Trip Report: Disneyland Resort 2018

Disneyland Resort

Monday, 8th October 2018

I'd originally booked to stay in the Disneyland Hotel for this trip but decided to switch to the Grand Californian due to the pending construction works surrounding the new hotel planned for the Downtown Disney area. Of course that was no longer an issue by the time of my trip.

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

Arriving at the hotel early evening left plenty of time for a wander around Downtown Disney.

Halloween Candy Apples being made at Marceline's Confectionary

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Busy day with my friends Paulina, Kristina and Lisette ahead of Mickey's Halloween Party - MaxPass was certainly put to good use!

The Matterhorn (Currently closed for refurbishment)

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Halloween Balloon

The Cove Bar was one of my favourite spots at Disney California Adventure so I was looking forward to visiting its replacement, Lamplight Lounge, to see how it compared. With a whole new menu to try out, I actually ended up visiting the Lounge three times during the course of the week!

Lamplight Lounge

Haul-O-Ween was one of the things I was most looking forward to seeing and it did not disappoint. The level of detail in the overlay is incredible - my personal favourite was probably the Brakes Motel display in the Cozy Cone office (view more Halloween photos here).

Cruz Ramirez

Madam Leota's Crystal Ball was the highlight of the Halloween dining package at the Blue Bayou - we were also presented with a large bag of candy each, to get our Trick or Treating off to a great start!

Madam Leota's Crystal Ball - Halloween Dining Package @ The Blue Bayou

Constance Hatchaway

Winnie the Pooh

Headless Horseman Rides Again Pre-Parade

Frightfully Fun Parade

Halloween Screams - A Villainous Surprise in the Skies Fireworks

Pirates of the Caribbean

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Wednesday, 10th October 2018

Spent the day in DCA, further exploring Haul-O-Ween and Pixar Pier - pleased to say Jack Jack's Num Nums definitely lived up to my expectations!

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!

Haul-O-Ween at Cars Land

Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums

Bing Bong's Sweet Stuff

Coco - Plaza de la Familia

Mickey Mouse

Donald Duck

The ofrenda paying tribute to Doc Hudson, tucked away in Ramone's House of Body Art, was another highlight of the Haul-O-Ween overlay.

Ofrenda paying tribute to Doc Hudson

Haul-O-Ween at Cars Land

Black Panther

There is an incredible amount of detail to take in at Lamplight Lounge but I asked for an outside table on this occasion because I love the view of the pier and the Fun Wheel - and of course you're free to wander around the inside of the bar in any event.

Pixar Pier

Lamplight Lounge

Knick's Knacks

I still love Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off! It's just FUN.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off!

Following a couple of hours back at the hotel I headed back to DCA to watch the wonderful Musical Celebration of Coco - a show to just make you happy!

Grand Californian (edible) Halloween Display

A Musical Celebration of Coco

Dora Milaje

The Carthay Circle Paint the Night Parade Dining Package included a four course meal and reserved seating outside the restaurant to watch the parade. It's an expensive option and the limited set menu won't appeal to everyone. However I knew I'd be making a reservation at the restaurant during my trip in any event so was happy to give it a try. In years gone by, I'd camp out an hour or more in advance to guarantee a good view but to be honest, I'm now at the point where if there's a package for parades/fireworks etc, I'll take it!

Paint the Night Dining Package at Carthay Circle

Reserved seating for Paint the Night

Paint the Night Parade

Thursday, 11th October 2018

A quiet start to the day - no queue for Space Mountain and a boat to myself on it's a small world. There's definitely something to be said for being in the parks at 7am every day!

it's a small world

Lots of character interaction at the Plaza Inn - dining solo means there's always a spare chair for visiting chipmunks etc!

"Minnie & Friends - Breakfast in the Park" at the Plaza Inn

Galaxy's Edge spires rising above Rivers of America

Galaxy's Edge display at the Star Wars Launch Bay

Chewbacca

Seeking refuge from villains on Main Street!

Five & Dime

Poison Apple-tini with Purple Glow Cube @ Carthay Circle Lounge

An early finish to my day in the Parks today as I met up with Paulina and Kristina at Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar and ended up crossing another item off my Disney bucket list as I finally got to try an Uh Oa! Such a fun evening, finishing up with coffee at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Express to go with the shortbread I'd brought them from Buckingham Palace!

Uh Oa! @ Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

Friday, 12th October 2018

No regular park admission today so I had a relatively late breakfast at Storyteller's Café and then wandered down to the Disneyland Hotel (Pluto appeared to be on guard outside the main reception area) and then back through Downtown Disney where the opening of Salt & Straw was generating excitement.

Mickey's Tale of Adventure Breakfast Buffet @ Storytellers Cafe

Pluto @ the Disneyland Hotel

Opening day at Salt & Straw

I had a ticket for the Halloween Party but the evening didn't turn out quite as expected. Following dinner at the Blue Bayou I headed for the pre-party at Toontown. I was in line to meet Mickey (whilst admiring Minnie's Candy Corn dress in the adjacent line) when it started to rain - not too heavy, but there was some very impressive thunder and lightning in the distance. I was a few guests from the front when it started to rain properly - this actually worked out in my favour as Mickey and Minnie ended up posing together under shelter!

I did some character meet and greets and then headed for the reserved viewing area for the parade. The rain had stopped by this point and Main Street was packed with hopeful guests, albeit there were regular announcements that the parade "may" be cancelled. Sadly, with about 5 minutes to go before the Headless Horseman pre-parade, the parade was indeed cancelled. Those of us with reserved seating were informed that this would still apply if the later parade went ahead.

I popped into the Red Rose Taverne for a hot chocolate - and went I went to leave discovered it was now raining harder than before which pretty much ended any hope that the later parade would go ahead. At this point, without a coat and rather wet, I joined the max exodus from the park and headed back to the hotel. Having changed (and this time with a coat!), I went back to the parks to take advantage of the shorter lines. Wet feet aside, it was a remarkably peaceful experience walking around near deserted parks (DCA in particular) - and of course the neon of Cars Land looked even more striking than usual in the rain. Obviously I was disappointed not to see the parade again (and of course I'd paid for the Dining Package) but at least I'd seen it earlier in the week - and I feel so sorry for those who missed their one opportunity.

Mickey's Halloween Party

Halloween pre-party in Toontown

Peter Pan & Wendy

Mickey's Halloween Party

Pirates of the Caribbean

Pixar Pier

Radiator Springs Racers

Flo's Cafe

Cars Land

Tiana

Haunted Mansion Holiday

"Partners"

Saturday, 13th October 2018

The heavy rain from the night before had gone, to be replaced by a constant drizzle. Fortunately, a large part of the day was spent inside.

Graveyard Cupcake @ Jolly Holiday

Jungle Cruise - the backside of water!

Elsa & Anna

Olaf

Having already booked the Paint the Night Dining Package at the Carthay Circle, I also decided to splash out on the package for "Frozen - Live at the Hyperion". There was really no need for this - after all, unlike parades, every guest is guaranteed a seat and view of the show and I've never had a "bad" seat at the theatre. Maybe I just really wanted that Olaf dessert! In any event, I have no regrets as the meal was superb (I had no complaints with the Paint the Night meal but preferred this one). When it comes to the show itself, guests are shown into the theatre via a back entrance and are then free to sit anywhere in the theatre.

And yes, guests also receive a collectible pin!

"Frozen - Live at the Hyperion" Dining Package @ Carthay Circle

"Frozen - Live at the Hyperion" Dining Package Souvenir Pin

"Frozen - Live at the Hyperion"

Carthay Circle

Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!

Sunday, 14th October 2018

A busy start to my last morning, packing in Mission: Breakout, Radiator Springs Racers & Soarin' during Extra Magic Hour - plus a couple of character meet and greets.

Lightning McQueen

Captain America

Back over to Disneyland as I wanted to meet Rey for the first time. Lines were short so I took a quick trip to the Dark Side too.

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

Tinker Bell

Rey

Kylo Ren

Darth Vader

Boba Fett

One last visit to Lamplight Lounge where I finally tried the donuts!

Donuts @ Lamplight Lounge

The Pixarmonic Orchestra

Nick and Judy are my current favourite characters to interact with. The guests in front of me had shown them toys from Japan where they were dressed as other characters. This had caused much hysteria - Nick seemed particularly taken overwhelmed by the experience and was trying to show every guest in the area his toy.

Judy is subsequently seen writing him a ticket for standing in front of her when I was photographing them.

Nick Wilde

Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde

A quick dash back to Pixar Pier to catch the always fabulous Edna Mode. By then it was time to head back to the hotel for my shuttle pick-up but as luck would have it, I decided to walk back via the Pacific Wharf entrance to Cars Land where I found Red the Fire Truck posing for photos against possibly the best backdrop in the resort.

Edna Mode

Red

Now to start making plans for next year - looking forward to new additions to Pixar Pier, the opening of the Tropical Hideaway and, of course, Galaxy's Edge!