Canadian Harmony
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2015
Here's my trip report. It's a little late and I may not get it all finished in a timely manner as I'm also finishing up 4 university courses these next couple weeks, but here's what I can do. Oh, and it'll be photo heavy, so beware!
The day has arrived!
I and my friend J had been planning this trip since what seems like forever. This is J's third time going to DLR this year, and I was last there at Christmas wit the family. J and I met while performing Oliver! and it turns out we're both big Disney fans.
J suggested we save half off our hotel and stay at the Clarion, across the street from the Toy Story parking lot. Hmmmm... more souvies? OK! We flew down via WestJet because we're both sick of running from one end of Seattle Int'l to the other, and took Karmel to the hotel (using the code which saves $8 each way).
We flew out of Victoria International and left the house at zero-dark-thirty. The airport was quiet but I ran into one of my old Army instructors as he was on the same plane to Vancouver with us. Turns out, he was in the same row, and switched seats with J so we could sit together.
It was sunrise as we flew into Vancouver, and it was gorgeous above the clouds.
We arrived about 15 minutes early into Santa Ana and our van was already waiting for us. Within 30 minutes we were at the Clarion. We were on the top floor, right by the elevators. Super awesome - no one stomping above us and not far to go once returned from the parks! We had gotten maybe an hour of sleep on the flight down so we were tired, but also very excited to get to the parks!
Once we dropped our stuff, we headed to the TS parking lot and hopped a bus. It was a new experience for me and I loved how easy it all was. We waited our 5 minutes in the security line, then went through the detectors without a problem. Off we went to the ticket booths to upgrade our tickets to Signature Annual Passes with MaxPass.
Turns out, even though the 3 Day Park Hopper I had was purchased at full price, the price recognized was the Canadian Discounted price. That meant I had to use even MORE of my gift cards. The exchange rate was horrible - $500CAD got me $384USD. Two and a half gift cards later, I was the proud owner of my very first ever Annual Pass!
Finally, the PARK!! We decided to start our afternoon in DLR as we had dinner reservations at Lamplighter later on. J had never been to the Parks at Halloween Time, so she was in love with the pumpkins over the gates.
We had our photos taken and headed into the parks on the right. Of course, we stopped for a quick snap.
Given so many choices of things to do, we decided on a train ride over to TomorrowLand and our first FP was Buzz, for just before we had to leave.
The lines at the gate around 5pm weren't all that bad, and it was probably the last time we'd see them so small.
J loved Buzz because she had a trick to get the high score. I like Buzz, but my favourite ride in TL is Star Tours. But, I'm always up for a try to get Zurg.
We walked through the store afterward and I grabbed a 2018 Halloween Party pin for my lanyard. I wanted some Wookie Nookie, so we headed over to the Launch Bay to meet Chewie. J had never met him, so this was a great meet for her.
Then we headed over to DCA for our dinner date.
Oogie says things like, "oh! All these people here to see.... ME!" as you're waiting in line. It's funny to hear the lines they have him saying.
I hadn't been to DCA decorated for Halloween before, so I was really happy to see the decorations. As DLR is all orange, DCA is purple. Bats were a theme on the banners as well as coming out of Carthay. Very cool. Purple lights in the trees lined the street and it made for such an awesome atmosphere.
We had JUST enough time for a ride in the Single Rider line for Racers, and so we did. And we won!
I wanted pictures everywhere, but we did have a reservation. And good thing we did too! Walk-ins were told at Lamplight that they couldn't sit downstairs, but they could sit upstairs in the lounge. We still had to wait for 20 minutes, but there were lovely paintings and drawings on the walls and the light in the foyer was gorgeous. Plus, the windows loved over the lagoon and Pixar Pier. Instead of a pager, we were texted on my phone. Made life a lot easier than carting around a pager, which we did as recently as December!
Downstairs, where we used to meet Ariel, there was a stunning mirrored-lit wall of the Pixar Ball. We waited there until my name was called and we were taken to our table against the wall. The wall was covered in different Pixar memorabilia and though we asked for the back room, you need a party of 8 to get in there. Still, I was facing the wall, J was facing the bar and the view outside. There are sofas and comfy chairs around low tables down the middle between the wall tables and the bar. The outdoor patio was packed too!
I asked if they still had the Fun Wheel drink - they do, but it's smaller than it used to be. I ordered it. It was okay. My meal was the Lobster Nachos... of course! I liked them. VERY spicy (for me), but I enjoyed them nonetheless and can now say I have had them.
Btw, this trip, I brought a reusable straw and a plastic spork. J brought paper straws with her. We both felt really good about lessening our footprint in the parks and it really wasn't a hassle at all. Of course, in restaurants with silverware, I left the spork alone.
Never one to pass a bathroom, I loved the wall going to them downstairs. I had to take some photos.
As we came out, it turns out Paint the Night was starting. We stood on the bridge to watch a little. My photos aren't all that great but we were planning on seeing the parade on Saturday, so we weren't too concerned.
We were quite tired by this time, so we decided to head back. We were behind the parade and ended up in the crowd going to the gate as DCA closed. We saw some fireworks above DLR as we came into the esplanade and it just set our whole day off nicely.
We got a bus back to the TS lot, walked across the street, and made it up to the room no problem. The vending machines say the water is $3.75, but it's only $1.50USD and you can use your credit card, so that's cool. Make sure you press the COMPLETE button though before you leave. After we watered ourselves and brushed our teeth, it was close to midnight, and we'd been up for about 19 hours by that time, so we were definitely ready for bed. The alarm was set for 6am, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Next up: Friday hijinks - DCA, DLR, and a soggy Halloween Party!
The day has arrived!
I and my friend J had been planning this trip since what seems like forever. This is J's third time going to DLR this year, and I was last there at Christmas wit the family. J and I met while performing Oliver! and it turns out we're both big Disney fans.
J suggested we save half off our hotel and stay at the Clarion, across the street from the Toy Story parking lot. Hmmmm... more souvies? OK! We flew down via WestJet because we're both sick of running from one end of Seattle Int'l to the other, and took Karmel to the hotel (using the code which saves $8 each way).
We flew out of Victoria International and left the house at zero-dark-thirty. The airport was quiet but I ran into one of my old Army instructors as he was on the same plane to Vancouver with us. Turns out, he was in the same row, and switched seats with J so we could sit together.
It was sunrise as we flew into Vancouver, and it was gorgeous above the clouds.
We arrived about 15 minutes early into Santa Ana and our van was already waiting for us. Within 30 minutes we were at the Clarion. We were on the top floor, right by the elevators. Super awesome - no one stomping above us and not far to go once returned from the parks! We had gotten maybe an hour of sleep on the flight down so we were tired, but also very excited to get to the parks!
Once we dropped our stuff, we headed to the TS parking lot and hopped a bus. It was a new experience for me and I loved how easy it all was. We waited our 5 minutes in the security line, then went through the detectors without a problem. Off we went to the ticket booths to upgrade our tickets to Signature Annual Passes with MaxPass.
Turns out, even though the 3 Day Park Hopper I had was purchased at full price, the price recognized was the Canadian Discounted price. That meant I had to use even MORE of my gift cards. The exchange rate was horrible - $500CAD got me $384USD. Two and a half gift cards later, I was the proud owner of my very first ever Annual Pass!
Finally, the PARK!! We decided to start our afternoon in DLR as we had dinner reservations at Lamplighter later on. J had never been to the Parks at Halloween Time, so she was in love with the pumpkins over the gates.
We had our photos taken and headed into the parks on the right. Of course, we stopped for a quick snap.
Given so many choices of things to do, we decided on a train ride over to TomorrowLand and our first FP was Buzz, for just before we had to leave.
The lines at the gate around 5pm weren't all that bad, and it was probably the last time we'd see them so small.
J loved Buzz because she had a trick to get the high score. I like Buzz, but my favourite ride in TL is Star Tours. But, I'm always up for a try to get Zurg.
We walked through the store afterward and I grabbed a 2018 Halloween Party pin for my lanyard. I wanted some Wookie Nookie, so we headed over to the Launch Bay to meet Chewie. J had never met him, so this was a great meet for her.
Then we headed over to DCA for our dinner date.
Oogie says things like, "oh! All these people here to see.... ME!" as you're waiting in line. It's funny to hear the lines they have him saying.
I hadn't been to DCA decorated for Halloween before, so I was really happy to see the decorations. As DLR is all orange, DCA is purple. Bats were a theme on the banners as well as coming out of Carthay. Very cool. Purple lights in the trees lined the street and it made for such an awesome atmosphere.
We had JUST enough time for a ride in the Single Rider line for Racers, and so we did. And we won!
I wanted pictures everywhere, but we did have a reservation. And good thing we did too! Walk-ins were told at Lamplight that they couldn't sit downstairs, but they could sit upstairs in the lounge. We still had to wait for 20 minutes, but there were lovely paintings and drawings on the walls and the light in the foyer was gorgeous. Plus, the windows loved over the lagoon and Pixar Pier. Instead of a pager, we were texted on my phone. Made life a lot easier than carting around a pager, which we did as recently as December!
Downstairs, where we used to meet Ariel, there was a stunning mirrored-lit wall of the Pixar Ball. We waited there until my name was called and we were taken to our table against the wall. The wall was covered in different Pixar memorabilia and though we asked for the back room, you need a party of 8 to get in there. Still, I was facing the wall, J was facing the bar and the view outside. There are sofas and comfy chairs around low tables down the middle between the wall tables and the bar. The outdoor patio was packed too!
I asked if they still had the Fun Wheel drink - they do, but it's smaller than it used to be. I ordered it. It was okay. My meal was the Lobster Nachos... of course! I liked them. VERY spicy (for me), but I enjoyed them nonetheless and can now say I have had them.
Btw, this trip, I brought a reusable straw and a plastic spork. J brought paper straws with her. We both felt really good about lessening our footprint in the parks and it really wasn't a hassle at all. Of course, in restaurants with silverware, I left the spork alone.
Never one to pass a bathroom, I loved the wall going to them downstairs. I had to take some photos.
As we came out, it turns out Paint the Night was starting. We stood on the bridge to watch a little. My photos aren't all that great but we were planning on seeing the parade on Saturday, so we weren't too concerned.
We were quite tired by this time, so we decided to head back. We were behind the parade and ended up in the crowd going to the gate as DCA closed. We saw some fireworks above DLR as we came into the esplanade and it just set our whole day off nicely.
We got a bus back to the TS lot, walked across the street, and made it up to the room no problem. The vending machines say the water is $3.75, but it's only $1.50USD and you can use your credit card, so that's cool. Make sure you press the COMPLETE button though before you leave. After we watered ourselves and brushed our teeth, it was close to midnight, and we'd been up for about 19 hours by that time, so we were definitely ready for bed. The alarm was set for 6am, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Next up: Friday hijinks - DCA, DLR, and a soggy Halloween Party!
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