Anaheim - Day 4

Today was a very long day.

As I drifted to sleep last night I all but decided to nix the trip to San Diego. I did this for two reasons. First, in no particular order, I had a lot of shopping to do. I had great discounts at Disneyland and I wanted to get a lot of Christmas shopping done. Had I gone to San Diego I would have had to do the shopping tomorrow. Two, it was still cold out. I've never been to San Diego and I didn't want my first taste of the place to be that of coldness. I'll be coming back to Anaheim for Ducks games no doubt - I can do the Zoo trip then.

I slept in a little and then headed down to the company store. I spent a lot of time and a good amount of money there, but got great value for my dollar. After getting back to my room and taking inventory of what I had, I grabbed my Hidden Mickeys book and headed to Disneyland.

I did a little exploring, taking in Main Street USA and the like. I went to Tomorrowland and hopped on the Monorail. I didn't get a chance to ride the monorail last year because the line was too long. It was a short but fun ride. This train is shorter than the one in Florida, and it only has two stops...it shuttles between Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney. It was a fun way to see the park though.

Next I wandered around a bit. I was able to catch the Mark Twain Riverboat, which was very cool. I couldn't get to the top deck, but it was a most enjoyable trip. I tried to do a few rides after that. I did Winnie the Pooh, and Pirates of the Caribbean...a lot. I think I rode Pirates about 6 times over this trip. I love that ride. I also did the Haunted Mansion again.

I made a quick stop back at the hotel to drop some stuff off and get my heavier fleece as the sun was about to go down. Back at the park I started doing some shopping. I also grabbed postcards for the nieces and nephews. I'm sure they'll get a kick out of them.

I accomplished a lot, but not all. Sadly I think my oldest niece is a little too big for the simple Disney stuff now, and I'm not sure I'd make good enough selections of the more advanced Disney merchandise. If I have time I may go to California Adventure tomorrow to see about High School Musical or Hannah Montana, but we may be going away from the Mouse for a while. I did get a little something for everyone, but this won't be a full on Disney Christmas. Makes me a little sad, but what can you do.

I rode the Disneyland Railroad again. Originally I was just going to take it one stop to Critter Country to grab a bite to eat, but the particular train that pulled into the Main Street Station had the caboose on it. The caboose is one of the older cars that they refurbished and put on one of the trains. You have to make a special request to get on it, but I was able to talk my way on since it was only me, and I'm really nice I guess. The only caveat is that you have to do the full round trip since the caboose doesn't platform at the other stations. That was fine with me as it was a unique experience, and very comfortable. Once we returned to the Main Street Station, I hopped on the regular part of the train and went my one stop to New Orleans Square so I could grab that bite to eat. I also used that sitdown time to fill out those postcards.

After the train ride, I rode Pirates again I'm sure, as well as Indiana Jones. I really like that ride. You sit in a giant jeep and explore a cave-type place looking for Indy. It's very bumpy but a ton of fun.

The rest of the night really was a lot of walking around. There was a fantasmic show, or something like that, in the river where the Mark Twain Steamboat runs. It's a very interesting show, the water is sprayed up in the air in an almost mist effect and video is displayed on it. The Riverboat is full of characters, as well as the pirate boat, and Mickey is there at the end doing a whole Fantasia thing. It was quite the spectacle.

The end of my night, as well as the highlight, was dinner at the Blue Bayou, which is one of the nicer restaurants in the place. It's right in New Orleans Square, and the boats from the Pirates of the Caribbean float by it in the beginning of that ride. I had a very late seating, reserved for 9:40, but I showed up around 9:25 and they sat me almost right away.

It was nice to be inside and warm a little. The beverage they highlighted was a Pomegranate Lemonade, which was great because it was light in sugar. It turned out to be very tasty. I wish it was featured in the park more. I'll have to do a little research to see if it's served anywhere else.

I started with the gumbo, as it was listed as the specialty. I had never had gumbo before, but it was great! My main course was blackened Salmon (covered with some sort of crab sauce) with bayou potatoes (pretty much scalloped) and seasonal steamed vegetables (broccoli and white asparagus). What a fantastic meal! It was so tasty. I sat there drinking in the whole scene while enjoying this fabulous meal. How I had room for dessert I don't know, but I had the Creme Brule, and it was amazing. Topped with strawberries and blueberries. I'm still so full I have to stop thinking about it.

After leaving the restaurant, the second showing of the fantasmic show was playing, so I watched it until I reached the point I started with earlier. From there I made my way out of the park, dropping the postcards in the mailbox.

I nice brisk walk brought my back to my hotel room where I am typing from now. I am, however, very tired, and I think it's time for bed. I fly home tomorrow, and I have to get up at a reasonable hour so I can get to UPS so I can send all my loot home!