This was a short trip for us – just two nights, but we still had the opportunity to try out some thing that were new to us.

Friday after we visited the Expo we had dinner at Tangaroa Terrace at the Disneyland Hotel. When it originally opened it had the touch screen ordering kiosks, but now you order your food at the register.

I had the Teriyaki Chicken Breast Sandwich with caramelized pineapple, havarti cheese, lettuce and tomato. For sides I had my choice of regular French fries, sweet potato fries, tropical slaw or tropical fruit. The latter was a new choice since the last time I’d been here, and that’s what I chose. I really enjoyed all of it – the sandwich was really good with the pineapple and chicken. And it had the right amount of sauce – a little drippy but not overly sloppy. The fruit was good, too.

Lee had one of his traditional favorites: Kalua-style Pork Flatbread. Pulled pork, barbecue sauce, red onions, cilantro and mozzarella.

While we were eating, we saw several of the Disneyland cats lurking in all of the greenery in that area. Though one of them sat on a low wall right near our table. It wasn’t particularly shy like most of them are. Pretty cat, but we did not attempt to pet or feed it.

Later in the evening we were in Tomorrowland, where Red Rockett’s Pizza Port has some special menu items inspired by the new Avengers Age of Ultron movie. There’s this Iron Man Refillable Mug:

And a Black Widow Parfait.

We tried the Iron Man Red Velvet Waffle. I wouldn’t have called it waffle – more like a flat cupcake. But it was pretty good.

There’s also a cookie shaped like Captain America’s shield. This was just ok.

Saturday morning after the 10K we went into Disneyland for breakfast at River Belle Terrace. We arrived just after park opening at 9:00, and it was already very busy. They didn’t seem ready for it, and the line moved very slowly – it was 25 minutes before we had our food! By the time we finished eating the line was out the door, so it got worse.

I had my usual Cinnamon Roll French Toast with scrambled eggs and bacon. It’s always good.

Lee had the Mark Twain – the classic American breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, and a biscuit.

That afternoon we had a late lunch at the Hearthstone Lounge at the Grand Californian. We were there with a group of Mickey Milers. We’ve been there before with groups…the lounge really doesn’t seem to handle groups very well, and the service is slow. A few members of our party bought drinks at the bar instead of waiting for our server – that was a lot faster.

Anyway…we were the only people who ordered food. I had the Chicken Quesadilla, and it was very tasty. The guacamole was especially good – it had chunks of avocado and was served in an avocado shell.

Lee tried the Robusto Flatbread with chorizo, potatoes, and Burrata cheese. It took a lot longer for his food to come out, but he enjoyed it.

Since we had a half marathon the next morning we went with our traditional pasta dinner at Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta that night. We both had the Five Cheese Ravioli.

We had an adventure finding a place to eat after the half marathon on Sunday. We met friends at the Uva Cafe at 10:00, but they were slammed, and were no long serving breakfast. Most of the places in Downtown Disney were busy, especially the counter service locations. Eddie recalled that Trader Sam’s was supposed to open at 10:30, so we went there. There were several other parties also waiting for Sam’s to open.

We were able to get drinks, but the kitchen didn’t open until 11:00. (There were a few breakfast items we could’ve ordered, but by then we wanted the “real” menu.) We sat inside, and it was a lot of fun seeing all of the effects when people ordered the specialty drinks. There were a lot of shipwrecks. 🙂

And lots of volcano eruptions, too – I caused one of those with the Krakatoa Punch.

Lee and I ordered the Pu Pu Platter, which comes with Asian wings, Portuguese sausage, tropical slaw, and (the best part) panko-crusted Chinese long beans.

We also had the Chicken Lettuce Wraps. These are do-it-yourself wraps: you get a bowl of butter lettuce leaves, and a plate with chicken, crispy rice noodles and hoisin sauce, and make your own. Yum.

Lee had the Kalua Pork Flatbread again – the same thing he’d had at Tangaroa Terrace on Friday (they share a kitchen with Trader Sam’s). It was all a really good meal.

That’s it for the food…but we had some time to wander around the parks a bit, too. The Diamond Anniversary Celebration starts soon, and decorations are going up all over the park.

On Friday evening we went to see the preview of the new Tomorrowland movie. It was very different than any of the previews I’d seen on-line or in a theater. Looks very intriguing. In the former Starcade location next to the theater is the Hall of Inventions with props from the movies, like the jet pack.

Saturday was the day that the Hatbox Ghost returned to the Haunted Mansion. There have been rumors of this for months, and since Disney finally confirmed it a couple of months ago fans have been anxious awaiting his “reappearance”. The Fastpass machines were actually in operation, and that usually open happens during the holiday season. We got a Fastpass and then stood in the Standby line, which was about 25 minutes long at that point.

The Hatbox Ghost is placed between the attic and the graveyard. We were able to see it long enough to see his head go from the hatbox back to his shoulders. It’s a pretty well-done effect.

We were passing through Tomorrowland as a Jedi Training Academy session was starting. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a female Jedi master. She had a couple of new “Jedi jests”.

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