The TCD Gang Goes to Disneyland!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

And the breast are huge and have always been completely done.  No further comments please. (It's just to easy).

 

I'm not a fan of the beans either.  The meat is a nice touch but I would much rather they be baked beans. 

 

Tip: If you get fries ask them to double fry them.  They will be much crisper and not end up so soggy as long as you let the bag breathe a little and eat right away. 

 

The quality of the fries has improved of late, so that double frying may no longer be needed.  That's a good tip, though.

 

I guess this really depends on your family. The first time we got a GAG it fed our family of 5 one good meal. The next time, two years later, my 3 boys were teenagers and looking for snacks immediately after we finished the GAG.  At first I thought the portions must have been smaller. Then I realized the appetites were a lot bigger!  Still the best deal on Disney property, though. Although we probably actually got our money's worth out of the Trails End buffet on that trip also.

 

That's true.  It's usually just three of us dining on one GAG, and on those occasions we have leftovers.  Ten chicken breasts is a lot of meat.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm late with today's update.

 

We left of aboard the monorail on Monday afternoon, December 8.

 

We are just now completing our second lap around the track.

 

There was a construction area near TOT, which had been the location of something they called the Mad Tea Party.  I'm not exactly sure what that was, but it shut down just prior to our visit.  From what I've heard, this area is now a play area themed after that Frozen movie:

 

 

We passed by the Grand Californian again.  This is the front of the hotel, where we dropped off our luggage when we came to check in.  We will be back here later today to retrieve that luggage and head to the airport:

 

 

That building you see over there is the Paradise Pier hotel, one of the three on-site hotels run by Disney here.  The closest I came to seeing it is when I walked past it to and from the self parking lot:

 

 

Here we are passing over Downtown Disney- there's the AMC theater, and you can also see the Disneyland Hotel straight ahead:

 

 

After Downtown Disney, we headed back to Disneyland, passing over the esplanade on the way.  There's the Disneyland entrance.  It looks like the flag is still at half staff.  You can see that the time is 2:44 pm:

 

 

As we made our way back to the Tomorrowland station, we passed some of the backstage areas of Disneyland.  I think this stuff here is the reason they built the dioramas for the train.  The train passes through enclosed areas here, so passengers don't see all this stuff.  I guess they don't care if guests on the monorails see it:

 

 

The monorail takes a little loop around Tomorrowland before stopping at the station:

 

 

It took us over the Nemo subs:

 

 

And around the Matterhorn:

 

 

 

You can see the bobsled cars below, and the part of the track that dips into the water there on the right:

 

 

These nautical flags were flying by the submarine ride:

 

 

If you are a faithful reader of TCD TR's, you know that when I spot nautical flags, I always want to know if they spell something.  I've translated flags that I've seen at Hollywood Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, and on the Disney Cruise Line in previous trip reports, so I couldn't let these go without taking a whack.

 

Let's take a closer look:

 

 

Here's the handy dandy chart, if you want to play along:

 

 

There are four flags there on the left.  They spell N-E-M-O.  The seven on the right spell F-I-N-D-I-N-G.  That was easy.  They say NEMO FINDING.  It works if you have your back to the flags and look at them with a hand-held mirror.

 

After that monorail ride, there weren't that many items left on our must do list.

 

There was a new entry added to the list at lunch.  The girls wanted to see if they could get photos with Chip and Dale in their Christmas sweaters.  They supposedly were hanging out at Big Thunder Ranch, so we headed that way:

 

 

When we had popped in here earlier on this trip, the critters were not out.  Today, they were:

 

 

I would have thought that there were enough PETA folks in California to shut something like this down.  These poor goats were not happy with the situation:

 

 

Well, that's not entirely true. This goat seemed content:

 

 

Twin #1 had to try for a goat selfie.  The poor goats:

 

 

The donkeys must have a better agent. They're here, but nobody can come in their pen to bother them:

 

 

Do you remember that guy we saw earlier in this report with the vest full of pins?  He was back again today.  He's over there under the umbrella wearing his vest of pins:

 

 

Twin #2 found Dale:

 

 

They had a Christmas show going on back here:

 

 

Both girls posed with Chip:

 

 

 

They tried to get both of the chipmunks together for one photo, but the chipmunks wouldn't cooperate, so they settled for those photos.

 

They had free coloring sheets and paper ornaments back here for guests to color. This is the coloring sheet:

 

 

There was a Santa meet and greet back here, and Mrs. Claus was working the room too:

 

 

All of the ranch props were thoroughly decorated back here:

 

 

 

 

So, we had done our best for those Chip and Dale photos.  Now, the girls wanted to try for Mickey and Minnie.  That meant we had to go back to Toontown.  We are going to head that way next.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I like that you translate the flags. Finding Nemo at the Finding Nemo ride... surprise! I would have liked Fish are Food, but that's probably too long. 

 

Poor goats. I'm actually surprised that allow that in Cali too. 

 

Hope the girls get to see Mickey and Minnie!

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Hey I Learned Something New Today, Flag Decoding. Very Interesting Thanks! We Own Goats,Those Are Fat Goats

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

I am finally all caught up!!

 

Those piranhas on Jungle Cruise actually startled me enough that I jumped!! LOL!!

 

As I said earlier in this trip report, we too, stayed at the Park Vue. Therefore we were not resort guests. We did however get the "magic morning" entitlements. We were given two mornings on our six day ticket and one day on our four day ticket. That was an excellent perk!!

 

That Redwood Creek Challenge trail is VERY well done. While I am sure it was made for the younger set, my teenagers at the time and my husband and I all enjoyed it. One thing that was really neat for us, since both of our DL visits followed a couple weeks of touring various National Parks, was that they had LOTS of National Park memorabilia throughout the area. They also had a large "slice" of a Redwood tree, the type you would see at a museum in there. Like I said, it was really well done.

 

We rode the monorail in the August heat and it was NOT fun!! Not only was it hot it was very crowded. Also when we arrived at the stop in Downtown Disney they made everybody get off. So we had to walk down the ramp, then turn around and walk back up and then wait in line for the next monorail........and it was HOT!!!

 

You have mentioned a few times how the lines were not bad. We found the same thing in August. Before we went I had read horror stories about the summer crowds and lines! We did make maximum use of FP's, but never saw lines more than 30-minutes for the most park even in mid day. For example, 30-minutes for Space Mountain between 12:00-3:00. You could NEVER get on Space at WDW in August in the mid afternoon in 30-minutes. We never actually waited 30-minutes for anything, but I liked the fact that if you REALLY wanted to ride something, the waits weren't super crazy!

 

We too, loved how compact everything was and how quickly you could go from place to place. I have told many people that one of our favorite things a bout DL was just how "easy" it was. By easy, I mean, we were a five minute walk to the 2 parks from the Park Vue. No waiting for crowded buses, boats or monorails to get into a park. Just a quick walk! It was great having the 2 parks so close, so you could just go back and fourth between them and again, not have to use transportation to go from park to park, just  a hop, skip and a jump from one to the other. Of course we LOVE WDW and everything that it offers, but we LOVE DL too! We have been twice in the last five years and its only a matter of time, before we go back. Most likely next year.

 

Oh and one more thing! You wondered where all of the "beautiful people" were??  I know!! They are up here in NH on the high school ski team!!! LOL!! I am not kidding!! My youngest gave up hockey five years ago and joined the ski racing team. I still remember looking at his teammates when I picked him up from the mountain after his first practice!! They were all beautiful! That night I even said to my husband, I guess all of the beautiful people are on the ski team!!! I know, so silly of me.

 

Heidi

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

sorry double post

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

The monorail rocks.

I'm not a candy cane fan but you certainly have me curious about them.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I like that you translate the flags. Finding Nemo at the Finding Nemo ride... surprise! I would have liked Fish are Food, but that's probably too long. 

 

Poor goats. I'm actually surprised that allow that in Cali too. 

 

Hope the girls get to see Mickey and Minnie!

 

Fish are Food?  LOL.  You should be an Imagnineer.

 

They still have goats in the petting zoo at Animal Kingdom, but that doesn't get anywhere near the traffic that Big Thunder Ranch does.  And, at AK, they have an area that the goats can go to which is off limits to the kids who are bothering them.  These goats had no escape.  I am not a big animal rights person, but it seemed cruel to me.

 

We are heading directly to Toontown in the next update, so you'll see if the girls got to meet Minnie and Mickey.

 

Hey I Learned Something New Today, Flag Decoding. Very Interesting Thanks! We Own Goats,Those Are Fat Goats

 

If you ever see nautical flags on display at a place operated by Disney, snap a photo.  They always spell out something.  And sometimes, it's something surprising and funny.

 

Those goats were also old.  Who knows how long they've been there getting assaulted by unruly kids day after day?  Again, I'm surprised those nature loving Cali hippies allow this.

 

I am finally all caught up!!

 

Those piranhas on Jungle Cruise actually startled me enough that I jumped!! LOL!!

They surprised us too. Such a simple special effect, but it adds to the fun of the ride. I wonder why they don't have them at WDW?

 

As I said earlier in this trip report, we too, stayed at the Park Vue. Therefore we were not resort guests. We did however get the "magic morning" entitlements. We were given two mornings on our six day ticket and one day on our four day ticket. That was an excellent perk!!

I got one Magic Morning with the three day park hopper I bought. That is a great perk for off-site guests. These Magic Mornings are another reason staying on site is not as valuable at Disneyland as it is at WDW.

 

That Redwood Creek Challenge trail is VERY well done. While I am sure it was made for the younger set, my teenagers at the time and my husband and I all enjoyed it. One thing that was really neat for us, since both of our DL visits followed a couple weeks of touring various National Parks, was that they had LOTS of National Park memorabilia throughout the area. They also had a large "slice" of a Redwood tree, the type you would see at a museum in there. Like I said, it was really well done.

Well shoot, now I wish we had spent some more time in there. I especially would have liked to see the redwood slice. One of these days, I want to go and see a real Redwood Forest.

 

We rode the monorail in the August heat and it was NOT fun!! Not only was it hot it was very crowded. Also when we arrived at the stop in Downtown Disney they made everybody get off. So we had to walk down the ramp, then turn around and walk back up and then wait in line for the next monorail........and it was HOT!!!

That sounds awful. It was stuffy enough in our monorail car on a cool December day. I don't even want to think about what it would be like in August. And, that stinks that they made you disembark at Downtown Disney. If I ever go in the summer, I'll skip the monorail.

 

You have mentioned a few times how the lines were not bad. We found the same thing in August. Before we went I had read horror stories about the summer crowds and lines! We did make maximum use of FP's, but never saw lines more than 30-minutes for the most park even in mid day. For example, 30-minutes for Space Mountain between 12:00-3:00. You could NEVER get on Space at WDW in August in the mid afternoon in 30-minutes. We never actually waited 30-minutes for anything, but I liked the fact that if you REALLY wanted to ride something, the waits weren't super crazy!

 

We too, loved how compact everything was and how quickly you could go from place to place. I have told many people that one of our favorite things a bout DL was just how "easy" it was. By easy, I mean, we were a five minute walk to the 2 parks from the Park Vue. No waiting for crowded buses, boats or monorails to get into a park. Just a quick walk! It was great having the 2 parks so close, so you could just go back and fourth between them and again, not have to use transportation to go from park to park, just  a hop, skip and a jump from one to the other. Of course we LOVE WDW and everything that it offers, but we LOVE DL too! We have been twice in the last five years and its only a matter of time, before we go back. Most likely next year.

I agree with this completely. It's hard to grasp how many attractions there are in those two parks. To me, it seemed like there was more to do in those two parks combined than there is to do in all four of the WDW parks combined. And, it's awesome that you can have FP's from both parks simultaneously. So, on a busy day, you can have an afternoon Radiator Springs Racers FP while your enjoy a morning in Disneyland.

 

Oh and one more thing! You wondered where all of the "beautiful people" were??  I know!! They are up here in NH on the high school ski team!!! LOL!! I am not kidding!! My youngest gave up hockey five years ago and joined the ski racing team. I still remember looking at his teammates when I picked him up from the mountain after his first practice!! They were all beautiful! That night I even said to my husband, I guess all of the beautiful people are on the ski team!!! I know, so silly of me.

 

Heidi

LOL. There are beautiful people everywhere. But, not many of them visit Disneyland.

 

 

The monorail rocks.

I'm not a candy cane fan but you certainly have me curious about them.

Sorry, I'm on Team Lou when it comes to the Disneyland monorail. It's OK, but I don't think it rocks.

We are getting closer to the Candy Cane reveal. The next update will begin with a photo taken at 3:15 pm. Remember, we had to get to California Adventure by no later than 4 pm to claim our Candy Canes. You will see if we made it in the next update.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It is now 3:15 pm on Monday, December 8.  That California sun is sinking fast, and we have just left Big Thunder Ranch, and are making our way around Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain on the way to Toontown:

 

 

And here we are:

 

 

I personally don't care for Toontown, it's crowded, and there isn't much for adults to do.  But, it must be a blast for the kids.  It is way bigger than the old one at WDW, and there are so many more houses for the characters.  Daisy has a boat:

 

 

And an adjacent play area:

 

 

Goofy lives next door:

 

 

The reason you're seeing photos of Daisy's boat and Goofy's hat is that there were long lines at Mickey and Minnie's houses.  They were probably 30 minute lines, so not too bad, but we didn't have time to wait.

 

So, here's a photo of the Toontown sign:

 

 

And a couple of artsy photos of Minnie's house courtesy of Twin #1:

 

 

 

We agreed that it was time for us to head back to California Adventure.  We had RSR FP's that would soon be good, and I wanted to try and claim our candy canes.

 

So, out we went.

 

The double decker bus was parked in front of the Castle, waiting for passengers. 

 

Sweet!

 

We got a spot up top.  Which made us almost level with the top of Disneyland's sad little castle:

 

 

Here we go:

 

 

There's the castle:

 

 

As we rounded the hub, we passed Fantasy Faire, and the Frontierland.    I like how the lands here have defined entrances directly off of the hub:

 

 

Now we're heading down Main Street:

 

 

I am not sure exactly what is going on here, as the Christmas parade was set to be performed at 5:45 today. It's not even 4 yet, and guests have reserved spots with blankets.  That would never fly at WDW:

 

 

These Big Hero Six balloons are a public menace.  They are too big, and they were everywhere. At the time I took this photo on December 8, I hadn't seen them for sale in WDW.  They may have arrived east by now, but I hope not:

 

 

Disneyland's Main Street still has alleys on both sides, and hasn't been made into one continuous gift shop.  Here, about halfway down the street, they have a little quick serve restaurant called the Corner Café:

 

 

I think that's the Disneyland version of Casey's Corner, but it's about halfway down Main Street ,and does not reek of sauerkraut.

 

Even from our elevated vantage point, I had a hard time seeing the castle from halfway down Main Street:

 

 

I liked how close we were to the garland:

 

 

It was getting kind of crowded now:

 

 

Hey look who it is.  Chip.  All by himself, just strolling down the street in his Christmas sweater.  No attendant.  No line.  It looks like that little girl is about to tackle him:

 

 

How do you like that?  A character just casually strolling down the street?  I cannot even imagine that happening at WDW.

 

Disneyland's City Hall is in the same location as the MK's.  It kind of looks the same, too:

 

 

There's Donald Duck over there.  The girls would have liked to meet him, but was 3:38 pm when I snapped that photo.  If we wanted those candy canes, it was now or never:

 

 

We decided to go and get the candy canes.  We each had a wristband, so that meant we could each buy one.  For $14. 

 

We went to the designated place.

 

There were two CM's there and a cash register.

 

They saw our wristbands, and told us we had made it just in time.  There were only about a dozen unclaimed candy canes, and we were entitled to three of them.

 

On the way there, we had talked about this, and decided that we would just buy one and share it.

 

The CM couldn't believe we only wanted one.

 

I told her we were flying out that night, and didn't want to mess with toting three giant candy canes with us.  I wasn't sure if I could bring them in our carryon luggage, and the one bag we were going to check was pretty full.   The CM said she could wrap the candy canes in bubble wrap and such and they'd make it home fine in our checked bags.  She said it would be worth it.  Nobody can believe how delicious these candy canes are, she said.

 

I still didn't want to buy three candy canes.  But, I had to try one.  What if we tried one, and it really was something special.  Wouldn't I regret not having another. 

 

So, I compromised,  We bought two of the candy canes.

 

They were wrapped up tight, and in my backpack before I thought to take a photo.  We didn't have time to eat one yet.  We needed to get to RSR.

 

If you're curious about the candy canes, don't worry, we will unwrap one and try it in just a little bit.  And I have a photo.  But, sorry, that's not going to happen in this update.

 

Nope, what happened next is we took our fifth and final ride on RSR.

 

I only have one photo from that ride.

 

And, it's this one, taken in the queue:

 

 

I wasn't trying to get a photo of that dude on the right.   I was trying to get a photo of the little sign on the post there on the left.  This one:

 

 

That told a little story about the founding of Radiator Springs.  I thought it was a neat touch.  I hope you can read it.

 

We zipped through the FP line, and got right on the track, where we won our third race in a row.  We had a slow start on RSR's, but we finished this trip with a winning 3-2 record.

 

After RSR, it was back to the front of the park, as we were right on time to catch the final 4:30 pm performance of The Red Trolley Newsboys.  And here they come:

 

 

They pulled up right in front of where we were standing:

 

 

Hey, that newsboy there next to Mickey is a newsgirl:

 

 

We really liked this show, and I'm glad we got to see it again.  You see that Carthay Circle restaurant back there?  Remember it, I'll have some observations to make about it later:

 

 

The newsboys and newsgirl are getting ready to go:

 

 

And there they go:

 

 

It was now 4:47 pm.  The Pixar Play Parade was set to come through this very area at 5:15.  We decided this would be a good time to take a seat and have a little break.  That (and the candy cane reveal) will be coming up next.

 

TCD

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Too me the monorail system rocks because it's a classic. just like my old 66' mustang is.

I can't compare my old 66' to the new mustangs. Just like you can't compare te monorail to more modern transportation.

Theyre both classics and I appreciate them for what they are.

Just my humble opinion.

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

The Miss Daisy is Donald's boat.  I think the WDW version was named Miss Daisy as well, but I think it was bigger.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Too me the monorail system rocks because it's a classic. just like my old 66' mustang is.

I can't compare my old 66' to the new mustangs. Just like you can't compare te monorail to more modern transportation.

Theyre both classics and I appreciate them for what they are.

Just my humble opinion.

Exactly the way I feel about it.  

 

Except I don't have a '66 Mustang.  

 

I don't have a Mustang at all.  

 

But I do love classics!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Too me the monorail system rocks because it's a classic. just like my old 66' mustang is.

I can't compare my old 66' to the new mustangs. Just like you can't compare te monorail to more modern transportation.

Theyre both classics and I appreciate them for what they are.

Just my humble opinion.

 

I understand what you're saying, but your point would carry more weight if the monorails at Disneyland were, in fact, classic.

 

But they're not.  The monorail cars have been replaced several times over the years.  What's there now isn't what was there in Walt's day.  The original monorail cars, with the clear bubble roofs, are long gone.  If they're not original, then there's no excuse for them to not be air-conditioned and state of the art.  It's very lame to ride around in something that is supposed to be futuristic with the windows rolled down like your classic '66 Mustang.

 

The Miss Daisy is Donald's boat.  I think the WDW version was named Miss Daisy as well, but I think it was bigger.

 

Duh!

 

You're right.

 

That is Donald's boat.  I remember the WDW version quite well.  The TCD girls spent a lot of time playing on it.  I think you're right, WDW's was bigger.  But, WDW didn't have Goofy's house or a Chip and Dale Treehouse, so Disneyland still wins.

 

Exactly the way I feel about it.  

 

Except I don't have a '66 Mustang.  

 

I don't have a Mustang at all.  

 

But I do love classics!

 

See my comments to Ray, above.

 

It's fine if you love classics, but the Disneyland monorail is not a classic.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, I was going to try to get this TR finished up today.  But, it looks like I have two more update's worth of photos left, so it's going to have to wait until next week.
 
Instead,  let's talk money.
 
We've seen a lot of photos of and from the Grand Californian Hotel, but I haven't yet answered the big question.  Which is:
 
Is it worth it?
 
Let's take a look.
 
First, let's talk about the Park Vue Inn. 
 
With the Candlelight Processional being performed and it being the first weekend in December, this was a peak time to visit.  Remember, they had CM guest and some California passholders blocked out from admission.  That meant I had a little trouble getting a hotel reservation.  Which meant that the hotels weren't discounting their rates.  I've read on line of guests who were able to book rooms at Park Vue for less than $100 a night.  Not me.  With tax and everything, the Park Vue cost me $176.67 a night for our three nights there.
 
What about the Grand Californian?
 
Let's start out with rack rate. That's the price they ask with no discount.  For a club level, premium view room, here's what the Disneyland site quotes:
 

 

That view I was so fond of was a premium view.  That costs $733 a night.

 

Not a week.

 

A night.

 

Before taxes!

 

And they make you pay for parking too!

 

Of course, we got a 60% discount on that room.  So, our base rate, before taxes and parking was $288 a night. 

 

But, by the time they added the taxes, parking, and Lord knows what else, I paid $353.96 for that one night in the Grand Californian.

 

Which works out to be almost exactly double what one night at the Park Vue cost.

 

So, was it worth it?

 

No.

 

Would I do it again?

 

Yes.

 

But just for one night.

 

And only if I have a CM along.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great updates!  I'll try to patiently wait til next week for more.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

You are really building up these candy canes, mister.

[dvccamper 32]

 

 

I wasn't trying to get a photo of that dude on the right.  

 

 

 

TCD

 

 

Is it me or does this guy look like Big Al?

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Waiting On Those Candy Canes. Love Your Tr Btw. Always Full Of Interesting Tidbits.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Exactly the way I feel about it.

Except I don't have a '66 Mustang.

I don't have a Mustang at all.

But I do love classics!

I wish I still had it too. That was my college car and I'd love to have it back. I just think I could not afford it now. Lol.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I understand what you're saying, but your point would carry more weight if the monorails at Disneyland were, in fact, classic.

But they're not. The monorail cars have been replaced several times over the years. What's there now isn't what was there in Walt's day. The original monorail cars, with the clear bubble roofs, are long gone. If they're not original, then there's no excuse for them to not be air-conditioned and state of the art. It's very lame to ride around in something that is supposed to be futuristic with the windows rolled down like your classic mustang

TCD

Valid points. Maybe the mustang comparison wasn't the best.

I just remember riding it as a kid. So it holds a special place in my heart.

Also the a/c in SoCal is usually not a necessity like it is in Florida. As a matter of fact, many years ago my mom and dad moved to Barstow California from Oxnard California and we went to visit them right after they moved and my mom said that this was the first house she's ever lived in that had a/c. I never thought about it but we lived less than a mile from the ocean ever since we moved from Germany and never had a/c and never needed it.

I bought my son a 2004 mustang LX when he graduated high school California in 2006, it's the car he wanted and when we went to test drive it I turned on the air and I said the a/c isn't working. The car salesman laughed and said it doesnt have a/c but it's an option on a new car. I don't buy new cars.

Can you imagine having a car without a/c? Lol.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

 

See my comments to Ray, above.

 

It's fine if you love classics, but the Disneyland monorail is not a classic.

 

TCD

But I can pretend it is classic.  It is something that, in my youth, was seen as really futuristic.  And that still makes any monorail cool for me.  Not go around the lake twice cool, which is what my husband had us do in 2010.  But still cool.  

 

Can you imagine having a car without a/c? Lol.

I haven't had a vehicle with a working A/C for the past four years.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I haven't had a vehicle with a working A/C for the past four years.

WTF! Don't you live on South Carolina?

Heat, and humidity equal a/c.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

WTF! Don't you live on South Carolina?

Heat, and humidity equal a/c.

That's for rich folks.  We roll down the windows.  At least my bedroom has a window air conditioner.  Because i am the princess.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great updates!  I'll try to patiently wait til next week for more.

 

Next week is here.

 

And we will be reaching the end of this trip report.

 

It's about time.

 

You are really building up these candy canes, mister.

 

I know.

 

But, the big reveal is finally here.

 

Is it me or does this guy look like Big Al?

 

LOL.

 

Very good!

 

He certainly does.

 

Waiting On Those Candy Canes. Love Your Tr Btw. Always Full Of Interesting Tidbits.

 

The candy cane reveal is coming up next.

 

I'm glad you like interesting tidbits-there's some in the next update.

 

I wish I still had it too. That was my college car and I'd love to have it back. I just think I could not afford it now. Lol.

 

Wow, that must have been a fun college car!

 

Valid points. Maybe the mustang comparison wasn't the best.

I just remember riding it as a kid. So it holds a special place in my heart.

Also the a/c in SoCal is usually not a necessity like it is in Florida. As a matter of fact, many years ago my mom and dad moved to Barstow California from Oxnard California and we went to visit them right after they moved and my mom said that this was the first house she's ever lived in that had a/c. I never thought about it but we lived less than a mile from the ocean ever since we moved from Germany and never had a/c and never needed it.

I bought my son a 2004 mustang LX when he graduated high school California in 2006, it's the car he wanted and when we went to test drive it I turned on the air and I said the a/c isn't working. The car salesman laughed and said it doesnt have a/c but it's an option on a new car. I don't buy new cars.

Can you imagine having a car without a/c? Lol.

 

It's interesting to me that so much of Disneyland is outside and not air conditioned.  As I already noted, a lot of the ride queues and loading areas are outside and uncovered.  That would never work in Florida.

 

Yes, I can imagine a car without AC.  Actually, I don't have to imagine.  My college car didn't have AC.  And, I attended college in Florida.

 

But I can pretend it is classic.  It is something that, in my youth, was seen as really futuristic.  And that still makes any monorail cool for me.  Not go around the lake twice cool, which is what my husband had us do in 2010.  But still cool.  

 

I haven't had a vehicle with a working A/C for the past four years.

 

I think the monorails are cool too, but they need to be updated.  At both Disneyland and WDW.

 

WTF! Don't you live on South Carolina?

Heat, and humidity equal a/c.

 

True.

 

That's for rich folks.  We roll down the windows.  At least my bedroom has a window air conditioner.  Because i am the princess.

 

LOL.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We are getting really close to the end here.

 

We left off with our last ride on Radiator Springs Racers, and our last viewing of the Red Trolley Newsboys show.

 

A parade was on the way, and we decided to watch it.

 

It was time to try one of those giant candy canes.

 

Twin #2 isn't a big candy cane fan, so she got a churro.

 

Twin #1 unwrapped that big candy cane from the bubble wrap, and held it up for this photo:

 

 

Then she licked it.

 

"Well?,"  I asked.

 

"Tastes like a candy cane," she said.

 

I asked her to let me have a taste.

 

Yup.

 

Candy Cane.

 

Not the best one we ever had.

 

It wasn't bad.

 

Run of the mill candy cane.

 

Like every other candy cane.

 

We'd been had. 

 

There was nothing special about these candy canes.

 

Well played, Disneyland.

 

We did eat most of that candy cane.

 

It cost $14, after all.

 

The other one made it home safely in our checked suitcase.

 

It was on display in the TCD home throughout the Christmas season.

 

But no one wanted to eat it.

 

So, it is currently in our snack cabinet.

 

And, probably at some point will end up in the local landfill.

 

I'm glad we didn't buy that third one.

 

Twin #2 did enjoy the churro, in case you're wondering.

 

The parade came along, as promised, at 5:15.

 

This was a Pixar parade.

 

Roz kicked things off:

 

 

The Monsters, Inc. franchise was up first.  So, we had a few monsters:

 

 

And Sully:

 

 

Then it was the Incredibles.  Mrs. I:

 

 

Mr. I and Frozone:

 

 

Note that there are guests viewing the parade from the balcony of the Carthay Circle restaurant.  I'm not sure if that's open to all guests, but it looks like a nice place to watch the parade:

 

A flaming Jack Jack.  Did this happen in the movie?:

 

 

Next up was Finding Nemo, so we had Crush:

 

 

And some random fish, and lots of bubbles:

 

 

Then it was Bug's Life.  This Heimlich character was funny- the segments were not connected, but they somehow were able to synchronize their walking:

 

 

I'm not sure why the bubble machines were still going for the bugs, but they were:

 

 

This has something to do with Toy Story:

 

 

Aliens and random bubbles:

 

 

This Toy Story float was pretty spectacular. The blurry things you see hanging from the float are gymnasts who were swinging around the poles up there.  Kind of like Tumble Monkeys, but these were cowgirls:

 

 

Slinky Dog came in two parts:

 

 

The parade finished up with Cars:

 

 

 

That was a fun little parade, but they missed a bunch of Pixar movies.  Nothing from UP!, Wall-E, Ratatouille or Brave.

 

But, at least California Adventure has a parade.

 

They took the daily parades away from Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom a while back.

 

As far as I know, they're aren't any plans for new parades at those parks. You have to go to Disneyland if you want more than one park with parades.

 

After the parade, we needed to make our final visit to Disneyland.

 

There were still two must do's on our list.

 

First, we needed to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  The girls were not feeling that, but this was a big deal to Walt, and I insisted.

 

I wish we had come in here earlier, they had a bunch of cool stuff on display.  Like this photo of Walt with his tiny castle:

 

 

This ordinary looking green bench sits beneath that photo.  I'm sorry that the photo is blurry- it tells us that this is the very bench that Walt sat on when he came up with the idea of Disneyland:

 

 

This photo of a carousel is nearby.  The sign beneath it tells the familiar story of how Walt used to take his young daughters to amusement parks, and sit and watch them enjoy the rides.  The idea came to him that there should be a place where parents and children could have fun together.  The rest, as they say, is history:

 

 

The show was about to start, so we had to leave these displays and head in to the theater.

 

I was surprised by how big it was.  Maybe close to the size of the Hall of Presidents theater at the MK.  It must have been refurbished at some time not too long ago, as it was beautiful and in very good condition.

 

The show was a lot like the Hall of Presidents, but with 43 less robots.  Here, it's just Abe:

 

 

I'm not going to lie.  It was boring.  A little Abe goes a long way, and this was a lot of Abe.

 

But, I am still glad we did it.

 

Outside the theater, they had a framed poster from when the attraction opened:

 

 

Note that Walt offered free admission to this attraction for all youth under 17 years of age.

 

Remember, back in those days, you paid to get in to the park, and then you needed tickets for each attraction too.

 

Also, note there on the bottom of the poster that the new Plaza Inn restaurant would be opening in the summer of 1965. That's where we ate lunch earlier.

 

This plaque was beneath that poster:

 

 

There was a big room next to the room where we had seen Walt's green bench.  In there, they had this giant model of Disneyland:

 

 

This tells us that the model shows Disneyland as it existed on opening day on July 17, 1955:

 

 

So, Disneyland will be turning 60 on July 17 of this year.  They've got big plans for that.

 

I wish that there was more explanation about what we were looking at.  This is the Tomorrowland part of the model.  All I see there is Autopia.  It looks like there are little boats in what is now the submarine lagoon, and, of course, the Matterhorn and Space Mountain are not there.  And look how much open space there is between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland:

 

 

This is the Fantasyland part of the model.  The castle does not dominate this area, just as it doesn't today:

 

 

If you look over to the left of Fantasyland, you'll see a corral with a horse in it, and then left of that is the Mark Twain Riverboat.  Again, there's so much open space.

 

This is a zoom on the Fantasyland part of the model, you can see where the carousel and tea cup rides are. That train track in the back must be the Casey Junior ride.  I don't know what the big pirate ship is:

 

 

I really liked looking at the model. It's amazing how much has changed since opening day, and what has happened with Disney Parks around the world since.

 

Next to the model, they had a framed copy of a newspaper reporting on opening day:

 

 

They had a TV set up in a corner of the room, and it was playing a video narrated by Steve Martin.  It was very interesting, and covered a lot of Disneyland history:

 

 

I wanted to stay and watch more of that, but we still had one last must-do.

 

And we were getting short on time.

 

So, we had to go.

 

Next up, we do that last must do.

 

And then we head for home.

 

Boo!

 

TCD