It was a very different experience walking through first thing in the morning on a Sunday instead of the previous Saturday night!  There were people, but it was not overly busy at all!

I’m So HAPPY!!!

I was literally bubbling with excitement as I entered the park, walked down Main Street USA and saw Sleeping Beauty Castle for the first time during the day!  Jason kept laughing at me because I had this crazy smile plastered on my face!!! It wasn’t just me either.  Everyone around us was very happy too.  There was even singing… no kidding, someone was singing songs from the movies to entertain us all while we waited.

First stop… Indiana Jones!

We arrived about 30 minutes before the park opened at the gates of Adventureland as our first stop was planned to be the Indiana Jones Adventure ride.  They make the announcement and we all make a mad dash under the sign and into the jungle.  I love walking into each land in that they all have a very unique feel.  As soon as you enter Adventureland, the sounds of the jungle surround you.  It sounds like there are bugs buzzing everywhere and the music has a distinct jungle sound to it also.

We make our way through the crowds…  Have you ever noticed that no one ever hits the Enchanted Tiki Room at rope drop???  And walk up to the entrance of Indiana Jones… and it’s down!  So we switch gears and go to get a FastPass instead.  Just kidding, the ride is up again!  So back to the main line we go and we dash through the queue in no time at all.  This is what I LOVE about rope drop!  Walking on a ride that normally has an extremely long wait!

First, let me say how detailed this queue is!  You are walking through a cave and it really feels and sounds like a cave with dripping water and bats… yeah bats.  Well, not real bats, but you can hear batty squeaks, so you think there are bats around you.

This ride was a great as we expected it to be!  The track is the same as Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, but the story is 1000 times better.  I loved the different rooms you traveled through as the story was told.  And it was great how the giant boulder appears to be rolling right at you and it feels like you are having blow darts shot at you.  So much fun and what a perfect first ride of the day!!!

999 Happy Haunts

Since we began with a ride unique to Disneyland, our second was a classic we know and love… Haunted Mansion.  Each Disney park has a Haunted Mansion and each is very similar on the inside but vastly different on the outside!  The Magic Kingdom version we are used to is in Liberty Square so the mansion looks like a house in old New England.  But the Disneyland version is in Orleans Square, so the house looks like an antebellum home in the Garden District of New Orleans.

There are differences on the inside as well.  Once you make it through the ‘stretching room’ there is a walking path before entering the doom buggies with lots of interesting tid bits to view.  The ballroom scene, which is my favorite, had some different ghosts than what I am used to, but I loved the differences!  And of course, there is the HatBox Ghost!  Upon exiting Haunted Mansion, we felt at home (being from Louisiana) with the Jazz music playing all around us.

Keep the thrills coming!

We head into Frontierland to grab a FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain, but the wait time was so short, we just hopped on instead.  There is something to be said for roller coasters in the morning… it just sets the right tone for the day.  Jason even says it is better than coffee.  I will have to take his word for it since I don’t drink coffee though.

I have always loved this ride and it is my favorite coaster at Magic Kingdom.  We were told that the Disneyland version is better… and it is!  Climbing up the track into the mountain with sparkling TNT trails all around you ending in an explosion… yeah the Magic Kingdom revision has nothing on this!

Back to Adventureland

Since this was our first trip, we decided taking the park one land at a time might be a good idea.  So we head back to Adventureland to see if we can ride all of the rides, visit the Tiki Room, have classic snacks, etc.

First stop is for a Dole Whip Float.  Because it is not truly Adventureland until you have a Dole Whip!  The Dole Whip stand is right outside of the Enchanted Tiki Room… and they let you bring it inside!!!  YAY!  So treat in hand, we grab a spot for the next show.  We listen to the birds tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet and the tiki gods roar as we enjoy our tangy pineapple goodness. This show is so underrated too if you think back to the technology in the 1950’s, it is truly amazing!

Climbing a tree?

If you want amazing views of the park, then climb to the top of Tarzan’s Tree House!  Of course, it is not a real tree, but they did a great job of the tree bark an leaves looking real.  There are cute elements all through that tell the story of Tarzan from the Disney movie.  I really loved the sounds.  You can hear baby Tarzan as he swings through the trees along with the growls of panthers and the snorts of elephants.  There are some great photo ops at the end once you have made it back to ground level with a playground for kids and some beautiful landscaping.

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The funniest skipper ever!

Next up, a ride on the World Famous Jungle Cruise.  We timed it perfectly and it was a walk on!  As we board for our adventure tour, our skipper tells us to watch our arms and legs and kids… because he won’t.  If you have ever ridden the Jungle Cruise, you will know the unique humor of the skippers.  Some are ok, some are not funny at all and some have you cracking up even after you have gotten off.  We had the latter, he was hilarious!

I could put more of his puns in this post, but they just aren’t the same unless you hear them on the ride.  The best though was when we were getting off.  He tells us to watch our heads, but if we hit our heads then watch our mouths… there are literally kids EVERYWHERE!  Yeah, maybe you had to be there, but he was funny!

We got off and were just laughing and laughing.  By far the best ride ever on Jungle Cruise!!!

We conquered Adventureland!!!

What a great morning in Disneyland!!!  We managed to cross everything off the list in Adventureland!  Indiana Jones Adventure… check.  Jungle Cruise… check.  Enchanted Tiki Room… check.  Dole Whip… check.  Tarzan’s Tree House… check.  I call that a success!

On to Fantastyland…

If a picture says a thousand words, then a video says a million!  Here are our adventures from this morning:

Want to see more from this trip?  Here is the full Disneyland & Disney California Adventure playlist.

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Thanks,

Alisa

EECC Travels

The post First Trip to Disneyland – Rope Drop & Conquering Adventureland- Day 2: Part 1 appeared first on EECC Travels.

We begin our adventure

After some crazy heavy rain in Louisiana on our way to the airport in New Orleans, it was clear sailing from there. And when I say clear, I mean EVERYTHING went right for us!  First off we park in the garage in the airport and get a spot super close to the elevators.  Then we make it through security with basically no line at all.  We walk into the terminal and ours is the first gate on the left… no searching, no waiting… It was the best airport experience we have ever had.  Since we are very cautious we arrived very early and with the ease of getting through the airport, we had a couple of hours to kill before the flight.  So we stocked up on flight snacks and relaxed.

This was our first time for a lot of things on this trip… first to Disneyland… first to California and first flying with Spirit. We were nervous because it is a budget airline with mixed reviews, but we had a fantastic experience.  It was a four-hour flight from LA to LA… It’s not often you can say that but what I mean is Louisiana to Los Angeles.  We flew over parts of this beautiful country that we had never seen before.  We saw desert and mountains the likes of nothing imaginable in flat, wet Louisiana… it was amazing!  

California baby!

Once we arrived in LA, we quickly grabbed our bags, grabbed an Uber and headed to Anaheim to start our magical adventure!

After we arrived at our hotel, that was in walking distance from the parks, we dropped our bags and grabbed a bite to eat next door at Coco’s,  With full tummies, we walked for the first time over to Disneyland!  Where we were staying, the Best Western Stovall Inn, was on the back side of Disney California Adventure with an incredible view of Paradise Pier including California Screamin’ and Mickey’s Fun Wheel (also known to us as Mickey’s Death Wheel)… But this is not the park we were heading to first, we had to go to Disneyland!  

Downtown Disney 

From the angle we entered, we walked through Downtown Disney to be able to enter the parks.  We quickly make it through security and walk into the huge crowd of people on a Saturday night… in June… in Disney… Luckily we came expecting this crowd level so we made our way through without a second thought.

This area is teeming with life and people everywhere.  There are so many shops and restaurants but right now we walk on past.  We do stop to catch some of the live music that catches our eyes and ears.  It does a great job to get us excited for what is to come. 

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Thanks,
Alisa
EECC Travels

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Now on to the food!  

First of all, one must order sweet tea when dining in a Southern-style restaurant, which we did (well 4 out of 5 of us).  It was just as good as we make at home!  The cornbread…  Ethan tried to hoard the entire basket for himself it was so good!  Ok, so picture the best cornbread you have ever had…  It was warm and slightly sweet and flaky but didn’t fall apart… Then you put the butter on it, well enough said.  Needless to say, we ate it all!  

We all tried something different from the menu.  Some of us sticking to our favorites and some branching out and trying something new.  Jason had The Big Easy which is a 10oz NY Strip with peppercorn cream and a side of crawfish mac & cheese.  I (Alisa) had the Deep South Shrimp & Grits – traditional style.  Ethan was on a mission to try multiple versions of chicken & waffles on this trip so ordered the Voodoo Chicken which was just that.  Cameron was also on a mission, but for ribs, so he ordered the Sassagoula Short Ribs.  Colby decided he wanted ‘Louisiana on a plate’ as he described it and ordered the Boatwright’s Jambalaya.  Let me just say here that we are from Louisiana and know what real Louisiana food is supposed to taste like…  This was spot on!  Everything was so good!  This was definitely the best meal of the trip.  Who would have thought there would be such good Cajun food in Central Florida…

Dessert anyone?

After this huge meal, no one was really hungry for dessert, but when you’re on the Disney Dining Plan and dessert is included in your meal, well you at least have to try it, right?  Me being the sweet lover I am can never pass up dessert!  I had the Strawberry Bread Pudding, which was like nothing I had ever had before.  They soaked the bread in strawberry juice and baked it in, then it was topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with strawberry sauce… YUM!  Jason had the Bourbon Street Pecan Pie, which was not a slice, but an individual size pit, also topped with vanilla ice cream, also very good.  Ethan vowed he could not eat another bite (where has my bottomless pit gone???) and was the only one to pass on dessert.  Colby had the Crème Brulee and Cameron the Banana Pudding.  All of these were amazing and we were sad that our tummies were too full to devour them whole… but we tried our best!

Relaxing after dinner

The sky after a thunderstorm is beautiful and the rain cooled everything down dramatically were it was very nice just to sit outside and relax.  Jason & I grabbed two rocking chairs (that didn’t actually rock) on the back porch of the main building and just watched the horse and buggy trot by and the boats coming to and from Disney Springs and the clouds moving through the sky and more lightning off in the distance.  It was very nice.  It was a perfect ending to a day in Disney World!

Want to see the story come to life?  Here is the video: YouTube EECC Travels – WDW Episode 32

Want to see more from this trip?  Here is the full WDW September 2016 playlist.

The post Episode 32: Dinner at Boatwright’s Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside – Walt Disney World appeared first on EECC Travels.

Well, all hungry but can’t decide on what to eat…  Jason wants one of the Casey’s Corner famous footlongs so we head in their first, but the boys have different ideas and I take them over to Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café.  This place has always been a go-to spot for lunch for our family ever since the kids were little.  Food on trays we head into the main room hoping to snag a table to view some entertainment along with our meal… and we were lucky and were able to get one very close to our favorite alien at the Magic Kingdom… Sonny Eclipse.  There is something heartwarming about a funny looking alien singing lounge music, we just love it!  

So onto the food… one thing we have all learned is that quick service meals at Disney can be hit or miss.  While some are great some are just mediocre.  So I was very pleasantly surprised when I ordered the pulled pork sandwich… it was so good!!!  The boys had burgers and we had enough fries to feed a small army and along with the chocolate cakes, it is needless to say that we all almost slipped into a food coma!  So much so that we actually left our backpack sitting at the table and were all the way to the castle before we realized it!

In search of a water ride…

We watched a bit of the Move It Shake It dance party/parade as we made our way over to Frontierland as we had FastPasses for Splash Mountain.  Well… unlucky for us, but luckily for Colby, because he didn’t want to ride, Splash Mountain was down.  So we decided for a nice relaxing turn around the park on the Walt Disney World Railroad.  This is always nice as it allows you to sit and rest for a while and there is always a cool breeze from the train’s movements.  When we made the full circuit of the park back to Frontierland, Splash was still down (Colby did a cheer).

We decided to use our FastPasses on Pirates of the Caribbean instead.  Hey, it’s a water ride too and there is a drop…  POTC is one of our family favorites!  We even dressed as pirates to ride earlier in this trip!  My favorite parts are when the wall of fog is in front of you and one of the villains is telling you to beware and your boat moves right through it and he disappears around you and off to the right the pirate skeleton that is driving the ship being beaten back by the wind and rain.  Both of those scenes give me chills.

At this point, we decided we all needed a break and instead of another ride in the Magic Kingdom, we opted for a ride on the bus back to Port Orleans Riverside for a rest…  

Want to see this story come to life?  Here is the video: YouTube EECC Travels – WDW Episode 31

Want to see more from this trip?  Here is the full WDW September 2016 Playlist

If you have enjoyed this post, please share!  Also, sign up for our emails so you have every new post delivered right to your inbox!

Thanks,
Alisa
EECC Travels

The post Episode 31: Aliens & Pirates in Magic Kingdom – Walt Disney World appeared first on EECC Travels.

Our first ride in Fantasyland

Our first ride of this area was Goofy’s Barnstormer since there was only a 5-minute wait.  Something else we have learned is to take these 5-minute waits when you can get them because they don’t last long!  We love this family-friendly coaster and have dubbed it the ‘quickest’ coaster we have ever ridden… Not the fastest, but the quickest.  So we decided to time it and from start to finish.  The ride lasts 54 seconds.  But that’s ok, we still love it!

Walking into New Fantasyland still takes me by surprise.  

We had five years where we were unable to go to WDW and when we left in 2010 they were just starting to clear the way for this new area. And when we return in 2015 it is all complete and so different than what we had remembered!  The theming is so beautiful here and we love how each area stands apart but all flows together.  

The Little Mermaid area is a perfect example…  it sits right by Beast’s Castle and the mountain of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and while completely unique it fits perfectly.  The Journey of the Little Mermaid is a beautifully done dark ride that takes you through the entire story of Ariel’s longing for what is beyond, to Sebastian’s trying to convince her to stay ‘Under the Sea’, to her transformation and boat ride with Prince Eric with ‘Kiss the Girl’, to Ursula’s attack and finally the wedding!  This ride is perfect for all ages and even our boys enjoy it.  And if you have some who don’t tell them it’s sometime in the nice cool air conditioning!

It’s time for our ride!

Finally, it was time for our Fast Pass on Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train and we were so excited!  Ethan, Cameron or Colby had never ridden this as there were technical difficulties on our last trip and the ride was down.  Jason & I rode it several times on our trip in January and we knew the boys would love it!  Rides like this is why I absolutely love Fast Passes… There is a posted 90-minute wait and we were on in about 10 minutes!  Fantastic!  

After a quick and very dizzying spin on the Tea Cups, we head to Cinderella Castle for the show.  This was our first time viewing Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire which had recently replaced Dream Along With Mickey.  It was a great show that started off with our favorite Fab Five and their friends but then it was broken into smaller acts.  

The first being Princess and the Frog with Tianna and Naveen and even Louis with his trumpet and they sang some of our favorites from the movie… being from Louisiana, we are a bit partial to this story!  Next up was Rapunzel and Flynn and their band of hooligans from the Snuggly Duckling and the final act was Frozen.  First Olaf comes out and then brings Anna and Elsa and of course, we end with Let It Go and really cool ‘snow’ coming from Elsa.  All in all, it was a great show!

Want to see this story come to life?  Here is the video:  YouTube EECC Travels – WDW Episode 30

Want to see more of this trip?  Here is the full WDW September 2016 Playlist

The post Episode 30: It’s Fantasyland Time!!! – Walt Disney World – September 2016 appeared first on EECC Travels.

The excitement of the Morning Show

We loved how the mayor of Main Street came out to greet us and the Citizens of Main Street sing ‘Good Morning’.  By the way, we randomly sing this to each other all of the time so this show will never truly go away for us!  And then it is announced that Mickey and the gang are on their way on the train.  They have a specially chosen family for the day and everyone breaks into ‘Casey Junior coming down the tracks…’  The steam engine comes into sight puffing smoke along the way.  

All faces are on the train station as the characters we know and love pour off the train to wave and smile at us and to welcome everyone for the day to the Magic Kingdom.  Then Mickey Mouse starts the countdown… 10…9… 8…  and we wait and count along until 3… 2… 1… and YAY the park is opened for the day!!!

Off to Tomorrowland!

Now the massive group of people who have gathered for the show squeeze through the two side entrances for the park to make their way down Main Street USA.   So for this reason, I can see the need for a change in the morning show and we are really looking forward to the new show on our next trip… But this will always hold a special place in our hearts!

Once into the park, we made a quick right turn and into Tomorrowland!!!  To see the empty areas of the park is a reason to get up out of the bed and get there early!  We rode Space Mountain three times in a row and then moved to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin with the high hopes of becoming Galactic Heros.  After two times on the ride, none of us were successful.  Jason got really close and we all had a lot of fun trying!  

After all of this excitement, it was time for a nice relaxing turn on the People Mover which is one of our family’s absolute favorite rides at Walt Disney World. About this time, everyone was hungry and thirsty so we made a stop for Mickey pretzels and water in the shade before continuing our adventure in Fantasyland…

Want to see this story come to life? Here is the video: YouTube EECC Travels – WDW Episode 29

The post Episode 29: Our LAST Welcome Show at Magic Kingdom – Walt Disney World appeared first on EECC Travels.

The joys of Animal Kingdom

There are some amazing musicians all over Walt Disney World!  But one of the coolest we have ever seen was at Animal Kingdom… not sure his name or exactly what he was playing, but it appeared to be a giant harp.  We were mesmerized and stayed and watched him for a long time.  Until the kids pulled us away…  They had spotted a box where you would bark into it and your translated thought would come out just like the collar worn by Dug in one of our favorite movies ‘Up’.  It was fun and all of the boys gave it a go.

Gift shops!!!

A day at any park is not complete without a stop in one or two… or ten gift shops…  Well we saved up all of our precious shopping time (wink, wink) and made this our last stop before dinner.  One of the best is the huge store as you enter/exit the park and this is where we found ourselves.  And to Colby’s very excited surprise he found the Yoda plush he had been searching for.  We never thought Animal Kingdom of all places would have such a selection of Star Wars merchandise!  Colby was a happy camper and at the check out, Cameron was excited with the pin trading ‘hive’ by the register.  And the cast member was nice enough to tell us the conservation story that went along with it…  elephants were damaging fences bordering farmland so instead of using man-made means of deterring the elephants, bee hives were set up along the fence lines.  Elephants are afraid of bees so they used nature to protect the fences and farmland and the farmers were also able to collect the honey.  Win Win!

On to dinner…  

This is our first time ever eating at Rainforest Café.  T-Rex at Disney Springs is an annual stop for our family so it has always been chosen over this similar restaurant.  We love that there is not only a Rainforest Café at Disney Springs, but also one right outside of Animal Kingdom.  This was our chosen spot for the night!  You enter from the park through the gift shop which has a lot of fun merchandise and glorious, glorious air conditioning!!!!  It was magnificent!  

We had a 6:00 reservation and were quickly seated and since we were starving ordered almost immediately.  I (Alisa) was craving a good burger after seeing the ones at T-Rex the night before, so it was the Rainforest Burger for me and also for Colby, which was great!  Cameron, always loving seafood, had the Shrimp Platter.  Jason the Primal Steak and Ethan ventured out with the Pastalaya.  All in all a very good meal.  And for dessert…  a Sparkling Volcano, which they brought with candles for the twin’s birthday.

Love the theming!

The animatronics throughout the restaurant are great and they come alive, well they get really lively, about every 20 minutes when a storm hits the rainforest.  Thunder and lightning and the screeching of monkeys… oh yeah, you feel like you are in the jungle!  We walked around and saw that there were more than just monkeys & gorillas around.  There were animals you will find on an African plain as well as in a jungle.  You could see zebras, rhinos and elephants peeking out among the jungle growth.  So with full tummies we decide to call it a night!

On to Magic Kingdom with the last time we will ever see the welcome show…

The post Episode 28: Dinner at Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom – Walt Disney World – September 2016 appeared first on EECC Travels.

Dinoland USA

Primeval Hurl?

We LOVE Finding Nemo!

The post Episode 27: Dinos & Fish & Turtles… Oh My! – Walt Disney World – September 2016 appeared first on EECC Travels.

A Safari in Florida?

What animal is that?

We found Flik!

Time to get wet!

Drying off on a roller coaster!

The post Episode 26: A Safari & a Wild Raft Ride – Walt Disney World – September 2016 appeared first on EECC Travels.

Huge surprise here…

Birds of Wonder

• Blue and Gold Macaws
• Trumpeter Hornbill
• African Grey Parrot
• Rose-Breasted Cockatoo
• Great Horned Owl
• Red-Legged Seriema
• Harris Hawk
• East African Crowned Crane

Our favorite show…

Thanks,
Alisa
EECC Travels

The post Episode 25: Animals, Animals, Animals… & Festival of the Lion King – Walt Disney World – September 2016 appeared first on EECC Travels.