Intro 0:03

Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor, mantenganse a las puertas. Please stand clear of the doors.

Welcome And Meet Heather

Alicea 0:24

Hello everyone. I'm Alicea.

Nathan 0:26

I'm Nathan.

Heather 0:27

And I'm Heather.

Alicea 0:29

And welcome to episode 229 of Adventures and Mouse Capades. This week we have a longtime listener, first-time guest on the show. See what happens when you reach out to us via email. You get roped into this Horse and Pony show.

Nathan 0:43

Heather is a self-declared Disney nerd and a Disney World pro and a DVC owner. And while she was originally trepidatious about cruising, Heather instantly fell in love with it and went from zero to gold on Disney Cruise Line in under a year and a half. But with all that, what Heather had not done until very recently was make a pilgrimage to the place that started it all, Disneyland in California. And that's what we're going to talk about today. Welcome, Heather.

Heather 1:15

Hello, hello.

Nathan 1:16

So great to have you with us.

Heather 1:18

I'm so happy to be here.

Heather’s Disney Origin Story

Nathan 1:19

We've chatted over email for like the last year and we finally got it. It usually doesn't take that long, but ever all parties involved had extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances.

Alicea 1:31

Glad to get you on here. Um, give us the quick version of your Disney origin story.

Heather 1:38

I went to Disney World for the first time the summer after my third grade year uh in school. It was me and my parents and my best friend. And it was right after Epcot had opened. I think we went there and walked around and went, what? And didn't really stay long. But also, my really only memory from that was that uh that was back when the seats for Space Mountain, like you sat in someone's lap almost. And I wanted to ride with my mom, and my dad said, No, you're riding with me. And so I got mad, cried, and didn't ride Space Mountain for like 20 years.

Nathan 2:20

Don't hold a grudge, but you know Right.

Heather 2:22

No, no. So then fast forward to high school, I was part of um Disney Magic Music Days, and my band performed uh multiple years going down. We performed uh on stage at the American Pavilion in Epcot, and then we also performed on the stage uh in Disney Springs. It was downtown Disney then, but you know,

Nathan 2:44

yeah.

Alicea 2:44

Awesome.

Nathan 2:45

I never got to perform on stage at Disney. Did get to march in the parade, but never on stage.

Heather 2:50

Yeah, it was fun. We enjoyed it.

Nathan 2:53

Maybe I should go back and do it all over again.

Alicea 2:54

No, do it, yeah.

Nathan 2:56

Maybe not.

Alicea 2:56

You know, we can live, we could live vicariously through Sterling.

Nathan 3:00

Exactly. Yes, and that can be our retirement job.

Alicea 3:04

That's right.

Heather 3:05

Absolutely. If I could find a way to retire to Disney, that that's the dream. That's the dream. But yeah, after that, I was just I was hooked and made it my mission to go as often as I could, you know, had kids and did my very, very best to, you know, turn them into Disney fans too. Uh my my deepest hurt in life is my daughter, my youngest daughter, uh, is studying abroad this semester. She was in Paris, and I said are you going to Disney, Paris. She said, Mom, it's just a theme park.

Nathan 3:37

Oh wrong answer.

Heather 3:41

Yeah. She comes home in two weeks. We'll have a discussion there.

Nathan 3:46

Yeah. Yeah. Maybe she'll have a room. Maybe she won't.

Heather 3:50

Maybe.

Nathan 3:51

Who's to say?

Heather 3:52

Right. Sorry, I turned that into my Disney room. It's just a room.

From Cruise Fear To DCL Gold

Nathan 3:57

Well, before we do hit Disneyland, we've got to dive into Disney cruise line. What flipped you from nope, not for me, to full-on DCL obsessed?

Heather 4:08

I get motion sick easy. And I was absolutely terrified. And we had a friend who was a Disney friend. We had parked, you know, we had Disney parks with him and his family and um had a great time. And, you know, he and his wife, they kept saying, you know, Disney Cruise, we Disney Cruise. You should Disney Cruise. You should Disney Cruise. And I said, No, no, no, no, no. I get motion sick so easy. I don't want to spend that much money and either be sick in the room the whole time or passed out because even though the non-drowsy drama mean, no, it makes me sleep. So I was like, no, no, no, I'm not gonna spend that much money and either sleep through it or be sick through it. Um so anyway, our our friends, you know, we really want you to cruise with us. We really want you to cruise with us. And so we finally gave in and January 2024 booked a an October five-day Halloween on the high seas on the magic uh out of Fort Lauderdale. And I newsflash, I'm a nerd. Uh, I needed to consume all the knowledge. I needed to know everything there was to know about everything there was to know. And I started just I soaked up content. I, our friends Sam and Brian, I listened to everything they did and various other podcasts. I that was how I found y'all. It was just all the things I needed to know. And I started just being obsessed with their website and found out that they had those sales, those last minute cruises.

Alicea 5:36

Yes.

Heather 5:37

And so the the one that was booked was just my husband and I on the magic. And um, my girls are used to me going, Hey, you want to go to Disney? Um, so I'm graying to go pass holders. So we go, you know, oh look, there's a cheap flight. Let's go to Disney.

Nathan 5:52

Yeah.

Heather 5:52

So I found one of those discounted cruises, and we hopped onto the wish. Uh it end of May, early June of 2024, just the three of us onto the wish for a weekend. My uh youngest turned 19 on the wish, and I was like, hey, I I didn't get sick. This is cool. And then it kind of spiraled from there. So uh it became we didn't do everything we wanted to do on the wish in in May, and then Jerry, uh my husband and I went uh in October, and then the girls and I went back on the wish in January, and then we went on the the girls and I went on the dream for three night in May of that year. My husband and I went on the treasure for seven night in September, and then we did the destiny early uh January this year, and then the girls and I did another wish cruise late January. So I mean it just I don't know what happened.

Alicea 6:55

How many is that now?

Nathan 6:56

That's six, I think. Six

Heather 6:57

seven.

Alicea 6:58

Oh my gosh.

Nathan 6:59

I think I have them all. Maybe I missed one, but I think, yeah, there's I'm seven for me. The girls are five, and the husband is three.

Alicea 7:08

Okay.

Heather 7:08

So

Alicea 7:09

that's amazing.

Heather 7:10

So the girls and I are gold.

Nathan 7:14

I don't know if I could do that, like be that far behind my wife. I I I have I'm have issues and I'm two behind my wife.

Heather 7:23

You'll get over it.

Nathan 7:26

I'm looking to figure out when I could book a cruise. That's what I'm doing.

How A Food-First WDW Trip Gets Planned

Alicea 7:30

And I'll just go on it with you. So you're still gonna you'd have to do a a boys' trip. Of course, the girls would probably invite themselves along anyway. So it's what happens. Yep. Exactly. So how often are you going to Walt Walt Disney World these days?

Heather 7:51

It all depends. Sometimes it's a couple times a year, sometimes it's four or five times a year. Really depends on work and you know, how things align. Um, but like I said, we especially me and the girls, we have always been like, there's a festival and I can get I can get cheap ticket, you know, cheap flights down, or I can use my companion pass to get us down. Or um there, yeah, there have been years we've been there four, five, six times a year. Um my my goal, what I want to do is hit all four festivals. I somehow have managed to hit three, but I've never done Festival of the Holidays. So that's my I I want to do do all four one year.

Alicea 8:35

Well, that one's that one's a lot shorter than any of the other ones, too.

Heather 8:39

Right.

Alicea 8:39

Like they started so late.

Heather 8:41

Well, and I kind of thought maybe I was gonna get to do it this year, but they shortened Flower and Garden this year. It stops at June, and normally it goes into June a little bit. Yeah, and we're we're going in June. Uh my youngest turns 21. So this one does, you drink around the world.

Alicea 8:59

That’s what We're doing.

Nathan 8:59

Yep. Hey, that sounds like our June plans.

Heather 9:02

Uh-huh.

Nathan 9:04

Uh you're DVC owners too, right?

Heather 9:06

Yes.

Nathan 9:07

What's your home resort?

Heather 9:08

Saratoga.

Nathan 9:09

Okay. Nice.

Heather 9:10

Nice. And and Riviera, a small contract at Riviera. Okay.

Nathan 9:13

So very cool. All right. So paint the picture of how you normally plan a Disney World trip because you reached out to us saying, Hey, I'm going to Disneyland help for planning. I want to understand, like, how do you how much you go to Disney World so much? Like, what does planning usually look like for that?

Heather 9:33

Food. Uh, everything is planned around food. You know, where are we eating? What's the um my daughters, especially? Uh, we did uh the tea room at uh Grand Floridian for my birthday, I think 2019, you know, right before the world stopped. And of course, it didn't come back until just now. And the promise was as soon as it's available, we're going. It doesn't matter what we're doing, we're going.

Alicea 10:02

Yeah.

Heather 10:02

And of course, it happened, it came back while One Daughter is in Europe. And so it was like, well, do we go without her? Do we not? So it just so happened that when she comes back, she's turning 21, you know, three weeks later. And so we're we're gonna go. And uh, but yeah, typically we're we're foodies, we're well, we like to eat.

Nathan 10:22

Um yeah, I'm familiar with it.

Heather 10:24

Yeah. So that's that's kind of my usually my number one. Like, that's the first thing is if we go there, you know, what are we doing? What are we eating? How are we eating? Um, but beyond that, it's usually, you know, are we going for a reason like her twenty my daughter's 21st birthday? So we did that with my older daughter two years ago. And, you know, uh know that they can't do that in one day.

Nathan 10:49

Right.

Heather 10:50

They're they're rookies, she's giggling. Um, we we we started in Mexico, she made it to Japan, and we needed to, you know, we we stay uh for when we do these, we stay at the beach club so we can, you know, exit stage left,

Alicea 11:06

easy access,

Heather 11:08

walk back, uh, but yeah, the the upridges and she was walking on our tip twos and it was it uh it it escalated from there. So we know we need at least two days for her to, you know, learn. Not to mention my youngest is four foot ten and weighs a hundred pounds. So she may not make it around the world in two days.

Alicea 11:29

So I I don't think ours is gonna make it around the world. I can't even make it around the world. I've no I've told her it's like it doesn't necessarily mean an alcoholic drink, it's just a drink. Right. Even if that's just a soda or they're not or they're mocktails or something.

Nathan 11:44

And sharing is caring.

Heather 11:46

So sharing is caring.

Alicea 11:47

Oh, yes. I told her we will definitely be we're not gonna have our own drinks because I am very much a lightweight myself with regards to drinking.

Nathan 11:56

My only concern is if what happens that has happened in the past is if we get stuck in Italy with some of us making repeat trips to the uh cart to get the frozen lemoncello margarine.

Alicea 12:07

I will move us along. I will be the moderator and keep going.

Nathan 12:12

You're the designated tour guide, is that what I'm hearing?

Alicea 12:14

Got To get to France. Come on.

Heather 12:16

Well, and that that's where we fell down was we uh we stopped in, yeah, we stopped in Italy and it was it was a festival. It was flower garden, and she had the Segria, and she finished about half of it, and she said, I think I'm done. I said, you know, well, I I had mine, I don't need yours too. So it's okay, just throw it away. And she went, No.

Nathan 12:39

Oh no, just tossed it back down then.

Heather 12:43

And then we went from there to America and she got like a hurricane rum punch, but we sat down and she drank it. You know, of course, it's fruit juice, it doesn't taste sure nothing. And so she sat there and drank it pretty quickly. And when she stood up, she went, oh

Nathan 13:02

well, we have to make it around back to the UK, if only because you can get fresh Guinness there. And our daughter spent some time in in Ireland last year and is uh basically addicted to Guinness. I mean, she's not addicted to Guinness, but every chance she gets, she'll have a Guinness. So we gotta make it around.

Alicea 13:22

And I have to try some. I've never tried Guinness before.

Heather 13:25

Oh, I've never had fresh.

Nathan 13:27

Yeah.

Heather 13:28

But how I never have, I don't know. But I've had it. Just not fresh. Yeah. We'll try that.

Disneyland Planning Anxiety And Game Plan

Nathan 13:34

It's good. It's good. All right. So you are super familiar with Disney World. Everything is based off of what you're gonna eat, and then rides and other things kind of fall in line and you know, are filling in the gaps. So going into this trip when you were talking about or thinking about going to Disneyland, like what was the biggest thing that intimidated you?

Heather 13:58

I didn't know where anything was. I don't know where I don't, I don't, I don't know anything. Um, we were very lucky. We went with friends who are pros. And um, my family teases me that um my husband will say, Well, what are we doing at 732? Um we got written agendas from our our planner.

Nathan 14:20

Wow,

Heather 14:21

who who um who had everything planned out, you know, lightning lane usage, um, you know, what how we were going to hit different rides and how we would get as much done as we could.

Nathan 14:33

Yeah.

Heather 14:33

Uh in because the plan was Friday was Disneyland, Saturday was um California Adventure, and then I flew home Sunday. My husband's still out there for a work conference, but um that was the plan. We ended up adding a third day and going back to Disneyland on Sunday, uh, which fun story. I don't know if we'll get to, but it's not necessarily smart to ride Tiana's as you're leaving for the airport.

Alicea 15:01

Not that one. No, it's not that one.

Heather 15:03

No, because our splash mountain and the other thing that we started laughing at is how I had taken ownership. There's ours and yours. And so the our friends that we were with, I'm like, well, our space, our splash mountain, slash tianas. You don't like you might get wet. You might get wet.

Alicea 15:21

Yeah. No Disneyland drenched.

Nathan 15:23

Oh, yes. Yeah, it's a submarine ride into Disneyland, it's insane.

Heather 15:28

Found that one out.

Nathan 15:30

Yeah.

Heather 15:30

Um, but no, he he gave us uh an agenda ahead of time, uh, including a stop at the castle for a wow moment, which because I'm an emotional, you know, reactor, I and they have video of me absolutely bawling my eyes out when we walked um into the park and saw the light in Walt's apartment and then turning and looking at the castle and it started again. And so yeah, it was waterworks. Um but yeah, I I thankfully we were going with someone who knew what they were doing and had it planned out down to the minute almost of here's what we're doing and here's how we're going to do it. Uh including a surprise for me of, you know, dinner uh that night in Disneyland. So it everything was planned and it was kind of fun to not have to do anything. Like everything was everything was planned out for me. And I didn't know what I wanted to do because I I mean, other than looking at the map on my app, I I don't I don't know. I don't know what's there.

First Steps Down Main Street Emotions

Alicea 16:35

Take us to that first moment walking into Disneyland Park. What what hit you immediately?

Heather 16:42

So again, I'm I'm the Waterworks girl. I'm gonna I get emotional. Um and that's what it's always been is walking for walk walk, you know, be the the park he actually was in uh that he got to experience that he had really had a hand in. And yes, he had idea he's had a hand in the ideas for all the others, but the one that he really shaped that was just massive for me. Um and I had listened to your podcast about taking it easy, which by the way, we did the exact opposite of all of that.

Nathan 17:18

You planned things down to the minute with it written down, and you tried to slam everything in like you went against everything we preach.

Alicea 17:25

But but to be fair, we have done that too.

Nathan 17:29

Yes, that's true.

Alicea 17:30

We have definitely done that too.

Heather 17:32

Yes. So Friday we rope dropped Disneyland and we closed it down. Oh we were we were there all day and and my feet can feel it. Um yes, it was it was something, it was amazing. Um, but yeah, we walked in and so I listened to your podcast uh about the last two. Um, and so I purposefully walked in on the right hand side to be able to see uh Lillian's um

Alicea 18:01

the window

Heather 18:02

tribute tribute and then be able to turn and see the fire station. So um and cried the whole time. Um but it was it was you know, he lived here, he walked here, he was he was present here, and that was you know, he he's the reason we all are a little bit crazy and you know, obsessed. Yeah. So that that to me, that was the the pinprick to the heart, you know, that that was um what I needed to see, and then turning and seeing the castle.

Nathan 18:39

Um it's dainty.

Heather 18:44

It's dainty. So yeah, that I mean that was it. The it was heartstrings, torn, you know, um, just the it was the fire station for me. It it was it was walking over and and seeing it, and yeah, it was the fire station for me.

Nathan 19:02

Yeah. We did a tour last year. Was it last year? Year before.

Alicea 19:07

I think it was the year before. Walt’s Main Street story, yeah.

Nathan 19:10

And it includes going into the apartment and seeing what's what you know, everything up there. And that we had Sterling with us, and it was set slightly different. So it during the holidays, they have a little mini Christmas tree on the table instead of the lamp, but it was still just as magical. Like, and even our I think Sterling was 12 at the time, maybe close to 13, and um like he got emotional.

Alicea 19:38

Yeah, I was not expecting that. Yeah, I mean, I knew I would. He definitely knew I would, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Heather 19:44

I was prepared. My husband was prepared. I'm going to cry. It it's fine, just happens.

Alicea 19:49

Yeah, leave the emotions.

Heather 19:50

Leave her to it. Yeah.

Alicea 19:52

The emotions have nowhere to go. So sometimes they just overflow. Yes.

Heather 19:56

Yes. Uh after dinner that night when I was crying again at Phantasmic, uh, one of the people that was with us then said, Oh, she's leaking again.

Disneyland Rides That Beat Florida

Nathan 20:07

Well, you alluded to it a little bit earlier. Let's talk rides. Which attractions clearly felt better in Disneyland than their Disney World counterparts?

Heather 20:18

I there were so many that I was just, I didn't expect them to be so different. Um, Jungle Cruise is my all-time favorite ride, period. End of story. But it wasn't the one that was just like, wow, that's better. Um, it was pirates.

Nathan 20:32

Yes.

Heather 20:34

It was pirates. And, you know, walking in that door and the boats are right there. Right there, yeah. And that was weird. That was like, wait, what? Yeah. Um, and but the ride was twice as long as ours. And it was just so, so good. And um I can't help myself, you know, I I'm like comparing. Um, but it was it was so amazing. So Pirates, I think, was the one that was like, okay, you win. You win.

Nathan 21:03

Yeah. Yeah.

Heather 21:05

And uh Haunted Mansion was pretty cool because, you know, it actually is an elevator. You really are moving in the stretching room. And uh, so that one was that one was interesting to see the differences there. And that was a lot of fun to know that, you know, again, the nerd of me is like, oh, we're going under the berm, oh, we're doing this, yeah. Um, but it was those two, and I think the classics, that's that's where it's like, okay, I I see you, Disneyland. Yeah.

Nathan 21:33

Yeah. Was there anything that just completely surprised you that you weren't, and I mean, other than pirates being like twice as long, was there anything else that shocked you? Or maybe conversely, you you stepped away and go, wow, I I actually think the Florida version's better.

Heather 21:50

Okay. So weird things that I can I notice. Um we were on jungle cruise, and not only could You see Indiana Jones, our skipper called it out. I'm like, wait a minute, you're just supposed to suspend reality for me. I'm not supposed to, I'm not supposed to talk about that other ride. I'm supposed to be in Asia, you know, in the jungles of Asia or wherever we were at the time. So that one kind of like, you're not supposed to do that.

Nathan 22:21

Yeah.

Heather 22:22

Uh, but there were other pieces of the ride that were better than ours. Um different scenes, different things. But um, and again, it's just weird little things. And I was trying to describe this one to my daughter too, and I don't know that I I did it well, but on Indiana Jones, you can see other cars.

Nathan 22:43

Yeah.

Heather 22:45

And I don't know that that's the case in any rides in Disney World. Like being

Alicea 22:51

definitely not on dinosaur. You could not it’s too dark.

Heather 22:54

No, no. But you know, you're you're going through the snake room and you look up and you see someone else going across the drawbridge.

Nathan 23:00

Yeah.

Heather 23:00

Or, you know, and someone else over here, and it, you know, just just the suspension of reality, just enough to go. I thought I was the only one on you know.

Nathan 23:09

Um that actually stuck out to me because we were just there a few weeks ago. And I think the last two or three times that we've been in uh California, Indy's been down, and it's like one of our daughter's favorite rides. She wasn't with us, but of course we went to go on indie because it was actually up and running. And there was a couple show scenes where I was like, Oh, there's another car.

Alicea 23:32

That's I really think they brightened the lights in there.

Nathan 23:35

Yeah.

Heather 23:36

Maybe.

Alicea 23:36

I don't remember it when we initially went on it years ago. I don't remember it being that bright in there. And I do remember them saying something like in one of the refurbs that they did, they adjusted the lights. So

Nathan 23:52

there you have it.

Heather 23:53

It was it was just

Alicea 23:55

it takes you out a little bit.

Heather 23:56

Yeah, it stuck out to me like, oh, there goes another car. You mean I'm not the only one who looked into the eye, you know.

Alicea 24:03

No, you're not supposed to look into the eye.

Nathan 24:08

I don't understand what happened.

Heather 24:10

I don't know. I blame my husband. He looked into the eye.

Nathan 24:13

There you go.

Heather 24:14

But those were the things that kind of stuck out to me as like, I think I like ours better. And I know it has to do with size, you know, yeah, world has all the room. Of course, you can't see the other attraction because you're nowhere near it. Yeah. Right. Yes. And so the difference in Disneyland is everything's tighter, more compact. And so it happens. You can see the Matterhorn from Small World, or you know, you you can see the mountains in Batuu from, you know, from far away. And so it's it's just it's just different. Yeah. Um, but yeah, those were the two rides that kind of impacted me of like, hmm, I don't know if I like that, but I loved the rides.

Alicea 24:58

Well, kind of kind of pivoting off of that, how did Disneyland feel compared to Walt Disney World? Like the crowd energy, the pace, the locals versus tourists, did it change at all how you toured?

Heather 25:11

Disneyland, it felt uncrowded. And I thought being smaller would make it feel more crowded. Um, of course, I don't know if it was because it's Friday and it's a local park. Most of the kids were in school. It was probably 80% adults there on Friday. Uh except for the, I mean, the only kids I saw were in matching t-shirts there on school trips.

Nathan 25:32

Yep.

Heather 25:32

It was mostly adults, and that's completely different than Disney World. Um but it was, I was concerned that smaller would mean, you know, bumper to bumper traffic and like LA freeway. Um but it was not. It was we, I think we rode five or six rides in the first hour. And yeah, I mean, we we were zipping through and really could do everything we wanted to do very easily. Um the only two rides that we didn't do before dinner were um hyperspace mountain uh because we got the overlay and um rise, but we have rise back in Florida.

Nathan 26:17

We have Rise at home.

Heather 26:19

Right. We have that. Um, but those were the only two that were kind of on the list that we hadn't managed to do before dinner. But um

Nathan 26:29

that's a good day.

Heather 26:30

We blew through. California Adventure was different, of course. It was a Saturday. Yeah, I had more trouble navigating California Adventure, um, trying to get you know from land to land and wait, can I go that way? And it it was way more crowded. And we we rope dropped California Adventure, but we left about seven o'clock, so I didn't get to see the nighttime spectacular, sad. I have to go back. Oh no. We were also a little tired from the day before.

Alicea 26:59

And yeah, rope drop to close. That's a long day.

Heather 27:04

I'm getting way too old for that. But I digress.

Characters Feel More Alive Here

Nathan 27:08

What did you think about like stepping back to Disneyland for a second? Our experience has been there's a lot more opportunity to have characters out and about in the parks, especially like in fantasy land and and and stuff like that. Was that your experience? Like that's at least to me, that's a big difference between Florida and California.

Heather 27:30

In Batuu, a hundred percent. We um actually met and talked to Ray. We met and talked to Luke and R2D2, we met and talked to uh Stormtroopers, Kylo Wren, and Darth Vader.

Alicea 27:43

Oh my goodness.

Heather 27:43

And we we really had great character interactions.

Nathan 27:47

Wow.

Heather 27:47

Oh, and Mando and Grogu. Um it was just, and I don't know if there were extra people out because we were coming up to May the 4th, or if it was that was normal. I don't know. But um that was uh really, really special. We did see Alice and the Mad Hatter, we saw Cinderella, we saw we we saw them a little from afar. Um we weren't, you know, it in Star Wars we we stopped and took lots of pictures. We didn't necessarily do it a lot with the others. I I took pictures from afar, but uh it reminded me very much of Cruise Line, um where you just they're just walking, they're just you know, say, how are you? Um as opposed to in Disney World, it's in the app, they're going to be there from 8 15 to 8 30, and that line is closed and never, you know, that's it.

Nathan 28:42

Yep.

Heather 28:42

So yeah, it was it was really cool to just they were just walking, they were just yeah enjoying their land.

Nathan 28:48

I think that goes back to the locals versus tourists thing. The locals you just get more used to it, and and like they there's just a different uh level of interaction and expectation versus in Florida, it's a lot of people who are coming down for that once in you know forever visit. And from what we've heard from people who have, you know, been involved in the the entertainment and the character side of things, it's just impossible to have that type of interaction in a crowd in Florida because the crowds just literally behave differently with the characters, uh, and not necessarily in a positive way.

Heather 29:31

Correct. We've had some excellent character interactions um in Disney World. Yeah. Um, I, you know, my favorite is my youngest was, I mean, she's still only four foot ten, but she was too small to ride rides until she was 11. And uh so Big Sister was riding rides with her friends, and I took her and we happened to find Snow White. And there was a line, but Snow sat down there at the wishing well and just loved on her and spent 15 minutes just chatting with her because she was all by herself. Um, so it happens in Disneyland or Disney World, yeah, but it it really just seemed like it was happening literally every minute at Disneyland. Um everywhere you turn, it was like, oh, there's so and so, or oh, there's Captain Hook. We saw him like five dozen times. Yeah.

Alicea 30:27

We saw Captain Hook this last time too, just walking near the Matterhorn.

Nathan 30:31

Yep.

Heather 30:32

Yep, all the way up towards the castle. And you know, Peter Pan would be across the way, or Tinkerbell, there was a little girl dressed as Tinkerbell that he was, you know, fussing at. And uh it was it was just great because it it it really the only the only other place I've seen that is cruise line. Um Disney World just doesn't have it, and to your point, I don't know that they can have it.

Food Wins Plus A Club 33 Night

Alicea 30:54

Yeah, so yeah, yeah. Well, food check, because one of the things you had asked us for help with before you went were um recommendations on where to eat, and the answer was basically anywhere. Yes, yes. What was your biggest standout meal or snack?

Heather 31:11

So they surprised me um for dinner uh Friday night in Disneyland. Um we were there with friends, and they had friends who gave us the amazing opportunity to be guests at 33.

Alicea 31:27

Oh, wonderful. That's awesome.

Heather 31:30

And I again had just listened to y'all talk about your trip, but it was so far out of the realm. That's not my life. That's not my life. They have friends that can do this, that's not my life. Um and I had no idea that there was a friend of a friend who, you know, was a member. It just it never even crossed my mind. And even being told, we've got a surprise for you. And I'm I had been talking about wanting to eat in Blue Bayou. We couldn't get in, couldn't get reservations. Uh, and then after listening to your episode, I wanted to eat in Napa Rose. And so those were the things I was checking constantly, you know, to see if we could get reservations, and of course, couldn't. And then we were on pirates, and I looked real quick at Blue Bayou, and there was one at 8 30. And I I elbowed my husband and I said, Do you think I should get? And he knew, he knew where we were going. I did not. Yeah. Uh, because we were there for our 10th anniversary. So this was this was you know, anniversary trip. So he knew I did not. And I saw it and I was like, I know we have dinner at 5 45. This is 8 30. Do you think maybe we could go here for dessert? And he was like, uh, no, I was like, Yeah. I I was, you know, no, but I but I wanted to eat that again, had no idea what the real surprise was. And really, kind of what I set my head into was it was blue bayou we were going to. And so I didn't need to make an 830 reservation when we had a 545.

Nathan 33:02

Right.

Heather 33:03

But yeah, that that was I was I was bummed because I wanted to eat a blue bayou, didn't get to, so now that's another thing, you know. I have to go back. Have to go back. You can have a road to do, yeah. Yeah. And um, by the time we made reservations, there were no DVC available. So, you know, have to go back to try that. But um, no, it it was a complete surprise. And I was again, waterworks abounded. I cried and cried, and it was the day that um I don't know what they called it, but the the overlay of Alice in Wonderland began inside inside Club 33.

Alicea 33:42

Nice.

Heather 33:43

And so there was there were flowers everywhere, and it was everything was just done up to you know the nth degree with uh Alice and uh all the characters and everything. And it was beautiful the the Court of Angels had flowers all the way up the stairs, and it was beautiful. And I cried most of the night, just you know, excited. And then um the food was beyond. Oh, they had a special menu um in the in the lounge, a drink menu for the lounge and the restaurant that was Alice themed.

Alicea 34:20

Cool.

Heather 34:20

And they had you know, sipper cups or what you you don't know, they call them sipper cups there, but yeah, the the the specialty cups, Alice themed. And so it was everything was just, I'm sure, just on a normal day, it's you know, it's up to a 10. But this was you know, this was cranked up to 11 with the Alice. So uh the meal was fantastic.

Nathan 34:44

Were you over in the lounge or in the grand salon?

Heather 34:47

Both. We started started in the lounge and then then had dinner.

Nathan 34:53

We've still never been in the lounge.

Alicea 34:55

Yeah, we've never been with an actual member at the time, so

Heather 34:58

it was dream come true. It was it was really, really, you know, no words, no words, and the the paintings and the the artwork that changes and you know, all of the Easter eggs that are there and the the now defunct, not used microphones and the chandeliers and just you know, all the things.

Alicea 35:21

All the little things, yeah.

Heather 35:22

All the little things. Um, but yeah, we we got to go into the lounge and then move to dinner and then back to the lounge for a minute before heading to Fantasmic.

Alicea 35:31

I've heard the lounge is absolutely gorgeous, and I hope that someday we get to go there.

Nathan 35:34

Someday.

Heather 35:35

Yes. I do have to ask, did you get merch? Awesome. Yes. I I managed, my husband handed me his credit card, said buy whatever you want. And I held it together and only got a spirit jersey and did not buy everything in the case. So I was I was proud of myself and again just said, well, I'll have to figure out a way to come back because I needed the ears and I needed the coffee mug and you know, all but I got the the spirit jersey because I I collect those. Um and although they had just released the new Alice Club 33 spirit jersey, but only members could buy it.

Alicea 36:16

Yeah. For I think like the first couple of weeks, it's the new stuff is members only.

Heather 36:21

Yeah. Yeah.

Alicea 36:22

So I then they let other folks get it.

Heather 36:24

I got to lust over that as it was hanging there, but I didn't get to buy it. But yes, I got merch.

Nathan 36:30

That's awesome.

Heather 36:31

I'm I'm not a merch person at all. I don't know. Other than that, we had uh bengel barbecue, which was fantastic. We had um that was like morning snack, um, popcorn, churros, somewhere else where we actually ate lunch. I don't remember.

Alicea 36:50

Did some more oh at Disneyland, yeah. I was gonna say, what about California Adventure?

Heather 36:55

California Adventure, we ate at um something jumpers. Um

Alicea 37:01

smoke jumpers.

Heather 37:01

Smoke jumpers. Yeah, yeah. We had a burger there, but I was um obsessed and needed to go to Cozy Cone and get a cone. Yes, so I did half a burger and I'm like, I it's okay, I'm saving room. I'm I am going to go have my cozy cone. So I had my mac and cheese cozy cone, and of course another churro, and yeah.

Alicea 37:25

Yeah. What were your thoughts on Florida churros versus California churros?

Heather 37:32

There's no no comparison. The California churros are far, far superior. Far superior, especially when you get the the dip, the um yeah, caramel.

Nathan 37:44

Yeah. They claim they're the exact same.

Heather 37:47

No.

Nathan 37:48

And it's just the humidity that nukes them. And I will give them, I'm sure the humidity does not do them any favors, but there's no way they're the same.

Heather 37:56

The popcorn's not the same either.

Nathan 37:58

No.

Heather 37:58

I don't know. I don't know how that magic works, but the popcorn is superior at Disneyland.

Nathan 38:04

Yep. Yeah, it's the roasty toasties, it's the little guys that are turning.

Heather 38:08

It is. Yep.

Nathan 38:09

That's what makes it better. That's what makes it better.

Disneyland Vs Disney World Big Takeaways

Heather 38:11

So yeah.

Nathan 38:12

All right. So we're already looking down this pathway, and I'm gonna shove us over the cliff and dive in. Big picture. Disneyland versus Disney World. What does Disneyland do better? And where does Disney World still get the win for you?

Heather 38:29

Disneyland hits the memory, the the memories, the heartstrings better. Um, there's not really heartstrings at Disney World. It it's it's entertainment, and that's that's fine. But um it's it's the emotions, it's the feelings, it's the everything at Disneyland. Um even, you know, the the nostalgia of the berm itself. And yes, the park has grown outside of it, but you know, but it's still there, you can still see it, and you can see the intention of, you know, not wanting to see Anaheim and, you know, Los Angeles or, you know, not to see the sprawl around it, even though at the time it was nothing but orange groves.

Nathan 39:13

Right.

Heather 39:13

Um but it it was it was a little bizarre to me when I first came from the airport, and I'm like, there's Disneyland and there's a just a neighborhood. And you know, it yeah, wait a minute, shouldn't it be just, you know, all by itself? Uh, but it's not. Um, but it really, really does so well for the nostalgia. Everything they have managed to keep the spirit of Walt is here. Um they they do that so well. And um Disney World, you you can't beat Disney World for just there's four parks. There's more to do. I mean, we we could have been done in two days and said that's it in Disneyland. And you could do a seven-day trip and not do everything, not come close to doing everything in Disney World.

Alicea 40:08

Yeah.

Heather 40:09

So I don't think you can beat it for that for a let's go on vacation here, you know, let's go spend a week. And now there's plenty of other things to do if you go to Anaheim or LA.

Nathan 40:20

Yeah.

Heather 40:20

Um, but I think that's where Disney World wins, is it's the vacation destination. Whereas this is yes, yeah, uh, where you can go in the bubble. And that was another thing that we noticed was like there were we left the park and there are people just on the sidewalk right outside the parks selling hot dogs on a bed on a flat top. And I'm like, this is isn't this the bubble? Are we out of the bubble? Okay, we're out of the bubble. Um and it felt like I mean, I thought I thought we were still in the bubble, but apparently we had escaped the bubble. Nope. Um there you go out. Yep.

Nathan 40:57

Yeah.

Heather 40:57

And you know, just selling bracelets, you know, just people selling things, and you don't get that. If you leave Disney World, you get on the Skyliner and you're still in the bubble until you get to the hotel and you're still in the bubble.

Nathan 41:11

Well, it's nice when you have like 20 or 30 square miles all to your own. You could do whatever you want.

Heather 41:15

Right, right. If if only he had known that, you know, when he was creating no. Um, so I mean, it there's wins both places. But hands down, the nostalgia, the the feels are in Disneyland, and they're not in Disney World. I mean, that there's no feels to be had there. It's it's all, you know.

Nathan 41:38

You can have some experiential feels. Like, you know, I I I think you and I would agree that there's there's something about magic music days in Disney World that is just like it's I am I have goosebumps thinking about it right now. That yeah, that it is there is there is a level of magic that happens uh in the Florida parks, but it's it's a different vibe, it is a different style of park and experience out in California.

Heather 42:11

Yeah, you you have to have an experience, you have to you have to make the experience in world in Disneyland, you just have to open your eyes.

Nathan 42:22

I love that.

Alicea 42:24

What was the biggest thing that you overthought about Disneyland that turned out to not matter at all?

Heather 42:30

I overthought that it was going to be so small that it wouldn't that everything would be so crowded I couldn't enjoy it. And they somehow managed to make it quaint, not crowded. Um and except for you know being able to see the the temple from Jungle Cruise, there was enough suspension of belief that that I you know it it was real, it was it was fun. And I had I had overthought, could I enjoy this as much as I enjoy going to Disney World? Um could I, you know, this is all very compact. There's no way it can be as much fun as, you know, going to Disney World. And boy, was I wrong. It was fantastic. It was so much fun. We had a blast.

Nathan 43:21

What was the the thing that the or the moment that you experienced in Disneyland that was the most like, oh, this is why people love Disneyland so much?

Heather 43:33

All of it. Um even Small World, which I on purpose don't necessarily ride in Disney World because it's obnoxious. Don't say that out loud. Or or I'll put AirPods in because I'm like, I'll ride this with you. But yeah, I rode Small World twice in the weekend. And it was it was it's different. It's annoying in Disney World. It was nostalgic and real in Disneyland.

Nathan 44:00

Even though it was your first time there, it's still nostalgic. And it's it's weird, but I understand 100% what you're saying.

Heather 44:07

Yeah.

Nathan 44:08

We got home and realized we hadn't done Small World, and we were like, oh, that's a miss. That's a that's a whoops. We should have done that.

Alicea 44:17

I love seeing all the characters that they have brought into the one in Anaheim so much. I really wish that they would do that in Florida.

Heather 44:26

I didn't know they hadn't because I don't write it. But um,

Alicea 44:31

I don't know when the last time we wrote it in Florida was. So they may have. I don't know. I don't know.

Nathan 44:35

They have not. They have not. And it's be it's the same reason they don't do seasonal overlays in Florida, is because they can't take these rides down. They they're they're trying to have the consistency of experience over and over and over, or they can't take haunted mansion down for five weeks out of the year, three to install and two to uninstall the um

Alicea 45:00

Nightmare before Christmas.

Nathan 45:02

Exactly. The overlay for before Christmas. And so you just don't get that in in Florida.

Heather 45:09

And because it is the vacation capital, the people that are going for that once-in-a-lifetime trip. And if it's, you know, if it's even if the overlay was there, even if they had taken it down and the overlay was there, well, it wouldn't be right. You know, that that's not what we came for.

Alicea 45:22

Yeah.

Nathan 45:23

Exactly.

Heather 45:23

Yeah. And, you know, having the and we didn't ride it, but it was nice, it was exciting to me to even just see um Mr. Toad's wild ride. Oh. Like, oh, we don't have that anymore. They took ours away. Um

Alicea 45:37

you didn't ride it?

Heather 45:39

And we we missed it. I mean, it was just, you know,

Alicea 45:42

you didn't get to go to hell. Well, you know what? Another thing to go

Nathan 45:46

Gotta go back.

Heather 45:47

Gotta go back, yes. Um, but we did do Snow White because we don't have that anymore. And, you know, it was, it was, and Disneyland has submarines, we didn't ride them. But I'm like, it's they kind of still have their 20,000 leagues under the sea, kind of ish. Um, but yeah, that was fun too. The things that we don't have anymore, just to be able to, and rivers of America. Oh my goodness. I I I am devastated that we lost our rivers of America. But uh, you know, being able to see that again, you know, alive and well and with Phantasmic on it. Um, that was that was awesome.

Nathan 46:28

We did the Mark Twain as part of one of the tours, and it was surprising. I'd never have really realized it before, but the the Tiana's ride, like the end of that drop and that first turn you take around, is basically juts out into the river in California, and it does not in Florida at all.

Alicea 46:49

It does like a little side thing,

Nathan 46:51

the river's not there anymore in Florida, but um it didn't when it was there. It's but if it were, but if it were, yeah. And I just I was like, oh, well, that's actually cool because you have water and water, and yeah, it's just different. It's just different. It is they're all good, they're all good.

Heather 47:07

And I was completely stealing all of your like your uh Mark Twain um information. I was I stole that and I was telling the people I was with. I was like, did you know?

Nathan 47:18

Well, kudos to Murray, because that we picked that up for Murray on the VIP tour. So I can't claim that one.

Heather 47:24

Yeah, that's where I heard it.

Alicea 47:29

So for a Walt Disney World Pro planning their first Disneyland trip, what advice would you give?

Heather 47:36

Oh, that's tough. Um I would say bring good shoes because it is possible to see most everything in a day, but it's gonna hurt. Um no, it's it's I'll be cheesy. Keep your eyes open because the magic is is there. And it it's I won't say the magic's not in Walt Disney World, but it it's the magic, the nostalgia, the and uh Nathan, to your point, I've never been before, but I but it felt comfortable. It felt like their the memories were there. Um so yeah, uh keep your eyes open, see the things. Um, I spent time just walking down Main Street looking at windows. And they have those in Walt Disney World too. But you know, the the Market House uh windows that are together. Um I had a picture of that too. Um, but that, you know, just the just all the touches that it didn't just make Disneyland, it made Disney. Um without the things that happened in Disneyland, we couldn't have Walt Disney World. We couldn't have the movies, the experiences, the cruise line, the you know, overseas parks. And you can feel that if you, you know, let yourself that that's where the magic started. And um that was what I walked away with most is the magic started here. The magic is strongest here. Um again, not that it's not other places, but it's strongest in Disneyland. You can you can feel it in Disneyland.

Disney Favorites Torture Test

Nathan 49:20

Well, there if if that's not a tagline for the episode, I don't know what is. Well done. Well done. Well, I mean, you're clearly a Disney pro. You have hit all the right answers, but I do have to admit it's time for Alicea's patented Disney torture test. I I have confidence in you though, Heather. You've got this, you can do it.

Alicea 49:41

I can do this, I can do this. Yet again, not patented, not a torture test. Um, this is just your Disney favorites from everything under Mickey's umbrella. You can choose from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, everything. Who's your favorite character?

Heather 50:00

Belle

Alicea 50:01

your favorite movie?

Heather 50:04

Beauty and the beast. The animated movie.

Alicea 50:07

Okay. Okay.

Nathan 50:08

I was about to say, which is there another version?

Heather 50:12

No, no, there's one. Okay, all right.

Alicea 50:15

Your favorite ride?

Heather 50:17

jungle Cruise. That's my favorite classic ride. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah.

Alicea 50:25

That it it it's very immersive. It's really good. Yes.

Nathan 50:28

That is an attraction. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Alicea 50:32

Disney World or Disneyland?

Heather 50:35

I'm still gonna say Disney World. Okay. I I I like my four parks. I I like the repeatability more often. I I feel like I can do it four times a year and it's okay. Um I will be back to Disneyland. I don't know if it's a four times a year. I don't know. I don't know. So I loved it. It was amazing. It was all the feels, but I'm I'm still gonna say Disney World. I know that's the wrong answer.

Alicea 51:05

No, tell me out of all of the individual parks that you have been to, which one is your favorite?

Heather 51:12

Epcot.

Alicea 51:14

Yes, that's the right answer. Epcot.

Heather 51:17

All the food.

Alicea 51:18

All the food, yes, yes, very good stuff. Um, your favorite hotel or resort?

Heather 51:25

The Polynesian. Love the poly. And and it's it's nostalgia. My husband surprised me for my 40th birthday, we won't say how many years ago, but I had no idea that we were going to Disney. And he and my best friend had cooked it up, and we stayed uh in the the DVC studios there at the poly. And so it's that it, you know, I I told you I'm emotional. It's heart strings. It's uh so that that's my favorite.

Alicea 51:53

Awesome. Your favorite DCL ship?

Heather 51:57

Treasure yes, easy.

Nathan 52:00

Good answer.

Alicea 52:01

Your favorite restaurant.

Heather 52:03

Ooh, should we count Club 33? Or

Alicea 52:07

I mean you can. That's yeah.

Heather 52:10

Oh goodness, that's tough. That is hard. Um, our favorite quick service in Disney World, easy. SAtuli. Yeah, yeah. Um, even my husband, who's a very picky eater. Um, that's that's our go-to. Um I I all the food. All the food. I can't. I'm gonna say Club 33 because I can now.

Nathan 52:33

There you go.

Alicea 52:34

Because you can.

Heather 52:34

Yes.

Alicea 52:35

Last one, your favorite Disney snack.

Heather 52:38

Oh, those California churros. Um, they they definitely are top shelf. Uh, unless I can. Yeah, no, I was gonna say Mickey Churro waffles from the cruise ships, but uh no, the the California churros, they they win.

Nathan 52:54

This is the right answer. This is the right answer.

Heather 52:57

I didn't know it was the right answer.

Nathan 53:00

Although there's one thing that gives the churros in California a run for their money, and that is the churros at Nomad Lounge in Animal Kingdom. True. True. If nothing else, but because the ideal way to spend an hour or more, if you want to, is to sit down outside on the porch, overlooking your character friends, boating back and forth as they do, enjoying some fancy churros, fresh and hot, uh just delectable dipping sauces and a congaloosh beer. Like just it's perfection.

Alicea 53:43

Or go up to the dahlia lounge. Yeah, they have they're like churro donuts, but they taste like churros, just like regular ones, don't they?

Nathan 53:53

They're really good. And if you go to the dahlia lounge, uh you have to go say hi to Bill, the bartender. Yeah, yeah.

Alicea 53:59

Yeah, yeah.

Nathan 54:00

Yeah.

Heather 54:00

Pro tip.

What’s Next And Trip Swaps

Nathan 54:01

Pro tip. Pro tip. Well, Heather, you survived. Congratulations.

Heather 54:07

Thank you. Thank you.

Alicea 54:09

It has been so great having you on with us and chatting with you about your first trip to Disneyland.

Heather 54:16

Fangirling over here.

Alicea 54:19

Do you do you have another one planned? I know you want to go back. Have you like thought about okay, when is this gonna happen?

Heather 54:27

Um, not the when necessarily, but definitely uh I have to take the girls because they um they would love it. Um, they would see the magic in it too. And so um, you know, I raised them well. So they need to go see all the things out there. Um how do you plan so many Disney trips? Um but yeah, yeah, that's I

Nathan 54:52

you just put your head down and do it.

Heather 54:54

Yes, exactly.

Alicea 54:56

Calendar spreadsheet.

Heather 54:57

Yes. The the friends that took us um and and helped plan and made this just you know at a magical anniversary trip uh have never cruised. And so we are actively planning uh on the treasure, Eastern Caribbean. We don't know exactly when yet, but we're we're already planning uh that they we need to show, you know, they were nice enough to and gracious enough to show us all that is Disneyland. And so now it's my turn to to show them what the cruise line is, uh, as well as it became a well, now you need to come to Florida and I can show you my world. Yes. Yeah.

Alicea 55:35

Wonderful, wonderful.

Heather 55:36

But I I will be back. I don't know the when of it or anything, but I I do know I need to take my girls and let them see everything. And we have uh we have a a granddaughter who is obsessed with Bluey, and so we we had to FaceTime her and uh show her. Um, but it yeah, it we will go back with more family. Um not sure of the when, but it it will happen for sure.

Nathan 56:04

I love it. I love it. Well, speaking of back, you'll have to come back sometime. Another trip, another cruise, another whatever, just to hang out. Please do reach out. Love to have you back on.

Heather 56:16

Anytime. Say the word.

Nathan 56:18

Thank you so much, Heather.

Heather 56:19

Thank you. This was fun.

Wrap Up And Listener Callouts

Alicea 56:21

As we wrap up, a reminder that we are not affiliated with Disney or any of its subsidiaries. Everything you hear on the show is based on personal experiences, opinions, and questionable snack choices. Except for churros, those are not questionable. Not questionable. We are, however, proudly affiliated with fun.

Nathan 56:39

Amen. If you're planning a Disney vacation, we always recommend working with a travel advisor or reaching out to Disney directly to help make the magic happen. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please take a second to rate and review the show. It really helps other Disney fans find us.

Alicea 56:55

If you have a question, a topic, suggestion, or a Disney story that you'd love to share with us, please send us an email at podcast at our mousecapades.com.

Nathan 57:04

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads at Our MouseCapades, and over on YouTube at Our MouseCapades Pod. And don't forget to share us with your friends, your family, and Disney fans of all ages.

Alicea 57:18

Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back in your ears next week.

Intro 57:22

Thank you for flying Star Tours. Bye bye.