1313 S. Disneyland Dr
Anaheim, CA 920802
Our friend was running a bit late so we stopped off for some coffee and a light breakfast at Downtown Disney.
We met up with our friend Tom. He was kind of enough to take part of the day off to give us a personal tour of Disneyland and made lunch reservations at Club 33. I have been to Disneyland many times and am quite a fan. I thought I knew a lot about Disneyland, but Tom apparently is a bigger fan than I am.
Tom was able to get us a ride on the the Lilly Belle Train. This was one of the highlights of our trip. I really didn't know what to expect. I thought It was going to be a simple train ride, but there was so much history and stuff on the train to absorb. Here's a video of us boarding the train.
The Lilly Belle train is a really elegant caboose.
While on the train Tom showed us Walt Disney's photo album. Unfortunately some photos have been taken by some other guest. Some people can be so rude.
There's also a sign in journal on the train. When the book is filled up it's filed in the Disney Archives.
We're on the books for 10/10/2011.
There's also a hidden Mickey on the train.
Tom was able to score us some commemorative train tickets. Sometimes they run out but this time we were lucky.
I love the small details that Disney puts into their products. Like how instead of "No" for number it's a N and mickey ears.
The first time I visited Disneyland was when I was 5 and one of the things I can remember are the Dinosaurs. I still love the Dinosaur diorama to this day. Supposedly they say that the T-Rex eye actually blinks on rare occasionas. We tried to catch it, but no luck.
After riding the Lilly Belle we headed over to the Mark Twain ferry boat.
Tom was able to set it up for us to ride in the Captain's area. There's only room for 4 people so we split the group into two. While 4 people were riding the Mark Twain the rest of us visit the Haunted Mansion Secret Cemetery.
Up in the Captain's area there is a bed that supposedly Walt would take naps on.
and there's a journal to sign also.
Here's John pulling the steam horn.
So while the other were riding the ferry. Tom took us over to the Haunted Mansion.
Then we headed back to meet up with the rest of our group to switch off.
The group that did ride was able to get Captain's certificates. Tom said they only give them to kids. I see four of them in this picture.
Unfortunately it was time for our lunch reservations at Club 33. So the rest of us skipped the ride and we headed off to lunch.
Pirates of the Caribbean was undergoing some construction so they had a facade up and Blue Bayou was closed.
Club 33 lobby and famous french lift.
Tom gave us a quick tour of Club 33.
The only bar I have ever seen in Disneyland.
For lunch they provide a cold plate appetizer buffet, a lunch dish of your choice and a desert buffet.
Mary Poppins vanity from the movie.
Cold plate appetizer is all you can eat. Crab claws, lobster tails, cocktail shrimp and so much more.
I had the stead with truffle oil mac and cheese, and risotto.
One of the best steak I have ever had. It is so tender you can cut it with a fork.
Every time I have gone to Club 33 it is with a large group. So we always end up in the Trophy Room. Of the 3 times I have been there it's always the trophy room.
So Tom was telling us about this desert that Club 33 makes sometimes. It's called the Smor'tini. It's pretty much a smor'e in a martini glass. They didn't have any at the time we were there, but fortunately for us our server overhead Tom talking about it and requested the kitchen to make one for each of us so when we returned to our table after desert there they were waiting for us and she was so polite to apologize for not having any martini glasses. Man does Club 33 know how to treat their members and yes it was as good as it looks.
Tom was able to score some fast passes from the Club 33 manager for the Haunted Mansion. So after lunch we headed there. Tom told us some really cool hidden items that you can find while on the ride at the Haunted Mansion and you would have never known it was there unless you were told.
It has something to do with this monkey.
After the ride Tom gave a quick tour of the secret cemetery to the other group that didn't get to see it earlier.
It was around time for Tom to head back to work. So we bid him a farewell and continued on with our day. It was around 1:30pm at this time and we had only ridden the Haunted Mansion. There were a lot of rides they we needed to get on. Lucky for us before Tom left he had already gotten us fast passes for Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and two sets for Star Tours. That was going to save us a bundle of time waiting in line.
It was a hot day so we hopped on Splash Mountain.
After Splash mountain we rode the new Star Tours and might I say the new Star Tours is way better than the original. It's a must ride. There are several different scenarios on Star Tours so your experience might not be the same every time you ride it.
The ride is also in 3D. Tom said the water planet is the best and we were lucky and got it on our first ride. It is indeed the best planet.
Next we were off to California Adventure. Tower of Terror and Toy Story Midway Mania!
Lots and lots of construction going on at DCA.
Usually the line at Tower of Terror is very short, but it being Columbus day weekend it was pretty busy for a Monday. So we didn't want to wait 45 minutes for Tower of Terror so we headed to California Screaming.
Unfortunately California Screaming was closed also. So we waited in line for Toy Story. This is probably my favorite ride, but I'm bummed they didn't put a fast pass on this ride. The guys decided to have a light snack of roasted corn, chimichangas, and Turkey legs.
After the ride we decided to ride it again. So some of the guys lined up. I had previously purchased the group the packed picinic lunches so that we can score preferred seating for the World of Colors. So I headed off to grab out picnic lunches.
Tom had previously told me about how Club 33 holds this event where they have a scavenger hunt. They take a close up photo of an item and you have to find it in the park somehwere. One of them was a photo of the sticker below and we just happened to find it, but that was only after Tom had told us where it is. Can you guess where it's located? It's definitely nowhere near the Matterhorn.
After grabbing the picnic lunches we headed back to Toy Story and we were almost to the front. 3D is old technology. It's all about the new 12-D.
Here we are playing Carnival games. Pierce and Don Lynch had already won stuffed animals. So the rest of decided to try. If Pierce and Don Lynch can do it. Anyone can right?
This looks like a really easy game, but it is not.
The picnic lunches looked really good, but they were ice cold. I would not recommend it to anyone. Who eats fried chicken cold. We ended up throw most of them away. It was a waste of money. If you want to get the preferred viewing area for World of Colors I recommend you do the sit down lunch or dinner. Unless you like cold food then by all means go for it.
After picking at our cold food we headed back to Disneyland to ride Space Mountain before the World of Colors show.
I love how Disneyland looks at night with all the lights. Especially Main Street.
During the month of October Space Mountain get a change up and it's turned into Ghost Galaxy. Some new effects and soundtrack.
After the ride it was time to head back to DCA for the WofC the fireworks show was going so I snapped a few pictures as we were passing through
The preferred viewing area for WofC was empty. So it was nice to get a really nice spot up front for the show.
I have had seen it before and decided I didn't want to snap any pictures of it cause I wanted to enjoy the entire show.
The colors were too nice and were begging to have photos snapped of it. I couldn't help it.
This year's WofC show was a bit different. They added some new things to it. So it was cool to see something slightly different. After the show some of the guys were dead tired. We had been up since 6:30am and we have not stepped off of Disney property. It was around 10pm. So some of the guys headed back to the hotel first. All that was left was John, Robyn, Louie, Don, and myself. We headed back to Disneyland to see the Captain E.O show. We also rode Star Tours one more time. While John and I were waiting for our friends that went to the restroom there was a group of adults that were on their way to the Haunted Mansion. It was a group of about 6 of them and they all got into a huddle and did a cheer for the Haunted Mansion. It was quite funny to see these grown adults doing a cheer for a Disney ride. I still had a spare fast pass for 6 people to the Haunted Mansion so John suggested that I give it to them. They were very appreciative for it. Their cheer had paid off. I guess I spread a little bit of Disney magic :D
After that we did a bit of shopping on Main Street. There are mailboxes on Main Street where you can mail out letters. I tried buying some post cards, but unfortunately Disney does not sell any stamps. Oh well next time I'll be prepared and bring my own next time.
We ended up leaving the park around 12:30am. We have been awake for a full 18hrs. What a day. This was one of the best Disney trips I have ever taken.
The next morning we woke up and had an early lunch and then it was off to the airport.
Our second meal was McDonald's and here is a picture of the smallest McDonald's fries I have ever seen.
That's it for this trip. Another year has gone by. It's been 5 years since we started this tradition. Let's see what happens next year. We might just rearrange our trip a bit next year, but I guess we'll have to wait until then to find out.
"Tom" sounds like the most amazing human being on the entire planet!!
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