Friday, February 26, 2010
This was going to be a really long day, the longest of the trip and undoubtedly the best and most memorable. It was our final day and it really couldn’t have been better. The only bad thing about it was we had to leave at the ungodly hour of 7am because the park opened at 8am. We got to the park having ridden the dreaded tram, which we had to get on the second one because of how crowded the first tram was. We eventually got there and it was really easy getting through security and getting in a turnstile line.
We started in one line and then we were told that they would be opening another line so a small group of us switched lines to gain a couple more seconds in the park. Since we were so close to the front of the line, I told my mom that I would be racing to the rope so that I might be able to get some good pictures of the castle without a lot of people in my way. Now, we were in line at 7:30am and I asked my mom if they were going to open the turnstiles at 8am thus we would have to wait in line to get into the park for 30 minutes. She didn’t know for sure and was hoping that wasn’t the case, because she didn’t have a lot of standing in her.
A couple minutes prior to opening the turnstiles, well before 8am they got several guests, whether they were part of the same family or not, I’m not entirely sure, but they helped count down with Bob, an exuberant cast member who does his job well. Once they reached one we all poured through the turnstiles and there was a mad dash to the rope. Coming into the park I was one of those rushing, not running but definitely getting my cardio right up to the rope where I was able to snag a few shots of the castle. Sadly there were custodian cast members littering the area. That meant that all the shots I did get had someone in it picking up trash. Whatever, they blend in nicely.
We had agreed that my mom would go to Market House and grab us some coffee and we would take it in with us to Carnation Cafe for breakfast where we had priority seating at 8:10am. When I walked back, giving up my premium spot right in front of the rop to go find her, I noticed she was just standing outside. Apparently Market House doesn’t open the moment guests arrive in the park so we were coffeeless. While it wasn’t ideal, we both agreed that we weren’t going to get coffee at Carnation Cafe, so we could always get it afterwards if we really wanted.
We looked over at Carnation Cafe and we noticed that they were taking people already, so thumbing our noses at the priority seating we had we wondered if they would take us early. They did. We were seated immediately and in a better location, not next to another family and we ordered. Our waiter this time was Carrick, a waiter we had in the past who was nice and friendly. We’ve had Randy a couple of times before, Desiree once, but Troy several times. I don’t want to give the impression that they know us, they don’t since we only go a couple of times a year. But it’s nice to go and see the same faces year after year, and from what I understand, each of these waiters have been there for years.
We both order our usual the Mickey-Shaped Waffle, consumed, paid and left. My mom wanted her picture taken with Oscar, but he never made it around to our table before we were ready to leave. Rather than wait for him to come over to our table, we discussed that we already had a picture with Oscar from previous years. So another wasn’t really necessary, but it would have been nice I suppose to grab another one in a much better resolution.
After not getting the picture of Oscar, we walked down Main Street on our way to Fantasyland. I stopped by Enchanted Tiki Room to try and get a couple of photos of the attraction with the Adventureland sign with the hopes that there wouldn’t be anyone in front. That’s asking a lot and I realize it wasn’t going to happen, but still it was nice to try and I got some shots that were relatively barren.
I caught up with my mom and we made our way up to Sleeping Beauty Castle. We got up to the castle and there was a slight commotion along the bridge. I didn’t see what was going on until I looked down, there was a mommy duck and her ducklings making their way across the bridge. People were standing clear as Disneyland Security was escorting the ducks across the bridge. It was hysterical and so super cute. Naturally I had my camera ready and I snapped more photos than was necessary, but c’mon, they were ducklings. Disneyland Security mentioned that this duck was very protective of her young because in the past there were some people who took them in the past.
After gawking at the ducks we got into Fantasyland and finally had the opportunity to ride Snow White’s Scary Adventure. The ride lived up to all my expectations which were very low to being with. I don’t know know what it is about this ride that just doesn’t connect with me. I find the movie to be absolutely boring and having to go on a ride inspired by the movie. Plus the ride just ends, it goes from the death of the witch to a mural of Prince Charming kissing Snow White awake. I think the ride ends lazily.
We got off the lazy Snow White’s Scary Adventures and walked over to Alice in Wonderland. Nothing of real importance happened on this ride other than me using my flash a couple of times. Don’t worry, I didn’t use it where anyone, except my Mom’s experience would be affect. It was at the end of the ride where you see the Cheshire Cat for the last time and the tea party. They were a couple of wasted pictures because they both came out terribly. There is a lot to be said for the lighting in these rides, they definitely make the characters look so much better. Once you light up the area, it looks pretty bad.
Then we went to Storybook Land Canal Boats. This is a fun ride and it’s usually a nightmare to get on because it’s usually quite crowded. Thankfully when we got off Alice we spied the line and it was short. We were able to get on immediately and float through the mouth of Monstro, the giant whale from Pinocchio. I can’t say that it’s my favorite ride, but I like going through it and seeing all the scenes of the different Disney movies like, Aladdin, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and many others in miniature. The suspension of disbelief is sometimes ruined when you have giant ducks waddling through London Park from Peter Pan. I didn’t get really good pictures of the ride but like I said before, they’re memories regardless of how bad the picture is.
When we got off the ride we made our way to Pinocchio’s Daring Journey another thrilling ride. That was sarcasm. It has become somewhat of a tradition for my mom and I to take a picture of the first scene you come to where Pinocchio is on strings and dancing with the other marionettes. We both take this picture with a flash. This time while riding I was determined once again to get a good picture of Jiminy Cricket. We go through the ride and I’m spying all the Jiminy Cricket’s that pop out, glide down or just stand there looking scared. I passed these all without a second look, I knew exactly the Jiminy Cricket I wanted to take a picture of, with flash. It was the last one, the one where Jiminy is holding his “Official Conscience” medal. We come to him, I snap the picture with the badge and the picture looks terrible. Why? Because there is a lot to be said for the lighting in these rides. I knew there was no way I would be getting a good, sharp picture of him without the flash. Maybe I can Photoshop it.
We walked along the pathway to Frontierland and wondered what we were going to do. Along the way we found there was only a five minute wait for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. My mom noticed that FastPasses were available at 9:35am and we got in line at 9am. We were seated in the best possible location, row 15, the very last row. This is a prime location when you want to do the goat trick. Here’s a tip, you can ask a cast member to be seated in the last row of any ride. What the cast member will do is have you step aside if necessary and place you in that row when it becomes available. You usually don’t have to wait long, most of the time it’s the next train or car or whatever ride vehicle the attraction has.
Once we got off BTMR we wandered forward a few feet then decided we would ride Pirates of the Carribbean. We both were looking for rides that focused on long periods of sitting down. We tired of walking, and that was probably due to a couple of things, we were tired, but our energy levels were down mostly because of the diet we had adopted being there. We spent the better part of the week eating nothing but fried fatty foods. Don’t get me wrong, they were delicious but…
Pirates of the Carribbean was nothing special this time around. There were no annoying teenagers ruining the beginning of the ride for us, there was just the ride. I’ve noticed this on previous trips but, I don’t know if y’all realize it. The first time you see Captain Jack Sparrow he is hiding behind a dress bust form wearing a dress. There is a point when passing by it looks as though Captain Jack Sparrow is wearing the dress because of how everything lines up. I think this was intentional to add some light hearted elements to a rather serious ride. We walked through Adventureland in hopes of riding Jungle Cruise, but it was down.
We were done at this point, we made the decision to grab a cup of coffee and sit down at the hub and just enjoy the atmosphere. I suggested that we instead it in the Town Square because that is where all the action is. If you want a picture of or with a character, the Town Square is the place to be. We each got a cup of vanilla coffee from the Market House and made our way to the Town Square. We sat down in the exact right place. I’m totally not going to tell you because it literally is the watering hole as my mom put it for characters. It is such a good spot that the characters actually come to you. How does that happen? But first, let’s talk about Vanilla coffee; other than smell, I can’t tell the difference in taste between the vanilla. hazelnut or regular. I have a theory that I’ve applied in my life, sugar for coffee is like salt for food, it brings out the flavor. I’m just sayin’. I didn’t put sugar in this cup so I couldn’t really taste the vanilla.
We guarded this spot for two hours sitting there taking pictures of characters like, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Donald, Burt and Mary Poppins. Each practically walking right up to you and posing in front of you so you can grab an awesome picture. AH-FREAKING-MAZING!!!
Of course there were a lot of kids walking with them to where they would be standing for all the pictures and autographs they would be doling out. Occasionally there would be a line that formed right in front of you, but it was only for a maximum of 20 minutes and the payoff is worth it. There was one such line and a very memorable moment that I am very happy to have witness. There was a line for Pluto right in front of me, my mom had scoped out a spot to grab a picture of Mickey over in another secret spot, and there is was woman, her daughter and a service dog in training. I’ve seen a lot of service dogs around the park this time, I used to never see them, but I guess if there is a great place to help train a service dog Disneyland is a good place to do it. I watched the line move down and then I looked to my left and there was the service dog and Pluto bonding. The service dogs was excited, wagging his tail and sniffing Pluto’s face, who had knelt down to greet the dog. It was insanely cute. The dog calmed down and sat next to a kneeling Pluto who rested his paw on the service dogs back for a picture with the rest of the family. That was the most memorable moment I had in those couple of hours sitting there taking pictures.
I wondered what the cast members were thinking when they would see my mom and I taking a serious amount of pictures of each of these characters. They probably don’t think anything of it because it’s such a regular occurrence that they don’t even notice or remember. Or maybe they do and they talk about freaks with cameras who essentially are stalking characters. Whatever, I have a lot of pictures of awesome characters, if that makes me a freakish stalker, so be it.
We sat there until we knew characters would no longer be regularly available. It seems this happens at abut 12pm. Mickey goes to his house in Toontown and the other characters do whatever they do backstage. I know how my descriptions are sounding of these characters, but I’m just trying keep the magic alive.
We get our butts off the bench and walk around looking for a new place to sit down. We walked down Main Street and stopped in to the Main Street Cinema to see if they installed seats so people could sit down. We both knew that was unlikely because they don’t want people loitering in one place long, because if they’re loitering, they’re not spending money. We took a moment and watched a couple of seconds of the various classic Mickey cartoons begins shown and then exited. It’s a nice spot to escape because it isn’t crowded in there and it’s dark and cool.
We walked down Main Street and stopped in at the Market House and got a free refill of coffee and made our way to New Orleans Square by way of Disneyland Railroad where we would sit and take in more atmosphere. Our first choice was occupied, it was an area between the Haunted Mansion and Cafe Orleans, right in front of the train station. There was some sort of team building activity with teens going on. They were all holding hands around the fountain and there was a orange hoop and a green hoop. The object was to try to go through the hoop without breaking the link between them. It was fun and entertaining to watch for awhile, but there is only so much interest to be had watching a group of teens struggle through hoops. Then we heard it! Princess Tiana’s Mardi Gras Celebration.
This is a small show where Princess Tiana, the first African American Disney princess comes out, sings a song then takes pictures and signs autographs for all the little girls. We moved from our spot watching the teens build their team, and went to watch and take a couple of pictures of Princess Tiana. Then we just sat their and watched the hoopla. A little girl ran around and a pin dropped off her sash or shirt or whatever little girls wear. This super annoying older woman started yelling at her son or some relation to come and pick up the pin and give it to the girl. The whole scene reminded my mom and I of a situation while we were at Walt Disney World with my grandfather. He had found a pin without a back just outside the exit doors of One Man’s Dream, a movie about Walt Disney. He took the pin and didn’t want to turn it in so that the person who lost it would be able to recover it. My mom and I were shocked! He then tried to con a back to the pin at the nearest shop that was just around the corner. They were happy to oblige him, but they didn’t have any extras. We warned him that karma was going to get him sooner or later. At the end of the trip we were turning the car in, and karma showed it’s ugly face, it rewarded his deceit with another pin that was lying next to the car. It wasn’t fair!!!! If it had been me who did everything my grandfather did, I would have been punched in the face, bitten and spat at by a disturbed psychopath. As for the girl who dropped her pin during our trip, everything was recovered and the girl and her parents were very thankful.
We had priority seating for Cafe Orleans, the poor man’s Blue Bayou. We still had 25 minutes to wait for our PS, instead we thought we would just see if they would be able to take us early. We checked in, waited 5 minutes although it felt like 30 minutes because we were waiting next to this loud and obnoxious family. I maintained my back to them and just tried to ignore what was going on behind me, but I think the dad was playing keep away with his kids. What was he “keeping away?” An empty water bottle. Clearly, these kids don’t have much to be excited about at home, where an empty water bottle holds their undivided attention. Whatever.
We were seated outside right next to the railing so we were able to people watch, something I love doing. Although this time we refrained from making fun of people. There was a slight issue with the water that was given to us. It tasted like soap. We talked at length about how we should handle this. The first thing that came to my mom’s mind was to just dump the water into the flower bed we were seated next to. I didn’t because if the water indeed had soap in it, we didn’t want to kill the flowers that were thriving there. Another thought was that it didn’t matter if they gave us new water, because the glasses themselves probably made the water taste soapy. We then joked that we would lean over the railing and just drink the water out of the water fountains that were located right behind my mom. We laughed and joked about the water… clearly, we don’t have much to talk about where the topic of water holds our undivided attention. Whatever.
Ultimately, we decided we would do each get a diet pomegranate lemonade. We couldn’t have chosen a more unexpected beverage for our tastes. First, I HATE the taste of diet drinks. My grandmother always says that “hate” means “kill.” In this case I would gladly kill the diet taste. Weirdly we agreed to pomegranate, a berry that we are relatively unfamiliar with. I have at one time drank some pomegranate juice a long time ago and from what I remember, I didn’t not like it. We took a sip and it was alright, but it certainly wasn’t worth the cost. Thinking about the situation later in the day, we both were disappointed that we didn’t just ask for some different water and instead paid a premium for a drink that we didn’t find outstanding. That’s a lesson we’ve learned.
Beyond the lemonade we ordered one Monte Cristo and split it. In some restaurants in the parks they will charge a split-plate charge. the most notorious restaurant on Disney property is the Blue Bayou which charges $12 for an extra plate. You each get the sides, but still 12-bucks is a steep price, it’s more than half the cost of the actual entree. Cafe Orleans, the poor man’s Blue Bayou, does not have a split-plate charge. This allowed us to split the Monte Cristo and get two cups of delicious gumbo. For dessert, we ordered the Mickey Beignets with two sauces, vanilla and berry. Everything was great, we had a great table, the food was delicious and if it wasn’t for the water and pomegranate lemonade fiasco it would have been perfect.
Following our meal we took the train to Tomorrowland to ride the Monorail and take in some of the other attractions. They have new monorails since the last time I was there. There are two, a red one and blue, they are very sleek looking and the new seating arrangements are interesting. In the middle of the car we got in, they had a bench facing the windows. This is a great benefit for people who like taking pictures, at least it would have been if the windows weren’t tinted a rose color. All the pictures I took have this rose colored tint to them which is super disappointing. I was able to reach the open portion of the window above the tinted, but it was so difficult because you have to remain seated the whole time. At Walt Disney World, the Monorail is a form of transportation so you can stand up, like you would on a bus. It could be because of how the attraction is classified that certain rules need to be in place.
We rode the loop and headed to…you guessed, Captian EO! I’m not going to go into again, how awesome this is, but compared to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, it’s genius. After getting out of Captain EO we got a FastPass for Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and then headed over to “it’s a small world”.
I don’t like cheerleading. I can’t say that I don’t like the individuals who participate in cheerleading, but the culture of cheerleading is annoying. So much so that I want to stab myself in the ears and eyes with a fork whenever a group of cheerleaders come together. Which brings me to our “it’s a small world” experience. Cheerleaders were in line with us and in our boat. Just listening to their squeaky-cheerleading-teenage-girl voices made my skin crawl. Their laughs, their…everything was just annoying. My mom and I endured it like champs. We both paid close attention to the music around the Disney characters we couldn’t hear before and still couldn’t hear, not because of the cheerleaders but probably because there was no music attached to them.
We used our FastPass for Buzz, and then headed back to the Market House for another cup of coffee, and for me, my favorite cookie. We both got decaf. I’m finding, in my old age, that too much caffeine gives me a headache and makes me ill. We took our coffee to the Town Square. My mom bought a bucket of popcorn and we sat on the benches and watch Mickey & Minnie for awhile. The first time they were out, they were together and offered autographs and pictures to those in line. It was all standard fare until a group who were in their early 20’s came up dressed like rock/punk with a little goth thrown in. One of them had a scepter with a skull on it and he handed it to Minnie Mouse, Mickey looked at it, covered his eyes and cowered in fear, shivering. It was super cute to see this reaction. After getting over it pictures were taken and they spent a little more time with them than usual offering another picture of them while sporting the sign of the horns.
I found that to be rather interesting decision on the characters parts, this gesture has a very sordid past. While many believe it to be just an innocent hand gesture, it was heavily promoted by Anton Lavey, the founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan. In some countries, if you point that gesture at someone you are effectively cursing them. Though in this case it was referencing the “Metal” culture, that culture isn’t known to celebrate positivity and has instead embraced the darker side of life. Needless to say, I was surprised and of course snapped a photo.
We sat their a little long and watched as the characters go back in and then immediately come back out for more pictures. This time they separated and each had their own line. We watched a little longer and then decided it was time to go. A sad moment for sure as this was our last day in the park, however, we felt we had done it well and satisfied with what we came to do. Our goals? See Captain EO numerous times, have more Dole Whips, Cookies, take advantage of the free refills of coffee, ride some rides, and just take in the atmosphere. Mission accomplished.
We left the park, a bittersweet moment and headed back to the hotel via tram and car. Once arriving back at the hotel I bummed around transferring photos to my computer and just waiting for things to happen. My mom checked in for our flight for the next day and we walked to the lobby to print our boarding passes. There were people using the computers and so we decided we would have dinner at Mimi’s and use the coupon my mom was sent for her birthday.
It was busy! There was a 25 minute wait to get a table. We sat down and looked at a menu while we waited I decided what I wanted and then began working on my trip report using my iPhone. I don’t mean it sound like I wrote it, but dude, any phone that lets allows you to blog is totally worth it, especially if you do trip reports. You can, and I have worked on this report while at the park, waiting in line, sitting on a bench, waiting to get a seat. It has, during this trip been an invaluable.
I decided to get a Cobb Salad without Bleu Cheese and subsitituted American cheese instead. I don’t like dressing so I had it dry. My mom got a Blackened Chicken Caesar salad. Each entree came with a muffin. Neither of us finished our salads because we wanted to try the dessert. This is where things get a little awkward. We both definitely wanted dessert and so my mom ordered the Triple Chocolate Brownie and the waitress said, asked if she wanted the petite size, my mom said no, this was the last day of our vacation and she wanted to splurge. I ordered the Classic Trio Ensemble which included petite sizes of the Bread Pudding, Triple Chocolate Brownie and Apple Crisp of some sort. It came and we were both shocked. These desserts where relatively inexpensive and yet, what was brought to our table could have literally fed a family of six.
Before the deserts came, my mom and I joked about the how big this brownie could be. I laughing suggested it be about two inches thick and roughly five inches square. I kid you not, it was almost exactly those dimensions. This brownie was gi-FREAKING-normous and it included ice and whipped cream. It was crazy!
I powered through my dessert pretty quickly so I could get as much down before I would feel fuller than I already was from the salad, which I didn’t finish, and the cookie I had only 2 hours before. First I tried a bite of everything and then started on my sensiblish brownie. I didn’t eat the ice cream because I could get Vanilla Bean ice cream anywhere, I focused solely on the dessert. Brownie, done. Apple crisp thing, done. Bread Pudding, not done. I didn’t finish the bread pudding because the texture reminded me of scrambled eggs and I didn’t find that appealing for a dessert. Maybe I was looking for any excuse to not finish it.
We boxed up all the left-overs (muffins the rest of my salad and the rest of the brownie) in the misguided hopes of eating it the next day. We both knew it as never going to happen. We headed back to the hotel to print our boarding passes. We walk into the lobby and there were a brother and sister on the computers looking at the Facebook page. We knew how this was going to end, Facebook is crack no matter how old you are. We didn’t expect these kids to be off for quite awhile. My mom and I sat on the bench sitting right next to the boy. He caught the drift and asked if we needed to use the computer. My mom said for five minutes to print something out, and he logged off. It was only a moment later their parents came in and called them over. We printed the passes and headed back to our rooms. I worked on this trip report and then called it a night.
