Monday, January 29, 2018

Magical, Sparkling, Golden Treats


On my last day in Disney I had some extra time in the morning, so I went exploring around the grounds of the hotel a little bit. I wish I had more time to enjoy this beautiful hotel, there is just too much fun to be had in Disney! 


We saw several Disney kitties around the hotel! I love spotting Disney kitties, they are all so pretty.





There are several special menu items I really wanted to try at Trader Sam's but we ran out of time! I will just have to stay at the Disneyland Hotel again in the near future.



Spotted yet another pretty Disney kitty! They are pretty feral so they don't let me get close to them, which is sad because I want to pet that fluff!




After our relaxing morning, we headed to the park for some last minute treats as I had to catch my flight home this afternoon.

The Madisons wore adorable matching outfits today! They are just the cutest.


I've never paid attention to this beautiful plaque about the castle before. There is always something new to notice every time I come to the park.


It' baby duck season in Disney and we saw several fluffy babies throughout our time in the park. These two snuggly ducklings were some of my favorites. It took all my will power to not lean down and pick them up for some cuddles!



We saw more baby ducklings just a little ways down the path in Frontier Land


There was one last special, limited time experience that I had been looking forward to trying during this trip to Disney, Golden Churros and Golden Beignets! These sparkly treats were a created to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean. In addition to the extra sparkles and edible glitter, they were lemon flavored! They actually tasted more like fruit loops than lemons, but that's not a bad thing.


We got golden churros and regular churros to compare and contrast.




While ordering our beignets, we noticed they also had a special Pirate Punch, so we figured, "why not"? There was a reason we hadn't heard anything about this Pirate Punch, it tasted like a juice mix poured right out of the bottle, nothing special about it.

But the beignets and churros totally lived up to their hype, they were so fun and magically delicious.



Then I had to say goodbye to this sweet face and Beth and Reece as I was heading home today, and they were staying for a few extra days. Another magical trip to Disney in the books, can't wait until the next one!


Sunday, January 28, 2018

Character Breakfast and Paradise Pier



The next day we had reservations to dine with Minnie and all her friends at the character breakfast at the Plaza Inn! I was super excited to be back meeting all the characters again, this time with sweet little V. We were greeted by the hostess herself, and she and V had a long conversation and several games of peek-a-boo.





We were one of the first ones seated so we had the restaurant to ourselves for a little while, which meant extra time with a few of the characters!



V LOVED Chip and Dale. She gave them big hugs and had a blast playing peek-a-boo with them, it was so adorable to watch.



She also loved the other soft and fuzzy characters like Pooh and Eeyore. She wasn't as big of a fan of the face characters like the fairy Godmother or Captain Hook.






After breakfast, we were on our way to Fantasyland to ride the tea cups again. On our way we passed by the Astro Orbitor and V was fascinated. She wanted to stop and watch the ride go round and round. I said I would take her for an orbiter spin so we hopped in line.



We got strapped in and V was beside herself with excitement





Then we finally made it back to the teacups and V loved it just as much the second time around.




Beth and Reece told V she could pick out one souvenir to take home, We spent lots of time going through the stores, looking at all the options. In the end, this super cuddly Cheshire Cat with and extra long tail was what she picked.


After a fun morning in Disneyland, it was time to introduce Vienne to California Adventure!  Out of all the things we did in this park, I'm pretty sure her favorite activity was running up and down the boardwalk next to the lake. We hung out there for like 45 minutes letting her run free.




We finally were able to convince V to go on a few rides with us, King Triton's Carousel was first up.







Next came Francis' Ladybug Boogie and Luigi's Dancing Cars, both of which were big hits with V!





Last stop before nap time was Beast's Library. We all took the quiz to find out which Disney character we are, V got Lilo, I got Edna Mode and Bethy got Alice.




On our way back to the hotel for nap time, I picked up one of these churro ice cream sandwiches which had been on my Disney treats to try list for a while. They give you the churro's and the ice cream in a little tub so you assemble it yourself. It was delicious, but kind of difficult to eat seeing as the churros were warm and melted the ice cream pretty much upon contact. I would have preferred if the whole thing was frozen like a Fat Boy ice cream sandwich, so I'm not sure if I will ever venture to try it again, but I'm glad I can check it off my list!


We had very special plans this evening! Bethy had booked us a dining package for World of Color, which got us access to a special seating section to view the show. There are several restaurants that participate in WOC dining packages and Bethy chose the very delicious and elegant Carthay Circle. I had only had the privilege of dining here once before, so I was very excited to be back!



The interior of Carthay Circle is gorgeous, with all sorts of Snow White details.


V felt like a Disney Princess drinking her water from the fancy glasses.


We had a little time to fit in a few rides between dinner and the show so we took V on the Golden Zephyr ride since she had asked to ride it several times. Since this isn't the most popular ride on the pier, we were able to stay on the ride and ride it three times in a row. V was in HEAVEN.



I will never tire of watching World of Color, it is so creative and magical. V was interested in the first couple of segments of the show, then she got mesmerized by going up and down the stairs we were standing on. Little kids remind me a lot of cats, they are interested in the most random things and you never quite know what they will like.