DL opened at 9am on Monday, so my hubby and I headed down at 8am planning on having breakfast on Main Street before the rope drop. When we got down to the DL entrance, we found out that Main Street didn't open until 8:30am so we hung out and waited. We could tell the crowds would probably be small that day because by the time they opened the turnstiles, the lines were not that long at all.
They have a CM at a small table in front of each turnstile and they look through your backpacks, purses, and hipsacks (although half the time during our trip, they would forget to look through our backback and just look through the hipsack even though my husband would put both on the table each time...too much confusion at the table I guess). Also at this table on Monday they were giving an Earth Day button to each guest. It says Environmentality Around the World - Earth Day 2002 and has Jimminy Cricket on it, it's pretty cute. Tink33, if you collect these and would like one, send me a private message with your address and I will send one to you (would like to say thanks for the hotel tip).
We headed down Main Street and were the 1st guests at the Blue Ribbon Bakery. I had a sticky bun & cafe mocha and hubby had a blue berry muffin & milk. We sat at a table in the ice cream shop window and watched everyone lining up for the rope drop as we ate. There's something about the cafe mochas at DL, they are sooo yummy! After breakfast, we dropped our backpack at the lockers ($3 per day with access all day long) and they were dropping the rope as headed out of the locker area.
We got a Fastpass for Indy and then made 1pm lunch reservations at the Blue Bayou (DL is just not the same without lunch there). There was no line for Pirates, so we rode that and then the Haunted Mansion. We wandered around New Orleans Square a little, but the shops weren't opened yet so we headed back to Indy and walked right on with our Fastpass. We decided to ride the Matterhorn next, so we headed over there, stopping in the big Adventureland gift shop on the way over. The Matterhorn line was the longest one of the day with a 15 min wait. The line was only on one side (the Tomorrowland side) although they were running both tracks, so the line kept moving pretty quickly. We rode the right side (Fantasyland side) since it just seems faster to us and a better ride.
We stopped at a great little Autopia gift shop and got a traffic sign for our garage that's bright orange and says "X-ing" with the shadow profiles of Mickey, Goofy, and Donald. It's really cute. Also, we got Autopia license plate holders for our van and car, both are really cute. We had all our packages expressed straight to the hotel bell desk during our trip and this was VERY convenient (they are ready to pick up by 7am the next day).
Next we rode Autopia and then took a round trip ride on the Monorail. For some reason I just love riding the Monorail, I don't know why, but I just do (I used to like the Peoplemover too). We noticed the Buzz Lightyear show had started at Tomorrowland Terrace and we stopped and watched for a few mintues. All the kids looked like they were having a great time, this is a really cute show for the little ones.
We decided to make our way back over to the Blue Bayou for lunch stopping at a few shops on the way (we are big shoppers). We stopped in the big shop in Frontierland and spent a lot of time in there, they have some of the Pooh items moved into there from the shops that are closed in Critter Country. I got myself a Classic Pooh bear plush, he's very cute with that knubby fur and little sweater. I also picked up a talking Eeyore for a friend of mine (she was admiring mine the last time she visited). We also got a little plush Mickey with a graduation cap and gown for our niece who is graduating high school next month. I thought it would be cute to have Mickey holding her card.
By the time we made it to New Orleans Square and looked around a little, it was time for lunch. They called us in about 5 minutes after we checked in. We both started with the mardi gras salad (I love the dressing and pecans). I had the porklion with blue bayou potatoes and veggies and my hubby had the jambalaya. I asked the CM for the potatoe recipe (since they were out of them last time) and guess what, they were out again. This time though, she took my name and address and said she would send me one. I thought that was very nice
We both really enjoyed our lunch and left with very full tummies!
We headed over to Main Street lockers, since my new sneakers were bothering my feet. I changed into my sandals and felt much better. We spotted Goofy outside the hat shop and got our photo taken with him. We did some shopping on Main Street, we were on a mission to find a pink, Princess baseball cap for my niece since she lost the one they got when they were at DL recently. Turns out the cap she had was the old style and we were told the pink one would be hard to find, if at all. At that point, the challenge was on for a shopper like me
We roamed back over to Tomorrowland to check out the big shop over there and had one of those yummy Mickey ice cream sandwiches on the way over. We also saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience, which is cute but after about 20 times it gets a little boring, don't you think. I wish they would get a new movie in there. We also passed on Innovations, since it's geared more towards kids and we just didn't feel like walking through. My hubby and I both can't ride roller coasters or motion rides (we get sick), so we skipped Star Tours and Space Mountain. We've been on both in the past and just don't feel too good for awhile after riding those.
It was about 5:30pm and we decided to head out, so we grabbed our backpack from the lockers and went over to the World of Disney store. For a shopaholic, this is nervana! We spent about an hour shopping in there loving every minute of it. We got a cheese pretzel at Wetzel Pretzles and headed into the Grand Cal lobby to enjoy it by the fireplace. It was very nice just kicking back by the fire, relaxing, and just soaking up the atmosphere. After awhile we checked out the rest of the lobby, the pool area, and the courtyard. They pipe in peaceful music in all the common areas, except the lobby. In the courtyard, there's piped in crickets chirping and owls hooting just like the great outdoors. Everywhere you turn, they is attention to even minor details (I tend to notice everything). The lighting and landscaping is just perfect throughout the property.
It was about 7:15pm and we decided to drive over to the Character Warehouse outlet store (they carry merchandise from the parks at big discounts). We picked our van up from the valet and drove over (it's on Harbor and Orangethorpe - head down Harbor towards the 91 freeway, it's about a mile past the freeway). We got a few shirts, the best deal was $9.99 from $25.00. We also got these cute little sparkle cups for our nieces for $1.99 (one was Ariel and the other was Sleeping Beauty).
We self-parked when we got back to the hotel (right across the street) and headed over to the Creole Cafe in Downtown Disney for fried shrimp po-boys
We have been waiting to sink our teeth into this sandwich again since our trip last year! We ate on the patio and people watched, which is always fun.
We spotted another couple staying at the Grand Cal who had refillable mugs (like we got on our last DisneyWorld trip). So, when we got back to the hotel we went over to Whitewater Snacks, by the pool, and picked up a couple of mugs with hot chocolate (mugs are $7.95, but refills are free for your entire trip) and headed up to the room to relax and call it a night. Our bed was turned down and we had chocolate coins with Disney characters on our nightstand. What a nice way to end our day!
Day 3 is DCA.....
They have a CM at a small table in front of each turnstile and they look through your backpacks, purses, and hipsacks (although half the time during our trip, they would forget to look through our backback and just look through the hipsack even though my husband would put both on the table each time...too much confusion at the table I guess). Also at this table on Monday they were giving an Earth Day button to each guest. It says Environmentality Around the World - Earth Day 2002 and has Jimminy Cricket on it, it's pretty cute. Tink33, if you collect these and would like one, send me a private message with your address and I will send one to you (would like to say thanks for the hotel tip).
We headed down Main Street and were the 1st guests at the Blue Ribbon Bakery. I had a sticky bun & cafe mocha and hubby had a blue berry muffin & milk. We sat at a table in the ice cream shop window and watched everyone lining up for the rope drop as we ate. There's something about the cafe mochas at DL, they are sooo yummy! After breakfast, we dropped our backpack at the lockers ($3 per day with access all day long) and they were dropping the rope as headed out of the locker area.
We got a Fastpass for Indy and then made 1pm lunch reservations at the Blue Bayou (DL is just not the same without lunch there). There was no line for Pirates, so we rode that and then the Haunted Mansion. We wandered around New Orleans Square a little, but the shops weren't opened yet so we headed back to Indy and walked right on with our Fastpass. We decided to ride the Matterhorn next, so we headed over there, stopping in the big Adventureland gift shop on the way over. The Matterhorn line was the longest one of the day with a 15 min wait. The line was only on one side (the Tomorrowland side) although they were running both tracks, so the line kept moving pretty quickly. We rode the right side (Fantasyland side) since it just seems faster to us and a better ride.
We stopped at a great little Autopia gift shop and got a traffic sign for our garage that's bright orange and says "X-ing" with the shadow profiles of Mickey, Goofy, and Donald. It's really cute. Also, we got Autopia license plate holders for our van and car, both are really cute. We had all our packages expressed straight to the hotel bell desk during our trip and this was VERY convenient (they are ready to pick up by 7am the next day).
Next we rode Autopia and then took a round trip ride on the Monorail. For some reason I just love riding the Monorail, I don't know why, but I just do (I used to like the Peoplemover too). We noticed the Buzz Lightyear show had started at Tomorrowland Terrace and we stopped and watched for a few mintues. All the kids looked like they were having a great time, this is a really cute show for the little ones.
We decided to make our way back over to the Blue Bayou for lunch stopping at a few shops on the way (we are big shoppers). We stopped in the big shop in Frontierland and spent a lot of time in there, they have some of the Pooh items moved into there from the shops that are closed in Critter Country. I got myself a Classic Pooh bear plush, he's very cute with that knubby fur and little sweater. I also picked up a talking Eeyore for a friend of mine (she was admiring mine the last time she visited). We also got a little plush Mickey with a graduation cap and gown for our niece who is graduating high school next month. I thought it would be cute to have Mickey holding her card.
By the time we made it to New Orleans Square and looked around a little, it was time for lunch. They called us in about 5 minutes after we checked in. We both started with the mardi gras salad (I love the dressing and pecans). I had the porklion with blue bayou potatoes and veggies and my hubby had the jambalaya. I asked the CM for the potatoe recipe (since they were out of them last time) and guess what, they were out again. This time though, she took my name and address and said she would send me one. I thought that was very nice
We both really enjoyed our lunch and left with very full tummies!We headed over to Main Street lockers, since my new sneakers were bothering my feet. I changed into my sandals and felt much better. We spotted Goofy outside the hat shop and got our photo taken with him. We did some shopping on Main Street, we were on a mission to find a pink, Princess baseball cap for my niece since she lost the one they got when they were at DL recently. Turns out the cap she had was the old style and we were told the pink one would be hard to find, if at all. At that point, the challenge was on for a shopper like me
We roamed back over to Tomorrowland to check out the big shop over there and had one of those yummy Mickey ice cream sandwiches on the way over. We also saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience, which is cute but after about 20 times it gets a little boring, don't you think. I wish they would get a new movie in there. We also passed on Innovations, since it's geared more towards kids and we just didn't feel like walking through. My hubby and I both can't ride roller coasters or motion rides (we get sick), so we skipped Star Tours and Space Mountain. We've been on both in the past and just don't feel too good for awhile after riding those.
It was about 5:30pm and we decided to head out, so we grabbed our backpack from the lockers and went over to the World of Disney store. For a shopaholic, this is nervana! We spent about an hour shopping in there loving every minute of it. We got a cheese pretzel at Wetzel Pretzles and headed into the Grand Cal lobby to enjoy it by the fireplace. It was very nice just kicking back by the fire, relaxing, and just soaking up the atmosphere. After awhile we checked out the rest of the lobby, the pool area, and the courtyard. They pipe in peaceful music in all the common areas, except the lobby. In the courtyard, there's piped in crickets chirping and owls hooting just like the great outdoors. Everywhere you turn, they is attention to even minor details (I tend to notice everything). The lighting and landscaping is just perfect throughout the property.
It was about 7:15pm and we decided to drive over to the Character Warehouse outlet store (they carry merchandise from the parks at big discounts). We picked our van up from the valet and drove over (it's on Harbor and Orangethorpe - head down Harbor towards the 91 freeway, it's about a mile past the freeway). We got a few shirts, the best deal was $9.99 from $25.00. We also got these cute little sparkle cups for our nieces for $1.99 (one was Ariel and the other was Sleeping Beauty).
We self-parked when we got back to the hotel (right across the street) and headed over to the Creole Cafe in Downtown Disney for fried shrimp po-boys
We have been waiting to sink our teeth into this sandwich again since our trip last year! We ate on the patio and people watched, which is always fun. We spotted another couple staying at the Grand Cal who had refillable mugs (like we got on our last DisneyWorld trip). So, when we got back to the hotel we went over to Whitewater Snacks, by the pool, and picked up a couple of mugs with hot chocolate (mugs are $7.95, but refills are free for your entire trip) and headed up to the room to relax and call it a night. Our bed was turned down and we had chocolate coins with Disney characters on our nightstand. What a nice way to end our day!
Day 3 is DCA.....
