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Old 17 Oct 18, 09:46 PM  
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Pumba75
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4 go La La in La La Land - Day 11: Party in the USA

Saturday 11th August

Hello.

Melissa here!

For one night only... 🎼🎹🎤🎶 I'm going to write up today's report as a) it was my 40th birthday! b) Graeme has been ultra busy working and c) I've been looking forward to reliving/reminiscing about today.

My birthday was the reason we had planned this trip and I couldn't believe we were actually there and this was it. All the researching, planning and juggling around had worked.

I woke up to my 3 favourite people singing happy birthday to me, followed by coffee in bed. I had a few mouthfuls of cheesecake from last night (perfectly acceptable right?!) then I opened my birthday cards. Felt very loved.

Showers were had, sun cream applied and we were raring to go!

Whilst waiting for the lift we took a mirror selfie. The wall lighting kept changing so not ideal but it did look like Graeme was wearing a Jamiroquai hat!



Excitement levels were at an all time high.



We had decided to have breakfast at Panera Bread. A short walk from Hotel Indigo and not far from the main entrance to Disneyland. A Bear Claw, Cherry Danish, Chocolate Croissant and my Blueberry Muffin were all delicious.



We walked to the main entrance with a herd of others including cast members which was a tad strange and a little less magical. We crossed the road and this was our view. I had a "pinch myself" moment to ensure I wasn't dreaming.





We went through bag drop then turned left to Disney's California Adventure. We had 4 day non hopper park tickets and this is where we had planned to go to spend my birthday - I was looking forward to lunch and the variety of different rides and shows, compared to Florida. We didn't mean to compare to WDW but it was kind of hard not to! We arrived just before opening at 9am.



Whilst waiting, the girls took photos of their wardrobe attire.



It was busy at the turnstiles but we got through quickly. No finger prints were required as they take photos instead. Awkward smiles done (I prefer being behind a camera instead of in front of one!) we noticed for the first time the cast members didn't seem as happy here!

I can't even put into words how excited I was at this point. A brand new park for us to explore and the whole day ahead of us. Turning 40 wasn't so bad after all!



Seeing the iconic wheel was amazing.

Our plan was to get a Fastpass for Radiator Springs Racers first. After all the planning and studying of maps we took a wrong turn at the first corner! Ooops. A friendly cast member redirected us. Soon we were collecting the old style paper Fastpass. We all absolutely loved the theming in Cars Land. The attention to detail was amazing.







We walked over to Pixar Pier taking in all the sights and went straight into the queue for Toy Story Mania. This took approx 30 minutes, which is normally our maximum wait time for any ride. Enjoyed it as always and Graeme won as normal - although he struggled with the spinning, which has never been an issue before - he put it down to his new Varifocal lenses!



We then had a short walk to Incredicoaster. The wait time was 90 minutes so me and the girls decided to use the single rider queue. Graeme doesn't ride roller coasters due to spinal surgery a few years ago (but he didn't actually do them before!).



We were on very quickly and this became our favourite ride. We loved the speed, the 360 loop and theming. For the rest of the holiday we continued to use the single rider queue as it worked so well.

We then FaceTimed my parents which was lovely and Pixar Pier was treated to a rendition of happy birthday!

It was now time to ride Radiator Springs Races. Oh wow. What a brilliant ride. We all loved it.

It was already very hot so purchased drinks at Flo’s V8 Cafe.



We sat down and enjoyed the drinks feeling pleased to have been able to be part of Pixar Fest.



I made sure Graeme sat in the right position for this photo! #dipstick



We then tried to get fast passes for Guardians of the Galaxy, Soarin’ and Grizzly River Run but none of the times worked for our lunch ADR at Carthay Circle. We headed to Pixar Pals Big Wheel. The swinging cart queue was 45mins so we got in the queue for non-swinging which was showing 10 minutes (this decision was purely based on the time factor, and nothing to with the fact that G&E had no intention of getting in a swinging cart!). However, the queue moved very slowly and it was evident it was going to be a lot longer so we decided to return another time as it was getting close to our lunch booking.



Me and the girls went on Silly Symphony Swings. When we got off the Green Army Men were out.



Graeme and I sat in the shade and got some water whilst the girls went on Jumping Jellyfish.

We looked in a few shops to enjoy the air conditioning and found Graeme the perfect t-shirt!



Now it was time for my birthday lunch. We had spent many hours during the planning of our holiday looking at food options and drooling over menus and I kept coming back to Carthay Circle. It seemed to tick all the boxes.





We arrived a little early (just before 1pm) and were seated after about 10 mins. As soon as we walked in I knew I had made the right decision. It was modelled on the original Carthay Circle theatre which held the premiere of Snow White in 1937. I loved the old school glamour and it was totally different to any other restaurants in Florida or Paris.

We were led this way...





Entrance to the main dining room.



View from our table. I have a very sweet tooth, so really enjoyed watching all the desserts being made.



The Evil Queen's face embossed in the table. Without sounding like I'm 14 instead of 40, but how cool is that?!



I chose the Pimms Punch. Absolutely delicious. My favourite drink of the holiday by far. Graeme chose Lagunitas Pilsner. Girls had water.



We briefly looked at the menu again but we already knew what we were having.



The yummy bread (Honey Wheat) arrived soon after.



I chose the Salmon which was delicious.



Graeme had the Carthay Burger. He stopped talking. Enough said! Photo doesn't do it justice.



Both girls had the Kids Beef Filet. Our server was happy for them to order from the kids menu rather than the main one. This was a big hit.



The main event. Dessert. I chose the Chocolate S’mores Cake. A 3rd rendition of happy birthday was sung! I was a tad embarrassed as I'm someone who normally just likes to blend in! This was given to me free which was a lovely touch and wasn't expecting it. Again, I enjoyed every mouthful.



Graeme had the Warm Lemon Pound Cake which he really enjoyed.



The girls had a scoop of ice cream as they weren't overly hungry.

My birthday lunch exceeded all expectations. I can honestly say this is the best meal we’ve had in any Disney restaurant anywhere. The food, service, ambiance etc was perfect. And we were pleasantly surprised that it cost us around $160 (including tip). Well worth it. Wouldn't have changed anything and I savoured every mouthful and moment!

Back in the hot sunshine, we felt refreshed and eager to use our time to explore more. We secured fast passes for Grizzly River Rapids for later on (5.40 - 6.40pm).

We headed over to Bugs Land, which was due to shut shortly after our holiday. We were glad we got to see it but it was definitely past its best.



The girls went on Tuck & Rolls, a ride that’s had it's day but they were happy to tick it off the list.



As a nurse I see and deal with lots, however the one thing I can't deal with is feet! Whilst watching and waiting for the girls (along with lots of others) no one could sit down as a man had his feet out and was drying his socks! Yuck!



We carried on walking enjoying the sights.





Saw the main mouse!



Enjoyed seeing the characters walking about and interacting with each other and other people.



We stopped off in Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe (Starbucks) for a selection of drinks. I had my favourite Strawberry Açai.

We popped into the shops nearby to utilise the air conditioning again and checked out some new shoes!



Never seen Mickey bread before.



We then headed over to Mike & Sully to the Rescue. We waited approx 30 minutes. We enjoyed this.



After this, we took photos of the girls by the Buzz wall but the queue for the UP wall was too long, so decided to return again another day.

Next up we took the short walk to watch Frozen. This show was excellent. I loved it. It lasted approx an hour but the time went really quickly. On par with a West End show.



We saw Walts statue.



A show was taking place which reminded me of Hollywood Studios.



It was now time for our Grizzly River Rapids Fastpass. Graeme and the girls went on this. I can do any roller coasters but I'm not keen on water rides. I enjoyed standing on the bridge watching everyone's reactions. My sick sense of humour found it funny! They got rather wet and said it spun more than they were expecting but really enjoyed it - Graeme suffered yet again with the spinning, and he normally loves these kinds of rides.



We had hoped to ride Guardians of the Galaxy but all the Fastpasses were gone and the wait was 90 minutes. The decision was made to wait until we were back here in a few days time so it wasn't a problem.

This poor guy kept struggling to control his balloons even though it didn't feel windy!



We headed back to Pixar Pier.



The girls and I were keen to ride Incredicoaster again, so we jumped back into the single rider queue. We particularly enjoyed sitting at the back catching glimpses of the the sunset through the Mickey Wheel.



It was getting late and we hadn't eaten since lunch, so Graeme had a cheeky beer (he tells me it was Pacifico Cerveza Clara and it was one of his favourite of the holiday) and a jalapeño cheese pretzel whilst he waited for us.



Originally we had planned to watch World of Colour, but due to construction work there had been a delay in this being reintroduced. Instead we decided to watch Paint the Night Parade before the park shut. We found a place and positioned ourselves next to the dessert party. This wasn't planned just happened to see a space. The cast members were strict on people sitting at the front and standing at the back, which was a good thing.

M was getting peckish so Graeme popped with her to buy a bacon Mac and cheese cone from Cozy Cone Motel in Cars Land. We had seen this on the Disney Food Blog. I had a mouthful and it was delicious. Wish we had returned but sadly never did.



We also shared the pomegranate limeade which was lovely and refreshing.



Paint the Night Parade commenced. Wow wow wow. This. Was. Superb! Safe to say it's become one my favourite parades. Bravo Disney! Just a few photos...









The newest addition for Pixar Fest.








And that was that. The park was shutting and it was time to leave. Our first Disney park done. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Some areas felt familiar yet also totally different, whilst trying to soak up the history of the park.

I then felt rather peckish. Me and E had not eaten since lunch which was now nearly 8/9 hours ago and I really fancied chips. Living the dream, we stopped off at McDonalds! They were really good.

Then the tiredness and exhaustion hit us. The Fitbit said we had done over 29,000 steps! It had been such a full on day but I wouldn't have changed anything. Lots and lots of happy memories made.

I certainly won't ever forget my 40th!

Thanks for reading.

Melissa x


Tomorrow - Disneyland.

Edited at 12:15 PM.
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Old 18 Oct 18, 01:51 PM  
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scottishgirl1
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Enjoyed reading this and the pictures of Paint the Night are amazing. Sounds like a perfect day for your birthday!
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Old 19 Oct 18, 06:20 PM  
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Originally Posted by scottishgirl1 View Post
Enjoyed reading this and the pictures of Paint the Night are amazing. Sounds like a perfect day for your birthday!
It sure was! Thanks for reading and commenting.

M x
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Old 19 Oct 18, 07:01 PM  
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i love jack
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Aah what a fantastic birthday day the rides look fantastic. I would love to go one day.
Lovely looking food and drinks

I’m a fellow nurse and today I’ve filed a patients toenails and given a foot massage
It was a good day
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Old 19 Oct 18, 07:29 PM  
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Great way to spend your birthday, that food looked amazing !
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Old 20 Oct 18, 04:01 AM  
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What a great day, a belated happy birthday 🎉
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Old 20 Oct 18, 07:54 AM  
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Happy Birthday! Totally acceptable breakfast for a birhtday. It sounds like you had the best day. You must have been shattered by the end of it all.
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Old 20 Oct 18, 04:46 PM  
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Wow! What an absolutely amazing day, I can't think of anywhere better to spend your birthday! DCA is such an amazing park, and since our visit I am now actually calling it out as my favourite of all the Disney parks! The theming is just out of the world, particularly in Cars Land... I'm still sad I didn't get to ride Radiator Spring Racers due to being pregnant, a return visit is a must!

Your lunch looked so delicious, I can't believe those steaks were kids portions... that easily would have filled me up!

Such a perfect day, I can't wait to read all about the rest of your Disney adventures!
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Old 20 Oct 18, 09:14 PM  
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It's me, G, back with the replies!

Originally Posted by i love jack View Post
Aah what a fantastic birthday day the rides look fantastic. I would love to go one day.
Lovely looking food and drinks

I’m a fellow nurse and today I’ve filed a patients toenails and given a foot massage
It was a good day
It was certainly a birthday that Melissa won't forget, although I'm not sure what it's done for her expectations for birthdays to come

Originally Posted by emmabanana View Post
Great way to spend your birthday, that food looked amazing !
The meal at Carthay Circle was fantastic - my burger, mmmmmm.

Originally Posted by Nesbits View Post
What a great day, a belated happy birthday 🎉
Thanks very much, and thanks for reading.

Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
Happy Birthday! Totally acceptable breakfast for a birhtday. It sounds like you had the best day. You must have been shattered by the end of it all.
It was a great day, but we were exhausted by the end of it!

Originally Posted by Lisa_Lollipop View Post
Wow! What an absolutely amazing day, I can't think of anywhere better to spend your birthday! DCA is such an amazing park, and since our visit I am now actually calling it out as my favourite of all the Disney parks! The theming is just out of the world, particularly in Cars Land... I'm still sad I didn't get to ride Radiator Spring Racers due to being pregnant, a return visit is a must!

Your lunch looked so delicious, I can't believe those steaks were kids portions... that easily would have filled me up!

Such a perfect day, I can't wait to read all about the rest of your Disney adventures!
Radiator Springs Racers was an awesome ride, loved it - you'll def have to return to ride it!

Thanks for reading all!
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Old 27 Oct 18, 05:42 PM  
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Ahh Melisa what an absolutely fantastic day you had.

Happy birthday xx
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