Lori Wagner
A WDW Veteran in King Walt's Court
August 2003

I want to warn everyone that my trip report is LONG. I'm going to post one day at a time, as I have only two days proofread so far. I've been to WDW so many times, but this was only my second trip to Disneyland, and my first visit to Disney's California Adventure.

I have some comparisons and contrasts between similar attractions, and I feel that there are some in Disneyland that are far superior than their WDW Magic Kingdom counterparts. (There are a few WDW attractions I like better than DL's, as well.) I also marvel at all the stuff DL has that WDW doesn't. I hope you enjoy it.

8/7 Thursday
Cast: Lori, meeting with Michelle
Resort: Candy Cane Inn

Ah, the joy of waking up at 4 am. I was waiting for the cab outside, before sunrise. I had called the day before to arrange a 5:15am pickup, and I was making myself nervous thinking the cab wouldn't arrive. It did, and the cabbie took no prisoners. We practically FLEW to O'Hare International Airport.

When my dad drives, it takes 30 minutes. This cabbie was a NASCAR wannabe, getting me there in about 15 minutes! Since my flight was at 8am, I did have plenty of time to go through the TSA procedures. I knew I should have scoped out the e-ticket check-in kiosk lines. The ones closer to the Security line were less crowded than the line I was in. But it really didn't matter, as it probably took about 15 minutes for check-in.

Speaking of Security, guess who won the Security Sweepstakes? That's right, I was chosen to be a randomly searched passenger. I was led to a special security line, where they first put my carry-on and backpack through the x-ray machine. Then I was led to a separate area where I had to take off my shoes, show the bottoms of the socks I was wearing, and stand arms akimbo to get "wanded". The security agent admired my new camera, and I had to tell him how to turn it on to check that it was a functioning camera.

Wow, so much excitement, and that wasn't the best of it. The flight was the traveler's nightmare: Sitting right across the aisle from me were twin boys, 3 years old, and their 14-month old brother, all handled alone by their mother. Before the flight, the mom handed me her youngest while she was assisting the twins into their seats.

I had hoped that they would be good during the flight, and for the most part, they were. But young Thomas would get fussy about every 10 minutes, making sure to give out a yell to ensure nobody could dare fall asleep within a 10 row radius. I cranked up the New Age channel on the flight list o' audio channels, and it helped a little.

The good news was that the flight took 3 hours and 42 minutes, instead of the 4 hours and 15 minutes scheduled. It was nice to arrive early at the destination! The biggest waste of my time arriving at the Orange County airport was to use the courtesy phone to arrange Super Shuttle to take me to the Candy Cane Inn. I waited in the phone queue, to be re-routed to dispatch for Sacramento. Uh...no. The competent woman I talked to when I called back told me that I could walk right out the doors, head to the farthest "island" where the shuttles dispatch, and just ask the dispatcher there to put me on a shuttle.

Now, silly me, I'm so used to Mears micro-managing shuttles out of Orlando International Airport, the concept of just going up to a dispatcher was foreign to me.

Wouldn't you know it, the dispatcher said that the very next shuttle, just pulling up, would be mine. Mears had me wait 40 minutes one time with one of those flashing/vibrating "coaster" pagers. Super Shuttle in CA won this round, easily. Strike one for Mears!

I noticed that everyone else must have pre-purchased shuttle vouchers from their travel agent or the Walt Disney Travel Co. It's not necessary. You can pay the driver via cash or a major credit card. At MCO, I had to pay for the vouchers at the Mears Counter. Super Shuttle wins again….strike two for Mears!

Well, it was about 10:30am by this time, about 15 minutes after my original arrival time at the airport was original scheduled. Not bad! The travel time to the hotel was about 15-20 minutes, and the shocker: I was the first one off the shuttle! This never happens to me. Woo hoo! Strike three for Mears…..hooray for Super Shuttle!

I was supposed to have lunch at Yamabuki at the Paradise Pier Hotel with Michelle, an acquaintance from the RADP newsgroup (among other Disney fan groups). I forgot to call her when I arrived at the airport. I had first checked in and stored my luggage, and called her around 11am, when the shuttle for Disneyland/DCA arrived. Michelle lives in the San Diego area, and it would take her about 2 hours to arrive, so we settled to meet at the restaurant around 1:30pm.

In the meantime, I decided to go to Disneyland! When I got off the shuttle, I did remember to call my parents to give them the obligatory "I arrived safely" phone call. I remembered that I had to pick up my tickets to the Fantasmic Dessert Buffet at the Disney Gallery balcony, so I went to the first line I've encountered…..Guest Relations.

This line would probably be one of the longest of my entire trip, in the height of a summer weekend. Go figure.

Soon the security cast members checked my bag contents and I was heading through the turnstiles. My previous trip was in 1996, and it still felt like a new experience. Here's what's interesting. Instead of putting my pass through a reader in the turnstiles (like at WDW), the pass was waved under some sort of scanner. That was odd. No matter, for I was back in Disneyland! I thought Disneyland could have moved the security point away from the turnstiles, though. It wasn't that slow, but I think the parks (other than Epcot) have a better system.

The walkways under the train station felt familiar, but everything else turned into one of those dreams where something should be familiar to you, but isn't. The first things I noticed were vehicles. Main Street motor vehicles. Three of them, to be exact, and all were honking their horns warning pedestrians that *they* have the right of way.

I never saw an old-fashioned fire truck, double-decker bus, and "horseless carriage" follow in such close succession on Main Street in Florida.

I headed up Main Street, and I knew I wasn't in Florida anymore. The castle doesn't loom high above the end of Main Street, as it does in Florida. Here, it's smaller and cuter, like it was maybe Barbie's Starter Dream Castle. Don't get me wrong, it's still a decent castle, but there are times you wonder where the windmill and the Mount Rushmore hole are on a mini-golf course. I have to admit that Cinderella Castle, being my first castle, ruined me for this one. For what it's worth, the castle's size is proportionate to the park. I think a Cinderella-sized castle would overpower this park.

I had a goal, my first attraction of my second visit ever. Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Whew. Let's just call it "Indy" from now on, for brevity. The standby line was 60 minutes, and I knew there was a single riders' line somewhere for this. I had to ask a cast member twice if I was headed in the right direction, as the single riders' line, along with FastPass Return and Standby all sort of blend together. I had found out that in Disneyland, the single riders' lines are usually at or near an exit.

I walked through the Longest Exit Ever to find that I didn't know where I was going. Luckily, a family of four who apparently were smarter than the average tourist (for taking a chance with the single riders' line) led the way, up an elevator, around a corner, and down another elevator, where I ended up at the loading dock. This was great! I bypassed a long queue, an interesting and fun queue, but a long wait, nonetheless. Soon I was in the seat I had the very first time I rode in 1996: The Snake Seat. This is the last row, last seat. Ooh, cool karma. I still enjoyed the ride as much as ever.

As I walked through the exit the proper way this time, I looked to my left as I passed into daylight. There were some crates stacked, and between the crates, you can see a cool mural on the wall, part of the interior queue. I snapped a quick photo and continued on my way. As I headed deeper into the park, I wondered where the heck I was. Suddenly, I'm in New Orleans Square and feeling so out of my element! I got my fill of the sights of the land and decided to look at the Disney Gallery.

The current exhibit is the artwork about the Pirates of the Caribbean, from the movie to the attraction. It's a worthwhile visit, and I spent a long time chatting with a cast member. Afterwards, I spent time soaking up atmosphere in New Orleans Square, which was easy to do, especially if you hear a Dixieland jazz trio playing in a nook. I sat down near them taking trip notes, and I soon realized that I better take the long hike to the Paradise Pier Hotel to meet Michelle.

I got a little confused going through Downtown Disney to get to the hotel, but I was able to see the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian as I was walking off the beaten path. I walked through Paradise Pier, browsed in their gift shop, and could not find the restaurant. Well, since I entered from the back of the hotel, I had no idea that in order to get to Yamabuki, I had to exit the front of the hotel and enter the restaurant through an exterior entrance.

I hope the dinner menu had more options, because the lunch menu underwhelmed me. I wanted sushi, and Yamabuki has it, but in a couple of very strict menu choices. There wasn't any a la carte ordering for it. I ended up getting a tasty sushi combo for $14.99, which I found more than reasonable. I'm not sure if I'd go back unless I had more menu choices.

Michelle and I had a plan to shop at Downtown Disney for a while, bring my stuff back to my hotel, then return to Disneyland for the evening. Before we went to Downtown Disney, Michelle was showing me all sorts of wonderful stuff at the Grand Californian. The doors that lead to the lobby from the main entrance are not to be missed, but it's easy to do so, for the doors rarely close! The doors are a stained glass mural of Disney's California Adventure, since I did see Grizzly Peak depicted in it. Gorgeous. The hotel strongly reminded me of the Wilderness Lodge, but it had lots of differences, too. The furniture was Arts and Crafts style, which reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright, and there were Tiffany lamps around the perimeter of the huge lobby. There was a piano player there, providing a similar atmosphere as the Grand Floridian lobby. As I walked around, I saw a niche alcove with a fireplace, and the bar area had its own neat décor.

Michelle showed me that this resort has a wedding department, and she took me into two restaurants to show off the décor there. Napa Rose was elegant and simple, and I had reservations to eat there on Saturday. I requested to be seated at the open kitchen area, which they modified on my reservation. Storyteller's Café was beautiful, with amazing murals, some made with tile. Sadly, I didn't arrange to eat there. The last place I was shown was the most "dollarless" eatery I've seen at Disneyland. White Water Snacks. You can have your basic burgers, pizza and hot dogs, or grab a huge sandwich, all for decent prices, compared to what you find in the parks. If you're near Grizzly River Run around mealtime, head to the exit that leads to the Grand Californian, and you can find this eatery near the pool area of the resort.

I had promised someone on TheMouseForLess some princess costumes from Build-A-Bear, so Michelle and I headed there first from the Grand Californian. When we stopped at the candy store, the cast member Larry made a HUGE fuss about her birthday, outside the store. It was soon time to get back to the Candy Cane Inn for my room and get settled. When we took the tram to the Mickey and Friends parking structure, I discovered the Escalator to Heaven. If you're on the uppermost level, you ride the tallest escalator I've ever seen, plus an additional escalator to the top level. The views are incredible up there, so I had to take pictures, of course.

The Candy Cane in is a couple blocks south of the main entrance plaza, so it took very little time to get in. Since this was a motel setting without elevators, and I had room 222, I managed to schlep my suitcase and carry-on up the stairs. I was very impressed with the room itself, for it was large, clean, and had very cool pillow shams. It's a shame I never took a photo of my room. I usually do that at any WDW resorts I stay in, so why I missed doing this is beyond me. Soon I had the basics unpacked, including my Figment mascot.

As I walked out of my room, I noticed that I had a view of the Tower of Terror construction. Neat! I quickly snapped a photo of Figment showing the "back side of terror".

Figment was excited to be at Disneyland, so when Michelle and I re- entered the park, Figment wanted some memories. I posed Figment with the Indian on Main Street, and Figment marveled that Disneyland still had the penny arcade and magic shop. He loved pretending to drive the fire engine at the Fire Station, which *was* themed to be *only* a fire station and *not* a store! "Imagine that!"

I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to have dinner and make it to the Disney Gallery balcony on time, so Michelle and I ate at River Belle Terrace. The rotisserie chicken meal, with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and a biscuit was $10.99. I thought it was a pretty decent deal for the large amount of food I received. It was definitely a superior meal for counter service.

Soon we had found the sea of humanity that crowded the Fantasmic viewing areas, and I was really glad I didn't have to stand in that mess. Some people wait at noon for the best viewing spots, which I found incredible. We had to find a restroom past the sea of humanity, and luckily nobody wanted to crowd the Hungry Bear restaurant area restrooms. On the way there, we walked past the staging area for a float used in the show, and I would have wanted to see Fantasmic from there, just to catch the timing and backstage feel of it. I never did manage that, though.

Michelle and I swam through humanity again to get to the Disney Gallery, and we arrived around 8:30pm for the 9pm show. We waited in an interior courtyard to be called to the balcony for our seating. Apparently, you are assigned seating based on when you booked it. I called 29 days out (since I forgot and missed the 30th day), and I still managed to get the last two seats in the front. I had a vertical rail, but I was able to peer around it easily. The desserts looked better than they tasted, but I was glad to get the view.

Michelle said years ago, she used to be able to see it free from the balcony, until Disney realized that they could charge people for it. Disney had also caught on with the lower terrace area in the UK pavilion for Illuminations, which they now close off for private parties who pay for the viewing area privilege. Like Michelle, I have seen Illuminations from that prime viewing spot years ago before Disney starting charging. I also paid for to see it in 2001 for a dessert party during the RADP 6 meet.

I snapped some photos with Figment and some during the show, but as they weren't turning out that well, I just sat and enjoyed the show. The bonus for the 9pm dessert balcony viewers is staying to see the fireworks show, "Believe…..There's Magic in the Stars", without having to leave. Wow! I loved the fireworks and the soundtrack to it. If the new show for WDW, "Wishes", is anything like "Believe", it will be an amazing show.

I was still upright, which amazed me, for I was still working on the equivalent of waking up at 2am pacific time. I thought I could get on another ride and leave, but nothing seemed to be a short wait. I decided to call it a night and crash, and Michelle drove me back to my hotel.

I noticed something else as I walked up the stairs and headed towards my room. I had a great view of a few Paradise Pier attractions at DCA lit up at night. Between that and the Tower of Terror view earlier, I thought that it was nice that I had a "park view" for $77 a night!

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