Halloween at Disneyland 2017 Part 1

By Nick


Halloween at Disneyland 2017
Sat. Oct. 28th Part 1 

My wife Barbie and I flew in from Philadelphia with a plane change in Vegas. That is a loooong flight, but we had our friend Nicole picking us up at the Long Beach Airport to look forward to at least.

Nicole dropped us off at the front of The Grand Californian and went to find parking while we checked in.

I’d requested a high floor in the block of rooms I knew faced the Paradise Pier section of Disney’s California Adventure (DCA). Of course room selections are not guaranteed. And, indeed, we did not get our request. In fact it was about as far away from the request as possible, a view of a mound of dirt with some shrubbery on the 1st floor. Ah well, we were fortunate enough to have the themepark view twice in the past, so it was someone else’s turn.

At least our room was ready, which is always a plus, so we dropped off our bags and headed to DCA, meeting back up with Nicole in Cars Land.

 Barbie, me, and Nicole

This area was all decked out for Halloween for the first time since it opened, and it was awesome. Luigi’s and Mater’s ride even had Halloween themed music substituting the regular songs! 

 

 

After getting some photos we headed back to Radiator Springs Racers and only waited about 10 minutes in the single rider line. Nicole and I wound up in the same car with Barbie getting a car almost immediately after.

Because Nicole is an Annual Pass Holder we were able to get some fun pictures of us posing with some of the decorations.

We had a so-so dinner at Flo's, traditionally our go-to spot (on our last trip we had 5 meals here). The pot pie was heavy on rosemary, a spice which made it’s presence known REPEATedly throughout the evening.

After dinner we walked through the Animation Academy before making our way to the Hyperion Theater for the live Frozen show, which was absolutely terrific. The performers were tremendously talented, and the staging amazing.

Please stop back Monday for Part 2, when we leave DCA and head over to an overwhelmingly crowded Disneyland!

Wordless Wednesday: Disney in the Details, Cars Land at Disney California Adventure

 

 

 

A Review of Flo's V8 Cafe at Disney California Adventure

A few days ago, I shared a video from Flo's V8 Cafe at Disney California Adventure. Today, I'd like to share a more thorough review of the food.

I'd read that the food was good, but I had no idea just how good!
Let's start with our first lunch.
This was literally the first place we stopped on our visit to Cars Land, as it was near lunchtime, and we were very hungry.

Upon entering, we were handed a menu by a cast member.

There are also displays of the menu choices in a case in front of the order station/ registers.

And, if that weren't enough, they are also clearly displayed over the food counter.

I ordered the Pork Loin with Coca Cola BBQ Sauce. For sides I got the Roasted Corn Medley and cole slaw, for $11.49.
First off, several of my favorite words are in the entree name "Pork", "Coca Cola", and "BBQ".
And this did not disappoint!  In fact, I honestly think Disney should be bottling and selling this sauce. It is excellent! I loved my meal.

Barbie ordered the kids Macaroni and Cheese meal, with a bag of carrots and a bag of apples. When asked if she would like the souvenir Lightning McQueen Racer, she said "No".
I immediately said "Yes she does!" It's awesome! The mac and cheese was very good too.

This cost $11.99.

We also got a strawberry milkshake, $4.29, and a chocolate milkshake in a souvenir cup for $9.59. Both were creamy without being too hard to drink through the straw. We also split an Apple Cheddar "Pie-O-Rama" for $4.99, also delicious.

We sat in a wonderfully themed dining room overlooking the Radiator Springs Racers attraction.

There is also ample outdoor seating.

So, how much did we like the food here?

We ate 3 more meals at Flo's! 

I'm running out of adjectives, so before I go any further, and this is going to sound like hyperbole, but I'm being honest, we loved everything we had, which was just about the entire menu by the end of our 5 day trip.

We shared a breakfast with my wife's cousin, Jill, and Jill's husband, Zach. 

American Breakfast with scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon and a biscuit for $7.99, and the Chicken Tamale Breakfast with chicken tamale, scrambled eggs, salsa verde and pico de gallo - $7.99

On another night, my wife had the Citrus Turkey Breast with Old Fashioned Turkey Gravy - $11.49 , with mashed potatoes and the corn medley. 

I had the NY Strip Loin with Home-Style Beef Gravy - $11.99, with potatoes and cole slaw.

For dessert we split a Chocolate Mudd pie. Wow, is that rich! 

At night, the neon makes Flo's extra lovely!

We also had lunch with new friends, Tips From the Disney Diva writer, The D'land Diva, and her family, and tried the kids meal sandwiches. I suggest asking for gravy on the side, as they were a bit dry without, but the gravy makes them delicious! We split the Seasonal Fruit Pie, which was pear and cherry.

I really can't recommend a meal (or 3) at Flo's V8 Cafe more, so stop in if you need a fill up!

 

Portions of this review were originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Diva Blog where Nick is a contributing writer.