Today was a blast! Mom, Jared, Douglas and I arrived at Disneyland just barely after it opened and went on Splash Mountain first (a family tradition.) It was Jared's first time and when he saw the drop, he was terrified. We told him it was fun. So, he went on it. And he hated it. I went on it when I was 3 because there was no height limit. We'll teach Jared how to enjoy Splash Mountain. Needless to say, he refused to go on Space Mountain later, so I stayed with him since I was still full from lunch. But I'm getting ahead of myself. After Splash Mountain, we went on Winnie The Pooh since it was right there. By that time, it was 11:00 and we decided to head on over to Club 33 for our 11:30 reservation where we met Michelle and Liz. We rang the doorbell at about 11:20 and gave our name and they let us inside. It was so elegant! The service is top-notch and the food is incredible. The pictures say it all. Thanks a BUNCH, Richard!
The only indication that you are in the right place
All of us (minus Mom who is taking the picture.)
Michelle is thrilled to be there
Ok, let's go in now
The receptionist (who apparently fell asleep)
The chandelier in the foyer
The picture straight ahead
The famous glass elevator that Walt Disney patterned after one he fell in love with in a Parisian hotel
Jared posing in the foyer
Let's go upstairs
One of the pictures next to the stairs
The statue next to the stairs
Next, the Lounge Alley on the second floor...
...leads to...
...The Main Dining Room
The chandelier in the dining room
If you take a sip of water, the waiters are right there to refill your glass with bottled water
The plates were set out on the table, but they were only for show
All of us (except me)
And here's one with me (Liz fell asleep)
I thought Jared was so cute hiding behind the centerpiece
He's looking for Club 33 on the Disneyland map
The outside of the menu
And the inside.
(Notice there aren't any prices listed.
If you have to ask, you can't afford it)
You order the entree first and then...
...help yourself to the appetizer bar
More of the bar (the machine on the left is lentil soup)
There is much to choose from. I decided on salad and seafood
I've never seen so many forks
(BTW, when you leave the table,
the waiter refolds your napkin for you)
I'm not sure what we're doing
Douglas drinking soup from a cup (notice the pinkie)
I decided to order lamb for my entree
Jared's Mickey Mouse pasta
And after lunch, you help yourself to the dessert bar!
Yum! (I got smores in a glass!)
I got it because it was purple
Jared got a free dessert for his birthday! Mickey Mouse ice cream!
The mints
Let's explore the restroom
The sitting room
Some tasteful artwork
The chandelier
The sink
The paper towels (I thought this was neat)
And the toilet!
The harpsichord in the Lounge Alley (Elton John has played this)
The inside of it is hand-painted
Michelle and Liz wouldn't move out of the way until I took their picture at the end of the Lounge Alley
The table immediately to the right was used in "Mary Poppins."
I didn't find out about it until after we had left, otherwise I would have gotten a better picture of it
This is the display on top of the table
Just relaxing in the Lounge Alley
And another angle
The sofa at the end of the Lounge Alley
Opposite the sofa
The lovely table at the far end
I'm not sure where this is
Or this
The other half of the Lounge Alley
Things for sale
Pirates!
Sketches for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride
There are many original works of art
Walt Disney (and reflections of Douglas)
The phone booth used in "The Happiest Millionaire"
I love the fact that you can plainly see Douglas taking the picture
The Trophy Room (second dining room)
There are microphones in the chandeliers originally designed to listen in on people's conversations...
...and the animatronics turkey vulture would join in on the conversations. The mics were never used but they are still there
The eagle over the doorway
Walt Disney's personal butterfly collection
Walt Disney and Shirley Temple
One of the walls in the Trophy Room
Ok, we're done. Let's go to Disneyland now
Views from the outside
Our first "ride": the tram!
I was trying to stick out my tongue, but I look terrified.
Douglas is apparently bored.
Seriously, I don't know what's up with Douglas
Douglas couldn't catch up to us while we were getting on the ride so I had to go by myself
Douglas went up against himself and lost
Our scores didn't come through on the picture.
Douglas beat me by 300 points (he was so proud)
I wish I knew how to pose cuz this would be a really good pic
I couldn't decide which picture I liked best so I put both
And the other one
Again, I couldn't decide which one I liked best so I put them all
Close-up
Douglas was pointing at us as he was spinning (he couldn't find us)
Pirate's treasure
Douglas bought some keys he's been wanting in the Pirates gift shop
Goofy!
And the evil Emperor Zurg
Jared found a birthday hat
And another one
Jared was given this pin at Club 33 when we told them it was his birthday. So, he wore the pin all day and everywhere he went, people wished him Happy Birthday
Just his size
I found Mary Poppins and Bert!
The only picture I took from California Adventure
So cute! He's so little, he has to crane his neck to see over the elephant
BTW, this isn't the actual ride;
there is an elephant to pose in next to it
King Arthur Carousel at night
Pretty castle
Have you ever wondered what it looks like to go on Snow White?
This is our favorite picture. Jared also got a hug and a high five from Mickey
At the Rainforest Cafe
When you order a volcano, the waiters/waitresses bring it out and yell "Volcano!" so everyone in the restaurant knows you ordered it. I started the video just after they yelled it twice, so you can't tell, but they make a big deal out of it.
The infamous Volcano. 4 brownies with ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate and caramel sauces. SOOO good!
The waitress noticed Jared's pin so she brought a candle and stuck it in the dessert. Here is where they're singing Happy Birthday.
The outside of the Rainforest Cafe
On Monday we watched the season premiere of Heroes and ate cookie bars. Such a good show! The only disappointing thing to me was that it's getting a little too graphic. And they can do without the sex scenes. But I love this show!
On Thursday we watched the final season premiere of ER and ate chips and chili dip. It was a sad episode, though.
On Friday we invited some Welk band members over and watched the presidential debate and ate Filippi's pizza and antipasto salad. I actually learned something!
