October 20, 2014

Chapter 1
The Ideal Office

Previous Post | Next Post
Table of Contents

(Note: Hi there! If you’re reading this, you found the update by either visiting the site directly or via search engine. As of the last couple days, one of the moderators over on the DISBoards decided to take issue with my posting links over here, so I will no longer be updating my threads there. If you want to stay up to date with my posts, please bookmark this site and/or subscribe to the latest updates by entering your email address in the sidebar. Thanks!)

We’d had a lot of trouble choosing our dates to visit because we wanted to get the most time at Disneyland possible, but we also didn’t want to stay for too many nights on our own dime. In the end, we decided our best choice was to fly out on Monday morning, but the only affordable flight was terribly early. It was one of those situations where you set your alarm for a time that just seems utterly absurd.

Forcing ourselves out of bed and getting ready, we drove to the airport and found that our flight was on time. After waking up so early, I had no trouble sleeping through almost our entire journey to California. After we landed, we got our rental car and then drove to the Fairfield Inn to check it. Yep, we’ve officially fallen into a rut and the Fairfield has secured it’s spot as our go-to Good Neighbor Hotel. This time they put us in a room on the fourth floor, and Tracy was barely able to come up and drop her stuff before she needed to head back out to go to the office.

After Tracy left, I grabbed my computer and started making my way across Harbor. As I passed through the esplanade, I got my first glorious glance of the pumpkins adorning Disneyland’s main entrance—alas, I had to get some work done today as well, so I couldn’t head into the parks (as much as I wanted to).

Continuing into Downtown Disney, I took a picture of the newly-opened Anna and Elsa’s Boutique.

I also peeked into the window at Build-a-Bear.

My destination this early afternoon was the Disneyland Hotel to get some lunch. As I passed the hat at the entrance, they were in the middle of repainting it.

I continued past the Adventure Tower.

Finally, I followed some signs toward Tangaroa Terrace.

Once inside, I thought it was sort of interesting that Disney had officially abandoned the touch-screen ordering system and had taped paper menus on top of the machines.

It seems like this experiment never really caught on and has now been officially nixed at both Tangaroa Terrace on the West Coast and Pecos Bill’s on the East Coast. I know they still use the kiosks at Be Our Guest in WDW, but I think that’s about it.

After ordering from a real-life cast member, I got my Teriyaki Chicken Breast Sandwich (Sauteed Chicken Breast with Teriyaki Sauce, Fresh Caramelized Pineapple, Havarti Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato on a Multigrain Bun).

 Our usual at Tangaroa Terrace is the Angus 1/3-lb. Hawaiian Cheeseburger—which is delicious—but I thought it would make Tracy too sad if I had it without her. Luckily, this chicken sandwich was really tasty too. The one downside about both meals we’ve tried at this restaurant is that they are absurdly messy. The bun just falls apart as the sauce seeps in, so I think I went through like 15 napkins in one sitting.

After I ate, I actually had to get some work done. I walked past the Monorail slide, dreaming about one day staying here and getting to use it.

I decided to settle into the Frontier Tower lobby and hoped it would have decent Wi-Fi access.

After getting disconnected at least five times, I decided to give up on the signal here. On the way out, though, I stopped in the lobby bathroom. I’d loved the wallpaper in the bathroom of the Fantasy Tower (the main lobby), but I also really enjoyed the attraction poster wallpaper in here. I think taking non-creepy photos in the bathrooms is the true sign that you’re a Disney fanatic.

I headed back out into Downtown Disney and then opted for the Grand Californian lobby this time. The Wi-Fi was much better here, and I had an awesome view of the fire.

After I’d been there for a couple hours, I started to walk back to the room. We had Mickey’s Halloween Party tickets tonight, and it was time to start getting into costume.

Previous Post | Next Post
Table of Contents