Aulani Waves and Disneyland Days: An Ohana Adventure - Day 13 I like my sandwiches deep fried

[bambikate]

Introduction and Index

Day 13 - I like my sandwiches deep fried
Disneyland Park, Ronto Roasters, Monte Cristos at Cafe Orleans, mid afternoon break at the hotel, dinner at Tropical Hideaway and Pizza planet and watching the fireworks.

We woke up early ready to make use of the onsite guest perk - 30 minute early entry and the normal opening hours was 8am - midnight that day.

We arrived at 7:20am and they were letting everyone in but then further up Main Street it was roped off and then there they would scan room keys or your app to let hotel guests in.



With there only being 3 onsite hotels this is a great perk as the rides for that half an hour were all complete walk ons.

We decided to start with Space Mountain, then Buzz twice in a row and then Astro Orbiters.



Such a cool loading area.











Next, we went to Fantasyland and the girls rode the Carousel then went on to Mr Toad’s Wild Ride.

The park had opened to everyone by now and we were getting hungry so walked over to Galaxy’s Edge to Ronto Roasters.

We bought 2 Ronto Morning Wraps (Scrambled Eggs, Grilled Pork Sausage, Shredded Cheddar, Peppercorn Sauce, wrapped in Pita) we really enjoyed these and would definitely get then again.





On the way to Jungle Cruise we saw this Magic Lamp you could rub in the shop for a few coins. The girls had a go each - it was cute.

Next up, we walked to Jungle Cruise, we had Skipper Adam who was hilarious.





At around 9:50am we went to Pirates, I LOVED this version compared to the WDW version with the drop and some of the other unique bits. I also loved that you can see Blue Bayou restaurant in the ride and the smell of the water was amazing



After Pirates, we decided to go on to Indiana Jones, it was sooo good - quite rough but so much fun. In fact, it only took 10 mins so we decided to ride it again straight away.

After Indiana Jones, we had a little browse around the shops in New Orleans Square.





The girls had been wanting to get Pandora bracelets for a long time and we decided to use some of the spending money to treat them to their first bracelets and a charm each. They loved the experience and the girls in the store made it very special for them. The girls were so grateful and wanted to put them on straight away.

We left the area and on the way past Pirates we saw John Goodman with a huge entourage going in to Pirates through the exit so cool (I didn’t take a pic).

Next, we walked over to ride the Matterhorn - we were so excited to finally be getting to ride this as it was closed for refurb when we came in 2018.

It was just as good as we thought it would be and soooo fast!

Next was It’s a Small World






Next, we headed back to New Orleans Square for our lunch reservation at Cafe Orleans!

There was no question what we would all be ordering here - Monte Cristos! They’ve changed how you order these now it used to be the sandwiches on their own (double the portion they are now) and buy the fries separately (but these were a huge sharing portion) but now they come as a meal so it’s a lot more expensive.

We ordered 3 Battered & Fried Monte Cristo Sandwich (Sliced Turkey, Ham and Swiss with Seasonal Preserves and choice of Pommes Frites or Petite Salad) We chose the pommes frites, which were covered in garlic and Parmesan and served with a Cajun remoulade. We sat outside in the little courtyard in the shade, it was packed.



The food was 10/10 and exactly how we remembered it. If you haven’t tried it you really must! We made a copycat one in lockdown and it tasted pretty much the same.

Our server kept filling our diet cokes nearly every time we took a sip. We asked for a to go cup at the end to pour them into so we didn’t waste them but then he turned up with 4 full Diet Cokes in to go cups…

We were all pretty stuffed and in need of a little rest so decided 2:45pm was a good time to head back to the hotel and recharge as we were planning on staying until close (midnight) tonight or as close to is as we could.



On the way back through Downtown Disney we popped into the Grand Californian for a browse and then Sephora and the girls spent some more of their spending money.



Back at the hotel, we all decided on a quick power nap, which was 100% worthwhile, then we got changed and headed back out again at 5:15pm.

We went through security again to get into Downtown Disney then walked through towards Disneyland Park.

[bambikate]

We grabbed a couple of ice cream sandwiches for the girls



and then walked to Bengal BBQ and bought 2 pork belly skewers (Grilled Pork Belly with Hoisin Sauce, Pickled Carrots and Daikon topped with Cilantro) these were super tasty but for $8 plus tax per skewer they were very expensive. (Yeah this is 2 portions…)



We also ordered the Jungle Julep but when we went to collect it they said it hadn’t frozen properly, so they gave us a refund.

Izzy found us a table and sat down but then a man in his 50s I would say said “Ow my back” and sat at the same table so she would move - unbelievable!

Izzy came and told us what happened and we went to find a better table - the guy hadn’t even ordered any food he was just sat there!

We had a big list of snacks we wanted to try at Disneyland, so we bought lots of small things instead of a meal tonight. Next, we went to Tropical Hideaway, which was a new one for us as it hadn’t been built when we came before. We ordered 2 Char Sui Bao and 1 Lime chicken Bao as well as a Pork lumpia. It was all really good.









We then fancied a Dole whip to share. They had loads of limited edition flavours and we went a bit rogue and ordered the Chile-Mango Whip (Pineapple and Mango Swirl Dole Whip, Chamoy, Mango and Chile-Lime Seasoning) it was a big mistake because none of us had had Chamoy before and I think it’s definitely an aquired taste! We love sweet and spicy mixed but we hadn’t realised how savoury the Chamoy would be or how chunky with vegetables it was and there was just so much of it too. Lesson learnt!





We were ready to tackle some rides by now so headed over to Galaxy’s Edge to line up for Rise of the Resistance - the queue moved pretty quickly and it was absolutely brilliant as always.



This sign is so cute



Next we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and then tried to do the Matterhorn but it was down so decided to ride Space Mountain again.





In need of more snacks, we went to Alien Pizza Planet and got 2 pepperoni pizza slices, a Diet Coke an Alien Macarooooon (Green Alien Macaron filled with Salted Caramel Buttercream, Chocolate Ganache and Brownie Bits)





It was one of the last nights you could see Wondrous Journeys fireworks show (the penultimate show!) and we decided we would like to sit quite near the front. We saved a seat from 8:15pm for the 9pm show and it was already super busy. Immy and I saved our spot whilst Andy and Izzy got us some ice waters and some popcorn.

Ooooooo



Crowdssss



The show was great although with the Castle being so small and with all the trees, even though we were pretty close to the front, you could really only have a great view of all the projections if you’re right at the front. We all still really enjoyed it though.













After the show, we walked round to the Matterhorn again as it was now up and running again and got in line. At night was even better and we screamed our heads off - it’s so fast and the Yeti is so loud!

The Nemo area looked so pretty at night



And I actually really liked this picture that went blurry



The Matterhorn in the moonlight!



Next, we rode the Storybook Land Canal Boats, which was magical at night.





We also took a photo outside It’s a small world, I have to say the outside of the Disneyland version is so impressive. They also have a music and lights show on the outside of it every so often, which we watched a few times on our trip.



We had a little wander around enjoying the atmosphere in the park at night and left at around 11pm and then walked back to our hotel to get some much needed rest ready for another full on day tomorrow!

[KCMUMMY]

Hi Kate.

What a fab day. Can I ask, did you have Genie+? You got on so many rides!

Kerry x

[Pep]

Great day at Disneyland apart from that rude bloke knicking you table!

[bambikate]

Originally Posted by KCMUMMY

Hi Kate.

What a fab day. Can I ask, did you have Genie+? You got on so many rides!

Kerry x

See more...

Ahh thanks so much! We did! We weren't going to but we did end up getting it just to max out on what we could fit in

Originally Posted by Pep

Great day at Disneyland apart from that rude bloke knicking your table!

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Haha thank you so much - I know - cheeky so and so!

[Wonder]

What a great day, and a great use of genie + as really seems like you got on loads of rides!

[smithlane]

Fab day! You got on so many rides so Genie Plus was well worth buying.
That blurred photo of the fireworks would make a great painting!