Many Many M's

There are 14 "M" attractions at Disneyland & California Adventure. We've already told you about 2 of them, so let's continue.

What do you think of when you think Disney and something starting with M? How about Mickey and Minnie Mouse? They both have their own houses at Mickey's Toon Town in Disneyland.

At Mickey's House & Meet Mickey you can meander through Mickey's house before actually meeting Mickey. The house is cute and the decor is, well, animated. After your self guided tour of the house, there's a waiting room where cartoons are playing on a big screen. After waiting for a few minutes, we got to go in and meet Mickey himself!

Minnie's House is very similar. We walked through the house and got to see how Minnie lives. There was not, however, the opportunity to meet Minnie there. I guess she was busy somewhere else in the park.

Award Wieners

Before I tell you about Award Wieners, (yes, that's really the name of the restaurant), let me tell you about our restaurant rating system. We'll rate each restaurant on a scale of 1-5 (5 is best) based on 4 criteria.

• Ambiance 
• Service
• Food Presentation
• Food Taste

We'll take those 4 scores and average them for the overall rating. Keep in mind - we are not food critics! We're not going to evaluate the quality of the ingredients or the name of the chef or the fact that they put this sauce with that garnish or whatever. All we care about is how it looks and how it tastes to our simple, ordinary palate.

Now on to Award Wieners. Cute name, eh? It's a window service restaurant on the Hollywood Backlot at California Adventure. They serve, well, wieners. All types of hot dogs and sausage. After ordering and receiving your order at the window, there are outdoor tables in a covered area to sit and eat.

Overall rating - 3.5
Ambiance - 3
Service - 4
Food Presentation - 3
Food Taste - 4

Alas - The Dining Begins

Our first restaurant on the alphabetical list turned out to be a new discovery for us. We didn't know that the Alfresco Lounge at the Golden Vine Winery was even there. It's adjacent to the Wine Country Trattoria in California Adventure. It's a great find! It's an outdoor lounge that's primarily for alcoholic beverages. There's a full bar. You can order appetizers, but there are only about half a dozen to choose from. There are couches and comfy chairs, as well as regular dining style tables. It's quiet and cozy with a nice view of the park. 


The "Magical Star Cocktail" came with a light-up color-changing "ice cube."

The "Rustic Bruschetta" was delicious!

 



Overall Rating - 4.5 (out of 5)

Ambiance - 4

Service - 4 (friendly, but slow)

Food presentation - 5

Food taste - 5



Mickey & Mater

Cindy & Walt in the "Cage"

On Friday, 11/16, we rode Mickey's Fun Wheel at California Adventure. It's a giant ferris wheel, but with a twist. Instead of benches to sit on, there are cages, 24 total, that can each seat up to 6 people. There are two types of cages - stationary and swinging. The swinging ones glide back and forth on a circular track as the ferris wheel goes around. And they swing a lot! I just about fell out of my seat. It's a fun ride, but more time is spent loading and unloading the cars then anything else. That is part of the fun, though, because there are great views to be seen from the top.

We met two very nice people on Mickey's Fun Wheel - Ed & Jeanette. They live locally, have been married 44 years, got married on Friday the 13th, and have travelled the world. Jeanette, however, doesn't like heights and screamed every time our car took a big swing!  Ed & Jeanette - it was great to meet you!

Next we rode Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, another innovative new ride. We sat in a tractor that spun around a track. The seat of the tractor, though, wasn't attached very well, and it swiveled around as the tractor followed its course. I don't like "spinny" rides, but the motion on this was a bit different and a lot of fun.

Mater might be greater, but what is Walt?

Little Luigi

There seems to be a trend here. There were two attractions starting with "J", two with "K", and now two with "L".

Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure is a fairly new attraction at California Adventure. If it sounds familiar, it's because we already rode it. When it first appeared on the scene it was listed as "Ariel's Undersea Adventure," so we rode it with the A's. Now, though, it's listed under the L's, so we rode it again. It hasn't changed. :)

It's a cute little ride for younger children, but doesn't hold much appeal for us big kids. The picture at right shows Wade & Wyatt in the "Clamshell" the first time we rode it.

Luigi's Flying Tires is one of the new rides in Cars Land at California Adventure. The Flying Tires are bumper cars - but with a new twist. You "steer" the car (actually it's a huge tire) by leaning left, right, forward, or back. It takes getting used to, but it's a lot of fun.

LET"S EAT --- 85 TIMES!!!

As if riding all the rides in alphabetical order isn't enough, now we will eat at every restaurant at the Disneyland Resort in Alphabetical Order. You heard right... EVERY restaurant at the Disneyland Resort - not just the parks! This means every restaurant at:

• Disneyland
• California Adventure
• Downtown Disney
• Disneyland Hotel
• Paradise Pier Hotel
• Grand Californian Hotel

There are currently 85 such establishments. (Food carts are not included.)

Here's how it will work. We'll go in order by letter, but not within the letter. In other words, we'll do all the "C's" before the "D's". But, we might eat at the Cozy Cone Motel before we eat at Cafe Orleans. The exceptions will be for the "fancy" restaurants. For example, Ariel's Grotto and Blue Bayou. These restaurants often require reservations, and we don't always plan our visits in advance. Plus, they're expensive! So we might have to save up before we go. :)

Here's a preview of upcoming locations:

• Alfresco Lounge at the Golden Vine Winery (California Adventure)
• Ariel's Grotto (California Adventure)
• Award Wieners (California Adventure)
• Bayside Brews (California Adventure)
• Bengal Barbecue (Disneyland)
• Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue (Disneyland)
• Blue Bayou (Disneyland)
• Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta (California Adventure)
• Cafe Orleans (Disneyland)
• Carnation Cafe (Disneyland)
• Cathay Circle Lounge (California Adventure)
• Cathay Circle Restaurant (California Adventure)
• Catal Restaurant (Downtown Disney)
• Clarabelle's (Disneyland)
• Clarabelle's Hand-Scooped Ice Cream (California Adventure)
• Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill (California Adventure)
• Coffee House (Disneyland Hotel)
• etc.

So keep a watch on the blog - and watch us get fat! Actually, that is NOT the plan. We will continue to maintain our stylish physiques while eating at every restaurant at the Disneyland Resort! ;-)

Kings Go Round and Round

There are two "K" attractions, and they're very similar. The first is King Arthur Carousel at Disneyland, the other is King Triton's Carousel at California Adventure.



Walt and Wyatt ride King Arthur's Carousel - a traditional merry-go-round.

Wyatt rides King Triton's carousel. Instead of horses, guests ride on various water animals.

King Triton is posing like Walt. (Or is it the other way around?)

In 1955 Walt Disney said, "Fantasy Land is a wonderful land of fairy tales come true within the walls and grounds of a great medieval castle whose towers loom seventy feet in the air. In the middle of the Castle grounds stands a magnificent carousel in the theme of King Arthur and his Knights. In this land of fantasy we find the settings from the fairy tales.

Ride through Snow White's adventures in the Seven Dwarfs mining car...through the diamond mines - the enchanted forest - past the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs reliving Snow White's adventures.

Walk through the wonderful experiences of Alice in Wonderland, as the White Rabbit takes you down the rabbit-hole, through the maze of doors, the Rabbit's House, past The Singing Flowers, Dodo Rock, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, climaxing in the courtroom of the Queen of Hearts.

Fly through the air with Peter Pan, over London...past Big Ben clock...beyond the second star to the right for Never-Never Land."

If Never Land is real, I think it can be found at Disneyland!