At least that’s the way I always looked at it. Which makes it a no-brainer to do things like fly directly to Los Angeles from Miami, immediately following the cruise vacation that my Mom, Bob, and I had just taken. After going through customs at the port on Friday, February 11, 2011, I caught the shuttle bus to the Miami airport. I had only been mildly concerned about the early time of my flight, but I arrived with a full half-hour to spare before we even boarded the plane. I picked up the Miami magnet that I had missed when we had last been in Miami and caught my flight at 11:30am.
It was a nice direct flight to Los Angeles and the empty seat next to me made it even better. I dozed in and out for a while and finally arrived at L.A.X. at 2:15pm, having gained three hours. My friend Jimmy was at a seminar for work that afternoon, so his dad Big Jimmy picked me up and took me back to his office. I played around on the computer for about an hour and waited for Jimmy to finish up and meet me at the office. He got there at about 3:30pm, changed clothes, and we were on our way to Disneyland. Yep, Disneyland!
After fighting through the traffic, we made it to the park at about 5pm. There we met up with David, who had gotten there a bit earlier. We were also going to be meeting my friend Lori, whom we had last seen at Disneyland in March of 2010. She was having even more traffic problems with us, and was routed to the wrong parking area by her GPS. We finally were able to locate each other (in roughly the same spot where we had last seen her a year earlier) by about 6:15, just five minutes before we were supposed to report to Ariel’s Grotto in the California Adventure park for dinner reservations.
Jimmy and David meet up in Downtown Disney
Noting the new attraction at the entrance to the park
David with a poster featuring the show on which he is currently working, Jake and the Never Land Pirates
We went in through the hotel entrance (with David utilizing his privileges as a Disney employee and getting us in for free) and hightailed it to the back of the park to the restaurant in Paradise Pier, which although it was listed as a ‘character dining’ spot, we never did get to see any topless mermaids. The main reason that we made our dinner plans here was because along with dinner, we would receive a FastPass to see the 9:15 show of The World of Color, the newest nighttime show at California Adventure. The FastPass ticket is the only means in which to enter the viewing area of Paradise Pier to see the show. Typically, the tickets are all dispensed early in the day, so eating here is a loophole to getting a great spot for the show.
Dinner was on the pricey side but was also a high-end meal. We started off sharing the Cured Meats & Shellfish appetizer that included prosciutto, chorizo bilbao, marinated olives, manchego cheese, sauteed clams, shrimp tossed in wasabi vinaigrette, and mixed greens. We could each choose the entree and I went with the Cioppino – a soup based seafood dish that included lobster tail, scallops, redfish, green-lip mussels, and bilboa chorizo, all in a fire-roasted tomato broth. Dessert was memorable as well as we all shared chocolate molten cake, tiramasu chocolate cups, passion fruit quenelles, green apple mousse in a cone, chocolate ganache crunch triangles, french macaroons, seasonal mixed berries, and the World of Color white chocolate film strips.
Lori and me at Ariel’s Grotto
Dinnertime!
It was a great meal, and we basked in the ambiance (which included the massive crowds who had gathered to watch the 8:15 show – who appeared to be staring at us. We finished up and headed out a little after 8:00. We needed to be back in the area at around 8:45 to claim our spot for the 9:15 show, so we had just enough time to ride one single ride beforehand.
We chose Toy Story Midway Mania. I rode with Lori and challenged her to try and beat my score. We bet $100, but apparently there was some loophole where she had bet that I would win. So technically she won the bet. But I didn’t pay. I scored 157,000 to her 78,400. Oddly, we both had a 30% accuracy rating, which simply means that I jerked that device about twice as many times as she did. Although I didn’t top my high score of 159,000, this takes my record to 5-1.
Lori and Brad 3eeeee-Deeeee!
The place that we got to stand for the World of Color show was outstanding. We were nearly dead center with very few people around our area. I felt extra-special to bypass the lines and enter into our zone to enjoy the scenic event. It was a neat laser light, water, pyrotechnic, projection-on-mist show that put me in mind of Fantasmic. It included projected scenes from The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, the Toy Story films, and many others. But it was especially neat to hear the Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color intro. The show lasted about 30 minutes.
Our view of Paradise Pier before the show
The World of Color begins
Sebastian sings Under the Sea, as he’s reflected in laser upon the mist
Finale of fountains
California Adventure was getting ready to close in 15 minutes, so we booked over to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at the Hollywood Pictures Backlot section of the park. This was Lori’s first time on the ride and I salute her for bravely boarding the free-falling elevator. Jimmy bypassed the ride.
Lori gets ready to follow ‘death’ into the Tower of Terror
The big drop. David and Lori react in different directions.
It was 10:20 when we got off the ride and the park was getting ready to close, Disneyland, however, was still open until 11pm, so we wandered over there. The park was about as crowded as I have ever seen it, even surpassing summer days at Walt Disney World. The reason for this seemed to be that in California, it was a holiday weekend as most offices were closed for Lincoln’s birthday which would be honored the following Monday. Those Californians know how to live it up with no less than fifteen legal holidays!
Since the lines were long, we only the chance to ride one last ride – and we let Lori choose her favorite: Pirates of the Caribbean. It took about 15 minutes to get through the line and we finished it up five minutes before the park closed. We swung by the Haunted Mansion to see if we could sneak in, but they had closed off the entrance.
Jimmy and David point at pirates
Yo ho, yo ho! The pirates life for Lori and me
Old man quietly rocking on the porch of a houseboat in the Blue Bayou section of the Disneyland Pirates ride
My favorite Pirates: Carl and the boys and the dog
Lori had parked in the Downtown Disney parking, so we walked her to the lot and said our goodbyes. It had been so much fun seeing her again. The fellas and I then continued walking to the parking garage (rather than taking the tram) and we bid farewell to David. Jimmy and I headed back to his place, arriving at about 12:30. It felt like 3:30am to me since I was still on eastern time.
But as always, there was no rest for the wicked. Before going to bed, I still managed to check my Facebook and eHarmony, where a girl named Jamie had answered my communication. Jimmy and I would be back up at the crack of dawn, ready for another busy California day.
California will continue…
Bypass the California trip and continue with 2011…
“Jake and the Never Land Pirates” is Adam’s new favorite show! He hasn’t missed an episode yet.
Denise
February 25th, 2011
How cool that Lori met you guys there.
Rick Greene
February 26th, 2011