Disney Magic Mornings...the one and only reason to ever get up at 5:30am on a day off

So...this summer Disneyland decided that because they just raised the premium annual pass by $150 (yes, you read that right, $150.  As in one hundred and fifty dollars.  Kill me now) they should...I dunno...do something special for all the dumbasses like me who pay through the nose for the privilege of eating overpriced ice cream cones while waiting in line under the lava like sun with snotty vomiting and screaming kids smearing boogers on your pants.  In case you don't know what this is - it's early entry into the park an hour before the park officially opens at 8am.  So people who qualify (typically those who are staying on property - what?  you thought they paid $400 a night for just Mickey shaped soaps in the shower?) are allowed to roam Main Street, Tomorrow land and Fantasyland the hour before the park opens to the rest of the barbarians.  As a perk they've never done before, they offered early entry to annual passholders this summer.  The caveat is you get to sign up for ONE early entry morning per park - and you have to register for a date where your pass isn't blocked out.  Being that we chose late July, everyone who was there with us were either premium passholders (only those so dedicated to the love of the Mouse would be willing to wake up at 5:30am on a day they don't have to go to work) and those who paid through the nose for hotel rooms.  So Johanna and I, because we lost our minds, got up at 5:30am so we could make to to the park by 6:30, which is when check ins began.  Feeling good and virtuous, we opted to walk from the Mickey and Friends parking lot instead of taking the tram.  We needed to work off all the gazillion calories we were planning to consume the rest of the day.

Now, the email Disney sent me said that I had to go and present my AP to some booth where they'll give us wristbands.  They lied - because you just had to walk up to the lines that had formed in front of the turnstiles and the CM's used their fancy iPhones to scan our passes to make sure we were registered for the "event."  I didn't get a wristband :(  I was looking forward to lording my wristband over those who didn't have one.  Yes, I'm a loser.  How did you know?

But this is what it looked like:

I got all excited and took a photo of the sign to document this momentous event.  If by momentous you mean the I-will-never-ever-get-up-at-5:30am-ever-again-on-a-day-off-even-to-see-Mickey-Mouse event.
see?

I've never seen Main Street so empty before.  It was weird.

and being the loser I am, I had to document the time

Yes, that does not say pm.  I'm usually lazing around my kitchen with coffee at 7am.  Uh, that's assuming I'm up by 7am.  Hehe.

But the beauty of it?  There were no lines.  Did you hear that?  There were no lines.  We walked onto Star Tours.  I was so moved, I may have sobbed (on the inside only).   We then hopped on Space Mountain, where there was also no line.  Have you ever seen this before?

Oh, the joy - no lines!

Then we went on the  Matterhorn which just reopened not long ago after they reconfigured the seating on the sleds.  Now, I didn't like sitting with anyone in those seats before as I don't like to be squashed, and it's just weird unless you're with a significant other.  And even that gets weird sometimes 'cause you're all squashed and it's just not comfortable.  But it was mighty comfortable by yourself!  I could stretch out my legs (but I'm short) and it was nice and roomy.  Now they look like this:

And they're uncomfortable.  There's no padding at all and the seats are angled in a way where all your weight rests on your tailbone...with no cushioning at all.  And the leg room?  Fuggedaboutit!  Keep in mind I'm very short.  And it looks like this (forgive my gross pasty legs) - this is me with my legs pulled all the way in.

I can't imagine that anyone with an inseam over that of 30 can be anywhere near comfortable in these seats.  But that's okay, I was just happy not to have waited in line. :)

I tried taking photos on the ride.  They uh, didn't turn out very well.

Well, I saw this and was happy:

It has nothing to do with anything else.  I just wanted to post that picture.

We then wandered to the hub to check out the castle (it was practically empty!  I've never gotten a photo of the castle without dozens of tourists and other barbarians photobombing me).  I was so moved!

Seriously, have you ever seen it this empty before?

And look!  All these people who are waiting to get into the park!  (they're allowed onto Main Street USA, but there are ropes keeping them from entering any other land)

Then I got distracted and followed this around with my camera

 Little duckies!  And they get to live in Disneyland!  Lucky duckies.  Hehe.  Yes, I do know I'm retarded.

After the park opened and the horde (including us) descended, we wandered around waiting for our 10:10 breakfast reservations for Steakhouse 55.  I've never been there before, but being that I'll actually be at Disneyland for breakfast and uh, I never wake up early enough to go there for breakfast, I wanted to go somewhere where there were no screaming kids trying to wipe their snot on me.  I wanted a grown up breakfast - so I went to the source of all goodness.  Yelp.  I went onto Yelp and looked for a good breakfast spot.  I've never been to Steakhouse 55.  Mostly because it's so far from the park (yes, I know it's only a 5-10 minute walk.  I'm lazy people!) and I just don't make my way to the Disneyland Hotel.  Grand Californian is about as far as I get from the parks.  But I didn't want to do a character breakfast  at Storyteller's Cafe again since the last time I went a big bear picked me up from behind and swung me around while I was just trying to eat my omelet.  I'm still grumpy about that.  My omelet got cold.  So Johanna and I went to Steakhouse 55 trying for a civilized breakfast.  But  before that, we wandered around New Orleans Square and wallowed in the lack of crowds.

And look!  More lucky duckies.

By this time, we were really hungry and we decided to make our way to the restaurant where we could eat like cows.  I mean dude, we got up at 5:30am and all we had were bananas and a granola bar!  (Wo)man cannot survive on rabbit food alone!  So off we headed to the Disneyland Hotel...

This is the menu (okay, I didn't get a good picture.  In fact, I got a terrible picture)

We were indecisive because we were hungry and wanted to eat the world, so being the bossy person I am, decided that we were going to share.  So we got the two times four with French toast and scrambled eggs as well as  Eggs Benedict.  One word?  Divine.  Yes, I realize that makes me sound like a drag queen, but I don't care.  It. was. so. good.  A week later I'm still fantasizing about it and saliva pools in my mouth whenever I look at the photos.

the coffee here is excellent.  A bold robust blend, but not too strong.  

Eggs Benedict.  Oh, how I love thee

the Eggs Benedict had friends.  It came with roasted potatoes, peppers and onions as well as a side of fruit.

the French toast was perfect.  The bread they used was this soft yet chewy delicious consistency - it wasn't soggy at all.  Soooo good.  Best French toast I've ever had.  

The restaurant is a beautiful space - it's very much like Morton's, though brighter (well, for breakfast - they turned on all the lights for breakfast).  I can see this being a romantic restaurant with great ambiance at night.

We liked this place so much we're coming back here for breakfast again in September when we do DCA's early entry.  After stuffing ourselves, we shopped around Downtown Disney (I bought myself a fedora!  I may not be cool enough for a fedora, but I don't care!  I don't know why I keep using exclamation points!  It's like an illness!) then wandered around the park.  This is what it looked like when we moseyed over again:

oh!  and I almost forgot!  We saw this guy while we were leaving the hotel and headed towards the parks.  BEST HAT EVER!

Do you see the awesomeness of the  umbrella hat?  With mouse ears sticking out?  OMG.  Best. hat. ever.

(sigh) and the horde descended.  I don't know if it was because it was a Friday, or it was just summer, but there were an overabundance of Chinese tourists there.  I know they're Chinese because I can understand what they're saying.  And also because the women are wearing little ascots and heels.  At Disneyland.  My peeps are crazy yo.  

Also, they had climbers on the Matterhorn again!

We got sick of the crowds and decided to head across the esplanade and hit up DCA.  Of all the rides we went on at Cars Land last time, the one thing we didn't do was Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.  Because it looked stupid.  But after I went online and read the reviews raving about how much fun it was, I was intent on trying it.  The line is cute!

Does this mean Mater is secretly Batman?

This little tractor "pulls" you (swings you really) and it goes from one track to another.  Really, you can't tell how much fun this ride is based on how it looks. Because it looks retarded - but it truly is a lot of fun. :)

After our strenuous tractor jamboree, we decided we were in need of nourishment.  We left the wilds of Ornament Valley - what?  You didn't know there were wilds in DCA?  Are too!

Doesn't it look like the real outdoors?  See?  there are too wilds there!  But we left the wilds of Ornament Valley and emerged at the Promised Land.  tada!

A most beauteous sight for sore eyes on a hot day.

Since we were going to have an early dinner, we opted to have two scoops instead of a sundae.  We pretended this was healthier and once again felt very righteous and health conscious.  We got butter pecan and coffee with fudge.  This ain't no Hershey's syrup yo - this is real fudge.  Man was it good.

We ended our day at the park doing the redwood challenge trail (first time ever I went in there.  It's actually a very nice space.  I can once again pretend I'm in the great outdoors) and then pigging out at our old standby - Storyteller's Cafe for their dinner buffet.  Mmmm...buffet.

All in all - a very good day.  And it was a very good day that ended at 7pm when we left the park after stuffing ourselves silly.  Note that 7 is about the usual time we get to the park.  And no, I will never again wake up at 5:30am for Disneyland...but I'm sure glad I did it once.

World of Color - the lazy person's unambitious way to see it without being trampled by crazy grandmas on motorized scooters

So, over the holidays, my family was in town and we (my cousins, brother and I) decided to spend a day at Disneyland as we hadn't gone together in over a decade.  Except I had to work (sob!) so I couldn't go for the whole day - I met up with them after work for dinner.  And therein lays the beauty of an annual pass; I don't have to go kamikaze all day long - I can go for a ride or two, for an ice cream cone, or just to wander around before I feel like going home without feeling gypped for not getting there for opening at 7am and running for all the rides while shoving little 4 year olds out of my way while trying climb onto the Starspeeder 1000 for my 18th ride with C3PO to the Endor Moon.  Wait, it doesn't go to Endor anymore.  Actually, I have no idea where it goes now - I just know it's awesome.  And I'm not even a Star Wars nerd.  Not a single action figure to be found in any of my possessions, although I do enjoy cinnamon rolls.  Just not on my head though.

So the consensus (by my brother) was that we wanted to see WoC.  I'm the only one out of the four of us who's seen WoC.  It truly is a spectacular show - but the problem with it is you NEED a fast pass to be able to see the show.  And fastpasses are hard to get if you're lazy.  You're in line before park opening with about 800 other people who are gunning for the FP  machines and have no problem asking grandma to run you over and pin you down on a crazy motorized scooter while they run across your back to get FP for their family.  Fortunately, being ever enterprising, Disney has other options for lazy people (like me) willing to spend money to avoid having their spines broken in a bid to grab a FP to the blue viewing area.  You can purchase a meal package from two of their sit down restaurants and they give you a premium view FP.  And seriously - the best seats are reserved for those with premium dining packages - they are literally front and center so you have a panoramic view of the entire show.  see?



And because there are a lot less people willing to shell out the $40 - there is A LOT more room to move around in your viewing area than if you have a standard one.  So, the benefits: 1) best view ever 2) a lot less people to contend with 3) no standing in line.  The problem with the standard FP, no matter which section they assign you to is that you have to get in line hours earlier so you have first pick when the CM's lead you to your designated section.  It's game on baby!  If you're short, and you're stuck behind tall people, you're screwed since there's nowhere else for you to go to obtain a better view as it's so packed.  The great part about having the premium view FP is that because there's so much less people - if you get stuck behind the 6'4" guy with his kid on his shoulders, you have plenty of room to move about to find another view so you could actually see something other than his butt.  So yes, you may not get the first row, but the view is so fantastic you don't need to be in the first row.  Another really awesome part about this is that you don't have to line up like a dunce on the parade route.  When you have a PV FP, they set apart a portion of the outdoor seating section of the Trattoria as a waiting room of sorts, so you can sit on real chairs, chill out with a glass of wine (it's right by their wine bar) until your CM leads you to our viewing area.  WAY better than the people we see staked out on the parade route seated/standing behind the wimpy little crowd control line the CM's employ.  They looked so unhappy.  And Disney, considering how much money you pay to go, is one place you should NOT be unhappy at.

Ah...but once you decide that you want the dining package, you gotta book fast because they literally book up very quickly.  Reservations for whatever day you want open up 180 days before the actual date, and there's a reason for it - that crazy Disney people (like me) will arm wrestle you for a good time slot - so you gotta book ahead.  Since we made up our minds to go see WoC literally the night before, after Disney Dining had closed for the night - yeah...we were out of luck.  The only for sure option available to us at 10pm at night was the picnic.  The picnic is under $20/pp with a few options - all of them cold.  I've heard mixed reviews, the price is super reasonable - BUT it can only be ordered online and BEFORE the day of your trip.  You can't place an order online the day of - you have to go in person and see if they have any left over - and if they do, you have to purchase it and pick up the meal RIGHT NOW to get your FP.  The problem (for me, because I'm spoiled) is the FP you get for the picnic is just a typical blue (or yellow I hear) section FP - so you still have to line up hours ahead of time on the parade route hoping to stake out a spot in FRONT of the crazy tall people with kids standing on their heads.  I talked it over with my brother and he opted to risk it and try for a dining package with possible left over picnics as our backup plan.  I called Disney Dining first thing in the morning asking for a package for that night and I think they laughed at me.  Or the lady just snorts a lot when she talks to a customer.  I dunno.  But I called throughout the day and it was always full.  And my brother didn't get the picnic because they just ate and he didn't want to lug the food around.  So when it hit 5:30pm, we still didn't have a plan and had no FP to see WoC.  Being anal retentive, I was about to have an aneurysm.  I'm a planner.  When I say planner, I mean super crazy vacationzilla who has charts and itineraries and tickets pre-printed.  Heaven help whatever slow person that stands in my way when I have a plan for touring.  Because I will mow you over grandma if you don't get outta my way.  My parents say they need a vacation after one of my vacations.  In desperation, I called one last time - and lo and behold, the Lord provided a miracle.  Seriously, it was a miracle - because literally right before I called, a family of four had called to cancel, opening up a dining spot for the first showing.  I jumped on it and started screaming in my car I was so excited.  I may have scared the minivan next to me as I was bouncing up and down at the stoplight screaming like a banshee.

Premium dinner packages are available for about $40/pp at either Ariel's Grotto or Wine Country Trattoria.  I've gone to Ariel's Grotto twice as I read reviews that the food is better there and they have indoor seating.  Apparently if you have a WoC package for the Trattoria, they have you seated on the patio, not indoors.  No bueno.  But in the two times I've been to Ariel's, I've been pleasantly surprised at the food since it's known primarily as a character dining place.  The decor is cute, and as it's right on the water, you have a really nice view at night of all the attractions around Paradise Bay (yes, it has a name other than that-big-hole-in-the-ground-with-water-in-it-by-the-rollercoaster).  I hear there's also a lunch option at Wine Country Trattoria on select days, but I don't know if that comes with the premium view ticket (though it should if it's $30/pp) and I haven't seen a menu for that. 

Since the rest of the family was still waiting in line at Disneyland for Space Mountain, I opted to wander into DCA by myself first.  I don't remember the last time I wandered in alone just to wander.  I took out my camera and started snapping random photos because even though I've been there about 100 times, I never really just stop.

brand new entrance.  swanky!

elecTRONica.  Yay.  Clubbing for the stroller derby

my favorite building.  It's a hidden gem - totally and completely under rated. 

I lurve this lobby.  I can just sit here for an hour and watch all the clips

I forget the name of this room, but I've never seen it empty before

my awesome self-portrait.  'cause I'm so talented with my point and shoot.  It's pink.  Don't hate.

in the Beast's library, you can sit down (as in the self portrait) and take a personality test to see which Disney character you're the most similar to.  Apparently I'm a dog.  Huh.  At least I'm not Maleficent.

Seriously, a lot of people ignore the Animation Building - but it's so much fun!  If you're tired, there's a/c in there with couches and a lot of floor space for you to sit down in with clips from Disney movies playing.  Then there's Turtle Talk with Crush, the Beast's Library, a section where you can karaoke and dub over a cartoon, and a drawing class.  There weren't very many people in there - I got to wander into some rooms alone. 

Well, then I waited for the countdown to elecTRONica with all the other old folks.  Seriously, it's like a club - there's music pulsing through the whole Hollywood Studios section - dancers in gogo boots, and it's slightly crazy.  But before I could embarass my people by attempting to dance like all the other old folks, my family found me, so we headed off for Paradise Pier for our dinner.  And for my viewing pleasure, here are pictures of us while we waited outside the restaurant for our reservation.

from the waiting area inside the restaurant

right outside the restaurant

inside seating of the restaurant

nice theming of the posts indoors

World of Color has its own prixe fix menu where the only thing you can choose is your entree. Appetizers are brought in a 3 tiered plate rack (like Victorian tea) with assorted cold goodies.  There's a plate of salad, roasted vegetables, as well as a plate of cold meats, seafood and cheeses.  They also bring you bread.  Soft, warm, crusty delicious bread...mmm...with assorted dipping sauces.  Now I'm just making myself hungry.  :Þ

here's the menu:

I had the tri tip (cooked just the way I like it with cheesy mashed potatoes.  Can life get any better?) while the rest of the table had cioppino.  I didn't have any, but my extremely picky brother said it was good and cleaned his plate.

the appetizer plates

bread with dipping sauces



Our entrees:

my tri tip.  Still pink.  ohhh

the back side - with roasted vegetables and cheesy mashed potatoes

the cioppino



Then dessert came out and I nearly sobbed with joy.  Dessert is also a shared plate.  I liked that it had a little of everything, so with 4 people sharing, it was like a small dessert tasting menu:

I can't even describe half of this.  But the WoC film strip is edible.  I know because we ate it.  There were macaroons, molten chocolate cake, cheesecake, some kind of passion fruit mousse cake, tiramisu in little chocolate cups, and I think maybe some chocolate bars.  I don't remember.  I fell into a food coma and then had a brain fart.  I just knew that it was good.  Not spectacular like I dream about it every night spectacular, but it was good.  As in I'd happily eat it again. 

So stuffed beyond recognition, (we may have waddled out) we were cutting it close on time and didn't even have to wait for the viewing area since uh...everyone was already there.  So I asked a CM where to go and she pointed us in the right direction - we walked up to where the sign said "Premium Viewing" or something like that, turned in our FP and followed the path marked out by the little flimsy ropes to our designated area - which was actually 2 levels.  We hung out on the top level for awhile and took this photo:

This is what it looked like without our big Asian faces in the picture:

Then we decided we should go down the lower level even though it was the "wet" area - because the screens are water, there is a certain amount of mist that blows over to the front of the viewing area - but it really was fine.  We may have gotten a bit of mist on us, but certainly not enough to drench us - and on a cold night in December, we were perfectly fine.  Here are some photos of the show:

the balloons from "Up" if you can't tell

end of the show

This really is a fantastic show.  And with the new technology they use, there were new sequences that weren't there the first time I saw it over a year ago.  As it was still the holidays, they also had a special Christmas sequence with gingerbread men and presents and snowmen in the beginning. 

After the show we went on the new Little Mermaid ride where Ariel's face shone like the sun.  No, I mean it seriously, they put an LED light or something in her face.  I don't remember this part in the movie.  But then again, I haven't watched this movie since 1991.

Then we wandered over to Disneyland just because

can I just say how much I love the castle all decked out for Christmas?



Then we went on Pirates, where Davy Jones had been replaced by this creepy guy:

Oy.  But we persevered and went on the Haunted Mansion - because it's just something you have to do over the holidays as it's so awesome. Even though when I went with my mom a few years ago, she didn't get it as she'd never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas.  She was all "who are these ugly people in here?"  And no, she wasn't referring to the tourists rocking the fanny pack.  I think. 

And then I begged to go home.  Because I'm old and I need my sleep.  That, and tromping through Disneyland in a food coma is not the most comfortable thing.  But really, I just wanted to sleep.  So we trekked back to the Mickey and Friends parking structure where I was parked in China - 'cause it was as far as possible from the escalators. 

Thus ended our night.  So, do I think it's worth it?  Yes, if you can swing it.  $40 w/o gratuities ain't nothing to sneeze at - BUT, if you can, it literally makes your life so much easier.  Disney rips you a new one for every premium experience - they really do.  However, they really do deliver on premium experiences - so even though you're paying more money than you want to, they really make it worth your while.  Food there is expensive anyway - you're looking at spending $25-30 per person for a casual dinner at a sit down restaurant like Cafe Orleans anyway, and that's without dessert or individual appetizers.  I would venture to say that Ariel's Grotto is a slight cut above that as much as I love Cafe Orleans.  What you're really paying an extra $10 for is: 1) great "seats" to the show 2) saving yourself the aggravation of waiting in line and then racing for crappy FP early in the morning 3) saving yourself from waiting in line for hours in your roped off waiting area on the parade route hoping you grab a decent view and could actually see the show.  Not too shabby for $10, eh?