Disneyland's Riverbelle Terrace - A Chair, A View, A Sandwich

It was our last night in Disneyland and we were going to see Fantasmic. We had given up sitting on that concrete walkway that they try to pass off for a viewing area years ago. What goes down must come back up. Not an easy thing to do at my age after sitting on the ground for hours on end squatting a prime spot. Nope....every Fantasmic viewing since 2005 has been from a table and chairs found at the outside dining area of the Riverbelle Terrace Restaurant. Facing the front of the restaurant, it's usually the table by the railing on the far right. Is it a perfect view? No...not quite, but it is pretty good and I have just what I need....a chair.

Now that table is a prime viewing area. You have to get there early. How early you ask? Kind of depends on how busy the park is. On a Friday night a few weeks ago, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I plopped our rear ends down about 5pm for the 9 o'clock showing of Fantasmic. We have been known to go up as early as 2:30 on a busy day in July. If you think it's crazy, as the day and night wear on, many people will have the same idea. And some think it is perfectly OK for them to show up 15 minutes before showtime and ask if they can join you at the table. Luckily, we usually have enough people in our group to make this rather questionable piece of Disneyland etiquette difficult.

So what exactly do you do when you show up for a show hours before it actually begins? It's called tag-team squatting and the more people you have in your party, the better. On this Friday night, after being in Disneyland since the previous Sunday, I was perfectly willing to sit, and sit, and sit some more. Mrs. DLT, still with a bit more energy than me, decided to use the time for some last minute shopping. While I sat, she shopped. When she came back, she asked if I wanted to go do something. No... I was good. But that's the routine for the table squatting. As long as one person stays behind, others are free to do whatever. My sister and her husband joined us off and on throughout the evening and we all eventually settled in for good about 8 o'clock, an hour before the show started. By that time, the Riverbelle Terrace patio is pretty packed and you find yourself giving yourself a pat on the back for getting there as early as you did.

Not Bad - but $12.99 (plus tax) sandwiches???

The Riverbelle Terrace is a counter service restaurant (cafeteria style) so the seating surrounding the place is open. The bus staff cleaning and wiping down the tables couldn't care less if you actually ordered something from the restaurant. I am not a fan of the food (lunch/dinner) served at the Riverbelle Terrace. Usually we go off in the surrounding areas and bring food back to our viewing table. The Jolly Holiday Bakery or Bengal Bar B Que are good choices for food to bring back to the viewing table. But every once in awhile I feel just guilty enough to actually order something from the Riverbelle Terrace. They mostly have sandwiches and salads. What gives RBT a different twist is that with the roast beef and turkey sandwich offerings, the meat is actually carved rather the usual pressed deli style meat. So the sandwiches are good.....but it's going to cost you...to the tune of about thirteen bucks plus tax, plus drink. I expect to pay high prices in Disneyland for food. It's a given. Of all the food that is offered in the park, I have the hardest time paying for what the Riverbelle Terrace serves up. The sandwiches are good but the accompanying baked beans taste like the kind that are massed produce and come out of a can. Baked beans comes with all sandwiches and you also get a choice of a small cold side dish like fruit, pasta salad, or potato salad. You can't go wrong with fruit I suppose but the prepared salads usually aren't very good. I would probably enjoy the meal if it was about 3 or 4 dollars less. The Jolly Holiday Bakery serves up roast beef and turkey sandwiches at less than 10 bucks and are far better.

For the price of this turkey sandwich plus drink, you could buy a whole turkey.

So that's what I think about The Riverbelle Terrace. Get there early, enjoy the view for Fantasmic, and skip the food. You could do better and cheaper. Note: when we used to take the Boy to Disneyland when he was younger, we would often go to the Riverbelle Terrace for breakfast because they served the classic Mickey Mouse pancakes that kids love.  This goes back to the time when the place was called Aunt Jemima's Pancake House and it was a favorite of Walt Disney. Haven't been there for breakfast for years though.

Another "Glowing" Look At Fantasmic!

My favorite Disneyland videographer Asianjma123 took his camera out to Fantasmic's Glow With The Show performance and captured this cool looking video. No - haven't changed my mind - not going to wear the ears - but it does look pretty impressive. Check out the 2 guys at the end. I don't think they wore ears either. I respect that.

...But I Don't Want To Wear Mouse Ears

Glow With The Show Mouse Ears
About $25

Does not wanting to wear Mickey Mouse Ears make me a bad person? My refusal to wear mouse ears came up this morning over coffee with Mrs. DisneylandTraveler. She used the word "fuddy-duddy". This came up right after I told her I didn't think too much about the 10 minute version of Sweet Caroline that Neil Diamond sang when we saw him in concert this past Monday. A fuddy-duddy.

The mouse ears topic came up when I told her that Disney held a special annual passholder "Glow with the Show" Fantasmic performance a week or so ago. You can take a look at a little bit of video Disney shot for the event and posted on Disney Parks Blog.

Now I have to admit, it looks pretty cool. Those that were there for the event said that the "glow with the show" ears showed off better for Fantasmic than they did with World of Color (mostly because Fantasmic is a better show). But mouse ears? Mouse ears that cost around $25? (Disney didn't supply the lighted mouse ears for Fantasmic like they did for the special World Color Glow with the Show performances - you had to bring your own.) 

I have written about My Disney Bucket List in this blog. One thing that will never appear on the bucket list is "Wear a Pair of Mouse Ears (of any kind)". I can't do it. I'm a grown-up. When Mrs. DLT used the word "fuddy-duddy" this morning to describe me and my disdain for the ears,  I came back with "at last I'm not a sheep". Disney tells several thousand people to come to a special show where you have to wear $25 blinking lights on your noggin. Sounds like sheep being led by a shepherd to me (a shepherd that is pocketing a lot of profit on these things). Or lemmings. No, I am not going to do it. 

The guy below has a pair of mouse ears in his hand. Notice they are not actually on his head. Nor do I imagine they were ever on his head. For those of us, males in particular, who have a few decades under our belts, mouse ears on the head - just not cool. Sorry. Just a fuddy-duddy.

Fantasmic Vs. World of Color

As far the epic battles are concerned, the war of words that center on the question "Which is a better show - Fantasmic or World of Color?" doesn't amount to a hill of beans. But Disneyland fans, not short on having opinions, definitely do line up on one side or another. Now many of them will say both shows are great (they are) but if you pushed their backs up against the wall, they would give you in detail why they prefer one of the night time shows over the other. The Disneyland Traveler is no different.

I'm a Fantasmic guy pure and simple. I've probably seen the show more than a dozen times over the years and I have to say I admire its creativity and imagination each and every time. This is some of Disney imagineer's best work. What Fantasmic does that World of Color fails to do is tell a story that builds to a climatic finish. Twenty-five minutes of pure Disney magic. And for all his prominence throughout Disneyland, this is a Mickey attraction. Although he has a house in ToonTown, there are no Mickey Mouse rides or attractions in Disneyland itself minus his appearances in parades or on the screens at the Main St. Cinema. Yes, Fantasmic is Mickey's chance to triumphantly shine in his own park by slaying the villains that creep into his imagination. It's a great story and one that bares watching over and over again.

Now watching the ever popular Fantasmic is a bit of a challenge but most Disneyland regulars have their own ways of spectating the event whether its staking out a perfect viewing spot for hours or just dropping in shortly before the show is about to begin. An evening of Fantasmic is what you make of it.

World of Color in Disney California Adventure is spectacular as I mentioned in my previous post World of Color or My Aching Feet blog post back in August. My feelings about the show are pretty much summed up in there. In the end, as impressive as the water display is, it just doesn't scream out Disney and seems more of a Las Vegas type of show - big, impressive, but somewhat shallow. And the idea of having to get a show pass to see the show seems rather intrusive (necessary, but intrusive). Hopefully in the future, as California Adventure completes all its expansion, the viewing of World of Color at least in the off seasons (what few of them are left) is a walk up affair and not something you have to plan a day around.

If I were to ask Mrs. DisneylandTraveler "On our next trip to Disneyland, do you want to do a World of Color dining package?"  (the thought of waiting in the GRR fast pass line isn't appealing at all)  I'm pretty sure the dining part of it would be appealing to her but the thought of the World of Color standing and waiting ordeal would not be appealing. All the water in the world being sprayed hundreds of feet in the air just isn't worth standing around and waiting for a couple of hours for the show to start. Now that we've seen WOC a few times (4 for me), I think we're good for a few years.

Virtual Disneyland Trip - Part 3 - 1st Real Day

Monday, this will be our first full day in Disneyland. This is a day that matters. But it's first thing in the morning and me and Mrs. DisneylandTraveler have already hit a snag. You see, I'm an early riser, not a very good sleeper at all. I'm generally awake by 6 a.m. every day, 7 at the latest. Mrs. DisneylandTraveler is not a morning person. She's a sleep-in kind of person. We've accepted that. It used to annoy me when we weren't standing in line at the gates before the park opened. Now, generally, I go when I'm ready. She will catch up with me an hour or two later.

Getting ready in summer is a breeze - put the coffee on, shower, shorts, shirt, shoes and I'm ready. Head over to the breakfast buffet at the CCI clubhouse, grab a couple of bagels and bananas for me and Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and back to the room to decide today's plan of attack (which was already pretty well thought out) and a light breakfast. Mrs. DisneylandTraveler may or may not be conscious at this point.

First of all there is NO reason to ever start a day in Disney California Adventure unless this the day you plan to see an early Aladdin performance, you have a lunch reservation, or you want to get to Toy Story Mania before the long wait times hit. DCA will wait another day, today is for Disneyland and its going to be a long day (for me anyway, it will be a little shorter for Mrs. DisneylandTraveler who is still snoozing). I tell Mrs. DisneylandTraveler 'I love you' and I'm out the door. Hoping to conserve some strength, I'm opting to take the CCI shuttle. From the shuttle to drop-off point to the front gates is still a couple of hundred yards, but every step you can save in the morning will be in reserve as the day wears on.

I'm standing in line before the Disneyland 8:00 a.m. opening just the way I like it. Once inside the gates and the decision needs to made, enjoy the morning with another cup of coffee from the Market House, walk around and start taking pictures, or hit a ride. I'm opting for the ride and today I'm going to make it count with Space Mountain knowing full well that Mrs. DisneylandTraveler will not go near the place with a cattle prod. The new Star Tours is another possibility. Me and Mrs DLT haven't discussed it yet, but she didn't care for the old version, maybe the new and improved version will be more to her liking. But this is the first time when her phrase 'it just messes with my head' creeps into the equation when thinking about rides.

Some pictures of Tomorrowland and I'm heading back to Main St. and the Market House because Mrs. DisneylandTravel has texted me that's where we should meet me up for coffee. They have great coffee at the Market House.

It's around 9:30 and me and Mrs. DLT talk about our plans for today. We need to get to work before it starts to get hot. Just like when we arrived at Disneyland yesterday, we head to Adventureland and New Orleans Square, this time walking instead of taking the train. She talks me into getting a fastpass for her favorite ride, Indiana Jones (whether we use it of not remains to be seen), then for the second time in two days, hit Pirates and Haunted Mansion both with short waits in the morning hours. We backtrack to hit the Jungle Cruise and a journey to the backside-of-water. By this time it is getting close to our 11:40 reservation time at our favorite place to eat - The Carnation Cafe. So simple, reasonably priced, delightful outdoor surroundings, and always very good, this won't be the last time we show up at the Carnation Cafe on this trip. We both order a cup of the delicious baked potato soup, I opt for the Chicken Pot Pie while Mrs. DLT opts for the Chicken Sandwich for our entrees. We leave full and delighted once again.

What to do next? Well we are on Main St. Mrs. DLT starts to browse through the stores, me? - not so much. I just had a nice meal, give me a nice bench down by the flagpole and I'm good to just enjoy the scenery. She calls me on my cell phone and tells me to come in the store she wants "show me something". Her come the dollar signs. I tell her "fine go ahead and get it but lets wait till later so we don't have to carry the bag around". Maybe she will forget. Never happens.

We're in our fastpass window for Indian Jones. She tries to convince me to on while I plead that the ride is hard on my back. Somehow 'it messes with my back' is not as strong an argument as 'it messes with my head'. We go on the ride. While my spine thinks about its condition after IJA, we head down the Enchanted Tiki Room to visit some old feathered friends. Before going in I go for the pineapple float at the Dole Pineapple stand while Mrs. DLT opts for the whip. It won't be the last time we will be having these delicious treats on this trip. 

It's after 3 p.m. by now and Mrs. DLT and I have to make that crucial decision. It's summer. There will be a Fantasmic shown tonight. Mrs. DLT gets an evil look in her eyes when she thinks about the Fantasmic wait. "Why couldn't they build seating". I've heard phrase uttered many a time (and it won't be the last time I hear it on this trip). We're not not that young anymore. Sitting on the concrete in the middle of summer isn't going to cut it. We refuse to play that game again. In 2002, I sat on the concrete for almost 3 hours, my body says never again. So the decision that needs to be made, that 6 hours before showtime, will Mrs. DLT and me will hold a table by the railing at the Riverbelle Terrace? We decide to do it.

We've been spent 22 days at Disneyland since Murphy the Dragon was scheduled to make his debut. In those 22 days, we probably saw Fantasmic 4 or 5 times. We've yet to see the dragon for one mechanical reason or another. Tonight will be the night. And so the wait begins. Mrs. DLT wanders off for awhile and I hold the table. I wander off, and Mrs. DLT holds the table. In my wanders, I bring back my dinner, a corn dog from the wagon on Main St. and a Safari Skewer from the Bengal Bar-B-Q. There's protein and vegetables somewhere in there. Mrs. DLT grabs an overpriced sandwich from the Riverbelle Terrace after all, we are using one of their tables for 6 hours. Seems only right. We scatter the food, napkins, purses, drinks, cameras all over the table to make it look like we're a party of 5 because sooner are later someone is going ask 1) are you leaving soon? 2) mind if we join you? 3) can we take a couple of these chairs if no one is using them? Answers - 1) no we're staying 2) yes if they look like nice people and especially if they have a small child or two and 3) if no one has taken the chairs from answer 2, then help yourself but we're not moving an inch from our spots.

So we agonizingly wait for the show and finally see the dragon. The only entertainment is seeing the castmembers who work Fantasmic crowd control try to make people do something they do want want to do. Some are cooperative. Some are not. The dragon makes a big impression in a short amount of time. After Fantasmic I ask "Do you want to go on Thunder Mountain Railroad?" The reply, "It messes with my head. Let's just get to the shuttle and back to our room". On the way out, we stop in 4 stores and pick up whatever she wanted to show me earlier in the day. We also stop by the Disney Gallery to see the latest exhibition and prints.

Back at the hotel, Mrs DLT takes a shower while I grab a beer and a couple of Advil. Yep, it was a really good day.