violina
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
I've never done one of these, but I figured that it would be potentially useful to others given that my group had a bit of a different year. To start, I'm currently 7 months pregnant, so with my doctor's approval, we went ahead with the trip (the trip was planned before I found out). I went with my friends so that would be one person flying in from NY (Emme), myself from San Jose, and two locals (Kay and Cece).
Friday, October 25
Emme and I coordinated to be at the airport around the same time. We do this routinely when we fly in so we can share the ride over the hotel. This time we opted to grab a cab (based on some info I got from Disboards regarding fares/timing of when you fly in). We fly to LGB because that's the airport that serviced by her preferred airline. It was a flat rate of $45 (including some minor additional fees) to the Grand Californian.
Check-in was normal at the Grand but we did arrive a bit early so our room wasn't ready (which we knew would happen). We checked our bags and headed to over to Steakhouse 55 for the Haunted Mansion Afternoon Tea. She was a bit jetlagged, but still enjoyed the experience. We're pretty familiar with Afternoon Teas and this has been one of our favourites but admittedly this year was a lot tougher than last year or the year before to get reservations. I'm hoping that that is not a trend... In any case,, Kay was going to join us for dinner later so we saved some of the goodies for her.
We picked up the ECV (scooter), which I would be using throughout my stay. My husband had to use one last year so I had some familiarity along with Kay, but Emme had to learn about it. We had discussed this beforehand, that I was instructed to alternate between using the scooter and walking so I'd need help from them in the parks. I ordered the scooter from One Stop Mobility and it was delivered to the hotel (along with picked up from there as well), and it was Bell Services that went over the basics of how to use it.
Dinner was at Napa Rose and as usual, the service and food was great.
Saturday, October 26
Emme and I did Plaza Inn for breakfast. There were lots of characters though where we were seated, quite a few never actually made it to us. Off the top of my head, we got pictures and signatures with Chip, Dale, Eeyore, Hook, Fairy Godmother, and Max. We managed to get a signature from Tigger but not a picture. We saw Suzy, Perla, Pooh, and Minnie but didn't get signatures or pictures. We did not have traditional autograph books, but rather I bought two Disney Princess Cookbooks to have signed for my kiddo and my niece & nephew. The food was good but we didn't care for how the lines were structured for the food.
Kay joined us for lunch at Blue Bayou for the Fantasmic dining package. Blue Bayou is a favourite of ours so it's pretty normal to say that the food and service was great. We got the pads for sitting which was great.
Fantasmic was a great show and I felt like they had a lot of things ironed out for the seating with regard to us having the scooter. The one annoyance I had (which is not a big deal) was that there wasn't any time at all between Fantasmic and the Halloween Screams show. So when I tried to navigate back to where we were seated, it took me a while to find it due to the crowds crowding the paths. >shrug<
Dinner was a bit of a scramble and the one takeaway that we all had was that we needed to assure that we had dining plans already worked out (reserved) because a lot of places were closed and it was hard to figure out what was actually open to order from.
Sunday, October 27
Emme and I did the Napa Rose Princess Breakfast Adventures. That was such a great experience, though I will say, you absolutely need to allot 2.5-3 hours for it. She's very into character dining so this was right up her alley. Upon arriving you are asked if you'd like champagne, however I asked for sparkling apple cider (which we both got). After playing some Tic-tac-toe on the Rapunzel themed board, we were ready to be seated.
You start off with the appetizers which is akin to a smaller Afternoon Tea (in a way). There were a few items I couldn't eat but I knew that we'd be walking over to the buffet so I didn't bother to mention that to the waiter. I figured that anything I couldn't eat, I'd save for Kay (who we'd see later) but I do know that usually the restaurants are pretty flexible if you mention something to them. The buffet was a small selection, but a pretty varied one since it was more of a brunch. During this time that you're seated, princesses come up to greet you (and I got them to sign the cookbook). You get a dessert platter afterwards and then are escorted outside to have story time with a princess. In total, you meet 6 of them.
Kay and Cece joined for Oogie Boogie's Bash so they came a bit early for the mix-in (at 2 PM). There wasn't much of a line to get in since we used the GCH entrance (but also that we were there so early?). They were able to get on a few rides and check things out before we headed to Wine Country Trattoria for lunch (we did the parade viewing package). I have to say that Wine Country Trattoria was not my favourite meal, though I did enjoy the dessert. We ended up not using the FP's we received so that we could sit in front of the Ariel ride and navigate quicker to World of Color which was not long after the parade.
The parade is a favourite of the group, though there wasn't much changes from last year. The Villainous WOC was nice, I think the group enjoyed it. Kay and Cece had to leave early due to work the following day (the drawback of a Sunday night event) so Emme and I did the trick-or-treating around the park. The immersive trails were great and overall that was a nice experience – they did all love Villains Grove though.
Dinner was at Hearthstone Lounge at GCH since a lot of things closed within the park and we didn't want to spend too much time figuring out what was still open in Downtown Disney.
Monday, October 28
Breakfast was to-go from Craftsman Bar. I love their selection and it's pretty useful if you're on-site to grab food from there. I had forgotten about the Mobile Order feature so I just had to go down myself to grab what we wanted. After that we spent the day in California Adventure. We had lunch at Lamplight Lounge, which was such a great atmosphere. The meal was great though Emme and I felt that the portions were huge (which may or may not be a good thing depending on how you look at it).
For dinner we went to Carthay's Circle and did the World of Color viewing package. The meal and service was great (as it always is! This is another favourite of ours). For the WOC viewing, at first we were directed to the dining package section till they saw the scooter and they redirected us to the other section. The seating section was great and WOC was wonderful.
We asked Bell Services what they thought would be the best timeframe to leave in the morning for our flights and they recommended that we call to reserve a taxi and that the taxi company could likely tell us what was the best timeframe. Emme made the call and weirdly enough the taxi company told us that they couldn't issue a timeframe and that it was best if we Googled it and told them exactly what time to show up. They did offer to book a time and told us “in the event you feel that isn't enough time, you can call back to change it” so we just asked them to send a taxi 30 minutes earlier than the suggested time they had.
Tuesday, October 29
Check out day! We had to leave early so this was the day that I did want to utilize the mobile order feature at Craftsman Bar but go figure, it wasn't working for some reason. Luckily for us, at that time in the morning, there wasn't a wait for the meals so we were able to get it quickly and stay on schedule.
The taxi messaged Emme about it being on it's way and being there. So by the time we came downstairs, they were there waiting for us. We made it with ample time to spare to LGB however I will mention that their flat rate was $55.
Notes
Rides: Before the trip, I compiled a list of rides that I could and could not go on (for my own reference), but for the most part, my group wasn't really interested in rides this year. I'm not sure if that was because of me or just because we had a lot going on (specifically Kay and Emme who had to tackle work related issues).
Food: The group is really into food so we need to plan dinners better... Though this may not be a thing that most visitors are interested in. Just don't start looking for food options too late because you might find yourself scrambling for options. The Wifi wasn't always dependable nor was the mobile ordering (though I've heard that others have had luck with it; we didn't though). My group will definitely line up dinner reservations as a priority.
Pregnancy Notes: There were a lot of food "gotchas" that I wasn't willing to take the risk on. With that being said, there's still a lot to enjoy... But I did find myself Googling a lot of "can pregnant women eat..." The ECV was great and I will admit that I was against it in the beginning, however the length of the stay almost required it. I'm glad I opted for it. I brought along my maternity bump wedge pillow (the one just for the bump and not full body) and that was also a great (and necessary) item to have but don't underestimate how much space it takes up in your luggage when trying to account for souvenirs as well.
Let me know if there's anything I can help answer! I hope this was helpful to someone. Lol.
Friday, October 25
Emme and I coordinated to be at the airport around the same time. We do this routinely when we fly in so we can share the ride over the hotel. This time we opted to grab a cab (based on some info I got from Disboards regarding fares/timing of when you fly in). We fly to LGB because that's the airport that serviced by her preferred airline. It was a flat rate of $45 (including some minor additional fees) to the Grand Californian.
Check-in was normal at the Grand but we did arrive a bit early so our room wasn't ready (which we knew would happen). We checked our bags and headed to over to Steakhouse 55 for the Haunted Mansion Afternoon Tea. She was a bit jetlagged, but still enjoyed the experience. We're pretty familiar with Afternoon Teas and this has been one of our favourites but admittedly this year was a lot tougher than last year or the year before to get reservations. I'm hoping that that is not a trend... In any case,, Kay was going to join us for dinner later so we saved some of the goodies for her.
We picked up the ECV (scooter), which I would be using throughout my stay. My husband had to use one last year so I had some familiarity along with Kay, but Emme had to learn about it. We had discussed this beforehand, that I was instructed to alternate between using the scooter and walking so I'd need help from them in the parks. I ordered the scooter from One Stop Mobility and it was delivered to the hotel (along with picked up from there as well), and it was Bell Services that went over the basics of how to use it.
Dinner was at Napa Rose and as usual, the service and food was great.
Saturday, October 26
Emme and I did Plaza Inn for breakfast. There were lots of characters though where we were seated, quite a few never actually made it to us. Off the top of my head, we got pictures and signatures with Chip, Dale, Eeyore, Hook, Fairy Godmother, and Max. We managed to get a signature from Tigger but not a picture. We saw Suzy, Perla, Pooh, and Minnie but didn't get signatures or pictures. We did not have traditional autograph books, but rather I bought two Disney Princess Cookbooks to have signed for my kiddo and my niece & nephew. The food was good but we didn't care for how the lines were structured for the food.
Kay joined us for lunch at Blue Bayou for the Fantasmic dining package. Blue Bayou is a favourite of ours so it's pretty normal to say that the food and service was great. We got the pads for sitting which was great.
Fantasmic was a great show and I felt like they had a lot of things ironed out for the seating with regard to us having the scooter. The one annoyance I had (which is not a big deal) was that there wasn't any time at all between Fantasmic and the Halloween Screams show. So when I tried to navigate back to where we were seated, it took me a while to find it due to the crowds crowding the paths. >shrug<
Dinner was a bit of a scramble and the one takeaway that we all had was that we needed to assure that we had dining plans already worked out (reserved) because a lot of places were closed and it was hard to figure out what was actually open to order from.
Sunday, October 27
Emme and I did the Napa Rose Princess Breakfast Adventures. That was such a great experience, though I will say, you absolutely need to allot 2.5-3 hours for it. She's very into character dining so this was right up her alley. Upon arriving you are asked if you'd like champagne, however I asked for sparkling apple cider (which we both got). After playing some Tic-tac-toe on the Rapunzel themed board, we were ready to be seated.
You start off with the appetizers which is akin to a smaller Afternoon Tea (in a way). There were a few items I couldn't eat but I knew that we'd be walking over to the buffet so I didn't bother to mention that to the waiter. I figured that anything I couldn't eat, I'd save for Kay (who we'd see later) but I do know that usually the restaurants are pretty flexible if you mention something to them. The buffet was a small selection, but a pretty varied one since it was more of a brunch. During this time that you're seated, princesses come up to greet you (and I got them to sign the cookbook). You get a dessert platter afterwards and then are escorted outside to have story time with a princess. In total, you meet 6 of them.
Kay and Cece joined for Oogie Boogie's Bash so they came a bit early for the mix-in (at 2 PM). There wasn't much of a line to get in since we used the GCH entrance (but also that we were there so early?). They were able to get on a few rides and check things out before we headed to Wine Country Trattoria for lunch (we did the parade viewing package). I have to say that Wine Country Trattoria was not my favourite meal, though I did enjoy the dessert. We ended up not using the FP's we received so that we could sit in front of the Ariel ride and navigate quicker to World of Color which was not long after the parade.
The parade is a favourite of the group, though there wasn't much changes from last year. The Villainous WOC was nice, I think the group enjoyed it. Kay and Cece had to leave early due to work the following day (the drawback of a Sunday night event) so Emme and I did the trick-or-treating around the park. The immersive trails were great and overall that was a nice experience – they did all love Villains Grove though.
Dinner was at Hearthstone Lounge at GCH since a lot of things closed within the park and we didn't want to spend too much time figuring out what was still open in Downtown Disney.
Monday, October 28
Breakfast was to-go from Craftsman Bar. I love their selection and it's pretty useful if you're on-site to grab food from there. I had forgotten about the Mobile Order feature so I just had to go down myself to grab what we wanted. After that we spent the day in California Adventure. We had lunch at Lamplight Lounge, which was such a great atmosphere. The meal was great though Emme and I felt that the portions were huge (which may or may not be a good thing depending on how you look at it).
For dinner we went to Carthay's Circle and did the World of Color viewing package. The meal and service was great (as it always is! This is another favourite of ours). For the WOC viewing, at first we were directed to the dining package section till they saw the scooter and they redirected us to the other section. The seating section was great and WOC was wonderful.
We asked Bell Services what they thought would be the best timeframe to leave in the morning for our flights and they recommended that we call to reserve a taxi and that the taxi company could likely tell us what was the best timeframe. Emme made the call and weirdly enough the taxi company told us that they couldn't issue a timeframe and that it was best if we Googled it and told them exactly what time to show up. They did offer to book a time and told us “in the event you feel that isn't enough time, you can call back to change it” so we just asked them to send a taxi 30 minutes earlier than the suggested time they had.
Tuesday, October 29
Check out day! We had to leave early so this was the day that I did want to utilize the mobile order feature at Craftsman Bar but go figure, it wasn't working for some reason. Luckily for us, at that time in the morning, there wasn't a wait for the meals so we were able to get it quickly and stay on schedule.
The taxi messaged Emme about it being on it's way and being there. So by the time we came downstairs, they were there waiting for us. We made it with ample time to spare to LGB however I will mention that their flat rate was $55.
Notes
Rides: Before the trip, I compiled a list of rides that I could and could not go on (for my own reference), but for the most part, my group wasn't really interested in rides this year. I'm not sure if that was because of me or just because we had a lot going on (specifically Kay and Emme who had to tackle work related issues).
Food: The group is really into food so we need to plan dinners better... Though this may not be a thing that most visitors are interested in. Just don't start looking for food options too late because you might find yourself scrambling for options. The Wifi wasn't always dependable nor was the mobile ordering (though I've heard that others have had luck with it; we didn't though). My group will definitely line up dinner reservations as a priority.
Pregnancy Notes: There were a lot of food "gotchas" that I wasn't willing to take the risk on. With that being said, there's still a lot to enjoy... But I did find myself Googling a lot of "can pregnant women eat..." The ECV was great and I will admit that I was against it in the beginning, however the length of the stay almost required it. I'm glad I opted for it. I brought along my maternity bump wedge pillow (the one just for the bump and not full body) and that was also a great (and necessary) item to have but don't underestimate how much space it takes up in your luggage when trying to account for souvenirs as well.
Let me know if there's anything I can help answer! I hope this was helpful to someone. Lol.
