Bklyn Chick's DL Trip Day 3: 10/16/07

[BklynChick]

Woke up at 6:30am, went downstairs at 7am to have breakfast at White Water Snacks (can you tell we loved this place?), then walked over to DL at 7:40am to get on line for 8:00am Early Entry. Except....Early Entry doesn’t start till 9am. Ooops. Somehow I got my times mixed up, or maybe I’m just used to EE at WDW. Oh well, went back to the room for a bit before heading out at about 8:40am.

As soon as the rope dropped, we ran straight for Nemo. Thanks to the tip from an Intercotee, we knew to head for the line entrance in Fantasyland rather than the ride entrance in Tomorrowland. We waited about 45 minutes to ride. While we were waiting, a CM was handing out brochures called “Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage Quest” with games and activities to keep the kids busy while waiting in line. I remember the original subs from a trip I took as a teenager and was very pleased to be able to ride them again. It’s a very cute ride, more involved than the version at Epcot. I will say, I don’t know if I would wait 2-3 hours to ride it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. After Nemo we went to Tomorrowland. I left Mom at Tomorrowland Terrace while I went on Space Mountain. It was my first ride (closed for refub on last trip) and WOW! Way more intense that the WDW version. The music is great, and you definitely cannot see where you are going! My eyes were a little teary when I was done but I’m glad I rode it. Afterwards we did some shopping (had to get some pins!), then did HISTA (not my favorite but Mom loves it) and Innoventions (the ASIMO show was really a nice treat). Next we went on the Monorail. I had explained to Mom that the Monorail in DL is really more of a ride than an actual transportation method (IMHO, most times you can walk to DD about as fast as you can ride). While we were waiting, we heard one CM tell another that Indy was back up and running (YAY!). We took a round trip to DD and back to DL.

By this time we were hungry and ready for lunch. We were headed for Fantasyland so we had lunch at Village Haus - cheeseburgers and fries, not bad for fast food. We hit all the Fantasyland rides we wanted (IASW, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Carousel, Canal Boats) with minimal waits. Then I rode Matterhorn - my favorite DL ride! Again, not long of a wait - Mom was surprised at how quickly I got back.

After Fantasyland, we headed for Main Street. FINALLY found some Photopass photographers near the castle and hub (I thought there would be much more around the park!) and even convinced Mom to get in some pix (she’s a bit camera shy). Did lots of shopping on Main Street. Caught the end of the flag retreat ceremony - wish we had realized the time, we would have seen the whole thing. Went to see DL: The First 50 Years. CM pointed out two big differences on the original plans for DL: 1) the train is going in the opposite direction, and 2) Jungle Cruise is on the opposite side of the park. On our way out, caught a quick glimpse of Mickey and Minnie in their Halloween costumes.

We had 6pm PS for Blue Bayou so we headed over to New Orleans Square. Lots of people were trying to do walk-in for dinner, but CM told them there was nothing available until Saturday. We waited about 10 minutes before we were seated - at a riverside table! Last time I got stuck all the way in the back, so I told Mom she was my good luck charm. It was fun to see the boats for POTC go by, people often waved and we waved back. Two funny moments: one little boy called out, “Are you eating alligator?”, and later another boy called out to us to say something, and when we did, he turned to the person next to him and said, “Wow, I guess they are real!”. The food here was good. We both started with a salad (I actually prefer the old salad with the candied pecans to the iceberg wedge). I had the jambalaya (good but spicy and filling, I left ½ of the rice) and Mom had the pork chop (she didn’t care for the scalloped potatoes but really liked the meat). Then for dessert, we shared the Flying Dutchman Cookie Boat which was awesome - try not to miss this if you eat there!

This dinner pointed out something interesting. We had Disney Visa rewards cards and while the listing of restaurants in the brochure was quite limited, we found that we could use it at any of the table service and counter service restaurants at DL and DCA (same as at WDW). My advice - try it, the worst they can do is turn you down. This worked out great for us as we had almost $400 in rewards dollars. We hardly paid for any of our food on this trip.

By the time we left Blue Bayou, it was almost time for the park to close. We caught the very last Disneyland Railroad ride of the night back to Main Street, then headed back to GCH for the night.

[Melanie]

A very nice day in Disneyland! I'm impressed you did the Fantasyland rides with minimal waits after lunch.

[tinkwest]

Sounds like you had lots of fun. And covered a good portion of Disneyland. Great day!

[disneydrmr]

Wow! You got quite a bit done. Thanks for the info on the rewards card... I was wondering if they would work the same as they do at WDW (at food places)...

[MegaDisney]

Wow another busy day!

Your experience shows that with a little pre-planning, ride closures and schedule snafus can be overcome with little or no drama!

Thanks again for posting!

[ChipnDaleGal]

Such a wonderful day at Disneyland!! Thank you for sharing it with us.