Our West Coast Adventure - May 2017 - Day 3: Meeting Mickey Mouse and fireworks magic

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Index can be found here

Saturday 13th May 2017

Steps: 33,086
Miles: 14.04

The alarm went off bright and early at 6:30am as we had planned on getting to the parks for early opening at 8am but after two very busy days we were both feeling pretty tired so that was never going to happen! Shutting off the alarm and going back to sleep was the only option! After another hour of shut eye we were both feeling much sprightlier and by 8:45am we were ready and heading out of the room to make our way to the parks for our last day of Disney fun.

We were through security by 9am, the lines were much shorter than the day before which was a relief (I was expecting them to be much worse given it was a Saturday!). We headed straight into DL and the first thing that struck me was that there was no music playing as we entered Main Street, most strange!

Our first stop of the day was Jungle Cruise which was showing a 10 minute wait time. A favourite of ours in MK and it didn’t disappoint in DLR, exactly the same ride with even the same cheesy gags!

Leaving Jungle Cruise we made our way over to Tomorrowland as we wanted to pick up some FPs for Buzz Lightyear (I told you we loved this one!).

Making our way over we stopped in front of the castle for a few photos, it would be rude not to right?! Also I felt like my t-shirt today deserved to be snapped in such an iconic spot!

On reaching Tomorrowland we headed up to the third FP kiosk in the row and popping in our park tickets we found we were given FPs for Star Tours at 11:10am… it seems that the first two machines were for Buzz and the other four were for Star Tours, most confusing as it wasn’t signposted very clearly at all! We mentioned to a CM that we had actually wanted Buzz FPs and they kindly gave us some for 10:30am whilst also letting us keep the Star Tours one… a lovely result!

With our collection of FPs safely stowed away in my bag it was time to hunt out some breakfast! Leaving Tomorrowland we made our way into Frontierland and found ourselves in front of Rancho Del Zocalo which on inspecting the menu we found did pancakes… I was sold!

Paul opted for the American breakfast and a Coke and I of course went for the Mickey pancakes! With food loaded up on our tray we went and found a table outside to enjoy your food in the morning sunshine.

The food was really good, although that portion of pancakes was far too big so Paul ended up having to help me out! By the time we had finished up our Buzz Lightyear FPs are opened up so we made our way straight there, and what a surprise… Paul won again! (I seem to again have taken a photo of my score and not Paul’s, not bitter at all!)

Next up was something that was top of my list of things I wanted to achieve on this trip… meeting Mickey Mouse! We have met him in WDW and DLP so it seemed only right to pop by and say hello when in DLR too! So with this goal in mind we headed into Mickey’s Toon Town to find the big man himself.

On arriving at his house the wait time outside was 30 minutes which I was more than happy with so in we headed. Inside the theming is fantastic and as a tip you are able to walk around Mickey’s house without actually meeting him, there is an exit just before you join the meet and greet queue. Despite the posted time of half an hour this was clearly not up to date as within 10 minutes there we was stood right in front of him!

Paul wasn’t fussed about getting involved so I went straight in for hugs! I was so pleased that there was a PP photographer there as they did a great job in capturing such a special moment… if any of you have seen my photos from meeting Mickey at WDW you can see I was equally as excited this time around! He also made a point of reading my t-shirt, it was super cute and this is what sparked us doing air hearts at each other… swoon!

Despite playing it cool I managed to get Paul in for a photo too, there was no way he was going to get out of it that easily!

As with the previous two times I have met Mickey I got a little teary as we left, I always find these experiences a little emotional and this always seems to be when it really hits home how lucky I am to have such amazing Disney trips. Also this time I couldn’t help but think that the next time we are meeting him we will have our own little one in tow… that was definitely enough to set me off!

Waving Mickey goodbye we headed back outside and stopped out the front of his house for a few photos… I love this whole area and it really does add to the meet and greet experience getting to visit him in his very own crib!

As we were passing we stopped at the FP kiosks for Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and managed to snag some with a return time of 11:55am.

By now our FPs for Star Tours had opened up so we headed in that direction. As I couldn’t ride this one Paul was having to go solo and whilst I waited I decided to head over to the castle to have a sit down and people watch…. What better place to sit and watch the world go by eh?!

Before long Paul was back with me and we decided it was time for a snack… off to Adventureland for a Dole Whip of course! Paul went for his standard Dole Whip float ($5.49) and as I was so thirsty I opted for a simple pineapple juice ($2.79).

Feeling positively refreshed from the pineapple goodness we headed back in the direction of the hub and as we were making our way past the front of the castle we noticed people milling around as if waiting for something. Now I am a nosey mare so I of course insisted that we go and have a look at what was going on… and I am thankful for my nosiness as mere minutes later out came the Main Street band and a whole host of characters! It was a great little show and we were right at the front to see it all which was just fantastic (and Minnie was totally blowing that kiss at me!). I love how at every turn there is always something magical to take you by surprise!

With the performance over we were now able to cash in our Roger Rabbit FPs so it was back over to Toon Town (no wonder we were clocking up so many steps with all this back and forth!). It was a fun indoor ride, although you are thrown around a little more than I was expecting… I had already checked and it definitely didn’t have an expectant-mother warning on it though!

Next up we decided to ride the Monorail, which is 2 and a half miles long and has a stop both in Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney. We joined the queue at the Tomorrowland station which gives you great views of the Matterhorn Mountain and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

It was a lovely journey and gives you great views of the parks and surrounding areas… plus it has air con so that was definitely welcomed! We did a full loop and alighted back in Tomorrowland and headed straight to the It’s a Small World gift shop as after riding on our first day we had spotted a coaster we wanted for Paul’s Mum ($6.95) and a book with CD for the baby ($16.99). Yes, this baby is going to have no choice but share our love of IASW!

By now it was 1:30pm and we decided to leave DL and head over to DCA. On entering the park we spotted a PP photographer so stopped for a few snaps.

Feeling like I need a sugar fix I popped into Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Café (again, the fanciest name for a Starbucks ever!) and grabbed a caramel frappuccino ($5.59). These are totally my vice, I don’t even care how many calories they are riddled with… they are totally worth it!

We started to make our way over to Paradise Pier but on the way spotted another PP photographer by the big waterfall so we of course had to stop once again! There really were a lot more roaming photographers around the park than I was expecting. Most impressive!

Heading through the park we carried on our journey over to Paradise Pier, making our way past Pacific Wharf and of course stopping for more photos!

As we were at the pier we made a stop at the TSMM FP kiosks and picked up some passes for 6:55pm, we were also told by a cast member that as this timeslot was so far away we could get another set of FPs after 2 hours had passed which I wasn’t aware of! Useful to know but wish we had known that on day 1!

By now it was 2:35pm and we decided now would be a good time for our daily break from the parks (I had come to be quite fond of these, it was a great way to break the day up and give ourselves a bit of a rest!). We headed out of DCA and decided to have a walk through Downtown Disney seeing as we had only been through at night time when it was dark.

We of course had to make a stop in World of Disney and whilst there I picked up a Pandora charm for Rach and a Disneyland jumper for Helen that they had asked me to get for them. We also bought a 2017 Disneyland mug ($14.99) and a 2017 Christmas decoration ($21.99). It has become a tradition since moving into our own home together that we get a new Christmas decoration every year, this is now our fourth consecutive year of it being Disney inspired (and we actually have two for 2017 as we picked one up in DLP back in January too!)

When paying for our haul we were served by the most fantastic CM called Imani. She was an absolute delight and took great pleasure in knowing that we were from London (easier than trying to explain where Essex is!) and on hearing it was our first visit there she insisted on giving us some first visit badges and took great care and detail in personalising them with our names… I didn’t have the heart to tell her we already had some and to be honest I was more than happy to have some more for the memory box!

Saying a heartfelt goodbye to our new friend Imani we left WoD and headed back to the hotel, arriving there at 3:30pm. Wanting to give our feet a little rest we popped down to the pool bar to grab a drink and have a sit in the sunshine. Paul went for a beer and I had a coke ($7.50). It was lovely to sit out and bask in the sun, it makes me realise that maybe we should allow ourselves more rest time in our trips going forward (to be honest with a child in tow we will probably have no choice but to make that happen!)

Feeling re-energised we made our way back to the parks at 5pm and by 5:25pm we were heading into DCA as the Pixar Play Parade was due to start shortly and I was keen to see it. We managed to find a good spot overlooking Pacific Wharf that was right on the parade path and I even had a wall to lean against, happy days! Sadly taking photos proved quite difficult as we were looking directly into the sun but here are a few that are passable!

By the time the parade had passed by it was 6:10pm and we were feeling rather peckish. Given we were so perfectly located we decided to head into Pacific Wharf and see what was on offer and ended up settling on Lucky Fortune Cookery. Paul chose the chicken teriyaki and I had the chicken coconut Thai curry, both with a Coke. The food was delicious, such great quality for a quick-service outlet and a nice change from the standard burger and fries offerings, we were most impressed! Plus we got fortune cookies which I love!

Feeling very content from the delicious food it was now time to cash in our FP for TSMM so we headed straight over to Paradise Pier. Surprise surprise, Paul won again!

We carried on walking through the pier, this area really is so beautiful, especially at this time of day when the sun is going down. Photos will never do it justice!

As we were passing by Paul couldn’t resist another go on Bullseye’s Stallion Stampede and what do you know… he won again! So we now have a Bullseye to keep Woody company (this baby is doing well for stuffed toys this trip!)

We made our way back to the front of Paradise Pier and stopped to take some last photos. I felt quite emotional taking it all in for one last time this trip and felt extremely lucky that I had finally got to tick visiting DLR off my bucket list. It was all I ever dreamed it would be and so much more.

As we were standing taking photos we got chatting to a friendly CM who asked if we were from Australia or from New Zealand, it always makes me chuckle how Americans get the British accent confused with these and it seems to happen to us quite a lot when we are away!

We took one last walk through Cars Land and ended up back in front of Guardians of the Galaxy. It looked very cool lit up at night and we even managed to catch them running tests as the windows kept opening and you could see the cars dropping.

As we were making our way out of DCA I made a stop at the Photopass shop as I wanted to check on if it would be possible to buy a pass that covered all the photos that we had built up over the past 3 days as I had only been able to see a one day pass on the MDE app (it was indeed possible but it had to be purchased through the website rather than the app). We got chatting to the really helpful CM behind the counter and he was telling us what a big AFC Wimbledon fan he was so when Paul told him that he had played at their ground he was most impressed!

Coming out of DCA we headed straight over into DL, by now it was 8:45pm so Main Street was pretty manic as the 8:30pm Main Street Electrical was coming down so as a result we were directed through the back way behind the shops to get into the park.

We made our way directly to the front of the castle to secure a good spot for “Remember… Dreams Come True” fireworks. I was so excited and we had purposely waited until the last night to watch them as I thought it would be the perfect way to end our time there. So when there was an announcement 10 minutes before they were due to start saying that they may be cancelled because of the wind you can imagine my reaction! Heartbroken to say the least!

It didn’t actually feel very windy at all so we kept positive and stayed where we was with every finger and toe crossed that they would go ahead as planned. They made the announcement again shortly after so at this point I was feeling completely down heartened that we wouldn’t be getting to see them. But my silent wishes came true as about 10 minutes later there was a further announcement saying they would be going ahead as planned! There was a huge cheer from the crowd, lots of relieved and happy people that’s for sure!

When they started with the Wishes music and ‘star light, star bright’ I must admit I did get somewhat teary! It brought back so many wonderful happy memories of watching Wishes in MK and also made me feel so sad that we wouldn’t be getting to see it again. Completely a goosebump moment that I will cherish forever.

The fireworks themselves were absolutely brilliant; I loved how they incorporated projections of key rides and attractions including MSEP, The Tiki Room, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and POTC. Also I have to say their flying Tinkerbell trumps that of WDW, rather than just flying down the zip wire she actually loops around the castle several times, totally magical!

Feeling ecstatic that we had got to see the fireworks (it really was tough and go there for a minute!) we made our way back up Main Street to find a spot to watch the 10:30pm showing of MSEP. It was much busier than the later run in WDW but we managed to get a good spot along the curb which gave us the perfect view. I decided against taking photos this time around, this would be the very last time we would ever see this parade so I wanted to take it all in without having to worry about snapping a good photo (cheesy but true!)

By the time the parade had passed us by it was 11:05pm and as the park didn’t close until 12am we thought we would get one last ride in and as we had yet to get on POTC we chose that as our swan song. The wait time was 15 minutes although felt a little longer that that but it was totally worth it as I would say it is a better version than at MK, it has little two drops for a start which adds a bit more excitement!

With our final ride over there was nothing to do but start to make our out of the park, of course stopping at the shops on Main Street on the way! Whilst there we picked up a Minnie Mouse bag for our niece Izzy ($19.99), a magnet for Paul’s Mum ($8.99), a Disneyland hoodie for me ($49.99) and a Mickey Mouse teddy for the baby ($13.95)… apologies I haven’t got a photo of the magnet, we gave it to Joan before I had a chance to take a photo!

We finally made our way to the exit at 12:25am, stopping to take a last couple of snaps at the top of Main Street. I hate goodbyes ☹

We were back in the hotel room by 12:45am and I have to admit I felt physically broken! All the walking over the past few days had completely caught up with me and my back and feet were in agony! Thank goodness we only had three Disney days; I don’t think my body could have taken any more!

So that brings us to the end of the first leg of our West Coast adventure! It’s strange as normally on our last night in Disney I am in tears at the thought of leaving, and whilst I was sad this amazing section of the trip was over, I was also so excited for all we still had to come! I think doing Disney first was definitely the way to go, also I don’t think I would have had the energy come the end of the trip!

Thank you so much to those of you who have followed along with me so far and for all the wonderful comments… I hope some of you will continue with me as we move from Anaheim and see what other delights the West Coast has to offer (no more Disney but still all very exciting and magical I can assure you!)

Day 4 can be found here

[Unexpectedpenny]

Another brilliant packed day!

We have that small world coaster, I bought it in Disney Springs last year with 3 other different ones. I force my DH to use it as he hates that ride

I'm with you on the caramel frap love. I used a lot of snack credits on them this year. Drink calories don't count right?!

I love your 2017 decoration. Sorcerer Mickey is the best!

Haha we normally say London or about 45 minutes out of London, no one over there has known Essex so far.

Paul looks so proud of his Bullseye prize, well done!

I had a moment of panic for you thinking you wouldn't be able to see the fireworks, glad they went ahead. You captured some great photos too

[Guest]

Another lovely day Lisa. so glad you got to see the fireworks. Looking forward to reading more! The baby has some collection of soft toys already my daughter had loads to before she was born she has the whole collection now from Disney! I love the 2017 decoration you got we but a new one every year too hopefully we can find that one in Orlando this year!

[Redrach1903]

Aww I loved this!

I could have finished off your breakfast nae bother! Lightweight haha!

Love your Mickey Mouse pics! You look so happy! Made me miss the Toontown days of fantasyland at WDW! You could get in Mickey & Minnie's house

Thank you again for picking up my pandora charm! Such a star!

So glad the fireworks went ahead, perfect end to your Disney trip ❤️

xxx

[jocat]

So glad the fireworks went ahead for you.

Will definitely be continuing with you for the rest of your trippie.

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Originally Posted by Unexpectedpenny

Another brilliant packed day!

We have that small world coaster, I bought it in Disney Springs last year with 3 other different ones. I force my DH to use it as he hates that ride

I'm with you on the caramel frap love. I used a lot of snack credits on them this year. Drink calories don't count right?!

I love your 2017 decoration. Sorcerer Mickey is the best!

Haha we normally say London or about 45 minutes out of London, no one over there has known Essex so far.

Paul looks so proud of his Bullseye prize, well done!

I had a moment of panic for you thinking you wouldn't be able to see the fireworks, glad they went ahead. You captured some great photos too

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Oh calories in drinks totally don't count! It's funny as I don't like coffee at all but can't resist a caramel frap!

Paul was very proud of himself, totally the sportsman in him coming out... he plays to win!

The fireworks all that much better after so very nearly missing out on them, I have never been so relieved when they announced they would be going ahead!

Originally Posted by orlandolover04

Another lovely day Lisa. so glad you got to see the fireworks. Looking forward to reading more! The baby has some collection of soft toys already my daughter had loads to before she was born she has the whole collection now from Disney! I love the 2017 decoration you got we but a new one every year too hopefully we can find that one in Orlando this year!

See more...

A baby can never have enough stuffed toys right?! All being Disney themed I am hoping we will be brainwashing little one into being a super fan from an early age!

Originally Posted by Redrach1903

Aww I loved this!

I could have finished off your breakfast nae bother! Lightweight haha!

Love your Mickey Mouse pics! You look so happy! Made me miss the Toontown days of fantasyland at WDW! You could get in Mickey & Minnie's house

Thank you again for picking up my pandora charm! Such a star!

So glad the fireworks went ahead, perfect end to your Disney trip ❤️

xxx

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This pregnancy is playing havoc with my appetite, I was so disappointed with myself for not finishing those pancakes!

Oh I am so sad I never got to see Toon Town at WDW, if it was anything like the one at DLR then it must have been awesome!

Absolute pleasure to pick up your charm, I can't wait to hand deliver it to you next month! xxx

Originally Posted by jocat

So glad the fireworks went ahead for you.

Will definitely be continuing with you for the rest of your trippie.

See more...

What a relief, they certainly put the frighteners on me for a minute there!

Great to know you will be continuing to follow along, hopefully I can get a few more days posted before your trip... that countdown is ticking by super quick now!

[Redrach1903]

Absolute pleasure to pick up your charm, I can't wait to hand deliver it to you next month! xxx

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Squeeeeeeeeeeal xxx

[twinkleshmoo]

Great day Lisa, glad you got to see the fireworks. That photo of you and Mickey hugging is just the best ❤️ I'm looking forward to following along with the rest of your trip x

[i love jack]

Another great day, so good you got to see the fireworks, that would have been really disappointing if they'd have been cancelled.

[NatsyNoo]

Fantastic day, thanks for sharing! I know what you mean about each movement on these trips feeling bittersweet - sad to leave the current stop and excited to embark on the next. I always remind myself that I mustn't wish the time away. Love your purchases and how you made the most of every Disney moment. Excited for the next installment!