A Coast to Coast Christmas - Phase Two DL About This Page:

[mommapants]

Great pictures from breakfast but how on earth to they pick who will be there - there is no connection. It's like hey Captain Hook you're available - go to the character breakfast...
I love RR but haven't been to DL in so long I thought it mighthave closed. good to know it is still there

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by CinderAbby

As usual, a wonderful TR so far. There is only one problem with it. It makes me want to take Lenny and Abby out to DL more than I did before. It just won't be happening anytime soon though. Just for the heck of it, I went to SWA yesterday out of curiosity and for the time frame we would travel in (summer obviously) plane fare was $2000 bucks. I don't have the money for a trip anyway but there's no way I could justify spending that kind of money on plane tickets (it's almost double the cost of the room I looked into).

If you can afford it, a trip to DL is a must do. It tends to be more expensive than WDW, though. Even the food in the parks costs more than at WDW. And the DLR hotels are expensive too (there's no value option)! But there are great off-property hotels very close to the park which can be gotten for a good bargain.

Originally Posted by shnewell

What a fabulous day! I really can't believe how many characters are at that breakfast! I'm going to have to put that one on my DLR to do list!

And somehow (even after reading about it in Heather's TR before I left on my trip), we still haven't made it to Toontown.

to Karen!! Glad she got some photo ops with the Boss Man -- I mean, if you're at Disney on your birthday, that's practically required!

The Plaza had been on my list for a while, so I was glad to finally get a chance to do it! And you must make it to Toontown! Your boys would love the interactive stuff AND RR! Just don't do Roger Rabbit right after a meal.

Originally Posted by Caldercup

Oh.Mah.Gawd!! Did Karen get a birthday wish from the Photo Fairy?!



Girlfriend is looking mighty lovely in all the pics so far today!!

Right? I think my camera's in love with Karen.

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

Great day! What a fabulous way to celebrate a birthday!!! I agree with Eileen, Karen does look quite happy and lovely in her birthday pics!

I think that rose you like is the Disneyland Rose. Isn't it beautiful? I have one in my backyard!

You beat me to the beignet...I've walked past that window so many times, but for whatever reason I'm usually full and don't have room for the Mickey beignet...I really need to do something about that on my next trip!

Is that the Disneyland Rose? It's gorgeous! And you definitely need to get a Mickey beignet! They've been on my list for a long time and I FINALLY got to try them.

Originally Posted by m.mouse

I have only been to DL one day a few years ago and really did not get to spend very much time in Toon Town which is a big regret. I loved seeing all your pictures and the Mickey beignets look almost too cute to eat...ALMOST.

Yes, Disneyland has a lot of adorable Mickey-shaped treats. I love the Mickey bar of course, but the beignets might be my favorite.

Originally Posted by sc507

What a great start to Karen's special day!!! Happy birthday Karen And those beignets?? They look delicious

I honestly wasn't expecting much from the beignets, because they're essentially theme park fast food, but they were fresh and tasty.

Originally Posted by mousestruck

The more I read of your TR, the more I want to visit Disneyland! It looks like there are a lot of unique attractions... I always figured it would just be a big Magic Kingdom. And by the way.... gorgeous pics of the gang!

There are a number of unique to DL attractions, and some of the stuff you can find at both DL and WDW is better at DL, like POTC.

Originally Posted by Linnynad

Well that is really sweet of you to say, but I have a feeling my trucker mouth would keep me from nailing that gig

Originally Posted by Coop

I heard that you had to do a year as a costume character before they would consider you for a face character. I would've loved to be Pluto! You don't have to talk!

That's surprising! I didn't think costumed characters worked that long (I always kind of assumed they were CPers). But I can understand Linny's disappointment, because she's a dancer, so she should definitely be a performer in a show.

Originally Posted by mommapants

Great pictures from breakfast but how on earth to they pick who will be there - there is no connection. It's like hey Captain Hook you're available - go to the character breakfast...
I love RR but haven't been to DL in so long I thought it mighthave closed. good to know it is still there

It's funny how many random characters show up, but I think it's good - you're much more likely to please everyone in your group that way!

[shnewell]

Just don't do Roger Rabbit right after a meal.

[Linnynad]

Originally Posted by Coop

I heard that you had to do a year as a costume character before they would consider you for a face character. I would've loved to be Pluto! You don't have to talk!

I'm not an expert here, but I don't think I believe that to be true. The audition I went for was a"character audition" not having a clue what they were looking for, I went, was handed #486 ( yes, that many) went in, got measured and they put me with the Pluto's. Once I heard that, I was outta there.......as I was leaving I was asked to come back next week for the "face auditions". I did, was taken in with a group of 10 other girls and they came up to look at each of us very close, after that we got the whole.........Thank you for coming. They told us if we didn't look very similar to a character or someone already playing that part, they didn't want us.

Sorry for jumping in here Sharon.

[OhToodles!]

Appears Karen is having a fantastic birthday! I'll be interested to see if she makes her goal of ST 40 times in the next year.

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by Linnynad

I'm not an expert here, but I don't think I believe that to be true. The audition I went for was a"character audition" not having a clue what they were looking for, I went, was handed #486 ( yes, that many) went in, got measured and they put me with the Pluto's. Once I heard that, I was outta there.......as I was leaving I was asked to come back next week for the "face auditions". I did, was taken in with a group of 10 other girls and they came up to look at each of us very close, after that we got the whole.........Thank you for coming. They told us if we didn't look very similar to a character or someone already playing that part, they didn't want us.

Sorry for jumping in here Sharon.

No problem, Linny! Thanks for the inside info!

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

Appears Karen is having a fantastic birthday! I'll be interested to see if she makes her goal of ST 40 times in the next year.

If I know Karen, it won't be a problem!

[PrincessSharon]

Day Four, Part Two
Definitely worth the price of admission!

We took the monorail to Disneyland because we wanted to pick up Autopia FPs. With that accomplished we walked down Main Street and checked in for the tour. The Holiday Tour is a tour of some of the decorated areas in Disneyland park, plus front-of-the-line access to a few attractions. I’ll try to be a bit vague here, as to avoid spoilers.

There were three groups going out at once, with about 15 people in each group. They sent one group, then waited a few minutes and sent the next to spread us out some. We got headsets so we could easily hear our guide. The park was extremely busy this day, so we needed them (also, a great reason to take the tour and skip the line on 2 very busy attractions).

We started out on Main Street and our guide, Tara, told us about the tree and the stuff in that area. She asked the group if anyone knew where a special tree was, and I knew that it was in Walt’s apartment above the firehouse. During the Christmas season, they put a tree in place of the lamp in the window of Walt’s apartment. Brownie points for me!





She told us a little about the windows on Main Street and had us stop at a dentist’s office. Why, you ask? Well, it wasn’t because we had bad teeth! It just so happens that the Main Street dentist is Jewish and put a menorah in his window!



We stopped in the candy shop for some free samples!


Our tour guide, Tara

We stopped by the castle and she talked about Christmas decorations in general. There really was nothing specific about Disney decorations, but that was a minor complaint.



We walked through Frontierland and then into New Orleans Square. It was time to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday. The standby line at the time was 55 minutes, but we got to go right into the FP line! I tried getting some more photos, with varying success.





















Continued…

[PrincessSharon]

Then we took the train to Fantasyland. The group ahead of us was waiting, so we had to wait for the next train. In Fantasyland, we got to skip the hour-long queue for it’s a small world holiday! I enjoyed the holiday soundtrack – a mixture of Jingle Bells (or as Ariel sings, Jingle Shells), Deck the Halls and it’s a small world. I got some nice photos this time through. Lots of them. Just to warn you.







































Continued…

[PrincessSharon]

With that done, we stepped outside for the lighting of the holiday lights. I thought it was really pretty and was glad we got to see them flip the switch. Of course, all y’all get to see is a picture with the lights all on already.



I should’ve taken a photo of it dark, so you could get the full effect. We went into Toontown for a parade-watching snack. I knew we were given cookies and cocoa, but I didn’t know the cocoa came in a souvenir mug! I was suddenly very happy I’d decided against buying one before then!





Continued…

[lauriep]

That tour is definitely worth the price! The Christmas Small World is AMAZING! I had no idea they went all-out like that. Just love the facade all lit-up.

[PrincessSharon]

Then we went back to a roped-off area in front of it’s a small world. That’s where we had seats – actual chairs for watching the holiday parade. Even if the tour itself wasn’t awesome, the benefits you get with it make it worth every penny! Here we are waiting for it to start (while munching on our cookies and sipping hot chocolate).



And here’s our view of the parade.



As happy as I was with my viewing spot, I wasn’t so happy with my photos. I don’t think I’ll ever be happy with my nighttime parade pics.



















Continued…

[PrincessSharon]

When the parade ended, we all split up. Karen and Zack went to ride BTMRR, I think. Heather was going to ride Storybook Canal Boats since the line seemed short. I went to the hub to watch the castle lighting ceremony. The ceremony itself isn’t as cute as the one at WDW (they do it a few times a night at DL), but I was glad I got to see it. Also, it snowed at the end, and I was really glad I got to see that!











Continued…

[PrincessSharon]

Before I left the park, I got a few photos of Main Street.





Back at the room, I put on warmer clothes for the evening. We had a dinner reservation at Storytellers Café, but we were hoping to push it up a little so we could watch the fireworks. We even checked in early. However, the restaurant was somewhat busy. The CM checked me in and I mentioned that it was Karen’s 40th birthday and I’d ordered a cake. She noted it on our little slip.

They had a gingerbread house in the lobby area.



Then we sat down to wait for a table. And we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And the kicker was we watched them seat several other parties. After a group without a reservation was about to be seated ahead of us, Karen… made it known that we’d been waiting for a while and it’s her 40th birthday, and we had a reservation to boot! I honestly think they forgot about us! And I also think they thought we hadn’t checked in at all, because they wrote up a new slip for us (which I didn’t know at the time).

After Karen’s little chat, we were promptly seated. Actually, the CM Karen talked to was quite snotty (her exact words “It’s your 40th birthday, I got it.” ) so Karen asked to speak to a manager.

The manager came out and spoke to me. I started explaining what happened and he did the absolute wrong thing (in my opinion). He started making excuses before I even finished the story! That’s NOT the way to handle things. You listen, apologize and offer to correct. I don’t want to hear your freakin’ excuses. After Karen let him know exactly why she was upset (and he had NO excuse for miss snotty ), things settled down again. Poor Karen was upset and I think she was embarrassed, but there was no reason to be. She hadn’t made a big scene.

They offered to buy us appetizers, but none of us wanted appetizers. After all that, the food was very good. I had spaghetti, which can be completely unremarkable, but theirs was tasty.



After we’d eaten, the manager came out and proudly placed a little birthday dessert in front of Karen. I told him I ordered a cake. At this point, we were all ready to laugh about it, but the evening was kind of a disaster. Anyway, the manager was all, “Oh yeah, I thought I saw a cake back there!” Then I mentioned that the CM who’d checked us in wrote it on our slip. Then they searched around and were able to find our original slip, so I guess they believed us that we’d checked in after all. And to top it all off, we were going to miss the fireworks because things had taken so long. I was only slightly disappointed. It’ll give me an excuse to come back.

Finally, they brought out Karen’s cake.



We didn’t have time to eat it (we’d decided to watch World of Color from the VGC viewing area), so Karen asked for a box and we settled the bill (they didn’t charge me for the cake, which was nice of them).

Heather had gone ahead and we were to meet her at the VGC. When she returned, she had a bottle of champagne with her! The viewing spot up there isn’t the best, but we never would’ve been able to make it into the park in time with all the construction detours and stuff. And I was thrilled to get to see WOC again, even with a partial view.

When the show ended, we headed down to sit in front of the GC’s fireplace and have some cake. By then, everyone was ready to call it a night, so we didn’t stay down there long. I remembered to get a photo of the GC tree.



I was going home in the morning but I decided not to pack up and instead went right to bed.

Up Next: Was I just cast as the star of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles 2”?

[mcc0313]

What a great start to Karen's birthday - I am always amazed when I read TRs and see the amount of characters at one meal...true no really much of a theme but I love how they are so many you never get to meet or see at WDW.

The tour sounds like it is definitey worth it, just for the FP to the front of the line for the HM and IASW plus great seating for the parade.

Sorry dinner was such a mix up (I still remember the cake mixup I had at Tony's - there was like a breakdown in communication totally)....and the manager of excuses definitely did go the wrong route, but what a beautiful cake you ordered her and I am glad the food was tasty.

[lauriep]

I always do this with your reports... I start reading and post a response without checking the time of your post. If I did that I would have known you could still be posting updates! Glad I checked back to get the rest of the day. Even though I'd heard the story of the dinner fiasco in Heather's report, the various foul-ups are still amazing. Perfect capper to it all is that they forgot the beautiful cake at the end. I love the photo of the whole group waiting for the parade. Weren't your toesies cold in sandals? (and don't tell me "It's California!)