A Very Disney Birthday

    So, this past Saturday was my sister's 21st birthday, and she had decided that she wanted to go to Disneyland. So, on Friday night, my parents, my sister Becca, my sister's fiance, Eric, and sister's best friend Jessica, all came down to LA for a visit. J and I met them for dinner at the Lazy Dog Cafe in Anaheim that night, and then afterwards J went to stay with his brother for what was sure to be a football-ful weekend, and I went with my family back to the hotel.



I got my sister Minnie Ears to wear at the park
along with some other goodies.

   The next morning, we woke early and walked to the park, ready for a full day of fun. First line of business was to get a fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventure. For those of you who don't know, Cars Land is a new addition to the park since this past summer, and is always packed full of people come to check out the latest Disney attractions. Because of its newness, the lines for the Cars Land rides are always extremely long, and the fastpasses tend to run out before lunch, so it was imperative that we get a fastpass first thing in the morning (elsewise it meant an hour and a half wait). I'd been on the ride once before, and while it is a very cute and fun ride, it is not worth the full wait. Fortunately, we managed to get the passes and get through the line in about 15 minutes.


Radiator Springs Racers

Hollywood Tower of Terror

 

   California Adventure was wonderfully empty in the morning, so we actually got through most of the rides before stopping for lunch at the Pacific Wharf Cafe (Clam Chowder and Chicken Salads for everyone!). It started becoming more crowded around 1pm, so as soon as we'd been on all the main rides in that park, we moved over to Disneyland.
     We made a quick stop at City Hall to get some celebration pins - Becca got one for her birthday, Eric got one for it being his first visit, Becca and Eric got ones for being newly engaged, and we all got the simple "celebrating" pins. I think I've mentioned this before, but for those who don't know - there's a unique pin for almost everything (from birthdays to just married to first visit to anniversary, etc). These pins don't entitle you to any special line-jumping privelages or free goodies, but they do entitle you to special treatment during your visit. Wherever you go, cast members will wish you a happy birthday or congratulate you, etc, making you feel just a bit more special on your special day.
    The rest of the day seemed to go by in a flash. We managed to work out our fastpasses perfectly and didn't have to wait more than 20 minutes for any one ride - we even managed to get on a few rides without waiting at all. Another tip - when in Disneyland in the wintertime and the sun has gone down, people generally avoid rides which may get them wet. Seems obvious, I know, but I'm always amazed at the complete lack of people taking advantage of this fact. We were able to walk onto Splash Mountain without any wait at all. (At this point, my dad wasn't feeling too great, and decided not to go - which made me rather sad, since I know this is one of his favorite rides) We broke out our ponchos (I would recommend everyone bring a poncho when going to Disneyland for this very reason!) and piled onto the ride, Becca in the front, and Jessica in the back. We all tried to cover ourselves as best we could to avoid getting wet, but we had no idea how far Eric had gone to this end until we saw the picture.

 

 

    After burning through the rides and our fastpasses, we went back to CA to partake in the Mad T Party. CA allows alcohol, so it's no surprise that they have a section of the park with a club-like atmosphere. The Mad T Party hosts a variety of DJ's and performers as well as provides a bar with some specialty drinks. We each got a drink, which came in cool light-up martini glasses, and took a minute to check out the party before moving on. With only an hour before World of Color, we had to rush through dinner, eating at the little Italian joint at the end of Paradise Pier, and then rushing over to find a viewing point.
    World of Color is the one thing that my parents had never seen before that I though they would love, so I was very insistent that they see it at least this once. My mom really seemed to like it, as did my dad (although he will never admit it, he was totally singing along to the music). They still haven't added anything from Wreck it Ralph, which made me a little sad, but I suppose it would get to be too long if they added something from every movie.
    After world of color, we only had a few minutes to run back over to Disneyland for the holiday fireworks. I love fireworks, and have to admit that I've been to Disneyland several times this past year JUST for the purpose of getting a sundae and watching the fireworks. The holiday fireworks are always fun, mainly because it snows at the very end while playing White Christmas. It is truly very magical and is enough to get even Scrooge McDuck into the holiday spirit.

Waiting for Fireworks

   After the fireworks, my parents decided that they would soon be calling it a night, but the rest of us decided to go on a few more rides. We hopped back over to CA to go on Tower of Terror one more time. This ride was the source of a lot of fun moments - in the one case, right after the ride ended and the elevator doors opened, the bellhop rushed in and yelled the equivalent of a "BOO!". The second time, while our bellhop was checking our seatbelts, a second bellhop ran past, flailing his arms and screaming. Then, when the ride was over, he asked if we all wanted to go again, since it was only a few minutes till closed. It was awesome :)

Small World Holiday - prettiest at night.

Hollywood Land at night.
I love the way the lights are reflecting on the rain-soaked road.

    We meandered back to Disneyland and went on Becca's favorite ride (Alice in Wonderland), then decided to check out a few more Fantasyland rides. We had time for one more, so we debated then decided to go on Thunder Mountain Railroad one more time. There was absolutely no line, which was awesome, and it a great ride to end on. (We would have preferred Space Mountain, but it always has the longest line, even at closing time).
    The park/rides were closed, so we decided to do some Christmas shopping (Main Street stays open for an hour after closing, which makes it the perfect time to shop.. also, the perfect time to take pictures and wander around since the park is mostly empty). Then it was finally time to walk back to the hotel. We were all exhausted, and definitely looking forward to sleep. Unfortunately, no sooner had we left the park, then it started to pour. We still had 3 of the ponchos, but there were 4 of us, so in the end, one of us had to get wet. I'm sad to say that I was that person. By the time we got back, I was a soggy mess. Still.. it was a good day.

Soaked

Celebrating 9 Years Together!

    So, as some of you may know, J and I have known each other for a long time - about 11 years. We met in high school and became very close friends, but it wasn't until after graduation that J finally asked me out. He was at school in Los Angeles (UCLA) and I was still back home (SJSU), and it wasn't until he returned home on Halloween that we were able to actually see each other again. So, while we'd been talking (and flirting) for hours and hours online and on the phone for a few weeks prior, we still count Halloween as our official anniversary. 

    Of course, this year, Halloween fell on a Wednesday, so J had to work. So we made plans to have a nice dinner out! We dressed up and walked over to one of our favorite restaurants, Granville. We each ordered a drink, a yummy Tipsy Lemonade for me and a Beer for J, and many many toasts were made. J was so sweet that night. He told me how much he loved me and called me the girl of his dreams. I've never felt so special :)

    After a wonderful (and delicious) dinner, we walked back to the apartment and watched one of my favorite Halloween movies from when I was a kid. It was a wonderful night!

J and his fish dish!

   That weekend, we'd originally had plans to go to Disneyland with a few friends, but due to some sort of miscommunication, our friends couldn't go. I was supremely disappointed, but J just said not to worry and that we could still go to Disneyland, just the two of us.

    So, Saturday morning, we woke up early and made our way to Anaheim! We headed straight for California Adventure, since J had never been before. I was excited to show him my favorite spots, and to introduce him to this awesomely laid-back yet fun park. Our first stop, was to check about getting fast passes to the new Cars Land "Racers" ride, but in observing that there was a huge line just to get passes, we decided to pass it by. We rushed over to the California Screamin coaster and made it onto the ride in under 20 minutes.

In line for the rollercoaster!

    That pattern continued for most of the day, with us managing to get onto most of the rides with minimal wait times, and without really needing a fast pass. We hit all the big rides - Screamin', Soarin', Midway Mania, and Tower of Terror. J dragged me on to the ferris wheel, which I am somewhat terrified of (weird, I know, considering how much I love rollecoasters). There were a few young girls on the ride with us who were also rather scared, which made me feel a little bit better and not quite so pathetic. As payback, I dragged him on to The Little Mermaid and also told him that I was going to drag him to City Hall later to get special Anniversary pins ;)

In line for Toy Story Midway Mania!
Jeff won the game, but it was super close at the end.

The only two with our hands up : ready for Tower of Terror!

    After going on all the main rides, it was time for a bit of lunch! We meandered over to the Pacific Wharf since it offered a ton of different food and drink options. We both ended up going to the Pacific Wharf Cafe, where everything is served in a delicious Boudin bread bowl. 

J brought an Oktoberfest at the Karl Strauss beer truck, and I got the classic margarita at Rita's.
The beer was apparently just okay, but the margarita was pretty tasty - though not very alcoholic.

    I got the Chinese Chicken Salad in a bread bowl (left) and J got the Santa Rosa Corn Chowder in a bread bowl (right). The presentation of these was beautiful, which is why I really needed to take the pictures. The salad was delicious, the only difficulty being that the bread bowl made it difficult to get past all the toppings and to the actual salad - it was overflowing! I don't generally like soup or corn overly much, but J's corn chowder was delicious! The only complaint, which isn't even a complaint, was that it was too much food! We ended up with about a quarter of a bread bowl left over, but no space in our bellies.

    After lunch, we checked out the Muppet show in Hollywood Land, which I love - despite the very annoying 3d character thrown into the mix. Then it was time to head over to Disneyland! When we arrived, it was immediately clear that something was going on. Turns out they were filming the Christmas Day Parade, and by the time we showed up, they were filming the special performances - I couldn't identify the group, but I'm assuming it was a Disney Channel group of some sort. 

    We marched straight past the crowds and into Tomorrowland, on a mission to get to Space Mountain. The lines were much longer over here, so we decided to go ahead and get a fast pass (the first!) and then head on over to Star Tours (since J hadn't been since it changed). The wait was long, but the ride was fun! Next up was the Matterhorn, which had just been refitted with new cars. I'm not sure whether it was the new cars, or just that it's been way too long since I've been on this, but it felt much bumpier and a bit slower than I remember. Anyone else notice this? 

    We had a bit more time before our fast pass could be used, so we trekked across the park and got in line for the Haunted Mansion! I LOVE the Haunted Mansion at holiday time, mainly because of how it's decorated. Hundreds of candles and jack-o-lanterns that light up at night, as well as all the Nightmare Before Christmas touches, make the Mansion look even more spectacular. The ride is fun too ;)

I had to take a picture of this marker @ The Haunted Mansion.
For those of you who don't know, my family's dog Buddy, died last year..
and he  was definitely "our best friend until the end" Love you Buddy!

    Finally, it was time for Space Mountain! So, we hopped on the Disneyland Train (because, who doesn't like trains?) and enjoyed the ride back to Tomorrowland. It was still in Halloween "Ghost Galaxy" mode, which was fine with me, since I hadn't had the chance to go during Halloween time. I can't say I was a huge fan of the "GG" version..  The graphics were a bit cheesy, and I much prefer the original music to the "spooky" track, but it is still an awesome ride, and probably the fastest in the park. LOVE it!

    We exited through the arcade, and were excited to see that they had added a bunch of "Fix it Felix" games - We had just seen Wreck it Ralph the night before, and loved it! Unfortunately, we couldn't linger too long, since we'd made reservations for a nice Anniversary dinner. Originally, we had tried to get reservations at the Blue Bayou, but they were filled and there would definitely be a long wait if we went without. So, we switched it up and made a reservation at the Wine Country Trattoria over in California Adventure, and I am glad we did. On the way over, we stopped by the City Hall to get Anniversary pins, which made me super happy. 

I absolutely love them! And they are great little souvenir!
As J would say "we're 9!"

    When we arrived at the Trattoria, they seated us right away. I was a little sad that we were seated inside since it was such a beautiful night, but it turned out great. We each ordered an entree along with the suggested wine pairings - J got the fish of the day with Citrus Pesto paired with Sterling Vineyards Chardonnay, and I ordered the Shrimp Scampi Tagliatelle paired with Buena Vista Chardonnay. No sooner had we ordered our food and been served our wine, the extremely generous man sitting at the table behind us asked if we would like the rest of their bottle of wine, since they were leaving and would be unable to finish it. It was such a nice gesture, and so nice to see further proof that there are genuinely nice people still left in the world :)

The delicious bottle of Cab that we were given and my glass of Chardonnay.

    After dinner, it was show time. We hustled over to Paradise Bay to get spots for World of Color. I've seen the show a couple of times, but J had never seen it before, so I was excited for him to see it. I always get goosebumps just watching the first little segment, just purely because of the colors and the cool floating effects. I have to admit that I teared up a teensy bit when they started playing the music from "UP" and J and I swayed together when they played "So Close" from Enchanted. It was wonderful. I was rather hoping that they would have added a Wreck It Ralph segment (since they've added Pirates and then Brave), but I suppose it was perhaps too soon. Maybe next time??
    Then, it was time for dessert! So we went to one of my all-time favorite spots, that just so happens to originate from the Bay Area (where J & I come from) : Ghiradelli! Still stuffed from dinner, we decided to split a Sundae. We ordered a Mint Bliss - "One scoop each of mint chip and chocolate ice cream, topped with freshly made dark chocolate hot fudge, whipped cream, and an Intense Dark Midnight Reverie 86% chocolate square. It was amazingly delicious (especially the dark chocolate fudge). I did not manage to take a picture of this before we devoured it, but I feel the need to share someone else's picture, so you can see the amazingness.

I can hear you drooling ;)

    After the show, it was time to head back over to Disneyland so that we could catch the last showing of Fantasmic (which I haven't seen in many years). We arrived in New Orleans Square with about an hour to spare, so we decided to go on Pirates of the Caribbean before finding a spot. Unfortunately, this meant that we got stuck in the standing-room-only section, and my feet were less than thrilled. Fantasmic was awesome, as usual - I still say that the guy who plays the Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey who cues the fireworks from the top of the building has the best job ever! 

    With only an hour till closing, we rushed over to try and get on Space Mountain one last time. After about an hour of waiting - and a lot of whining and whinging by me - it was time to go home.. but not before getting a small souvenir!

Halloween Time at Disneyland

    Last week, I learned that a friend of mine from college would be going to Disneyland for their Halloween Party - for those of you who aren't in the know, in October, Disneyland gets all decked out for Halloween and for a few days during the week, the park closes early and a special party begins. 

A separate ticket is needed for the Halloween Party (which is part of the reason that I have yet to partake in the special event), but if you're ever tempted, here is what it gets you: This is the only time of the year that adults may don costumes and play in the park. Along with this special privilege, they also have trick-or-treating with lots of candy, dance parties, and a special parade and fireworks show (which is apparently amazing). 

    Also special for this time of the year (but free for everyone) is Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. This is also the month that Haunted Mansion is officially transitioned into Nightmare Before Christmas - which lasts through the beginning of January.

    But, aside from all this, what I love most about holidays at Disneyland is the decor...

Main Street is decked out in festive autumn orange yellow and red, every light post features the pumpkin Mickey, and hundreds of jack-o-lanterns adorn each balcony and rooftop.

At the statue of Disney and Mickey in front of the castle you will find pumpkins carved with characters to represent each individual land (here you can see Buzz Lightyear representing Tomorrowland).

    Anyways, as I mentioned before, a friend of mine was going, and since I have an annual pass and can go pretty much whenever, I decided to meet up with her for a few hours in California Adventure, so off I went.
    I am pleased to say that this park, despite it's slow beginnings, is slowly becoming my favorite. The recently (re)opened Buena Vista Street harkens back to a different era in Hollywood's history. All of a sudden, you've stepped into the 20's, from the Art Deco architecture, to the Red Car Trolley, to the classic characters all in their most dapper attire. As you stroll along the street, you come across the 5 and Dime jazz band cruising around in a classic car. All of a sudden, a second Red Trolley appears carrying a band of singing/dancing "Newsies" come to tell you about the news of the day and the story of Walt's journey to Hollywood.

     I ended up meeting up with my friend Aimee and her boyfriend Jared in Hollywood Land, which has several of my favorite places, and one of my favorite rides: Tower of Terror. We met in the Disney Animation building, where they were just about ready to head into the Animation Academy to learn how to draw Tigger.
    After the quick drawing lesson, I was surprised and excited to discover that they had never been to one of my favorite places in the building: The Sorcerer's Workshop. Many people, including myself, have walked past this spot and completely missed it. Right when you walk into the building, the Animation Academy is on your left, Turtle Talk on the right, but if you just walk straight towards the opposite end of the room, below the large movie screens, you'll see the sign for the Workshop.
    When you first enter, you'll notice several tables with paper and pencils and numerous spinning Zoetropes. Zoetropes are one of the earliest forms of viewing animation, allowing you to view multiple images in quick succession so that they appear to be moving. On the tables, you will find paper and pencils, and suggestions for how to create your own animation. From there, you can place them in the Zoetropes and watch the magic! There are several other cool examples of animating images within this room as well as a replica of the evil queen's magic mirror.

    The next room in the Sorcerer's Workshop is my absolute favorite: Beast's Library. This room is made to look like the Library from Beauty and the Beast, but also includes several beautiful details. Part of the magic of this room is its transformation. Most of the time, when you first enter, the room is dark.. The ruined portrait of the Beast hangs above a fireplace, and on the mantle is the Rose beneath it's glass case. If you watch the rose, it will slowly begin to drop its petals one by one. Then, when the last petal falls, the music in the room swells and the room begins to change. The room begins to glitter beneath the mantle, and magically spreads up and around, bathing the room in light. Suddenly the room is bright and warm, the fire is roaring, and the painting of Beast is returned to its former glory.

    The other bit of fun in this room is found at any of the reading stations placed around the edges of the room. Sit down at the chair and you will be greeted by Lumiere and Cogsworth, who will show you what to do. Have your picture taken, answer a few quick questions, and they will tell you which Disney Character is most like you! (Aimee got Maleficent)

    For the rest of this month (and, I believe, the next) there is a special exhibit being showcased in the main room of the Animation Building : The Making of Frankenweenie. Here, you will find a beautiful collection of models from the film, including dozens of miniature props, and several full sets complete with characters. 

The skeletal structure of "Sparky"

These images are just fragments of the Lab and Kitchen sets.

    My trip to California Adventure is never complete without a trip to three places: Ghiradelli, Boudin's, and this fabulous gem of a store, Off the Page. I love Off the Page because it caters to what I love to buy - Art and "making of" books. They also have a collection of art prints, an artist who will draw and personalize character drawings for you, and numerous other special collectibles. If you are a fan of the art of animation, this is definitely a good place to check out.

    Another Disneyland excursion (with J this time!) is planned for next weekend, so keep an eye out for more!