Day 4 - Walt's World

We met in the lobby at 7am, and ventured into Disneyland, again through the exit. The park wouldn’t be open for another hour, so we had it to ourselves. Walking up Main Street with it completely empty, having a perfect few of the castle was…..well…..perfect. We all got pictures in front of the castle (with the sign of course!). We saw Snow Whites Grotto, which apparently is quite popular for marriage proposals. After taking in the emptiness of the park and taking as many pictures as possible, we headed back to Main Street for a character breakfast at the Plaza Inn.

As we walk in we're greeted by a collection of characters, including Minnie (it was her breakfast), Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Chip and Dale. This breakfast was so fast, it was insane. We were in a small area, so it was hard to get in and out for food, but even harder to play with the characters. But I didn't really care. Brer Fox and Hook made appearances as well - it's nice seeing hr more obscure ones.

We chose out seats, and headed for the buffet, which Tigger escorted me to. I ran into Pooh, who was handing out little things of honey, so cute. But I told him how Katie married us 9 years ago, and we hadn't been reunited. Although now that I think about it, we may have seen each other on my last trip, but I don’t think so. Anyway, he gave me a great big hug and I asked him if he would sign over my t-shirt over the heart later. He excitedly agreed :)

Eggs, Mickey Mouse - well Minnie Mouse since she made them - waffles, fruit, french toast, bacon - you name it. It was really great food, and the characters entertained us. Chip and Dale loved Katie's shirt, since it featured them, and got quite excited. We tried to get pictures and autographs of everyone, but it was so crazy we missed out on Brer Fox. The characters had lots of fun which was very entertaining. They locked each other out, did famous moves as the elevator, canoe and escalator, and called each other crazy. It really was a great breakfast.

The sign called - so we fallowed. It took us to the Indiana Jones Ride where we got to go backstage. We saw how the car works, and learned more on how the ride operates. Then through the exit we went and onto the ride! It was cool riding the ride after learning how it all works. I thought it would take away from the magic, but it didn't.

We went to the Big Thunder Ranch, which was currently closed off to the rest of the public - people were jealous. We learned about the animals kept at the park, and how they're even showing some of their horses. We met Figaro, - a lovely donkey, a cow, and many goats who we got to feed. Most of the goats were named after Disney characters and wore a charm that displayed it proudly around their neck. After spending time playing with the animals, it was time to continue our adventure.

We headed towards It's a Small World - which is currently closed for repairs. Tons of thoughts rushed through all of our heads, would we still get to ride it? I didn’t think so since the flume was getting replaced. We entered a door close to the ride and we were officially backstage at Disneyland. You always here that there's a whole city under Disney World - which may be true, but it definitely is a whole 'nother world backstage at Disneyland - it definitely feels like you're backstage at a production. We saw a float close up close and personal and saw where all the performers get ready for the parade. We saw where the fireworks are set off, learned of the technology they use, and how if you live near Disneyland, you have to sign something that says you understand that fireworks will be set off nightly. We saw all the horses that live at the park, and learned how they train them to resist all distractions so they will behave during parades and such. They back silver balloons in their pen along with metal plates so they get used to that feeling if they were to step on one. After walking around backstage, it was time for lunch!

We headed into New Orleans Square for a delicious lunch. We even had a visitor - a pirate. I later coined him "our pirate". He was perfect in the part - we even bonded over the fact that we would much rather find treasure than chase Peter Pan like Hook. He said to one of the other Katie's on the trip that they "were going to go cheese" meaning they were going to take a picture. He was fantastic. After lunch he made us take the oath of a pirate, and then told us we were going on a rigorous journey. We followed him out of the restaurant and for about 15 more feet until we got to the exit of Pirates of the Caribbean. He said it wasn’t long, but we made it! As we boarded the ride, he told us to say hello to his brother for him. The ride is different from what I remember in Disney World, there's a couple more drops and I actually got wet.

After Pirates, it was time for us to split into three groups. Our group first went on the Lilly Bell, which is named after Walt's wife. It was Walt's VIP car - it's very nice with couch like seats and artwork. There's also a light and fan inside the car. We took a trip around the park in style. There was a smoking jacket in the car that Michelle modeled beautifully for us. After our ride we went into a theater and watched a video on the 50th anniversary starring Steve Martin, who got his start in the Magic Shop on Main Street. Oh and it also starred Donald Duck, you can't forget him. After the short film, it was time for our group to see Walt's apartment. Since he was spending so much time in the park working, he built himself an apartment above the firehouse. It was small with one main room functioning as a living room and bedroom with a small counter functioning as the kitchen, and then the bathroom that had a nook for a dresser. The apartment was quite classy and included the famous lamp which is always lit. You could always tell when Walt was in the apartment, for the lamp would be lit in the window because that was where he was working. It now stays lit all the time to represent him. We each got a candle pin to represent this, and we could light it up whenever we needed some inspiration. A few of us got choked up, not gonna lie.

After taking a step into Walt's World (it was the theme!) it was time for the parade, which we had VIP seats for right in front of the train station. The floats were incredible, I especially liked the Little Mermaid one, and the performers were fantastic. The parade was a nice break from walking around all day, especially since I was feeling symptoms of a cold coming on.

After the parade we headed towards Fantasyland. We first rode the Matterhorn since it was completely new to us. I enjoyed it, but Katie expected more. We rode all the major storybook rides including Snow White's Scary Adventure, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (where I swear I saw Figment in the end) and Peter Pan's Flight. After completing Fantasyland we had our five Fastpasses to use. We headed to the Roger Rabbit ride, and then explored Toon Town. Toon Town has Mickey's house, Minnie's house, Goofy's house and Chip and Dale's Tree House.

We went back to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain again. I was more prepared for the photo. We headed back towards Splash Mountain, and had planned to get food along the way. We got distracted by a 1 minute wait for Haunted Mansion and various shops. We got in line for Splash Mountain and was soon informed it was broken.....again. So we hopped out of line and decided we should get food. By this time fireworks were going off like crazy, so we went into one of the shops to escape the noise. We traded pins with some very friendly cast members, who also informed us all food was closed. Uh oh!

We wandered back to Main Street and got our silhouettes done for our mom since we've had them done every other Disney trip. By this time it was past 11. We wandered back into the hotel, running into some other adventurers who gave us some tips on food. We asked the front desk for tips as well. We ventured back out into Downtown Disney.

We decided to get Wetzles Pretzels since it was right outside our hotel. It was a pretty good dinner - I also got a strawberry slushie drink that was very soothing to my throat. My back was seriously killing me by the end of the day, but it was so worth it. I curled into bed and slept for a very short amount of time until it was time to get up for Day 5!