Stepsister -- April 24-28, 2008 -- Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort [Archive]

Stepsister

05-22-2008, 06:00 PM

Travel Dates: April 24 through April 28, 2008
Travel Method: Personal car, Horizon Airlines, and Disneyland Express
Resort: Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort
Ages Represented: Both 45+ (one more plussed than the other – me)
Experience: Extremely Experienced
Cast of Characters: Gloria (me) and Karen. Sisters, roommates and BFFs

Comments and Preplanning:
Well, friends – This is will our FOURTH (and final) trip on our APs – which is pretty good since we are from the Bay Area. We’re both so glad that we purchased them – we would have never been able to afford all of these trips if we didn’t have APs. Plus it alleviates the problem of friends and family thinking that we are being irresponsible by taking so many DLR vacations – when one can blithely say, “It hardly costs us anything to go to Disneyland – since we don’t have to pay for tickets.”

After thoroughly enjoying my time off from work and letting “Future Gloria” worry about my job situation… NOW, Future Gloria is getting very anxious and worried about finding permanent employment – so what did she do? Why plan another trip to Disneyland, of course. Once I received my State Tax Refund, I purchased two airline tickets from Santa Rosa, CA to LAX on Horizon Air (the total for the two of us was $309 – which isn’t bad since if we were flying out of SFO or OAK we’d have to pay for very expensive and inconvenient airport transportation).

But, first (having learned my lesson from last June) I made a back-up hotel reservation. And to the best of my research determined that there are (hopefully) no major conventions are going on. I cannot believe the price of hotel/motel rooms these days in the Anaheim area. Everything is at least $130 a night. Anyway, I found the Anaheim Islander on the AAA website for $79.99 for two nights; and $84.99 for the second two nights (or so I thought) – more than I wanted to pay – but hopefully Priceline would save the day. A couple of weeks later I got up early and excitingly did my Priceline bid. I debated on the amount but finally decided on the “magic” number of $55 which has always landed me a nice hotel. Well, I could tell that my bid was being accepted and when it came up, “Congratulations, you got the Holiday Inn,” I was like “EW!” Holiday Inn? – Yuck -- I was so disappointed.

I was so hoping to get a winning bid in what I call the “golden triangle.” That area of hotels with all of the good restaurants within walking distance, with the Target across the street near the intersection of Harbor and Chapman. But after looking at the Holiday Inn’s website and Trip Advisor reviews – I am pretty happy with it. Especially, when I went to cancel the AAA reservation and somehow the room rate of $84.99 for two of the nights had magically turned into $104.00 (huh?). Therefore, I am saving about $175.00 -- so that is a very good thing.

So, basically, the trip is already paid for – except for food and airport transfers. I am planning on purchasing two $100 Disney Gift Cards (one each) before we leave which is really a painless way to pay for food. Karen came home with a $9.00 balance on her gift card from our last five day trip so $100 each should be fine for this one (and I also have my debit card) and we’ll bring some cash too. And, as I am usually guilty of running around the parks on empty – that cuts down on the price of food also (although I know it would be beneficial for us to actually eat more meals – especially breakfast). As I am always telling Karen, anyway you slice it eating is expensive. Even as much as we eat at home – groceries are pricy too.

Plans for this trip:
Enjoy the Food and Wine Festival (!)
Billy Hill and the Hillbillies (We have never seen)
Aladdin, the Musical Spectacular – and sit in the Orchestra seats! (We haven’t seen since June 2007)
Ride as many of our favorites as possible (I’m looking forward to Monsters, Inc. since it was down last time)
Take pictures inside the nice restrooms near California Screamin’ (I ran out of film last time I was over that way)
Not burn ourselves out so we are able to make it up for the Fireworks
Take as many pictures of bears as possible (more on this later)
Pixar Play Parade (not a parade person – but this one appeals to me)

We will not be able to go to the Parks on Saturday April 26, since it is a block-out day; and we cannot afford the extra $80 to go (and even if we could -- we wouldn’t be able to justify the cost). So, we plan on sleeping -in – going to the pool – and perhaps making it over to Knott’s Berry Farm for their World Famous Chicken Dinner (or lunch) So, stay tuned!

Thursday, April 24, 2008 (I would have much preferred to leave on Wednesday in order to take advantage of lower crowds during midweek but the airfare was too expensive)

Blah airline personnel in Santa Rosa. Apparently they don’t believe in making any announcements. All of the folks on our flight just stood around until about 6:15 (our flight was at 6:00 a.m.) and finally when we were allowed to board, this guy who sounded like he was half asleep mumbled something about boarding the plane. It was a good flight though. They served Knott’s apricot filled shortbread cookies on the plane. They were good. I had a sugar free Jones’ cola (they don’t serve Coke anymore) and Karen had coffee. Grabbed a breakfast sandwich on the run at the BK at LAX. We didn’t have to wait too long for the airport bus (Disneyland Express) – maybe 20-25 minutes -- which was nice.

Now, the past two trips wherein we flew out of SR at 6:00 a.m. we had no desire to take a nap upon arrival at our hotel; and the rooms have been ready for occupancy. No questions asked. Oh, we would rest for an hour or so – but then we were ready to hit the parks. Well, this morning we were both very tired and decided that we would very much like to sleep a bit before going to DL so that the experience would be more enjoyable. On the bus we made our plans – have a teeny bit of wine (we had been up since 3:00 a.m. after all), turn up the a/c, put on the TV down low – get in our beds and sleep for a couple of hours. It sounded so good. We were really looking forward to it.

So, we checked into the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort and the guy at the counter very nicely told us that check-in wasn’t until 3:00 p.m. (duh); and although he checked to see if any rooms were ready – he told us that nothing was available until later (aaaargh) – probably closer to 3:00. So, I guess we’re going to DL (thank goodness we have APs or we probably would have had to hang at a restaurant for a few hours). I asked if they would hold our bags and he said sure that was fine.

By now it was about 10:30 a.m. There were about a million people waiting for the ART. We had to purchase our three day tickets from the machine (they don’t sell five day ones). A very unfriendly guy was selling the tickets directly from the machine since it was not working properly (a common theme). While we waited, there was a mom (or aunt) commented on the baby (one years old?) she was holding. “She’s a pincher! She really hurt me last night.” I know that my imaginary children (grandchildren?) are always so well behaved -- but if she did that to me I would slap her chubby little hand (or pinch her back) – not just laugh about it.

We decided to hit DCA first since it is much more low key than DL. Now, I know I had had a breakfast sandwich not even two hours ago – but I was starving. Which I was happy about – I’m kind of a light eater – but love food – and I really enjoy it on vacation when I have a good appetite.
Upon arrival at DCA, we went on Monsters, Inc., twice. Even though it is one of my favorites – it seemed better after the refurbishment. The Chinese restaurant scene is my favorite.

I never paid any attention to this before – but after reading lots of trip reports, MP articles and the discussion boards – I started noticing how many folks are line cutters. The situation that I’ve read about most and the one that I noticed repeatedly is where at least one person is in line and then the family catches up to them because the child had “to go to the restroom.” Now, I can see this in the Nemo line – but Monsters, Inc.? Its always like, “Excuse me, excuse me – he/she really had to *GO*!”

Anyway, after Monsters, Karen suggested ribs at the Taste Pilot’s Grill which sounded great – but we both agreed to check out the offerings at the Food and Wine Festival (Taste of California Marketplace) first. Well, they had so many appealing things that we decided to start there. Karen started with the beef tenderloin slider with crispy onions strings on a small brioche roll; and a lobster lollypop with a red pepper remoulade. I had the lobster lollipop (I think it was about $5.25) and the mushroom/asparagus risotto (I have only had risotto one other time and did not care for it but wanted to give it another try) and we both had a $3 Mirassou (?) chardonnay (it was served in a tiny, flimsy, squatty, stemmed plastic glass). As I was carrying my tray over to the side table with the flatware, napkins, salt and pepper, etc. a nice lady asked me what I had on my tray so I happily told her. She had the seasonal berry trifle in a (plastic) blue stemmed martini glass on her tray and said excitedly, “I feel like I’m on one of those food shows!” I agreed – the presentation was excellent. Very fun!

The risotto with mascarpone was delicious and it came with two crostinis (I woke up thinking about it the next morning). Nice pieces of meaty mushrooms and creamy risotto with some barely discernable asparagus pieces and some mild grated cheese on top (parmesan?) The lobster lollypop (with panko crust) was wonderful; but since it was basically only two or three small bites I decided not to get another one. The red pepper remoulade that came with it made a fabulous dipping sauce for the crostinis. Karen gave me a bite of her slider and it was very good also.

Then we ran out of wine (quelle surprise) so Karen went over to get us each a “full” glass of Riesling (Food and Wine “special” at $7.50 a glass) at the Mexican counter place. It was served in a nice tall stemmed plastic wine glass, although the pour was rather skimpy. Then, we each got a fresh berry trifle which was one of the best things I have ever eaten. Small squares of lemon pound cake, berry syrup, custard, fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Perfect! Then to finish everything off, we each had one more chardonnay “taste”. Well, as an experiment, we poured the taste into the full-sized glass and it practically filled it up (to the skimpy pour line, that is)! Turns out that the better deal is buying two tastes rather than one “full” glass. We decided to carry a plastic stemmed glass with us in our purses from now on (those flimsy glasses will spill when one leaf is ruffled).

We ended up sitting under the umbrellas in the food court for quite awhile. Many other folks came and went during the time we were there. I discovered later that I was quite sunburned (I am redheaded and very fair) so promised myself that in the future I would be more judicious with the application of sun block. (Which I had in my purse – but I didn’t feel like I was out in the sunshine.)

After our foray at the F&W festival, we headed over to A Bug’s Land and rode Flix’s Flyers. When I started to close the door of our giant red and green apple juice box; a very snappy CM rushed over and announced, “I’ll get it!” Whatever. Then we went over to see the Aladdin show; and since we were a little pokey getting over there were banished to the mezzanine once more (I think the balcony seating is better, actually (since you don’t have to look up at the level of seating above you – although more steep steps to access). Now, they tell everyone not to use recording devices but throughout the entire show the blue glow of cell phones and digital cameras/recorders were seen all over the theater. I would have enjoyed the show more if it wasn’t for all of this rudeness. Did I mention about two hundred cry babies? Two seats away from me this woman kept playing with her cell phone throughout the entire performance (beep, beep, beep, beep) – aaargh…

Afterwards, I was extremely thirsty and was desperate for some cold water. I asked Karen, “How much could a bottle of water cost here?” A girl turned around and said to me, “I’m sure its at least $5.” Well, I didn’t really care (that much) – I needed a cold drink of water! Turns out it was $2.75 for an ice cold medium sized bottle of Dansani. Not great – but not terrible either. I told Karen that we could share but she said she’d get her own. The CM said something about being mindful of cooties. We checked the standby line for Soarin’ over CA and it was 35 minutes – which normally wouldn’t faze us but we were awfully tired and had hit the wall.

We took the ART back to the Holiday Inn. Our room was nice and comfortable (if a bit minimalist) with a large bathroom; a decent sized mini fridge -- and had fabulous minty (green for Holiday Inn, get it?) bathroom amenities. Mint shampoo, conditioner, lotion (my favorite) and two kinds of soap – bath and facial. We’ve been getting the Hilton almost every time on Priceline– which, of course, I like – but I am getting very tired of their (IMHO) stinky Crabtree and Evelyn bathroom products.

We got into our beds for a nap. I didn’t sleep – but Karen did – for about a half-hour. I woke her up so that we could watch the Gilmore Girls (she was happy). We had talked about going to the Cheesecake Factory (I would have loved a bowl of their delicious and hearty soup for dinner) – Which incidentally, our DLE driver told us was in “walking distance.” I don’t know what kind of wacky-tabaccy he was smoking – but the CCF is NOT within walking distance of the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort. Its like a two mile hike! (At one point I even checked to see if there was some kind of shortcut to Katella Avenue through their sister resort, the Starbridge (?) Inn and, unfortunately, there is not.

So Karen is thinking of CCF or Red Robin (which I would have loved); but I’m thinking that it will be a lot less tiring to just take the ART to DL – and eat there – without having to transfer twice each way. I sort of insisted on going to DL which she was none too happy about (I really hate being the voice of reason). I just couldn’t handle four transfers – waiting for four different busses and walking a block each way. She suggested Tony Romas (which she calls Tony Romys) – but their dinner menu is too expensive (after all of the $$$ we spent at the F&W Festival, I was trying to keep an eye on our budget). I implored that it would be easier to just eat at DL and that I would only insist on going on two rides while we were there (HM and PoTC). She begrudgingly acquiesced but was a bit irritable the entire evening (although she did get considerably better after eating dinner).

I thought if we ate at the French Market we would be close to the HM and PoTC and that that would be easier on Karen (and me). Upon arrival at DL the sun had set and it was a very nice evening. The castle looked especially pretty – all pink and blue -- and they had some lovely swags in front of it strung with white lights. Turns out they were having some sort of Quinceanera celebration so that when we got close enough to take a picture there were all of these huge spotlights and I knew they wouldn’t turn out. (P.S. Karen managed to take a pix from Main Street and it turned our quite lovely, if somewhat far away).

So we continued on to NOS – and checked out the menu at the FM. Then we went on the Pirates which was basically a walk-on. After that, I wanted to check out Le Bat en Rouge (I love that name!) to see if they had my Jack Skellington plush (I already have the Sally – those darn Toy Story movies – I thought she might be lonely). They didn’t have him when we were here in January. But, they had him tonight! I thought it would be easier to eat first before buying him (since I would have to deal with carrying my “vacation” purse (large pink canvas), a shopping bag and balancing a tray). Karen was annoyed that I didn’t purchase him then. Reeear! (meow).

We got in line at the FM and both decided on the Southern Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and a side salad. I tried talking to Karen in line but she was less than friendly so I asked her if she would just prefer that I didn’t talk and she said, “Yes!” So I shut up (bear in mind I’m just happy to be at DL). The CM who rung up my meal said that the total was $26 something (!?). I said it can’t be that much (even at Disney prices) – I only had one plate of chicken. “Oops, sorry” she countered and charged me the correct amount. Good thing that I noticed since I was using my Disney gift card.

The food was disappointing. The chicken pieces were scrawny and over cooked. With three pieces of chicken I only got a few bites. The mashed potatoes and gravy were soupy and basically inedible (and I think contained the dreaded garlic). And, the “salad” (lettuce) would have been fine if it wasn’t dredged in salad dressing. On the up-side my Diet Coke was very good. (Mental note: eat fried chicken at the Plaza Inn next time.) Karen started making polite conversation once we started eating. And, I was able to procure four pats of lovely unsalted butter (which I put in a zip lock bag from my purse) since I had packed some saltines and thought that that would make a nice snack for us. It was nice eating outside too.

Then I happily purchased “Jack” (he’s bendy like Gumby – very fun) which I nicknamed “Jack Crane” as homage to Frasier. Karen also got a NBC commuter cup that she liked. Then we went on the HM; and after we were seated in our doom buggy; I took Jack out of the bag so that he could see *his* ride (those darn Toy Story movies!). BTMRR was calling me but I was tired (and was trying to stick to my agreement) and asked Karen if she was ready to leave. She responded in the affirmative. I asked her if she had a good time. “Yes,” she hissed, “I had a good time.” On the way out we stopped at the Blue Ribbon Bakery in order to get some brownies for in the morning. It sure would be nice to stay somewhere with a continental breakfast – but them thar’s the breaks (I’ve been watching a little too much Beverly Hillbillies lately).

So we took the ART back to the Holiday Inn. When we arrived “home” at about 10:30 p.m. Karen immediately got undressed and popped into bed and fell asleep. I wondered if she had set up the coffee for in the morning. I, on the other hand, took awhile to unwind. I enjoyed a delicious personal bag of salty Fritos and had a glass of wine. I watched Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. After that I thought that I should try and go to sleep. There were a couple of broadcast Frasiers on TV at midnight but I fell asleep before the opening credits. Karen said that she turned off the TV sometime during the night. I had that dreamless sleep that I so seldom enjoy and Karen said that she had had a good night also. Its very nice to get away from the pressures of the job search.

Friday, April 25, 2008

When the alarm went off at 7:00-ish, I asked Karen if she had set up the coffee. She said that she used the packet that the hotel gave us rather than measuring out the ground Starbucks that she brought. That was fine – as long as there’s coffee! At some point while we were getting ready she said that she was sorry that she was so cranky last night. I reminded her that it may be a long time before we are able to go on another vacation so we should try to make the most of it. She agreed.

We decided to begin our day at DL and let me tell you this morning it was already HOT! I checked the weather forecast prior to leaving home and weatherchannel.com said that the highs would not exceed 85 degrees with chilly evenings and mornings (yesterday was perfect – sunny but fairly cool) – which meant that we brought our jackets with us (the one I wished I had had in January when it was cold and rainy).

We checked the Tip Board and all of the wait times were low. We were debating between Space and Splash – but it indicated that Splash was temporarily closed. Then I overheard the CM working the Tip Board say to someone that it had just opened so we hot footed it over there. I was happy to find my first bears in Critter Country.

[My Dad (who is artist and loves doing projects) is doing a wood carving of one of the bears from the Country Bear Jamboree for his yard. A couple of months ago he called me to see if I had a picture of the bear from DCA – and by his description I thought that it was the big one with the orange life jacket next to GRR -- so I sent him the picture that I took. Wrong! He wanted the one from the CBJ; and finally I was able to find the one he liked on the internet and email it to him. So, as an homage to him I thought it would be a fun photo project for me to see how many bears I could find on the Disney property. ]

I was having a craving for fruit (red flame grapes) so we made a quick detour through AdventureLand to get a snack and a couple of bottles of water. No grapes – but they did have a lovely box of strawberries with a chocolate dipping sauce ($4). I handed Karen my money and she went to purchase our stuff while I went over to Bengal BBQ to get a couple of packs of sugar. Call me crazy – I like sugar on fresh berries (and peaches, plums and nectarines). I said that we could eat the berries in line for Splash since it would be hard to eat them on the run. She was like, “What? I thought as long as we’re getting strawberries that we would sit down and eat them!” Silly Karen. That would waste too much time.

By the time we walked way over there the wait time at Splash was posted at 40 minutes (although it seemed shorter than that). The fruit was very good and we alternated between the dark chocolate dipping sauce and the sugar. A teenager and his younger brother (?) were behind us in line. They kept me very amused with their conversation. “Adults just piss me off,” and he humorously continued to state that grownups never listen to his opinions. They ended up on the same log as us and they were very friendly and talkative. The younger brother looked behind him and saw Karen’s black canvas purse strap and exclaimed, “What’s that?!” He was afraid that it was a seatbelt and that he wasn’t wearing his. I said, “No one hardly ever falls out of the logs.” LOL. I told them that I was looking for bears and they helped me look. We never saw one on the outside flume portion (and no flash photography!).

Naturally, since it was boiling hot (although it’s a dry heat as we like to say in California) we didn’t get very wet. Now its on to Winnie the Pooh. I think in the rain scene that there should be misters. Then we went on HM which we were really looking forward to since its so nice and cool in there. BTMRR only had a 10 minute wait so we went on that. I wanted to go again – but Karen did not so I made her promise me that she’d ride with me at least twice when it was dark. We shook hands. (We never made it back at night or again on this trip.)

By now the crowds and heat were getting to us so we decided to go to Californie (as the Beverly Hillbillies would say). I started to sing the Ballad of Jed Clampett (or whatever that theme song is called). Come listen to my story about a man named Jed…

Karen wanted to get a glass of wine at the Golden Wine Winery – but I wanted to get FPs for GRR and Soarin’ (GRR is not tied to the rest of the Park) first so we would have them for later. Then we each got a glass of Riesling at the GVW and I had about one sip; but I was so hungry that I said I’d walk over to the Bountiful Valley Stand to get us some mozzarella sticks with red flame grapes. Well, I should have taken my glass with me because I would have been a lot happier sipping my wine in that slow line, in the heat and sun rather than just trying to act patient.

There were lots of annoying people in line in front of me. They all wanted food – right now! One mean dad practically tossed his kid aside since he was in his way. One guy stuck his mouth right up to the round talking hole in the glass requesting no ice in his Coke. My mozzarella sticks were taking forever (since they cook them to order -- which is good); and the friendly and kind CM very nicely made a point of getting my attention and telling me that “We’re working on your Mozz!” I’m sure by this time I probably looked like a lobster (I don’t do well in heat.) I called Karen a couple of times but she only answered once. “What is taking you so long?” she implored. I finally got the sticks (they are wonderful – larger than I’ve ever seen and very crispy on the outside).

When I returned to our table in the shade at the GVW – my glass of wine was virtually EMPTY. “Hey! What happened to MY WINE?!” Apparently she had spilled “a little” and drank the rest. “Well, you were gone a really LONG time,” Karen explained; and went to buy me another glass (and one for her, as well).

The cheese sticks were very good and satisfying. And, even though we ordered grapes as the side (rather than fries) for some reason they always also give you a little plastic bag of apple slices. I would eat apples every day if they always tasted that good! I wonder how they do it.

After that, I dragged Karen into the Boudin Bakery tour – we saw it in January – but I wanted to compare it with the one at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco that we did about a month ago (that one is more like a museum). The one at DCA is informative, humorous and quite brief. It was blissfully cool in there; and they gave us a skinny slice of a French bread baguette. (Of course, the bread here doesn’t quite taste like authentic SF sourdough since it’s the foggy climate that makes the difference.)

Then I wanted to pop into the Mission Tortillas Tour since I haven’t done that since DCA opened (and it was closed in January). Karen didn’t want to do it – but I said that I could meet her somewhere and then she decided to join me. Its adorable! They lead you into a very pretty little air conditioned room and show you a darling video of three (my guess would be) Fourth Graders presenting the history of the tortilla. Very interesting and cute. Next you can look into windows where it shows ladies making tortillas (with a laser?) -- Kind of the Finding Nemo effect but much smaller. Of course, most folks bypass the windows and head directly past the corn and flour tortilla machines (we can see those at Chevy’s) for the free sample portion of the tour. Before I realized what was happening, I was handed a whole white corn tortilla with nuclear heat. It actually slightly burned my fingertips but it was very good. I wished I had had some butter to spread on it.

I asked Karen if she’d like to try Jumpin’ Jellyfish and she said maybe -- but that she would like to see it first. When I showed it to her she said she would like to go on it with me. Karen was like, “Woo-hoo! I like this!” Later she said that it was one of her favorites and that she liked “that bubble one.” Next we did Muholland (sp?) Madness – always fun – especially the camel humps. By now I was really HOT and sweaty and wanted desperately to cool off. Our FPs for GRR were fixin’ to mature. After we used the Bay Area restrooms, I discovered that I had lost one of my disposable cameras (probably on MM). I was disappointed that my bear pictures and some things from the previous evenings were gone. But I was too miserable from the heat (it had to be close to 100 degrees) to stress about it much. Whatever, let’s just go get cooled off! (Turns out when I had the film developed that I had apparently only lost the new camera – so now I have lots of bear pictures in my album.)

Then we tried to figure out the “free” locker situation over by GRR. They are indeed free for the first two hours. They give you a code on a piece of paper -- the corresponding locker’s red light flashes – you stuff your belongings inside and close the door. When you return you use the touch screen to input your code and your locker door flashes and you can remove your stuff. If you are gone longer than two hours – the balance can be paid with cash or credit card (Its like $1.00 -- $2.00 for each additional hour). I stuffed an empty Target shopping bag in my shorts pocket to use as a scarf so that my hair wouldn’t get wet. I wanted to get wet in order to cool off -- but I really dislike those geysers at the end that just soak you relentlessly (it seems very un-Disney like that it appears that people on the bridge above are able to control them).

So we boarded our raft. I was still standing up trying to get the seatbelt untangled in the seat next to Karen – and this little boy (maybe about 8 years old) riding by himself – announced to us that that was his regular seat and that’s where he was going to sit. There was another nice family riding with us. The typical Disney Family – young parents in their 30s and cute little boy and girl. The obnoxious little boy (OLB) started screaming, “Hi, Grammy! HI, GRAMMY! Hi, GRAMMY!” I think that Grammy was in the next raft. The CM asked us to please not remove our shoes (I had on my Crocs – the perfect water ride shoe).

OLB gave a very loud running commentary throughout the ride. Plus he kept asking, “Who wants to get wet? Raise your hand!” I had a really good time though – we all laughed and screamed -- and the cold water splashing into our raft felt wonderful. I looked ridiculous with the Target bag over my hair – but my hair stayed dry. When it dries that water makes one feel dirty enough without having to deal with an itchy scalp as well. After we passed the soaking geysers at the end, OLB kept scooping up dirty water from the bottom of the raft and flicking it in my face. I put up with it once or twice and then I told him to stop it please (which of course, he didn’t). He alternately flicked the dad with the water who was a little more patient, yet obviously annoyed as well, and told him that he was wet enough already. Hmmmm… I sure hope that they didn’t think he was my kid! (Now to think of it – they probably did and wondered why I didn’t control him.)

It was fabulous finally feeling cool. We collected our belongings from the lockers (it is really nice that they have them) and headed over to the Taste of California Marketplace. During the time that we were there we each had a couple of wine tastes that we poured into our full-sized GVW plastic stemmed glasses. Karen had the California Skewers (beef and chicken with little pieces of onion, pineapple, red and green peppers in-between with a chipotle glaze). She gave me a taste and it was delicious. After, that she had a beef tenderloin slider (although she thought she had ordered the skewers again; but accidentally said the wrong thing – but she was okay with it). I had the mushroom/asparagus risotto again. Very nice. Then we each had the seasonal berry trifle. Which was good but not as wonderful as the first time. This one was a tad dry. Probably some supervisor said, “Hey, there’s too much custard/whipped cream/strawberries in these trifles!”

While Karen went to get the desserts and/or more wine (I don’t remember which) the Pixar Play Parade was going past in the distance. It wasn’t the same as being up close and personal but I enjoyed what I saw of it. It was very cute.

Maybe since it was Friday evening, I saw quite a few families sitting around sharing 3-4 appetizers from the Marketplace. I noticed that quite a few folks were using the risotto as a dip for other things (the hummus with pita chips and vegetable sticks looked very pretty – but I don’t have a great affection for the chickpea).

By now we were fairly dry and even though I never thought we’d make it this late without a break with the heat and all -- our Soarin’ over California FPs were going to mature by the time we could walk over there (I think it was about 5:35). We passed by Its Tough to be a Bug and Karen said, “Oh, let’s go in there.” I wasn’t crazy about the idea but hadn’t seen it in a few years – so I said, “Sure.” It was really fun and much more INTENSE than I remembered.

On the way to Soarin’ I looked up and saw Monorail Red zipping by! I was so excited. It was so sleek – all red, silver and shiny. “Oh, Karen! We HAVE to go on that.” “No we don’t. Not today,” she responded.

So we surrendered our FPs to the CM at the entrance to Soarin’ over California. While we were watching the instructions/warnings with our flight attendant, Patrick; there were some young guys in line who were totally laughing at the part when he shows the junior aviator how to thread his seatbelt through the red loop and gives him the “thumbs up.” They were saying things like “That’s suggestive.” I like it when there are entertaining people in line. There are far too many serious people in the world -- even at Disney. We were seated in the lowest row – but it was an exhilarating experience, as usual.

After Soarin’ we were fixin’ to leave the Park for the evening (we were pretty sure we wouldn’t want to come back) and I looked over at the ToT (aka “the hotel one” as Karen calls it) – looking so appealing as the sun was setting – the purple Hollywood Tower Hotel sign sputtering off and on; while the Hollywood Backlot was coming alive with all of the striking neon signage. I don’t even know why I said this – because I was really tired and wanted to go back to the hotel – so I said as a joke, “Well, there’s the ToT – we haven’t done that yet.” And, to my surprise, Karen said, “Okay!”

So we walked over there and the CMs at the entrance to the TOT were once again (as they were in January when it was pouring rain) very welcoming and smiling, “Come in! Enjoy your stay!” I say this because it seems like they used to try staying more in character – being more somber. I wonder if some folks thought they were being unfriendly and complained about it. The wait time was posted as 20 minutes – but I was actually happy about this since it gave me to chance to actually look around in the lobby and enjoy the “ambiance.” Usually, we’re just whisked into the library so quickly that you barely get time to look at the front desk. I guess it depends on where you end-up in the boiler room (upstairs or downstairs) but the section we were in had lots of interesting things to look at. I like all of the purple and pink lighting (which never turns out in photos). Do they do this on purpose to heighten the suspense – but it always seems to take forever to board the elevators. So, we finally got on and I did not like where I was seated. It was the second row (I think) but I was on the aisle and there wasn’t anything to hang on to. I like the outsides of the elevator cage since there are nice handles on the sides.

At first I couldn’t enjoy the ride because I kept feeling around looking for something to hold on to. Oh, no that little white elevator shaft in the starry darkness is dropping and we will too….Aaaaaaahhh. Anyway, I survived the drops – very fun – and the view from the top looking out across DCA just as the sun had set was beautiful. I could see the red and blue neon of Soarin’. I wished I could have looked at the view longer.

After ToT, I asked Karen if she’d like to go on Monsters, Inc., since we were in the neighborhood. “No!”

As we were waiting for the ART I started getting hungry (which I knew Karen had to be also – because our stomachs are on the same schedule). When the ART finally deigned to arrive – we boarded with several other people. When I went to swipe my pass through the machine I inadvertently did it the wrong way (twice) --the witch who was driving took it out of my hand and yelled, “No! No! No! – it goes this way!” swiped it correctly and then handed it back to me. I wanted to say, “Look, lady, this has been a long, hot, day and I’m tired -- so give me a break.” Instead I settled for an eyeball roll and smiled thinking that I can write her up in my trip report. Hee hee.

After we got back to the hotel we discussed our food situation. We had some snacks in the room (chips, crackers and Handi-snacks) – but we were both thinking of something more substantial. But since we had been spending a fortune on those appetizers at the F&WF; I was trying to avoid another expensive restaurant dinner. Plus we were too tired to go anywhere. We decided to see if we could get a pizza delivered to our room. Karen called the front desk and they ended up connecting her with room service. I think our small pizza with tip cost about $13 – so that wasn’t too bad. And, it was very good. So, we enjoyed our pizza, watched TV and relaxed until going to bed – but I have no idea what time that was.

Saturday, April 26, 2008 (Our day off from the Parks)

This day had to be one of the best and most fun days of my life – and I don’t quite know why. Maybe its because I went to Disney yesterday and I’m going again tomorrow. Not that I’m complaining…

We lay around in our beds in the morning and had our coffee and watched a couple of Leave it to Beavers (my favorite) on TV Land. We also watched a couple of Grounded for Lifes. At about 10:45 a.m. we decided to go for a little walk around the property to check out the pool, etc. (the pool is shared by their sister resort, the Staybridge Suites). Once, again it was very hot. The pool area was just okay. I like hotel pools with nice landscaping and fancy patio furniture (oh, and a nice swimming pool too). There were hardly any lounge chairs in the shade and I thought the surrounding flora was a little scruffy.

We were going to try and go to Red Robin for lunch – but we were up against the clock since the ART does not run between 12:30 and 1:55 p.m. We hurried around taking showers and getting ready -- but at this point it looked like we’d be lucky to get make it to the DL transfer area before the busses stopped running. Since we had to wait quite awhile for the ART we didn’t make to the Disney area until just 12:30. We decided to get something to eat at Downtown Disney. We talked about maybe seeing a movie (Baby Mama) – but we’d play it by ear. We were out of film (disposable cameras) that day – so unfortunately we had no photo memories of that day. (We planned on going to Target later.)

First we did something that we haven’t done since 2005 – shop inside World of Disney! We’re usually watching our cash flow – and seldom buy souvenirs – with the exception of something like mints or a keychain. I consider my pictures to be my souvenirs. As we browsed around I saw quite a few things that I liked (but do I really need a Mickey pancake ring?). We used to buy coffee cups whenever we went on vacation. However, between a tight budget and the fact that coffee mugs these days are so enormous we haven’t purchased any in years.

At the same time, Karen and I both spotted a beautiful little candy apple red Mickey thermos (the kind with the fancy no spill pour spout). She just had to have it (having lost her Starbucks one a few years ago) so she decided to buy it right then. I found a great coffee cup – just the right height and circumference – in slate blue with some art deco Mickeys on it ($10). I also saw a darling set of retro Disneyland note cards ($8). Karen thought that they were a waste of money since at the present time I don’t have anyone in mind to be sending cards (although she has no problem if I spend $8 on wine – LOL). I decided to think about it and return after lunch.

Then we went into Sephora (I order from them online but have never been in the store) and, besides being blissfully cool in there – it smelled absolutely wonderful! I wanted to buy my Du Wop Lip Venom (thus saving the shipping costs). There was a place for them but it was empty. They did have another brand – Lip Injection – or something like that -- and it was a bit more expensive ($18) than the Du Wop. I decided to return and ask if they had any more Du Wop; and if not inquire if the other product was similar.

We went into Fossil but it was hot in there and I really don’t have the budget for fine leathers. By now we were quite hungry – so I asked Karen where she wanted to eat and she said ESPN Zone. We went in the lobby – but its so frenetic and loud in there it makes me a bit uncomfortable. The wait time was 30-40 minutes (and they had a sign that said since there was some game going on there was a $10 per person, per hour, minimum order in the bar – not that you could find a seat anyway). There appeared to be no line at the Rainforest Café – so I asked Karen if she minded if I checked over there to see about the wait. Naturally, as soon as I returned, the line was 10-15 people deep, but it moved rather quickly. I got into a nice conversation with the lady behind me in line about the heat, crowds, hotels, continental breakfasts, etc. The wait time was 10-15 minutes. I put in our names and went to find my sister. She was standing outside ESPN trying to call me on her phone. I called to her without the aid of a wireless device – “Here I am!” I shouted. She agreed that a 10 minute wait sounded better than a 40 minute one (which can often stretch to longer).

Anyway, it was lovely getting out of the heat among all of that tropicality (I don’t’ think that’s a word). We were given a quiet table over by the fish tank. For lunch, we shared a bacon cheeseburger and fries ($1.50 more for fries instead of chips – who the hell doesn’t include fries with a burger?). And, we each had a couple of glasses of Chardonnay. I suggested just sharing one on the second round but Karen wanted her own (and she doesn’t think I should buy myself note cards!?)

After our lengthy and relaxing lunch we went into Sephora and I bought my lip venom. The best part is that they put it in a darling little black and white shopping bag with red tissue paper sticking out of it! I felt very ritzy walking around carrying it. We went into the Grand Californian to use their nice restrooms in the lobby. We took a peek into the Hearthstone Lounge (where we had planned to have a drink at some point -- but since we have already gone way over budget -- we would have to save that for next time) and I said, “Oh, look, there’s Guy Fieri” (from the Food Network). It was fun having a celebrity sighting. He was shaking someone’s hand and being very gracious about the compliments he was being paid. We immediately left since celebrities make me nervous.

We stopped by the area in the lobby where they have the fireplace (which was roarin’ hot --?? – Hello? It was in the 90s outside) and all of the rocking chairs --the circumference of the area also had thick cushioned bench seats. I am NOT exaggerating when I say that there were about 20 folks sprawled out on the benches and chairs asleep in this area. I think that is really nice. Only at Disney would they just let people rest and sleep in that fancy lobby without disturbing them and sending them on their way.
Then we went into WOD where I bought my coffee cup (and one for Karen too – she really liked it as well), my note cards, and a pack of four little tins of assorted mints (vanilla mint, cinnamon, wintergreen and peppermint, with the Fab Five on them ($8). I told Karen that I would split them with her as long as I could have the peppermint ones (my favorite) and she was fine with that. She just loved the vanilla mint flavor. I felt *so* happy! There is nothing like retail therapy when you find things that you really love.

We decided to go back to the hotel and stash our purchases – rest up a bit and then go to Target and then out to dinner. The TSA, er, I mean, security CM at the bag check gave my shopping bags a cursory look through and asked if we were headed to the Park. “No, we’ve been banned from the Parks today since we have APs.” She laughed, “Oh just shopping huh? Well, have a good evening.” Very pleasant encountering someone nice because most of them have been quite nasty.

We made our way through the sweltering esplanade and to the ART stop. The a/c on the bus was fabulous. We went back to the hotel as planned. The housekeeper had once again neglected to refill the minty bathroom amenities even though I left her (his?) tip on the tray in the bathroom as a hint. And, I was especially looking forward to taking home some of those nice minty soaps and hand lotions (at least four days’ worth – you know for the four nights were staying there). So, we *had* to go and raid the maid’s cart. Yes, I suppose that we could have requested additional ones – but there’s something about the thrill of the hunt. We went from floor to floor, carrying our bucket pretending to be looking for ice; and ended up with about six lotions and four soaps. I’m the look-out and Karen is much more sneaky than me so she was able to procure the amenities – in fact I’ve nicknamed her the “Ghost Cat” for the way can sneak up behind me at home. It was very fun! We giggled and went back to our room. You know its funny – I never would have thought that the bathroom supplies at the Holiday Inn would turn out to be one of my favorites. I was expecting those boring, generic like ones that they have at Best Westerns.

After awhile we left to go to Target. At home it usually really cools off in the evening (it can be 95 degrees during the day and by 6:00 p.m. it will be 60 when the fog rolls in – which I love) -- but it was still really hot -- so I didn’t bring a sweatshirt with me. We went to Disney to transfer to the #1 ART – then walked across the street to Target; and we bought a box of donuts for in the morning, a cube of Riesling (easier to carry than bottles) and two more disposable cameras. I spent $30 but got an additional $40 cash for us so it felt like I was spending a fortune. Then we walked back across that scary intersection at Harbor and Chapman (there are traffic lights, but still…).
We went to Red Robin that is directly across from Target and had a very nice dinner. The service was excellent and everyone was very nice to us. We shared the BBQ pulled pork sandwich (very tangy!) with steak fries and coleslaw. They are very nice about split plates – separating them into two baskets with our own ramekin of coleslaw.

After that, we went to the ART stop behind the parking lot of the restaurant – waited for quite awhile -- with no bench to sit on; and went back to Disney to take the #14 back to our hotel. Whew! When we arrived at the Disney bus place – there was a nice empty bench to sit on and within a few minutes the fireworks started! I said to Karen, “Oh, no! fireworks, yuck! I know you don’t like rainbows and fireworks!” (Every time I wax poetic about rainbows – Karen is always like “Eh;” and she could care less about staying late for the fireworks). She turned to me and said dryly, “By the way (she HATES it when I say “BTW”) I DO like fireworks.” So, even though we couldn’t hear the soundtrack and see the low ones it was absolutely wonderful being able to sit there in complete comfort and watch almost all 17 minutes of them (and be ahead of the crowds afterwards). It was a perfect end to a practically perfect day (as Mary Poppins would say).

(I did think it was odd that there were other folks waiting with us and most of them were turned around the opposite way -- playing with cell phones or just sitting there, completely ignoring the pyrotechnics. Perhaps they were Disneyed out.)

The ART arrived just as the fireworks were ending and I lingered back to the end of the line so that I could catch the finale. For once, I was actually happy that the ART took awhile to arrive. (Mostly the #14 ART that we were on was a nice, big, real bus rather than those uncomfortable trolleys – with that mesh crap all over them so that you can’t see out of the windows.)
When we returned to the hotel, I set out all of our purchases on the table and took a picture of them. We probably stayed up until around midnight – because it was awfully painful when the alarm went off at 6:00 the next morning (I wanted to arrive at DL when it opened at 8:00 a.m. – Ha!)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

While we were having a pleasant time getting ready this morning (I love that feeling when you’re getting ready to go somewhere fun), I mentioned something about leaving tomorrow and Karen said, “Tomorrow? Already?”
Fortunately, I had purchased our one day ART passes at DL last night before we went to Target (I was reasonably sure that the machine there would work) since there was a huge mob at the vending machine impatiently attempting to buy tickets (which wasn’t easy since it wouldn’t accept cash and it was finicky about credit cards, as well).

We didn’t make it to the Park until 8:45 a.m. – But that’s pretty good for us. Did I mention the heat again today? At 7:30 a.m. the news said it was already 79 degrees.

Our first ride was Peter Pan (with about a 15 minute wait). While in line I took some pix of the FL buildings. I never noticed before that periodically (about every 30 seconds) in the top window that Snow White’s Wicked Stepmother opens the red velvet drapes and looks out disapprovingly at FL. Very creepy!

Then we went on Mr. Toad – one of my favorites. I am dying for a Diet Coke with ice but there is no time now (rides, baby). Then we proceeded on to Alice in Wonderland (Oh, my!) which I absolutely love. I was trying to think of a way to get Karen and me to ride separately in our caterpillar since she had talked through PP and MrTWR. The CM said that we had the choice or riding together in the back. Or, one of us in the front and one in back. Karen sweetly consulted me and I said “front and back.” You know it was funny that I actually missed her running dialog!

Then we hit the Teacups. The CM was saying something about that they recommend that if there are more than two adults in a party that they ride in separate cups or their tea will be “too strong.” LOL.

We had a nice break at the Queen of Hearts (as I call them) restrooms on the side of the castle. Then off to Space. Well, by now the standby line was at 45 minutes so we got FPs for after 12:30. Karen desperately wanted a Really Big Cinnamon Roll and coffee from the Blue Ribbon Bakery; and since I knew she’d share it with me – and I could get my Diet Coke there I was agreeable. The cinnamon roll was really good – did I mention that it was slathered in a delicious cream cheese frosting? We sat inside the Gibson Girl Creamery to eat – at the big round marble table with the green glass elephant in the middle. Since it was so hot the ice in my drink melted way too soon. We shared the rest of the Coke on the way to Splash. Since I thought I had lost my bear pix, I tried to recreate them while in Critter Country.

We rode Splash Mountain (very fun as always); and I walked around taking pictures of all of the bears I could find (Winnie the Pooh didn’t count). Then we went on the Haunted Mansion since we love it; and we knew that it would be blissfully cool in there. We rode it (it was a walk-on) and then in the graveyard scene, Karen said “Let’s ride it again!” I said “Sure!”
So, we went on it again (with me asking Karen if I could sit on the opposite side of our doom buggy so that I could get a different perspective) --although I really do prefer the holiday overlay. After the ride I wanted to sit down and change from my Splash Crocs back into my regular tennis shoes and socks (the Crocs make my feet sweaty – sorry to be so indelicate).
So, we sat down on the brick border next to the HM. All of a sudden we were surrounded by a dozen adorable little girls all dressed in red and blue team uniforms (most had darling matching hair ribbons, as well) and their chaperones. They were called the “Firecrackers.” One of the chaperones was saying how worried she was when the team members were in the HM and she could hear screaming and was afraid that one of them was frightened. There was some debate over whether to continue onto Winnie the Pooh or whether to ride the HM again. One of the guys (chaperones) said that he’d take the girls on the HM that wanted to ride again. Two sweet little girls (about 4 or 5 years old) were holding both hands and one asked the other, “Which would you rather go on – Winnie the Pooh or the HM?” And, the other announced excitedly, “Haunted Mansion!” So cute!

It wasn’t easy extricating ourselves from the proceedings but we were able to excuse ourselves from the crowd. I would have liked to have done BTMRR but it was so freakin’ hot that I didn’t think I could stand in that hot queue. At least at this point there was a strong breeze with a nice cloud cover so the heat was a little easier to handle. We went on the PoTC – another nice, cool indoor ride and after that decided to head over to DCA.

I am quite jealous of all of those newlywed couples cavorting around the Parks in their darling Mickey Mouse ears top hats and bridal veils.

Anyway, DCA usually seems cooler to me than DL but today it seemed much hotter. Under that giant misting machine in front of Soarin’ (which did not seem to be operating very well) folks were just standing under it trying to get some respite from the heat. I wanted to get FPs for GRR and Soarin’ and Karen was too hot to walk around. I told her that she could wait in the Taste’s Pilot Grill for me. Of course, since that is the only air conditioned indoor casual place to eat at DCA -- it was packed and Karen never found a seat in the 20 minutes or so that I was gone. I have never fainted (yet); but as previously mentioned I do not handle extreme heat well and went to stand under the mister to cool off a bit. Which was not very easy – since so many people had the same idea as me (a dad had his small child in a stroller directly under it so that she could cool off). I got the FPs (which we never were able to use) – and took the bear pix that I thought I had lost. There were about a million people trying to get in line for GRR. I was really afraid that I was going to pass out. Karen was wondering what the heck happened to me. I found her still standing in the Taste Pilot’s Grill since she never found anywhere to sit. Did I mention that it had to be about 103 degrees? (since it was still 100 when we returned to our room later that afternoon).

Oh, at this point I would like to give a shout out to the CM at the FP area for Soarin’ over California. There was this older guy who was totally frustrated and confused over the FP situation. He asked how it works. The CM was very kind and patient and showed him how to put his ticket in the machine in order to get the FP. Then he said, “Just come back any time after 5:30 today and you will be able to get right on the ride.” Then he clarified (since I know for a fact that you can use FPs anytime after the window -- they just don’t publicize it); “Well, TRY to come back within the time on the FP – but if not, any time after that is fine.”

We went over to the Golden Vine Winery and each had a glass of White Zinfandel since they were “only” $5 each. It was very good since it was very cold. We also asked for some glasses of ice water as well (the BEST deal on the property). We each had some Fritos, and cheese and crackers Handi-Snacks from our purses with our wine (I figured that the salt couldn’t hurt with this heat). It was much more pleasant on this side of DCA than it was on the GRR side. Still very hot though. But at least we were in the shade with our feet up. And, for some reason that repetitive jazz music they usually have was not playing. (Which was nice – a little of that goes a long way.)

Then I wanted to go back to the tortilla tour since I wanted to take a picture inside; and I wanted the free sample (plus we could escape the heat for a few minutes). Karen was agreeable. Then we went over the Taste of CA… for some more appetizers. It was very difficult finding a table in the shade – but we finally found two seats together. Karen held the table and I went over to order for us since I had to use my debit card. I ordered four (two for each of us) of the California Skewers (one chicken and one beef per order) and the very snippy CM asked me, “All beef or all chicken – or one of each, MA’AM?” I HATE being called ma’am (I like “miss”). The way these attitudinal young folks say it is NOT respectful. Especially, when they ma’am you to death – ma’am, ma’am, ma’am. “Good question,” I countered and walked off and went back to ask Karen. She said that both were equally good and that the beef was very tender so we decided on beef and chicken (did I mention that they are very small?) Like maybe 4-5” per skewer.
So, I went up to another CM who was older (around my age – they are usually much nicer) and placed my order, including two chardonnays. She said there is one personal question that she wanted to ask me (I thought it would be about my hair color) – “Are you over 21?”

During this transaction a lady walked up interrupting us and complained to the CM that the young guy at the pickup window wouldn’t give her her food since she didn’t have her receipt -- and that she was disabled -- and then she’d have to walk way over to get her ECV and it would be impossible to carry her tray. She was yelling at the CM – but more so out of frustration than out of anger. The CM told me to please go ahead to the pickup window; and excused herself so that she could take care of the situation. I don’t know exactly what transpired since I was having my own mini crises; but I do know that she solved the woman’s problem to her satisfaction.
At the pickup window I asked for two cups of ice water and my tray was already getting rather full -- and when the CM handed me the second 1/2” stemmed flimsy plastic glass of wine – I carefully placed it on the tray and it immediately tipped over and spilled and my tray and food was full of wine. The CM just kind of looked at me like “oops.” I asked if I could have another glass since it was spilled and he silently poured me another one – but I definitely felt that if I hadn’t asked – he wouldn’t have offered. He sort of mumbled “I’m sorry” as I left the counter. Those flimsy stemmed glasses are impossible to carry on those trays – especially with other plates of food on them. Why they don’t use flat bottom plastic glasses for this is beyond me!
So, here I am trying to carry this tray – which was already full of liquid and I’m afraid of spilling more wine or dropping the entire thing. Karen would have helped me, but she was facing the opposite direction – and plus we didn’t want to lose our place. Finally, I set down the tray on an outside table (everyone was huddled under the shaded ones) – gingerly carrying the wine glasses over to Karen. I poured the wine off the tray into the garbage – brought the food over to my sister – and got the napkins and flatware, etc. and finally sat down to eat. Whew!

It was all very sticky but the skewers were delicious and did not disappoint – however; I sure wish that I had somewhere cool to enjoy them. I don’t know why Disney (especially at DCA) doesn’t do more to make guests comfortable during inclement weather (both extreme heat and, cold and rain). If they are going to have that Taste of California Marketplace (which we obviously did enjoy) – at least have enough tables and chairs with UMBRELLAS (there are also some young olive trees but they’re not providing much shade yet). And, how about installing those misting machines (they called it aqua mist a/c in Palm Springs when I was there) to keep folks cool on hot days? With all of those decorative pipes running around the Monterey Bay area – they would certainly fit in with the theme. Okay, rant over.

We decided to leave the Park after that. We just couldn’t handle the heat anymore. It was a long, hot walk out of DCA and across the cement esplanade to the ART stop and I just started crying. The heat had gotten to me. I think that’s the first time EVER that I have left a Disney Park in tears (even at WDW). Fortunately the #14 ART was waiting for us – all nice and air conditioned. They were in the middle of a shift change but we were able to wait aboard. We had to wait a bit to leave. But that was okay. I was so hot that I had to sit alone since Karen was generating too much heat (the average person puts out the heat of a 100 watt light bulb – Secrets from the Cineplex – that’s why movie theatres are so cold – but I digress…). I had itchy red bumps on the back of both my ankles (just above my socks line) which I diagnosed as a heat rash.

A few minutes later when we returned to the Holiday Inn – as soon as I walked in our room I got into the shower, while Karen went to get some ice. The shower felt wonderful. We had left the a/c on in the room. After my tepid shower I got into my nice, cool bed and went to sleep.
Well, naturally we had the TV on -- and my internal alarm woke me up at 6:30 for my show – Ebert and Roeper. I’ve become quite a fan of Richard Roeper lately. So, we were ready to go out to dinner close to 8:00. I have been putting up my hair every day; but it looked okay when I combed it so decided to wear it down. Once we were outside – even though it was dark – I was wishing that I had brought a hairclip with me. We talked to a nice lady with a little boy (about 4) at the ART stop. We explained that we were going to dinner rather than back to the Park and that I dislike taking cabs. She was like, “Well maybe you should spend the $5 for a cab because it will take you a long time to transfer to Buca (di Beppo).” Five dollars? Buca is pretty far away from the Holiday Inn. She also asked if the restaurant was in walking distance of DL. Oh, no its like 4 city blocks away.

Anyway, it took quite awhile for the #14 to arrive at the Holiday Inn (which was nicely illuminated in green – sort of like the Silver Legacy in Reno) – but once it did our connections were excellent. The #4 at DL (I think that was the number) was just letting off passengers so we were able to hop on that one directly to Buca. By the time we got to the restaurant (the stop is just behind it) it was about 9:00 p.m. – but they were open until 10:00. It was pretty deserted inside – but everyone was really friendly and we got the same table in the “Pope Room” as when we were here last January (that happens to us a lot). The atmosphere is very fun – strings of old fashioned colored Christmas lights – fruit painted on the walls -- big jugs of wine – pictures of celebrities – lots of tchockes.

We ordered the “small” Macaroni Rosa to share (the food is served family style). The pasta dish is corkscrew macaroni, slices of chicken breast, broccoli, green peas and mushrooms all in a savory red cream sauce. We ordered a glass of chardonnay each – not quite the generous pour that we’ve had previously though. While we were enjoying our ice water with lemon and the wine – and the ambiance -- Karen’s cell phone rang and she answered it. It was our Dad (he had finally returned her call after a couple of tries). He apparently asked lots of questions – where we were – when would we get home, etc. I would have let it go to voice mail for the time being – but Karen didn’t talk too long. And, even though there weren’t a lot of other patrons in there (lots of noise coming from the kitchen) -- I don’t think she was bothering anyone else.

Anyway, it took quite awhile for our food to arrive but once it did it was certainly worth it. It was delicious! What I like best about Buca is that the food actually tastes like home cooking to me (which is very good since the only home cooking I get to eat is my own). We both ate quite a bit and made sure to pick all the chicken out of it. As we were leaving we had a hard time finding our way out and these friendly guys (workers) showed us the way out (the kitchen is in the middle). “Oh, no don’t go that way or you’ll have to do the dishes!” they laughed.

We went to the ART stop where there are several cement benches. We sat down to wait and there was actually a tinge of coolness to the air. Amazingly, within a few minutes the ART came. Once at DL – the #14 was waiting for us – so it was all very painless (and relaxing, satisfying and fun).
Once back in our room – I did some packing so I’d have less work to do in the morning. We watched TV and relaxed. I can’t believe that we’re going home tomorrow already.

Monday, April 28, 2008

We got around and packed this morning. The Parks don’t open until 10:00 this morning. I think we actually checked out at 10:00 – which for us is very good. The nice lady at the front desk said that she would hold our luggage and coats for us. I should have purchased the ART tickets last night – but I was too tired to deal with it. Big mistake. The machine was mobbed and not working right. Then the ART arrived and the huge crowded slowly started loading the bus. We finally got Karen’s debit card to work (cash wouldn’t work). The guy behind me was very patient (and was behind us in line to board the ART) and helped me, “Strip up. That’s good. There you go.”

Then as we were going to board with a family of four behind us (last in line) – the bus driver told us that he was full and we’d have to wait until the next one (which I knew would be about 40 minutes). “Sir, sir, we don’t mind standing (there was room),” the nice Canadian lady behind us implored (I could tell by their conversations on the way to the Park). He finally acquiesced and let us on. I don’t know what the big deal is – they always pack those busses full and allow people to stand. It always makes me sad when I have to leave and others are just starting their vacation.

It was boiling hot again today. We only had until 1:55 (the ART doesn’t run from 12:30 to 1:55) until we had to leave the Park. I had fudged on our flight time (I said 6:30 rather than 5:20 p.m.) when I arranged for pickup with the DLE. Otherwise, they would want to pick us up at 1:00! I think we got to DL at about 10:45 so we didn’t have much time.

The plan was to walk through Downtown Disney – (hopefully) ride Monorail Red (the new one) to TomorrowLand and ride Space which we hadn’t gotten to yet. Karen, of course, wanted to ride Gadget’s Rollercoaster way over in Toontown – the farthest point away in the Park. I asked her if she’d really rather do that instead of Space -- and she agreed to do Space first and see what our timing was like (whew!). (I don’t dislike Gadget’s –its just so darned far from everything and the acorns (cars) are pretty small.)

We walked though the esplanade to DTD and I suggested popping into Sephora so that we could smell it and enjoy the coolness for a minute. Karen wanted to stay in there for awhile but I said we should get going. Then we stopped at GCH in order to use the nice lobby restrooms (I took some pictures). After that long, hot walk (DTD was deserted) we had to go through Security again and wait at the Monorail Station. I didn’t know that there was only one monorail in service and (this part I knew) that it’s a one way trip. So, that took forever. We had to wait for 2 or 3 cycles. There was no breeze and it was HOT up on the covered platform. I ate a small bag of Lay’s from my purse; and looked at the beautiful orange flowering trees in the distance.

The CM did a very good job of explaining about the monorail being a one way trip and that the only one in service is Monorail Purple – except that right now its covered with that YOAMD crap (I’m sure he didn’t say crap but it sounded like it). And that M.P. is the last of the Mark Vs (I think he said 5 or was it 4?) and that Monorail Red would be online in the near future. He said that the wait would be somewhat lengthy and that they were glad to have us aboard -- but if we were in a hurry it may be faster to walk to DL. I appreciated all of the information.

We finally got on Monorail “Purple” and took the scenic ride to Tomorrowland. I got a couple of really nice pictures from up on the platform of the Nemo lagoon. In one of them you can actually see all of the pretty colored coral.

Then we went down the stairs, around the Nemo line – and then I said let’s cut through the Tomorrowland Terrace (counter service) as a short cut to Space. I saw a bunch of “employees” on the pathway and thought “Oh no, we’re dead ending and they’re going to tell us to go the other way.” Then I said aloud, “IT’S THE DREAM TEAM!” And sure enough, it was the Dream Team and they were handing out what I thought was Dream FPs (oh, good, we won’t have to wait for Space!). One CM handed me a blue YOAMD card on a lanyard and one to Karen. I was so excited and really thrilled!

This is my sixth trip to DL during this promotion and I’ve never gotten anything. They were all clapping with their hands in the air and cheering. I walked through the group of them clapping with my hands over my head cheering, as well. Then one of them at the end told me to be sure and read the instructions and explained that after a small reception at 8:00 p.m. (park closing time) then, “Disneyland will be yours!” I knew we couldn’t use them – but I still wanted to keep it and was very happy that I had actually won something (Karen said, “Oh, then I could ride Gadget’s!” – Aaaargh).

Karen and I snapped pix of each other holding our prizes. Then we proceeded onto Space with the “15 minute” wait – I think it was closer to 25.I really hate that hot queue on top of the building in the sun – it is miserable on hot days (hello? Misting machines). But, at least I still had the glow from my YOAMD prize so I was happy. We discussed lunch options while in line.

Even if by some miracle we could actually get a seat inside of the Taste Pilots Grill (since we hadn’t had our ribs yet) it would be a long, hot walk over there and by now it was after noon. We decided to walk across the street to Tony Roma’s for BBQ chicken. Karen had enough $$$ on her debit card so she offered to pay for lunch.

We thoroughly enjoyed our ride through Space. Since I had $6+ left on my gift card (that we were going to apply toward lunch) – I said I’d like to stop by the Candy Palace and buy some more tins of mints (I love the Altoids-like ones that they have – and I’m very finicky about my mints). When I paid for the candy, the CM asked me, “Would you like a caramel apple to go with that?” Huh? Oh, no thanks. Then I said goodbye to DL – heaven knows when I’ll be back. Hopefully this coming November.

It was miserable walking to Tony Roma’s but we finally made it and it was blissfully cool in there. We had a very nice relaxing and delicious lunch. We both had the ¼ BBQ chicken (all white meat) with their fabulous sauce, a loaded baked potato, coleslaw and a couple glasses of chardonnay (each!). The service was excellent too. We left with enough time to walk back across the street and wait in the heat for the ART – which arrived a tad past 2:00 p.m.

We got back to the Holiday Inn and retrieved our suitcases and coats. The guy getting out our luggage very graciously would not accept the tip that Karen offered him. We rolled our suitcases over to the bus pickup place (the same as the ART) and the airport bus arrived a few minutes later. I asked the driver, “LAX?” And, he said, “No, but you’re in MY territory and I’ll take you to the connecting bus.” Okaaaay. We transferred at the Disneyland hotel and surrendered our vouchers. Once on our way to the airport -- there were about 20 sleeping dads on that bus. We arrived at LAX in plenty of time despite the very long luggage check-in line. Security was trying as usual – but at least they were quite nice. (And the luggage check-in guy at Horizon was very pleasant too.)

By this time I was very thirsty. Karen had to use the restroom first – but I went over to the snack stand and got us two Aquafina waters. I think they were “only” $1.99. I drank down mine fairly fast. It was now that I realized that I haven’t had any chocolate (well, I did have a brownie) on this trip. I mentioned this to Karen who produced a small mini M&Ms bag that was completely flat since it had melted in her purse! I thanked her but declined the offer. There was nowhere to sit – so we just leaned against the wall. Karen said, “Oh, look, there’s Guy (Fieri) again.” Turns out Guy was on our flight (he lives in Santa Rosa). People were going up to him and taking pictures with him. Once again, he was very gracious and patient – and always introduced his wife and son. He and his wife and little boy sat two rows behind us.

The flight was good. We had a nice free glass of Chardonnay and some funky tomato ranch chips – which actually were pretty good – not that I’d buy them.

When we arrived in Santa Rosa, it was blissfully cool. We found our car; and once again the gate was up on the parking lot so we exited without paying (hey, if they want you to pay – they should keep the gate down!). We drove home and there were no bad messages on the machine – but no good ones either (for jobs).

It was nice eating some pork chop gravy (that I froze before we left) and some pasta for dinner. I would normally say that we were happy to be back at home with the “good cable” but the cable we had at the Holiday Inn was just as good (if not better); and had the TV Guide Channel (which for some reason we don’t have any more). Even though I need to get back to reality once again – I feel very grateful and happy that we were able to get away for a few days and be in the “Disney Zone.” There is nothing like it.

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