2/16/09 Monday
Breakfast – White Water Snacks, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel
Lunch – Rancho del Zocale (Emily, Patrick & Hunter), Disneyland Park
Dinner – Storytellers, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel
We awoke to the sound of rain outside on the third day of our California stay. According to the forecast it was due to rain the better part of the day. On top of the rain there was also quite a chill in the air making it not too conducive to outdoor activities. Because we got to sleep in until 5:30 we were a bit more well rested than the previous day. We enjoyed our kettle corn and watched our videos from the previous day (seeing a pattern here?).
After all of us got showered and ready we decided to head down to the White Water Snacks, which was the hotel quick service restaurant, and get a bite to eat. We pondered our three breakfast choices and quickly made our decisions. After devouring our food and enjoying the Hunter gun show (see image) it ended up being nap time for our pal Hunter. We put him down and Grandma and Poppop were kind enough to hang out in the room while we hit the Downtown Disney scene for some retail therapy. Lucky for us we were able to dodge many of the raindrops and stay relatively dry.
We returned to the room with a few items we purchased and relaxed for a bit. Grandma and Poppop had signed up for the Grand Californian tour of the hotel which was scheduled for 1:00. Emily and I decided we don’t often get to Disneyland so we were going to brave the elements and go into the park for some lunch and fun. We packed up what little rain gear we brought (Albert Hammond is full of crap) and headed to the park.
It was getting to be lunch time and we had our sights set on the Rancho del Zocale. It was a delicious Mexican restaurant that was nestled in Frontierland. Unfortunately for us, it was all outdoor seating and we happened to pick the exact table that was perfectly situated in a wind tunnel that was blowing the cold rain on us during our meal. We didn’t mind because the meal was delicious. Hunter ate his chicken and rice like it was going out of style. He also enjoyed Sprite from his $8 Toy Story drink cup… only at Disneyland! Nonetheless, we would definitely recommend the restaurant to those visiting.
After lunch the rain seemed to let up a bit so we decided to partake in one of Hunter’s favorite pastimes, riding the “chugga train!” We boarded in Frontierland and made our way around the park to the Main Street Station. Hunter cheerfully proclaimed “all aboard” before we departed every stop and also made friends with our resident conductor.
After exiting the train we took in the sights and sounds of Town Square and watched the band perform as Mickey and Minnie danced with their friends. Hunter ate it up. On the way back to the hotel we decided to travel through DCA to take the short cut since there is a park entrance to DCA just below our room. On our way through the dampened park we spotted “kachow and Tow No No” (Lightning McQueen and Towmater from Cars), two of Hunter’s favorite characters (although he does not like their movie, BTW). We had to stop and get a photo because there was no one in sight. Hunter tentatively approached the dynamic duo and plopped two big kisses on them (as he is prone to do with every character interaction).
We wrapped up with our Cars friends and headed back to put Hunter down for a snooze. Hunter quickly fell into his afternoon slumber and Grandma kindly offered to stay behind and chaperone his sleep while Colonel (PopPop), Emily and I headed into DCA. Colonel and Emily were fired up to go on a thrill ride and California Screamin’ was calling their names. We headed straight back to the entrance and they waited their 15 minutes to ride. I positioned myself with the video camera to capture evidence of their voyage. Their faces upon takeoff were priceless.
We traveled the park a bit more and stumbled upon this amazing a capella singing group (one of my favorite things in life) singing in front of the animation building. We watched the entire set and cheered along. It was a really cool experience. After the group completed their set we headed back to the room to pick up Hunter and Grandma for dinner.
Grandma loved her dining experience the first night at Storytellers Café so we decided to return again to eat that which we hadn’t eaten the first night. And eat we did. Lucky for us we got a table where Hunter could sit in his high chair, and that made all of the difference. A great dining experience and end to our third day at Disneyland.
