Warcraft, Disneyland and Beaches Final Thoughts

If you want to see pics of the trip, just click on my homepage, go to Pictures & Videos and look for California Trip, November, 2017.

The trip was fun, but I think I will be skipping Disneyland for a while. I was more than ready to leave when we walked out for the final time. I do have two trips to Disney World coming up, so that may have something to do with it.

THE GOOD

Once again, it was amazing to see Disney through the eyes of someone who has never been. DR was pretty indifferent to Disney before the trip and couldn't understand my excitement. Now he just drinks in all the details when my daughter and I discuss plans for her wedding planning trip in Disney World. DR's kids will be with us during her actual wedding trip in October, and he can't wait to show them this whole new world. A dazzling place I never knew . . .

I love the fact that DS27 drove 6 hours to spend a few days at Disneyland with me, keeping the tradition of riding BTMRR with him going strong. He's the third generation of Disney lovers in our family, so we must be doing something right. :D Additionally, DDIL and her mother had a great time reacquainting her mom with Disney. I'm pretty sure it won't be another 20 years before she goes back.

Goofy's Kitchen - amazing as always. This was one of the biggest reasons that I chose to give Disneyland another try, and it didn't disappoint. We went twice this trip, and I still could have gone back a third time.

Downtown Disney Restaurants - Delicious food and great service at Jazz Kitchen, ESPN Zone and Rainforest Café. DR still talks about how great the food was at Jazz Kitchen. Another must-do that didn't fail us.

Beso del Sol - I was a little iffy about this place at first, but it turned out to be a wonderful, relaxing base of operations.

Fantasmic - the dragon is ALIVE! Enough said. The pirate ship was pretty cool too.

Surf City Nights - A great little street fair. I will definitely return if I go back to Huntington Beach.

Guardians of the Galaxy Dance-Off - This was a huge hit with everyone.

Star Wars character greets - With so many Star Wars fans in our group, this was a huge win.

Blue Bayou - the best atmosphere in all of Disneyland with a seat next to the water. I can still see the fireflies twinkling and hear the frogs croaking.

Soundsational Parade - DR was mesmerized by this. I was impressed with the way they blended the music from one song to the next.



THE BAD

No pants for sale - I really, really can't believe that there aren't any to be found any more.

Holiday season - The holidays at Disneyland were so hyped up that I was expecting something magical. Other than some Christmas decorations and changes to a couple of rides, there wasn't really anything new. I was pretty disappointed.

Photopass photographers - The quality of the pictures was pretty hit and miss. Also, they didn't offer to do any of the "extras". I had to ask them to do shots with the balloons, characters in the palm, etc - except for Groot. The photopass photographer in front of Guardians of the Galaxy was doing a great job with everyone.

Souvenirs - I wandered through World of Disney a few times and nothing really caught my eye. It seems like Disney stuff is getting more and more generic.

Downtown Disney's movie theater - I admit I am a little spoiled. Here in Phoenix, your movie theater can include reclining seats where you are practically lying down, a nice hot dinner delivered to your seat, fresh baked goods, and/or alcoholic beverages. This theater can really be updated to be more on par with those ideas.

Fantasmic Dining Package at the Hungry Bear - Ridiculous things like being able to get coleslaw and order a side of French fries, but not the other way around. Helping sizes that probably wouldn't satisfy my two year old granddaughter's appetite. Being directed to a line in a dark corner where you can't even see the menu. There's better places to eat at Disneyland.


THE UGLY
Some castmembers - Some of them were a new level of rude.

RunDisney - I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER be anywhere near a Disney park during a RunDisney event. The difficulty finding where you are supposed to park, the ridiculously long time to get there, the mass of people in the park making it difficult to even move around. Nope, not doing that again, ever.

Merchandise - there was some awesome stuff for kids, but no equivalent in adult sizes such as Star Lord's jacket in the gift shop at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy. I had two HUGE Guardians of the Galaxy fans, and they walked out of the gift shop empty handed. Everything they wanted was child sized.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Alamo Inn and Suites - a little older, but still very nice

Blizzcon- DR was in heaven

Old World Village - It was small but made for a very nice, relaxing evening.

The Lego Store - I still love the Maleficent dragon and Prince Philip on his horse.