The 1200 Mile West Coast Adventure - Day 11: It's all about the Lobster Nachos!

[bambikate]

Day 11: It’s all about the Lobster Nachos!
Thursday 30 August 2018

Disney California Adventure, Pixar Pier and Pixar Fest snacks, Lamplight Lounge, Paint the Night Parade

Index

We all got dressed and started our walk to California Adventure. We were so so excited to visit this park and we just knew today was going to be a great day!





We arrived at the park at about 8am. We went to Starbucks for breakfast. It was pretty quiet and we managed to find a booth.

I was super excited to find out that my favourite PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) was baaaaack! Yass!



We had breakfast sandwiches, which were scrumptious.







We decided to make our way round to Pixar Pier and explore the park on the way. This was our favourite park of the two; absolutely brilliant and so unique.







Look how cool Grizzly River Run looked in the morning!





We got to Pixar Pier and were totally blown away! Just look at it! <3



The park was super quiet and there was no wait for the Little Mermaid ride so we decided to jump on and ride it

Loving being able to ride on their own again











Our next ride was the Golden Zephyr



It was so fun and really nostalgic.

Next, the girls had a go on Jumpin’ Jellyfish









Next, Silly Symphony Swings



We loved this one

We’re at Pixar Pier!





We managed to book a Fastpass for Radiator Springs - we were sooo excited for this ride. It started shortly after we booked it so we skipped the rest of Pixar Pier to come back and see it properly later

Radiator Springs was fantastic, we loved the attention to detail

















This fastpass was so worthwhile, this was one of the busiest rides there.

Oh no, our photopass pic is missing



Look at this cool mug!





Next, we walked round to Bugs Land, it was about a week before it closed forever so we were happy to have been able to visit for the first time.





The bumper cars were showing as a ten minute wait but it ended up being more like 25 minutes. It was still fun though and the shady waiting area made it more manageable














The ladybug spinning ride was too busy so we skipped it and moved on to Heimlich’s Choo Choo Train

[bambikate]

This is such an adorable kids ride - we loved his voice - haha









Animal crackers!



I’m sure they’ll do a great job with their renovations here but it’s a shame they’re getting rid of this area. The attention to detail is fabulous.






Maters junkyard jamboree was a bit too long a wait so we decided to come back another time for that.

We managed to get a Guardians of the Galaxy fastpass on the app so started walking in that direction (or so we thought, turns out we went the long way round! hehe)





We will be back later, Schmoozies!










Here we go!









Hands up!













I have to say, I LOVE the original Tower of Terror and I was very sceptical about this ride, especially as I wasn’t a huge fan of the first film but it was so much fun.

What I liked about it most was how excited and pumped everyone was to ride it. The atmosphere was infectious. Whooping and clapping and the music went so well.

The merchandise here was so good.

We came back for this guy











We were so ready for a snack now so wandered back to Schmoozies to try some of the Pixar Fest exclusive treats…

A Mike Wazowski ice cream whoop-eye pie and a Monster Mint Shake









They were both lush, especially the mint shake, which was delicious, like mint choice chip ice cream shake!

Mike and Sulley to the Rescue was right behind us and felt like the logical next step.







This ride is adorable, we loved it











The famous Blue Wall and Buzz Lightyear Wall were here too but the queues were crazy so we figured we would come back another time.

We managed to get a fastpass to Grizzly River Run next. This ride is like Kali River Rapids but a bit crazier and spinnier.





It was honestly so much fun but I can’t even explain how DRENCHED we got on this ride. The worst part was at the end when we were already soaked and a geyser squirted up 30ft in the air directly under our raft! Oh my God!

Next up, we took our drenched selves, wringing out our clothes as best we could on the way and used our next fastpass for Toy Story Midway Mania. Apart from being freezing cold from the air con this was so much fun as always.
Oh hey Pixar Pier!













This is mine and Immy’s scores. Andy and Izzy beat us as usual…

[bambikate]

Rather conveniently, Angry Dogs was situated right outside

We ordered two slightly annoyed dogs (regular hot dogs) I loved the theming here but I heard quite a few people bypassing it because they assumed they were all spicy but they’re not! We also got some Lays and a drink







We checked our app again, if you’re wondering why Incredicoaster hasn’t been mentioned so far… it was down all day we did manage to get a fastpass for Soarin’ next. We carried on through the rest of Pixar Pier to make our way to Soarin’.









I loved the California theming here



Oh, hey! Just casually waiting for B1 over here…



But guess what… Soarin’ went down! Just as we were about to board and after Patrick had given us the safety brief in his dulcet tones. Super sad times.

The fans had stopped working or something. The CMs were very apologetic and scanned everyones tickets and gave them a free anytime any ride fast pass each.

As luck would have it, the Incredicoaster was back up and running at a 90 minute wait with no available regular fast passes.

There was nowhere else we were going but straight on Incredicoaster… eeeeeek!







This ride is BRILLIANT! It lasted for ages and was so much fun and so thrilling!


After all the excitement, it was time for more treats. This time, something sugary! Let’s head to Bing Bong’s Sweet Treats

Pixar Ball















These signs were a little disconcerting



I love this spirit jersey



Bing Bong’s frozen sugary beverage offerings (Goofy Glaciers) were called Memory refreshers and there was one we knew we’d have to order as it looked the craziest…



Rainbow unicorn memory refresher





The slushy was cherry, grape, blue raspberry, lime and lemon with Nerds on top…

We hung around to listen to the Pixarmonic Live Orchestra - a live jazz band. They were absolutely fantastic and drew a huge crowd. They played a variety of live jazz style versions of all the Pixar songs.



Russell also came out to dance at the end



We were supposed to try a Señor Buzz churros and maybe even some poultry palace chicken but we were too full of sugar and needed to leave room for Lamplight Lounge.







Spectating the riders about to zoom on the Incredicoaster…



The Adorable Snowman Frosted Treats queue was at least 40 people deep… good job we were coming back another time!







It sure is!



Some beautiful art



We had a reservation for 4:40pm at Lamplight Lounge which had only just opened a month or so before. We were so lucky to get the reservation. I booked at exactly 60 days to go when they were first released and this was the only time I could get so I grabbed it, even though it was a bit early for tea.



Now, I like to be honest in my trip reports and mention when things go wrong as well as all the good stuff. So I am going to explain the mess that was our checking in procedure BUT if you are going to Disneyland I would still 100% recommend you book Lamplight Lounge, it was one of our favourites of the entire holiday and i think the problems were just teething problems caused by the fact they were so busy and so new.

So… Weirdly, as well as taking the bookings in advance, they were also letting people queue for bar seating on the day, confusingly we were supposed to cut in front of the day queuers and go straight to the desk and check in for our reservation.

There were literally about 20 staff there milling around at the check in desk, yet none of them knew what to do with British phone number, I was told contradictory information as to whether they could add an British number to the text reminder system. One saying of course, another saying definitely not.

It was a total shambles. we were sent away to wait for our table to be available (we were expecting a little wait past our reservation time, much like Cinderella’s Royal Table) after fifteen minutes I went back again to chase it up, we weren’t moving yet the day queue were flying through. I pointed out that my phone had no service, didn't they have any buzzers to signal when the table was ready?! I didn’t want to venture too far and miss our reservation and there wasn’t any seating available whilst we waited. It wasn't very well thought out.

We noticed the same thing was happening to another family, they had been waiting forty minutes… I chased them three times. Finally a CM pre-empted my bitch fit and came up with me and said can someone look into this please, they have been waiting for ages. The man checked our name and said “Your table will be about fifteen minutes”. I nearly lost it. I said “why are we having to wait 50 minutes and then another 15 minutes on top of this? We booked this months ago yet you are letting people who turned up on the day ahead of us! ” His face changed and he rechecked the screen again, I think he thought we had turned up to wait on the day! :angry:

Anyway, within a couple of minutes we were being shown to our seats downstairs in the restaurant, 50 minutes after our booking. FINALLY!

We were given a booth right near the bar. We were offered inside or outside but we all decided inside in the air conditioning would be best.

The manager came over and apologised for the mess up (along with apologising to the other family next to us) he said he would like to give us a free appetiser and a free dessert to apologise, which was ideal as we only wanted appetisers and a dessert to share to have with our cocktails.

He left a note for our server to comp an appetiser and dessert.

Our server was fab and really quick and attentive.

[bambikate]

But first… let’s check out that all-important cocktail menu!













Look at the beautiful menus!

Despite the huge choice, there was only drink on my mind… Cove Bar's (the previous bar before Pixar Pier renovation) secret menu item… Mickey’s Fun Wheel!

I had heard it was still available but was a little nervous to ask for it. I needn’t have been because he acted as though I’d ordered something as normal as diet coke. “Sure, no problem!” Yaaaaay! I’ve ALWAYS wanted one of these since I first saw them.

Mickey’s Fun Wheel consists of pineapple juice, X-Rated Passion Fruit Vodka and finally blue curaçao together with the Long Island ingredients.

It wasn't as vibrant as the pics I'd seen online and in a different glass but I was still a happy girl.



Look at the decor!





I loved how Hank was slightly see through





Andy was also swayed by the lure of the secret menu and went for the Black Pearl

Another slight twist on the classic Long Island with vodka, gin, rum and sweet & sour. However, Chambord and Sprite are added in the mix to give it a new spin.









The drinks tasted amazing and were nice and strong!

For food, we just wanted to share everything so we chose the loaded potato skins - crispy Yukon Gold Potatoes with Brown Butter-Caper Yogurt, Smoked Paprika Aioli, and Manchego Cheese



Crispy Piggy wings - Pork Drumettes with Chili-Ginger Glaze, Toasted Sesame Seeds, Cilantro, and Slaw



A Kids slider for the girls to share - Mini Burger with Cheese and Pickles served with a flower pot of Veggies with Hummus and fresh Fruit



Lobster Nachos - warm Lobster and House-made Tortilla Chips with Black Bean, Pico de Gallo, Chipotle Crema, an Aged Cheddar, and Oaxaca Cheese



Our next drinks were “The sequel” for me - A bubbling Cocktail with Absolut Citron Vodka, Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron Rum, Liquid Alchemist Passion Fruit, fresh Lime Juice and Agave Nectar





Andy went for ‘Over Budget’ - Grey Goose Vodka, Liquid Alchemist Passion Fruit, fresh Lime Juice, Agave Nectar, and Ginger Beer



I have to say, all of the food was great but all four of us agreed the lobster nachos were the best of the best! We nearly went for a second round but decided against it to make sure we had room for more snacks later!

For dessert, we had warm fluffy Donuts with Dipping Sauces (chocolate and raspberry popping candy) they were incredible!



The manager came back over to make sure we had enjoyed our meal and that the donuts and the lobster nachos (the most expensive appetiser) had been taken off our bill, which they had

We paid and left feeling so happy we got to experience it here, despite the hiccup.









Our plan was to see Paint The Night at a spot near Corn Dog Castle but we had plenty of time before we needed to reserve a seat. We hadn’t really explored Pacific Wharf area yet. The margarita stand was closed as the machine had broken but Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Kitchen was open and serving drinks. We got the girls a drink and a pineapple margarita for me and a beer for Andy and took them with us to explore Pixar Pier at night.





Angry Dogs sign looked super cool at night



We knew exactly what we wanted to do next, play the games at Pixar Pier! They have little machines which give you credit to play the games just like at the Disney arcades. You were supposed to be able to use cash or card to exchange for tokens but only card was working that night.



We got enough credit to play all the games.

Our first choice was La Luna Star Catcher, based on the Pixar Short of the same name.





This is such a nice game as everyone is a winner - you get to fish out a star and depending on what colour sticker is underneath determines if you get the large, medium or small prize.





Truth be told, they both were hoping for the small prize... a cute little star with a face on it!



WINNERS!



Izzy chose a shocked face and Immy chose the winking face



With two happy little girls, we moved on to the next game - Wall-e’s space race! We pre-warned the girls that not everyone wins on this game.

Both girls had a go with this one along with two other kids, you had to shoot the stream of water on the dot







Imogen won!



Imogen got to choose the medium prize of medium Wall-E or Eve (the more players, the bigger the prize) she chose Wall-E

[bambikate]

Next, Heimlich’s Candy Corn Toss! This was a pretty tricky one and despite our best efforts, we came away empty handed…







Lastly, Bullseye’s Stallion Stampede



It was really difficult!



We’d obviously used up all our luck on the first two games but we really enjoyed playing the games here and would definitely be back.

A few minutes after playing the games, Imogen said she wished she had chosen Eve instead of Wall-E. Andy offered to swap it for her and the CM was more than happy to oblige!



We had a fastpass booked for the Incredicoaster, which we had specifically booked at this time so we could ride it at night. As we walked towards the entrance, we noticed it wasn’t going around and as we got closer, we saw people being turned away… It was down again! NOOOOOOO!

Unfortunately, we never got to ride it at night as it went down several more times during our trip. I’ve never known anything like it! I’m not sure if Screamin’ was as temperamental as this?!

We checked our app and we had been allocated a replacement fastpass for any ride, which we decided to use of Toy Story Midway Mania again.

We got some pretty decent scores again and had a lot of fun





Pixar Pier was simply magical at night





Time had finally come for us to grab a seat to watch Paint The Night Parade. We were incredibly excited to finally be seeing this show! We’ve always wanted to

We sat down at about 8:30pm (it was so quiet in the park, hence us being able to leave it so late!)

[

We got a Mickey pretzel, a jalepeno pretzel, two waters and two beers and got comfy





Here we go!











































We were blown away by the show. We all agreed it was even better than MSEP and Spectromagic.

We walked back via a couple of shops







Then chilled in our room and watched some storm programs. What a fabulous day!

[slow.jo]

What an amazing day! You just had so much fun!
Jo xx

[Floridafour]

What a lovely day, those doughnuts look yummy 😋

[florida girl]

You all look like you had an amazing day.

[Inky]

Brilliant day

[flo-tinka]

Such smiley faces
We also spent a lot of time on Pixar Pier...and I remember those potatoes at Lamplight Lounge yummmmmmyyyyyy