National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! DISNEYLAND SECTION COMPLETED About This Page:

[DrDolphin]

Your morning of exploring and theme capturing seems so relaxing!! Glad you found a photopass photographer.

[disney_duke]

They've come a long way with Carsland. I also love the theming in a Bug's Land! Everything in there is so cute! I imagine many adults sans kids probably skip it, and that'd be a shame. It's really well done!

[B.M.]

I'm way behind and working on catching up, but wanted to stop and comment on this character meal..... Wow! As I was reading, I temporarily forgot this is DL and not WDW and kept thinking where the heck is she eating? Is this a new meal? I have to eat here!! LOL. And then I realized/remembered you were at DL, not WDW. But, it really sounds great and I also like the idea of paying before hand and self serving both food and drinks and simply leaving when ready..... I think I would like that set up better also! And what I really love about it is how many characters they have at the one meal including some of the more "rare" to see characters.....

[Dlandmom2]

I'm really excited to see what Cars Land will look like when it opens. The things at Blue Sky Cellars can only hold you so much! I also wish they'd update, but I'm glad at least they have what they have. It gives you something to look forward to and understand what goes on in their planning process!

[lindawdw]

Just spent the last few hours reading your TR! It sounded like a rough start between the weather, the customs line and waiting for the Disneyland shuttle but it sure has gotten a heck of a lot better I love the room you got at the Grand Californian Hotel and the separate entrances into the park! I still can't believe the small crowd levels that you experienced. It just makes a visit to DL so much more enjoyable when you can accomplish as much as you did so early in the morning! Your pictures are beautiful and really capture the beauty of the Parks. Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lauriep

I have to tell you I've begun following your wanderings on maps here and it's really helping me to figure out the layout! Wish I'd thought of this earlier. All the theming at CA looks great!

Glad it's helping!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by B.M.

I'm way behind and working on catching up, but wanted to stop and comment on this character meal..... Wow! As I was reading, I temporarily forgot this is DL and not WDW and kept thinking where the heck is she eating? Is this a new meal? I have to eat here!! LOL. And then I realized/remembered you were at DL, not WDW. But, it really sounds great and I also like the idea of paying before hand and self serving both food and drinks and simply leaving when ready..... I think I would like that set up better also! And what I really love about it is how many characters they have at the one meal including some of the more "rare" to see characters.....

It is easy to forget at times which park you're at, particularly in the "Magic Kingdom" park of any of the parks around the world, as they all have a similarity, which is nice and familiar.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

I'm really excited to see what Cars Land will look like when it opens. The things at Blue Sky Cellars can only hold you so much! I also wish they'd update, but I'm glad at least they have what they have. It gives you something to look forward to and understand what goes on in their planning process!

I since read that they did update the Blue Sky Cellar about two or three weeks after we were there, so it may be worth a visit now.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lindawdw

Just spent the last few hours reading your TR! It sounded like a rough start between the weather, the customs line and waiting for the Disneyland shuttle but it sure has gotten a heck of a lot better I love the room you got at the Grand Californian Hotel and the separate entrances into the park! I still can't believe the small crowd levels that you experienced. It just makes a visit to DL so much more enjoyable when you can accomplish as much as you did so early in the morning! Your pictures are beautiful and really capture the beauty of the Parks. Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures.

Glad you found it and are enjoying it!

[chezp]

Sunday 28 August – part five: wow, that’s expensive!

We then finally wandered all around Paradise Pier, seeing all the changes that have taken place since our last visit. I have to say that I like what they’ve done with the place. The overall effect is that finally the Paradise Pier Hotel looks as if it belongs in the backdrop of the park, rather than how it was out of place beforehand. It was a long and painful walk, as suddenly it really had hotted up. Whereas there had been a breeze earlier on, now there was none and it was baking. We did not spend any longer out than we had to, as it was just too much.



On the way, we saw Toy Story Midway Mania. Although it didn’t say the wait time, these photos show that it’s popular out here too, although I’m not sure it matches the wait times at Walt Disney World.



We finally made it to Ariel’s Grotto and checked in. Just as we had sat down, we were called downstairs to wait our turn for our photo with Ariel. A Cast Member got a photo with our camera, so we opted not to buy the package that they offer.

I was really pleased to learn that we would be seated inside, as it was far too hot to be outside, which is where we had sat the last time we were here. In a way, it was good, but not so much in noise terms, as once the princesses arrived, it got very loud, with lots of excited kids. It wasn’t helped by the fact that there was a stage show across the lake and you could clearly hear the bass music inside, which didn’t add to the atmosphere really. :



Let’s talk about the atmosphere. Apart from it being loud, it was still fine, although we didn’t get much response from the princesses. Mark did try with Snow White, telling her a joke about herself and the dwarfs, but no, it fell on deaf ears.



One of the reasons we came back here was because the food was so good last night and it wasn’t bad this time either. We had an appetiser to share, the antipasti tower. This is made up of salami (which fortunately wasn’t touching anything else), marinated mozzarella, string cheese, tomatoes, gherkins, olives, red pepper bracelets, watermelon triangles, chilled vegetables with pesto and ranch dips, and “Jewels of the Sea” fruit gelatine. It also comes with a mixed greens salad, served with Ariel’s Grotto house vinaigrette and a bakery basket of assorted breads.



I wasn’t impressed by our server. As the antipasti tower had salami on it, I asked for that to be put separately, but : it all came out together, with Mark quickly removing that for me. I think it’s another case of not caring as much, as the tip is included in the cost of your meal here. He was also pretty slow with water refills and I’m sorry, but when someone is going through water as quickly as we were, I’d have been spending a lot more time checking on them, but that’s just me...

For entree, I went for the sustainable fish, served over a wild rice pilaf topped with sweet and spicy pineapple chutney served with a medley of seasonal vegetables. Please do not ask me what the fish was, as I couldn’t hear properly when our server told us, but it was very good. The only problem was that there was just too much of it and I couldn’t finish it. :



Mark had the herb-crusted chicken breast, but swapped out the cheddar herb mashed potatoes for rice instead, along with a medley of seasonal vegetables.



For dessert, it was the same as the Wine Country Trattoria, where they brought out a shared dessert platter of sea horse lava cake, chocolate-chip strips, cheesecake tarts with raspberries, s’more chocolate bites and a white chocolate conch shell of fresh berries. To be honest, it was probably the poorest course of all three. I wasn’t really that impressed with any of the desserts on offer. After what had already eaten, it was also just too much.



When the bill came, we got a bit of shock, as it came to about $110, which was insane, even if it did include tax and gratuity. Fortunately, Mark suggested asking about a DVC discount and there was one of 10%, so that made it a bit better. My goodness though, this price is a lot more expensive than I remember. It was a good lunch, but I’m just not sure it was worth the money.

Ariel’s Grotto:

Appetiser 7½ 7
Entree 8½ 8
Dessert 6 7
Service 6½ 7½
Atmosphere 8½ 8
Value for money 7 7

Average score: 7.38

Next: you can’t sleep yet! :

[lauriep]

Definitely sounds like that meal was not worth the price! With the noise, poor service, ok but not great food, even the character interaction doesn't sound like a lot of fun... not so good. The dessert offerings all look dry an unappealing. Too bad!

[disney_duke]

Sorry to hear it was a disappointing meal. Usually character meals are pretty fun, especially the ones you guys seem to go to! And the service not being great either... what a bummer.

[DrDolphin]

$110 for two adults for LUNCH????? Excuse me??? That is HIGHWAY robbery. WOW.

[Dlandmom2]

Wow, that's expensive! Even for dinner I'd be saying that's on the expensive side for what you get!

[Big Baloo]

Yeah, $110 for lunch for two people is a bit steep, especially considering the service left a lot to be desired. Hope your next meal makes up for it!