Chapter 151
It’s Duffy Mania

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(Originally posted April 3, 2014)

October 14-20, 2013

Tracy and I got new phones in between our trips on Sunday and Thursday, and we found the perfect opportunity to try out the “photo burst” feature when we spotted a Disneyland Cat along the side of the tram route. The iPhone probably took 50 pictures, but you can actually see the little guy in a few of them.

We hadn’t eaten dinner after work because we knew we wanted a Chicken Verde Cone from Cozy Cone Motel (still one of our all-time favorite Disney foods). This time, when we ordered, we had a great cast member who was making the most of every cone pun he could think of. From asking “How cone I help you?” to telling us straws were “by the cone-cession stand,” he was really hilarious. We actually made sure to fill out a card for him at the Chamber of Commerce on the way out of the park. I also noticed (but for some reason didn’t photograph) the trees around the Cozy Cone actually have cone-shaped flowers. I know I got a picture on a future trip, but we just LOVED this little detail from the Imagineers.

Anyway, after we got it, our cone was as delicious as we knew it would be.

We ate outside Flo’s and enjoyed the gorgeous views of Radiator Springs at dusk.

Next we walked through Pacific Wharf and grabbed our free chocolate squares at Ghirardelli (they had brought in Pumpkin Spice flavored squares in honor of the season. I enjoyed mine but Tracy wasn’t a fan…).

Walking toward Paradise Pier, we stopped to get our picture taken in Duffy’s pumpkin patch even though the bear himself wasn’t there.

We continued into Paradise Pier right as it was lighting up and coming to life.

Having gotten a DAS time for Toy Story Mania earlier, we rode it now, and Tracy broke 200k for her second time ever!

We got a time for Peter Pan next and started to make our way out of DCA. On the way out, we noticed the full moon was shining really brightly above Grizzly Peak.

Once we made it into Disneyland, it was already time for Peter Pan, and there was no wait for once at the DAS entrance. We also rode Snow White and Alice in Wonderland while we were in Fantasyland.

Walking to New Orleans Square, we rode Pirates before almost deciding to call it a night. First, however, we decided to get a little snack. The Pumpkin Fritters at Royal Street Veranda sounded interesting—though we didn’t really know what to expect. In the end, these little balls of fried dough were covered in sugar and actually had little pieces of pumpkin inside them. They were served with a fruity dipping sauce, and they were really delicious.

We pulled up spots by Rancho del Zocalo (which I’m pretty sure are used by the face painters during the day), and we enjoyed the ambience as we ate our snack.

After eating, we headed home.

On Saturday, we had plans to head to Disneyland, but Tracy had to take a new passport photo first. She was going to be heading to Mexico with CoolTech in January (I know, I was jealous too), and she had never gotten a passport with her married name.

We had a lot of fun laughing at all the hilariously ridiculous examples on the State Department website about what your passport photo SHOULDN’T look like, so here are some photos in which Tracy tried to emulate those.

TOO CLOSE.

TOO FAR.

NO PICTURES WITH A CAT.

After we got all the passport dealings out of the way, we headed to Disneyland (of course).

We parked and headed into DCA, where we went to Trolley Treats. Even though Halloween Time was still at its peak, they had begun to get Christmas treats in already!

After getting a return time for Space Mountain, we walked toward Paradise Pier because our number one goal in DCA this afternoon was to meet Duffy in his Halloween regalia. Unfortunately he was on a break when we got to his pumpkin patch, so we rode The Little Mermaid to kill some time.

Apparently that attraction was just long enough, because our pal Duffy was there when we got off the ride.

This was how he had looked when we first met him two years prior, so it felt like a blast from the past!

We walked into Duffy’s store next, and they had gotten the new pillow pets in!

As you can tell from that last picture, Tracy wasn’t about to put that guy down any time soon, so he was an immediate purchase.

After our transaction was complete, Tracy ran out of the store to wave to Duffy again now that she had the pillow pet in hand. His handler saw her and told us a funny story about how a little girl had done the exact same thing a few days before, except she hadn’t PAID for the pillow pet. Her parents turned around and saw her outside holding the Duffy that she had taken out of the store and were a little horrified.

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