First Timers Visit Over Easter! Can we see it all? - Updated 2/9

[Jaina]

That chicken sandwich did look tasty! But it's always lame to pay premium prices for food when you're not actually hungry! I haven't ever had a macaroon. For some reason I associate them with marshmallow or coconut. Why is that? Big Thunder Mountain is one of my all time favorites, but I can't remember noticing any different in the one in WDW (I went when I was 15, which was a long, long time ago) except that the track was basically a mirror image, it seemed...

 

[cstorm65]

Enjoying this report so far. We are going to head west at some point in the next couple of years I think so we can experience those parks. I don't know that I've ever even had a Macaroon or that I can even describe what one is, but I'm definitely going to have to try one when we get out that way. You guys have sparked my interest!

 

[kastoney]

We were getting tired by now, I think we talked about going back to the hotel for a bit after this. I think the Jet Lag was still in effect.

I must be jet lagged too, because it is totally throwing me off to see the BTMR queue outside!

The view back across...

This looks much more entertaining than the swiss family robinson tree house. Wonder why they haven't updated it?

The girls said they wanted more Macaroons! So, we stopped at Jolly Holiday Bakery for more macaroons!

Wow, they certainly are macaroon fiends this trip. You should have titled your report First Timers Visit over Easter! Can we eat all the macaroons?

All of our food came in a large brown paper bag, so you could in theory eat it while you waited for the show to start. If you picked a later time. Which I had really wished we had done. Oh well. Hungry Bear was just ok. Probably the most unmemorable meal of the trip but it was the cheapest option for us to get reserved seating for Fantasmic. So, it was what it was.

That is kinda weird that they do a fantasmic dining package at a quick service. Weirder that you had to have a reservation. Not sure I get it, but I"m sure reserved seating was nice.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Those macarons look incredible!

Sorry Hungry Bear wasn’t excellent, it at lease looked Chick fil a quality, which isn’t good!

 

[amazingact21]

It did appear to be less crowded when you guys returned later that evening, which was probably a relief for you guys.

I know you had a dinner reservation to get to, but how could you pass up those macaroons? They looked delicious!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Not sure if I’ve commented here or not. Your trip reports are just delightful. Your love for your girls just shines through. I’m itching to get to DL. Enjoying seeing it through your eyes.

Thank you so much! I greatly appricate the kind words. We were talking about the trip this weekend, and I was saying I want to go back one day. It was really a great expierence to get to go do DL!

That chicken sandwich did look tasty!

It was tasty. I just wasn't super hungry yet.

I haven't ever had a macaroon. For some reason I associate them with marshmallow or coconut. Why is that?

So, there are 2 kinds of macaroons... The French kind that are different flavors and sandwich cookie like. And then there is the Coconut Versions... So, that might be why... There are 2 different spellings, and I honestly don't know which is which.

I don't know that I've ever even had a Macaroon or that I can even describe what one is, but I'm definitely going to have to try one when we get out that way. You guys have sparked my interest!

You can get on in France in EPCOT! They have a really good one with fresh raspberries in it! Or they have one in the gelato shop, with gelato in the middle. BOTH are delish!! You should def try one on your next trip. Which did I see you comment somewhere that you are going soon?

Wow, they certainly are macaroon fiends this trip. You should have titled your report First Timers Visit over Easter! Can we eat all the macaroons?

Ha! I should have!!!!

That is kinda weird that they do a fantasmic dining package at a quick service. Weirder that you had to have a reservation. Not sure I get it, but I"m sure reserved seating was nice.

It was kind of weird and I wasn't completely sure how to plan for it. Looking back, I should have done it closer to show time, and taken it to the seating area and just eaten picnic style instead of wasting time eating and then sitting down later. I also wasn't sure what would of happened if we came later than our reservation time.... It wasn't like they were saving us a table. But I didn't want to risk it. Rookie mistake... Oh Well.

Sorry Hungry Bear wasn’t excellent, it at lease looked Chick fil a quality, which isn’t good!

That being said, it was still GOOD. Which really just goes to show how good the food was in DL overall. And I always feel like if you aren't super hungry, food doesn't taste quiet as good.

I know you had a dinner reservation to get to, but how could you pass up those macaroons? They looked delicious!

It's vacation, why not? Right?

 

[missjackiemcg]

I spotted the light over the firehouse on the way out! I told Andy about it as we walked out. SO cool. It is such an "insider" things to see.

I am thoroughly enjoying Day one at Disneyland through your eyes! I cannot wait to see this with my own eyes someday. I bet I'll start crying immediately.

 

[missangelalexis]

The little ducks are so cute!

I'm sorry the dinner wasn't all that great, but hopefully was worth it for the Fantasmic package!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Macaron=sandwich type My favs.
Macaroon=coconut

 

[MissMaryQC]

That being said, it was still GOOD. Which really just goes to show how good the food was in DL overall. And I always feel like if you aren't super hungry, food doesn't taste quiet as good.

So I'm a dunce and it wasn't until I read this reply that I realized I wrote isn't instead of is... I meant to say it looked as good as Chick fil'A which is pretty tasty for fast food type stuff. I gotta type slower I make too many typos! But I agree if you're not hungry, even if it is tasty food, it's not good.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Morgan had her very first band concert! She did awsome! She decided to play trombone this year and has really enjoyed it.

Yay! Go Morgan! I love that she chose the trombone. It's such a neat instrument. But when I was her age going into band, all the girls seemed to want to play dainty little instruments like the flute. I did clarinet at her age, and I played till I finished high school.

We walked into this area and Gwen says... "Look Mom! Gorilla Butt!" Oye.

I spotted the light over the firehouse on the way out! I told Andy about it as we walked out. SO cool. It is such an "insider" things to see.

I love this.

I found it interesting that the Double Decker Bus was out in the afternoon, it is only around in Disney World first thing in the morning.

That IS interesting. I wonder why the difference.

The girls REALLY loved these!

So cute! Both the macarons, and your girls!

 

[vamassey1]

Here is Morgan and her friend Amira. 2 girls playing trombone have to stick together!

The girls also decided to join the summer swim team again this year. So, this week they started practice and it is every day after school. Morgan is doing great! So far the is holding her own.

Congrats to Morgan! My niece played the trombone. My daughters played the flute and my son the sax. I hope she sticks with it. I hope swim team is going well. I thinks it's great she's putting her self out there and trying again.

I actually wish we had ridden this a second time, I don't think we got the full enjoyment out of it. I think we were all tired at this point. I mean we had fun but I don't remember really the differences between it and Disney World's BTM.

I hate when trip exhaustion sets in. BTMRR is one of my favorites.

We ran into Tarzan's Tree House, so of course the girls wanted to explore it. Since it didn't have a line we said sure.

I would stop for this too.

We walked into this area and Gwen says... "Look Mom! Gorilla Butt!" Oye.

At the end of the tree house, there are a few interactive things. Which was nice. I found Mrs. Potts & Chip while the girls played with the interactive things. I loved that it was subtle.

I love all the details and hands on is the best.

This video was the hit of the area... It translated your words into "Ape". The girls thought this was hilarious!

I do too.

How did that work out?

Foreshadowing?

We checked out the magic shop, which was cool.

I think there use to be one in DW too but I don't think I ever went in it.

The girls said they wanted more Macaroons! So, we stopped at Jolly Holiday Bakery for more macaroons!

I can see why they wanted more. Danielle would love to have so many choices.

But on the way, to Hungry Bear, we saw these!

This is really just too cute!

They gave the girls Fantasmic Stickers, that Gwen really liked and I am not sure where they are now...

Very cool memento.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone! Sorry for falling off the face of the earth! End of the school year has been killer on me! Lots of things to do! But the girls are finally done! Of course, summer means camp and swim team. So, it is a whole new busy schedule! But I want to get this point again because I didn't take any notes for this trip, so I need to keep moving before all of the details get fuzzy!

Day One: Pirates, Happy Haunts & Fantasmic

I think I left us off finishing up our early dinner at Hungry Bear. We weren't really sure what we wanted to do after so we just headed out. We came up on Pirates, which doesn't have a maxpass on it at the time, so we decided to just get in line. It was moving fairly consistently, so we figured why not. I def wanted to give it a try.

Pirates of the Caribbean
I have to admit, I am very confused by the outside of this version.

We got into the courtyard area and all of a sudden we realized that we hadn't moved in awhile. Oye. And then Gwen decided she had to go to the bathroom. But I wasn't sure when the line would start moving again, we were really close to going inside. So, we waited it out. We started moving again after a little bit.

Pirates Loading Area
And were loading onto a boat shortly. Gwen really had to go to the bathroom and didn't really want to ride Pirates. She doesn't really like the Disney World one, we usually make her ride once a trip. So, combined she wasn't in a great mood.

Pirates Blue Bayou
It was cool going by the restaurant. It kind of made me wish we had done that instead. Next time!

Skeletons
Most of my pictures of this ride came out blurry, as I was basically just using my phone.

Pirates Ride
I enjoyed this version but I don't know if I can pick one as better than the other.

The Red Head
We got to see the Red Head one last time!

As soon as we got off the ride, I ran with Gwen to hit a bathroom. We had fast passes for Indian Jones next, so I told Morgan and Andy to meet us in front of there. Gwen and I ran "super" fast and made it to the bathroom by Alladin area. Was this a meet n greet area? It had one stall and thankfully it was empty!

After we headed back out and got in line for Indiana Jones. I didn't really know what to expect for this. Gwen and Morgan were on the fence on riding this, but we said they needed to try it once. I think when we were scanning our tickets, the CM told us it would be 20 minutes from her. Morgan turned to me and looked at me like we were crazy for making them do this.

Indian Jones Que
Seriously.... this que is crazy long!!!! It's not even that it goes back and forth but you can just tell that you are walking far milage wise!

Indian Jones Que
The que was really cool, with lots of themed stuff. Which was all creeping Gwen out big time.

Indian Jones Que

Indian Jones Que
Spikes!

We went down hallways.... upstairs... down stairs...
The longest Que Ever!
It felt like forever! But we made it to the ride vehicles! We got in a truck and we were off!

Gwen kept her eyes closed, and head down the entire ride! It was really fun but I wish we could have done it again, I was half worried about Gwen to really enjoy it. Morgan liked it enough to say It was ok. I take that as a win! Andy loved it! He said it was one of his favorites from the park!

Afterwards, I think I grabbed MaxPasses for Haunted Mansion. But Gwen was REALLY against riding and we had just dragged her on 2 rides she didn't want to do. So, I granted her this as a pass. So, I sent Andy and Morgan to ride. Which I let Gwen choose something...

To be Continued....

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day One: Pirates, Happy Haunts & Fantasmic Cont....

Tarzan's Treehouse... again...
Gorilla Book
She really liked checking the Gorilla Books this time around.

Gwen checking out the book

Jaguar

We made our way up and back down.

Gwen climbing the rope
And then let Gwen enjoy the games at the bottom.

Gwen climbing the pole
She made me take a picture with her on the rope "so it looked like she was really high up"

After we had our fill of fun in the treehouse, I stared us towards New Orleans Square area.
New Orleans Square

We explored the shops a bit.
Gwen admiring the shiny objects
We found a store with glittery things...

Jeweled Mickey & Minnie
Pretty sure Gwen could have spent hours in here looking at the stuff!

Castle

Meanwhile, Andy & Morgan went to check out DL's Haunted Mansion!
Haunted Mansion
I was def jealous! And spoiler alert, our time expired, so I didn't get to go. ;(

Stretching Room_02
The real stretching room.

Hat Box Ghost
And the Hat Box Ghost! Andy and Morgan said it was pretty much the same as Disney Worlds' one...

continued in next post...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day One: Pirates, Happy Haunts & Fantasmic Cont....

By now, it was getting close to Fantasmic time. And the girls were getting crabby! So, we decided to just go and find where we go in for the show. We found the CM taking tickets and we went into the Hungry Bear area. It wasn't too bad of an area. There was already people there for the front row. So we were second row-ish. It was getting cool and the girls were complaining.

Andy decided to try and go and get some churros for everyone. I passed, as I was still full from dinner. I was really wishing I had done a pick up time right before this, so we could have just brought it over and ate in the waiting area. Oh well.

Churro Dessert
The girls and Andy enjoyed there churros.

We did have to wait a bit but I think we were done by then anyway. Super tired. I think I took Gwen to the bathroom while we waited as well. And then, finally the show started. I really liked it! I think the girls were a bit over tired to truly enjoy it.

Fantasmic Rapunzel & Flynn

Fantasmic Snake
I really liked this snake! He was super cool.

Fantasmic! Monkeys
The monkeys even seemed cooler than the Disney World Version.

Fantasmic Pirate Ship
The Pirate Ship was amazing in the show!!! I know the peter pan version is missed by locals but it was still cool to see as pirates. The girls would have liked it better as Peter Pan for sure!

Fantasmic Dragon
And this dragon.... AMAZING!!!! Way better than the crappy one in World.

Fantasmic Woody
And the grand finale of the ferry boat..

Fantasmic Ferry Mary Poppins

Fantasmic Black & White Mickey
I loved the Black and White Mickey! I want to be able to meet him!

Fantasmic was great! I really enjoyed it! I think we were all super tired by now. So, we headed out. It had been a great day but we were all pooped! And we had 2 more days to go!

 

[cstorm65]

Looks like an awesome evening! Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, and Fantasmic! Great night at Disneyland!! I really can't wait until we get to the west coast both to ride some of the ones we are familiar with from Disney World and ride some of the ones we don't have like Indy. Also, Fantasmic looks awesome!

 

[Jaina]

Sounds like a nice busy day! It does make it hard when you have one or two that aren't feeling as adventurous as the rest... That is so great that you got to see Fantasmic! We've meant to the last two trips, but we ended up skipping it both times because it was just too late for 1-2 of our kids to be up. They don't sleep in, even at home. My little roosters are up before the sun even more on vacation! I'd love to see the new version though; it looks awesome!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a good evening! I'm sorry you missed out on HM. Disneyland's Fantasmic is so cool, I'm glad you got to see it !

 

[MeghanEmily]

What a busy day you had!! I really want to check out the Disneyland version of Pirates and Fantasmic. The Fantasmic show looked awesome! Especially the pirate ship and the dragon! I like that they have Rapunzel and Flynn, too!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Gwen and I ran "super" fast and made it to the bathroom by Alladin area. Was this a meet n greet area? It had one stall and thankfully it was empty!

Oh-there’s another bathroom right by the Pirates exit! I never really went into that area. I think at one time there was a mini show or story time. And then it was a meet and greet. Now it’s being changed to a food space (I think like Harambe, where you can get dole whips, bengal bbq, etc).