Truthfully, I’m feeling a bit sheepish about this trip report. Every time we’ve gone to Disney, I tell you that we won’t be returning until the kids are out of college and yet now, here we are again! I promise this will be Last Time… at least for a while.
Outwardly, the occasion for this trip was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, but really, I just wanted to get back to California to see Carsland. We had missed the opening by just a few weeks on our first Disneyland trip and it nearly killed me. We also would have the chance to hang with our favorite west coast friends, the Mitts. Yay!
Our daughter Meghan, the dear thing, drove us into Logan Express at 4:00 am and we were in Los Angeles by 9:30 west coast time, which gave us a full first day. The travel was pretty uneventful, though we did get to ride from LAX to Anaheim with an adorable mother and daughter from Australia. The girl was so excited to see Disneyland she could hardly contain herself! She set the tone well for the trip.
This time we decided not to impose on our previous hosts but to get a hotel near the parks. There are plenty of affordable choices steps from the gates. We stayed at the Camelot Inn and Suites and it suited us just fine.
Here in Camelot!
The rates were around the same as any value resort in WDW, but the accommodation was quite a bit larger. No complaints here.
As lovely as the room was, the best feature, by far was the shower. This obviously pre-dated any “water saver” measures because if you stood in one place for too long, it could potentially bore hole through your back. IT WAS AWESOME!!
Our room faced Harbor Boulevard, so we had a nice view of the parks; Disneyland to the right and California Adventure to the left.
The Matterhorn yonder…
…and the Tower of Terror.
The walk to the parks was really this short:
Take a left out of the hotel. See the lights ahead?
Boom! you’re there!
Walkability is such a huge plus here. Once you’re through the bag check, you have just steps to pop between the two parks and Downtown Disney.
Today we started in Disneyland.
Train Station
Main Street
It was just about eleven o’clock when we entered. I’m not sure what time it opened this day but it must have been late because there was a lot of “Good Mornin'” type stuff still happening.
A character Hodge Podge!
This cast member is pushing the throngs back from the parade. By throngs I mean this one lady.
Who’s in charge here?
We were still on east coast time, so we were starving! My initial plan was to have an early lunch at the Plaza Inn. This place is rumored to serve the tastiest fried chicken ever. If you’ve known me more than ten minutes you know how much I adore good fried chicken, but then my plans were ruined, ruined I says, by a refurbishment!
Closed!
I’m ashamed to tell you how much this bummed me out, but alas, I had another card up my sleeve. We moseyed on over to Critter Country to right a wrong from our last trip.
The Sailing Ship Columbia on the Rivers of Amercia.
Tom Sawyer Island
Our destination was the hungry Bear Restaurant, the home of the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich that I missed out on last time. See, it’s all good.
Hungry Bear
What do you think?
This sandwich did not disappoint! The fried tomato was crispy and well seasoned with just the right amount of residual grease! There was also a nice thick slice of heirloom yellow tomato on there as well as a zesty cabbage slaw. So good! We really should have split one sandwich but hey, we’re not gonna be back for a while.
Delish!
I’m not really a big dessert girl, but here I wish I were. They have the cutest mini pies and cupcakes!
Bzzzz…So cute!
The Hungry Bear is in a great location in the far cover of the park, with plenty of shaded seating on two levels.
… And the view ain’t too shabby either!
Depending on the day, you’ll see either the Mark Twain or the Sailing Ship Columbia chug on by!
Ahoy!
During the little schpeel they do on the Columbia there’s a part where they fire a canon. I tell you this so when it happens you won’t jump two feet out of your seat like I did. Just FYI.
After lunch we circled back to New Orleans Square to the Haunted Mansion. The facade for this attraction is completely different the the Orlando counterpart. I really prefer this one.
Lovely landscaping
It’s difficult to take a picture of an invisible horse.
Pet cemetery
People cemetery
The foyer area.
The stretching room here is actually an elevator. It was a design necessity to get the guests to the lower level of the attraction. Even though it wasn’t necessary, they still put this in the Orlando version, but you don’t really go anywhere.
Is this room…
…actually stretching?
We strolled around New Orleans Square for a bit more.
N’awlins
There were lots of scrims up for refurbs, which is nothing new when it comes to Disney. They are always improving and keeping things looking fresh, but this time it had a bit of a sad note.
Scrims everywhere.
This area was one of my favorites on the last trip. It had lovely little side streets which led to picturesque corners where you could sit and enjoy the details. Court d’Angels was the prettiest spot.
Court d’Angels
This time we were met with this:
Blocked!
Sadly, this is area is not being refurbished, it’s gone forever. The space is being swallowed up by Club 33. Now, I’m not one of those people who freaks out when a Disney attraction closes (I’m looking at you Mr. Toad protesters). I understand that the parks will always grow and change as Walt said they would, but this was such a lovely spot. There nothing was being sold here, there was no busy attractions nearby, just a peaceful spot for guests to enjoy. The sad thing is that in expanding Club 33 they are not only taking away something beautiful and unique to Disney, they are replacing it with a private club that only the poshest of the posh can attend. Heavy sigh…
Onward we go! We happened upon another very peaceful spot in Adventure land.
Aladdin’s Oasis
Lots of shady seating.
You’re gonna see me roooaaaaarrr!!!
Paradise!
We made our away back to Fantasyland to experience the classic Matterhorn Bobsleds. This was under refurbishment on out last trip.
The line for this coaster was insanely long and wrapped completely around the mountain, but we walked right on up to the single rider line and were in a bobsled in about five minutes. Single rider, people!!! Use it. I barely had time to take some artsy pictures before we got on!
Cool angle=art.
Favorite!!!
The short wait was the only good thing I can say about this attraction. It was a bone-rattling, jarring, back breaker of a ride. I had heard it was rough, but thought after the refurb it might be better, but trust me it’s not. If you have any back problems or would like to avoid them in the future Do Not ride the Matterhorn. That’s my PSA for you.
Coaster fans don’t fret though, across the park in Frontierland there’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!
Howdy!
This attraction also underwent a recent refurbishment, but instead of just a coat of paint, they totally improved the ride technology. This ride is now smooth as glass! The attraction looked fresh, plus they added some really cool elements that I won’t spoil for you. We rode this at least three times on the trip. Please, please Disney, update the Orlando version too!
Let’s go again!
It was getting on time for a siesta. On the way out I spotted the Petrified Tree.
This tree is petrified.
The story goes that Walt spotted these trees being sold in Colorado Springs. He decided to buy one for his wife Lillian as an Anniversary gift because nothing says “I love you” like a five ton stump. It was originally in her garden, but after a couple years Lillian gave (unloaded) it to Disneyland where it resides today.
It’s things like this that make Disneyland so special. Sure, Disney World in Florida is new and improved and I love it, but Walt chose this silly stump and placed it here. It’s that kind of story that Disney geeks like myself find so endearing.
When we return: Cruisin’ though Disneyland at dusk…