride that was in the area was Goofys Sky School. M, K and I didnt want to ride it while S and SH went on it together. 

While we were waiting for S and SH to ride GSS, we head on over to Soarin to get FPs for their ride since it was time to get a new set of FPs after waiting 2 hours since we got RSR that morning. We were able to get a return time around 1pm to 2pm which was a nice return time that afternoon where it was around 12pm.

On the way back to PP, we did passed by GRR and had to get some pictures from the backside.












When we got back to PP at GSS, they were still on the ride and they had to wait about 30 minutes to get on the ride which was quite a wait time for S and SH.

Phineas and Ferb truck was passing by at PP.




They were finally off GSS and I looked at the time and I had to meet up with DB and V since we were planning on leaving Anaheim around 1pm. So I had to depart from M, S, SH and K that afternoon. It was nice to be with them for a short time at DCA that day in which I was hoping that it would have been longer but I couldnt keep DB and V waiting for me.

So we parted ways and they told me when they got back to Sacramento that they had an awesome time at both DL and DCA even though the crowds were very high during that trip. They were able to go on most of the rides and what shows what they wanted to do. So I was glad that they had a great time at the DLR for a couple of days.

I walked all the way from PP to the drop off/pick-up loading area on Harbor Blvd since DB and V have checked out of our hotel at Best Western Pavilions. Luckily I didnt have to walk all the way over to BW Pavilions to meet up with them with that long walk. 

I met up with them at 1pm at the drop off/pick up area at Harbor Blvd and we are now on our way out of Anaheim. 

But before we head on out and back to Sacramento, DB and V wanted to have lunch at a specific restaurant that it is only in SoCal. So we head on over to a restaurant called California Fish Grill which is located in Cypress. I remember eating at this restaurant during the 2012 trip with DB and V in which this is V favorite restaurant where she ate at when she went to Irvine University. So it was appropriate to eat at this restaurant since it is only located in SoCal and not in NorCal. I have enjoyed eating at this restaurant where it offers a nice variety of seafood dishes.

It was the busy time of the day which the restaurant was filled that afternoon.




I had the fish and chips.




DB and V shared the same plate which was Mahi, Mahi




The food is very nice at California Fish Grill and we would recommend this place if you are interested in seafood dishes.

After eating at California Fish Grill, we head on home for the seven hour drive. We didnt stop at any other place except for gas and of course we stopped at our grandmothers house in Livingston to see how she was doing and glad that we stopped on the way back to see her.

We got home around 10pm that night and this concludes the July trip.

This was a nice trip in which I went with DB and V at the last second and we did quite a lot even though we left so early that Saturday morning and were able to enjoy two full days at the DLR. It was also nice to meet V friend Jen and to be able to be with us for a few hours at the DLR and to be able to do all these different rides. Even though I only had a part of the day with M, S, SH and K it was so fun to be able to go around DCA with them for a few hours and to be able to go on some of the rides were fun. I was also glad that they had a great time during their visit at the DLR as well. The crowd levels were quite high in late July but this is the first time I have been at the DLR in July since 2007 during 4th of July weekend. 

Overall the trip was good and now I am looking forward to my next upcoming trip which is in a couple of days on the 14th where I will be heading back with DAW. We just have been to the DLR since June and all of a sudden we will be there to see the Halloween decorations in September which is the opening weekend of the Halloween season. It will be nice to go back and see the Halloween decorations. This will be DAW first time seeing the Halloween decorations at the DLR which she has seen them during the October/November 2012 WDW trip report which was her first Disney trip in a long time and since then she has been with me to five DL trips since January 2013. She has been looking forward to this trip since she has been so busy with work. This was a great opportunity for her to use her Premium AP since she renewed it in June which was a shocker to me. I might not be doing a trip report for the September trip since it is going to be close to the October and November trip reports that are coming up not too shortly. I will do live uploads of the pictures during this trip so stay tune for any updates.

Thank you for following along the July trip report.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Okay.  I sure hope the queues aren't going to be this long in October.
Nice score on TSMM.
You're tempting me to get on CS.  Nice pictures on the ride.


----------



## rentayenta

Thank you, thank you for the pictorial ride on Alice!  I'm missing the park soooooo badly and this is just what I needed.


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## tksbaskets

Nice report!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Okay.  I sure hope the queues aren't going to be this long in October.
> Nice score on TSMM.
> You're tempting me to get on CS.  Nice pictures on the ride.



We hope for the same thing. When I went to the parks today (Monday 15th), DL had a long wait to get in that morning at 10am which the lines were close to the center of the Esplanade. But the rest of the day till the afternoon, the crowds were not that bad. It must to do with the heat which was in the 80s that morning and in the mid to high 90s when we left at 2pm. 

I didn't want to go on CS that day with them but I did that for them and i wasn't willing to go on MFWoD swinging-gondola. 




rentayenta said:


> Thank you, thank you for the pictorial ride on Alice!  I'm missing the park soooooo badly and this is just what I needed.



Your welcome Jenny. It was nice to ride AiW with it all updated and no more ugly tarps on the ride.




tksbaskets said:


> Nice report!  Thanks for sharing.



Thank you TK. This was a wild trip where I was with two groups during the trip in which I only go with one group or solo. 


A quick update from the September trip which is going on right now. I am resting in the room and about to go back to the park later today since it is quite hot out here. It was like 104 when we were at the DLR yesterday and it will be again in the 100 range later today. Just crazy hot weathers and it has been a long time since I have been in the parks when it is this hot.

This trip, i rented a Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens for this trip since I have been interested in trying this lens for a while and it was *mom2rtk* that got me to rent this lens after reading her trip report. So i was excited to try out this lens and I wasn't disappointed one bit. The only times I was disappointed when I used the lens since I didn't set the settings properly. You can tell by the pictures when i am writing up this quick update from the trip report.

We got to Anaheim safely around 2pm and we didn't go in the park until later that day since we ate at Tony Romas for dinner.

We head on over to DCA first since the first show of Mickey's Soundsational parade was going on so we just went on over to wander around DCA and see if there was any halloween decorations but it was only at the stores.








When the parade was finished at DL, we head on over and we looked around the DLR with all the different Halloween decorations.








Halloween on the buildings of MS




Partners statue all decorated during the halloween season.




We got to ride the HMH yesterday and I was disappointed at the picture of the gingerbread house where I had to ride it again today and was able to get clearer pictures. I was so impressed with the Sigma lens. The 2014 gingerbread house was very neat where the doors open and reveal a gingerbread man.




Dia de Los Muertos was back at Frontierland for the Halloween season.




The Ray Bradbury Halloween tree is back




We weren't able to go to the Halloween Carnival since it past 6pm so we were able to go inside it today and it is more decorated than the previous years.




We got to ride IASW yesterday and the Frozen pre-parade was coming back to IASW and I was surprised to see the float coming back during the second parade where I have read that it is only available during the first parade but it looks like it was going during both parades.




Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy had a wait time in the 35-45 minute wait time during yesterday and today.




We were able to get the Mickey Hat Box Ghost Popcorn bucket




We sat in front of SB Castle for RDCT Fireworks for 2 hours and it was nice to watch it. I used the Sigma lens for the firework trails and they were very nice.












We got to see the second of show of Fantasmic! at 10:30pm. The Sigma lens is not for F! but i was able to try it where some of them turned out nice while some are blurry.








The Mark Twain was down during the refurbishment but the show still went on and the characters that are on the Mark Twain at the end of F! are on Tom Sawyer Island at the Finale.

Got to have the Dole Whip float




That concludes our night at DL on Sunday.




We will be heading back to the DLR in less than an hour since we will be having dinner and watching the 8:15pm World of Color show where the parks will close at 8pm since it is during the off-season.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Nice!

Looks like that lens is everything it's cracked up to be.  So.....when are you getting one?


----------



## tksbaskets

WOW 104 in September??  Glad you got your Dole Whip float!   That new lens really is great for fireworks (since you know how to set the camera to take great pics like this).

Cute merchandise for Halloween.  Did you go on SMGG?  Looks like a good one to get a fastpass.

TK


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## rentayenta

You should buy the camera you rented because your fire works pictures are AMAZING!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice!
> 
> Looks like that lens is everything it's cracked up to be.  So.....when are you getting one?



The Sigma lens was great and you already know about the situation with the lens. 




tksbaskets said:


> WOW 104 in September??  Glad you got your Dole Whip float!   That new lens really is great for fireworks (since you know how to set the camera to take great pics like this).
> 
> Cute merchandise for Halloween.  Did you go on SMGG?  Looks like a good one to get a fastpass.
> 
> TK



It was 104 on Sunday and in the 100s on Monday and Tuesday during the trip. When we left, it started to go down where we were there at the wrong time. Instead of the hot weather, the whole experience was great. I got two but I could have got three during the trip but two is enough for me even on a a hot fall season. The lens made a big difference in the quality and sharpness of the pictures. 

We did not ride SMGG since DAW is not a roller coaster type of person and I will be able to get the opportunity to ride it next month.




rentayenta said:


> You should buy the camera you rented because your fire works pictures are AMAZING!



Thank you Jenny. You mean the Sigma lens that I was renting. You can ask PiO about that. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – September 14th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Arrived Safely, Lunch/Dinner & HallwoeenTime *​
It’s time for the first day of the trip in September during the Halloween season with DAW (my dad’s sister). I was just there a couple of months ago with my DB and V in July where we were able to enjoy the parks with V friend and also my friends from Sacramento with along with the foreign exchange student and mother where we were able to be in the parks for part of the day. This will be the second trip this year for DAW where she went with me during the June trip. During the June trip in which she went with me is that she had to use her Premium AP since it was expiring in late June. Unexpectedly she renewed her AP during the June trip which was a shock to me but she really enjoyed going to the DLR that she will be going with me for one more year. So this is her first usage of her renewed AP.

For this trip it was all about relaxation for DAW and also a good opportunity to see the Halloween decorations at the DLR. I have enjoyed going to the DLR during the Halloween season which is my second most favorite season that the Christmas/Holiday season will always be my favorite. DAW has never been to the DLR during the Halloween season in which she did experienced the Halloween season at WDW in 2012. So it was going to be fun to go back during the Halloween season with DAW for her first time. 

Also during the trip, I was renting a lens for this trip. I have rented lenses in the past in which my last one was during the June trip with DAW where I have tried the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G telephoto lens. I was so impressed of using the telephoto lens during the June trip in which I got a lot of up close shots at the parks. It was used mostly for Fantasmic!, World of Color, Mickey and the Magical Map, Aladdin Musical and other up close shots. For this trip, I was renting the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens. This is like the ultimate dark ride and nighttime lens which has a zoom in and out range where it is like a prime lens but you can adjust the range of the picture. I have been thinking of getting this lens since last year but I was not sure about the range where it only goes at 35mm max. I have gotten the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 along with the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens from late last year and I was glad that I got those lenses. The reason I wanted to try the Sigma lens was by *mom2rtk* trip report in which she is going to use this lens for her trip report during the holiday season and I had to try it out if I am interested or not. This is good to rent lenses and see if I am interested in buying it or not or I could not afford it. This was going to be very interesting in which it is two lenses in one from my Tamron and Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens that I own. During the trip, I have took over 1,500 pictures with the Sigma lens during the trip. I rented the Sigma lens from borrowlenses.com.

Now let’s get to the trip report.

It was around 7am in the morning on Sunday where DAW picked me up instead of me picking her up at her house. This is like my usual time when I leave Sacramento and over to SoCal so we can get there in the afternoon. Since we weren’t in a rush to get to SoCal, we took our time. We didn’t leave until 7:30am from Sacramento to SoCal.

When we packed all of our stuff in the car, we stared our journey down to SoCal. During the drive, I mostly go on Highway 99 to visit my grandmother in Livingston. But we didn’t stop on the way to see her on the way. I mostly drove all the way to SoCal while DAW slept or rested up during the whole time. She was tired after working at school during the school fundraiser. I still prefer to drive on I-99 since I am used to driving that way over I-5.

Even on a Sunday, the traffic to SoCal was not that bad where there were times where it can be busy on the highway. We got to Anaheim around 2pm which was really fast that day in which we left late that morning.

We head straight on over to our hotel which was Best Western Anaheim Inn. I have stayed at BWAI a lot in the past with DAF, DB and V. This is her first time staying at BWAI in which we have stayed at a lot of different hotels on Harbor Blvd. It was also the first time for me staying at the newly refurbished BWAI in which the front was down during a few trips in the past where it had a makeover of the front. It added a new third story continental breakfast location which is new where in the past it never had a breakfast place. There was also a upstairs gym that is new as well. So it is a lot different from back then and it was nice to stay there.

While we were here, DAW rented an ECV from Deckertt’s. She has rented from Deckertt’s in the past and the last time which was a little disappointing where we got the ECV late during the June trip. This time, the ECV was already at the hotel when we came up so one good thing was resolved where it arrived. 

We checked-in at BWAI and we were located on the first floor on the first building. Since DAW was using an ECV, we asked for a handicapped room so it would be easy for her to bring the ECV in the room. It was nice to have that room for the ECV so it would be easy for her to bring it in the room.

After we settled in the room at BWAI, we thought about heading on over to the parks immediately. But we decided to wait until the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade was over since it was coming from It’s a Small World Plaza to Main Street Town Square and it will be busy in that area. We also could go to DCA and wait until the parade ended. But we didn’t have anything to eat on the way to SoCal (except for snacks) so we decided to have an early dinner.

For early dinner, we went on over to Tony Roma’s which is right next to BWAI and it was a quick walk for us. I really enjoyed eating at Tony Roma’s for their ribs and steak.




It was still lunch at that time and it was nice to have lunch/dinner at Tony Roma’s since I was able to watch the Sunday football games.




For dinner, I had the St Louis Ribs along with two filet medallions along with garlic mash potatoes. DAW had a garden salad with chicken




After lunch/dinner at Tony Roma’s, we head on over to the DLR. It was close to 4pm when we exited Tony Roma’s and at the Esplanade. But before we head on over to DL that day to see the Halloween decorations and avoid the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade, we head on over to DCA first to walk around until it was time to head on over to DL.

When we entered DCA, we head on in the Los Feliz Five Dime store. In this building, it has like the current season merchandise from Halloween, Christmas and 2014 etc. year merchandise. There was a nice selection of Halloween merchandise but not as much like the Christmas season in my opinion.








There were very interesting Disney characters in their Halloween costumes.




























After looking at the merchandise, we just roamed around DCA until we head on over to DL that day. When we were out walking at DCA, it felt so hot that afternoon that DAW had to buy an umbrella and luckily I had my froggy towel with me so I can keep my neck cool. When I looked on my iPhone and what the weather was like that Sunday, it topped at 104. Talk about a hot day in SoCal where this is like NorCal weather during the summertime. The park was not that busy where most of the ride wait times were low.













When walking around Paradise Pier, we passed by Toy Story Midway Mania and the wait time was only at 15 minutes. Talk about a short wait time that afternoon. I would have guessed that since it was so hot and during the off-season, the wait time was so low.




The flowers right next to the light tower at PP.




It was time to walk on over to DL since it was around 4:30pm and the parade should be finished so we started to walk-on out of DCA and over to DL.








We exited DCA and now back at the Esplanade and about to enter DL. Like always during the Halloween season at DL park, the giant pumpkin character heads are above the turnstiles. 

There is Goofy




Donald, Mickey, Minnie and Pluto




Now we are at the Happiest Place on Earth and ready to see all the different Halloween decorations. DAW has never been to DL during the Halloween season and was impressed with the giant character pumpkin heads on the turnstiles and this was only the beginning.

MS all decorated with Halloween colors banners.




Even the light poles have the HalloweenTime decoations.




It is nice to see DL all decorated during the Halloween season and now to Main Street Town Square.

[post=52314912]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52314892]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – September 14th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Pumpkins Everywhere on MS*​
When we entered MS TS, Mickey’s Soundsational Parade was over and it was quiet at MS TS. It was a good idea to go to DL later instead of first thing with the parade going on.

As always on the buildings or in the windows of MS, there are a lot of different kinds of Halloween pumpkins. I wasn’t able to get everyone since we were walking a little fast.




There were a lot of tarps over the buildings on MS since it is during the off-season and the first weekend of the Halloween season. I was also using the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens when we were walking around the parks. This is a good lens for the dark rides or at nighttime. Even at daytime they were very nice. The only thing that I wish this lens had was that the reach is not enough to get up close pictures of the Halloween pumpkins. 









A lot of the pumpkins that were on the buildings of MS are the same like the other years.




























Now at the Hub and the usual Halloween decorations pumpkins are around the Hub along with Fall flowers.








Buzz Lightyear Tomorrowland pumpkin.




Roger Rabbit Toontown pumpkin.




Tinker Bell Fantasyland pumpkin.




Winnie the Pooh Critter Country pumpkin.




Woody Frontierland pumpkin.




Jack Skellington New Orleans Square pumpkin.




Tarzan Adventureland pumpkin.




The wait times for that Sunday were high but it wasn’t like super crazy summertime crowd wait times. But for rides like Splash was almost 55 minutes since it was a hot day today at 104. Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy was only at 25 minutes which was a shock to see that low wait time. Rides like Matterhorn Mountain was only at 15 minutes which was low. It shows you with the heat that day that everyone is trying to go on the rides that are inside a building.




We walked on over to Adventureland and over to New Orleans Square in order to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday. Since it was only at 20 minute wait time, it didn’t seem too long to ride it so DAW and I head on over to ride it.

But when we got to HMH and about to enter the queue, the CM at the front entrance told us to head on over to the side to another CM on the outside in order to get a return wait time to ride HMH. This was very interesting that we didn’t have to go through the regular queue since DAW was using an ECV. We were asked for our tickets or AP’s that we have and they scan them. They were using the iTouch devices like the ones they used at the turnstiles for the regular park tickets. This is a way in order to not wait in the line and come back later that day. This is almost like Disability Access Service where you return later that day and you get to go in front of the line without being in the line. 




So we had about 15 minutes to kill until we head on over to ride the HMH.








We waited for 15 minutes outside HMH until it was our return time. Luckily 15 minutes went by really quickly and we were now able to go in the queue of the HMH with a walk-on. 

That will be it for this post and stay tune during our ride experience on the HMH.

[post=52314912]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## franandaj

Great wrap up for your July trip. I really need to get to that CA Fish Grill.  It looks like a great place with reasonable prices and it's not at all far from my house.

I felt bad for you being at DL last week.  The temperatures were just awful. September is generally the hottest month here at least the highs weren't 119 like they were a couple years ago!

I liked the merchandise pictures. I think I'm going to convince Fran to go out there next mid week for some shopping and to have lunch there. I want a wallet and she wants some of the HM merchandise. They ran out and were supposed to get more last week.

Only three weeks until our meet up!


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## PrincessInOz

Nice start to the trip, Bret.

Looks like you enjoyed the lens.  The pictures of the pumpkins around the partner's statues - did you take them with that lens?  I'm curious to see what the pictures at the 35mm range looks like.  I think I would miss having the reach to 55 mm but there is nothing like seeing a few pictures to work it out.

Looks like the wait times weren't too bad.  Here's hoping that the wait times are better than that and it won't be as hot in 3 weeks time.  

I think I'm going to need to go merchandise shopping.


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## rentayenta

Yes the lens you rented. You _need_ it!  


My second favorite time of the year at Disneyland is during Halloween.  That Minnie Sally is the cutest thing ever. I hope they have it during Christmas. I've already wanted Michael that the souvenir budget needs to be increased. Lol!


----------



## PrincessInOz

rentayenta said:


> Yes *the lens* you rented. You _need_ it!





Perhaps he might get it....and soon.


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## rentayenta

PrincessInOz said:


> Perhaps he might get it....and soon.





Yay! I feel like I'm missing something.


----------



## franandaj

rentayenta said:


> Yay! I feel like I'm missing something.



You're not on the Old Fogies thread.


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## PrincessInOz




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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Great wrap up for your July trip. I really need to get to that CA Fish Grill.  It looks like a great place with reasonable prices and it's not at all far from my house.
> 
> I felt bad for you being at DL last week.  The temperatures were just awful. September is generally the hottest month here at least the highs weren't 119 like they were a couple years ago!
> 
> I liked the merchandise pictures. I think I'm going to convince Fran to go out there next mid week for some shopping and to have lunch there. I want a wallet and she wants some of the HM merchandise. They ran out and were supposed to get more last week.
> 
> Only three weeks until our meet up!



Thank you Alison. The July trip was fun with DB, V, Jen (V friend) and also my friends from Sacramento for a few hours that day. You will really like CA Fish Grill which it offers a different variety of seafood dishes. I have ate there a couple of times and for the price is very reasonable. It is so popular to the locals where it was busy that afternoon.

It's no problem. DAW didn't like the heat but we were prepared during the trip with umbrellas and the froggy towel which kept me cool. Just like you said, it was hot but the heat during that trip was nothing compared to other years i have been there in SoCal. I remember during the 2009 trip (during the first D23 Expo) was way hotter than this trip. Luckily we were in a AC building at the Anaheim Convention Center. 

There was some new merchandise for the Halloween season which was nice that the last few years, it has been the same thing over and over. That will be nice for you and Fran to go back and get some of those merchandise. I can't believe i didn't go inside the NOS stores to see the HM merchandise. I will have to remember to do that for the upcoming trip.

It won't be too long until our meet in three weeks which we are looking forward.




PrincessInOz said:


> Nice start to the trip, Bret.
> 
> Looks like you enjoyed the lens.  The pictures of the pumpkins around the partner's statues - did you take them with that lens?  I'm curious to see what the pictures at the 35mm range looks like.  I think I would miss having the reach to 55 mm but there is nothing like seeing a few pictures to work it out.
> 
> Looks like the wait times weren't too bad.  Here's hoping that the wait times are better than that and it won't be as hot in 3 weeks time.
> 
> I think I'm going to need to go merchandise shopping.



Thanks PiO.

I did enjoy using the Sigma lens during the trip. I did took the pictures of the pumpkins with the Sigma lens. You can see on the links of the pictures and see the info. Most of the pumpkins around the Hub were at 35mm max. It is difficult without the reach like from my Tamron lens but that is why you go up close to get the picture.

The wait times were not that bad. The weather kept the locals away and some of the other guests where they were at there hotels and in the pool. It was a good time and bad time that day. Hope that it won't be that bad in three weeks. 

There is a lot of nice Halloween merchandise.




rentayenta said:


> Yes the lens you rented. You _need_ it!
> 
> 
> My second favorite time of the year at Disneyland is during Halloween.  That Minnie Sally is the cutest thing ever. I hope they have it during Christmas. I've already wanted Michael that the souvenir budget needs to be increased. Lol!



PiO can answer that.

Same here. Halloween time is very nice but the Holiday season will always be my favorite no matter what. There are people who like Halloween over Christmas. There was some nice new merchandise this year for the Halloween season and the Minnie Sally along with Mickey Jack was very neat. Hope you will be able to get it or we can get one for you next month and I'll ask Alison to hold it for you until you arrive for your trip.


The next posts will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52314912]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – September 14th, 2014 – Part 3*

*Haunted Mansion Holiday 2014*​
After waiting outside of the Haunted Mansion Holiday since DAW was using an ECV, it was time to go through the queue and ride the HMH. This was a first experience where the handicapped people don’t have to go and wait through the queue but the CM’s scan your tickets and tell you to come back at a certain time which is very interesting. 

We went through the queue with no problem. DAW had to put the ECV on the side since they aren’t allowed through the ride where you will have to transfer to the Doom Buggies.

The HMH is decorated with its usual Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas decorations featuring Jack Skellington.












We entered in less than 2 minutes to go in the Haunted Mansion and waited until we entered the stretching room which is also decorated. I was using the Sigma lens for most of the trip and I don’t think I ever took it off even once.








The room is actually stretching?
















The hallway with the different portraits that changed.
















Just about to enter the loading station and ride the Doom Buggies.




I was able to get some good pictures with the Sigma lens while there were times where it didn’t focus correctly. But overall the pictures turned out nice during the first experience. The only time where I was so disappointed in my pictures that I took during that ride experience was the dining room with the gingerbread house. But I was able to go on a second time and the second time was the charm over the first time.

Like on any part of the HMH, it was so difficult to get pictures where it was in very dark scenes. I didn’t set the ISO so high to 12,800 like on the last trip after seeing my pictures. So I just set it up at 6400 ISO and at least there wasn’t a blur on the bottom.









The new gingerbread house for 2014. It is very interesting how this year’s gingerbread house which it opens and reveals a gingerbread man. The one in 2013 in my opinion is way better over this years.












Jack and Zero












Oogie Boogie at the end of the ride




Our shot riding the Doom Buggy




We just finished riding the HMH and now back outside at New Orleans Square. I still never get tired of the HMH during the Halloween season or Christmas season at DL. The gingerbread house in the dining room is nice and there were one’s that are way better over that one. It was nice that the wait time was only 15 minutes where we waited outside instead of going through the queue. I would have no problem going through the queue to be able to get pictures of the holiday decorations.




After getting the ECV, we started to move on to our next attraction that day. That’s it for this post and continue on to the next post.

[post=52329166]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52329154]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – September 14th, 2014 – Part 4*

*Dia de Los Muertos, Halloween Tree & Halloween Carnival*​
After riding HMH, we head on over to the next area that was decorated during the Halloween season which was Dia de Los Muertos in Frontierland. Like every year during the Halloween season at Frontierland, Dia de Los Muertos (the Spanish phrase for “Day of the Dead”) was back again in Frontierland. 




















Right next to Dia de Los Muertos was the Ray Bradbury tree or known as the Halloween tree during the Halloween season.












After looking at the tree, DAW had to use the restroom so we head on over to Rancho del Zocalo restaurant which is where the nearest restroom is located. Like every other year during the Halloween season, it is all decorated.




While I was waiting for DAW, I went inside the restaurant and look at what Halloween food is available and the special at Rancho del Zocalo was Dia de Los Muertos Dessert Special Choco Flan. 




After she used the restroom, we head on over to Frontierland backside and go to the Halloween Carnival. It was located at Big Thunder Ranch like every other year during the Halloween season where Big Thunder Ranch is decorated for the Halloween season. 




But when we arrived at Big Thunder Ranch, it was already passed 6pm and it was closed. The Halloween Carnival closed at 6pm and we just missed it by a few minutes. I would be back there later during the trip but I was able to get some pictures outside.




















We were now entering Fantasyland and I noticed that the carts that are right next to Casey Jr. are not there. It was also a nice opportunity to see the former Fantasyland Skyway station which used to be there until the early 90s.








That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update.

[post=52329213]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52329154]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – September 14th, 2014 – Part 5*

*Happiest Boat Ride on Earth & Tomorrowland*​
After walking in Fantasyland, we head on over to It’s a Small World Plaza in order to ride It’s a Small World. DAW wanted to go on the boat ride during the trip. She always enjoy riding IASW every time we go to DL. She like the holiday version over the regular one but she still enjoys both versions. 

While looking at the façade, it was partially covered in tarps which is a good sign since it is getting a new coat of paint in which it does need it a lot where there were times when I saw the façade that it was wearing down a little.




The wait time was only about 5 minutes to get on the boat so we are now cruising on IASW.




































































Looking at the topiaries outside of IASW.




After we got off IASW, we heard the Frozen song and I can tell what that was. It was the Frozen pre-parade float that is ahead of Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. But I was surprised that it was running during the second parade in which it was only available for the first parade and not available for the second. It just shows that it is so popular that Disney had to put it in the second parade where it is so popular.




Since the second parade was going on at 6:30pm, we couldn’t walk all the way down towards MS since it will be busy. So we head on over towards Tomorrowland to wait until it was clear to walk at MS.

While walking on over to Tomorrowland, the walls for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage were finally gone and the lagoon was all filled up again. It was so nice to see the lagoon all filled up again and glad that the ride will be open later this week. One of the subs on the side dock was moving on the main line at the time when we passed by it. Looks like they were testing out the subs to make sure that they will be ready for the public.




Also when we were walking by the FNSV, I didn’t see any Monorails running on the track or at the station. But when we got close to the entrance, the CM’s were informing guests that the monorails were down. I was surprised to see the monorail not running that day. Mostly this ride along with the Disneyland Railroad are running all the time (unless work is being done on the tracks or buildings right next to the line) at the parks.




Since the parade was going on around MS Hub, we decided to wait in Tomorrowland until it was clear to walk on over in that direction. 

While we were in TL, we passed by Gpace Mountain Ghost Galaxy which is one of the two rides (along with HMH) that have Halloween overlays for the Halloween season. DAW is not a roller coaster type person so we didn’t ride it and the wait time was at 35 minutes.




Right next to the SMGG, there was one of the popcorn stalls and they have the Mickey Hatbox Ghost popcorn bucket and we bought two of them for me and for DAF. DAF who goes with me to the DLR a lot like to collect the popcorn buckets just like me. I wasn’t able to get one last year during the September trip but I was able to get two of them.




After getting the buckets, we just waited until it was time to go on over to Main Street. This will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update at DL that night.

[post=52347561]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Great pics, Bret.  Can't wait to hang out with you and Alison again next month.  We can all snap to our hearts content (as long as it's not at each other!!  )





mvf-m11c said:


> PiO can answer that.



I rather thought you might like to share YOUR news rather than me......


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## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


>



Great pictures inside HMH.  I'm sitting here looking at this one as I read the DIS. It hangs in Olga's suite. You got some good shots in IASW too. I'm glad Nemo is reopening. Add that to the list of rides I want to go on. Maybe I better plan to get out there earlier!


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## tksbaskets

Great shots outside HMH and on the ride Bret!  I have to agree that last years gingerbread house was spectacular and I prefer it over this years model.

Your pictures of Dia de Los Muertos are so colorful and clear.  I enjoyed seeing them all.  Especially the flower and fruit picture with the light post in the background.  We like the Rancho del Zocalo restaurant and plan to eat there in December.  

Im like your DAW, I prefer the holiday version of IASW.  WOW that new lens (and you behind the camera to work it) took excellent pictures in IASW.
The Halloween Mickey popcorn bucket is adorable this year.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great pics, Bret.  Can't wait to hang out with you and Alison again next month.  We can all snap to our hearts content (as long as it's not at each other!!  )
> 
> 
> I rather thought you might like to share YOUR news rather than me......



Thanks PiO. DAF and I can't wait to hang out as well. There is going to be a lot of picture taking on those days.

Alright. When I rented the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens during the trip and I was so satisfy with the pictures that I decided to get the lens after all. It was a tough decision to buy a new lens after trying it out during my latest trip report. I was satisfy with most of the pictures during the trip and I got it. Thanks PiO for helping make the decision on getting the lens. I can't wait to use it for our upcoming trip.




franandaj said:


> Great pictures inside HMH.  I'm sitting here looking at this one as I read the DIS. It hangs in Olga's suite. You got some good shots in IASW too. I'm glad Nemo is reopening. Add that to the list of rides I want to go on. Maybe I better plan to get out there earlier!



Thanks Alison. It is nice that the FNSV is about to reopen this weekend. 




tksbaskets said:


> Great shots outside HMH and on the ride Bret!  I have to agree that last years gingerbread house was spectacular and I prefer it over this years model.
> 
> Your pictures of Dia de Los Muertos are so colorful and clear.  I enjoyed seeing them all.  Especially the flower and fruit picture with the light post in the background.  We like the Rancho del Zocalo restaurant and plan to eat there in December.
> 
> Im like your DAW, I prefer the holiday version of IASW.  WOW that new lens (and you behind the camera to work it) took excellent pictures in IASW.
> The Halloween Mickey popcorn bucket is adorable this year.



Thanks you TK. The pictures turned out really nice with the Sigma lens during the HMH. There were some areas where they were so dark that it is hard to take pictures. Last year's gingerbread house was way better over this years. 

You will like Rancho del Zocalo which offers a lot for the price of the food. It has been a long time since I ate at that restaurant that I might consider eating there one day.

The holiday version of IASW is always one of my favorites during the holiday season. The Mickey Hatbox Ghost popcorn bucket debut last year but i wasn't able to get one since they ran out during my visit. I was fortunate that they have them during my trip.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52329213]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – September 14th, 2014 – Part 6*

*Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks*​
After waiting around at Tomorrowland until the 6:30pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade left the area around the Main Street Hub, it already passed by the Hub and we started moving on over towards the Hub. It didn’t make any sense to go on over in that direction until the parade was over since it was going to be very busy with the guests watching the parade in that area.

In Tomorrowland, it didn’t feel so busy where rides like Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy was only 35 minutes wait time, Star Tours was only 15 minutes and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster was 10 minutes which was nice wait times. 




We now walked on over to the Hub and it was a little busy where guests were leaving and that’s when we moved on over around the Hub and in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in order to watch the 9:25pm Remember Dreams Come True fireworks that night. We got our curb side spot close to the middle around 7pm. I know that it was way too early to get that spot in which we could get it with 2 hours prior to the show. But since we were able to do the rides that we wanted to do at DL that day, it was time to relax and wait until it was time for RDCT fireworks. 

I don’t know how many times I will be able to see RDCT fireworks since there are rumors of a new possible firework show at DL during DL 60th anniversary next year. But this is all just speculation and rumors where nothing is a fact yet. DAW had no problem waiting since she was riding in her ECV and I had no problem waiting so I will be able to get the firework trail shots.

This was the only time for the two of us to see RDCT fireworks that night during the trip since RDCT won’t be playing on Monday (9/15) since the parks only open from 10am to 8pm which is the off-season dates. 

It was a very nice day even though it was hot. It was like around in the high 80s around 7pm which was hot. The good thing about that day is that the wind is calm and it was safe to assume that RDCT fireworks was going to play that night.




While we were waiting for RDCT fireworks at 9:25pm, I played a little bit with the Sigma lens with the long exposure.








Astro Orbiter at Tomorrowland




I even tried with a one touch color on my pictures.




While we were getting closer and closer to the 9:25pm RDCT fireworks, I noticed something strange that night. Just before like 5 minutes until the fireworks is about to begin, the CM’s ask the guests to stand up for the fireworks. But they didn’t said anything to the guests and I was wondering why they didn’t tell the guests to stand up. They do this all the time to prevent other guests from stepping on them when they are on the ground. It was unusual that they didn’t say anything. When the show was about to begin, almost everyone that was in front of us was sitting while the other sides were standing. I was shocked that the CM’s didn’t tell the guests to stand up for the fireworks. I sat down like everyone else where DAW was sitting in her ECV. I set up my camera for the nighttime firework trail pictures where it was up tall instead of being down like me. So I just left my camera on the tripod up high while I was barely able to see the shot when it was took.

This was also a great opportunity to try out the Sigma lens on how it will do for the long exposure shots. I also tried something new with the long exposure shots. Instead of setting a timer on my DSLR like 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. time, I used my remote to take the picture and stop the exposure when I felt like it. It was good to try this method instead of depending on the time where I might be able to miss that shot.

Here are pictures from RDCT that Sunday (9/14) night. 
































































After the fireworks was over, we started to head on over to our next activity that night. 

[post=52347587]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52347561]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1  September 14th, 2014  Part 7*

*Second show of Fantasmic!*​
After watching the 9:25pm Remember Dreams Come True fireworks, I packed up all my gear and we started to head on over towards the Rivers of America in order to watch the 10:30pm second show of Fantasmic!. Since F! is only running on Sunday during our trip, it was nice to watch the second show after watching RDCT fireworks first. I have done this before in the past with watching the fireworks at 9:25pm and head on over to the RoA to watch the second show of F! at 10:30pm. There are times where I watch the first show of F! first and watch the fireworks from the area around the RoA. 

During our last trip in June, we watched F! at 9pm and watched Magical fireworks (summer fireworks) at 9:25pm from our area. This will be tricky since DAW is using an ECV and there is no way we could get the ECV in the sit down viewing area. So we played it by ears of what spot we can find to stake out for the second show.

When we were walking on over to see F!, we went through Frontierland since Adventureland is the exit for the guests that have watched the first show of F! at 9pm. The CMs have a barricade where they wont allow the guests that are trying to enter the viewing area to go through Adventureland.




Just when the guests were allowed to enter to get a spot for F! or go towards the rides, stores, etc. at New Orleans Square or Critter Country, I knew that it was going to be difficult to get a good spot right by the sitting area. 

The best way is to get a spot in the handicapped area. The handicapped area which is close to the Mark Twain/Columbia dock and by the viewing area close to the RoA. This was an interesting spot to watch F! since I have never watched it from the right hand side. It was close to the light tower which is across from the Golden Horseshoe restaurant. Luckily, there werent too many people in that area so we did get a good spot to watch F!.




Before the trip, I knew that the Mark Twain was down for refurbishment and some people that have seen F! would think that without the Mark Twain at the end of the show, how will the ending be. You will find out shortly on this post.




We had to wait about 30 minutes until it was time for the second show of F! to start which was not that bad wait time. I was on my iPhone playing my games while DAW was reading on her nook. 




Finally the second show of F! was about to begin. Since I had the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens with me during the show, I wasnt able to get those up close shots of F!. But the wide aperture made it up with lower ISO helped the shots a lot. There were times during the show that the pictures were so blurry that almost half of the show was like that. I didnt autofocus with the lens for most of the show. 

Here are some of the pictures that I took that night.
































Here is the scene where the Mark Twain mostly made its appearance after the battle with Mickey and Maleficent. The Mark Twain comes out and shows all the different characters from top to bottom. The characters made their way to the island which is where they go when the Mark Twain was down. It is not as spectacular without the Mark Twain but this is one of the alternate parts of the show when the boats are not operational.




Just after the characters went backstage and the show was about to be over, there was a group of people with a handicapped person that was trying to get out of the viewing area but they couldnt leave the area since it was all roped off. So they couldnt leave and had to wait and this is where not only DAW and I were frustrated but the other guests as well. We were all yelling at them to move since they were obstructing the views of the other people. I cant believe they tried to get out from a different area instead of going around the other way. So they finally went back the other way and I missed part of the show thanks to that group. 

Those people were so rude of trying to go on out from that way instead of going out the way they came in the viewing area. 

Back to the show where it was at the end.




Just when it ended, we waited a while until it was clear to go out. DAW was surprised that those people that tried to get out when there were other people watching F! and then blocked out the other people that were watching it. It was a terrible experience but it was nice to see the show from a different angle instead of the views that we normally see it from.

When it was clear, we started to walk on out of the park. But before we head on out of the park, I had to stop at my favorite dessert stand at the park. While it was so hot all day when we got to SoCal, I had to get my favorite treat which is the Dole Whip at the Tiki Juice Bar.

So we head on over to Adventureland which the Tiki Juice Bar is next to the Tiki Tiki Room. The queue to get the Dole Whip was quite long that night where I had to wait about 10 minutes to get my Dole Whip float that night and it was great to have it. It was hot that night which was in the high 70s at 11pm.




Now we were heading on out of the park and back to our room to call it for the night. And as always, I got pictures of MS on the way out.




It is nice to see the Halloween pumpkins on the buildings all light up at night.








The giant Mickey pumpkin at MS Town Square.




We exited DL that night after 11:20pm which was late that night but it was fun to be able to go on some of the rides that day and see RDCT fireworks and F!. 

On the way out, I had to get a picture of the pumpkin character heads on top of the turnstiles.




We got back to Best Western Anaheim Inn around 11:30pm that night which was late. Now that Sunday during our trip was over, we still have two more days to enjoy the Halloween season at the DLR. Since the park wont open until 10am on Monday which is during the slow season, we got to sleep in extra on Monday.

Mostly when I am at the DLR, the parks open at 8am or 9am but since it opens at 10am we got extra time to sleep in. This concludes Sunday during the trip and stay tune for Monday morning.


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## PrincessInOz

Congratulations on the purchase of your new lens.  I wish you joy with using it and I'm sure we will all enjoy viewing your pictures.


Lovely fireworks pictures.

That's a different view of F!.  What a shame about those people blocking your view.  
And thanks for showing me how the show works without the Mark Twain.


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## rentayenta

Ok just wow. I know I always say the same thing but just wow! Congrats on the new lens.  

I am really wanting to see F! properly now and not just when we breeze by on our way to grab beignets.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Congratulations on the purchase of your new lens.  I wish you joy with using it and I'm sure we will all enjoy viewing your pictures.
> 
> 
> Lovely fireworks pictures.
> 
> That's a different view of F!.  What a shame about those people blocking your view.
> And thanks for showing me how the show works without the Mark Twain.




Thank you PiO. I will be looking forward to using it during the trip next month.

The firework trail pictures were not that bad while some were so bright where using the Sigma lens with the aperture that goes to f/16 is less even with ISO 100. The view of F! was way different from what I have watched the show from. It was a shame of that family that tried to get out of the viewing area and were blocking other people that night.

Your welcome. It has been a long time since I seen the alternate ending of F!.




rentayenta said:


> Ok just wow. I know I always say the same thing but just wow! Congrats on the new lens.
> 
> I am really wanting to see F! properly now and not just when we breeze by on our way to grab beignets.



Thank you Jenny.

I hope that you are able to see F! during your upcoming trip.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52347587]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – September 15th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Collecting FP’s Everywhere*​
After a nice day at the park even though it was hot on Sunday. Now was the second day of the trip and it was our full day. We were able to do our nighttime shows on Sunday with RDCT fireworks and F! all in one night. 

Since the parks didn’t open until 10am which is the off season, we didn’t have to get up early that morning. So we just slept in a little longer until 8:30am that morning. We were a little tired from Sunday night since we got back to the hotel after 11pm. Even though I don’t like the off season since the park hours are shorter both by the opening and closing time but the crowds levels should not be that bad.

Before we head on over to the parks, we went up to have breakfast on the third floor of Best Western Anaheim Inn. BWAI just renovated it’s front entrance of the hotel with a new lobby and added more rooms to the hotel. The newest addition was the continental breakfast room on the third floor along with a gym upstairs as well. That is the only bad thing about the new breakfast room since it is all the way up on the third floor.

When we had breakfast, it was just simple continental food from food that are pre-cook like sausage, hash brown, waffles, scramble eggs, bagels, cereal, coffee, etc. I’m not talking about a full breakfast like at IHOP, Denny’s etc. but just simple continental breakfast. IT was nice to have something to eat before we head on in the park so we didn’t have to get breakfast.

After finishing breakfast upstairs, we started to head on out and over to the DLR. I never had great experience going to the parks when it opens at 10am since most of the guests will be heading on in the parks just along with us. I remember back during the April 2014 trip with DAF when our last day was on Monday, there was a long line to get through the security check point and we decided not to go in. Hopefully it won’t be as bad like the April trip.

When we entered the DLR, the security check point had some people entering the Esplanade but it was not too insane like the April trip.

But when we entered the Esplanade, heading to DL was not a good idea since the crowds that want to go to DL that morning was almost towards the center of the Esplanade which was crazy. But at DCA, it was a nice walk-in. DL didn’t let any guests in for the rope drop so that did make sense why it was crowded outside to get into DL.

So we just head on over to DCA that morning.




DCA had it’s usual morning rope drop and the first thing we did was get in the crowds so we can get FP’s for Radiator Springs Racers.




We waited for about 2 minutes until DCA officially opened at 10am. We were in the FP queue for RSR and it did took a while to get through the line and get our FP’s for that day. The park didn’t feel that crowded even though there were a lot of people at the park that morning at 10am.

We had a nice return time at 12pm to 1pm that day which was in two hours.




After getting the FP’s for RSR, we head on over to Grizzly River Run in order to get the FP’s for World of Color that night. With no fireworks or Fantasmic! that night since DL closes at 8am, WoC on the other hand was playing that night at 8:15am and it did make sense to see WoC that night. 

When we got over to GRR, I got in to get the FP’s for WoC and we did get our usual blue color section. 




Some people wonder why WoC is playing at 8:15pm when DCA closes at 8pm. The park closes at 8pm where you aren’t allowed to enter the park and the CM’s won’t let the guests go on the rides. But you are able to be in the park until one hour after the park closes. So we are able to be in the park when it closes at 8pm.

After getting the FP’s, there was nothing that we wanted to do that day at DCA so we decided to head on over to DL. Even though there is a long line to enter the park that morning, there was something that I wanted to do during the trip. 

So we exited DCA and over to DL.




We exited DCA and the line was still long where it was close to the Monorail columns which tell you that there were still people waiting to get into DL that morning.




Luckily for us, we went through the middle area of the turnstiles where it is for the handicapped people. Since DAW was using her ECV, we were able to bypassed the long queues and head on in with a short wait time.




We entered DL before 10:30am and it was busy after passing by the turnstiles.




MS was not that busy where most of the guests were walking up on MS heading to their first attraction.




We were seeing all the different Halloween pumpkins and decorations that are up on the buildings of MS. Most of the pumpkins I have seen in the past years. But it is nice to see them up and so colorful. Each of the pumpkins have a different face which is unique.








We head on over to Fantasyland by going through Sleeping Beauty Castle. When we were in FL, we first head on over to the Frozen M&G FP queue. The Frozen M&G is the most popular character meet & greet at any Disney parks and the wait times can be as high as 3+ hours which is insane. 

DL did something new and testing it out to see if it works really well or not. As I have wrote that the Frozen M&G is now doing FP instead of waiting in that long line to meet Anna & Elsa. It started one week ago before our trip and to see if this way was better over the long wait time. I can understand that it is a great idea & also a bad idea as well. The good part about it is that you won’t have to wait 2-3 hours to meet Anna and Elsa with only less than a 30 minute wait time. The bad part about the FP is that you have to get to the park first thing in the morning to be able to get one of the FP’s or you won’t have the chance to meet them since they have a limited amount of FP’s to distribute to the guests. I have read that the FP’s were gone the first hour to hour and a half which is crazy. This feel like RSR over again where you had to go first thing in the morning to secure a FP to be able to ride it. If you couldn’t come to the park earlier that morning and want to see Anna & Elsa, there is no chance you will be able to see them without a FP. I can understand that people will be frustrated of not being able to come early that morning to get a FP and get to meet Anna & Elsa but the long wait times to see them is crazy. We’ll see if DL is still going to keep doing this method of the FP or go back to the long wait times.

When we approached the Anna & Elsa M&G FP station, it was right across from the King Arthur’s Carousel and by the Frozen M&G area. I was wondering how they were going to distribute the FP’s to the guests and I figured it out when I saw the CM’s with the handheld devices which you hand your ticket/AP to them and they will scan them and give you a return time later that day.




I entered the line for the Frozen M&G and it was all the way back toward the entrance to the Village Haus restaurant. 




I waited in line for about 5 minutes and it was time for me to get the FP’s.




The CM’s ask for our tickets/AP and they scan them. Just like any ticket/AP, all of your party members must enter the park in order to get the FP’s. After they CM’s gave us back our tickets, they gave us our FP’s for the Frozen M&G. Our return time that day was at 4:10 to 4:40pm that day. 




That was like 6 hours until it was time to return to the Frozen M&G to see Anna and Elsa. We got our tickets scan around 10:40am and we had to wait that long. So it will be awhile until we are able to see Anna & Elsa that day.

After getting the FP’s, I want to go on over to the Halloween Carnival at Big Thunder Ranch since we weren’t able to go in the Festival Arena since it closed at 6pm on Sunday.

As always during any season, Big Thunder Ranch is decorated for the Halloween season along with Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. During the Halloween season, BTRBBQ is changed to Big Thunder BBQ Halloween Roundup.








We entered the Halloween Carnival which opens at 10:30am that morning and here is a look at the schedule happening that day.




The Halloween Carnival was quiet that morning where there was barely any guests. It almost feels like there were more CM’s there instead of the guests.








The games are back again at the Carnival




Goofy in his Halloween costume passing by.




That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update.

[post=52362593]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52362589]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – September 15th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Halloween Carnival at Big Thunder Ranch*​
We were passing by the Pumpkin Carver station where the CM’s are carving pumpkins into characters.




It is always interesting to see what Disney characters are carved into the pumpkins.




Chernabog from Fantasia




Pirate




The Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland




I talked to a CM carver and ask who she is carving? After seeing the image, I can tell it was the Hatbox Ghost at the Haunted Mansion. She was just sketching it and carve it later that day.




Elvis Stitch




Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.




Scar




A pumpkin shape Mickey just like the Giant Mickey pumpkin at Main Street Town Square.








It was quiet that morning at the Festival Arena since it was still early that morning.




A look at Conjure a Villain which is where you will be able to see some Disney Villain characters and it wasn’t a too long of a line so we went on over in the tent. I have never been in the tent which is nice to see a Disney Villain.








We entered the tent and there was a CM greeting the guests. He also got a volunteer to summon the character.




It was the Wicked Queen from Snow White.




Then we were able to have a picture of her. We were able to get a picture with the Wicked Queen, however the picture was blurry and I can’t believe it was blurry.




After getting our picture with the Wicked Queen, we left the Festival Arena and head on over to the Scare-Dy-Crow Shack which is next to the Festival Arena at the Halloween Carnival.




Just like very year during the Halloween season, the shack is all decorated with Halloween items.




















After looking in the shack, we started to go to our next activity that morning. That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next part of the morning at DL.

[post=52383744]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Nice Halloween activities in that area.  The pumpkin carvers are amazing.

Pity about the blurry picture with the Wicked Queen.  That would have been a great M&G.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
I was very happy to read that the Anna & Elsa M&G had been turned into a FP.  So much nicer for those families to be able to hot foot it over and get a FP and then enjoy the park and return when the time is right.  I couldnt even imagine spending $$ for a park ticket and spending 3 hours waiting for my 3 minute picture and autograph (which is probably the highlight of many youngsters trip).  I look forward to seeing your pictures from your M&G.  If we don't have to wait in line I might be able to talk DH into going with me.


I love the pictures of the BTM Ranch, especially the carved pumpkins.  Groot was great!


----------



## rentayenta

Great photos Bret. The carved pumpkins are amazing. That's truly an art form. 

I'm going to have to get the fam over to BTR area for sure this year. The eye for detail is fabulous. 

Can't wait to see how your meet and greet with A&E goes.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice Halloween activities in that area.  The pumpkin carvers are amazing.
> 
> Pity about the blurry picture with the Wicked Queen.  That would have been a great M&G.



The Halloween Carnival is a nice place to spend some time while at the DLR. You should consider it during our upcoming trip to stop by and see it.

It was no problem. It is just one of those things where the picture turned out blurry. But it was nice to meet the Wicked Queen.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> I was very happy to read that the Anna & Elsa M&G had been turned into a FP.  So much nicer for those families to be able to hot foot it over and get a FP and then enjoy the park and return when the time is right.  I couldnt even imagine spending $$ for a park ticket and spending 3 hours waiting for my 3 minute picture and autograph (which is probably the highlight of many youngsters trip).  I look forward to seeing your pictures from your M&G.  If we don't have to wait in line I might be able to talk DH into going with me.
> 
> 
> I love the pictures of the BTM Ranch, especially the carved pumpkins.  Groot was great!



Hi TK,

It is nice to have the FP for the Frozen M&G but I can understand that some people would not approve it since they can't come to the park first thing in the morning. If they still are doing the FP system for the Frozen M&G, I would show up early in the morning to get it. If you want to get an early FP and you are staying at any of the DLR hotel, I would take advantage of MM and get in the queue for a FP so you will be able to get a good return time. 

Halloween Carnival is a nice place to visit during the Halloween season.




rentayenta said:


> Great photos Bret. The carved pumpkins are amazing. That's truly an art form.
> 
> I'm going to have to get the fam over to BTR area for sure this year. The eye for detail is fabulous.
> 
> Can't wait to see how your meet and greet with A&E goes.



Thanks Jenny. 

You should take your family to Big Thunder Ranch when you are there during the holiday season when it is Jingle Jangle Jamboree. Both events are completely different and fun to go. 


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52362593]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – September 15th, 2014 – Part 3*

*Haunted Pirates and Not-So-Scary Ghosts*​
After walking at Big Thunder Ranch and seeing all the different Halloween decorations including the Halloween Carnival, we started to go on tour next activity that afternoon at DL. The day was quite hot in the afternoon in which it felt like in the high 80s that afternoon and that wasn’t even noon yet. The weather was just bad the other day where it was 104 and we knew that it was going to be at least around 100 that day. So we are getting as much as done as possible that morning to afternoon where the parks are opened at 10am to 8pm.

We left Big Thunder Ranch and now was entering Frontierland main side. While passing by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the wait time was only 10 minutes that afternoon.




The Rivers of America was quiet that morning.




We were now in New Orleans Square and DAW wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. When we looked at the queue, it was a 20 minute wait and I asked her if she had no problem waiting. But then she remind me that we can go through the exit since she was using an ECV but I did tell her about the situation of going through the exit to ride PotC since they could take longer than normal to go through the handicap side. So we just went through NOS alley to the handicapped section of PotC which is right at the exit.




Luckily we only had to wait about 10 minutes through the handicapped line and we were on our way. This was also another great opportunity to use the Sigma lens since it will be very dark and I could use the widest aperture for the ride along with less ISO.

Passing by Blue Bayou which is empty that afternoon.




There were times where I got some good pictures on PotC and times where they were not that good. The lens had problems focusing where it didn’t stay focus at the certain range. There were times where it was focus correctly and try to re auto focus which was crazy This was my first time using this lens along with a Sigma lens where I have no experience with them. I only use Nikon, Tamron and Tokina lenses. 





























Captain Jack Sparrow




I was not too satisfy with my pictures on PotC and have learned a lot from this experience when using the Sigma lens where even I took one good picture, the focusing can be a problem with the lens.

After riding PotC, I wanted to go back on the Haunted Mansion Holiday so I will be able to get some good pictures of the gingerbread house in the dining room since my first experience was not that good on Sunday. She had no problem with it and so we head on over to ride HMH.

When we got on over to the HMH, we had to go back to the handicapped area where we got our AP’s scanned and given a card that will take us in the handicapped line.




We walked up and dropped off the ECV where you can’t take it on the elevator.




Here are pictures from our second time riding the HMH during the trip. Once again, I am using the Sigma lens and hope that the quality of the pictures are better this time than the last time where some of them were good while the gingerbread house was the main focus.

The stretching room








Got in the Doom Buggy and here is our experience on the HMH for the second time.








This time I was able to get good clear shots of the gingerbread house in the dining room at the HMH. I made sure the picture was clear and focus. As I have said on my first day riding the HMH on Sunday and seeing the gingerbread house, I like last years better over this years.








In the addict




Jack and Zero




Oogie at the end of the ride




We got the stocking




I was so happy with the second batch of photos from HMH that we didn’t have to ride it again during the trip. She picked up the ECV and we started to head on out of the HMH and over to our next activity that day at the parks.

[post=52383760]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52383744]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – September 15th, 2014 – Part 4*

*Racing on over to DCA and Back to DL*​
After riding the HMH, it was time to head on out of DL and back on over to DCA in order to use our FP’s for Radiator Springs Racers since we got the FP’s that morning at 10am when the park opened. 

While walking on out of the park, it is nice to walk down on MS looking at the Halloween decorations just like during the holiday season where it is all decorated with the Christmas decorations.












The giant Mickey pumpkin on MS Town Square.








We left DL and now back at the Esplanade and it was so quiet at the Esplanade around noon that day.




When we entered DCA and walking down Buena Vista Street, right next to the Los Feliz Five & Dime store was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He made his debut that month and was greeting the guests. I was thinking about getting a picture with him but we had to go to RSR to use our FP’s.




We head on over to Cars Land in order to use our FP’s for RSR. When we got to Cars L and and over to RSR, the standard wait time was only 45 minutes which was so low that afternoon.




It only took about 5 minutes to go through the FP queue where it was nice to go on the ride quickly. If we didn’t have the FP’s that day, we would easily go through the regular queue which is only 45 minutes. 

We head on over to the handicapped loading dock and we were able to get front row seats which is always fun when riding RSR.

Here are pictures from our drive.




Mater




Sally and McQueen




We got Luigi’s Casa Della Tires side




White Wall tires look very nice.








Our picture during our ride on RSR.




After we were finished riding RSR, we started to head on out of DCA and back on over to DL to go on my favorite ride at the DLR which is the Monorail. But during the whole trip, it was down and I was wondering why it was down. Maybe this time we will get lucky and it will be running. 

It was not that crowded at CL that day and it has to do with the weather since it felt like in the mid 90s that afternoon which was crazy.




We head on out of DCA and now back on over to DL that afternoon. I love to do the park hopping every time I am at the DLR which is easier over WDW where it will take time to head on over to the next park.




It is nice to walk up on MS while the Halloween decorations are up on the buildings.




After walking up on MS, we head straight on over to Tomorrowland and find that the Disneyland Monorail was still down. I asked the CM’s what the problem was and the monorails not running and they just told me technical difficulties.

I was so bummed that the first day and a half that the Monorails were down. That morning, I did see a couple of the monorails running that Monday morning. That was so odd that they weren’t running. This is one of the rides that doesn’t break down and it was a disappointment. I wanted to go upstairs in order to get some nice shots of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage lagoon.




Since the Monorails were down, there wasn’t much to do at DL until tonight. But before we head on out, I had to get a another shot of the lagoon while we head on out and back to the room to rest up that day. It was getting hot that afternoon and we were sweating.




But before we head on out of the park, DAW asked if I wanted to get a Dole Whip and I told her that it will be nice to get one since it was hot that afternoon. So we head on over to Adventureland to get a Dole Whip.

So we head on over from Tomorrowland on over to Adventureland. The day was not that bad from the crowd level at DL where it was about half empty thanks to the weather at DL. A lot of the ride wait times were low and the most popular rides wait times were in the 10 to 30 minute range (PP at 30). 

When we got on over to Adventureland, the queue at the Tiki Juice Bar was almost close to the exit of The Enchantment Tiki Room. There was no way I was willing to wait that long for the Dole Whip. I did tell her another way is to go in the waiting area to see the Enchantment Tiki Room. She hasn’t seen the show yet so it was a nice opportunity to do two things at once. So we went inside and the line for the Tiki Juice Bar was way short.

So I was able to get a Dole Whip float that afternoon while waiting inside the Enchantment Tiki Room waiting area.




It was nice to have one especially that hot day at the parks. In just a couple of minutes, the doors open and we are now inside the building which was very nice where it was air conditioned and it was nice to relax inside after being outside for most of the day.









After we watched the show, it was now time to head on back to the room and rest up and go back to the DLR that night. Even though the parks are open till 8pm, we had FP’s to use for WoC and the Frozen M&G. We were tired from that day at the parks thanks to the heat and it was also a good thing too since the parks were not that busy.

Walking on out of DL




MS was not that crowded that afternoon which was almost close to 2pm.




We head on out of DL and back to our hotel room to rest up so we can be ready for the nighttime. 

That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update at the DLR that night or day.

[post=52396462]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## tksbaskets

Great pictures in the HMH!  It sounds like a very nice day. I really like the Halloween decorations. I'd like to have a picture with Oswald.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Interesting pictures of HM and your take on that lens.  I hope that the new lens works out for the next trip.  It's going to be interesting to check out it's performance.


----------



## kmedina

Love all of the Halloween decorations.  We were there two days ago, but I did not really take any decoration pictures.  I still have not had my camera repaired.

My husband finally got his first dole whip and dole whip float on Tuesday, which was also his birthday.  We got there a couple minutes after 10am (when it first opens), and there was no line.  Despite hating pineapple, I tried a bite just to see what the fuss was about.  As predicted, it was quite gross.  Hopefully, you get one next time.


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Great pictures in the HMH!  It sounds like a very nice day. I really like the Halloween decorations. I'd like to have a picture with Oswald.



Thank you TK. The whole day was nice even though the weather was hot but we really enjoyed that afternoon. We should have stopped to get a picture of Oswald but we had to use the RSR FP's that afternoon.




PrincessInOz said:


> Interesting pictures of HM and your take on that lens.  I hope that the new lens works out for the next trip.  It's going to be interesting to check out it's performance.



That is my experience on the Sigma lens when I was taking pictures during the day and the dark rides. Some of the pictures were good and some of them were not that good. I'm hoping that the a new lens instead of a rental lens would work out for this trip. 




kmedina said:


> Love all of the Halloween decorations.  We were there two days ago, but I did not really take any decoration pictures.  I still have not had my camera repaired.
> 
> My husband finally got his first dole whip and dole whip float on Tuesday, which was also his birthday.  We got there a couple minutes after 10am (when it first opens), and there was no line.  Despite hating pineapple, I tried a bite just to see what the fuss was about.  As predicted, it was quite gross.  Hopefully, you get one next time.



Nice to see you are back on the boards again Kim.

Thank you. I remember that you were going on that week and hope you are able to tell all about your adventures during the Halloween season. I'm sorry to hear about your camera.

That is nice to hear that your DH got his first Dole Whip. I'm sorry to hear that you are not a fan of the Dole Whip. We all have our likes and dislikes. 


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52383760]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2  September 15th, 2014  Part 5*

*Dinner at Carthay Circle and Roundtrip on the DL Railroad*​
After a nice day at the parks for about 4 hours, it was time to head on back to the DLR that day. We had FPs for the Frozen M&G around 4:10 to 4:30pm that afternoon but then I realized that we had dinner at the Carthay Circle Restaurant at 4:30pm that day. It was the first time for dinner that day and DAW is looking forward to eating at this restaurant. I have ate at the CCR back in 2012 with DAF. DAF wasnt too impressed with the CCR and hopefully DAW would like this restaurant since it is one of the fanciest restaurants at the DLR. It was tough not to use our FPs for the Frozen M&G that afternoon but we had dinner that day as planned and just shows you that you can forget about dinner after getting the FPs that morning.

We left the hotel around 4pm which we got about an hour and a half at Best Western Anaheim Inn. We needed the break especially with the weather that afternoon in the mid 90s. When we left the hotel it was around in the high 90s to low 100s that afternoon around 4pm. It was just a hot day but not as hot as Sunday during our first day at the DLR. 

Every time when I am here in September in SoCal, it feels way hotter this month compared to the summertime in SoCal. August is another month that feels hot.

Now back at DCA that afternoon and we head straight on over to the Carthay Circle Theater for our 4:30pm reservation.




When we got inside and checked-in, it wasnt time to be seated so we just sat in the lobby of the CCR until it was time. It was nice to be in the CCR lobby while we were waiting and it was nice and cool inside while it was hot that afternoon.

We could have ordered some appetizers while we were waiting until we were seated but it was nice to have it at the tables.








We only had to wait about 10 minutes in the lobby until we were taken upstairs. 








We were like the first ones seated for dinner at that time since we didnt see other guests until they showed up one by one after us. DAW was impressed with the main dining room at the CCR.












For dinner, we just ordered from the regular menu instead of doing the World of Color dining package where you get the prime viewing FPs in the Paradise Pier viewing area. I originally asked DAW if she wanted to do the WoC dining package but she didnt like the menu on the WoC dining package so we decided to order from the regular menu. 

The other thing about the WoC dining FPs at the CCR is that if you ordered a specific amount that equals or surpass the price of the WoC dining at $59 per person, you still would be able to get the WoC dining FPs. The thing is that DAW and I need to order at least $59 per person or more in order to get the WoC dining FPs for that night. Even though we have WoC FPs in the blue section, it was not a bad idea to get the FPs in the good viewing area since we havent done it since last year at Ariels Grotto.

For our appetizers, we had Fire Cracker Duck Wings. I have ate these back in 2012 and love them.




DAW got the Heirloom Tomato and Avocado Salad




I also had to try the Carthay Signature Fried Biscuits.




For our entrees, I had the Grilled Angus New York




DAW got the Sesame Soy-glazed Skuna Bay Salmon. But she got hers a little different since she cant have rice so she got all broccoli.




When we having dinner, we talked to a couple right next to us who were locals and they were having dinner just like us and we had a nice talk. They are also Annual Passholders at DL and have been coming a lot. We talked about the Halloween season at the DLR and they prefer the Christmas season over the Halloween just like me where I love the holiday season over the Halloween season.

After we finished our meal, our waitress gave us the FPs for the WoC dining package since we were close to the total price of $59 per person plus since I have an AP, we saved another 15 percent with my AP or DAW AP. 

After we got our FPs, it was time to head on out and do something until it was time to head on over to the viewing area for WoC. Since we had plenty of time, we decided to jump on back to DL to go on some rides that day.




The Esplanade was not that busy later that day around 6:30pm.




We head on back to DL and the first thing we saw that we knew that we wanted to ride was the Disneyland Railroad. The DLRR is one of my favorite rides at DL and I always have to ride this along with the Monorail. But the Monorail wasnt running these first two days and hoping that we will be able to ride it when we leave.




A nice view from the Main Street Railroad station which you can see the back of the giant character pumpkins.




The train that we rode was the Ward Kimball Engine #5 along with Holiday 2 car set.




We rode the Ward Kimball all the way around the park since we had to get back to DCA that night in order to get our spots for WoC.

While we were at Mickeys Toontown Depot, I noticed that there were some Halloween decorations on the station which you go in Toontown. I wasnt able to get a picture except for the backside since this was something new added for the Halloween season.




Just when we were leaving Mickeys Toontown Depot, the Frozen pre-parade float was happening. Since there was only one parade that day at 7pm, it started from IASW Plaza.




Just as we were about to head on over to Tomorrowland station, we passed by the roundhouse which houses the trains and monorails. We saw the Mickeys Soundsational parade floats while riding the train at the backstage waiting to perform at 7pm. We really got lucky to ride the DLRR and see the floats backstage.




Now at the Grand Canyon








Primeval World








After riding the DLRR around the park, it was time to head on over to DCA and watch the 8:15pm World of Color show. Since it was during the off-season and the park closes at 8pm, we will be in the park when it closes when the 8:15pm WoC show starts.

We left DL and back on over to DCA.

[post=52347561]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52396462]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2  September 15th, 2014  Part 6*

*World of Color Preferred View*​
After we left DL while riding the DLRR, we head straight on back to DCA and get our spots for the 8:15pm World of Color show. Since it was during the off-season and the parks close at 8pm, WoC starts at 8:15pm which is 15 minutes over the time when the park closes. When the park closes at 8pm that means that you cant go on the rides but you are able to be in the park one hour until it closes. 

We head on over to Paradise Pier which is where the viewing area is located and it was around 7:15pm when we got there. It was a little late for us but we didnt mind since we arent going to be in the lower part of the viewing area at the dining section. Since we ate at the Carthay Circle Restaurant that night and was able to get the WoC dining FPs, we could have showed up early and wait like the other guests. But since DAW was using an ECV, we didnt have to get there that early. 

Our FPs for the WoC reserved viewing




There was another area that is set for the handicapped people that did the WoC dining package since I read from the World of Color Superthread that there was another part of the viewing area that is blocked out for the people who dined at the restaurants.

Most of the guests that waited to get in the viewing area are already in while we were outside waiting to get in. It didnt took that long for us to go in the viewing area. When we presented our FPs to the CMs at the reserved viewing area in the middle area, we were told to head on over towards the yellow side entrance and show them our FPs to take us over to the handicapped area for the reserved viewing.

When we showed our FPs to the CMs at the yellow area, we were taken over to the handicapped section for the preferred dining. When we were taken to that area for the handicapped reserved viewing, I can tell that this was not one of the greatest spots that we have watched the show. I would easily chose my favorite spot at the green fire hydrant over the handicapped reserved viewing. It was not even close to the center of the viewing area and I was a disappointed where the handicapped viewing area for the reserved dining. If we had watched the show without the handicapped, it would have been in the center. But this was a huge letdown.

Here are pics from our spot that night which you can tell that it is not in the center of the viewing area.








The worse part from this spot is that one of the light towers that is used for the show is in the middle of our viewing area. 




This might be the last time we will be doing a WoC dining since the handicapped section is not that good from this spot and we were in the fourth row of the show in which we were able to get a railing but we will still see heads during the show.

While we were waiting for WoC, I played along with the long exposure shots with the Sigma lens and I was satisfy with the shots that night. There was still daylight and I had to set the aperture at its lowest at f/16 and the ISO was at 100. I tried to go as high as 30 seconds but it was just too bright. So I went about 10 seconds for the exposure shot.

Mickeys Fun Wheel of Doom




At 15 sec.




I even took a shot at the Golden Zephyr.








I have taken thousands of pictures of World of Color from different viewing area and this is not one of my favorite spots but it is good to try different spots once in a while. One day, I plan on watching the show at the edge of Paradise Bay. I know when you are right at edge of PB, you will get wet no matter what. But I do have rain gear in which I can protect my stuff and still be able to get pictures of the show.

Now it was time for the 8:15pm World of Color show and I used the Sigma lens for the show. It was difficult to get up close shots with this lens since it goes all the way to 35mm which is not that long. I didnt have to set the aperture at f/1.8 since the show was bright enough. 

Here are pictures from the 8:15pm World of Color show.




You can tell from the pictures that we were that the light tower was close to the middle when we were watching the show.




UP scene




Genie
















The show is now over








We didnt leave the viewing area just yet since it was busy and we waited almost 10 minutes until it was quiet enough to walk-on out of the area.




This was also nice to be able to get some pictures where it was quiet that night. I would have set up a tripod that night but DAW was tired and wanted to go back to the room and I had no problem with it either.








Walking on out of DCA that night and there were people still in the park shopping or doing something else. But the security CMs were not letting any guests walk on over to the other lands that night.




When we got on out of DCA. I asked DAW if I could get some pictures of the turnstiles at DL with the long exposure and she had no problem with it. So I got some more pictures that night just before we called it.








After getting the pictures, we head straight on out of the DLR and back to BWAI to call it for the night. Since it was a shorten day, we got back at the room around 9pm which was so odd that mostly we are at the parks at that time. But it was nice to relax and I was able to upload some of the pictures from that day on flickr and to be able to talk to you DISers that night.

This concludes Monday during the trip and stay tune for the last part of the trip which is Tuesday.


----------



## rentayenta

Oswald!!!! I hope he'll be around in December. 


Fabulous photos Bret, really. 



Carthay Circle is gorgeous and dinner looks delicious. I am always weary about ordering steak anywhere other than a steakhouse but that looks crazy good.


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## tksbaskets

What a nice installment!  It sounds like you enjoyed your dinner at CC.  I think DH and I may try it in December.  Did you make reservations way in advance?

That light post in the middle of your viewing would have been a disappointment for me too.  It's very distracting.

I enjoyed your pictures (as always) and smiled at the MFWOD!

TK


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## PrincessInOz

That lens did well on the train going round.   Nice night time shots too.  

Interesting to note that you can dine at CCR and possibly get a WoC FP without doing the dining package.  I might do that some day.


----------



## mvf-m11c

rentayenta said:


> Oswald!!!! I hope he'll be around in December.
> 
> 
> Fabulous photos Bret, really.
> 
> 
> 
> Carthay Circle is gorgeous and dinner looks delicious. I am always weary about ordering steak anywhere other than a steakhouse but that looks crazy good.



It was nice to see Oswald that day and wish that we waited in line to meet him since this was his first time greeting the guests.

Thank you Jenny.

The CCR is so amazing. The Grilled New York Angus was nice. Just like you, it is tough not to order a steak at a nice restaurant like the CCR which I could have got something else. The New York Angus look so good when I looked at the pictures that I had to get it. 




tksbaskets said:


> What a nice installment!  It sounds like you enjoyed your dinner at CC.  I think DH and I may try it in December.  Did you make reservations way in advance?
> 
> That light post in the middle of your viewing would have been a disappointment for me too.  It's very distracting.
> 
> I enjoyed your pictures (as always) and smiled at the MFWOD!
> 
> TK



Thank you TK. Dinner at the CCR was nice and glad that DAW liked it where DAF didn't like it that much for the price. Hope you are able to eat there for your December trip. I made the reservations inside 60 days which was not that bad where we were able to get the first dinner time at 4:30pm. If you are thinking of eating at the CCR for your trip, I would make the reservations when it is available at the 60 day mark since it could be busy during your trip where our trip was not that bad.

We were not that happy of where the handicapped section for the CCR dining area was located. To spend around $60 for that spot is a waste of money. I would watched the show from the regular spot for the dining area instead of sitting there. It was a letdown from that spot and one thing for sure is that we won't do the dining package if we have to watch at that spot again.

Thank you TK. It was nice to play with the lens and get the nice pictures of MFWoD. I believed you heard about the guests getting stuck on MFWoD a few days ago and were up there for 2 hours. That must have been crazy and scary.




PrincessInOz said:


> That lens did well on the train going round.   Nice night time shots too.
> 
> Interesting to note that you can dine at CCR and possibly get a WoC FP without doing the dining package.  I might do that some day.



The Sigma lens did well as a test bed to see if I like it or not. I didn't get too many great pictures with that rented lens and hope that the new unused Sigma lens would be even better.

I have read about this on the WoC Superthread and heard from other people that if you ordered the amount or more per person for the WoC dining package, you will be able to get the WoC reserved FP's. 


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52396472]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – September 16th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Morning with Alice and a look at the FNSV Lagoon without the Walls*​
After another great day at the DLR even though it was hot again that day and it was a shorten day which the parks were open for 10 hours during the shorten off-season during the Halloween season. Now it was the last day which is always the saddest part of any trips. While it was tough to leave the Happiest Place on Earth, it was time to head back to the real world.

On that Tuesday just like Monday, the parks don’t open till 10am which is the off season. So once again, we didn’t have to get up early that morning but I did get up early to pack up all of our bags. So I spent part of the morning packing the bags up and putting them in the car since we had to check out of the hotel at 12pm. Since the park opens at 10am, we had to get all of our stuff out.

Before we head on over to the parks, we went up to have breakfast on the third floor of Best Western Anaheim Inn.

After finishing breakfast upstairs, we went back to the room to get any of our stuff out of the room. Then we checked out of the room and head on over to the DLR that morning.

When we entered the DLR that morning it was after 10am and most of the guests were already in the parks and it was a good thing that it wasn’t that busy that morning to get in like the other day. 




We decided to head on over to DL to go one some rides that we weren’t able to do the first two days. The Disneyland Band was playing out in front of Main Street.




A look at the Halloween pumpkins on Main Street.




There were a lot of people walking up on MS that morning.




We decided to ride Alice in Wonderland since DAW has not ride the new version where she has rode the old version. She didn’t get to ride it back in June since it was still under refurbishment and it opened a few weeks after we left. So this time it was a sure thing that we will ride AiW before we leave that day.




The wait time to ride AiW was at 20 minutes. But we didn’t have to get in the queue since there was a CM right at the exit of the ride. Just like the Haunted Mansion Holiday where we didn’t have to wait in the queue but come back later at the wait time which was 20 minutes. We gave our AP’s to the CM and she scan it and told us to return 20 minutes later that day in order to ride AiW.




While we were waiting until it was time to ride AiW, we stayed in Fantasyland until it was time. While we were walking around, I looked back on over at the Frozen M&G queue to get FP’s that day and the line was all the way back towards the Village Haus restaurant entrance area. Just like the other day when we got FP’s for the Frozen M&G. This time we came early and the FP’s were still being distributed by the CM’s





We went inside the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique store and were talking about DD4 who she went with us during the January 2013 trip with her mom and she was thinking of getting a Elsa dress at the store. But it was difficult since she was not here but DAW knew her size. It didn’t make any sense to buy it at DL since they are way more than buying it from somewhere else. So she decided to wait when we got back to Sacramento.

It was time to head on over to ride AiW since the 20 minutes went by so quickly.




When we got back to AiW, we head on over to the CM at the exit and she scanned our tickets and told us to go through the exit and the CM will get us on board a caterpillar. DAW was looking forward to riding AiW that morning and I wanted to try out the Sigma lens on the ride. 

It was fun to ride AiW that morning without waiting in the queue.













Entering the world of Alice in Wonderland




After looking at the pictures when I got home from the trip since I couldn’t see them very closely on my DSLR and I was so disappointed that most of the dark ride photos were blurry. This is why I was worried about the Sigma lens when I used it on the other dark rides (PotC and HMH). Somehow the autofocus tried to focus again where it just made it worse. Even when I turn off the autofocus, my hand sometimes touches the autofocus ring. I have learned of the strengths and weakness of the Sigma lens.

























This was one of my best dark ride shots with the Sigma lens in which it was focus at that time.




During this part of taking pictures with the Sigma lens, I know what the problem with the lens is that It has problems focusing and staying as is where it tried to re-autofocus the picture and can be not focus. I have done some more research on the lens after the trip and see what the problem was and there wasn’t much about it. It could have been the lens that was the problem but I will not know until I try it again for the upcoming trip.

After getting off AiW, DAW liked the new version which was updated. I kind of like it but I always will like the original version of AiW before the enhancements and safeties.

When she got her ECV, we had to see again if my favorite ride is up and running. That morning, we did see some Monorails running on the tracks when we were entering DL that morning and hope that it will be and running.

We walked all the way from FL and over to Tomorrowland to see if the Monorail was running. And when we got to TL and passing by the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage lagoon, Monorail Mark VII Orange was at the station and seeing people at the station shows that it is finally up and running. So we head on over to ride the Monorail that afternoon.




We head on over to ride the Monorail that morning. But before we head on over to ride the Monorail, we looked at the FNSV queue and most of the walls are now down covering the Lagoon since early January. It was nice to see the FNSV walls are down. We are looking forward to riding the FNSV for our upcoming trip which is less than a week away till our trip.








It was so nice to see the lagoon without the walls even up on the TL Monorail station.




We waited until Mark VII Red arrived at the station.




Instead of taking the ECV on board the Monorail, we left it at the TL station since we plan on riding a round trip.

That will be it for this post and stay tune while riding the Highway in the Sky.

[post=52419479]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52419458]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – September 16th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Finally the Monorail is running and Halloween Dec/Merch*​
We boarded Monorail Mark VII Red and rode it to the Downtown Disney station. The DL Monorail is my favorite ride at the DLR and it is the one that I always have to ride no matter what. During most of the trip, it was down and I was surprised that it wasn’t running the first two days of the trip. Luckily it was running on Tuesday.

Passing by Disney California Adventure Buena Vista Street.




The Monorail stopped at Downtown Disney and we stayed in the Monorail and head on back to Tomorrowland.

Main Street station looks nice with the Halloween decorations including the turnstiles at the bottom.




We entered Tomorrowland and going over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage lagoon. It is so nice to see the lagoon all filled back up again and it won’t be too long until I get to ride it again in less than a week.




Matterhorn Mountain




About to enter the Tomorrowland Monorail Sation and a look at the FNSV lagoon.




Looks like one of the subs is being tested that afternoon.




After we rode the Monorail, I wanted to head over to Mickey’s Toontown to see the Halloween decorations on top of the Mickey’s Toontown Depot where I wasn’t able to get some decent pictures of it. 

The park was not that busy for most of the day in which it started out busy where everyone came at once at 10am. This is why I don’t like coming to the DLR during the off-season in the morning since everyone will be at the park at the same time. 

Monorail Mark VII passing by.




Now entering around It’s a Small World and the tarps are still on the façade of IASW as it is getting it’s much needed work.




This was new for the Halloween season at DL which Mickey’s Toontown Depot is decorated. 








Than we head on in Mickey’s Toontown to see other decorations and the gazebo in front of Toontown City Hall was decorated as well.




Just when we looked at all the different Halloween decorations in Mickey’s Toontown, we started to head on out of the park and head back to get the car and head on home to Sacramento. But before we left, DAW wanted to see one more show before we left. So we waited until we watched that show.

The show that DAW wanted to see later that day in the afternoon was Aladdin Musical at DCA. She has really enjoyed watching that show from previous years and I had no problem with it.









Before we head on out of DL and over to DCA, I had to look at the Halloween merchandise before we left that day. DAW was also looking for something for a friend of hers so it was good for both of us to be at the Emporium.




























After looking at the different merchandise at the Emporium and we didn’t buy anything since there wasn’t something that we got to have, we head on out of DL and over to the Esplanade.




Just before we left the park that afternoon and head on over to DCA, there was a sign telling the guests that DL will be closing early on Thursday the 18th at 5pm. I would guess that it must be some kind of private party that night.




We walked on out of DL and now over to DCA. 

[post=52419487]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52419479]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3  September 16th, 2014  Part 3*

*Aladdin Broadway and Going Home*​
After being in DL for most of our morning and afternoon, we now head on over to Disney California Adventure that afternoon to see the 12:40pm Aladdin  A Musical Spectacular. Since we had to leave that day, it was a good idea to see the 12:40pm show since it was the first one that day and we would be able to hit the road around 2pm.

DCA was quiet to enter the turnstiles that afternoon. Just like the other days where it was warm around in the high 90s to low 100s.








We had some time to kill before we head on over to the Hyperion Theater for the 12:40pm Aladdin show. DAW wanted to get a little drink or smoothie at Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop. Mostly I dont get anything sweet drink or ice cream at the parks (except at the Tiki Juice Bar) and so DAW got a Mango smoothie.




While we were waiting for the smoothie, Ghirardelli were selling Halloween chocolate.








After she got her smoothie at Ghirardelli, we walked on over to Hollywood Land but we went through Cars Land and A Bugs Land to the backside of Hollywood Land.




We got to the Hyperion Theater about 20 minutes until the show started at 12:40pm and it was not that bad that afternoon where there were about 30 people in front of us at the Orchestra queue. 




While we were waiting, I noticed that we are getting closer to the time when the show starts at 12:40pm. As I have feared that the CMs were not ready to let the guests in the Hyperion Theater and the show was going to be delayed. We need to leave that afternoon before the SoCal traffic gets worse. It can be a pain when leaving SoCal when the state workers are leaving at the same time as us around 3pm to 6pm. 

We were now let in the Hyperion Theater around 1pm which was really late and we were able to get nice center row spot for the show.




The show didnt start until 1:20pm that afternoon which was really late which is over half an hour late and we were almost about to leave SoCal during the rush hour traffic. But enough of that and now to Aladdin  A Musical Spectacular.




















Genie making his usual fun jokes at Jafar.








After the show was over, it was time to head on out of the park and start our long journey back home to Sactwon. 




We now left DCA and back at the Esplanade while we head on back to Best Western Anaheim Inn where our car is still parked at the hotel. This is why I like about BWAI since when we checked out of our room, we can leave our car at the hotel until 3pm that day. So we had some fun time at the DLR before we left.




It was around 2:30pm when we got back to the hotel. It was a little late when we wanted to leave SoCal and back home to Sactown But it was no problem even though we will get caught in the traffic.

We left Anaheim around 3pm and we did get caught a little bit in the traffic around Burbank where there was an accident on the highway. We didnt leave SoCal until 5pm which was late. But at least we got out of SoCal before it got even worse. 

Before we head on back home to Sacramento, we stopped in Bakersfield to have dinner that night. We ate at Black Angus restaurant. It was nice to eat at Black Angus since there is no Black Angus restaurant in Sacramento. The only one I can think of is at Citrus Heights that has the closest Black Angus restaurant around Sacramento.

We didnt get home until 10:30pm that night which we made our usual stops of fueling the car that night. I mostly drove all the way back home where DAW was able to drive part of the way. 

This concludes the September trip. This was a nice trip with DAW where we were able to go back to the DLR during the Halloween season which was the first weekend. We were able to do most of the activities that we wanted to do from the shows, Haunted Mansion Holiday, RSR, Monorail, etc. It was good that she had an AP since she renewed her AP back in June. The weather was really hot during all three days but this was not the worse weather I have experienced in September. 

Overall the trip was good even though the weather was bad. Now I am looking forward to my next trip with DAF in less than 6 days away. This trip will be a fun one where PiO (PrincessInOz) will be in town on October 10th to the 19th which she will be here shortly in the U.S. We will also be with Alison (franandaj) during our day at the parks. Our dates that we will be in the parks are on the 14th during Mickeys Halloween Party) and the 15th. Originally I thought PiO wouldnt come to the U.S. this year after she came last year. It was great to hear that she is coming down and spending some time with family members who live in SoCal and she, her DH and DS will have some time to spend in SoCal. You can follow PiO trip report: [post=52190357] PTR OCT 2014: Save the Date Mad Dash: Two Sleeps to Go #1054 (10/08)[/post] It wont be too long until the trip and we are all looking forward to the DISMeet.

Thank you for following along the September trip report and Ill post live updates and pictures from the trip.


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## PrincessInOz

Nice position for Aladdin!


Here's to a great DisMeet next week.


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## tksbaskets

Sounded like a great trip despite the weather.  I hadn't heard about people being stuck on MFWoD.  YIKES. 

Glad your next trip is coming up soon and that you'll be able to meet up with some DISers.

TK


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## mvf-m11c

Just got back from MHP tonight 10/14 and here are some pictures from tonight and i'll post more later on during the trip or when I get back home.

It was sold out tonight.


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
It's fun to actually see YOU in a picture and such a great one too.  What was the treat in the Annual Passholder line?

I'll look forward to seeing more from your trip.  I hope you enjoyed the Halloween party.

TK


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## PrincessInOz

Great shots!  Looking forward to seeing the rest of them.


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> It's fun to actually see YOU in a picture and such a great one too.  What was the treat in the Annual Passholder line?
> 
> I'll look forward to seeing more from your trip.  I hope you enjoyed the Halloween party.
> 
> TK



Hi TK,

It was a fun party last Tuesday. There was a special AP Holder line right at the Opera House where Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is located where AP holders get treats during the party. I am writing up my report so it will be up shortly.




PrincessInOz said:


> Great shots!  Looking forward to seeing the rest of them.



Thanks PiO. That is only a portion from MHP and more will be coming shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – October 14th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Got To SoCal Safely, DISMeet #1 PrincessInOz and Party Time*​
It’s time for the first day of the trip in October during the Halloween season with DAF (my mom’s sister). I was there not too long ago which is about a month ago during the first weekend of the Halloween season at the Disneyland Resort with DAW. The last trip was all about having a nice relaxation trip and seeing the Halloween decorations at the DLR. Just like other years during the Halloween season where it is all decorated at DL from the Haunted Mansion Holiday, Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, Halloween Carnival, Dia de Los Muertos, Ray Bradbury Halloween tree, food, merchandise, etc. DAW had a blast going back to the DLR during the Halloween season in which she is getting good use out of her Annual Pass since she renewed it back in June. 

For this trip, we came down to the DLR during the weekdays since DISer *PrincessInOz* was here during that week in SoCal since they are from Australia. I had DISMeets with PiO in the past from 2012 in San Francisco where I did meet her for the first time and last year in September 2013 during the Last Second DISers Meet Up & Halloween Trip. She is with her family DH and DS during the trip and this was another great opportunity to hang out with PiO and her family during the Halloween season at the DLR. This will be DAF first time meeting them since all those times were solo trips. The five of us will be attending MHP on Tuesday and we will be meeting up with DISer Alison *franandaj* on Wednesday at the parks. This was going to be a great DISMeet seeing PiO and Alison during the trip. It was also DAF and my first time attending Mickey’s Halloween Party since 2010 when the party was moved from DCA to DL. The first time when I attended the party, it was unorganized where the parties at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World (Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party & Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party) are well organized. Since 2010, I have heard that MHP is well organized and it should be fun to attend that party. It has been a long time since I attended MHP and looking forward to the party that day.

Also during the trip, I am using a new toy during the trip. Recently during the September 2014 trip with DAW, I rented the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens and was impressed with the quality of using it for the dark rides and at night. But there were times where I was not satisfy with the lens where it didn’t focus correctly and the pictures turned out blurry. I thought it was the lens that was the problem since it was a rental or it does have that problem. So this time just about a few weeks until the trip, I purchase the Sigma lens as one of my new lenses that I own. I am hoping that this Sigma lens will be better than the rental one that I used during the September trip. 

Now let’s get to the trip report. 

It was around 6am in the morning on Tuesday where DAF picked me up at my house. Since we were meeting up with PiO and her family and attending Mickey’s Halloween Party that Tuesday, we wanted to get to SoCal early so we are able to get in the park when the party attendees are allowed to enter the park at 3pm 3 hours before the party starts at 6pm. So we left Sacramento around 6am that morning and head straight on over to SoCal.

When we packed all of our stuff in the car, we started our journey down to SoCal. On the way down to SoCal, we stopped at my grandmother’s house in Livingston where it is nice to see her and take a break while heading on down to SoCal. For most of the way, I drove down most of the way to SoCal while she drove part of the way as well. 

When we got into SoCal, it was a little busy that afternoon but the traffic was not that bad around noon. We got to Anaheim 1:30pm that afternoon which is about 7 hours to SoCal with all the stops and getting something to eat. 

We head straight on over to our hotel which was Best Western Anaheim Inn. Just like during the September trip with DAW, we are staying at BWAI again. DAF and I mostly stay at BWAI when we come to Anaheim and it wasn’t too long ago when we were here back in April 2014 trip. But the hotel was still under construction and this time it was up and running where she will see the hotel all completed. 

We checked-in at bWAI and we were located on the first floor and at the end of the second building. I didn’t want to be in the second building since it was a longer walk on Harbor Blvd. But our room was ready so we decided to get the room and move all our stuff in so we wouldn’t have to come back later that day and check-in for our room. 

PiO and her family were already at the DLR before we got there. I believe it was around noon when they were in Anaheim. They were staying at Candy Cane Inn but they weren’t able to check-in to their hotel until 3pm. So they spend the first part of the day at Downtown Disney having lunch and looking around. 

While they were having lunch, we just waited in our room until they went back to the room and check-in. We plan on meeting with them at our room that afternoon since I have the tickets for MHP that Tuesday. 

It was pass 3pm and they arrived at our room at BWAI. It was so nice to see PiO, DH and DS again since the 2012 trip and she was able to meet DAF for the first time. After talking for a while, we started to head on out of the hotel and on our way to the DLR to attend MHP that day.

PiO and her DH brought there tripods for that night since we are planning on getting pictures that night including the Halloween Screams fireworks. PiO loves to take a lot of pictures and I always admire her pictures during her trip reports. I have learned a lot from her over the last couple of years including of changing my style of photography. This was going to be fun to be able to take pictures with them during the trip and learn more about the Sigma lens. PiO also bought the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens for her Canon. It was going to be fun to take pictures with PiO with the Sigma lenses and learn what setting to use.

We all went together to DLR that afternoon around 3:30pm to attend MHP. The party started until 6pm but we were able to get in 3 hours before the party started. I knew that going the first three hours would be busy with the regular guests and the party attendees.

No surprised that it was sold out that night.




When we approached the MHP turnstiles which is separated from the regular and party turnstiles, there was quite a number of people even around 3:30pm that afternoon which we did have to wait in the queues to enter DL. There were a lot of people all dressed up for the party and there were a lot of interesting costumes.




After going through the turnstiles, there were CM’s waiting to give the guests the bags and put the wristband on the guests. Just like in 2010, the area is all roped off from the party attendees and regular guests so that there won’t be any non-party guests getting the wristbands for the party.




The wristbands aren’t that special like the ones at WDW for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. But these are way better over the 2010 which is just a simple purple band without any letters.




The party didn’t start until 6pm (we got in around 4pm) so we had about 2 hours until it started and less than one hour until the pre-party began at the Halloween Carnival and Mickey’s Toontown. The park was a little busy that day just around 4pm with both the regular guests and the party attendees that day. I know that it was going to be busy with all the guests in at once for 3 hours so we were prepared for that event that night.

Just like back in 2010, MS Town Square was all decorated with MHP lights which are ghosts and pumpkins with Mickey’s face on them. During the regular days during the Halloween season, those light are not out and only available during the party. 

While we were in the park, we were able to watch the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade coming from Main Street Town Square to It’s a Small World Plaza. We were able to find a nice spot at Main Street right by the Disney Showcase store which is across from the Emporium and we were able to watch the parade that day.












After the parade was over, it felt like the park was busy with both groups at the park at the same time. It didn’t feel like Christmas break crowds where the park will be super busy. But it was busy for just a Tuesday.




Than we were able to go on over to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with only a 20 minute wait time.

Our picture while in BTMRR queue.




Just when we were about to ride BTMRR, DAF decided not to ride it since she doesn’t like to go on roller coasters. But she was able to ride back in April when t reopened in March. When we were riding BTMRR, I used the GoPro instead of taking pictures during the ride experience while PiO and DH were taking pictures on the ride. Mostly I would use the GoPro with the head mount strap but this time I was using the GoPro Pole to videotape us riding the BTMRR. It was new for me to take selfies with the GoPro while I am on the opposite side.

After riding BTMRR, it was around 5pm and we head on over to Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Carnival which is one of the two pre-party areas for the party attendees to go in. When we were in the Halloween Carnival, it was not that busy where there were some people meeting the characters, playing games and the treat stations. The treat stations were not that busy that day where I have heard from other DISers that Mickey’s Toontown is far busier than at the Halloween Carnival. This is a good place to start for getting candy at the stations since it is not that busy and you will be able to meet some characters and play games. 















Than we head on over to Mickey’s Toontown for the pre-party and as expected, most of the Halloween party attendees were in Toontown that day. Most of the treat lines were quite long where the longest we waited in line was about 10 minutes which was not that bad but still long to get candy at three stands. We were able to get candy right by Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin as well as Donald’s Boat. There was a long line to get candy at Mickey and Minnie’s house that we just pass by it. 

There were also character meet & greets by City Hall which had three areas. The best one was getting picture with Mickey and Minnie or Chip & Dale. They were in their costumes and we waited a while to get a picture with them. We were hoping to get Mickey & Minnie but we got Chip & Dale. It took about 15 minutes for us to get Chip & Dale where we wanted to get Mickey & Minnie. Also at the character m&g, Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar were getting pictures with the guests and we were able to get pictures with them. Donald, Pluto and Goofy were out there greeting the guests as well.








You don’t see too many pictures of me with DAF during the trip reports and this one was taken by PiO when it was our turn.








Just when the party started at 6pm, we head straight on over to the Hub so we could get our spots for Halloween Screams fireworks. I had some doubts of getting there early since the fireworks start at 9:30pm and wait for 3 hours for a spot for the fireworks. I know that is crazy but I have seen people wait that long or even longer to get a spot for the fireworks. But we all had our DSLR’s and tripods that we wanted to get good pictures of the fireworks that night. 

While walking around the parks when the party started, there were CM’s around at certain spots (mostly around the Hub) to check the guests to see if they have a wristband for the party or not. There were some CM’s around the whole park to see if the guests have them. The CM’s were well organized to make sure that the guests have the wristbands to stay in the park that night without being rude.

We had a plan since we had multiple people that night, we got the curb side right close to the Partner statue side and set up our blankets so we can watch the fireworks from my favorite spot. It was a 3 hour wait but we can take turns and let the other party members go do something that night. I am so used to wait for hours for the nighttime shows. The only thing I was concerned that night was the wind. But luckily it wasn’t that windy that night and HS would go as planned.

While DAF was waiting in our spot for HS fireworks, we were able to go to the Emporium to buy MHP merchandise and I was able to buy a shirt along with pins. During the party, DAF and I were able to go to the Opera House during the party since there was an Annual Passholder station where we were able to get a Hero 6 bag and an Annual Passholder rice crispy treat. DAF was glad that we got something out of the MHP ticket since we are AP holders.




While walking around the park during the party, there were projections on the ground and buildings just like at the MK during those parties.








While during the party, the crowds were not that bad as I have thought from hearing from other DISers report the first couple of weeks. Most of the rides didn’t hat those long wait times like during the day where they are at the treat stations, shows, and character m&g.

When passing by some of the rides that night, the wait times for most of them were not that bad. I didn’t go on any rides that night during the party since I spent most of it walking around taking pictures, getting food, shopping and the treat stations.

When it was about one and a half hours until the fireworks, we were asked by the CM’s if we wanted to move up closer to the rope off area to watch the fireworks. I was a little surprised that we were able to move up closely to watch the fireworks that night. I moved up along with PrincessInOz DH to take pictures that night while PiO was with my DAF and her DS at the curb spot. We spent part of our time during the party waiting for HS fireworks and we didn’t regret it one bit since we got good spots for the fireworks.

Sleeping Beauty Castle had the projections on the castle during the party.




It was time for HS at 9:30pm. I was amazed how good the front row spot was since I am used to being in the back for the fireworks. Also the CM’s told the guests that were on the streets to not stand up for the fireworks. This is like what happened during my trip last month where guests are now sitting on the ground instead of standing up like in the past. The DLR must have made this change some time ago where there aren’t that many CM’s managing the area like in the past.

Here are some of my firework trail shots that night from the rope off area.
















HS is a little different from 2010 where they added pyro techniques to the show but Zero and the sphere shaped balloon is still the same. When I compare HS fireworks to HalloWishes fireworks at the MK during MNSSHP, I really like HS over HalloWishes where HS has Zero and the sphere on the left hand side of SB Castle.

That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next update.

[post=52493801]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52493790]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – October 14th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade and closing out the Night*​
After HS fireworks was over, we went on over to Frontierland to see the Rivers of America and it was blanket with fog. DAF decided to head on back to the hotel since it was late that night and we were just going around taking pictures that night.








Most of the treat stations around Frontierland were quite busy that night even after the fireworks from the Golden Horseshoe & Rancho del Zocalo. The one that was fast was close to the RoA that night while most of the treat stations were quite busy. 

We were able to get a nice spot by the Hub for the 10:30pm Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade. I remember during the 2010 when the cavalcade was used for the party and it is almost exactly the same (but without the honoring guests that are in the cavalcade). MCPC is not even a parade like Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade at the MK during MNSSHP. 

The first cavalcade was way more packed over the second one where you are able to see it with little wait time around Main Street. 

Some pictures from that night. Including the Frozen pre-parade that is used during Mickey’s Soundsational Parade.
























































Projection on the MS buildings during the party.




On the streets. This is like how MNSSHP does the same thing where DL has incorporated.




After the cavalcade was over, we started to head on out of the park since it was close to 11pm which is the closing time and we were able to see the Disney Villians show at MS Town Square that night just before 11pm.








We head on out of the park and on our way back to the hotels. PiO, DH and DS went on over to the bus pickup area since Candy Cane Inn had a shuttle back to their hotel while I walked on back to BWAI that night. We parted our ways that night and it was great to spend MHP with PiO, DH and DS along with DAF. We will meet them the next day at the park which will also be a fun time as well. 

It was around 11:30pm when I got back to the hotel where DAF was resting. This concludes that day.

This was a fun day where we got to spend some time with PiO, DH and DS at DL during MHP that day. We were able to do some fun activities from rides, trick-or-treating, taking pictures of the Halloween decorations, characters, fireworks, etc. This was a great first day attending MHP for the first time since 2010. 

As for my observation of MHP this year when I compare it to the 2010 which I attended it the last time and it was well organized and better managed than 2010. There are some things that can be improved to the party just like the one at MK during MNSSHP. Getting candy at the treat stations can be a long wait or short wait while there are some stations that are walk-on’s and some that do take as long as going on a ride at the park. The character m&g were not that bad where I don’t do character m&g that often but it was nice to do some. The characters were all nicely dressed up for the party along with characters that you don’t see too often at the parks. The rides we didn’t since it was all about the party, shows, treat stations, character m&g etc. but they were all manageable with short wait times. We did had to wait a while for Halloween Screams fireworks that night which was less than 3 hours for a prime spot. I thought it was worth it where we were able to see HS at the best spot and the shots proved that. Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade hasn’t change much from 2010 but it needs a parade like Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade at the MK.

Overall the party was great and we all had a blast. If I wanted to do it again, it would be to enjoy all the full experience of the party instead of waiting for the fireworks. There were some places during the party that we were able to experience like Cadaver Dans, Monsters U Dance Party, some of the trick-or-treating stations and character m&g. I will attend MHP again in the near future maybe in a couple of years unless there is something new added to the party.

Now that Tuesday is over which was great, but the best part of the trip is coming up on Wednesday. So stay tune what happened that Wednesday during the DISMeet trip.

[post=52514888]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
If that is your new lens used for the fireworks - WOW the pictures are outstanding 

It's fun that you had a picture taken with your aunt.  Most often you are behind the camera so that was a treat.

Thanks for taking the time to post.  I really enjoy your trip reports.

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> If that is your new lens used for the fireworks - WOW the pictures are outstanding
> 
> It's fun that you had a picture taken with your aunt.  Most often you are behind the camera so that was a treat.
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to post.  I really enjoy your trip reports.
> 
> TK



Hi TK,

Thank you. The lens that I used during Halloween Screams was the Tokina lens. I didn't use the Sigma lens during the fireworks. The problem with using the Sigma that it doesn't have the wide angle like the Tokina when we were up watching HS fireworks. So I used the Tokina instead of the Sigma. 

I don't take too many pictures of me or DAF when we go to the parks. But this was special since PiO and her family is with us and we were in those different queues to see the characters.

Your welcome and thanks for following along my trip reports.


The next update will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52493801]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – October 15th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Meet-up that Morning and Ride City*​
After a nice day at Disneyland during Mickey’s Halloween Party with PiO and her family, now it was the second day of the trip and another fun day as well. We will also be joined by DISer *Alison* (franandaj) that afternoon since she was busy that morning. PiO, DH, DS, DAF and I had a great time at MHP that Tuesday night which was well organized. 

Since the parks didn’t open until 9am, we got to sleep a little longer that morning which isn’t longer like when the parks open at 10am during the off-season. It was a long day during the party that night where we didn’t leave until 11pm that night. 

We got up late that morning around 8am which was a little late for us since we could use that part of the morning to have breakfast at Best Western Anaheim Inn for the continental breakfast. So we just skipped it that morning and got ready to head on out of BWAI and over to the DLR to meet up with PiO and her family at 9am when the parks open.

We head on straight over to the DLR and at the Esplanade. PiO texted me that she was already inside DL that morning and was waiting for us to arrive.

It was a little busy that morning to enter DL but not as worse as like when the park opens at 10am and all the guests are outside waiting to get in.




When we were in the turnstiles to enter DL, I have read before the trip that DL has once again changed the ways of how they scan the guests tickets and take picture of the new ones. This times they are only using one CM at the turnstile which he or she will be doing everything from scanning the tickets to make sure that it belongs to that person (except for AP holders since they have the picture in the database), taking pictures of the new ones, making the guests sign the new tickets, etc. This really drove us nuts that the system where they scan the guest’s park tickets and then go through the turnstile was bad but this was way worse. It almost took twice or three times longer where they had two CM’s for each turnstiles to scan the tickets. We waited almost 5 minutes in front of a family that had e-tickets to be scan, took pictures and signed their tickets. Also they were asking the CM at the turnstiles about some other questions and asked for buttons as well. I was almost about to yell at that family to move where there are other people waiting to get in that morning. Just when we got through the turnstiles, we talked to a CM right by the turnstiles that they need to improve this system where it slows down entering the park and don’t make other guests wait while others are getting their tickets.

We head straight on over to City Hall to meet up with PiO, DH and DS that morning. Now it was time to do some rides that morning at DL. DL was not that full that morning around 9am while most of the guests are walking up to do all different sort of activities.




The first ride we did that morning was Star Tours. Also for the first time, DAF decided to ride with us and go on Star Tours. This is one of the rides that she doesn’t like to go on but it was nice that she decided to go on it with us. 




For our experience, we got to start off with the Stormtroopers as the first scene. Also I noticed something different during that scene. Mostly in the past of the new Star Tours, they show a picture of a guests as a rebel and they didn’t show a picture of the guests. On our next journey, we went to the Wookie Planet Kashyyyk. Then we got Princess Leia during the transmission. The show was different as well where they weren’t talking about the spy so this was different. On our last destination was going to the planet Naboo. 

After we got off Star Tours, we head straight on over to ride Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. DAF didn’t want to go on that ride as expected so we head on over to ride SMGG that morning. We waited a while to get on the ride that morning in which it was a 20 minute wait time.








It was so difficult to take pictures on SMGG but I was able to get some pictures with the Sigma lens that I was using.




Here is our picture on SMGG and we were lucky to get the first car.




After we rode SMGG, we met up with DAF and our next ride that morning was the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. I was really looking forward to riding the FNSV after it’s long 9 month refurbishment since it was closed in early January. I have been to the parks a few times since I rode it last December during the holiday season. This was one of the rides that we were looking forward to riding during our visit.




We rode Scout 207 that morning.




DH and DS were right next to me where you can barely see PiO and we were all set to take a lot of pictures during our voyage.




When we looked through the porthole, DAF and I were talking about how clean the dock looked. This was the first time DL drained the lagoon since the FNSV opened in 2007 and it needed maintenance. It took almost 7 years for DL to shut down the ride and refurbished it. I remember the old days when it was the Submarine Voyage in the 80s and 90s where it had to be drained in a couple of years to clean and maintain the ride. 




When we were riding the FNSV, the lagoon looked so great and clean.








We were now through the waterfall and now in the world of Nemo and friends. The video projections of the characters were more clearer and brighter where the projections were also upgraded during the refurbishment. It was tough to take pictures on the FNSV through the dark tunnel.




















Can’t forget about the old sea serpent during the old Submarine Voyage.




Just getting out of Scout after a great voyage in liquid space. It was nice to see the ride all refurbished and looks better than ever since it opened in 2007.




After riding the FNSV, our next ride at Tomorrowland was Autopia. It wasn’t too long when I rode Autopia which was last December. DAF hasn’t rode Autopia in ages. We mostly don’t ride Autopia since we do drive from Sacramento all the way to Anaheim and you can understand why we don’t ride the Autopia. But DAF hasn’t rode it in ages and it was great to ride it to go through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. 




I let DAF drive while I was taking pictures.












While we were waiting to head on back to the station, I got my pole out and got a picture of PiO, DH and DS who was driving his own car behind them.




We got off of Autopia and started to go to our next attraction that morning but that will be it for this post and continue on to the next post.

[post=52514908]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52514888]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – October 15th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Fantasyland Rides*​
After we rode Autopia, we head straight on over to our next ride that afternoon. Since we were close Fantasyland, the nearest ride from Tomorrowland was Matterhorn Mountain. So we all decided to head on over to that ride. 

When we got to Matterhorn Mountain, DAF decided not to ride the ride and watched all our camera bags. I do have terrible times when riding Matterhorn with the new bobsled where they are not that comfortable riding especially when you have a bag. There is barely any leg room and you can easily get crammed. 

We went through the Tomorrowland side instead of the Fantasyland side since that was the best side to go on when riding the Matterhorn. Some people like the FL side or the Tomorrowland side. The TL side can be a little rough over the FL side but there are way more drops on the TL over the FL side which makes it even more fun to go on.












It was nice to ride Matterhorn Mountain that day and I can still remember the tight turns and it was a little rough when riding it. The ride experience was better without the backpack.




After getting off Matterhorn, DS wanted to go on the Tea Cups. Since we were in that area it made sense to go on it. But when we were walking on up, DH, DAF and I decided to pass. So PiO and DS went on the tea cups. I haven’t ridden the Tea Cups in a long time and this is one of the rides that I don’t go too often even if I am asked by my other party members.




Just when PiO and DS got off the Tea Cups, we head on over to It’s a Small World. Luckily IASW was still up and running before it is closed in a week so it would be transformed to It’s a Small World Holiday during the Christmas season in mid November. 





























Then we got off IASW and head on over to New Orleans Square in order to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Just when we were walking in NOS, Alison was almost at the DLR that afternoon and we would meet her in NOS that afternoon.

The park was not that busy that afternoon but PotC started to extend the line outside in the walking area of NOS.




It didn’t took too long until we boarded a boat and now on the ride. Passing by Blue Bayou where it was a little pack that afternoon for lunch.




























After we got off PotC, we started to head on over to our next attraction that afternoon and will meet up with Alison. Stay tune for the next update what happened that afternoon.

[post=52549930]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## tksbaskets

Looks like a very fun, packed morning!


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## PrincessInOz

Nice pictures, Bret.

Sorry I'm late to the party; but we've had internet connection issues since we returned.

Looks like you had a great DisMeet.  

The pictures from MHP are lovely.  Looking back at it, I do wish we had spent more time getting around to the other bits of the party; but given how many people there were, I suspect we would have been trading waiting in one queue for the wait in another queue.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of your pictures.


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## kylie71

All caught up Brett, looks like a Fun trip! Looking forward to the rest.

--Lori


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Looks like a very fun, packed morning!



We had a fun morning at DL.




PrincessInOz said:


> Nice pictures, Bret.
> 
> Sorry I'm late to the party; but we've had internet connection issues since we returned.
> 
> Looks like you had a great DisMeet.
> 
> The pictures from MHP are lovely.  Looking back at it, I do wish we had spent more time getting around to the other bits of the party; but given how many people there were, I suspect we would have been trading waiting in one queue for the wait in another queue.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing the rest of your pictures.



Thanks PiO.

We had a great DISMeet on those two days and were able to do a lot of different rides. 

It has been a long time since we attended MHP and glad that were able to do the party with you and your family. Thanks for a great time at MHP. I know what you mean that it would have been great to spend more time at the party since we spent part of it while waiting for HS fireworks. But we were able to get great photos that night.

Thank you PiO and you know I am looking forward to your trip report as well.




kylie71 said:


> All caught up Brett, looks like a Fun trip! Looking forward to the rest.
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori. We had a fun trip.


The next posts will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52514888]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – October 15th, 2014 – Part 3*

*DISMeet #2 franandaj & Lunch at the Market *​
Just when we finished riding Pirates of the Caribbean, we head straight on over to the Haunted Mansion Holiday where Alison (franandaj) was waiting for us. 

She was across from the other side of the HMH and it was nice to see Alison. After we talked for a while outside, we head on over to ride the HMH that afternoon.








Just before we head on in the mansion, PiO wanted to get a picture of all three of us. I didn’t get the picture that afternoon but I know that PiO and her DH took a picture of the three of us that afternoon. So you will have to see from PiO trip report.

I have ridden the HMH a lot of times since it is open during the Halloween and Christmas season. I was able to ride it a couple of times during the September trip with DAW and now get to ride it again.








We got on the Doombuggies and going through the HMH.




Madame Leota 




A look at this year’s gingerbread house in the dining room.




Attic




Jack and Zero












Just when we got off riding the HMH, we were close to Splash Mountain and DS wanted to go on that ride that afternoon since he likes Splash Mountain and Grizzly River Run. Alison and DAF decided not to ride Splash but I did went on it with PiO, DH and DS.

DS was sitting up front, than PiO, DH and me. I knew not to go up close since if you are up front or close to that you will likely get wet. PiO & DH decided not to bring their DSLR’s on the ride since they could get wet but I did brought it on the ride since I was using my rain bag so it won’t get wet. I barely used the rain bag on the wet rides but for days when it is raining at the park.
















Our picture on Splash Mountain. DS, PiO and DH got wet on Splash while I did get wet on my pants.




After we met back up with Alison and DAF, we were all getting a little hungry that afternoon and Alison suggested that we should eat at the French Market. I haven’t ate at the French Market in years and it was perfect to eat some place that I haven’t ate in years. 

Lately, I have been trying all different restaurants that I haven’t ate or haven’t in years and this is one as an example of why I haven’t. 

When we got up to the entrance of the French Market, it was also during lunchtime and it was busy and we waited a while going through the queue.




One of the Halloween Time specials was the traditional shrimp po’boy.




There were also other special Halloween desserts that were available at the French Market.




DS got the Creamy Corn Chowder




DS got the Na Awlin’s Salad




Alison and DAF shared the French Quarter Chicken




PiO had the Jambalaya




Along with New Orleans Mint Julep




I had the Market French Dip




I was hungry just like everyone else that afternoon since DAF and I didn’t eat that morning. We cleaned out plates and from everyone else plates we all enjoyed our meals that afternoon.

[post=52549933]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52549930]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – October 15th, 2014 – Part 4*

*More rides at DL and now DCA*​
After we finished our lunch at the French Market, we started to go on to our next ride that afternoon. We head on over to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Alison, DAF and I have rode the new version of BTMRR when it reopened in March. But it was PiO, DH and DS first time riding the new version.








We all rode BTMRR that afternoon where DAF and I were in the way back while everyone else was up front.




You can tell that PiO, Alison and DH were taking pictures on the ride as well as me.




Dynamite eating got during the second chain lift












After we rode BTMRR, it was time that we head on over and hop over to the other park that afternoon since we were at DL for most of the day. This time, we are heading on over to Disney California Adventure to go on a few rides that afternoon.

So we head on out of DL that afternoon and over to DCA.




That afternoon, we waited until Alison arrived so we can ride Radiator Springs Racers. This is the one ride that everyone wants to ride that afternoon.

The wait time was at 80 minutes. Just before we were about to enter the queue, the CM’s at the entrance told us that the line to go through RSR was going to be long since RSR was down for most of the other day. That was during MHP where we were at DL that night. So they gave out FP’s to the guests who were at DCA on Tuesday so it was going to be a long wait time to go through RSR. But we had no problem waiting a while in the queue to go on the ride that afternoon.








During our ride experience, I didn’t use my DSLR where everyone was using there. I used my GoPro with the pole to videotape us in the back. I should have asked PiO or Alison if they could hold it up but they were taking pictures so I just got DAF, DH and me in the back.

Our photo during our ride.




After getting off RSR, we ehad on over to our next ride that afternoon which was Toy Story Midway Mania. It is fun to ride TSMM every time I am at DCA and this was a nice opportunity to ride with everyone else. 








Alison and PiO went together while DH and DS rode together. DAF and I rode together. During our ride and on the fourth scene which is the ring toss with the little green aliens, we were able to ring all the green aliens and open the secret target which the mouths open. Unfortunately, we didn’t score a lot during the ride in which I got 202,200 points while DAF got 97,200.




After we rode TSMM, we asked what we were planning on doing next and DS wanted to ride Grizzly River Run. So we head on over in that direction. 

Just when we got up to GRR, DAF, Alison and I decided not to go on the ride. This is one of the few rides at the DLR that I will not go on. After getting a little wet on Splash Mountain earlier that day, I had to skip this time. Also, I lend my rain cover to PiO so she will be able to get some pictures on the ride. I did encourage her to use it while they were on the ride and you won’t get too many opportunities to take pictures on GRR.

While the three of us were waiting for PiO, DH and DS, I waited at a few spots around GRR to get a picture of them.




You can see from the picture that they were soaked.




When they got off PiO, DH and DS were all soaked and DS was happy that he was able to ride GRR that afternoon.

After GRR, we head on over to Condor Flats to ride Soarin over California. Since we were close in that area, it made sense to ride Soarin. Also this was great to be able to ride Soarin until it will be closed in January 2015 when Disney updates Soarin in time for Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary. During this time of the day, DAF and I mostly go back to our hotel room to call it for the afternoon and come back to the DLR later that night. But since PiO, DH, DS and Alison were at the parks, we decided to stay with them for the whole entire day. We were tired that afternoon but it was well worth it.

Walking in the queue of Soarin. There is no photography or videotaping when riding Soarin.




It was nice to ride Soarin that afternoon of the original version until Disney updates it early next year. 

That will be it for this post and stay tune what happened later that afternoon.

[post=52570270]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Nice pictures, Bret.  I like the ones on Splash.  Glad you decided to take your camera in on that ride.

Seems like you had a great time on this day.


----------



## franandaj

Boy did I get behind over here!

The pumpkin carvings are very nice.  I seem to only get to see them in your TRs!

Great pictures on POTC and HM. I'm glad you got your gingerbread house.

Carthay Circle looks like a great place to dine and your food looks quite yummy!

Nice pictures from the train. I need to get on that.  It has been forever since I've seen the Primeval world.

Sometime, I will have enough oomph to stay and see WoC again!

Nice picture of the band.

I'm glad you finally got on the Monorail!

I love the Aladdin show!  Such a great production value.  OK that's it for now.  I will be back to catch up on the part of your TR with PIO!


----------



## franandaj

Mickey's Halloween Party looks like a blast!

You guys sure got a lot done before I joined you that day!

Nice pictures of everyone from GRR!  That was when I was feeling queasy.  Soarin was fun!


----------



## tksbaskets

Bret,
Looks like a great day.  We haven't eaten at the Market in quite some time.  Would you recommend the French dip?

We went on Splash in July and got DRENCHED.  Looks like PiO was a tad wet too.

Pretty good score on TSMM   Of course that is because I'm delighted when I get over 200,000.

TK


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## PrincessInOz

tksbaskets said:


> Bret,
> Looks like a great day.  We haven't eaten at the Market in quite some time.  Would you recommend the French dip?
> 
> We went on Splash in July and got DRENCHED.  Looks like* PiO was a tad wet* too.
> 
> Pretty good score on TSMM   Of course that is because I'm delighted when I get over 200,000.
> 
> TK



I was DRENCHED!


----------



## ACDSNY

My DGS and I have been looking through your pictures and he's getting excited about his trip in a couple of weeks.

 He loved the train and dinosaurs.


----------



## tksbaskets

PrincessInOz said:


> I was DRENCHED!



I know the feeling.  I got my family on Splash for the first time in July and I think they had to bail out the log after we got out.  We were wet up to our ankles because we had taken on considerable water.

My DS still laughs about the owl (I think) talking to us about how excited we looked in 'this here PhO Toe'.  We could literally wring our shirts out. 

Zipitty do dah.... 

It was one of the highlights of our trip as a good story always is.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice pictures, Bret.  I like the ones on Splash.  Glad you decided to take your camera in on that ride.
> 
> Seems like you had a great time on this day.



Thank you PiO. The Splash picture was great and was glad to bring it on the ride since I used the rain cover to protect my DSLR.

It was a great day where we got to do a lot of different activities at the DLR.




franandaj said:


> Boy did I get behind over here!
> 
> The pumpkin carvings are very nice.  I seem to only get to see them in your TRs!
> 
> Great pictures on POTC and HM. I'm glad you got your gingerbread house.
> 
> Carthay Circle looks like a great place to dine and your food looks quite yummy!
> 
> Nice pictures from the train. I need to get on that.  It has been forever since I've seen the Primeval world.
> 
> Sometime, I will have enough oomph to stay and see WoC again!
> 
> Nice picture of the band.
> 
> I'm glad you finally got on the Monorail!
> 
> I love the Aladdin show!  Such a great production value.  OK that's it for now.  I will be back to catch up on the part of your TR with PIO!


One day you should stop at the Festival Arena during the Halloween season or Christmas season since they do interesting activities. 

The pictures from PotC and HMH were not that bad with the Sigma lens but I only got the good ones where there are some that werent that good.

The Carthay Circle Restaurant is a very nice place to dine. When was the last time you ate at that restaurant? I know that you have ate at the Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55 but I dont think I have ever read on one of your trip reports that you ate at the CCR unless I miss a quick one.

I always enjoy riding the DLRR every time I am at DL. This is one of the two rides that I must go on every time I come to DL. The Grand Canyon and Primeval World never gets old when riding the DLRR.

We were able to ride the DL Monorail during the September trip and the October trip which I havent posted yet since we werent able to ride it the first two days of the October trip.

The Aladdin show is great and never gets old.




franandaj said:


> Mickey's Halloween Party looks like a blast!
> 
> You guys sure got a lot done before I joined you that day!
> 
> Nice pictures of everyone from GRR!  That was when I was feeling queasy.  Soarin was fun!



MHP at DL is very nice. I try to compare both parties of MHP at DL and Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party at the MK and see which is better. Since I have experience both parties, I would say my favorite is MHP over MNSSHP. The treat stations at DL were not that long when compare to MK where it took a while and since the MK is twice the size of DL, it does take a while to get from one location to another. I dont know if MNSSHP does a pre-party like MHP at DL where we were able to enjoy getting candy and meeting characters at the Halloween Carnival and Mickeys Toontown. 

We were able to do a lot that morning until you arrived that afternoon. 

Thank you. It was a good thing that we decided to take a break while PiO, DH and DS were on GRR.




tksbaskets said:


> Bret,
> Looks like a great day.  We haven't eaten at the Market in quite some time.  Would you recommend the French dip?
> 
> We went on Splash in July and got DRENCHED.  Looks like PiO was a tad wet too.
> 
> Pretty good score on TSMM   Of course that is because I'm delighted when I get over 200,000.
> 
> TK



We had a great time at DL during that whole day. I would recommend the Market French Dip since it was good along with the chips. PiO enjoyed the Jambalaya which is another good option.

PiO did got drenched when they met back up with us.

The score on TSMM was okay.




ACDSNY said:


> My DGS and I have been looking through your pictures and he's getting excited about his trip in a couple of weeks.
> 
> He loved the train and dinosaurs.



Nice to see you here Angela. Glad that you and DGS are enjoying my pictures since you are a couple of weeks away till your trip. It would have been nice if our trips cross paths which each other but I know that you will have a great time.

Looks like I know what ride he will want to do.


The next update will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52549933]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – October 15th, 2014 – Part 5*

*Nighttime Photography and late Night Snack*​
After we rode Soarin that afternoon, we head on back over to Disneyland that day just to relax until Alison had to leave that night. She wasn’t able to be with us all day today since she has some other things to do that night. So we were able to get out picture together until she went back home.




After our little relaxation time at DL, Alison parted ways and we continued our night at the DLR. 

Before we head on over to DCA that night, we had to get my favorite treat at DL which is the Dole Whip. We actually got four Dole Whip floats that night. I shared with DAF while PiO, DH and DS each got one.




I always enjoy having a Dole Whip every time I am at the DLR. Everyone else enjoyed the Dole Whip that night as well.

We head on out of DL and back on over to DCA that night and there were people waiting to see Mickey’s Soundsational Parade that night.




Just a while ago we were in DCA and now we are back there during the nighttime and it is nice seeing all the buildings light up at night.




We all head on over to DCA to get some nighttime pictures where we brought our tripods to get long exposure shots that night.








Seeing Radiator Springs Racers at night is always fun and great to get photos.








After getting some pictures around Cars Land, we head on over to Paradise Pier viewing area to see the 8:15pm World of Color show. Since the park closes at 9pm that night, we were able to see the show. Last time when I went to the DLR in September when the park closes at 8pm, WoC played at 8:15pm just like the last time. But since this day was inside the park hours, we can still go on rides that night but we decided to see WoC.




We watched the show from a different spot than our normal spot for WoC which was close to the middle of the viewing area. It is always nice to try different spots to see the show where DAF and I are usually right next to the green fire hydrant in the blue section.

World of Color that night. I know that PiO and DH took a lot of photos while I didn’t take as many photos like I usually do.








































After the show was over and it was almost at 9pm which the park closes, so we decided to leave that night. We didn’t eat dinner that night since we were full from lunch at the French Market. So we had to find someplace at night to have a late dinner which I normally don’t do. We looked on our phones to see what place is still open that night which is not a sit down restaurant like Denny’s, Tony Roma’s, etc. There was one place that I almost ate at one night but decided not to eat. The place was called Pizza Press which was on Harbor Blvd and close to our hotel that my DAF and I was staying. It was open that late at night so we decided to head over there to have late night pizza.

When we got on over to Pizza Press, there were a lot of other people at the restaurant that night having a late night dinner or snack. It was a good choice to have dinner at Pizza Press that night. It did took a while to get our food since there were a lot of people in the queue.

We all had pizzas while DH got a salad.




We got one “The Tribune”.




And two “The Press” Cheese




They were really good and for $8 & $10 is a fair price. This will be a nice place to get a late night snack or dinner after a long day at the parks.

When we finished, DAF and I went back to Best Western Anaheim Inn while PiO, DH and DS went back to Candy Cane Inn. They weren’t staying at CCI that night since they only stayed just for that one night. They were heading on over to Alison Casa Nueva that night. It was nice of CCI to let them leave their car at the hotel until they pick it up that night.

We parted ways when we were right by BWAI and we will be able to see them again the next day. We parted ways and DAF and I got back to our rooms late that night. And we called it for the night.

It was another great day with PiO, DH and DS along with Alison later that afternoon where we were able to go on a lot of different rides and World of Color that day. It was also great to eat at the French Market and Pizza Press later that night. 

This concludes Wednesday during the trip and stay tune for the least part of the trip which is on Thursday.

[post=52597999]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Lovely pictures, Bret.

I can still taste those pizzas!  They were pretty good, weren't they?
You probably weren't aware of what we did on the night but we got the $28 pizza deal.  For that price, we got two pizzas, a salad (the one that DH ate) and two sodas (one for you; and one for me/DS).  I think we probably saved about $3 - $4 compared to buying the items individually.  I thought I'd mention it in case anyone else reading was thinking of heading across to the Pizza Press as well. It'll be a few weeks or so before I get up to this point in my TR.


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
Your night pictures were wonderful!  (Your day ones always are)  Especially at RSR.

Is the pizza place anywhere close to where we are staying?  We are at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Anaheim Inn in December.

Thanks for sharing your adventures!
TK


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Lovely pictures, Bret.
> 
> I can still taste those pizzas!  They were pretty good, weren't they?
> You probably weren't aware of what we did on the night but we got the $28 pizza deal.  For that price, we got two pizzas, a salad (the one that DH ate) and two sodas (one for you; and one for me/DS).  I think we probably saved about $3 - $4 compared to buying the items individually.  I thought I'd mention it in case anyone else reading was thinking of heading across to the Pizza Press as well. It'll be a few weeks or so before I get up to this point in my TR.



Thanks PiO.

The pizzas at Pizza Press was very good. I was unaware of what we had paid that night for the food. That was great that DH was able to save some money that night. I don't think I ever asked you or DH about the price. you might have told DAF about it since you, DS and I were at the table while we were waiting for DH and DAF. I will look forward to your tales and pics of our days at the parks.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> Your night pictures were wonderful!  (Your day ones always are)  Especially at RSR.
> 
> Is the pizza place anywhere close to where we are staying?  We are at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Anaheim Inn in December.
> 
> Thanks for sharing your adventures!
> TK



Hi TK,

PiO, DH and I brought out our tripods and took long exposure shots around Cars Land that night.

The restaurant is called "Pizza Press" and it is close to where DAF and I were staying at BWAI. It is right next to the Carousel Inn and Suites Hotel and by the Tropicana Hotel. It is on Harbor Blvd which is a few building down from Best Western Park Place Inn up north. This is a great place to get a late snack after a long day at the parks. We thought about eating somewhere after the park closes at 9pm but most of the restaurants were closed at that time so this one was a nice place to have a late dinner or snack.

Thank you TK for following along on my trip reports.


The next one will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

[post=52570270]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3  October 16th, 2014  Part 1*

*Last Second Stop at DL & Casa Nueva*​
Now the next day which is always the saddest part of the trip which is the last day. But it is also a day that we are looking forward to since we will be going to Casa Nueva and see PiO and Alison that afternoon and have lunch with them. This was very nice of Alison and PiO to let us stop by on the way before we head on home to Sacramento that Thursday afternoon. But first we had something to do at the DLR before we head on over to Casa Nueva.

We got up around 7am that morning and started to pack all of our bags in the car since we plan on going to the DLR to do some last minute rides and shopping that we have missed on the first two days of the trip. We also had breakfast at BWAI upstairs that morning around 8am.

Just when we finished breakfast, we loaded the last of our bags from our room and were in the car. Now we got our bags and it was time to make a quick stop at the DLR until we left that afternoon.

The park opened at 9am which was nice that it opened earlier instead of later that morning. 

When we walked from BWAI to the DLR, we head on over to DL since we had to do some last minute stuff. Luckily it wasnt that bad that morning to enter DL so this was going to be a very nice morning.




The park was a little busy around Main Street where the guests were getting pictures with the characters and the giant Mickey pumpkin at Town Square. But we head on in the park that morning.




When we were in DL, we head on over to Tomorrowland first and head on in the Star Trader store. On Wednesday night when DAF and I had dinner with PiO, DH and DS, DH told if we could get the Star Wars Jedi Training Academy robe. That is one of the reasons why we went to the park that morning so we could get that robe for DH. Since I had an AP, we were able to save some money on the robe. 

After buying the Star Wars Jedi Training Academy Robe for DH, since we were in TL, I had to go on my favorite ride at DL which is the Disneyland Monorail. It was also the first time riding the Monorail with the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage lagoon all filled up after its long refurbishment. We werent able to ride the Monorail during the first two days and glad that we were in the park that morning to get the robe for DH. So we were off riding the Monorail.








We decided to wait for the next Monorail so we could ride up front. I always enjoy riding up front on the DL Monorail including the back. But lately, the DLR stop letting the guests ride the back. Recently on this trip, we did see some guests riding the back on the Monorails and it was nice to be able to see the guests riding in the back.

Monorail Mark VII Orange approached the TL Monorail station and we got to ride up front during our round trip.












Just about to enter the GCH.



Entering TL and passing over the FNSV lagoon which is nice to see it up and running.
















After riding the DL Monorail roundtrip around the DLR, we had to go on one more ride that day at DL until we head on out of Anaheim and on over to Casa Nueva. Since we wer ein TL, we head on over to the TL Railroad station to ride the Disneyland Railroad. I do enjoy riding the DLRR at DL and this was another ride that we didnt do during the trip which is something we do all the time.

The E.P. Ripley Engine #2 with Holiday 2 car set pulling in the station.




As always when you ride the DLRR and passing by the TL station, you enter the Grand Canyon.




And Primeval World












We got to Main Street Railroad station and this is where we departed from the train since we are now about to leave DL and head on over back to the room so we can leave that morning.

After leaving DL, we head on back to BWAI to check-out of the hotel and on our journey to Casa Nueva.

It didnt took us too long to get to Alison Casa Nueva. We got there a little early since they went grocery shopping for the ingredients for lunch. When they got back, PiO started cooking in the kitchen.




The first dish is char kaoy teow which was my favorite dish during lunch.




The second dish is tom yum noodles. 




All the food that PiO made that afternoon was great and we were both full. We were at Casa Nueva for a while until it was time for DAF and I to head on home to Sacramento and back to the real world. 

We left around 2pm and a 7 hour drive back up north to Sacramento. Mostly when I am with DAF, we stop at Little Tokyo in Los Angeles on the way back home to Sacramento. But since we stopped at Casa Nueva, we didnt have time to make a stop so we just head straight on back.

On the way back, we stopped at my grandmothers house in Livingston to see how she was doing. 

It was around 10pm that night when we got back to Sacramento. This concludes our Halloween Party & Two DISMeets in October.

This was a great trip for the both of us since we were able to see PiO, DH, DS, & Alison. It was a last minute trip in which PiO and her family were in SoCal during a family wedding. We were able to do quite a lot of different activities at the DLR and at Casa Nueva that morning to afternoon. Instead of going on a lot of rides, both DAF and I had a great time to hang out with them and talk about each other. We were able to go to Mickeys Halloween Party on our first day and from what I have experienced from the 2010 MHP, it is way more organized where 2010 was a little disorganized. It was nice that they had the pre-party at Mickeys Toontown and the Halloween Carnival which saves us time at the treat stations before the party. 

It was also nice to try out the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens during the trip. There were some times when I was using the lens that it wasnt focusing correctly just like when I used this lens during the September trip when I rented it. I thought that it was the rented lens but there were sometimes when this lens didnt focus correctly and out of focus. I will try it again during my upcoming trip next week to see if it is worth keeping. 

This concludes the October trip and stay tune for my upcoming trip which is about less than 5 days away till the holiday season at the DLR. This is our (DAF) annual trip to the holiday season at the DLR which we always come all the time when the DLR is all decorated for the Christmas season. This will be our fourth year in a row to enjoy the holiday season in November. I will try to posts pictures from the trip and get as many pictures as I can during the trip.


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## tksbaskets

Safe travels Bret!


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## ACDSNY

Looks like you had a great time with Alison and PIO.  Have a safe trip down this weekend.


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## franandaj

Yay! I'm caught up again! I'll be home late tomorrow night and then we'll say hello again later this week! Good times!


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## kmedina

Nice.  I love that you had another DISmeet with Alison and PiO.  Alison's house is coming along nicely.  That food PiO made looks amazing.

I missed you by 13 days (there 10-01-14) .  One of these days, I need to meet you.


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## PrincessInOz

So glad that you managed to get on your favourite transport rides on that morning.  I'm only sorry we couldn't include it during our time together.  I would have liked to have gone round the DL train.

Nice food porn.


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Safe travels Bret!



Thank you TK. We are looking forward to leaving tomorrow morning and enjoy the holiday season at the DLR. It won't be to long until you are back there as well.




ACDSNY said:


> Looks like you had a great time with Alison and PIO.  Have a safe trip down this weekend.



We had a great time with Alison, PiO and her family along having lunch that afternoon at Casa Nueva. Thank you Angela. Hope you have a safe trip as well this weekend.




franandaj said:


> Yay! I'm caught up again! I'll be home late tomorrow night and then we'll say hello again later this week! Good times!



Nice to see you have caught up Alison. I will be looking forward to seeing you later this week and along with your performance at DCA on Sunday.




kmedina said:


> Nice.  I love that you had another DISmeet with Alison and PiO.  Alison's house is coming along nicely.  That food PiO made looks amazing.
> 
> I missed you by 13 days (there 10-01-14) .  One of these days, I need to meet you.



It was a great DISMeet with Alison and PiO. Alison house is very nice and there were a lot of cats. PiO made great lunch that afternoon.

It wasn't to long ago that we just missed you. One of these days I will meet you in person.




PrincessInOz said:


> So glad that you managed to get on your favourite transport rides on that morning.  I'm only sorry we couldn't include it during our time together.  I would have liked to have gone round the DL train.
> 
> Nice food porn.



Since we were getting your DH at the parks, we had some time until we met up with you and Alison later that afternoon. So it worked out really for the two of us to ride the Monorail and the DLRR. We had a great time those two days in the park and we will never forget it. Maybe next time when you are here in Cal that we will have to do that.

The food that you made that afternoon was great. 


Our trip is coming up tomorrow and we will be back in SoCal again. I will try to post pictures of the holiday season at the DLR when I have time. So be prepared for pictures during this upcoming trip.


----------



## franandaj

It will be nice to see you tomorrow and you are so generous with your gifts!

I'm glad you will be able to hear our band play Sunday!  It will be a much lighter program than PIO heard on her trip!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Have fun tomorrow!  And I think I know what Alison might be getting.


----------



## tksbaskets

Safe travels!  Can't wait to hear about your adventures!
TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> It will be nice to see you tomorrow and you are so generous with your gifts!
> 
> I'm glad you will be able to hear our band play Sunday!  It will be a much lighter program than PIO heard on her trip!



A little late to respond but it was nice to see you last Friday and this past Sunday during your band performance. 




PrincessInOz said:


> Have fun tomorrow!  And I think I know what Alison might be getting.



We had a fun time at the DLR this past weekend even with the marathon crowds. You know as well.


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Safe travels!  Can't wait to hear about your adventures!
> TK



Thank TK. We had a great time and it won't be too long until I post the newest updates from this past weekend trip report.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – November 14th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Quick stop at Casa Nueva and Holiday Season at the DLR*​
It’s time for the first day of the 4th Annual Holiday trip to Disneyland in November. My DAF and I have been going to the DLR a lot over the years but this is by far our favorite time of the year to visit the DLR when it is all decorated for the holiday/Christmas season. This is also one of the most bizarre trips in November that we have ever attended since it was during the first inaugural Avenger’s Half Marathon Weekend. This was the first time that we will go during a marathon weekend which I was concerned at the beginning. As we do every year during the holiday season, we go on the first official weekend of the holiday season but this year since Disney announce the marathon that weekend, I was about to change our dates during the taping of the Christmas parade on November 7th to 9th. But *Sherry E* and other DISers said that it should not be as bad as what I have read from other marathons at the DLR during other season. So I just went along with it and hope that it won’t be as bad. Last year we didn’t go on the first weekend since we went with DAF colleague and family from work during thanksgiving break. I thought that was bad last year but it could be just as bad as last year. But the report will tell you about it. 

As always during any trips, there was a lot of planning especially with the Avenger’s Marathon going on that weekend. The day that we were concern the most was Saturday since Friday was the Expo day, Saturday was the Avengers Super Heroes 5K and Kids races that day while the half was on Sunday. So we had to plan out what we wanted to do during the trip especially with the racers, spectators for the marathon and especially with the regular guests that are here for the first weekend of the holiday season. 

For this trip, it was all about to enjoy the holiday/Christmas season at the DLR which is all decorated. I know that the whole DLR is not all decorated with the DLR hotels won’t be fully decorated until Thanksgiving break which we were able to see the hotels all decorated for the holiday season. You also got to include the holiday rides from It’s a Small World Holiday, Haunted Mansion Holiday (it is also open during the Halloween season), Jingle Cruise (for the second year in a row), & Storybook Land Canal Boats (partially). Don’t forget about the entertainment from “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks, “A Christmas Fantasy” parade, Jingle Jangle Jamboree, Viva Navidad (second year), World of Color Winter Dreams (second year), etc. We are looking forward to the most is all the entertainment shows during the trip in which we barely got to do that last year since we were with other people.

Also during the trip, we have learned a few weeks ago that my cousin Chris, DM, DD & DS25 are going to be there that weekend as us. We were all surprised that they were going to be there as well. We did plan on meeting up at the park on one of the days. But like any other trip, if they want to do their own activities at the parks we will do our thing while they do theirs. But we were able to do some activities during the trip in which you will find out later on the updated posts. The last time we were at the park with Chris and DM was during the Quick Trip with the Family during the Heat Madness trip in June last year. So it was nice to be able to hang out with them and do some things at the DLR during the holiday season. 

Now let’s get to the trip report. 

It was around 6am in the morning where I went over to my DA house and picked her up. This is our usual time when we leave Sacramento to SoCal. But we had to make a stop on the way before we got to the DLR that afternoon.

When we packed all of our stuff in the car, we stared our journey down to SoCal. During the drive, we go down on Highway 99 since my grandmother lives in Livingston and it is always great to see her when we go down to SoCal. 

It took about 6 hours to get to Southern California and the first thing we did when we got to SoCal was to fill up at Costco in Burbank. Than our next stop was to stop at Casa Nueva which was Alison’s (*franandaj*) house.

It wasn’t too long ago (during the October 14-16, 2014 trip) when we were able to hang out with Alison at the park and at her Casa Nueva. We also got to hang out with PiO (*PrincessInOz*) during the trip in which we had a great time. I had to drop off some stuff for her.

After we drop of the stuff at Casa Nueva, we head straight on over to Anaheim which is about 30 minutes away.

DAF and I got to Anaheim around 4pm which is late for the two of us since we get to Anaheim around 2pm to 3pm. But since we had to make a stop at Casa Nueva we also got caught in the SoCal traffic which took a while. But we got here safely which is important during any trip.

We were staying at Best Western Anaheim Inn which is our usual hotel when we come to Anaheim and at the DLR. We were able to check-in to our room when we got there since it was past the 3pm check-in time at the earliest. I have check-in at BWAI early if they have any rooms. We were in room 108 which is on the first floor and close to the lobby which is important to us since it is a short walk on Harbor Blvd.

When we put all of our bags in our room, I have texted Chris if they were in the park but they told me that they aren’t in the park just yet and will come in later that day. So DAF and I went to the DLR after 4:30pm and waited until they arrived.

We walked from BWAI to the DLR and the first thing we did was to head on over to Disney California Adventure. We were thinking of going in Disneyland first but the turnstiles queue was quite long so we decided to head on over to DCA since it was short.




It is always nice to see Buena Vista Street all decorated during the holiday season in which this is the third year now that BVS is all decorated during the holiday season.








The window display from Los Feliz Five & Dime store












Also new this year at BVS and around DCA was the lighted snowflakes have been added to the streetlights around the Carthay Circle Theater all the way towards Paradise Pier.








We walked on down the pathway towards Cars Land and we have seen a lot of the snowflakes on the poles.




We head straight on in towards Cars Land which is all decorated for the holiday/Christmas season. This is the third year now that CL is opened and all decorated during the holiday season. Most of the decorations at CL was the same from the previous years in my experience seeing the decorations.








































After walking around CL, we head on over to the back side of A Bug’s Land which is all decorated during the holiday season with the string of Christmas lights as well as the giant ornaments.












After wandering around ABL, we started to move on to our next destination at DCA. Continue on to the next post.

[post=52650842]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52650832]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – November 14th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Christmas Party in Hollywood and A Christmas Fantasy*​
After leaving A Bug’s Land through the backside we were now in Hollywood Land. I have heard reports before the trip that Santa/reindeer was not at the end of Hollywood Land right next to the Hyperion Theater. Last year was the debut of Santa and his reindeers at the end of Hollywood Land. So this was one of the places that I was asked to look out for. Luckily it was there when we arrived at Hollywood Land.




While we were in Hollywood Land, I went around getting pictures of the decorations. Starting with the Mad T Party which I am not a big fan of even during the regular or holiday season. 












It won’t be too long until the Mad T Party will be part of Yesterland. According to the reports that the Mad T Party will be close permanently on November 30, 2014. This nighttime event has been going on since the summer of 2012 and lasts this long. I would say that the Mad T Party closure at the end of this month has to do something with the Frozen theme during the holiday season which should happen in mid to late December this year. We will have to wait and see what Disney will be doing with Hollywood Land.

The usual holiday decorations on Hollywood Land from garlands on the poles, buildings, wreaths, Santa signs, etc.




While we were in Hollywood Land, I have heard that there was a new souvenir sipper at the parks which has to do with the new movie *Big Hero 6*. The sipper was Baymax an inflatable robot. I knew when I saw the first pictures on the web that we had to get that souvenir sipper. The sipper was available at the Awards Wieners quick counter at Hollywood Land.




There was also holiday treats at the quick counter from a gingerbread man.




Snowflake cookies.




DAF and I got two of the Baymax sippers.




Now we started to leave DCA and on over to DL that night. The BVS tree is so amazing to see every time with all the different decorations.








The stores at BVS were all decorated as well.




After looking on around DCA, we head on over to DL that night. It was cutting it close since we were going in DL when the 5:45pm second show of “A Christmas Fantasy” parade was about to happen at Main Street Town Square. But our other party members were at DL that night so we decided to join up with them. 

When we approached the turnstiles, it was quite long that night.




As always every year during the holiday season at DL that the snowflakes decorations are up top of the turnstiles.




When we got inside DL, there were a lot of people waiting for the second “A Christmas Fantasy” parade. We were looking for the other members and they were located around the center of MS Town Square right across from Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. 




So we met up with Chris, DM, DD (dad), and DS25. It was so nice to see them at the park during the trip in which it was a surprise for us as well since they were here the same time as us. We talked for a while about how everyone is doing and we waited for the second parade to come out from MS Town Square. This spot was okay where we were able to see the parade but not a great spot if you want good pictures. 

Even though we got to see the parade that night, I had to watch it from a better spot in order to get photos and video of it since the parade was changed once again this year. This is the second year in a row the parade has been changed and the pictures will tell you if you know “A Christmas Fantasy” parade in the past.

Here are pictures from the second parade at MS Town Square that night.




Here is one of the changes to the parade in which Mickey and Minnie were on the ice rink float but it was converted for the Frozen pre-parade float for Mickey’s Soundsational parade/Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade during Mickey’s Halloween Party. It was so odd to see them on Santa’s Mailroom float instead of the ice rink float. Also Duffy was back on top of the Santa’s Mailroom. The biggest change to the float was that there was no more Mrs. Claus at the end of this float in which Donald and Daisy are in the back where Mrs. Claus use to be. 








Also during the parade the Frozen float was put where the ice rink used to be during the parade. I didn’t get a shot of it since I have taken a lot of pictures of the Frozen float during those other parade.





























Once again, DL is taking out different characters in each scene and change a float that has been part of “A Christmas Fantasy” parade for so many years. I was disappointed that DL didn’t convert or get another float for the ice rink where Mickey and Minnie used to be. 

After the parade was over, we had to get something to eat that night since we are planning on watching “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks that night.

[post=52650848]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52650842]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – November 14th, 2014 – Part 3*

*Dinner and Firework Nite*​
After the second show of “A Christmas Fantasy” parade is over and heading on over towards It’s a Small World Plaza, we started to move on over to our first destination that night was to look for something to eat. I was also worried since this was the worst time to eat at night at the parks since most of the guests will be heading on over to the restaurants. Thanks to the Avenger’s Marathon that weekend the part was a little crowded that night. It was manageable where these crowds are not like Christmas break crowds but it has the potential.

We passed by the Main Street Town Square Christmas tree which looks very nice every year.








We walked through the crowded street of MS on over to our first place.




While we were walking on MS, we were talking where to eat first before we get our spot for the fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle like I always do every time I want to see the fireworks in front of the castle. The girls were talking about the Plaza Inn which had the fried chicken. It wasn’t too long ago when I ate at the Plaza Inn with DAW. DAF and I had no problem with it. Just when we walked on up, there was already a huge line to get in the Plaza Inn that night which the line was headed on over towards Tomorrowland entrance. That was scary to see the line that long. 

Also when we were about to enter the line for the Plaza Inn, they had some FP’s to use that night in which they were able to get Star Tours. So Chris and DS25 ask me if I want to go with them since DM and DD can’t do Star Tour so I went with them. DAF, DM and DD stayed in the queue to get the food at the Plaza Inn.

SO Chris, DD25 and I went on over to Star Tours to use our FP’s. We only had to wait about 10 minutes through the queue to board the Starspeeder 1000. I didn’t get any pictures when we were walking through the queue. For our journey, we started off facing Darth Vader and escaping him. Next we were at the frozen planet of Hoth. Our transmission was from Admiral Ackbar. On our last destination was the planet Naboo.

After riding Star Tours, we head on over to the Plaza Inn and they already got the food. I shared a plate with DAF which was the fried chicken dish. I always enjoy eating the fried chicken at the Plaza Inn every time we eat at that restaurant.




When we finished eating at the Plaza Inn, we head on over to the Hub to get our spots for the fireworks. Mostly with about two and a half hours of stake out time would get you the curb side spots for the fireworks. Unfortunately there were already people waiting on the curb side spots and was going all the way towards the edges of Tomorrowland and Frontierland. I was completely surprised that there were people already at that spot with two and a half hours until the fireworks at 9:25pm. So we had to get a spot behind some people and I am hoping that they won’t obstruct our view of the fireworks that night.





During this whole time, we just waited staking out our spots for the fireworks that night. We were able to see both the shows of Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle Enchantment Holiday lighting at 7:30pm and 8:30pm. It is a nice lighting show of SB Winter Castle and it also snows around the Hub during the show. So this is another good way to see the snow instead of after the fireworks. 




So we waited until it was time for the 9:25pm BIHM fireworks. I have enjoyed watching this fireworks show ever since this firework show debut in 2000 and has been delighting me over the years. Also I brought my tripod with me so I will be able to take picture of the firework trails that night. I set my settings on my DSLR from different timing, and aperture. I was using the Sigma lens during the fireworks in which it was okay to use at specific apertures. The only problem with the Sigma is that it goes to f/16 which is the lowest which I can’t go longer on the aperture.

There was a tall person that was in the way of my camera so I got his head. So these pictures will have someone in it while I have pictures without any people in them. It just shows you how crowded the park was that night where even though we got there two and a half hours early.

Also during the September trip and October trip in which the guests that are in the middle of the area facing the castle has to sit down. But during this past Friday, it was back to the old ways where all the guests will have to stand up for the fireworks. The walkway that is in front of the area is back again where the guests are walking on over to their next destination. I knew that the guests will have to stand up for the fireworks since it can be dangerous if they are sitting on the ground.

The settings were different from a low as 5 seconds to 15 seconds. The aperture was from f/9 to f/16 mostly at f/11. ISO was set at 100 for most of the shots. 

Here are my pictures of BIHM fireworks.












































After BIHM fireworks was over, it started to snow like every other BIHM firework show in the past. I started to pack all my equipment back on my bag and we started to head on over to our next destination that night.




That will be it for this post and stay tune what we have done later that day during the trip.

[post=52673339]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Great pictures, Bret.

Looking forward to seeing more.  I always like looking at the Christmas decorations.


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## tksbaskets

I second PiO!  Great photos and it looks like you had a really nice day.  I'm going to try and get good seats for the parade as well.  Is your favorite place at the hub outside of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln?

You're getting me more excited for our upcoming trip


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## maleficent55

Your pictures are unreal! So crisp! 
Sounds like a great trip and well planned. Makes me so excited to be there in 2 weeks from today!!!!!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Great pictures, Bret.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing more.  I always like looking at the Christmas decorations.



Thank you PiO.

Seeing the Christmas decorations at the DLR is the best time of the year to visit the DLR or any Disney parks.




tksbaskets said:


> I second PiO!  Great photos and it looks like you had a really nice day.  I'm going to try and get good seats for the parade as well.  Is your favorite place at the hub outside of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln?
> 
> You're getting me more excited for our upcoming trip



Thank you TK. It was a nice day and also a very busy day as well thanks to the Avenger's Marathon. I have a different places to watch the parade. The best is MS Hub which I like to get SB Winter Castle in the picture with the parade as well as the Main Streets where the buildings are. The place with the least wait time is It's a Small World Plaza. The area that I took pictures that night was close to the Flag Retreat area and it was a handicapped area. I would say this is not a great place to watch the parade but we were able to see it clearly from this spot.

It won't be too long until your trip which I am getting excited for you as well. Hope you have a great time.




maleficent55 said:


> Your pictures are unreal! So crisp!
> Sounds like a great trip and well planned. Makes me so excited to be there in 2 weeks from today!!!!!



Thank you maleficent55. 

It is always a good idea to come up with a great plan especially during the marathon or during Christmas break which can be ugly as well. Hope you have a great time.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52650848]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – November 14th, 2014 – Part 4*

*An Updated It’s a Small World Holiday*​
Just when Believe…In Holiday Magic fireworks was over, we packed all of our stuff and we head on to our next destination that night. It was almost 10pm and some of us were getting tired. But we were able to stay up and decided to go on It’s a Small World Holiday. Even though it was after the fireworks, the wait time was around 15 minutes which was not that bad at that time of the night. It is nice to see IASWH all light up at night with its Christmas decorations. 

When we were heading on over to IASWH, the Christmas decorations were up when walking up the plaza. I always enjoy seeing the wreaths which represents each different country. I didn’t get too many of them that night since we were walking on over to IASWH. But I was able to get most of the wreaths.




Like every other year, IASWH looks so amazing with its Christmas decorations.








While we were walking, the clock show was going on which is great to watch every time you are at IASW Plaza at night. Every 15 minutes when the clock opens and shows the time, just in a short time the clock show on the façade plays.












We were able to get the first three rows on the boat. Here are pictures from IASWH. Also this year there were some changes to the ride which has happen in the past. Can you guess what is new for this years IASWH.




















2015 sign is up this year which is always different every year.
















The newest addition to IASWH was the archway when going in the Feliz Navidad scene. In the past, there was an archway when going in this scene. This year is completely different in which the new archway is better than the previous one. 








Also a new addition to IASWH is the giant sea serpent head which is at the beginning of the original IASW is now added in the under the sea scene. 




























Arriving back at the dock and to disembark. This year’s IASWH got some new additions to the ride experience from the new archway over Feliz Navidad and the giant serpent head right by under the sea area. It was nice with the new additions to ISAWH but I am a little sad as well since they took away the old archway for the Feliz Navidad scene. Overall IASWH is great like every other year.

[post=52673345]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52673339]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1 – November 14th, 2014 – Part 5*

*The Real Holiday Version of Jingle Cruise Part 1*​
After we rode IASWH, DAF, DM and DD were getting tired that night and they told Chris DS25 and me that they were heading on back to their hotels. The three of us said that we would still be in the park for a little longer to do some other activities that night before we call it. 

They rode the Disneyland Railroad since they were right by Mickey’s Toontown Depot. The three of us decided to ride Jingle Cruise since it just opened on Thursday. We have read about the JC being changed this year with more Christmas decorations added to the ride experience. 

I remember last year during my last two trips in November and December that there were two different ride experiences where the November one was barely decorated during the ride experience while the December added some decorations to the ride. This year, it is completely new with more decorations added to the ride experience. The wait time was only 15 minutes which was not that bad at that time of the night so the three of us headed on over to Adventureland to ride the JC.

When we approached the JC, the queue was decorated like last year.




All different kinds of decorations when going through the queue.




Disney does a good job with all the different details even through the queue.












We had to walk up stairs but we weren’t able to walk close to it since the queue was not going in that direction but I was able to get a picture of it.




The boats ad interesting plates on top of the boats which is different.




We boarded the boat in 15 minutes and we were at the back of the boat. Taking pictures at night was going to be tricky since it is difficult to take pictures at night. I was using the Sigma 18-35m f/1.8 lens for the trip and some of them turned out well while some of them didn’t. I had the same problem when I used the lens in October when after focusing and later on when taking another picture it was out of focus. There were some pictures that were out of focus when taking pictures on the JC but here are some pictures of the JC at night with the Christmas decorations. 
















Even the elephants are enjoying the holiday season.








The big bull elephant has a wreath as well.




The baboons are all dressed up nice as Santa Claus.




The gorillas are making something sweet.




Looks like he is trying to get those Candy Canes like at DL & DCA.




That’s it for this post and continue on to the next post on the Jingle Cruise.

[post=52673352]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52673345]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 1  November 14th, 2014  Part 6*

*Continue with Jingle Cruise and All Done for Tonight*​
An African elephant found a lot of jingle bells to play with.




All the other animals are enjoying the holidays and the crates that they are going through.








The lions are enjoying reindeer for dinner. 




The safari party are up decorating the pole and the rhinoceros is giving them another star to put on top.




Fruit Cake in the water?




The hippos favorite meal is fruit cake.








Passing by the native village which is all decorated with Christmas light.




Passing by the piranha and the presents are ripped a little bit. Its too early to open the presents piranhas.








At the end, Trader Sam was all decorated just like back in December last year but I wasnt able to get a good picture of him.

We got back to the docks and exited the JC. My first impression of the JC this year which it was different from last year in which it look fun to ride. Last years was all about the jokes from the skipper but this year it was both the skipper and the ride experience which made it even better. This is a nice addition to the holiday overlay rides at DL during the holiday season.

After riding JC, the girls wanted to go to New Orleans Square to do some shopping so we head on over to NOS. Like every other year during the holiday season NOS is nicely decorated with the Mardi Gras masks, beads, wreaths, etc. 




From the LeBat en Rouge store.








The giant Mardi Gras masks was back again this year which it replaced the giant wreath last yar.




The girls were able to find some clothes at one of the stores in NOS and we started to head on out of the park since it was almost midnight. 

But before we left, I asked them if we could stop by the popcorn stand at Main Street Hub area since there was a new popcorn bucket which was a Mickey Elf. I was glad to see that there was a new popcorn bucket this year. We bought four buckets which was for me, DAF, DM25 and Chris. They were $12.50 a piece which totaled $50.




DM25 went inside the Jolly Holiday Bakery to look for the Elf Mickey Stein. Unfortunately the Elf Mickey Stein wasnt at the Jolly Holiday Bakery for display where she didnt go up and ask for it. It might have been there unless we ask if they had it.

After getting the buckets, we started to head on out of the park and call it for the night since it was midnight. It has been a while since I have stayed at the park till midnight. Talk about a long day after a drive from Sactown to SoCal and to be able to stay up till midnight which is exhausting. 

We parted ways at the bus stop where the girls had to take one of the ART buses back to their hotel. So I walked on back to Best Western Anaheim Inn to call it for the night.

We all had a great time that Friday night which we were able to hang out with our cousins and to able to do all the different rides and shows that night. The next day is another important day so stay tune for the next day which is Saturday.


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
Really nice photos and description of the Jingle Jungle Cruise.  It is WAY more festive than last year.  Even at night with all the additional lights.

So fun that you got to enjoy the day with your cousins.  Looking forward to see what you do the next day.

TK


----------



## franandaj

I finally got caught up again. Thank you for stopping and giving us a gift!

Your pictures from the fireworks were incredible!

Great updates!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Catching up!

Lovely details from the Christmas decorations.  It's nice to see them in your pictures.  
Glad to see you got some shopping in.  I have to ask.....where do you store all your Disney merch?

I'd love to see your 'trophy shelf' at your home.


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> Really nice photos and description of the Jingle Jungle Cruise.  It is WAY more festive than last year.  Even at night with all the additional lights.
> 
> So fun that you got to enjoy the day with your cousins.  Looking forward to see what you do the next day.
> 
> TK



Thanks TK. The JC was well improved from last year with more decorations added to the ride experience while last year in November didn't have much while December added some but not the same experience like this years. At night made it even more special with the Christmas lights at the village.

It was nice to spend the day at DL with them. We staked out a spot for the fireworks like I usually do and it was crowded thanks to the Avenger's Marathon.




franandaj said:


> I finally got caught up again. Thank you for stopping and giving us a gift!
> 
> Your pictures from the fireworks were incredible!
> 
> Great updates!



Your welcome Alison. Glad you and Fran liked it a lot.

Thanks. It would have been perfect if we got there early to stake out a spot. Two hours would normally get us the curb side spot but since the Marathon and the first weekend of the holiday season just added more time to the wait.




PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up!
> 
> Lovely details from the Christmas decorations.  It's nice to see them in your pictures.
> Glad to see you got some shopping in.  I have to ask.....where do you store all your Disney merch?
> 
> I'd love to see your 'trophy shelf' at your home.



Thanks PiO. It is nice to get as many pictures of the Christmas decorations like we did during the Halloween trip last month. 

I didn't buy any merchandise except for the popcorn buckets. My cousins were looking at the different stores that night.

My shelves are a little messy where I need to rearrange them in the near future.


The next posts will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52673352]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Getting Fast Passes along with Paradise Pier Holiday Decorations*​
After a nice day at the parks with my cousins it was the second day of the trip. This is the most important day of the trip in which it is the only time where we will be at the parks for a full day. 

This was also going to be a tricky day as well since it was during the Avenger’s Marathon. During that Saturday, it was the Avengers Super Heroes 5K and Kids Races that day where the ½ Marathon was on Sunday. The parks didn’t open till 9am thanks to the marathon. It was also good for the two of us since we can get to rest another hour that morning. 

Originally when the Avenger’s Marathon was announced, I was about to change our dates for our holiday trip during the second weekend of November which was during the Christmas taping but I changed my mind and we were still a go for our holiday trip in mid November. But the crowds that Friday were higher than a normal first official weekend of the holiday season at the DLR which we have been going the last three years. I know that the marathon gets huge crowds for both the runners and spectators but I have never experienced the crowds during the Marathon. It would have been better if it was during another trip instead of my favorite time of the year to visit the DLR but we did took the chance of coming during the Marathon.

Since the parks didn’t open until 9am, we got to sleep a little longer that morning which helps us a lot since I was in the park with Chris and DM until midnight on Friday. 

We got up just around 7:30am and had the continental breakfast upstairs on the third floor of Best Western Anaheim Inn. The food is not that amazing but it is at least something for us to snack on until we have a real meal at the parks or at the restaurants off-site. 

Just when we finished breakfast around 8:30am, we head straight on over to the DLR to enjoy another good time during the holiday season at the DLR.

I texted Chris to see if they were going to be in the park that morning but they told us that they will be in the park later that morning. So DAF and I went to the park by ourselves like we usually do every other trip.

When we got to the Esplanade, Disneyland had a lot of people waiting to get in the park that morning where Disney California Adventure already let the guests in the park during the Rope Drop. We were planning on going to DCA first over DL that morning to get FP’s for Radiator Springs Racers and World of Color Winter Dreams. I was looking forward to seeing WoC Winter Dreams since last years version was not that great. But I did hear that the show was improved for this year and was looking forward to that as well.



Inside DCA, there was a huge group of people around the Carthay Circle Theater waiting to head on over to their next destination at DCA. I know that most of the people in the picture were planning on going on over to Cars Land to ride RSR first thing in the morning or get FP’s for RSR later that day. Mostly I always get RSR FP’s first thing when we are in DCA and get WoC FP’s later on. I never would ride RSR first thing since the ride might not be running that morning and the crowds are just crazy.




There were a lot of Marathon runners that morning where we can see them wearing the medals along with the marathon merchandise. We are hoping that the crowds won’t be that bad but from what I have seen so far it is going to be another busy day at the parks.





When it was 9am, the park is now officially open. So the two of us went on over to the RSR FP queue to get the FP’s that morning. It did took a while to get the FP’s that morning but we were able to get our FP’s. Our return time was at 10:30am to 11:30pm which was nice since it was before noon.

After getting the FP’s for RSR, we head on over towards Grizzly River Run to get the FP’s for WoC Winter Dreams. Mostly around this time of the day, you are able to get the blue section for WoC. I would say the first few hours of the day at DCA you are able to get the blue section while later during the day you will likely get the yellow section FP’s.

On the way over to GRR, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is all decorated for the holiday season like every other year.








The Rushin’ River Outfitters store is decorated like every other year as well.




As expected when we got our FP’s that morning we were able to get the blue section for the 9:45pm World of Color Winter Dreams that night which starts at 9:45pm.




After getting the WoC FP’s, DAF wanted to ride Toy Story Midway Mania. It was also a good idea to go on over in that direction since Paradise Pier has added Christmas decorations to the buildings as well. It was nice to see the new decorations at PP during the holiday season.

When we were now in PP, the Little Mermaid ride building got some extra holiday decorations to the entrance.








The flowers for the holiday season are all over the DLR including PP right next to the light tower.




When we were walking in PP, these are all new to PP during the holiday season from the garlands and wreaths on the buildings.








The character meet & greet along with the PP Christmas tree hasn’t change one bit over time.












Even Don Tomas stand have the decorations as well.




When we got closer to TSMM, it was decorated as well during the holiday season for the first time and it was nice. It is nice that Disney is spending more money on the decorations on certain lands at DCA especially with PP. 




The wait time for TSMM that morning was already at 30 minutes which was quite long that morning around 9:25am. It just shows you that the parks are busy that morning especially with the Marathon that weekend. It was long so we decided not to ride it that morning. We did get to ride it in October with PiO, DH, DS and Alison so she had no problem of not riding it.

We walked through the backside of PP to look at all the different holiday decorations. Including the PP stores were all decorated as well.




We now approached the restaurant area at PP which had Viva Navidad celebration which made it’s debut last year. We didn’t spend a lot of time at Viva Navidad last year since we were with other people. This trip we were going to spend more time at Viva Navidad. Since it was during the morning it was not running yet so we just walked by and took quick photos while we were in the area.








The menu at Paradise Garden Grill during Viva Navidad. These food are only exclusive during the Viva Navidad event during the holiday season.




















After walking through Viva Navidad, we started to move to our next destination that morning at DCA.

[post=52691291]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52691289]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 2*

*A Wonderland in Disneyland*​
We were now leaving Viva Navidad at the restaurant area at Paradise Pier, we were now around the viewing area at PP which is where you watch World of Color Winter Dreams. Just like last year when World of Color Winter Dreams made its debut, the viewing area had giant presents in the garden area.








DAF and I don’t take too many pictures when we are at the parks but it was nice to get us in a few of the shots.




And of course I got in as well.












The Little Mermaide ride building got it’s usual holiday decorations.




Also new this year at PP was the light on the pole which is different from the snowflakes at BVS towards PP.




Since we did most of the activities that we wanted to do at DCA, we decided to head on over to DL to do some other rides while we were waiting to use our FP’s for RSR.




When we exited DCA and heading on over to DL that morning, it was quite a long line to enter the turnstiles that morning which the line was towards the Monorail columns.




We were now in DL that morning and it was quite busy where most of the guests were walking on in to their next destination. 




While we were in DL, DAF hasn’t rode the new version of Alice in Wonderland. We first went by to see if the wait time was not that bad and luckily it was only 15 minute wait time that morning which was better than waiting 30+ minutes during the day. The park did look busy but some of the guests were at other rides.

It didn’t took too long to get on AiW that morning.
















































DAF like the new version of AiW where the projections during the ride experience gave it a nice touch while it was a little sad that the old version is now gone. We understand why DL made the changes to the ride especially with the safety.

After getting off AiW, we started to head on over to our next destination that morning. We walked on over towards Adventureland in order to see if Jingle Cruise has a short wait time. I was able to ride it the other night with Chris and DM25 but she wasn’t able to ride it so we head on over in that direction.

We passed by MS Hub which the Horse-Drawn Street car and the Omnibus were right by the Hub. They were all decorated for the holiday season including the horse.








We continue on to Adventureland and that will be it for this post and continue on to the next one.

[post=52691294]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52691291]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 3*

*Haunted Mansion Holiday along with Cars*​
When we got on over to Adventureland in order to ride Jingle Cruise since DAF didn’t get to ride it the other night. When we got to the entrance the JC was not open. We were surprised that the JC is not open and it was around 10am that morning. There must have been something wrong if the ride is not operational. I expect Indian Jones ride to be broken most of the time where the JC is a surprise. So we couldn’t ride it until it reopen.





So we decided to go on another different ride that morning. Since we were in Adventureland, she mentioned that we should go back on the Haunted Mansion Holiday. I must have ridden the HMH at least 4 times during my trips since September 2014. I always enjoy the HMH every year especially with the decorations.

While we were now in New Orleans Square, Pirates of the Caribbean already extended the queue towards the street. Even at 10am it started to get a little busy that morning. 

Tom Sawyer Island was quiet that morning.




When we got to the entrance of HMH, the wait time was only 5 minutes. But I can tell that the wait time was wrong since the queue was extended towards the graveyard area. So it was going to be a 10-15 minute wait time which was not that bad. But I have seen the wait time at HMH worse than just 10-15 minutes in which it topped at 60 minutes or more and the queue extended towards the outside of the HMH. 








Another good thing for the HMH is that the FP system for HMH was back up this year after not being run during last year and the first couple of months this year. I understand why DL doesn’t want to run the FP system in which it can cause even longer wait times for the guests in the stand-by queue but it is good for those people who only want to ride it once with little wait time. 

It only took about 15 minutes to get through the queue and on the ride that morning.
















Another look at this year’s gingerbread house in the dining room. I must have took over 50 pictures of the dining room this year and at that gingerbread house. 
































After getting off the HMH, we started to go on over to our next destination. It was close to our time to use the FP’s for RSR. So we head straight on back on over to DCA. 

DL started to get a little busy that afternoon with more and more people now in the park.




Christmas tree at MS Town Square is so nice to look at every year.








When we were now back in at DCA, it was not that bad like DL where DL gets more people in the park over DCA.




It was not that bad at Cars Land.




When we got towards the entrance to RSR, the stand-by wait time was at 90 minutes which is the usual time for the afternoon. Luckily for us we had FP’s to use that afternoon instead of waiting that long.




Our FP’s for RSR.




It took about 15 minutes to go through the FP queue and board the car. Even with FP’s we still had to wait a while to get on it that afternoon. It just felt like what happened back in October where we had to wait in the FP queue where the wait time was around that time. But at least it went by quickly and all of a sudden we were now in the car and entering the world of “Cars”.

That will be it for this post and on the next one will be with the ride photos.

[post=52700471]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

It's a shame we didn't get to ride the revamped version of AiW in October.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.

Glad you managed to get a few rides in despite the Avengers Marathon crowds.


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## tksbaskets

Thanks for the great installments to your epic trip report.  Paradise Pier has really nice decorations now.  In years past there was nothing to designate the Christmas season in this are.

Did the Jungle Cruise ever open back up so you could take a trip in the day time?  I agree - usually it's Indy that is closed. 

Thanks for sharing!
TK


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## franandaj

Sounds like a great start to a second day.

Inc to see you and DAF in some pictures!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> It's a shame we didn't get to ride the revamped version of AiW in October.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.
> 
> Glad you managed to get a few rides in despite the Avengers Marathon crowds.



It was but maybe next time you will be able to ride it.

We did try to plan out everything during the Avenger's Marathon which the crowds level was high during the trip. It didn't feel like Christmas break crowds but it did felt like summertime crowds.




tksbaskets said:


> Thanks for the great installments to your epic trip report.  Paradise Pier has really nice decorations now.  In years past there was nothing to designate the Christmas season in this are.
> 
> Did the Jungle Cruise ever open back up so you could take a trip in the day time?  I agree - usually it's Indy that is closed.
> 
> Thanks for sharing!
> TK



Thanks TK. PP is all nicely decorated this year in which it should have got that years ago. After with the DCA expansion all finished with the Little Mermaid ride getting some decorations along with the PP dining area, Viva Navidad last year and finally added some decorations to the rest of PP.

After we got off HMH and heading on out to DCA, we stopped at JC to see what the wait time was and the wait time was at 30 minutes which the guests were seen on the second level. Indy closes at least once a day where it break downs where you don't see JC broken during the morning time.




franandaj said:


> Sounds like a great start to a second day.
> 
> Inc to see you and DAF in some pictures!



We did had a nice morning especially with the runners and spectators during the Avenger's Marathon. 

It is nice to get some pictures of us during the trip in which we did get a lot of pictures of the two of us during the October trip.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52691294]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 4*

*World of Cars and Hollywood Decorations*​
After we got through the queue at Radiator Springs Racers, we were now on board the car. Like almost every time we ride RSR, we are at the back of the car. This is like our usual spot for the two of us since we mostly sit in the back of the car instead of the front. I would say every 2 out of 3 times we are in the back instead of the front. 

Our drive that afternoon in the world of “Cars”.

You can never get tired of Radiator Falls




Mater greeting us.




We went through Ramone’s House of Body Art




Cadillac Range looks amazing








Our ride picture that day.




After riding RSR, I wanted to walk through Hollywood Land to get pictures of the holiday decorations. I was able to get some of the holiday pictures the other day but that was at night which it was tough to take pictures. So this time I was able to get some pictures of the Christmas decorations at Hollywood Land.




















Also I was asked by Sherry E to look at the window display at the “Off the Page” store in Hollywood Land on the side and ask if the village inside the TV was there during the holiday season since it was there last year. Luckily it was back there again this year. 












Then we went inside the Off the Page store to look at all the art work, books, phone cases as well as the Christmas merchandise.












We head on out of the store and walking on out of Hollywood Land.




Now back at Buena Vista Street.




[post=52700480]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52700471]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 5*

*Viva Navidad Street Party & Downtown Disney Winter Village*​
After we walked through Hollywood Land to see the decorations, it was time that we head on over to Paradise Pier in order to see the 12:00pm Viva Navidad Street Party. It was difficult last year where we weren’t able to see the show last year when it made its debut last year at Disney California Adventure since we were with other people and doing other things that we don’t do ofter during the holiday season.

We had plenty of time to get a decent spot for the Street Party at 12pm. We got to PP about 15 minutes before the show in order to get a good spot. I would recommend if you are planning on watching the Viva Navidad Street Party during your visit is to arrive at least 10 minutes or more in order to get a good spot or you will be watching the Street Party from a bad angle. 

When we got to PP and around Viva Navidad, we asked the CM’s that were around the area which is a good spot to watch the Street Party and told us that it was around the Bayside Brews/Jumpin’ Jellyfish ride. They told us to wait until the float makes a 180 degree turn and we would be able to watch the show from that spot.

As you can tell from this picture that the CM on the left hand side was in the spot where they won’t let the guests in until the float made a 180 degree turn. When it was stationed that is when the CM’s will let the guests in.




Here are pictures from the 12pm Viva Navidad Street Party show.








The Three Caballeros




When the float with Panchito Pistoles, Donald Duck and Jose Carioca moved to its position, the CM’s let the guests to move to the spot where the float made a 180 degree turn and we got a nice spot to watch the Street Party.

Mickey was part of the Street Party




Along with Minnie as well.




























My first impression of Viva Navidad Street Party that it is a nice little street party. After not seeing it last year and to see it this year was great and I can’t believe we didn’t see it last year. The songs are very nice based on Mexico and Brazil. The musicians and dancers were great as well as the giant Mojiganga puppets including Santa. This is a show you should consider stopping and watching when in DCA. Since we went during the first show, it was a good thing we did.

After the Viva Navidad Street Party was over, I asked DAF if we could stop at Downtown Disney in order to see the Winter Village. The last two years during the holiday season at the DLR, the Winter Village is back again at DTD. The first year in 2012 where it didn’t seem like a Winter Village which didn’t have any shacks but just little walk stands to sell the holiday merchandise. There was an ice rink but it wasn’t that impressive. Last year was a different story with a better theme to the Winter Village with holiday merchandise shacks as well as an ice rink which was called “Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink”. I was hoping that the Ice Rink and the stands would be up during our visit.

So we left DCA through the Grand California Hotel and head on over towards Downtown Disney.

When we got to DTD, we head towards the Winter Village which is close to the ESPN Zone restaurant and by the AMC Movie Theater. The shacks at Winter Village are the same like last year and each shack sells different stuff from Ghirardelli chocolates, Christmas merchandise, etc. 













Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink is back again this year along with the Christmas tree in the middle of the ice rink.
















The ice rink was not opened that afternoon but later on that night it was open.




A picture of the ESPN Zone Christmas wreath which is back again this year.




This year’s Winter Village added more shacks to the area which is way more from last years.




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## mvf-m11c

[post=52700480]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 6*

*Heading back for Lunch at DL & Jingle Jangle Jamboree*​
After we looked at the Winter Village at Downtown Disney, it was time for us to head on back to DL that afternoon and look at places that have the Christmas decorations. So instead of walking on back on over to the main entrance of DL, we went on my favorite ride at DL which is the Disneyland Monorail. It was an easy walk on over to the Downtown Disney Monorail station which is just right next to the Winter Village. We didn’t plan on going in at the DL Hotel along with Paradise Pier hotel since the Christmas decorations are not up yet since the Grand California Hotel didn’t have any decorations as well.

We waited at the DTD Monorail station and waited for the next Monorail which was Mark VII Monorail Orange. 




We boarded the last car of Monorail Orange and we are on our way back to DL and towards the Tomorrowland Monorail station.




Passing over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage which is nice to see the lagoon all filled up again.




When passing by Alice in Wonderland, it looks like it was down that afternoon. Luckily we were able to ride it that morning instead of the afternoon.




Just when we got off the Monorail, it was time that we had something to eat since we didn’t eat since breakfast at the continental breakfast at Best Western Anaheim Inn. I asked DAF what place she wanted to eat and she is a specific eater where she can eat certain foods. I try to remember what restaurant we should eat that afternoon and I figured it out since I wanted to eat at this restaurant since the October trip but we weren’t able to eat there. The place that I talked about with DAF is Hungry Bear Restaurant. I haven’t eat at HB restaurant since last year with PiO and her family and this was a great opportunity to eat there during this visit. My DAF likes sweet potato fries and this is one of the few places that serves the sweet potato fries. 

So we head on over towards Critter Country which is where the restaurant is located and have lunch there. When walking on over towards CC, Frontierland and New Orleans Square started to get a little busy that afternoon where people are in line for lunch and going on the rides. Pirates of the Caribbean queue was extended towards the street along with Haunted Mansion Holiday. The wait times was like 30 minutes for PotC and HMH was at 60 minutes. Talk about crazy wait times for both rides in the middle of the afternoon.

Critter Country is once again decorated for the holiday season at DL.








When we got on over to HB Restaurant, there was some people in line for lunch since it was around 1pm. DAF didn’t need much that afternoon in which she got the sweet potato fries while I was having trouble on what to get. I would get a burger or chicken sandwich at HB Restaurant but there were specials for the holiday season. Like Blue Cheese and Onion Marmalade, Apple Pie Funnel Cake (which was also available during the Halloween season), Mango Habanero Lime Iced Tea. The souvenir cups were the Elf Mickey Stein which I should have got but I didn’t looked at it carefully and the Travel Mug.




In the end, I got the chicken sandwich with regular fries while DAF got the sweet  potato fries.




After we finished lunch at Hungry Bear Restaurant, we started to go to our next destination at DL which has the Christmas decorations was Jingle Jangle Jamboree. It wasn’t too long ago when Big Thunder Ranch was decorated for the Halloween season with the Halloween Carnival. This time of the year, BTR is transformed for the holiday season with JJJ. So we head on over towards the backside of Frontierland to see JJJ.




As always during the holiday season Big Thunder Ranch is all decorated with all different decorations.








We went inside the Santa’s house which is all decorated inside.
























After looking inside Santa’s House, we head on over to the Festival Arena and see Jingle Jangle Jamboree. Like the last couple of years, JJJ has replaced Santa’s Reindeer Round-Up. JJJ is using the Festival Arena which is at the backside of Big Thunder Ranch BBQ and behind Santa’s House which does character meet & greet, games, crafts and shows.




There was a show going on at JJJ which is called “The Plight Before Christmas” but we didn’t get to see it during the trip.








JJJ looked almost exactly like last year with all sort of different activities to do.




There were some Disney characters like Chip, Dale and Goofy all dressed up with their holiday clothes.
















After looking around at JJJ which most of the same decoration is just like last year, we started to go on over to our next destination at DL that afternoon. Stay tune of what we have done later that day at DL.

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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
Now I know just were to stand for Viva Navidad!  I'm hoping your heading to the Jungle Cruise next


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## PrincessInOz

Lovely pictures of the decorations.  

That's a cute little parade.


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> Now I know just were to stand for Viva Navidad!  I'm hoping your heading to the Jungle Cruise next



Hi TK,

Hope you are having a great time at the DLR this weekend. 

You will have to see this show at Viva Navidad. When you read this update, you will know what we did that afternoon.




PrincessInOz said:


> Lovely pictures of the decorations.
> 
> That's a cute little parade.



Thank you TK.

The Viva Navidad Street Party is very nice and I can't believe I didn't see this last year.


The next post will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52700540]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 7*

*A Christmas Fantasy Parade changed Again?*​
After walking around Big Thunder Ranch and at Jingle Jangle Jamboree, we started to go on over to our next destination that afternoon. I thought about going back on over towards Adventureland and ride Jingle Cruise. But when I look at the wait time it was now at 45 minutes which was way too long. 

We also texted Chris to see what they were doing that day and they were also at DL that afternoon as well but they were on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and it was going to be a while for them to get off the ride. But we told them to enjoy their time at the park and don’t worry about us. 

It was about an hour to 3pm and there was something that I wanted to do that afternoon at the park. We were able to watch “A Christmas Fantasy” parade the other night at Main Street Town Square for the second parade. But I wasn’t able to get a good spot to watch the parade so I told DAF that we will be watching the parade. 

She told me that she isn’t interested to watch the parade especially since she was able to see it the other night so she decided to head on back to the room while I find a spot for the parade.

When we parted ways at Fantasyland, I walked on over towards It’s a Small World Plaza to watch the 3pm parade. I have enjoyed watching the parade from this spot especially for the first parade since it starts at IASW Plaza. This is another spot that also get the shortest amount of wait time to stake out a spot. I took a precaution approach and showed up early especially with all the crowds that have been going on that weekend. 

So I head on over to IASW Plaza and there were quite a number of people staking out spots for the 3pm parade. It just shows you with the Avenger’s Marathon going on as well as the first weekend of the holiday season, it just adds more crowds. 




Mostly when I get a spot to watch the parade from IASW Plaza, I had to wait as less than 15 minutes for a good front row spot but the crowds were so high this weekend that I had to push it up. 

So I just waited for about an hour until the parade starts at 3pm. I did see the parade the other night and there were changes to the parade. I have not been happy with Disney changing the parade these last two years with the floats and the characters. For anyone who have seen this parade in the past will recognize the changes while the others have never seen it will be amazed at this parade. This parade has been going for over 20 years and has delighted all the guests during the holiday season at DL.




The Music Box float with the dancing ballerina and the stuffed Teddy bear.




Toy Soldiers




When we saw the Mailroom float coming up, Mickey and Minnie were on the float since the Ice Rink float is converted to the Frozen float with Anna and Elsa.




At the end of the float, this is where Mrs. Claus use to be until Mickey and Minnie took Donald and Daisy spot on the float.
















This is one part of the parade which has changed over the years which the snowflake performers skaters. Now it is just the performers on skates.




The Frozen pre-parade that is used during Mickey’s Soundsational Parade and Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade is part of “A Christmas Fantasy” parade instead of the lead float.




Clarabelle Cow, Gingerbread Cookies and Candy Bakers.




Goofy and Pluto on the gingerbread house.




Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia




Candlelight Ball float with all the different princesses and princes.








Chip and Dale on the Humdinger




Woody on a rocking horse on top a Toy Block float




Giant Toy Factory float




Buzz on his spaceship on top of a Toy Block float 




Finale Dancers




Santa’s Reindeers




Can’t forget about Santa




My first impression of the new version of A Christmas Fantasy parade is which I am not happy that Disney once again has changed a classic parade with the Frozen pre-parade along with Mickey and Minnie replacing Mrs. Claus on the Mailroom float. I still talk about what is Disney going to do with the parade next year especially with Disneyland 60th Anniversary in which the parade will not be back next year with a new parade. Time will tell what will happen next year.

After the parade was over, I decided it was time to head on back to the room to rest up that night so we can go and see World of Color Winter Dreams along with eating at our favorite restaurant at the DLR.

So I walked on out of the park and had to wait a while to get on out since the parade was going down towards Main Street.

I texted Chris to see if they were still in the park and they told me that they have left and went back to their hotel to rest up that night and come back later to the DLR.

I got back to Best Western Anaheim Inn around 4pm that afternoon and rested only about an hour since we plan on going to the ESPN Zone that night to have dinner and to be able to watch the Sacramento Kings play the San Antonio Spurs at 7pm which the Kings were at home in Sacramento. We are season ticket holders and we had to skip this game since we were here in Anaheim. We are hoping that it wouldn’t be that crowded that night. 

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## mvf-m11c

[post=52715764]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 8*

*Dining Disappointment and Shots with my Tripod at Night*​
After resting for an hour at our hotel, we head on out and back to the DLR that night. This time, we head on over towards Downtown Disney so we can eat at our favorite restaurant which is the ESPN Zone. We planned on getting there early since we weren’t able to make a reservation at the ESPN Zone that night. 

I tried to make a dining reservation at the ESPN Zone for a while but for some weird reason, the DL website didn’t allow me to make a reservation. I tried to make a reservation online almost every day since we were close to our date but it didn’t happen.

So we had to walk-up that night which is always tricky. This is going to be a tricky one since it is during the Avenger’s Marathon and the crowds were so high during the trip and it was during dinner time which is always crazy around 5pm to 7pm. 

When we left the hotel and back at the DLR, the entrances to the parks were not that busy that night.




We walked through DTD and on over to the ESPN Zone. When passing by all the different restaurants on the way, there were a lot of people outside waiting to get in and be seated. SO this was not a good sign that night. 

When we got to the ESPN Zone, there was a line on the outside of the ESPN Zone. We knew that it was going to be a while to get in the restaurant and get a table. When DAF talked to one of the staff at the ESPN Zone, they said that we can get a table in 2 hours. There was no way we would wait that long to eat at the ESPN Zone that night. So we decided not to eat there which was disappointing. This shows with the marathon along with the first weekend crowds during the holiday season, the parks were very busy. This almost looks way worse than last year when we went during Thanksgiving break. 
Just when we decided not to eat at the ESPN Zone that night, we tried another restaurant and this is one of our other favorite sit down restaurant which is Storyteller’s Café. We always like to eat there during lunch time which is always empty and it would be nice to eat there that night.

When we got to the entrance and to see if we could get a seat, the hostess told us that they are only letting the guests to dine at the restaurant. DAF was very irate that Storyteller’s Café is only for the hotel guests only and not letting off-site people dine at the restaurant. I have never imagine that Disney would do that and turn down guests to eat at their restaurants. The restaurant was partially busy that night and they couldn’t let some guests in for that night. She told me that she will never want to eat there again after being treated like that.

DAF decided to head on back to the room since we had about over 3 hours until we had to be at Disney California Adventure in order to see the 9:45pm World of Color Winter Dreams show. So I decided to stay in the park that night in order to get some pictures with my camera. I also had my tripod with me so I was planning on getting long exposure shots that night.

I head on over to DL that night and it was around 6pm.  When I got in the park, the second A Christmas Fantasy parade was going on that night. The park was a little that busy that night in which it looked like Christmas break crowds where it was busy. I decided to wait around Main Street Town Square until it cleared up. 

While I was waiting, I saw on the right hand side by the Disney Showcase store, there were people walking on over towards the new bypass corridors behind MS on the east side. This was my first time seeing the new corridor without the tarp and opened to the public. Since it was busy during that weekend, DL decided to try it out. So I went along with the other people along the corridor.




This almost feels like my time when I was at the MK and when Main Street was busy, the backside corridors were used so the guests were able to walk on over to the other side of Main Street. 

When walking through the corridors, it felt like a regular walkway that has a lot of doors to the stores on Main Street. Also there were a lot of posters that were on the wall when walking.




Walking through the new corridor was crazy and not a good idea. It was all crowded in going in that direction towards Main Street which is right next to the Little Red Wagon. When coming on out, it looked super busy at MS Hub area that night.




It took a while to walk on out of the Hub and over to my next destination that night. I decided to get some pictures of Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle that night with my tripod. So I set up my tripod in different spots in front of the castle that night to get long exposure shots.
































After getting some pictures around Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle, it was time to head on over to another area with long exposure shots. This time it was It’s A Small World Holiday which is always great to get pictures with its Christmas decorations.








The clock show was going on when I was taking pictures that night.
























After getting some pictures from IASWH, it was time to head on out of the park and on over to DCA. I was planning on meeting up with DAF at DCA so we could get our spot for WoC Winter Dreams that night. So I left DL and on over to DCA.








I left DL and now heading on over to DCA that night. Stay tune what happened later on that night.

[post=52731517]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Looks like you got a great spot for the parade and fantastic pics.

The night shots are lovely.  Looking forward to seeing DCA at night.


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## franandaj

You always see so many neat things when you go there. It makes me want to go see lots of thise same things! 

I can't believe that Storytellers turned you away. I dont blame your aunt for not wanting to go there again!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Looks like you got a great spot for the parade and fantastic pics.
> 
> The night shots are lovely.  Looking forward to seeing DCA at night.



I was able to get a nice spot to see "A Christmas Fantasy" parade that afternoon. I would not wait an hour at IASW Plaza to see the parade since I have seen this parade a lot over the years. But I wanted to get a better spot to see the parade after seeing it from a different spot the other night. Plus it was different from previous years with the ice rink float being replaced by the Frozen float.

The nighttime photos are getting better with the long exposure shots. 




franandaj said:


> You always see so many neat things when you go there. It makes me want to go see lots of thise same things!
> 
> I can't believe that Storytellers turned you away. I dont blame your aunt for not wanting to go there again!



All the pictures that I have seen online got me those ideas along with my own eyes of what to see when walking around the park. It is always nice to walk around and get pictures of these interesting views.

We were completely surprised that Storytellers turned us away that night. Since it was during the Avenger's Marathon and the busy weekend of the holiday season, I can see why Disney doesn't want to let non-Disney hotel guests eat at the restaurants since they want to serve the guests that are staying on-site. Same here. I thought about not eating there again but we might eat there again in the near future if she forgets about it. But I don't think she will ever forget about that.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52715765]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 9*

*Time for the Second Version of World of Color Winter Dreams*​
After walking around DL that night of getting long exposure shots, I was now heading on back to DCA so I can meet up with DAF so we can watch the 9:45pm World of Color Winter Dreams that night. I was looking forward to seeing the new improve version of WoC Winter Dreams after last year version which made its debut didn’t turned out really well. 

It was not that bad that night after 7pm since most of the guests were now in the parks.




I just walked around DCA until I head on over towards the Pacific Wharf where I was planning on meeting DAF.








As always, I had to make a detour towards Cars Land with its holiday decorations. For some reason, we didn’t spend a lot of time at CL during the holiday season even at night since I have seen the decorations these last three years. I still enjoy seeing CL and any lands that have decorations during the holiday season but it just seems like nothing new has been added these last couple of years.
























After walking around Cars Land, I head on over towards Pacific Wharf to meet up with my DAF. It is nice to see some of the Christmas decorations at PW which has the string of lights.




Since we weren’t able to have dinner at the ESPN Zone or Storyteller’s Café, we ate at our favorite quick counter restaurant at DCA which was Lucky Fortune Cookery which is an Asian rice bowl restaurant. Since we are Asian’s we love the rice bowl at DCA. This place has never let us down for getting something quickly when the sit down restaurants are busy.

I had the Spicy Korean beef rice bowl that night.




We sat around the light tower at Paradise Pier in order to wait to get into the viewing area for the 9:45pm World of Color Winter Dreams show. We didn’t get in the queue since the queue to enter the blue area was full and we weren’t planning on going closer to the lagoon but to our usual favorite spot where the green fire hydrant is located. 

When the guests were now in the bottom part of the viewing area, we moved in the queue and we were able to secure our favorite spot with about an hour to go until the 9:45pm WoC Winter Dreams show. Mostly we don’t have to get there in about 30 minutes but I want to get the spot since the crowds have been so heavy and to be able to videotape it that night.

While waiting for WoC Winter Dreams, I played with my DSLR and get long exposure shots of Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Doom. The viewing area at PP was getting busy that night in which it was not even half an hour.












Mickey’s Fun Wheel Challenge game was going on that night as well.




It wasn’t too long and an hour went by really quickly and all of a sudden, it was time for the 9:45pm World of Color Winter Dreams show. I have taken thousands of pictures of World of Color from this spot and it never gets old to me. I still prefer this spot to any other spot around the PP viewing area unless I do the dining package and get the front center spot one day. That will be a while since I like the back area more than the front. 

Also this was the debut week of World of Color Winter Dreams version 2.0. This show that I watched that day will be completely different from 2013 World of Color Winter Dreams show. I was able to watch see WoC Winter Dreams twice last year and it was nice but it didn’t have that Disney feel like the original WoC show. It was nice that Disney did a new version of WoC instead of the original one where they have added segments to the original one. Last years did had a lot of mixed reviews where it was good and some didn’t like it like the original one. I don’t like to criticize WoC Winter Dreams last year since it was new and to see a different variation of the show was great. I remember last years was all about the movie “Frozen” in which Disney was promoting for WoC Winter Dreams before the movie came out in theaters after my trip. I first didn’t see much clips of the movie Frozen until I saw Winter Dreams last year and it got me hooked on to see it when it came out.

I will also put to together with this post pictures from last year’s World of Color Winter Dreams show and show what is the difference from this years and last year’s.

Here is my video of World of Color Winter Dreams 11/24/13 Full Show from last year. I haven’t uploaded the 2014 version yet and I will consider uploading it later on.

Like the original WoC Winter Dreams, the show begins with Dick Wesson’s original introduction to Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color words. 




Last year it didn’t have the Wonderful World of Disney quote which had Olaf presenting Winter Dreams. 



Also this year’s version didn’t have the virtual honor choir with hundreds of voices from all different people.




At the beginning, the new Winter Dreams started off with Anna and Elsa and the song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” which showed clips from the movie “Frozen”.












Last year, there were some scenes from this part of the show was added again to this year’s show but in a different area of the show. You’ll see it through my pictures from this years. This is from last year’s WoC Winter Dreams.








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## mvf-m11c

[post=52731517]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 10*

*Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 2*​
Olaf was back again for WoC Winter Dreams. Just like last year, this scene wasn’t change.












Last years 2013.








This year 2014, the Toy Story Nutcracker scene was back but it was close to the beginning while it was almost at the end of last year version.








Most of the scenes from Toy Story Nutcracker are just like last year but some of the scenes are in different plaes.












No Bambi this year like last year.








The snowflakes with the Disney characters in the center are back again this year compare to last years.




Last years which is in a different time of the show.








The Olaf Christmas card is back again just like this years while it is different from last years.




2013 version of Olaf Christmas card




This years of the cabin after the Olaf Christmas card.




Last years 2013 which is the same like last years




[post=52731547]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52731532]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 11*

*Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 3*​
The difference from this years and last years is that they added the Disney characters while last year didn’t have them. The music is the same like last years which didn’t have the Disney characters.




Sorcerer Mickey




Snow White




Alice




Tiana 




Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.








Ariel




Cinderella and her fairy Godmother.








Merida




Tinker Bell




Last year was like a Small World Type building and people with all different countries.
















New to this year was the hug scene with Baymax and Hiro Hamada.




Just like this year and last year with Anna and Elsa




The lantern scene from Tangled which is the same like last year.












Last years.


 









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## mvf-m11c

[post=52731547]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 12*

*Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 4*​
The sing along with the popular Christmas songs are back again just like last years with Jingle Belle, I Have a Little Dreidel, Feliz Navidad. This part of the show was in the middle while last years was more close to the end of it.




















I can’t feel my legs




Back again was Frozen “IN Summer” song and clips.












There was a few flames added to the scene.




Last years.








A new addition to WoC Winter Dreams was once again from the movie Frozen and the song “Love is an Open Door” as well as the clips from the movie. This was not in last year’s WoC Winter Dreams.












And of course the most popular music from the movie Frozen “Let It Go” as well as clips from the movie. This version of “Let It Go” is different from last year where this one is close to the one from the movie.




























Last years from “Let It Go” and there were some that weren’t there this years from last years.




[post=52731567]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52731557]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 2 – November 15th, 2014 – Part 13*

*Compare World of Color Winter Dreams Part 5*​
The Toy Soldiers are back again this year which is getting closer to the end of the show.








Last years




This years.












Santa Mater
















Last year’s WoC Winter Dreams where you can see the snowflakes in the sky.








The end of World of Color Winter Dreams. I also noticed something else during this year’s WoC Winter Dreams show where we didn’t see too many snowflakes come out of the presents around the viewing area. I remember last year that a lot of snowflakes came out of the presents while there was barely any coming out this year.




One of the snowflakes from this year after the show.








End of WoC Winter Dreams from last year 2013
f
	


My thoughts on the new version of World of Color Winter Dreams is that it is more Disney than a holiday version without any Disney characters. This is one of the missing parts from last year’s WoC Winter Dream where there weren’t too many characters in the show like the original WoC. Most of the scenes are just like the same like last year where there are some scenes in different areas of the show. Disney did add a lot of Frozen clips from the movie along with “Let It Go”, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”, “Love is an Open Door” and “In Summer”. At least Olaf wasn’t annoying like last year. This show was way better this year and last year and I still watch this years and last year where I want to see what is the difference between them. 

When WoC Winter Dreams was over, the park is now closed that night and we are on our way out of the park. I thought about going on over to DL that night but I was a little tired that night so we went back to the hotel.




We got back to the hotel around 10:30pm that night after walking through the heavy crowds of leaving DCA that night. Most of the guests went on over to DL while the other half left the park that night just like us and called it for the night.

It was a nice day but not a great day where the crowds were heavy at the parks and also at the restaurants. This was a bad experience that night where we didn’t get to eat at our favorite restaurant that night and was denied of eating at another one. But we were able to do our usual holiday activities from the rides and shows. I was glad that we were able to see all the shows that day from the Viva Navidad Street Party, A Christmas Fantasy parade and World of Color Winter Dreams. It was nice that WoC Winter Dreams was updated from last years and it was better with a more Disney theme holiday version where it felt like a Frozen/Christmas theme with barely any other Disney characters.

We weren’t able to hang out with my cousins that night since they were all spread out at the DLR. But we had no problem with it since we are so use to being at the parks by ourselves. I heard that they were able to go on some rides that night and was able to see the other shows at the park. At least they had a great time just like us even though the crowds were very heavy that Saturday. Most of the runners during the Marathon ran during the 5K and Kids Race. Sunday was going to be the ½ Marathon Run which might be busy as well or not as busy like Saturday. 

This concludes Saturday during the trip and stay tune for the last part of the trip which is on Sunday.

[post=52756624]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## PrincessInOz

Nice to see the comparison between last year's show and this year's show.  I have to admit that I like to see lots of Disney characters in WoC.  At least Disney seems to have added a few more in this year's Christmas version.


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## ACDSNY

Wonderful WOC pics.  I enjoyed the show in November since I was able to see everything for a change.


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## Leshaface

Joining in for your latest trip and will be back to comment


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## Leshaface

Everytime we need a hotel on Harbor, i'll always check out the hotels right next to the main cross walk and BWAI is always booked.  Must be a good place!

That's too bad about the Mad T Party!  I've always enjoyed the music whenever i've been able to catch it.  And it's always attracted a huge crowd.  Will be interesting to see what they do with the Frozen theme.

Even though you weren't too happy with the parade spot, you got great pictures!


Strange, were guests required to sit down in Sept and Oct?  I'd always thought that was a hazard?

Your pictures are beautiful, espcially the last shot of the fireworks show!


Still haven't been on the Jingle Cruise yet, but the pictures look great! Love the fruitcake on the water.

So they added projections to AiW?  Did they do anything different to the ride when it goes outside for a little bit?

Obviously by my profile picture, I love everthing Nightmare Before Christmas, so HMH is my favorite ride during Christmas time!

I had no idea that Storyteller's was only for onsite guests now!  When did they make that change?

Love the long exposure shots on IASW.

WoC is my absolute favorite show out of all Disney parks! Glad you enjoyed this version better than last years


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## franandaj

Great pictures from WoC Winter Dreams Bret! Looks like I won't be seeing it this year either. We are going out to the park on the day after Christmas but my parents wanted to have dinner and with them dinner is an event so we wouldn't be done in time to make it to WoC.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice to see the comparison between last year's show and this year's show.  I have to admit that I like to see lots of Disney characters in WoC.  At least Disney seems to have added a few more in this year's Christmas version.



It was nice to see the new version of World of Color Winter Dreams during my visit. It was way better than last years and adding more Disney characters made a big difference instead of focusing on Olaf like last years. But this years did put in a lot of Frozen scene and songs as well.




ACDSNY said:


> Wonderful WOC pics.  I enjoyed the show in November since I was able to see everything for a change.



Thank you Angela. Glad that you were able to see the show last month. How do you compare WoC Winter Dreams to the original WoC show?




Leshaface said:


> Joining in for your latest trip and will be back to comment



Thanks for following along Alicia. 




Leshaface said:


> Everytime we need a hotel on Harbor, i'll always check out the hotels right next to the main cross walk and BWAI is always booked.  Must be a good place!
> 
> That's too bad about the Mad T Party!  I've always enjoyed the music whenever i've been able to catch it.  And it's always attracted a huge crowd.  Will be interesting to see what they do with the Frozen theme.
> 
> Even though you weren't too happy with the parade spot, you got great pictures!
> 
> 
> Strange, were guests required to sit down in Sept and Oct?  I'd always thought that was a hazard?
> 
> Your pictures are beautiful, espcially the last shot of the fireworks show!
> 
> 
> Still haven't been on the Jingle Cruise yet, but the pictures look great! Love the fruitcake on the water.
> 
> So they added projections to AiW?  Did they do anything different to the ride when it goes outside for a little bit?
> 
> Obviously by my profile picture, I love everthing Nightmare Before Christmas, so HMH is my favorite ride during Christmas time!
> 
> I had no idea that Storyteller's was only for onsite guests now!  When did they make that change?
> 
> Love the long exposure shots on IASW.
> 
> WoC is my absolute favorite show out of all Disney parks! Glad you enjoyed this version better than last years



There are a lot of different hotels on Harbor Blvd that are very nice. I havent stayed at all of them since I mostly stay at the Best Westerns. The best short distance is BWPPI but BWAI does have great rates over BWPPI. 

I am not a fan of the Mad T Party, EleTRONica, or Glow Fest at Hollywood Land but it does attract huge crowds at night in DCA which is a good thing as well. It will be interesting to see what the Frozen theme will be like.

The spot at Main Street Town Square that night was not that bad but it is not as those good spots right next to the parade route. Overall it was nice for the wait time we had that night.

When I went in Sept and Oct. I was surprised that the guests were not told by the CMs to stand up. Mostly the guests are required to stand up for the fireworks in front of SB Castle. But for some weird reason the CMs didnt tell the guests to stand up. But during the November trip, it was back to the old ways where the guests had to stand up. During the Sept and Oct trip when we stake out a spot, the walkway that is in front between the castle and the guests watching the fireworks where the guests that are not watching the fireworks and want to head on over to their next destination was not happening. That was strange that mostly the walkway is open when the fireworks are happening. But in November it went back to the old ways with the walkway and the guests standing for the fireworks. It is always a hazard for guests to sit down during the fireworks since if someone has to leave the area and the guests are sitting down, someone might get step on during the fireworks.

The firework trail shots are getting better and better with each trip.

You will enjoy going on the Jingle Cruise. You should consider going back to the DLR during the holiday season which is always amazing.

AiW was updated during the summertime which it is now safe where they had those ugly tarps on the outside of the façade. They added some projections and type of monitors to the ride in which you see videos clips from the movie AiW. It is mostly at the beginning and in the garden scene. When you get on the outside at the top, it is now covered up and doesnt have the leaf track anymore.

HMH is a nice ride for the Halloween/Christmas season at DL. I really enjoy the HMH over the original HM but some other people would consider otherwise. 

When we were denied of eating at Storytellers that night which they told us that it was only for the guests. I would guess that since it was so busy that weekend (during the Avengers Marathon) DL wanted the restaurant to be hotel guests only since it was during the busy time of the day for dinner. The CM should have told us straight forward instead of what they said to DAF. We have walkup before at Storytellers in the past and I would guess that when it is busy the restaurant will be only available to hotel guests only.

Over the years since WoC debut in 2010 it is now becoming one of my favorite shows. It was nice that WoC Winter Dreams was way more improved over last years version.




franandaj said:


> Great pictures from WoC Winter Dreams Bret! Looks like I won't be seeing it this year either. We are going out to the park on the day after Christmas but my parents wanted to have dinner and with them dinner is an event so we wouldn't be done in time to make it to WoC.



Thank you Alison. Oh no. You will like this years version over last years if you have it last year. That is nice that you are going to have dinner with your parents the day after Christmas.


The next posts will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52731567]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – November 16th, 2014 – Part 1*

*Cruising in the jungle during the Holiday Season.*​
After another great day at the park in which we got to see and do for most part of the trip. The only problem during the trip was the Avenger’s Marathon in which the crowds did make a big difference in some ways. Saturday was very busy with the 5K and Kids Marathon going on while Sunday is the ½ Marathon. I don’t know what the crowds would be like that morning when the parks open at 9am so we just played it by ears and see how it goes.

This is always our saddest part of the trip which is the last day on any trip. It was sad to go back home that day but it was nice to go back as well since I have basketball season. 

Since the parks don’t open until 9am, we got to sleep a little longer where we mostly go to the parks when it opens at 8am. During that morning, I spent part of the morning packing the bags up and putting them in the car since we had to check out of the hotel at 12pm. 

We mostly would leave part of our stuff in the room until we head on out of the parks but we were planning on being in the parks after 12pm that Sunday since we were planning on seeing Alison and Fran perform at DCA. It was a coincidence that they are playing at DCA during our trip in which it was perfect since they will be playing the day we are about to leave. So this trip got a little extra special. I will get to them later on during these posts so continue back to the trip report that Sunday.

Before we head on over to the parks, we went up to have breakfast on the third floor of Best Western Anaheim Inn.

After finishing breakfast upstairs, we went back to the room to get any of our stuff out of the room. Then we checked out of the room and head on over to the DLR that morning. We left the car in the parking lot at BWAI so it won’t take too long until we got back to the car.

We went by ourselves at the park that morning instead of joining my cousins. Since we were planning on doing things that day by ourselves, we didn’t want to bother them.

We head on over to the DLR that morning before 9am and it wasn’t that bad. The other day it was crazy busy while this Sunday morning was not that bad. I would guess that since most of the runners were running on Sunday instead of Saturday, the Esplanade was not that busy. So this was a good start that morning.




We entered DL over DCA since there were some rides that DAF didn’t do the first two days.




The Christmas decorations on Main Street look amazing every time during the holiday season.




It was past rope drop and the park was now open. 




When we were in DL that morning, the first ride that we had to do was Jingle Cruise. I was able to ride JC with my cousins. DAF was able to ride the JC last year where they didn’t have any decorations to the ride and was looking forward to riding the new JC. 

Luckily the JC wait time was less than 5 minutes so we were able to ride it with no wait time. Luckily this was going to be easy to take pictures of the JC since when I rode it on Friday was when it was dark. So this time I was able to get nice pictures during the daytime. I always ask myself which is the better ride experience during the day or night. I do enjoy riding the JC at night and it is also great to ride it during the daytime. 

A lot of garlands at the start of the ride.








The cobras like the fruitcake. 




The elephants are all ready for Christmas












The baboons are all dressed up as Santa Clause with the hats, belts and boots.




The gorillas cooking something for the holidays.




The African elephants with the jingle bells




All the other animals are enjoying the holidays with what is inside crates.




The lions are enjoying the fake reindeers.




The safari party are decorations the pole and the rhinoceros is giving them another star to put on the top.




Fruitcakes are in the water with the hippos.




One is hungry for those fruitcakes.




The natives are enjoying the holidays and are dancing.




You can see the lights on but it was better when it was at night where the lights do make a big difference at night.




More fruitcake on shore.




Somebody trying to open the presents with the piranhas.




Even a snake is getting all wrapped up for the holiday season.




Trader Sam is getting all excited that he is getting ready for New Years instead of the holiday season.




We head on back to the port and got off the Jingle Cruise. Just before we left the port, I went on over towards the side where the other CM’s are and asked for a map of the JC. This is a great way to get a free map of the JC. They asked us to make an animal sound and we did an elephant and lion. Mine sound very awful that the CM laugh at mine. But we were able to get a couple of maps of the JC that morning.

[post=52756631]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52756624]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – November 16th, 2014 – Part 2*

*Decorations on Storybook Land Canal Boats and It’s a Small World Holiday Again.*​
After riding the Jingle Cruise that morning, we moved on to our next ride that morning. There was another ride that we haven’t done for quite some time in which I was able to ride it back in December 2013 with DAW. DAF didn’t get to ride it which was a couple of years ago. The ride I am talking about is Storybook Land Canal Boats. The good thing about this ride is that it also does have some Christmas decorations to the ride which is great. It doesn’t have a lot like It’s a Small World Holiday, Haunted Mansion Holiday or Jingle Cruise but it does have some little Christmas decorations to the buildings. I don’t know if they were up or not since the decorations for SLCB are mostly up around mid to late November.

So we head on over to SLCB that morning in which it shouldn’t be that busy and a walk-on. We went through the Hub and passing by Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle. The park was not that bad that morning where it was busy to get in the park on Saturday. It shows that most of the guests that were at the park on Saturday were not running and had time to go in the parks. So Sunday morning was the short time which was great.

Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle looks amazing every day I see it in person.




We walked on over towards SLCB and the wait time was about 5 minutes which was expected that morning. It has been a while since we rode SLCB and I was looking forward to see if the decorations are on the buildings in November.




Monstro the Whale




When passing by some of the little buildings, there were some that had some Christmas trees up which was nice to see.








https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7507/15821776168_ab6b2e7a99_b.jpg[/img]













Heading on back to the port.




It was nice to see some decorations at SLCB during our trip. I thought that there wasn’t going to be any decorations up during the ride since it is mostly all up in December. Luckily there were some during our trip and we were able to see them again. It will be very interesting to see what the new SLCB will be like with the addition of Arendelle from the movie “Frozen”. We will wait and see what it will be like at SLCB. But it was nice to see the old version before it was changed.

After riding SLCB, we had plenty of time until it was time to head on over to DCA to see Alison and Fran perform. Since we were in Fantasyland, I ask DAF if she had no problem riding It’s a Small World Holiday. She had no problem with it so we head on over in that direction to ride it again. We rode it on Friday with my cousins so this time it was just the two of us.

While walking down IASW Plaza, I enjoy seeing the Christmas wreaths on the light poles. Each wreath represents a different country.




























There were more wreaths at IASW Plaza but I was able to get them later on after we got off IASWH. Now we head on over to ride IASWH. Like every morning, it was a walk-on that morning. We were able to get a front row spot for the ride which is great.








Here are pictures from IASWH that Sunday morning.
























More on the next post.

[post=52756639]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52756631]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – November 16th, 2014 – Part 3*

*It’s a Small World Holiday Part 2*​
Back with more from It’s a Small World Holiday. 




It won’t be too long until it will be 2015.




https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8589/15983388836_58c2aab9c0_b.jpg[/img]





































The new archway of Feliz Navidad scene
















































After we got off IASWH, we head straight on over to our next destination that morning. But that will be another time. Stay tune for the next updates during the trip.

[post=52784911]Continue to the Next Post[/post]​


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## L2S2C




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## tksbaskets

Great pictures of the Jungle Cruise - I really liked the festive changes.  Your pics on IASWH turned out great!  Did you use a long exposure to take the pictures?  Mine are mostly blurry even with my DSLR.

Thanks for sharing!
TK


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## PrincessInOz

I always like seeing the holiday overlay in IaSW.  So festive. 

When did they start adding the wreaths from each country?  I last saw the overlay in 2009.  Was I totally blind in that trip?


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Great pictures of the Jungle Cruise - I really liked the festive changes.  Your pics on IASWH turned out great!  Did you use a long exposure to take the pictures?  Mine are mostly blurry even with my DSLR.
> 
> Thanks for sharing!
> TK



Thanks TK. Are you talking about the nighttime shots of IASWH on the facade or the ride experience? For the ride experience, the settings were not that low. During the dark parts of the ride my settings were f/3.5, 1/50 to 1/80 shutter speed and ISO at 3200. There were times when the pictures were so dark that I had to use Lightroom to fix it.

Thank you for following along TK.




PrincessInOz said:


> I always like seeing the holiday overlay in IaSW.  So festive.
> 
> When did they start adding the wreaths from each country?  I last saw the overlay in 2009.  Was I totally blind in that trip?



It is amazing to see the holiday overlay at IASWH.

IASWH debut in 1997 and has been going on since than. I know that I have seen the wreaths at IASW Plaza in the early to mid 2000's.  I can't remember when IASW Plaza added the wreaths but I would guess around that time when IASWH started in 1997. Maybe Sherry knows when the wreaths came up with IASWH. 

The next posts will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

[post=52756639]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3 – November 16th, 2014 – Part 4*

*More Wreaths and Last Ride on the Flying Tires*​
We are now back at the docks of It’s a Small World and now started to move to our next destination that morning. 




We still have time until it was time to head on over to DCA but before we head on over to DCA, I wanted to get the rest of the wreaths at IASW Plaza. These were on the other side which is across from IASWH.




























After getting most of the wreaths at IASW Plaza, we started to head on out of the park and over to DCA. 

I had to get pictures of the flowers at the Hub which is nice to look at.




Main Street was not that busy that morning where it didn’t feel that busy like the other two days. But I would have guessed that most of the runners and spectators during the Avenger’s Marathon were up most of that Sunday morning and went back to their rooms to rest up and come back later that day. Luckily we didn’t plan on staying that long that day where we plan on leaving around 1-2pm that day.




We were now exiting DL and now back at the Esplanade. Just when leaving DL and on over to DCA, there was a tow train on the Monorail track with another car. The way it looks like it that there was a problem with the track so maintenance crew is working on it. Also there were a lot of CM security blocking that area preventing the guests from going on under the track where the maintenance is going on.




The Esplanade looked very busy that morning but it didn’t took too long to enter DCA.

We were now in DCA and on our move to our next destination.




We decided to go on one of our favorite rides at DCA which was one of the first rides that opened in DCA back in 2001. You guess correct that it was Soarin over California. This is another ride that will be closed in early January to get new enhancements before DL 60th anniversary. This was our last time to see the old version until it gets refurbished.








It was nice to ride Soarin one last time until it gets shut down for 5 months when it will be ready for DL 60th anniversary. We still never get tired of this ride which is one of our favorites at DCA.

After riding Soarin, we still had time until we head on over to Hollywood Land that afternoon to see Alison and Fran perform. But we had time to go on one more ride until it was time. There was one more ride that I wanted to go on until we head on over to Hollywood Land.

After leaving Condor Flats, we were now in Cars Land with all of its holiday decorations.








The ride that I was talking a while ago was Luigi’s Flying Tires. This will be the last time we ride it since there are rumors that it will be converted to a new attraction in the near future. On the sites that says when it will be closed is till December 1st, 2015. So DL will have almost a year to work on the new attraction to replace Luigi’s Flying Tires. I was sad to hear the news that LFT is now going to be part of Yesterland. I never got the chance to see Disneyland original Flying Saucers back in the 60’s and got to experience at CL in 2012 to 2014 and seeing it go away is sad but I understand why they are closing the attraction and replacing it with something new.

Here are some of my pictures from LFT that day and a last look at it when it is changed later next year.








Inside the queue of Casa Della Tires.




















White wall tires




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## mvf-m11c

[post=52784911]Last Installment on the Trip Report[/post]

*Day 3  November 16th, 2014  Part 5*

*Riding the Flying Tires and Watching Friends Play*​
Walking in the next room inside Luigis Casa Della Tires building.












Now we were outside.




The signs at LFT are very neat to see.












Francesco Bernoulli topiary looks amazing since 2012












It took less than 5 minutes to get on the tired and ride it for the last time. 








It was nice to ride LFT for the last time when it closes in early January. It is tough to see a ride close that early when it opened in 2012. Hopefully Disney will do something good in the future but we will wait and see what they will do.

After riding LFT, we had some time to relax until we head on over to Hollywood Land. While we were in Cars Land, I remember cousin Chris saying that there was a special going on at the Cozy Cone Motel which had to do something with the cones. She said that the Cozy Cone was selling Mac & Cheese in a cone with bacon in it. I do like Mac and Cheese and to have bacon with it makes it more interesting. 

When we were at the Cozy Cone Motel, at Cozy Cone 3 which sells the Chili Cone Queso and Chicken Verde, we saw the menu that has the Bacon Macaroni & Cheese Cone which Chris told me and there was no question what I was having for lunch that day.




Just like the chili and chicken verde, there was Mac & cheese along with shredded bacon. It was delicious and good.




After having lunch, we started to walk on over towards Hollywood Land to get to the Hollywood Backlot Stage where Alison and Fran are performing. Alison told me a few months ago that they were playing at DCA during our trip which was great to see them perform. There band that was playing at Disneyland Resort Community Arts Showcase was the Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles. This was a great treat to watch them perform where we got to see them on Friday during the trip. 




We showed up at least 10 minutes early so we can get a nice spot which was in the back where I was setting up my tripod along with my video camera. I did record the whole performance that afternoon and I dont know if Alison has uploaded the video yet.




The performers are now coming on stage and we saw Alison and Fran on the ends. They were also able to see both DAF and me that day. I believe Fran was first clarinet 




The conductor was Justin Raines.




When we were watching and listening to the band play that afternoon, we were impressed with the selection of songs from Disney movie songs, (Aladdin & Frozen) and other holiday songs. I forgot what the names of the songs that they played that day so Alison you will have to tell us what you played from the beginning to the end that day. 




We were glad that we stayed a little longer at the park that afternoon to watch Alison and Fran perform at the Hollywood Backlot Stage at DCA. We were able to talk to them for a while until it was time for the two of us to head on out of the park. We stayed longer at the DLR that day since there performance started at noon. It was worth the extra time staying in Anaheim to see them perform with their band.

Just when we left Hollywood Land, we stopped at the Elias & Company store to get some last minute gifts for family and friends. It is nice to walk in the store where it is decorated during the holiday season.












When we did a little shopping around BVS, we saw the BVS Community Bell Ringers performing right at the entrance to the Los Feliz Five & Dime store. We watched the show for a while until it was time to head on out of the park and back to BWAI.




After watching the performance for a while, we now head on out of DCA and on our way out of the DLR. It was not that busy that afternoon which was not that bad around 12:30pm. 




It was around 12:45pm when we got back to the hotel. For DAF and I is very late to leave the DLR and on our way back home to Sacramento. But it was well worth the extra time seeing Alison and Fran perform at DCA.

We left Anaheim around 1pm and a 7 hour drive back up north to Sacramento. Mostly when I am with DAF, we stop at Little Tokyo in Los Angeles on the way back. We mostly stop there to get something for my grandmother. But since it was a little late leaving Anaheim, we just head straight on back to Sacramento. 

On the way back, we stopped at my grandmothers house in Livingston to see how she was doing. It is nice place to stop on the way back home to Sacramento. 

It was around 9pm when we got back home to Sacramento. This concludes Our 4th Annual Holiday Trip to Disneyland in November.

This was not like our usual holiday trip in November like we do these last few years. With the Avengers Marathon going on that weekend, it just caused even more crowds in which it did look like a low version of the Christmas break crowds. I have been during Christmas break (last year) and know what the park is like during the busiest time of the year. Instead of the crowds during that week, the whole trip was nice where it was me and DAF again. It was nice to see my cousins at the park that Friday. It was too bad that we didnt spend much time the other days. They told me that they had an unbelievable time as well during the holiday season at the DLR. We mostly did our usual holiday rides like IASWH, HMH, Jingle Cruise (which has way more decorations than last year), and SLCB. We were able to see our usual holiday nighttime shows like A Christmas Fantasy parade, BelieveIn Holiday Magic fireworks and World of Color Winter Dreams version 2.0. I was impressed how WoC Winter Dreams was this year and last years where it was much more Disney theme. 

We were able to see Alison and Fran during the trip which was great. It wasnt too long ago when we were able to hang out with them during the October trip with PiO and her family. This time we were able to watch them perform at DCA and we were impressed with their performance and the rest of the band. We had a blast watching them play that afternoon and was a good way to end the trip.

This concludes the November trip. Right now my next trip which I know for sure that I will be going back to SoCal is during the D23 Expo trip in August. It is likely that I will have another DLR trip all planned out before the D23 Expo in August. It will depend on when my DAs want to go back to the DLR as well as me. 

Right now, I am working on when to go back to Walt Disney World next year. Our time share is now available this year and we are still in the talks on when to go back to WDW. I want to go back to WDW during the holiday season but my basketball season is the busiest in December so I am thinking of going in early/mid November. The other one is during the Halloween season in which I did that with DB and DAW back in 2012. It is still in the talks and might take a while. But we dont have too much time since we need to plan on what days we want to go back to WDW. I will keep you updated on when we plan on going back to WDW next year.

Stay tune for all the updates for the upcoming trips.


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## tksbaskets

WOW you packed a lot into a 1/2 day at the parks.  Great that you were able to see your friends perform at DCA.  What a treat to be sure!  We often stop to see the performers. 

Hope you get to go to DL before August.

Merry Christmas Bret,
TK


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## franandaj

I thought I posted here a couple days ago, but I guess it got caught up in the lost posts.  I had said that I was glad I didn't read about your Jingle Cruise before I went on it with Jenny and family.  I didn't know what to expect and so it was really great to see first hand.  Your pictures brought back fun memories of the ride with them.

I'm so glad you were able to make our concert and thanks for sending me the video. I'm always so happy when my friends can make it to a performance. I have been blessed to have friends at the past two concerts now!

I haven't had a chance to post your video anywhere and not sure I will.  I love having it as a record of our performance, but we have a bittersweet relationship with the band now. While we poured our lives into it for a long time, some big changes have come along and we will probably still play there for a long time, but we won't be putting our hearts and souls into it as we once did.  Nor will we be emptying our pocketbooks!  

I love being able to listen to the performance though, I think it was one of our better ones.  If I can figure out how to split the tracks into individual ones, I may put them up on my TR once I finish.


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## PrincessInOz

Merry Christmas Bret.

Great pictures of the Band!


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## Leshaface

I had never paid any attention before to the wreaths near IASW.  That is so cool, thanks for taking pictures of those!  They're beautiful.

Soarin' is definitely one of my favorites.  I didn't get a chance to ride it in July or October.  Bummer that I couldn't ride it one last time, but excited for the changes that are about to happen.

As sad as it is, LFT needs to be something else.  That ride was just not fun (for us) and too much work.  And once you figured out how to get it going, it would end. I'm sure Disney knows they need to come up with something fantastic to make up for it!

Oooh that mac and cheese with bacon looks delish!  I always forget to visit the Cones for snacks.

Such a fun report!  Your take fabulous pictures and look forward to hearing about your future trips.  Hopefully you'll be able to make it to WDW in 2015


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> WOW you packed a lot into a 1/2 day at the parks.  Great that you were able to see your friends perform at DCA.  What a treat to be sure!  We often stop to see the performers.
> 
> Hope you get to go to DL before August.
> 
> Merry Christmas Bret,
> TK



We did quite a lot that Sunday morning to the afternoon. Luckily the parks were not that crowded that morning due to all the guests that were there for the Avengers Marathon that morning and went back to the room to rest up after a long morning. It was nice to see Alison and Fran perform at DCA that afternoon. They were great that afternoon.

We will go sometimes these next few months but not this month since all my days are all about work or coaching basketball.




franandaj said:


> I thought I posted here a couple days ago, but I guess it got caught up in the lost posts.  I had said that I was glad I didn't read about your Jingle Cruise before I went on it with Jenny and family.  I didn't know what to expect and so it was really great to see first hand.  Your pictures brought back fun memories of the ride with them.
> 
> I'm so glad you were able to make our concert and thanks for sending me the video. I'm always so happy when my friends can make it to a performance. I have been blessed to have friends at the past two concerts now!
> 
> I haven't had a chance to post your video anywhere and not sure I will.  I love having it as a record of our performance, but we have a bittersweet relationship with the band now. While we poured our lives into it for a long time, some big changes have come along and we will probably still play there for a long time, but we won't be putting our hearts and souls into it as we once did.  Nor will we be emptying our pocketbooks!
> 
> I love being able to listen to the performance though, I think it was one of our better ones.  If I can figure out how to split the tracks into individual ones, I may put them up on my TR once I finish.



That made sense of not seeing or reading my posts about Jingle Cruise since you want to see it first hand and be all surprised. That is great that you were able to ride it with Jenny and her family. It was nice new addition to Jingle Cruise to make it more of a Christmas theme ride during the holiday season.

Your welcome and glad that you have enjoyed the video that I videotaped that afternoon. We enjoyed your performance that afternoon and maybe one day when we are back in SoCal, we can see another one.

Your friends on the boards will enjoy your performance back in November and it will be great if you can post the video of your performance. 




PrincessInOz said:


> Merry Christmas Bret.
> 
> Great pictures of the Band!



Thank you PiO. It was nice to see Alison and Fran perform that afternoon until we left that day and back home to Sactown.



Leshaface said:


> I had never paid any attention before to the wreaths near IASW.  That is so cool, thanks for taking pictures of those!  They're beautiful.
> 
> Soarin' is definitely one of my favorites.  I didn't get a chance to ride it in July or October.  Bummer that I couldn't ride it one last time, but excited for the changes that are about to happen.
> 
> As sad as it is, LFT needs to be something else.  That ride was just not fun (for us) and too much work.  And once you figured out how to get it going, it would end. I'm sure Disney knows they need to come up with something fantastic to make up for it!
> 
> Oooh that mac and cheese with bacon looks delish!  I always forget to visit the Cones for snacks.
> 
> Such a fun report!  Your take fabulous pictures and look forward to hearing about your future trips.  Hopefully you'll be able to make it to WDW in 2015



The wreaths at IASW Plaza are so amazing to look at which represents each different country. 

Soarin is one of our favorite rides at DCA and it will be sad when it will be down until mid May. I wonder what the new version will be like? Im sorry that you werent able to ride Soarin during your trips and hope you are able to ride the new version when it opens later this year.

It was nice to ride LFT when it opened in 2012. As you said that it needs to be something else since it doesnt get the huge amount of crowds unless it is one of the rides with the shortest wait times. You might have enjoyed LFT when they had the beach balls for the first few months until Disney took away the beach balls. It will be very interesting to see what Disney will do with LFT since it will be down for most of the year.

The mac and cheese cone was very good and it is a nice addition to the Cozy Cone Motel.

Thank you Alicia. We always enjoy the holiday season at the DLR which is by far our favorite time of the year to visit. The photos have improved over the years with new equipment and all the books and tips that I have gotten in that time which helps out a lot. I am still continuing to improve my photography this year which new equipment will be part of it.

We are most likely to be going back to WDW this year sometime in October. I would mostly would choose November/December during the holiday season at WDW but I am busy with my basketball season in November/December where it is not an option. We are working on what dates to go in October and see what rates are for airlines. Right now nothing is set yet and it will be a while until we find that good rates.


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## mvf-m11c

Here is an update of what is going on with the upcoming future DL trip reports. I could have gone last week with Cousin Chris and her family to the DLR but with basketball season at it's fullest this month and December, I wasn't able to go with them. But they had an excellent time during the slow season which a lot of rides were closed for refurbishment and the holiday decorations were taken down. 

As for my upcoming trips, DAW (not DAF) has been busy lately with work and taking care of her aunts and uncles told me that it is time to get away from all that and go back to the Happiest Place on Earth. Recently, I have been looking online for good flight deals for the WDW trip in October and found on Southwest Airlines website that there is a special Wanna Get Away deal from Sac to OC for $49 one way which is a great deal. I told DAW and she was happy to hear that since she doesn't like to drive from Sac to Anaheim. I mostly like to drive to SoCal but it would be nice to fly again down to OC. We talked about a couple of future DL trips since she has the Premium AP that she renewed in June and only has used it once in September 2014 trip. So she needs to get a couple of trips out of the way to make up for the price of the PAP. 

As for the dates, we have chosen as our first trip which will be on March 8th to 10th which is Sunday to Tuesday. The rates for the prices of SWA were high on Friday and Sunday. So when we looked closely, Sunday going to OC was great and we will be able to see the fireworks on Sunday during our trip. We were able to get a room at the Best Western Park Place Inn for that visit. 

Also during the trip, DAW have been talking with her friend DM that went with us during the January 2013 trip along with DD4 who was 2 when she went to her first trip to the DLR will be going along with us during the trip. DD4 mom will not be joining us since she is working but DD4 will be coming along with DAW and me during the March trip. We were a little surprised that DM would let DD4 go with us during this trip in which DD4 has asked DM if she could go back with us one day since the January 2013 trip. I can understand why DM doesn't want DD4 to go with DAW and me since she is still a young child. But DM decided that it was okay this time. But she could change her mind at the last second so until the day comes, that will tell the tale. For now, we don't have a plan except for the flight and hotel we are staying. We will have to find a good ticket price for DD4 since we both have AP's. DD4 have told DAW and me that she is excited to go back to the DLR and she told us that she wants to see Anna and Elsa. So it looks like we will have to plan on seeing Anna and Elsa during the trip which they are now in DCA. This will be a good opportunity to see the Frozen Fun event at Hollywood Land. 

The second trip that DAW and I have talked about was close to when her AP is about to expire in June. We talk about a June trip but she doesn't want to go during the summertime as well as the high summer crowds. We looked at the dates and the one that she was thinking about is going after Memorial Day weekend. We looked at the dates and chose a date on May 30th to June 1st. Which is a week after Memorial Day weekend. Once again, we took advantage of the SWA deal to OC for $49 one way and back at the same price. We also got BWPPI as our place to stay for our visit. This time it will just be the two of us instead of DD4 since we like to relax at the Happiest Place on Earth. This will also be a perfect trip for the two of us since we will be able to see the new 60th anniversary firework show at DL a couple of weeks before the rides that are down from January to May and the new firework show. I was also thinking of want to go during May 15th for the opening but we chose to go later which is okay.

We will be looking forward to going back to the DLR these next few months and don't be surprised if I do try to make a last second trip to the DLR these next few months.


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## PrincessInOz

I'm totally envious!


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## tksbaskets

It sounds like you have some wonderful Disney trips coming up.  I'd love to go to DL for the 60th celebration.  I'll look forward to seeing it through your trip reports!


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## Leshaface

I definitely wouldn't pass up $49 one way tickets from SAC to OC   For that, i'd definitely rather fly than drive.

Awesome that you have a few more trips planned to DLR!

Any dates yet for WDW?  I totally get you about sports.  DH is a Varsity Assistant coach for Baseball, so we don't do much from Jan-May.  He also used to coach football as well which took up Summer through November, so traveling was difficult.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> I'm totally envious!



Thanks PiO. Since DAW is not planning on renewing her AP (unless she decides during the trip but I don't expect it) and it is nice to go back with DD4 for the March trip and to be able to go just in time for the 60th anniversary.




tksbaskets said:


> It sounds like you have some wonderful Disney trips coming up.  I'd love to go to DL for the 60th celebration.  I'll look forward to seeing it through your trip reports!



Thanks TK. There are a lot of trips that are still in the planning stage from the WDW trip and multiple trips to the DLR including the 60 anniversary, D23 Expo, & holiday season.




Leshaface said:


> I definitely wouldn't pass up $49 one way tickets from SAC to OC   For that, i'd definitely rather fly than drive.
> 
> Awesome that you have a few more trips planned to DLR!
> 
> Any dates yet for WDW?  I totally get you about sports.  DH is a Varsity Assistant coach for Baseball, so we don't do much from Jan-May.  He also used to coach football as well which took up Summer through November, so traveling was difficult.



Can't beat the price of $49 one way from Sac to OC and it would be nice once in a change to fly instead of drive. But I always like driving to SoCal especially with all the different stuff I bring with me. I will have to be creative of what to bring and not to bring when flying. It has been a while since I flown to OC and to the DLR.

Thanks Alicia. I got to get my value worth of my AP and this one was well worth it. 

Right now, my family and I are thinking of going in October somewhere around the 16th to the 23rd for 8 days. I wanted to go back during the holiday season but our times don't work out since my basketball season is the busiest in December and they can't go in November. I am still planning on going in November with DAF like we usually do every year. It will be nice to go back during the Halloween season and F&W Festival where we have enjoyed it back during the 2012 trip. 

Just as you said that coaching sport teams is a big commitment and takes a lot of time. Luckily for me since the games are on the weekdays and some on the weekends (mostly tournaments), we were able to go during some parts of the season. There are other trips that I want to go down from now to May but my AAU work is going to prevent that on the weekends. So I am still going back on everyday to see what is the best time to go back down to SoCal.


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## mvf-m11c

I will be going on a quick trip to Anaheim in less than 3 weeks with DAF and my dad. We will be there on the 22nd to 23rd. It is a really quick trip in which we will only be there for a couple of days in SoCal. This will be a great opportunity to go for a couple of days at the DLR with the Frozen Fun happening at DCA. I won't be writing a trip report for this trip but I will be able to post some pictures and talk about the Frozen Fun. It has been years since I have been to the DLR in February.

It won't be too long until I return in early March with DAW and DD4. We haven't told DD4 that she will be going with DAW and I to the DLR. This will be a very nice surprise for DD4.


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## PrincessInOz

That's good work, Bret.  Enjoy!


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## franandaj

Just and FYI, they are in full swing of getting ready for the 60th Anniversary.  I couldn't believe how many things are closed down.  I'm going to do a small update on my Cruise TR about our stay for the last two days and I'll try and remember everything that was down for rehab when I'm working on that.  It was CRAZY how much wasn't available!


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## rentayenta

Subbing so I can get emails.  Going back to catch up now.


I hope we'll get to meet up and that one of our trips overlaps.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> That's good work, Bret.  Enjoy!



Thanks PiO. Even though it is during the off-season with all the refurbishments going on, I like to go when it is quiet (even though it isn't quiet anymore during the off-season at the DLR) but it will be weird to see all the walls up for the 60th anniversary.




franandaj said:


> Just and FYI, they are in full swing of getting ready for the 60th Anniversary.  I couldn't believe how many things are closed down.  I'm going to do a small update on my Cruise TR about our stay for the last two days and I'll try and remember everything that was down for rehab when I'm working on that.  It was CRAZY how much wasn't available!



Thank you for the information Alison. Hope you and Fran had a great time at the DLR these last couple of days. It will be weird to see all the the rides and shows all down for the refurbishment these next couple of months before the 60th anniversary starts in May. At least Disney is getting everything ready in May for the 60th anniversary. I am all excited and can't wait any longer to see all the new nighttime events and updated rides. I will be looking forward to reading your trip. It won't be too long until I see what it will be like in late February.



rentayenta said:


> Subbing so I can get emails.  Going back to catch up now.
> 
> 
> I hope we'll get to meet up and that one of our trips overlaps.



Thank you Jenny. 

I'm hoping that we will be able to meet up one day during our trips. You might be surprise if I can make a last second trip that will overlaps your trip.


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## ACDSNY

That's great you were able to get in on the SWA sale, I love when they run the $49 specials.  I was able to move my LAX flight in May to SNA last week.


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## PrincessInOz

mvf-m11c said:


> I will be going on a quick trip to Anaheim in less than 3 weeks with DAF and my dad. We will be there on the 22nd to 23rd. It is a really quick trip in which we will only be there for a couple of days in SoCal. This will be a great opportunity to go for a couple of days at the DLR with the Frozen Fun happening at DCA. I won't be writing a trip report for this trip but I will be able to post some pictures and talk about the Frozen Fun. It has been years since I have been to the DLR in February.
> 
> It won't be too long until I return in early March with DAW and DD4. We haven't told DD4 that she will be going with DAW and I to the DLR. This will be a very nice surprise for DD4.



Safe travels, Bret.  Look forward to reading all about it when you return.


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## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> That's great you were able to get in on the SWA sale, I love when they run the $49 specials.  I was able to move my LAX flight in May to SNA last week.



It was great to get the good deals on SWA for $49. That is great news to hear that you were also able to get the good deal for your trip in May.




PrincessInOz said:


> Safe travels, Bret.  Look forward to reading all about it when you return.



Thank you PiO. We had a fun day today even though it did rain hard around 9pm tonight. But we were able to do quite a lot in just about 5 hours in the parks.


Here is a quick update from the trip today. When we got to SoCal, we head on first to eat at California Fish Grill in Cypress. I like to eat at the California Fish Grill when I am in SoCal. Those are times with my DB and his GF. This time, I went with DAF which she was impressed with the restaurant.

After eating at the California Fish Grill, we head straight on over to our hotel at Best Western Raffles Inn & Suites on Harbor Blvd. This was the first time staying at BWRI&S which we were able to get a good deal for about $70 a night.

We didn't head on over to the parks until 4pm which we were a little tired that day from driving from Sac to Anaheim. It was a little wet that afternoon which we knew that it was going to rain later that night so we were prepared for the rainy day at the parks.




We went in DCA for a few minutes. We were able to get FP's for the Frozen Sing Along show at 7:15pm that night and we came back later that day to see the show.




We didn't stay too long in DCA since we head on over to the ESPN Zone for dinner that night. For the regular DISers that have follow my trip reports know that DAF and I love eating at the ESPN Zone every time we are here at the DLR.




After dinner, we head straight on back to DCA to see the 7:15pm Frozen Sing Along show. We had to use the FP's that night which we didn't have to wait that long to get in the Muppets 3D Vision building which is decorated with the Frozen theme.











We were singing along the popular songs from Frozen
















After the Sing Along, it started to rain again. Luckily we had rain gear with us that night so we were able to walk around the parks. After that, we went in Olaf Snow Fest for a while.








We were able to see the preview of the movie "Cinderella" at A Bug's Theatre.




After being in DCA, we head straight on over to DL that night to see Fantasy in the Sky fireworks and I was able to get some pictures until the fireworks start at 9:15pm.




It was wet that night while a lot of the outside rides were closed that night like the Tea Cups and AiW.




We were able to see Fantasy in the Sky fireworks that night which I haven't seen that firework show in years.








Just when the fireworks was over, it started to rain like crazy that night and I was able to take some pictures with my camera on the tripod and standing outside taking pictures in the rain.




















We left around 10pm that night and back to BWRI&S that night. I will have more pictures uploaded when I get back but you can check out my pictures from this trip on my flickr link below.


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## PrincessInOz

Beautiful, Bret.

Looks like perfect photo-taking weather!!


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## franandaj

Wow! That place emptied out quick. We were home watching the Oscars. Not that we'd seen any of the movies other than Into the Woods.  But we were happy just to not be outside in the rain!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Beautiful, Bret.
> 
> Looks like perfect photo-taking weather!!



Thank you PiO.

It was coming down that Sunday night and it was a perfect photo-taking day at the parks. It has been a long time since I have seen the park so empty that night. You would have enjoyed taking pictures at the park that night.




franandaj said:


> Wow! That place emptied out quick. We were home watching the Oscars. Not that we'd seen any of the movies other than Into the Woods.  But we were happy just to not be outside in the rain!



It was quiet that night. Looks like a lot of the locals were not there that night since it was coming down that night around 9pm. DAF didn't like being outside in the rain but I did quite enjoyed it where I was able to take some nice nighttime photos. I don't like water rides like GRR, but I had my rain gear on along with my equipment so my stuff didn't get wet.


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## mvf-m11c

It will be about 8 more days until my next trip back to the DLR on Sunday March 8th to Tuesday March 10th. It wasn't too long ago since I was at the DLR last Sunday February 22nd to Monday 23rd. This upcoming trip will be with DAW (not DAF who was with me during the trip last week), DD4 and me. But now, DD4 mom (DML) will be joining along with us for the trip. This will be nice that DML will be joining the three of us for the trip. So everything will be fun and exciting for the trip next weekend. 

Here is a quick update of what we are planning on doing during the trip. The four of us will be flying down to Orange County on Sunday and take the Super Shuttle to our hotel which will be at Best Western Park Place Inn.

We plan on seeing all the different Frozen Fun activities from the Sing-Along, M&G with Anna and Elsa along with Olaf, SLCB with the town of Arendelle that was added in December. There were some things that I didn't see during my trip last week since we only had less than a day at the parks. We will go it by ears of what other rides, shows and character M&G to do during the trip. 

We are planning on having dinner at the Blue Bayou on Monday at 5:10pm for the Fantasmic! dinner package. I have seen F! a lot of times and this will be the first time to try out the FP system which we will be watching the show in the center spot at the ground sitting spot at the Rivers of America. We might add another sit down restaurant during the trip which DAW is thinking of eating at Tortilla Jo's for dinner. DAW and I have ate there back in 2013 since she loves Mexican food so this might be a good place to have dinner during the trip. 

This is our plans for now during the trip next week and will be updated later on when we get closer.


Here is the second quick update from the trip last weekend with DAF and I. 

*Day 2 - February 22nd, 2015
*​This was one quick trip which DAF and I are here for less than one day at the parks. It has been a long time since I was at the park for less than 1 day. But it was nice to come down for a quick trip and get away from everything. DAF and I have been busy with work and this was a nice time to go down for a quick get away. 

It was the last day of the trip and we weren't going to be in SoCal that long that day in which we were planning on hitting the road around 2pm from SoCal and back to NorCal.

We got to sleep in long that Monday since the parks didn't open till 10am. I really don't like to go to the parks when it opens at 10am which most of the guests will be showing up at the parks when it opens at 10am. 

When it was around 9:30am, we packed all of our bags in our car and we checked out of Best Western Raffles Inn & Suites. The BWRI&S was not a bad hotel which we only got it for $70 total with parking, tax, etc. DAF told me that she wouldn't stay there again. I agree with her as well since we like to stay close to the DLR with a short walking distance. The reason is that we don't like to depend on the ART buses since they can take some time to get on and go to our stop. During the trip, we had to wait about 20 minutes for a bus and took another 10 minutes to go around till our stop which was 30 minutes. 

When we got to the DLR that morning around 9:50am, the security check point at the transportation area was long that morning where guests were waiting to go through the security check-in area to enter the Esplanade. We had to wait about 6 minutes to go through the queue.

We went to DCA first over DL since there were huge lines to enter DL where the lines were close to the Monorail columns. 

The first thing we did was to get FP's for the Anna & Elsa meet & greet at the Animation Building. Most of the guests that were in the park headed straight on over to CL to get FP's or go on the ride that morning. There were other guests heading on over to Hollywood Land to get in line for the Olaf M&G or Frozen Sing-Along. 





The Anna & Elsa M&G FP machines were on the outside on portable stands that disperse the FP's that day. We were able to get two FP's around 11pm. The good thing about the FP's for Anna & Elsa M&G is that the FP's aren't connected to the ride system. What it means is that this is like the FP's for World of Color and Fantasmic! where you are able to get another FP like a ride like RSR or the Frozen Sing-Along.




After getting the FP's, we head on over to the Frozen Sing-Along to get FP's that morning as well. 

We head on over to Paradise Pier to ride Toy Story Midway Mania, but the wait time was already at 30 minutes so we just didn't ride it. We also got to see Paradise Pier lagoon almost dried up while there is work being done on the WoC platform.




We didn't stay at DCA that long that morning since we did mostly everything. So we head straight on over to DL. 

When we got on over there, it was a little busy that morning. The first thing we did was to get FP's for Storytelling at the Royal Theatre for Frozen. There is now FP's for a show at DL just like at DCA with the Frozen Sing-Along. DLR has two shows that have FP's that are connected to the ride system so by getting a FP for the Frozen Storytelling. To get the FP's for the Frozen Storytelling, it is located right at the Hub.




After getting the FP's, we had time to go on one ride that morning and what better ride to do that morning is my favorite at the DLR which is the Monorail. We were able to ride up front that morning and I was able to get all these different photos of the construction that is going on at DCA and DL.

Condor Flats is now gone and will be replaced with Grizzly Peark Airfield. 








When we head on back to DL, Matterhorn Mountain was also under refurbishment and won't be back up till May.












After getting off the Monorail, we started to head on out of the park and we looked at all the different construction walls that were up at Fantasyland.




Backside of Sleeping Beauty Castle all covered up




Snow White Grotto under refurbishment as well.




The front of SB Castle




We were able to see the Snow Queens Art of Ice in the hall way of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln that had art work from the Movie Frozen.












The two of us left the park around 12:00 pm and we head on the ART back to BWRI&S. We hit the road at 12:30pm. We picked up my dad at his friends house in LA around 2pm. Than we head on back to Sacramento. We didn't get out of LA until 4pm since there was an accident on Highway 405. We got back to Sacramento at 10pm that Monday night. This concludes the February quick trip.

It was nice to go to the DLR for a short time. Now that this trip is over, I have the next in a week. I will have updates of what we will be doing during the trip. So stay tune for the next updates for the March trip.


----------



## PrincessInOz

That's a lot of refurb!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> That's a lot of refurb!



There was a lot of refurbishment going on during my trip from SB Castle, Snow White Grotto, Matterhorn, Splash, Hungry Bear restaurant, Winnie Pooh ride, WoC, etc. which you can tell that is a lot of rides, shows and restaurants down in February. It wasn't that bad as I have thought with all the refurb. It was a nice time for just less than half a full day at the parks.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – March 8th, 2015 – Part 1*


Flying Down instead of Driving and back at the Happiest Place on Earth​

It is now time for the first day of our trip “Flying Back Down with DD4 and Mom” to Disneyland in March. During this trip DAW and I will be going to the DLR with DD4 and DML (mom). They went with us during the January 2013 DD2 First Trip at the Happiest Place on Earth which was DD4 first time going to the DLR and DML third time in her life at the DLR. Now it has been over two years and now DD4 is now 4 and a half years old which she was 2 back during the 2013 trip. They will be going back to the DLR with us.


Originally it was supposed to be just DAW, DD4 and me but DML was able to get off work and was able to get the $49 deal on Southwest Airlines which we were able to get during our trip. We were excited that DML was able to join us during our trip in March.


When DML was able to come along with us, I had to upgrade our room at Best Western Park Place Inn to a 2 Queen Bedroom with a Sofa Bed. Originally we selected the 2 Double Bedroom for the three of us. SO it did make sense to upgrade to the 2 Queen room since we had four people with us.


DML had some trouble walking lately since our last trip and she needed an ECV for the trip. DAW uses an ECV during the trips like every other time so they had two ECV’s to use for the trip which helps out both of them to maneuver at the DLR.


This is very interesting part of the trip to the DLR with DD4. DD4 remember most of the trip when we went during the January 2013 and she was so excited to go back down. When she knew that we were going to the DLR in March, she couldn’t stop talking about it with her family & friends.


It was the day of the trip in which we were planning on flying down to SoCal instead of driving. I mostly never like to fly since I drive most of the time when I go to SoCal. But DAW didn’t want to drive down to SoCal and we were able to get great deals on SWA for $49 one way which is a really good deal. The only problem that we didn’t get is the early flight to SoCal. The one that had the $49 one way was at 1pm. The earlier times were twice as much so it makes sense to buy the cheaper one and lose half of the day. DAW likes to get to the airport early just in case if something happens when we get to Sacramento International Airport.


I was picked up by Cousin C to get DAW, DML and DD4. It was nice of him to take the four of us to SIA.


We got to SIA around 10am and our flight was at 1pm. I really like to fly SWA since it is a reasonable price and all the seat assignment are the same where we can sit anywhere we want.


Our flight was heading on over to John Wayne Airport Orange County which is one of the closest cities to the DLR. I have flown to OC a lot of times in the past and it is nice to fly to OC over LAX which I don’t like to go since it is so busy and takes a while to the DLR.


We were waiting at SIA for our flight. All three of them are looking forward to the trip.








It took an hour and ten minutes to get from Sacramento to OC. When we got off the plane, we head on down to get our baggage and head on over towards the SuperShuttle area. I was suggesting DAW to use the Disney Express Bus but DAW wanted to use the SuperShuttle instead. It took a while for the SuperShuttle to pick us up and take us over to our hotel which was BWPPI.


We rode the SuperShuttle to BWPPI but we had to stop a few times since there were other people riding the bus that day. I always enjoy staying at BWPPI because of its location to the DLR which is the closets non-Disney hotel.


We got to BWPPI around 3:30pm which was really quick from John Wayne Airport. When we check-in at the front desk, our room was ready and we stayed in a 2 Queen bedroom with a sofa bed. I used the sofa bed while they used the other queen beds. Also we have ordered two ECV’s to use for the trip which DAW and DML was able to use them. It was a good thing that we had two ECV’s to use since it would be hard for DML to walk around the DLR.


After we checked in to our room and unpacked all our bags, we started to head on out of BWPPI and head on over to the DLR that afternoon. It was before 4pm which we left the hotel and on over to the DLR.


The first thing we did was to get the tickets for DML and DD4. DAW was able to purchase park hopper tickets on parksavers.com. We were fortunate to get the PH tickets before the price increase which happened during my February 2015 trip with DAF. We were able to get the old price just in time for the trip. The problem that we had that afternoon was that we forgot to print out the voucher for the tickets. So we were forced to go through the tickets booths to get the tickets. This used up a lot of our park time that day in which we spent about half an hour to go through the queue to get them. This almost felt like going through a regular line to get on a ride.


The new park tickets prices that were up since late February.




DML and DD4 all looking happy to go to the parks that day.





After getting the tickets at the ticket booth, we first head on over to DCA to get FP’s for the Frozen Sing-Along show. I have done the same thing during the February trip in which we went to DCA first to see the show and to able to come back later that night to see the show.


All of the Frozen Fun signs were still up which Disney is promoting it a lot during the off season.




When I went on over to the Frozen Sing-Along to get the FP’s, we got the 9pm show. I was disappointed that we got the 9pm show since we were planning on watching Fantasy in the Sky fireworks that night but that all changed when we got the 9pm FP’s. So we decided not to watch the fireworks that night since we were able to get the FP’s for the Frozen Sing-Along.

While we were in DCA, we had dinner at Tortilla Jo’s at 5:30pm. So it was almost close to have dinner that night at Downtown Disney. But before we head on over to Tortilla Joe’s that night, we head on over to Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café which actually sells Starbucks drinks at DCA. The reason we went on over there was to get the new DCA Starbucks mugs that are so popular online. I was able to get a few mugs that day in which they are nice. I am not a coffee drinker but the mugs are very nice to have.


I still have to go on over to DL and get the DL Starbucks mugs at the Market House. But we plan on getting those later when we go to DL.


After leaving DCA, we head on over to Tortilla Jo’s for dinner, but DD4 wanted to play right next to the fountains and I was able to get a picture of her right next to one the fountain’s.


DAW and I have ate at Tortilla Jo’s back during the December 2013 trip and she wanted to eat at this place again. But during the times in 2014, we had no time to head on over to Tortilla Joe’s. So this time she was determine to eat at this place again.




DML, DD4 and DAW in Tortilla Jo’s for dinner.




I am mostly never in any of the pictures during the trip report but I was able to get a selfie that day.





We were seated in less than 5 minutes. Good thing that I made a reservation at 5:30pm or we would have wait a while to be seated.

The menu. So much to choose from.





DML had a margarita.




We started off with a tableside guacamole.




I ordered the Chile Verde




DAW got an enchilada with a taco, DML had the fish tacos and DD4 had two crunchy tacos.




Dinner was great. DAW enjoyed it the most since she loves Mexican food. DML, DD4 and I also enjoyed dinner that night and it was a good thing that we made a reservation at Tortilla Jo’s during the trip.


After having dinner at Tortilla Jo’s, it was now time to head on over to DL that night. When we got in DL that night around 7pm, we first headed on over towards the Market House to get the DL Starbucks Mugs.




When we went on over to the Market House, I was able to pick up the DL Starbucks Mugs. I was happy that I was able to get the DL/DCA Starbucks mugs that day. I don’t drink coffee but the mugs do look so amazing that I had to get them.





When we got the mugs at the Market House, we head straight on towards Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was so nice to see SB Castle all finished up after when it was tarp during my February trip. When I look closely at the castle, it was all nicely painted and looks good. Even though it isn’t completed yet until the 60th Anniversary comes in May.




The first ride we went on at DL was Dumbo. DD4 loves Dumbo and King Arthur Carousel. But KAC wait time was so long that it wasn’t worth it. So when we looked at Dumbo, it had a 10 minute wait time which was kind of shocking during that time of the day. DML and DD4 went on Dumbo while DAW and I waited.




After they rode on Dumbo, we head straight on over to It’s a Small World since this is one of DD4 rides that she wanted to go on. When we approached IASW, the ride wait time was at 15 minutes which wasn’t that bad but when we looked closer on the phones and see that we had to go on over to DCA to see the 9pm Frozen Sing-Along show, we had to leave. DD4 was disappointed but we told her that we will have the opportunity to go on IASW later during the trip.




Just when we were about to leave DL and head on over to DCA, DML wanted to get the Dole Whip Float which she has been craving since we arrived. SO we went on over to the Tiki Juice Bar in Adventureland to see what the wait time is like to get a Dole Whip. Luckily the wait time was only 5 minutes and we went in line to get two of them. DML was so happy and excited to get a Dole Whip Float that night. And of course, I had to get one as well.




We head straight on over to DCA while having the Dole Whip floats that night. The park was not that busy that night but I can tell that Sunday’s at the DLR are always busy since DL opens till midnight and DCA at 10pm.


)Continue to the Next Post[/url]​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment of the Trip Report

*Day 1 – March 8th, 2015 – Part 2*

For the First Time to Play in the Snow and Sing Along with Anna & Elsa​

After being in Disneyland for a while, now we are now on back to Disney California Adventure in order to see the 9pm “For the First Time in Forever: A ‘Frozen’ Sing-Along Celebration”. I didn’t want to see the 9pm Frozen Sing-Along show since I wanted to see Fantasy in the Sky fireworks that night since it was the only night to see the fireworks. But I was able to see it during the February trip and it is not about me but the other members of my party so I had to forget about the fireworks that night and go with them to the Frozen Sing-Along show.

We were walking on over to Hollywood Land to get to the show but DD4 wanted to get a picture right next to the Frozen Fun sign right at Buena Vista Street so I had to get her.




DML got in the picture with DD4




The Frozen Fun event “Freeze the Night” where the former Mad T Party is being held until mid May is happening that night. It won’t be too long until the Frozen Fun event will be done in mid May until the Mad T Party returns for the summertime. I am not a huge fan of those party events at Hollywood Land which used to be the Glow Fest, ElecTRONica, Mad T Party and the Freeze the Night. For people that like to partying a lot, I can understand that but this not for me or the rest of my party members.








It wasn’t time to head on over to the Crown Jewel theatre to see the show so we decided to head on over to Olaf’s Snow Fest so DD4 can play in the snow. There wasn’t time to see Olaf since it would require a lot of wait time and they weren’t accepting walk up people to see Olaf that night.








It wasn’t too long until since I was in Olaf’s Snow Fest in February. It is a nice place to play in the snow, get treats and to be able to meet Olaf. DAW and DML didn’t go with me and DD4 in the snow.








DD4 was having a fun time playing in the snow especially with the snow balls in the fountain. There were times where she threw snow at me and I was trying to make sure that she didn’t hit my camera.












We finished playing in the snow and was back outside looking around the Freeze the Night event until we head on over to the Crown Jewel theatre. It was a little busy that night where there were a lot of people dancing at the stage area for the Freeze the Night.

While we were walking around, we saw Marshmallow on the backside. I asked if DD4 wanted to get a picture with Marshmallow but she was scared and didn’t want to get a picture with him.




It was time to head on over to the Crown Jewel Theatre to see the 9pm show of “For the First Time in Forever: A ‘Frozen’ Sing-Along Celebration show. We showed up about 10 minutes until the show started since we were lucky to get FP’s earlier that day and had to wait a short time.




The walkway was all decorated with the Arendelle things.








When we were about to enter the Crown Jewel Theatre, I told DML and DD4 to move up closer to the stage since they will be able to see the show better than being in the back since we had the two ECV’s. So DML and DD4 were able to get third row seats in the middle while DAW and I were at the back of the theatre.




The show started at 9pm and it was time. This was my second time seeing the show while it was the first time for DAW, DML and DD4. Before the trip, DAW told me to get the shows, meet and greets from the movie Frozen and this was one of them. I was hoping that we would have been able to see the 7:15pm show that night but with getting the park hopper tickets late that day pushed back the time to 9pm.

The official Arendelle historian made an appearance first followed by Anna.




The show played songs and scenes from the movie ‘Frozen’ which was nice to sing along like “Do you Want Build a Snowman”, “For the First Time in Forever”, “Love is an Open Door”, “Let It Go” and “In Summer”.












Even Kristoff was in the show as well along with the apprentice Arendelle historian.




And of course, you can’t have the movie Frozen without Queen Elsa.




After the show was over, DD4 was getting a little tired and it was time to head on back to the room to call it for the night. DD4 was so excited to see the Frozen Sing-Along show that night and can’t believe she was able to see both Anna and Elsa. She was wondering where was Olaf and Sven. But DML told DD4 that they were next door at Olaf’s Snow Fest and couldn’t make the show. DD4 was disappointed that they were not there during the show but we knew that they weren’t part of it.


When we were heading out of the park and back to BWPPI, DD4 wanted to get a picture with Mickey. So we head on over towards Mickey where he was at the Elias & Company store area. We had to wait awhile to get a picture with Mickey that night. DD4 was happy to get a picture with Mickey.




When we got a picture with Mickey, we head on out of DCA and at the Esplanade. But before we head on back to the room, I wanted to get a picture of the front of DCA with my new toy that I purchased before the trip. I bought a Joby gorillapod which is another alternative to take pictures without using my MeFoto tripod. I was able to get one picture that night.




Just when we were about to leave, there was a CM drawing on the walkway. I always enjoy the CM’s that do drawing of Disney characters on the walkway. She drew Baymax from “Big Hero 6”.




After seeing the picture on the walkway, we head straight back to BWPPI to call it for the night. It was a little tough for DD4 that day since she wasn’t able to get her regular naptime during the middle of the day since we flown from Sac to OC that afternoon. We weren’t able to let her take a nap when we got to the hotel since we had other things to do that day and night. We were impressed with DD4 behavior. But there were times where she was a little out of control. But that is what a 4 year old is like without a break during the day.


We went to bed around midnight which was really late for DD4 but she was out like a log. This concludes the first day of the trip and will be our important day on Monday the 9th.


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## PrincessInOz

What great pictures to start this trip off.

Looks like the flight worked out well.  
The coffee mugs are wonderful.  Now I wish I had one!!! Bwa ha ha ha ah!  Although...I seriously couldn't fit another mug in my cupboards.  
DD4 is even more adorable now than the last time you took pictures of her.
I like your pictures of the Frozen Sing-a-long better this trip.  Hope you're happier with them.
Nice to see the castle again.

Looking forward to seeing more.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> What great pictures to start this trip off.
> 
> Looks like the flight worked out well.
> The coffee mugs are wonderful.  Now I wish I had one!!! Bwa ha ha ha ah!  Although...I seriously couldn't fit another mug in my cupboards.
> DD4 is even more adorable now than the last time you took pictures of her.
> I like your pictures of the Frozen Sing-a-long better this trip.  Hope you're happier with them.
> Nice to see the castle again.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing more.



Thank you PiO. Some of the pictures were okay but I wasn't that satisfy with the pictures. You have seen the pictures where they had that ugly black spot which ruined some of the pictures during the daytime shots.

The flight from Sac to OC went well. It would have been nice if we went around in the morning and would have extra time at the DLR. But we did quite a bit that day.

The DL/DCA Starbucks mugs are very nice. I was able to bring back a few mugs from the trip in my suitcase. I would have bought a lot more if I drove to SoCal. But I was happy of getting them this time.

She is adorable and it was fun to go with her and DML during the trip. It was easily to have DML with us instead of not having her which was our original trip.

The pictures turned out better this time with the background not that bad. But there were times where the auto focusing was tricky with the background.

It was nice to see SB Castle all finished. I can't wait to see it when it gets the diamonds for the 60th anniversary in two months.


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## mvf-m11c

Also a note on the possible trip to WDW in October 2014. I called and see if the Sheraton Vistana Resort (where I have stayed my last 4 trips) had any rooms available and it was open on the week that I am thinking of going. So I booked the week of Oct. 16th to 23rd (Friday to Friday). I had some points to use this year and what other place to use it for a trip to WDW. Now that is settled, I will have to look for flights to Orlando (MCO) International Airport. Right now, I am thinking of going with Southwest Airlines. I have done United and SWA in the past but we will see what rates are available. 

Right now, the people that will be going is just me and DAF. My DB and his GF V were originally on going but V had school that week and she couldn't go and DB said the same thing without her. It would be nice to go with other people but if we can't find anyone in our family or friends that wants to go, it will be the two of us. 

Now when my DL PAP expires, I will have to renew the the PAP and upgrade to the Premier AP during my DL trip. I am looking forward to going back to WDW during the Halloween season & Food & Wine Festival which I experienced it back in 2012 and can't stop thinking about going back.


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## Leshaface

Will be back to read the other updates



mvf-m11c said:


>



This is a gorgeous shot!



mvf-m11c said:


>



And this one is perfect.  Is there absolutely no one in the area?!  



mvf-m11c said:


>



So pretty!



mvf-m11c said:


> Condor Flats is now gone and will be replaced with Grizzly Peark Airfield.



Okay, so i'm CLEARLY out of the loop with DLR since I really don't have an actual trip planned.  But what the heck!  So much refurbs going on and all at once!  I never even heard about the whole Condor Flats area being demolished.  Is it all for the new Soarin'?


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## mvf-m11c

Leshaface said:


> Will be back to read the other updates
> 
> 
> This is a gorgeous shot!
> 
> 
> And this one is perfect.  Is there absolutely no one in the area?!
> 
> So pretty!
> 
> 
> Okay, so i'm CLEARLY out of the loop with DLR since I really don't have an actual trip planned.  But what the heck!  So much refurbs going on and all at once!  I never even heard about the whole Condor Flats area being demolished.  Is it all for the new Soarin'?



Thank you @Leshaface. Most of those nighttime shots were done when it was raining like crazy that day. The park was so empty around 9:30pm that you would never have imagine. The one with the Matterhorn in the shot, there were some people but they weren't not showing in the picture. I set up my tripod while it was raining and set it to long exposure and you can barely see the people in the picture. 

I would consider going to the DLR after May 22nd for the 60th Anniversary. I plan on going a few days after May 22nd for the new nighttime shows and updated rides. There was a lot of refurbs going on during my trip in February as well as my trip last week (March 8 - 10). During January through March is the times when the DLR is doing all these different refurbs. During the February trip, there was so much refurbs going on and you can tell that the DLR is getting ready for DL 60th Anniversary. Condor Flats is being refurb and the new name will be called "Grizzly Peak Airfield. Here is the website on the Disney Park Blog. From what I have read about Soarin and the updates, it will be new screen and projection system.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment of the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 1*

A Change of the Plans that Morning​After a nice day at the parks on Sunday night. Even though there were a lot of changes to my original plans that day, we were able to enjoy a great day at the DLR. Now as the second day of the trip and it was our full day.

Since the parks didn't open until 9am, we didn't have to get up early like 6am when the parks opens at 8am. But we were able to sleep in until 7am that morning. Everyone slept well that night but DAW didn't like the beds of how they were hard. Mostly I don't have any problems with the beds since I slept on the sofa bed. DD4 was out instantly when she was put to bed. I was impressed that DD4 was able to stay up for most of Sunday without taking a nap during the day. That was great and also a concern as well since she can be crabby when she doesn't get a afternoon nap. We'll just wait and see how she responds that morning to the afternoon.

Before we head on over to the parks, we went to have breakfast on the second level of Captain Kidd's restaurant. The restaurant was getting renovated in the front where it was open during the day. The food on the upper level of Captain Kidd's is not that special which is continental breakfast from cereal, bagels, toast, steam waffles, sausage, potatoes, and scrambled eggs. This is not considered real food which is mostly from a box. So if you want to eat a real meal, go somewhere off-site or on-site at the DLR.

After finishing breakfast, we started to head on out and over to the DLR. At least the parks were opening at 9am instead of 10am which I don't like to go the parks when it opens at 10am. The reason is that most of the guests at the hotels will be up and finished breakfast and will be heading in all at once.

Just when we passed by the security check point, we head straight on over to Disney California Adventure. We were planning on getting Radiator Springs Racers fastpass and after that getting FP for the Anna & Elsa meet & greet at the Animation Building. DAW and DML wanted to get DD4 to be able to meet Anna and Elsa during the Frozen Fun event at DCA. Of course, we had to get FP's for RSR since DAW loves this ride.





When we first entered DCA, I head straight on over towards the Carthay Circle Theater which is where the RSR FP line starts if you are not there first thing in the morning during the rope drop. I told my party members to go on over towards Hollywood Land since I was getting the FP's for RSR and I was planning on going on over in that direction next.




When I got close to the CCT, there was no line right next to the theater and no line towards A Bug's Land area. For that, I knew that the ride was down and the Cast Members were not letting any guests go through the FP line until the ride was up and running. This is one reason why I don't ride RSR first thing in the morning since it is not operational and you lose quite a bit of your morning.

So, I head on over towards the Anna & Elsa M&G FP machines which was right outside on the sidewalk by the Animation Building. Luckily, there weren't that many people getting the FP's so it was a quick walk-up. I was able to get the FP's around noon which was a good thing. Noted that the FP's for Anna and Elsa M&G is not connected to the FP system which I was able to get another FP for another ride or show.

Just when I got the FP's, I head on over towards the Frozen Sing-Along theater to get FP's for the show. We were able to see it on Sunday night but I wanted to get it just in case if they wanted to go and see it again that day.




After getting the Frozen Sing-Along FP's, I met up with them right at Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue. DD4 loves Monsters Inc. and wanted to go on the ride. With only a 5 minute wait time or less when you go through the queue, it made sense since we were there.




I was able to get some pictures during the ride but there were times where my camera was out of focus and not focusing on the shot. During the ride, DD4 was not that scared of the ride which when she rode it back in January 2013 that she was scared. That was when she was 2 1/2 and now she is 4 1/2.








Mike is losing his mind over somehting
















DD4 was so happy that we were able to ride Monsters Inc. that morning as the first ride of the day. I told them that RSR was down that morning and we would go by to see if the FP is up and running.

After getting off Monsters Inc., we head straight on over to see if the FP's for RSR is open. When we got there around 9:30am, the FP queue was still not open and the CM's told the guests that it would be a while until they let the guests in the queue for the FP's.




Since we were right by ABL, we head straight on over to see the sneak peek of Disney Cinderella at the ABL theater. I was able to see the movie on Monday and glad that I was able to see Cinderella s well as Frozen Fever. I don't know why but I still can't stop thinking about the song from Frozen Fever "Making Today a Perfect Day". I was able to see the sneak peek during the February trip with DAF and I knew that I wanted to see the sneak peek again until the movie came out. DD4 loves the original Cinderella and she was looking forward to seeing part of the clip from the movie.








After seeing the clip, DD4 told DML that she wants to see the movie now but it wasn't out just yet which was a few days after. DML told me that they went to see it last Friday where I was able to see it on Monday. I would have seen it on Friday last week but I had a funeral to go.

After the movie, DAW and DML needed coffee and what better place to have coffee instead of Starbucks is at Ghiarardelli. They had coffee while I didn't get anything since I don't drink coffee.








DD4 was happy which she got some kind of chocolate drink as well as cotton candy.




While they were enjoying their drinks, I had to get some pictures of the new entrance to the Bourdin Sourdough Bakery Tour. It had a nice new entrance along with the vehicle.
















After they were almost finished with their drinks, it was time to head on over to our next ride that afternoon. I look quickly towards the RSR FP queue and see if it was up and running. No luck and it was down. I knew that there must be something wrong if the FP queue is not opened around 10am that morning. So we head on over to our next ride which was around Paradise Pier. Stay tune for the next update.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment of the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 2*
Going Under the Sea​After getting drinks at Ghirardelli at the Pacific Wharf, our next ride that morning was The Little Mermaid Ariel's Undersea Adventure. This is a nice ride that DAW likes when we come to DCA. So it does make sense to go on that ride.





DD4 loves The Little Mermaid but she would rather go on a ride that features Frozen or Cinderella. Unfortunately, there are no rides for those two movies. But there are shows that features those movies. DML loves The Little Mermaid and she remembers riding it back in 2013.

It was less than a 5 minute wait time.





DML and DD4 went together while DAW and I were riding in the other one.


























































Everyone enjoyed the Little Mermaid ride. DD4 was enjoying herself for most of the day and she was doing good for now.

When we were outside, DML asked me if I could take some pictures of them right facing towards Mickey's Fun Wheel of Doom (which I call it a lot).




DAW, DD4 and DML.




I got in there as well. Thanks DAW for taking the shot.








When we got some pictures around Paradise Pier, it was time to head on over towards Hollywood Land in order to use our FP's for the Anna & Elsa Meet & Greet. I said on the first post that it starts at 12pm but when I realized that was the late time to return. So we had to be there until 11pm at the earliest. So we head on over towards Hollywood Land. That is it for this post and stay tune what happens at Hollywood Land.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment of the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 3*
Get to meet Anna & the Snow Queen & Cone Bread for Lunch​When we rode the Little Mermaid ride and got a few pictures are Paradise Pier, we started to move on to our next destination that afternoon which was the Anna & Elsa Meet & Greet. DAW and DML wanted DD4 to be able to meet Anna & Elsa. DML told me that when they were able to meet Elsa at school during a birthday party, DD4 was so happy to see her. They thought that since we would be able to see Anna & Elsa at DCA, she would be even more happy.

We head back on over to Hollywood Land to the Animation Building where the m&g is located.




I enjoy going in the Animation building before the Frozen Fun event. It is a nice place to relax and to be able to see Turtle Talk with Crush is always a nice relaxation after being in the hot sun in SoCal. Half of the activities inside the Animation Building is the character close up with Anna & Elsa as well as Do You Want to Draw a Snowman at teh Animation Academy.








The Animation Building is so busy now thanks to the m&g while other people are relaxing while others are waiting in line to meet Anna & Elsa.





We had to wait in line just to meet Anna & Elsa. DML, DAW and DD4 are looking forward to seeing Anna and Elsa that afternoon.








We waited about 20 minutes in the line to be able to meet Anna & Elsa. I never got to meet Anna or Elsa during these last couple of years since I don't do too much character m&g. But this was special since DD4 was with us. With the FP, it took a while to get through the line.

DD4 is getting all excited to see them.




The location for Anna & Elsa is nicely decorated with the Arendelle theme from the movie Frozen.












When it was our turn to meet Anna & Elsa, all of a sudden DD4 started to cry a lot. We were all surprised that DD4 started to cry when we were about to meet Anna & Elsa. DML and DML went on over to DD4 to cheer her up. I was shocked that she was crying. So DML carried DD4 and still was able to get a picture with Anna and Elsa.




After getting a picture with Anna & Elsa and exited the area, DAW talked to DD4 why she didn't want to get a picture with them and she told them that they were scary. They couldn't believe that DD4 was scared of Anna & Elsa. DD4 told us that she wanted to see them and all of a sudden when she got to see them, she started to cry a lot. It just shows you that she is excited at one point and scared the next.

We decided to leave the area but the other new thing to do at the Animation Building is the DO You Want to Draw a Snowman?




After the character meet and greet, it was almost time for us to have lunch. But before we had something to eat, we had to go on over towards Cars Land to go to one of DAW favorite places to eat. To go on over to CL, we went the backside of Hollywood Land towards A Bug's Land.

Tower of Terror was busy that afternoon with a 45 minute wait time. DML remembers during the January trip that she went on ToT with me and her niece. DML didn't have a great experience on the ToT where her niece was holding on her like crazy and she doesn't like to go n rides that go up and down. So she told me that she will never go on ToT.




Heading on in towards ABL.




While we were walking on over to CL backside, DD4 saw Francis' Ladybug Boogie ride which is like the Tea Cups and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree ride in one as something to ride that afternoon. DD4 loves ladybugs as one of her favorite insects. She asked if we could go on that ride since we were in ABL. DML went with her while DAW and I sit this one out.




DD4 and DML about to ride FLB.




DD4 is feeling way better after the meet & greet with Anna and Elsa.




DD4 was excited to ride FLB. I don't like riding spinning rides like the Tea Cups and FLB. We started to head on the backside of CL to have lunch at the Cozy Cone Motel. While walking on down to the Cozy Cone Motel, the walls from the former Luigi's Flying Tires are all. I am looking forward to see what is new for the former LFT.












At the Cozy Cone, DAW mostly would get Chili Cone Queso which is one of her favorite quick counter food when we go to the DLR. The cone queso are at Cone 3.




When we looked at the menu, the Bacon Mac & Cheese Cone was available. During the holiday trip back in November, the Bacon Mac & Cheese Cone was exclusive during the holiday season. Now the Bacon Mac & Cheese Cone is now a regular menu item at Cone 3.




DAW and I shared the Bacon Mac & Cheese, DML got an ice cream cone for DD4 and also popcorn. It was so nice to have another Bacon Mac & Cheese Cone.




After having a small lunch that afternoon, we started to move on over to our next destination that afternoon. That is it for this post and stay tune for the next update.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## PrincessInOz

Fab pictures.  DD4 looks like she's having a ball!  
Pity she started to cry when she got to meet E&A; but as you say...it's amazing how kids can flip between emotional states.

Sorry that you had a funeral to go to.  Condolences.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret, I hadn't gotten an email that you had posted for a while so I went looking for your trip report.  I really missed seeing them.  With the new upgrade perhaps I need to subscribe again? 

Anyway - great quick trip (one day) and then nice to see that you were able to fly down.  Looks like you are having a good time.  I didn't notice any rides on TSMM.   LOL about your DML who won't ride on TOT any more. 

LOVE the Starbucks mugs.  They didn't have them in December.

So sorry for your loss. 

I'll see if I can't figure out how to get my notifications back.  We don't know when we'll be at DL next so I look forward to your reports.  We will be at WDW for 8 days in June and early July.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Fab pictures.  DD4 looks like she's having a ball!
> Pity she started to cry when she got to meet E&A; but as you say...it's amazing how kids can flip between emotional states.
> 
> Sorry that you had a funeral to go to.  Condolences.



Thank PiO. DD4 was having a great time and she was also a handful during the trip. It was a shame that she started to cry when she got to meet Anna & Elsa. We spent half an hour through the A&E M&G queue and for her to cry was a little disappointing since she wanted to meet them. 

Thank you PiO. My grandmother sister passed away.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret, I hadn't gotten an email that you had posted for a while so I went looking for your trip report.  I really missed seeing them.  With the new upgrade perhaps I need to subscribe again?
> 
> Anyway - great quick trip (one day) and then nice to see that you were able to fly down.  Looks like you are having a good time.  I didn't notice any rides on TSMM.   LOL about your DML who won't ride on TOT any more.
> 
> LOVE the Starbucks mugs.  They didn't have them in December.
> 
> So sorry for your loss.
> 
> I'll see if I can't figure out how to get my notifications back.  We don't know when we'll be at DL next so I look forward to your reports.  We will be at WDW for 8 days in June and early July.



Hi TK @tksbaskets . It has been awhile since I have seen you on the boards. With the new updates to the thread which is not that bad. It took me a while to get used to the thread and posting but it is now easy to use. 

Actually it was a two day trip in which we had one day (if you combine Sunday and Monday together) during the February trip. We were able to do a lot during that one day. But there were somethings that we missed during the trip. Luckily, we did some of those during the March trip. It was nice to fly down to OC and took the SuperShuttle to the DLR. But I am not so used to flying too much since I can't take too much stuff with me when I fly where I can bring more stuff when I am driving. We didn't get to ride TSMM during both trips since the wait times were quite high in the 30+ range. DML won't ever ride ToT after the January trip.

The Starbucks mugs are very nice and glad that I was able to get a pair during the trip. The mugs came out in January. I wasn't able to get them during the February trip in which they were sold out. Luckily they had them this time during the trip.

Thank you TK.

Hope you are able to go back to the DLR during the 60th Anniversary with all the new nighttime shows and ride updates. That is nice to hear that you will be going back to WDW in June/July. I will be going back to WDW in October.


The next update for the trip report will be posted shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 4*

DD4 Learned How to Fly & Spinning Crazy​
Just when we finished eating at the Cozy Cone, DML asked me if we can stop at the Corn Dog Castle since she wants to get the hot link corn dog. So we head on over towards Paradise Pier which is where the Corn Dog Castle is located. Since DAW and I shared the Chili Cone Queso, I was completely filled. DML and DD4 didn’t eat a lot when we were at the Cozy Cone so it made sense for them to get something that afternoon where the Cozy Cone food won’t fill us up (unless we ate a lot that afternoon).

When we got on over to the Corn Dog Castle, it was already lunch time and there was an extended line to get a corn dog that afternoon. DML got the Hot Link Corn Dog and DD4 got the regular corn dog. I wasn’t able to get pictures of the corn dogs that afternoon. DML was so glad that we stopped at the Corn Dog Castle to get corn dogs that afternoon.

Just they finished eating the corn dogs, DD4 saw Goofy Sky School and asked if we can go on it since we were right next to the ride. When I saw the wait time, it was at 30 minutes. I asked DD4 if she was okay wait that long to go on GSS and she was willing to wait. Since DAW and DML don’t like roller coaster rides, they sat this one out while it was the two of us.






DD4 was a little too overly excited to ride GSS where she was standing on the railings and wanted to go on the ride. But I told her that we were in the standby queue, she had to be patient.





We were able to get a whole car to ourselves and it is time to learn how to fly.






























DD4 was so excited to be able to ride GSS that afternoon. This was the first most intense ride she rode at the DLR. DD4 wanted to go on more exciting rides. For me, GSS is a good ride but the turns can hurt a little when riding GSS.

Just when we finished, it was already afternoon around 1pm and DD4 was getting a little tired that afternoon. So DML and DAW told us that it was time to head on back to the room and rest up. We knew that DD4 didn’t get a nap on Sunday when we got to SoCal. We were amazed that she lasted that long. But she did start to feel a little crabby that afternoon when I was with her in the queue for GSS.

On the way out of the park, the lagoon at Paradise Pier was all filled up with water again. It was a shame that WoC was not playing during our trip but it was nice to see the lagoon all filled up.





Just when we were leaving DCA and back to the room, I looked at the RSR FP queue to see if it was finally reopened. After passing by, it was finally opened it was around 1-2pm when the RSR FP queue was open. I went on over to get FP’s for RSR but when I looked at the time, it was around 4:45pm to 5:45pm. That was bad since we had a dining reservation that night at 5:10pm at Blue Bayou. So getting the FP’s would not be worth it but DAW told me to get the FP’s just in case we can make it. I knew that wasn’t possible.





While walking on out, I looked at the direction where the construction of the new Grizzly Peark Airfield. It was sad that Soarin was down during our visit along with Smokejumpers Grill as well but I will get the chance to see it when it opens in May for the 60th Anniversary.





DCA didn’t feel that busy that afternoon even on a Monday but the crowds were manageable where we were able to go on some rides that afternoon at DCA. We spent most of the day at DCA that morning to afternoon and we know that it will be DL later that evening.





It was around 1:30pm when we left DCA and back to Best Western Park Place Inn to have our afternoon nap. When we got back, everyone went crashing on the beds while I was still up that afternoon watching T.V. I remember DD4 when she was on the bed, she was out immediately. Good thing that we got to rest that afternoon or it would have been a little ugly that night.

We rested up in our room until 4pm when it was time to head on back to the DLR that day. DD4 was all fresh and ready to go back to the DLR. We were all excited to go back since we are having dinner at the Blue Bayou. It wasn’t too long ago since DAW and I ate at the BB during the June trip. But this time, we are doing the Fantasmic! dining package. I have not tried the new FP system for F! since I mostly stake out a spot. So it was going to be weird to try something different.

On our way back to the DLR, we head straight on over to DL.





The weather was great which was in the low 80s and we had time until our reservation.





We stopped to get some photos in front of MS station.





While we were in DL that afternoon, DD4 wanted to go on some rides and we had some time to kill until dinner. So we head on over towards Fantasyland to go on some rides.

When we walked through SB Castle to FL, the castle looked so nicely refurbished and the colors are different when the castle was decorated during the 50th anniversary. With the 60th anniversary coming up, the castle looked very nice and refreshed with new paint.





When we were in FL at the backside of SB Castle, DD4 wanted to go through SB Castle Walkthrough. So the two of us went through while DAW and DML waited for us. DD4 loves Sleeping Beauty and lied the walkthrough.










Peter Pan was all walled up and DD4 asked why PP is closed. We told her that Tinker Bell is using her pixie dust to make the ride all new. She wanted to ride PP during the trip but maybe one day in the near future if she come back with us.





DD4 noticed King Arthur’s Carousel and begged DML to go on the ride with her. She asked me as well but I didn’t want to go on KAC as well as DAW. So we waited for them until they rode KAC. DD4 loves the carousel so much that every time we are at a park, zoo, etc. she wants go on it no matter what. Talk about a big carousel fan. I remember back during the 2013 trip which she rode it at least 3 times during the trip.





While we were waiting for them, Olaf was now off of the former Anna & Elsa Meet & Greet.





After they got off, DD4 saw the Mad Hatter Tea Cups and that is what she wanted to go on next. DML says no way and then she begged me to go on the Tea Cups. I told her that I will go on as long as she doesn’t spin like crazy. DD4 promised and we went on the Tea Cups. I couldn’t believe that DD4 got me to go on the Tea Cups since I try to avoid all spinning rides especially the Tea Cups.

DD4 has a blast riding the Tea Cups that afternoon.





Good thing that she didn’t spin the Tea Cups that hard or I would have been sick.

A look at Matterhorn Mountain while it is closed during the refurbishment.





After riding the Tea Cups, we started to go on over to have dinner at the Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square.

That is it for this post and stay tune for the next update.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 5*

For the First Time to Play in the Snow and Sing Along with Anna & Elsa​
After I rode the Tea Cups with DD4 (I don’t know how I managed to ride the Tea Cups and did not get sick), we met up with DAW and DML and we headed on over to New Orleans Square to have dinner at the Blue Bayou at 5:10pm. DAW and I have ate at the BB a lot in the past and this time this was our first time eating for the F! dining package. I have never done the F! FP system ever since it was installed in December 2014 which was not that too long ago. It was kind of weird of not staking out a spot for the first show of F! like I have done in the past but at least we will be doing the dining package will get us the prime spot and little wait time.

When we got on over to the Rivers of America area, DD4 was asking us if we can go on some other rides at that time but we told her that it was time to have dinner so she comply. We were able to do quite a lot of rides in less than an hour when we were in the park.





At the BB, there were a lot of people waiting to get in the restaurant that night. Luckily we had a reservation at 5:10pm which will save us a lot of time and we only had to wait about 5 minutes until we are seated.










When I checked-in, we were told to wait around the entrance until we were called. They told me that we will wait a few minutes. But in reality, we waited about 12 minutes to be seated in the restaurant which was kind of long.

While we were waiting, I got to see the old Club 33 entrance.










When we were finally seated around 5:30pm, we were close to the center of the restaurant. It was highly unlikely that we would get a waterside table. If we did request that, we would at least have to wait another half an hour which time was a factor during the trip. DAW always enjoy eating at the BB while DML was so impressed with the restaurant. DD4 was wondering why it all of a sudden got dark when we entered the BB. That did make us laugh a little bit since it is always dark when riding Pirates of the Caribbean.

DAW wanted to eat at the BB again since the chefs can make a certain dish that she can have. Since she can eat certain ingredients, this was a great place to have something different than you normal get on the regular menu. So the manager came out and asked her what she can have in her dish and can’t have. That was nice that the manager at the BB came out and took her order.

Since we were eating from the F! dining package menu, most of the menu is what you normally get at the BB during dinner so there wasn’t anything different from the original menu and the BB dining package menu. We also got four F! seat cushions for eating at the BB. Even DD4 got one as well which was great to have when sitting at the BB.

DD4 and DML having a great time at the BB.





DML got the Blue Bayou Salad while DAW got a special cocktail salad.








I had to get the New Orleans Gumbo which is a usual appetizer at the BB for me.




I didn’t get a picture of DD4 appetizer plate since it was Vegetable Crudité with ranch dressing.

When our entrees arrived, it was time to have dinner. I had the Broiled Filet Mignon with Blue Bayou Au Gratin Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, & Bearnaise Sauce.




DML got the Pan-Seared Salmon which was Cajun-Spiced, with Sweet Corn Risotto, Citrus Mousseline, and Salsa Verde.




DAW got a custom order Jambalaya




DD4 got the Mickey’s Cheesy Macaroni which she went to it so quickly.

For dessert, DAW and DML got the Apple-Cranberry Galette





DD4 got the Mickey shape Fondant Chocolate Cake




I got the Crème Brulee




We all enjoyed the meal including DAW was impressed again with the custom Jambalaya that she ordered since she can have certain ingredients in her dish. For the price of $61 a person for a three course meal is quite a lot but with the 15% discount as Premium AP holder and DD4 meal at $23, we saved about $30 with the PAP and that covered the tip. For a regular meal at BB for dinner, it would just be a few bucks more.

We did get the cushions for eating at the BB and also four FP’s for the 9pm Fantasmic! show which was the only show that night.




For what it is worth, it is quite a lot but for the price is not that bad which you get a cushion and the best viewing spot to see F!. I haven’t done the River Belle Terrace dining package but when I looked at the price and you don’t get a cushion as well, it was worth the extra money.

DAW, DD4 and DML having a great time at the BB for dinner.




After we finished dinner, we started to go on to our next activity that night. DD4 wanted to go on It’s a Small World as one of the rides that she wanted to go on. So when I looked at the wait time and it was only 5 minutes, we head on over in that direction.

While we left New Orleans Square, we saw the the F! CM’s were getting the viewing area ready for the 9pm F! show.




I asked if DD4 wanted to go on a thrill ride and see what Big Thunder Mountain Railroad wait time was like. When we passed by it, it was a 35 minute wait time which was too long at that time and the FP’s were not running on the weekdays.




We went through the backside of Frontierland on our way on over to Fantasyland. BTMRR looks so great ever since the refurbishment last year.




The four of us were walking on the backside of Frontierland and we saw that the F! FP’s were distributed for the day.




The FP machines were left at the backside for the day. During the trip, I have seen a lot of these FP carts at both DL and DCA. The one’s that had the FP cart is Fantasmic!, Frozen Storytelling at the Royal Theatre, Anna & Elsa M&G and Frozen Sing-Along at DCA.




That will be it for this post and stay tune for the rest of the trip report and our next activity at DL.


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## PrincessInOz

Another great set of pictures, Bret.

You got on the spinning cups with DD4????  You are soooo going on those swinging gondolas with me next time!!!!!  
Love the pictures at BB. Especially the food porn!  I think I might consider hitting BB next time if there are F! FP to be gotten.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the view of F! turns out.


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## ACDSNY

Darn your pics reminded me I need to figure out what we're doing about F.  Hopefully I can get something set up for May 17th.


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## franandaj

I missed a lot of updates from the time Fran fell to now that I am finally getting time on the boards again.  All the Frozen stuff looks kind of neat, I'm going to end up probably missing out on that.

Nice pictures on the dark rides.  I didn't know that they had started a F! dining package.  Interesting.  Hopefully I'll be here a bit more often.  Nice to hear of your plans for WDW, I'll be on a cruise that same day.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Another great set of pictures, Bret.
> 
> You got on the spinning cups with DD4????  You are soooo going on those swinging gondolas with me next time!!!!!
> Love the pictures at BB. Especially the food porn!  I think I might consider hitting BB next time if there are F! FP to be gotten.
> I'm looking forward to seeing how the view of F! turns out.



Thank you PiO.

I don't know how DD4 got me to go on the Tea Cups that day. I was about to say no and not even a bribe or sad tears would got me on. But at least she didn't spin the cup. Maybe or maybe not. 

BB is a nice place to eat. It is very expensive especially with the Fantasmic! dining package as well. It will be interesting to see if DL will do the F! dining package during the busy summertime but we'll just wait and see.




ACDSNY said:


> Darn your pics reminded me I need to figure out what we're doing about F.  Hopefully I can get something set up for May 17th.



Hopefully you will be able to do the F! dining packages. There are four ways to get FP for the show without getting the FP's at the backside of Frontierland. I read and thought carefully of what package to do and it made sense to do the BB where it is quite a lot of money but you do get the seat cushion along with the best viewing spot. It was worth paying another $15 more over the River Belle Terrace dining package.




franandaj said:


> I missed a lot of updates from the time Fran fell to now that I am finally getting time on the boards again.  All the Frozen stuff looks kind of neat, I'm going to end up probably missing out on that.
> 
> Nice pictures on the dark rides.  I didn't know that they had started a F! dining package.  Interesting.  Hopefully I'll be here a bit more often.  Nice to hear of your plans for WDW, I'll be on a cruise that same day.



Nice to see you Alison. Hopefully Fran gets better. The Frozen Fun event is nice especially during the off season until we get closer to the 60th anniversary.

Thank you. Some of the dark ride photos can be a little better. But overall they are nice. I know that you enjoy eating at Cafe Orleans and you should eat there one day. The F! dining package was well worth the extra money for dinner with the seat cushion and viewing spot.

It is nice to go back to WDW and experience the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando. I will have to try the Disney Cruise Line one day.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 6*

Cruising with the Little People and Finding a Spot for Fantasmic! that Night.​
After having dinner at the Blue Bayou and getting FastPasses for the 9pm Fantasmic! show, we moved on to go on more rides that night until we have to get back to New Orleans Square to get in the FP line. This was going to be very interesting to go in the FP queue to see F! since I am so used to staking out spots for the show in the past. Now that Disney made F! a FP show just like World of Color at DCA, it depends on how long are we willing to wait in the line to get a spot. Luckily since we ate at the BB that night, we will be able to get the best spot to see the show even with the ECV’s that DAW and DML are using.

Passing by Big Thunder Ranch on the backside of Frontierland.




Before we head on over to ride that night, we stopped at the Mad Hatter store in Fantasyland in order to get some new ears that night. We bought the new Glow with the Show Minnie ears for DD4. I have been a fan of the Glow with the Show ears since it made its debut in the summer of 2012. Now, there are three news items to go along with the Sorcerer Mickey Wand, Minnie Bow Ears and Gloves. I have the ears and wand and now DD4 has the bow. She looked really cute with the bow on that I forgot to get a picture of her with it.

When we finished at the Mad Hatter store, we started to head on over to It’s a Small World. DD4 and DML are big fans of IASW. They remember It’s a Small World Holiday during the trip back in January 2013 and wanted to see the original version. Luckily the wait time was less than 5 minutes that night and it made sense to go on it with little wait time. We still had time until we head on back to NOS.

IASW façade was still under refurbishment to get needed paint.




It didn’t took too long when we boarded IASW that night. DD4 was so excited to ride it along with DML.









































DD4 and DML were so happy to ride the original IASW. When I asked them if they like the original or the holiday version and they told me that it was the original version since they were able to ride the original. I still like the holiday version over the original version anytime.

After riding IASW, it was now time to head on over back to NOS to get in the queue for the viewing area. It was around 8pm when we got off IASW and I planned to make sure that we got there plenty of time in order to get a good spot.

We walked on over to the Hub instead of going back towards the backside of Frontierland since we knew that a lot of the guests that are watching F! will be lining up around that area. It was so nice to see SB Castle without the tarps during the trip in which it was all painted really nicely.




When we went through the Hub, we went towards Adventureland instead of heading on over to Frontierland. When we went through Adventureland and over to NOS, the whole area to get in the viewing area was a mess. I never imagine what it would like to have a FP viewing specific area for F! and now that I have seen it in person, it can be very tricky. There were people around us asking the CM’s where they are supposed to go for the viewing area of what FP color they have. For us, we were told to go to the Harbour Galley right next to the area where you enter Critter Country by Splash Mountain.

It was busy to get on over to the BB/RBT queue that night.




When we got close to the Harbour Galley, there was already a long line. I was surprised that when we got there around 8:15pm that we would be close. DAW originally thought and asked if this is all for the BB. But actually it was for both the BB and RBT. So at least when we are escorted to the viewing area, there will be a stop area for the RBT FP holders and BB FP holders.




The line went close towards the entrance to Haunted Mansion.








Around 8:30pm, the queue for both BB and RBT was going and when we were passing by, most of the guests with the regular FP’s are already in the viewing areas. I never imagined that the sides would be all filled up before the center spot. If I ever do F! again in the near future, I am thinking of trying out the regular FP areas. But after seeing where the regular FP areas are, I might have to reconsider.




While we were moving closer to our area, the first stop was the RBT viewing area. The CM’s asked us to show what FP’s we have from BB or RBT. When we showed them the BB, we were told to keep walking up while the people with the RBT FP are to come in that area. The FBT viewing area is on the left hand side of the BB viewing area. The RBT viewing area is where I watch F! all the time when I stake out a spot for the 1st show.




When we got to our spot for F! that night, we were able to get the backside rope off area which was great since we had two ECV’s with us that night. If there wasn’t any rope off area available, we might have to be moved into another area since we had the ECV’s.

As always, I brought my blanket to stake out the spot and good thing since we can sit on the ground along with the F! cushions that we got as well from dining at the BB.

DD4 and DAW are all relaxing until it was time for F! that night. We had our Glow with the Show items ready for F! that night.




DD4 and DML with the Glow with the Show bow and ears.




Just a few minutes until the show, the whole area was all filled up that night.




There were a few spots left in the BB area




We had a dead center spot to watch F! that night which it has been a long time since I was able to watch F! close to the center. I mostly like the sides when I watch F! especially on the left hand side but it was nice to watch the show in the center especially with DML and DD4. This is there first time seeing F! since they didn’t see it the last time since it was down for refurbishment.

I warned DD4 that it can be a little scary but she was ready for the show. After seeing her cry during Anna & Elsa M&G, I was wondering if she can take it or not during the evil villains scenes. But we’ll just wait and see how she responds.

That is it for this post and continue on over to Fantasmic!.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 7*

9pm Fantasmic! Show​
When we got our spot to watch the 9pm Fantasmic! show, it was time for the show. We were all excited to see F! that night that DML was getting even more excited.

I have seen F! at least over 30 times in my life and it is one of my all-time favorite shows at DL. But lately, I haven’t seen it a lot like the fireworks or WoC but it was nice to see it during the trip especially with DML and DD4 first time seeing it.

I used my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens that night without using the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 since I wanted to get some more closer shots. It was difficult to take shots with that lens that night since I couldn’t get up close shots of the characters like with a telephoto/zoom lens.













I also noticed that King Louie and his monkey barge was not out during the show. There are three barges with them and one of them weren’t out there.












The Columbia now made its appearance scene during the Peter Pan scene.












Now was the princess scene. I also saw that the Little Mermaid float wasn’t out there as well.








Evil Queen




Mickey versus Maleficent




Murphy made it’s appearance
















The main finale was the Mark Twain with all the different Disney characters.




























After the show was over, DD4 and DML were so amazed by the show that it was well worth eating at the BB that night and getting the prime spots to see F!. I asked if they wanted to see it again if they ever do come back and they said yes easily.

Now that F! is over, we had a little bit more time until DL closed at 10pm that night. So we head on over to our next activity that night.

Stay tune for what we have done after Fantasmic! that night.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – March 9th, 2015 – Part 8*

Sailing with the Pirates before we left Port.​After watching the 9pm Fantasmic!, the park was almost about to close at 10pm. We still had at least one hour to go until DL closes that night.

When F! was over, we waited in the viewing area until it started to be less crowded so we can go on over to the next place. We had to use the restrooms so the closest restroom was around NOS.








After we used the restroom, we decided to go on Pirates of the Caribbean that night as the last ride. Since we were in NOS, it made sense to go on that ride that night.

We went through the exit side of PotC since we had the ECV’s since the regular queue can’t accept wheelchairs or ECV’s.




DML remember when they rode PotC that DD4 was so scared and cried a lot on the ride. But this time DD4 is four years old and now she can handle PotC.
























DD4 was so good when riding PotC that she was excited to ride it that night.

Just when we got off, it was now time to head on out of the park and go back to the hotel to call it for the night. DD4 started to get tired that night and it was time to head on back.




While exiting DL that night, we saw that there was something going on over towards SB Castle. Looks like there was some kind of filming that night. So we head on over there to see what was going on.




I didn’t ask what was going on but the way it looked like it was some kind of romance filming going on that night.




After looking at what was going on at SB Castle, we head on out of DL that night.




But before we left, I had to get some long exposure shots that night. When I was doing that, DAW, DML and DD4 went on over to the Emporium to look at what other merchandise to get before we left.








I did a few shots with the long exposure at Main Street Town Square and I was finished so we head on out of the park until I got all three of them in front of MS RR station.




When we left, I had to get a shot of DCA entrance with the long exposure shot.




We head straight on over back to BWPPI to call it for the night. DD4 was able to stay up again after having a short nap in the afternoon. But it was good that she was able to last that long after a long day at the parks.

We went to bed around 11pm which was a little earlier than the other night where DL closed at midnight. This concludes the second day of the trip and the last day is always the saddest part of the trip on Tuesday the 10th.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## ACDSNY

You took some great pics of Fantasmic and your right the area for the BB looks great.

I was able to get a late BB F-dinner for the Sunday night in May.  I'll keep watching to see if we can get an earlier slot as I don't want to get too tired on our first day.


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## PrincessInOz

Love the F! position but it looks like the FP system needs tweaking.  I think I better put a BB F! meal on the plan if I ever head back to DLR.
Great shots of the night.  And how awesome that DD4 was so much more grown up and didn't get scared by anything.


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## Jane VanTassel

OH MY GOODNESS!!  What pictures.  We are planning our next trip to DL/DCA next Christmas time;  so those holiday pictures were awesome.  The last time we were in DCA we saw that same Genie.  He was so funny;  Aladdin is a great show.  Can't wait to get back to DL/DCA.  Need a better camera so I can get great pictures like yours!!


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## franandaj

Your F! pics are so cool!  Wow you did such a great job!


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## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> You took some great pics of Fantasmic and your right the area for the BB looks great.
> 
> I was able to get a late BB F-dinner for the Sunday night in May.  I'll keep watching to see if we can get an earlier slot as I don't want to get too tired on our first day.



Thank you Angela. It was nice to have the center spot for F! when we ate at the BB that night. With less than an hour wait time to get the center spot is not that bad. 

Great news to hear that you were able to get a BB F! dining package for your May trip. Hope you have a great time next month.




PrincessInOz said:


> Love the F! position but it looks like the FP system needs tweaking.  I think I better put a BB F! meal on the plan if I ever head back to DLR.
> Great shots of the night.  And how awesome that DD4 was so much more grown up and didn't get scared by anything.



Our spot during the F! was great which is the best spot to see the show on the ground sitting area but just as you said that the FP system needs a lot of work which it just causes a lot of traffic when going to your next destination.

Thank you PiO. DD4 has gotten better except the times where she did got scared of Anna & Elsa.




Jane VanTassel said:


> OH MY GOODNESS!!  What pictures.  We are planning our next trip to DL/DCA next Christmas time;  so those holiday pictures were awesome.  The last time we were in DCA we saw that same Genie.  He was so funny;  Aladdin is a great show.  Can't wait to get back to DL/DCA.  Need a better camera so I can get great pictures like yours!!



Thank you @Jane VanTassel Going during the holiday season at the DLR is the best season to go. But with the 60th Anniversary this year, the holiday season will be a lot different from years past. The Genie is always funny when I see the Aladdin show. A better camera is good but I still remember what PiO says to me that it is all about the photographer and not the equipment that will get you a better picture.



franandaj said:


> Your F! pics are so cool!  Wow you did such a great job!



Thank you Alison. 


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report


*Day 3 – March 10th, 2015 – Part 1*


Last Day of the Trip along with Cruising to Arendelle​

After another great day at the DLR where we were able to go on a lot of rides and try out the Fantasmic! dining package at Blue Bayou, it was the last day of the trip which is always the saddest part of any trips. While it is tough to leave the Happiest Place on Earth on the last day, we still had about more than half of the day at the parks to continue. DML and DD4 were having a great time and glad that they went with us during the trip.

On that Tuesday just like Monday, the parks don’t open till 9am. It was not during Spring Break or off-season but the crowds were really nice and not that crowded which was a good thing. There were times where it did felt like the parks were busy. Just like on Monday, we didn’t have to get up early that morning but we did get up and started to pack all of our bags. Since we didn’t drive during the trip in which we flew instead to SoCal, we had to back our bags and bring them to the lobby. It was a good thing that we are able to leave our bags in the lobby while we were at the parks that day.

Before we head on over to the parks, we went to have breakfast on the second level of Captain Kidd’s restaurant. When we had breakfast or continental breakfast, it was so packed that it was hard to find a table until some family left. If you ever plan on eating the continental breakfast at Captain Kidd’s, go early so you are able to get a table or you will be having to wait a while until one opens. The upper level doesn’t house too many tables which can be filled up quickly.

After having breakfast at the upper level of Captain Kidd’s, we head on over to the Disneyland Resort to do our first activities that morning.

It did took a while to go through the security check point form the bus loading/unloading area but at least it was way faster than on Monday where we waited for some time. The park just about opened and there weren’t too many people at the Esplanade.




The first thing we did was head on over to DCA. We weren’t able to ride Radiator Springs Racers on Monday since the ride was mostly down all morning and in the afternoon. DAW told me that we had to go on this ride during the trip in which this is her favorite ride. Good thing that DD4 is tall enough to ride it where she wasn’t able to ride it the first time when she was 2.




The line was close to the Carthay Circle Theater. But at least the line was moving and that was a good sign that RSR was running that afternoon. While I was in line, the others went to the stores.

When I got the FP’s, our return time was from 11:30am to 12:30pm which was a decent time to get FP’s for RSR during that time of the day.

After getting the FP’s for RSR, we head on over to DL. Since we have done mostly everything except for RSR, it made sense to go on over to DL and go on some rides.

When we got on over to DL, the first thing we did was to head on over to the Hub in order to get FP’s for Storytelling at the Royal Theatre which is the Frozen segment. I wasn’t able to see it during the February trip in which I was determine to see it during this trip.




Just like Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet along with the Frozen Sing Along at DCA, the Storytelling also had FP’s for the show which you can get seats.




When I got the FP’s, we got the 12:10pm show. This was bad luck since we had FP’s for RSR at 11:30am to 12:30pm. So I knew that they would want to go on RSR over seeing this show so it was a no brainer that we skipped seeing the 12:10 Storytelling Frozen show. I hope to be able to get FP’s for the later show that day so I would be able to see it.

Since we had time until we head on back to DCA to use the RSR FP’s, we first head on over to Fantasyland to go on some rides.




The first thing we did in FL was to head on over to the Alice in Wonderland ride. Since DAW and DML were in ECV’s, we were able to go to the CM at the exit area of AiW and have our ticket & AP scanned and give a return time to come back to AiW and get in the line without waiting in the regular standby queue since it couldn’t take ECV’s through the line. It was a 15 minute wait time at the AiW line so we had to come back 15 minutes including the one hour in between return time.

After we got our return time for AiW, we head on over to ride Storybook Land Canal Boats. I have been wanting to ride SLCB with the new Arendelle added to the attraction.




We were able to get the front where DD4 was able to sit up front on the boat.








When passing by, I was focus on getting the town of Arendelle.












Passing by Casey Jr








Now we are passing by the Village of Arendelle. I was impressed how detail the town was from the castle, boats, mountains, the Ice Palace, etc. It was kind of weird to see it especially where it took over the Old Mill part of the ride. It was sad that the Old Mill section was replaced by the Village of Arendelle from Frozen.




Anna Ice Palace












Can’t forget about Oaken’s Trading Post




We were now back at the port and got off SLCB. I was impressed with the new Arendelle section of the ride which was a nice addition. But it was also sad to not see the Old Mill section of the ride. I can understand why Disney did that since the movie Frozen is so popular.

After we got off, we started to head on over to our next attraction that morning.

Stay tune for what we have done later that morning at Disneyland.

Continue to the Next Post​


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – March 10th, 2015 – Part 2*

Going down the World of Alice & Nemo​
After riding Storybook Land Canal Boats, we head on over to ride Alice in Wonderland. Since we were able to get our tickets and AP scan to return to the ride without waiting in line which able us to go on SLCB and then AiW, we were ready to go on the ride.

DAW and DD4 were up front while DML and I were in the back.

Going down into the world of Alice in Wonderland. I was able to take a lot but a lot of the shots were out of focused.
































When we got off AiW, DD4 was full of energy that morning where it was a little hard for us to get her to calm down but what can you do when a four year old is having a great time at the DLR.








We still had time until it was time to head on back to DCA, so we went on over to Tomorrowland to ride the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. It is so nice that the FNSV has been open for a few months ever since the long refurbishment.








We waited for some time to get on board the subs since the wait time was about a 20 minute wait. DML was on her phone while DD4 was riding with DAW.




We rode 607 Explorer




Everyone was all ready to go under the sea into the world of Nemo and Friends.




We got the Starborn side which is the best view when riding the FNSV which you can see more out while the port side is where you see the land more.












Neo and Friends




















The old Sea Serpent which used to be in the original Submarine Voyage








We got off the FNSV and DD4 was glad to go on the FNSV that day. She wanted to go on more rides at DL and that will happen with other things that are going to happen.

Continue to the Next Post​


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – March 10th, 2015 – Part 3*

Above the Highway in the Sky and back to DCA​
After riding the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, we moved on to our next ride that morning at Disneyland. We still had time until we had to get on over to Disney California Adventure to use our FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers.

Since we were right in Tomorrowland and by the FNSV entrance/exit, I had to go on my favorite ride at the DLR which is the Disneyland Monorail. Since it was during the morning, the wait time should be a walk-on when one of the monorails are at the TL Monorail station.




When we were approaching the station, Monorail Mark VII Blue was already at the station so we were lucky in order to get on that monorail that morning.




DML and DD4 are all excited to ride the Monorail.








Passing by DCA




Now entering the former Condor Flats while it is still under construction where it will be transform to Grizzly Peak. There were a lot of changes to Grizzly Peak when I last saw it in February.








We decided to ride the Monorail back to Tomorrowland in order to get the ECV’s since we left them at the TL Monorail station.

While when we were heading on back to the Tomorrowland Monorail station, I noticed something backstage and saw that the log for Splash Mountain including the pirates ships from Peter Pan Flight are at the backstage area where both rides are down during the refurbishment.




You can never get tired of seeing the front entrance of DL from the Monorail.




Work is still being done on the Matterhorn during the long refurbishment.




We got off the Monorail and back at the TL station.




The Mine Seagulls on the buoy at the FNSV lagoon which are nice to see again.




We started to head on out of DL and back on over to DCA to use our FP’s since it was close to 11:30am that morning.




The park didn’t feel that busy but it did later on during the day.




The Esplanade didn’t look that bad.




After entering DCA, it wasn’t that busy as well so we head on over to Cars Land.




A look at Grizzly Peak Airfield wall where the former Condor Flats is going through a transformation until we get to May. At least Smokejumper’s Grill is now open which I am looking forward to seeing when I go next month.




Now we are in Cars Land heading on over to RSR. This will be DML and DD4 first time riding RSR where we didn’t get to ride it back in January 2013 since DD4 was too little. Now she is four, she is tall enough to ride RSR this time. CL did look a little busy that afternoon.




Luigi’s Flying Tires is now closed with the refurbishment walls up. But the entrance is still nice to look at.




We head on over to the entrance of RSR to ride it. That will be it for this post and stay tune for DML and DD4 first experience to ride RSR.


----------



## PrincessInOz

DD4 must be quite tall for her age if she can ride RSR.  Actually....come to think of it....I'm not sure I know what the height restriction is for RSR.  

Another great set of pictures.


----------



## franandaj

Great pictures!  I'm wondering what will be up when we go for my birthday!


----------



## tksbaskets

As always a great trip report.  I'm bummed that I don't seem to get email updates anymore when you post.  I'll have to make more of an effort to check in.  I always enjoy your pictures.  Especially the ones you got at F!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> DD4 must be quite tall for her age if she can ride RSR.  Actually....come to think of it....I'm not sure I know what the height restriction is for RSR.
> 
> Another great set of pictures.



She is a tall girl for her age for which she could ride RSR. She was about a few inches short during the 2013 trip in which it was amazing that she was tall enough to ride it. The height restriction of RSR is 40 inches (102 cm).

Thank you PiO.




franandaj said:


> Great pictures!  I'm wondering what will be up when we go for my birthday!



Thank you Alison. Hopefully there will be something during an AP preview in early to mid May before the kickoff of the 60th Anniversary on May 22nd. There is a possibility that an AP preview will happen before May 22nd. It won't be too long until your birthday weekend at the DLR and hope you have a great birthday bash.




tksbaskets said:


> As always a great trip report.  I'm bummed that I don't seem to get email updates anymore when you post.  I'll have to make more of an effort to check in.  I always enjoy your pictures.  Especially the ones you got at F!



Thank you TK. It is odd that you don't get the email updates when there is posts that you keep track of. 


The next post will be up shortly.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – March 10th, 2015 – Part 4*

Racing in DCA and DL that Afternoon.​
Now we are heading on over to ride one of my favorite rides at Disney California Adventure which is Radiator Springs Racers. Since we didn’t get to ride it on Monday thanks to the ride being down for most of the morning and to the afternoon, we had to go on this ride before we leave. DAW loves riding RSR every time we come to the DLR. This is one of her must do like I am with the Monorail. This will be DML and DD4 first time riding RSR. They weren’t able to ride it the last time since DD4 was short. But now she is four, she is able to ride it. DD4 is a tall girl for a four year old.

The wait time was 80 minutes which was not that bad during the afternoon but it was still a long wait in the standby queue.




When we showed our FP’s, we went through the line and thought it wouldn’t be that long and we did had to wait about 10 minutes to go through the FP queue to the entrance.




Radiator Spring is amazing every time I see it.








We boarded our car and off to the world of “Cars”. DML & DD4 were so excited to go on this ride while DAW and I still enjoy it every time we go on this ride.

Radiator Falls waterfall




Sherriff pulled us over for speeding in their town.




The whitewall tires look amazing on our car.




We are ready to race.








DML and DD4 were so excited to ride it that they enjoyed it so much. DML really loved RSR that she wanted to go on again except unless she is willing to wait about 90 minutes to go back on the ride. DAW never gets tired of this ride as well as me.

Our victory photo.








After we got off RSR, we were about to head on over to Hollywood Land in order to see Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular during the 12:20pm show. Since we had some minutes to kill until we head on over to the Hyperion Theater, we first needed to get some lunch. So what better place to have a snack or a light meal is at the Cozy Cone Motel.

We did eat at the Cozy Cone on the other day during the trip. But DAW loves the Chili Cone Queso which she got the Mac & Cheese Cone the other day so this time she wanted to get the Chili Cone Queso.




Of course, DAW wanted something cold and what better treat to get is a soft serve ice cream.




After having a quick bite to eat at the Cozy Cone, we headed straight on over to the Hyperion Theater so we can catch the 12:20pm Aladdin show. We were able to get to the theater with about 10 minutes to go until the CM’s let the guests in.




I didn’t took any pictures inside the Hyperion Theater during the show since we were seated in the back of the Orchestra seating area. Since we got here a little late, we weren’t able to get the up close seats.

DML and DD4 enjoyed the show. DD4 asked why Aladdin and Jasmine looked different from the movie. I didn’t want to say anything but DML must have told DD4 something after the show since she was asking about it.

After we got out of the Hyperion Theater, it was time to head on over to DL since we have done everything at DCA during the trip which was great. I wanted to get them on over to ride Toy Story Midway Mania but I remember that DAW doesn’t like those kind of rides by wearing 3D glasses or simulations like Soarin Over California.

The Animation Building decorated during the Frozen Fun event.




After we head on out of DCA, we are not back at the Esplanade. It wasn’t that busy outside which was a little surprising.




DL was not that bad as well.




When we were in DL, we had to get my favorite treat as well as DML. We can never get tired of the Dole Whip Floats at the Tiki Juice Bar. Since it was during the afternoon and it was getting warm, the line to get the dole whip was already close to the exit of the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Instead of coming back later during the day to get one, we went inside the queue for the Enchanted Tiki Room which makes sense to get one in inside line at the Tiki Juice Bar and also go inside the room as well to see the show which I haven’t done for quite some time.








After we watched the Enchanted Tiki Room, we head on out and started to move to our next activity that day at DL. Since we are able to be in the parks for a little longer, we had a little bit more time to do some other stuff until we head on back to our hotel and get our luggage so we can catch our flight back home to Sac that night. This is so unusual since I don’t leave this late in SoCal back to NorCal. Mostly I leave around noon or 3 to get back to NorCal just before midnight.

We head on over to It’s a Small World Plaza in order to get a spot for the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. DD4 wanted to see the parade during the trip and this was the best time to do it since it was at 4pm and we are at the park that day.




We decided to watch the parade from It’s a Small World Plaza since it does attract less crowds than by watching it from Main Street, Hub and Town Square. I have watched the parades from all sorts of spots and I do enjoy watching it from IASW Plaza.

We were able to get nice spots for the parade.




DD4 was asking what parade it will be and I told her that it was the same parade that she saw back in January. The only thing she remembered and told me was the princess float with Snow White, Aurora, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Belle which was her favorite scene.

That is it for this post and stay tune for Mickey’s Soundsational Parade at 4pm.

Continue to the Next Post.​


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – March 10th, 2015 – Part 5*

Soundsational Parade & Flying Back Home​
Now it was time for the 4pm Mickey’s Soundsational Parade. I have seen MSP ever since this parade debut in 2011. There hasn’t been much changes to the parade except for the Frozen pre-parade float that made its debut last year where the movie “Frozen” has become so popular and the DLR has all sorts of Frozen stuff.

DD4 was all getting excited to see the parade while we have seen it during the January 2013 trip which should be the same like last time. The only thing they didn’t see was the Frozen pre-parade float which was the former A Christmas Fantasy Parade Ice Rink float. It is still disappointing to see the Ice Rink float as the Frozen pre-parade float but I can understand why Disney did that.

I asked the CM’s where the parade was starting and they told me that it was coming from Main Street Town Square. So it would be a while until the parade came on over to IASW Plaza.

The Frozen pre-parade came first about 10 minutes after the parade started at 4pm. DD4 was excited to see Anna & Elsa. I was surprised that she was excited to see them after she was scared of seeing them during the meet & greet at DCA.




Now the rest of the parade started to come down.
































































DD4 was happy to see the parade that day and she did remember a lot of the characters and floats when she saw it back in 2013. She has a good memory of remembering all the different floats and characters for a four year old who was 2 a couple of years ago.

After the parade was over, we had about an hour until we had to leave the parks and head on back to our hotel so we can catch our shuttle to John Wayne Airport and head on back to Sacramento. We had a 9:25pm flight back home to Sacramento. DAW wanted to get to the airport early so we are able to catch our flight on time. I didn’t think it was necessary to be there early but it was her decision.

The next ride that we went on was the Disneyland Railroad. This is another ride that I like to go on when I am at DL. We head on over to Mickey’s Toontown Depot which is the closest station to ride the DLRR since we were at IASW Plaza. But I also worried about going to that station since most of the crowds that watched the parade from IASW Plaza would go on the train. I have done it before in the past and had to wait a while to board the train.

So we head on over to MTT Depot to ride the DLRR. We had to wait about 15 minutes at the station until the E.P. Ripley Engine #2 along with the Excursion Car set.








We rode round trip around the park since we left the ECV’s at Mickey’s Toontown Depot. I always enjoy riding the DLRR around the park to see all the different lands. Everybody enjoyed the train ride around the park.

It was around 5:30pm and it was time to head on out of the park and get back to the hotel so we can wait to catch our shuttle at 6pm.

DD4 didn’t want to leave and wanted to stay a little longer but we had to go since we had a shuttle to catch to the airport. She was not happy with it but I would guess that she knew afterwards that we had to catch our shuttle.

We exited DL and head back on over to Best Western Park Place Inn until the SuperShuttle arrived and pick us up and drop us off at John Wayne Airport. We had to wait a while until the shuttle picked us up at our hotel.

It was around 6:10pm when the shuttle picked us up and we head on over to John Wayne Airport in Orange County.

We waited about two and a half hours until our flight was at 9:25pm that night. That was the last flight out of OC to Sacramento. There was another flight that we could have gotten on but DAW didn’t want to pay the extra fee for a one hour early flight.

When our flight was ready at 9:25pm, we boarded the plane and noticed that there wasn’t too many people on the flight. When the cabin was closed the plane was ready to leave OC, I looked to see how many people were on the flight and saw that there was about 15 passengers on the flight. I was shocked to see the plane empty heading on over to Sacramento that night. I can also understand why there weren’t too many people on the flight since it was the last flight out of OC on its way to Sacramento. So we had a nice enjoyable flight back home to Sacramento.

We got back to Sacramento International Airport around 11pm that night and Cousin C came by and picked us up at the airport. He took us home and this concludes the trip.

This was a fun trip in which we were able to experience it with DML and DD4. Originally it was supposed to be DD4, DAW and I during the trip but DML was able to get time off work and join us which helps us out with DD4. They had a great time and it was memorable. There were some bumps during the trip in which DD4 was not behaving well and got scared of seeing Anna & Elsa. We were able to do mostly everything on our list during the trip. There were a few things we missed that we forgot to do. But overall it was a successful trip. The highlight of the trip for DD4 was able to go on the rides like IASW, Monsters Inc. & RSR. DML enjoyed coming along and being with the three of us. DAW enjoyed the trip with them but she went along with what they wanted to do during the trip. But when DAW and I go back next month, it will be during the 60th Anniversary. I can’t wait to go back next month and see all those new nighttime shows and ride updates.

This concludes the March trip and now I am ready to head on back down to SoCal next month during the 60th Anniversary. I will get to the details later on when we get closer. There is also my pre-planning for my WDW trip in October where I will be going in October 16th to 23rd, 2015 during the Halloween season & Food & Wine Festival. 

I haven't been on lately since I have been busy the whole week including the weekends. I have a show to work this weekend in San Jose called "Big Wow Comicfest 2015" and next weekend "Kraken Con" in Oakland. Including working at basketball tournaments, it has been so crazy lately. It won't be too long until the next trip and stay tune for the pre-planning.

Thank you for following along my trip report.


----------



## tksbaskets

Great trip report.  I especially love the picture of your travel companions on the train.  I am looking forward to hearing about the 60th celebration activities!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Thanks for sharing this trip with us, Bret.  Looks like it was a fun trip with the company you had and the attractions/rides that you did.

Hope you have a great weekend at SJ and Oakland.

Looking forward to hearing all about your plans for the next trip.


----------



## franandaj

Nice that DD4 was able to ride RSR.  I always like to see the Aladdin show, so well produced.  You got some great close up shots of the Soundsational Parade.  It's always sad leaving DL, but at least everyone knows that they will be back again someday.


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Great trip report.  I especially love the picture of your travel companions on the train.  I am looking forward to hearing about the 60th celebration activities!



Thank you TK. The trip was all about DML and DD4 just like the last time we went with them. There were a lot of things we didn't do during the trip but it was a great trip. I did took a lot of pictures of them while I barely got in any pictures. There were times when I was in the pictures with my selfie stick attached to my phone. I am really looking forward to going next month during DL 60th Anniversary. 




PrincessInOz said:


> Thanks for sharing this trip with us, Bret.  Looks like it was a fun trip with the company you had and the attractions/rides that you did.
> 
> Hope you have a great weekend at SJ and Oakland.
> 
> Looking forward to hearing all about your plans for the next trip.



Thank you for following along PiO. These trip reports can be very long from my experience and I am glad that you and others have followed along them over the years. The trip with the extra company was nice and also exhausting. Trying to do everything in the few days we were there was quite short. But we did got a lot done during that time.

I didn't have a good show at Oakland this past weekend where San Jose was way better over Oakland. 

Ready to get to late May and enjoy DL 60th Anniversary.




franandaj said:


> Nice that DD4 was able to ride RSR.  I always like to see the Aladdin show, so well produced.  You got some great close up shots of the Soundsational Parade.  It's always sad leaving DL, but at least everyone knows that they will be back again someday.



It was great that DD4 got to ride RSR. She is quite tall for a 4 1/2 year old and now she is 5. The Aladdin show is great and DAW has to see it every time we are at the DLR. TY. The shots from Soundsational Parade are okay. I am really looking forward to seeing the new Paint the Night parade. I don't know when DML and DD4 will go back but they told me that it will be a long time. As for DAW, she will be going with me when we go in late May.


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## Leshaface

Sorry!  I'm slowly catching up!



mvf-m11c said:


> It took an hour and ten minutes to get from Sacramento to OC.



Dang must be nice to fly!  It wouldn't be worth it for us to fly out of fresno.  I'm sure the tickets would be outrageously priced!



mvf-m11c said:


> DAW was able to purchase park hopper tickets on parksavers.com.



I need to remember this website!



mvf-m11c said:


>



It's crazy how much tickets are beginning to be.  



mvf-m11c said:


>



Ugh, i'm so sad I haven't been into the parks since they've been released.  I think they came out right after we visited.  Do you know if they have them at the Starbucks in DTD?  They probably don't.  And it sucks we'll be right there at DLR and not even going into the parks.  Perhaps i'll have someone with an AP buy one for me??  



mvf-m11c said:


>



Yay for a selfie!



mvf-m11c said:


> We started off with a tableside guacamole.



I LOVE their tableside quac!  Definitely the best item there.



mvf-m11c said:


>



Ugh, just love these.



mvf-m11c said:


> we looked at Dumbo, it had a 10 minute wait time which was kind of shocking during that time of the day.



Wow!  Yep you never see this wait time ever!



mvf-m11c said:


>



This looks so delicious.  STill haven't tried the float (love the dole whip way too much!) but one day maybe when i'm brave



mvf-m11c said:


>



Cute!



mvf-m11c said:


> until the Mad T Party returns for the summertime



So it is returning in the Summer.  I do like the party but can understand how a lot of people don't like it.  



mvf-m11c said:


>



She's so cute!



mvf-m11c said:


>



Love these photos.



mvf-m11c said:


>




Okay, for only having half a day, you guys actually did a lot including meet the Main Mouse! 



mvf-m11c said:


>



Gorgeous shot! And there's no one in the photo that I can see, even cooler! 



mvf-m11c said:


>



I love when they do this too.


Okay, i'll be back to catch up!  Babysitting right now and it's lunch time.


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## Leshaface

mvf-m11c said:


> This is one reason why I don't ride RSR first thing in the morning since it is not operational and you lose quite a bit of your morning.



Yep it's very hit and miss for sure.



mvf-m11c said:


>





mvf-m11c said:


>





mvf-m11c said:


>



I love Monsters Inc too!  And you got some great pictures.



mvf-m11c said:


>



Love the pumpkins they have for this.



mvf-m11c said:


>



Woah sugar overload! 



mvf-m11c said:


>



REally cool! Haven't seen this yet.



mvf-m11c said:


>



Aw love this shot of her 



mvf-m11c said:


>



Nice picture of you! 



mvf-m11c said:


>



I LOVE the Animation Building!  It's nice and cool and just love the clips they show.



mvf-m11c said:


>



Oh no wonder what happened?!  Maybe she was just so excited to meet them that she just cried?!



mvf-m11c said:


> It just shows you that she is excited at one point and scared the next.



Yep, I know this for a fact!



mvf-m11c said:


> DD4 was excited to ride FLB. I don't like riding spinning rides like the Tea Cups and FLB.



Oh my gosh, FLB went SO fast!  When we went in October last year, that was my first time on it and thought I was going to die, but DS had the best time.  I usually do good with spinning rides too, but this one nearly killed me 



mvf-m11c said:


>



This is cute!



mvf-m11c said:


>



  Need this!



mvf-m11c said:


> he wants to get the hot link corn dog.



OH what the heck!?  DH would be beyond thrilled with this option!  Have they had this for a while?



mvf-m11c said:


> DD4 was so excited to be able to ride GSS that afternoon. This was the first most intense ride she rode at the DLR. DD4 wanted to go on more exciting rides. For me, GSS is a good ride but the turns can hurt a little when riding GSS.



It totally does hurt but it's fun especially at the long dip!



mvf-m11c said:


>



See, if you rode you wouldn't have been able to get this great shot of them!



mvf-m11c said:


>





mvf-m11c said:


>




These look delicious!



mvf-m11c said:


>



Oh and this too.  You got everything that I would have picked out!



mvf-m11c said:


>



Miss seeing these paper FP's.





mvf-m11c said:


>



Cute shot of Nemo while on IASW!



mvf-m11c said:


> Around 8:30pm, the queue for both BB and RBT was going and when we were passing by, most of the guests with the regular FP’s are already in the viewing areas. I never imagined that the sides would be all filled up before the center spot. If I ever do F! again in the near future, I am thinking of trying out the regular FP areas. But after seeing where the regular FP areas are, I might have to reconsider.



Wow!



mvf-m11c said:


>



Double woah!  That's a lot of people but love that you're sitting and not trying to look over shoulders or kids on shoulders!



mvf-m11c said:


>





mvf-m11c said:


>





mvf-m11c said:


>



And look at the fabulous shots!  So you'd recommend doing the BB Dining Package for F!?  I haven't seen F! in years because I refuse to stand with the crowds.  I'm on the shorter side so it was always difficult to see anything.  But with this, i'd consider doing it.  Did you say $61 per person right?  How much for kids?



mvf-m11c said:


>



Cleared out quick!



mvf-m11c said:


>



Hmm, i'm sure there's got to be a website or something showing what was filming that night.



mvf-m11c said:


>



Gorgeous!



mvf-m11c said:


> When passing by, I was focus on getting the town of Arendelle.





mvf-m11c said:


>



This is really cool, and i'm not even a Frozen fan.



mvf-m11c said:


> We waited for some time to get on board the subs since the wait time was about a 20 minute wait.



Shoot, 20 mins is not bad at all for the subs!



mvf-m11c said:


> Passing by DCA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now entering the former Condor Flats while it is still under construction where it will be transform to Grizzly Peak. There were a lot of changes to Grizzly Peak when I last saw it in February.



Love seeing the shots from the monorail.



mvf-m11c said:


>



Beautfiul!



mvf-m11c said:


>


----------



## mvf-m11c

Leshaface said:


> Dang must be nice to fly!  It wouldn't be worth it for us to fly out of fresno.  I'm sure the tickets would be outrageously priced!



Airlines tickets are quite a lot today. I saw on SWA that going from Sac to OC is at $74 for now which is great.



Leshaface said:


> Ugh, i'm so sad I haven't been into the parks since they've been released.  I think they came out right after we visited.  Do you know if they have them at the Starbucks in DTD?  They probably don't.  And it sucks we'll be right there at DLR and not even going into the parks.  Perhaps i'll have someone with an AP buy one for me??



Were you able to buy the mugs during your trip last weekend during Alison's birthday bash? I did stop at the DTD Starbucks and they didn't have the DL or DCA which they had a Las Vegas version. 




Leshaface said:


> Oh no wonder what happened?!  Maybe she was just so excited to meet them that she just cried?!



It was a shame that DD4 wanted to meet Anna and Elsa and all of a sudden she started to get scared and cried when she approached them. And look at the fabulous shots!  




Leshaface said:


> So you'd recommend doing the BB Dining Package for F!?  I haven't seen F! in years because I refuse to stand with the crowds.  I'm on the shorter side so it was always difficult to see anything.  But with this, i'd consider doing it.  Did you say $61 per person right?  How much for kids?



I would recommend the BB dining package if you have never seen F! and you want to see it at the prime location. For me, it was only a one time thing. I wanted to see and experience what the FP experience is like and how much wait time we had to spend in order to be in the designated area. I have seen F! so many times that it is the same show over the last few years and not much has changed (except for taking things out like the Flotsam and Jetsam jet ski). But when I totaled the price of the dinner at the BB which can be from $30 to $50 per person (the regular meal when eating at BB) and you do get the appetizer along with a dessert, the price almost matches the F! dining package. The BB dining location for F! are in the sit down spot which you saw my pictures and it can be good if you don't want to stand and see the show. It will require sitting on the ground unless you have a ECV, stroller or wheelchair and be in the back which we were and it was good to have our ECV's in the back and to be able to sit on them while watching the show. The thing I like about the BB dining package over the other places is that you do get a F! seat cushion which comes with the meal. That sold me over the River Belle Terrace dining package which is about another $20 more to do the BB over the RBT. BB is at $61 per person while the RBT is at $41.99. The kids are $23 and they also get the seat cushion as well which was great which DD4 was able to get one.


For an update of my WDW trip in October, I was able to get airfare tickets from Orlando to Sacramento for $214 which is not that bad. But I am not able to find any good deals going to Orlando from Sacramento right now. So it will be a while unless there is a special airfare rate coming up.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Here is a quick update from my work trip to Las Vegas. Since I was driving to Las Vegas, I decided to make a quick stop at the DLR on Wednesday 20th a couple of days before the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. I had to make a stop in SoCal to drop some stuff off to my dads friend who live in SoCal. After dropping the stuff off, I made a quick trip over to the DLR. 

I got in SoCal around 2pm which was a little late for me since there were a few accidents on the way to SoCal. I was originally planning to get there around 1pm but with a big accident on 99 around Merced, I had to wait an hour on the highway. But I was able to get to SoCal safely. It was fun to see some of the Diamond Celebration decorations before I go back later next week. 

I parked my car at the Mickey and Friends parking structure and the DLR is all set up for the celebration.




I went to DL first to see the decorations including SB Castle all decorated.








There was even 60th merchandise available that day.




The Disney Showcase store was all decorated with a lot of 60th merchandise.




Plus DCA was all decorated as well.








The new Grizzly Peak Airfield was open just a few days ago and i was able to see it as well.
















I only stayed in the park for less than 2 hours since I had to leave for Vegas that night. I wasn't able to go on any rides in which it was all observing all the parks and lands with the decorations and the new Grizzly Peak Airfield. It won't be too long until I am back at the DLR in order to go on the new ride and see the new nighttime shows. 

I will do updates when I get back to SoCal next week.


----------



## kaoden39

Hi! 

You always have the nicest photos on your trip reports.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I soooo wanna experience the 60th year.


----------



## mvf-m11c

kaoden39 said:


> Hi!
> 
> You always have the nicest photos on your trip reports.



Hi Michele,

Thank you. It was nice to go for a couple of hours that day. It was quite busy that afternoon.




PrincessInOz said:


> I soooo wanna experience the 60th year.



The 60th Diamond Celebration is great but there is also a disadvantage of coming just when it started.


I am now back at the DLR for the fifth day of the 60th Diamond when it started on May 22nd and the crowds are quite heavy today. I am already staking my spot for Paint the Night parade tonight on MS and there eere already people waiting for the 8:50pm parade and I got there around 6:20pm. The streets of MS are already filled and I am at the back of the rope off area. Talk about a crazy day today where the park was busy.






I wasn't able to go on any rides today since I was looking for popcorn buckets today from the new Mickey shape ballon bucket which there are three (purple, red, and blue). DL also has the Cinderella pumpkin coach bucket which was nice to get. I also did some shopping at the stores to get the new 60th merchandise. When I looked at the wait times and they were quite long from HM to 50 minutes, Indy 50, Space 50, you know what I mean which looks like summer crowds. With the SoCal AP's not block out today might have cause the heavy crowds at DL today for them to see the new nighttime shows.


----------



## franandaj

I'm sad to hear it's so busy out there. I was hoping to go out there in a week or two before school gets out.


----------



## kaoden39

mvf-m11c said:


> Hi Michele,
> 
> Thank you. It was nice to go for a couple of hours that day. It was quite busy that afternoon.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The 60th Diamond Celebration is great but there is also a disadvantage of coming just when it started.
> 
> 
> I am now back at the DLR for the fifth day of the 60th Diamond when it started on May 22nd and the crowds are quite heavy today. I am already staking my spot for Paint the Night parade tonight on MS and there eere already people waiting for the 8:50pm parade and I got there around 6:20pm. The streets of MS are already filled and I am at the back of the rope off area. Talk about a crazy day today where the park was busy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I wasn't able to go on any rides today since I was looking for popcorn buckets today from the new Mickey shape ballon bucket which there are three (purple, red, and blue). DL also has the Cinderella pumpkin coach bucket which was nice to get. I also did some shopping at the stores to get the new 60th merchandise. When I looked at the wait times and they were quite long from HM to 50 minutes, Indy 50, Space 50, you know what I mean which looks like summer crowds. With the SoCal AP's not block out today might have cause the heavy crowds at DL today for them to see the new nighttime shows.



It's hard to enjoy the parks when they're that busy. 




franandaj said:


> I'm sad to hear it's so busy out there. I was hoping to go out there in a week or two before school gets out.




Maybe you guys can slip a quick trip in?


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,  so excited to see the pictures you posted of the Diamond Celebration and the new Condor Flats!  I like the new Soarin' sign too.  Have a great time!


----------



## franandaj

kaoden39 said:


> Maybe you guys can slip a quick trip in?



We're less than half an hour away. The problem is Fran's mobility. She is having issues with her arthritis meds.  We thought it was over but now we have another chapter starting tomorrow when we see the arthritis doctor again.


----------



## kaoden39

franandaj said:


> We're less than half an hour away. The problem is Fran's mobility. She is having issues with her arthritis meds.  We thought it was over but now we have another chapter starting tomorrow when we see the arthritis doctor again.



I know you're real close.  I'm sorry to hear about Fran. That's rough! It's hard when you can't get relief. I hope that her Dr gets her some real relief.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I'm sad to hear it's so busy out there. I was hoping to go out there in a week or two before school gets out.



It is okay. I knew when coming this early after the opening on the 22nd. I forgot about the Grad Nite people along with the locals and regular guests. So that played in the larger crowds yesterday where the guests were staking out spots for the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. The parade and Disneyland Forever fireworks were amazing.



kaoden39 said:


> It's hard to enjoy the parks when they're that busy.



It is but I could always come later when the crowds are light but I like to be there when something is new.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,  so excited to see the pictures you posted of the Diamond Celebration and the new Condor Flats!  I like the new Soarin' sign too.  Have a great time!



Hi TK. Glad you like the pictures from the Diamond Celebration and Grizzly Peak Airfield. Condor Flats is now part of Yesterland and now it is part of Grizzly Peak land. Thank you. If you don't include the heavy crowds yesterday, I am having a great time.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Here is another quick update from the trip. Right now, I am resting after a nice day at the parks.

From my last update last night, I got a spot for the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. I had to wait about 2 1/2 hours yesterday night in order to see the first parade. There were people already staking out a spot on MS at least 6pm or earlier. It was crazy that night where it was hard to get a spot that night. I have staked out spots for the parade when Mickey's Soundsational Parade debut in 2011 and I got a spot with about 2 hours to go until the parade. But with Paint the Night pushed it even further. Maybe it was due when it was on a weekend and not on a Tuesday where the local AP holders were not blocked out that day. I didn't mind waiting for the parade but it was difficult when I am solo where I can't leave my area to use the restroom. So I ate early and went to the restroom until I got my spot where i was going to wait at least 3 hours until Disneyland Forever fireworks was over.

Here are some pictures that I took last night from Paint the Night parade.
































































































My first impression of the new nighttime parade at DL is amazing. I am a fan of the Main Street Electrical Parade that used to be at DL and DCA (which is now at the MK at WDW). The lights were bright and interacts with the shows. Also the Glow with the Show ears, wand, paint brush, etc. interact with show when a float pasts by. The characters are great and of course they had a Frozen float which is very nice. I have watched the Paint the Night parade online when it was at HKDL. But when seeing it in person is even better. 

If you plan on seeing the parade, I would get there early at least 2 hours for a good spot and on MS. The other thing is that when the parade is over, you have to go on the streets of MS and be in position to see Disneyland Forever fireworks just a few minutes after the parade pasts by. This is one reason why I stayed on MS to watch the fireworks instead of watching it from the Hub like I usually do for the fireworks.

The next posts will have pictures and thoughts of Disneyland Forever fireworks.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Here are pictures from Disneyland Forever fireworks after the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. This is why I chose to watch the parade from MS by the buildings since the show will interact on MS. I haven't seen the images from Matterhorn and will think about that later on during another upcoming trip to DL.

Once again, I did the long exposure shots with my camera instead of taking pictures of the building. I did use my iPhone to take pictures of the buildings.




















Projection images on the buildings on MS.




















The new Disneyland Forever fireworks is great where you don't have to be in front of SB Castle to see the fireworks and get the full effect. With the buildings that project on the facade is a great addition for the guests who are on MS. It was a good idea that I stayed on MS to watch the fireworks and see the effect. There were some characters that were flying in the air which was Tinker Belle and Nemo which was great. The buildings on MS also showed coral reefs during the Little Mermaid scene.

Do I think that this show is better then RDCT, I would say no. RDCT is by far more superior over Disneyland Forever but it is a nice new addition with the latest technology in entertainment and fireworks. 

I plan on seeing World of Color - Celebrate tonight which is also a new show starring Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse. I will have picture later that night or when I get back home to Sacramento.


----------



## PrincessInOz

You make me absolutely WANT to get there this year to check out both the parade and the fireworks show.

I suspect that Paint the Light will be one of those absolutely hits where Disney is concerned.  It is drawing rave reviews in HKDL and I had originally thought I would see it there.  Maybe I'll have to push for a trip to DLR afterall.


----------



## tksbaskets

The parade looks like it is really nice.  You captured it well in your pictures.  What a long wait.  Did you feel it was worth the wait.  Did you enjoy the fireworks?


----------



## dhorner233

I finally made it here!  So glad I made it in time to see the 60th anniversary stuff since I will be there this September!!!  Nice to see Princess and Alison here too! Sorry to hear Fran is not feeling up to going to Disneyland.. Hope she gets some relief soon!

Thanks for posting all these pictures and telling us what's going on down there! 2 hours to wait for the parade and the fireworks! 

Thanks also for the tip on the Blue Bayou/Fantasmic! dinner package to get the best seats for F! Those were GREAT seats!

You are so lucky you get to go so often!!


----------



## ACDSNY

Great pics of the parade and fireworks.  We enjoyed both on our trip.


----------



## franandaj

Thanks for the preview.  I can't wait to get back out there.  Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight.  She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do.  Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.


----------



## kaoden39

franandaj said:


> Thanks for the preview.  I can't wait to get back out there.  Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight.  She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do.  Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.



Alison,

My thoughts are with Fran and I hope she feels better soon.


----------



## dhorner233

franandaj said:


> Thanks for the preview.  I can't wait to get back out there.  Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight.  She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do.  Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I got back safely last night around 11pm. It was a fun trip and it was fun to go to the DLR during the Diamond Celebration. Even though the parks were busy with the Grad Nite and the regular crowds, we have enjoyed the three days at the DLR. I was able to enjoy it with DAW and also got to see my cousin at the park on Saturday which we were able to see Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever. I will get to that later on when I posts some pics from World of Color - Celebrate.




PrincessInOz said:


> You make me absolutely WANT to get there this year to check out both the parade and the fireworks show.
> 
> I suspect that Paint the Light will be one of those absolutely hits where Disney is concerned.  It is drawing rave reviews in HKDL and I had originally thought I would see it there.  Maybe I'll have to push for a trip to DLR afterall.



I would be the same thing if I were in your shoes PiO. Hopefully you will be able to come back to the U.S. this year and see the new nighttime shows.

Paint the Night is a huge success with people waiting over 4 hours after Mickey's Sounsational Parade is over to get a curbside spot for the first parade at 8:50pm. I was one of those people on Saturday which my group waited 4 hours to see the parade. Luckily, we had four people watch our spot which last time when I went last week was only by myself for 2 1/2 hours. If you do come, we will stake out a good spot on MS to see it.




tksbaskets said:


> The parade looks like it is really nice.  You captured it well in your pictures.  What a long wait.  Did you feel it was worth the wait.  Did you enjoy the fireworks?



Thank you TK. The new parade lived to it's expectations. The 2 1/2 hour wait last week was nothing compared to the 4 hour wait this past Saturday. I had no problem waiting that long for a new show since it was new and I had something to keep me occupied until it was time for the parade. Disneyland Forever is a nice new firework show as well which you can watch it from any part of DL from IASW Plaza, by the RoA, Matterhorn facade from MS and of course MS which you can see the buildings which projects on them.



dhorner233 said:


> I finally made it here!  So glad I made it in time to see the 60th anniversary stuff since I will be there this September!!!  Nice to see Princess and Alison here too! Sorry to hear Fran is not feeling up to going to Disneyland.. Hope she gets some relief soon!
> 
> Thanks for posting all these pictures and telling us what's going on down there! 2 hours to wait for the parade and the fireworks!
> 
> Thanks also for the tip on the Blue Bayou/Fantasmic! dinner package to get the best seats for F! Those were GREAT seats!
> 
> You are so lucky you get to go so often!!



Nice to see you make it over to my trip report Denise. It won't be too long until you are at the DLR during the Diamond Celebration. It is likely that the wait times to see the new nighttime shows will be shorter than during the summertime.

Your welcome. 2 hours is nothing compared to those people who wait over more than half a day to see a show like during the 24 Hour event, New Years Eve, etc. I spent 4 hours with my group to see the parade and fireworks on Saturday night. 

Glad to read that the info on the BB F! dining package helps out. It was interesting to do the F! dining package. I would not do it again in the near future since I have seen F! a lot unless it is updated. But for a first time person seeing it would make sense and I would do the BB over the other restaurants.




ACDSNY said:


> Great pics of the parade and fireworks.  We enjoyed both on our trip.



Thank you Angela. It was fun to go during the Diamond Celebration and I would like to read about your experience during your trip.




franandaj said:


> Thanks for the preview.  I can't wait to get back out there.  Fran is still in dire straits and went to bed at 8:30 tonight.  She is feeling awful both physically and mentally and I don't know what to do.  Hopefully somehow she will feel better soon.



Thank you Alison. Hope you will be able to experience the new nighttime shows at the DLR. Hope Fran is getting better.


Here is my review of the new World of Color - Celebrate that I watched on Wednesday 27th and seeing it again on Sunday 31st. My first insight of the new WoC Celebrate is that it was exciting to see another version of the show. There have been two different variations of the show from the original one with so many changes to the segments and WoC Winter Dreams. I can understand that the original WoC is so amazing and I still say the same thing when I see it. WoC Winter Dreams is a nice version for the holiday season. For the new WoC Celebrate which is dedicated to Walt Disney's legacy and shows his greatest works from the characters, movies, and Disney parks. The show is hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse. I talked to some people after the show on both days including DAW about it and they said that it was a nice tribute to Walt Disney but they didn't feel it was better over the original WoC. For me, I thought it was great which talks about Walt Disney legacy and showed the characters, movies and park attractions. This show is not better over Paint the Night or Disneyland Forever, but it is a nice new addition during the Diamond Celebration at DCA which it can take some of the pressure away from DL with the new nighttime shows. 

Would I see WoC Celebrate in the near future? Yes, I always enjoy watching the nighttime shows at the Disney parks especially WoC. 

Here are some pictures from WoC Celebrate on Wednesday 27th.








































The scene from Frozen "Let It Go" was in this show just like WoC Winter Dreams.

























After getting some rest after the long two weeks in Vegas and at the DLR, I will get started on my trip report during May 30th to June 1st.


----------



## tksbaskets

Great pictures!!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## dhorner233

Thanks for the pictures Bret!!!  Is there a screen or something in the upper middle/right? Seems like the images are a lot sharper in that circle.


----------



## franandaj

I can't wait to see all three shows.  I don't know when we will get out there because we need to "clean up" some things in real life, plus Fran needs to feel better.  Maybe at some point she will let me just go out there and see some shows, but I doubt it.


----------



## kylie71

Brett:
Wow, I am finally caught up, your images are amazing!
I have never seen WOC but I am for sure seeing this one! 

The fireworks are super too! I am super excited to be coming to DLR in Sept, after labor day weekend!!!!!!
How early should we wait for the parade then? 

Looking forward to your Trip Report....

--Lori


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Great pictures!!  Thanks for sharing.



Thank you TK. Hopefully you will be able to go to the DLR this year during the Diamond Celebration. You will love seeing the new nighttime shows.




dhorner233 said:


> Thanks for the pictures Bret!!!  Is there a screen or something in the upper middle/right? Seems like the images are a lot sharper in that circle.



Thank you Denise. The facade of Mickey on Mickey's Fun Wheel is where the projection screen is. They put up a screen in front of Mickey and use that as the screen for WoC - Celebrate show. 




franandaj said:


> I can't wait to see all three shows.  I don't know when we will get out there because we need to "clean up" some things in real life, plus Fran needs to feel better.  Maybe at some point she will let me just go out there and see some shows, but I doubt it.



Hopefully you will be able to see the three new shows this summer Alison. Hopefully Fran will get better and you will be able to go.




kylie71 said:


> Brett:
> Wow, I am finally caught up, your images are amazing!
> I have never seen WOC but I am for sure seeing this one!
> 
> The fireworks are super too! I am super excited to be coming to DLR in Sept, after labor day weekend!!!!!!
> How early should we wait for the parade then?
> 
> Looking forward to your Trip Report....
> 
> --Lori



Hi Lori. Thank you and glad you are enjoying the pictures during my first trip in May. I am surprised that you haven't seen WoC. But you will have to see the original one first before seeing the new WoC - Celebrate which is great but not as better over the original one.

Hope you will have a great time when you go down in September. Good thing that the Diamond Celebration will go till next year and you will be able to see the new nighttime shows. Even though I am not excited that "A Christmas Fantasy" parade and "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks will be replaced by the new nighttime shows at DL during the holiday season but I understand why Disney is doing that just like with RDCT fireworks in 2005.

It only depends on how long are you willing to wait to see Paint the Night. For me during the first trip, I waited 2 1/2 hours and didn't get a curb spot on MS. I would have guess that the guests must have got that spot when the 4pm Mickey's Soundsational parade was over on MS and they got it immediately. That would be at least 4 hours. But since you are going in September, the wait time should be way less and you should get the spot in less than 2 hours with a curb spot. I would watch the parade on MS since you will be able to see fireworks on the streets. Remember that the facades of the buildings on MS will be part of the show so you should watch it from that area.

The first part of my May 30th to June 1st trip report will be posted shortly. So stay tune.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 1*


Flying Down Again and Ready to see the Diamonds Again​

It is now time for the first day of our trip “Back to the Diamonds at the Happiest Place on Earth” to Disneyland in May. It wasn’t too long ago when I was at the Disneyland Resort before and after the Diamond Celebration started on May 22nd. I was able to go on the 20th before I head to Las Vegas since I was working a basketball tournament. This was the longest week of my life on the 20th when I was working in Vegas. I was in Vegas since Tuesday the 26th. I was able to go to the DLR before this trip on May 26th to 28th for three days and I was glad that I was able to make a quick trip. I know that it didn’t make any sense to go back to SoCal in a couple of days which I drove back home to Sacramento and flew a couple of days after. But I was tired and wanted to come back home for one day and be back in SoCal with DAW. I was also trying out a Nikon 70-200 f/4 telezoom lens during the trip in which I wanted to get some up close shots of the Diamond Celebration from the Paint the Night parade, World of Color – Celebrate, Sleeping Beauty Castle, etc. (you know what I mean). I’m not doing a report on my solo trip but I will do be doing this last trip with DAW. Boy we had a blast and had fun. Even though it was crowded during Grad Nite. We also were able to see some family during the trip as well which was a surprised.

Here are posts from my trip report thread during the Diamond Celebration on the 20th, 26th, 27th and 28th when I was at the DLR.
Quick look at the Diamond Celebration and Grizzly Peak Airfield 5/20/15

Paint the Night parade 5/26/15

Disneyland Forever fireworks 5/26/15

World of Color – Celebrate 5/27/15

Let’s get back to the trip report.

Just like when DAW and I were able to get the $49 deal on Southwest Airlines during the March 2015 trip, she was able to get tickets for the May trip as well. Luckily, I was able to go a few days before the trip and able to buy the merchandise that I wanted to get from the popcorn buckets, hats, pins, etc. during the 60th Diamond Celebration. Since you are limited to bring back stuff when flying then from driving, it was fun to fly instead of drive after all of that driving to Vegas, Anaheim and back to Sacramento. DAW loves to fly over driving which is why we got the tickets.

We will be staying at our favorite hotel which is Best Western Park Place Inn. I still love going to this hotel every time I come down to SoCal when going to the DLR. It is the closest non-Disney hotel to the DLR which makes a big difference. Since we were flying, we didn’t have to pay the extra $10 a night for parking which saves us some money.

The reason we did this trip was that DAW Premium Annual Pass is about to expire in late June which she renewed it last year which was a shocker. But this will be her third trip to use the AP which will get her usage out of the AP. Paying for a Premium AP is not cheap and you have to get the amount of days and trips in order to pay for it. I also renewed my AP when I was at the DLR on the 20th. I enjoy going to the DLR which I did went a lot this past year and this year.

It was the day of the trip in which we were planning on flying down to SoCal instead of driving. I mostly never like to fly since I drive most of the time when I go to SoCal. But DAW didn’t want to drive down to SoCal and we were able to get great deals on SWA for $49 one way which is a really good deal. For this trip, we were able to get early flights to Orange County John Wayne Airport. Our flight to OC was at 8am and get there at 9:55am which was perfect timing. On the way back, we had a flight at 9:25pm and back to Sac at 10:55pm. So we were able to get almost 3 full days at the DLR during the trip.

During the trip, I rented a Nikon 70-200 f/4 telezoom lens. I don’t own any telezoom lens since most of my photography is with wide angle, standard and prime lenses when I am at the parks. But this time, since I was able to use my lenses during the first trip (May 26th to 28th), I wanted to get up close shots of everything so when you see my pictures most of the shots were from the telezoom lens.

Now let’s get to the updates after all of this writing.

I was picked up by Cousin C to get DAW. It was nice of him to take us to Sacramento International Airport (SMF)

We got to SIA around 6:30am and our flight was at 8am. I really like to fly SWA since it is a reasonable price and all the seat assignment are the same where we can sit anywhere we want.

Our flight was heading on over to John Wayne Airport Orange County which is one of the closest cities to the DLR. I have flown to OC a lot of times in the past and it is nice to fly to OC over LAX which I don’t like to go since it is so busy and takes a while to the DLR.

It took an hour and ten minutes to get from Sacramento to OC. When we got off the plane, we head on down to get our baggage and head on over towards the SuperShuttle area. I was suggesting DAW to use the Disney Express Bus but DAW wanted to use the SuperShuttle instead. It took a while for the SuperShuttle to pick us up and take us over to our hotel which was BWPPI.

We rode the SuperShuttle to BWPPI but we had to stop a few times since there were other people riding the bus that day. I always enjoy staying at BWPPI because of its location to the DLR which is the closets non-Disney hotel.

We got to BWPPI around 11:00am which was really quick from John Wayne Airport. When we check-in at the front desk, our room was not ready so we just left our bags at the lobby at BWPPI and on our way to do our first thing in SoCal.

When we left BWPPI, DAW and I started to feel hungry so we went to this one restaurant that we go almost every time I go with DAW. The restaurant that we had for lunch is Mimi’s Café on Harbor Blvd right by Howard Johnson (HOJO). DAW loves eating at Mimi’s Café which we do have one in Elk Grove.

I wasn’t able to get any pictures during our meal since we have eaten at Mimi’s Café so many times in Anaheim and Elk Grove. I remember that DAW got a West Coast Reuben while I had Chicken and Waffles since they were still serving breakfast.

After we at Mimi’s Café, it was now time to head on over to the DLR during the Diamond Celebration.

While walking down on Harbor Blvd, Disney is already promoting the D23 Expo in August with banners on the poles.





The new sign on Harbor Blvd is very nice and colorful which represents the 60th Diamond Celebration.




When we got to the DLR and about to pass by the baggage check area, there was the Disneyland Diamond Days Word of the Day Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes is every day during the Diamond Celebration with a chance to win prizes at the DLR. You have to do is text the word in and hopefully you will be able to win. I didn’t do any of the texting during the two trips since I was enjoy my time at the DLR.




The old DCA banners have been replaced with the Diamond Celebration banners.




We entered DL first since there was more to see over there over DCA.




I did like the 60th Celebration sign right in front of the Main Street Railroad Station.




We walked down MS, and it was a little crowded that afternoon. I am not talking about summer crowds or Christmas break crowds but it was a little busy walking up on Main Street.

Since I had the telezoom lens, the first thing I wanted to do was get pictures of SB Castle with the 60th Diamond Celebration decorations. It was nice to see the castle all decorated during the Diamond Celebration. Since I don’t own a telezoom lens and rented the f/4, it was so great to rent it where I was able to get up close shots of the castle during the daytime.
























After getting some shots of the castle, the first ride that we tried to do first was the Haunted Mansion. I was able to see the new Hatbox Ghost during the first trip and I knew that DAW would love seeing the new Hatbox Ghost.

When we got to the HM, the wait time was already at 35 minutes. But we were able to do the handicapped scan of our AP’s since she was in an ECV during the trip and we had to come back about 30 minutes to get in the handicapped queue. The HM FP system was up and running. Since the Hatbox Ghost was added to the HM, it did make sense for Disney to run the FP system which is used for the Haunted Mansion Holiday during the Halloween/Christmas season. So it was great to see it up and running.




After getting our AP’s scan and to come back later to ride the HM, DAW wanted to ride the Mark Twain. So I had no problem with it since we had to wait and when we got off the Mark Twain, our return time to ride HM will be ready.

Just when we were walking on over to the Mark Twain dock, I saw the mine car popcorn bucket. I did forget to pick up the mine car popcorn bucket during my first trip and I knew that I was going to get it and had to carry it back home with me. This is the third different type of popcorn bucket that I bought during the Diamond Celebration from the Mickey Shape Balloon Popcorn bucket and Cinderella Pumpkin Coach bucket.




Luckily, the Mark Twain was at the dock and we boarded it in less than one minute. We sat on the first level in front of the Mark Twain and on our way on the Rivers of America. The park did look busy especially at New Orleans Square where it was busy at Pirates of the Caribbean.




Different pictures while riding on the Mark Twain.
















I do miss the old Keel Boats where it was a ride back in the old days.
















DAW did enjoy riding the Mark Twain around the RoA which is always fun to do. She had no problem riding the Mark Twain with me that afternoon since the park started to get a little busy with most of the rides are now having long queues.

After we got off, it was time to head on over to the HM to get in the queue. But that will be on the next post so continue on to the next post below.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 2*​
Hatbox Ghost is finally back at the Haunted Mansion​
After riding the Mark Twain around the Rivers of America, it was now time to head on back to the Haunted Mansion to use the handicapped return time. It was nice of not going through the queue and be up there in a few minutes. DAW had to transfer our of the ECV so it would take some time.

It did felt a little busy but not like super crowds.




I am looking forward to going back to the DLR and see the Hatbox Ghost at the HM. I was able to go on it twice during the last trip in which I wasn’t able to get good pictures. But I was able to get them and this time I was planning on improving on the quality of the Hatbox Ghost.

It didn’t make any sense to use the telezoom lens so I attached my 35mm f/1.8 lens for the ride. I haven’t used the 35mm lens for quite some time since I have the Tokina 11-16mm but it was nice to use it for the HM. I will have to consider getting the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens one day or the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens which is the ultimate prime lenses.

Walking down the handicapped queue.




Here are pics from inside the HM that day.




















Finally got to the Hatbox Ghost area and I was taking pictures like crazy. During that one run, I must took at least over 30 snaps of the Hatbox Ghost. I had to choose which ones were the good ones.








Rest of the HM after the Hatbox Ghost




The Hitchhiking Ghosts are still the same like always looking for a ride.




DAW was impressed with the Hatbox Ghost where you saw his head box and reappear on his head. I was able to see a version of the Hatbox Ghost at the D23 Expo in 2013 and glad that Disney added it to the HM this year for the Diamond Celebration. It made my time that afternoon and getting pictures of it.

Just when we got off the ride, it was time to head on back to BWPPI and check-in to our room. It was around 2pm and it was likely that our room would be ready. We needed to get some rest so we can stake out a spot at Main Street to see Paint the Night parade at 8:50pm.

While on the way out, I got the mine car popcorn bucket at Frontierland which is the only place in the park to get it and on the way out, we had to get the Cinderella Pumpkin Coach popcorn bucket at the Main Street Hub stand. I was surprised that it was located at the Hub instead of being at another place. I remember the popcorn stand at the Hub had the blue Mickey shape balloon popcorn bucket during my earlier trip and this time it was at a different location. We picked up the Cinderella bucket for DD4. I knew that buying it would cause extra baggage but luckily DAW didn’t bring a second carry on so she was able to use the bag to carry the popcorn buckets as her second carry on when we got back to Sacramento.




When we give DD4 the bucket, she was so ecstatic and loved it so much. We were glad that she really enjoyed the bucket that we got her during the trip. After she got the bucket, DD4 asked DML when can we go back to Disneyland. It might be a while for them to go back to the DLR which DAW and I go often.

After getting the bucket, we head on out of the park and back to BWPPI to check-in to our room. When we got back to BWPPI, our room was ready which we got a two double bed room which was perfect for two people. The room was big enough to put the ECV in which was great.

We got settled in our room and we just rested up until it was time to head on back to the park that day and stake out the spot for the parade. During my first trip, I staked out a spot for the first Paint the Night parade around 2 ½ hours on MS. That was behind another group of people at the curbside. So this time, I was determine to get a curb spot for the parade. So the wait time will be even longer than my first attempt. You will have to find out on the next update.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## rentayenta

OMG Bret, not sure how I got so behind but your photos of the 60th are amazing!!! And I need that Cinderella popcorn bucket. Gabby will be there next week so she better get me one. LOL! The mine car bucket is so cute too.

The pics taken from the Mark Twain? Fabulous!!!


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## dhorner233

So excited about seeing your 60th anniversary pictures!!! I must have the mine car and the Cinderella popcorn buckets!!!  Thanks for taking the time to do this trip report!!


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## PrincessInOz

Fantastic shots of the Hatbox Ghost.  Well done!

I bet you had fun with the telezoom.


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## mvf-m11c

rentayenta said:


> OMG Bret, not sure how I got so behind but your photos of the 60th are amazing!!! And I need that Cinderella popcorn bucket. Gabby will be there next week so she better get me one. LOL! The mine car bucket is so cute too.
> 
> The pics taken from the Mark Twain? Fabulous!!!



Thank you Jenny. It was a fun time to go during the 60th Diamond Celebration at the DLR. Even though the crowds were busy due to Grad Nite and the locals but we had a great time. The Cinderella and mine car popcorn buckets are very nice and hope Gabby gets you the bucket.

Thank you. It's always fun to ride the Mark Twain.




dhorner233 said:


> So excited about seeing your 60th anniversary pictures!!! I must have the mine car and the Cinderella popcorn buckets!!!  Thanks for taking the time to do this trip report!!



Thank you Denise. Hopefully you will be able to get them during your trip.




PrincessInOz said:


> Fantastic shots of the Hatbox Ghost.  Well done!
> 
> I bet you had fun with the telezoom.



Thank you TK.

It was fun to use the telezoom lens during the trip. It was hard to get wide angle shots with it and try to get as much in it but it was fun to get up close shots where I don't get too often with my regular lenses.


The next update during the trip report will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 3*

Waiting for 4 Hours for a Parade?!​
DAW and I went back to the Best Western Park Place Inn to relax until it was time to head on back to Disneyland in order to get a spot for the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. PtN parade is a new parade part of the 60th Diamond Celebration at the DLR and it was one of the three new nighttime shows. I was looking forward to seeing PtN parade when it debut in Hong Kong Disneyland last year. I was prepared of how long to wait in order to see the parade which I did wait a long time during earlier trip (May 26 – 28). That time I was there 2 ½ hours early and didn’t get a curb spot so this time we were planning on getting there early. I know that waiting for a parade that long is crazy but it is new and I wanted to get a good spot without people in my way when watching the parade.

Also during that trip, I had heard from one of my cousins that she is there along with her BF one day before us and were in DL that day. This was perfect since they have no problem waiting and staking out a spot for the parade that day. DAW was wondering if they were willing to wait that long with us or go off while we are watching the spot. But I talked to my cousin and she has no problem with it. DAW had no problem waiting that long as well since she will be on her ECV for most of the waiting time and she can also talk to her niece as well while we were waiting. My cousin is also a big Disney fan where she has gone to the DLR a lot of times and she was excited to be there during the 60th Diamond Celebration.

I brought my heavy duty camera bag which had my tripod, blanket, etc. (you know what I mean for staking out a spot for a long wait time). I have staked out spots for a long time and this might be the longest for me ever at any Disney parks from the DLR and WDW. I have waited as long as 3 hours for a show at the Disney parks. This does not include the wait times where I was in the queue for the D23 Expo mornings which were close to 3 hours.

Plus with the parade, Disneyland Forever fireworks will happen a few minutes after the end of the parade when we watch it on MS. When I watched the first parade during my solo trip, all the people that were on the sidewalk on MS that watched the 8:50pm parade will have to go on the street after the last float went by. Since the buildings on MS will project video images on the façade, all the guests will have to be away from the buildings so it won’t affect the projections. This was also a problem when I was thinking about it since DAW was using an ECV and we had to find a ramp to get the ECV on the street. While I was thinking about the spot, since my cousin came with her BF, maybe he could help me get the ECV off the sidewalk and on the street where DAW won’t have to find a ramp. So if you are planning on watching the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade and have an ECV, I would get a spot by a ramp or handicapped area on MS so you will be able to get a street spot for Disneyland Forever fireworks.

DAW and I rested for about an hour after we got back from Disneyland that afternoon. It was nice to get some rest until we head on over to Disneyland for Paint the Night parade.

We left around 4:40pm and on our way to Disneyland. I knew that Mickey’s Soundsational parade was going on at 4:30pm so it will be a little busy when going on over to Disneyland so we waited a while until the parade was close to the end.




When we got inside DL and on in MS, the last float from Mickey’s Soundsational parade was already right by the Emporium and we just followed along the backend of the parade until we get to the one spot that we wanted to watch the parade that night. The spot that we wanted to watch the parade that night was right next to the Penny Arcade. Since we wanted to be in the middle of MS and also see the Matterhorn as well for Disneyland Forever fireworks. I have read online that watching the parade right by the Penny Arcade for Paint the Night and then go on MS where you can see the Matterhorn which will project video images like the buildings on MS is the best spot to watch the fireworks from.

When we got to the spot, there were already people got the spot that we wanted and we were right next to the Penny Arcade entrance/exit. The spot was nice but not the spot where we could see the Matterhorn when on the streets. But we just went along with it.

We got there around 4:50pm and we will be staking out a spot for *4 hours*. Yup 4 hours just to see a parade that night along with the fireworks. This is by far the longest wait time I have ever stake out for a show at any Disney parks. I set up my blanket and tripod so we can have our spot while DAW used her ECV to block off the spot as well.

A few minutes later, my cousin and her BF saw us and they joined us as well. We were all excited to see each other and glad that they are willing to wait as long as us to see the Paint the Night parade.

While we were waiting, I took some pictures with the telezoom lens around the area to kill time. We also got too talked to a lot of great families around us that were also staking out as well for the parade that night. There were some locals and one from Fresno that came out here to see the new shows and rides.




The Disneyland Band passing by and on their way to Main Street Town Square.
















As time goes by most of the sidewalk spots to see the parade are already filled with people, blankets, etc. This is what happed during my solo trip in which the whole area was already filled up on MS for the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade.




























It was good to have other people instead of me or my other aunt when staking out a spot for the nighttime shows at the Disney parks. While we were waiting, we exchange turns to go out and use the restroom or get food that night. We didn’t go on any rides when we got back in the park and stake out the spots. My cousin and her BF were able to go on a lot of rides that day that they had no problem waiting that night.

While we were waiting, we asked each other where we should have dinner. We went back and forward with all the different quick counter restaurants at DL. We were about to have dinner at Carnation Café. Some of you are wondering why would we have dinner at Carnation Café when it is a sit down restaurant. But there is a way to eat at the CC which is to go. Yes, my cousin have to go orders at CC in the past where you wait to be seated and ask for the food to go. This is another good way to get food on the go instead of sitting down at the restaurant. The only problem is that the wait time to eat at CC was over 30 minutes.

So we forget about that and the other place they were thinking is the Plaza Inn and the fried chicken. The only problem with the Plaza Inn is that it is also another sit down restaurant where you barely see anyone take the food out. There is a way to take the food out to go and eat somewhere at the park. This was great where we were able to get our food from Plaza Inn to go and had fried chicken on the streets of Main Street.




The time went by really quickly than I originally thought. I think it was due to talking with other people around us and time goes by very quickly. There were times that night where there were people trying to squeeze their way in our spot and my group and others told those people to find another spot since they were coming in inside one hour until the 8:50pm parade. I always hate those kind of people that try to force their way in while other people have waited hours in order to see something.





During the night, my cousin and her BF went to the Jolly Holiday Bakery and got the new 60th Diamond Celebration treats which looked very appetizing and amazing. I mostly never buy the treats at the DLR but after seeing that, I might have to reconsider. Here is the link that talks about the Six Scrumptious Desserts Debut for Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration

The Disneyland Park Diamond Lemon Cupcake and Raspberry Macaroon












After waiting a while for 4 hours, the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade was about to start. But the parade started from It’s a Small World Plaza so we had another 10 to 15 minutes until it arrives. So we just relaxed until it came down on MS that night. Everyone was so excited to see the parade while I was looking forward to seeing it again after a few days from my solo trip. This time, I was using the telezoom lens instead of the other lenses.

That will be it for this post and continue on to the next posts to see pictures from the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade on May 30th, 2015.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 4*

8:50pm Paint the Night Parade Part 1​We have waited on Main Street right next to the Penny Arcade for 4 hours in order to see the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. This was by far the long wait time I have ever stake out a spot for a Disney park show. Even though it was a long wait time, we had no problem with it since times goes by quickly when you have other people with you. That one time where I watched the parade when I was solo (May 26 – 28 trip), it was difficult to wait that long without leaving the spot to use the restroom, food, etc. This was the second time for me to see the parade while it was the first time for all my party members.

During the parade, I used the Nikon 70-200mm f/4 telephoto lens for the parade to get the up close shots. Last time I used my regular lenses to take pictures of the parade. I was happy to use the telephoto lens that night where I was able to get some nice up close shots of the floats and characters.

I will be showing pictures from this trip and also pictures from my solo trip (May 26 – 28) on the other side of Main Street.

The opening unit is the Tinker Bell float where she is flying. Also there is Fiber Fairies and Pixel Painters. Peter Pan, Rosetta, Iridessa and Silvermist are part of the opening unit.
















Peter Pan on top of the drum like unit.








Next were the puppets that was from the World of Color Preshow back in 2010. It was nice to see the puppets back from the WoC preshow in 2010 before WoC started.

Tigger








Genie




Lumiere








The next unit was Monsters, Inc. which has Mike and Sulley.












Mike at the end of the float




The next unit from the movie Cars. Lightning McQueen
















Mack








DJ at the end








That is it for this post and continue on to the next post with more pics from Paint the Night parade.​Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 4*

8:50pm Paint the Night Parade Part 2​
Back to more pictures from the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade on May 30th, 2015.

The next unit was the Little Mermaid








Ariel, King Triton, Flounder and Sebastian












Jellyfish




Nemo and Marlin




The next unit were from the movie Toy Story. Jessie with dancers.








Slinky Dog along with Woody and Buzz Lightyear.












Woody




Buzz Lightyear








The next unit is the Belle Candlelight.












Belle




Behind Belle float was also Rapunzel and Cinderella
















That is it for this post and continue to the next post.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 5*

8:50pm Paint the Night Parade Part 3​
Back to more pictures from the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade on May 30th, 2015.

The next was the Frozen unit which was not originally part of the original Paint the Night parade from HKDL. With Frozen today, it does make sense to put it in the parade since it is so popular today.




You can’t have a giant ice palace without Anna and Elsa












U can’t forget everyone favorite snowman Olaf








The Mickey & Friends finale unit which has double pinwheel performers.




There was Goofy, Donald and Minnie on top of whirly-balls from SpectroMagic. It was nice to see Disney recycle old units from SpectroMagic and made it part of the Paint the Night parade.








Goofy




Donald








And the grand finale unit is of course Sorcerer Mickey. This is one of my favorite floats of the parade.
















When the grand finale float was passing by, we had to get on the street so we can watch the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks show. The only problem is that DAW ECV was not close to the ramp. So my cousin BF and I lift the ECV off the sidewalk and put it on the street. It was a little heavy to lift an ECV but we were able to get it on the street and got a spot to see the fireworks that night. I was not happy with the spot where we were more on the left hand side than in the middle. But what can you do when you have to move an ECV on the street.





Just have to go with the spot as is but it was nice to see Disneyland Forever that night.

That will be for this post and on the next update will be pictures from Disneyland Forever fireworks that night.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## PrincessInOz

What great pictures of the parade.  It looks so lovely and colourful.  Are you happy with your pictures?  They look fantastic to me.
That was good of you and your cousin's BF to carry the ECV to the middle of Main Street.


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## wiscbugs

Those are great parade pics.  I am looking forward to seeing it in August!


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## dhorner233

Wow Bret! Love your pictures!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> What great pictures of the parade.  It looks so lovely and colourful.  Are you happy with your pictures?  They look fantastic to me.
> That was good of you and your cousin's BF to carry the ECV to the middle of Main Street.



Thank you PiO. The pictures were decent from this trip. There were some good ones while there were some bad one's as well. I will look forward to trying out the 2.8 later in August. I still have a lot to work on taking better pictures of the parade for future trips. I was not completely satisfy with all of them but using the f/4 lens was nice for that trip.

It was good that my cousin BF was there and helped moved the ECV to the street or we would have not got a spot on the street to watch the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks.



wiscbugs said:


> Those are great parade pics.  I am looking forward to seeing it in August!



Thank you @wiscbugs. I can't wait to get to August in a couple of months for the D23 Expo.



dhorner233 said:


> Wow Bret! Love your pictures!



Thank you Denise.


I have also uploaded one of my videos of Paint the Night parade videos from my trip to DL on May 26th to May 28th. Hope you like it. This spot was behind the group that was in front of me. I set up my tripod while I had my DSLR in my hands during the parade.


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## dhorner233

Love the video of the parade! Love the parade! I don't see anyone in front of your video. Was this the spot you waited 3 hours for?


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## franandaj

Your pictures of the hatbox ghost are great and the pictures of the parade came out fantastic! I can't wait to see it for myself in a couple days.


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## dhorner233

franandaj said:


> Your pictures of the hatbox ghost are great and the pictures of the parade came out fantastic! I can't wait to see it for myself in a couple days.



Hope that means Fran is feeling better! 

I bought a new lens today!! 1.5! Now I'm ready for the dark rides!


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## rentayenta

The video is awesome Bret!!!!


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## momtohms

We were there on May 28th (8:50pm), but were a few rows back over by the Matterhorn so our viewing was a bit limited. Loving your close-up pics and the video! Thanks for sharing


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## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Love the video of the parade! Love the parade! I don't see anyone in front of your video. Was this the spot you waited 3 hours for?



Thank you Denise. There were some people in front of me during the parade where they were sitting on the ground while I was standing up taking pictures while my video camera was on the tripod. The video was from the 2 1/2 hour wait during the May 26th trip. The one that I waited for 4 hours was during the May 30th trip.




franandaj said:


> Your pictures of the hatbox ghost are great and the pictures of the parade came out fantastic! I can't wait to see it for myself in a couple days.



Thank you Alison. I took a lot of pictures of the Hatbox Ghost and those were some of my good ones that I took. Hope you will like the new Paint the Night parade along with Disneyland Forever fireworks. 




dhorner233 said:


> Hope that means Fran is feeling better!
> 
> I bought a new lens today!! 1.5! Now I'm ready for the dark rides!



What kind of lens did you buy Denise? 




rentayenta said:


> The video is awesome Bret!!!!



Thank you Jenny. I believe i read on your trip report that Gabby will be going to the DLR this week? Hope she has a great time and it won't be to long until you are back at the DLR. It must be good to see Gabby where she will go to school in SoCal and to have an AP.




momtohms said:


> We were there on May 28th (8:50pm), but were a few rows back over by the Matterhorn so our viewing was a bit limited. Loving your close-up pics and the video! Thanks for sharing



Hi @momtohms. Thank you very much. The new nighttime shows at the DLR lived up to it's expectations. 


The next updates will be posted shortly tonight.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 6*

Disneyland Forever Fireworks​
After waiting for 4 hours for a spot on Main Street to watch the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade, it is almost time to watch the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks. This is one of the three new nighttime shows at the Disneyland Resort during the 60th Diamond Celebration. I am a fan of the fireworks at the Disney parks and looking forward to the newest firework show.

This is the newest firework show at Disneyland since Halloween Screams fireworks back in 2009. So it has been a while since DL did a new firework show since Halloween Screams. The newest addition to the fireworks which hasn’t been attempted was adding video projections on the façade of the buildings on MS, Matterhorn, IASW, and the mist screens at the RoA after Fantasmic!. Video projections on façade have been done at Disneyland in the past which has happen on IASW façade which a show that no longer exhis

I have been looking forward to all three of the new nighttime shows at the DLR during the 60th Diamond Celebration where Paint the Night did not disappoint me one bit. Is it better over the Main Street Electrical Parade. I would say no because the MSEP is a classical nighttime parade and the founder of Paint the Night parade which is up to date technology.

Since we had to move DAW ECV to the street, we were not in a great spot to watch the fireworks which we were on the left hand side on MS. If you are planning on watching the fireworks on MS, get in the middle or you will have to see it from the trees.

I got all my equipment set up that night including taking pictures with my regular lens over the telephoto lens which I was tempted to use during the fireworks but I decided to go with my regular lens for the fireworks.

First here is my video of Disneyland Forever fireworks on May 26, 2015 during my solo trip since the trip on the 30th was at a bad location.





Pictures from 26th.




















Here are pictures from my trip on the 30th. As you can tell that the fireworks are coming from the left hand side of the shot.
























I did wrote that the buildings on MS interact with the show which was neat and showed great video projections on the façade.










It also snowed during the Frozen scene of the firework show.










Lion King scene





Jungle Book scene





As for my review of the new Disneyland Forever fireworks which is a very nice firework show at DL for the 60th Diamond Celebration. Did it blow my mind away like Remember Dreams Come True fireworks. Not really where RDCT was way better in my opinion. There is no question this is a great firework show and the story was great. But there were some scenes that I didn’t like a lot. The one scene that I really like the most was during the “Sea” scene which you see the inflatable coral on the structures of MS for the Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo scenes.

Even though, I spent 2 ½ hours and 4 hours for a stake out spot on MS for Paint the Night, you don’t even need to wait that long to see Disneyland Forever on MS. Here is a good tip for you who don’t want to watch the first Paint the Night parade and watch it at 11:10pm and still get a spot on MS to watch Disneyland Forever fireworks. You have to do is follow the last float of Paint the Night parade and follow until you are at MS where you want to watch the fireworks. Than after DF, you find a spot on the sidewalk on MS and wait about an hour for the 11:10pm second show of Paint the Night parade.

Everyone in my group were amazed by Disneyland Forever fireworks which they did say the same thing where you don’t have to wait in front of SB Castle to see it the best where you can still see it on MS and see the projections.

Someday, I will watch the Disneyland Forever fireworks in front of SB Castle, IASW Plaza, and around the RoA to see the projections. When I go back in August, I plan on watching the fireworks from MS with DAF since she hasn’t seen it yet. She is looking forward to our trip in August during the D23 Expo.

After the fireworks was over, DAW was tired and headed back to our hotel. I was with my cousin and her BF and they will stay when the park closes at midnight. So I stayed with them that night while DAW went back to the hotel. Mostly I would go back to the room after a long stakeout for the nighttime shows but it was nice to hang out with my cousin and her BF that night.

That will be it for this post and continue on to what has happened that night at DL after the nighttime shows.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – May 30, 2015 – Part 7*

Sleeping Beauty Castle All Decorated with Diamonds at Night​After we have watched the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks, DAW went back to the hotel while I stayed with my cousin and her BF. I could have went back to the hotel that night and call it since I was tired from that day from the flight to Orange County and spending a few hours in the park. But it was nice to be able to spend it with my cousin and her BF since they were here on Friday the 29th to the 30th which they are driving back to Sacramento on the 31st.

When we were walking up on MS, I wanted to get some pictures of SB Castle at night with the lens that I rented. They had no problem with it as well since they wanted to get some picture of them together in front of the castle. But before we head on over to the castle, one of my cousin friends that was hanging out with her and her BF was still in the park that night and asked us if we wanted to join her that night.

She had one of those readmission FPs since they got stuck on a ride that afternoon and had one extra to use. They told me that they got stuck on BTMRR that afternoon and got one of those pass. So she asked what ride to go on that night and they decided to go on Space Mountain that night.

We head on over to Space Mountain and they used the readmission pass. I decided not to ride since I had my tripod on my backpack. I brought the big one where it was used to carry the blanket and more stuff. So I waited for them and I needed to rest after sitting on the ground for most of the night for the parade.

When they got out of Space Mountain where they only had to wait about 10 minutes through the queue which was fast. So my cousin friend decided it was time for her to leave the park and go back home since she is a local.

We parted ways and the three of us headed on over to SB Castle to get as many pictures of it as well as group pictures.

I used the telezoom lens along with my other lenses from all different sorts of angles of the castle that night.












































We also went on over towards the New Fantasyland Faire.




While I was taking pictures while my cousin and her BF are getting pictures from the PhotoPass CM’s, the 11:10pm Paint the Night parade was going on.








I also did some testing of long exposure when the parade was passing by when we were by SB Castle that night. I didn’t go too well but i still have a lot of learning to do especially with long exposure shots.








I got plenty of pictures that night and I was getting tired. They were the same thing and it was time to head on out of the parks and go back to the hotel. Before we did that, I had to get my favorite dessert.

I always have to get a Dole Whip Float from the Tiki Juice Bar at Adventureland during the trip and what better place to finish a night is to have a Dole Whip Float.





We were walking on out of DL but before we did that, we stopped at some of the stores in DL that night since my cousin was looking something to buy that night. Since I have the Premium AP and save some money, I helped them out where they were able to purchase some 60th Diamond Celebration merchandise that night.




When we were right by the Emporium, one of the new Enchanted Windows by the Emporium was open on display and it was neat to see it. It was the Peter Pan window and it was exciting and fun to see. I didn’t took any pictures during the day since the glare from the daytime would mess up the picture so what other better way is to get it that night.








After shopping and looking at the new Enchanted Window, we headed on out of the park that night. My cousin and her BF went on over towards DTD since they parked their car in the parking structure while I head on back to BWPPI that night. It was great to see my cousin and her BF at DL that day and spent some time with them which was fun.

We parted ways and I headed on back to BWPPI that night. I got back around midnight which DL closed that night. I was lucky to get back before midnight where I was able to get a lot of great shots that day.

It was fun and exciting that day where we got to the DLR that afternoon and to be able to see the new nighttime shows again in just a few days which is crazy even though I am not a local. But it did felt like I was a local after being there for a few days and going back to Sac and coming back down by flying this time over driving.

Even though we waited for four hours to see Paint the Night parade that night, we had a fun time hanging out with my cousin and her BF that night. It was a long night to wait that long but we did quite a lot. Even though I didn’t go on any rides with them that night, it was fun to hang out with them.

DAW and I were able to go on some rides that afternoon which she was impressed with the Haunted Mansion and the new Hatbox Ghost. She also enjoyed the ride from the Mark Twain which she hasn’t done in a very long time. So it was a blast to do all those things that day and we are looking forward to our next day which we are planning on seeing World of Color – Celebrate.

That is it for this post and stay tune for the next day during the Diamond Celebration.

Continue on to the Next Post​


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## franandaj

It's funny, you are like a local!  You get there more often than we do! Great pictures.  I can't wait that we will get out there on Thursday and hope to see the parade and fireworks.


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## dhorner233

Love your night time shots and the shots of the castle! Love the details you got with the zoom lens. Did you have 3 lens with you? My new lens is a Canon, 50mm 1.5.  I got it hoping it would help with the dark rides. What do you think? 

I made a note of your suggestion for getting a spot in the middle of Main St. after the first parade for the fireworks. Thanks for doing so much research for me!


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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> It's funny, you are like a local!  You get there more often than we do! Great pictures.  I can't wait that we will get out there on Thursday and hope to see the parade and fireworks.



It does feel like that during these last few years. But during these past two trips, it did felt more like I only wanted to be there at night than in the morning/afternoon. It wI was a local, I would mostly just go at night. Hope you have a good time tomorrow and hope you will be able to see the new parade and firework shows.




dhorner233 said:


> Love your night time shots and the shots of the castle! Love the details you got with the zoom lens. Did you have 3 lens with you? My new lens is a Canon, 50mm 1.5.  I got it hoping it would help with the dark rides. What do you think?
> 
> I made a note of your suggestion for getting a spot in the middle of Main St. after the first parade for the fireworks. Thanks for doing so much research for me!



Thank you Denise. It was fun to try out the telephoto lens during this trip and to be able to get up close shots. I brought my Tokina 11-16, Tamron 17-50, 35mm f/1.8 and the telephoto lens during the trip but I mostly had two or even three lenses with me in my bag and on the body. 

I am looking online to see about the lens you got and I couldn't find anything about a Canon 50mm 1.5 or are you talking about the Canon 50mm f/1.4? I don't know much about Canon lenses but I have read that the 50mm f/1.4 are very nice lens to use for dark shots. I know that you will enjoy using the f/1.4 lens. The only problem I have with the 50mm is that it is not that wide for dark ride shots where you will get up close shots. I will look forward of seeing your shots with the 50mm lens if it is the f/1.4.


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## dhorner233

Wow! Bret! Great pictures!!  Of course your pictures of the parade are fabulous! But, I also appreciate the food pictures! : 

I am looking online to see about the lens you got and I couldn't find anything about a Canon 50mm 1.5 or are you talking about the Canon 50mm f/1.4? I don't know much about Canon lenses but I have read that the 50mm f/1.4 are very nice lens to use for dark shots. I know that you will enjoy using the f/1.4 lens. The only problem I have with the 50mm is that it is not that wide for dark ride shots where you will get up close shots. I will look forward of seeing your shots with the 50mm lens if it is the f/1.4.

I was looking at the box that the lens came in last time. Looking at the lens it says Canon Lens EF 50mm 1:1.8. It also says 52mm. On the side it says 50mm and 0.45m/1.5ft. Either way, I'm sure it will be better than what I have for the dark rides.


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## PrincessInOz

Great pictures of your last night there.  

I had hoped to make it out for the 60th but at this stage, it's not looking likely at all.  So, thank you for sharing your shots and videos.  That's probably going to be the closest I get to being there.


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## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Wow! Bret! Great pictures!!  Of course your pictures of the parade are fabulous! But, I also appreciate the food pictures! :
> 
> I was looking at the box that the lens came in last time. Looking at the lens it says Canon Lens EF 50mm 1:1.8. It also says 52mm. On the side it says 50mm and 0.45m/1.5ft. Either way, I'm sure it will be better than what I have for the dark rides.



Thank you Denise. The pictures turned out okay that night where some of them were satisfying.


My guess that it must be the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens. Is it this lens? Looking forward to hearing what you think of that lens.







PrincessInOz said:


> Great pictures of your last night there.
> 
> I had hoped to make it out for the 60th but at this stage, it's not looking likely at all.  So, thank you for sharing your shots and videos.  That's probably going to be the closest I get to being there.



It wasn't the last night of this trip which was the first night. The pictures turned out not that bad but there were times where it could be better.

I'm still hoping you will be able to be there during the 60th Diamond Celebration. 


The next update will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – May 31, 2015 – Part 1*

Late Day but we were to Ride RSR and get FP’s​After a nice first day at the DLR where we were able to see the new Paint the Night Parade and Disneyland Forever Fireworks. It was also fun to have my cousin and her BF joined us during the trip which made it even more better where they have stayed with us during the stakeout for the parade and fireworks. Now it is just the two of us and enjoy our second day during the Diamond Celebration.

The parks were open at 8am and the original plan was to go first thing to Disney California Adventure to get FP’s for both Radiator Springs Racers and World of Color – Celebrate!. We were quite exhausted from the other day that we slept in longer. It was nice to sleep in longer that morning instead of going first thing. Even though I like to go to the park first thing in order to go on some rides with short wait times but it was nice to relax and not rush it just yet. DAW was still exhausted from the plane trip along with the staking out that day while I was also tired from the flight and the staking out including being at the parks almost till midnight with my cousin and her BF.

We got up around 8am that morning and we didn’t leave the hotel around 9:00am which was a little late that morning to the DLR.

While we were walking on over to the security check point, a new text for the Diamond Days sweepstake was “Bug” for that day.




We went on in DCA to get FP’s for both RSR and WoC – Celebrate. Since I had the telephoto lens attached to my camera, I got some up close shots of the decorations during the Diamond Celebration. I was able to get most of the decorations during my earlier trip so this time it was up close shots.




The Carthay Circle Theater is all decorated as well.




A look at the top of the theater which shows a diamond top just like the turrets on Sleeping Beauty Castle.








We head on over to the RSR FP queue and we were able to get the FP’s which we were able to get a good return time from 10:50am to 11:50am which was not that bad return time that afternoon. Then we head on over to Grizzly River Run to get WoC FP’s and we were able to get the blue section for the 9pm show.

After that, we didn’t have breakfast so we looked at what restaurants to eat on-site. But when I showed DAW the menu on my iPhone, she was not impressed with the menu so we decided to eat off-site again and this time we decided to go back to the same restaurant that we first ate during our trip which was at Mimi’s Café. To have it two times during the trip was kind of unusual but DAW loves that restaurant a lot that it did makes sense it was not that crowded where the other restaurants on Harbor Blvd were all busy due to being breakfast time at the latest.

After having breakfast at Mimi’s Café, we head on out of the restaurant and back to DCA in order to use our FP’s for RSR. It wasn’t a long wait time since we took our time eating at Mimi’s that morning and timed it just right when our FP’s were good that morning.

Still long wait time for RSR at 90 minutes through the stand-by queue.
















We only waited about 15 minutes through the queue since there was a long queue in the FP queue and we had to go through the handicapped loading area since DAW was using the ECV. But now it is time for a drive to the world of “Cars”.

Radiator Falls




Howdy, it’s a big race.




We are all visitors on this Planet.




We got Luigi’s side which is my favorite side.




Whitewall tires look very nice.




Time to race








Our victory photo




After we got off RSR, I asked DAW what she wanted to do and the next ride she asked if we could go on the Little Mermaid ride. I had no problem with it and that was our next ride at DCA that afternoon.

Continue on to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – May 31, 2015 – Part 2*

Going Under the Sea and Into the World of Monsters​
After riding RSR, we head on over to Paradise Pier in order to ride The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure that afternoon. We didn’t have much to do at DCA that afternoon where we were able to go on RSR that afternoon and now this time the Little Mermaid ride.

It was also a good opportunity for me to take pictures on the ride with the telephoto lens where I wanted to get some up close shots of the characters on the ride which I don’t get to often.








Pictures with the telephoto lens on the Little Mermaid ride.








































After we got off the Little Mermaid ride, DAW wanted to go on Monsters Inc. While we were walking on over to Hollywood Land, DAW stopped at a few stores on the way to look for some merchandise to buy for her friends and family during the trip. She mostly never buys merchandise during the trip unless it is for other people.

We went from different store on the way over to Hollywood Land from the Elias & Company at BVS and others and she found something was very interesting. These were the Disneyland Resort 60th Diamond Celebration bands which you can have your engraved named on them. She thought that this would be a nice gift to some of the people that she will give to them after we get back to Sacramento.




Then we head on over to Hollywood Land in order to ride Monsters Inc. The Mad T Party made its return after Frozen took most of the land during the off-season from January to May.




Now off to ride Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!.




The wait time to ride Monsters, Inc. was at 10 minutes which is usually the high peak time to go on the ride but it didn’t last 10 minutes.

Once again, I used the telephoto lens on the ride to get up close shots of the characters which doesn’t need a telephoto lens but since I had the lens it made sense to use it on the ride.




















After we got off Monsters, Inc. we had some time to kill until it was time to come back to DCA that night and see World of Color – Celebrate at 9pm. So we decided to head on out of the park early around 2pm.

The Crown Jewel Theatre is still up at the Muppets 3D building which hasn’t been taken down after the Frozen Fun event at DCA.




One more look at the top of the Carthay Circle Theater with the Diamond Celebration decorations.












We left the park around 2pm to rest up that night since we were still a little tired from the other night. It was a good thing we did that since we plan on going back to DL the next day and it is quite busy that afternoon at DCA.

That is it and stay tune what else we did that night at the DLR before World of Color – Celebrate.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## dhorner233

Your dark ride shots are so sharp and clear! Even with the zoom! Since I'll be there in a couple of months, your pictures are really getting me excited!!


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## wiscbugs

So many people don't like the Monsters Inc and Little Mermaid rides but we always enjoy them and hit them many times (especially with the short waits!)


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## franandaj

Sounds like a relaxing day so far. Nice pictures from the dark rides.


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## PrincessInOz

Great looking day so far.


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## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Your dark ride shots are so sharp and clear! Even with the zoom! Since I'll be there in a couple of months, your pictures are really getting me excited!!



Thank you Denise. Some of the shots were good while there were some were hit and miss. But overall they were not that bad. I am also getting excited for you as well since your trip won't be to long.




wiscbugs said:


> So many people don't like the Monsters Inc and Little Mermaid rides but we always enjoy them and hit them many times (especially with the short waits!)



Definitely. Monsters Inc. and the Little Mermaid ride has one of the shortest wait times. Even during the busy hours, they can go as much as 20 to 30 minutes.




franandaj said:


> Sounds like a relaxing day so far. Nice pictures from the dark rides.



We did had a nice relaxing day at DCA. We did quite a lot on a short day. Thank you Alison.




PrincessInOz said:


> Great looking day so far.



Thank you PiO. 


Here is my PTR link to my Riding Down to Diagon Alley with Food as Wine as Well PTR Oct. 16 - 23, 2015 Just finished in time until I leave for SoCal on Wednesday for Anime Expo (AX for short). I will be gone from July 1st to July 6th.


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## mvf-m11c

I just got back last night after being in SoCal since July 1st. I was there during Anime Expo 2015 at the Los Angeles Convention Center where I was working as a vendor. It has been a long 6 days in SoCal where I was able to meet up with Alison @franandaj during the trip. I spent a few days at the DLR before and after Anime Expo. There were days where it was good while there were days where it was bad for sales. But it was nice to go down and work at Anime Expo which was my first time. I don't know if I will do it again in the near future.

Here are some pics from Anime Expo this past week.






























I went to the DLR after Anime Expo on Sunday and stayed until the afternoon on Monday until I head on home to NorCal. Here are some more random pictures on Sunday where I was able to meet up with Alison. 














The new Disney hand sanitizers are now at the DLR.




Cinderella Enchanted Windown on MS








I watched Disneyland Forever fireworks from IASW Plaza which showed the projections on the facade.












Later that night, I was able to meet up with Alison and Fran to see the 11pm Paint the Night parade that night. It was nice to watch the parade with them that day where we were able to get plenty of pictures of the parade.

I will continue on my last trip report with World of Color on another day so stay tune for it.


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## dhorner233

Lucky you going back to DLR again! Nice job on the Cinderella window pictures. That was through glass, right? So hard to get a decent picture through glass, at least for me. : I love the Small World light show. That was during the fireworks?


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## PrincessInOz

Welcome back!

DS isn't home right now...but I am going to get him to take a look at the Anime Expo shots of yours.
Looks like you're right back in the zone of taking nice pictures at DLR.  Looking forward to seeing some more of the D60 celebrations.


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## franandaj

I may hold off on looking at your WoC pictures until after I get to see it. Which will be on 7/22, unless we get a villa with a WoC view next week. I didn't make any requests so we will see.


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## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Lucky you going back to DLR again! Nice job on the Cinderella window pictures. That was through glass, right? So hard to get a decent picture through glass, at least for me. : I love the Small World light show. That was during the fireworks?



It was nice to go back to the DLR after Anime Expo in LA. Thank you Denise. The Cinderella Enchantment Window is through the glass. I had trouble getting pictures that I just waited until the nighttime to get better shots. The projections on IASW during Disneyland Forever fireworks is nice but I will have to see it from SB Castle during DF fireworks.




PrincessInOz said:


> Welcome back!
> 
> DS isn't home right now...but I am going to get him to take a look at the Anime Expo shots of yours.
> Looks like you're right back in the zone of taking nice pictures at DLR.  Looking forward to seeing some more of the D60 celebrations.



Thanks PiO.

Hope DS saw some of the pics from Anime Expo and I know he will enjoy them. 

After working for 5 days at Anime Expo, it was play time.




franandaj said:


> I may hold off on looking at your WoC pictures until after I get to see it. Which will be on 7/22, unless we get a villa with a WoC view next week. I didn't make any requests so we will see.



I can understand your situation Alison. It makes sense to see it in person before seeing it online or videos. Hope you will be able to see it. It is not as great as the original WoC, but it is worth seeing with some new technology added to the show.


The next updates will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – May 31, 2015 – Part 3*

Dinner at Tortilla Jo’s & Waiting for World of Color – Celebrate​After getting a nice afternoon rest after a short morning/afternoon at the Disney California Adventure, it was now time to head on back to the Disneyland Resort. We had a 5pm reservation at Tortilla Jo’s that night. This is DAW favorite sit down restaurant at the DLR. I made the reservations a few days ago which we were able to get the 5pm which is our favorite time to have dinner where we will have enough time to get to DCA that night and get our spot for World of Color – Celebrate.

We left around 4:30pm from our hotel so we would have plenty of time to go through the Esplanade and over to Downtown Disney.








DAW ordered the Enchilada combination plate




I ordered the Steak Ranchera




After dinner, we head on out of DTD and back on over to DCA so we can catch the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate.

Before we head on over to Paradise Pier, we walked through Grizzly Peak Airfield on the way.












We got to Paradise Pier about 7:45pm which was an hour and 15 minutes until WoC started at 9pm. We did that so we can get our usual spot at the green fire hydrant at the blue section. I knew that we didn’t need to be there super early to get the spot since it doesn’t require a lot of wait time which getting closer in the viewing area.

When the crowds were let in the viewing area, we had to wait since DAW was using an ECV but we were able to get our spot that night. We had the option of sitting in the handicapped section but we always enjoy watching WoC from our spot. When I went earlier in May, I was able to get an up close spot which was nice and this time it was all back since I was planning on using the telephoto lens for the show.

Some random shots until it was time for WoC.




The newest addition to WoC is the new Mickey shape projection screen on the façade of Mickey’s Fun Wheel which is nice addition where another projection is good for the show.
















Now it is time for the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate. DAW was excited to see the new version of WoC while I was seeing it for the second time in a few days which is crazy since I was at the DLR a few days ago and now I am back and seeing it all over again. ​Continue on to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – May 31, 2015 – Part 4*

World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney Part 1​
Here are pictures from the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney. This is dedicated to Walt Disney’s legacy. It is different from the previous version of WoC shows from the regular and Winter Dreams. The hosts for this show are Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse.

































































































Continue on to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – May 31, 2015 – Part 5*

World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney Part 2​
Here are pictures from the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney. Once again, Disney has added the Frozen “Let It Go” scene in WoC – Celebrate. I was disappointed that Disney added that scene to the show since it is already on the WoC Winter Dreams version during the holiday season. But since it is so popular even today, Disney had to add it again just like Disneyland Forever Fireworks.













There were smoke scenes around the viewing area which plus it during the Frozen scene.
























I thought this was neat to add attractions as part of the show. Enchanted Tiki Room




Splash Mountain with Song of the South




Radiators Springs “Life is a Highway”




Pirates of the Caribbean




Haunted Mansion








It’s a Small World




Star Tours
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/558/19108877006_b0b738f06f_b.jpg[/img]

There was even clips of the new Star Wars movie: Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens












Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – May 31, 2015 – Part 6*

World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney Part 3

Here are pictures from the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney.​
At the end of WoC – Celebrate, they showed a lot of classic videos of Disneyland.
















































The show was over and there were some scenes going on.








It is bed time








After the ending part of WoC – Celebrate is over, we headed on out of the park and back to the room. DAW was tired from that night as well as I was. Disneyland Forever fireworks was going on when we were leaving DCA that night.

On the way, I got a few pics of the Carthay Circle Theater at night.








We head on out of DCA that night and back to the room and called it for the night which we got back around 10pm. I know that it is early but we were tired from that night.

This concludes the second day of the trip and the next day which is always the saddest which is the last day. Stay tune for the next update.


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## franandaj

I skipped the WoC, but will come back to see it after I see it either next week or the following.  We're having dinner at Tortilla Jo's next Thursday night.


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## ACDSNY

We usually have dinner at TJ on every trip.  I've really enjoyed seeing things I missed in May through your pics and videos.  I'm so looking forward to October now.


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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I skipped the WoC, but will come back to see it after I see it either next week or the following.  We're having dinner at Tortilla Jo's next Thursday night.



It won't be to long until you see World of Color - Celebrate. Have a good time at Tortilla Jo's next Thursday.


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## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> We usually have dinner at TJ on every trip.  I've really enjoyed seeing things I missed in May through your pics and videos.  I'm so looking forward to October now.



Is that your tradition every time you go to the DLR Angela? Thank you. It won't be to long until your trip to the DLR in May. It will be very interesting to see what the DLR will be like during the 60th Diamond Celebration.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Another quick update from my trip last week after Anime Expo.

After I watched the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks at It's a Small World Plaza, I started to head on over towards Main Street Hub to meet up with Alison and Fran to watch the 11pm Paint the Night parade. But before I head on over to Main Street Hub to meet up with them that night, I had to get some shots of the castle when I had my tripod and gorillapod with me. It can be a pain to carry all that equipment on my back but it is nice to have it with me to get those kind of shots.





After getting a few shots around the SB Castle, I head on over towards the Hub and saw Alison and Fran and met up with them. We had about half an hour until the 11pm Paint the Night parade started, Alison and I got our tripods all set up for that night. She was looking forward to using the tripod during the parade while I used my tripod to videotape the show while I had my camera in my hands.

While we were setting up, Alison had trouble setting up her tripod that night. We were able to extend the legs that night but we had some trouble folding it back up when the parade was over.

I moved my tripod on the other side to get some shots of SB Castle and Partners Statue.




The three of us were at the back ot he area where we were able to see the parade come down on MS. Luckily the parade starts from MS Town Square during the second parade while the first one starts from IASW Plaza to MS TS.




Before the parade started, I gave her some tips on what settings I used for Paint the Night parade. There were parts of the parade where you don't have to use high ISO at nighttime since the lights from the parade are all what you need for lower ISO. There were times when I set the ISO at 800 to 5000. The aperture is another important part for taking nighttime shots but I didn't have to go all the way to f/2.8 where there were times where I set it at f/3.5. The shutter was around 1/80 to 1/100 for most part. 

I looked at a few of Alison's pics while she was taking and I was impressed with her shots that night.

The 11pm Paint the Night parade is now coming from MS TS and it did took a while until it reached us. Alison and I were all about taking pictures while Fran watched the show. Here are some pics from that night.












































Very interesting when the Belle float passed by, we didn't see the Frozen float. I was surprised that the Frozen float was not active during the parade. This was the first time not seeing the Frozen float. Something must have happen for it to not run that night. When watching the parade, this felt like what the parade would be like at Hong Kong Disneyland where they didn't have the Frozen scene.














After the parade was over, we started to pack all of our stuff and we had some trouble folding up Alison's tripod. Some of the legs were sticking and she just put it in her ECV bag.

Before we head on out of the park, Fran had to stop at the Disneyana store on the way out to look at some merchandise. Then we went to the Newsstand Information since they had some of their merchandise that Fran bought at the Disney stores. This is a smart idea to have DL hold the stuff so they won't have to carry it around with them. They must have at least 5 bags of stuff to take back to their car and they were able to get all of them on their ECV's.

We parted ways that night which it was time for me to head on back to Best Western Anaheim Inn while they head on back to their car. I remember that they got back to their house so late at night around 2am.

I had a great time to hang out with Alison and Fran if it was only for a short time. I was able to just go around the DLR that day from eating at UVA Bar and Cafe for the lamb burger and getting some shots from the GCH, DCA and DL. It was a short time on Sunday after finishing up at Anime Expo. My other party members that worked with me at Anime Expo didn't get back to Sac until midnight. It was a good thing I didn't go back to Sac where they went back.

I still have Monday which I was able to do some things the next day before I head back to Sac so I might write up a mini report last Monday.


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## franandaj

I was hoping you would post some pictures of your Lamburger, just so I wasn't the only one who did so!  I took so many more pictures,  I will post them soon, but I think I went crazy with shots!


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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I was hoping you would post some pictures of your Lamburger, just so I wasn't the only one who did so!  I took so many more pictures,  I will post them soon, but I think I went crazy with shots!



Here is my Lamburger that day.





Here is my video of Paint the Night last Sunday 7/5/15


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## PrincessInOz

Great shots of PtNP.  

Looks like you had a great time shooting at DLR this trip.


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## wiscbugs

Great pics of Paint the Night...can't wait to see it next month!!!


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## dhorner233

Where did you get the lamb burger?! And how did you get those great seats for the parade? That was so cool the way it was coming right at you!! And lucky you getting to hang out with Fran and Alison! 

I don't suppose you guys are going to be around when I'm there in Sept?


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## franandaj

dhorner233 said:


> I don't suppose you guys are going to be around when I'm there in Sept?



When are you there in September?


----------



## dhorner233

franandaj said:


> When are you there in September?



Sunday, Sept. 20 - Friday the 25th. I got Dapper Dan convention rates so I'm staying at the Disneyland Hotel for the first time in my life!!!!!!!!


----------



## kylie71

Simply Amazing shots Brett!!   Thanks for the update!
I will be there Sept 5 - 11, if anyone ill be around....

--Lori


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## kylie71

Brett-- when do you leave for D23?  Looking forward to another update.

--Lori


----------



## mvf-m11c

I have been away on the boards since I am in Vegas. It is not for pleasure but for business these last two weeks. I am about to head back home to NorCal tomorrow night which I am looking forward too. The weather in Vegas is quite hot but not that hot as I have thought while coming in July which can be in the 110 range. But for most of the trip, it has been in the low 100's.




PrincessInOz said:


> Great shots of PtNP.
> 
> Looks like you had a great time shooting at DLR this trip.



Thank you PiO.

We had a great time taking pictures of PtN parade.




wiscbugs said:


> Great pics of Paint the Night...can't wait to see it next month!!!



Thank you @wiscbugs You will enjoy seeing the parade next month. 




dhorner233 said:


> Where did you get the lamb burger?! And how did you get those great seats for the parade? That was so cool the way it was coming right at you!! And lucky you getting to hang out with Fran and Alison!
> 
> I don't suppose you guys are going to be around when I'm there in Sept?



I got the lamb burger at the UVA Bar and Cafe at Downtown Disney. We had a fun time watching PtN parade that night on Main Street. 

I don't plan on going in September since I have the trip next month and the WDW trip in October.




dhorner233 said:


> Sunday, Sept. 20 - Friday the 25th. I got Dapper Dan convention rates so I'm staying at the Disneyland Hotel for the first time in my life!!!!!!!!



That is great news that you will be staying at the DLH for the first time in September.




kylie71 said:


> Simply Amazing shots Brett!!   Thanks for the update!
> I will be there Sept 5 - 11, if anyone ill be around....
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori.

Hope you have a great time at the DLR in September. 




kylie71 said:


> Brett-- when do you leave for D23?  Looking forward to another update.
> 
> --Lori



I leave on August 12th (Wednesday) and will be till August 17th (Monday). I will try to do an update during the D23 Expo trip.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – June 1st, 2015 – Part 1*

Pirates and Animals Everywhere.​
After another great night at the DLR where we were able to watch the new World of Color – Celebrate, it was the last day of the trip which is always the saddest part of any trips. While it was tough to leave during the Diamond Celebration, I was there not too long ago after I was in Vegas and made a quick trip during the Diamond Celebration. It was a good opportunity for me to go back and get some things that I have missed during the trip like some specific merchandise that was not available and want to get more pics of the new nighttime shows.

On that Monday morning, the park opens at 8am during any busy time during the summertime. Since we flew that day, our flights are not until later that Monday night around 9pm which gives us almost less than half a day in SoCal until we head home. Even though it is sad to leave, I felt like I am ready to go back home to NorCal since I have been there 6 of 7 days in SoCal which is crazy after driving home from the Vegas business trip and flying back. We didn’t get up early that morning but we did get up and started to pack all of our bags. We check out of the room early that morning and brought all bags to the lobby so we didn’t have to come back later that day afternoon to check out.

Before we head on over to the parks, we went to have breakfast on the second level of Captain Kidd’s restaurant. When we had breakfast or continental breakfast, it was packed that we had trouble finding a table that morning.

After having breakfast, we head on over to the Disneyland Resort to do our first activities that morning.

While passing through the security check point, the next text for the contest was up and was Storybook.




We head on over to DL since there were some things that we didn’t do during the trip.




We got there a little late that morning but it wasn’t that crowded like any time of the day around 8am to 9am. The day was quite nice and not that cloudy which is always nice when in Anaheim. There are times when it was cloudy but not that cloudy.




DAW wanted to go on some rides that we didn’t go on during the trip like Pirates of the Caribbean.




The Disney Dream Suite still above PotC.




When we rode PotC, I used the telephoto lens to try out and it was kind of difficult to get those shots even with the settings at 6400 ISO, f/4 and a shutter of 1/50, it was so dark that it was difficult. This is where a f/1.4 prime lens would come into play for the dark rides like PotC which is one of the darkest.




































After we rode PotC, DAW wanted to go on another ride that morning and we looked at what other rides to do and the one that was close around PotC was Many Adventures with Winnie the Pooh at Critter Country. So we head on over that direction and once again, I was playing with the telephoto lens to get all sort of different shots.








The Ward Kimball passing by on the bridge




A duck right in the area that morning.




Pictures from Winnie the Pooh ride that morning with the telephoto lens.
























After we got off Winnie the Pooh, we went inside Pooh Corner which is a nice store to go when getting off Winnie the Pooh or Splash Mountain which is at the end of Critter Country.




After we walked through the store, it was time to have lunch since it was close to the afternoon. That will be it for this post and stay tune for the next part that afternoon at DL.

Continue to the Next Post​


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – June 1st, 2015 – Part 2*

Lunch at the French Market and It’s a Small World after all.​
After we went on a couple of rides that morning, it was lunch time and we were starving. We didn’t eat much at Best Western Park Place Inn during the continental breakfast since it was busy. When we looked at all the different restaurants around the west side of Disneyland, I told DAW that we should eat at the French Market. I haven’t ate at the French Market since the October 2014 trip with PiO (@PrincessInOz) and Alison (@franandaj). I barely eat at that restaurant which I do have some favorite restaurants that I do eat at the DLR. But this time, it would be something that DAW would eat as well. I showed her my phone with the menu and she had no problem with it so we head on over to the French Market at New Orleans Square.

When we got to NOS, the French Market had a line. So we had to wait a while to go through the queue until we got our food that afternoon.




The Jambalaya Jazz Band was performing right by the French Market and we stayed to listen to good Jazz music.




When we got our food, we sat outside and boy we were starving that afternoon. DAW got the Jambalaya which she had to ask the CM’s to make a special one since she couldn’t eat specific ingredients in the jambalaya. For me, I had the French Market dip.




When we finished lunch, she wanted to go on It’s a Small World. But since we were in NOS, we had to walk all the way to the north side of the park where IASW is located.

I always enjoy going through the backside of Frontierland to Fantasyland where Big Thunder Ranch is located and it is fun to get some shots from the backside.








Big Thunder Mountain Railroad




Got to see the Dynamite Eating Goat from the backside of Frontierland.




A look at Matterhorn Mountain from Fantasyland while we walked on over to IASW.




We made it over to IASW and it was already noon.




A few more up close shots of the façade of IASW




The Ernest S Marsh Engine #4 passing by.




We boarded a boat and I still had the telephoto lens on my camera for all the ride.
















































After we finished riding IASW, we had to go on one of my favorite rides and it was a surprise that we haven’t even rode it for most of the trip but it was a must for me. That will be for this one and stay tune what that ride is later that afternoon.


----------



## dhorner233

Nice shots with the telephoto lens!


----------



## franandaj

Looks like a fun morning!  Now that I've seen WoC, I need to go back and look at your pictures. But I need to do that from my computer and not my phone. I've been so busy this week that I haven't had much time on the computer, only the phone. I can barely keep up with my own TR!


----------



## PrincessInOz

What a fun morning with the telezoom lens.  

Great shots!


----------



## kylie71

Amazing shots, Brett!
How was the French Dip at the French Market?  I have not eaten there in YEARS!!

--Lori


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,

Finally getting to see your recent reports.  LOVE the pictures of the Diamond Celebration.  It makes me feel like I’m there too.  This year we have season passes for WDW so we won’t be back to Disneyland until 2016.

Great pictures of the hatbox ghost.  Those popcorn buckets are great!  Bulky, but really fun. 

A FOUR hour wait for the PtN Parade.  I’m awfully glad you did.  The floats are stunning!  I don’t think I’d want to be Tink flying for the entire parade though ;-)

THANK YOU for uploading the parade and fireworks videos!!  The castle overlay is beautiful at night.  I really like your long exposure shot of the Fantasy Faire.

Great ride pictures from RSR.  It’s one of our favorite rides at DCA.  WOC – I so agree that Frozen doesn’t need to be absolutely EVERYWHERE at DL/DCA.  I really like the addition of the projection screen.  It adds a nice depth for the show.

You sure had good seats for the second PtN Parade!  Your pictures are GREAT. 


I hope to be much better about checking to see if you’ve done updates.  I always enjoy your report.  Thank you for taking the time to post them.

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Nice shots with the telephoto lens!



Thank you Denise. I was satisfy with the telephoto lens that I am ready to buy my own. But first, I still have to try out the 2.8 for the D23 Expo trip next week. Can't believe the D23 Expo trip is next week.




franandaj said:


> Looks like a fun morning!  Now that I've seen WoC, I need to go back and look at your pictures. But I need to do that from my computer and not my phone. I've been so busy this week that I haven't had much time on the computer, only the phone. I can barely keep up with my own TR!



It was a fun morning which we were able to do some of the things that we wanted to do. Glad to hear that you were able to see WoC - Celebrate. I thought it was a nice tribute to Walt Disney where some people like it and some don't. I can understand why people like the original one and have high hopes over the next version where Winter Dreams is nice but not as good as the original. You have been busy lately with everything going with Jenny, Fran, etc. I always enjoy reading your trip reports.




PrincessInOz said:


> What a fun morning with the telezoom lens.
> 
> Great shots!



Thank you PiO. The f/4 is not that bad where I think it is enough for me for Disneyland including the nighttime of the parade. It might not be good for dark rides like the f/2.8 but it still did its job.




kylie71 said:


> Amazing shots, Brett!
> How was the French Dip at the French Market?  I have not eaten there in YEARS!!
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori. 

The French Dip was nice at the French Market. It wasn't outstanding but it was nice to eat at the FM. You should consider that when you go next month.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> 
> Finally getting to see your recent reports.  LOVE the pictures of the Diamond Celebration.  It makes me feel like I’m there too.  This year we have season passes for WDW so we won’t be back to Disneyland until 2016.
> 
> Great pictures of the hatbox ghost.  Those popcorn buckets are great!  Bulky, but really fun.
> 
> A FOUR hour wait for the PtN Parade.  I’m awfully glad you did.  The floats are stunning!  I don’t think I’d want to be Tink flying for the entire parade though ;-)
> 
> THANK YOU for uploading the parade and fireworks videos!!  The castle overlay is beautiful at night.  I really like your long exposure shot of the Fantasy Faire.
> 
> Great ride pictures from RSR.  It’s one of our favorite rides at DCA.  WOC – I so agree that Frozen doesn’t need to be absolutely EVERYWHERE at DL/DCA.  I really like the addition of the projection screen.  It adds a nice depth for the show.
> 
> You sure had good seats for the second PtN Parade!  Your pictures are GREAT.
> 
> 
> I hope to be much better about checking to see if you’ve done updates.  I always enjoy your report.  Thank you for taking the time to post them.
> 
> TK



Hi TK,

I haven't seen you lately on the boards and it is nice to see you back on. That is nice that you have AP's for WDW this year and you would have loved the DLR 60th Diamond Celebration. Are you thinking of going in early to mid next year so you are able to see the new nighttime shows? I am planning on going to WDW in October during the Halloween/F&W Festival this year. You can follow my pre-trip report http://www.disboards.com/threads/ri...food-wine-as-well-ptr-oct-16-23-2015.3423946/

The Hatbox Ghost is a nice new addition to the HM and the popcorn buckets are nice this year from the balloons, mine car and Cinderella Pumpkin Coach.

Yup. A four hour wait to see PtN Parade. I know that it was long but I had other people to talk to including the guests around us which was fun. It is nice to talk to other people while waiting for the parade that night. 

Your welcome. Glad you like the videos. I am going to do more long exposure shots while I go on more Disney trips including the WDW trip in October.

RSR is one of my favorite rides as well which the wait time is something I don't like to be in but the queue makes up for it which is all unique. I thought Disney went overboard with Frozen in all the three new nighttime shows. I thought they shouldn't add the Frozen "Let It Go" scene on WoC - Celebrate since it is already on the WoC Winter Dreams version. But Disney is still piggybacking on the success of Frozen. Even with the Frozen Fun earlier this year wasn't enough for Disney to put it back in for a long part of the show on both WoC - Celebrate and Disneyland Forever fireworks. The projection screen on MFWoD is a nice new addition to add more projections. I still miss the circular LCD screens when it came out of the water.

It was nice to see the parade that night from that spot.

Thank you TK. I always appreciate you checking out my trip reports over the years.


The next posts of the May/June trip report will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – June 1st, 2015 – Part 3*

Monorail, Railroad and Jolly Holiday Bakery​After we rode It’s a Small World, it was time to do our next attraction that afternoon. The one ride that I haven’t done the first two days was the Monorail which I normally go on this ride every time I go to Disneyland. I always like to end the trip with riding the Monorail as the must do ride. Since we were at the backside of Disneyland, it didn’t took too long until we arrived at Tomrrowland.

It was not that busy that afternoon at Tomorrowland or the rest of DL. I can understand people wanting to be there at night for the new nighttime shows at DL and Disney California Adventure. We did spent about 4 hours just to see Paint the Night on the first night and watch Disneyland Forever fireworks after the parade passed by on Main Street. This time in early August, the wait time shouldn’t be that bad during the early parts of the summer in late May/early June.

When we got to Tomorrowland, I got to take more shots with the telephoto lens and what better way to use the telephoto lens is at the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at the Mine Seagulls.




We walked up the ramp and it wasn’t that busy that afternoon which is to be expected until later during the day when the wait time can be in that 10-20 minute range. The FNSV Subs are looking very nice after it’s long refurbishment last year.




Monorail Mark VII Blue passing by over the FNSV Lagoon and this will be our ride when it pulls into Tomorrowland Station.




Lucky for us, we got the backside of the Monorail which is one of my favorite places to ride on the Monorail just like riding in the front. It is nice to ride the back or front on the Disneyland Monorails where you can’t ride in the front on the WDW Mark VI Monorails. It would be nice if that happens again.




When leaving DL, Monorail Mark VII Red is now entering DL just right next to each other. It is rare for me to see both Monorails go by each other especially when one leaving DL and entering DL.




A look at the front entrance of DCA Buena Vista Street. Mostly I always get the Carthay Circle Restaurant but it is nice to see the other side.








We didn’t get off at Downtown Disney which we rode the Monorail roundtrip.








We got off the Monorail and down to the bottom from the TL Monorail Station.




Once again, got another up close shot of the Mine Seagulls.




Since we still have some time until we had to leave the DLR and catch our flight home to Sactown, we can still go on some more rides or see some shows that day. The next ride that we haven’t done yet is the Disneyland Railroad which is another ride that I like to go on when I am at DL. So that was our next one. The Tomorrowland Railroad Station is the closest in our area and we head on over in that direction.




Since I had the telephoto lens on, it was a perfect opportunity to get pictures of the Grand Canyon and Primeval World. When we went in the tunnel, I had so many problems taking pictures with the telephoto lens where the focusing was not correct along with the lighting of the ISO. SO I made a lot of errors on taking pictures. Here are some of them that turned out well.











First we pulled into Main Street Station.



We didn’t get off the train since we were planning on riding it all the way back to Tomorrowland.



The ride around the park is around 20 minutes which isn’t that long and it is fun to ride around on a nice day at the park.

After we got off the Disneyland Railroad, my cousin that met up with us on the first day of the trip for the stakeout of Paint he Night told me to go to the Jolly Holiday Bakery to get the Castle stein mug. I didn’t get that during my first few times and this time it was a nice stein to get.



The stein mugs at the Jolly Holiday Bakery



I also took some other pics while I was in the Jolly Holiday Bakery from the cupcakes and all the promotions of the 60th Diamond Celebration.










After I got the stein at the Jolly Holiday Bakery, it was time to head on to our next place that day before it was over.

Continue to the Next Post​


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – June 1st, 2015 – Part 4*

Aladdin and Tomorrowland​
After we got the Disneyland 60th Stein at the Jolly Holiday Bakery, DAW wanted to do one more thing until she was satisfy with all the stuff she wanted to do at the DLR. The last thing she wanted to do was go and see Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular. She always enjoy watching the Aladdin show at DCA which we haven’t done yet during the trip. She like the Genie part the most of his funny jokes.

So we head on out of DL and on over to DCA to see the 2:20pm show. It was cutting it close since it was around 1:50pm when we left Tomorrowland and on over to DCA. But we were able to make it in time for the 2:20pm show which we were able to get the Orchestra Row. We spent about 10 minutes in the queue and get decent seats for the show which we were on the left hand side of the Hyperion Theater.

I used the telephoto lens for the shots and I was satisfy with the shots where some were not good while some were good.












Also I noticed during the show that I haven’t seen in previous shows is when Aladdin goes down the Cave of Wonder, he would be walking down from the top but he was walking on the ground which was a surprise. They did use the scene where he jumped really high from the guards but that was kind of surprising to see.

































DAW enjoyed the Aladdin show and it was nice to hear the Genie’s and his funny jokes. She wasn’t that satisfy during the last time we watched the show back in March but this time it was way better.

After the show was over, we still had some time to do one more thing until we had to go and leave the DLR and back to the hotel to pickup our stuff and catch our flight back home to Sactown.

I wanted to go back to DL and see the sneak peek of the movie “Tomorrowland” at the Magic Eye Theater. I wasn’t able to see the movie until a few days until I got back from Sacramento after those two DLR trips on a 6 days at the DLR out of 7 days.

So we walked all the way back to DL and see the sneak peek of “Tomorrowland”. I thought the movie was okay when I saw it in person and I was wondering what is it all about and this was not a good storytelling movie.




The queue to enter the Magic Eye Theater had all sorts of pictures, designs, from the 1964 World’s Fair along with production pictures from the movie as well.
















Watching the sneak peek from the Magic Eye Theater is nice where they have shown all different sorts of sneak peeks of other movies since the theater was converted to Captain EO a few years ago. They had Big Hero 6 which was there last year.




After seeing the sneak peek, we went to the Starcade building which housed the “Tomorrowland” Exhibit which showed drawings, artwork, pictures, props from the movie.
















Disney also showed “The 1952 Box” which has contents of art, photos, memos, books, blueprints, and props that was hidden in the labryrinth beneath the Walt Disney Studios.








After being in the Tomorrowland Exhibit, it was time to leave the DLR and head on back to the hotel. But it wasn’t even time yet, DAW started to get hungry when we left Tomorrowland. It was around 4:30pm when we decided it was time to head on back and have something to eat before we are picked up at the hotel.

When we left the DLR, we head on over to Tony Roma’s for dinner. I do enjoy eating at Tony Roma’s on Harbor Blvd when I stay at one of the hotels on Harbor Blvd.




We spent quite a lot of time in the restaurant since we didn’t have to leave immediately back to the hotel. For diner, I had the Filet Medallions & Ribs Combo that night while DAW just had a salad. I thought she would eat more that night but she was fine with what she ate.

After dinner, we head on back to Best Western Park Place Inn to get our luggage and waited for the SuperShuttle to pick us up from BWPPI to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. We could have spent more time that day, but she wants to be there early just in case if something goes wrong when we get to SNA.

We got to SNA around 7:30pm and we just waited until our 9:25pm flight left from Orange County to Sacramento. It took about an hour and 10 minutes to get back home to Sacramento. We got home around 11pm that night which was late. Cousin C picked us up at the airport and he took us home.

This concludes “Back to the Diamonds at the Happiest Place on Earth” trip report on May 30th to June 1st. This was another great trip which we were able to see the new nighttime shows at DL and DCA. I went before to see the new shows after my Vegas business trip in which I was able to see them before the next one. I was lucky to come back in such a short time. DAW had a fun time as well which we were able to see my cousin and her BF during the trip. It was fun for them to join us for that one night where we waited four hours just to see a parade that night.

Now that this one concludes, I was able to go on a few times since this trip which I went in early July since I was there for “Anime Expo” at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Anime Expo (or AX for short) is the largest Anime show in the U.S. It was nice to go back for a few days and to hang out with Alison @franandaj that day which we were able to go on Star Tours and see the 11:10pm Paint the Night parade.

This trip is over and a new one is right around the corner. Yup, I will be back down south in a few more days which I will be going back down with DAF for the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. This is the fourth (2009, 2011, 2013) annual D23 Expo which I have attended all four while DAW has attend 3 of the four. I will try to do a live trip report during the Expo which I will spend part of my time in the morning staking out a spot in order to get inside the Expo.

Please stay tune for live updates from the D23 Expo next week (August 14th – 16th).


----------



## kylie71

WoooHooo!   Brett!   I enjoyed the last trip report, and am Really looking forward tot he D23 Live updates!   So much info should be released, and how exciting you will be hearing it first hand!

I will be watching for your updates!
Have a FUN trip!

--Lori


----------



## PrincessInOz

Lots of great shots from this last trip.  The shots from Aladdin came out well!  That's what I like using the telezoom for....at live shows and parades.

Have a great time at D23.  Look forward to seeing and reading all about it!


----------



## dhorner233

Loved the telephoto pictures from Aladdin! I love that show! 

How much time would you allow for John Wayne airport? My flight will be leaving at 12:30 on a Friday. What time do you think I should get to the airport? You seem to think 2 hours is a bit much. Is an hour and a half better? An hour? I know it's a small airport. I have flown out of it one time. I'm going to try to take the Grayline Disney shuttle for the first time.


----------



## tksbaskets

The 60th anniversary stein is very nice!  I would be tempted to purchase that if we do get to the celebration.  Right now we do not have plans to go.  I really enjoyed your pictures from Aladdin!  It's one of my favorite shows and I miss it when visiting WDW.  Looking forward to your expo report.  TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

kylie71 said:


> WoooHooo!   Brett!   I enjoyed the last trip report, and am Really looking forward tot he D23 Live updates!   So much info should be released, and how exciting you will be hearing it first hand!
> 
> I will be watching for your updates!
> Have a FUN trip!
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori. Glad you enjoyed my latest trip report. I will try my best to do some live updates from the D23 Expo trip. There will be times when we will be sitting in a queue for a seminar or getting in that morning which I should have some time to write up. If not, I can do some live updates on FB.




PrincessInOz said:


> Lots of great shots from this last trip.  The shots from Aladdin came out well!  That's what I like using the telezoom for....at live shows and parades.
> 
> Have a great time at D23.  Look forward to seeing and reading all about it!



The shots came out well for Aladdin that night which was satisfying. Now I need to know what type of telephoto lens to get. I love the f/4 and I am looking forward to trying out the 2.8 during the trip.

Thank you and I'll try my best to post live updates.




dhorner233 said:


> Loved the telephoto pictures from Aladdin! I love that show!
> 
> How much time would you allow for John Wayne airport? My flight will be leaving at 12:30 on a Friday. What time do you think I should get to the airport? You seem to think 2 hours is a bit much. Is an hour and a half better? An hour? I know it's a small airport. I have flown out of it one time. I'm going to try to take the Grayline Disney shuttle for the first time.



Thank you Denise.

My aunt wants to get to the John Wayne Airport early because the traffic in SoCal can be bad where you can be stuck. She is just playing it safe which I can understand and for anyone if there is a major accident or something on the way. I would at least get to the airport one hour prior to boarding where that is plenty of time. I would get there at least 11am on Friday with the check baggage, security check point and walking to your gate which won't take that long. SNA is a small airport (not like LAX) but it would be safe to do that. The Disneyland Resort Express bus are nice buses to get from hotel to hotel at Anaheim. They will be making some stops on the way to the DLR and other hotels around the area to pick up guests. But it should be no problem. I have rode it before but I would always plan in advance just to be on the safeside.




tksbaskets said:


> The 60th anniversary stein is very nice!  I would be tempted to purchase that if we do get to the celebration.  Right now we do not have plans to go.  I really enjoyed your pictures from Aladdin!  It's one of my favorite shows and I miss it when visiting WDW.  Looking forward to your expo report.  TK



The stein is very nice and glad that I got it during the trip. Hope you are able to go down during the 60th Anniversary next year TK. The pictures at ALaddin turned out well. Thank you.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Now I am planning my pre-trip for August 12 – 17, 2015 during the 4th Annual D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center.

*Cast:* Me Bret & DAF

This will be my eighth trip to the DLR this year (February 22 – 23, March 8 – 10, May 20, May 26 – 28, May 30 – June 1, July 1, & July 5 – 6). This will be my DA 2nd trip to DL this year (February 22 – 23).

This trip is all about the D23 Expo. For some of you don’t know what it is here is the website for the D23 Expo. This is the big Disney convention that any Disney fan has ever dreamed of. I have been to the first three D23 Expo’s (2009. 2011, & 2013) First Trip Report DLR & D23 Expo 9/9 – 9/13,  2nd Annual D23 Expo August 18 – 22, 2011, & 3rd Annual D23 Expo August 8 – 12, 2013. The 2009 D23 Expo trip was the very first Expo and it was an amazing one. The 2011 was just as great as well. I do miss the four day event which the 2009 had where the 2011 and the 2013 have 3 days. I have participated at all four Expo’s and this will be my DAF third time to the D23 Expo which she attended with me in 2011 & 2013.

Here are some of my pics from the 1st ever D23 Expo back in 2009.

D23 Expo Sign outside the Anaheim Convention Center





D23 Expo Sign outside the Anaheim Convention Center





D23 Expo Dream Store Entrance





Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Pavilion Entrance





Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Posters of the attractions















Radio Disney Pavilion





2011 D23 Expo





The Wonderful World of Disney Parks & Resorts presentation





Stage 28 presentation of Buena Vista Street





Stage 23 presentation of Cars Land





Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Carousel of Projects





D23 Arena Queue





The Lion King 3D Screening at the D23 Arena





Here are some merchandise that I bought during the D23 Expo in 2011





2013 D23 Expo





StagePass made its debut last year





60 Years Journey into Imagineering





Got to see the movie “Planes” at the D23 Arena





Richard Sherman & Alan Menken concert










Mickey’s of Glendale





We will be driving down from Sacramento to Anaheim like DAF and I always do on our previous trips together. It is nice to fly, but I do bring a lot of bags and camera equipment so it does make sense to drive down in just 7 hours. It is not worth paying the extra money for extra bags and getting a rental car. We will be driving down in DAF Honda Civic. We will stop at Livingston (close to Merced) that is always on our way to Anaheim to see my grandmother. After we stop at my grandmother house, we will head on over to Anaheim. The plan for us is to leave Wednesday morning and head on over to my grandmother house at 7am. Than we will head on over to make a few stops until we get to our hotel in Anaheim where we will be staying for 6 days.

We will be staying at the BW Stovalls. I have stayed at BW Stovalls in the past and it is a very nice hotel that is just across the street from the DLR and the Anaheim Convention Center. I have chosen this hotel is that it was cheaper and in between the hotel. I wanted to stay at any of the hotels that is just across from the ACC, but the price wasn’t right and I got a free night staying at BW Stovalls. I like staying at the BW Stovalls since the beds are way better than the other hotels that I have stayed.

The only time that we might be in the parks are on Wednesday, Thursday and Monday when we leave that day. I might be able to get on over to the parks that day. But with the D23 Expo the top priority, I might not go on any of those days during the Expo but I was able to go to the parks each night during the D23 Expo. I should have just rested up on those night after the Expo and I might not be able to go in the park except for Thursday and Monday. Over the last three D23 Expo’s, I have met a lot of DISers in person for the first time from Alison @franandaj, @HydroGuy, @ImTooExcitedToSleep, @DLR29, @Mary Jo, @Disney Dreams, @Disneyland 1951, etc. I do plan on meeting some DISers during the trip from at the parks and at the D23 Expo.

Our goal for this trip is the D23 Expo. We plan on going early all of those days during the Expo since I am a D23 Gold Member and the Expo will let the members in one hour before the general public at 9am. The times that the D23 Gold and Silver Members are allowed to enter the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 Expo will start at 9am so I can use that time to get into the D23 Expo Dream Store queue to go shopping for the merchandise. Later, I plan on going to the Mickey’s of Glendale to shop for the Disney Imagineering store. There will be a lot other seminars and places to go during the D23 Expo. But my priority is the shopping at the Dream Store and MoG for myself and others that I will have to purchase.

I plan to get in line for the D23 Expo Dream Store and get the LE D23 merchandise. I plan on buying a lot of items and I will also be taking pictures of everything at the D23 Expo. Not only the Dream Store but the Mickey’s of Glendale Store which is an outlet of WD Imagineering’s employee-only store. There will be some other events to do during the Expo which I will get to shortly.

Right now, we are still talking on which seminars that we want to see at the D23 Expo. There have been a few that I will want to see from “Imagineering 60 Years of Disneyland at Stage 23 on Friday, WD Parks and Resorts at Hall D23 on Saturday and Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration at Stage 23 on Sunday. This is what I want to see where DAF will want to see some of the other seminars like Pixar and WD Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films, Hosted by John Lasseter at Hall D23 on Friday. I also wanted to see this seminar but my priority is the Imagineering 60 Years of DL at 5pm which DAF might go to the 3pm seminar at Hall D23. This year it almost seems like they don’t have much about the Parks and Resorts like last year with Cars Land, Buena Vista Street and the New Fantasyland.

The good thing about going to the Stage 23 & 28 seminars is the StagePass. StagePass made its debut last year which is a FastPass for rides at the Disney parks where you will avoid long wait times and to be able to get in the seminar with little wait time. This is a big difference where the first two Expo’s (2009 & 2011) where we spent at least 3 hours just to see one seminar. I remember that was the Cars Land seminar back in 2011 where we waited as long as 3 hours just to see a seminar. But now with the StagePass, we can save time with that.





Another pass is going to make its debut at the D23 Expo is the StorePass. As you can tell by the name after I discuss about the StagePass for the seminars, the StorePass is just like a FP and StagePass for the shopping experience where you can get one and wait in the queue shorter than waiting in the standby queue. This will make a big difference for me on shopping on Friday since I plan on going to the Dream Store first thing in the morning and later get a StorePass for the Mickey’s of Glendale that afternoon. The StorePass won’t be available till 12pm to 5pm which is good for me since I can use that time to go shopping at the MoG later in the afternoon. The StorePass is good for both the Dream Store, MoG and the Disney Store. The Dream Store and MoG are my first priority where I might go back to the Disney Store on Saturday.

The screenings on Friday that we are interesting to see are Pixar and WD Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films, Hosted by John Lasseter at Hall D23 3pm to 5pm for DAF which I will be wondering around the D23 Expo taking pictures. The Imagineering 60 Years of Disneyland at Stage 23 5pm to 7pm which we plan on getting a StagePass for. I will attend that event and DAF might do the same thing when she gets out of Hall D23. DAF will go to the 3pm seminar while I will be walking around the D23 Expo until it is time to get in the queue for the 5pm seminar.

On Saturday, we will definitely see the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seminar at Hall D23 at 3pm to 4:30pm which will talk about the sneak peek on projects around the world such as ongoing work at Disney’s Animal Kingdom with Avatar and the developments of Shanghai Disneyland. The one that DAF might go see is the Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios at Hall D23 at 10:30am to 12:30pm (depends on if she doesn’t want to go shopping that morning).

For Sunday which is the slowest out of all the three days at the D23 Expo, I was thinking of seeing Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration at Stage 23 at 11am to 12:15pm. Another one that might be interesting is the Best of Destination D – with Disney Legend Dave Smith and Imagineer Jason Grandt at Stage 28 at 4:30pm to 5:30pm. Just go around the D23 Expo to look at everything until we are done for the Expo.

As for the days that are not the D23 Expo, we plan on going one day early on Wednesday August 12th so DAF could experience the 60th Diamond Celebration at the DLR. I have been there plenty of times during the Diamond Celebration and this will be DAF first time experiencing it. She will want to see Paint the Night, Disneyland Forever and World of Color – Celebrate which we will do the first two days and maybe go on Peter Pan on one of those days.

I will keep planning for the August trip which will be in less than 2 days.

Please feel free to say something about my upcoming trip during the 4th Annual 2015 D23 Expo.

Thank you


----------



## kylie71

Brett, Today is the day!  I can't wait for updates!
Safe travels!

--Lori


----------



## mvf-m11c

A little live update from the D23 Expo. Just about an hour until the D23 Expo starts and the Gold/Silver members are allows to enter the Anaheim Convention Center. I got in the queue at 5:30 this morning where we weren't planning on going at 10pm on Thursday night. I didn't plan on getting there super early like those other people but there were a lot of people this morning.

The front of the Anaheim Convention Center.





The queue filled up very quickly around 6:30-7am this morning.





I am heading first to the Dream Store to buy the D23 Expo merchandise while DAf is in the queue for the Disney Legends Awards at Hall D23. 

I will post more updates during the day goes by.


----------



## mvf-m11c

kylie71 said:


> Brett, Today is the day!  I can't wait for updates!
> Safe travels!
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I was able to go to the Dream Store first thin when I was in the D23 Expo. I was able to et all the stuff from the store that I want when I got the chance to see them online. I only had to wait about 10 minutes to et in the Dream Store and now in the queue for the Mickey's of Glendale. The queue for the MoG is quite long but I will wait until I get in.






Here are some pics from this morning and at the dream Store.


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## kylie71

Those Tshirts and coffee mugs are so Cute!  Thank You Brett!
I wish I was there to shop!!
Have you run into Hydro, yet?

Have a Blast!!

--Lori


----------



## mvf-m11c

kylie71 said:


> Those Tshirts and coffee mugs are so Cute!  Thank You Brett!
> I wish I was there to shop!!
> Have you run into Hydro, yet?
> 
> Have a Blast!!
> 
> --Lori



Hi Lori,

It is crazy here at the Expo.

I haven't seen @HydroGuy yet. But I will eventually run into him.


----------



## kylie71

I bet you will be tired tonight!  Thanks for updating us! 

--Lori


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## dhorner233

Wow! The lines are incredible! People pay to be in D23 and then wait in line to buy D23 stuff. Disney really has it going on! I love the pins! I have a huge collection and still want more! 

Thank you so much for posting so many pictures!! I love the pictures of the merchandise and the old posters!! I wish I could go to the convention but will have to live vicariously through you


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## kylie71

Brett, on Mousewait, people have videos of Johnny Depp @ the Legends awards... did you see him?

--Lori


----------



## mvf-m11c

kylie71 said:


> I bet you will be tired tonight!  Thanks for updating us!
> 
> --Lori



I was and I didn't stay till the end of the day. I missed the 5pm Imagineering 60 Disneyland today where I wasn't able to get in. My feet and back are hurting for all that walking and waiting around. Your welcome and glad that you are following Lori.




dhorner233 said:


> Wow! The lines are incredible! People pay to be in D23 and then wait in line to buy D23 stuff. Disney really has it going on! I love the pins! I have a huge collection and still want more!
> 
> Thank you so much for posting so many pictures!! I love the pictures of the merchandise and the old posters!! I wish I could go to the convention but will have to live vicariously through you



The morning was quite busy where we got there around 5:30am and there were at least over a few hundred people waiting to get in that morning. Some of them were there at 10pm on Thursday night which we weren't we thinking of doing. That is correct that people pay to the D23 events and have to wait just to see those seminars and shopping. You would have love all the collection from all three stores and the vendors at the Expo.

Your welcome. It is exhausting while I was waiting for those stores that morning but I was able to go in the Dream Store and Mickey's of Glendale today. The StorePass is a huge disappointment which it will cut down the wait time to get in the stores. But the passes were already gone at 11am today and there were a lot of disappointing people including me but i was able to go in the two stores that I wanted to go in today. Thank you Denise.




kylie71 said:


> Brett, on Mousewait, people have videos of Johnny Depp @ the Legends awards... did you see him?
> 
> --Lori



Johnny Depp was at the Disney Legends Awards and was a surprise Disney Legend. I didn't see that seminar since I was shopping at the Dream Store and MoG. My aunt told me about it which she really enjoyed it. Also during that seminar, Richard Sherman and Ashley Brown were there singing "Kiss Goodnight" the ending song for Disneyland Forever fireworks which i would have enjoyed.


As for today, i just went shopping and see some seminars which i wasn't able to go to the 5pm Imaginnering 60 Disneyland today since the StagePass were all gone. But i was able to go to some vendors and see the Shanghai Disneyland rendering, clothing, etc.




















John Lasseter shirt collection from the different Pixar movies.





Shanghai Disneyland room








































At the vendors, there were two PeopleMover cars from Disneyland





I will post more during the Expo so stay tune for more.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Love the Lasseter shirts!

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## franandaj

It was fun meeting up with you yesterday and spending a little time checking out the exhibits and other stuff at the Expo!



PrincessInOz said:


> Love the Lasseter shirts!
> 
> Thanks for sharing.



Fran had a field day with those and took pictures of each and everyone one of them to be able to make sure her collection is complete!


----------



## dhorner233

Love it all!!! The pins! The shirts! Shanghai Disneyland! All the art work. I wish I could be there! Thanks again for letting us be there with you!!


----------



## DLR29

Oh, I'm bummed I didn't see this earlier.  Maybe we could have met up again at the Expo.  I decided last minute that I would go today because my friend had an extra ticket.  Hope you are having an awesome weekend!  Did you go to either of the big panels today?


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Love the Lasseter shirts!
> 
> Thanks for sharing.



The John Lasseter shirts were very neat.

Your welcome PiO.




franandaj said:


> It was fun meeting up with you yesterday and spending a little time checking out the exhibits and other stuff at the Expo!
> Fran had a field day with those and took pictures of each and everyone one of them to be able to make sure her collection is complete!



It was fun as well where we got to spend time at the Expo. I know that Fran is happy with the shopping as well as you.

She got a picture of each Lasseter shirt. After seeing those shirts, I almost want one of them like the Cars shirt.




dhorner233 said:


> Love it all!!! The pins! The shirts! Shanghai Disneyland! All the art work. I wish I could be there! Thanks again for letting us be there with you!!



It was fun and exhausting from walking around the Expo on Friday and today. I was so exhausted on Friday that today was different but still a long day. Your welcome Denise.




DLR29 said:


> Oh, I'm bummed I didn't see this earlier.  Maybe we could have met up again at the Expo.  I decided last minute that I would go today because my friend had an extra ticket.  Hope you are having an awesome weekend!  Did you go to either of the big panels today?



There is a lot to do at the D23 Expo. There were some seminars and stands that are great to see while there were some were okay and long wait times. The one that was disappointing was the StorePass since they were all gone by 10am this morning. I tried to get a StorePass this morning around 9:45am and the Disney Store and MoG were already gone while there were some left for the Dream Store. It would have been nice to meet up with you at the Expo. But it is so big where it would be hard to find someone. Hope you had a great time at the Expo today. The one seminar that I went to today was the Walt Disney Park and Resort seminar at 3pm at Hall D23. There were a lot of news today with Star Wars Land coming to DL and DHS, Avatar Land at AK, Shanghai Disneyland, new attractions at the international Disney parks. I didn't see the Marvel, Lucas seminar at 10:30am since it was full to capacity around 7am this morning. My aunt was able to see it which it was great. Every attendee got a Star Wars the Force Awakens poster today which is a great souvenir. 

Here are some pics from today which i was able to go in the Disneyland Archives and the WD Park and Resort seminar.



































Stan Lee was there during the WD Park and Resort seminar





I will show and write more later on when I get back. But if you want to see more pics from the D23 Expo, you can click on the flickr link below on my signature. 

Also when I went to DL tonight, I got to see the 3rd Enchanted Window on Main Street which was from the movie "Princess and the Frog".


----------



## franandaj

Cool stuff Bret! I don't know how we did all the days of the past Expos. This year's just Friday kicked my butt!


----------



## PrincessInOz

Love the close-ups.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Cool stuff Bret! I don't know how we did all the days of the past Expos. This year's just Friday kicked my butt!



Thank you Alison. There was so much to do at the Expo which we didn't have time to do all the different things since we were mostly waiting for those seminars the last two days where it was all about shopping on Friday while DAF went to the Legends and Pixar/WD Studios seminar. I was so tired that I did't know how I could have moved the next day.




PrincessInOz said:


> Love the close-ups.



Thank you PiO. The 2.8 was very nice to used that night.


----------



## Elk Grove Chris

Cool stuff, great pics Bret.


----------



## mvf-m11c

I got back safely back to NorCal tonight and it was a long week.

The 2015 D23 Expo is over and another one is completed. This one was kind of a very interesting one where there were a lot of problems with this Expo compared to the last two (I don't count the first one 2009). There were more problems this year than from the one in 2013. Here are some of my insight of this years Expo. 

First is the StorePass in my opinion was a big failure where if you wanted to get a StorePass, you had to go first thing in the morning just to get a pass over doing other things that morning. It was interesting to get a StorePass so you can do other things and shop later in the afternoon. But the StorePasses went out around 10am to 11am which was when the Expo opened at 9am. The one's that were the popular are the Disney Store first, Mickey's of Glendale second and Dream Store last. During the first day of the Expo, I didn't get a StorePass where i was able to go to the Dream Store first and go the MoG with a 45 minute wait which was better over getting the StorePass later that morning. 

Also like the StorePass, the StagePass is back again this year but it was also hard to get StagePass during certain seminars especially the one's where you can get the second one at 12:30pm. When I try to get the later StagePass for the 3pm or later seminars, the lines were just as long as going to see one of those popular seminars that it wasn't worth going through that long line since i was mostly by myself for most of the days at the Expo while my aunt was in a queue underneath in Hall E of the Anaheim Convention Center. 

The lines for the big seminars at Hall D23 was crazy as well since people lined up very early on Thursday and Friday night for the Friday and Saturday event at 10pm which caused huge lines at night. We didn't wait that long where we got to Hall E around 5am in the morning just to get in the queue for the Legends, WD Studios seminar and Marvel/Lucas seminar on Saturday. 

All three days during the Expo were quite busy where it looked like in my opinion even more crowded than last year. Even today on Sunday was busy where in the past the Sunday's are the slowest but it did look like a busy day at the Expo. Going to all those different stand and vendors on the show floor was a disappointment as well with the long lines. There were a lot of great vendors/stands at the Expo this year with all different companies that are associated with Disney. 

I was able to meet up with @HydroGuy on Sunday morning when we were waiting to enter the Hall. It was nice to see and talk to him that morning.

We went to get some StagePass and StorePass that morning where we were able to get a StagePass and StorePass which we I had to wait in a long line. They were gone before 10am which I was hoping to get the Disney Store but I was short by one person. Oh well.





We got to see the Avatar Land model at the D23 Expo.





DAF and I were able to see the 3pm Frozen FANdemonium A Musical Celebration at Hall D23 at 3pm. We got in the queue very early around 12pm which was a four hour wait and we were able to get good seats at the beginning.





But when there were more opening seats and other people have been getting up closer, she was arguing along with other people that have been waiting in the queue while others showing up later and getting a better location. So we were able to move up closer which was a good thing.










Chris Montan, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez take us on a once-in-a-lifetime musical journey through the world of Frozen. They talk about the days of how they came up with the music.





Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her daughter Katie Lopez





Agatha Lee Monn and Livvy Stubenrauch the voices of the 5 year old Anna and 9 year old Anna singing "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman"





Kristen Bell voice of Anna. She also sang"Do You Wanna Build a Snowman" & "For the First Time in Forever". 






























Also made an appearance was Josh Gad the voice of Olaf singing "In Summer"










The people that contributed to the movie were on stage including John Lasseter were singing "Let It Go" along with the crowds.










This was a very nice presentation on Sunday to see the Frozen FANdemonium.

I will do a write up for this trip report later on so stay tune.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Glad you're home safely.  Welcome back.

Look forward to reading your detailed report.  The zoom pictures are great.


----------



## kylie71

Thank You Brett!  Looks like sounds like a Zoo!   I hope you enjoyed what you we're able to get into.
That's cool you got to visit with Trey!
I saw that Harrison Ford and Johnny Depp we're there on Sunday. Johnny in full Capt. Jack costume. How fun!

I am looking forward to your full detailed report.

--Lori


----------



## franandaj

Nice to hear your thoughts on the Expo. We decided after our one day experience that those sorcerer tickets are worth every penny! We are going to make sure that each of us is poised at a computer that moment they go on sale next time and we won't miss out next time!

I"m glad you had a great time. We enjoyed Friday and will have to work out spo that we can do more than one day in the future!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Glad you're home safely.  Welcome back.
> 
> Look forward to reading your detailed report.  The zoom pictures are great.



Thanks PiO. It is nice to be back home and the trip went by really quickly.

There is going to be a lot of writing about the D23 Expo when i compared this one to previous years and what I have done as well. The 2.8 did it's job as described and I was satisfy with the pictures even it was on a crop sensor lens. I would bet it would be amazing with a FF body.




kylie71 said:


> Thank You Brett!  Looks like sounds like a Zoo!   I hope you enjoyed what you we're able to get into.
> That's cool you got to visit with Trey!
> I saw that Harrison Ford and Johnny Depp we're there on Sunday. Johnny in full Capt. Jack costume. How fun!
> 
> I am looking forward to your full detailed report.
> 
> --Lori



The D23 Expo for all three days was so busy that I didn't imagine it would be that crazy on the last day on Sunday. In the past, the Expo on Sunday is the slowest and it didn't show that one bit. There were some things that we didn't do during the Expo but it is a difficult choice on what you want to do and what you have to skip. For example, I missed a lot of seminars to do the shopping on the first two days of the Expo and I did miss a lot of good stuff to buy at the stores as well. 

It was nice to see @HydroGuy at the Expo on Sunday. I also was able to meet @Wonder2008 during the Expo as well on Saturday when we were in the queue for the Walt Disney Park and Resorts seminar at 3pm. Plus Alison as well on Friday.

There is a lot of details I will have to go over with this trip report plus the days when we were at the park as well.




franandaj said:


> Nice to hear your thoughts on the Expo. We decided after our one day experience that those sorcerer tickets are worth every penny! We are going to make sure that each of us is poised at a computer that moment they go on sale next time and we won't miss out next time!
> 
> I"m glad you had a great time. We enjoyed Friday and will have to work out spo that we can do more than one day in the future!



I didn't write everything about how I feel about this Expo compare to the past one's. There is a ton of stuff that I wasn't satisfy with the Expo this year and there were some things as well. Obviously the first one was the StorePass which was a huge failure where they were already gone before 11am. I don't know how it worked since I didn't go in the store but from what I have heard, you didn't have to wait that long to get in the store after giving the StorePass to the staff by the entrances of the stores. I know what you mean. DAF have told me that she would have paid the extra $1,850 (3 day ticket costs $150) for the Sorcerer tickets so she would be able to see the seminars she wanted to see as well as do things on the show floor. She wasn't able to go to the Disneyland Archives and Avatar Land pavilion. But she was able to go to the Shanghai Disneyland pavilion and after seeing the pavilion, she would like to go there one day over the other Disney parks around the world. I know what you mean that you will need a fast computer and internet in order to get one of the Sorcerer tickets for the 2017 D23 Expo. I wonder what the price would be next year? I would guess that it will be around $2,500 for each person ($500 more from this past Expo). 

We had a good time and when I got back home, I didn't do a good shopping at the Dream Store and MoG but I was able to get most of the stuff that I wanted. After seeing that Reyn Spooner Pixar shirt at the Disney Store, I wished that I went in the store that Friday. But I was so exhausted and my feet were hurting that it made sense to get some rest and have something to eat. But I will have to plan better for the 2017 D23 Expo if we don't get the Sorcerer tickets.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – August 12th, 2015 – Part 1*

Safe Drive to Long Beach and then to Anaheim​
It is time for the first day of the 4th Annual D23 Expo trip to Anaheim. This is the fourth D23 Expo (2009, 2011, & 2013). I have attended all four while DAF is attending for the third time. This was all about the D23 Expo along with enjoy the first two days at the Disneyland Resort so DAF could see the 60th Diamond Celebration. She was excited to go down to the Expo and the DLR. I won’t be writing up a lot during the days at the DLR since this is all about the D23 Expo. But I will post pictures and talk somethings about our days at the DLR. This D23 Expo is going to be a very interesting one where there will be some new things added to the event like the StorePass for the three big stores at the Expo (Dream Store, Mickey’s of Glendale and Disney Store). StagePass is back after debuting in 2011 and more vendors and exhibits are added to the Expo. This was also the first time that the D23 Expo is not using the D23 Arena but using Hall D23 or Hall D at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Also during the trip, I rented a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens for the D23 Expo trip. I was excited to rent this lens for the trip in which I have rented the Nikon 70-200mm f/4 lens during the May trip with DAW. I was satisfy with the lens that this time I wanted to try the 2.8 for the D23 Expo trip which I will need for the dark presentations at the D23 Expo. Plus it will be perfect to use during the DLR trip as well.

Now let’s get to the trip report.

It was around 7am in the morning where I was picked up by DAF. This is our usual time when we leave Sacramento to SoCal. But we had to make a stop on the way before we got to Anaheim that afternoon.

When we packed all of our stuff in the car, we started on our journey to SoCal, but first we had to stop at my grandmother’s house in Livingston. It is nice to see her when we go down to SoCal.

Before we head on over to the Anaheim, we made a quick stop on the way over to LB to meet up with Alison.

After we left her place, we head on over to Anaheim. Our hotel during the trip was the Best Western Stovall’s. I have stayed at BW Stovall’s a lot of times in the past which the rates can be quick cheap when staying across the street from the DLR. We chose this place since it is about a 5 minute walk to the Anaheim Convention Center and a 12 minute walk to the turnstiles at the DLR.

We got to BW Stovall’s a little late that afternoon around 4pm since we had to make a quick stop on the way and traffic was bad in SoCal as expected. We were able to check-in when we got there and our room was close to the lobby and by Katella Ave.

Once we got settled in, we rested up a little bit until it was time to head on over to the DLR and go see the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade. For the readers who have followed my previous trip reports, I had to wait 2 & 4 hours just for a spot on Main Street to watch the first PtN parade during the May trips. This time, I expected that the waiting time to get a good spot on MS was about 2 hours until the parade started at 8:50pm.

When we got our bags all set, it was time to head on over to the DLR that night. We walked from BW Stovall’s all the way to the DLR.








We walked through the Grand California Hotel since it is the quickest way to cut through the hotel and head on over to Downtown Disney. Also Sleeping Beauty Castle cake was still in the lobby at the GCH. I got to see the cake during the July trip during the Anime Expo trip.




It took about 12 minutes to get from BW Stovall’s to the entrance of DL turnstiles. Also when I was walking on in the park, I tried the new Disneyland App which my DL AP was in the system. This is another good way to use the App if you don’t want to take your AP out of your wallet, pouch, etc. During the trip when I upgraded my Premium AP to the Premier for the Walt Disney World trip in October, I can’t use the DL App with my Premier AP. I talked to customer service and they said that the Premier isn’t incorporated in the DL App but they will do so in the near future.





The first thing we did was head on in DL so we can get a spot on Main Street to watch the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade.




We were able to get a spot on Main Street between the Coke Corner and Penny Arcade on Main Street. There were already people waiting on the sidewalk around 6:30pm that night. I was not disappointed that we didn’t get a curbside spot for the PtN at 8:50pm which we were able to stand for the parade. DAF had no problem with that and standing up for the parade as long as she could see it.

This was DAF first time seeing the new parade where I have seen it 3 times at one spot since May.

When we got settled in we didn’t have dinner yet, so we decided to have dinner at the Plaza Inn. I got the food to go instead of sitting at the Plaza Inn since we were waiting on MS to watch parade that night.












I only just got the Plaza Chicken since we both shard the plate that night.




While we were waiting around on MS, I used the f/2.8 lens to see what is the difference in the quality from the f/4 that I used during the late May trip with DAW. The 2.8 was quite heavy over the f/4 but the sharpness was quite impressive.




















After waiting for almost 2 and a half hours, the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade started to come all the way from It’s a Small World Plaza to Main Street. We had to wait another 15 minutes until the parade made its way on over to MS.

Continue on to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 1 – August 12th, 2015 – Part 2*

8:50pm Paint the Night Parade​Here are pictures from the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade with the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens that night. I was excited to try out the lens that night for the parade and I was satisfy with the pictures with the f/2.8.


































































































After the Mickey float passed by, we head on in the middle of Main Street in order to watch the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks. DAF was impressed with the Paint the Night parade and was looking forward to the fireworks as well. I decided to use the f/2.8 lens on the tripod in order to get some up close shots of the castle along with getting the firework trails as well.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment of the Trip Report

*Day 1 – August 12th, 2015 – Part 3*

9:30pm Disneyland Forever Fireworks​
We were able to get a spot on Main Street to watch the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks since the Paint the Night parade ended when Mickey’s float passed by.

This time we were able to get a middle spot on Main Street. But DAF didn’t enjoy the fireworks as I have thought for the first time. There were times during the fireworks that a lady in front of her was so rude where she put her camera in the air where she was trying to videotape and it obstruct DAF view. She also swing her backpack at her as well. She was really mad and did talk to her and asked if she didn’t do that as much but she didn’t listen. There was also a guy that almost elbowed her during the fireworks since he was looking on MS during the fireworks. Talk about a lot of rude people during the fireworks.

When I set up my stuff, everyone stays away from the tripod when I used it that night. I had a decent view of the fireworks which DAF didn’t. If I knew earlier that this was going to be a problem, I would have given her my spot for the fireworks that night.

Here are pics of Disneyland Forever that night. I used the f/2.8 lens attached to my tripod that night to get some up close shots since I was renting the f/2.8 during the trip.
















There were a lot of times that I have missed.




















After the fireworks was over, we decided to ride the Monorail on the way out instead of going out towards the regular exit on Main Street. There was a line to get up on the Tomorrowland Monorail station but it was a good opportunity to get some shots that night with the 2.8.












We rode Monorail Mark VII Blue that night on our way to the Downtown Disney station. The good thing that riding the Monorail to DTD for us since we had to walk to our hotel which is at BW Stovall’s. So it was perfect to ride the Monorail to DTD and walk back to the hotel.

We got back to BW Stovall’s around 10:15pm that night. We didn’t stay that night since we had plans to go back to the park the next day and watch World of Color – Celebrate on Thursday. The D23 Expo doesn’t start until Friday so we plan one extra day in order for DAF to enjoy the 60th Diamond Celebration at the DLR and it was well worth it except on that night which she was angry with the guests that obstruct her view during Disneyland Forever fireworks.

That concludes the first day and stay tune for the next day at the Disney parks. Even though this is all about the D23 Expo, I will tell you on the days during the non-Expo days.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## kylie71

Thank You, Brett.  Those are Amazing pictures!!  So clear, and I loved the new lenses so crisp!
Sorry, about your Aunt not being able to see, I am short, so I feel her pain, but their is no excuse for Rude people!

I can't wait to see the PTN parade and fireworks, in 2 weeks!!

--Lori


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## franandaj

Your pictures are so vibrant and crisp! I wish that mine came out so well. How do you get those shots of the fireworks without over exposing?  Every time those long streaks happen in my pictures everything is so over exposed and over lit. Even using 100 ISO.


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## mvf-m11c

kylie71 said:


> Thank You, Brett.  Those are Amazing pictures!!  So clear, and I loved the new lenses so crisp!
> Sorry, about your Aunt not being able to see, I am short, so I feel her pain, but their is no excuse for Rude people!
> 
> I can't wait to see the PTN parade and fireworks, in 2 weeks!!
> 
> --Lori



Thank you Lori. The 2.8 is a very nice lens and also heavy. But it does provide the quality that I was looking for.

It was just bad luck that night with the rude people.

It won't be to long until you are at the DLR and see the new nighttime shows and updated rides.




franandaj said:


> Your pictures are so vibrant and crisp! I wish that mine came out so well. How do you get those shots of the fireworks without over exposing?  Every time those long streaks happen in my pictures everything is so over exposed and over lit. Even using 100 ISO.



Thank you Alison. You are on that path like the rest of us where we are putting in more money on equipment. You might want to consider filters in the near future. The shots of the fireworks that night, I used my Neutral Density (ND) 0.9 filter so it won't get to over exposed. This will allow for longer exposures. You should consider getting a ND filter for your lens.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – August 13th, 2015 – Part 1*

Soarin and Under the Sea​
Another day at the parks where the next day is the first day of the D23 Expo to the regular attendees while today is the first day for the Sorcerer ticket holders. We were in no rush to go on over to the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday to check out the outside of the lobby area that day.

We decided to come one day early so DAF would be able to experience the 60th Diamond Celebration at the DLR. In the past, we always came on Thursday instead of Wednesday this year. It was well worth coming one extra day until that bad experience on Wednesday night during Disneyland Forever fireworks. But that didn’t stop us from having another fun time at the DLR.

Also during the trip, there were other DISers that were here for the D23 Expo and I knew a few that were going to be here and I have coordinated to meet them in person. But I didn’t see them at the parks where I did see them at the D23 Expo. Also, there was another person that I knew was going to be here as well. My neighbor niece and her friend were going to the D23 Expo as well and they were in the park that Thursday. We were hoping to meet up with each other at the park but they were doing their own things and just like DAF and I would do the same as well.

We didn’t leave BW Stovall’s until 9am since we were still wiped out from the other night from the long drive to SoCal and staking a spot. We plan on watching the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate that night which we usually get the blue section. I mostly get the blue section for WoC every time when I see the show on those night so getting up a little late won’t hurt it.

We left BW Stovall’s and head straight on over to the DLR.





We head straight on over to Disney California Adventure in order to get FP’s for the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate.

The Carthay Circle Theater looks  very nice during the Diamond Celebration.




The first thing we did was get FP’s for Soarin’. DAF hasn’t rode the new version yet and was looking forward to see the new HD version is like. We got FP’s for the afternoon around 11am to noon that day which is a good time. We thought about waiting but the wait time was like 20 minutes.

When we got on over to Grizzly River Run to get the FP’s, I assumed that the blue section would be available around 9:30am that morning since my previous experience of getting the FP for WoC. Well, I was completely wrong and misjudge the timing and we got the 9pm Yellow section. I also guessed that due to the summertime and a new show, there are people wanting to get FP’s for WoC – Celebrate. I was not happy at first that we got the yellow section and wanted to be in the blue section and watch the show from our usual spot, but I thought it would be nice to try the yellow section and do something differently.

We just walked around Paradise Pier and I was trying out the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. The lens was quite heavy but I didn’t mind it at all.
















While we were walking around at PP, DAF says that you should try out the lens on the Little Mermaid ride. Even though she doesn’t like the ride, she had no problem going in to try the lens.




When I took pictures with the 2.8 on the Little Mermaid ride, it was a little difficult at first, but getting those up close shots with this lens is very nice especially with the 2.8. I have used the f/4 and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 on the ride and those two lenses don’t have that speed like this lens.








































After we got off the Little Mermaid ride, we head on over to Soarin to use our FP’s that afternoon. DAF was looking forward to riding the new version. I have rode it a few times and it is enjoyable to ride it. DAF was amazed of the updated version of Soarin.





Here is a spoiler, when DAF and I attended the D23 Expo 2014 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seminar on Saturday the 15th, Bob Chapek Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts announced that Soarin will get a new version next year at both the DLR and WDW. It was nice that both Soarin’s will get a new video.

After Soarin’, it was time to eat and what other place to have lunch is at the new Smokejumpers Grill. Ever since it reopened in May, I haven’t ate at this restaurant. So it was a good idea to eat at this restaurant. It was the former Pilot’s Grill with the old Condor Flats theme and now it matches the Grizzly Field Air Peak concept.








The food is mostly burgers and chicken sandwich just like the old Pilot’s Grill restaurant.

I had the bacon cheeseburger while DAF had the grilled chicken along with onion rings.




After lunch, we head on out of DCA and on over to Disneyland.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – August 13th, 2015 – Part 2*

Walking around Disneyland​
We head on over to Disneyland after being in Disney California Adventure. We did everything we wanted to do at DCA that morning to afternoon from riding Soarin and getting the FP’s for World of Color – Celebrate at the 9pm show. I was not happy that we didn’t get the blue section but it wouldn’t hurt to try the yellow section since I haven’t done that section for a long time.

The DLR is all decorated for the 60th Diamond Celebration




It was a nice day at the DLR even though it was warm that afternoon around noon.




We didn’t do that much that afternoon at DL where we just walked around getting pictures.
















Mostly that is what we did for all of our time at DL that afternoon is just walk around. The park was not that crowded but the wait times were a little high.

We thought about riding Peter Pan since there was a short line, but the CM’s told everyone that PP is down right now and the people in the queue are just waiting until it starts up again.

So while we were in DL, we went on the Disneyland Railroad from Mickey’s Toontown Depot.




We rode around the DLRR all the way to Main Street.








Here are shots from the Grand Canyon with the 2.8.












Now was Primeval World












We got off the Main Street Station and we head on over to the Emporium to look at some of the merchandise. DAF was able to buy some stuff. Also at the Emporium, the Halloween merchandise is already in stock at the Emporium.












After looking around the Emporium, we started to head on back to our hotel so we can rest up and see the 9pm WoC – Celebrate. On the way out, the new Disney College Band was performing in front of the MS Station.




While heading on back to our hotel, we stopped at the World of Disney store to look at some stuff if there was anything to get and the store also have Christmas merchandise as well.








The day was quite hot at the DLR where it was in the 90s.




We headed on back to the room to rest until we head on back to DCA that night. That is it for this post and stay tune for World of Color – Celebrate that night.


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## PrincessInOz

Lovely pictures, Bret.  You worked that 2.8 well!


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## dhorner233

Wow you have been busy Bret! What great pictures! And so interesting! The Avatar Land model was interesting. I'm glad to hear they are going to make a new Soarin' movie! 'Bout time! 

Love the telephoto shots but, I bet that is a big heavy lens to carry around. 

I can't wait to get there in September!!!!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Lovely pictures, Bret.  You worked that 2.8 well!



Thanks PiO. The 2.8 did really well during the dark ride for up close shots.




dhorner233 said:


> Wow you have been busy Bret! What great pictures! And so interesting! The Avatar Land model was interesting. I'm glad to hear they are going to make a new Soarin' movie! 'Bout time!
> 
> Love the telephoto shots but, I bet that is a big heavy lens to carry around.
> 
> I can't wait to get there in September!!!!



It wasn't that busy that Thursday at the parks where we just walked around. Maybe taking pictures with the 2.8 but didn't go on too many rides that day. Thank you Denise. There is so much to tell during the days during the D23 Expo which will come up later on.

The 2.8 is great but the only disadvantage about it is the weight which is twice the weight from the f/4 that I used.

It won't be to long until your trip next month. I am excited fro you.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – August 13th, 2015 – Part 3*

World of Color – Celebrate Part 1​
DAF and I took a long break that afternoon where we left early that afternoon to get a nice rest for the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate. Even though I was not happy with getting the yellow section that night but it was also good to try out a different spot.

We didn’t go back until it was time to head on over to Disney California Adventure around 6pm since we want to get a railing spot that night. I know that any other family would use that time to do things like go on rides, shows, food, etc. but we were only thinking about seeing WoC – Celebrate that night which DAF hasn’t seen it yet.

We didn’t eat at that park that night which we mostly do all the time but this time, we decided to eat in our room that night. We ordered pizza from Marri’s Pizza & Pasta which is not that far from our hotel which is on Katella Ave close to Best Western Pavilions. It was way cheaper eating there than eating at the park where we had extra slices that day and it was a good thing that we brought in some food during our day at the Expo.

When it got closer to 6pm, we head on out of our hotel and back to the DLR. We didn’t plan on doing anything else except to get our spot for WoC that night.

It took the usual 10 to 12 minute walk from BW Stovall’s to the turnstiles at DCA. We head straight on over towards Paradise Pier which is where the viewing area is located for WoC – Celebrate.




When we got on over to PP, we had a lot of time until the CM’s set up the viewing area at PP. So DAF just sit on a park bench right by the viewing area while I was walking around taking pictures with the telephoto lens.








I even took some pictures of the flowers in the viewing area with the 2.8.
















The CM’s finally arrived at the viewing area putting in thepoles and rope area. So we head on over towards the Yellow Waiting Area until we are let in the viewing area that night. It was almost like around 7:15pm that night where people were already waiting to get in.




We moved up a little closer since the CM’s were trying to get everyone in the waiting area.




More and more people started to arrive that night.




When it was almost time to enter the viewing area at 8pm, we had to wait a little longer since the CM’s were getting the handicapped people in before us. Sometimes it isn’t right to let the handicapped people in the viewing area that are showing up late or little wait time like the rest of us but I do understand why they do that since they could run into someone if they were in the regular line as well. Some of you would say but there is a handicapped area for the handicapped people. That is true on the backside but there is also a middle area for them as well.




When the CM’s let the guests in the viewing area, we head straight on over to the spot that @HydroGuy have pointed out on his spot for WoC viewing area in the yellow section. We didn’t get the spot since there were people there from the handicapped and the ones that were in front of us. Overall it was not that bad. I would say that this is not the best spot but we were able to see the fountains that night.

I also set up my camera on the tripod to get some long exposure shots that night.




















When we got the second row that night, the spot was a wet zone. I did warm DAF that we might get and I got out my rain cover for my DSLR just in case if we do get wet. I should have planned better by getting the poncho and the rain cover but I didn’t think that it was necessary to bring one from the location we are that night. But the wind also had a hand it as well where we did get a little wet that night but it felt good after a hot day in Anaheim.

Now it was time for the 9pm World of Color – Celebrate from the yellow section that night. I didn’t use the telephoto lens since it was too close from that spot so I used the Tamron lens.
































Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 2 – August 13th, 2015 – Part 4*

World of Color – Celebrate Part 2​
Back to more pictures from World of Color – Celebrate that Thursday night in the yellow section for the 9pm show.
























































DAF was impressed with the new World of Color – Celebrate. But she did agree that it isn’t for everyone like the original WoC. It is a very nice tribute to Walt Disney and all of his best work. It did include scenes from Disney movies and park attractions including vintage video of Disneyland.

After watching WoC – Celebrate, Disneyland Forever fireworks was going on at Disneyland. We didn’t stay to watch it since we had to leave.

When I packed all my stuff, we head straight on back to BW Stovall’s that night so we can got to bed since we have to get up early for the first day of the D23 Expo. In the past, we always come on Thursday and watch the fireworks but this time we watched WoC since we came on Wednesday. It was a good thing that we came a day early even though we are going to bed very late that Thursday night.

We got back around 10pm and went to bed around 11pm to midnight. We plan on getting up around 4am and leave to the Anaheim Convention Center around 5am so we can get in the line for the D23 Expo. I plan on going to the Show floor to do shopping while DAF went to see the Disney Legends Ceremony. It did made it hard for us to be separated but she wanted to do something more important over shopping so she went with that and I went with my thing.

That concludes Thursday at the DLR and the next one will be about the D23 Expo. So stay tune for the first update from the D23 Expo even though I have already posted some of it during the trip.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## PrincessInOz

That yellow zone spot isn't too bad.  

Nice to see the Star Wars inclusion.

Love the rose!


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## franandaj

I'm going to have to look into one of those neutral density filters for better fireworks shots!  I'll be posting my WoC pics soon and I couldn't get any nearly as good. My camera wouldn't even let me shoot on manual mode no matter where I set the settings.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> That yellow zone spot isn't too bad.
> 
> Nice to see the Star Wars inclusion.
> 
> Love the rose!



The yellow spot is not that bad where watching it is not a super great spot but it was okay but I don't think it was worth staking just that spot. Maybe for some other families that has never seen WoC but just not me.

Can't wait to see Star Wars later this year.




franandaj said:


> I'm going to have to look into one of those neutral density filters for better fireworks shots!  I'll be posting my WoC pics soon and I couldn't get any nearly as good. My camera wouldn't even let me shoot on manual mode no matter where I set the settings.



Talk to PiO about that since she is one of the people that got me into the ND filters. I have also read Tom Bricker site as well with the use of filters that will change your shots big time. I will look forward to seeing your pictures of WoC - Celebrate. Have you ever taken your camera for service which you should consider.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 1*

Day 1 D23 Expo Friday Morning 5am​
Now it was the first day of the D23 Expo on Friday the 14th. After the first two days of the trip which we were at the Disneyland Resort to see the new nighttime shows, it was now time for the highlight of the trip which was the fourth annual D23 Expo.

I have attended all four Expo’s in the past, and this was DAF third time. From our past experiences at the D23 Expo’s, it is important to come first thing in the morning to do the seminars, shopping, etc.

My goal was to get in the queue for the Dream Store and get the StorePass for the Mickey’s of Glendale or Disney Store that morning. DAF goal was to see the 10:30pm Disney Legends Ceremony and see the 3pm Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films, Hosted by John Lasseter which was one of the popular seminars during the D23 Expo. So we plan on being on our own during the D23 Expo. It made sense since she wanted to do her own things while I am planning on doing things on my own as well. But it was very hard to be by myself since I needed her to help me buy some of the stuff that morning. But it was fine since she wanted to see at the Expo.

We got up around 4am that morning where we didn’t get a lot of sleep that night since we were at DCA that night watching World of Color – Celebrate. We were so tired from that night which we got up a little late but we still got up early to get in the queue for the D23 Expo.

We left around 4:45am and head on over to the Anaheim Convention Center where the D23 Expo is held again.




It was less than a 5 minute walk from BW Stovall’s to the Anaheim Convention Center. This was also going to be interesting since the Arena is not going to be used this year where Hall D23 or Hall D at the Anaheim Convention Center will be where the big presentations will be located. At first, I thought that the only reason they moved it to in Hall area instead of the arena is to put more people in it. The arena could hold around 5,000 people while I read that Hall D23 could hold up to 7,500 people. That is a big increase from the previous years but I also had a hunch that it is all going to be one level. If you were in the back, you would not get a good spot to see the presentation live.

When we got to the ACC, there wasn’t anything outside by the arena so this time it was better planned than from previous years where we had to wait outside for the attendees that got there early.




There were a lot of banners on the poles directing the attendees where to go which is a good thing where in the past, they didn’t tell you where to go. Also there were no people on the side which is a first and good thing since in the past, it was so crowded just to walk through this alley.




When we got to the front entrance of the ACC, we were wondering where the queue was so we walked around and saw a giant Buzz Lightyear parade balloon. Around it was the D23 media making it a big media circus area.








After looking for a CM, we were told to go through the left hand side of the ACC to the queue where the show room floor and Hall D23 queue is located. So we walked around the giant Buzz Lightyear parade float and now know where to go.








The queue was inside the ACC and of the bottom level which is Hall E.








When we got in Hall E, we were give a free bag including the program which has some trading cards of Disney characters that was so popular during the D23 Expo.

There were two sides for those queues which was the Hall D23 and the show room floor. The Hall D23 was on the right hand side while the show floor was on the left hand side when you enter Hall E.




DAF went to the Hall D23 queue while I went on over to the show floor for the D23 Gold/Silver members. When I got in the queue, I was in the sixth line area which was quite long that morning around 5am. There were people that showed up at 10pm on Thursday night which is crazy but those are dedicated Disney fans that would want to be their first thing in the morning.




The line on the my left hand side was the non-Gold/Silver members which is a good thing or I would have waited a long time just to get in the Expo.




It was quite a long backside as well where there were people that have chairs, blankets, etc. while they were waiting that long night and morning.




Good thing for the both of us since this time we planned out way better from previous expos. Before the trip, I was searching for fold up chairs or stools to use while we were in the queues for a long time like waiting to get in the expo. I found a chair which was a GCI Outdoor PackSeat which was perfect since it can also fold up as well which has a bag where we attached it to our backpacks. This was a big difference to have since we were waiting in those lines for the seminars.

I was on my iPad and iPhone the whole time until it got closer when we are allowed in the show room floor while DAF was waiting to get into Hall D23.

I played with the telephoto lens as well and got pictures of the signs which can tell you where to line up. This time, D23 was well prepared for the long wait time so they had everything planned.








There was a seating chart for Hall D23 which was a big help since this tells you where the seats are located and which area to choose during the seminars. DAF was able to watch the Disney Legends Ceremony in the A area which was not that bad.




While I was waiting , there were other people that were attending the D23 Expo which was one of them was my neighbor niece which I gave her some info about my prior Expo’s that I have attended. They didn’t get to the ACC around 7am which was very late that morning. From what she has told me, there was a huge queue outside of the ACC for people to get in Hall E. From all the time until we were escorted to the show floor, the line was so long that it was still going on.

It was almost 9am and the line started to move. The people that showed up early were now moving to the show floor while I was waiting until my line started to move.




For all that time, we waited 4 hours to get in the show floor and Hall D23. My queue was going and we went underneath the walkway where the other attendees are going in Hall E. So the new way to get people in the show floor was well planned and organized really well that Friday. I was impressed with the way how this was set up then from the previous years.




I followed the people all the way to Hall C which is the entrance for the people that were in Hall E. the show floors were in Hall A, B & C for the show floor at the ACC while Hall D is for Hall D23 for the big seminars.




After I got in the show floor after 9am, I head straight on over to the Disney Dream Store which was on the other hand side of the show floor. The layout is completely different from previous years but there were a lot of things to do that morning but for me was the shopping.








The Disneyland Archives queue which was a highlight of the D23 Expo which I was able to go in it during on the other days. But that will be on another update on my trip report.




I walked all the way on over to the Dream Store and was in the queue. I didn’t have to wait that long in the queue which was around 10 minutes. While I was waiting, I got the backside of the Disneyland Archives exhibit.












When I got in the queue for the Dream Store, this was a little easy with the system they did it for this year than from previous years which is get in the queue and run all the way to the destination you want to. The wait time for the Dream Store was not that long. There was also the Mickey’s of Glendale and Disney Store which are very popular as well. My guess that part of the attendees that went on over to the Disney Store & MoG over the Dream Store which the wait time was short.


Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 2*

*Day 1* D23 Expo Shopping at the Dream Store​I was in the queue for the Dream Store that morning where I spent 4 hours just to do shopping that morning. But there were other attendees that were there since 10pm on Thursday night so I was not that crazy to get there early.

I was in the queue for the Disney Dream Store waiting to get in and it started to get a little busy that morning. There wasn’t a lot of people in the queue for the Dream Store as I have expected which in previous years I had to wait about more than 30 minutes to get in the store.




While I was almost at the store, I got to see some of the samples at the store.
























As you can tell this is a Disney shopper dream that has anything to do with the D23 Expo, Parks & Resorts merchandise that is a pre-release until the specific merchandise are released at the Disney parks, art work, CD’s, books, etc.

During my shopping, @franandaj asked me (during on my previous trip to Anaheim during the July trip when I worked at Anime Expo) to buy a Disneyland Dooney and Burke bag for @dgbg100106. I was able to buy the bag for @dgbg100106 during my shopping experience and was able to get everything I want at the Dream Store. I was very satisfy that everything that I wanted was available that morning.

Here are pictures from the Disney Dream Store.
























































There was also a Haunted Mansion Figure from the graveyard scene which is an original mixed media from Javier Soto. The price is $17,000.00.








The pins




I had a full bag of goodies from the hand bag, shirts, lanyard, cups, etc. while I walked on over to the check-out area. The area was quite large from the previous years but it went by so quickly since I was there that early.




Including the bag and all my stuff, I spent a lot of money that morning where I had two bags and that was only the beginning where I do plan on purchasing more stuff that morning.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 3*

*Day 1* D23 Expo Shopping at the Mickey’s of Glendale​
After shopping at the Disney Dream Store for the first half hour, I was about to do my next thing that morning. I was able to get all the things that I wanted that morning which I was happy and didn’t have to wait a long time in the store. I did took a while in the store to pick the stuff I wanted along with getting pictures.

My original plan was to go to the queue for the StorePass but when I looked at the StorePass queue, the line was already forming and I was told that it might take about 10 to 15 minutes just to get a StorePass. Plus the CM’s didn’t distribute any until around 10am which was late as well.

Also I am not guarantee to get the one that I wanted which was the Mickey’s of Glendale or Disney Store since there are a limited number of them which goes from 12pm to 5pm. Not a big gap and they sold out quickly. This is one of the big failures in my opinion during this year’s D23 Expo.

The StagePass was back again after debuting in 2013. But I didn’t have to get one since there wasn’t a seminar that I wanted to see that morning to afternoon since it was all about the shopping while DAF was in the queue for the Disney Legends Ceremony.




I decided it was important for me to just go on over to the MoG and wait in the standby queue instead of getting a StorePass which will take me a while to get one and I wasn’t guarantee to get the time I wanted. So I had to walk all the way from Hall A side to the backside of Hall C which was quite a long walk.




The show floor started to get a little busy but not that busy where all the different companies that Disney own or partners with are here from the movies, games, Parks and Resorts, clothing, shoes, etc. you know what I mean which were tempting to see. I didn’t have much time to get pictures since I was focusing on getting to the MoG store.




New Balance was there as well
















When I got to the MoG area, I thought when I first saw the queue to get in which was quite shot.




But then I realized that there was a side queue on the other side of the MoG store and it looks like I will be doing the wait game again.




I had to wait about 45 minutes in the queue just to get inside the MoG store. This was way better than getting a StorePass and had to wait a while and then later go in when it is crowded.

I went in the MoG and was in another queue for the pins which was understandable since there were some interesting pins. But I was able to get shots while waiting in the queue.

There was some new stuff at the MoG while there were some stuff that I have seen in the previous Expos and from the actual MoG store at the Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale California.




















The pins from the MoG which were mostly Imagineering pins along with Parks and Resorts as well.












WDI Pins from the new Shanghai Disneyland












After getting the pins, I went around looking at all the different apparel, bags, office supplies, etc. Most of the items I have seen from previous Expos and the one at Glendale which was a disappointment since I have most of that stuff. So I did walk around to see if there was anything that I want. I was able to buy some stuff from the MoG but not as much as I would have spent.




















I spent a lot of time in the store than I have thought and it was a big mistake on my part during that morning where I could have done other things but I didn’t managed my time really well at the MoG store. It was completely disappointing to go in the MoG store that morning where it made more sense to go to the Disney Store which has some stuff that I wanted to get but I didn't go in the Disney Store during the three days since the wait time was at least over an hour and I was by myself with out DAF. If she was there, it would have made it easy but she wanted to do her own things like going to the seminars while I was shopping for most of the day.

I did bought some stuff at the MoG but for the time that I spent to buy it was not worth it since I would learn the hard way later on during the afternoon.

After I finished at the store, it was time to do other things at the D23 Expo. That will be it for this post and stay tune what I have done later that day at the D23 Expo on the first day.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## PrincessInOz

That's a very early start to the day.  But looking at the crowds, I guess it was worth it.
Shopping!  What great merchandise!!
I was surprised to see the Oriental/Asian looking merchandise and then I remembered that it was probably for Shanghai!  If I'd realised there would have been that kind of merch there, I may have asked you to get a couple of pins for me.  Oh well.....maybe next time.

Looking forward to the next update.


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## dhorner233

Wow Bret! So many lines. So much waiting! But I do love the merchandise!!  I collect pins too. I wish I had more room to display my Disney stuff! What do you do with all the stuff you buy?


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## Wonder2008

Hi Bret. Thanks for mentioning me in one of your posts! I'm looking forward to your trip report so I can hear about the expo from your perspective.

I actually thought that 8/12 and 8/13 were really crowded at Disneyland. We stayed until 11:00 on Wednesday (we rode the Matterhorn around 10:59pm) and saw the second World of Color on Thursday night, then went back to Disneyland until 12am!  I thought the three new nighttime shows were fantastic, and we got to see each of them at least twice during our trip!

We arrived at around 7am on 8/14, but it was not as organized outside as it was inside.  It turned out that we were told my sister (not a D23 member) could not stay we me and had to go the general admission line (I'm pretty sure this isn't true, looking back).  I went into Hall E for the Disney Legends (I was in the back of section B), but my sister (and the general admission line) didn't enter until 11:15.  This caused her to miss The Muppets presentation.  So, we weren't off to a very good start, but it got better.

By the way, I hope you had a chance to see the Design Challenge artwork - mine was there!

I'm looking forward to reading more!


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## ACDSNY

Wow that's quite a wait, I'm glad you were prepared with your chair and ipad to pass the time.  The shopping looked fun.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> That's a very early start to the day.  But looking at the crowds, I guess it was worth it.
> Shopping!  What great merchandise!!
> I was surprised to see the Oriental/Asian looking merchandise and then I remembered that it was probably for Shanghai!  If I'd realised there would have been that kind of merch there, I may have asked you to get a couple of pins for me.  Oh well.....maybe next time.
> 
> Looking forward to the next update.



It was early but not so super early like the people that stake out on Thursday night at 10pm all the way to 9am on Friday morning. There were people sleeping on the ground that morning at 5am when I got there and I could have done the same thing but I am not that crazy. The day was so crowded at the queue and inside the show floor as well after the shopping. It was well worth the first part where I did get all my goodies at the Dream Store and was disappointed at the MoG store.

The Mickey's of Glendale was all about the Shanghai Disney Resort with the Oriental/Asian looking merchandise and the decorations. I did posted pics on FB about the store and I would have bought more or asked DAF to find the pins for you since she went in on Sunday morning.




dhorner233 said:


> Wow Bret! So many lines. So much waiting! But I do love the merchandise!!  I collect pins too. I wish I had more room to display my Disney stuff! What do you do with all the stuff you buy?



There were a lot of long lines at the D23 Expo from the wait time to get in, to the stores, StagePass, vendors, etc. All the stuff that I buy, I mostly keep for myself.




Wonder2008 said:


> Hi Bret. Thanks for mentioning me in one of your posts! I'm looking forward to your trip report so I can hear about the expo from your perspective.
> 
> I actually thought that 8/12 and 8/13 were really crowded at Disneyland. We stayed until 11:00 on Wednesday (we rode the Matterhorn around 10:59pm) and saw the second World of Color on Thursday night, then went back to Disneyland until 12am!  I thought the three new nighttime shows were fantastic, and we got to see each of them at least twice during our trip!
> 
> We arrived at around 7am on 8/14, but it was not as organized outside as it was inside.  It turned out that we were told my sister (not a D23 member) could not stay we me and had to go the general admission line (I'm pretty sure this isn't true, looking back).  I went into Hall E for the Disney Legends (I was in the back of section B), but my sister (and the general admission line) didn't enter until 11:15.  This caused her to miss The Muppets presentation.  So, we weren't off to a very good start, but it got better.
> 
> By the way, I hope you had a chance to see the Design Challenge artwork - mine was there!
> 
> I'm looking forward to reading more!



Hi @Wonder2008, it was nice to meet you in person during the D23 Expo. It would have been better if we got to meet before the Expo but I know that you were enjoying your visit at the DLR.

The parks were not that crowded in my opinion where the queues for the rides are long but not like the heavy summer times or Christmas break. You stayed late that Wednesday night and were able to ride the updated Matterhorn. Glad you were able to see the three new nighttime shows and they are amazing.

You got there late that Friday morning at 7am. I heard from my friend that she got there late and it was a disorganized. I didn't see it that morning but from what she has told me, it was crazy with all those snake like lines outside of the ACC. It felt like the old times with all those snake lines outside the ACC. That was a little surprise to hear that your sister was not allowed to be in the D23 Gold/Silver queue that mornign where she had the regular admission ticket. That was good that you went to the Disney Legends Ceremony that morning just like my aunt. Sorry to hear about the bad start of your day and hope it got better.

I dd get to see the Design Challenge Artwork during the Expo and was impressed with those artwork.




ACDSNY said:


> Wow that's quite a wait, I'm glad you were prepared with your chair and ipad to pass the time.  The shopping looked fun.



It was a long wait but after being used to the long wait for Paint the Night parade during my May trip, so this is not new to me. It was good that I had that folding stool along with my iPad and iPhone to pass the time. The shopping was fun at the Dream Store but not at the MoG.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 4*

*Day 1* No StagePass and DISMeet #1 franandaj​
After doing some shopping at the Mickey’s of Glendale, I exited the store and now was right next to the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit. I was not like inside the exhibit that talks about the park itself but shows some artwork from Disneytown Lakeshore which is like a DTD version at Shanghai Disneyland and merchandise.

That was smart of D23 to have it at the end of the MoG store to see some artwork of Shanghai Disney Resort.
















I didn’t go inside the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit since there was already a long line just to enter the exhibit. But I was planning on getting a StagePass for the 5pm Imagineering 60 Years of Disneyland at Stage 23. This was the seminar that I wanted to see that day since I didn’t have time to see the Disney Legends Ceremony and Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films, Hosted by John Lasseter. I had to sacrifice seeing those seminars in order to do the other things that I wanted to do during the Expo since there were quite a lot of people that day.

So I head on over back to Hall A where the StagePass/StorePass is located right by the Dream Store. It is a long walk from one side to the other at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The queue for the MoG has gotten worse when I left which will be at least an hour wait time or more.












When I got on over to the StagePass area, it was past 12:30pm which was the time to get the 3pm or later seminars at Stage 23 or 28. When I looked at the queue, it was all the way back at the end of the queue and it was going all the way back to around the vendors. It was surprising to see that huge queue of people just to get the StagePass for the later seminars that afternoon.








I could have waited in that queue but it would at least take half an hour or even longer depends on how fast the line was moving. But I didn’t want to wait that long for that seminar so I just skipped it which I originally thought it was a mistake but when I heard about it afterwards, it didn’t feel like I missed anything. Maybe that was for the people that attended that seminar but it would have been different for me. But what can you do.

When I was about to leave and do something else that afternoon, I saw Alison and Fran @franandaj just finishing up buying at the Dream Store. It was nice to see them at the D23 Expo that afternoon.

We talked on the way over to back to Hall C where the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts area is located along with other vendors as well.




When we were walking in that direction, we saw the collection of John Lasseter Hawaiian shirts that features each different Pixar/Disney movie which was neat.




































Those were some very nice shirts that there were a few that I wanted but those Reyn Spooner shirts are quite expensive.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 5*

*Day 1* Shanghai Disney Resort Exhibit Part 1​After looking at the John Lasseter Hawaiian shirts, we head on over to the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit. We only had to wait a few minutes to go through the queue and enter the exhibit.

I was amazed at looking at all the different artwork, videos, models, CM clothing, etc. that talks about the whole new park that will open sometime next year.




Map of Shanghai Disney Resort with the park and Disneytown




From what I have seen and heard at the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit, there will be two hotels (The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Toy Story Hotel), Disneytown, and of course Shanghai Disneyland. The new park will have six theme lands which four will be new and two familiar one’s. The one’s that you see at any Disney Parks around the world are Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The new one’s are called Treasure Cove, Adventure Isle, Mickey Avenue and Gardens of Imagination. There will be new rides and some classic rides from other Disney Parks from around the world.













Here are my pictures when in the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit.

Some pictures from Mickey Avenue the new theme land
























Next one was Adventure Isle
















Camp Discovery which will be part of Adventure Isle












Treasure Cove land which is a new one which will be based on the movie Pirates of the Caribbean




























Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 3 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 6*

*Day 1* Shanghai Disney Resort Exhibit Part 2 & Dinner at the ESPN Zone​
The next theme land was Fantasyland. There were some rides that will be at Shanghai Disneyland which are from other Disney Parks from the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pans Flight.




































A look at a model of Enchanted Storybook Castle




Tomorrowland which will be different from the previous Tomorrowlands at the Disney Parks which will be more of a Tron theme type.








This was neat that there will be a TRON light cycle rollercoaster vehicle just like in the movie.




Lastly was Gardens of Imagination








After we looked at the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit, we just walked around the D23 Expo Emporium vendor stands to see what there is to offer.




One of the old PeopleMover cars.




During the shopping, I started to feel very hungry and my body got was hurting from carrying the backpack with the lenses and all my goodies that morning. It was very tough to walk around with all that stuff in the afternoon and since DAF was still in Hall D23 for the seminars. When we looked at the places to eat, most of the restaurants had long lines which felt like going in a queue for a seminar/store that afternoon. Even the food stands outside were busy as well.

I was planning on going back to the hotel room to drop off the stuff that I bought that afternoon since carrying it around just makes it hard for me to walk around and I might do more shopping later that day. But with the crowds at the Disney Store (which I was thinking later that day), it was very difficult.

When we got on over to Hall A side where the StagePass is located and it was around 2:30pm where all the Imaginnering 60 Years of Disneyland StagePass were all gone and I was not happy about it. I wanted to see that seminar that afternoon. It wasn’t on good planning on my part during this year’s D23 Expo where I had her with me.

Since I didn’t have any lunch that afternoon and been up since 4am, my body was tired and it was time that I took a break and take all the stuff back to my room at Best Western Stovall’s that night. The wait time and price of the food was not worth the time which I could save money by eating close to the hotel. We still had leftover pizza from Marri’s Pizza and Pasta on Thursday night.

I told Alison that I am going back to the room to rest up and we parted ways that afternoon. It was very nice to meet up with Alison and Fran during the D23 Expo that Friday afternoon.

I left around 3pm and headed on back to BW Stovall’s to drop off the goodies that I bought from the Dream Store and MoG.

When I ate, my feet and legs started to hurt that afternoon which I was very tired that afternoon. This was another big mistake on my part as well since I didn’t get enough sleep on Thursday night when we got back from the Disneyland Resort. We only got four hours of sleep which isn’t a lot and I didn’t take a nap when in the queue since it was only me in the show floor queue while DAF was in the Hall D23 queue. So it was bad planning on the part of this trip.

The thing is that I didn’t go back to the D23 Expo that afternoon till closing since I took a nap and forgot the time. I couldn’t call DAF until after the 3pm Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films, Hosted by John Lasseter since all the attendees attending that seminar are told to bag up their electronics since it wasn’t allowed during that seminar. I tried to call her and tell her where I was but I didn’t reach her until around after 6pm.

When I told her that I was back at the room, she went back and met up with me. She was surprised that I was back at the hotel instead of at the D23 Expo but she could understand why I was back at the room after a long day from getting up early and carrying all that stuff along with no food.

This is where you need to have someone with you at the D23 Expo. For people that are thinking of going to the D23 Expo in the near future without anyone to be with, this can make a big difference (if you are in my shoes for shopping and getting the free stuff at the stands).

When she got back, she started to feel hungry that night. We talked about what should we eat that night and since it was already too late to go back to the D23 Expo, we went on over to the DLR that night to have dinner at our favorite restaurant when the two of us are here.

So we walked on out of our hotel and on over to the DLR.




We had dinner at our favorite place which is the ESPN Zone. We could have ate somewhere close that night but since we were planning on eating around the restaurants by our hotel, it made sense to eat that night at the DLR.




We had to wait a while to get inside the restaurant that night since it was so busy. We didn’t get in just before 8pm which was way late. But we got in that night.




For dinner, we both got the Fish & Chips which was on a special menu. It is not on the regular menu.




It was nice to have a good meal that night with DAF at the ESPN Zone that night. After finishing up dinner, we went back to the room.

We didn’t go in the park that night since we had to get up early the next day on Saturday since there was the Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios seminar at 10:30am to 12:30pm which this was another big one like the Pixar/WD Studios seminar that Friday afternoon. I know that there will be a lot of people staking out on Friday night to Saturday morning to see that seminar. DAF was planning on seeing that while I was planning on going to the stores on Saturday.

There were a lot of mistakes that I made that Friday during the Expo which I didn’t get something to eat and carried all that stuff with me around the Expo which took a lot of energy. I should have went back to the room after finishing my shopping at the Dream Store but I was stubborn of getting a StagePass where I didn’t get one that afternoon since the queue to get the StagePass was long. I wasn’t able to go in the Disney Store which I have heard had great things to get from the Reyn Spooner John Lasseter Hawaiian shirt that was exclusive at the Disney Store during the Expo, freebees from the different vendor and stands. It was just bad planning on my part and I still kick myself to that day for making those mistakes. But you take chances and they didn’t pan out.

The first day concludes at the D23 Expo and we still have two more days to do things and hope that it will be better.


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## PrincessInOz

Treasure Cove and Adventure Isle are the bits of Shanghai that I'm totally keen to check out.  I saw some of the early 3D models of Treasure Cove and it looks absolutely amazing.  I just wonder how the Chinese are going to behave in the park.  It will be interesting to see if the Disney CM keep some degree of control and decorum with the Chinese people. 
The CM in Hong Kong struggle with it.

Great pictures from the expo so far.


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## dhorner233

Again, wow Bret! Thanks for taking the time to post all these pictures! I love the Shanghai stuff but thought - they put Tomorrowland on the wrong side of the castle!!  

Love the shirts! 

I'm sorry it was so crowded and you didn't get to do everything you wanted to do. So many people! Such long lines for everything. Disney can take a lot of planning!


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## Wonder2008

Hi Bret,

Sorry we couldn't meet before the expo.  From your trip report it actually sounds like we crossed paths on Wednesday and Thursday without knowing it!

I should clarify our "rough start" on Friday morning.  As you know D23 members could buy tickets for themselves and 3 people.  So, she was my guest and her ticket said so.  That's why we were both upset about being told she had to go to the general line.  For the other mornings, yes, she entered with me at 9am.

I was actually sort of upset not having a chance to got to Mickey's of Glendale.  But, from your description, I'm not sure I missed much.  They had a Mickey's of Glendale at the 2014 Destination D event at WDW, so I got what I wanted there.

The only time we got Stagepasses was right away at 9:00 for the 11am presentations in Stage 23.  It worked out just fine for us, but the lines were huge the rest of the day.  Then, on Saturday, we tried getting a Stagepass around 12:30 for one of the late day presentations but the line was closed.  I have no idea why, but it reopened later.

@franandaj - I thought you weren't going to be at the expo.  I would have liked to say "hi".

I'm looking forward to hearing more from your trip!




> Hi @Wonder2008, it was nice to meet you in person during the D23 Expo. It would have been better if we got to meet before the Expo but I know that you were enjoying your visit at the DLR.
> 
> The parks were not that crowded in my opinion where the queues for the rides are long but not like the heavy summer times or Christmas break. You stayed late that Wednesday night and were able to ride the updated Matterhorn. Glad you were able to see the three new nighttime shows and they are amazing.
> 
> You got there late that Friday morning at 7am. I heard from my friend that she got there late and it was a disorganized. I didn't see it that morning but from what she has told me, it was crazy with all those snake like lines outside of the ACC. It felt like the old times with all those snake lines outside the ACC. That was a little surprise to hear that your sister was not allowed to be in the D23 Gold/Silver queue that mornign where she had the regular admission ticket. That was good that you went to the Disney Legends Ceremony that morning just like my aunt. Sorry to hear about the bad start of your day and hope it got better.


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## franandaj

Bret, it was great to see you that day. I'm sorry things didn't work out for you as you had hoped. It makes a huge difference when you have to wait in all those lines. Those Sorcerer passes are worth every penny. Hopefully in 2017.



Wonder2008 said:


> @franandaj - I thought you weren't going to be at the expo. I would have liked to say "hi".



Robert, I would have liked to say "hi" as well. It was a total last minute decision on our part to go. We got CM priced tickets less than three days before.  We only went the one day.


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Treasure Cove and Adventure Isle are the bits of Shanghai that I'm totally keen to check out.  I saw some of the early 3D models of Treasure Cove and it looks absolutely amazing.  I just wonder how the Chinese are going to behave in the park.  It will be interesting to see if the Disney CM keep some degree of control and decorum with the Chinese people.
> The CM in Hong Kong struggle with it.
> 
> Great pictures from the expo so far.



Seeing the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit was great and when DAF got to see the exhibit on Sunday, she says that we should forget going to Tokyo, France, or Hong Kong to see Shanghai Disney Resort first. It will be very interesting how Chinese are going to behave in this new resort.

Thank you PiO.




dhorner233 said:


> Again, wow Bret! Thanks for taking the time to post all these pictures! I love the Shanghai stuff but thought - they put Tomorrowland on the wrong side of the castle!!
> 
> Love the shirts!
> 
> I'm sorry it was so crowded and you didn't get to do everything you wanted to do. So many people! Such long lines for everything. Disney can take a lot of planning!



Thank you Denise. I have taken a lot of pictures at the Expo where I didn't use the 2.8 a lot since everything was all wide angle shots. Shanghai Disney Resort will be amazing.

That was to be expected at the D23 Expo. You got to plan out what you want to do since it requires a lot of planning. The Expo was so crowded that it was tough to walk around and do stuff that I wanted to do. But you have to choose what you want to do and some of them didn't work out as well as I thought.




Wonder2008 said:


> Hi Bret,
> 
> Sorry we couldn't meet before the expo.  From your trip report it actually sounds like we crossed paths on Wednesday and Thursday without knowing it!
> 
> I should clarify our "rough start" on Friday morning.  As you know D23 members could buy tickets for themselves and 3 people.  So, she was my guest and her ticket said so.  That's why we were both upset about being told she had to go to the general line.  For the other mornings, yes, she entered with me at 9am.
> 
> I was actually sort of upset not having a chance to got to Mickey's of Glendale.  But, from your description, I'm not sure I missed much.  They had a Mickey's of Glendale at the 2014 Destination D event at WDW, so I got what I wanted there.
> 
> The only time we got Stagepasses was right away at 9:00 for the 11am presentations in Stage 23.  It worked out just fine for us, but the lines were huge the rest of the day.  Then, on Saturday, we tried getting a Stagepass around 12:30 for one of the late day presentations but the line was closed.  I have no idea why, but it reopened later.
> 
> @franandaj - I thought you weren't going to be at the expo.  I would have liked to say "hi".
> 
> I'm looking forward to hearing more from your trip!



It was okay. I know that you were enjoying your time at the DLR before the Expo and I didn't want to take that away from you. There were a few times where we could have cross paths on those days.

It must have been a misunderstanding on that Friday. I would be upset as well since my tickets says that I D23 Gold/Silver member and should be in that queue instead of the general queue. 

The new things at the MoG was the Shanghai Disney Resort products which was the highlight of the MoG store. All the other products I have seen from previous Expo's and MoG store in Glendale, CA. 

Getting StagePass can be very long and crowded especially with the later day ones at 12:30pm. I was disappointed that i didn't get the 5pm Imagineering 60 Years of Disneyland seminar and I heard that some attendees were able to walk-in at the last second to that seminar. Spending time in those queues would take up a lot of my time at the Expo which I wasn't planning on doing. It was hard when I was the only person doing those things so it did came into play especially with getting food inside the ACC where those lines are long just for food.




franandaj said:


> Bret, it was great to see you that day. I'm sorry things didn't work out for you as you had hoped. It makes a huge difference when you have to wait in all those lines. Those Sorcerer passes are worth every penny. Hopefully in 2017.



It was great to see you and Fran that day as well and glad that you and Fran were able to buy some stuff at the D23 Expo on Friday. Sometimes things don't go as plan since I made too many mistakes at he Expo. It would have been nice if DAF was with me and it would have gone smoother but since she was seeing those seminars on Friday, it was tough to do things without her. Now we both understand that the Sorcerer passes do make a huge difference. I will wonder what the price of each ticket for the Sorcerer passes will be next year. This years was $2,000 and next years will be something like $2,500. We'll have to think about what the price will be next year and we will decide if it is worth it. DAF is thinking of not going to the next D23 Expo since these last three have been the same and this year's was way more crowded from previous years that she has attended. I say that this year's D23 Expo was way more crowded from past years.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 1*

Day 2 D23 Expo Disneyland Archives Part 2​
Now it was the second day of the D23 Expo on Saturday the 14th. After a nice shopping day at the D23 Expo along with a bad finish to the Expo, it was another day for shopping where there were specific pins that I wanted at the Dream Store and also hit the Disney Store that morning. Since I wasn’t able to go to the Disney Store on Friday, it made sense to go to the store after the Dream Store.

That day was the Star Wars items that were available at the Dream Store from the Force Awakens shirts and pins. I was determine to go to that store and get the stuff that morning and go shopping at the Disney Store (if it is not that crowded).

We didn’t get up super early like the other days but we did leave around 5:30am from Best Western Stovall’s to the Anaheim Convention Center. This was going to be a nice day where it shouldn’t be that busy for the show floor since I have heard that a lot of people were staking out since Friday night to see the “Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios” seminar at Hall D23 at 10:30am. This was the seminar that was going to be bigger over the “Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films, Hosted by John Lasseter”. DAF wasn’t that interested to go to the show floor that morning like I am since she wanted to go to that 10:30am seminar. So we parted ways while she went on over to the queue for the Hall D23 while I went to the show floor queue. Interesting that the show floor queue was actually inside the lobby at the ACC on Hall A & B area while the queue for Hall D23 was back at Hall E area again. It was interesting to see that the queue for the show floor was in the lobby like the first three Expo’s while on Friday it was in Hall E with Hall D23 queue. I wonder why they put the queue back in the lobby instead being in Hall E like Friday.

DAF went on over to the Hall E while I was in the queue for show floor.








I was first outside of the ACC where the alley is but a few minutes, I was now inside the ACC. At least I was inside instead of outside that morning.




There must have been at least over 100+ people in front of me that morning but it wasn’t that bad as I have thought.




So once again, I was waiting in the queue to get in the show floor at 9am that morning. Luckily, I had my folding stool and electronics to keep me occupy until the show floor opens at 9am.

Once again, my neighbor niece was also there for all three days like DAF and I. I was keeping in touch with her where she was during the whole time at the Expo and she told me that she got to the ACC late again around 8am which was late and she told me that she was close to the Arena area and I was surprised to hear that she was back that far. When we got there early that morning, we saw the ground was all taped up and I can tell that was for the people that were trying to get in the show floor and boy it was long.

When it got to 9am, the queue started to move and it was like a maze in the lobby where we were all going around from the end of Hall A to the doors at Hall B.

When I got in, the first thing I do was head on over to the Disney Store first to see what the line was like and there were some people in the queue and it would take some time to go through it.








It did look a little busy that morning but later on it was well worth waiting in since the Dream Store was a walk-in that morning. I am still kicking myself for not going in the Disney Store that morning.

After passing by the Disney Store, I head on over towards the Dream Store.




When I got to the Dream Store, it was a walk-in that morning. Completely different from Friday where I had to wait a while and it was well worth it.




In the Dream Store, there were certain merchandise that were not available on Friday like the Star Wars products like the shirts and pins. I planned on getting some shirts and pins that were not available at the Dream Store along with getting more D23 Expo merchandise that I missed on Friday.












After checking out of the Dream Store, I was right by the StagePass and StorePass queue and I took a chance and went on in the StorePass queue to get a StorePass for the Disney Store. This was a huge risk of spending some of my time at the StorePass queue to get it since I might not get one but I wasn’t thinking clearly that morning.




I was in the queue for almost 15 minutes and it was announced that all the StorePass for the Disney Store and MoG were all sold out. There were Dream Store StorePass available but I already went in the store just a while ago. I made a huge mistake that morning by taking a chance and get a StorePass for the Disney Store.

This is where the StorePass was a huge failure during the D23 Expo in my opinion where there are a lot of problems with this years’ Expo compare to past years. The StorePass is a great idea but the problem is that there is a certain window where they are available during the morning. After the first hour, they were all gone. No matter what with the StorePass, attendees will always go in the stores and wait hours just to get the merchandise that they want.

After getting out of the StorePass queue, I head on over to the StagePass queue to get the 11am Disney on Broadway: Originals seminar. It was available when the show floor opened that morning. The big screen shows what times the seminars for Stage 23 & Stage 28.




StagePass Guidelines sign




I got my StagePass for the Disney on Broadway: “The Originals” that morning where it is a collector item. I didn’t go see that seminar since I was doing other things that morning.




After getting the StagePass, I head on over to the Disney Store to see what the wait time was like and for my fear, the queue was already so long that the staff told me that it will be at least an hour or longer to go through. So once again, I made a huge mistake with the Dream Store and StorePass that morning where I could have gone in the Disney Store and get some things that I have heard are at that store.

The show floor started to get a little busy that morning.




When I left the Disney Store, there was something else that I wanted to see so badly at the Expo which was the Disneyland Archives which was close to the Dream Store which was in Hall A. This is like a true Disneyland fan where to see rare artifacts of Disneyland history.




I did have to wait in a queue for a while which was around 10 minutes which wasn’t that long but I wanted to see the Disneyland Archives during the Expo. I originally thought that there would be no picture taking at the archives but the CM’s told the attendees that flash and video recording is not allowed. So this was perfect for me to take pictures inside the Archives.




I was now inside the Disneyland Archives and looking at all the Disneyland artifacts & pictures.

I almost took over 300 pictures inside the Archives alone during that time.
























Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 2*

Day 2 D23 Expo Disneyland Archives Part 2​







Constructing a Dream
















A reproduction of Herb Ryman original layout of Disneyland. I was able to see the original Herb Ryman Disneyland pencil drawing during the 2013 D23 Expo. While this was a reproduction of the original one, it is nice to see a one that was close to the real one.








I remember at the D23 Expo in 2013 that there was a dark room which had original artwork and sketches of early versions of Disneyland that we see on the documentary. Even though it wasn’t the original ones like at the 2013 Expo, it was nice to see reproduction of the one’s at the archives.

The queue to get into the archives gotten quite long that day.




The one item that I thought was the best and highlight of the archives was the first admission ticket to Disneyland which was purchased by Roy O. Disney.












There were a lot of pictures of Disneyland opening day in 1955.




More relics and memo from the 1955 opening.












Mouseketeers costumes worn by Annette Funicello and Cubby O’Brien 1955








Mickey Mouse Club Circus












Pirates of the Caribbean head and figures.












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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 3*

Day 2 D23 Expo Disneyland Archives Part 3​
Alice in Wonderland mockup ride vehicle












The caterpillar vehicle like we see today for the AiW ride at Disneyland.




Country Bear Jamboree from the former Bear Country




Oscar figure












There were also Club 33 relics as well before the 2014 renovation to the restaurant. I was lucky to go in Club 33 before the renovation in 2013 and it was neat to see some of the stuff that used to be in there.




















Golden Horseshoe Revue that was worn by Betty Taylor












Jungle Cruise Cambodian Temple Ruins model




A model of the Congo Queen




Popcorn Wagon #4 from Main Street, U.S.A’s Central Plaza in 1957








Standard-Harvard Metal Typer used to personalized circular tokens at the Disneyland Penny Arcade








There was also a miniature model of Robert Olszeski work of Main Street on display.












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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 4*

Day 2 D23 Expo Disneyland Archives Part 4​
More Disneyland artifacts from the archives at the D23 Expo.












Character Merchandise
























Star Tours sign that was from the original Star Tour




RX-24 nickname Rex figure from the original Star Tour before it was updated.








Fantasyland Autopia attraction vehicle Mark VII car, 1967. There were two types of Autopia one of them was at Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.




Peter Pan Pirate Ship ride vehicle. It wasn’t too long ago when DL updated Peter Pan’s Flight at Disneyland including the original bed scene of Wendy, John and Michael.








There was also the last Matterhorn Bobsled cars which can carry four people in each car and the old Abominable Snowman




Do I miss those old bobsled ride vehicles which are way more comfortable than the new ones at DL today. From 1978-2011.




The Abominable Snowman looks great.




Monsanto House of the Future








Adventure Thru Inner Space




America Sings items












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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 5*

Day 2 D23 Expo Disneyland Archives Part 5​




Mickey Mouse Coat & Vest Worn prior to 1973 and Mickey Mouse Coat & Vest during DL 50th Anniversary




The Osmond Brothers












Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride attraction vehicle








Tribal drummer costume from “the Lion King Celebration”




I know that you would like this part of the Disneyland Archives @Sherry E. These are costumes from the Christmas parades

Snowflake costume 1994




1971 Reindeer costume




A model of the Santa Claus Finale float model. It was designed by Brian Sandahl 2005.




Costume art of the Snowflake from Fantasy on Parade




Disneyland Candlelight Procession and Ceremony cards.




America on Parade












The Tinker Bell float model. Disney Electrical Parade 2009.








Fantasmic! World Premier items








Soldier costume “The Mulan parade, American Parade Ben Franklin costume and Bandleader uniform




Cheshire Cat float from the Main Street Electrical Parade 1983




Pictures of famous celebrities that have visited the DLR.




V.I.P. itinerary of Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev




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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 6*

Day 2 D23 Expo Disneyland Archives Part 6​
Costumes from Fantasmic! Monkeys from 1992








Maleficent costume from 1992




One of the items that I enjoyed the most along with the ticket is the original Maleficent dragon head from Fantasmic!. I remember this had of the old F! before DL added the full body dragon back in 2009 during Summertastic.












Disneyland 50th Anniversary brooches




Special attraction guidebooks




Disneyland Entrance and Attraction Tickets








Cast Member name tags












Cast Member costumes from over the years.




































I must have been there at least over an hour to two inside the Disneyland Archives that morning to the afternoon where there are a lot of cool artifacts of Disneyland history.

That is it for this part and stay tune of what I have done next at the D23 Expo.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## Sherry E

That reindeer from 1971 doesn't look too different from the reindeer in the parade in the early '90s!


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## PrincessInOz

That's a LOT of pictures from the Expo, Bret.  Thanks for taking the time to take them all so that we can enjoy them.  I've enjoyed looking at all the memorabilia!

What a shame about not going into the Disney Store in the morning.  Sounds like the Stage Passes go the way of paper fast passes!  Real quick.


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## dhorner233

Love all the Archives pictures Bret! So interesting! Thanks for posting so we can all see everything. Love the dragon's head! And the Alice. So many interesting things!


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## Wonder2008

You obviously enjoyed the Archives exhibit! We were there only on Friday, at the very end of the day. I wish we could have spent a little more time in there. Roy Disney's admission ticket was a highlight for me as well. It's amazing that he had the foresight to save it! I really liked seeing Mickey's outfit from the 50th anniversary. That was my first time at Disneyland, and my sister and I have a great picture of us and Mickey wearing that.

That was interesting to get a Stagepass as a souvenir. We actually went to that concert in Stage 23 and it was definitely a highlight of the expo for us.

Thanks for sharing all of this with us!


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## mvf-m11c

Sherry E said:


> That reindeer from 1971 doesn't look too different from the reindeer in the parade in the early '90s!



When I looked at the reindeer, I thought it didn't look any different from the early days of A Christmas Fantasy parade. I have to look at my pictures from those times.




PrincessInOz said:


> That's a LOT of pictures from the Expo, Bret.  Thanks for taking the time to take them all so that we can enjoy them.  I've enjoyed looking at all the memorabilia!
> 
> What a shame about not going into the Disney Store in the morning.  Sounds like the Stage Passes go the way of paper fast passes!  Real quick.



I took over 2000 pictures from the Expo which doesn't sound a lot but most of them were at the seminars and Disneyland Archives. Glad that you are enjoying all the pictures from the expo. 

I should have thought carefully of going to the Disney Store first thing and go to the Dream Store later that morning so I can get all the stuff that i wanted. I just didn't plan my day that well. The StagePass is like the paper FP's at DL and which gets you in that seminar no matter what unless you show up very late. The StorePass which was the worst where they were all gone before 10am.




dhorner233 said:


> Love all the Archives pictures Bret! So interesting! Thanks for posting so we can all see everything. Love the dragon's head! And the Alice. So many interesting things!



Thank you Denise. It was neat to see Maleficent Dragon head from the original Fantasmic! when it debut in the early 90s and now it is replaced with the full body dragon. There were so many interesting things to see at the Disneyland Archives where you could spend at least an hour in the Archives of seeing all the treasure items from DL history.




Wonder2008 said:


> You obviously enjoyed the Archives exhibit! We were there only on Friday, at the very end of the day. I wish we could have spent a little more time in there. Roy Disney's admission ticket was a highlight for me as well. It's amazing that he had the foresight to save it! I really liked seeing Mickey's outfit from the 50th anniversary. That was my first time at Disneyland, and my sister and I have a great picture of us and Mickey wearing that.
> 
> That was interesting to get a Stagepass as a souvenir. We actually went to that concert in Stage 23 and it was definitely a highlight of the expo for us.
> 
> Thanks for sharing all of this with us!



The Archives was very interesting and glad that I went in since I am a huge DLR fan. That was nice that you were able to go to the Archives on Friday at the end of the day. The Roy Disney admission ticket was by far the highlight of the Archives. 

I like to get FP's or StagePass/StorePass as souvenirs which the FP's are about to be extinct when FP+ comes to all the Disney Parks which the DLR still uses it while WDW uses FP+. It will be interesting to try out the FP+ when I go next month to WDW. Glad to hear that the Stage 23 concert was the highlight of the Expo for you two.

Your welcome.


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 7*

Day 2 D23 Expo Waiting Game and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Seminar Part 1​
After spending some time at the Disneyland Archives, it was close to 11:30am and I was thinking of what to do that afternoon at the Expo. I have been thinking of trying to go and see some of the vendors around the Expo but DAF told me to get a spot for the 3pm Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seminar at Hall D23. DAF was in Hall D23 for the 10:30am Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios seminar which ended at 12:30pm. It was a 3 hour wait which didn’t seem like it would be worth it but after not getting a StagePass for the 5pm Imagineering 60th Years at Disneyland on Friday, I made sure that I was going to be at that seminar along with DAF which she will join me in the waiting queue.

I head on over to the Hall D23 queue which is Hall E on the bottom level where DAF and I where we were in the queue for Friday and for DAF that morning. It was smart planning on D23 to have Hall E as a queue for Hall D23 which it would take up a lot of show floor in Hall A, B, & C.

There were a lot of interesting vendors to go through that afternoon but that was not my priority.
















When I got to the other side of the Convention Center, there were a lot of different signs to tell the guests where to line up for the Hall D23 seminars. This is a big improvement from previous years where there were no signs to tell us where to go.




When I made it to the area to the queue for Hall D23, the D23 staff told all the people that the queue for Hall D23 was outside. I was surprised that it was outside and wonder how long it would be. But it was just an extended queue until we were led inside Hall E queue. Good thing that this wasn’t the queue for that seminar. Especially it was hot that afternoon.




I spent some time outside until I was inside Hall E.




When I got in Hall E, I had three choices of where to see the seminar. At first, I was considering B which is the best one but there were at least four lines in the B seating area and two in the A seating area. SO I decided to choose C seating area since it was just in the first line. So we were able to get some good seats for that seminar.




As you can tell from the queue which wasn’t that bad but I could have got B or C but the first row looks good.




So for the next three hours, I waited in Hall E queue until it was time for the 3pm seminar. I was kept occupied with my electronics that afternoon which helped kill the time.

Around after 1pm, DAF got out of Hall D23 from the Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios seminar. She was excited that she was able to go to that seminar that morning where it was full that morning.

We got there early Saturday morning where she went straight to that queue and was able to get a seat that morning. She told me that there were a lot of people that didn’t get in which was a big seminar and the most popular.

She told me a lot of things that were announced during that seminar from the movies and the first news of Star Wars Land at DHS and DL. It was a shame that she told me that but it was big news to hear that Star Wars Land will be coming to DL and DHS in the near future. She also got a Star Wars VII The Force Awakens poster for attending that seminar. She was excited to get a poster for waiting those long hours. She was not happy where she didn’t get anything on the first day for the WD/Pixar seminar and to be able to get a poster that day helped her day out.

Just about an hour until the seminar started, the queue started to get quite busy but not that super busy like those other seminars.




About half an hour until we were about to go inside Hall D23, @Wonder2008 was able to find me in the queue. It was nice to be able to meet him in person and we had a nice chat and talked about the days at the Expo.

After waiting for almost 3 hours, the queue started to move and we were moved to Hall D23. When we got in, I was not that happy with the layout of Hall D23 where it was all wide and you will not be able to see the people on stage which is hard. But it does make sense to have this much space over the D23 Arena which was used for the first three Expo’s.




I was not happy with the location of where we were seating but what can you do and you can’t ask the D23 staff to move to a nice spot so I can take pictures during the seminar. Good thing that I had the 2.8 with me for taking pictures.




Before the seminar started, there were all sorts of questions until the seminar started.




Now it was time for the 3pm Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seminar and the host Bob Chapek Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.








For the first part, he was talking about Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration with all the new additions of Paint the Night parade, Disneyland Forever fireworks and World of Color – Celebrate. Especially Paint the Night parade which was inspired by the Main Street Electrical Parade.

It was announced during the Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios seminar that morning that Bob Iger announced that Star Wars Land was coming to the Disney Parks and Bob Chapek confirmed that Star Wars Land will be coming to Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios. There is no timetable when it will debut or when construction will begin. But from we have heard that DL will start sometime early next year.

Art work of star War Land when Bob was talking about it.




















He announced that you are able to fly a mission on the Millenium Falcon








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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 8*

Day 2 D23 Expo Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Seminar 2​
Scott Trowbridge Portfolio Creative Executive was talking about his love of Star Wars and talking about Star Wars Land at DL and DHS.




Scott announced for Star Tours – The Adventures Continue will get a new update later this year when the new movie The Force Awakens debut this December. The Jedi Training Academy will also get new updates as well.

Later this year, Star Wars Launch Bay will be at DL at the former Innoventions building which has been closed for some time this year. A new location which is all about Star Wars.




In early 2016, Disney will be launching a limited seasonal event at DL and WDW which will be called Star Wars Season of the Force in Anaheim off the popular Star Wars Weekend at WDW. This event is to beef up the Star Wars experience like at WDW Star Wars Weekend. With character experience, limited time food, drinks and merchandise. And some great new experiences at DL.








Bob announced that during Star Wars Season of the Force, there will be a new version of Space Mountain called “Hyper Space Mountain”. This was very neat to hear that this will be a third version of Space Mountain after the original one and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy during the Halloween season at DL. There will be new projections and enhanced soundtrack for the ride which will make the experience like no other.




DHS will have a new nighttime firework show for Star Wars Season of the Force




These next few months, Star Wars will be making headlines at the Disney Parks later this year and next year with Star Wars Season of the Force. Can’t wait till Launch Bay is open at DL and Season of the Force next year.

Bob Chapek made his way back to the stage and talked about WDW next with some new addition like the world of Arendelle to the Norway pavilion at Epcot and talked about the new Star Wars Land at DHS, he also announced that DHS will have a new land called Toy Story Land.




Kathy Mangum Portfolio Creative Executive made an appearance and talked about all the new additions to WDW.




She talked about the new land at DHS in the near future at DHS. She talked about the story of Toy Story which made Toy Story Land a reality at DHS. There will be two new attractions at Toy Story Land that will be exclusive at DHS. One will be a little Green Alien flying saucer spinning ride and the other one is a family coaster of Slinky Dog.




She showed us a video of what the roller coaster will be like.




Also she announced for Toy Story Midway Mania will be adding another track which will help reduce the wait time for TSMM.

She now talked about Epcot which a new attraction will be added called “Frozen Ever After” in the Norway pavilion which will replace Maelstrom.












Sven




The Norway is getting an expansion which will be called “The Royal Summerhouse”








Bob came back and now talked about Animal Kingdom. He talked the new Pandora – The World of Avatar. There was a stand that talked about Pandora – The World of Avatar at AK and showed a model of it which I haven’t seen it during those two days but I was able to see it on the last day which you will see later on during the trip report.




Joe Rohde the lead creator of Animal Kingdom talked about the newest land for AK. He also talked about AK going to have extended hours towards the nighttime which AK closes before the sunsets at AK so it was neat that the park will be going during nighttime.




He also announced that Kilimanjaro Safari will get an extended version to experience. That includes adding two new animals like the African Wild Dogs and Hyenas.

He also talked about the new nighttime show “Rivers of Light” that will take place on Discovery River. This will be like a new version of World of Color at Disney California Adventure and talked about the creation of this show.




They talked about Pandora – The World of Avatar. They talked about the movie on how the land was made a reality.




Made a special appearance that talks about Pandora – The World of Avatar are the producer of the movie Avatar are James Cameron and Jon Landau.




They talked about the new land Pandora - The World of Avatar and some new attractions. One of them is called the “Flight of Passage” which guests will soar on a Banshee over the alien World. The other ride is a water based ride through the spectacles of Pandora.

It was very interesting to hear from James and Jon about Pandora – The World of Avatar.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 9*

Day 2 D23 Expo Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Seminar 3​
Bob Chapek came back out and talked about that Tokyo Disney Resort a 10 year 500 billion yen expansion plan. Tokyo Disneyland Park will get a redevelop Fantasyland which will double the size of the themed land which will have the stories of Beauty and the Beast and Alice in Wonderland. For Tokyo DisneySea Park, the new eighth themed port will be developed in the expansion site located south of Lost River Delta which will be a Scandinavia with a portion of the area themed from the movie “Frozen”.

He also talked about Disneyland Paris which will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2017.




Than he talked about Hong Kong Disneyland which will celebrate its 10th Anniversary this month. Bob talked about the newest hotel at HKDL which is called Disney Explorers Lodge.




He then talked about the Iron Man Experience which is the first ever attraction at a Disney Park.




Ted Robledo was the one that talked about the new Iron Man Experience and showed a never seen video of the ride experience of Iron Man Experience. Stark Expo is going to open in 2016 at HKDL which will be in Tomorrowland.

Stark Expo
















The “Iron Wing” which is like a new version of the Starspeeder 1000 of Star Tours will be the ride vehicle for Iron Man Experience ride.












Ted showed all the attendees a first look at the action of Iron Man Experience




Later on, made an appearance was the creator of Marvel Stan Lee was there. I have seen Stan Lee at all these different Comic Con events and it was neat that he was here at the D23 Expo talking about some of his work.




D23 also showed some video of the Marvel movies that he was in which was neat to see all the different movies that he was in.

Then made a special appearance was Iron Man himself.




Bob now talked about Shanghai Disney Resort which will open next year in 2016. There was a big show floor of Shanghai Disney Resort which told us everything about it. When I was at the exhibit, there were new lands that I wrote on my previous posts from the Shanghai Disney Resort exhibit

Bob Weiss the leading WDI for the Shanghai Disney Resort project made an appearance.




He talked about the new park from all the new lands, rides, and experience different from the other Disney Parks.








There was a special video of Pirates of the Caribbean program for the ride.




Bob Weiss talked about the new TRON theme roller coaster which will be one of the fastest rides at any Disney Parks which will be based on the TRON Theme bikes. Adventure Isle is a new land that will be a counterpart to Adventureland. The land is focused around the lost world of Roaring Mountain which will be a ride called roaring Rapids. The new castle which will be the tallest out of all the Disney Parks will be called “Enchanted Storybook Castle that will feature an underground boat ride.

Bob Chapek came back out and made an announcement that Soarin Over the World will make its debut at DCA and Epcot next year. Even though it was exciting news to hear that Soarin Over the World is coming to Soarin but it doesn’t make sense to put it at DCA where Over the World does not fit the DCA theme which it will fit at Epcot. Even after the renovation to Soarin at DCA this year, it didn’t make any sense. But what do I know.

To finish the seminar, CM’s perform a special “Kiss Goodnight” song which is the one of Disneyland 60th Diamond Celebration songs which is at the end of Disneyland Forever fireworks. The CM’s were singing all different sort of Disney nighttime show songs from Wishes, Fantasmic, WoC, WoC – Celebrate, Disney Dreams! from DLP, Once Upon a time from Tokyo Disneyland, Illuminations, Disneyland Forever, Paint the Night parade.












There were a lot of great news to hear from the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seminar that afternoon from Star Wars Land, new lands at the Disney Parks, Shanghai Disney Resort, etc. A lot of news is what I have heard and read before the Expo while the Star Wars Land was a new one. I knew that Star Wars Land was coming but didn’t know where it will be located. DAF had a fun time seeing that seminar but she loved the earlier seminar over this one.

We waited until it was easy to walk on out.




We walked on out and we were heading on over to Hall C area on the backside where the D23 Expo Emporium area was located.




We decided to go back to the room since we didn’t have lunch/dinner that afternoon since we have been in those lines for the shopping or seminars. This shows how difficult it was when the two of us are separated and the lines for those food stands were so busy that it wasn’t worth spending part of the day at the Expo in. It would have been easier if we were together but I didn’t want to take away DAF time at the D23 Expo.




We got out of the Convention Center around 5pm which there was two hours to go and we looked at doing other things like the Disneyland Archives while walking on out of the show floor but the lines were so long that DAF didn’t want to wait that long. So we just decided to walk out and call it for the Expo.

Once again, I didn’t plan really well for that day at the D23 Expo for the shopping but I was glad that I was able to go in the Disneyland Archives and see the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seminar at 3pm with DAF. DAF was glad that she went to the 10:30am seminar which talked about the upcoming Lucas/Marvel films.

When we got back to our hotel, we were tired and wanted to have dinner that night. So for dinner, we went to Coco’s which is right next door to BW Stovall’s so it was a quick restaurant place to eat.

After dinner, we were considering calling it and just rest at the hotel, but I had other plans that night. So stay tune on the next update of what we have done that night.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## Wonder2008

I knew you'd have a great Parks/Resorts recap! Thanks for mentioning me, and it was nice to (quickly) see you.

My thoughts:  Toy Story Land will be a great addition to Hollywood Studios.  I'm looking forward to that.  Frozen at Norway, not so sure yet.  Animal Kingdom's new nighttime show will be great - I know it will be!  I've never seen Avatar, nor am I interested in it, but I'm interested in the new land.  I was probably the only person in that room who thought all the Marvel stuff was completely unnecessary.  I have to agree with you about Soarin' - it makes perfect sense at Epcot, but not California Adventure.  I thought the finale performance was spectacular!  You probably already know this, but Richard Sherman and Ashley Brown came out during the Disney Legends ceremony on Friday and she sang "A Kiss Goodnight" - another fantastic performance!

I had the chance to see Joe Rohde years ago, but I've never been to a presentation of his.  He speaks with such enthusiasm about his projects.  And, I couldn't help but notice that his microphone picked up the sound of his earring jingling!

Thanks again for putting all this together.


----------



## dhorner233

Great update as always Bret! Loved seeing the art work of all the coming attractions!  That Joe Rhode is SO passionate!  and his earrings are SO big


----------



## PrincessInOz

Great recap and pictures.

I think all the expansion plans are amazing.  Without a doubt, it'll be an exciting couple of years ahead for Disney.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Wonder2008 said:


> I knew you'd have a great Parks/Resorts recap! Thanks for mentioning me, and it was nice to (quickly) see you.
> 
> My thoughts:  Toy Story Land will be a great addition to Hollywood Studios.  I'm looking forward to that.  Frozen at Norway, not so sure yet.  Animal Kingdom's new nighttime show will be great - I know it will be!  I've never seen Avatar, nor am I interested in it, but I'm interested in the new land.  I was probably the only person in that room who thought all the Marvel stuff was completely unnecessary.  I have to agree with you about Soarin' - it makes perfect sense at Epcot, but not California Adventure.  I thought the finale performance was spectacular!  You probably already know this, but Richard Sherman and Ashley Brown came out during the Disney Legends ceremony on Friday and she sang "A Kiss Goodnight" - another fantastic performance!
> 
> I had the chance to see Joe Rohde years ago, but I've never been to a presentation of his.  He speaks with such enthusiasm about his projects.  And, I couldn't help but notice that his microphone picked up the sound of his earring jingling!
> 
> Thanks again for putting all this together.



Thank you @Wonder2008 It was nice meeting you before the Parks and Resorts seminar. Even though we only spent a few minutes talking, it was nice to meet you.

I am looking forward to Toy Story Land at DHS in the near future. Frozen is everywhere and it would be nice if Disney does not keep doing all these different shows & rides but I understand why they are doing it. The Rivers of Light show at AK is something that I will want to see in the near future as well as Pandora - The World of Avatar but I will be more interested in the Rivers of Light show over that new land. Disney is doing a lot of Marvel and having their first land is okay from another park instead of the DLR or WDW. I am curious what Universal will do with Marvel now Disney owns the naming right. Soarin Over the World doesn't make any sense at DCA where it doesn't fit the theme at DCA. Disney is making a big mistake with doing that at DCA where Epoct makes perfect sense. DAF enjoyed the Disney Legends Ceremony that day where she got to see Johnny Depp as a Disney Legend and "A Kiss Goodnight" was a great performance to end the seminar.



dhorner233 said:


> Great update as always Bret! Loved seeing the art work of all the coming attractions!  That Joe Rhode is SO passionate!  and his earrings are SO big



Thank you Denise. You would have enjoyed the Parks and Resorts seminar which talked all about the new stuff coming to the Disney Parks. I was disappointed that there wasn't any seminar during the 2013 D23 Expo and this time they did one which makes sense to talk about the new upcoming projects. The Star Wars Land news was the biggest and it was announced before the Parks and Resorts seminar thanks to Bob Iger during the Lucas Film/Marvel seminar that Saturday morning. Joe Rhode is a passionate Imagineer for Animal Kingdom.




PrincessInOz said:


> Great recap and pictures.
> 
> I think all the expansion plans are amazing.  Without a doubt, it'll be an exciting couple of years ahead for Disney.



Thank you PiO. It was nice to go to the Parks and Resorts seminar. Even though I wasn't happy with the seating location, I was able to get some pictures.

It will be exciting these next few years with all the expansions and new shows.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 4 – August 14th, 2015 – Part 10*

Nighttime Shots at Disneyland & Disney California Adventure​After we finished dinner at Coco’s, we head on back to the room and I went to get my camera equipment so we can go to the Disneyland Resort that night. We were considering calling it for the night but Sunday was the slow day of the D23 Expo. I wanted to go to the parks that night to get some long exposure shots so I brought the tripod along. But I made a big mistake that night by not bringing my remote with me. I plan on taking pictures with the 2.8 that night with the tripod.

DAF went with me that night which I was a little surprised. I thought she was willing to rest that night after being up since 5am that Saturday morning after waiting in those queues for the seminars at the D23 Expo. But she wanted to go on over to the Disney stores at Downtown Disney that night to look at some of the stores since she was planning on buying some Disney items that night for her colleagues at work.

So we head on over to the DLR that night. It was not that bad that night which it was busy but not super busy like the busy parts of the summertime. There were attendees from the Expo at the DLR so they must be going on those Twilight tickets or just Annual Pass holders. She went to the World of Disney store where she wasn’t on planning on going to the park that night since she has a Deluxe AP and was blocked out that day.

I head on over to Disneyland first so I can get some long exposure shots. But Main Street was busy with guests waiting for the first show of Paint the Night at 8:50pm. So I just walked around and saw something very interesting that night.

When I was in Main Street and walking down, I saw that the third enchanted window was revealed. This was the Princess and the Frog enchanted window. The first two were the Peter Pan and Cinderella windows and the third window was revealed during my trip.




















It was so neat to see the third window that night where it was a bonus to see it. I decided it was not worth staying at DL that night with the parade going on that night and the street was so busy. So I went on over to Disney California Adventure that night.

When I got on over to DCA, I head on over to the Los Feliz Five & Dime store to see what new merchandise is in the store and the Halloween merchandise was already inside the store. Just like at the Emporium, the DCA stores have the Halloween merchandise as well.




Then I head on over to Cars land to get some long exposure shots with the 2.8. Unfortunately, without the remote for my DSLR, it was hard to take pictures with the 2.8 on the tripod that night. I learn that if you don’t have the remote with a telephoto for long exposure and try to take pictures without the remote, you can move the body and that will mess up the shot. I have done that so many times that night which I was trying to make sure I didn’t move the body but I was lucky on a few.








I got some pictures over at Ornament Valley with the telephoto lens that night and it was hard to make sure I didn’t move the body without the remote.












After taking some pics at Cars Land, I head on back towards Buena Vista Street since I am about to call it for the night which I spent about an hour to two that night. I wanted to get some long exposure of the Carthay Circle Theater that night along with the fountain so I set up over in that area.

I used the 2.8








Then I switched back to the Tokina that night which made sense for the wide angle shots.
















After taking some pictures at BVS, I head on back to the room that night to call for the night since we plan on getting to the D23 Expo early on Sunday morning. We weren’t planning on going at 5am or earlier like the other two nights since we were able to do all those other things but we will be planning on doing the stand that we missed during the Expo since we went shopping and seeing seminars.

That is it for this post and stay tune for the last full day at the D23 Expo.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## PrincessInOz

Despite not having the remote, your pictures are lovely.
Nice night time pictures, Bret.


----------



## franandaj

Those are some great pictures!  I'm wondering what the 2.8 has over a 1.4.  We're really starting to look at some, at least I hope.  Fran has been forwarding me eBay auctions and I like a few that she has found like a Rokina 1/4 35mm that is not too pricey....we'll see!


----------



## PrincessInOz

franandaj said:


> Those are some great pictures! * I'm wondering what the 2.8 has over a 1.4*.  We're really starting to look at some, at least I hope.  Fran has been forwarding me eBay auctions and I like a few that she has found like a Rokina 1/4 35mm that is not too pricey....we'll see!



The 2.8's are generally less expensive.  So, that gives options for getting zoom lenses....which then costs about the same as the 1.4.


----------



## tksbaskets

WOW I really enjoyed all your posts about the D23 Expo.  The lines were really something.  Did you find you spent a lot of time waiting or overall were you pleased with the experience?  We've talked about going and I'm curious what you thought overall.

I'm looking forward to seeing the new Soarin' too.  So many changes with the diamond anniversary.

TK


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Despite not having the remote, your pictures are lovely.
> Nice night time pictures, Bret.



The shots were not that bad without the remote but it made it very difficult without moving the body on the tripod.

Thank you PiO.




franandaj said:


> Those are some great pictures!  I'm wondering what the 2.8 has over a 1.4.  We're really starting to look at some, at least I hope.  Fran has been forwarding me eBay auctions and I like a few that she has found like a Rokina 1/4 35mm that is not too pricey....we'll see!



Thank you Alison. Just as PiO pointed out that the 2.8 lenses is cheaper over the 1.4 where they can be very expensive. I will look forward to read which lens you will get in the near future.




tksbaskets said:


> WOW I really enjoyed all your posts about the D23 Expo.  The lines were really something.  Did you find you spent a lot of time waiting or overall were you pleased with the experience?  We've talked about going and I'm curious what you thought overall.
> 
> I'm looking forward to seeing the new Soarin' too.  So many changes with the diamond anniversary.
> 
> TK



Thank you TK. Glad you enjoyed my posts from the D23 Expo. Even though I wasn't too satisfy with the Expo but it was fun to go back. If you are patient, it will be no problem to wait in those long lines. I wouldn't say that I would wait at 10pm on Thursday or Friday night to see those seminars. I would rather sleep in a bed instead of sleeping on the ground in the queue. I spent way more time waiting to see the seminars and shopping over the experience at the D23 Expo. If you don't count the mornings, then it was close. That is the thing where you got to spend time in the queues in order to get the most of it. This D23 Expo had some great things to see while there were disappointments as well. But you can't satisfy all the attendees at the Expo. You should try it in 2017 which will be fun as along as you are willing to wait in those lines from getting in the Expo, seminars, and shopping.

I am not looking forward to the new Soarin' at DCA where it makes sense at Epcot but I have no problem seeing it at DCA where I can see it a lot over at WDW. There were a lot of changes during DL 60th Diamond Celebration from PtN, DF, WoC - Celebrate, Matterhorn, and Peter Pan along with the changes to DL of Star Wars Land. I am kind of sad that BTR will be going to make way for SWL.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 5 – August 16th, 2015 – Part 1*

Last Day at the Expo and DISMeet #3 HydroGuy​
It was the last day of the D23 Expo on Sunday. This is the day where there won’t be too many people queueing up early like the first two days like those big seminars. This time, it was DAF time to go around the floor and do some shopping while I am planning on going to see some of the vendors that I have missed the first two days of the Expo since I was using it to shop at the stores.

We didn’t leave the hotel until 6am since we didn’t have to be there early like the first two days where we got there around 5am. It is important to get there early even if it was 3 hours until the Expo opened so we can do our things.

We left around 5:45am from BW Stovall’s and head on over to the Anaheim Convention Center. It wasn’t as dark like the first two days where we got there before 5am.




There was construction going on right next to the ACC which used to be a parking lot on the left hand side.




We got to the ACC and we were escorted inside the convention center in the lobby area where I was there on Saturday morning where DAF was in the Hall E for the Hall D23 seminars. At least the queue to get inside the Convention Center is really planned out and with the lines do help you out.




There was a long queue up ahead towards Hall A at the end where the queue wraps around back to Hall B but I am not disappointed with the area that we are in that morning since we didn’t plan on coming at 5am.




We got settled in along with our folding stools which helped a lot since we were in these queues for the seminars and getting to the Expo first thing in the morning. When we were waiting, I saw @HydroGuy who was not too far from us. It was nice to see him at the Expo which I have met him before in the past from the 2011 D23 Expo and I missed him at the 2013 D23 Expo. We talked about the Expo and other Disney stuff as well. He joined DAF and I in the queue until it was time when the D23 Expo opened at 9am.

When it got to 9am, the queue started to move and it was a matter of time until we were inside the show floor. DAF told me that she will be heading on over to the Mickey’s of Glendale to do some shopping while @HydroGuy and I are planning on getting some StagePass and StorePass that morning.




The three of us were finally in the show floor and DAF went on over to the Mickey’s of Glendale while @HydroGuy and I went on over to the StagePass/StorePass queue which is in Hall A by the Dream Store.




When we got to Hall A, he wanted to go in the Dream Store and buy some merchandise. Unfortunately, most of the good merchandise was gone at the Dream Store the first two days. Luckily I was able to buy some nice stuff during the first two days.

After that, he went on over to the StagePass queue while I went on over to the StorePass queue to get a StorePass for the Disney Store. I know that it was late to go to the Disney Store but there always could be something to get at the Disney Store.




Getting a StorePass was a huge mistake on my part since it almost took about 20 minutes to go through the queue.




@HydroGuy was able to get the StagePass for the 11am Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration at Stage 23 at 11am.




While I was still in the queue, he told me that he will be going on over to the Pandora – The World of Avatar pavilion where it showed a floor model of the new land coming to Animal Kingdom while I was still in the queue for the StorePass.




The StorePass queue took a lot longer than I expected while getting one and I can tell what the problems were with the StorePass. When I was looking at the stand, the guests were talking to the CM’s that were distributing the StorePass and people were asking what times they want which really slows down the queue. This is one reason why the StorePass is such a big failure to me along with limited distributions and taking a while to go through the queue unlike the StagePass where it is fast.

When I got there, I wanted to get a StorePass for the Disney Store and what bad luck is that the person in front of me got the last one and I was left with the Mickey’s of Glendale or Disney Store so I got the MoG StorePass.




After getting the StorePass, I head on over to Hall E where the Pandora – The World of Avatar pavilion is located which was close to the Shanghai Disney Resort pavilion area. It didn’t took too long for me to go through the queue and was inside the pavilion. That is where @HydroGuy was at as well.








The model of Pandora – The World of Avatar which showed during the day and at night.




















After we looked around at the Pandora – The World of Avatar pavilion, @HydroGuy head on over to do his next thing while I waited for DAF at the exit of the MoG store. So we parted ways that morning/afternoon which went by really quickly that morning.





While I was in the area in Hall C, I took some more pictures from the Pixar Animation Studios pavilion which told of the upcoming movies like The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, Toy Story 4, Coco, Cars 3 and Incredibles 2.








Right next to the Pixar Animation building was the Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens costumes on display.












I head on over to the MoG exit where DAF just finished with her shopping. Glad that she was able to find something to buy during that time where I barely bought anything at the MoG on Friday.

We head on over to the Shanghai Disney Resort pavilion which she hasn’t seen yet since I have seen it on Friday along with Alison and Fran when they were there on Friday. She was impressed with all the new stuff that is happening at the Shanghai Disney Resort that she is now considering going to that park one day but we will get to that on another time.

After looking at the Shanghai Disney Resort pavilion, we started to head on over to Hall D23 queue in Hall E so we can get seats for the 3pm to 4:30pm Frozen Fandemonium: A Musical Celebration. It was around 11am when DAF finished shopping at the MoG and we still have plenty of time so we went on over to the Disney Citizen ship pavilion where we helped volunteer by putting some planting items in a bag.




After finishing at the Disney Citizenship, we head on over to Hall E where the queue for Hall D23 is located. Now the waiting game is happening again for another seminar.

Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report​ 

*Day 5 – August 16th, 2015 – Part 2*

D23 Expo Third Day and Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Spectacular Part 1​
After we walked around the show floor, we started to head on over to Hall E queue so we can get in line for the 3pm Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Celebration at Hall D23. Even though we are getting there so early since DAF wanted to see this seminar that day.

We got in the queue in Hall E queue and we waited for almost 3 hours until the 3pm seminar started at Hall D23. I know it was super early to be in the queue but we were guarantee a good spot since we got there 3 hours early. We were in Row B which is the middle so we were guarantee a good spot for the seminar.

As always, we had our folding stools and things to do to kill the three hours until it was time for the Frozen FANdemonium: A Mustical Celebration.

When we were let in Hall D23 we were able to get good seats at the beginning.












But when there were more opening seats and other people have been getting up closer, she was arguing along with other people that have been waiting in the queue while others showing up later and getting a better location. So the staff that was working in Hall D23 told the guests that were up close were able to move up closer which was a good thing.





The Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Celebration started and it started off with the voices of Anna in different languages of the song that we all know “Let It Go”. There was like 25 different multi-languages.

Idina Menzel English




Annika Herlitz Swedish




Takako Matsu Japanese




Furedi Nikolett Hungarian




Serena Autieri Italian




Marsha Milan Bahasa Malaysian




Gam Wichayanee Thai




Elke Buyle Flemish




Chris Montan, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez take us on a once-in-a-lifetime musical journey through the world of Frozen. They talk about the days of how they came up with the music for Frozen from Do You Want to Build a Snowman, Let It Go, In Summer, Love Is an Open Door, etc.




Kristen and Robert sang the song “Life is an Open Door” and a mock version of “Making Today a Perfect day” from Frozen Fever.




They showed some early art work of the trolls from the movie




















Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her daughter Annie Lopez came out to perform “Fixer Upper”.




Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 5 – August 16th, 2015 – Part 3*

Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Spectacular Part 2​
Agatha Lee Monn and Livvy Stubenrauch the voices of the 5 year old Anna and 9 year old Anna singing "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman"





Kristen Bell voice of Anna made an appearance as well.




Kristen Bell also sang "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman" & "For the First Time in Forever" along with Kristen Anderson-Lopez.










Kristen Anderson-Lopez singed during Elsa scene of “For the First Time in Forever”




Now they were talking about the making of Olaf and how he was created.




Also made an appearance was Josh Gad the voice of Olaf singing "In Summer"








The people that contributed to the movie were on stage including John Lasseter, Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho were singing "Let It Go" along with the crowds.




Elsa made an appearance




Along with Anna & Kristoff








This was a very nice presentation to see the Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Spectacular at Hall D23. It was well worth seeing even though we had a very bad start when we got our seats where we were moved up for that seminar. At least it was made up for getting a little up closer so I can get some up close shots.

After the seminar, we went back in the show floor to do some last things before we call it for the day. Even though it was around 5pm, the show floor was still crowded with all those people. This was a busy day on Sunday which the last three Expo’s on the last day didn’t have that many people. But we were able to walk around the show floor for about an hour until we called it around 6pm.

This was my fourth D23 Expo that I have attended and I was happy and not happy during this Expo. The good things I like about this Expo was of course the seminars which had the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts seminar which talked about all the new things happening at the Disney Parks from Star Wars Land, Shanghai Disney Resort, Star Wars Season of the Force, Toy Story Land, etc. that is happening at the parks. I was glad that I was able to buy my merchandise at the Dream Store & Mickey’s of Glendale along with looking at all those other pavilions at the show floor. The things I didn’t like about the Expo was that I didn’t get in the Disney Store which had a lot of great stuff, the StorePass was a big failure in my opinion and not being able to get most of the first day of the Expo which I missed a lot. I have learned what mistakes I made and when we go to the 2017 D23 Expo in two years, I will be prepared for it.

This doesn’t conclude that day on Sunday the 16th which we did something later that night. Stay tune what we have done later that night after the D23 Expo.


----------



## dhorner233

Very interesting! I'm back from my trip and learned a lot about my camera and why I don't like my lenses. And I can appreciate your photography even more!

I know Frozen is over done but, I still love it and would have enjoyed that seminar! 

I loved the new World of Color show at Calif Adventure! I thought it was more a documentary than a commercial.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I wonder if that Fandamonium was a re-hash of the Making of Frozen? 
In any case....it's fantastic to be there to see it live.  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## franandaj

Sounds like you had a good last day.  While I'll admit that Frozen has been way way way over done, it still looks like it was a fun event.


----------



## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Very interesting! I'm back from my trip and learned a lot about my camera and why I don't like my lenses. And I can appreciate your photography even more!
> 
> I know Frozen is over done but, I still love it and would have enjoyed that seminar!
> 
> I loved the new World of Color show at Calif Adventure! I thought it was more a documentary than a commercial.



Glad to read that you got back safely Denise and had a great time at the DLR. 

Frozen is everywhere I go and it will be nice if Disney doesn't do the Frozen Broadway show to replace Aladdin at DCA. The Frozen FANdemonium is a very nice show to talk about the creation of the music and it was neat to see Kristen Bell.

Glad you like World of Color - Celebrate. Just as you said that it is more of a documentary for Walt Disney accomplishments.




PrincessInOz said:


> I wonder if that Fandamonium was a re-hash of the Making of Frozen?
> In any case....it's fantastic to be there to see it live.  Thanks for sharing.



With Frozen so popular and people love the music, it was nice to hear from the creators of the music of how they come up with the ideas.

You would have enjoyed it PiO.




franandaj said:


> Sounds like you had a good last day.  While I'll admit that Frozen has been way way way over done, it still looks like it was a fun event.



The last day was okay where we did some thing and didn't do everything we wanted but as you know you have to carefully select what you want to see and do at the Expo.The Frozen FANdemonium was a nice event and it wasn't as busy like those other seminars at Hall D23.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report

*Day 5 – August 16th, 2015 – Part 4*

Dinner at ESPN Zone & More Shots at DCA​
After DAF and I finished up the D23 Expo on the show floor after seeing Frozen FANdemonium at 3pm to 4:30pm, we head on back to our hotel to rest up since we were there early that morning. After we relaxed a little bit, it was time to have dinner that night and what other place to have dinner is at the ESPN Zone at Downtown Disney. DAF and I like to go to the ESPN Zone to have dinner there since we can watch all the different sporting events.

We were at the ESPN Zone around 6pm which was just around dinner time and it wasn’t that busy as I have thought which when we ate at the ESPN Zone on Thursday night, we had to wait a while 8pm that night.

We got to sit in our favorite room which had the giant projection screen and all the different games on the TV screens.




We ordered appetizers that night instead of the entrees since we were not that hungry that night. We got chicken fingers, chocolate chip cookie sundae and I got the summer special at the ESPN Zone during the summertime which was the Enchilada Tortilla Soup.




After dinner, we head on over to the parks that night. I was originally planning on going back to DL that night but then I realized that the 8:50pm Paint the Night parade will be going on at DL and the streets of MS will be crowded so we just head on over to DCA that night. This was another perfect time to do more long exposure shots with the 2.8 lens that night.

We first head on over to Cars Land to get some shots. This time, I remember to bring the remote for the DSLR.




























Then we head on over to Hollywood Land to get some shots.








After we went around DCA for a little bit, it was time to head on back to the hotel after being a the D23 Expo for most of the day. I could have spent more time that night but I was tired from waiting in that queues for the D23 Expo.

When we went back to the hotel, we stopped at the World of Disney store on the way back since DAF wanted to look for some stuff to buy for her colleagues at work. Even though she had bought at the D23 Expo, she liked some of the merchandise at the WoD store.

We got back to the hotel around 10:30pm that night which concluded our day.

The next day, we didn’t go in the park since we had to go to Los Angeles around the area of LAX since we had to pick up some stuff from my dad’s friend place. I wasn’t disappointed that we didn’t go in the park that Monday morning but after with everything with the D23 Expo, it was nice to go back home to Sacramento that day.

When we picked up some stuff from my dad’s friend house, we head on over to a local Japanese market area to get some stuff for my grandmother as well as have lunch. We had lunch at a stand called Misada.





I had the pork katsu for lunch.





After having lunch, we went on back to Sacramento with the 7 hour drive home as well a stop to my grandmother’s house in Livingston. This concludes the 4th Annual D23 Expo trip.

This trip was a nice one which there were some great times and bad times at the Expo. I did plan on what I wanted to see at the Expo along with buying the merchandise from the Dream Store and Mickey’s of Glendale. I was disappointed that I didn’t go in the Disney Store but I didn’t plan my day well on Friday. Also DAF was glad that she got to see those seminars at Hall D23 on all three days where she spent a lot of time waiting in those lines.

We were able to go to the parks and DAF was able to see all three nighttime shows at the DLR from PtN, DF and WoC – Celebrate. Even though she wasn’t happy with DF that night with those people in front of her, she really enjoyed the new nighttime shows. She will be able to see them again when we get to November next month.

During the trip, I didn’t meet with a lot of DISers during the trip but it was nice to meet @Wonder2008 and HydroGuy during the trip in which we got to spend some time talking about the Expo and Disney.

This concludes the D23 Expo trip and now we are *15 *days away till the WDW trip which DAF, my dad, our neighbors and I are looking forward especially with the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot along with the Halloween season. Plus don’t forget Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando.

There might be a special bonus trip next week if everything goes according to plan but I am not planning on that right now which will be a two day trip back down to SoCal with my dad.

Thank you for following along my D23 Expo trip report.


----------



## dhorner233

Even though I wasn't too satisfy with the Expo but it was fun to go back. If you are patient, it will be no problem to wait in those long lines. I wouldn't say that I would wait at 10pm on Thursday or Friday night to see those seminars. I would rather sleep in a bed instead of sleeping on the ground in the queue. I spent way more time waiting to see the seminars and shopping over the experience at the D23 Expo. If you don't count the mornings, then it was close. That is the thing where you got to spend time in the queues in order to get the most of it. This D23 Expo had some great things to see while there were disappointments as well. But you can't satisfy all the attendees at the Expo. You should try it in 2017 which will be fun as along as you are willing to wait in those lines from getting in the Expo, seminars, and shopping.

I am not looking forward to the new Soarin' at DCA where it makes sense at Epcot but I have no problem seeing it at DCA where I can see it a lot over at WDW. There were a lot of changes during DL 60th Diamond Celebration from PtN, DF, WoC - Celebrate, Matterhorn, and Peter Pan along with the changes to DL of Star Wars Land. I am kind of sad that BTR will be going to make way for SWL.

Thanks for going to the Expo for us Bret! : I don't think I could have stood standing in those lines! 

What all are they going to take out for Star Wars Land?? I didn't realize they were taking out Big Thunder Mt.!


----------



## franandaj

That was a nice wrap up to your trip.  Is your next time back here in December?  I guess so, since you are going to WDW this month!


----------



## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Thanks for going to the Expo for us Bret! : I don't think I could have stood standing in those lines!
> 
> What all are they going to take out for Star Wars Land?? I didn't realize they were taking out Big Thunder Mt.!



Thank you for following along Denise. Even though I was not completely satisfy with the D23 Expo this year, but you do have to make some sacrifices on what you want to do and see at the Expo. I just didn't plan very well this time. Waiting in those lines can be long and boring but it can be fun as well where you can keep yourself occupy by talking to other people around you which we have done.

As of what I have read, Big Thunder Ranch will be gone and part of Mickey's Toontown. I don't know if this is 100% correct but this is what I have heard so far. It will be sad to see BTR go which I have enjoyed walking on the backside over the years. The thing I will not be happy with the construction of SWL will be the closure of the Disneyland Railroad for a year. 




franandaj said:


> That was a nice wrap up to your trip.  Is your next time back here in December?  I guess so, since you are going to WDW this month!



Thank you Alison. I didn't do everything I wanted but you have to sacrifice on the things you want to do in order to do that one thing you wanted to do at the Expo. My next trip back to SoCal will be for sure November 13th to 15th, 2015 during the Avenger's Marathon and the start of the holiday season at the DLR. It will be me and DAF during the November trip and I will be back in early December 4th to 6th with DAW during the Candlelight Processional weekend. I read that @rentayenta and @jedijill will be there during my visit which should be nice to meet them in person. It won't be long when Jill will be at WDW during the same time as me but I don't know if we will meet up during the trip.


----------



## Wonder2008

Bret, I was at the Frozen Fandemonium too!  We were seated a few rows back from where you were, but more toward right of the center of the stage. We had a good view, but again it would have been better if the floor was sloped. The stories that Bobby and Kristen Lopez were telling were hilarious! We loved seeing Kristen Bell and Josh Gad singing their songs from the movie! You got some great pictures. I'm not sure if you know this, but we saw Ginnifer Goodwin and Lana Parrilla from "Once Upon a Time" in the audience. They were in the same row that John Lasseter and the filmmakers were in.

We also went to the Silly Symphonies concert that @HydroGuy went to. That was a great show, and I'm a little surprised that Leonard Maltin (who hosted it) signed some autographs after it. We ended the Expo with Eric Goldberg's "Animation Academy" at Center Stage, which was fun to watch, and getting Joe Rohde's autograph. Joe is an absolutely amazing person. Then that night we went to Disneyland and saw Paint the Night, Disneyland Forever, Fantasmic, and Space Mountain. We flew back home from LAX the next morning.

I had a blast at the D23 Expo and it's an experience I'll remember forever. We had some missteps as well, but there were so many other great things. We saw plenty celebrities, Disney Legends, Disney artists, and many, many amazing costumes!

I hope you have a great time at Walt Disney World too, Bret!


----------



## dhorner233

Not to prolong this thread, I know you are trying to wrap this up but, this came out 4 days ago:

http://www.slashfilm.com/disneyland-changes/

It leaves Big Thunder Mt. Railroad but, WOW!  I'm not that crazy about Star Wars.


----------



## PrincessInOz

I'm late to the end but nice wrap-up.  

Here's to your WDW trip....and nice new lens!


----------



## mvf-m11c

Wonder2008 said:


> Bret, I was at the Frozen Fandemonium too!  We were seated a few rows back from where you were, but more toward right of the center of the stage. We had a good view, but again it would have been better if the floor was sloped. The stories that Bobby and Kristen Lopez were telling were hilarious! We loved seeing Kristen Bell and Josh Gad singing their songs from the movie! You got some great pictures. I'm not sure if you know this, but we saw Ginnifer Goodwin and Lana Parrilla from "Once Upon a Time" in the audience. They were in the same row that John Lasseter and the filmmakers were in.
> 
> We also went to the Silly Symphonies concert that @HydroGuy went to. That was a great show, and I'm a little surprised that Leonard Maltin (who hosted it) signed some autographs after it. We ended the Expo with Eric Goldberg's "Animation Academy" at Center Stage, which was fun to watch, and getting Joe Rohde's autograph. Joe is an absolutely amazing person. Then that night we went to Disneyland and saw Paint the Night, Disneyland Forever, Fantasmic, and Space Mountain. We flew back home from LAX the next morning.
> 
> I had a blast at the D23 Expo and it's an experience I'll remember forever. We had some missteps as well, but there were so many other great things. We saw plenty celebrities, Disney Legends, Disney artists, and many, many amazing costumes!
> 
> I hope you have a great time at Walt Disney World too, Bret!



That is nice that you were at the Frozen FANdemonium as well. It was a nice seminar but I don't think it was worth the 3 hours wait but we were happy that we got to move up closer after that problem with the seating. That was neat that all those different celebrities were there for that seminar. 

I didn't have time to see the Silly Symphonies seminar and glad to hear that it was good. That was good that you were able to go back to DL that night and see the nighttime shows.

Glad that you had a great experience at the D23 Expo. You planning on going to the next D23 Expo?

I'm hoping for the same thing and have a great time at WDW. Looking forward to the F&W Festival as well as Diagon Alley at UO.




dhorner233 said:


> Not to prolong this thread, I know you are trying to wrap this up but, this came out 4 days ago:
> 
> http://www.slashfilm.com/disneyland-changes/
> 
> It leaves Big Thunder Mt. Railroad but, WOW!  I'm not that crazy about Star Wars.



Not good news to read but thank you for the link Denise.




PrincessInOz said:


> I'm late to the end but nice wrap-up.
> 
> Here's to your WDW trip....and nice new lens!



Thank you PiO. Even though the Expo didn't go as planned but we had a great time.

Looking forward to the trip in *11 *days which won't be too long until the trip. I am looking forward to trying out the f/4 during the trip. But I might use it less except for up close shots and shows as well since I plan on taking a lot of pictures with the Tamron and Tokina.


It looks like I will be going to the DLR during the Halloween season after all. I will be going down this Saturday 10th to Monday 12th with my dad. This will be perfect to use the f/4 during the trip. I won't do a trip report but will take pictures of the decorations.


----------



## PrincessInOz

mvf-m11c said:


> It looks like I will be going to the DLR during the Halloween season after all. I will be going down this Saturday 10th to Monday 12th with my dad. This will be perfect to use the f/4 during the trip. I won't do a trip report but will take pictures of the decorations.



Look forward to it.


----------



## mvf-m11c

It has been a while since I have been on my Disneyland trip report but with everything going on it is tough. Mostly I would write up a TR for the trip but this will be all about pictures and details of the holiday season at the Disneyland Resort along with Star Wars Season of the Force opening day. I have been so busy with work and basketball that I am still trying to finish up my Walt Disney World trip report back in October.

This was a tough trip which DAF who goes with me during the holiday season at the DLR since she is not doing well. She missed the WDW trip last month and she couldn’t make it either. But she did tell me to go during the holiday season as well as the opening day of Star Wars Season of the Force. Originally, I was supposed to go on the 13th to 15th, but I made a last second change of a few days before the trip to move the day back by one day so I could be at DL during the opening of SWSotF. I’m glad that I moved it back one day on Saturday 14th instead of going on Friday the 13th.

Once again, I was going during the Avenger’s Marathon (debut last year in 2014) which was quite crowded that first time, so I expected it would be the same thing like last year where it will be busy on Saturday and Sunday. Plus I got to take into account with Monday the opening date of SWSotF which will draw a lot of Annual Passholders.

During the trip, I rented some new equipment to use since I am going solo. The items that I rented for the trip was a Nikon D750 Full Frame body along with a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 FF lens. I have wanted to try out these two items for a while now since I use a Crop Sensor body and lenses. This was my first time trying a FF lens and the 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. These two items are like the holy grail of taking pictures at the Disney Parks. So it was special to try out these two camera equipment. What better way to try them out during the holiday season as well as the opening of SWSotF.

I started the day with DCA first over DL since the 2pm “A Christmas Fantasy” parade was going on and went around to look at all the new Christmas decorations. Most of the Christmas decorations at DCA are the same from the last few years with Buena Vista Street and Cars Land that debut in 2012.












The only difference is that the Carthay Circle Theater has not have any Christmas decorations this year with the Diamond Celebration going on this year.




The BVS Christmas tree is nice to see the last few years.








Over at Hollywood Land, the regular Christmas decorations are back up again with garlands and wreaths.
















Right by the Frozen Sing-Along, the trees right around the Frozen area were decorated.








Olaf’s Snow Fest is back again during the holiday season.




Last time to see the front entrance of Aladdin A Musical Spectacular before it is changed to that Frozen show in the near future.




Santa and his sleigh are back again




I went on over to A Bug’s Land and the giant ornaments along with the Christmas lights are back again.




The front entrance of ABL




I head on over to Grizzly Peak Airfield to see if there was any Christmas decorations and there was which was nice to see something different.












I didn't go all over DCA but I was able to go around to see what other lands that I missed during the trip.


----------



## mvf-m11c

After being at DCA, I was now in DL to see the second show of ACF parade at 4:30pm. When I looked at Main Street and see how much of a difference it is during the Diamond Celebration which does not feel like the holiday season at the DLR. At least MS is decorated but it wasn’t the same. You can see that there was no garlands above the streets of Main Street due to Paint the Night parade units. It was disappointing to not see the garlands above the streets.




The Christmas tree looks completely different this year with Diamond Celebrations color on them which gives it a different feel this year from the previous years.




There are wreaths up this year with the Diamond Celebration logo. The Diamond Celebration logos were up during the Halloween season.




This was also the first time during the holiday season with the side walkway when MS is busy with the parades and fireworks.




Now it was time for the 4:30pm A Christmas Fantasy parade. I was hoping that there wouldn’t be any more changes to the parade since they completely changed it last year with the Frozen float that is part of Mickey’s Soundsational parade.








When Santa’s Mail Room unit appeared after the Toy Solders, I saw that Donald was on top of the roof where Duffy was last year and Chip and Dale were at the back of the mailroom. I didn’t see Daisy which she used to be on this unit. So there was the first change to the parade.








































Here was the second change of the parade which the jeep had Chip and Dale. This year, they had Jessie and a Toy Soldier.








The third change to the parade was the removal of Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket Cricket and Geppetto. There were three Toy Soldiers on top of Santa’s Toyland unit.
























I will post more later on from my trip last weekend.


----------



## ACDSNY

Nice holiday shots Bret.


----------



## rentayenta

Wow Bret, fabulous shots! Cannot wait to see the parks next week.


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## superkick555

nice pics, do you have any tips for carrying a dslr around the resort?


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## mvf-m11c

ACDSNY said:


> Nice holiday shots Bret.



Thank you Angela.




rentayenta said:


> Wow Bret, fabulous shots! Cannot wait to see the parks next week.



Thank you Jenny. Hope you have a great time next week.




superkick555 said:


> nice pics, do you have any tips for carrying a dslr around the resort?



Thank you @superkick555 I would definitely bring a DSLR around the DLR if you want to get all sort of pictures. Not only pictures of the decorations but with the characters, family, etc.


----------



## mvf-m11c

After A Christmas Fantasy parade, I head on over to the Hub to see what the Castle would like first. But when I looked at my spot for Disneyland Forever fireworks that I was originally planning on seeing that night and saw that there were already people staking out on the curb 4 hours before it started. So that was no brainer for me to not stake out a spot that night for DF fireworks.

I head on over to see the new additions for Star Wars Season of the Force at Tomorrowland with Star Wars Path of the Jedi, Hyperspace Mountain, Launch Bay, & Galactic Grill. I knew that it might be a long shot to see Hyperspace Mountain but when I read on Friday night that there were some lucky guests to be able to ride Hyperspace Mountain before it was open to the public on Friday so it might be worth a shot to check it out.








When I head on over to Hyperspace Mountain, there were some people on the upper level and I asked the CM’s if it was open for the CM preview and they told me that it was open to anyone who wanted to go on. But I knew that the wait time was going to be in that hour range. I plan on riding it on Monday so it was not worth riding it just yet.




Star Wars Launch Bay was not open that day and they told everyone that it will be open on Monday.




I saw that the TL Lemonade stand right next to the entrance of Launch Bay selling the BB-8 droid sipper along with the X-Wing Fighter glow clip




I got a BB-8 sipper that night which they were sold out on Sunday afternoon until they were restocked on Monday.




I then head on over to Mickey’s Toontown to take pictures of the holiday decorations which are interesting to see every year except for the ugly plastic trees.
























Now I went on over to It’s a Small World Holiday








The IaSW clock show was going on every 15 minutes at night.








I head on over to SB Castle to look at the decorations more closely and at least there was something than nothing on the castle during the holiday season with a wreath covering the 60th logo and garlands. Most of the 60th Diamond Celebration on the castle was the same.








After that, I head on over to DCA to get a few pictures before the 9:30pm Disneyland Forever fireworks started. It was a good thing that I didn’t wait that long for the fireworks since I can see it on another trip while I can get pictures of the Christmas decorations.








BVS Christmas tree


----------



## mvf-m11c

The Christmas decorations at Cars Land is back again and hasn’t changed much from the previous years.
























Inside Sarge’s Surplus Hut
















Santa Mater is back again




























I was able to watch DF fireworks from IaSW Plaza which was crazy and the CM’s didn’t allow any guests close to IaSWH or even ride it during the fireworks. I have heard from the people talking that there was something wrong backstage so the back area was closed off. I remember that when DF was over, the guests were not allowed to go on IaSWH until after 30 minutes when the fireworks was over. So there must have been something going on backstage to keep people from riding IaSWH.








After that night, I took some more pics around DL until I called it for the night since I was tired from the driving to SoCal that Saturday morning.


----------



## mvf-m11c

It was Sunday and it was another busy day at the parks. But the morning is the best time to go but DL was quite busy that morning half an hour until it opens.




The first thing I did was head on over to the Haunted Mansion Holiday since I haven’t rode it during the Halloween season when I went back in early October.












This year’s gingerbread house












After riding HMH, I head on over to ride Jingle Cruise. There was a waiting queue for about 5 minutes but it wasn’t that long when I got on the ride.


----------



## mvf-m11c

After riding Jingle Cruise, I head on over to It’s a Small World Holiday to ride it since the mornings are one of the best time to ride it. There were time during the trip that IaSWH wait time was in that 40+ minute wait time area where the queue was extended to the other side of the parade rout.
























































I then head on over to New Orleans Square to get my regular holiday decoration pictures.


----------



## tksbaskets

I love all the pictures you posted and that you pointed out the differences between this year and last.  The Star Wars overlays look great!  I'm looking forward to hearing more about them from you!


----------



## Canadian Harmony

I love your photos. This one made me laugh out loud (I've never seen Jingle Cruise shots before)


----------



## PrincessInOz

Nice pictures, Bret.
The night time ones are spectacular.

Hope that things are okay with DAF.  Send her my best.


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> I love all the pictures you posted and that you pointed out the differences between this year and last.  The Star Wars overlays look great!  I'm looking forward to hearing more about them from you!



Thank you TK. Every  year Disney does something to the decorations at the DLR. This year with the Diamond Celebration, DL didn't feel like the holiday season this year especially with SB Castle not decorated that well. 




Canadian Harmony said:


> I love your photos. This one made me laugh out loud (I've never seen Jingle Cruise shots before)



Thank you @Canadian Harmony.




PrincessInOz said:


> Nice pictures, Bret.
> The night time ones are spectacular.
> 
> Hope that things are okay with DAF.  Send her my best.



Thank you PiO. 

The body and lens did make a big difference on the shots including the nighttime shots as well.

She is doing good.


----------



## mvf-m11c

After looking around at New Orleans Square, I head on over to Big Thunder Ranch at the backside of Frontierland to see one more time Big Thunder Ranch before it goes away next year for Star Wars Land. Even though it is nice that Star Wars Land is coming to DL, it is tough to see BTR going to be part of Yesterland. So it would be nice to see it one more time.

After BTR wasn’t decorated that well during the Halloween season this year, I knew that BTR wasn’t going to be very decorated like last year during the holiday season. It was tough to not see Halloween Carnival this year without the pumpkin carvers, villains meet & greet, etc. this year Jingle Jangle Jamboree.




The cabin is not opened which is disappointing to see.




The Festival Arena was closed as well which used to be Jingle Jangle Jamboree during the holiday season.




Over at Big Thunder Ranch, it is decorated for the last time during the holiday season.




















A last look at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ








It was sad to look at Big Thunder Ranch for the last time and it was tough to see it go since I am so used to going by at the backside of Frontierland.

I got some more random pictures on Main Street while I was taking pictures.
















A look at the Christmas tree on Main Street Town Square












The snowflakes above the turnstiles at DL




I head on over to Downtown Disney to look at the Winter Village which was not open during my visit.




Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink is back again


----------



## mvf-m11c

When I finished up at Downtown Disney, I head on over back to DCA to get some pictures of the holiday decorations at Paradise Pier. At first, I went on back to DCA to see Viva Navidad! Street Party at 1:45pm. But when I got there and got my spot, the CM’s told everyone that the show was cancelled that afternoon. It was a shame that it was cancelled that afternoon which I was looking forward to seeing that show that afternoon.

I didn’t get much pictures at Viva Navidad but I was able to get pictures of Paradise Pier viewing area of the Christmas presents.




















It felt like Disney toned down on the decorations on Paradise Pier viewing area for World of Color – Winter Dreams with less of the presents in the area.




It looked like it was going to rain that afternoon which it was supposed to but it didn’t rain the whole day which was great.




I decided to head on back to my hotel to rest up since I will have a busy night by meeting up with Alison (@franandaj) and Fran that night to see the 9pm show of F!. So I head on back to the room and rested up for 3 hours until I went on back to the park that night.

When I went back to DL around 6pm, I went back to DL to take some long exposure shots on Main Street.








I went on over to the Emporium area to see the fifth Enchanted Window which is the Frozen window.








First thing I did was head on over to Tomorrowland to see if Hyperspace Mountain was open for a soft opening just like on Friday and Saturday and once again there was another soft opening of Hyperspace Mountain. But the wait time was 60 minutes which was quite long that night. But that is nothing compare to today which is in that 80 minutes to 120 minute wait time.




Then I head on over to New Orleans Square to meet up with Alison and Fran since they were in that area. We head on over to the French Market to have dinner there since they haven’t had dinner as well as I.

After we finished dinner, we head on back to Tomorrowland to ride Star Tours. It was a long shot for the new ride scene from Star Wars Episode VII would be on Star Tours that night. Alison and I rode Star Tours that night while we waited for Fran at the Star Traders store.




The First Order Storm Troopers are in the Star Trader store




After we finished up in Tomorrowland, we head on back to New Orleans Square to see the 9pm Fantasmic! show. This will be the last time to see F! when the Rivers of America will be closed for a year and a half for Star Wars Land which the RoA will be drained.




Here are some pics from the 9pm F! show that night.
































After F! was over, we all started to head on out of the park that night. I was coming back the next day for Star Wars Season of the Force opening day while they are coming back the next day as well which is nice that we might be able to hang out again.




I had a fun night hanging out with Alison and Fran of having dinner with them at the French Market, riding Star Tours and to see F! that night.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Another lovely night.  Although.....I am surprised that you don't have any pictures of your time with Fran and Alison.....and what about dinner????   How else am I going to lick the screen for the French Market food???

Love the night time shots.  Sorry that F! will be disappearing for at least a year.  It really is a great show by the RoA.
Loving what you're capturing.


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Another lovely night.  Although.....I am surprised that you don't have any pictures of your time with Fran and Alison.....and what about dinner????   How else am I going to lick the screen for the French Market food???
> 
> Love the night time shots.  Sorry that F! will be disappearing for at least a year.  It really is a great show by the RoA.
> Loving what you're capturing.



We will have to get shots one day when I am with them. We ate at the French Market that night where I got the French Dip, Fran got the French Dip, Haunted Mansion Cake, & the last one I don't know so you will have to ask Alison about that.








Thanks PiO. It sucks that F! will be down for over a year but with work on the RoA, it make sense.


----------



## franandaj

I got the Jambalaya!

Now I forgot all the things I wanted to comment on!  Your pictures were great and I enjoyed seeing your take on the Christmas parade and other such things.  I never would have noticed the lack of garlands on Main street due to the parade if you hadn't mentioned it.  The tree pictures were very cool and I'm glad we all got to do the Seasons of the Force adventures!


----------



## superkick555

is the french dip as good as it looks?


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret, I've missed your updates.  Have you moved to a different trip thread?

TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> I got the Jambalaya!
> 
> Now I forgot all the things I wanted to comment on!  Your pictures were great and I enjoyed seeing your take on the Christmas parade and other such things.  I never would have noticed the lack of garlands on Main street due to the parade if you hadn't mentioned it.  The tree pictures were very cool and I'm glad we all got to do the Seasons of the Force adventures!



Thank you Alison. So much things to see during the holiday season at the DLR. This year was tone down with the Diamond Celebration going on which doesn't feel like the holiday season during the regular years. 




superkick555 said:


> is the french dip as good as it looks?



The french dip is good.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret, I've missed your updates.  Have you moved to a different trip thread?
> 
> TK



I'm just so busy lately with work that I have time to be on the boards.


----------



## mvf-m11c

This has been a while for me on my Disneyland trip report which I am so busy with basketball and work. I’m still behind on my WDW TR which was back in October and didn’t post any pics or talked about my experience during the Candlelight Processional back last year in December. So it will be some time until I finish the rest of my WDW TR.

It has been tough these past few months with everything and I will get to write my latest trip report to the DLR this past weekend. You say another trip back to the DLR last month which I haven’t announced. To tell you the truth, this trip was set a few days before we left on Saturday the 27th to the 28th. Why would I go down there for one night instead of my usual two nights which the 7 hour trip to SoCal doesn’t seem like it would be worth it. I wasn’t originally planning on going until I talked to DAW about the possible trips coming up including the one that I made during the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival returning next month in April. The trip will be the first weekend of April on the 1st to 3rd which I might be crazy to book since it is during the first weekend of the F&W Festival and during Spring Break. But I wasn’t worried about that and wanted to go.

This trip was with DAW who also wanted to get away from work which she was working hard at her school. So she wanted to get away for a few days and what other better place to go is with me at the DLR. This trip was during the last weekend of the AP Days at the Disneyland Resort which was for the whole month of February which gives DL AP holders things to see like special screenings of classic cartoons, free water & popcorn. They also handed out special buttons for the four theme weeks. The week that we wen was during “A World of Tomorrows” the last week of February.

We left on Saturday morning and got to Anaheim around 1pm. The first thing we didn’t before we head on over to our hotel which was Best Western Park Place Inn, we had lunch at Mimi’s Café on Harbor Blvd.

After lunch, we head to the hotel and dropped of the car. We couldn’t get in yet since our room was not ready so we just left our stuff in the car and head on over to the DLR. It was only for about less than half an hour since we wanted to get in DL to get our wristbands for the screening at the Opera House for “ A World of Tomorrows” week.




There was a queue to get the wristbands and we didn’t mind waiting or me. While DAW was in her ECV, she couldn’t get in the queue so I waited in the queue.




We got there a little late that afternoon around 2:30pm that afternoon but we were able to get wristbands of the screening that night. We got the 8pm screening which was an hour and a half for each screening starting at 5pm. That was not bad when the registration opened at noon.

After we got the wristbands, we head on back to BWPPI to get in to our room. We rested up for most of the time and we had dinner at Tony Roma’s which was a few buildings down from our hotel.

After dinner, we head on back to DL that night to see the 8pm screening at the Opera House which is Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln building. We got there around 7:30pm which was 30 minutes until the screening.




When we got there, we were give the free buttons for the theme week of “A World of Tomorrows” and they were also giving away the other three theme weeks “Main Street to Mickey Mouse”, “Live the Adventure” and Fantasy & Fun” buttons which was great to get. We also got free water and popcorn for the screening that night.

We were let in and it was exciting to see a classic screening at the Opera House. I have participated in special AP screenings in the Opera House in the past since I have become an AP back in 2009. The screening that night was a Walt Disney classic show called “The Plausible Impossible”. It was nice to see a classic show at the Opera House that night. DAW had a fun time as well.




After the screening, she went back to BWPPI while I stayed for a little bit that night in order to get some nighttime shots.












At Fowler’s Harbor near the HM, a new binnacle compass was right next to Fowler’s Inn.




I didn’t stay that late until 10pm which I drove for most of the way to SoCal that day. So I head on back and called it for that night.


The next day, we got up early to head to the park when it opened at 8am. We were only going to be at the DLR for about less than 7 hours that day since we have to leave SoCal around 3pm.

The first thing we did was get FP’s for Radiator Springs Racers which DAW must do ride when we are at the DLR. I was able to get FP’s for RSR around 10am to 11am which worked really well for the two of us.

Next to the RSR FP’s exit was the exclusive sneak peek of Zootopia. I wanted to see the clip but we had some other things to do that morning so we skipped seeing the preview.








We head on over to DL that morning since our FP’s were not ready. Some of the Valentine’s Day decoration at Main Street Town Square which the heart shapes.




During the trip, I was planning on taking pictures of the flowers for my challenge during this short trip.




Flowers at Main Street Hub












After taking some pics from MS Hub, we head on over towards Adventureland and went to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. This is another of DAW favorite rides to go on at DL. I didn’t take any pictures during the ride experience.


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## mvf-m11c

Since we were in New Orleans Square after riding Pirates of the Caribbean, I wanted to go on over to the New Orleans Square Station to see the Disneyland Railroad Trains up close. The only time I have ever got so close to the trains was during the “Disney’s The Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour” at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom. I have been a fan of trains when I was little and along with the DLRR, the Disneyland Monorail is my favorite ride where I got to ride it.




The Ernest S. Marsh Engine #4 was at the NOS station along with some cars from Holiday 2 set with the Caboose. It was so odd to see the trains not moving during the Star Wars Land construction. But it was a good opportunity to look at the steam engines up close and also go on the other side of the NOS station which you can never do when the trains are in operation.




The handcar was also on display right next to the Ernest S. Marsh.




Some banners on the other side of the Frontierland Depot talking about the telegraph code.




The History of Steam Trains




It was neat to walk across to the other side of the station to see the Frontierland Depot








I won’t get too many opportunities to look at the trains from the other side at NOS station or Frontierland Depot and it was nice to see it from this side.




It was neat to see the original E.P. Ripley Engine #2 boiler on display.












A look back on the other side of the NOS station which is off limits.




A look at the old Frontierland depot








The Ernest S. Marsh is very nice to look up closely without taking a picture when it approach the station.




Inside the Ernest S. Marsh




I was able to go inside the Caboose which shockingly, I never got to go inside or even ride in it of all the years I have been going to DL.












After we looked around at the Ernest S. Marsh at the NOS station, DAW ECV started to go a little slower. I asked her if she charged her ECV last night and she didn’t so we have a problem. We talked to a CM around the area to see where we can charge her ECV and they told us that around Jolly Holiday Bakery Café which had an outlet around that area. So we walked on over to the JHB to get her ECV charged. She decided to stay there and I just walked around DL to get some pics.

I went on over to Frontierland to get pictures of the construction area of where Star Wars Land will be and it was hard to get over the walls so I just took some pics in that area.








I just walked around DL just getting exercise and taking some pics until I head on over to the JHB to meet up with DAW who is charging her ECV. When we moved, it still had problems so we decided to head on over to Wheelchair/ECV rental area outside of the parks. The CM’s let us charge her ECV that morning which was good and we didn’t have to bring it back to the car since it would take time out of it.


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## mvf-m11c

After we dropped off her ECV at the Wheelchair/Rental area, we head on back to DCA to get to the Blue Sky Cellar which is part of the AP Days at the Disneyland Resort. This is one of the two spots at DCA for the AP Days at the DLR. It was nice to go inside Blue Sky Cellar after being closed these last couple of years. There was a long line to get in since it opened at 10am that morning and this was the last day of the AP Days.












When we got inside the BSC, we were given the buttons for the theme week of this week along with other buttons from the previous weeks. We also got two recipe cards for the Monte Cristo and the Corn Chowder which was nice. We could have spent more time in the BSC, but DAW didn’t want to spend that much time since the BSC hasn’t changed much since the last theme was concept artwork of the Fantasyland Faire.




After looking around at the BSC, we head on over to Cars Land to ride RSR since we have FP’s to use that morning to afternoon. I didn’t take any pics again while riding on RSR since I wanted to enjoy the ride experience.

After RSR, we head on back to DL. It was tough for DAW without her ECV since it was low on power so we had to take our time since she had trouble walking around without it. The next thing we did was at the Main Street Railroad Station to see the next steam engine up close.




At the MS station, there were displays showing of Walt’s passion for Railroads




One of them talked about all the Disneyland Locomotives.








The Fred Gurley was out on Main Street for display.












The Lilly Belle was out there as well along with one car from Holiday 5.




We weren’t allowed to go inside the Lilly Belle but I was able to get pictures from the windows.








After finishing up at Main Street Railroad Station, we head on back towards New Orleans Square to have lunch. I was able to get a ressie for the Blue Bayou on Sunday afternoon around 11:30am which is when the restaurant is open. I was shocked to get one a few days before we made the ressie at BWPPI.

We were able to get a water front spot right next to water by PotC. It was nice to get that spot and have lunch that afternoon. The new thing that was added to BB was the menu where you can actually read it instead of seeing it in the dark. This is the lunch menu at BB.












I had the gumbo which came with the meal




I had the Le Special de Monte Cristo Sandwich




DAW had the Pan-seared Salmon




After lunch, we head on over to Main Street to get more pics of the flowers since we still have some time at the DLR until we head on back that afternoon.

Jungle Cruise is down for refurbishment.




I got to MS Hub and took some pics. I didn’t post all of them but here are some examples.


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## mvf-m11c

After walking around on Main Street getting pictures of the flowers, we head on over towards Tomorrowland to go on my favorite ride which is the Disneyland Monorail.








We rode a round trip around the Disneyland Monorail which is always fun to go above the sky to see the DLR.








After riding around on the Disneyland Monorail, we now head on out of DL and back at the Esplanade to pick up DAW ECV. It was all charged up and she was able to use it again.

Then we head on back to DCA to go to Stage 17 to see the last area for the AP Days at DCA.




AP Days at Stage 17 had a screening that afternoon which we weren’t able to see since we had to leave about an hour until we had to get back to BWPPI.




A look at the upcoming pins for Spring 2016.








After looking around at Stage 17, we head on out of the park and back to BWPPI to pick up the car and we were on our way back home to NorCal.

This was a super short trip like the one back last year in February with DAF where we were there for only one night. This was a super quickie for the both of us and glad that we came out even if it was for only one night and a 7 hour drive back to NorCal.

My next upcoming trip to DL is next month during the first weekend of April during the DCA Food & Wine Festival which is back after a 5 year absence due to the DCA construction project. I will post any more new updates of when I will be going back to the parks or plan on future trips. I am still going on the process of the WDW trip later in October since I have the airline vouchers that I got last year during my 2015 WDW trip in which I lost one day. But we will wait and see if DAF can go or not which will decide on it.


A few more of the flowers on MS during my visit.


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
Looks like you and you DAW had a great overnight trip to DLR.   I just love all your pictures especially the nighttime ones and the flower pictures with the dew on them.  Looking forward to hearing about the Food & Wine festival.  I'm wondering the similarities to the Epcot one.  Thanks for taking the time to post.  It's hard when work gets in the way of our Disney fun.  TK


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## Canadian Harmony

My dad was a steam-train engineer so those photos brought back a ton of memories for me! You wouldn't happen to have a photo of the corn chowder recipe would you? My DH loved it when we were there, and I'd love to surprise him with it.


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> Looks like you and you DAW had a great overnight trip to DLR.   I just love all your pictures especially the nighttime ones and the flower pictures with the dew on them.  Looking forward to hearing about the Food & Wine festival.  I'm wondering the similarities to the Epcot one.  Thanks for taking the time to post.  It's hard when work gets in the way of our Disney fun.  TK



Hi TK. Nice to see you back on the threads.

We had a fun time even though it was only for one night which was short The AP Days was one of the reason we went on a short time frame. Thank you, I wanted to get some pics of the flowers during the trip along with the nighttime but I was tired from that driving. The DCA version won't be as good as Epcot but it will be fun to try the food there.




Canadian Harmony said:


> My dad was a steam-train engineer so those photos brought back a ton of memories for me! You wouldn't happen to have a photo of the corn chowder recipe would you? My DH loved it when we were there, and I'd love to surprise him with it.



That is neat that your dad was a steam-train engineer. Here is the recipe card of the corn chowder.








I didn't show a picture of the buttons and here is the buttons along with the two recipe cards for the Monte Cristo and Corn Chowder.


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## Canadian Harmony

mvf-m11c said:


> Hi TK. Nice to see you back on the threads.
> 
> That is neat that your dad was a steam-train engineer. Here is the recipe card of the corn chowder.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I didn't show a picture of the buttons and here is the buttons along with the two recipe cards for the Monte Cristo and Corn Chowder.


 
YOU are awesome! Thank you so much!!

I learned a lot about steam trains and could probably even remember enough to drive one in a pinch. I'm going back in October, so I'm going to for sure see as many engines as I can while they're still.


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## ACDSNY

Great quickie trip.  The pic of the Mark Twain at night could be a postcard.  I'd love to see the inside of the Lilly Belle.


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## PrincessInOz

Catching up!

Real life has kept me busy and I haven't had time to spend on the Dis lately.  Hopefully, I'll get to catch up on all the threads.


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## mvf-m11c

Here is a quick update from my current DLR trip report during the DCA Food & Wine Festival on the first day. I was able to do some of the food kiosks and I will post more later on during the trip or when I get back home.

Here are some pics from today during the first day at the DCA F&W Festival.

Triple Cheese Mac with Smoked Chicken





Artichoke Chips with Spicy Aioli





Grilled Tenderloin Slider with Chimichurri





White Cheddar Ale Soup with Bacon in a Boudin Sourdough Mini-Boule, Coconut Tapioca Flight with Fresh Mango





Zinfandel-Braised Wagyu Beef





Menu






























There is the AP center at the Blue Sky Cellar for the AP Holders which you get some free goodies.


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## PrincessInOz

Loving Food and Wine pictures.  Keep it coming.


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## tksbaskets

Looks like tasty little bites!  What is the AP Tasting Passport?  I go in two weeks to WDW to run in the Star Wars Dark Side 1/2 marathon.  EPCOT is having their flower and garden festival right now which should be fun.

Thanks for the updates.
TK


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## bwvBound

Are the F&W kiosks open only on Saturdays ... or all month long?  Thx!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Loving Food and Wine pictures.  Keep it coming.



I'll write up my trip report later on and show more pics from the DCA F&W Festival.




tksbaskets said:


> Looks like tasty little bites!  What is the AP Tasting Passport?  I go in two weeks to WDW to run in the Star Wars Dark Side 1/2 marathon.  EPCOT is having their flower and garden festival right now which should be fun.
> 
> Thanks for the updates.
> TK



Hi TK,

The food at the DCA F&W Festival were good. The lanyard type AP Tasting Passport is like a food voucher where you get six vouchers to choose from the 6 different kiosks of the food (no drinks). This is good to get if you are getting expensive food from the Chilled Ahi Poke, Zinfandel-Braised Wagyu Beef, Grilled Tenderloin Slider with Chimichurri, etc. It doesn't make sense to use it for the smaller price items like the Apple Bacon Whoopie Pie, Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart, etc. which are under $4. For $45 is not a bad price for 6 vouchers including the lanyard as well. This is only available for AP holders. That is great that you will be running in the Star Wars Dark Side 1/2 marathon. Good luck on the marathon. The EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival is another fun event to go to.



bwvBound said:


> Are the F&W kiosks open only on Saturdays ... or all month long?  Thx!



The DCA F&W Festival kiosks and events are open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the month of April. It started last week and will end on May 1st.


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## franandaj

Those kiosks look great!  There is something at each one that I want to try!  Today is the first day that I am actually feeling better.  So I'm doing laundry, putting away our suitcases from the Mississippi trip and all that fun housecleaning stuff!  

I hope to get out to the kiosks next Friday.  If Fran won't go with me, maybe I can get Jim to come!


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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Those kiosks look great!  There is something at each one that I want to try!  Today is the first day that I am actually feeling better.  So I'm doing laundry, putting away our suitcases from the Mississippi trip and all that fun housecleaning stuff!
> 
> I hope to get out to the kiosks next Friday.  If Fran won't go with me, maybe I can get Jim to come!



The kiosks looked good and fun to go to. The only downside is the long lines just like at Epcot during the Food and Wine Festival which they can be very long. The process is the same like Epcot. There was at least one kiosk that I wanted to try. Glad to read that you are feeling better and you are able to go back this week to DCA for the Food and Wine.


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## mvf-m11c

Just been back over a week after a fun time at the Disneyland Resort during the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival which returned since 2010. This was actually my first time attending the DCA F&W Festival where I have went to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in 2012 & last year. Since the Disney announced the return of the DCA F&W Festival back in February, I had to go back to the DLR to try out the food at the DCA F&W Festival. I had to make a trip for that event in April which ran from April 1st to May 1st. This isn’t the first trip where I made one in a short time where the February 27th to 28th was less than a couple of weeks for the AP Days in February.

Originally I was planning on going by myself but DAW was interested as well which she came with me for that weekend. When I pick the dates for the DCA F&W Festival to go to, I was thinking of going the second weekend but that was during the last home game of the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena (aka Arco Arena) for the last NBA game until they move to the downtown arena Golden 1 Center. So I had to choose the first weekend since the other weekends, I am busy with basketball.

I knew that it was going to be busy that weekend since it is the first weekend of the F&W Festival along with Spring Break during certain schools. When we were going that weekend, I was planning on trying something new that I rarely do when I go to the Disney parks. DAW and I bought did the Celebrity Kitchen Experience that weekend and we got to see Robert Irvine host of Restaurant Impossible.

We left on Friday morning and got to Anaheim around 2pm. The first thing we did before we got on over to Best Western Park Place Inn which is where we will be staying again is at Mimi’s Café. This is like our traditional restaurant for me and DAW where we have to eat at Mimi’s Café. When I am at the DLR with DAF, we eat at the ESPN Zone.

After lunch, we head to the hotel and we got to check in to our room at 3pm which was a good sign. When we got settled in and rested instead of going to the DLR immediately. We didn’t go to DCA until 5pm which was a little late but from the long drive from NorCal to SoCal which can take you out a little.

When we got to DCA, the first thing we did was walk around until we head on over to the kiosks to get our food that day. So we started off at Hollywood Land to look at the Mad T Party stage including the Disney Art stage right across from it and there was nothing going on at that time.












The stand for the Mad T Party have been converted for the DCA F&W Festival from selling alcohol, cheese plates.








The event board for April 1st.




After being at Hollywood Land for a while, we now head on over to the DCA F&W Festival which was on the walkway going towards A Bugs Land, Cars Land, Pacific Wharf and Paradise Pier entrance/exit areas. The first kiosk that we went to was Gold Rush. There were other kiosks that we could have stopped first but this was the first one that we stopped at.

Viva Fesca! Menu




The good thing about the menus at DCA F&W over Epcot F&W is that it shows a picture on the menu board.




It was not that busy that day which was around 6pm. Friday and Saturday were the slow days where Sunday was crowded. There were problems at first when I observed the CM’s working at the registers for the kiosks. There were at times where it takes a while to process an order. But the system at the DCA F&W Festival is similar to Epcot F&W Festival where you get your receipt and take it up to the kiosk and get your food or drink.




There were about 3 to 4 CM’s in the kiosks serving the food or drinks.




We got a Triple Cheese Mac with Smoked Chicken




Artichoke Chips with Spicy Aioli




I really like the triple cheese mac with smoked chicken which I got multiple orders during the trip. The Artichoke chips were baby artichokes that are fried with a nice aioli sauce.

After finishing our first food, we head on over towards the Blue Sky Cellar Lounge to the AP lounge where it was used for the AP Days in February. I was looking forward to going to the BSC to get free AP stuff.








We got a F&W Festival button including a recipe card which had the recipe for the Artichoke Chips with Spicy Aioli. We entered the BSC and they showed some AP merchandise from the DCA F&W AP shirt and the AP Festival Marketplace Tasting Passport lanyard. At the time it was $45 and now it is $39 which was overpriced.




There were Disneyland souvenir merchandise from the Country Bear Jug and DL Diamond Celebration Mug.




The prototype Mickey Mouse Balloon shape popcorn bucket.




Big Thunder Mountain Mine Car popcorn bucket




After being in the BSC, we head on out and back to the kiosks. The next one was “The Farm”.




I got the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider with Chimichurri Sauce.




Right by the Sonoma Terrace, there was the Beverage Seminars which had wine tasting. We weren’t interested in that event but it did sound fun to taste different types of wine.




Continue to the Next Post​


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## mvf-m11c

Last Installment on the Trip Report​
We head on the end towards Paradise Pier where the last kiosk is “By the Bay” which was one of the kiosks that I wanted to go to.




By the Bay menu




Of course, if you have been to Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival and tried the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup at the Canada kiosks, you will enjoy the White Cheddar Ale Soup with Bacon in a Boudin Sourdough Mini-Boule. This was by far my favorite food at the DCA F&W Festival.




We also got a Coconut Tapioca Flight with Fresh Mango.




After trying the great cheese soup, we started to walk back down to go to the other kiosks that night. It wasn’t as bad as I have thought that night but when I went to a few of the different kiosks that I wanted to try, they were out of food for specific dishes.




The next one we went to was LAstyle. Unfortunately, they were all out of the Pork Belly Bao Taco so I had to go to another kiosk.




We went to the Wine Country and got the Zinfandel-Braised Wagyu Beef.








After we tried the food, DAW was a little tired that night so she went back to the hotel while I stayed at the DLR that night. I was considering staying a little bit longer at DCA, but it was now time to head on over to Disneyland.

It got dark that night and there were already people staking out for Paint the Night parade and Disneyland Forever. I wasn’t on planning on watching PtN or DF but I wanted to walk on over towards Frontierland to see what the construction was like that night. At night is very dark but interesting is that the Mark Twain was still open that night.

It was nice to be able to get some nighttime shots on the upper levels of the Mark Twain. I also asked the CM’s if I could set up my tripod and they had no problem with it. So I was able to get some shots from the upper level which you don’t get when Fantasmic! is running.




















After getting some pics on the Mark Twain, the 9:10pm Disneyland Forever fireworks was about to start. So I set up around the Rivers of America by the railing area which is nice to set up since Fantasmic! is closed till next year. So this was a good opportunity to get pictures of the Mark Twain that night along with DF.





I used the Tamron lens and used the Neutral Density Filter 0.9 that night for the fireworks.




























After DF was over, I waited for a while until DL started to get less crowded since most of the guests would leave after the fireworks is over. So I stayed around the Frontierland/New Orleans Square until it was time to head on out of the park.

Before I left, I went on over to NOS Railroad Station to get some pictures of the trains that was stationed at the station. At NOS was the E.P. Ripley with Holiday 2 car set that had the caboose. The CM’s changes the trains once in a while during the week with another one so it would be different. You couldn’t go on the station platform but I was able to get some pictures that night.








I then head on back to Best Western Park Place Inn to call it for the night. I was able to do some of the food from the DCA F&W Festival. Now that we completed the first day, the next day will be the important one from eating more food, going on rides and the special event that evening.


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## franandaj

Sounds like a pretty good day even with the drive and all!


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## Leshaface

I'm so bummed that I can't make the F&W Festival!  We did go to the very last one (and funnily enough, it was our first!) but really enjoyed it.  Hopefully it does good this year so that they continue to do it from now on.

Also, me and you just missed each other by a couple weeks I think.  We went down for the night March 9, stayed at BWPPI and spent the entire day March 10 at the parks.  We have never stayed at BWPPI but LOVE the location!  Would definitely stay there again.



mvf-m11c said:


> DAW and I bought did the Celebrity Kitchen Experience that weekend and we got to see Robert Irvine host of Restaurant Impossible.




How fun, can't wait to hear about that! 


mvf-m11c said:


>



This is awesome!  Unfortunately, the Hungry Bear restaurant was down when we were there  But this is something I would love to have!



mvf-m11c said:


>



Interesting that the booths go out this far.  I remember the booths only being in the main 'hub' and then over in that back building kind of next to Monsters Inc.  Do they now have booths pretty much located everywhere throughout the park?



mvf-m11c said:


>



This is a spectacular shot!


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## dhorner233

Yay! I finally found this trip report and between my tablet and my laptop, I was able to see all of your pictures. I do not know why I have problems seeing them but I persevered and it was worth it! I didn't know they had a wine and food festival at Disneyland! I want to go! EVERYTHING looked delicious!!!!!! Thanks for taking the time to post your report. And your pictures of the fireworks with the Mark Twain and Big Thunder were gorgeous!!!


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## PrincessInOz

Looks like F&W at DCA might need to go on the bucket list.
Thanks for sharing.


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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Sounds like a pretty good day even with the drive and all!



We had a nice first day even with the drive and coming in late for the DCA F&W Festival. The food was great and glad that you were able to experience it.




Leshaface said:


> I'm so bummed that I can't make the F&W Festival!  We did go to the very last one (and funnily enough, it was our first!) but really enjoyed it.  Hopefully it does good this year so that they continue to do it from now on.
> 
> Also, me and you just missed each other by a couple weeks I think.  We went down for the night March 9, stayed at BWPPI and spent the entire day March 10 at the parks.  We have never stayed at BWPPI but LOVE the location!  Would definitely stay there again.
> 
> How fun, can't wait to hear about that!
> 
> This is awesome!  Unfortunately, the Hungry Bear restaurant was down when we were there  But this is something I would love to have!
> 
> Interesting that the booths go out this far.  I remember the booths only being in the main 'hub' and then over in that back building kind of next to Monsters Inc.  Do they now have booths pretty much located everywhere throughout the park?
> 
> This is a spectacular shot!



Hopefully you will be able to go to it next year. It is not as good as the one at Epcot but it is nice to have the F&W Festival back at DCA. Even though it was tough that first day where the kiosks ran out of certain dishes and we had to wait to come back for it which is annoying. 

Just barely missed you by a week. One day we will have a meet up. Glad that you were able to stay at BWPPI and loved it. You can't beat the location (except at GCH which is the closest). 

There are 8 kiosks along with small carts that sell other items during the F&W Festival which they were all close to each other. There were also tables and stands for people to eat which is nice to have. During the F&W Festival, Pixar parade didn't run due to all the traffic from the F&W Festival. The booths that are used for the Mad T Party are used as well which have smaller items like wine, cheese, etc. The quick counter and sit down restaurants have one or three special dishes or drinks during the F&W Festival. Like at Pacific Wharf Cafe, they were selling a dungeness crab corn chowder. I wanted to try those different food at the different restaurants but i wasn't able to do that which was disappointing. 




dhorner233 said:


> Yay! I finally found this trip report and between my tablet and my laptop, I was able to see all of your pictures. I do not know why I have problems seeing them but I persevered and it was worth it! I didn't know they had a wine and food festival at Disneyland! I want to go! EVERYTHING looked delicious!!!!!! Thanks for taking the time to post your report. And your pictures of the fireworks with the Mark Twain and Big Thunder were gorgeous!!!



Nice to see you on here Denise. The DCA F&W Festival was announced in February which was late and wasn't advertised that well. But it was nice to have it back at DCA after a 6 year absent (2010 was the last year until this year). You will want to try it if you have went to Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Thank you.




PrincessInOz said:


> Looks like F&W at DCA might need to go on the bucket list.
> Thanks for sharing.



You will have to try it out. Might not be as good as Epcot F&W Festival but it is nice to go if you are here in the U.S.

Thank you PiO.


----------



## mvf-m11c

The next day, DAW and I got up early like usual when the DL & DCA opens at 8am. We were looking forward to another day at DCA for the second day at the DCA Food & Wine Festival.

We got to the park a little after 8am that morning and the first thing we did was to get FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers which DAW must do ride when we are at the DLR. I was able to get FP’s for RSR around 11:15am to 12:15pm which works perfectly since we can go to the kiosks after the RSR.

It was quiet at the kiosks at DCA that morning where it won’t open at 11am. It makes sense to open the kiosks at 11am during lunchtime.












The first thing was to head on over to Cars Land to ride the newest ride which is Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters. Just about a week after I was at the DLR in February, Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roaders opened and I just missed it by a week. Now this time we were able to ride it as the first ride of the day.




10 minute wait was way better over 30 minutes which wasn’t worth it from what I have and talked to other people about the new ride.




The queue for LRR is still the same except for the name change.




The ride looked interesting where you just get in the car and enjoy the ride experience. The whole track have been replaced solid where the old Luigi’s Flying Tires platform has changed.




















When we got off the ride, the new LRR is a nice ride which is fun but I would not say it is better over LFT. But it is a nice ride where the cars are synch nicely on the trackless platform.

After we finished, we had a while until the DCA Food & Wine Festival opened at 11am so we head on over to DL that morning.




DL was not that busy in the morning but there were quite some people out there.




First thing we did was head on over to New Orleans Square/Frontierland to go on Pirates of the Caribbean which is another one of DAW favorite rides. But before that, I had to get a pictures of the screen by the Rivers of America.




I didn’t take any pictures on PotC which I just enjoyed riding on the boat. When we got out, I had to get some pictures around Frontierland during the construction of Star Wars Land.




It is so weird to see the backside of Frontierland like that.




When we walked on out of Frontierland, we head on over to our next attraction that morning.








We went on Storybook Land Canal Boats which we haven’t rode for quite some time. It was nice to go on SLCB that morning where we only had to wait about 10 minutes.




















After riding on SLCB, we head on back to DCA.


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## mvf-m11c

After we finished riding Storybook Land Canal Boats, we head back on over to Disney California Adventure in order to go back and enjoy the DCA Food & Wine Festival. 

The F&W kiosks are not opened yet until 11am and it was still early that morning.




Before the kiosks opened and waiting to use our FP’s for Radiators Springs Racers that afternoon, we head on over to see the exclusive sneak peek of Disney The Jungle Book at It’s Tough to be a Bug theater.












After seeing the sneak peek of “The Jungle Book”, we head on over towards Cars Land in order to use our FP’s for RSR. It was around 11:20am where the kiosks for the F&W Festival are opened and we would do the food after the ride.








Our picture that afternoon on RSR.




After RSR, we head back on over the walkway where the kiosks are located for the F&W Festival. The first one I was heading on over to the The Farm for the tenderloin slider but when I got there, they were already sold out of the slider. I was bummed at first but I can understand that it is popular. These food are not made at the kiosks but backstage in the kitchen where the kiosks are brought in by the hot boxes.

So we head on over toward By the Bay




We got the White Cheddar Ale Soup with Bacon in a Boudin Sourdough Mini-Boule again which is my favorite and this time we got the Chilled Shrimp and Snow Crab Cocktail.




After finishing the two dishes, we went back to The Farm and see if the tenderloin slider was back in stock which we waited about 20 minutes after we left the kiosk when heading on over to By the Bay kiosk.

Once again, it was out of stock so I stayed in the queue in order to get the Meyer Lemon Macaron with Blueberry Dust.




Then we just walked around the walkway where the other kiosks are located and you it started to get a little busy that afternoon but not as bad like Sunday which was the worst in my opinion when we went that day but that will be told on another update from the trip.




The menu for the Wine Country and The Vineyard which had the Zinfandel-Braised Wagyu Beef I got on Friday.




I went on over towards the LAstyle kiosk in order to get the Pork Belly Bao Taco.




When I saw the queue, it was not as long like the other queues for certain kiosks. I was worried that one of the items on the menu was sold out. When I talked to the CM about what I wanted to order and they told me that the Pork Bao Taco was sold out. I was bummed that it was sold out but I was planning on coming back to that kiosk that try the Pork Bao Taco.

DAW was getting a little hungry that afternoon since she only ate small portions from the F&W Festival so we decided to go to a regular quick counter restaurant at DCA. I was thinking of going to Pacific Wharf to try the Dungeness Crab Corn Chowder served in a Boudin sourdough boule but DAW wasn’t interested and I thought about it after being done with Dungeness crab for a while.

So we went on over to Cars Land at the Cozy Cone to get a Chili Cone Queso which DAW like to get when we are at DCA.




After finishing the Chili Cone Queso, we decided to head on back to the room and rest up since we were at the park at 8am till 1pm. But we had the Celebrity Kitchen seminar at 5pm with Robert Irvine that evening which makes sense for us to rest since we come to DLR a lot.

So we head on back to the hotel to rest up until it was time for the seminar.


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## mvf-m11c

We rested for about 3 hours back at the hotel until we head on back to DCA that night to attend the 5pm Robert Irvine Celebrity Kitchen seminar.

It was around 3:30pm when we left BWPPI back to DCA. We head on over to Hollywood Land where Stage 17 is the location for the Celebrity Kitchen seminar.




When we got to Stage 17, there were a registration desk for the guests who were attending the 5pm seminar. There was the regular table and the other was the VIP table for the guests who paid an extra $50 more for better seats, souvenirs from the seminar and a picture with Robert Irvine.

I saw Alison (@franandaj) in the VIP queue where they were first. They told me that they got there super early sometime around 2ish time where they were going to get the best spot during the seminar. For us, there were about 12 people in front of us which was not that bad since we got there before 4pm. But when time goes on more and more guests started to show up. Good thing that we can an hour before the seminar started.

When it was around 5pm, we were escorted into Stage 17. The stage for the Celebrity Kitchen seminar was nicely done for the stage where the whole building still has the Frozen Fun façade. So I would guess that later on the Frozen Fun set up will be used again in the near future. This is like during the AP Days in February where the setup is still there. We got the fourth table row where the first three were for the VIP.








Alison was able to get the first row and close to the stage.

When the show started, there two people introducing Robert Irvine and went backstage to the Kitchen to see the work.




This was by far my favorite pic from the seminar which he wasn’t happy about the camera being in the kitchen.




They showed some clips from his Food Network shows from Dinner Impossible.

During the seminar, there was audio technical difficulties where we heard him talking out loud without the speakers and there was times where it was on and off and he made a lot of jokes about it.

When Chef Robert Irvine came out of the backstage, it was so exciting and loud from all the guests. I was trying to clap as well but when I have the DSLR in my hands, it was all about taking pictures. I really wanted to bring my video camera for that seminar but I had to take pictures instead.





During the seminar, he was very interactive with the guests where he walked in the crowds instead of being on the stage for all the time.

He started to work on the first course while talking about the ingredients that we are trying first.








The first item he was making when the CM’s servers brought it out before he completed it was a lime vodka drink.




It was not that bad but I am not a drinker type of a person. Chef Robert Irvine made the drink without using a mixer where just used a spoon to stir.

Then he started on the next item which was the appetizer. I can tell from the ingredients on the stage kitchen that they were Asian ingredients which was some kind of salad.




When we saw what ingredients he was using, he had a tuna, sriracha, sesame oil, salt, pepper, lime, soy sauce, mint, celery, green papaya, fish sauce, avocado puree, shallots, peanuts and micro greens.




We had a tuna salad which was quite good.




When we were all eating the salad, he started to move on to his next dish which was the main course. But he started to bring guests from the tables and had them cook with chef Robert Irvine.




We were going to have a lamb dish








For the lamb dish, we were served a Malbec wine.




Some of the ingredients that he used for the main course were lamb, lemon grass, chillies, shallots along with grape seed oil. The lamb was seasoned with salt and peppers and he grilled the lamb. Then he put the lamb in the oven. Then he started by making a side dish which was fried a cauliflower. He added mixed capers, parsley, pepper, onion, cucumber, green tomatoes, salt pepper, lime jiice, and tamarind paste which he mixed it together.




The lamb dish was very good along with the cauliflower.




During the seminar, he came off the stage and talked to the guests. There were times where he was right next to us while we were at the table.




He also talked about the Robert Irvine Foundation which is a non-profit organization that helps the men and women of the military personnel of enriching the lives and their families. He was in the Royal Navy and has a big heart for military personnel. It was nice of him talking about his charitable foundations.

During the seminar, Robert Irvine kids and wife was in attendance during the seminar. His wife is professional wrestler Gail Kim.

After he talked, it was now over. Now we were about to leave. The VIP people were able to stay in Stage 17 so they can meet Robert Irvine up close and take pictures with him while we ordered the regular tickets. I was thinking of buying the VIP package but the extra $50 per person didn’t seem like it was worth it. But during that 5pm seminar, it feel like there were more VIP over the regular guests which the backside of Stage 17 was empty behind us.

For my experience, it was well worth the price that we were able to attend the Robert Irvine Kitchen Celebrity seminar. I mostly don’t do these event even during my times at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival but I thought it was worth a shot since it was at DCA and attending my first seminar for the F&W Festival was well worth it. DAW had a fun time as well which she really enjoyed the seminar. I remember that she asked Robert Irvine a question but I can’t remember it.

After the seminar was over, we went on back towards the kiosks for the Food & Wine Festival that day. The food at the seminar was not a full meal but like sampler types and now it was time to head on back and eat more food during the F&W Festival. The kiosks did look busy that night but they didn’t look as busy like on Sunday afternoon which it was very busy. Most of the queues had at least 10 people or more.

We went back to the LAstyle kiosk in order to get the Pork Belly Bao Taco and this time it was the Pork Belly Bao Taco that I got.




When we were eating, we talked to some other people that were eating just like us during the F&W Festival. It is always nice to be able to talk to other guests at the parks where going to the DLR makes it even more special.

After we finished, we decided to head on back to the room since DAW was not feeling tired that day. I was the same thing for some odd reason. So we ended around 8pm that night and head on back to the room instead of staying at the DLR that night. It was a good thing that we got the extra rest but sometimes I do regret that I missed another good opportunity at night to get nighttime long exposure shots like I did the other night. But I had plenty of opportunities to get shots while I have an Annual Pass.

We went back to the room that night and called it which was early. Even though we didn’t get all the food that we wanted to try that day but I was satisfy how it went and the Robert Irvine Celebrity Kitchen seminar was well worth it. We were able to meet nice people and I was able to see Alison and Fran that day.


----------



## dhorner233

Wow! Great update Bret! I heard they grossly underestimated how popular the Wine and Food Festival was going to be and ran out of a lot of the food. Glad you were able to get your pork tacos!

I'm sorry to say I've never heard of Robert Irvine but your meal looked delicious and looks like you enjoyed the seminar. 

Love your pictures from the Storybook Canal! You must have had a great lens!


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## franandaj

I'm working on my installment of this day for as soon as I wrap up the other TR.  I had no idea that things were sold out like that. Fran told me she read an article online that the F&W Festival was a complete success. Due to the food selling out faster than they ever expected, they are already planning to bring it back next year.

I will start making my reservatios for next year in a couple weeks. My thoughts are that it will start the weekend after Easter like it did this year. They don't need to boost attendance for Easter week, so it's my guess it will start the week after. At least that's what it did back in 2009-10.

Robert Irvine was my favorite of the seminars. He is really a great guy, and has such a big heart and a great sense of humor. Also his food was fantastic!


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## PrincessInOz

Catching up!

Love the Robert Irvine edition.  Fantastic to see the pictures and your take on it.


----------



## mvf-m11c

dhorner233 said:


> Wow! Great update Bret! I heard they grossly underestimated how popular the Wine and Food Festival was going to be and ran out of a lot of the food. Glad you were able to get your pork tacos!
> 
> I'm sorry to say I've never heard of Robert Irvine but your meal looked delicious and looks like you enjoyed the seminar.
> 
> Love your pictures from the Storybook Canal! You must have had a great lens!



Thank you Denise. It was a shame that Disney underestimated the DCA F&W Festival this year after a 6 year absence. It was tough to go that first weekend of the F&W Festival but it was well worth it to finally attend the DCA F&W Festival.

The two courses that he presented were nice and good. It would have been nice to be bigger but it was fun to try his food again.

I used the Nikon 70-200 f/4 telephoto lens for those shots which was hard to get where it was a zoom in and out lens.




franandaj said:


> I'm working on my installment of this day for as soon as I wrap up the other TR.  I had no idea that things were sold out like that. Fran told me she read an article online that the F&W Festival was a complete success. Due to the food selling out faster than they ever expected, they are already planning to bring it back next year.
> 
> I will start making my reservatios for next year in a couple weeks. My thoughts are that it will start the weekend after Easter like it did this year. They don't need to boost attendance for Easter week, so it's my guess it will start the week after. At least that's what it did back in 2009-10.
> 
> Robert Irvine was my favorite of the seminars. He is really a great guy, and has such a big heart and a great sense of humor. Also his food was fantastic!



That is good news to hear that the DCA F&W Festival will be coming back next year. I will be going down next year for that event again and hopefully with other family members. DAW had a fun time at the event that she will want to go back next year. 

It will be easier to go on a slower week instead of that weekend in April where it was so busy at the parks. Friday and Sunday were busy during my days which Saturday was quiet where the AP blockage for everyone except for the premium. Oh wait it is now signature, signature plus & premier which they call it. 

After reading your reports on Andrew Sutton and Guy Fieri seminars, it does seem like you enjoyed chef Robert Irvine more over the three.




PrincessInOz said:


> Catching up!
> 
> Love the Robert Irvine edition.  Fantastic to see the pictures and your take on it.



Hi PiO.

Thank you. It was well worth going to the Robert Irvine seminar on the first weekend of the DCA F&W Festival.


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## mvf-m11c

This is just a quick update from my latest trip to the Disneyland Resort on June 3rd to 5th. This trip was just another solo with me alone. I won't be writing a long trip report like i usually do but it is to tell my experience of seeing the new "Frozen Live at the Hyperion" at Disney California Adventure. No I didn't go down to SoCal just to see that but was down there to renew my Annual Pass which I got the Signature.

I will be skipping Friday the 3rd and head to Saturday June 4th on that day.

For that Saturday morning, I got up early in order to get the FastPass for Frozen Live at the Hyperion for the 12:30pm show. I went to the DLR at 7am that morning which was an hour until the parks open. I went early so I could get the FP in advance so I won't have to wait in those long queue. The FP station is located on the left hand side of the Hyperion Theater close to the Marvel Meet & Greet area. 

When the park opened for the rope drop, a lot of people head on over in that direction just to get a FP for the new show. It has been a long time since I haven't seen that many people head on over in the direction for the Frozen Live at the Hyperion FP over Radiator Springs Racers.

I was about 30 people behind the first person in the queue and I was able to get the 12:30pm show FP.





It did say on the FP to return between 11:30am to 12:10pm but I know from past times when seeing shows at the Disney parks to come back a little early in order to get a good spot for the show. So I just walked around DCA and DL that morning until it got closer to 11am. I have been reading early reports from other DISers that they got there at least half an hour before the queue opened up.




While I was waiting, the CM's right at the entrance were not allowing guests to form a queue or not even go in. But there were crowds of people right at the entrance waiting to get in the queue to get good seats. I was planning on watching the show from the Orchestra area in the back area instead of the front. I waited about half an hour until the CM's let the guests in to the queue and I was close to about 15 people in front of me. 





Times goes by and the queue was so full that the CM's asked the guests to move up as much as possible to fill all the gaps. The line was going out towards the streets at Hollywood Land. I waited for an our 40 minutes until the CM's let the guests in the Hyperion Theater. 

I was now in and found a spot in the back area of the Orchestra queue which I was close to the left hand side center which was not that bad.




My first impression of the updated Hyperion Theater for Frozen Live at the Hyperion which is mostly curtain and a big nice stage with the LDC back screen. It doesn't looked all that decorated like the Aladdin stage but from what I have read with the projections on the curtain and stage, it should be amazing.

For the show, I used my telephoto lens to get up close shots of the cast instead of using my regular lenses for the show.

For the show, I must have took over 1000 pics but I am posting some of the shots from the show. If you don't want to see pics from the show, I would skip this.
























The show scenes were playing certain scenes from the movie Frozen like "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman".
















Elsa Coronation Day "For the First Time in Forever"
















During the scene when Elsa showed her powers, the stage popped up icicles at the side of the stage




Elsa scene of the Frozen palace with the song we all know "Let It Go". 




They had a ice stairway that was spinning which we were able to get to see Elsa.




Here is where the scene gets really good from Elsa changing her Arendelle dress to her Frozen dress.




After the lights went out, she was in her Frozen dress.




The scene when she changed dresses was nice.

Continue to the Next Post


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## mvf-m11c

The scene where Anna met Kristoff and Sven








This scene was nice where they were falling from the cliff




Can't get tired of everyone favorite snowman Olaf




"In Summer" scene








The troll scene is another good part of the show which showed AA trolls on the rocks and the trolls in the background.












The winter scene where the characters are walking on the frozen lake looked almost real on stage




The scene where Anna is Frozen




























The show was over and here are my thoughts about the new Frozen Live at the Hyperion. The show was very nice which tries to tell the whole movie of Frozen in an hour. The one thing I was impressed with the show is the computer graphics to the stage, curtains, AA trolls and when Anna is Frozen. If you have never seen Frozen, this is something you would want to watch the movie before you see it.

The things I did not like about it is that it is an hour long show which is kind of long for a Disney show at the parks. There were other things like scenes missing from the movie which didn't talk about which would confuse first time people that have not seen the movie Frozen. Overall it was good but I would not pick this show over the Aladdin show which replaced it. It is not as funny as much like the Genie but Olaf at times was funny.

For all the wait time and getting up early to get a FP for the specific time you want to see, it was worth it to see it once. If I had to see it again is with other people in my group. But as for a solo person, I would say one more time to get a video of it or more pictures.

Also a note, when I went on Sunday to DCA to see if I could get a FP for the Sunday show. At 8:20am in the morning, the queue for the FP was all the way towards the popcorn stand on Buena Vista Street which is kind of scary. The queue went through the area of Monsters Inc and the Mad T Party area and snakes along in Hollywood Land. From what I have read, the queue to get a FP took as most as 30-40 minutes which is crazy.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Lots of great pics from Frozen.  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
I was so happy to get an email notification that you'd posted (they don't come very often).  It was interesting to see the Frozen pictures and your thoughts.  We LOVED Aladdin and would see it at least twice a trip.  I can see where this would be a 'one and done' experience.  I've got a lot more I would like to do with an hour at DCA.

DH and I will be there Labor Day weekend as I'm running in the Dumbo Double Dare.  We haven't been back since July of 2014 so we are anxious to see all the changes.  I think the way that Disney put the screen up on the ROA was very clever.

Will the 60th anniversary things still be up in September?

TK


----------



## dhorner233

Thanks for posting the Frozen pictures and review Bret! I hope the hype wears off before I get there again. I would not want to wait so long to get a fast pass to still wait so long to see such a long show! That is a lot of precious park time!! And Frozen will never replace the Genie! Like you say, once is probably enough.


----------



## franandaj

I was glad to see your review.  I liked it as well, but won't see it as often as I would the Aladdin show.  You got some great pictures!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Lots of great pics from Frozen.  Thanks for sharing.



Thank you PiO.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> I was so happy to get an email notification that you'd posted (they don't come very often).  It was interesting to see the Frozen pictures and your thoughts.  We LOVED Aladdin and would see it at least twice a trip.  I can see where this would be a 'one and done' experience.  I've got a lot more I would like to do with an hour at DCA.
> 
> DH and I will be there Labor Day weekend as I'm running in the Dumbo Double Dare.  We haven't been back since July of 2014 so we are anxious to see all the changes.  I think the way that Disney put the screen up on the ROA was very clever.
> 
> Will the 60th anniversary things still be up in September?
> 
> TK



Hi TK,

Frozen Live at the Hyperion Theater is nice but it isn't better over the Aladdin show especially with the Genie. If I had the option of seeing it again, it would be with another party since it isn't worth going back and forward. I like Frozen but not that hardcore fan. 

That is great that you will be down at the DLR during Labor Day weekend and running in the Dumbo Double Dare Marathon. I wishing you the best of luck for the marathon. You will have a great time at the DLR during the last weekend of the Diamond Celebration. 

I believe you know when the Diamond Celebration will end this year which will run to September 5th, 2016.




dhorner233 said:


> Thanks for posting the Frozen pictures and review Bret! I hope the hype wears off before I get there again. I would not want to wait so long to get a fast pass to still wait so long to see such a long show! That is a lot of precious park time!! And Frozen will never replace the Genie! Like you say, once is probably enough.



Thank you Denise. It is still popular when I saw the line last week along with seeing what FP are available for what time and seating area. Middle of August might be busy with the SoCal AP people being unblocked which will get the crowds to the DLR for the Frozen show. You don't have to get the FP at the beginning but you can wait later on for the other shows.




franandaj said:


> I was glad to see your review.  I liked it as well, but won't see it as often as I would the Aladdin show.  You got some great pictures!



Thank you Alison. I am still envious of you and Fran to be able to see it before it was open to the public. 


Also I have some news about a future trip coming up so you can go to this link and check it out: *First Solo Trip to WDW for Food & Wine - October 4 - 8, 2016*


----------



## mvf-m11c

It has been a while since I have been on my trip report thread. I Have a last second trip going down to SoCal this Thursday to Sunday which I am excited to do since I haven't been to SoCal since mid November. It has been crazy lately with work and family and it is nice to get a while.


----------



## tksbaskets

Hi,
We travel to DL in June for a week.  Looking forward to seeing the GOTG in the TOT.  Any other changes since January that you've noticed?  Hope you had a wonderful trip and that the family is OK.
TK


----------



## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Hi,
> We travel to DL in June for a week.  Looking forward to seeing the GOTG in the TOT.  Any other changes since January that you've noticed?  Hope you had a wonderful trip and that the family is OK.
> TK



Hi TK,

That is great that you will be going in June to SoCal. You will have a good time with all the new things going on at the DLR from GotG Mission: Breakout, the new Rivers of America, Fantasmic 2.0 & the MSEP which will run to mid June. Not much has changed from all the 60th Diamond Celebration gone since Fall last year. But it is nice to have the MSEP back and along with Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks.

Thank you TK. I really need to get away for awhile and going to the DLR along with the DCA F&W Festival will help me a lot.


----------



## franandaj

It was great meeting up with you tonight and catching up.  Hopefully we can catch up again on Saturday and maybe even tomorrow!  I will text you as to our plans as they develop.


----------



## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> It was great meeting up with you tonight and catching up.  Hopefully we can catch up again on Saturday and maybe even tomorrow!  I will text you as to our plans as they develop.



It was nice that we met up last night and met @Steppesister. Hope you, Fran, Liesa and era family had a great time last night and hope you have a good time tomorrow at the Guy Fieri seminar.


----------



## Steppesister

Awwww... it was super fun to meet you too! I really enjoyed our brief chat! 

Subbing in now to read along.


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## PrincessInOz

Dang!  I'm missing out on lots of DisMeets in Cali!  

Hope you are all having fun!  Miss being there with you all.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Steppesister said:


> Awwww... it was super fun to meet you too! I really enjoyed our brief chat!
> 
> Subbing in now to read along.



It was great to meet you that day as well and hope you had a good time last week at the DLR.




PrincessInOz said:


> Dang!  I'm missing out on lots of DisMeets in Cali!
> 
> Hope you are all having fun!  Miss being there with you all.



It was nice to meet @Steppesister at the park that Thursday night.

I had a fun time which my feet was aching and my shoulder while carrying all that stuff. It was fun and glad to get away for a while.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 1 – March 30, 2017 – Part 1*​
It has been a while since I posted an update to my Disney trip reports with everything going on lately with work and family things. IT was time to get away for a while and what better place to go is to the Disneyland Resort during the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival.

This trip was a last second trip in which I was originally planning on coming down with my dad to go to his friend place. But it changed since he has a planned trip that is going on right now which is good so I can go by myself and enjoy being away from home.

It is nice to have the DCA F&W Festival back at DCA since it stopped in 2010 and returned last year. I went with DAW last year and this time it was just me which is not crazy since I have done a lot of solo trips to the DLR. My last one was back in October which I barely spent a few hours. But this time it will be four days in SoCal.

I started my travel to my grandmother’s house in Livingston on Wednesday night so I can get ahead start to SoCal which saves me 1 ½ hours of driving from Sacramento to Livingston and it would take me about 5 hours to get to Anaheim from Livingston.

At 7am the next day, I started the long 5 hour drive to Anaheim through heavy traffic on Highway 99 to I-5 to Anaheim. The first thing I did was head on over to the Mickey and Friends Parking lot which was quite crowded that afternoon around 1pm. I knew that it was going to be very busy at the DLR with Spring Break crowds on all the days but this was the best time for me to get away.

When I got to the park, I didn’t bring my equipment with me so I can go through the security gate quickly and try a few kiosks before I head on over to my hotel in Placentia which is about 15 minutes up north of the DLR.

The parks were crowded that day from getting into DL and DCA. But I head on over to DCA.

Before I went on over to the kiosks, I had to go to Paradise Garden in Paradise Pier in order to get my AP Sip & Savor lanyard. There was a special area for AP holders in order to get the lanyard as well as free stuff like the DCA F&W Festival buttons. It was a good thing I got since I get 8 tabs to choose from the kiosks (only for food and not for alchol). It costs $45 which is a lot for a lanyard but if you choose the more expensive dishes at the kiosks, you will save quite a lot of money. I actually did buy two lanyards which I was hesitant on the second one but it was well worth buying the second one.

The first kiosks that I have went to that day in the afternoon was Sweet & Sourdough kiosk which had the White Cheddar Lager Soup served in a Mini Boudin Sourdough Boule. This is a little different from last year’s cheese soup which didn’t have bacon in it. But it was still good.




White Cheddar Ale Soup with Bacon in a Boudin Sourough Mini-Boule





After finishing that, I head on over to the Bacon Twist kiosk which had the Smoked Bacon Mac & Cheese with Barbecue-Seasoned Crispy Onions. The Mac & Cheese was one of my favorites during the DCA F&W Festival. Unfortunately I got it once since I wanted to try the others.




After I finished the Mac & Cheese, it was time for me to head on out of the parks and head to my hotel in Placentia. Some of you returnees wonder why I was staying at Placentia instead of staying right across the street from the DLR. I wanted at first to stay right across the street but the prices of the hotels were so high which ranged from $180 the cheapest right across the street during Spring Break. So I went with another alternative route and chose to stay away from the DLR. It did save me a few hundred dollars but it did cost me a lot of time which you will find out shortly.

I stayed at a Best Western hotel in Placentia which I have stayed in the past and it is way nice over the other four BW hotels that are right by the DLR from BW Park Place Inn, Anaheim Inn, Stovall’s Inn and Pavilions.

After I got settled in my room and rested after that long drive from NorCal to SoCal, I left the hotel around 5pm and this was a mistake at first. The traffic going to the DLR was just crazy which the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure was already full and didn’t take any cars so I had to drive to the Toy Story parking area. It was quite a while since I have parked at the Toy Story lot and it shewed with the Spring Break crowds if the DLR is not letting any guest’s park at the Mickey and Friends structure.

When I parked my car, there was at least over 200 people waiting to get on the Toy Story Bus to the DLR which was crazy. So I just walked to the DLR which is way better over waiting for a Bus.

It was around 7:00pm I got in at the park which was kind of late that day but I was able to get in with no problem at DCA. It was quite busy that night which some queues for specific kiosks had at least over 30 people in line.




The first kiosk that I went that night was at the LA Style at Hollywood Land which was the only kiosk in that land. I had to get the Chicken Teriyaki Slider with Spicy DOLE Pineapple Jam. This was another one that I liked during the event which I had to get a second time.




Later that night, I knew that Alison @franandaj was at the park that night along with DISer @Steppesister and so I had to say hello to them.

They were waiting for the fireworks that night at the Hub so I had to stop by and see them. It was my first time meeting @Steppesister and we all had a nice talked that night.

After the talk was done, I decided to head back to my hotel since I was quite tired that day. So I barely stayed at the parks for about an hour and a half which was quite short and it didn’t make sense for me to go just for a less than 2 hours. But it was nice to see Alison and meet Steppesister at DL.

It was easy to take the bus back to the Toy Story lot over getting to the DLR from the Toy Story lot and I got back to the hotel at Placentia around 9:30pm and called it for the night.

I wasn’t there that long and didn’t take too many pictures which was kind of unusual for me but it was nice to get my lanyard that afternoon and try three different dishes at the DCA F&W Festival. But I had a fun time talking to Alison and Steppesister that night at DL. Meeting them at the park was great and hopefully in the near future that our trips might cross one day.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 2 – March 31, 2017 – Part 1*​
After the long drive to SoCal and went for a few hours to try a few dishes and met up with Alison and Liesa, it was now time for me to enjoy a full day at the DLR and the DCA F&W Festival.

I left the hotel around 7:45am from my hotel in Placentia and drove down to Anaheim. It took me 15 minutes to get there and I parked my car at the Mickey & Friends Parking structure. Even though I got to the structure around 8am, it was quite full that morning on the fifth level.

The first thing I did before I head on over to the security check point was to look at the construction of Star Wars Land. There was quite a lot of process since I have last seen it in October.








When I pass through security and got on the shuttle to the Esplanade, I was wondering which park to go first since DCA doesn’t open at 9am and while DL opened at 8am, there was long queues just to get in the park that day.

In the queue when I was going to get my AP out, I noticed that it wasn’t in my lanyard pouch. I looked all over and I didn’t have it with me. I know that I used it when I got in the structure which I had to show it to the CM’s to park my car and I accidentally left it in my car. I had to go back and get my AP.

When I got my AP in my car, I could have used my Disneyland App instead of my AP card to get in since my AP code is already in my app. So I wasted about over 45 minutes that morning from going back to my car, going through security which was way worse later that day, getting on the tram and going through the turnstiles.

I finally got in DL and I just went roaming around until the kiosks opened at 10:30am that day. There was quite a lot of closures at DL from Snow White Wishing Well, Matterhorn Mountain, Rivers of America, etc.




I stopped by the Red Rose Taverne but I wasn’t able to go inside since it wasn’t opened that morning and I lost time of walking around the DLR.




















It is always nice to walk around the parks and getting pictures. With the Spring Break crowds, it was kind of hard to walk around and get pictures. Most of the ride wait times were quite long from Hyper Space Mountain 70 minutes, Star Tours 50, Peter Pan 60, Big Thunder 30, Pirates 30. Talk about long wait times when it was inside 10am.

I head on over to DCA and waiting until it was time for the F&W Festival to open at 10:30am. So I walked around and first stopped at Hollywood Land to get pictures of the kiosks, signs, menus, etc. that involves the F&W Festival.





The Festival Map signs were helpful around DCA to tell which kiosks was which as well as the menu. Disney really did a good job this year from last year with all the different info on the F&W Festival.




LA Style menu which shows the picture of the food, drink, & desserts which was great to have.




LA Mash Up detail.




LA Style Kiosk




Stage 17 was once again the place for the Festival Showplace along with the seminars.




Signature Events. In the Kitchen with… was Guy Fieri that Saturday April 1st.




Seminars & Demonstrations




The Brewhouse menu








The new Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout is still under construction and should be open sometime in end of May. I am not a huge fan of the Tower of Terror and won’t be a fan of this new these as well. It is kind of sad to see the ToT gone with the new theme. But it does look weird at first.




That is it for now and I will have more later on at DCA and the F&W Festival.


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## franandaj

What a long first day!  You looked tired when we met up. It was good to catch up with you, and find out everything going on. 

I didn't you were staying in Placentia! That's quite a ways!

I'm glad that buying the two lanyards worked out for you. We're on our third.


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## Steppesister

mvf-m11c said:


> It was nice to meet @Steppesister at the park that Thursday night.
> 
> I had a fun time which my feet was aching and my shoulder while carrying all that stuff. It was fun and glad to get away for a while.



It truly was! I was sad it didn't work out that we could meet the next day, but just too tuckered out. We'll keep in touch though and I have a feeling I'll be down again next year, and actually would like to focus on F&W- something I didn't do at all this trip. Maybe then?


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## PrincessInOz

Glad you've got time away for F&W at DCA.  

Looks like staying at a different location to where you normally stay adds a bit of time to-ing and fro-ing.  Still, if it saves you some money......

Loving the look of the food so far.  Looking forward to reading more.


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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> What a long first day!  You looked tired when we met up. It was good to catch up with you, and find out everything going on.
> 
> I didn't you were staying in Placentia! That's quite a ways!
> 
> I'm glad that buying the two lanyards worked out for you. We're on our third.



It was a very long day from driving from Livingston and getting around 1 in SoCal and came back later that night. I was so tired that I didn't know why I came back that night. Maybe it has due to the fact that I haven't been to the DLR in four months and with everything going on in my life, it was tough. It was very nice to meet up with you as well as meet Liesa that night. It would have been nice if I could have stayed longer but it was nice to get a good night sleep that Thursday night.

The hotels around the DLR which I usually stay were sold out or very high which was not worth paying. But after parking the car at the Toy Story parking lot and waiting just to get on a bus and walking, it would make sense to pay the extra by staying at a close hotel. The BW Placentia hotel is nice and is better over the BW hotels by the DLR.

Good thing that I bought two lanyards instead of the one that I was originally planned. But with all those different dishes and drinks, I had to do it and saved quite a lot of money on the lanyards.




Steppesister said:


> It truly was! I was sad it didn't work out that we could meet the next day, but just too tuckered out. We'll keep in touch though and I have a feeling I'll be down again next year, and actually would like to focus on F&W- something I didn't do at all this trip. Maybe then?



It was tough but I understand the situation where you want to do your own things at the DLR. Hopefully in the near future, one of our trips will cross each other. I just followed your trip report and looking forward to reading more about it.




PrincessInOz said:


> Glad you've got time away for F&W at DCA.
> 
> Looks like staying at a different location to where you normally stay adds a bit of time to-ing and fro-ing.  Still, if it saves you some money......
> 
> Loving the look of the food so far.  Looking forward to reading more.



Thanks PiO. It was nice to get away and enjoy the F&W Festival.

You are right about that. But this was a last second trip in which I couldn't get the hotel that I usually stay. It was during Spring Break which made it worse with all the crowds and with Wonder Con going on at the Anaheim Convention Center.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 2 – March 31, 2017 – Part 2*​While I was walking around DCA until the kiosks opened, I like to walk around the park and try to get some pictures of the different things that I haven’t seen since my last trip. With everything going on in my life, it was nice to get away at the Happiest Place on Earth and enjoying the Food & Wine Festival.​
After sticking around at Hollywood Land, I headed on over towards the kiosks at the F&W Festival. It wasn’t that busy that morning but the kiosk that had the most people waiting for food was the Garlic Kissed which was one of the popular kiosks during the event.




The Garlic Kissed had at least 15 people waiting which is not that bad during the busy times of the day during my visit which showed at least 30 people or more. This was one of the popular kiosks which made sense with the Grilled Beef Tenderloin.




Garlic Kissed menu




Of course, I had to get the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider with Garlic Chimichurri Sauce.




This one is a little bit different from last years Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider which was good and was so popular that it was sold out. This year, they had way more but there were times where they to cook them and weren’t ready.




After eating the slider, I walked down the path with the other kiosks and had to get pictures of the different ones. There were a few kiosks that I did not try.

California Craft Brews kiosk








California Craft Brews menu which was mostly alcohol




There were other kiosks that sold seasonings, olive oil, etc.




Olive Us kiosk




Menu




Lemon Grove kiosk








Lemon Grove menu




Seafood…Sustained








Menu




There were Festival entertainment happening around Paradise Pier which give the guests some entertainment.








The Onion Lair kiosk by the Little Mermaid ride




Menu




The day at Anaheim was great from barely any clouds and it was not hot. The park was getting a little busy that day but it was not that bad with all those crowds.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 2 – March 31, 2017 – Part 3*​
I continued to walk down to get pictures of all the different kiosks. I wanted to look at the menus again until it was time for me to go get my next dish.

Off the Cob kiosk




Menu




Sweet & Sourdough kiosk




Menu




I head on over toward Paradise Garden, actually it is called Festival Beer Garden during the event.




The AP location was right in between Paradise Grill and Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta which wasn’t that big of a place but it was enough to go around. I wished that it was back at Blue Sky Cellar like last year.




I was looking at trying some food at the Paradise Garden Grill which had full menus but I was concentrating on the kiosks over PGG.




After looking at most of the kiosks while I was walking, I went back and went to my next one. I wanted to try the Onion Lar kiosk which had the French Onion Mac & Cheese with Parmesan Crumble & Chives. This was one of the popular dishes at the F&W Festival and it was really good.




I forgot to get pictures of the other kiosk right by the backside of Grizzly River Run.

I love Artichokes kiosk




Menu




Uncork California kiosk




Nuts about Cheese kiosk




Menu




The park started to get a little busy that afternoon but I didn’t worry too much about the rides since I didn’t go on that many during the trip but spent more time at the kiosks.




I spent a lot of time walking around DCA on Friday that I didn’t go inside DL that morning to the afternoon. I have spent time going in DL in the morning but after with the late start to that morning from me going back to the parking structure, I didn’t have time.

The Beauty and the Beast sneak peek is going on even though the movie has been out for a few weeks. A few days ago, I went to see the movie again at the Movie Studio Grill in Rocklin which is a movie theater where you full service. It is a nice theater where you get service while watching the movie.




IT was getting closer to 1pm that day and I started to feel like it was time to head back to the room and get rested up. Before I left the park, I went on back to the LA Style kiosk to get a DOLE Pineapple-Strawberry Float. It is a little bit like the famous Dole Whip Float over at the Tiki Juice Bar & Dole Whip at DL. This one uses vanilla ice cream, pineapple-strawberry juice with strawberry pearls which is good. The Dole Whip Float at DL if by far my favorite but this is really good.




I then head on out of DCA and back to the Mickey and Friends parking structure. On the way out, I had to get a few pics of the backside construction of Star Wars Land.








I drove back to my hotel at Placentia which took me about 20 minutes to get back with all the traffic going on. But that is not the worst time of the day which was around 5 which I left on Thursday. But this time I plan on getting to the DLR early over the other day.


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## PrincessInOz

Ok.  I NEED to hit DCA during F&W sometime.  Those menus look enticing....and the food looks screen-licking delectable.

Nice update on how Star Wars land is progressing.


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## franandaj

You got some great pictures of the kiosks. I only took photos of the ones where I ordered food from.  I didn't stop at any of the little shops that sold oils or sauces.  You got a great overall feel of the place.


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## Steppesister

mvf-m11c said:


> It was tough but I understand the situation where you want to do your own things at the DLR. Hopefully in the near future, one of our trips will cross each other. I just followed your trip report and looking forward to reading more about it.



Great photos, Bret of the kiosks and wow! you went all out and tried so MANY things! I saw all of them cruising through on my solo day at DCA but didn't get a single item. Had my eye on the cheese dog at Castle, so went with that. Maybe next year I'll make it a point to hit up F&W and make a similar pillage of food.  

If I do maybe, we can plan a day of noshing!


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## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Ok.  I NEED to hit DCA during F&W sometime.  Those menus look enticing....and the food looks screen-licking delectable.
> 
> Nice update on how Star Wars land is progressing.



You will enjoy the DCA F&W Festival. This year was way better over last years which was a last second one where this one is planned well in advance. DL is learning from all the different F&W Festivals from Epcot and DCA. 

Star Wars Land is progressing since I have last seen it in November 2016 where it was still dirt and now there are steel in place for the buildings.




franandaj said:


> You got some great pictures of the kiosks. I only took photos of the ones where I ordered food from.  I didn't stop at any of the little shops that sold oils or sauces.  You got a great overall feel of the place.



I thought about taking pictures of the kiosks that I am going to but I have taken so many pictures of the kiosks at the Epcot F&W Festival which I didn't try but it does remind me of what the kiosks looked like during the trips. I didn't stop at those little stands as well.

Thank you Alison.




Steppesister said:


> Great photos, Bret of the kiosks and wow! you went all out and tried so MANY things! I saw all of them cruising through on my solo day at DCA but didn't get a single item. Had my eye on the cheese dog at Castle, so went with that. Maybe next year I'll make it a point to hit up F&W and make a similar pillage of food.
> 
> If I do maybe, we can plan a day of noshing!



Thank you Liesa. I did tried a lot of dishes during the trip in which I tried more than I expected. But when you are at DL, you forget about that and enjoy yourself. The corn dogs at Corn Dog Castle are always great but I enjoy the Little Red Wagon the most when I want a corn dog. I do like the hot link corn dog at Corn Dog Castle. The cheese corn dog is good but the hot link is my favorite at that place. If you go back to the DLR next year, you should come up with a list of what you want to try at the F&W Festival. I chose carefully of what I want to try at the F&W Festival and don't repeat on such dishes but I did that this year with the cheese soup and mac & cheese. But you can read that a couple of pages back during last years F&W Festival that I went with DAW.


The next update will be up shortly.


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 2 – March 31, 2017 – Part 4*​
After getting some rests at my hotel room at the Best Western Placentia, it was time to head on back to the park that night in order to see the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland. I have been looking forward to seeing the MSEP at the DLR since 2009 when it was at Disney California Adventure. It was a long time when I saw it back at DL in the 90s.

I didn’t leave the hotel around 3:30pm since it was going to be crazy with SoCal traffic when I had to drive all the way over to the Toy Story lot. This was crazy during the trip in which the Mickey & Friends Parking structure was already full when I got there on Thursday night and hopefully that the parking structure would not be that full that Friday night.

When I got back to Anaheim, the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure was already full and diverting guests to go to the Toy Story lot and that was around 4pm which was crazy. At first I was not happy where I had to drive back to the Toy Story lot but I can’t think like that and enjoy the trip.

Over at the Toy Story parking lot when I parked my car, the queue for the Toy Story bus was already long like the other day so I decided to walk on over to the DLR instead of waiting for the bus. It is disappointing where I had to wait but I understand with the Spring Break crowds which just made the parks even busier.

After walking on over to the DLR from the Toy Story lot which took about 20 minutes. I didn’t carry my tripod with me that night. I did plan on bringing it in the park with me that night but after parking at the Toy Story lot and possibly had to take it back to my car, I just decided to leave it in the car so I would not be able to take my long exposure shots. I did bring my gorilla pod with me which is a good alternative.

The first thing I did was head on over to Disney California Adventure and continue on the DCA Food & Wine Festival kiosks. I was able to eat a few dishes that first part of the day and now was ready to devour more food or actually a few dishes. At first, I was planning on buying only one AP Sip and Savor Lanyard but I was already close to a few let that I had to watch it.

While I was in DCA, I just walked around for most of the few hours in the park to look at all the different kiosks that I wanted to eat that night. Mostly when I am at the parks, I would get photos of different things that looks interesting. This was one of the rare times when I am at the park and didn’t get any photos but just enjoyed walking around the park.

For my first dish that night, I went on over to the Garlic Kissed kiosk which was one of the popular kiosks at the F&W Festival. I already got the Grilled Beef Tenderloin Slider and now I tried the Black Garlic & Soy-Braised Pork Belly Bao with Pickled Vegetables.




The Pork Belly Bao from the DCA F&W Festival this year is almost similar to the Pork Belly Bao Taco from last year F&W Festival.




I was glad to get that Pork Belly Bao again which I can compare to last years and this years.

I then head on over to my next kiosk that night which was the Lemon Grove kiosk. This one had the Duck Confit on Potato Smash with Meyer Lemon Preserves.




This one was not that bad with the duck confit along with potato smash which was more like tater tots. But it was quite a big portion which was bigger over the other types of food at the F&W Festival that I have tried.

While I was walking around DCA, I didn’t do too much but just took my time until it was almost time to head on over to DL that night in order to see the first MSEP at 8:30pm. Waiting for the MSEP that night made me just relax more instead of doing stuff at DCA. This isn’t the first time where I have been at the parks and didn’t do anything until it was time where I have waited hours for parades, fireworks, Fantasmic!, rides, etc.

Before it got closer to head on over to DL, I head on over to the LA Style kiosk to try the Korean Barbecue Beef Short Rib Tacos with Kimchi Slaw.




The taco was not that bad and the kimchi slaw helped give it that kick in spice. This was the third item at the kiosk which I was looking forward to during the trip. I didn’t get the Fresh Strawberry Compote, Lemon Verbena & Vanilla Bean Shortcake Parfait since I am not a big dessert eater. But that did sound good to try but I had to watch how many tabs I had during the trip.

The time went by and it was time to head on over to DL to get a spot for the 8:30pm MSEP. I decided in advance to go at It’s a Small World Plaza over Main Street and the Hub. I knew that people would stake out spots way in advance. But after reading the new rule of the CM’s enforcing the guests from staking out long periods. That was like around 7pm when I walked down MS that night which most of the curb spots were already filled. SO I just walked on over to IASW Plaza.

I was able to get a front row spot of the parade that night on the other side of IASW. I waited close to an hour and a half for the parade that night which was well worth it since I would be able to get photos of the parade without anyone in my way.

While I was waiting, I noticed that Disney had new wait time signs. Those were kind of neat to be able to see the wait time at night.








Now it was time for the 8:30pm Main Street Electrical Parade and I was looking forward to it that night. Here are some of the pictures from the 8:30pm MSEP that night. I have took at least over 600 pictures of the parade that night and here are some of them.

The parade floats are in different parts of the parade when I saw it last back at the MK last year.

I can never get tired of the Casey Jr. train from Dumbo with Goofy, Minnie and Mickey.




I noticed that the drum had the original Disneyland Presents Main Street Electrical Parade lights instead of the LED one’s that was used at the MK.








Alice in Wonderland units
















Getting the characters that night was very difficult.
























Cinderella units




















Continue down to the next post​


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## mvf-m11c

*Day 2 – March 31, 2017 – Part 5*​
Now back to the 8:30pm Main Street Electrical Parade that night where I was across from It’s a Small World.

Peter Pan units












The Tinker Bell float was now part of the Peter Pan scene where it was the opening float. It was a little different from the previous one.




Snow White units
















Pinocchio units








Pete’s Dragon scene








The Patriotic American float “To Honor America” unit












Waiting to see the MSEP at DL in over 20 years was great. I enjoy seeing the parade at DCA and MK but there is something special with the MSEP at DL.

After the parade was over, I stayed around It’s a Small World Plaza for the 9:25pm Remember Dreams Come True fireworks. I thought RDCT fireworks would never come back but it did during this part of the year which was great to see again. Unfortunately, it was windy that night that DL had to cancel the fireworks. It was a good thing that I didn’t watch the fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and had to fine out it was canceled.

I decided to call it for the night instead of staying at the park. I was a little tired from the early part of the day and night. Even though I didn’t do too much when I was at the DLR that night from walking around the park. I was a little tired from the carry of my camera equipment.

I went on out of the park around 10pm and got on the Toy Story shuttle back to the Toy Story lot. I got back to the hotel around 11pm that night and called it for the night.

The day started out really rocky but it was fun to be able to go and see all the different kiosks during the F&W Festival. I was able to do quite a lot of different kiosks that day and I got most of the food done during those two days. I also didn’t go on any rides that day (when I have a full day not part days like 1-3 hours) which rarely happens on a full day at the parks. But I did enjoy walking around the park. Maybe it has due with the crowds during Spring Break which made me not go on any rides. Most of the wait times for the good rides were like an hour or higher. It was great to see the MSEP that night as which I haven’t seen it at DL since the 90s.

Now that the first full day at the parks is over, I had one more full day to go and look forward to another great time at the DLR.


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## PrincessInOz

MSEP was the first night time parade I saw at Disneyland on my first visit, way back in 1986.  It holds a very special place in my heart and I am so pleased to see it come back to DLR again.  Spectro was nice, but it just didn't grab me the way MSEP did.

Great pics.  Thanks for sharing.


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## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> now I tried the Black Garlic & Soy-Braised Pork Belly Bao with Pickled Vegetables.



This was in contention for my top favorite of the festival.  I forgot that the first booth last year had this one, I loved it then too!



mvf-m11c said:


> I then head on over to my next kiosk that night which was the Lemon Grove kiosk. This one had the Duck Confit on Potato Smash with Meyer Lemon Preserves.



I never got to try this one, not sure why, either never hungry enough when we got there or it just didn't sound as appealing as the other stuff.



mvf-m11c said:


> Before it got closer to head on over to DL, I head on over to the LA Style kiosk to try the Korean Barbecue Beef Short Rib Tacos with Kimchi Slaw.



Those were really good too!



mvf-m11c said:


> I was able to get a front row spot of the parade that night on the other side of IASW. I waited close to an hour and a half for the parade that night which was well worth it since I would be able to get photos of the parade without anyone in my way.



That's great and your photos are awesome, what settings did you use?



mvf-m11c said:


> Waiting to see the MSEP at DL in over 20 years was great. I enjoy seeing the parade at DCA and MK but there is something special with the MSEP at DL.



I'm glad that you were able to relive amazing memories!



mvf-m11c said:


> Unfortunately, it was windy that night that DL had to cancel the fireworks. It was a good thing that I didn’t watch the fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and had to fine out it was canceled.



That happened to us the night before.  They started the show and stopped it abruptly in the middle.



mvf-m11c said:


> The day started out really rocky but it was fun to be able to go and see all the different kiosks during the F&W Festival. I was able to do quite a lot of different kiosks that day and I got most of the food done during those two days.



I'm glad you were pleased with your accomplishments!



PrincessInOz said:


> Spectro was nice, but it just didn't grab me the way MSEP did.



Spectro was a total bomb.  I remember from the preview night we attended, it never had that "wow" factor and it never took off.


----------



## Steppesister

mvf-m11c said:


> Waiting to see the MSEP at DL in over 20 years was great. I enjoy seeing the parade at DCA and MK but there is something special with the MSEP at DL.



It's my absolute favorite nighttime ANYTHING in ANY park. Just something so special and magical about it. It's beautiful, the music is perfect, and of course it holds special memories from my childhood. So glad you got to see it again!



mvf-m11c said:


> After the parade was over, I stayed around It’s a Small World Plaza for the 9:25pm Remember Dreams Come True fireworks. I thought RDCT fireworks would never come back but it did during this part of the year which was great to see again. Unfortunately, it was windy that night that DL had to cancel the fireworks. It was a good thing that I didn’t watch the fireworks in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and had to fine out it was canceled.



As Alison already mentioned, it was canceled (well actually Stopped abruptly in the middle of them) the night before. Silly winds. lol!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> MSEP was the first night time parade I saw at Disneyland on my first visit, way back in 1986.  It holds a very special place in my heart and I am so pleased to see it come back to DLR again.  Spectro was nice, but it just didn't grab me the way MSEP did.
> 
> Great pics.  Thanks for sharing.



During the trip last month, I regret of not seeing it multiple times. Hopefully if I go back later this month, I will get another opportunity to see it again at the park and this time at MS. It would require longer wait time but to enjoy it from MS is special as well. Spectro is a nice nighttime show. I like the music of Spectro but just as you said that the MSEP is way better over Spectro. There are times if I like Pain the Night parade over the MSEP but the MSEP wins over PtN.




franandaj said:


> This was in contention for my top favorite of the festival.  I forgot that the first booth last year had this one, I loved it then too!



I like bao when I eat at Chinese restaurants and the pork was nice.




franandaj said:


> I never got to try this one, not sure why, either never hungry enough when we got there or it just didn't sound as appealing as the other stuff.



I at first was not going to get this, but when I read online about the best dishes at the F&W Festival on the Disney Food Blog saying as one of their favorites. So I had to try it and it was nice. Not one of my favorites but for the portion size of the price is not bad.




franandaj said:


> Those were really good too!



The Korean Taco was good.




franandaj said:


> That's great and your photos are awesome, what settings did you use?



Thank you. I changed my setting during certain scenes during the MSEP. There were times where I had to crank up the ISO and lowered the ISO on a lot of shots as well as shutter speed.





Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/200 
ISO: 4000
I also used the Exposure Compensation: -2/3EV





Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/100
ISO: 6400




franandaj said:


> I'm glad that you were able to relive amazing memories!



It was so nice to relive a lot of memories of the MESP when I saw it in the 80's and 90's at DL. 




franandaj said:


> That happened to us the night before.  They started the show and stopped it abruptly in the middle.



That night, it was windy up in the air but on the ground it didn't feel like it was windy. I understand why the DLR doesn't shoot fireworks on windy days like WDW with the residents in the area. I had that a few times when I watched the fireworks and it can be annoying as well.




franandaj said:


> I'm glad you were pleased with your accomplishments!



It was nice to accomplish a lot during the F&W Festival. The only thing I regret during the trip was not to get the AP merchandise during the AP Days in February/March. I saw a lot of AP Holders had the MSEP shirt which I really wanted. But I was glad to come down at the last second and enjoy the F&W Festival.




franandaj said:


> Spectro was a total bomb.  I remember from the preview night we attended, it never had that "wow" factor and it never took off.



Spectro is a nice nighttime show but it didn't have that vibe like the MSEP.




Steppesister said:


> It's my absolute favorite nighttime ANYTHING in ANY park. Just something so special and magical about it. It's beautiful, the music is perfect, and of course it holds special memories from my childhood. So glad you got to see it again!
> 
> As Alison already mentioned, it was canceled (well actually Stopped abruptly in the middle of them) the night before. Silly winds. lol!



Thank you Liesa. Glad that Disney brought the MSEP back at DL and it is good that it will be still there during the summertime. Some people would like to see PtN but this is special to see the MSEP again at DL.

It sucks that DLR have to cancel the fireworks on windy days but I understand why they do it.


----------



## Steppesister

mvf-m11c said:


> Thank you Liesa. Glad that Disney brought the MSEP back at DL and it is good that it will be still there during the summertime. Some people would like to see PtN but this is special to see the MSEP again at DL.
> 
> It sucks that DLR have to cancel the fireworks on windy days but I understand why they do it.



Me too! 

I hope I'll be making it back to DLR a bit more often now that I am working, but only time will tell. There a LOT of other places I want to visit first. Like Europe.


----------



## mvf-m11c

Steppesister said:


> Me too!
> 
> I hope I'll be making it back to DLR a bit more often now that I am working, but only time will tell. There a LOT of other places I want to visit first. Like Europe.



Hope you are able to come back to Cali for more trips to the DLR. There are places i want to visit as well but I can never get tired of the DLR.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 3 – April 1st, 2017 – Part 1*​
Now it was the third day of the trip. I was able to do quite a lot the other day where I was able to do a lot of different food and desserts at the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. Plus, I was able to see the Main Street Electrical Parade that night as well. I was bummed that Remember Dreams Come True fireworks didn’t play that night due to high winds. So maybe that day I was at the parks it would be good to run the fireworks. I want to accomplish some things during the third day which I got to do most of the food and drinks during the F&W Festival but it will be nice to try some of the same thing again.

It was also April Fool Day so I had to be careful with the jokes. But since I wasn’t with anyone it should be no problem.

The good thing is that I was leaving at my hotel Best Western Placentia to go to one of my normal hotels that I have stayed right across the street from the Disneyland Resort. I was going to be staying at Best Western Anaheim Inn which is right across the street from the DLR. I wasn’t able to get it the first two nights since there was no rooms available or the price was so high that it wasn’t worth it.

After checking out of BW Placentia, I drove to the Mickey & Friends Parking structure. The room wasn’t ready that morning till the afternoon so I parked my car at the structure until it was time to head on over to BWAI. I left early that morning in order to get a head start which I wasn’t able to the last day which I had to go back to the parking structure. So I made sure that I had my Annual Pass on me when I left my car.

The good thing about getting early to the DLR is that you can go through security fast by the Mickey & Friends parking structure. It is odd at first to see the security right by the parking structure but it will be easy when you are inside the DLR where you won’t have to go through security again like from Downtown Disney to the parks.

When I got in DL that morning, I first head on over to DL. There was one ride that I always have to go on when I am at DL.

Walking to Tomorrowland to go on my favorite ride which is the Disneyland Monorail. I always have to go on this ride all the time when I am at DL.




The bad thing about the Monorail during my trip is that two of the three monorails were not operational during my visit which there was only one running and it would take even longer to board them when there is only one.

Matterhorn Mountain was closed for refurbishment so you don’t see the waterfall.




Monorail Mark VII Orange was running that day so Blue and Red were Backstage. It was a shame to only see one but the monorails need to be maintain when we get closer to the summertime and it is almost there.




I rode the monorail roundtrip from Tomorrowland Station to Downtown Disney station and back. It is so fun to ride the monorail roundtrip around the DLR and see the park up in the sky.





After riding the monorail roundtrip, I head on over towards Frontierland/New Orleans Square to get some pictures of the construction of Star Wars Land and seeing what Tom Sawyer’s Island in progress with the new Fantasmic! later this summer.




I also had one more opportunity to go at the New Orleans Square Railroad Station which I was on the other side of the station which is rare to do. But for these last 1 ½ years with the construction of Star Wars Land going on, it was nice to go on the other side.












After spending some time at DL that morning, I now head on over to DCA to try a few more food and drinks at the DCA F&W Festival.

Just when I was in Buena Vista Street, I remember that the egg-stravaganza started that day. I have read and seen pictures of the egg-stravaganza at the DLR where you look for Disney character eggs around each park and Downtown Disney. SO I decided to try the egg-stravaganza that day. It wasn’t that expensive which was $5.99 plus tax but I got my AP discount so it was around $5 for the whole thing which was not a bad price.




I got my map along with the stickers to put where the egg is located at these different locations around DCA.




Before I started the egg-stravaganza, I had to get a drink since it was quite warm that afternoon. So I head on over to I Love Artichokes kiosk and got the Orange Iced Tea with Orange Popping Pearls. It wasn’t so expensive so I just bought it instead of using my AP Sip and Savor tabs.




So my journey to find the eggs started. SO I went on over to Hollywood Land to look for my first egg at the Gone Hollywood Store at Hollywood Land.




The first one was the Mickey egg inside the store.




After finding the first egg, I went around Hollywood Land to look for one more other around the Animation Building but I could not find it. It was a little hard at first but you have to look really closely to find it which it can be hidden in plain site.

I passed on the Animation Building first and head on over to the Carthay Circle Theater. I looked really closely at the Carthay and couldn’t find it but then when I looked from Hollywood Land, it was on the balcony on the left hand side. It was hard to find it but I found the Thumper.




I head on over towards A Bugs Land and found my next one which was Mater.




Then I head on over towards Cars Land and the next one was at Radiator Springs Curios. This one was an easy one to find since it was on the side of the Curios shop instead on the top of the building.




It was Lightning McQueen




Now I head on over towards Pacific Wharf for the next one which was at Lucky Fortune Cookery. Just like at Radiator Springs Curios store, the next one was on the side of LFC and it was the Minnie egg.








Now I walked on over to Paradise Pier which the next eggs were located. The next one was at Boardwalk Plaza which is where the Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Doom is located. I always say Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Doom with the swinging gondolas. I have only ridden the swinging gondolas once and haven’t ridden since DCA opened in 2001.

But back to the egg-stravaganza. I went inside the bOardwalk Bazaar store and found the next egg which was Daisy inside the store.








I walked around Paradise Pier and head on over to the next egg. The next one was at Corn Dog Castle and it was easy to find the Pluto egg.








Now the next was at Redwook Creek Challenge Trail. This one was a challenge where to look for eggs around RCCT. I consider this one the hardest where it was going to take some time to look for the eggs. The first one I found was the Chip egg right by the waterfall.




The one at Trail Sequoia was hard to find that I spent some time walking around RCCT just to look for the next egg. After looking around, I finally found it right next to the tree where there is a trail.




That it for this post and continue on to the next post.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*Day 3 – April 1st, 2017 – Part 2*​
After getting the two eggs from Redwood Creek Challenge Trail which were Chip and Dale, the next one was at Rushin’ River Outfitters which is right next to Grizzly River Run. The Donald egg was not outside the store but it was inside in which it was easy to find which was on the top of the second floor inside the store.




After getting the egg at Rushin’ River Outfitters store, I head on over to the next one which was at Soarin’ Around the World. It was difficult at first finding the egg at Soarin. I must have spent at least 10 minutes looking for it until I found it at the top of where the FastPass machines were located. Goofy was on top which was hard to find at first but I didn’t look at that spot like the other spots around Soarin.




I got most of the eggs so I had to find the last one which was at the Animation Building. So I head on over back to Hollywood Land to find the last egg and looked closey at the Animation Building. I didn’t find it until I looked on the other parts of the building around it and found the White Rabbit on the left hand side.




I got all 12 eggs around DCA and it took about an hour and a half to find all the different eggs around DCA from walking around and looking for them. It did seem hard at first but if you look very carefully you will be able to find all the eggs around the park. Out of all the eggs, the hardest was the Animation Building along with the Carthay Circle Theater. It was fun to try the egg-stravaganza at DCA so I decided to try the other one at Disneyland. So I walked on back over to DL to try that egg-stravaganza.

When I head on over to DL, I had to wait a while to get in the park where the turnstiles were close to the Monorail pillars. I knew that it was going to be another busy day at the park with Spring Break.

I bought the map at the Disney Showcase store on Main Street and now it was the second egg-stravaganza event. This one will be very interesting to do at DL over DCA.




I went inside the Main Street Magic Shop as the first hunt. I found the Lucky White Rabbit at the backend of the shop which was on top of the things.








After that, I head on over to the Disenyana store to find the next one on the list.




It wasn’t outside so I went inside the store and it was on top of another shelf. It was the Mickey egg.








The next one was the Disneyland Baby Center on Main Street which was close next to the Little Red Wagon stand. When I got to the DL Baby Center, the next egg was inside the window which was Minnie.








After finding the Minnie egg, I now head on over to Adventureland for the next egg which was at Bengal Barbeque. The egg was on the upper balcony right on the left hand side of Bengal.








The next one was at Tarzan’s Treehouse. This one was at the top which was Donald.




After finding the Donald egg at Tarzan’s Treehouse, I head on over to New Orleans Square for the next one. This one was another difficult one as well in which I had a hard time finding the next egg. I covered most of New Orleans but I didn’t look at all places around NOS so I decided to come back to it later and head on over to Critter Country for the next one which was at Splash Mountain.

When I got on over to Splash Mountain, it was easy to find the next egg which was Dale at the top of the Splash Mountain queue entrance.




After I left Critter Country, I head on over towards Frontierland for the next egg which was at Westward Ho Trading Co.




It was not outside so I went inside the pin store and found the Pluto egg at the backend of the store.




After getting the Pluto egg at the Westward Ho Trading Co., it was around 2pm and it was time for me to head on out of the parks and back to the Mickey & Friends Parking structure so I can check in to my next hotel during my visit which was at Best Western Anaheim Inn on Harbor Blvd. I didn’t go early since the room won’t be ready until 3pm.

In the past, I have went early to check-in at the hotels I have stayed but they have been strict about it the last couple of years and told guests that they had to wait around that specific time. So it was time and I head on out and had to stop the egg hunting until when I head on back to the park that day.

I left the DLR and back to my car to check-in at BWAI. I have stayed at BWAI a lot in the past and it is one of my favorite hotels to stay when I go to the DLR. The ideal hotel I would stay when I go to the DLR is the Grand California Hotel but the rates are so crazy that staying across the street from the DLR is a good alternative for saving money. There at times where the prices of the hotels across on Harbor Blvd are quite high.

I checked at BWAI after 3pm and so I had some time to rest up until I head on back to the DLR that night. This time it will be easy with me bringing in my tripod the park which I wasn’t able to the first two nights since I wasn’t across the street.

That is it for this post and the story that night will continue.


----------



## PrincessInOz

Nice update.


Disney must have ordered a set of eggs for all the parks.  They were definitely out on display at Hong kong when we were there.  I think we were a couple of days early for Shanghai; but I believe they also had them out and about.
Interestingly, Hong Kong didn't seem to have an equivalent hunt map.  There were tons out on display and they were everywhere!
You'll just have to wait until I write up the Hong Kong section to see them.  I'll eventually get round to it.


----------



## Steppesister

mvf-m11c said:


> Just when I was in Buena Vista Street, I remember that the egg-stravaganza started that day. I have read and seen pictures of the egg-stravaganza at the DLR where you look for Disney character eggs around each park and Downtown Disney. SO I decided to try the egg-stravaganza that day. It wasn’t that expensive which was $5.99 plus tax but I got my AP discount so it was around $5 for the whole thing which was not a bad price.



I did this too, and the same day! Shoot, we could have hunted together. I did all 3 hunts that day and got my 3 eggs, but that's up ahead in my  TR. YOu got WAY better photos of the hunt. 

Wasn't it fun?! I loved just wandering around taking in the scenery as I looked for them all. Basically, that's all I did that day.


----------



## franandaj

The egg hunt sounds like fun! I can't wait until we are done moving so that we can spend more time just hanging out as opposed to going to the parks with specific events in mind.

I would have enjoyed looking for the eggs!


----------



## mvf-m11c

PrincessInOz said:


> Nice update.
> 
> 
> Disney must have ordered a set of eggs for all the parks.  They were definitely out on display at Hong kong when we were there.  I think we were a couple of days early for Shanghai; but I believe they also had them out and about.
> Interestingly, Hong Kong didn't seem to have an equivalent hunt map.  There were tons out on display and they were everywhere!
> You'll just have to wait until I write up the Hong Kong section to see them.  I'll eventually get round to it.



Thank you PiO.

They must have if they are able to have the egg-stravaganza at all the resorts around the world from the DLR, WDW, Shanghai, etc. That is neat that Shanghai have it there and it would have been fun to look for them.




Steppesister said:


> I did this too, and the same day! Shoot, we could have hunted together. I did all 3 hunts that day and got my 3 eggs, but that's up ahead in my  TR. YOu got WAY better photos of the hunt.
> 
> Wasn't it fun?! I loved just wandering around taking in the scenery as I looked for them all. Basically, that's all I did that day.



That would have been fun to do it together during our visit. I'm glad that you were able to do all three while I only did DL and DCA. I will look forward to reading more from your TR.

Going around the DLR taking pictures of the scenery if fun. I have learned over time where it is neat to take pictures of things you barely see online. We see a lot of pics of the Castle, mountains, buildings, etc. but i am always looking for interesting things that we see. Like you said, we could have done the egg-stravaganza together.




franandaj said:


> The egg hunt sounds like fun! I can't wait until we are done moving so that we can spend more time just hanging out as opposed to going to the parks with specific events in mind.
> 
> I would have enjoyed looking for the eggs!



It would have been nice that you were at the parks last week but with everything going on with you and Fran, I understand.

Next year, you should consider trying the egg-stravaganza.


----------



## mvf-m11c

*My Review of Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout Ride*​
I haven’t finished my March/April trip this year but this is a quick review of my experience of riding the new Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout ride at Disney California Adventure. I won’t be writing a whole trip report for this past trip. Mostly I like to write up my adventures when I go to the Disney Parks but with everything going on in my life which I was in Reno and will be in Salt Lake City in a few weeks and Las Vegas this summer, I will barely have time to write up my trip reports.

As for the DISers that have followed my trip report over the years, I am not a huge fan of the Tower of Terror at DCA and I was going to be the same way with the new GotGMB ride. Drop rides like this is not one of my favorites. After getting to ride it on last Thursday that was only my fourth time riding ToT/GotGMB. For all the years I have been going to the DLR, I have ridden it only four times.

This trip was planned in advanced in which the last trip was a last second trip. I have gone to the DLR after Memorial weekend when I went to Las Vegas and Reno the last four years. I was planning on not going but this will be a good chance to get much out of my Annual Pass and get to see how Summer of Heroes promotion at DCA will be this summer.

It feel that this summer promotion is not impressive from the other summers at the DLR. I am not a huge fan of Marvel but you never see much Marvel things at the parks until this summer promotion. There is a character meet & greet at Hollywood Land which counts but not as much until now.

Why don’t we get started on my adventures last week.

After I was in Reno for about a week from Tuesday 23rd to the 30th, I head back home for half a day and I was back on the road to SoCal the next day which was kind of crazy. But I was able to drive all the way down to SoCal after a long time being in Reno.

Here is a little review on my day at the park on Wednesday. I checked into Best Western Stovall’s on Katella Blvd which I have stayed in the past. I like to stay at BW Stovall’s due to being close to the Anaheim Convention Center. I am not going to the D23 Expo this year next month with work in Vegas so I had to skip this year’s D23 Expo which is difficult.

I went to the park later after checking-in and I was able to bring my tripod in the park which is a good thing. I was not lucky bringing in my tripod last year but it looks like I had one bad CM that didn’t let me bring in my tripod. Also when I was walking to the DLR, I couldn’t walk towards the Grand California Hotel from my hotel since they have a security CM right by the entrance. It says that GCH guests are allowed to enter and not even Paradise Pier Hotel guests can’t walk through the GCH. I didn’t like that Disney did that so I had to walk all the way around towards the Disneyland Hotel area to enter Downtown Disney. I really liked going through the security area which there are way less people then the Mickey & Friends and the east side security. It means more walking around but it is fast to go through the security.

When I was at the parks, I went in DL and DCA to take some pictures with my tripod. I was able to go to eat at the Red Rose Taverne restaurant at Fantasyland. I wasn’t able to eat there during the last trip but the food was nice. I had the Slow-cooked Beef Poutine.

I checked out the construction going on at the back of the River’s of America to see the work and there were still construction workers working on the back where the train tracks. From the way it is going, it will be sometime late summer when it is done. I also heard that Fantasmic! 2.0 is behind schedule as well which should open sometime during late summer. Talk about a bummer that it won’t be ready until late summer.

I was able to watch Remember Dreams Come True fireworks that night from the RoA which is a nice spot to watch when there is no F! going on. I was also able to go to see the GotGMB ride at DCA. I didn’t plan on going on it since the queue would be so long. On average, the wait time was at 2 hour or longer for most of the time when I passed by it during the trip.

The day was long when I drove to SoCal so I didn’t stay at the parks long that night after the fireworks so I can get a head start of getting up early to ride GotGMB ride.


It was around 7am when I left BW Stovall’s to the DLR to get in line at the turnstiles at DCA. I had to go around towards the DLH over crossing on over towards the GCH which costs me a few minutes. But the security check-in area was quite fast so I didn’t have to wait quite a while.

I got to the turnstile at 7:20am which was not that bad that morning and I was only about 20 people behind in the line I was in. When it got to 7:30am, the park opened with it’s rope drop which is a good thing.

I walked in the park and head on over towards the queue for GotGMB ride. I wasn’t plan on going through the standby queue that morning where it will take longer to go through unless you are at the park very early.

Disney really did their homework really well on setting up a queue for the morning when the park opened for rope drop. The FastPass queue was going towards Disney Junior queue and on the side of the building along on the street of Hollywood Land.




The standby queue was long that early rope drop morning and the FP queue was the same thing.




There were tapes on the street and sidewalk to tell the guests where to go in the queue which is smart and very Disney which they have done in a lot for long queue things.




The standby queue even went towards the queue for Frozen Live at the Hyperion.




While I was walking through the FP queue, we went backstage which is rare to do.




There were a lot of queue backstage for the FP queue.




After walking around the FP queue that morning, I got my FP and it was a good time at 8:45am to 9:45am.




After getting the FP, I thought about getting in the standby queue but the wait time already jumped up to 90 minutes so it was an easy decision of just waiting instead of going through another queue and waiting that long to get on the ride.




During the time I was waiting, I went on Soarin Around the World. I like to ride Soarin when I am at the park but I am not a fan of Around the World and would like to see Around California back at DCA.

After riding Soarin’, it was time to head on back to Hollywood Land to go on the ride.

Before I walked through the queue, I went to get one more FP for GotGMB. The time was not till 3:30pm to 4:30pm around 9am that I got it that morning which was not that bad at that time.

Then I head on over to the fastpass entrance. The wait time in the standby was at 120 minutes at 9am that morning.




I wasn’t able to get pictures of the whole queue since I was in the fastpass queue but I was able to get as many as I can during my time.

The first thing when you enter is see the statue of Taneleer Tivan or known as the Collector in the Marvel movies which he is finding and preserving unique beings and artifacts throughout the universe.




The interior decoration which shows a lot of unique beings and artifacts in showcases that are on the ground floor to the top of the ceiling.




















I only had to wait about 5 minutes through the FP queue which was really fast over the standby which I would have to wait even longer if I went through the regular queue that morning.

More deco on the wall








We now entered the Collector’s  office seeing other artifacts and collections.




There was a video of Tivan talking about his stuff until someone made an entrance.




It’s Rocket. The AA of Rocket is amazing. This was my highlight of the ride with the pre-show of Rocket. Rocket hijacks the video to explain his plan on rescuing his friends. The guest will use their access passes (their hands) to enter the gantry lift while Rocket rides on top to blow up the generator so that the Guardians, as well as the other creatures in the collection, can escape. The Guardians will then reunite with Mantis who will arrive with their ship so that they can make a quick getaway.
















Then he left and then took Quill’s walkman from the Collector artifacts in the case.








Continue on the Next Post


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## mvf-m11c

After the pre-show with Rocket in the Collector’s Office, we were now in the boiler room which have been updated a little bit from the old Tower of Terror version. My group had to walk upstairs.












When I was upstairs, I saw the old Abominable Snowman from the Matterhorn Mountain until they added a new one a few years ago. The last time I saw the original Abominable Snowman was at the D23 Expo in 2015. Now they put them in the queue.




The new signs before you enter the gantry lift












The gantry lift is still the same ride vehicle like they used in the Tower of Terror. Not much has changed to the ride vehicle along with the seats.

After we were seated in the gantry lift, Rocket unplugs the system and inserts Quill’s Walkman starting one of the songs.








The first room is the generator.




After that, there were a couple of drops going up and down in the dark which is crazy.

There are six different versions of the ride, each with its own song, visuals, and drop sequences. The one I got was I Want You Back – The Jackson 5 (1969) which shows the Guardians jumping from their confinement, only for Drax to get captured by a tentacle monster.




The second scenario shows Quill kicking a rat-like creature into the cages before being attacked by a group of them.








A few times it went up and down and the top of the elevator opened and got our picture.

More going up and down again which I was not feeling well. Rocket finally restores power and the lift drops down to the show the Guardians reunited along with Mantis and Cosmo the Spacedog. The Guardians thank the guests, but as the lift resets itself, Drax is heard wondering why they be thanking the guests as all they did was sit through the whole ordeal and did not actually do any fighting.




Then we went back to the same level where we entered the gantry lift and walked out. I felt a little sick after the ride but I was okay after that while I was off.

Here is my pic of riding the ride that day.




After getting the picture, I was now in the Collector’s Warehouse gift shop seeing all Guardians of the Galaxy merchandise. I mostly never get Marvel items, but there was one item I got which was the Annual Pass shirt.

Then I head on out of the store and back outside.

So here is my review of the ride. Since I rarely ride the Tower of Terror/Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout, the theme was nicely done on the inside while I did not like the exterior of the façade. I would say that the façade on the inside was way better over the ToT while the ToT had the better exterior which showed the hotel instead of that building of Guardians.

The best part for me was the pre-show with the AA Rocket in the Collector’s Office. I don’t like riding drop rides like the Tower of Terror before it was converted to GotGMB. It seems like there were more drops with the GotGMB over the ToT in my opinion.

Overall, the ride experience was nice but I will not be going on it when I have the opportunity to ride it again since I don’t like those types of rides. When Tower of Terror opened in 2004, I had ridden it three times over that time and I didn’t regret of not riding it more than I have.

For fans of Guardians of the Galaxy and drop rides, this will be one of your favorite rides at DCA. The theming and storytelling is nice with six different variations. Just like Star Tours with all those different ride experiences, this one has less than Star Tours. For me, I will only go on it again if I have someone in my group is willing to go. Maybe I won’t do that if they beg me like when I don’t want to go on Mickey’s Fun Wheel of Doom swinging gondolas.

When I have time finishing the March/April trip report, I will try to write up this past week trip.


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## PrincessInOz

Thanks for the pics.  I think I'm going to pass on that ride.  I really don't like drop rides at all.


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## tksbaskets

Hi Bret,
I was happy to read this review of the new GoGMBO ride.  My family and I will be at DL and DCA starting next week for 8 glorious days.  I'm sure we'll be riding this ride a few times.  I would like to also go to DL/DCA for the food and wine festival some year.  I enjoyed your report and pictures from this.  Bummer that work is preventing you from going to D23 this year.


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## franandaj

I'm so glad that I rode the ride before I read this. You got some great pictures on the ride itself. I have no idea what song I got when I rode it last week.

I have a night where I'll be staying overnight at the Grand next week and I think I may do rope drop to ride the ride standby so that I can go through the queue with a minimal wait.  Like you I would have liked the wait time to be a bit longer because I went right into the preshow from the fast pass line.

I thought the AA rocket was incredible too, and I laughed at the abominable snowman!

Thanks for sharing! We aren't going to D23 this year either, but it's a good thing we don't have $10K to spend on stuff and you know how Fran gets when she is excited and finds merchandise.


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## Steppesister

You did a whiz bang job at your write up for this ride! I'm in the camp of haters of Disney for taking out ToT. ToT was a BIG part of my childhood and I"m really sad they took it out. I wished they'd left a very good ride alone.

But, I"m willing to give this one a try, only because I DO like drop rides a lot. Marvel is growing on me so, I'll give it a fair shake.


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## Sherry E




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## mvf-m11c

It has been a while since I have posted on this thread since I have been away in Utah these last couple of weeks. Now I have time to reply to your posts. It just has been crazy this last month.




PrincessInOz said:


> Thanks for the pics.  I think I'm going to pass on that ride.  I really don't like drop rides at all.



You and I are in the same boat PiO. I don't like drop rides like the ToT. The new GotGMB ride is nice but with all those drops which seem more than the old ToT version, I did not enjoy the drop part. The only part I did enjoy was the pre-show with Rocket.




tksbaskets said:


> Hi Bret,
> I was happy to read this review of the new GoGMBO ride.  My family and I will be at DL and DCA starting next week for 8 glorious days.  I'm sure we'll be riding this ride a few times.  I would like to also go to DL/DCA for the food and wine festival some year.  I enjoyed your report and pictures from this.  Bummer that work is preventing you from going to D23 this year.



Hi TK,

Hope you and your family had a great time at the DLR last month. You will enjoy the DCA F&W Festival. Not as good as Epcot's but it is still good. It is a bummer that I won't attend the D23 Expo in a week which is getting there. 




franandaj said:


> I'm so glad that I rode the ride before I read this. You got some great pictures on the ride itself. I have no idea what song I got when I rode it last week.
> 
> I have a night where I'll be staying overnight at the Grand next week and I think I may do rope drop to ride the ride standby so that I can go through the queue with a minimal wait.  Like you I would have liked the wait time to be a bit longer because I went right into the preshow from the fast pass line.
> 
> I thought the AA rocket was incredible too, and I laughed at the abominable snowman!
> 
> Thanks for sharing! We aren't going to D23 this year either, but it's a good thing we don't have $10K to spend on stuff and you know how Fran gets when she is excited and finds merchandise.



The wait time was crazy when I was there in late May/early June. Thank you Alison. I looked it up online and it showed what type of songs are used during each ride experience. I am not a fan of GotG.

I will have to catch up on your TR's since I have been away. Hope you and Fran had a good time when you were at the GCH last month and were able to ride it during rope drop. The rope drop was crazy with going in all those different parts of Hollywood Land and backstage.

The AA was the best part for me. It was kind of weird to see the abominable snowman in the queue.

I see. I remember at the last Expo that you weren't planning on going but did show up on that Friday. If you are able to do a last second trip like the last one, I will look forward to reading about it on your TR. You are right that Fran will go spending crazy at the Expo.




Steppesister said:


> You did a whiz bang job at your write up for this ride! I'm in the camp of haters of Disney for taking out ToT. ToT was a BIG part of my childhood and I"m really sad they took it out. I wished they'd left a very good ride alone.
> 
> But, I"m willing to give this one a try, only because I DO like drop rides a lot. Marvel is growing on me so, I'll give it a fair shake.



Thank you Liesa. I am not a fan of ToT or the new GotGMB ride. It will be interesting how long the popularity of the ride will go on. 

Marvel is okay but I don't like it a the Disney Parks. I am more use to it at Universal Parks.



Sherry E said:


>



Hi Sherry. I haven't see you post on the thread for quite some time and glad to see you back on.


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## franandaj

mvf-m11c said:


> I remember at the last Expo that you weren't planning on going but did show up on that Friday. If you are able to do a last second trip like the last one, I will look forward to reading about it on your TR. You are right that Fran will go spending crazy at the Expo.



Last time we were abe to get some discount tickets at the last minute, but that was just a stroke of luck. This time we don't have any money to do any shopping. We're focusing on putting stuff up on eBay.


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## mvf-m11c

franandaj said:


> Last time we were abe to get some discount tickets at the last minute, but that was just a stroke of luck. This time we don't have any money to do any shopping. We're focusing on putting stuff up on eBay.



I remember that. Luckily, I had a friend who got the Sorcerer Package was able to buy me some D23 Expo stuff which I wasn't able to go this year. 

I was disappointed that I didn't go this year since i was in Vegas for work. The only thing I did miss about not going is the Park and Resorts seminar which I would have gone.


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## mvf-m11c

It has been ages since I have posted on this thread. I haven't done any DLR trips these last few years which is shocking. But I just got back from my first trip to Japan October 19th to November 3rd, 2019. It was excited and fun to go to Japan and also got to go to Tokyo Disney Resort. Don't know if I'm going to do a TR but have some TDR pics that I uploaded. I'll post more pics from the trip at TDR and some other pics around Japan.


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## tksbaskets

mvf-m11c said:


> It has been ages since I have posted on this thread. I haven't done any DLR trips these last few years which is shocking. But I just got back from my first trip to Japan October 19th to November 3rd, 2019. It was excited and fun to go to Japan and also got to go to Tokyo Disney Resort. Don't know if I'm going to do a TR but have some TDR pics that I uploaded. I'll post more pics from the trip at TDR and some other pics around Japan.


Bret, So nice to see you are still enjoying Disney.  Thanks for posting!


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## Steppesister

mvf-m11c said:


> Thank you Liesa. I am not a fan of ToT or the new GotGMB ride. It will be interesting how long the popularity of the ride will go on.
> 
> Marvel is okay but I don't like it a the Disney Parks. I am more use to it at Universal Parks.



I like the new ride after trying it. There's a lot of detailing in there that's fun. But still... a drop ride which is nice. Love those. I think Marvel is here to stay at Disney parks, and while I'm still not a fan, I could learn to tolerate it. Same with Tron. 



mvf-m11c said:


> It has been ages since I have posted on this thread.


We've missed you!



mvf-m11c said:


>


Super pretty!! Love this!


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## mvf-m11c

tksbaskets said:


> Bret, So nice to see you are still enjoying Disney.  Thanks for posting!



Hi @tksbaskets, 

It has been ages since I have posted on DISBoards. Just been super busy lately. 



Steppesister said:


> I like the new ride after trying it. There's a lot of detailing in there that's fun. But still... a drop ride which is nice. Love those. I think Marvel is here to stay at Disney parks, and while I'm still not a fan, I could learn to tolerate it. Same with Tron.
> 
> 
> We've missed you!
> 
> 
> Super pretty!! Love this!



Hi Liesa (@Steppesister)

The details are very nice on the ride. I did ride the ToT at DisneySea and was nice. As you said that Marvel is here to stay after saying that 2 years ago with Avengers Campus. It will be interesting to see it in person next week.

It has been forever since I have wrote and got time to write and read on the boards. I also will have to read your updates as well.


I have an upcoming trip to the DLR next week and will be going on August 14, 15, & 17, 2022. I wasn't originally planning on going to SoCal since I have been busy with work and just got back from a busy trip recently. But after working and my friends say that I should go back to the one place that I enjoy going too and what better place is to go back to the DLR. This will be my first time going to the DLR in 5 years. My last Disney trip was back in 2019 when I went to Tokyo Disney Resort. 

So much has changed when I was there back in 2017 when the Rivers of America was still under construction for Star Wars Galaxy Edge and A Bug's Land was still there until it was changed to Avengers Campus. Looking forward to seeing the changes to the DLR from DL, DCA and DTD. 

During the trip, I am going to try to do a LIVE Stream at the parks. I don't do LIVE Streams but it would be fun to do a LIVE Stream and show how I enjoy my times at the Disney Parks like when I write them on my old TR's. In the old days, I did video record the rides and nighttime shows when I was at the parks. The one's that I will be doing is for the nighttime shows like World of Color, Fantasmic!, Main Street Electrical Parade and Disneyland Forever fireworks which are my favorite things to do at the parks. The LIVE Stream will be on YouTube on my channel on the link below.


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