Garden Walk: Johnny Rockets

In all honesty, I had no clue there was a Johnny Rockets at the Garden Walk until this trip. We had spent a full day at WonderCon walking the exhibit hall, attending the Salem panel, and The Art of Frozen panel. I wore my Elsa costume, which I was finally, officially debuting after starting it back in August 2013.






The hosts of the Frozen panel: four of the storyboard artists.

Both of our feet were in pain. Mine from wearing heels all day, Brittany's from endless walking. I'm sure that contributed to the ache in my feet as well.

I didn't want to drive anywhere, so I did a search for restaurants in our area. Our hotel was next door to the Garden Walk, so it wasn't a horrible trek and we agreed on Johnny Rockets.

If entering Garden Walk from Katella, as we did, Johnny Rockets is located on the second floor in the way back. Johnny Rockets is a chain, 1950's style diner with classic diner food such as shakes and burgers.

We sat at a table next to a table where Indiana Jones and Mr. Fantastic were dining, and ordered a cherry shake, regular fries, sweet potato fries, and I think Brittany got a chocolate shake, but I might be wrong.

No, most of their food is not allergy friendly. They have some salads, but that is a very limited option. Typically, my back up is fries and a shake since in Southern California, they are abundant and can be very filling.

My cherry shake was made with maraschino cherries, so it was very sweet. I wanted the fruit flavour though, as opposed to a plain vanilla, but yes it was very sweet.

Both orders of fries were okay. Nothing spectacular. The fries were better than the sweet potato fries, because they had a more even cook and more seasoning.

Not the best I've had from Johnny Rockets, but it did what it was suppose to do. It fed us and it wasn't too far of a walk.


-Charlotte

Main Street, U.S.A.: Jolly Holday Bakery [12]

Yes, again.

We were just about to leave the park as Disneyland was closing, but we couldn't resist a late evening treat from Jolly Holiday. The fact that it is open until park closing makes me a happy snowman.

Brittany and I both ordered hot chocolate- Ashley had left us due to an early work shift the next day. I also ordered the cheesecake, which was fully loaded with raspberries on top.

I didn't get any flavour shots in my hot chocolate, just the whipped cream on top. It greatly warmed me up on the chilly night and is so much better than the hot chocolate available anywhere else in the park.

The cheesecake was rich and creamy as per usual. The large amount of tart from the mountains of raspberries cut through the richness. Combined with the hot chocolate and the atmosphere, it was the best way to end a day at Disneyland.

-Charlotte

Main Street, U.S.A.: Jolly Holiday Bakery [11]

WonderCon 2014!

I know. This is very delayed in posting and I truly am sorry for this. Sometimes life just gets in the way, but get ready for a slew of new posts. Starting with my WonderCon trip back in April.

After an early morning start, driving the seven hours down to Anaheim, my friend Brittany and I checked in to our hotel and were ready to meet my other friend, Ashley, at the parks. It was close to 11 AM when we made it inside, which is the time Innoventions opens, so we made our way to Tomorrowland.

Ashley's birthday gift to me was to wait until I was with her to meet Thor and Captain America. Both are recent additions to Innoventions, near the IronMan suits. Being a true Marvel fan, I was excited to meet them; Brittany was in the same boat as me. Ashley has only seen the IronMan films, so it was easy for her to wait- I would not have been able too.

It was a long wait, for both Thor and Captain America. They weren't perfect; we ended up dubbing them the Mighty Mumbles and Captain Awkward. Also, we found out that Cap is against the letter 'i' when I asked him to sign my Captain America trading cards (near mint, a little foxing on the edges) that I bought at WonderCon 2013.

By the time we got out of there, it was past lunchtime and we were starving. Making our way to the Hub, we looked up, past the Partners statue, and saw the glowing beacon of Jolly Holiday Bakery in our hunger-driven haze.

I, of course, ordered the caprese sandwich on a gluten free bun, and I know what you might be thinking. 'Hasn't she reviewed this sandwich quite a few times before?' Yes, I have, but this time it was a very special version.

My sandwich seemed to come with a full head of lettuce. It was more of a leafy caprese salad with a side of bread and chips. So unfortunately, this time the sandwich wasn't up to par with what I expected and wanted. Only a rabbit would have enjoyed that.

As you may come to notice, with several reviews I've done, dishes often change around. It might be a change in chef or just whoever prepared it, but they dishes can change. Therefore, you can't always base one experience as your final judgment for the dish and restaurant. Next time you go, it might be different.




-Charlotte

Mickey's Halloween Party: Jolly Holiday Bakery

For three years, I had been looking forward to going back to Mickey's Halloween Party and never got a chance until this year. I had originally gone in 2010 and absolutely loved it. Not just all the Halloween decor and themes but being able to wear a costume in the park, and a full on costume not just an inspired one.

Although I didn't have it complete, I still wore my Elsa costume from the upcoming Disney film, Frozen.

I was only there for a short amount, so I didn’t eat too much. Also, a lot of the restaurants and dining areas were closed because of the late hour. Jolly Holiday, Cafe Orleans, and, I think, Pizza Port were all still open, as well as the Corn Dog Cart. I didn't want too much, and I couldn't resist a trip to the Jolly Holiday Bakery, so the last stop of the night was there.

They offered special Halloween cookies, cupcakes, drinks, and cheesecake; not as much as one would hope, but they were still fun to see. I got the pumpkin spiced latte and the pumpkin cheesecake.


The latte was exactly how the Starbucks’ pumpkin spiced latte use to be: the coffee flavour overpowers the pumpkin and spice flavours. I don't like coffee- a tea drinker true and true- so it is possible that my tongue is not trained yet to pick out the pumpkin flavour from the coffee, but as far I can tell, there wasn't much pumpkin.

Now the pumpkin cheesecake, Disney knows how to make the perfect cheesecake. From original to bananas foster to pumpkin, they are all just perfection. The spices related to a pumpkin pie were very much present but the pumpkin sweetness can still come through and makes the cheesecake even creamier. Even the little dollop of whipped cream on top had spices in it and I really wish there was more of it.

But again, remember that the crust is not gluten free, so avoid eating that if you have an allergy. Likewise, I noticed that the other gluten free treats at Jolly Holiday were missing in actions: the original cheesecake and the flourless chocolate cake. I wish they would at least continue to offer the chocolate cake during the holiday seasons so that there will be more options for those with allergies and don't want to wait around for a gluten free sandwich.

If you can get tickets- many of my friends got sold out- then I strongly urge you to visit Mickey's Halloween Party. It is a lot of fun and they really go all out, not just the cast members but guests too. I saw many creative and well-done costumes there, which just makes people watching in Disneyland all the more entertaining.

-Charlotte

Facebook Page

A week or two ago, I started a Facebook page to coincide with my blog to keep more up to date information about dining at the parks.

Disney Eats Facebook Page

Coming soon will be my review for Jolly Holiday Halloween treats!

-Charlotte

New Orleans Square: The Blue Bayou [2]

Our last meal at Disneyland finally arrived. We had our last reservation for dinner at Blue Bayou at 4:30 PM so we didn't eat lunch that day due to the early scheduled dinner. We checked in and they asked about dietary restrictions and wrote that down on the reservation ticket before we went to wait. I think this was the first time I saw the Blue Bayou waiting room empty of people and we were actually able to sit on one of the benches in there. It didn't last long because we were quickly seated and our waiter got our drink order.

At Blue Bayou and Cafe Orleans they have never ending mint juleps, and in the past, I’ve had five in one seating. I've been trying to beat that record, so this evening was no different. As soon as I would get a mint julep, I would pretty much chug it, because I loved them. Also, the past three days, I had only gotten one mint julep, so I was dying for some. The only problem I had was that they weren't getting refilled fast enough. It was at the point that they might as well have just left the pitcher on the table, but alas they did not.

Our waiter was amazing, though he seemed slightly frazzled and busy, but still took his time to do his job properly and make sure everything was great for us. He brought us the regular bread and then, when we informed him of our dietary restrictions, he brought us some gluten free bread.

 It was warm and the texture was perfect. It was probably a brown rice bread and it has that toasty flavour that went well with the spread of butter on it that melted into the spongy texture. It was ridiculously filling though, so I only ate half before my meal came and I forced myself to finish the other half after my meal because it was so good. I would have taken the other two home if I had a sanitary way of doing so. Grace and I were very happy.


Our waiter also informed us of what we could and could not eat, just like at other restaurants. He said they had us covered and could pretty much make anything gluten free except the lamb, probably because a marinade for the lamb. I love the jambalaya, I always get the jambalaya, and so I got the jambalaya. The spices are always just amazing, the fish was moist and flaked throughout the dish so it was in every scoop, and the shrimp was perfectly cooked. The one thing that bothered me this time around was how salty it was. Never before was it so salty and of course it wasn't until I was almost done with the meal that I realized how salty it was and try as I wanted, I just couldn't finish it. That's when I finished off my piece of bread to try and get rid of some of the salty-ness.

I love having the bread, you really miss the little things like bread and butter before a meal when you can't eat it, so that made me happy. Especially since the bread didn't taste like gluten free bread.

The final mint julep total was four. I tried and I could have beat my old record but they really weren't coming fast enough.

The rest of the day was spent doing the things we had on our list to do and some things that weren't on our list:






Cruella de Vil













Soundsational Parade












Mad T Party

We even were able to go on all three rides in Carsland in about an hour.

 

My friend talking to a fellow cast member.

Another friend was our dispatch cast member when we got into our car at Radiator Spring Racers. 

 That extra person isn't a single rider, she is a friend who joined us at Mad T Party and Carsland after she got off work.






We finished in Fantasyland. Nighttime is the best time to go for this because it isn't as crowded, so you can take funny pictures like we did.

It was a great trip and we all had a lot of fun. I don't know when I will be returning, I am hoping for Disney Expo. There are still a few places I have yet to eat at and I’m hoping to eventually eat at each restaurant in Disneyland.

-Charlotte

Main Street U.S.A.: The Plaza Inn [2]

It was our last day in the parks, and we had formulated a long list of things we had left to do. I was dubbed in charge of leading us through the crowds and getting us to the areas we needed to be at on time and when it was least crowded. I am good at that so I didn't mind, when I am with people I tell them they don't need the Disneyland app on their phones because they have me.

This morning, we had to finish off our character dining at The Plaza Inn. Yet another buffet style breakfast with pretty much all the same food as at PCH Grill. I have been here once before: review is here and it was what I expected, only this time it was nice to be inside the park when it opened and not having to rush from the hotels through Downtown Disney to get there.

They did raise the price since last time, though, just like Disney seemed to have done everywhere else. When I went there a year ago it was $25 this time around it was $32, so not entirely happy about that but it was okay.

As I pointed out in other reviews from this trip, Disney dining has become more aware of dietary restrictions and when we first checked in and paid they asked if there were any in our group and we told them of our gluten and gluten/soy allergies and they wrote that down on our ticket and said they would send a chef to our table.

We got a table in the back, and I took the seat right next to the noisy family that often blocked my seat so I couldn't sit, that was fun. We sat down and of course the characters started coming around first thing, this was the only place where there wasn't a waitress to take our drink orders, so once seated you can immediately go get food. We stopped and took some pictures first, though.

After all that, the chef came around to our table. I want to say her name was Allison, but regardless of her name, she was a nice chef who really wanted to make sure Grace and I had enough food to eat. We only ordered some gluten free waffles and while everyone else got their food, we waited for our waffles. That's when Hook came around and we took a picture with him.

Our waffles came and I was excited because I hadn't had them before. I got the same meal as last time I was at The Plaza Inn, so nothing exciting there, but the new thing were the waffles. I was almost tempted to get the pancakes as well, but that would have been too much food.

They were Mickey shaped like the regular ones, and it isn't in this picture but I did get some syrup to pour on these, they also offer powdered sugar to sprinkle on top as well. They were interesting. The flavour was great, a hint of grain with some sweetness from the syrup. They tasted fresh and healthy, but in a good way. The only odd thing about it was the texture. I think the base flour for these is rice flour because the texture was, for lack of a better word, squishy.

If anyone knows what mochi is (Japanese rice cake), it was that exact same texture except for the crispy crust where it was in contact with the waffle pan. Others might be put off from it, but I didn't mind, I was use to that texture because I eat a lot of mochi. They were also incredibly dense, so eating all four after having my other food was a challenge, but at least I knew I was going to be full for a while.





Afterwards we went on Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Where we found Nemo...

We got to see the one thing I had been dying to see. The Ironman suits! My love of The Avengers still goes strong so this was like a dream for me.

About five minutes later I got to do the other thing I wanted to do that day...

Yes, Wendy Darling was my Disney Bound outfit that day. Since I wouldn't have been allowed to wear my actual Wendy costume in the park, I took the ribbons from it and added it to my light blue dress.









For a last day in the park, this was a pretty spectacular morning. At least for me it was, and I'm sure the others had fun because we got to go to the new Fantasy Faire as well as meet Rapunzel.

-Charlotte