The Rose Gold Rat Pack Takes on Disneyland! An Aug. 2017 TR (Finished! 02/20)

Happy Thanksgiving! It’s tech week and parent-teacher conferences and general craziness here but I wanted to keep up with my trip reports!


Chapter Three: Squad Goals


Part One


We woke up bright and early the next morning. We had had this day planned for ages, because the one thing that Liz and I had really wanted to do from the moment we started planning the trip - plaid day!


We had made plaids for our favorite park rides and then got t-shirts to go with them. We also had the matching backpacks and the discovery of the rose gold ears was the icing on the cake! Jenny didn’t necessarily match, but Jen made sure she at least brought a plaid shirt with her so she looked like she belonged with us.


Once we left the hotel we headed into Disneyland and made a beeline for - what else? Coffee!


We toasted our last full day in Disney and our matching outfits. Also we clearly had to toast our newest edition to the macchiato family!

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We decided to walk over to Fantasyland and pull new fastpasses for Matterhorn with the hope that it didn’t break down on us again. As we were walking we decided what we really needed was a selfie of how basic we all looked:

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We got our fastpasses but had a good hour and a half to kill so we headed into Toon Town. We were stopped on our way though - first we saw Captain Hook making friends with small children:

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Then Pinocchio came running over to us to give us hugs:

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Then Gideon tried to steal our rose gold ears:

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Once we had played with some characters we continued on our way. First stop?

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Roger Rabbit!


This was a ride I had never been on before because every time I've tried to go on in the past it had been closed, so Liz and I had a ton of fun with it.


Afterwards we decided to visit the houses. Mickey and Minnie weren’t meeting yet but you could bypass the lines and wander around so did that.
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Liz, of course, wanted a picture in the gazebo she had found earlier in the week so Jen happily obliged.

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We continued on our way.

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Liz actually did end up climbing the Chipmunks’ house because she was the smallest one of us. We told her it was literally just her walking up stairs but she wanted to experience it for herself lol.


It was time for our fastpass so we headed on over to Matterhorn. The only picture I have of it is the clock for some reason?

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After our ride, we headed to the other side of Fantasyland for some reason? I don’t remember why. I think we were just wandering and enjoying the day, probably? Oh! I remember now! Liz had a giant list of snacks she wanted to try going into this and while we had gotten a few of them crossed off she wanted to try and make today “The Day” she checked off a bunch more. So we headed over to Fantasy Faire so she could get the Grey Stuff Twist.

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Liz was happy enough to be my model for the moment:
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We finished our snack and went to the castle so we could get a picture of the three of us in our matching outfits. But first, the Disneyland Band was there playing music from Beauty and the Beast, and Belle was out dancing with the Beast so clearly we had to stop and watch (I mean, Liz was with us)!

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While we were watching the Disneyland band, this little figeater beetle landed on Jenny. We were calling it a little Loki bug.

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Once the band was gone we headed over to get some pictures of us in our Disneyland glory. Since she didn’t match up fully Jenny offered to take the picture for us, which was super nice of her. While we were facing the castle getting ready for the picture we heard another voice start to give us directions on how to pose - a photopass photographer had happened to be walking by and decided to start giving us pointers.


Jenny’s:

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Jenny’s with the Photopass photographer’s help:

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Once we had the picture of the three of us he grabbed Liz’s phone and had us take a photo of all four of us together, which I think turned out to be one of the nicer pictures of us!

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We headed back into Fantasyland after that.
 
Sorry I disappeared for a couple of months! I am determined to finish this TR, I just got very busy with holidays, work, etc. I'm trying to be more active here just because it's one of my ways of de-stressing.

Part Two



Our rose god rat pack headed into Fantasyland. We walked through the castle but the only picture I took of that, apparently, was this:

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We then headed over to Small World.

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It was getting hot as we got off Small World and we wanted to wait for the first showing of Mickey’s Magical Map since it was the only day it was playing of our entire trip. We sat down to wait right next to the rope. People started to line up behind us, trying to stay in the shade. Except one couple. They decided to push their way in front of us and looked super smug about it. Jen and I were annoyed over the principle, even though Jenny kept pointing out that it didn’t matter.

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In the end, Jenny was right, and not for the reason she thought. As we were sitting there a CM came out and saw our ears and matching outfits. He told us he had a friend who would be super jealous that we had bought all the rose gold ears. We joked around with him and had a really great conversation and he asked if we wanted VIP seating. We thought he was joking but when the first rope was dropped he came back and found us to make sure we met him after the second rope was dropped.


We got to sit in the last row in the very last row, where we could sit without worrying about other people around us and we got the draft of the AC from the booth. It was lovely.

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Jenny went back out and bought us all some apple lemonade:

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And we enjoyed the show.

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As we watched the show I was looking around on the Disneyland website and got us the Hungry Bear Fantasmic package for lunch. So once the show was over we began to head over to Hungry Bear.


We found Peter Pan and Captain hook playing on our way.

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We went to Hungry Bear and found a table. Jenny stayed at the table and watched our stuff while Jen, Liz, and I went to buy everything.


We thought the Fantasmic bags were cool:

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The nice thing about the Fantasmic package was that if you didn’t like the meals they offered for it you could get one of their other menu items instead. We did that, because none of us were really in love with the Fantasmic menu. I also got us a funnel cake to share.

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By the time we finished eating we were hot and needed to head back to the hotel to blast the AC and take a nap.
 


Just found your report. I would love to take an all girls trip. What a blast! You took great photos.
 
Part Three


Before going back to the hotel, we actually ended up walking back to the Whos Its, Whats Its pop up store because Jen and Jenny wanted to see it. We shopped around for a bit and I ended up getting a couple of things and Jenny got us a Lyft, who was awesome and turned on 90s boy bands for us when we got into the car.


When we got back to the hotel we crashed for a little bit. We relaxed and enjoyed the AC and some cold water when I realized something was missing….


So, because my hair is dyed such a vibrant red it tends to leave white towels pink when I dry my hair, especially when I have recently had it done. So literally five minutes before Liz’s DBF picked us up to take us to the airport, at like 3:45 am, I realized i had forgotten to bring my towel with me for the week. Liz gave me an old towel she had that was older that I could use at the hotel. I had kept it on a chair in the kitchenette all week. It was white but it had a blue around its edges.


Well, when we came back, it had been taken by the maid cleaning accidentally.


We thought it was hysterical, honestly. We may have been a tad overtired, but it didn’t matter because we understand that mistakes happen. We also were going to throw it away once we got home so we weren’t all that upset. But we kept laughing about it the entire rest of the time.


And when we left to head back to the park, this guy was there:

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He had moved this player piano in front of the old Carousel Inn and was playing Small World on it:



He was there for the rest of the time we were in Anaheim.



We headed back to the parks having made the decision that we would go to Cove Bar for dinner since we had basically eaten our weight in funnel cake and chicken earlier. But the line to Cove Bar wasn’t moving and we wanted to get back over to Disneyland to get seats for Fantasmic.

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Instead we went over to Cozy Cone. I got the bacon mac and cheese cone:

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And a Powerade for later. We sat and ate, just enjoying the early evening before heading over to Disneyland.


Once we got over there we beelined for New Orleans Square and got into the line for the Hungry Bear FP group. We were entertained by our new friends:

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And were let in with about an hour or so to go before the show. We got a pretty good view for where we were:

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There was a family in front of me - mom, dad, two fairly small daughters, and dad tried his best to be in a position where I could still see. At one point he scooted himself to the line between our section and the section next to us so I had some room. Considering my experience waiting for fireworks a few years ago when a woman let her daughter climb on top of me, I was super thankful for him.


We really enjoyed the show. I tried to watch more than take pictures, though I did take some as I was filming:

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We were pretty much done for the day after that since we needed to go back to the room and pack up our stuff, since Jen and Jenny had to leave the next evening so Jenny could get to work Monday.
 


Chapter Six: Rose Gold Rat Pack!


We got up the next morning knowing it was our last day together and our last day in the parks. We decided we would do whatever we knew we definitely wanted to do together before. We decided to start in DCA and work our way over to Disneyland so once we were dressed and ready to go that’s where we headed.


Once we got to the parks we were STARVING and knew just our coffee wasn't going to cut it the second we got it. We looped past Soarin’ with our original intent of going to the Grand and grabbing breakfast but we ended up walking past it.

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We continued around, instead, to Flo’s so we could stay in the park.

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Liz and I got the bread pudding french toast while Jen and Jenny got the breakfast platter:

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I didn’t finish the bread pudding, it was just too sweet for me for the morning. Liz felt the same, but Jen and Jenny enjoyed their breakfast platters.


We wandered around Carsland for a bit:

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Then headed through Bugs Land.

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The period just makes it so sassy. Not “Bye!” but “Bye.”



We had places to be and things to do. Or at least, things to eat! So after wandering around a little bit more we headed over to the place we definitely needed to say goodbye to.


I tried (and failed) to show off my DCA shirt:

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While we were waiting for Cove Bar we had a conversation about how we doubted we would sit near the bar as they looked like they were trying to disperse people evenly. We ended up right here:

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Which we loved! Except Jenny and I were kind of stuck on our side because there was a lamp directly behind my chair. The waitress came over to take our order and stopped to stare at us for a moment, then laugh. She was our waitress earlier in the week too! And she remembered us! When we had had her earlier in the week she had been taking over a shift for another waitress who had to leave and explained that this time her shift was ending and introduced us to her replacement, who was equally wonderful.


We knew we’d be here for a long haul so we ordered our first round:

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(I did not take pictures of everyone’s drinks every time. Oops….)


I started with The Melrose while Liz started with the Neverland Punch. Jen also got the Melrose while Jenny got a Zombie. We also ended up getting nachos:

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Our second round I got the Neverland Punch while Liz got herself a Fun Wheel. I wish I had my notebook to tell you what Jen and Jenny got because I do not have a photo. I think Jen may have gotten another Melrose while Jenny got…? I know she got a Fun Wheel at least once per Liz’s suggestion, so perhaps that?

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Reasons why our waiter was fabulous: While we had been sitting there we had seen someone go by with one of the non-alcoholic drinks that have cotton candy in them. I had mentioned that I had seen somewhere that you could ask for cotton candy and prosecco and you could make a cotton candy drink that way. He heard us and offered to get that for us but the only ones willing to try it were Jen and Liz, who both love cotton candy. Jen got prosecco while Liz got Rosa Regale.

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While our next round was coming everyone else abandoned me to use the restroom, so I took the opportunity to take a couple of pictures from my seat:

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I couldn’t go far because this was left next to me:

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Thanks, guys.

Clearly at some point I got a Fun Wheel as well. I wish I hadn't lost my notebook because trying to remember back to August is not working:

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We made some crack about limoncello shots as our waiter was walking by and so our waiter brought us lemon drops. He asked first and we were said “why not?”

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We were seated at 11 am but we left at 2 pm. We also had more food that I clearly did not take pictures of because after the first round of nachos I was trying to stop being behind the camera and spend more time enjoying time in my favorite place with my favorite people.


By the time we left we weren’t really sure what we wanted to do - we had no plans for rides for this day, just snacking and meandering and enjoying the ambiance and our last bit of time together. We spent some time just enjoying the view of the Fun Wheel from Paradise Pier:

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And then we began walking back towards the entrance of the park. I stopped just to grab a couple pictures of Nick, who is one of my favorite characters:

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We spent the time walking around trying to figure out what to do laying out information for our next trip together, explaining what WDW would be like to Jenny, who has never been there. As we were walking past the DVC booth one of the CMs stopped us. We ended up talking with him as well as the woman working the booth for at least a half an hour about WDW and Disneyland and different rides. They were both really nice and we enjoyed them letting us use their shade for some time while we thought about what to do.


We ended up heading back to Disneyland because Liz had a mission. She was bound and determined to find Peter Pan and get her picture taken with him, so she and Jen went ahead to see if he was in Fantasyland while Jenny and I kept talking and met up with them.


Liz did in fact find Peter Pan:

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She also got to play some hide and seek with him, which I had on video but did not upload so it’s in limbo right now.


She also got to meet Hook:

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As we were walking back to the Hub to look through some stores we saw a line forming for the Evil Queen, who is another of Liz’s favorites. Liz also loves meeting characters and we hadn’t really done much of it (except accidentally) so we hopped in line:

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When she saw us in line, the Queen dubbed us “The Rose Gold Rat Pack” and we have taken the name to heart. She also told Liz she needed to get into the shadows and look as evil as possible for their photo.

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Once the photos were done it was getting close to three o’clock. Liz wasn’t really starving but wanted a snack so we got corndogs:

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And watched the Dapper Dans:

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Before walking up Main Street and poking around the shops. We ended up heading out around 4 and going back to the hotel so Jenny and Jen could pack up the car, pay the parking fee, and hit the road.
 
Part Two

Liz and I waited until Jen and Jenny were on their way. Then, we got changed into something a little warmer for the evening (I’m always cold at night) and headed to Downtown Disney somewhere around 6:45-7-ish. We decided we would just go to Earl of Sandwich for dinner because we knew what they had, it was quick, easy, and we could go from there. Our plan for this evening was simple: get that last amount of Disney time in that we could before we had to go back to the hotel and pack up to leave, and for Liz to grab some of the bigger presents she wanted to get all week but hadn’t wanted to carry with her.


When we got to Earl of Sandwich we realized they had this:

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Liz adores Pibb. It’s her favorite soda. I don’t really drink soda anymore, but I did get some of this for some extra caffeine.



I got the Holiday Turkey sandwich:

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I ate the majority of it but there was so much I definitely did not finish it.


Once we were done with our sandwiches we went into World of Disney and spent some time finding souvenirs for Liz’s nieces. I ended up getting a zip up hoodie for the plane.


We hopped into DCA for a minute for Liz to get a DCA Starbucks mug, then went over to Disneyland. She grabbed the Disneyland mug as well and we walked around Fantasyland as the lights went down. There wasn’t really a crowd at Red Rose so we went in and got a lemon rose cake to share.

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It was light and sweet but not overwhelming and a perfect way to end the day. Especially with this view:

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Anyone who follows me on instagram knows how much I adore the carousel.



We decided to call it a night, but not before getting on Pirates. It was another 5 minute wait and it just seemed right to end our time in Disneyland the same way we started:

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Once off the ride Liz and I decided it was time for us to head back to the hotel and call it a night.
 
Chapter Seven: So Long!


According to the time stamp on my pictures I was up and ready to go by 7:10 on our departure day. I mean, I was a mess:

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But I was up and dressed. Which means I must have gotten up around 6:30. We were taking an 8 am coach to the airport so we finished packing and checked out of the hotel by 7:30-ish. The bus was on time and we were quickly on our way to the airport. As far as I remember we didn’t hit any traffic and we were there fairly quickly.


I know it took me a few minutes to drop my luggage (Liz was very quick in front of me) because a woman tied up the Jet Blue counter and there were only two people working at that moment. But we were through security by 10, because I took this picture:

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Of my breakfast at 10:10 according to my time stamps.



Our plane was at 11-something, so we had enough time to grab some food (I got a breakfast sandwich and a smoothie, clearly. I could not tell you what Liz got, but I do know we went to two different places) and sat at the gate waiting for our flight.


Once again I enjoyed taking pictures out of the plane’s window:


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Until it was 7 pm EST and we saw this:

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I love California, it is lovely, but man do I enjoy this view!


Liz’s DBF was waiting for us when we got off the plane, and we were home.



Thanks all for reading! I’m glad I got to share my trip with you!
 

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