It was Supposed to be Solo and Sweethearts Night COMPLETED

cruisehopeful

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 25, 2015
Welcome to my quick little trip report from my recent 2 night visit to Disneyland! While it will be short, hopefully you'll find something interesting in my stay at the Villas at Grand Californian, my yummy eating experiences and/or Sweethearts Night.

The background for this trip is that I have been very overworked/overscheduled in life. I have a very good life and I am one of the most fortunate people that I know. With that said, I like to keep busy and have a tendency to overschedule my life. It keeps me out and active and social, but it also makes "getting away from it all" extremely difficult. It isn't unusual for me to drive up to Disneyland for an afternoon, but it is rare that I actually stay overnight. I always want to stay overnight, but due to having a full schedule and having multiple dogs at home, it just isn't practical to stay away for too long.

I used to own at the Villa's at Grand Californian and would have kept it if I was the type to plan my trips 11 months in advance, but I am not. I am more of a couple weeks out to a few months out type of person. For some reason, when I read that the Disneyland Hotel was going to build a DVC building, I was 99% convinced that I was going to buy it. In the fantasizing stages of that, I thought that maybe I'd just buy VGC again since it's closer to the park and I do believe that DCA is my favorite park at this time. I looked into buying VGC again, was able to make an offer on a 125 point contract when reality set in and I realized that I'd still need to plan my stays 10-11 months in advance which isn't normally possible. After crunching some numbers, I came to the conclusion that I'd probably be better off just paying the rack rate of $700+/night to stay in the hotel. I've never allowed myself to pay that much for a nightly stay because it's ridiculous and I have Hilton points where I can stay for virtually free. However, staying at the Grand is something that I
love and it takes my little escapes to a whole different level. Looking at the overall numbers and the reality of how I vacation and I see myself doing things over the next 5-10 years, it's makes more sense that I would not buy VGC and I would allow myself to pay $700.-$1,000./night to stay in the hotel (looking at staying 1-4 nights over a year). After discussing with my husband, he was relieved that I was going that route vs. buying the timeshare again.

Just a couple days after making that decision, I saw an ad for a 2 night stay in a studio at VGC for Feb.12-14. The cost for the 2 nights was less than what I was expecting to pay for a one night stay in the hotel. I checked my schedule book and saw that I was open for those 3 days. I decided that I'd go ahead and rent it out and really allow myself to be there rather than always just going for a few hours or a day and having to be mentally on the way the home most of the time. My husband was toying with the idea of coming up for a night without taking time off from work and I wasn't sure that it would work out because it would involve driving 90 miles during bad traffic time, but he said he didn't mind.

It was about a month after that when I saw that Disneyland was going to have an After Dark event called
Sweetheart's Night for the 2 nights that I was going to be there. I decided to go ahead and buy 2 tickets for the first night. I know my husband was considering driving up for that night and even if he didn't end up coming along, my daughter who lives in Long Beach might be able to attend. If she didn't, well, that's just $109. down the toilet, but I thought I should have the extra ticket vs. waiting to be sure someone was coming and then have the event sold out.
 
Hmm, 91 views and no comments. I know, I know.... I am slow to get to the point but hopefully it will be interesting to someone somewhere. :P

I have the type of life where my schedule fills up and my plans often change when I plan something out in advance. This was no different. About 6 weeks before this visit, I had a class change and when I originally booked this stay, I wasn't going to have school the Wed - Fri that the stay was for, but now, I had school from 9-3:30 on Wed and Fri. Determined to make it work, I figured I cut out early on Wed and get to school late on Fri, and still have plenty of Disney time, especially since I was primarily going to be solo - which is very efficient! And I love my solo time at Disneyland.

Teacher had other plans and the week before my trip, I found out that we were going to be on a field trip out in a canyon. We are studying herbs and plants and what you can use for food/medicine, etc. This field trip is one of the most important things of the entire class. I spoke to the teacher and found out that I could leave the field trip early and help avoid some traffic to Disneyland and not really miss much of my class. It was just a bit extra packing for me because I'd need to dress in hiking gear and pack my lunch for the field trip that day, have my suitcase and all my Disney stuff ready in the car and also have my normal classroom stuff packed in the car for when I'd be driving home on Friday.

o_O I was determined to do it and I kept reminding myself how much I love my class and how much I love VGC and Disneyland. It wasn't going to be the way I'd imagined it, but it would still be AWESOME.

I packed my car with almost everything Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, I was pretty much all set. I just knew I'd be a little messy from a field trip in the field (complete nature, no toilets, no water), but I'd have to backtrack if I was going to go home before going to Disney and that would take another hour or longer, so I put a change of shoes in the car (didn't want to trek through Disneyland in hiking boots) and off I went.

In fact, now's a good time to test and see if my photos will work. I saved everything in Google photos, but I don't see an easy way to link that here. Umm, not sure it looks like how it's supposed to look, but there's some Black Sage which I was told can be rolled up and put up my nose to make breathing easier when going up a hill. I did in fact put it up my nose and I while I was still winded going up the hill, when I took it out, I felt like my nose closed off. So, it was helping keeping it open!

I had a very uneventful drive which was appreciated. It's about a 90 mile drive and I left the San Diego area around 1:00pm. When I drove into the Grand's parking lot, I expected the CM in the hut to check my reservation, but she didn't. I told her I was going to self park and she just told me to make a UTurn and park across the street. I had a roller bag and I was fine with rolling it with me from the car. The other CM in the hut asked me to wait a minute so he could admire my car. That's when I remembered that I have an IronMan car and I was at Disneyland. I knew when I bought the car, that it would be a bit of a spectacle when I parked at Disneyland. I always forget that it's and IronMan car until someone asks me about it.

After parking and walking back, which by the way, I had to go through a locked gate which said to use my room key to get through (I hadn't checked in yet), but there were CMs coming and going and I got through with one of them, I checked in and that went smoothly. Since I was staying in the villas, I had free parking. My husband was coming later and my daughter the next day and I was handed 3 keys with my name and "self parking" on them. Wow! Free parking for 3!?!?! It made me start to rethink buying VGC again, just to save on the parking.... hmmm...

My room wasn't ready and it was about 3:30pm. I was told I'd get a text when it was ready. I am very used to that at the Grand, so it was expected. I didn't want to check my luggage and I was hungry so I thought I'd check out this Craftsman that I heard so much about. I was a little off put when I realized that it was White Water Snacks with a name change. We love White Water Snacks. How can I accept this change? It better be good. >:(

I was extra hungry and when I am extra hungry, I eat cheeseburgers. It's literally the only time that a cheeseburger sounds and tastes delicious to me. The description made it sound like a very gourmet burger and I tell you, it did not disappoint! It was fabulous. Of course, I got the text about the room being ready as soon as my burger was served, but I was in no hurry to unload in the room when I had a very yummy burger staring me in the face! Look at this beauty. And, yes, I would drive 90 miles to get another one without going to the parks or staying at the hotel.
Description from the Disneyland website:

Cali-Grilled Angus Cheeseburger

8-oz Burger with Grilled Asparagus-Celery Salad, Spiced Hollandaise, Swiss Cheese, and Artichoke Aïoli with choice of French Fries or Fruit

$16.00
 
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Interested to see how this turns out!
Thank you! I was just typing an update and commented that nobody had commented while you were posting. I keep think I have more time than I do, but for some reason I really wanted to post a trip report about this. Stay tuned!
 


That burger looks amazing! I haven't checked out White Water Snacks since it was renovated, so I didn't realize there was a name change! I'll have to check it out. Also, I really want a picture of your car now...
 
Also, I really want a picture of your car now...
I will post the car at some point. I've learned from following reports by @franandaj that it's okay to take a break from the trip report once in a while to post a real life update. I will get some photos and post them in this report.
 
After a very satisfying moment with my cheeseburger, milk and water, I decided to head to my room so I could drop off my bags and get inside the park!

It's been a few years since I've stayed in the timeshare rooms at the Grand. I've been in the hotel rooms, but haven't been in a Villa since before the renovation. I had a second floor studio unit and it was absolutely gorgeous when I turned the lights on. It was almost pitch black without the lights and it was only 3:30pm in the afternoon. I had a nice view of Redwood Creek Challenge, which meant I didn't have any direct sunlight coming in. I had a large balcony and the view made me feel like I was staying at a National Park. It was very magical to have 2 of my favorite things going on - Disney and a National Park. Looking at the room had me longing for owning there again.

Here's the view from my balcony:

And here's some of my room:

When I saw the robes in the closet, I was convinced I wouldn't leave without buying points here again. I love this place, but I was able to keep reminding myself that I don't plan my stays far enough in advance to make owning there a valuable use of my vacation money.

And it's the little things, like the step stool under the sink that bring me warm and fuzzy feelings. My kids are adults now and I have no use for the step stool, but seeing it gave me flashblacks of staying on property when my kids were little and just how much fun we all had.

I don't usually post pictures of myself, but there's some accidental selfies there, lol.
 


Loving your report so far!

Did you book the Villa through a private transaction, or did you use an agency? I love the GCH, but like you, don't like to schedule my trips SO many months in advance. The one time I had rented points I had to cancel due to a family emergency. I'd love to try to stay again someday.
 
Loving your report so far!
Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying it.
Did you book the Villa through a private transaction, or did you use an agency?
I booked directly from an owner who advertised the reservation. It was a reservation already booked. I didn't choose the dates. Like you, I fear having to cancel if I book out too far in advance and hesitate to rent that far in advance. I've been watching posts (on another forum) for reservations for rent for quite a while, hoping to catch something that I can use.

There is another one listed for a couple nights in May, but I actually won't know if I will be able to use that one until close to the end of March. It will likely already be rented by the time I know if I can use it.

While I am not going to purchase in the next couple years, I am using this time to gauge if it is something for me to revisit. There's a spreadsheet/calculator posted in the purchasing DVC forum and it looked like I wouldn't break even until 15 years from now based on how I'd be using it. That kind of helps reel me back from buying, but I am still on the edge of my seat waiting to hear about the new building at DLH.
 
After successfully dropping off my bags in my room, I was ready to go enjoy some alone time in DCA! My favorite ride is Guardians of the Galaxy and I rarely ride it (which is probably why it's my favorite) because I am often with someone who doesn't want to ride it. The line is normally too long for me to go ride it by myself. I decided to head over there to at least grab a fast pass and possibly ride from stand by while waiting for my FP time.

The FP return time was about 10 minutes away and the stand by line was 30 minutes. That was a very delightful surprise. I grabbed a FP and loitered in the area, checking email, etc for 5 minutes until I could get in the FP line. Rocket was not working and for the first time, I saw him on the video instead of the robotic character. The video scene ended with a reference to "Hit me with your best shot" and I wondered if that meant we were going to get that song. We actually did get that song.

When I got off the ride, the standby time was now 15 minutes. I rode Guardians 2 more times and had the other line (the one with the stairs) and Rocket was working on that side, so I wasn't able to see if the video would tell me which song I was going to get again. I had Free Ride those 2 times and the last time I rode it, I was surrounded by screamers and I decided not to go again as the screaming hurts my ears a lot and takes away the entire ride experience for me. Plus, I didn't want Free Ride 3 times in a row. I think I had been in the park for about 90 minutes at this point and had been able to ride Guardians 3 times, which was well worth the entire for me.

I made it a goal to get a picture of Stan Lee.
Since I've been home, I watched a Marvel documentary on Disney + and Stan Lee said that he changed his name to Stan Lee when comics were considered to be a really bad job and he didn't want his name associated with comics anymore, so he changed his name to Stan Lee so no one would know he wrote comic books. We all know how that turned out... :rotfl: I supposed those who believe that when you change your name, you change your destiny could use that to prove their point.

Never really noticed the weapons on the wall before entering the office.

I still had some time before my husband would be joining me for Sweetheart's Night, so I decided to head over to the single rider at Radiator Springs. My first ride there was walk on. The second one, I had to wait about 10 minutes to board and we were stuck for a while at this part:
The ride was never announced as being down, but we were stuck there for a really long time. I was asking people in the car if they've ever been stuck that long - nobody had. I thought we were going to be walked off and then finally we were moving again. The pictures were down and were covered up so it didn't look like they'd be up today at all.

My husband called me and told me where he was on the freeway so I could estimate when he'd be arriving. I told him how to park and do call me when he parked so I could meet him in the lobby at the Grand. My solo time was almost over, but I was looking forward to see what
Sweetheart's Night would be like. I have done several after hours events in the past, often not having any idea what to expect and I've always had a good time.

By this time, it was getting dark and I wanted an espresso drink and some type of dessert. I went to Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe to see what my options were. I felt like I wanted some ice cream, but I knew it would get cold fast and I had an outdoor night ahead. I didn't see anything at Starbucks that drew me in so I looked at the candy shop and after some agonizing thinking time, I went with the Peanut Butter Sandwich, which I've had and enjoyed several times before. This time, it had whole peanuts in it, which was new for me. I also grabbed a new drink at Starbucks that had espresso, almond milk and honey. I was going to ask for less honey, but the cashier told me that it wasn't a very sweet drink, so I just had them make it regular. I normally don't have any sweet stuff in my espresso drinks. It was good.
I sat just outside of Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe to enjoy my dessert and espresso drink and a lady came quickly up to my table, almost shoving her finger in my drink asking me where I got my Starbucks from. I said right inside there and pointed behind me and she asked again, seemed confused or disbelieving and I said Yes, they have a Starbucks inside there. That's when I realized that there isn't good signage for Starbucks, really. In spite of the fact that I go there almost every time that I visit DCA, when I want an espresso, it's one of the last places I think of going to get one when I am scanning my memory of where I can get one. :scratchin

I did a little window shopping on Buena Vista Street and decided to head on back to the Grand as I was expecting my husband to arrive soon. He called on my walk through the turnstile back to the hotel and said he was at the parking lot. I told him I'd be in the lobby. :lovestruc
 
One of the things that I do when I sit in areas like this (The Grand lobby) which have really high ceilings is look to see how many balloons are up there. Today, there were 2.

My husband walked into the lobby within 5 minutes. We went to the room to unload his stuff and I grabbed my paper tickets for Sweetheart's Night. After having one experience where my ticket purchase disappeared from my account a couple months before I used them, I always print out my tickets now. Disney was able to locate my purchase that time, but it involved me standing at the ticket window and that is one of my least favorite things to do at the parks.

He was hungry, so we went to Craftsman again and he got the same burger only without most of the stuff because he can't eat gluten or nightshades. It was right around 9:00pm by this time and we exited through DCA and walked to the Disneyland gates. They had plenty of gates open and since it was after 9:00pm when we got there, our line moved pretty quickly. We were issued wristbands and a neck thing (sorry, name escapes me right now) and a map.


Having literally no idea what to expect, I realized that I did in fact have some expectations. I thought there'd be a lot of special treats and special merchandise. There really wasn't much special. From what I could tell, all the "special" things were character meet and greets. That isn't something that I do when I go to Disneyland. I know we all have different ways of unwinding from our busy lives when we go to Disneyland, but mine isn't waiting in a line to get a picture with a character. There were even long lines where there weren't any characters, but later I saw that those were areas where characters were eventually going to be.

Mainstreet was decked out with Valentine lights.
https://imgur.com/DJ1mlTs

While we were just barely walking down MainStreet, we heard the announcement for the fireworks. I stood to watch and my husband found part of a bench that people were nice enough to share with him. The fireworks were very good. I like Halloween fireworks the best, but this was also very fun and festive. I didn't attempt to take pics with my phone. I wanted to just enjoy the experience.

When that ended my husband said he wanted to go to Star Wars land. I know that's not what that area is called, but it's what my family calls it. Knowing there was actually nothing he'd want to do when we went there I asked if he was sure he wanted to go there (he's been before) and he said yes that he really wanted to walk around there. As we walked around there and looked at shops, he finally said he was looking for a particular style baseball cap. I told him if they had it, it was probably at Star Traders in Tomorrowland. He didn't want to go there. His knees were bothering him and he was already running out of energy. He did already work a full day and drive up here in after work traffic, which is exhausting.

The map said something special was going on at IASW, so we headed over there. Nothing looked special and characters were supposed to be there, but there weren't any. I thought maybe they'd be inside the ride? I'm used to after hours events being very well themed and I was feeling really let down and like I wasted my money buying tickets to this. We got in line for the ride and it was sooo slow. It was taking a very long time and as we got closer, we could see why. They were sending couples out in their own boats. So, yes, 2 people per boat. Eventually after quite a long wait, a CM came up to the line and told us that they weren't going to do 2 per boat anymore that they were going to fill all the boats. We were very happy to hear that so that we'd get going sooner!


There was nothing different/special about the ride and I was confused because the map said there was something there. When our boat came out to unload, we saw a live band playing in front of IASW and the prince/princess couples were out dancing with all of the public. It was very cute. Snow White was dancing with her prince and then they split up and each danced with people from the public. It was just too hard to get pictures and by this time, my husband was having a lot of difficulty walking/standing. I could see where this would be fun for people who enjoy ballroom dance and who enjoy character meets. Lots of people looked like they were having a blast.

My husband pretty much used up all his knee energy walking through Star Wars Land and then waiting in the really long line at IASW. He asked if I could leave him at a bench somewhere while I go ride some rides and I told him no, we would just start heading back to the hotel, but I'd be looking at shops and trying to find a special treat on the way out. I looked at Jolly Holiday and saw that they didn't have anything Valentine themed. I figured there would be something in Candy Palace, but nope. I walked through all the shops on the way out and didn't see anything, but there was a trunk show with some jewelry that I was looking at and thinking about. It was past my bedtime, I was tired and my husband was stiff and in pain and the people working the trunk show never stopped talking to me about the jewelry and I didn't feel like I had a chance to check in with myself to see if I truly wanted anything and what it would look like on me, etc. I need my check in time with myself before I buy anything so I know if I will really use it.

As we walked back to the hotel, everything was closed and it was so weird. Hardly any people anywhere and all the stores and carts in DTD were closed. I haven't had that experience in many years and it was a little creepy. It was midnight when we were back at the room.

I felt like there was nothing special for this event. If I liked waiting in line for characters or if I loved ballroom dancing, it may have been more fun. For me, it would have been better to not buy a ticket and just visit DCA or Downtown Disney that night. Maybe even stay in the room and read or something. I did a very good job of 'being away from home' and wasn't thinking about it at all or worrying about my dogs or anything. This may have been the first time I've ever been 100% mentally at Disneyland and away from home, if you know what I mean.

I woke up at 6:00am to music and thought it was a neighbor, but realized it was coming from the park, lol. It was a couple hours before we were both showered and ready to go get breakfast at Craftsman. I think I had early entry (7am) for Disneyland this day, but I wasn't going to use it because I didn't want my husband doing any extra walking before he was leaving to go home and to work.

For breakfast, I ordered Avocado Toast. It was spectacular! I highly recommend.. I also had a cappuccino.

Avocado Toast

Grilled Sourdough with Crushed Avocado, Poached Eggs, Pomegranate Seeds, Olive Oil, Pomegranate Drizzle, Parsley and Celery Leaf Salad
https://imgur.com/3jO9BniMy husband just wanted eggs and bacon and coffee. They had made sure that he was ordering exactly what he wanted with what I consider to be top level service.
https://imgur.com/4Hg3kun
https://imgur.com/hYphDTK
We picked a table and I went to get a cup of water which took a minute at the most and when I came back to the table, my cappuccino was magically there. It was MAGIC! I asked my husband how it appeared and he said it just popped up magically. I was giddy with excitement at this Disney magic. :laughing:

We grabbed a couple Chia Puddings on the way out because I've been learning a lot about Chia pudding in my herb class and they looked very healthy. They are also Vegan friendly for any vegans who come across this post. My husband ate his in the room and I put mine in the fridge. I did have a bite of his and it is very good. Not too sweet and I like the consistency. Some people hate the consistency, but I do enjoy tapioca pudding and this is like that, only you also get to crunch of the chia seeds if you enjoy chewing your food.
https://imgur.com/ZKScL1O

It was time for my husband to leave, which meant it was time for me to get back to my solo trip! We walked to the lobby together and said our goodbyes. I went to DCA to enjoy some "me" time before my daughter was going to join me for a meal in the afternoon. I was completely feeling the vacation mode and loving it!
 
My daughter was going to join me for a late lunch because she was teaching fitness classes in the morning and in the evening. We planned on eating at the hotel to save her some time from dealing with parking since she only had a 2-3 hour window to visit due to traffic in the afternoon. I had some time to power through a few rides before she was going to arrive.

I decided to go on Soarin since the line wasn't too bad. While I was in the first indoor part of the line, a CM was walking up the line and asking how many in each party. I gestured one and he immediately pulled from the regular line and put in another line where I was the only person in that line. Made me think that there was a single rider line that I wasn't aware of.... Another CM got me right away, asked me if I was single rider and then took me down to where the line divides up for boarding the ride. He passed me to another CM, telling the other CM that was a single and this CM took a quick look at the loading area and asked me which row I wanted to be in. I said that I wanted to ride the highest level and he said okay, go in row one. I felt like a VIP being handed off so much and I never had to wait between hand offs. It was Disney magic at its finest. I've never felt so VIP boarding a ride at Disneyland before. It was a really fun way to start my day!. To top it all off, I was seated in the middle row and I had no bend in my view of the screen. That was the first time I've seen Soarin around the World without a bend at the top of the screen.

Afterward, I decided to ride the ferris wheel, which I still refer to as Mickey's Wheel of Death. I do not ride in the moving cages. I did that my first time on the ride and have only ridden in the stationary ones since. I mostly rode this today because it was early enough that the line wouldn't be too long and I rarely ride this ride.
From the top, I had a great view of the snow covered Matterhorn with a real snow covered mountain behind it off in the distance. I don't know if you can see that in this picture. I can, but I know what I'm looking for.
I thought I'd try my luck with getting a single rider/buddy pass at Toy Story Mania. I asked the CM at the front of the line if they were offering single rider and was told no. I decided to just do the line. I cannot remember how long the posted time was. I think around 30 minutes, but boy did it feel a LOT longer. I had a very loud, boisterous woman behind me in line who talked to her companion the entire time. I don't think I ever heard her companion say a word. She didn't seem to need a break from talking at any point. I almost offered to let them go ahead of me to keep the noise down, but wasn't sure that it would make any difference.

Once on the ride, I was having a good time until the first time that the ride broke. Would you like to look at this for about 10 minutes? I didn't time it, but that's what it seemed like.
The announcement came on a couple different times about how they are working on a fix, etc. and I decided to try to just center and do a little meditation in this noisy place, which is actually a lot easier than it sounds. When it was announced that the ride was going to continue, I was back in the game..... until it stopped again. At this point, I was thinking about how easy it is to look at a wait time for a ride and assume that it's doable when I am meeting someone later, but the reality is, there's no guarantee that the ride will be the time in my imagination because of all the variables. This set of waiting wasn't quite as long, but the VIP feeling I had from Soarin was gone. When I finally got off the ride, I had a text from my daughter saying that her boss gave her the evening off so she could spend the entire afternoon with me at Disneyland. WOOT! I don't get too see her or talk to her nearly enough. Disneyland is a meeting place for us, where we can hang out, do stuff together and catch up all at the same time. She was coming in hungry and I told her I'd be in the lobby at the Grand to meet her.

While waiting in the lobby, I fought the urge to pick up this telephone to see if it worked and where it was connected to.
It reminded me of way back when, I was a little girl at the time, Tomorrowland had telephones that you could pick up and listen to conversations from all over the world. It was one of the things that I always looked forward to at Disneyland. I did a little Google search to see if I could see old pictures of it, but I didn't find anything other than an old thread from here about 5 years ago where someone was asking about the phones. :guilty: At any rate, I didn't pick up the phone in the lobby.
Edit to add: Upon some further research to the Tomorrowland Phones, I see that they had prerecorded messages from the main characters and also phone booths where you could fit several people inside and call your friends and family who weren't at Disneyland to tell them where you were.
As soon as I greeted my daughter. I asked her how hungry she was since I was thinking I'd enjoy the flatbread at Alfresco Tasting Terrace. There's usually a wait and she was extremely hungry, so I told her we'd go to Craftsman, but I wanted to sit outside because it was such a beautiful day. She runs cold and there was a cool breeze, but the sun was warm, so if we could sit in the sun, we'd both be happy.
 
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We walked over to the Craftsman outdoor area and I asked if we could be seated in the sun and we were. I was now in party mode. One of main activities that we do together is eat and drink without thinking about how much money we are spending. It became a theme of our times together and since are times together are so infrequent, it doesn't bother us in the least. Meanwhile, when I eat out with anyone else, I am totally concerned about how much everything costs. :scratchin

Our waiter greeted us immediately and asked if we wanted waters, which we did. As he was turning to walk away, I quickly asked him if he could order us an appetizer right away. I said we hadn't looked at the menu, yet, and we were going to order more, but we wanted an appetizer right away. He said he recommended the Avocado Toast as an appetizer (turns out there aren't any "appetizers" on the menu) and I told him that was a good idea. Now, I had already had Avocado Toast at the indoor Craftsman for breakfast on this day, but was delicious enough to eat it for all my meals and my daughter hadn't been there this morning and I really wanted her to have some. While my daughter and I both generally won't try new things or exotic things, for some reason when we are together, we usually go with whatever our server suggests.... not sure why that is, but it mostly works out. It worked out beautifully this time. And as it turned out, lunch Avocado Toast from the outdoor menu is different than the breakfast Avocado Toast inside.
Avocado Toast
Soft Burrata, Pomegranate Seeds, Pomegranate Drizzle, Fried Parsley, Spiced Rice Paper, and Grilled Ciabatta Bread

$16.00

For drinks, she had the Kombucha Cocktail. Our server double checked with her that she had Kombuch before because I guess many people who haven't don't like this drink. She drinks Kombucha often.
Kombucha Cocktail
Tito's Handmade Vodka, St. George Bruto Americano, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup, and Suja® Organic Pineapple Passionfruit Kombucha™

$16.00

I asked for a blue drink and it turns out, they don't have any on the menu there. o_O I don't drink often, but when I do, I prefer blue drinks. No particular reason. Our server said he would have the bartender make me a Blue Hawaii. Yes, that was good to me. It turns out, he had to walk the bartender through making it. Our server used to tend bar in WDW and I guess the bartenders here didn't know how to make off the menu cocktails.

For food, I went with:
Black Truffle-charred Cauliflower Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Sourdough Bread, Charred Cauliflower, cheesy Béchamel, Black Truffles, and Pickled Vegetables with French Fries or fresh Fruit

$18.00
and my daughter went with:

Black Angus Flat Iron Steak Salad

Endive and Spinach Leaves, Sautéed Shiitake Mushrooms, Crumbled Eggs, Feta Snow, and Champagne Vinaigrette

$24.00
My sandwich was delicious. It came out way before my daughter's steak salad. Good thing we had the Avocado toast already on the table. Our server said the steak always takes a long time and he was getting upset by it. My daughter and I didn't really care since we had food on the table and she wasn't going hungry, but our server got more upset by it as the time passed. When it did finally arrive, we were both on our second drinks, another Blue Hawaii for me and I cannot remember what her next drink was, but it's in the picture with her steak salad. Everything was absolutely amazing. There goes another over $100 on a lunch with my daughter. We always say we are going to eat $100. soup and salad....This was my 4th visit to Craftsman in my less than 24 hours visit so far and everything was good enough to get it again. I am not much of a fan of the park food. This place could easily become my main dining area.

When we finished our food/drinks, we went to DCA. I told her we should go to Guardians because I had such good luck riding it yesterday. When we got there, the wait time was 35 minutes and got in line for it. When the ride was finished, the new wait time was only 15 minutes, so we got back in line to go again. I am sure that they must open up more elevators in the afternoon and that is why the wait time gets so short. It happened 2 days in a row now. We had an elevator full of screamers. I had to plug my ears for most of the ride. I am plugging my ears in the photo. I honestly think that people just like to scream. I don't see how that many people can scream that much on that ride.
After that, we went to Monster's Inc and the line was too long, so I asked for a Buddy Pass. My daughter said she never heard of that. That was odd because I get a buddy pass for that ride pretty much every time that I go there. I guess I only ride it with my other daughter and with my husband. My Disneyland visits are very different depending on who I am with when I go there.

Hmm, I don't know what is going on with the pictures. They aren't showing up for me, but when I click on them or copy them, they are right there. Hopefully, it's just a temporary issue that will resolve itself. I can see that I'll need to figure out a different hosting option if I post another trip report someday.
 
Great reports! I am hoping to get that grilled cheese next week when we visit.

I have never heard of a buddy pass, can you please tell me what that is?

Thank you!
 
Great reports! I am hoping to get that grilled cheese next week when we visit.
I very much recommend it. It's worth going out of the way to get it. I am a big fan of grilled cheese sandwiches in general and this one was one of the best I've ever had if not the actual best one I've ever had.
I have never heard of a buddy pass, can you please tell me what that is?
Buddy Pass is a pass that can be given to a single rider or a party of two. It will only let you board in the third row seat for the Monster's Inc ride. You can get it at the very beginning of the queue from a cast member by asking for one. They send you in through the exit, so you don't see any of the queue at all, but you are basically skipping the line and they put you in a car as soon as there is room in the third row.

I've also read that Buddy Pass is sometimes available at Toy Story Mania, but I have asked for it twice and both times was told, "We aren't giving those out today."
 
I very much recommend it. It's worth going out of the way to get it. I am a big fan of grilled cheese sandwiches in general and this one was one of the best I've ever had if not the actual best one I've ever had.

Buddy Pass is a pass that can be given to a single rider or a party of two. It will only let you board in the third row seat for the Monster's Inc ride. You can get it at the very beginning of the queue from a cast member by asking for one. They send you in through the exit, so you don't see any of the queue at all, but you are basically skipping the line and they put you in a car as soon as there is room in the third row.

I've also read that Buddy Pass is sometimes available at Toy Story Mania, but I have asked for it twice and both times was told, "We aren't giving those out today."
Awesome. I never knew about the buddy pass. Thanks!
 
Great report! I am glad you got to switch to vacation mode and really enjoy your visit. My mom and I do the same thing with meals on vacation - we don’t look at the prices and order as we like. It doesn’t feel like vacation if you’re worried over the cost!
 
After Monster's Inc, we both felt like going to Disneyland. We were looking at the jewelry and there are 2 necklaces that I've been wanting to buy for a while now. Often, when I wait to buy something, it is no longer available, but the 2 that I've been thinking about buying for a while were both still available. Since I look at them every time we are at Disneyland, my daughter was very insistent that I buy them. I knew that Haunted Mansion one was $100. but I didn't price out the AP one because it looks like rose gold and rose gold = $$$. I figured it would be more than I wanted to spend, but it turned out, it is only plated and only costs $125. Both are adjustable, meaning they can be clasped in different lengths. I tried them on together and decided to go ahead and get both.

We headed over Pirate's of the Caribbean which didn't have much of a line. Since I've read about the spilling bottle at the auction scene, we decided to look for that. For those who don't know what I am talking about, there was a recent thread here saying that a liquid spilled out of a "rum" bottle that a pirate was holding on the bridge at the auction scene. Someone replied saying that they saw it, too. Well, I've never seen that, so I was determined to see it this time. However, we watched that bottle through the entire scene and never saw anything come out of that bottle.

We looked through all the shops in NOS and I was starting to crave something sweet so we went to Pooh's Corner. Sometimes, when the Haunted Mansion is decked out for the holidays, the smell of the gingerbread house makes me crave gingerbread and I'll go to Pooh's Corner to get a gingerbread Mickey. I've read that it's only a seasonal item, but since I've never looked for it any other time, I wasn't totally convinced that I wouldn't be able to get one and that was sounding really good to me right now. Turns out, there was nothing like that there and we looked at all the other items and nothing called out to us, so we decided to check out desserts at other places. We looked at Rancho Zocalo and Jolly Holiday. Nothing was exactly what we were craving. I finally checked the app to see what was available back at the Grand since I had been getting such great food there and I saw Hearthstone had Creme Brulee and Chocolate Molten Cake, which both sounded good. We found a corner to sit in there and my daughter ordered the alcohol coffee drink on the menu, I got water and we ordered the 2 desserts that looked good on the app.

Vanilla Crème Brûlée

with Orange-Vanilla Biscotti and Marinated Raspberries
Chocolate Molten Cake
with Almond Brittle, Chantilly Cream and Coffee Sauce

$10.00
No picture of the coffee drink, but it looked like regular coffee. She said it was okay.
The Creme Brulee was very good and I recommend it.
The Chocolate Molten Cake was flavorless and not a texture that I was expecting. I was thinking more cakey and it was more solid spongy. I wouldn't get this again and I think we left half of it.

My daughter was planning on leaving soon and we went to the room (where she stored her leftover steak salad from lunch). She finished her steak salad and we hung out and talked for a while. Our time together is more about having time together than doing Disneyland stuff. We tend to meet at Disneyland because it's a good in between place where we can both be entertained and active. We only live a couple hours apart, but I don't sitting in a car to drive to a restaurant to sit to visit and then sit in the car again to drive home. We do that sometimes, but at least when we meet at Disneyland, we can walk around and do some other stuff and make the visit a longer one.

I sent her home with the Chia Seed Pudding that my husband bought for me the day before. It was after 8:00pm when she left and I thought about going to one of the parks for an hour or so, but decided that I was pretty satisfied with the rides I already did, the food I already ate and the necklaces that I already bought. I decided to stay in and read and go to sleep. It was actually a luxury to read. At home, when I crash and burn in the evening, I do that in front of the TV because I usually fall asleep in 30 minutes or so. I knew that in the morning, I'd have a bit of a rush. I was going to have early entry to DCA if I wanted to go in early, but I wanted to be on the road home (actually to school) around 9:00am. I left Disneyland before 9:00am on a weekday before and won't do that ever again! It look at least a half hour longer to get home and rather than sit in traffic on the freeway, I'd rather go on a ride or even just kick back at the hotel. Anything's better than stop and go traffic.
 

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