A week of piratey fun...

[dwgm]

...or five days, anyway.  So much fun, and greatly enhanced  by the presence of my pirate pals, tndixie and compassrose7577  who flew out to Southern California to join me.

Picked up tndixie at John Wayne Airport on Wednesday and we hung out at Laguna Beach, and took drives up and down the nearby coast between Dana Point and Huntington Beach.

 

These are pix taken near Las Brisas Restaurant in Laguna where we ate lunch both the first day and the second, when compassrose7577 joined us. The perfect place for Cinco de Mayo.

This is at Dana Point, where we went on a hike on a nice nature trail. What a pretty day it was!



















This is the tall ship Pilgrim, where ladymora stayed overnight with her 5th grade class way back when, standing watch, swabbing decks, singing sea shanties, and doing other sailory things.





tndixie and I had a dinner of Mai Tai's and Quesadilla and Key Lime Cheesecake on the patio of the restaurant of the Hotel Laguna, watching the waves and the pelicans and the sunset. Then we went to the Wyland Gallery, which was right next door... 

























The end of a beautiful day...




The next day we drove North, exploring Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. You never know when you're going to run into our favorite pirate, btw...





This is Huntington Beach, quintessential Southern Califonia...









After that we drove back to Laguna, met compassrose7577  at Las Brisas for lunch, and headed for Anaheim (just a few minutes away). Checked into our hotels and then headed for Downtown Disney. First, beignets and coffee at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, and later we sat and relaxed with drinks and snack mix in the bar at the Grand Californian, the perfect  dinner!

 

Friday morning there were more beignets and chicory coffee...



 

Then it was off to Disneyland  and over to investigate the theater being constructed  at the Rivers of America, opposite New Orleans Square. The screen wasn't up yet...













Went on the PotC ride, of course...

 

We ran into Captain Jack Sparrow...

Love the beds of flowers they have, this one was near the train station between New Orleans Square and Critter Country...


 

 

We had lunch at Cafe Orleans, and went on more rides, Indiana Jones, the Jungle Cruise, Haunted House, Thunder Mountain. Saw Captain EO, then took the monorail over to Downtown Disney where we met some other piratey folk for drinks and appetizers, including tndixie 's roommate, Carol, from Keep to the Code and the Johnny Depp Zone. Then over to see Aladdin at Caifornia Adventure, followed by the World of Color -- my first time seeing it, and it was great!

 

Saturday morning we were back for more beignets and coffee, and then went into Disneyland where they were all set up for the premier. Lots of people warming those bleachers all along Main Street USA...

Hung around Disneyland, going on the PotC ride, eating Bengal Barbeque (mmmm... bacon-wrapped asparagus!), etc. Took the train over to Tomorrowland to go on Space Mountain, but the wait was over an hour so we took the Monorail over to Downtown Disney and did a little shopping, then took in Soaring Over California at California Adventure before we headed back to the hotels to change into our piratey bling. 

 

Then it was on to the premier! We had a parking pass for the Pumba lot, and they shuttled us all to the park from there. Picked up our passes at Will Call...

Then headed in and walked the black carpet!

 

The fans in the stands were ready to cheer anybody by that time, including us!



























There was wonderful entertainment along the way, too. Disney always has great musicians performing.

 

There were quite a few pirates on stilts...



And not...

Juggling Pirates on Stilts...



And not...

And then we were headed into the party, through the Frontierland Gate.

Minnie, Mickey, Donald and Goofy were dressed in piratey garb...




And the theater was ready and waiting...

 

We all ate dinner (mmm... salmon! Etc.)















And there was live entertainment at the French Market...


 

Pretty desserts!






The theater was appropriately decorated...

 

Snack tables all ready...

We went over to the Frontierland gate again to see if anyone interesting was coming in...

 

I didn't recognize anyone, and the light wasn't great, and the cast members were encouraging us to move on to the theater and take our seats, so finally we did. Had to check my camera and turn off my phone, so that's it for the pix. I was sitting way up on the west side, but it was fine, just nowhere near the stage in front of the screen, where the stars came out to greet the crowd of 3,000. They were also projected on the screen and all looked great. Then watched the movie, which I enjoyed thoroughly (see comments in previous post for more detail). Sprinkled rain in the middle of it, but that was a minor issue. The sound was fabulous, the 3D worked beautifully. Fireworks as it ended, then retrieved my camera, met up with compassrose7577 and tndixie and we went on the ride once more, and had a frozen banana, one of three ice cream treats being offered, along with coffee. Headed out, and the black carpet was already off Main Street, and the bleachers were being folded up. The end of an amazing day. 

 

Comments

[daroos.livejournal.com]

But WHY were the pirates on STILTS?

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Don't know, but they were at the DMC and AWE premiers, too.

[corrielle.livejournal.com]

These are so cool! I loved seeing Minnie in her pirate dress and the special tent and food setup. Those pirate cookies looked awesome, too!

You must have been standing RIGHT next to me when you took some of the crowd pictures... I recognize some of the people who were sitting in the same section as us!

So it sprinkled some, huh? I wondered about that as we were walking out... it was quite chilly and overcast for May all day.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

You were there!!! I wish I had known so I could've said hi!
Thought I was replying to daroos here, but no, and of course you were there, I was thinking about you as I was walking down Main Street, wondering if there was any chance I would see you.

So it sprinkled some, huh? I wondered about that as we were walking out... it was quite chilly and overcast for May all day.

No fooling -- I was so surprised when it started sprinkling, like a heavy mist, but you could really see it in the lights. Crazy. Not bad enough to be more than a minor distraction, I didn't even cover up my hair -- just my iPhone, lol!

[spicedrum.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing the pics and writeup.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

It was great fun. Had to share!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed.

[spicedrum.livejournal.com]

I did - very much so!

(I especially love the look on the face of the little girl who is barely in frame in that second pic where you met Captain Jack Sparrow - she looks nervous to be meeting him and starstruck and all kinds of things. *g*)

[captaintish]

Thanks for sharing these! You saw Johnny Depp at Will Call!! :D

How does one get to be in the bleachers? *pondering for next time*

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

You just buy a ticket and get in line at 2 or 3 in the morning, then grab a seat when they open the gates.

[captaintish]

2 or 3 in the morning. Hmmm, maybe not. :D

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I did talk to one girl who was seated on the curb in the central plaza and she said she didn't get in line until 5 A.M. But if you want a really good seat I'd say 3 A.M. at least.

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for sharing these amazing pics! ♥ What an awesome day! :D

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

It was, a whole series of awesome days. I had so much fun!

[aletheiafelinea.livejournal.com]

Exciting! The beach photos are beauty.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Laguna Beach is really gorgeous. And the beaches up and down the coast from there are pretty amazing.

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

Such fun! Interesting with a black carpet, and that's a lot of people in piratey dress. I'm glad you had a great day, thanks for sharing :-)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I did have a wonderful time, the whole five days was pretty amazing.

[jaekayelle.livejournal.com]

Fantastic pics! Sounds like you had a blast! :)) Can't wait to see the movie.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I just had the best time! A week ago we were drinking our dinner in the bar at the Grand Californian, lol! So much fun. :D

[krystallazuli.livejournal.com]

Finally got a moment to view these. Looks absolutely fantabulous! Just bought my tickets for the midnight showing today! No where near as exciting as this though.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

We just had the best time, all five days -- Sunday I came home to a birthday/Mother's Day bash, with the most wonderful food and decorations all over the patio. I've been recovering all week, too much fun, truly. I'm glad you enjoyed the glimpse here! Have a good time at the midnight show -- as we will, going to the El Capitan! Whoot!