cstephens
01-28-2019, 03:48 PM
Figured I'd forego starting a bunch of threads and just put it all here.
We had a chance to experience some of the Lunar New Year festivities this past weekend. I love the decorations (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089587519857905664), and I especially love that they decorated the trees/bushes by the lighthouse with red packets and oranges/kumquats/whatever (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089588759782338561). We did the math and decided to get the new Sip and Savor pass, which is $3 cheaper for APs, and you get the pretty lanyard and a button for each tab you use (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089590052403896320). I liked the BBQ pork bao (which is in fact not a bao but is really a taco) with pickled onions and jalapeno (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089663547695452161) - good flavor all around. We got the Mickey Chinese hot dog bun (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089664407909543936)mostly because it was cute. It was fine but there was really nothing Chinese about it. I wish they'd used Chinese sausage instead of hot dogs. We also had the firecracker three cup chicken (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089665392853676033), which I didn't care for last year because it was too bland, but it was much better this year - nice flavor and a decent kick of spiciness. I was amused, though, that what we got looked absolutely nothing like the picture that's on the Lunar New Year celebration website and the little brochure/flyer that they hand out at the park.
One of my goals for the day was to have dinner at Rancho del Zocalo because I wanted to try the molcajete (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089669257745522689), which for some inexplicable reason is offered as part of the February/Valentine menus. It's expensive but it's totally worth it if you're wanting a splurge. I guess I've never had the carne asada there before because I kept commenting on how good it was (texture and flavor) but my favorite thing was the shrimp. It had a spice on it that was just amazingly delicious. I'd love if they just added the shrimp on rice to the regular menu. They also had a chocolate tamale (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089670828533309440)there, which sounds kind of iffy, but I was convinced when I read the description, and it did not disappoint. Seriously yummy. A definite recommend.
I was also thrilled at the return of Soundsational. I absolutely love that parade and I wanted to see the new stuff that was being added. Pictures here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089921756033310720), the new birthday cake float (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089922219881316352), the awesome new pull-toy float (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089922638523187200), and returning favorites here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089922998688071681), one more here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089923324400943104), and one last one here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089923668652617733).
Some cool merchandise I ran across:
Love this mug (though I managed to refrain from buying it) - it's like a "to do" list of Disneyland (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089666544768929792)! I'm now obsessed, however, with wanting a Haunted Mansion turkey leg. ;)
They had some cute Haunted Mansion stuff for dogs (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089667179967012865).
I really LOVED this Haunted Mansion shirt (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089667627776040960), which I again managed to refrain from buying.
Oh, one thing I wanted to mention - Fantasmic is down for the next month, I think, but while that's happening, they're running the Mark Twain at night, and that's always a treat for me because that's not usually possible. I can't remember how late it runs, but it was definitely dark when we went on it. I highly recommend an evening ride on the Twain.
And, we were sitting on Main Street around 5:30 in front of Disneyana, and a ton of crows were flying around, both in Town Square as well as further over Disneyland that we could see (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089334816443514882). It was kind of cool but also a big creepy. I've noticed some crows above Main Street before, and of course, I've seen them by the Haunted Mansion, but nothing like this. On a different note, from that vantage point as the sun went down, we saw some gorgeous sunset colors above the train station (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089338506806157313).
We had a chance to experience some of the Lunar New Year festivities this past weekend. I love the decorations (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089587519857905664), and I especially love that they decorated the trees/bushes by the lighthouse with red packets and oranges/kumquats/whatever (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089588759782338561). We did the math and decided to get the new Sip and Savor pass, which is $3 cheaper for APs, and you get the pretty lanyard and a button for each tab you use (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089590052403896320). I liked the BBQ pork bao (which is in fact not a bao but is really a taco) with pickled onions and jalapeno (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089663547695452161) - good flavor all around. We got the Mickey Chinese hot dog bun (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089664407909543936)mostly because it was cute. It was fine but there was really nothing Chinese about it. I wish they'd used Chinese sausage instead of hot dogs. We also had the firecracker three cup chicken (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089665392853676033), which I didn't care for last year because it was too bland, but it was much better this year - nice flavor and a decent kick of spiciness. I was amused, though, that what we got looked absolutely nothing like the picture that's on the Lunar New Year celebration website and the little brochure/flyer that they hand out at the park.
One of my goals for the day was to have dinner at Rancho del Zocalo because I wanted to try the molcajete (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089669257745522689), which for some inexplicable reason is offered as part of the February/Valentine menus. It's expensive but it's totally worth it if you're wanting a splurge. I guess I've never had the carne asada there before because I kept commenting on how good it was (texture and flavor) but my favorite thing was the shrimp. It had a spice on it that was just amazingly delicious. I'd love if they just added the shrimp on rice to the regular menu. They also had a chocolate tamale (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089670828533309440)there, which sounds kind of iffy, but I was convinced when I read the description, and it did not disappoint. Seriously yummy. A definite recommend.
I was also thrilled at the return of Soundsational. I absolutely love that parade and I wanted to see the new stuff that was being added. Pictures here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089921756033310720), the new birthday cake float (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089922219881316352), the awesome new pull-toy float (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089922638523187200), and returning favorites here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089922998688071681), one more here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089923324400943104), and one last one here (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089923668652617733).
Some cool merchandise I ran across:
Love this mug (though I managed to refrain from buying it) - it's like a "to do" list of Disneyland (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089666544768929792)! I'm now obsessed, however, with wanting a Haunted Mansion turkey leg. ;)
They had some cute Haunted Mansion stuff for dogs (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089667179967012865).
I really LOVED this Haunted Mansion shirt (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089667627776040960), which I again managed to refrain from buying.
Oh, one thing I wanted to mention - Fantasmic is down for the next month, I think, but while that's happening, they're running the Mark Twain at night, and that's always a treat for me because that's not usually possible. I can't remember how late it runs, but it was definitely dark when we went on it. I highly recommend an evening ride on the Twain.
And, we were sitting on Main Street around 5:30 in front of Disneyana, and a ton of crows were flying around, both in Town Square as well as further over Disneyland that we could see (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089334816443514882). It was kind of cool but also a big creepy. I've noticed some crows above Main Street before, and of course, I've seen them by the Haunted Mansion, but nothing like this. On a different note, from that vantage point as the sun went down, we saw some gorgeous sunset colors above the train station (https://twitter.com/cstephens2/status/1089338506806157313).