sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 We finally made it to Disneyland! This is the first time for both Kenneth and me. After a lot of planning and a lot of waiting, it was finally time to leave. We flew out of Atlanta on Saturday around noon and landed in LA around 2:30. Mistake #1: no motion sickness medicine. We had a lot of turbulence and I struggled not to puke the whole last hour of the flight. When we landed, I started sipping on a Sprite and started to feel better. We used Super Shuttle to get to the Grand Californian, and I was sick again by the time we got here. Our room was ready and I went straight for the bed. We're in a one bedroom villa (we booked this with our DVC points) and I didn't see any of it until I woke up from a long nap. We've been in the parks since Sunday, so I'm pretty far behind on this trip report. We have two more days in the park. I'll try to throw pictures in here when I can and will probably do the bulk of it when I get home. So far, though, my first impressions: I love how close everything is here. We can walk to downtown Disney and both parks from this resort. Some of the rides out here are better than DisneyWorld's (in my opinion) :). Pirates has two drops and goes on forever! I love it! And I absolutely love the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at the Haunted Mansion! And the dynamite effects on Big Thunder Mountain are really cute. The wait times aren't horrible even though the park seems super crowded at times. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 We decided to skip the parks yesterday. We don't leave the resort Friday until 8:00 pm so we decided to do parks that day, after we check out. I've been walking around taking pictures, so I'll go ahead and share those before I start doing park pictures. Here's the front of the resort where we were dropped off: Here's the door, going into the resort: Lobby: A little nook, in the lobby: Inside that nook: Gift shop: Monorail line, passing through the Grand Californian (you don't see it in the building, like you do in the Contemporary): Monorail: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Walkway, heading to downtown Disney (which will also take you to Disneyland): It spits you out right here, between Anna and Elsa's boutique and Sephora: Downtown Disney: Heading back into the Grand Californian: There's a fitness center right by the villas: As well as a community hall: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Here's the walkway that takes you right into California Adventure: Part of the pool area: Sixth floor terrace, overlooking Paradise Pier: Views from the terrace: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Awesome!!! Don't ya just love that California Blue Sky!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I LOVE the light fixtures, all around the resort: Let's get to the room now. This is a one-bedroom villa. Kenneth and I certainly don't need all of this space, but we are enjoying having a washing machine in the room, as well as a full size fridge (we ordered groceries to fill it up some). This is when you first come in (the foyer): Kitchen: Dining area: Living room: TV stand in living room... ....which opens up into a bed (in case you were wondering if an adult can sleep on this - I'm about 5'7" and I fit on this just fine): Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Here's the front bathroom: The bedroom: And the second bathroom: And the balcony: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 So, backtracking to Saturday - when I got up from a long nap, I was feeling a bit better. We wanted something quick and easy for dinner. We went down to Whitewater Snacks and grabbed some dinner. Shredded beef nachos: Basil pesto chicken salad sandwich: After a full night's rest, we were ready to hit the parks on Sunday! We knew we had to do Fantasmic! that night, because it would not be going any other night while we're here. We also knew that it's a small world was going to shut down on Monday, for refurbishment. According to the schedule, Mickey and the magical map would only go Sunday and Monday. So, we knew we had to do those three things, if we didn't do anything else. As soon as we entered the park, we started rounding up as many fastpasses as we could. Here's what we had, shortly after entering the park. Buzz and Fantasmic! are disconnected so they're almost like freebies. You could still get another fastpass immediately after getting those two. We went for Haunted Mansion because we felt like that line would get long pretty quickly. Right after getting the fastpass, we jumped in line for Haunted Mansion. I love the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay! I was surprised to see the Hatbox Ghost in there. I assumed he would come out because he wasn't part of Nightmare. We also made it to It's a Small World. I was on the lookout for Disney/Pixar characters during the whole ride! I don't remember what order we did things, so I'll just share some of the pictures I have. Kenneth's been taking pictures with the camera, so I'll try to get some of those up as well. We had breakfast at Flo's V8 cafe, in Cars Land one morning. Brioche French toast (as much as I love sweets, this may have been a little too rich for me): Chicken tamale breakfast (a little bit spicey, but delicious!): Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Awesome!!! Don't ya just love that California Blue Sky!!!! Yes! It's beautiful! The weather has been great, except for some rain during World of Color one night! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 When you ride Buzz, you can provide your email for a free copy of the picture. Here's our picture (the scores are not correct): At some point, we made it over to bug's land. We rode Heimlich's chew chew train, which is probably he shortest ride I've ever done: We also rode Flik's flyers: We also made it over to Paradise Pier to ride California Screamin and Mickey's Fun Wheel (we didn't do the Mickey's death wheel version): We also spent some time in Cars Land: And tried the cheddar garlic bagel twist and Red's Apple freeze from the cozy cones: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 We did the Matterhorn. That ride will beat you to death. I had some bruises on my arm and Kenneth had a headache all day yesterday. We're blaming the Matterhorn! :dazzled: Does anyone have this book? It's about a leprechaun that lives at Disneyland. He lived on that property before Disneyland was built. According to the book, he has a house in Disneyland now. We found his house! It's at the base of a tree, by the Indiana Jones sign: We also ate at Cafe Orleans sometime. I really wanted to try the Monte Cristo and pommes frites. We also tried the gumbo, which I loved! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 First?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Ahh...nope, missed Carol's post :) Okay... really like that resort; it's very pretty. The room is very nice! I MISS the submarine ride!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I'm in. And you aren't going to believe this, but the TCD gang was in Disneyland during part of the same time you were. We finished our trip with two nights at the Grand Californian (Sunday the 18th and Monday the 19th). Mrs. TCD and I just flew home on Tuesday, leaving the TCD twins behind. We were in Disneyland for most of the day Sunday, and also hit up Small World for a final ride, and saw Mickey and the Magical Map. We watched Paint the Night on Main Street on Sunday, and then the fireworks. We skipped Fantasmic. The rainy night you watched WOC, we watched from our balcony. That had to be Monday night. So, it looks like we were in the same resort at the same time! It is a Small World, after all. If you're still there, look for Twin #2 in World of Disney, just outside of the Downtown Disney exit from the GCR, and for Twin #1 on the Jungle Cruise. She told me she saw a man in one of the newish brown Fort Wilderness shirts there this week. That wasn't Kenneth, was it? We found the crowds for this visit to be much greater than when we visited last year. The twins say that attendance is way up this year because of all the 60th anniversary stuff. Great job finding the Little Green Man's house. I had never heard of this until this year's D23 convention. They had a video presentation of it, and had a recording of Walt reading that story! TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Good job on the food pics! Sorry you got plane sick....that's no fun. I'm glad you enjoyed that gumbo, but I like mine dark....I make my own and I work that roux until it is very dark brown. Maybe the one you had tasted better than it looks. But everyone has different preferences I guess. I think I'd agree with you on the french toast....looks extremely sweet. I just may visit DL someday. Time will tell. I'll be interested in reading the rest of your report. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 That villa looks great! Enjoying your TR. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Ahh...nope, missed Carol's post :) Okay... really like that resort; it's very pretty. The room is very nice! I MISS the submarine ride!! The submarine was pretty fun for me - it's the first time I've done a ride like that! I'm in. And you aren't going to believe this, but the TCD gang was in Disneyland during part of the same time you were. We finished our trip with two nights at the Grand Californian (Sunday the 18th and Monday the 19th). Mrs. TCD and I just flew home on Tuesday, leaving the TCD twins behind. We were in Disneyland for most of the day Sunday, and also hit up Small World for a final ride, and saw Mickey and the Magical Map. We watched Paint the Night on Main Street on Sunday, and then the fireworks. We skipped Fantasmic. The rainy night you watched WOC, we watched from our balcony. That had to be Monday night. So, it looks like we were in the same resort at the same time! It is a Small World, after all. If you're still there, look for Twin #2 in World of Disney, just outside of the Downtown Disney exit from the GCR, and for Twin #1 on the Jungle Cruise. She told me she saw a man in one of the newish brown Fort Wilderness shirts there this week. That wasn't Kenneth, was it? We found the crowds for this visit to be much greater than when we visited last year. The twins say that attendance is way up this year because of all the 60th anniversary stuff. Great job finding the Little Green Man's house. I had never heard of this until this year's D23 convention. They had a video presentation of it, and had a recording of Walt reading that story! TCD Oh, man! I can't believe we missed you! We saw your daughter, from a distance, at Jungle Cruise. She was helping people onto the boats. By the time we got there, she was gone. When our boat pulled back in, she was back - we were guessing she went on break. So, we missed our chance to say hello. We were both wearing tan Fort Wilderness shirts on Sunday (I'm wearing mine again today). Good job on the food pics! Sorry you got plane sick....that's no fun. I'm glad you enjoyed that gumbo, but I like mine dark....I make my own and I work that roux until it is very dark brown. Maybe the one you had tasted better than it looks. But everyone has different preferences I guess. I think I'd agree with you on the french toast....looks extremely sweet. I just may visit DL someday. Time will tell. I'll be interested in reading the rest of your report. I don't really have much experience with gumbo, so I can't really compare this one to anything. :) More food pics in a while! I hope you make it out here one day! That villa looks great! Enjoying your TR. That villa is great for hanging out, which we tend to do a good bit on vacation! Thanks for following along! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I'm here! You couldn't have perfecter timing! We a just a month-ish away from hitting Disneyland. Great pictures. Sorry about the feeling cruddy and I'm uber jealous of your suite. We'll be slumming it in our camper. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
red...Susan 37 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I never knew about the little house. How cool. Thank you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 I'm here! You couldn't have perfecter timing! We a just a month-ish away from hitting Disneyland. Great pictures. Sorry about the feeling cruddy and I'm uber jealous of your suite. We'll be slumming it in our camper. :) I hope you have a great time here! I'm jealous of anyone with a camper - it's our dream to have one, one day! :) I never knew about the little house. How cool. Thank you! I actually learned about the little house from a Disneyland blog I've been stalking for a while. Thanks for reading! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Busy day today! We're back in the room resting now. We need to do some laundry and pack - tomorrow is check-out day. Our shuttle won't pick us up until 8:00 pm tomorrow, so the plan is to leave our bags with bell services and then hit the parks again. I'll try to catch up a little bit now. Kenneth wasn't feeling well yesterday, so we stayed in the room for a while. I talked him into going downstairs for lunch. We went to Storyteller's Cafe. We both started with a bowl of corn chowder: Along with some bread and corn muffins: Kenneth had the turkey club and fries: I had salmon and spinach salad: campingdawgs and DaveInTN 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 I love corn chowder! How was it? And your salad looks very nice.....that's a big piece of salmon! Sorry that you both had bouts of not feeling well on this trip. I hope your last day is enjoyable. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Pictures from around the park: Finally got my hands on a churro. I was a bit disappointed: campingdawgs 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 I love corn chowder! How was it? And your salad looks very nice.....that's a big piece of salmon! Sorry that you both had bouts of not feeling well on this trip. I hope your last day is enjoyable. I loved the corn chowder - the little bit of bacon on top made it even better. When I was younger and if I got sick, my mom used to ask me what I wanted to eat. I always asked for corn chowder. It was one of my favorite things that she made - I never learned how to make it and now she's gone. So, I always get corn chowder when I can. I guess it sort of reminds me of my mom. And that salad was awesome! I LOVE salmon, but it's one of those things I never cook at home. I had them add avocado to the salad, which I think was a wise decision. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted October 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 We rode the Casey Jr. train, but we didn't squeeze into a cage. We sat right behind the driver: We did the Storybook canal boats right after the little train: Visited Toontown and met Mickey and Minnie. I think that was the first time I met characters: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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