Cast of Characters:
Jane (aka ChipDale)
Ron (my husband)
Trip Dates:
Wednesday, September 18 – Monday, September 30
Resort:
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel
Day Seven, Tuesday, September 24
We got to sleep in until 7:00am today!
One thing I like about the Grand Californian is that they have coffee makers in the room. I made coffee, took my shower and got ready before waking Ron. We were walking out the door by about 8:20am, just enough time to walk over to Disneyland and go thru the turnstiles at 8:30! They open Main Street one half hour prior to official park opening, so we stopped in the Blue Ribbon Bakery for a mocha for me and a coffee for Ron. Also got one of their yummy oatmeal raisin cookies. We waited on the street for the 9:00am opening announcement. For those of you who haven’t been to Disneyland, they play Walt’s actual opening day speech from 1955 – it’s really cool and gives me goosebumps every time! [img]graemlins/smokin.gif[/img] At rope drop, we went straight to Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan’s Flight, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Alice in Wonderland, and It’s a Small World (this looks absolutely
gorgeous after the recent refurb [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] ) all before 10:00am. Walked over to Frontierland to catch the first run of the Mark Twain at 10:15am. After enjoying a relaxing cruise on the Rivers of America, we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean, then took a leisurely walk over to Critter Country to see how the Pooh ride is coming along. We stopped at the Harbour Galley on the way back to New Orleans Square and got some yummy fries and a couple bottles of water and enjoyed them in the little hidden alcove and watched the Mark Twain go by.
After our snack, we wandered thru Adventureland and waited for the next Enchanted Tiki Room show. Ron got a Dole Whip and I had a fresh pineapple juice from the Tiki Bar and we enjoyed our treats while watching the preshow. I love Walt Disney’s
original Tiki Room and am so thankful they haven’t ruined it like the one in WDW. After the Tiki Room we browsed the shops on Main Street, stopped in the Candy Palace and got a treat, then headed out of the park. We decided to go to the ESPN Zone for lunch and since it was about 1:30pm we were seated right away. We asked for a booth in the big screen room. Steven was our server and took our drink order right away (giant Guinness for Ron and a giant beer for me). We were starving, so we got the Queso Chips appetizer (it was huge and delicious) and waited a little before ordering lunch. I had the apple, walnut and bleu cheese salad – yummy! Ron had a tomato and mozzarella salad and a hamburger. Even though we are not sports fans we really like this restaurant. Service is always great and their food is excellent! We each had another beer for dessert and took our time and relaxed in the comfy booth. After lunch we decided it was definitely time for a nap.
When we arrived in our room we were surprised to find the makings of a party! My family had sent a gift basket filled with snacks, several balloons, a huge container filled with ice and beer and a gorgeous spread of homemade chips and salsa, crackers and cheeses for our anniversary! [img]graemlins/party.gif[/img] This is the second time that we’ve been sent a spread like this and I must say that the Grand Californian does a very nice job. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
We took a nice long nap that afternoon, got up and showered and headed over to the Disneyland Hotel to catch the 8:00pm Fantasy Waters Show. We stopped at the Lost Bar for a beer to go so we could drink it while we watched the show. I don’t know what it is, but this simple fountain show is one of my favorite things at the Disneyland Resort. I feel the same way about it as I do the Electrical Water Pageant at WDW. I think it’s because both of these shows were playing the first time I visited WDW and Disneyland and it’s a nostalgia thing. [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img] Anyway, we enjoyed the show, then went over to the Top Brass Lounge for a drink, only to find that they had already closed for the evening. Instead, we stopped in at the Lost Bar for a beer, didn’t really like the band that was playing, so moved on to the Hearthstone Lounge for a nightcap. I guess we skipped dinner that night because we had such a late lunch and we snacked on the goodies in our room. Got back to the room at a decent hour, watched a little TV and hit the sack to be ready for another magical day! [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img]
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