Disneyland Resort in Anaheim - September 11, 2003 trip report

I arrived at the resort at about 9:30am and headed over to Catal Restaurant in Downtown Disney.  The Uva Bar has been serving breakfast for a little while now, and I wanted to try it out at some point.  When I was seated, I noticed that five other tables in the downstairs rotunda were already occupied.  (The outdoor bar area isn't open during breakfast.)  With both Disneyland and DCA not opening until 10am, I guess people wanted somewhere to go for breakfast.

Even though I'm not usually partial to French toast, I decided to order that because it sounded good, and I wanted to see how they made it.  I'd probably have scrambled eggs and bacon otherwise.  I also decided to order orange juice, even though I thought $3.75 was a bit pricey for a glass of juice.

The French toast was very good.  There were four fairly thick slices of bread, lightly covered in egg, which I preferred since I don't really like French toast drowned in egg.  There were banana slices and walnut pieces on top of the toast and sprinkles of powered sugar and a bit of maple syrup on the toast and a bit on the plate around it.  I liked that there wasn't a lot of syrup, and the syrup had a wonderful aroma and flavor to it.

French Toast with bananas and walnuts.

The orange juice turned out to be surprisingly good.  It came in a big glass (the same size as the water glass), not the tiny little glasses that you usually get when you order orange juice, and it was fresh squeezed, if the look and taste of the juice was any indication.  One interesting thing happened with the orange juice.  When they brought my glass, it was filled until about an inch or two from the top, which is about what I'd expect.  A little while after I'd had a sip, a server other than the one who took my order came by and said that she'd noticed that they hadn't completely filled my juice glass when they'd brought it to me.  I looked at the tray she was holding, which contained a few juice glasses filled to the very top.  She had brought an extra plastic cup full of juice with which she used to top off my glass.  I thought that was incredibly attentive and thoughtful of her.  My only comment on the juice is that while the orange juice turns out to be a good value for the price, you do actually get quite a bit of juice, more than some might want.  I would have preferred if they had offered the juice in two sizes, small and large, so you could decide how much you wanted.

Breakfast at Catal's Uva Bar.

By the time I left around 10am, all of the tables inside the rotunda were taken, two of the tables right outside and surrounding the rotunda were taken, and there were a few people waiting for a table.

As I walked through Downtown Disney, I noticed that they've acquired a new tenant.  In the space between Liquid Planet and Sephora where Soliton (which sold sunglasses) used to be, there's a wall up with a sign announcing the arrival of Jamba Juice.  You could hear the whirring of machinery behind the walls as they were converting the space.  I know a lot of people who will be really happy to see Jamba Juice at DTD.

Jamba Juice is coming.

Once I got into Disneyland, I was very surprised to see the holiday decorations up on Main Street - Mickey-head garlands draped across Main Street in mid-September.  Hmmm, how odd.  Turns out there's an explanation - there's a sign up saying that filming is being done for holiday commercials.

Looking down Main Street from Town Square and from the Hub.

The buildings are decorated with garlands as well.

Oh, I see.

As I walked through Town Square, I noticed that the flags were at half-staff.

The flags in Town Square.

On my way to Critter Country, I noticed that work had already begun to transform Haunted Mansion into its Nightmare version.

Jack's work has begun.

And since Splash is down for rehab, they had people working on the attraction.

Here's something you don't see every day.

As some people may know, some of the feral cats at Disneyland hang out on the bottom floor under Hungry Bear.  The previous Sunday, we had noticed that the kitties now had two little houses for their use.  During my visit, there were a few cats in the area, including one who was availing itself of one of the houses.

Kitty sitting on the house towards the back.

The view of the houses from the back corner.

Approaching from the walkway - closeup and with perspective.

From the back corner - closeup and with perspective.

A white kitty making itself comfortable.

A gray tabby utilizing one of the houses.

Awww, kitty.

After wandering around a little bit more in Disneyland, I headed over to DCA to wander around a bit there as well.  One thing I like to check are the theatre marquees in the Hollywood section.  Near the Hyperion Theatre, there is a painted replica of Hollywood Boulevard that includes the Crest Theatre and the El Capitan Theatre, and recent and upcoming Disney movies are usually included in their marquees.  The Crest has the advertisement for the Haunted Mansion movie, while the El Capitan purports to be showing "Finding Nemo" while including an announcement for the upcoming "Brother Bear".

Here's what's showing.

I wandered around the resort a bit more during the rest of the afternoon and then made it back to Disneyland around 5:10.  I had checked earlier and been told that flag retreat was at 5:30, so I had wanted to be sure to attend that.  At about 5:15, an announcement came over the PA that the flag retreat this day at 5:30 would be a bit special in commemoration of the day and guests were invited to take part.  At about 5:30, the marching band came down Main Street from the Hub area.  By this time, many guests had lined up on Main Street and around Town Square, and many Cast Members were in attendance as well.  Once the band made their way to stand around the flagpole, an announcement was made acknowledging the day and asking for a moment of silence.  After that, the National Anthem was played while a Disneyland security guard raised the flag to its full height before lowering it and proceeding with the normal flag retreat ceremony.  The ceremony was also attended by members of Disneyland's fire and safety department as well as by members of the Anaheim Police Department and Fire Department.

I then met up with my husband, and we ended up having dinner at Napa Rose, which was excellent as usual.

For the current uva bar and cafe breakfast menu offerings, please click here.

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