Disneyland Trip Report 5/9/18 to 5/18/18 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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They have been in business a long time and do many tours. Ours was the "Walt Tour." You can see their reviews on Trip Advisor.
It sounds great. I was thinking of doing some of the behind the scenes tours at Disneyland, but this is another good alternative... you've given me something to think about.
We head to the Disneyland Hotel (cutting through Downtown Disney) for our 10:00 “Goofy’s Kitchen” brunch. We follow the signs and are soon at check in. After a few minutes, we have our picture taken with Goofy in a faux kitchen area and are soon at our table. The buffet has a fine selection, including an omelet station which I choose. Plenty of desserts too! We all have a delicious and filling meal. Meanwhile the characters come around for photo ops – Minnie, Chip, and Pluto -- and of course then a big napkin waving session by the entire restaurant. During the meal, we are asked if we want to buy our 5 x 7 Goofy photo. It comes in this very nice booklet with Goofy recipes and some extras of our photo. It’s pricy , but it’s so nice that I buy it anyway, especially since Goofy is my favorite character. (I’ll admit it is a little off-putting to have to pay extra for the only photo opportunity with the advertised character, as the brunch is not cheap to start with.)
We walked back through Downtown Disney (brief shopping) and took a short break at the hotel. At about 1:00 we headed to the Anaheim Gardenwalk, which is only a few blocks away down Harbor Blvd., off Katella Ave. We did a fair amount of window shopping, including the magic shop that has a show I will see on the last day of our trip. Next, we headed to Fire & Ice for drinks and appetizers.
The Fire & Ice main patio has no shaded areas left, so we end up at their smaller patio. The weather temperature is great for outdoor eating. Our (slow) order however is messed up. Eventually this is fixed, replacing a wrong item and a no-longer-hot item. The food is actually good, including my wings with Buffalo sauce. I also had a classic margarita and a cucumber margarita, which were both quite refreshing. It’s Mother’ Day, so I think they are understaffed for the crowd. This is even more apparent when we walk by again about 30 minutes later and see that our dirty dishes are still on our table.
After Fire & Ice, we head over to the House of Blues just to check it out. (I’ve been to the one at Orlando several times.) We walk about and peruse the gift shop, but no purchases. The rest of the family then heads back to the hotel for a break. I head back to Downtown Disney and go to the Splitsville patio to watch sports and listen to the live band duo. I enjoy the live music and have some refreshments.
At about 5:00, we all meet up at Tortilla Jo’s in Downtown Disney. The inside is beautifully decorated. I have the Jo’s Carnitas (delicious) and a margarita, my wife has the Fajita Fiesta (enjoyable), and my daughter has the Enchilada (good beef, but did not like the cheese).
We now head to Splitsville for some bowling. We’ve been at the Orlando location several times and this place appears nearly identical. None of us are particular good, but we always enjoy it. There is couple playing next to us however that make us look like near professionals . I end up winning both games by a small margin. (Although we enjoy the food at Splitsville, we are still all full from dinner, so we have nothing this time.)
Afterwards, we all walked around a bit. The family then headed back to the hotel, but I stayed and watched this awesome band at the Downtown Disneyland Bandstand. They featured upbeat songs of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and others from that era – and they played and sang it so well! A lot of people were dancing and having a great time!
Next, I made a stop at the ESPN Zone. With the Pacific Time zone this late, most sports games were winding down or over, so I did not stay long. It’s a shame that the ESPN Zone is being torn down – it’s a big and fun-looking place.
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A nice breakfast again at Captain Kidd’s and we cross the street to the Disney entrance. Through security, we head to the Disneyland Park and are through the turnstiles before 8:00. We were hoping to ride a Main Street vehicle as we have done many times at WDW, but they do not run until the crowd is through the rope-drop near the castle. We do not wait.
We head to Tomorrowland to do Nemo’s Voyage first. Alas, it is not open yet, good grief. I ride Star Tours and then we all head to the Star Wars Launch Bay. We enjoy seeing all the props. Fortunately, there are some new ones that we did not see at WDW.
Nemo is still not open, so we go for our first Disneyland monorail ride. Parts of the rides are scenic, but other parts are the backlots of buildings. One nice touch is that we get a very good view of Harbor Boulevard, including our hotel. The monorail stops at Downtown Disney, but we stay on for the return trip.
Ok, Nemo is ready! Line is growing fast, but it moves along ok, and we are soon heading down a narrow spiral staircase into the sub. We all have a portal in front of us which is soon filled with some finding Nemo characters as we slowly move along the lagoon. The ride is pleasant and fun, but not a ride I would repeat much.
Now with MaxPass, I head to Hyperspace Mountain (Space Mountain in WDW). The theming is good and I notice the ride vehicles are different and, sure enough, more comfortable. We are about ready to blast off, but the ride stops and they get everyone off. What is going on?? Well, it turns out that someone just lost their camera on the ride. Fortunately, it is soon found and we are on our way. The ride is MUCH better than Space Mountain at WDW due to the ride vehicle itself and due to the theming and the dialog during the ride. You are dodging and darting to attack enemy fighters and avoid their attacks. (Unlike, WDW where all the movement just doesn’t seem nearly as purposeful.) An overall awesome ride that becomes one of my favorites as I repeat it several times during our trip.
Time to eat! Today, our lunch is at River Belle Terrace in Frontierland. The weather is perfect, so we eat outside on the beautiful terrace. I have the Beef Brisket Sandwich (delicious), my wife has the Pulled Pork Sandwich (good) and my daughter has the oven-roasted Half Chicken.
Afterwards, we ride the Mark Twain riverboat. It’s very similar to the boat at WDW and so is most of the scenery. We all love the relaxation. Next, we look to do a walk-thru tour the Columbia Ship, but it appears to be inaccessible, so just a few pics.
We walk about and head to Fantasyland to see Mickey’s Magic Map. We get good seats and enjoy various singing and dancing from Disney characters from Disney movies that represent different areas of the world. It’s all very colorful and well done.
Next up is Tangled in the Fantasyland Royal Theatre. While it follows the Tangled script, the emphasis is on the comedic aspects with some different twists. (A little bit like Fractured Fairytales from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Do you remember!? ) We all love it.
Time for a break. We all head back to the hotel, but I first take a detour and walk nearly the entire length of California Adventure Park to get paper FastPasses for Toy Story Midway Mania later.
I cut my break short and go to California Adventure Park. I ride the Silly Symphony Swings again and watch the entertaining and humorous Pixarmonic Band again.
After their hotel relaxation, my family joins me for dinner at Wine Country Trattoria. I have the Lasagna Rustica (very good), my wife has the Italian Insalata and the Italian Wedding Soup (enjoyed both items), and my daughter has the Chicken Parmesan (yes, chicken again). For dessert, my daughter has the Olive Oil Lemon Cake.
After supper, we head to Midway Mania. Awesome once again. Who wins “best in vehicle”? Oh yes, my daughter again! That’s OK, I’m still having the time of my life, buy why can’t I get better at this game?
We now do the Boudin Bakery tour. It starts with a small sample of sourdough bread, their main product. A brief video, informative signs, and machines and conveyor belts visible through the large glass interior windows shows the complete process in detail. There’s a gift shop, of course.
The finale today is the Pixar Parade. We find a good spot near the park entrance and enjoy a beautiful convoy of colorful, magical, brightly-lit floats.
We take the brief walk back to our hotel and relax a bit before ending another great day!
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Dinner sounds delicious! 
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Pixie Dust
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It sounds great. I was thinking of doing some of the behind the scenes tours at Disneyland, but this is another good alternative... you've given me something to think about. 
The buffet has a fine selection, including an omelet station which I choose. Plenty of desserts too! We all have a delicious and filling meal. Meanwhile the characters come around for photo ops – Minnie, Chip, and Pluto -- and of course then a big napkin waving session by the entire restaurant. During the meal, we are asked if we want to buy our 5 x 7 Goofy photo. It comes in this very nice booklet with Goofy recipes and some extras of our photo. It’s pricy 
, but it’s so nice that I buy it anyway, especially since Goofy is my favorite character. (I’ll admit it is a little off-putting to have to pay extra for the only photo opportunity with the advertised character, as the brunch is not cheap to start with.)
I also had a classic margarita and a cucumber margarita, which were both quite refreshing. It’s Mother’ Day, so I think they are understaffed for the crowd. This is even more apparent when we walk by again about 30 minutes later and see that our dirty dishes are still on our table. 
I have the Jo’s Carnitas (delicious) and a margarita, my wife has the Fajita Fiesta (enjoyable), and my daughter has the Enchilada (good beef, but did not like the cheese).
There is couple playing next to us however that make us look like near professionals 
. I end up winning both games by a small margin. (Although we enjoy the food at Splitsville, we are still all full from dinner, so we have nothing this time.)
Line is growing fast, but it moves along ok, and we are soon heading down a narrow spiral staircase into the sub. We all have a portal in front of us which is soon filled with some finding Nemo characters as we slowly move along the lagoon. The ride is pleasant and fun, but not a ride I would repeat much.
What is going on?? Well, it turns out that someone just lost their camera on the ride. Fortunately, it is soon found and we are on our way. The ride is MUCH better than Space Mountain at WDW due to the ride vehicle itself and due to the theming and the dialog during the ride. You are dodging and darting to attack enemy fighters and avoid their attacks. (Unlike, WDW where all the movement just doesn’t seem nearly as purposeful.) An overall awesome ride that becomes one of my favorites as I repeat it several times during our trip. 
That’s OK, I’m still having the time of my life, buy why can’t I get better at this game?
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