The Fantasyland Restrooms - Disney Tip Tuesday

Welcome to those of you who may be joining me today from Magical Days With the Mouse.  We're continuing our series of "every so often" Tuesday Tip posts from different places around the Disneyland Resort today with a look at one of our favorite areas inside Disneyland Park, Fantasyland.

If you read Sarah's post before hopping on over here, and if not you may want to go read it so it will make more sense as to why we chose the subject matter we did, you're no doubt craving a frozen lemonade at this point; we know that we are!  When you think about Disneyland, there are a few constants you can always bank on:

• It's going to be crowded
• You're going to get hungry
• You're going to get thirsty
• You're going to have to use the restroom (see #3)

So we figured since Sarah basically wrote about a way to take care of #3 herself, we'd handle the next logical step in the process, and tackle #4!  Yes, we're just that weird!

As odd as it may sound, even the process of using the restrooms at Disneyland can be quite the adventure.  We've mentioned it a time or two in the past, but not very frequently because of the aforementioned "weird" part, but we definitely have our favorite restrooms inside Disneyland.  Some of our favorites happen to all reside in the same area of Disneyland and are scattered all around Fantasyland.  So for your benefit, and in the event you've had one of said frozen lemonades or Dole Whips or are perhaps working on your fifth Sprite, we've taken the liberty of letting you know where they all are for your next trip out.  See how nice we are?!

The first restroom spot for your perusal is directly across from the "it's a small world" attraction at the back end of Fantasyland near the Princess Fantasy Faire and Troubador Tavern.  We don't often get to this end of Disneyland (we usually find ourselves stopping around the Storybook Land Canal Boats), but when we do these restrooms are great in a pinch.  They're a little on the smallish side, but we've always found them to be clean and well-serviced since it's a fairly heavily traveled area of The Park.  And we rate them fairly high on the "non-confusing" scale as well since the doors are very clearly marked "Prince" and "Princess"; not much chance of a mistake there unless you're just not paying attention to what you're doing.  And in a weird twist of fate, they're very near Sarah's frozen lemonade stand so you have easy access should you need it.
Verdict: Small, but well-serviced and fairly clean.  It's a go!

"it's a small world" Fantasyland restrooms

Next up are the restrooms which are directly adjacent to the Village Haus restaurant which is near the pathway which runs directly from Fantasyland into Frontierland.  First off, aesthetically, we love the way that these particular restrooms are situated and the creative way the little building is set up.  Quite possibly some of the cutest little restrooms we've ever seen.  The building looks exactly like it belong in Fantasyland, has a Bavarian feel to it, and for that reasons it's one of our favorites at Disneyland in either Park.  However, they are also a tad on the smallish side, and tend to be even busier than the restrooms we first mentioned.  That said, though, once again the restrooms always seem to be well tended (at least to us) since the area is so heavily trafficked and used, and we've never seen anything that was a turn-off to using them.  Right next to a restaurant and several of the food-carts within the area, it's an excellent place to stop off on your way either out of, or into, Fantasyland.
Verdict: Small, but well-serviced and fairly clean.  It's a go!

Village Haus Fantasyland restrooms

Lastly, we come to what may be our favorite restrooms of all at the Disneyland Resort, the "Alice in Wonderland" restrooms in Fantasyland.  These are located directly beside the, you guessed it, Alice in Wonderland attraction near the entrance to Fantasyland, directly across from the Matterhorn Bobsleds.  Simply put, these may be some of the coolest restrooms on the planet and for a lot of different reasons.  First, it's like going to the john (or jill) in a castle!  How are you going to beat that?!  You have the White Rabbit with his watch telling you to hurry up, the Cheshire Cat pointing the way, and the King and Queen of Hearts right over the doors pointing to the "Kings" and "Queens" room; again, much like the ones across from "it's a small world", leaving little room for error (we hope).

Unlike our previous two entrants, however, the Alice restrooms are quite a bit larger, and are on the the whole some of the cleanest we have seen anywhere inside The Parks.  Now we have to admit we've never been in the "Queens"' side of things, but we love decor inside the "Kings"' side; all the doors on the stalls are painted to look like playing cards!  We talk a lot about the "little details" here at "Days", and we think it's an awesome example of that that Disney has even gone to the trouble of making their restrooms, in some cases, match their themes.  Huge props for that!  A great clean restroom, fantastic aesthetics, and attached to one of the best and most classic attractions at Disneyland...?
Verdict: Spacious, well-serviced, always clean, and awesome decor.  What are you waiting for?  Go, go, go!!!

Alice in Wonderland restrooms

And there you have it, our DisneyLAND Tip Tuesday.  Hopefully we've managed to take something that's a necessity in The Park, and make it a little bit more entertaining than just your average run-of-the-mill restroom article; and we hope it serves a purpose!  You never know when you might be "seized" with the "mood" to use a restroom in The Park, and if luck should find you in Fantasyland, now you'll know where to go.

If you haven't already, be sure and check out the "sister Tip" to this one over at Magical Days With the Mouse, and let them know that Days In The Park sent you.  We'll be back in a couple of weeks with another tip, so until then, go go go!!!

Big Thunder Mountain Ranch and the Disneyland Petting Zoo: Disney Tip Tuesdays

A couple of weeks ago we started a new segment called "Disney Tip Tuesdays" with our good friend Sarah from Magical Days With The Mouse.  For our first segments we gave our readers tips from one of our favorite areas in Disney California Adventure Park, Paradise Pier.  We're back again this week, but we're switching gears, and Parks, to bring you a whole new batch of tips from another one of our favorite "Lands"; this one from Disneyland Park.  The focus of this week's tips?  Frontierland and Big Thunder Ranch!

For our part of this week's articles, we've chosen to focus on something we think is an excellent way to spend time with the kiddies (with some adult fun thrown in for good measure): goats.  Once you've picked yourself up off of the ground and stopped laughing, as funny as it sounds, we're quite serious.

The Ranch is known for many things with guests (great BBQ, anyone?), and is very popular with the kids (and Mark) because they have a petting zoo inside.  It's a great way to spend some time with the kids, because who doesn't like to wander around a petting zoo and look, and pet, some friendly barnyard critters.  The Disneyland Petting Zoo is home to many different goats who spend their days sleeping, playing, eating, and being pawed at by people.  Sounds like the life to us!  And it's especially cool when they switch over The Resort for the holiday season, because the goats leave and the reindeer move in before they make their annual trip carrying around Mr. Claus' sleigh.  You can't pet them, but they're beautiful creatures and we've never failed to see the area around Christmas-time filled with children, and adults, "ooh"ing and "aah"ing over them.

One of the best times to be at the petting zoo, though, is right around closing time.  Big Thunder Ranch closes well before the entire Park does (so the animals can be cared for, fed, and sleep), and if you catch it at just the right time (a Cast Member will be more than happy to tell you just when this is on a daily basis), you may just be in time to witness the "world famous Running of the Goats!"; a Cast Member's words, not ours.  Each and every day, the goats are taken from their pen, and run back to their homes through the middle of Big Thunder Ranch and through the Festival Arena in back of the Ranch.  When we first heard about the Running, we knew we just had to see it for ourselves.  At the time, they allowed Guests to stand on either side of the path that runs through the Ranch, so the goats ran right by you on their way out.  We were lucky enough to catch some pictures the last time we saw them do it this way.  We've shared these before on the blog, but it's been quite some time so we're re-sharing them today.

Unfortunately, we discovered when we went back this past weekend to attempt to get video footage of the Running for this article, that they no longer do it this way to keep both the animals and the Guests safe.  We were a little bit disappointed at first, but after seeing one of the goats get a little bit frisky in the video we did take, we were forced to concede that Disneyland knew exactly what they were doing (again!) when they changed the policy.  We still think it's an awesome place to spend some time during the day, and an awesome sight to see!  The kids loved it, and there were still lots of people standing around at the entrance/exit to see them leave their pen and head home.  It made us want to belt out the theme to "Rawhide" at the top of our lungs, but we opted for a "Forrest Gump" knock-off instead.




So there you have it!  It may not seem like a lot, but the kids were smiling, the adults were smiling because the kids were smiling, and sometimes it's the little things like this that can be the most magical.

But the goats aren't just for the kiddies.  We have a bonus tip this week!  One of our favorite coasters at Disneyland is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  It's an awesome, fast-moving coaster through the old west and a boom-town.  Loads of critters pepper the landscape on this one, including one particular goat responsible for something Disneyland patrons refer to as "The Goat Trick".  We've been asked on more than one occasion what "The Goat Trick" is, so we're sharing that for all the coaster hounds out there today.  People ride roller coasters for lots of reasons, but the main is because of the sense of speed, flying, and the way they tend to warp your perception and the way your body feels as you fly around at high speeds.  Our friend the goat on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad gives you a little added "oomph" in this department.

So here's how it works.  You'll know doubt see friend goat as you climb one of the hills about midway through your ride, especially if you are looking for him.  Lock eyes on him, and don't take your eyes off.  Yes, you will pass him, and rounding the bend you'll eventually lose sight of him, but if you're staring where the goat is, and would be, as you round the curve, it definitely throws a body-bending curve-ball at you.  We're not sure exactly why, human physiology certainly being no specialty of ours, but all we know is if you watch the goat as you fly around those corners, your body will let you know something's up, and it's a good thing!  Amy has been known to laugh hysterically for the entire last portion of the ride because of it.  We've been told by some people they don't like the "new sensation" it causes, but by and large people who know about "The Goat Trick" swear by it and won't ride Big Thunder without doing it.

So there you have it, our Disney Tips for Big Thunder Ranch.  Do you have any of your own that you would like to share?  Let us know because we'd love to hear them, and let us know what you think of ours, too!  When you're done here, head on over to Magical Days With the Mouse for another Disney Tip from Sarah, and let her know we sent ya!  Yee-haw!!

Disney Tip Tuesdays With Magical Days With The Mouse: Paradise Pier

We're introducing a new segment today at Days In The Park!  One of our favorite things to do is to pair up with our blogging friends on side-by-side articles.  We've done it on more than one occasion with our friend Sarah at Magical Days With The Mouse, but we've missed it and wanted to begin doing something on a more regular basis.  So we've decided that every other Tuesday, we'll be focusing (together) on "tips" we'd like to share from various Lands around The Parks.  They won't be long articles, but just quick tidbits if you will, about whatever topics we choose to come up with.  They can be about attractions, shows, restaurants; you name it and we'll likely talk about it all at some point in the coming weeks.  We hope that you'll enjoy our "side-by-sides" and will keep coming back every other week to see what fun we can come up with next.

For today's article we've chosen to bring a tip to you from Paradise Pier in Disney California Adventure.  Sarah will be talking about the Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co. in hers, and never one to buck a good topic if we can help it, we've decided to go with food as well, and offer a quick insight into the Corn Dog Castle.

"Corn Dogs Rule"!  It says so right there on the castle.  And while many people know that corn dogs are a mainstay in Disneyland Park (even people not very familiar with the southern California Park seem to have heard of the Little Red Wagon on Main Street, USA), many people don't know you can also get your fill of delicious hot dog wrapped in a warm, breaded blanket in other places around The Resort, as well.  One of our favorite places to get one (maybe even more so than the Little Red Wagon) is at the Corn Dog Castle at the end of Paradise Pier.

Paradise Pier is at the back end of The Park, and as such if you're making your way back to it as the day goes on (as many do), chances are by the time you get back there, you're going to be looking for a place to maybe kick up your feet and get something tasty to chow down on.  Enter the Original Corn Dog.  We can't overstate just how good these things are!  Everything about them is good!  Tons of flavor in the breading, moist and flavorful dogs, and they're huge!  We've yet to eat one that didn't fill us up.  And at $5.99 (which includes your choice of apple slices or Disney Potato Chips), it's definitely a meal and never leaves us wanting.  Wash it down with something from the Beverage Kingdom, and you'll no doubt be ready to head back to the hotel for a nap.

But what's this?  There's more than just a regular corn dog here, you say?  Indeed!  And that to us is what truly sets the Castle up as perhaps the best place to get a corn dog at The Resort.  You can also choose to chow down on a Hot-Link Corn Dog (same breading with Italian Sausage on the stick) for a mere .50 more coming in at $6.49, or you can live out your cheesy fantasies with a Cheddar Cheese Stick.  Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like so we won't insult your intelligence by explaining it to you.  These will run you $5.99 as well.

And lest you think we've forgotten, we did mention kicking up your feet just a bit earlier and we've not forgotten.  There are plenty of dining options around the Corn Dog Castle.  There is a small dining area right next to the Castle with tons of shade, lots of benches around, and the new dining and parks area at the end of the Pier is now open for your dining convenience as well.  The perfect place to take a load off and rest and do some good old-fashioned people watching, or maybe take in that nap we were just talking about.

We hope you've enjoyed this week's tip, and that it will be useful to you sometime in the near future.  Be sure and come back in a couple of weeks when we'll be hitting up Big Thunder Ranch for some more information and tips for your Park trips.  Yee-haw!

Now head over to Magical Days With The Mouse to see Sarah's tip about another tasty treat, the ice cream at the Paradise Pier Ice Cream Co.