Lizzybear
12-15-2008, 11:53 AM
Pre-trip (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25870384)
Day 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979081)
Day 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979156)
Day 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981701)
Day 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981755)
Day 5 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981868)
Day 6 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1983813)
Day 7 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=28645475)
Day 8 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=28647017)
Day 9 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29069413)
Day 10 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29070545)
Day 11 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29072901)
28th September 2008
Up early today as we wanted to set off handy for Six Flags Magic Mountain, so at 8:45am we were on our way and arrived at 9:20am (the traffic isn't bad at all going out of LA, plus it was the weekend) We had to queue for a bit before the park opened at 10am so, armed with maps, we made a beeline for the Flashpass pickup point as soon as we were through the turnstiles. Now would be a good time to mention that it was 99 degrees farenheit today! Six Flags is basically in the middle of the desert and there is very little shade in the park itself so the heat is intense to say the least. We decided to go on X2 first which already had quite a queue built up. I have to say that I hate how Six Flags force you to pay $1 per locker rental for every single ride, plus you have to exchange 4 quarters for a stupid token which is inconvenient when they only have one machine and the person in front can't follow simple instructions (not that this happened or anything, hmm!) I know they charge much less for admission than Disney but in my opinion there's just something nice about not having loads of hidden extras once you're inside a park (I don't count souvenirs as they don't affect if you can go on rides or not!) Another thing is that the Flashpasses aren't valid on most of the 4 very popular rides and in hindsight I wouldn't have bothered buying them as I only used one ticket for Tatsu but of course you live and learn! Six Flags is only open at weekends during 'off season' but it wasn't horribly busy on the Sunday we visited and I get the impression from others that this is pretty usual. We ended up giving the rest of our tickets away to a family with 7 kids who were arriving as we were leaving so hopefully they found a use for the remaining 7 tickets..! Right, back to X2: We rode this (awesome and really different to any other coaster i've been on) and then Scream before Steve started to feel ill. We decided to stop for a drink and a brownie as we hadn't had any breakfast and also to plan which rides to do (to be honest in the excitement of Disneyland planning, Six Flags sort of fell by the wayside) Steve felt the same in Busch Gardens last year, I think it's the combination of intense heat and coasters. I rode Colossus and Riddler's Revenge on my own and queued for Deja Vu but it started having technical problems so it wasn't to be. After that I used a Flashpass for Tatsu and since Steve thought he was feeling better we rode Viper together but afterwards he felt ill again. Although it was only 2pm at that point we decided to just call it a day.. Steve said he didn't mind waiting while I went on more rides but my heart wasn't really in riding coasters alone and if i'm honest the promise of Disneyland later that day was almost more than I could stand! Six Flags hadn't originally been planned for this day as I didn't know about the weekend only opening but this ended up being the only day I could swap it to, not ideal but since the tickets were nonrefundable it seemed a shame not to use them. On the way out I went on the Carousel and we both got a T-shirt from the gift shop (only $10 each and good for smug wearing purposes at Alton Towers!) and I got a California state magnet. Hopefully we can return at some point and really do the park justice.. I know not every day of a holiday is going to be perfect and a total success so I try to include the good, so so and bad in my reports. We stopped at http://www.claimjumper.com/ for some lunch/dinner (meatloaf and mash for me and veggie burger for Steve, really lovely and the bill was $36) before driving to Anaheim. Traffic was variable.. If you hit this route at the wrong time you can be at a standstill for ages so I was pleased that we did the drive in just over an hour. We arrived at our hotel for the next 4 nights (Fairfield Inn) and checked in, freshened up and headed back out to Disneyland (yay!) Even some very rude people with no 'lift etiquette' didn't dampen my spirits!
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736483_234.jpg
Picture in the hotel room
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736484_476.jpg
Disneyland is unlike Walt Disney World in that it's right near a main road, not tucked away in the least!
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736485_713.jpg
Crossing the road, so excited!!
We queued at the ticket window to exchange our vouchers for 3 day hoppers and the man who served us was very nice, even when some woman pushed in to ask a question he politely put her in her place and rightly so! Since Steve works in customer service aswell they had a little rant about 'some people' and the man gave us both 'honorary citizen of Disneyland' badges, yay!
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736486_941.jpg
The Halloween decorations were fantastic
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736487_1140.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736488_1379.jpg
We're definitely here now
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736489_1602.jpg
The parade was actually due to start at 6:30pm and as it was 5:50pm we decided to stake out a good spot. Whilst it was busy it wasn't unbearably so and certainly not 'peak season bad' Steve got us some drinks and a CM came anc chatted to us for a bit which all passed the time really quickly and it was soon time for the parade which was very cute..
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736491_2075.jpg
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736492_2314.jpg
If i'm honest i'm disappointed with our Disneyland pictures.. I let Steve take them all as he has the better camera but now I wish i'd taken them instead, lesson learnt I suppose!
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736493_2577.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736494_2821.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736495_3079.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736496_3324.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736497_3574.jpg
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736498_3823.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736499_4092.jpg
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736500_4363.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736501_4624.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736502_4854.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736503_5119.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736504_5387.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736505_5648.jpg
Day 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979081)
Day 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1979156)
Day 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981701)
Day 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981755)
Day 5 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1981868)
Day 6 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1983813)
Day 7 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=28645475)
Day 8 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=28647017)
Day 9 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29069413)
Day 10 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29070545)
Day 11 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=29072901)
28th September 2008
Up early today as we wanted to set off handy for Six Flags Magic Mountain, so at 8:45am we were on our way and arrived at 9:20am (the traffic isn't bad at all going out of LA, plus it was the weekend) We had to queue for a bit before the park opened at 10am so, armed with maps, we made a beeline for the Flashpass pickup point as soon as we were through the turnstiles. Now would be a good time to mention that it was 99 degrees farenheit today! Six Flags is basically in the middle of the desert and there is very little shade in the park itself so the heat is intense to say the least. We decided to go on X2 first which already had quite a queue built up. I have to say that I hate how Six Flags force you to pay $1 per locker rental for every single ride, plus you have to exchange 4 quarters for a stupid token which is inconvenient when they only have one machine and the person in front can't follow simple instructions (not that this happened or anything, hmm!) I know they charge much less for admission than Disney but in my opinion there's just something nice about not having loads of hidden extras once you're inside a park (I don't count souvenirs as they don't affect if you can go on rides or not!) Another thing is that the Flashpasses aren't valid on most of the 4 very popular rides and in hindsight I wouldn't have bothered buying them as I only used one ticket for Tatsu but of course you live and learn! Six Flags is only open at weekends during 'off season' but it wasn't horribly busy on the Sunday we visited and I get the impression from others that this is pretty usual. We ended up giving the rest of our tickets away to a family with 7 kids who were arriving as we were leaving so hopefully they found a use for the remaining 7 tickets..! Right, back to X2: We rode this (awesome and really different to any other coaster i've been on) and then Scream before Steve started to feel ill. We decided to stop for a drink and a brownie as we hadn't had any breakfast and also to plan which rides to do (to be honest in the excitement of Disneyland planning, Six Flags sort of fell by the wayside) Steve felt the same in Busch Gardens last year, I think it's the combination of intense heat and coasters. I rode Colossus and Riddler's Revenge on my own and queued for Deja Vu but it started having technical problems so it wasn't to be. After that I used a Flashpass for Tatsu and since Steve thought he was feeling better we rode Viper together but afterwards he felt ill again. Although it was only 2pm at that point we decided to just call it a day.. Steve said he didn't mind waiting while I went on more rides but my heart wasn't really in riding coasters alone and if i'm honest the promise of Disneyland later that day was almost more than I could stand! Six Flags hadn't originally been planned for this day as I didn't know about the weekend only opening but this ended up being the only day I could swap it to, not ideal but since the tickets were nonrefundable it seemed a shame not to use them. On the way out I went on the Carousel and we both got a T-shirt from the gift shop (only $10 each and good for smug wearing purposes at Alton Towers!) and I got a California state magnet. Hopefully we can return at some point and really do the park justice.. I know not every day of a holiday is going to be perfect and a total success so I try to include the good, so so and bad in my reports. We stopped at http://www.claimjumper.com/ for some lunch/dinner (meatloaf and mash for me and veggie burger for Steve, really lovely and the bill was $36) before driving to Anaheim. Traffic was variable.. If you hit this route at the wrong time you can be at a standstill for ages so I was pleased that we did the drive in just over an hour. We arrived at our hotel for the next 4 nights (Fairfield Inn) and checked in, freshened up and headed back out to Disneyland (yay!) Even some very rude people with no 'lift etiquette' didn't dampen my spirits!
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736483_234.jpg
Picture in the hotel room
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736484_476.jpg
Disneyland is unlike Walt Disney World in that it's right near a main road, not tucked away in the least!
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736485_713.jpg
Crossing the road, so excited!!
We queued at the ticket window to exchange our vouchers for 3 day hoppers and the man who served us was very nice, even when some woman pushed in to ask a question he politely put her in her place and rightly so! Since Steve works in customer service aswell they had a little rant about 'some people' and the man gave us both 'honorary citizen of Disneyland' badges, yay!
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736486_941.jpg
The Halloween decorations were fantastic
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736487_1140.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736488_1379.jpg
We're definitely here now
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736489_1602.jpg
The parade was actually due to start at 6:30pm and as it was 5:50pm we decided to stake out a good spot. Whilst it was busy it wasn't unbearably so and certainly not 'peak season bad' Steve got us some drinks and a CM came anc chatted to us for a bit which all passed the time really quickly and it was soon time for the parade which was very cute..
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736491_2075.jpg
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736492_2314.jpg
If i'm honest i'm disappointed with our Disneyland pictures.. I let Steve take them all as he has the better camera but now I wish i'd taken them instead, lesson learnt I suppose!
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736493_2577.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736494_2821.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736495_3079.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736496_3324.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736497_3574.jpg
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736498_3823.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736499_4092.jpg
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736500_4363.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736501_4624.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736502_4854.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736503_5119.jpg
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736504_5387.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v781/60/49/636036583/n636036583_1736505_5648.jpg