Karen's 2017 Birthday trip

[KeithS]

Thanks for the blog post Karen - we loved Hawaii and it looks like you had fantastic weather there! Can't wait to read more about your trip!

[DisneyKaren]

It seems nights on the Big Island are busy seeing sunsets at the top of mountains and new lava bubbling away.  Hope to get Hawaii up with photos early next week after Disney as no time now!  The red-eye from Honolulu to LA arrived before 6am this morning and unfortunately I didn't sleep at all so am struggling somewhat now but an early night and full sleep ready to hit DCA tomorrow morning.

We arrived at Park Vue Inn around 6:45 this morning and left our luggage, fortunately we were advised where breakfast would be at 7 so we had a good feed to start our day.  Strolling through a closed and quiet Downtown Disney, we headed for the hotels as neither of us have been into them before.  Disneyland Hotel was first up and had the best shop of all three hotels.  Understandably GC had the most character - although not Disney character.  Relaxing in the comfy chairs in the foyer, I almost felt like I was in the middle of Yosemite NP or similar.  I could definitely stay here one day, preferably when I have more days to chill.

My sister commented that DD seems smaller than it did 3 years ago and the walk from one end to the other seemed quite quick.  Perhaps the early hour, many closed stores and relatively quiet streets by Disney standards, gave this impression.  I was excited to find out that Hagaan Dass do hot chocolate on Almond milk, a great way to warm my insides on the chilly morning!  A trip to Pandora kept us busy for quiet some time as we both checked out their extensive Disney range, with my sister buying up a few charms.  I will more than likely buy a bracelet with a couple of charms but need to see what else I want to purchase first - I'm a thoughtful shopper, I toss it over in my head far too many times for a couple of days and then usually just buy it anyway!!   A shared Lasagne at Naples Ristorante & Pizzeria was all we needed for lunch and I do recommend it.  World of Disney was a bit much for both of us as the lack of sleep kicked in after lunch, but we went through to see any new items, my bag can only take so much more weight with 3 internal flights to go.  I have no doubt the shops in the parks will entice me once I'm wide awake.

A trip to Walgreens for water and we returned to the hotel where they advised our room was ready 1hr early and they'd already transferred our bags.  Loving the service so far at Park Vue and our room has power points everywhere which is a nice change considering we have 2 cameras each, a phone and tablet/laptop.  Washing is now done, our bags are exploded all over the room and we've just returned from dinner at Dennys.  Chicken Skillet with a side of zucchini and squash; a healthy meal to fuel our tired minds and bodies. 

Good night from Disney Anaheim, tomorrow we'll celebrate Lunar New Year with Mulan & Mushu.

[KeithS]

Excellent update Karen - I can feel the tiredness in your words and I couldn't help but thinking "been there - felt like that!!!"

Have a terrific time in Anaheim and keep posting updates - we are living vicariously through you at the moment

[mushu mama]

Oh wow... I missed your departure... loved the updates and hope you are having a wonderful time

[calisota]

I don't care what anyone says...I like Denny's!

I'm surprised you said it was chilly. I don't think I've ever been there when i could have said that, but then that may just be timing on my part.


Greg

[DisneyKaren]

Our first full day in the parks, however we did allow ourselves a sleep-in before the hotel breakfast, so we were both wide awake and ready to hit DCA.  So many things there which I hadn't done last time as they were closed, not yet created or perhaps it was all too much last visit and my brain struggled to take everything in.  Our first few stops of the day were the new things on our list.

First stop - FastPass for World of Colour.  Neither of us have seen this as it's never been on when we were here.  Soarin' Around the World has just become one of my favourites; I think enough rides will cure my fear of heights.  This was our first and last ride of the day.  Loved the 'smell-a-vision' with the dirt in Africa and I'm pretty sure I could smell rose flying through India.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

The Bakery tour at Pacific Wharf is quite interesting, however Sourdough bread still feels like a mystery to me.  Enjoyable all the same and something a little different.  Naturally we had to detour through Ghiradelli for the free chocolate they hand out on the way in (another thing we did later in the day) "a bug's land" is just more proof (in case I needed it) that Disney think of everything; those bug lamp shades are adorable and practical.  I had a go on the Francis' Ladybug Boogie which was just passable for my neck.  Heimlich's Chew Chew Train was more my sister and my speed.

Hollywood Land has stepped up in the last few years.  Loved the chance to try and draw Donald Duck - ok I won't be changing careers anytime soon, but still a lot of fun and so cool to learn from a Disney Artist.  At the Sorcerer's Workshop, we visited the Beast's Library and I found out I'm most like Princess Tiana.  My sister had fun picking answers that were the opposite to her and got Ursula, possibly something to do with 'I like eating nice people' rather than ' I like eating with nice people'.  Loved that question.  I finally met Olaf!  I may have been more excited than the kids in front of me but tried not to show it.

Meals are far too big for me so for lunch I had a children's chicken & rice from Lucky Fortune Cookery at Pacific Wharf.  Was great and a much better size for me.  Finally time to check out the Lunar New Year Celebrations.  Food trucks, face painting and craft stands lined the walkway in Paradise Pier (World of Colour viewing side).  Due to lines we skipped making our own lantern or having our name written in Chinese.  Mulan and Mushu led a lively parade down the street, before the parade performers all took turns showing their various acrobatic skills which unfortunately I couldn't see too well from my position but what I saw was outstanding.  Once everyone had had a chance to perform, the parade turned around and left so we headed to meet the characters.  Sadly I missed meeting Mulan and Mushu, however we did get Mickey & Minnie in their Lunar New Year outfits - because one can never have enough M&M photos in different outfits :)  They were short on Lunar New Year Souvenirs at this stage with only t-shirts left.

Our afternoon was more relaxing as we strolled Cars Land, my sister had a Burrito and beer at Pacific Wharf for an early dinner, we went over to DL and checked out main street shops before buying cupcakes (Belle for her, Minnie for me), then returned to DCA.  A trip on the Red Trolley Car and our second viewing of Soarin', before we sat at Flo's V8 café to eat our cupcakes closing out our day before we headed to the FP area to ensure we got a good place in line.  While waiting for WoC we could hear and occasionally see the DL fireworks which added to the night and made the wait seem shorter.

Hurry Home - Lunar New Year Celebration was a short water/light show/music presentation prior to World of Colour and was quite cute a small taste of things to come.  World of Colour was just amazing and I'm so glad we had the FP for a front row place.  We were off to one side however the show is so well done it really doesn't matter.  I'm sure most of you had already done this but for a first timer I will say it is something I will go back to see whenever I can, possibly even on the last night here.

Hope we get a chance to come back to DCA to re-see a few things before we go. 

[DisneyKaren]

GREG:  Oh we do love our Denny's fix.  In my sister's words just now when I read her your post - "It's good food, fast service, low prices, healthy options, what's there to complain about".  I think a Brisbane winter is too cold so I'm possibly not the best judge of weather.  The days are warm when the sun comes out (I left my jacket at the restaurant today and had to walk all the way back from the hotel to retrieve it), but it rained our morning at DCA and a bit during the late afternoon, otherwise mainly overcast.  Morning and nights are very chilly by my standards.
KEITH: The weather in Hawaii was so welcome after leaving a hot & humid Brisbane.  A little cooler in the mornings and evenings or in windy areas, but only mildly.  Another post is up for Oahu #2.  The Big Island will be in a few days and Disney photos will go up hopefully in a week.

[calisota]

Great post.

DCA seems to have so much more than when I was there, another trip may be necessary.


Greg

[ElissaB]

Bit late to this thread Karen, but everything you've just described sounds wonderful! We just got home from 8 days at DL and DCA. I thought exactly the same thing about the Lunar celebrations! WOC is my favourite show and I loved the little pre-show for the Lunar New Year. I have stayed more than a dozen times at the Park Vue and only stay elsewhere if I can't get in there. Sounds like your trip is off to a great start! Enjoy xx

[DisneyKaren]

We just got home from 8 days at DL and DCA. Enjoy xx

8 days sounds fantastic, were you at the parks most days? I would love to have had an extra day to see the night activities again.

[ElissaB]

Yes Karen! Well 7 out of 8 because we had a day at Universal. We also had 4 days in the parks the week earlier before I went to Phoenix for a tradeshow. We managed the WOC twice, fireworks once and the Electrical Parade three times. Short hours were a little challenging for fitting everything in and it was the coldest I've been in the parks for a very long time! Hope you are enjoying every magical minute! Looking forward to a full recap at the next meeting!

[DisneyKaren]

Sorry, I've been away from Wi-Fi...... here is our second day in the parks, with our last day still to come.  Also hoping to have photos up on my blog tomorrow night.
Magic Morning access had us in the park at the bright and early time of 7am! We cleared through the Fantasyland rides pretty quickly due to the early hour and low crowds. Fantasyland is a favourite of ours for rides as they are designed for children so my bad back can take them all quite well (plus they're just plain fun!). Storybook has been updated to include Arendale, which we saw from the canals as well as Casey Jnr railroad.

We were at ToonTown at opening and followed Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto into their home town. Great being able to take photos without people. While photographing Pluto playing around, he spotted me and started posing then kept getting closer until he was nose to my lens! Thankfully my sister managed a photo as he enveloped me in a big hug. Checking out Donald’s boat, Chip & Dale’s tree house and posing in Mickey and Goofy’s cars was a lot of fun. We didn’t redo Mickey or Minnie’s houses this trip.
A ride on the Monorail gave great views of the parks and some little peeks at the back of house areas. We also check out Nemo’s submarine voyage which was closed on our last visit, before venturing into It’s a Small World. I’m not sure what is so attracting about a ride which plays the same music over and over again, but I just love it.

As the day warmed up I quickly headed to Adventureland for my first Dole Whip – amazing, how have I not tried this before? With River’s of America closed and a lot of fast moving rides, I don’t tend to spend much time on this side of the park, however we did stroll through New Orleans Sq. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate the theming by Imagineers. Not just the buildings, balconies and obvious architecture, but also down to the rubbish bins, lamps and even the bunting at some rides.

Our relaxing time back at the hotel was interrupted for me as I hurried back to find my leather jacked – still sitting on the chair I’d left it. Thank goodness for the honesty of Disney people.

Strolling through Main Street shops on our return, Lynelle ventured onto the Matterhorn for a second trip and we eventually headed to the castle for Fireworks. Some front row seats (pavement space) was available so we made new friends with Marisa and Peter who were sitting beside us, which made the time fly by.

I believe this fireworks show is called Wishes and while always lovely to see these shows, definitely not as fun as the ones I’ve seen at Paris as WDW recently. Gee, give me a few trips and suddenly I have high expectations!! I certainly did still enjoy the show and fireworks while hearing music from the attractions around the park. Our view was obscured by guests walking by as we didn’t realise they keep the walkway between the castle and viewing area open throughout the show. I understand they need to move people and I give credit to the cast members who were standing near us constantly ensuring guests didn’t stop in front causing blockages.

Another day is over, only one to go. It’s always sad to leave the park in the evening, especially when you know things are still open, however my feet and back were indicating that it was time to return to the hotel.

[calisota]

As the day warmed up I quickly headed to Adventureland for my first Dole Whip – amazing, how have I not tried this before? 

I think you're in the minority...everyone else here hates the stuff.
Greg

[DisneyKaren]

As the day warmed up I quickly headed to Adventureland for my first Dole Whip – amazing, how have I not tried this before? 

I think you're in the minority...everyone else here hates the stuff.
Greg

Really?  I do like my pineapple and this was good.

[DisneyKaren]

My photos are finally up on my blog: https://karenstravelphotos.wordpress.com/disneyland/

Last day at Disney:
No matter how many visits to Disney parks I’ve had, I hope to never lose that feeling of walking under the railway line and into the park. Our last day was again at DL, with our morning being spent on the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour. 

How I wish I could remember much of what was said to pass on. Hopefully many (all?) of you have done this as I just could not retain the amount of interesting information we were given. To walk through the only park which Walt stepped foot in and hear about its history as it related to Walt and his visions was a wonderful way to spend our morning. A trip on Small World was part of the tour as was Alice in Wonderland. I knew about the history of It’s a Small World and that it was part of a World Fair, but wasn’t aware it was for UNICEF or how many exhibits Walt had over the years.

Standing next to the Mark Twain, I was listening intently to our guide and later heard that 2 people were getting engaged on the top of the boat!! Ending at the Dream Suite (no photos allowed), was a treat, oh I wish I could stay there for a night. Lunch was held at the Jolly Holiday, where my sister and I shared a table with Julie and Scott from Orlando. Loved that they live 1/2hr from WDW and are passholders but still stay at the resorts occasionally and flew over to DLR for a weekend away.

We had to return to the hotel to pack, before heading out again, my sister went to DCA and saw Frozen while I strolled through DL for a while, taking photos and taking it in. Afterwards she did the cars ride and we enjoyed a Mickey Pretzel for dinner before completing our final shopping. The end was near and it was sad to leave the park, I kept thinking there was something I just had to see. We saw the fireworks from our hotel window which was a wonderful close to our holiday.

Goodbye Disney….. for now.