Originally Posted By familyguy Today will be a little longer....I'll make sure to use paragraphs. Today was our first full day at the parks! I always like to start my day at the park that is NOT doing Magic Morning. On this day it was Disneyland! The kids all wanted to ride Matterhorn, so we went there first but it was closed at the moment. We deviated over to Fantasyland and rode the Fantasyland dark rides with the exception of Peter Pan. (It was already packed and we wanted to ride as much as possible before the crowds kicked in.) After that it was over to Big Thunder to check out the new effects! We loved them and how smooth the coaster felt! So good! After that it was pirates, haunted mansion and splash! We had one party in our group that was scared to death of haunted mansion. She rides Tower of Terror, California Screamin' and everything else in the parks, but cried through all of haunted mansion. It was actually pretty funny. After this the rest of the family rode Indy and I took my wee one to Jungle Cruise. She loved all the animals and I loved our Skipper. She was great. My favorite part was the end when she said "Ok, this is the end and I'm not very good with goodbyes, but I'll do my best not to make it awkward...................I love you......too soon? It's getting awkward now...I'm sorry...get out". Loved it! (paragraph inserted) We had lunch at the Hungry Bear this day. We hit the park early and did a lot right away, and now we were eating an early lunch (right at 11am) and beating the lunch crowds. Now I don't know about you, but IMO the lower level of Hungry Bear, sitting right by the water is the best dining atmosphere in the park, rivaled only by water side seating at the Blue Bayou. Sitting right next to the rivers of America with the Mark Twain sailing by, the canoes paddling by, families of ducks swimming around...I don't know if it's just me, but we love it! A lot of cool places to eat at Disneyland, but the atmosphere here is tops for sure! We spent the 2nd half of the day over at DCA. Tried to ride TOT but it was closed. Come to find out it's Monday and it has been closed since Thursday and the cast members are saying that they do not know when it will be up. This was not a scheduled refurb, so I was a little worried it wouldn't be up while we are here. Well, we went over to check out Turtle Talk. The next show wasn't for about 20 minutes so we decided to walk around Beast's Library. As we were doing so we realized that the Disney Junior Live on Stage Show was starting about the same time that Crush was going to start. We decided to split up and let my Brother take my older kids and nieces to Turtle Talk while my wife and I took our 2 year old to Disney Junior. The second youngest in our family is now 11 years old, so we hadn't been to, what was then known as the "Playhouse Disney" show, in a really long time. My daughter is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc Mcstuffins and Jake and the Neverland pirates and she absolutely loved the show, as did my wife and I. We are exposed to those shows so often with our wee one that we know, and were able to sing along, with all of the songs. There were lots of cool surprises and we really liked how they managed to work all of the major shows into one performance that kinda made sense. I was impressed as we left and decided we definitely needed to bring her back one more time before we left. As we exited the show I had received a text from my brother that they went to check on TOT and it was open so they jumped in line. This gave my wife and I an opportunity to dip into Carthay Circle and grab a cocktail in the lounge as the little one slept in the stroller. (All the excitement and dancing during the show tired her out). I had the Manhattan and the wife had a Long Island Iced Tea. Both wonderfully made and we really enjoyed the quiet relaxing atmosphere. The only thing we always wish is that we could order the firecracker duck wings as an appetizer in the bar. Hope one day Mickey will make that happen for us! Anyway...we rode the Little Mermaid and Screamin' twice, had some ice cream at Clarabelle's and while we did so, was able to catch the Five and Dime Routine on Buena Vista Street. I actually liked it a lot. We had picked up some fast passes for Soarin earlier so we took a quick flight over California and headed to take a peak at the Grizzly River Run to see if we might get lucky and find it open. It was scheduled to be on refurb until the day AFTER we left, which was a major bummer for a lot in our party. Especially with being there in the summertime, everyone had hoped to ride it on our trip. Although it wasn't open, we did see water running there. I told my brother it may be a good sign that we might catch a soft opening. He was one that was really looking forward to it and asked the cast member if it may be open early. (I would not have advised him to do that as I know what the answer would be regardless). He told me that she said it would not be open till the scheduled reopen date. I let him know that they have to say that and that there was still a chance. After an early lunch and a long day we were ready for an early dinner at Rainforest Cafe. We always like going there because the kids like the atmosphere, but it's kinda pricy and the food is usually just ok, but I guess it's tradition. We all filled up and after a little more time at DCA and DTD, we called it an early night. After all, tomorrow is a big day! We’re starting out at DCA and going for straight for Radiator Springs Racers!
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance What was the ice cream at Clarabelle's like? One of my daughter's fondest memories of our trips is the mammoth ice cream cone she got at the ice cream shop in Paradise Pier, lol. If we stop to get ice cream I want to make sure we get a similiar experience Rainforest Cafe is tradition for us too. Food can be hit or miss, but I found an item that I found quite yummy that is good no matter which Rainforest location we go to, so I always get that.
Originally Posted By familyguy Do tell! What is it??? And yes, the ice cream at Clairabelle's is great! It was a hit with everyone!
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance I get the: "Blue Mountain Chicken sandwich Lemon marinated grilled chicken breasts, topped with bacon, Swiss cheese, roasted red peppers and leaf lettuce. Served on herbed Asiago ciabatta bread with our zesty Safari sauce." Now mind you, I'm very picky and like mostly plain things. And I don't get the Safari Sauce, but the chicken is very yummy. All white breast, good qualify meat.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "Today will be a little longer....I'll make sure to use paragraphs. " Thanks. Much easier to read and enjoyed it. A Manhattan in the Carthay is always a winner (and I don't particularly like Manhattans). Plus...the ice sphere is always cool.
Originally Posted By koolaidmom thanks for the report FG. We always like the Hungry Bear downstairs too!!! Glad you had a fab time.
Originally Posted By DLTheo CuriousConstance - The ice cream on Paradise Pier is soft serve, whereas Clarabelle's is regular ice cream similar to Gibson Girl in DL. So if you're looking for a similar experiece to before, depends how picky your daughter is. Also, don't forget about the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain! It is more pricey, but yum!
Originally Posted By LuvsDsnyTrips Am I the only one that does not like Ghiradelli's ?? I do love the Hungry Bear seating also....so peaceful And the pot roast is delish at Rainforest....
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "Am I the only one that does not like Ghiradelli's ??" You just miss Jimmy. But we all do. MASECA!
