“That’s just a weird thing to be happy about”: A Backstage Magic ABD TR! UPDATED 11/24 X3 & COMPLETE

Less chit chat, more adventures

Lesley said she was at Pizza Planet, which was conveniently nearby. She came out the door right as I walked up and we got to meet in person for the first time! We did the usual initial Dismeet chat thing where we asked how each person was and I introduced her to Jon and all that. Soon enough we decided we had enough of the chit chat and went off to have adventures instead.

New life motto: Less chit chat, more adventures.

The line for Mr. Toad was a little shorter now so we got in line there, where we continued to chit chat. Please note that chit chatting while having an adventure is acceptable, though shouldn’t be overdone.

Lesley had brought her new camera to test out on dark rides so she was snapping away as we went through Toad Hall, to hell, and back! By the way, I never asked how your pictures turned out!

When we got off I realized that my sunglasses had fallen out of my pocket, but thankfully the CM at the exit had them. Thanks, kind guest/CM who turned my sunglasses in. They’re vintage and cute and do their job well and I would have been quite sore to see them go.

Jon & I had a FP coming up for BTMRR but we didn’t want to ride without Lesley so we offered to skip it. BUT, in her usual genius way, she suggested that we just ask the CM if she could ride with us. I had never tried that before but she has a lot more experience at Disneyland than I do so we went for it! We let her do all the talking and sure enough, the CM let her through with us. Way to go Lesley, smooth talker of the year.

After the usual amazing ride on BTMRR it was high time for a snack. But not just any snack. A specific kind of snack with its own particular brand of snackiness. Yep, I’m talking about the carnival funnel cake.



Or whatever it was called.

It was a limited time Toy Story 4-themed funnel cake from the Stage Door Café. It had condensed milk, fruity pebbles, and raspberry sauce. I’m a sucker for all three of those things (not to mention funnel cake by itself) and as soon as it was announced I knew I had to get one in my belly.

And it was incredible. It was as fruity-sweet as it looks and each bite was tasted like a perfect fried cereal donut. As delicious as it was, I couldn’t (and didn’t) want to finish it all on my own so we triple-teamed it and finished it all together.



We were in the mood for another ride so we went over to Indy where once again Lesley used her magical powers to convince the CM to let her go in with us through the FP lane. I have no idea where these FPs came from, if we used our anytime FP from the ABD or if we pulled paper ones at some point. But apparently we had them??

Anyway, the ride went down while we were in line and they said anyone who wanted to could leave. We were close to a CM so we asked her advice and she said to hang around for about 10 minutes because it seemed like a short fix. Well, she was wrong because a few minutes after she said that they announced that they were clearing the queue. BUT it was good that we waited because when they officially cleared the queue they gave everyone who left a FP.

I wanted to go back to SWGE to see it at night but we made a pit stop at Haunted Mansion since it had a short wait. I tried taking some photos inside the ride but my note says I wasn’t sure if any turned out. As I’m writing this I honestly can’t remember if any did turn out, so we’ll just have to wait and see when it comes time to post whether or not I did. Probably not. Who knows.







[Okay so three turned out. Out of maybe 50?]


Returned to the land of the living, we finished making our way to SWGE. We looked around at shops, especially the Droid Depot. I bought a lot of stuff but finally decided not to get a droid, even though I kept telling Jon that I wanted one. I realized that we probably wouldn’t get much use out of it, and $100 is a lot to pay for something that’s just going to sit there.












Even though I said that then I still think I want a droid. I really like how @OhioStateBuckeye ended up customizing hers and I would really like to do something like that with mine. I may just cave and get one when I go in November. And according to my current projects, that will actually happen before this update is posted. So I guess I already know the answer to this question? Writing for the future is trippy.



[The Village Ackbars]

When we got to SWGE there was still a little bit of light left but the sun was setting. It was really cool to watch the transition to dusk and see all the lights come on. The land really does take on a different personality after dark. Lesley also pointed out to us some cool features of the app, like how you can make the Millenium Falcon do some cool stuff like blow out steam.






=

Soon enough our bellies were telling us it was dinner time. I left Jon in line at Docking Bay 7 while I went to Ronto’s Roasters to get a Ronto Wrap (my notes autocorrect it to rando wrap hahaha). When I got back, Lesley and Jon had just sat down. Jon ended up getting the roast.



Jon grabbed his fork and announced that he was going to eat and Lesley audibly gasped and said, “Before the picture??”

See Jon, I’m not crazy. It’s a Dis thing.



So he let me take a picture and then he began to eat. The Ronto Wrap was fine, but either the sausage or the slaw had a kick to it. I don’t do well with spice so it wasn’t my favorite. But Jon’s roast was incredible, very tender and tasty.

We finished our meal and said “real soon, we will see you,” to SWGE and started to make our way out of the park. But first we had more shopping to do! Lesley wanted to stop and look at the pins in Frontierland and I never need extra encouragement to buy pins so we popped in. I got a cute pin with Minnie & Mickey, a Disneyland pin, and a special edition SWGE pin. All very neat. Here they are, along with the Grand Californian pin and the buttons we got from the ABD.

[Maybe by the time I post this I’ll have somewhere to display them all]

[Update: I do not have somewhere to store them all]

While we were in the pin shop I realized that I meant to get one of the special SWGE explosive Coke bottles but totally forgot. At that point I was tired enough that I didn’t want to deal with it so I’ll just have to get one when I go back (which once again, will have happened by the time I post this).

After the pin shop we parted ways with Lesley, who had some other stuff to attend to. It was so awesome to meet you Lesley and I hope we can hang out again soon!

I told Jon I wanted to wander through the shops on Main Street so he went to hang out in the magic shop. I took my time in the shops but only came out with two items, a Disneyland ringer tee and an Alex & Ani bracelet.


The bracelet says chase your dream and I thought it was cute and inspiring. I didn’t realize until I was at home taking it out of the package that it’s a runDisney bracelet. I have never runDisney and there’s a good chance I never will, so I feel like an imposter wearing it but really who cares? It’s adorable.

While I’m at it, here’s the SWGE merch we ended up with.




The R2D2 puzzle and one of the ewoks is for my brother Anakin (yes, that’s his real name). The thing in the bottom left is a Jawa Sandcrawler and when you open it up there’s two little wooden Jawas in there. It’s so cute! I also snagged a music box that plays the Imperial March. That and our ewok are hanging out in our Star Wars guest room.

Purchases in hand, I met up with Jon who told me about his fun moment with the magic shop CM. I think I mentioned this but Jon is into magic. He loves card tricks and watching magicians. Well he mentioned to the CM that we were going to the Magic Castle the next day and the guy said that he has performed there and knew people who would be there that night. He gave Jon someone to request/make sure we saw and to tell him that he sent us.

But the cool part is that the CM asked Jon if he knew who Penn & Teller were. Jon absolutely does and watches their show all the time! (Penn & Teller are two fairly well-known professional magicians and they have a show where they invite magicians on to try and fool them with their tricks) So the CM told Jon that he was actually about to be on the show in like three days! He brought Jon behind the counter and showed him some photos from the set. I didn’t see the show, but Jon watched it when it aired and said the guy was good but he didn’t fool Penn & Teller.

How cool is that? See, I don’t like talking to people so I don’t get stories like that. That’s why I’m grateful for Jon, who is extroverted enough for both of us and can supply me with great anecdotes to share with others while I stay quietly in the background (probably taking photos).



Jon told me all that as we were walking out of the park for the last time. It was about 9:30pm and it was a little later than I thought we would have left but I wouldn’t have changed any of it. We paused at the end of Main Street to say a nice See Ya Real Soon to Disneyland before going back to the Grand Californian parking lot to pick up our car and collect our luggage.

After all that we hit the road and made it to our hotel at a cozy 11:00pm. We got all checked in and went to sleep with the peace that only comes from knowing that you don’t have any alarms set for the next morning.
 
Lesley said she was at Pizza Planet, which was conveniently nearby. She came out the door right as I walked up and we got to meet in person for the first time!
I can only assume she had a pizza slice in her hand as a greeting gift...
Soon enough we decided we had enough of the chit chat and went off to have adventures instead.
::yes:: One can only chit chat so long when rides are calling your name...
New life motto: Less chit chat, more adventures.
:laughing: I like it! Excellent motto.
Please note that chit chatting while having an adventure is acceptable, though shouldn’t be overdone.
Of course. And not during rides. Screaming is allowed, when appropriate.
(i.e. BTMRR = ::yes:: IASW = :sad2: )
When we got off I realized that my sunglasses had fallen out of my pocket, but thankfully the CM at the exit had them.
Phew! Lucky the CM had them.
They’re vintage and cute and do their job well and I would have been quite sore to see them go.
You mean your eyes would've been sore? From the sun?
We let her do all the talking and sure enough, the CM let her through with us. Way to go Lesley, smooth talker of the year.
:worship:
Holy crap... :faint:
as soon as it was announced I knew I had to get one in my belly.
And I'm sure your belly thanked you.
we triple-teamed it and finished it all together.
This is illegal in wrestling.
We were in the mood for another ride so we went over to Indy where once again Lesley used her magical powers to convince the CM to let her go in with us through the FP lane.
How does she do that???
BUT it was good that we waited because when they officially cleared the queue they gave everyone who left a FP.
Score!
I wanted to go back to SWGE to see it at night
I believe it is darker, then.
but we made a pit stop at Haunted Mansion since it had a short wait.
Always a good call.
I tried taking some photos inside the ride but my note says I wasn’t sure if any turned out. As I’m writing this I honestly can’t remember if any did turn out, so we’ll just have to wait and see when it comes time to post whether or not I did. Probably not. Who knows.
They did! Especially the bride. She's hard to photograph.
(I was going to say "hard to get"... but thought. "No. Not really... at least in the short term.")
[Okay so three turned out. Out of maybe 50?]
Three is good. ::yes::
I realized that we probably wouldn’t get much use out of it, and $100 is a lot to pay for something that’s just going to sit there.
<sigh> That's mine. At least it sits by the front entrance so when people come over they can shake their heads at the waste of money.
Cool! Didn't see that! (assuming it's also at WDW)
Like this shot. :)
[The Village Ackbars]
:lmao:
It was really cool to watch the transition to dusk and see all the lights come on.
:) I bet it is.
like how you can make the Millenium Falcon do some cool stuff like blow out steam.
What? What? I didn't know that!!!
I need a Leslie tour guide!
Jon grabbed his fork and announced that he was going to eat and Lesley audibly gasped and said, “Before the picture??”

See Jon, I’m not crazy. It’s a Dis thing.
:laughing:
The Ronto Wrap was fine, but either the sausage or the slaw had a kick to it. I don’t do well with spice so it wasn’t my favorite. But Jon’s roast was incredible, very tender and tasty.
I think I'd like to try both of those. :)
While we were in the pin shop I realized that I meant to get one of the special SWGE explosive Coke bottles but totally forgot.
I did get one of those and am actually happier about that than the droid!
The bracelet says chase your dream and I thought it was cute and inspiring.
I like it. :)
I have never runDisney and there’s a good chance I never will, so I feel like an imposter wearing it but really who cares? It’s adorable.
Oh, no worries there because all you have to do is decide that instead of running in an actual marathon or even a half marathon or even a 5K run which is still more than I really want to run, myself, because I've never been a fan of long distance running although I used to do it (reluctantly) in school, but I was always more happy doing short sprints because, you know, they're shorter, but in any event, that's neither here nor there because all you really need to do is write a run-on sentence and that can be your type of "running" and it all works out.
my brother Anakin (yes, that’s his real name).
You. Are. Kidding...
The thing in the bottom left is a Jawa Sandcrawler and when you open it up there’s two little wooden Jawas in there. It’s so cute!
I like that!!
I think I mentioned this but Jon is into magic.
::yes::
He loves card tricks and watching magicians.
Um... who doesn't?
He gave Jon someone to request/make sure we saw and to tell him that he sent us.
Nice!
But the cool part is that the CM asked Jon if he knew who Penn & Teller were.
Oh yes! ::yes:: I've been watching them for about 30 years now.
I saw their stage show in Vegas and loved it. You get to meet them afterwards and I spoke with Penn.
So the CM told Jon that he was actually about to be on the show in like three days!
Cool!
 
(i.e. BTMRR = ::yes:: IASW = :sad2: )
Agreed!

You mean your eyes would've been sore? From the sun?
*suns

And I'm sure your belly thanked you.
Ohhhh it did. It certainly did. No other funnel cake can compare now.

This is illegal in wrestling.
And underwater basket weaving.

How does she do that???
She has magical mystical powers.

I believe it is darker, then.
Well with multiple suns I wasn't sure

(I was going to say "hard to get"... but thought. "No. Not really... at least in the short term.")
She's just hard to keep is all

At least it sits by the front entrance so when people come over they can shake their heads at the waste of money.
A constant reminder....

Cool! Didn't see that! (assuming it's also at WDW)
I'll have to look!

What? What? I didn't know that!!!
I need a Leslie tour guide!
She is an absolute font of knowledge and wisdom and I highly recommend Tours by Lesley

all you really need to do is write a run-on sentence and that can be your type of "running" and it all works out.
I could get on board with this

You. Are. Kidding...
Nope not even a little. I know I kid about most things, but for once I'm completely serious. That is the name of my 14 year old brother.

I saw their stage show in Vegas and loved it. You get to meet them afterwards and I spoke with Penn.
Jon got to see them here when they did a tour and he loved it! Their show is pretty much the only reason I would consider a trip to Vegas.
 


How nice that you got to meet Lesley! I'm amazed with her ability to talk herself into the Fastpass lines... impressive!

I don't think I'll ever drop the money to build a droid, but they are pretty cool. (So, did you build one?)

It's sad that your amazing ABD adventure is over! It sounded amazing and it seems like you loved every minute of it!
 
Nope. You said you lost them on Toad. Only one sun there.
Ohhhh it did. It certainly did. No other funnel cake can compare now.
Funnel cake snob!
And underwater basket weaving.
Of course.
She has magical mystical powers.
Ooohhhh
Well with multiple suns I wasn't sure
Valid point. Depends on the configuration I suppose.
She is an absolute font of knowledge and wisdom and I highly recommend Tours by Lesley
I’m not a bit surprised.
Nope not even a little. I know I kid about most things, but for once I'm completely serious. That is the name of my 14 year old brother.
Please don’t make me do the math. Named after the Star Wars character? Or just a coincidence?
Jon got to see them here when they did a tour and he loved it! Their show is pretty much the only reason I would consider a trip to Vegas.
And Ka, by Cirque du Soleil.
 


(So, did you build one?)
I did not! And I didn't build one went I went back a couple weeks ago... I dropped some $$ on a pretty sweet Christmas onesie so I didn't feel justified getting a droid as well

It's sad that your amazing ABD adventure is over! It sounded amazing and it seems like you loved every minute of it!
Yeah it was bittersweet to see the end of the ABD, even though it wasn't the end of the trip.
 
Please don’t make me do the math. Named after the Star Wars character? Or just a coincidence?
Oh yeah for sure named after the character. It was my dad's idea and my mom just liked the sound of it so there ya go
 
A different kind of castle

Good news everyone! Since the ABD part is officially over, there are no more spoilers. Just some spoil-free fun. However, the Disney part of the trip is over so if that’s all you care about then it was nice knowin ya, see ya next TR. JK, please don't leave. My fragile ego requires constant stroking.

For all my true fans who are sticking it out ‘til the end, I’ll do my best to bring my A-game and keep you laughing, crying, and sneezing uncontrollably until my last breath.

So when last I left you we had checked into our last hotel for the trip, the Magic Castle Hotel, which was back in Hollywood. It was actually only a few blocks from the Loews! We were on the first floor, near the pool and with a room that faced the road so I was worried it would be too loud but I put my earplugs in and didn’t hear a thing!





[I said on our reservation that we were there for our anniversary and they left us this little gift! It went unopened since I don't drink red wine and Jon doesn't drink at all, but it was a sweet gesture.]

We both slept really well, which is no surprise considering the whole ABD had been pretty go-go-go. I woke up before Jon and decided to explore the hotel.

Which took all of 5 minutes.









It’s a very simple hotel, with a small reception area, pool/courtyard, and the rooms. But though it is but small, it is mighty. The major reason we picked this hotel was because it’s the only way to get into the Magic Castle unless you are invited by a member of the club. We know no such members, so a hotel reservation was needed.

This is actually a little known fact about the Magic Castle. Most people think that the only way to get into the Magic Castle is to know someone, not many people know that if you’re like us and are bereft of magical friends then all you need to do is book at the Magic Castle Hotel and ask them to make a reservation in your name.

So that was the number one reason we booked the hotel, but in addition to the Magic Castle entry, the hotel comes with some other pretty awesome perks. One of those perks is all the free snacks. Everything on this list can be requested, in any quantity, at any time from the front desk.





There’s also this amazing contraption:



The Popsicle Hotline

Unfortunately we never got a chance to try the Popsicle Hotline but we for sure got our share of the snacks.

When I finished ‘checking out the hotel’ I stopped by to check out the breakfast offerings. There weren’t many left but I did grab a cup of tea and some snacks from the front desk.

I present to you the most “eh whatever it’s vacation” breakfast I’ve ever consumed. It consisted of tea, peanut butter M&Ms, crackers, and a Coke. (The very same Coke that I requested from the ABD welcome dinner)



With my breakfast of vacation champions I settled into a table by the pool and read for a while. It was so amazing and relaxing and I’m glad we finally had a chill morning.

Jon got up a little while later and we made plans for the day. The plans were very simple: get lunch, watch the Lion King, and go to the Magic Castle. Pretty exciting anniversary plans.

Did I mention that this was our actual anniversary? We celebrated six years of marriage by eating candy for breakfast, watching a children’s movie, and dressing up to see magicians perform in a Victorian mansion. Pretty typical Ann & Jon stuff.

We wanted to watch Lion King at the El Capitan but it was sold out for the day so we went down to the Chinese Theater. They had plenty of tickets and I remember our tour guide from the ABD mention that if we wanted to see a movie that night we could drop his name at the box office and they would give us $5 off per ticket.

Even though that was several days earlier we thought we would try our luck. So Jon ordered the tickets and said something like “Levi said to let you know he sent us here.” And the guy at the box office looked at us funny, then picked up the phone and started calling someone. Jon and I looked at each other with a small amount of fear in our eyes and we realized the guy thought we were trying to get free tickets. So Jon interrupted him and let him know that we were trying to buy tickets and thought there was a discount but it was totally fine if there wasn’t. He said he misunderstood and got us our (full price) discount.

Eh it was worth a try.



The movie wasn’t for another hour and a half so we went off to lunch. I wanted In N Out because that’s what you do when you’re in SoCal. There’s one a few blocks away from Hollywood Blvd so we decided to walk. On the way we passed by a familiar scene:




Don't recognize it? I'd tell you more, tell you more but I don't wanna brag. It's where the Summer Lovin scene from Grease was filmed. And now I hope that song is stuck in your head all day.

When we got to In N Out the lines were so far out the door it was nuts. There was barely even room to stand.



As much as I love In N Out I do NOT love crowds like that, so we ditched that idea and started walking back toward Hollywood Blvd in search of somewhere else to eat. The sign for Mel’s Diner rose high over some buildings and we decided to try there instead. It was a good choice because they were able to sit us straight away.



Isn’t there a Mel’s Diner at Universal? Am I making that up in my head?

It’s a super retro diner that’s really cute. There’s mini jukeboxes at each table and everything. When we were seated they were playing the whole Grease soundtrack (ironic, I know). It was a total vibe.



Jon was making small talk with the waitress and asked if they ever had any celebrities in to eat. She looked at us and said, “Oh yeah, all the time! The Stranger Things kids were just in here yesterday.”

FOILED. AGAIN.

Seriously time after time we were sooo close to a celebrity sighting and we missed it once again!



Oh well, we came for food, not famous people. I ordered a short rib grilled cheese and Jon got a burger with avocado and bacon. The food was exactly what you would expect from a retro style diner. It was good, greasy, and slightly overpriced. But it was a nice meal and it was so much less crowded than In N Out would have been.





By the time we wrapped up lunch it was just about time to make or way to the movie. I grabbed some popcorn because I must have popcorn at every movie. It’s just who I am. We had also stocked up on some of the free snacks from the hotel before we left so we were snackfully prepared.



The movie was good but the really great part of the experience was seeing a movie in the Chinese Theater. If you remember from my tour tidbits, it’s the 5th largest IMAX in the world. So the screen was super big and it was also really loud. We think because it only has one theater that they don’t have to worry about sound infiltration or anything so they really clanked that sound up.



We walked back to our hotel and began to get ready for the evening. The Magic Castle has an insanely strict dress code so we had to pack super fancy clothes and I needed to make sure we were *extra* presentable that evening. A short (well, not so short actually. It takes time to become extra presentable) we were walking next door to the Magic Castle!


 
There’s magic in the air

Warning, this is going to be mostly text. You can't take any photos inside the Magic Castle once you get past the lobby. We didn't even take our phones out, just in case someone thought we were sneaking photos and kicked us out.
As excited as Jon was for the ABD, I think we was looking forward to the Magic Castle even more.

There’s a little photo background when you get in that is reminiscent of a red carpet. There was another group there and we asked if they would take our photo because you do not get extra presentable and not document in photographic form.


ckr

If anyone followed my PTR then you know how much I stressed about what to wear to the Magic Castle. Jon was easy. Just throw on a suit. But the women’s dress code was a little more nuanced because it straddled the line between evening gown and cocktail attire. I didn’t want to be too dressy but I definitely didn’t want to be underdressed!

And we got a first-hand account of how seriously they take the dress code. A woman checked in right before us and she was wearing slacks with a cardigan over her top. They wouldn’t let her in because the dress code states that if you wear slacks you have to wear a blazer. A cardigan is not good enough. So she had to borrow a blazer from their emergency stash for people who don’t take the dress code seriously.

We got past the fashion police with no worries and were soon being led to our table, even though neither of us was hungry at all. But you have to buy dinner to have access to the shows so I guess if we just had to eat another delicious meal then we would take that one for the magical team.

The Magic Castle was our last chance to see celebrities. It’s known to be a favorite hangout for the famous and insta-famous because they have a rigid no-photo policy. We were on the lookout all night. I secretly hoped we would see Neil Patrick Harris, who was at one point in time the president of the Academy of Magical Arts. I soon realized that we would not be seeing him because our server let us know that we were sitting in his regular booth.

I guess if I couldn’t see NPH I could at least put my butt where his has been. Our booth was also the regular booth for John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, so I crossed them off my list of possible celebrity run-ins for the night.

For dinner I got a lamb dish and Jon got an absolutely massive tomahawk ribeye. To drink I got a glass of special Magic Castle brut. Everything was absolutely delicious, even though we barely had room to finish it all.

After dinner it was time for the magic! The way the shows work is there are multiple rooms/stages around the building and there are shows going pretty much all the time. All are included so you can go to any of them, as long as there’s room. But some of the rooms are really small, like the close up magic room which only has like 15 seats.

For our first show we decided to check out what was on the main stage, which is the biggest stage in the building. When we got seated I saw two seats that were reserved. The room filled up and those seats stayed empty so I told Jon I wondered if it was for celebrities and they would just slide in right before show time so no one would bother them. We both waited anxiously for them to be filled and when they were it was by…a couple of normal people.

Le sigh.

This happened at pretty much every show and the seats were never filled by celebrities. At least not any that I recognized.

The show was fun and the magicians were really funny! We ended up seeing a couple more shows but the Castle was really busy that night so a lot of them filled up before we got there. The one show that Jon knew he wanted to see was the close up show so we actually got in line for it as the show before was starting. Which meant we stood in line through the whole first show, then for the time in between. So like 45 minutes. But even with all that waiting we still got two of the last seats in the room.

Overall we enjoyed all of the shows, and we both got a chance to be involved in some of them! Jon did a card trick with a magician called the White Hare and I participated in something where they were tricking me the whole time but at the end they turned a scarf into a dove right in front of me! It was funny because the magician was standing behind me but had his arms in front of me and right before he released the dove he whispered “Don’t freak out.”

Very smooth.

Our waiter at dinner told us we had to get the banana cream pie at some point in the night since it was the Castle’s specialty dessert. We got some in between some shows and OH MY GOODNESS no other banana cream pie will ever compare. It is heaven on a crust. My mouth drips with the thought of its creamy goodness.

We found a couple of Disney ties in the Magic Castle, too! One was a photo of Mickey and one was a painting of Walt and the creator of the Magic Castle with their respective castles in the background. It was really cool.

Oh, and the guy who was suggested by the DL magic shop CM was only performing during dinner time so we missed him. But I bet he was great!

On our way out we stopped for a photo in the lobby and Jon looked for souvenirs to commemorate the evening. We ended up spending almost 7 hours at the Magic Castle between dinner and all the shows. It was an amazing experience and we are both so glad we got to go! And it was a pretty cool way to celebrate our anniversary.


 
Last edited:
Manhattan Beach takes parking tickets very seriously

Well guys, it’s been one heck of a wild ride but we did it. We made it to the end of the TR. Just this one last update and we’ll be finished, caput, finito.

So for our last day we decided to go for a relaxing day at the beach. We don’t have many of those where we’re from (in fact we have zero, because I refuse to count lakes). Jon had done a little bit of research the day before and made a plan for us.



After sleeping in a little we packed up, checked out, and grabbed some more free snacks for the road. First we drove down to Rodondo Beach, which was really beautiful. But as soon as we got out of the car we realized our beach day probably wouldn’t look the way we planned it in our head.

Because it was cold.

Somehow we had wonderful mid-80s temps the whole week and then on our ONE BEACH DAY it dropped to like the low 70s, and the breeze off the water was quite cool. It was also quite strong, which meant my cute sun hat was a no-go for the day.

We didn’t plan on staying at Rodondo, we just wanted to look around and explore a little. It’s kind of right on the edge of where the main stream sandy beaches in the LA area give way to the rockier beaches further south. There were pretty plans around and lots of cliffs, but the beaches were all rock beaches and all we had were towels.















After a while we got back and the car and headed to our real destination for the day- Hermosa Beach. Hey did you know that weekends in July are crazy busy at LA beaches? Cuz we didn’t. But oh did we find out.

Parking was chaotic, an absolute nightmare. We couldn’t find anything so we decided to keep going north toward Manhattan Beach, which was just as bad. All the lots and parking structures were full. We found a street spot about a half mile from the beach area we wanted to be at but we thought we could get close so we turned around.

Huge mistake.

Eventually we found a street spot further inland but still at least half a mile from the beach but we were done trying at that point so we just went for it. At that point we had been trying to park for over an hour.

It was about 2pm and my tummy was downright mad at me so we decided to get lunch before going down to the water. Manhattan Beach has a lot of yummy places to eat and we decided to try Lemonade, which I think is a local chain. It’s served cafeteria-style where you go down the line and add stuff a la carte. It’s also wildly overpriced. I think we paid like $43 for this.



The food was good, though! And the lemonades were delightful (you would hope they would be at a place called Lemonade).

With our bellies satisfied and our wallet significantly lighter we finally went down to the beach. We explored the pier first and popped into the small aquarium because it’s free (and we wanted out of the wind). It was busy so we didn’t spend a ton of time there and eventually went down to stake out a spot on the beach.





We didn’t walk too far. Even though it was crowded we don’t take up too much space so it was easy to find a spot and we didn’t feel the particular need to be far away from other people. We laid out our towels and settled in for a couple hours of relaxation.



We napped, I read and eavesdropped on our neighbors and we both worked on our tans. As chilly as it was it was still a nice, relaxing time. We just didn’t play in the water or sweat quite as much as we anticipated.



With only the two of us and without wanting to get in the water we didn’t feel the need to stay super long. After about two hours of resting we started a slow walk back, this time walking along the water.



Since it was our last day of vacation we needed one last vacation snack to end on. I had been to Manhattan Beach before and knew of a great dessert spot called Manhattan Beach Creamery. When we got there the line was out the door but I was set on a frozen banana so we stuck it out. I got my frozen banana and Jon got this massive banana split (go big or go home, right? Or in this case go bit, THEN go home).









[I almost got one of these instead. Frozen cheesecake on a popsicle stick?? Amazing]

There was no seating so we had to walk a few blocks to get somewhere to sit down (we actually ended up going to some picnic tables outside of Lemonade). It was funny because here was Jon carrying this banana split as big as his head through the crowds of Manhattan Beach. He turned some heads, let me tell ya (I mean he turns my head all the time but that’s just cuz he’s awesome).





Both creations were delicious and the sweetest treat to end on. We cleaned up and used the facilities in Lemonade, and we also filled up on some water. I don’t know if that’s technically against the rules but I did just pay $43 for mac and cheese and lemonade so I felt justified.

We made the long trek (completely uphill, I might add) back to our car to find a very lovely surprise in the form of a parking ticket. And not just a parking ticket. A $53 parking ticket.



I guess we parked in a 2-hour zone. We had been gone about 3 hours and 40 minutes but the real bummer was that we only missed the ticket by 20 minutes. So if we had been 20 minutes sooner we would have been fine.

I don’t know about you all but here at home parking tickets are like $10. Having to pay Manhattan Beach (which is already rollin in some dough) $53 made me mad.

So all in all not an amazing last day, especially compared to the downright incredible days our trip had been filled with thus far. But it still wasn’t terrible! We got good food, time and the beach, and made it safely through LA traffic all the way to the airport.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Airport, airplane, drive home, etc. The only thing of note is that I, the resident crazy person, wanted to squeeze as much time out of our trip as possible so I booked the latest flight possible, which left LA at 8:30pm and got us to our home airport at 1:45am. Gotta love the time change.

The best part? We both had to work the next day.

The things I do for Disney.

And with that, this TR is officially at an end! Thank you for letting me relive this phenomenal trip with you all. It was truly one of the coolest trips of my life and I already can’t wait to do it again.

To wrap up, here's the rest of the goodies we received or bought during the ABD that I haven't shared yet:



[ABD pins!]


[Purchased pins & buttons]


[Personalized ears courtesy of ABD]


[Unique Vintage Mickey pullover]



[Welcome gift from ABD. It's a fold-able duffel bag. This came in handy for storing all of our souvenirs]

 
After eating came the awkward goodbye part. I absolutely hate goodbyes. My usual move is to quietly walk to the door, turn around and say “Goodbye everyone” then leave quickly. That way, no one can I say I didn’t say goodbye but I didn’t actually have to talk to anyone.

This is my tactic too! I'm so awkward that I usually end up stuck talking for way longer instead of just leaving.


I love it!

. Oh boo hoo, the girl doesn’t want her free dessert after all wah wah wah. But all my overeaters out there feel my pain. I know you can relate.

I know this pain way too well.

Jon wanted to ride Mr Toad but the line was a tad long (or should I say a tadpole long??)

:rotfl: :rotfl:

New life motto: Less chit chat, more adventures.

I'm on board with this!


Wow! That looks delicious!

Lesley also pointed out to us some cool features of the app, like how you can make the Millenium Falcon do some cool stuff like blow out steam.

That's really cool. I had no idea.

Jon grabbed his fork and announced that he was going to eat and Lesley audibly gasped and said, “Before the picture??”

:rotfl::rotfl:

The major reason we picked this hotel was because it’s the only way to get into the Magic Castle unless you are invited by a member of the club. We know no such members, so a hotel reservation was needed.

Oo good tip.

48766613837_f65d8aef61_b.jpg

Wow! I could eat my weight in sour patch watermelons please.

The Popsicle Hotline

I never knew I needed a popsicle hotline in my life but now I do.

Isn’t there a Mel’s Diner at Universal? Am I making that up in my head?

There is! That's the first thing I thought of when I saw your picture. I had no clue it was a real thing.


You guys look fantastic!

They wouldn’t let her in because the dress code states that if you wear slacks you have to wear a blazer. A cardigan is not good enough. So she had to borrow a blazer from their emergency stash for people who don’t take the dress code seriously.

Wow! Nice that they had an emergency stash but I certainly wouldn't want to need to borrow from it.

We made the long trek (completely uphill, I might add) back to our car to find a very lovely surprise in the form of a parking ticket. And not just a parking ticket. A $53 parking ticket.

Ugh the worst especially at the end of a vacation!

Thanks for sharing your trip! I loved reading about it!
 
I'm so awkward that I usually end up stuck talking for way longer instead of just leaving.
SAME! Add in the fact that Jon is a social person and tends to take a while with goodbyes anyway.... What happens is I try to leave quickly but can't because he's stuck in conversation so then I get stuck in conversation right when he wraps up then he talks to someone else while he waits and it's just a vicious cycle.

I love it!
Thanks, it's still one of my faves!

Wow! That looks delicious!
I still have dreams about this

Wow! I could eat my weight in sour patch watermelons please.
I'm not saying I did that...but I did come very close

I never knew I needed a popsicle hotline in my life but now I do.
The Power of the Popsicle

You guys look fantastic!
Thank you!

Ugh the worst especially at the end of a vacation!
Right? We were just like...well on that note I guess we'll go home.
 
Other than the $43 lunch (oof!) and the $53 parking ticket (double oof!), what a great end to your trip!

I've never heard of Magic Castle but it sounds like a great time. You both looked great!

I always want to squeeze as much as possible out of my vacation time, too. It's good my travel companions always force me to choose a more reasonable return time - that day of work after your trip must have been rough!

Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip! I'd never considered an ABD trip, but now I think I may have to consider one in the future!
 
Other than the $43 lunch (oof!) and the $53 parking ticket (double oof!), what a great end to your trip!
It wasn't a terribly thrifty end, I'll admit.

I've never heard of Magic Castle but it sounds like a great time. You both looked great!
I hadn't heard of it before planning for this trip but it was so fun!

I always want to squeeze as much as possible out of my vacation time, too. It's good my travel companions always force me to choose a more reasonable return time - that day of work after your trip must have been rough!
We are kindred spirits. Jon convinced me to fly home at like 1pm on our next WDW trip and I'm appalled that I agreed to it (but I'm sure I'll appreciate the rest when the time comes).

I'd never considered an ABD trip, but now I think I may have to consider one in the future!
Mission accomplished! I knew I would enjoy the ABD because of the extras it offered as far as Disney stuff but I honestly fell in love with that style of travel. We already booked an ABD for 2020 and there's a really good chance we'll do one in 2021 as well. Oof.
 
Just binged the report, but I forgot to quote until the part I came in, obviously the most important piece! :P

Some things I did remember: Mystic Manor is so OMG! I loved it and also the music. I considered buying a music box that had the tune (I had been humming it for 2 days), but in the end I was worried about space constraints. I regretted not just getting it though!

The signpost at Imagineering didn't have Shanghai! Boo!

Love the explanation of the TR title!

Lesley had brought her new camera to test out on dark rides so she was snapping away as we went through Toad Hall, to hell, and back! By the way, I never asked how your pictures turned out!
Not awesome! The camera was good for parades and daytime shots. Not so good for moving dark shots!
Jon & I had a FP coming up for BTMRR but we didn’t want to ride without Lesley so we offered to skip it. BUT, in her usual genius way, she suggested that we just ask the CM if she could ride with us. I had never tried that before but she has a lot more experience at Disneyland than I do so we went for it! We let her do all the talking and sure enough, the CM let her through with us. Way to go Lesley, smooth talker of the year.
You better believe it!
We were in the mood for another ride so we went over to Indy where once again Lesley used her magical powers to convince the CM to let her go in with us through the FP lane. I have no idea where these FPs came from, if we used our anytime FP from the ABD or if we pulled paper ones at some point. But apparently we had them??
I think they may have been anytime FPs leftover? I don't think I ended up using the replacement FP though!
Jon grabbed his fork and announced that he was going to eat and Lesley audibly gasped and said, “Before the picture??”

See Jon, I’m not crazy. It’s a Dis thing.
Yup!
After the pin shop we parted ways with Lesley, who had some other stuff to attend to. It was so awesome to meet you Lesley and I hope we can hang out again soon!
Absolutely! You guys are pretty fun and awesome! I'm soo sorry we couldn't meet up in November, but after my trip, there was no way I could get out to Anaheim!
I also snagged a music box that plays the Imperial March.
I remembered your face when you saw/heard it! It was pretty cute!
I can only assume she had a pizza slice in her hand as a greeting gift...
Nope, just in my belly!
What? What? I didn't know that!!!
I need a Leslie tour guide!
Yup! I can make droids beep too!
How nice that you got to meet Lesley! I'm amazed with her ability to talk herself into the Fastpass lines... impressive!

I don't think I'll ever drop the money to build a droid, but they are pretty cool. (So, did you build one?)

It's sad that your amazing ABD adventure is over! It sounded amazing and it seems like you loved every minute of it!
I have pretty good FP smooth talking luck in DL and WDW (I actually don't think I've ever been turned away when I've tried)!
I don’t know about you all but here at home parking tickets are like $10. Having to pay Manhattan Beach (which is already rollin in some dough) $53 made me mad.
Yeah, that's pretty annoying! Though I definitely have paid $40 for parking in Venice some weekends, so a $53 ticket isn't too far off!
 
obviously the most important piece!
Obviously!

Not so good for moving dark shots!
Oh bummer! Hopefully you got some good daytime shots, though. Did you take it to Asia?

I'm soo sorry we couldn't meet up in November, but after my trip, there was no way I could get out to Anaheim!
I totally understand! I probably would have felt bad if you had tried to meet up since I bet you were exhausted.

Though I definitely have paid $40 for parking in Venice some weekends, so a $53 ticket isn't too far off!
YIKES. KC cost of living for the win.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top