Sunday Recap Report - A Birthday Celebration

Sunday Recap Report – A Birthday Celebration

Welcome back to another Sunday Recap Report! It was yet another quite warm day at the Disneyland Resort! We are in the final week and half of Halloween Time, and there’s still plenty of time to envy those Halloween treats and decorations.

Speaking of holiday decorations, snow has fallen on Sleeping Beauty Castle. Every year it seems like it’s earlier and earlier, but it tends to fall around the third week of October. Only part of the Castle has snow, and even the backside of the Castle has snow. And by November 8, the Castle will have all of its snow and enchantment as the holidays begin at the Disneyland Resort.

After checking out the snow on the Castle, I headed to ‘it’s a small world’ as the attraction was closing for its changeover to ‘it’s a small world’ holiday. A few of the light towers as well as Fantasy Faire Gifts are u see refurbishment to prepare for the holiday season. Light strands are already on the facade, and soon the attraction will be merry and bright!

I next headed to Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe for a snack. I got the Pumpkin Layered Cheesecake and a strawberry milk. The Pumpkin Layered Cheesecake is $5.79, and discounts apply. It was very yummy, and while it looks small, it’s very filling.

Soon after, I met up with Mr. DAPs, birthday girl Caitie, and Jenny at Market House Starbucks for some yummy drinks. We then headed to the Castle to see the snow covered Castle and to take some photos. We then headed to Tomorrowland to sit and enjoy our drinks. Since it was quite warm, we found a nice shady spot to sit.

Around 2pm, we headed to the Fantasyland Theatre for ‘Mickey and the Magical Map.’ It was a fun show as always, and it was even more fun seeing guests get into the show as well!

After ‘Magical Map,’ we made our way towards the Park exit. But on the way, we saw Alice and Mad Hatter enjoying a cup of tea with some guests at Mad Tea Party! That’s always fun to see especially when the guests enjoy it! We also spotted the Pearly Band with Mary Poppins and Bert at the Castle Forecourt. This is one of those non-advertised shows that is fun even when it is warm out.

We finally headed to Disney California Adventure, sat at Sonoma Terrace, enjoyed conversation, and people watched as guests were coming in for the Oogie Boogie Bash. And Jenny bought a Maleficent Krispy and happily modeled it for us! It’s $5.99, and discounts apply. She found it at Trolley Treats.

Soon it was time for an early birthday dinner for Caitie! We headed to Naples in Downtown Disney. I hadn’t been to Naples in over 10 years, and it recently underwent a makeover, and the restaurant looks great! There were eight of us, and we all shared family styles pizzas – one with cheese, and one with cheese and pepperoni! They are definitely big enough to share, so if you have a group of four or more, it’s easier to get a family style pizza as long as you all agree on pizza!

And of course, no birthday celebration is complete without ice cream and a crazy balloon hat! It was fun watching the balloon artists create the crazy balloon hat! We were definitely amazed watching him! I wouldn’t have been able to do that at all!

After a yummy dinner, we headed back to Disneyland for more birthday fun! And yes, Caitie did wear her crazy balloon hat the rest of the night! That was fun because if you couldn’t find the group, you knew where they were because of Caitie’s hat!

And since it was Sunday, where else would go but to a far off planet! Yes, we traveled to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge! We had a first timer with us, and they seemed to be amazed by the look and sounds! That also meant we needed to control a hunk of junk. A flight aboard the Millennium Falcon seemed like the perfect choice! I was an engineer again, and it’s my favorite because it’s the only position I’ve been since my first visit! After guiding a hunk of junk around the Galaxy, we walked around the different areas of Galaxy’s Edge.

We soon headed to Tomorrowland, watched the Villains Dance Party for a little while, and checked out the new FastPass machines near the entrance to Space Mountain. You can get FastPass for all three Tomorrowland FastPass enabled attractions at that location. It’s a test to see if this will be brought to the rest of the Resort. You can your paper ticket or phone if using the Disneyland App, and get a return time like always for your attraction. The only thing is that you are not given a paper reminder. Yes, it’s a paperless system. The return time will stay in the screen for awhile, so don’t worry if you miss it. And if you have the Disneyland App, your FastPass selection and return time will pop on the screen when you open the app.

We next went down Main Street, U.S.A. and towards the Main Street Opera House for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. It’s still a classic show, even if not many people watch the show. And it’s always nice to hear ‘ Golden Dream’ at the end of the show as we exit. Soon after, we were back on Main Street waiting for Halloween Screams fireworks. We had a better view this time around than a few weeks ago. We could definitely see the big Jack Skellington projection balloon.

After fireworks, we headed back up Main Street. We walked into Tomorrowland, and stopped in Fantasyland for some photos as the attractions behind the Castle were closed because of fireworks. We were able to get some great photos of an empty Castle area between Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Pinocchio’s Daring Journey.

We then made one final journey to Galaxy’s Edge. The wait for Smugglers Run was only 15 minutes, but we did not ride it. Around 10:20pm, we made our way out of Disneyland, and towards the bus area.

It was another great day as we celebrated Caitie’s birthday with great friends! More Halloween Time is coming next week, and we will also see what progress is being made on Holiday Time decor!