Halloween fun!- and we are heading back!! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Yakety76

10-22-2008, 06:37 PM

Our flight from Boise Airport was scheduled to leave at 8:30. This was wonderful for us because the kids were able to sleep until they woke up on their own. I was up and getting dressed at 4:00 am because I couldn’t sleep. Riley woke up at 6:00 and Kaleb woke up at 6:30. My mom arrived at our house with her bag at 6:30 and we were on the road. My dad is staying home to watch the dogs and take care of my grandma. My mom’s mom lives with my parents because she has some health issues. My dad volunteered to stay behind with my grandma so that my mom could accompany us on our trip.
We get to the airport and check in. My mom had purchased her plane tickets separately from us, so her seat was not near us. The lady at the check-in desk moved my mom’s seat so that she could sit next to us on the flight. The flight was uneventful. The kids kept busy reading books and playing with stickers.
We were scheduled to arrive at LAX at 10:00. We get there on time. Get our bags and head out to catch the 10:30 Disneyland Express Shuttle. I was a little disappointed in the shuttle this time. In February they showed movies during the drive which was fun for the kids. This time they didn’t show the movies. I had put our carry- on bag with the kids’ books in the storage compartment, so the kids kept busy looking out the window.

We arrive at the Disneyland Hotel at 11:30. We are right on schedule. We check in and leave our bags at the bell stand. Off we head into Disneyland.
I had warned everyone that it was supposed to be crazy, busy (as I learned from the fountains of knowledge on the DIS). Bob didn’t believe me when I told him how busy you all had said it would be. Well, walking into Disneyland Thursday right around noon showed him that you all were right. It was busy.
Riley is just over 40 inches and has been saying that Splash was going to be her first ride. We head that way and notice that it is a 45 minute wait for Splash. She doesn’t care. She wants to ride Splash. My mom, Kaleb and I leave Bob and Riley at Splash and head over to ride Pooh a couple of times. There is a 15 minute wait for Pooh. While in line, the ride goes down. We get out of line and head over to wait in line to meet Pooh. There are actually only a couple of people in front of us. Kaleb is very excited to see Pooh. He goes running right to him. Next in line is Eeyore. For some reason, Kaleb is not at all interested in getting a picture with him. Kaleb just waves to Eeyore as we pass on by.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image265.jpg

We head back to see if the Pooh ride is up yet. It is still not running. I call Bob to see how Riley is doing. She was such a trooper about waiting in line this trip. My mom and I take Kaleb and grab some fruit to eat. It is around 12:30 (which is really 1:30 to us- Boise time). It is way past Kaleb’s nap time. We are waiting for our hotel room to be ready. Unfortunately, my kids do not sleep on the go. Kaleb is doing great, so we head on over to ride Pirates. I believe the sign said there was a 15 minute wait for this. It went by quickly and we are riding my favorite ride in Disneyland. My mom hasn’t been to Disney in about 20 years, so this is her first time seeing the Captain Jack changes. We all loved the ride despite the fact that the family in front of us kept discussing their day’s plans during the ride.

Bob and Riley are now finished with Splash. Riley had Bob cover her eyes throughout the entire ride until the very last scene where they are on the river boat. She didn’t like the fox being mean to the rabbit. However, she LOVED the last drop. She didn’t ride Splash again this trip, but I am glad she got the chance to do it once.

We met up with Bob and Riley in front of Bengal BBQ for a light lunch. Yummy!! After some chicken and beef skewers we head over to Jungle Cruise. This ride had been down when we went in February, so this is the kids first time on this ride. They really enjoyed it.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5091.jpg

After Jungle Cruise, we all went on Pirates one more time. I then headed for the hotel with Kaleb and Riley to try to get them down for a late nap.

travelmel

11-03-2008, 04:39 AM

:surfweb:

Yakety76

11-07-2008, 10:49 PM

Sorry for the long pause. It has been crazy busy here. The week we got back we hosted a Halloween party for my daughter and all her friends. My daughter LOVES Halloween, so she and I had a lot of fun planning that one. Then birthday season started. My daughter met all of her play group friends at Gymboree Play and Music (not Gymboree the clothing store) so they are all very close in age. This week alone we have had three birthday parties.

Tomorrow is my daughter's 4th birthday, so I have been busily planning her Jasmine party. It has been very difficult to find anything just Jasmine, so I thought outside the box a little. I found a Genie lamp and she is going to get three wishes for her birthday party. These are preplanned wishes- no spontaneity allowed :rotfl: . One of the wishes is to play a game. I purchased carpet squares and we are going to go on a magic carpet ride. She also decided she wanted to dress as Jasmine for her birthday so we went to the Disney store and got the Jasmine costume for 50% off. I have heard they are even cheaper now- figures. Still she is super excited.

Okay. I will try to finish up day one tonight since I think I am ready for Riley's party. Thanks for being patient.

Yakety76

11-07-2008, 11:29 PM

I forgot to mention that we saw Aladdin and Jasmine doing a meet in greet at their little canopy area when we first arrived. Riley was super excited to see Jasmine -until she saw that Aladdin was there. She refused to go up to them, even though she adores Jasmine. It turned out to be okay, though. We saw Jasmine a couple of other times during our trip.

Okay, on with day 1.
Bob and my mom decide they are going to stay and ride some more rides while the kids and I go to our room. We get to DLH at around 3:15 and they tell us our room is still not ready. I am panicking a little because my kids REALLY need a nap about now. Luckily, Bob was worried about me checking in by myself. He had left my mom to ride the rides by herself and was already on his way to the rescue. He just asked the lady if there were any suites that were ready to be checked into and if we could switch rooms. They quickly went along with this and he had new room keys in a matter of minutes. We went to our new room on floor twelve of the Wonder tower. We had stayed in the Wonder tower in February and I really liked it. Last time we stayed on the 3rd floor. The view from the twelfth floor was amazing.

After Bob helped me get the kids to sleep, he went back to Disney to find my mom. They had a great time riding rides. My mom was able to do Splash, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion and the Tower of Terror. Bob joined her for Tower of Terror. My mom hasn't been to Disney in about 20 years, but some of her "memories" were kind of funny. She told me that the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay wasn't that different from the original. I had yet to ride HMH, so I didn't know any better. She also thought Downtown Disney was there last time she went and that Splash was a new ride. I was only about 14 last time I went with her, so my memories are fuzzy. I think after 20 years hers were a little fuzzy too and it is a good thing she came with us on this trip. :rolleyes1

On their way to the room, the picked up chicken tacos and chicken nachos from Tortilla Jo's. I don't have pictures, but they were yummy. I think the chicken nachos at Tortilla Jo's are the best. My kids love black beans, so we also get a side of them for the kids to eat.

Now it is time for the Halloween Party. I knew it was crazy to do the Halloween party the night we arrived, but we really wanted to experience it. I had to wake the kids up from their naps at 5:30. They were not pleased. They usually go to bed at 7:00 Boise time, so they would have stayed asleep through the night if I hadn't woken them. Well we got everyone dressed and headed out. On the way through DTD we saw the best costume. A lady was wearing an amazing Mary Poppins costume. She had on the nanny dress with the umbrella, carpet bag and hat. It was really good.

The party started at 6:30 and we were running a little late. We got there around 6:45. There were no lines to get in, so we headed right in. Riley really wanted to see Wendy Darling, so that was our mission. We get in line and get busy waiting. Then there comes the announcement that Wendy and Peter will be leaving and another Captain will be joining us. Everyone else in line is happy because they all would rather meet Captain Jack. I am getting a little worried. We stay in line hoping that we will make it. Again comes the announcement and I realize there is no way we are going to meet Wendy. I tell Riley and she is trying her hardest not to cry. I feel so bad for her. I bring her up to the rope so that she can at least see Wendy hoping that this will salvage the night for her. Well, a truly magical thing happened. Peter looks up and spots Riley dressed as Wendy Darling. His face lights up. Peter and Wendy say their good-byes to the crowd and walk right over to Riley. She is still trying to hold back her tears because she doesn't think she is going to be able to meet Wendy. Peter comes over to here and says, "You look just like my friend." Up comes Wendy. Now Riley is glowing. She is so happy. Wendy tells Riley, “Your dress is just like mine only prettier.” They spent about 10 minutes with Riley. This is when they are supposed to be taking their break. I don’t know if they realize how much that meant to us. It truly made Riley’s night -and mine. :wizard:

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5100.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5103-1.jpg

Yakety76

11-09-2008, 04:29 AM

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image285.jpg

After meeting Wendy and Peter we wander around a little and stand in a couple of lines for candy. We made our way back to where the villains were and the Evil Queen was there. I didn’t think the kids would want to see her, but Riley surprised me and asked to stand in line to meet her. Kaleb wanted nothing to do with that, so Bob took him off to get more candy and wander around. We waited for a little while to meet the Queen. Riley is very shy with the face characters, but I was impressed that she got a picture with her at all.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image277.jpg

While at the Halloween party, we saw some interesting characters. A lot of them were out dancing.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5135.jpg
Clarabelle Cow
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5136.jpg
Daisy Duck

Riley and Kaleb didn’t want to dance. They were content to just ride around in the stroller looking at everything. We also went on Flik’s Flyers and Kaleb went on the carousel while Riley waited in line to meet the princesses.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5118.jpg

Bob and I tried to go on Tower of Terror, but it was down. I still haven’t been on that ride. Our last stop was the Animation Building. In February, we saw Turtle Talk but we didn’t explore the building. What a mistake. There is so much to do and see in there. The treat station through the Animation Building was the best because you actually had to walk through and explore a little. My mom could have stayed in there for hours. The only way I could get her out was to promise that she could come back tomorrow.
All in all, I am glad we went to the party mainly because it was fun to all dress up. However, I think the kids would have more fun if the party were earlier or if they were older.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5115.jpg
Kaleb as Hook and me as Tink

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5142.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image305.jpg

We left at around 9:00 and headed for the hotel. I got the kids ready for bed and then the fireworks started. Because of my kids earlier bedtime, they have never seen fireworks before. Our view from our room was amazing. My husband and mom had a fun time watching the fireworks with the kids. My kids were amazed by the fireworks. I am so glad we were able to experience them.

prettyprincessbelle

11-09-2008, 04:03 PM

Aw! That story about your DD and Wendy and Peter is precious! Those CMs are special people, I swear it!

Great pictures!

travelmel

11-09-2008, 11:44 PM

Fun!

Really cute pirate outfit on the little DS!

Your DD looks like a sweet little Wendy -with princess hands, to boot!

Yakety76

11-10-2008, 01:47 PM

The kids slept well after their late night. Kaleb woke up at 5:30 (which is 6:30 Idaho time). Kaleb and I showered and got ready while Daddy and Riley slept in. Riley actually slept in until around 6:30. This was nice because we knew no matter how tired she became, she would not nap. Once everyone was up and ready, Bob went to the Coffee House in the DLH for pastries and coffee. In February we had tried the pastries at Le Brea. We found the pastries and coffee at the Coffee House to be much better.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5147.jpg

We were not in much of a hurry to get to the gates because we had no intention of trying for Nemo on this trip. We rode Nemo in February and really enjoyed it. However, since this was just a short trip, we were focused on doing other things. We got to the gate by about 7:30. We ended up being about third in line at one of the gates. Disney opened at 8:00 today. They let us onto Main Street after the countdown. Bob positioned himself in front over on the right side because he was on a mission to get fast passes for us. My mom and I took the kids and stayed about center because our first ride was going to be, of course, Peter Pan. This is my favorite ride and I have been on the DIS boards enough to ride Peter Pan first.

The rope drops and Bob heads with our four tickets to get two fast passes for Space and Buzz Lightyear. He of course rides them since there isn’t a line. He gets back to us in Fantasyland right after we finish riding Peter Pan. We had watched the movie Peter Pan since our last trip, so the kids enjoyed the ride a lot on this trip. We had to ride Dumbo multiple times because…. Well, because it’s Dumbo.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5163.jpg

We also rode the carrousel. I know that riding the carrousel at this time isn’t the best use of our morning time. However, it had been down for refurb in February, so the kids really wanted to ride it this time around. There is just something fun about a carrousel.

After hitting those must ride Fantasyland rides, Bob heads over to NOS to get some fast passes for Indy and Splash. He has instructions to meet up with us at 10:00. My mom and I go line up for Princess Fantasy Faire with the kids. The princesses are scheduled to arrive at 9:00, so we secure our place in line by about 8:45. There were about 10 families in front of us. We start talking to the other little “princesses” in line. Everyone was very excited and friendly in that line. There were some tweeners behind us and they were kind of fun to watch. They were just as giddy as the little girls.
We get to the front of the line after a bit of a wait and meet Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella. Kaleb had no interest in talking to the princesses, so Riley had them all to herself. I really like how they take the time to talk with the kids. Each time Riley moved on it was because she was finished. I am sure they would have moved her along if she had taken too much time, but it didn’t feel rushed at all. My favorite picture of her at the Faire was taken by the Photopass photographer. It is Riley pulling against me trying to reach Snow White. http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image312.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image310.jpg

After meeting the princesses, we head down and put some stickers on crowns. It is about 9:45 now and I didn’t want to wait for the other princess activities since today is our only full day in the park, so we head to Toon Town. My mom and Bob ride the Roger Rabbit ride. Riley and I rode this in February and neither of us really cared for it too much. I don’t like spinning rides and she thought it was rather scary. While waiting for Bob and my mom we notice Pluto hanging out. A nice lady took a picture of Riley and I with Pluto while Kaleb hung out trying not to be noticed. He was extremely shy this trip. Kaleb did like pushing all the buttons and opening the doors. He could have hung out in Toon Town all day- as long as he didn’t have to take pictures with those pesky characters. :rotfl:

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5202.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5204.jpg

Once Bob and my mom got off the ride, we decided to head onto the Gadget Go Coaster. We never made it on this ride in February because the line was always too long. The kids really enjoyed this. Kaleb put his hands in the air and was screaming with pleasure the whole ride. He wanted to go back on it right away. We opted to go see if we could get into see Mickey instead. While in line to see Mickey, the lady in front of us noticed she had lost her Photopass card. In fear that this would happen to us, we quickly took a picture of the back of our card just in case. I really hope that lady found her card. She was quite upset.
I think that Mickey took a break while we were waiting because the line came to a standstill for quite a while. We get in to see the Big Cheese. And Kaleb actually goes up to him for a picture. Yay!!
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5225.jpg

Now it is time to head to Big Thunder Ranch. The kids really wanted to decorate their own cookies. These turned out really cute and they had so much fun doing them. They didn’t eat much of their cookies, but they had a great time decorating them. When they finished with their cookies, the Woody’s Roundup Show started. We stuck around and watched that. It was a really cute show.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5236.jpg

We are now feeling hungry, so we make our way over to Rancho del Zocalo. My mom and I split the tostado salad which was really tasty. Bob had burrito and my kids each got the kids’ burritos. I don’t like the fact that the kids’ meal comes with a fruit cup instead of fresh fruit and I didn’t think the burrito was that tasty. However, they both enjoyed their chocolate milk and ate about half a burrito each.

I bid the others good-bye and took Kaleb back to DLH for a much needed nap. It is really feeling hot by this time and the crowds are starting to be felt as well. Therefore, my mom and Bob decide to take Riley over to DCA. They rode Monsters. Then they spent a long time in the Animation Building. They also saw the Playhouse Disney show. I was bummed that Kaleb missed out on the Playhouse Disney show because he also missed seeing the touring show when it came here to Boise. Bob and I had taken Riley to the touring show, but it was too late in the evening for Kaleb to come. I guess there is my excuse for needing to go back to Disney soon!!

travelmel

11-10-2008, 02:22 PM

Interesting about the pasties being better at DLH. I have never eaten at la brea but wanted to due to the high dis-marks. I will have to try both now! lol

All of the little kid things are mysterious to me as I have never stopped in to either the Princess area or the Woody's round up area. Fun to see what I missed. :goodvibes

Yakety76

11-10-2008, 03:42 PM

Aw! That story about your DD and Wendy and Peter is precious! Those CMs are special people, I swear it!

Great pictures!
Peter and Wendy were great!! I hope they realize how much that meant to us!

Fun!

Really cute pirate outfit on the little DS!

Your DD looks like a sweet little Wendy -with princess hands, to boot!

Thanks. They had so much fun dressing up. Kaleb really likes to get into character when he is in his Hook costume. Riley is definitely my little princess.

Interesting about the pasties being better at DLH. I have never eaten at la brea but wanted to due to the high dis-marks. I will have to try both now! lol

All of the little kid things are mysterious to me as I have never stopped in to either the Princess area or the Woody's round up area. Fun to see what I missed. :goodvibes

We tried Le Brea in February because of what we read on the boards and in the Unofficial Guide, but we found the pasteries rather dry. The real breakfast looked tasty, but we don't generally eat large breakfasts. The latte was plain awful there. It was from a machine like you would find at a 7-11.

Big Thunder Ranch was a lot of fun. The CM there said it never gets busy and it was nice and shaded, so that would be a great place to take a little break.

Yakety76

11-12-2008, 02:58 PM

I have added some of our Photopass pictures into the posts above. I will be back to update day 2 as soon as I get a chance.

Thanks to anyone who is taking the time to read about our Disney adventures. :goodvibes

pixleyyy

11-12-2008, 10:35 PM

I LOVE the Winnie Photopass pic.

Yakety76

11-13-2008, 05:11 PM

I LOVE the Winnie Photopass pic.

Thanks so much! That is one of my favorites, too. :cloud9:

mommaU4

11-13-2008, 05:14 PM

Yakety76

11-13-2008, 05:35 PM

I LOVE your pics!! They all turned out great. I especially love the ones of you all together in costume, and of Riley with Sleeping Beauty. So precious! Both of your kids are just too cute.
My kids love decorating those cookies too. It's a nice way to take a break.

Looking forward to more. :goodvibes

Thanks! I think they are pretty darn cute, too. :lovestruc

Actually, the reason we decorated the cookies was because of your pre trip report. I saw the pictures of your girls doing it and knew that we had to do it. It was such a fun thing to do. We of course decorate cookies at home, but it was just extra special doing it at Disney.

mommaU4

11-13-2008, 07:40 PM

We of course decorate cookies at home, but it was just extra special doing it at Disney.
I agree. :goodvibes

travelmel

11-13-2008, 09:44 PM

The Winnie pic is SO adorable. Great cropping job on that one! :thumbsup2

My favorites are the framed photopass shots. Those are SO much fun! Nice stuff.

Yakety76

11-14-2008, 08:54 AM

The Winnie pic is SO adorable. Great cropping job on that one! :thumbsup2

My favorites are the framed photopass shots. Those are SO much fun! Nice stuff.

I wish I could take credit for the cropping job on the Winnie picture. That was all the Photopass Photog.

I did have a little too much fun adding borders to all the pictures. I kind of felt the need to put each picture into at least two borders since they were there. :rotfl: I did especially like the borders that were specifically for Halloween. Those are really fun.

Yakety76

11-14-2008, 09:04 AM

Friday afternoon was all about DCA!!

As soon as Kaleb woke from his nap, he and I headed over to DCA to meet up with everyone. We were so excited to take Riley on Soarin’ now that she is 40 inches. Bob had picked up some fast passes for us to use, so my mom and I took Riley. Riley loved this ride! She was grinning ear to ear and had her arms out in front of her like she was flying. I think the scent wasn't working quite right because we only smelled the oranges. However, it was still an amazing ride. My mom and Riley both say this is now their favorite ride.

On the way to meet up the with the boys, we met Stitch.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image348.jpg

Bob took Kaleb over into Bug’s Land, so Kaleb didn’t realize he was missing out. We met up with Bob and Kaleb in Bug’s Land and went on the Flik’s Flyers. I feel bad because we never took my mom on Heimlich. Yet another reason we have to return.:laughing:

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/P1030048.jpg

We decided to head to Monsters. On the way we stopped to look in Candy Corn Acres. Kaleb really tried to pick the candy corns. He was in candy heaven.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image341.jpg

We then continued on to ride Monsters which is one of our favorites.

After Monsters we found a nice place to sit for the Pixar Parade. We sat right across from the Grizzly River Rapids. Some birds were perched on the Grizzly head, so we watched them while we waited for the parade to start. I also got us some nice fresh fruit to eat. Yum!
The parade was so much fun. The kids especially loved the bubbles.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5246.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5263.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5272.jpg

tinkermell

11-14-2008, 09:41 AM

Yakety76

11-14-2008, 09:51 AM

What a nice report.

I love how your DD ended up getting to meet Wendy afterall. That was so special! So many people complain about CMs, but the ones like those two, sure make up for the few others. :goodvibes

Thank you so much.

Peter and Wendy were amazing. I am still so thankful that they took that time with my daughter when they clearly didn't have to.
I can honestly say that in our two trips this year, we did not meet any CMs that I would complain about. On the contrary, the CMs we met have mostly been wonderful. Many seemed to really enjoy their jobs and go the extra mile. :yay:

travelmel

11-15-2008, 02:11 AM

Yakety76

11-15-2008, 08:55 PM

I love the pic of Kaleb on Fliks Flyers! I've seen other tiny dis-ers who REALLY get a kick out of that ride :hippie:

Our crew is of the older sort and we don't spend much time there but now that I know about the smell-o-bit on Heimlick I want to go!

Great update :)

We really like Bug's Land. The rides seem geared more towards the little ones, but the atmosphere is amazing.
The Heimlick train is a lot of fun. Not really an exciting ride, but the scents and corny lines are still fun. Your daughter who helped you land the ride on the Lily Belle (was it Bailey?) would probably get a kick out of the details in Bug's land. From your trip report, she struck me as someone who would notice and appreciate details.

Thanks for continuing to read along. I will have the next updates soon. My husband is out of town for the week, so I will have plenty of free time. :laughing:

mommaU4

11-15-2008, 09:31 PM

Jennifer03

11-15-2008, 10:04 PM

Your trip report is so cute. It sounds like you and your family had a great time. I love how Wendy and Peter spent time your daughter; what a wonderful experience that must have been for her!

travelmel

11-15-2008, 10:57 PM

We really like Bug's Land. The rides seem geared more towards the little ones, but the atmosphere is amazing.
The Heimlick train is a lot of fun. Not really an exciting ride, but the scents and corny lines are still fun. Your daughter who helped you land the ride on the Lily Belle (was it Bailey?) would probably get a kick out of the details in Bug's land. From your trip report, she struck me as someone who would notice and appreciate details.

Thanks for continuing to read along. I will have the next updates soon. My husband is out of town for the week, so I will have plenty of free time. :laughing:

Yep, it was DDB (Bailey) :lovestruc Thank you for noticing such a sweet thing. She's a girl's BFF. The other one is the comic relief and they're both cornballs for details and silly stuff just like their ole mubs. (That's how it sounds when they say mom with a cold... "mub") :lmao:

Hubby's outta town and the disboards win! popcorn::

Yakety76

11-15-2008, 11:54 PM

After the Pixar parade, I persuaded my mom to hop over to DL to watch the Parade of Dreams. Riley and I love that parade. It brings a tear to my eye whenever I hear the music. It is time for the kids to eat some dinner and go to bed, but I really wanted my mom to experience the parade. She was more than willing to go off by herself and then come back to the hotel by 8:00 so that Bob and I could have some adult time. That’s right Bob and I get to head out on our own. No kids in sight. Okay… there were a lot of kids in sight, but none of them were ours.

Bob and I head back to DLH with the kids in tow. On the way, we stop at the Ralph Brennan’s Creole Café. This is the take out window for Ralph Brennan. Bob ordered the jambalaya, I got the fried chicken po-boy and the kids got the popcorn chicken kids’ meal. While waiting for Bob to get our food, Riley gets a really freaked out look on her face. She is having a bathroom emergency. She needs to go and she needs to go NOW. I park both kids in the stroller and run back to the Wonder tower. Bob is left in the dust to finish getting our food and try to figure out where we have run off too. Thankfully, we reached our hotel in time for Riley to do her thing and Bob figured out where went off too. On the plus side, no innocent by-standers were trampled by me and the kids on our dash to the hotel. :rotfl:

As for food, the kids’ popcorn chicken was so good. Bob purchased two orders, but was only given one. That was a bummer because I would have gladly eaten the second order. My po-boy was okay. Nothing spectacular. Bob said he his jambalaya was tasty, but not as good as what he has had in New Orleans. So for us, the kids chicken was the winner. Luckily we had some carrot sticks left over from the trick or treat part to supplement our extremely healthy dinner of deep fat fried chicken.

After a quick dinner, we went through the kids’ bedtime routines and got them to sleep. I will be honest and say that I managed to put myself to sleep while cuddling with Kaleb. Bob comes into our room at around 8:00 and woke me up while trying not to wake Kaleb up. I grumble for a couple of minutes and then we head out for a night on the town.

Walking back towards Disney it becomes obvious pretty quickly that the park is going to be packed. We aren’t overly worried because we have fastpasses for all the rides we plan on riding. This turns out to be a good thing because the park is actually busier than I could have ever imagined. :scared1:

We head into NOS and get into the fastpass line for Haunted Mansion. Thank goodness for fastpass and thank goodness Bob collected them this morning. I don’t remember what the wait was, but it was insane. With the fastpass, we were ushered into the stretching room immediately. Oh, my! What a fun experience. Others have said that they found this version to be less scary than the original. I found it to be scarier- especially the stretching room and the wreath with teeth. I haven’t seen the movie since it first came out, so I am definitely feeling a need to see it again.

After the Haunted Mansion we head over to Splash Mountain. Once we reached the front of the line, the CM asked if we wanted the front of the log. Remembering that I have heard on the boards that the front will get me soaked, I politely said “No, thank you” to that. Bob sat in the back seat and I sat in front of him. So much fun. I was the only person on the log (including Bob) who didn’t get drenched. I was glad I didn’t get wet because I had forgotten my hoodie in the hotel room.

Next we tried to ride Big Thunder Mountain, but it was down. Bob was only able to ride this ride once on this trip because it kept going down. I wanted to ride this because I have memories of tricking my roller coaster hating grandpa into riding it by telling him it was just a train ride. Fun times!
It felt kind of weird for me to be riding the big kid rides. I haven’t ridden them since I was a kid. It was really bringing back memories of being there with my family and grandparents.

Next up was Indy. Again, fastpass really helped out with this one. The only downside to bypassing the line was that I didn’t get to explore. I did show Bob the rope that you can pull. It didn’t do anything for me, but it was fun to show him a couple of the “secrets” I have read about here on the boards. I had read that if you were loose on the ride, it wouldn’t feel quite as jarring. This worked for me. I tried not to brace myself or stiffen up and I didn’t get sore at all. I really liked the car itself and thought the ride was a lot of fun.

When we exit, we hear the booming sounds of fireworks. Bob loves fireworks and wants to stop and Oooo and Ahhh. I, however, want to ride another ride. We compromise and he gets a water and we watch for a couple of minutes before we head off. We were not quick enough, though. As we are travelling through the bottle neck area in NOS, the fireworks come to an end. There were a lot of people with little ones and I don’t know how they were doing it. I would have been freaked out if I had my kids with me. It was very difficult to move through the crowd. Luckily, it was just the two of us so we slinked through the crowd over to Tomorrowland. While walking purposefully towards Space Mountain, I tell Bob that I am about finished for the night. We decide that Space Mountain will be our last ride for the night. A mom and son were behind us as we come up to Buzz. The son is begging his mom to go on Buzz, but she tells him the line is too long. Bob turns around and offers her our Buzz fastpasses since we will not be using them. The son was so happy. I don’t know if they used them or not, but I was pretty proud of Bob for giving them the option.

We continue onto Space Mountain. I LOVE this ride. I had forgotten how great it is. I had a grin on my face the whole ride. I could definitely do that one multiple times. My body is telling me it is bedtime, though.
On the way out of the park, we stop by the castle and get some pictures taken. It was a really great night. I have loved every minute with my kids at the park, but Bob and I really enjoyed spending some time alone. :love:

I forgot to bring my camera with us, so the only pictures I have are the photopass pictures.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image350.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image353.jpg

Yakety76

11-16-2008, 12:01 AM

Yay! An update!

So was Riley thinking you guys were crazy pointing to a non-exsistent Stitch on the ground? :lmao: She just seems to be looking so hard. LOL She's adorable and the pic of her and Kaleb on the ride is so cute. The sheer joy on their faces is wonderful. :goodvibes

I love Bug's Land. We like to head over there in the evenings when it's practically empty and the kids can go on the rides with no wait, over and over and over. Ruben and I usually chill out on one of the empty benches and just soak up the atmosphere. ToT makes a nice backdrop while we are sitting there.

(sigh) Now I'm missing it......

Riley was actually pretty funny about that picture because she has no idea who Stitch is. We told her to point and Stitch would pop up in the picture and I think she thought he would really pop up.

I love the picture of them on Flik's. We have a very similar one of them on that ride in February. It is a real thrill ride for toddlers. :rotfl:

I know what you mean about missing it. Riley and Kaleb ask every day if we get to go back to Disney. Riley even put her birthday money in her piggy bank to save up for a trip to Disney. :laughing:

Your trip report is so cute. It sounds like you and your family had a great time. I love how Wendy and Peter spent time your daughter; what a wonderful experience that must have been for her!
We had an amazing time. There is something about Disney that puts all of us on our best behavior, so we get to just enjoy everything and each other. :lovestruc
She loved meeting Wendy. It was definitely a highlight for us.

Yep, it was DDB (Bailey) :lovestruc Thank you for noticing such a sweet thing. She's a girl's BFF. The other one is the comic relief and they're both cornballs for details and silly stuff just like their ole mubs. (That's how it sounds when they say mom with a cold... "mub") :lmao:

Hubby's outta town and the disboards win! popcorn::

They both seem like very sweet girls. I hope my kids still want to hang out with me when they are that age. :hug:

travelmel

11-16-2008, 12:19 AM

[SIZE="3"] I wanted to ride this because I have memories of tricking my roller coaster hating grandpa into riding it by telling him it was just a train ride. Fun times!
It felt kind of weird for me to be riding the big kid rides. I haven’t ridden them since I was a kid. It was really bringing back memories of being there with my family and grandparents.

Aww! I'm so happy that you had such a great adult night out! It sounds perfect! :hug:

As for your trickery: :lmao:

I tricked my bigtime roller coster hating grandma into riding "Back to the Future" at Universal Studios way back in the day. I did NOT lie. I told her it didn't move on a track :rolleyes1

I don't know if you ever rode Back to the Future but it was sorta like a Soarin' type ride which made you feel like you were in a car ZOOMING through the scenes of Back to the Future and felt EXACTLY like a roller coaster. REALLY exhilerating! Poor ole thing! I think she liked it. :rotfl2:

prettyprincessbelle

11-16-2008, 01:07 AM

I love the picture of your DD and DH on Dumbo! Too cute!!

Yakety76

11-17-2008, 10:12 PM

Aww! I'm so happy that you had such a great adult night out! It sounds perfect! :hug:

As for your trickery: :lmao:

I tricked my bigtime roller coster hating grandma into riding "Back to the Future" at Universal Studios way back in the day. I did NOT lie. I told her it didn't move on a track :rolleyes1

I don't know if you ever rode Back to the Future but it was sorta like a Soarin' type ride which made you feel like you were in a car ZOOMING through the scenes of Back to the Future and felt EXACTLY like a roller coaster. REALLY exhilerating! Poor ole thing! I think she liked it. :rotfl2:

That is so funny that you tricked one of your grandparents too. Maybe it is a sign of love that we wanted them to join us for some fun. :lovestruc
In my case it was probably more a sign of being ornery. :lmao:

I don't recall the Back to the Future ride, but I probably did ride it. The time frame would be about right for when we used to visit. I mostly remember the Jaws ride, Kitt and the A-Team van. I also remember my brother being chosen to be in the Keystone Cops type skit they did. I wonder where that video is?!

We did have a great night out. Thanks. We don't go on dates very often. How perfect to have a date night at Disney!!

I love the picture of your DD and DH on Dumbo! Too cute!!

Thank you! They are both hams. As you can probably tell, the ride isn't even going. They just like to play to the camera. :laughing:

Yakety76

11-17-2008, 10:15 PM

For those of you patiently waiting for the next update, it is going to be a bit longer. I had planned on posting one tonight. I even uploaded the pictures I want to use to photobucket during naptime today. However, my Wii Fit yelled at me, so now I am feeling guilty about not working out as often as I should be. A machine should not be able to make a person feel this guilty. :rotfl2:

I will work on the next update and get it on soon. Stick with me. :cheer2:

mommaU4

11-17-2008, 10:45 PM

travelmel

11-18-2008, 01:02 AM

That is so funny that you tricked one of your grandparents too. Maybe it is a sign of love that we wanted them to join us for some fun. :lovestruc
In my case it was probably more a sign of being ornery. :lmao:

Definitely two birds of a feather you and I! :lmao:

I don't recall the Back to the Future ride, but I probably did ride it. The time frame would be about right for when we used to visit. I mostly remember the Jaws ride, Kitt and the A-Team van. I also remember my brother being chosen to be in the Keystone Cops type skit they did. I wonder where that video is?!

Too cute! We used to make homeade horror movies and my aunt and uncle had them transferred onto video for us (my cousins and I). It's great (well, sorta.. I was awkard and LARGE at 13!) to see them again. My grandma used to say we made horror films because we couldn't sing or dance. Now it makes more sense why I tricked her, doesn't it?? :rolleyes1 HA HA just kidding. LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

US was really fun back in the day. The "making movies" type show was closed the last time we went. I think that's really memorable part of a "studio" park that we missed. Ah well. Now I want to visit the Warner Bros Studio after seeing it here on the dis.

A machine should not be able to make a person feel this guilty. :rotfl2:

That cracked me up!!!! :rotfl:

travelmel

11-18-2008, 01:03 AM

Yakety76

11-18-2008, 09:30 PM

Somehow I missed your update on the adult time at DL! I just now read it. I'm glad you had some alone time together. One of my fondest memories of DL is when Ruben and I went alone on a cold, drizzly day and walked around sipping hot cocoa in an almost deserted park. :cloud9: Family time is nice, but so is adult time. :thumbsup2
Great pic of you two with the castle btw. :)

Thanks for reading along with me.
How fun that you and Ruben had the park to yourselves. I love days that are drizzly and just chilly enough for a light coat. Makes me really want to slow down and enjoy. I can totally picture walking around DL doing just that.

We were really pleased with the castle pictures. That photographer was a lot of fun. We don't have many recent pictures of just the two of us, so it is nice to have a picture were we both look happy and the background is spectacular.:love:

Yakety76

11-18-2008, 09:42 PM

Definitely two birds of a feather you and I! :lmao:

Yay! I am not alone in my orneriness. :cool1:

Too cute! We used to make homeade horror movies and my aunt and uncle had them transferred onto video for us (my cousins and I). It's great (well, sorta.. I was awkard and LARGE at 13!) to see them again. My grandma used to say we made horror films because we couldn't sing or dance. Now it makes more sense why I tricked her, doesn't it?? :rolleyes1 HA HA just kidding. LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

That is hilarious. Homemade horror movies. :rotfl:
How fun to see them again after all these years.

I have been hounding my mom to get our old pictures out of the boxes so that I can look through them. I think that is one of the reasons I like to scrapbook so much. I want my kids to be able to have all the pictures of the things we do and be able to look back and remember.

US was really fun back in the day. The "making movies" type show was closed the last time we went. I think that's really memorable part of a "studio" park that we missed. Ah well. Now I want to visit the Warner Bros Studio after seeing it here on the dis.

That is weird that US doesn't do the making the movies things anymore. When the kids get a little older, I will have to look into Warner Bros. Studios.

That cracked me up!!!! :rotfl:

It is pathetic that I take it so personally. I really want to come up with a good excuse when it asks why I haven't worked out or why I have gained a pound. The Wii should try going to four birthday parties and having a Halloween party all in two weeks and not gain any weight. :rotfl2:
The guilt works on me though. I will be going to work out right after I post my next update.

Yakety76

11-18-2008, 09:53 PM

Bob and I were back at the hotel by about 10:30. The next day was our last in the park and a Magic Morning, so we wanted to get some sleep. Kaleb had other plans for me though. He slept fine. However, I find it hard to sleep when we co-sleep. Kaleb likes to cuddle very close and likes to mess with me by grabbing my ear, nose and whatnot. Needless to say, this did not lead to a very relaxing sleep for me. DLH rooms do come standard with a pack n play and we set it up even though we knew Kaleb would probably not use it. He didn’t disappoint. He took one look at that contraption and said, “Sleep in Mommy’s bed.” :rotfl:

Even though the night’s sleep wasn’t the most restful for me, I was up and ready to go early. Today was a Magic Morning!! And with the park opening at 8:00, that meant we had to be in line by around 6:30 for a 7:00 Magic Morning. My kids, mom and I are all early birds so this was not a problem. Bob would have gladly slept in, but we had things to do.:thumbsup2

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5277.jpg

Our goal for Magic Morning was to ride the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides that the kids wanted. We did not want to hit all of them as we had done that in February and we just didn’t have the time this trip to do every ride. With this being our last day, we just wanted to go where the kids took us. Of course, they didn’t have a choice about the first ride though. That always has to be Peter Pan. The kids really started noticing the details on Peter Pan this time. :lovestruc

Next, it is onto Dumbo for a couple of spins around in a circle. At about this time I realize I forgot to take my Dramamine. Riley and Kaleb want to go on the Tea Cups. There is no way I am riding these without Dramamine in my system. I let Bob and my mom take them while I try to get some pictures. I was trying to get a picture of Riley like the one of the older couple in the Spirit of DL picture thread. My pictures all turned out blurry, though. She was having so much fun. Her laugh was so loud and contagious. I was laughing like crazy. I might have looked a little crazy since I was standing there by myself laughing. :lmao:

Bob did manage to get a cute picture of Kaleb on the Tea Cups. It is one of my favorites from this trip.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5284.jpg

When the ride stops, Riley asks if she can ride again. The CM says yes, so I think she is going to start it up. Nope. She waits for more people to come fill some of the tea cups. That took a little bit of time, but oh well. Riley enjoyed her second ride as much as her first. Kaleb declined a second ride, so he and Bob went to ride Alice. When they returned, Riley’s tea cup ride was finishing up. She found out they went on Alice, so now she wants to go on Alice. I take her and Bob takes Kaleb. I found out when we reunited that he took my baby on the Matterhorn. :scared1:

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5293.jpg

Riley and I walk right onto Alice.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5292.jpg

We happily begin our trip down the rabbit hole and then stop. That is right. The ride broke down. All the lights come on and they tell us to stay seated. Someone will come for us shortly. At first Riley is fine, then she gets a little freaked out. Thankfully they came for us before she started to have a major freak out. We were sitting there for at least 10 minutes before anyone came for us. By the time we walked off the ride, Bob and Kaleb had already finished their ride on the Matterhorn. My mom was thinking that Riley and I had finished our ride and she wanted to start searching for us. Thankfully, Bob kept his head and stayed put. We met up with our group and headed over to Tomorrowland.

RayDiz

11-18-2008, 11:03 PM

Great stories. I'd love to go someday for Halloween. Great pics too

travelmel

11-18-2008, 11:10 PM

Took your baby on the matterhorn! That's not right! LOL

DDC once went on the NYNY hotel (Vegas) roller coaster by herself. I almost cried... well, wait, maybe I did. So sad. It's hard!

You had a ride EVAC! LOL

Alice and Peter are my personal faves... love that Flying business. Can't get enough.

Yakety76

11-20-2008, 10:29 PM

Great stories. I'd love to go someday for Halloween. Great pics too

Thank you so much. The decorations were amazing. Halloween is Riley's favorite holiday, so we really wanted to take her to see all the decorations.

Took your baby on the matterhorn! That's not right! LOL

DDC once went on the NYNY hotel (Vegas) roller coaster by herself. I almost cried... well, wait, maybe I did. So sad. It's hard!

You had a ride EVAC! LOL

Alice and Peter are my personal faves... love that Flying business. Can't get enough.

I am so glad I didn't know Bob was taking Kaleb on the Matterhorn because I would have put my foot down. Turns out, Kaleb loved it. :laughing:

Riley was looking forward to riding Alice because she had just recently watched the movie for the first time. This time she would have actually understood what was happening in the ride. There is always next time, right? :banana:

I don't know about riding the NYNY roller coaster. Isn't that on top of a building? :scared1:

travelmel

11-20-2008, 10:38 PM

I forgot to say, that is an AWESOME action shot of Kaleb on his first roller coaster!

:lovestruc

Yakety76

11-20-2008, 10:49 PM

In our last installment, Riley and I had just barely escaped Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Now we were ready to battle the evil emperor Zurg. Off to Tomorrowland and Buzz Lightyear we go. Kaleb LOVES this ride. He loves using the “shooter”- as he calls it. It is still Magic Morning, so there is no line at all for Buzz. I really like how my young kids can be completely independent on this ride, so that I can focus on my own game. :thumbsup2

After Buzz, we head over to Astro Orbiters. I had promised Kaleb that we would ride them this trip because we missed them last trip. The Unofficial Guide claims that it is virtually the same ride as Dumbo, so that is why I didn’t bother with them last trip. I found the ride to be different, though. The rockets go at more of an angle which led me to feel a need to actually hang on. Riley really enjoyed it. She and I stayed on to ride a second time. The CM manning this ride was very sweet when he saw Riley coming back right away for another ride. My mom took Kaleb off to battle Zurg yet again.

Riley and I decided we needed another ride on Buzz too, so we went and joined the rest of our group. My mom and Kaleb had just gotten seated for their third ride in a row, when the ride came to a stop. “Not another broken ride,” we are all thinking. Turns out someone lost their Mickey Ears, so the ride had to be shut down for about five minutes while a CM retrieved them. We all finally got to take one more shot and Zurg. My mom decided that Kaleb needed to be able to practice for future battles with Zurg, so he now has his very own Buzz Blaster. I made her leave it to her house for him to play with there. :laughing:

By this time the park had opened for regular hours, so we make our way to Critter Country.

On the way to see Pooh and friends, we took some pictures in front of the castle and met a little fairy.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image357.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image363.jpg
Riley seems to think I have gone a little crazy in this picture. :rotfl:

Riley decides that she wants to ride the Haunted Mansion. I warn her that it is a little scary and that she might not like it. She calmly looks at me and tells me that she is “into spooky stuff now”. Okay. Good to know. :rotfl:

We ask Kaleb if he wants to come with us. “Too scared,” is his answer.:lmao: Grandma stays with Kaleb and ends up buying him a Mickey light saber. Another great toy for you to have at your house, Mom. I can just imagine what kind of mischief would be caused at my house if we had toys like that here. :rolleyes1

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5298.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5297.jpg

Since the park has just recently opened, there is not yet a line for the Haunted Mansion. We go into the stretching room. I again warn Riley that there is a little scream (didn’t know what else to call it) after the spiel in the stretching room. She tensed up and hugged me, but she actually seemed to think it was kind of cool. She did great through the ride. She hasn’t seen the movie, but she seemed to enjoy herself. She really liked the end where Sally waves and says to come see her again.

Next we ride Pirates one last time. Thankfully no one was talking or taking pictures this time.:thumbsup2 Then off to Pooh we go. Writing this trip report made me realize that this is the only time we rode Pooh on this trip since it broke down when we tried to ride it on our first day. My poor kids. We simply most go back soon to rectify this. :upsidedow

After Pooh we stopped into the snack shop. When we had asked what souveniers they wanted from Disney, Kaleb had said he wanted a Tigger Tail and Riley wanted pumpkin fudge. Don't worry, they got other souveniers too. Bob got a pumpkin muffin and my mom got a Tigger Tail from the sweet shop. I helped the kids with their treats.
Riley’s pumpkin fudge was soooooo good.:cloud9: Bob said his muffin was good, but there was too much frosting. Off course the Tigger Tails were excellent. Cannot go wrong there.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5303.jpg
I know it is just wrong to post this picture of Riley, but I cannot help myself. She was trying to eat that fudge as fast as she could because the rest of us kept stealing bites. It was so good.

After our treats, we decide that we are going to hop over to DCA and ride Toy Story. It is about 9:30 at this time, so DCA hasn't yet opened.

Up Next: Toy Story and Goofy’s Kitchen

Yakety76

11-20-2008, 10:51 PM

I forgot to say, that is an AWESOME action shot of Kaleb on his first roller coaster!

:lovestruc

Thanks. He looks so serious. My mom was snapping pictures while Bob and I were riding with the kids. I am glad she got that one. :yay:

mommaU4

11-20-2008, 11:10 PM

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/image363.jpg
Riley seems to think I have gone a little crazy in this picture. :rotfl:

That is so funny! I laughed so loud my kids came running to see what was going on! :lmao: :lmao:

I think that's cute she said to you she is "into spooky stuff now". Everyone's treats look so yummy. :)

travelmel

11-21-2008, 12:10 AM

The pic with Bob and his muffin makes him look more like Riley's brother than father. LOL I love how people are willing to act at Disney. It's like a holiday every day.

Jennifer03

11-21-2008, 02:55 PM

All of the snacks you bought from Pooh's Corner look so good!

Yakety76

11-21-2008, 09:48 PM

That is so funny! I laughed so loud my kids came running to see what was going on! :lmao: :lmao:

I think that's cute she said to you she is "into spooky stuff now". Everyone's treats look so yummy. :)

I didn't realize Riley was looking at me like I was crazy until I got the pictures printed off. I am sure she gives me that look more often than I realize. :rotfl:

Riley takes her role as the Halloween lover very seriously, so she decided she wasn't going to be scared by any of the Halloween decorations anymore- including Jack Skellington. My brave little girl. They grow up so quickly.

The pic with Bob and his muffin makes him look more like Riley's brother than father. LOL I love how people are willing to act at Disney. It's like a holiday every day.

We had already checked out of our room and Kaleb's pirate hat didn't fit in our bags. Kaleb started the day wearing the hat, but quickly tired of that. Bob was a good sport and wore it. The things we do for our kids. :lovestruc

All of the snacks you bought from Pooh's Corner look so good!

They were all so yummy! Well, I don't really know if Bob's muffin was good or not because he wouldn't share. His growling whenever anyone got too close leads me to believe it was pretty tasty, though. :laughing:
I love Tigger Tails, but the pumpkin fudge was the best.

Yakety76

11-25-2008, 10:57 PM

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone. I will be back on to finish the last day of my trip report soon. Thanks for reading along with me.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/P1030223.jpg

trodrigue

11-26-2008, 12:05 AM

What a great report. It looks like you had a truly wonderful time.

prettyprincessbelle

11-26-2008, 12:18 AM

What a wonderful picture!!

Btw, I love your DD's name. Riley is such a pretty name!

travelmel

11-26-2008, 12:34 AM

Awww! So sweet! Happy Turkey Day!!!!

mommaU4

11-26-2008, 12:52 AM

I didn't realize Riley was looking at me like I was crazy until I got the pictures printed off. I am sure she gives me that look more often than I realize. :rotfl:

Riley takes her role as the Halloween lover very seriously, so she decided she wasn't going to be scared by any of the Halloween decorations anymore- including Jack Skellington. My brave little girl. They grow up so quickly.
I think all kids look at their parents like that, and those looks increase when they become teens. ;)

I love Halloween too so I think it's cool she loves that holiday. She has good taste. :thumbsup2 And yes, they do grow up too quickly.

Love the pic of them in the leaves. That's what being a kid is all about. Jumping in a big old pile of leaves. Enjoy your holiday!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d37/mommaU4/bday%20holiday%20clip%20art/HappyThanksgiving.jpg

Yakety76

11-28-2008, 09:03 PM

What a great report. It looks like you had a truly wonderful time.

We did have a wonderful time. Thank you.
I was afraid we would feel rushed because it was such a short trip, but we were still really able to enjoy our time. It was great!

What a wonderful picture!!

Btw, I love your DD's name. Riley is such a pretty name!

Thank you. It is one of my favorite pictures from this fall. I love Kaleb's eyes in it. You can see he is going to be up to something soon. :laughing:

I also love the name Riley. It seems to really suite her.

Awww! So sweet! Happy Turkey Day!!!!

Thank you. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
At the table when we were giving thanks, Riley said she was thankful for all the people she loves. Made my heart burst. :love:

I think all kids look at their parents like that, and those looks increase when they become teens. ;)

I love Halloween too so I think it's cool she loves that holiday. She has good taste. :thumbsup2 And yes, they do grow up too quickly.

Love the pic of them in the leaves. That's what being a kid is all about. Jumping in a big old pile of leaves. Enjoy your holiday!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d37/mommaU4/bday%20holiday%20clip%20art/HappyThanksgiving.jpg

I expect I will be at the receiving end of many more "Riley looks" as the years pass. It is only fair, as I gave my mom the same look many times while I was growing up. Now it is my turn. :laughing:

I love that she has taken such a shine to Halloween. Because it is Riley's favorite holiday, we have decorated and had Halloween parties for her and her friends the past two years.
I think I enjoy Halloween more now than I did when I was a kid because I see it through Riley's eyes.

The kids had so much fun "helping" me rake up the leaves. Small pleasures!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Yakety76

11-28-2008, 09:54 PM

DL was starting to get a little busy and Bob really wanted to ride the new Toy Story ride, so we headed over to DCA to be there for rope drop. They were already letting people in, so we hustled over to the side leading to Bug’s Land. I had read on the DIS boards that the CMs were leading the lines for Toy Story around by Soarin. I didn’t see any signs and didn’t want to take the chance that I was mistaken, so we hung tight where we were. It seems that everyone that was in DCA had the same mission- ride Toy Story. We had tried to ride it during the Halloween party and on Friday, but the line was always super long. Today was our last chance, so there was no turning back.

Once the rope dropped, we wound our way with the crowd and found ourselves lined up against the fence by the pond (not sure of its name). We were able to watch Screamin take off a couple of times and that was fun. It didn’t look like the line was that long. Looks can be deceiving. Others have said how entertaining the wait is and how it goes by quickly. Mr. Potato Head did not work the entire time we were in line, so we didn’t find the line very entertaining. :sad2: We patiently waited with everyone else, though. Finally it was our turn at around 11:00 after waiting in line for an hour.

I have to say that I didn’t love this ride and I wouldn’t wait for an hour to ride it again. It was cute and would be fun to ride if the lines were shorter. The kids were not able to be independent with the shooting because you have to push the barrel down and pull back on a string. To do those two things at once was very tricky for my young children. I can see how it would be a very entertaining ride for older kids – especially ones that like video games.
I would have liked to ride again because I know between aiming my own gun and trying to help the kids with theirs, I missed seeing a lot of the details. I also didn’t feel the bursts of air or squirts of water that we had heard were part of the ride. Regardless, we had fun riding it.

Bob had picked up fastpasses for Soarin’ before we got into line for Toy Story, so we decided to take Riley on that for our last ride of the trip. My mom took Kaleb to a store to do some more shopping. Boy, can she shop.:rotfl:
We had to wait a couple of minutes for our fastpass time to roll around. Riley played in the mister. Then we walked right on and went Soarin’ over California again. I noticed all the scents this time, so that was really nice. Riley loved every minute. :goodvibes
After the ride we met up with my mom and Kaleb and hustled to Goofy’s Kitchen. Our PS was for 12:00. It was already a quarter till 12, so we were really pushing it.

We arrived at Goofy’s right at noon. Wow! It was busy. Everyone was celebrating a birthday. Somehow, we got right in. Since we hadn’t arrived early for our PS, I was really expecting to have to wait when I saw the crowds.

We took our picture with the greeter, Pluto.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5350.jpg

We then followed the host to our seats. We were seated on the left hand side when you first walk in. We saw quite a few characters and had some good character interaction. Goofy was great – as he has been the other two times we went.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5314.jpg

Chip was the best! He took a shine to Kaleb and spent quite a while tickling him.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5328.jpg

Prince Phillip really tried hard to win Riley over, but she was being shy with him.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5318.jpg

We noticed on this visit that she is really uncertain about the male face characters. Both of my kids do better with the fur characters. The face characters bring out the shy side in my kids.

The music came on for the kids to go bang the pots and pans at the same time that Jasmine came to our table.
Kaleb chose to go do pots and pans and Riley stayed to talk with Jasmine- her favorite princess. Both kids were a little disappointed with their choice. Since there were so many kids there, Kaleb wasn’t quick enough to grab two things to bang. Then when Jasmine left, Riley came hurrying over to bang some pots. The music ended right when she reached us.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5340.jpg

After this, we quickly wrapped up our meal. The kids were in need of some down time. All in all, we enjoyed Goofy’s. The characters that we saw were great. Dale and Captain Hook were also roaming around, but they never made it to our table even though we were there for an hour and a half. I was disappointed in a couple of the guests that were seated near us. Two moms kept bringing their children over to our table while the characters were visiting with us. Maybe they didn’t realize that the characters would come see them too. :confused3 It bothered me that they would encourage their children to interrupt our time, though. Regardless, it was fun and we will be returning to Goofy’s on future visits.

After Goofy’s, we went to the gift shop in the hotel lobby and bought some more souvenirs. We then collected our bags and waited for the Disneyland Express. Apparently, there was some confusion about the Disneyland Express. When our bus arrived, the people from the other hotels all got off and then boarded another Express shuttle because they were not going to LAX. Not sure if the shuttle made a mistake, if the people got on the wrong shuttle, or if this is normal. But it was kind of chaotic with everyone getting off and unloading their bags. The kids and I were actually surrounded by bags and had to move bags in order to get on the bus.
We did manage to get on the shuttle and had a nice ride back to the airport, though. Kaleb fell asleep and Riley cuddled with me during the drive. This driver didn’t show a movie on this trip either. Maybe they have changed that since we went in February.

We got through LAX security and had some time on our hands, so we found an empty space and let the kids run around and play a little. Those of you who read my first trip report might recall that the smell in the airport had me checking Kaleb’s diaper constantly. The same smell was in the air this time. That airport just stinks!! This time I knew not to blame Kaleb, though.

We were a little concerned about our flight because we had a layover. We couldn’t get a straight flight to Boise on a Saturday. Those flights are only on the weekdays. Riley is a great traveler. We don’t ever have to worry about her getting upset or making a scene. Kaleb doesn’t like sitting still at all, so we have to pack many diversions to occupy him on flights. He did really well, though. He got a little grumpy towards the end, but nothing major at all. The people around us on the plane actually told us what well behaved kids we have. :woohoo:

We had a very quick layover that was only long enough for us to use the restroom and then re-board. It was the kids’ bedtime at this point, so we were hoping they would sleep on the next leg of our journey. They both happily went to sleep as soon as the lights were dimmed on the plane. Kaleb was not happy when he got woken up by bright lines being turned on when we arrived in Boise. My mom and I quickly took the kids to our car, which we had left at the airport during our trip, while Bob went for our bags. The kids fell right back to sleep.

We had a great trip and I would love to have a longer trip during the fall to enjoy all the decorations. I see other’s pictures on their trip reports and know we missed a lot of the wonderful details. I also didn’t see any characters in costume. That was a major bummer for me.
We would try to plan around UEA if we went in October again, though. It was nice to have the parks open so early because we are early birds, but Bob really didn’t like the crowds in the afternoons.

Thank you for taking the time to read my trip report. We had a wonderful trip and I enjoyed sharing it with all of you.

The kids ask if we can go back to Disney almost every day. We are currently in the early planning stages of our next trip. We are thinking of going to Disneyworld next November. Maybe we will go for Riley’s 5th birthday.

mommaU4

11-28-2008, 10:01 PM

I loved your TR. All those pics from the character meal are so cute. And we were at DCA on the 18th too!

Thanks for sharing and I hope your plans for WDW next November are realized. :wizard:

travelmel

11-29-2008, 01:33 AM

Chip was the best! He took a shine to Kaleb and spent quite a while tickling him.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/IMG_5328.jpg

OMG SO CUTE!

My DH looked over after I was laughing and said, "Wow, that's DISNEY happy right there, boy." :lmao:

Nice job making it over to TSM! That kind of pressure can be murder! I can see how it could be a let down for the little ones. Our girls were perfect ages for it but that would be a long haul for such a short and busy ride with little ones. I liked it BUT.. I agree that you don't really have time to see the stuff when you're so busy doing the stuff. lol

What a great report. Your kids are so adorable (beautiful skin!)! Isn't it fun to see them experience everything?? I'm really looking forward to your WDW report. Keep me posted!

prettyprincessbelle

11-29-2008, 03:26 PM

Great TR!! I really enjoyed it! It looks like your kids had a wonderful time!

I totally understand about the Toy Story ride. We enjoyed it, but we did wait a little longer than I wanted to, plus I can see how it can be harder for younger kids. I even had a hard time with that dang shooter!

Yakety76

11-30-2008, 10:34 PM

I loved your TR. All those pics from the character meal are so cute. And we were at DCA on the 18th too!

Thanks for sharing and I hope your plans for WDW next November are realized. :wizard:

Thanks for taking the time to come along with me on my trip report. I enjoyed sharing it with you.

We have been planning on going to WDW since after our February trip, but I seem to have a hard time holding off. I still want one more DL trip before I go to WDW. We shall see if Bob goes along with me on that.

OMG SO CUTE!

My DH looked over after I was laughing and said, "Wow, that's DISNEY happy right there, boy." :lmao:

Nice job making it over to TSM! That kind of pressure can be murder! I can see how it could be a let down for the little ones. Our girls were perfect ages for it but that would be a long haul for such a short and busy ride with little ones. I liked it BUT.. I agree that you don't really have time to see the stuff when you're so busy doing the stuff. lol

What a great report. Your kids are so adorable (beautiful skin!)! Isn't it fun to see them experience everything?? I'm really looking forward to your WDW report. Keep me posted!

Thank you so much for all your nice comments. The kids just love Disney.

Kaleb was really shy with the characters this trip, but he did enjoy Chip a lot. He was laughing so hard. I actually even heard Chip trying hard not to laugh.

Great TR!! I really enjoyed it! It looks like your kids had a wonderful time!

I totally understand about the Toy Story ride. We enjoyed it, but we did wait a little longer than I wanted to, plus I can see how it can be harder for younger kids. I even had a hard time with that dang shooter!

Thank you!! The kids absolutely loved their time at Disney. Their only complaint was that we didn't stay long enough.

As for Toy Story, I think it will be a lot of fun when the kids get older. For now we will probably stick with Buzz. I am glad you all saw what I was saying about Toy Story, though. I know everyone on the boards loves that ride, and I can see where it could be a really fun ride. With little ones, it is just not really worth the wait for us though.

Ladies, thank you for being my faithful readers and commenters. I really appreciate you all sticking with me through the whole thing. :grouphug:

Yakety76

08-11-2009, 09:28 AM

I wanted to update this report as I am now planning our next DL trip for this November. We had thought about going to WDW, but I thought it would be better (for me) to wait until Kaleb is a little older. Traveling that far on a plane with a child who doesn't like to sit still didn't sound like much fun.

We have booked our stay for Sunday, November 8 through Friday, November 13. The Sunday we arrive will be Riley's 5th Birthday party:
Veteran's Day is on Wednesday of that week. We are hoping that the crowds won't be out of hand because of this, but really we are just excited and cannot wait no matter what.

My mom and dad are both coming with us on this trip :banana: My mom came with us on our short Halloween trip, but my dad hasn't been since I was a teenager. He is soooo excited to go with the grandkids.
We booked rooms at HOJO after hearing such good reviews and seeing the great pictures of the water area. Cannot wait :yay: Is it November yet?!

AZBeth

08-11-2009, 10:46 AM

Yakety76

08-12-2009, 02:35 PM

I have read your other 2 TR and can't wait to hear how this trip goes... We are going Nov 13th - Nov. 17th, so we will just miss you. This will be my oldest DD, 8th birthday and this is both my DDs first trip (other DD is 4)...

Beth

Thanks for reading. I love re-living our trips by sharing them here. I am sure I will do another TR for our November trip.

I cannot wait to hear about your trip with your daughters. You will have to do a TR. I hope you all have the best time!!

VallCopen

08-21-2009, 12:46 PM

Yakety76 thanks for the Trip Report. I was happy to read one that was at Halloween time since my family and I will be going down on Oct. 30th for 2 weeks to stay with our new DVC purchase for the Halloween decorations. I have two girls and my baby girl is about the same age as your son was at the time you went, so I was able to get an idea from his reactions what hers might be at this stage. We went in April and she hasn't forgot the trip yet and talks all the time about Disneyland so we are hopeful that she won't be to scared this time.:confused3 It seems like your daughter loved everything and had an incredible time - great age for Disneyland IMO.

I hope you don't mind but I had a few questions about the ToT party?

Do you get lots of candy and is it anything special or just standard halloween candy???

I saw that Toy Story Midway Mania was busy but were all the rides like that?? Were you out late that night and if so how were the rides there?
From your pics it seemed like a lot of characters that are not usually around is that correct?? (Our goal is to eventually get every characters signature - we actually found a site that shows all the characters and their difficulty in getting a signature - so we thought it would be a fun thing to do over the next 10 years or so)

How long were the lines for the character sigs during the ToT party?

In your opinion is there anything we should not miss during the ToT party???

Well thanks for the TR again and letting me ask all the questions....

Do you remember how much it cost to decorate the cookies and how do you find out about the times to do that???

Yakety76

08-21-2009, 08:25 PM

VallCopen
Thanks for reading my trip report. I hope you all have a fabulous Halloween trip. My son was much more reserved on this trip than on our previous trip when he had been 18 months. However, that is very much his personality. We just let him choose which characters he is going to go up to and it works for us.

I would be happy to answer your Halloween questions as best as I can.
1. We actually did not get much candy, but that is because we didn't trick or treat too much. The healthy snack options were just carrots and apple crisps. The raisins were in special packages, though- I think Wall-E. The candy was regular old trick or treat candy. The best trick or treat station for us was through the animation building. They had lots of different stations in there and it was a great way to explore the building. I have heard they do the same thing through the Redwood Creek Challenge, but we didn't go through there.
2. We didn't last until the end of the party. We were at our hotel for fireworks, so we must have left a little before 9:00. We didn't try many rides. We went to Bugs Land, the carrousel and tower of Terror. Tower of Terror was down, but I think many of the other rides in the park were up and running.
3. There were a lot of special characters out. We saw the Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, Goob (from Meet the Robinsons), Sully, the Incredibles, Mickey and Minnie dressed in costumes, Captain Jack- plus the characters I mentioned in my report. They were mostly dancing at the dance stations. Mickey and Minnie had the longest line- of course.
4. The lines for characters were really, really long. We actually only waited in 3 lines because they were so long. However, we went during UEA and it really did seem that everyone from Utah was in the park at that time. So I don't know if the lines would be as long for you.
5. The thing I regret about our trip is not paying enough attention to the Halloween details. I really wish I would have taken the time to look at the window displays.
The characters were great at the party. That had to be the highlight of the party for me.
6. The cookies were about $6 each- I think. It was back in the Big Thunder Ranch area. I am not sure if they still do that because of the Celebration BBQ. I knew about the cookies by reading a trip report by MommaU4. They have princess cookie kits listed on the allears menu for the Enchanted Cottage, so that may be an option if they don't have the Halloween cookies this year. It was a lot of fun to do.
Enjoy your planning. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to try to answer them. :goodvibes

VallCopen

08-21-2009, 08:36 PM

Yakety76 thanks for all the answers. We can't wait for our trip and to see the Halloween decor (first time seeing it for us). I am going to try a TR when I get back but I have never done one yet. Thanks again!!:thanks:

disneynerd420

09-01-2009, 02:02 AM

I loved your trip report. It looks like you have some very magical memories.

P.S. I too love the pumpkin fudge. I'm bringing home a box of it this year.

CinderALLIE

09-02-2009, 02:27 AM

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg255/yakety76_photos/P1030048.jpg

Hi, just read your trip report. You kids are too cute. I especially love the above picture.

Seeing as Riley loves Princesses when you go back to Disneyland are you going to check out Ariel's Grotto or is that something you don't want to put Kaleb through? LOL

Docter419

09-02-2009, 11:40 AM

Awesome TR, Great job by the CM's to come over and really create a special moment for you. Big Props to those two. Also the Pixar Parade looks really good! Can't wait to see it When I there in two weeks.

Yakety76

09-02-2009, 11:57 AM

I loved your trip report. It looks like you have some very magical memories.

P.S. I too love the pumpkin fudge. I'm bringing home a box of it this year.

It was such a fun trip. Having my mom there was really special. Enjoy your trip with your mom!! You will love the DLH. Take time to explore the grounds. The water falls are really fun to walk through.
The pumpkin fudge is the best ever!! I am already looking forward to having some more of it.

Hi, just read your trip report. You kids are too cute. I especially love the above picture.

Seeing as Riley loves Princesses when you go back to Disneyland are you going to check out Ariel's Grotto or is that something you don't want to put Kaleb through? LOL

We love Flik's Flyers. You would think it was an adventure ride by the way my kids scream and hold their hands up. :laughing:

Riley isn't into the princesses at all anymore. It was a very short phase, so I am glad we got her to PFF during that time. I am still planning on taking her to PFF this trip because I really loved the character interaction.
Ariel's Grotto would be asking too much of Kaleb. He has pretty bad stranger anxiety and the face characters are difficult for him. We are planning on going to Minnie's, though.

Awesome TR, Great job by the CM's to come over and really create a special moment for you. Big Props to those two. Also the Pixar Parade looks really good! Can't wait to see it When I there in two weeks.

Peter and Wendy were the BEST!! Riley still talks about it.

The Pixar Parade is soooo much fun. Enjoy your trip. I wish I were going in two weeks. I only have two months to wait now, though. :woohoo: