FlameGirl and family's PHOTO HEAVY 2010 Christmas marathon TR ~*FINALLY COMPLETE!!!*~ [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 12:00 PM

Hey there! I've been around the DIS for a while now and have successfully completed two trips in that time, and can you believe I've never yet done a trip report?

A little history lesson (relax...there is no quiz afterwards):

Way back when I met my husband in 2005, he announced that he would never return to Disneyland. I was crushed...my daughter was five at the time, the perfect age for fun family trips to the land of The Mouse, and the new love of my life was completely anti-Disney. He has two grown kids from a previous relationship and explained that he'd been there, done that already, and he was over it.

"But....but..." I stammered. "But you've never been there with ME."

He was not budging. Come to find out, his previous trips consisted of going during the summer when the crowds are at their highest, the sun is at its hottest, and they had a very strict budget and stayed way off property in a (what he referred to as) "budget" hotel. When my husband says "budget", it usually means "ghetto". So, his Disney experience hadn't been everything it could be, I got that, so I quietly started scheming to find a way to change his mind.

And then, as if by magic, two years later in 2007 he told me he MIGHT be willing to renegotiate his previous stance on a trip to Disneyland. That was all I needed...I immediately called Alaska Airlines and booked a trip! :rotfl:

We went for three days, the week after Thanksgiving, and stayed at the DLH. We flew into SNA and cabbed it to the hotel. The plan was to poke around DTD that evening and then hit the park first thing the next morning.

We caught up with Goofy in the lobby of the DLH:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2344/2089560704_d1b58e9d46.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089560704/)

I don't think she even really gets what a phone booth is:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2088772921_0e771e4016.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088772921/)

By the time we made it to DTD we were starving, so we headed to Tortilla Jo's. We wanted just a little something to tide us over until dinner...his daughter (who lives in Martinez, CA) was flying to Maui and had a layover for the night in LA, and would be joining us for dinner. We decided to split an order of the chicken nachos, and my daughter had a kid's quesedilla (I can never see or hear the word quesedilla anymore without hearing the gramma from Napoleon Dynamite say "Go make yerself a gosh-dang quese-DILLA" :lmao:) and we thought we'd have a couple drinks to calm the traveling nerves. When the check came, I almost fainted: $85 so with the tip, it came to almost $100.

I call this shot "$100 Nachos at Tortilla Jo's :laughing:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2225/2088773597_2788054d3b.jpg ("[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088773597/)

We were indoctrinated quickly into the school of All Things Disney Will Cost You a Bloody Fortune after that experience.

I will miss you, waterfall:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/2089562796_e5d55f211d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089562796/)

We finally met up with my stepdaughter and headed over to ESPN Zone for dinner. But of course, we were still full from our $100 nachos, so we just had a glass of wine and chatted with her.

The next morning, we sent the stepdaughter off on her way on the DLH shuttle, and we headed for Uva Bar for breakfast before the rope drop:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2068/2089566088_c8d0b71a06.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089566088/)

The hoard before the gates opened:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2132/2088777129_e35890eeb1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088777129/)

This sign always gets me:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2411/2089565700_74e48f126d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089565700/)

Ack!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2044/2088777471_cf2425b838.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088777471/)

To Be Continued.....

Belle Ella

09-14-2010, 12:07 PM

:woohoo: I'm here! I'm here!

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 12:26 PM

Nemo was still pretty new, and I had lurked around here enough to know it probably made the most sense to head straight to Nemo when they dropped the rope. What a mob scene! People were SPRINTING towards Tomorrowland and they had a CM planted to direct people by saying "The Finding Nemo submarines are this way!"

We didn't run. I refuse to mow down small children to ride a ride. I mean, I'm a bitter old hag, but I draw the line at injuring babies. :rotfl:

I remember the submarine ride from way back when I was a kid in the 70's so I was really happy to hear they were doing another submarine ride.

My favorite part of the ride:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2293/2088777961_cdcd617d44.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088777961/)

We liked the ride. I know it has mixed reviews, but I think it's fine for what it is. We did all agree that we had seen it, and wouldn't need to stand in line to see it again.

Now, let me take a minute to back up a bit. Back BEFORE I met my (mostly) wonderful husband, I was a single mom, and had an opportunity to stay in LA for a few days in the summer of 2004. A guy I was dating was invited to a very hoitey toitey computer nerd / gamer elite 4th of July party at some super rich guy who is one of the people that developed some first-person shooter game's house in the Hollywood hills. Kids were not invited so I mentally flipped that party the bird and took my kid to Disneyland for the day.

Did I mention it was the Fourth of July? What was I THINKING? :scared1:

We actually had a really good time, except that my darling daughter is kinda chicken of everything and only wanted to ride IASW. She wouldn't do POTC, HM, no dark rides, period...she wouldn't have DREAMED of Indy...so we walked back and forth between IASM and the Jungle Cruise and Dumbo and the Carousel about a thousand times. Finally, FINALLY at the very end of the day, she agreed to go on POTC. So, we go get in line and wait and then we are the next people to board and then she starts FLIPPING OUT. I got her to calm down enough to get her on the boat (I know I'm coming off like a child abuser here, like I forced her onto a ride, but I KNEW she would love it once she stopped freaking out...) and she enjoyed it. So we went on POTC several more times before watching fireworks and heading home. Seriously? She freaked out when she found out we were going into the whale on the Storybook Canal. :sad2:

OK, back to 2007. We decided we were going to hit POTC first, and everyone agreed. Wouldn't you know...my little angel got up to the loading gate and started freaking out again. We let the other people behind us go, and more people, while we talked to her reminding her that she had already been on this ride and LOVED it, etc. She was hysterical. Finally, my husband picked her up and put her in the boat while a CM looked at us like the worst parents ever and we were off! Yippe! I swear, our trips are not complete without tears in the first few minutes.

Of course, as soon as we started moving, she remembered how much she loves the ride so when we got off, we found the CM that was giving us the stink eye and she went up to him and told him that she loved it and we were getting in line to ride again. :sad2:

So now, POTC is the new IASW. She wanted to ride it over and over and over, and still wouldn't go near the Matterhorn, Indy, or any of the big kid rides.

The Jungle Cruise remained a favorite, as well:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2387/2088779531_14a1526377.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088779531/)

We were able to talk her into the HM, too:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/2088790479_4e9deef176.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088790479/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2090/2088790797_2fff9a1947.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088790797/)

I am the biggest Tim Burton fan alive, and NBC is one of my favorite movies but the HMH leaves something to be desired for me. I miss the regular HM, but hey, it's not IASW so I can't complain too much.

At some point I convinced the gang to go into the Tiki Room:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2089571194_3c728e6674.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089571194/)

We got a Dole Whip while we waited for the show:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/2089571354_0a26b6fc54.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089571354/)

After the show, we came outside and I caught my daughter rolling her eyes. I asked her what that was for..."that was really dumb" she says. My husband nodded. Whatever family!

We found Balou wandering around outside of Bengal BBQ:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2062/2088783691_7002e090b2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088783691/)

(my daughter looks so goofy in this photo!)

Teacups:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2074/2088785859_c94149bd75.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088785859/)

(I am always the photographer on our vacations. I am in virtually zero photos.)

The castle is so pretty when it's lit up at Xmas time:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2407/2088786287_b2fb552130.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088786287/)

To Be Continued...

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 12:29 PM

:woohoo: I'm here! I'm here!

Hi! :thumbsup2

It may just be you and me! :lmao:

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 12:47 PM

My daughter (OK, I'm tired of typing "My daughter" and "my husband" so from here on out, My Daughter = Natalie, and My Husband = John. Everyone clear? :lmao:

Natalie wanted to have lunch at the RFC and somehow we got right in, with a table right next to the aquarium. We really lucked out!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2017/2088789839_995a82990b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088789839/)

This little fish captivated me. He swam in place, watching us the entire time. Another, bigger fish might come along and he'd dart off, but always would return to that spot, watching us. Kind of adorable, kind of terrifying.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2249/2088790053_2c71491b95.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088790053/)

I know I'm leaving big gaps in this TR but it was three years ago, I'm amazed I remember anything!

I neglected to mention that we had decided collectively that we picked the perfect time to go to DLR as the crowds were at a minimum and almost everything (except Nemo) was walk-on. That really can change the entire experience!

After lunch, we headed back on over to HMH and then on to Toontown.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2265/2089583560_01a0c19358.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089583560/)

These were all taken with my camera two cameras ago. Actually, if you want to get technical, it was three cameras ago. This camera was stolen while I was on a trip to Vietnam, so I ended up buying a newer version of the same camera while I was still in Vietnam (I just love being able to say "back when I was in 'Nam...) and that ended up being a hunk of junk. I bought a new P&S camera when I got stateside and then about a year later, I upgraded to my new big girl SLR which I'll be taking on our trip coming up in November / December. Woohoo! :woohoo: This is all to say that the quality of many of these is not great. That is partially due to the cheap P&S that I was using and partially due to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing back in '07. I've come a long way in that time. :)

This photo cracks me up. "OK Mom, please take the picture already..."

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2166/2089584180_c390ea9ca1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089584180/)

We ran into Mickey:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2162/2088796297_200e8b4046.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088796297/)

IASW all lit up for the holidays:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2197/2088796679_82115d7f6c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088796679/)

Dinner was at the Blue Bayou:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2190/2088797261_deb3dfb908.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088797261/)

The expressions on their faces tell me we were pretty tired. I remember John and I both had the prime rib and it was excellent! Natalie had a PB&J and a side of 7 year-old meltdown. I think I mentioned we were all exhausted.

I just love it in there:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2219/2089586024_550fe0afcb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089586024/)

And we've reached the end of day two.

To Be Continued...

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 12:50 PM

How the heck do you edit the title of your own post?

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 01:26 PM

Day Three.

We woke up early on day three and noticed that it was raining. I'd read / heard that DLR could be kind of fun in the rain because it took the crowds down to virtually nothing. I peeked outside and noticed people making their way to the parks wearing ponchos and carrying umbrellas. I laughed at these people. I mocked them! We all did, actually. The three of us, we were so arrogant. "HA!" we said. "These WIMPS!" We are proud SEATTLITES...we aren't afraid of a few rain drops!

John went down the lobby for coffee as Natalie and I got ready for our day. When he returned, he had three ponchos with him.

"Have you LOST your MIND!?" What are you doing buying ponchos!? I thought we agreed we are tough Seattle folks...we don't melt in the rain like these OTHER people!" I was incredulous.

"Honey, it's raining pretty hard out there. I bought us all ponchos. You don't have to wear yours if you don't want to."

"Fine, I won't. Ponchos! Pshhhhh." What a traitor!

And then, I stepped outside. And it was not unlike a monsoon. I quickly put on the poncho and John put on a smirk.

By the time we reached the Esplanade, we were soaked. TO THE BONE. It rains frequently in Seattle, but it rarely ever rains hard. It's usually just a light drizzle. This was a torrential downpour and I was not prepared. And it was COLD! When we got inside the gates, we went into a store on Main Street and all bought sweatshirts and baseball caps. I can't prove it, but I suspect that Disney manufactured the rain that day to increase sales.

That's John and Natalie in the lower right:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2105/2088797883_609ab74b2f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088797883/)

We were miserable. The plus side was, Splash Mountain was a walk-on and you really didn't have to worry about getting wet! This was Natalie's first time on Splash. The first little drop she yells "That was AWESOME!!" just as a wave of water came up over the side of the boat directly into John's crotch. Which of course created an unstifle-able fit of giggles in me. She really wasn't a fan of the big drop and we couldn't get her on the ride again after that.

After Splash, we HAD to get out of the rain...we were soaked, freezing and in misery. We decided to get on the Mark Twain to try to dry out.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2064/2088798605_858cea2a32.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088798605/)

Empty

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2212/2088798785_21e66048b3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088798785/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2269/2089587532_aef28bc59f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089587532/)

The Hungry Bear was PACKED with people all trying to get out of the rain:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2088799909_545d8c3b6a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088799909/)

After our boat ride, we headed over to NOS where we ran into Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2015/2089588826_745a869d23.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089588826/)

He really was amazing...what a character. I really wish they'd bring him back!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2038/2089589284_02d8561717.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089589284/)

It was about then that we had had enough, and headed back to the room to dry off. John gathered up all of the wet clothes and shoes (which were completely soaked) and went off in search of the laundry facility. When he got back, he said the entire place was full of people drying their shoes so all you could hear was CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK of shoes in dryers. :lmao:

Natalie and I hung out for a while and ordered a bit of room service while watching those Princess Bedtime Stories things on the tube. We decided that if the rain didn't let up some, we would throw in the towel and not go back.

Amazingly, the rain DID let up and either stopped completely or scaled back to a light drizzle, which we can deal with. After a nice long break, we headed on over to DCA.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2088801119_1331b98694.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088801119/)

I will miss those letters.

John and I went on TOT while Natalie waited for us inside the queue.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2311/2088801563_da129839d0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088801563/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2039/2088802145_630c6da837.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088802145/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2200/2089591190_97c2d01bd1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089591190/)

Next we headed over to the Animation Studio for Turtle Talk with Crush.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/2088803851_2753fa5b49.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088803851/)

This show is so much fun and I love that it's different every time. Crush asked one little girl from the audience where she was from and she yelled out "DISNEYLAND!!!" except it came out more like DEELAND! so Crush kind of looked confused and then started mimicking her...hard to explain but it was hysterical.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2026/2089592292_fbab5464b7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089592292/)

It was now dinnertime, so we decided to check out WCT. It was decent...John had the chicken alfredo lasagna which was by far better than whatever I had, which was so not memorable I have no idea what it was. While we were eating we asked Natalie what she wanted to go on next. Her answer was very predictable: Pirates! of couse. Then I got creative.

"Natalie, if you will go in Indiana Jones Adventure ONE TIME, we will go on Pirates of the Carribean (omg I just remembered when she was little she used to call it "Pirates of the Carri-be-ON") with you THREE TIMES IN A ROW. Her eyes LIT UP, and then narrowed. I could see the thought process working itself out on her little face. Pirates three times in a row? Awesome. IJA? Yikes. Ultimately, it was too good of a deal for her to pass up and and so a deal was struck.

We headed on over to IJA right away so that there wouldn't be enough time for her to chicken out. While in line she kept asking "what's this? what's that" and we realized she had never seen the movies. We told her she would LOVE the movies and I'd order them from Netflix as soon as we got home. Distraction, distraction, distraction. :lmao:

I have to say, I was so proud of that kid that night, she didn't try to get out of the deal and even though she was scared, she went on that ride...kept her eyes clamped shut the entire time and screamed her little head off. :lmao: As soon as it was over she said "well, let's head on over to Pirates!" which of course we did. And we rode it...three times in a row.

Now, I love POTC. It's one of my favorite rides. But we had been on that ride at least 10 times during our three days there and by the end of the third time on Pirates? We were soooooo over it. She was having a blast though and like I said, I was so proud of her for challenging herself and keeping her word.

After Pirates, we were wet (again) and cold (again) and pretty much done, so we headed back to the hotel and said goodbye to the park for this trip.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2129/2088804207_7d4060abf0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088804207/)

To Be Continued...

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 01:35 PM

Our flight back to Seattle wasn't until the late afternoon, so we spent the time we had before leaving for the airport at Build-A-Bear workshop, then headed over to the AMC theater and caught Enchanted which we loved.

Natalie wanted to make a Rudolph reindeer at BAB, didn't want any clothes for it, just the reindeer. John and I were so irritated that she couldn't just skip right to the line to pay for her animal, instead, we were forced to go through the other lines where they try to upsell to children all of the accoutrements. "What kind of a reindeer doesn't wear any clothes!?" the girl in the clothes station asked Natalie. It was so annoying.

After the movie and BAB, we headed over the the DLH Lost Bar for a snack and to play with the remote control boats.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2065/2089593274_ab986a49df.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089593274/)

I call this photo "Mickey and Johnny Walker":

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2143/2089593910_7d1d07dcd2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089593910/)

That was John's scotch, not mine. Blech. :sick:

OH MY GOD AVERT YOUR EYES IT'S A NAKED REINDEER:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2093/2089594186_2519ebfd0e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089594186/)

I caught this little old guy feeding french fries to these birds:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2088807215_4b5bc35680.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2088807215/)

And now ladies and gentlemen...we have reached the end of my 2007 trip report! Next stop...2009! :cool1:

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 02:03 PM

We decided to make another trip to see Mickey and Co. and since we'd had such good luck with the timeframe from the last trip, we stuck with a good thing and scheduled our trip for the week after Thanksgiving. This time, we'd be staying at the PPH and we had four day PH's. When I bought the tickets, my husband said "FOUR DAYS?? We'll never be able to stand it for FOUR DAYS".

We flew Alaska Airlines once again, and once again landed at SNA. That little airport really cannot be beat. Our flight took off at 6:30 AM and since we almost learned our lesson the hard way (we came dangerously and almost tragically close to missing our flight to Mexico...for our WEDDING) we are now two-hours-before-flight people. We have been converted! Which means, we were up at 3:00 AM. Ugh.

We landed a little bit early so we were on the ground before 9:00 AM, and since we didn't check any luggage, we were in a taxi and headed toward Disneyland by a little after 9:00. I told John I didn't think we would be able to check into the hotel until 3:00, but that I wanted to at least see if they'd keep our luggage for us. Well, I was in for a surprise...we got right up to the front desk where the nice kid told me that he would be happy to check us in to our room and give us keys right then! I asked him if there were any way to upgrade the room and he put us right in to a park view room. Sweet!! :woohoo: So, amazingly, we left Seattle that morning and was in the park in time for park opening!

Since we were staying at the PPH (which we all agreed the room was much nicer than the room we'd stayed in at DLH) we crossed the street and took the GCH shortcut. Natalie decided the first ride we should hit was GRR (I was disappointed...it didn't feel quite right starting off in GCA...my vote was for Pirates) but we weren't about to tell her no. We walked right on the ride and had a boat? to ourselves...and we were off! We were all laughing and having a good time until we got to the big drop and then Natalie started screaming and crying...she had ducked down to avoid a splash of water and hit her face / nose on the bars to hold onto. So, because no trip to Disneyland isn't the same without tears within the first hour....yeah. We finally got her calmed down (I know it had to hurt...nothing worse than getting socked in the nose) and headed on over to Disneyland.

Now, on our last trip, I didn't know this but at the time, Natalie had found a Pirates Aztec gold medallion that she wanted and for some reason, John had told her no. Well that kid has a memory like a steel trap because as soon as we got to Adventureland, she headed directly into the shop she had seen it in. She had her very own Visa gift card that she had been holding on to for the sole purpose of Disneyland since her birthday in September and she knew exactly what she wanted to buy. Even before going on any rides. She went in, found it immediately and wanted to buy it. I had neglected to activate the gift card yet so I told her I'd buy it for her. I still didn't understand why John had told her no on the previous trip. :confused3 And you know what? That kid still wears that thing around her neck every day. :goodvibes

By this time, we were starving so we thought we'd grab a couple skewers at Bengal BBQ but no such luck...they weren't open yet. We walked on Pirates (we couldn't resist teasing Natalie a little bit and asked her if she was going to freak out again this year), hit up IJA and Splash which she absolutely loved this time around and then finally, mercifully, Bengal BBQ was open.

I just have to say that I love this area in Disneyland...I think it's my favorite spot. I love sitting across from the Jungle Cruise and hearing that....I don't know what it is exactly....steel drum music? Coming from the direction of Tarzan's Treehouse...I just love it. Can't explain it.

We spent the majority of that day between Splash, IJA, Pirates and HMH. By 4:00 or so, we were all exhausted, so we decided to call it an early day and headed to Naples for an early dinner. We were hoping to catch the balloon guy there like we did on our last trip, and we lucked out!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4566347937_eb59505634.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566347937/)

Natalie wanted him to make her "Zero" from NBC.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4566348755_7ef40f13a7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566348755/)

See how much she's changed from the last trip?

You can see the Pirate's medallion in this photo and remember from last trip when we all bought sweatshirts during the monsoon? This is the one she bought. It was HUGE on her then and fits her just right now. :thumbsup2

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/4566349593_e2b539cfd9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566349593/)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/4566351217_83a6ab8035.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566351217/)

We headed back to the hotel where Natalie and John went for a dip in the pool. I went off in search of a glass of wine and to read my new book - Cesar Milan's puppy book. Just before we left, John and I sneaked away and picked out a Great Dane puppy that we would be surprising Natalie with for Christmas, so I could only read it when she wasn't around. :yay:

To Be Continued....

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 02:42 PM

The next day, we slept until we woke up. Which sounds ridiculous, but what I mean is, we didn't set any alarms. We were so tired from the day before, we didn't want to kill ourselves getting there at any particular time.

We thought we'd try to grab breakfast downstairs at PCH Grill. I don't know what we were thinking...I had totally forgotten that this was a character breakfast - we aren't huge breakfast eaters and really we just wanted a bite. Well, we got roped into the buffet thing and we are REALLY not buffet eaters. Natalie ended up eating a tiny little Mickey waffle, I think I ate a small forkful or two of some scrambled eggs and a taquito. I also had some of the teriyaki salmon on my plate but it was disgusting and completely inedible. :scared1:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/4566988096_51a6676929.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566988096/)

Uh oh...it looks like I let her leave the hotel room without brushing her hair:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4566360817_b9eb4ee4f1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566360817/)

Oops.

John was the only person out of the three of us who really had much to eat and of course, this is Disney, so when we got the $75 bill for breakfast, I vowed "never again". I'll eat a stinkin' pretzel or something next time, but I'm NOT paying $75 for breakfast again. As soon as the plates were cleared, John mentioned that he was suddenly not feeling well, so he went on back to the room while Natalie and I decided to hit the parks without him.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4566992154_f03d6581da.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566992154/)

We'd been on Soarin' on the last trip and Natalie did not enjoy it. I convinced her that she was a little older and that she should give it another shot. And she did. Well, the second we went UP...she started to hyperventilate. I was spending more time watching her to make sure she wasn't going to barf than I was watching the screen...and she was holding her breath (not sure why) and her eyes were closed tight, so when we got off, I told her she never ever had to go on it again. :lmao: I think her brain just cannot accept that she is only a little bit off the ground and not 300 or 400 feet. It scares her to death. Bad Mommy.

After Soarin', we decided to make our way back to Disneyland. I told her that it might be fun to surprise Dad, and when he calls us, to be able to tell him that she went on the Matterhorn! She was determined to try out some of the bigger kid rides this trip and Matterhorn was on the list of rides she wanted to try. She said she liked that idea so we headed on over to Fantasyland and got in line on the left. I couldn't remember which one is supposed to be faster.

When we loaded into our bobsled, I told her I was going to hang onto her from behind and that I wouldn't let go. She was so cute...she screamed the entire time and again, wouldn't open her eyes. But for some reason, she says she just "likes to keep her eyes shut" on some rides....not that she was unhappy. We got off the ride and she screamed "I DID IT!!!" and I was so proud of her, once again. Shortly after that, John called from the hotel and I handed the phone to Natalie so she could tell him her big news. After she did, she handed the phone back to me and he told me he was starting to feel better and would give me a call once we were back in the park.

Natalie and I headed on over to POTC and rode that...and then I heard my phone ringing. Oops. I was amazed that I even had a signal down there! Luckily, we were in the very back of the boat so I whispered that I'd call him back in a minute. I don't think anyone even noticed.

After Pirates, we were waiting around in NOS for John when we ran across this group of Pirates...and their little groupie.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/4567001136_bd1142b14e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567001136/)

He was pretty cute. Honestly though, I kind of got the impression that the mom had dressed him up like that to get the attention of the guy on the left...the kid has a photo of him on his back made to look like a "wanted" poster. I could be wrong...who knows.

After we found John, we headed on over to Frontierland. Once we were there, Natalie wanted to find a pair of Mickey ears, and she knew just the ones she wanted (again from our previous trip). I stood outside the store and used my iPhone to activate her gift card and when I went inside, I found her holding a pair of "Pirates" Mickey ears. Shocking! :lmao:

She paid for her ears and the CM asked us where we were from. The couple behind us overheard that we were from Seattle and they told us they were from Tacoma. Then, another couple overheard us both and told us they were from Yakima. Guess it was Washingtonian week in the parks! Then the CM asked us if we were here celebrating anything. We told him not really, that it was just a family trip. He asked Natalie when her birthday was and she told him "September 13th" and he says "Well, you're here celebrating your birthday!!" and pulls out a birthday button. :rotfl: So for the rest of the trip, people would stop Natalie and say "Happy Birthday, Natalie!!" and she would sheepishly say "thank you", knowing that her birthday had been 2-1/2 months before. :lmao::rotfl2: She still wore that button every day though! :rotfl::rotfl:

After we had Natalie decked out in her: Pirates Mickey ears, Pirates sweatshirt and Pirates medallion :lmao: we headed over to BTMR.

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We got all the way up to train cars ready to load and Natalie freaks out. The CM told her she could walk through the car to the exit while we rode, and that made her happy. After the ride, she apologized and told me she promised she would try it the next day.

Next we headed on over to IJA. We had already gotten fastpasses but found that the line was so short, we never really needed to use them...the FP line only take you to the indoor part of the queue and the standby line was never backed up to the outdoor part so a few times, in the FP line, we went under the rope when we realized it was a waste of Fastpasses (there was no one behind us so we weren't line cutting). This was now Natalie's very favorite ride. Since our last trip, she had seen all of the Indiana Jones movies and loves loves loves him / them. She was even Indiana Jones for Halloween one year. :lmao:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/4567007888_2fd1201f97.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567007888/)

She's so cute on the ride, too...she talks to Indy....in the part where he's holding the door shut from whatever is trying to get in she yells "Hold 'em tight Indy!!" or something like that...and when the puffs of air that hit you that are supposed to be blowdarts, she ducks from them...I can't explain it but it's hilarious. She totally gets into it.

The theme of this trip was: IJA, Pirates, Splash. Lather, rinse, repeat. :rotfl: Those were really the only rides that she was really interested in going on so we did a lot of walking. After IJA, we were headed on over to either Pirate's or Splash and caught Tiana's Showboat Jubilee countless times.

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We really enjoyed this! The music is great and while we didn't know it at the time, we LOVE the Princess and the Frog. Such a great movie.

After a bit we found ourselves in line for Pixie Hollow. We didn't really know what to expect and had no idea that the line would take for-freaking-ever but there you have it.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/4567023502_42a2f9f62c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567023502/)

I have no idea what this fairy's name is.

This little girl was adorable. She had clearly just had the works at BBB and she was so excited to meet Tinkerbell she kept darting out of line and past all of the other people waiting. Her mom was trying so hard to keep her in line but the kid was just not having it.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/4567025180_aa2b1cf2ef.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567025180/)

Then we got to meet Tink! She was pretty funny...she saw all of Natalie's Pirates stuff and said "Are you a pirate? I HATE pirates!!" So she teased her a little bit. I got one photo on my phone of Tink's grumpy face and with her arms crossed, having to pose with a "pirate". We bought a set of Disneyland DVD's called "Disney Secrets" or something and I see this very same Tink all over them now.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4567026646_98ff8b7c23.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567026646/)

To Be Continued...

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 03:03 PM

We headed on over to Tomorrowland where we rode Buzz, then John and I rode Space while Natalie waited. Then she spotted this....thing...and was drawn to it for a little while.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/4567028444_dfb000b7c0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567028444/)

By this time, we were getting hungry and I wanted to check out the Lobster Nachos that everyone raves about at the Cove Bar so we decided to make our way to DCA. Naturally, when we got there, the Cove Bar was closed so we had to come up with Plan B. In the mean time, we spotted these guys.

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This was our first time seeing the Army men and we just loved them. I hope they never leave.

After the aborted lobster nacho mission, we decided to give Tortilla Jo's another shot....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/4567046816_36f9e3dc18.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567046816/)

...and then headed back to Disneyland to do the Indy, Pirates, Splash, HMH circuit. :lmao: We also rode the Matterhorn again...this time at night which is a first for me. I love the Matterhorn at night! After the Matterhorn, we got in line for Nemo which ended up being a huge mistake...there was a kid with one of those flashy glow necklace things sitting directly behind us and ALL WE COULD SEE the entire time was the flashing reflecting in the glass. Super obnoxious. I couldn't believe his parents didn't ask him to cover it up or turn it off during the ride, and I can't believe a CM didn't say anything about it either. :mad:

Next we hit BTMRR and Natalie was still having no part of it so John and I rode it alone. I liked the Matterhorn at night better.

My memory is a little fuzzy here, but I think we headed back over to Pirates again and when we got off of that, we discovered the fireworks in progress so we stopped to watch that. It was our first time getting to see it "snow" so that was pretty cool.

And then something amazing happened. We were right in front of a popcorn stand and Natalie asked if she could have some. I wanted a Diet Coke so I said sure. I approached the cart and ordered a bag of popcorn and my Diet Coke and the woman handed them to me...and then I was puzzled. I asked her how much I owed her and she said "Oh, we are shutting down the cart and we have to throw all of this out anyway so it is free!" I was pretty sure they weren't throwing out all of the Diet Cokes, but hey, I'm not one to argue. :thumbsup2

I was really adverse to fighting the crowd to make our way back to the hotel, so I suggested that we find a bench and people watch until the crowd thinned out, which was fun. We talked to a big group of people and they asked us to take their picture in front of the castle.

Next up: Day three...

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 03:23 PM

We got up bright and early this morning and headed to Whitewater Snacks for breakfast, which turned out to be a MUCH better alternative for us than a character breakfast. :thumbsup2

After we ate, we headed straight to TSMM as we had never been on it, and wanted to get there before the line was outrageous. When we got there, it said the wait was going to be 30 minutes. We knew it was now or never so we stuck it out.

We had talked to a cast member the day before named Gene who was sweet as can be. He asked us if we'd ever been on the ride yet, and then said it was like Buzz Lightyear, only 10x better. And he was right! WHAT a cool ride. Natalie and I rode together and John was behind us, alone. Of course since he didn't have a passenger with his shooting at all of his stuff, his score smoked mine. We really had no idea what to expect so all of the little 4D effects really surprised us and we LOVED it. Unfortunately we never got to ride it again due to time constraints...oh well. I sure wish they'd put a FP in that ride.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4567050940_4ae47cafbf.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567050940/)

When we exited TSMM, we saw Woody and Jessie and Natalie really wanted to get a photo with Woody. As she was standing with him, the Army guys went by and Woody and Natalie both saluted them.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4566421509_e8c46c276e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4566421509/)

John and I really wanted to ride California Screamin' and Natalie wanted no part of it, so we gave her John's phone and she went off to ride the Carousel while we rode CS. I love that ride, too. I told Natalie that it was much smoother than the Matterhorn, but she was not to be swayed.

After CS, we headed over towards TOT and again, Natalie wanted no part of it. Again, we gave her John's phone and let her go to Bug's Land while we did TOT. I was a little nervous about this, and I called her about 4 times in the 20 minutes or so we were apart. She was good though...she stayed right in the area we told her she had to stay in and answered the phone right away each time I called her (neurotic).

When we met back up, we headed back over to Disneyland and found Pluto and Goofy right around the Christmas tree so of course, Natalie had to get her photo with these guys!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4567063344_694628d370.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567063344/)

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And then, it was finally time for her BTMRR moment! She kept her word and went on it...she and I sat together and John was alone. It ended up bombing though...all of the noise that the train makes freaked her out. The whole time she was sort of ducking down with her face close to the bar and I was so worried she was going to hit her face like she did on GRR I kept telling her to lift her head up but nope, she wasn't having it. When we exited, I told her that maybe she could try it again another time with earplugs and she seemed to like that idea. Oh well. :confused3

The rest of that day and the entire next day we spent doing the Indy, Pirates, Splash and HMH circuit. At one point, there was no line whatsoever for Splash so when we came to the exit part, Natalie looked at the CM and said "Can we go again?" and he said sure so we were off again. And then we came to the exit once again and she said "again! again!" and he let us go a THIRD time. Does anyone else experience this...my spine starts to really hurt after a while on that ride...like it's getting bruised because the back of the seat is so hard and the ride is jerky / bumpy enough that my spine takes a beating. I find myself leaning forward sometimes just because it's so uncomfortable. Anyway....on our third trip through the mountain, during the riverboat scene, I noticed that the donkey was missing an eyeball! :scared1: I was pretty sure it had just happened because I would have noticed it before. I asked the CM when we got off if that was something they wanted to know and he was really surprised to hear about it. Poor donkey. :lmao:

Later that afternoon, John was, once again, not feeling well, and he decided to head back to the hotel for a while. Natalie and I decided it might be a good time to hit the Animation studio in DCA for a bit. We saw the Zoetrope which we both loved, saw Turtle Talk with Crush, wandered through the Beauty and the Beast library thing, and then discovered that we absolutely LOVE the animation academy thing. We did it four times in a row! It was so much fun and we drew: Grumpy, Daisy Duck, Pluto and Jack Skellington. Jack was the last character we drew and by this time, John and returned from his little break and drew with us. It was such a great way to take a quasi-break and really kept us entertained.

After the Animation studio, we decided to try out Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen for dinner and we were so glad we did. The food was excellent! While we were eating, Natalie asked if she could go back for one more ride on Indy and Pirates. John said he was starting to not feel well again, so I told her we would hustle back but there was no guarantee we would get them both in.

And we did. She said she wanted the last ride to be Pirates, so we went on Indy first. As soon as we got off, we hustled to Pirates and got on that. Near the end, she asked me what time it was. It was 2 minutes to closing time. She asked if there was any way we could ride Indy again and I told her I didn't think so, but we would give it our best shot. So we went tearing off of Pirates toward Indy, mother and daughter, and she was so excited. We rounded the corner to Indy....and it was roped off.

"We're too late sweetie. The ride is closed."

And then the waterworks began. :lmao: She was crushed! I explained that I had told her we probably wouldn't make it but she got her hopes up anyway. So I walked my poor, crestfallen little girl back to the hotel where she pouted some more. I also reminded my husband how he didn't think we would ever be able to stand 4 full days in the parks.

And that is it for the 2009 trip! We started planning this years trip....while we were at the airport waiting to board our plane home. :rotfl:

Thanks for reading and up next: our 2010 PTR!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3626/4567068818_d180542414.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/4567068818/)

FlameGirl

09-14-2010, 03:40 PM

The cast of characters: The usual suspects. Me (40), DH (45) and DD (11).

We are flying out on Thanksgiving and land at LGB around 3:30 PM. We're staying at the Best Western Park Place Inn...for TEN nights, coming home December 5th. We booked through Costco Travel and I'm really liking how you can make payments, with no interest.

We decided not to stay on property for a number of reasons. The first being, ten nights is a long time and would be pretty expensive to stay on property. Secondly, we wanted a place with a microwave and fridge so we can help minimize some of the cost of eating while we are there. And lastly, I think the hotel we're staying at this time is actually a shorter walk than any of the other on property hotels.

We are renting a car at the airport to drive to Anaheim and then to grocery shop, and then getting rid of the car the next day.

We got 6 day park hoppers with our package, and we were going to get additional 2 day hoppers until someone gave me the brilliant idea of upgrading to AP's which turns out to be cheaper than the 2 day PH's. So I think we may actually spend 10 full(ish) days in the parks. That seems like a lot, and I really hope we don't burn ourselves out forever on Disneyland.

I think the plan is to eat breakfast either in the room or - gulp - try the free continental breakfast offered by the hotel, which frankly, scares me. It's at Captain Kidd's next door and I've heard nothing but bad, scary things about that place. So, if it doesn't work out, we will bagel / cold cereal it for breakfast. Then, if I'm organized enough, I'll pack a lunch or some snackie type foods to store in a locker, then eat a nice dinner.

Our dinner list is:

Blue Bayou
Cafe Orleans
Ariel's Grotto WOC
WCT
Jazz Kitchen
House of Blues
ESPN Zone
Rainforest Cafe
Naples

Um, I think that might be it.

We're also going to do the Fantasmic! dessert thing and of course, WOC.

Natalie is primed and ready, oh my heavens. She has done nothing but watch ride videos, Disneyland DVDs, etc. for weeks now. She's convinced she's going on TOT and California Screamin AND Space Mountain. I'll believe it when I see it. :rotfl: Also, John even admitted that he's getting excited and you'll remember that he was completely anti-Disneyland when we met. My, how things change. :lmao:

Well, that's about it. Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment! :thumbsup2

McNic

09-15-2010, 12:25 AM

Belle Ella

09-15-2010, 07:10 AM

I just love how it goes from "NEVER" to 3 days, to "never more than 4" and now to 10!! If only the natural progression in my life worked that way. You can definitely take your time in enjoying everything for that long!

FlameGirl

09-15-2010, 09:31 AM

I'm in. Lovin the report so far. Hopefully your daughter can get herself on those "scarier" rides. I'm 28 and am trying to pump myself up for CS and Tot! I am going to try my hardest not to bail. I figure if I can go skydiving, surely I can make it through these rides :rotfl:

Welcome! :)

Um...I'd say that if you've jumped out of a plane, nothing at Disneyland should be a problem!! :rotfl:

I'm excited to see if she follows through too. I really think she will like those rides...if we can get her on them. And that's a big "if". :cutie:

FlameGirl

09-15-2010, 09:37 AM

I just love how it goes from "NEVER" to 3 days, to "never more than 4" and now:lmao: to 10!!

I know!!:lmao:

I really believe that going when crowds are low made all the difference for him.

I can't believe we are going for 10 days...I hope we don't overdo it. The thought is with that much time and a room that close, we will take a lot of breaks and go at a slower pace. I hope. :)

OMG I have readers!!:laughing:

farmgirljen

09-15-2010, 11:04 AM

FlameGirl

09-15-2010, 11:12 AM

I loved reading your trip report! It was so much fun! My DS is almost 10 and we are going for our 2nd time ever in 2 weeks- DH has never been....My son is a lot like your daughter about rides, s owe have been watching videos and discussing alot of the rides too...:thumbsup2

Hi! And thank you! :goodvibes

Watching videos on YouTube was the BEST thing we did before our last trip. The funny thing is, I totally thought I came up with that all on my own...come to find out, everyone around here does it. :rotfl:

But yes, it definitely took the teeth out of a lot of the rides that she was afraid of. Once she could see what was on the ride, she realized she made it so much scarier in her head. It's an age thing too...as she gets older the rides she loved when she was little are boring and she wants to challenge herself a little bit more. And if not this trip...maybe next trip.

Have a wonderful trip!!

deejdigsdis

09-15-2010, 02:59 PM

FlameGirl

09-15-2010, 03:03 PM

What a great read! I enjoyed reading about your trips (that torrential rain sounded miserable) and I thought all of your photos were great. I also thought it was funny to go from "NEVER" .... and then building up to 10 days. :rotfl: Makes you wonder what the step-up from that will be!

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was fun writing it...I can't believe I remembered as much as I did!

The rain.....oh, then rain. :lmao: It was awful. It was funny because I had to take a business trip to LA about three weeks later, missed my flight out of Burbank, rebooked out of SNA and missed that one too and ended up having to stay at the HoJo of all places until I could leave the next day. It rained on me the whole time then, too. Who says it never rains in So. Cal? :rotfl:

wdwfan22

09-23-2010, 01:32 PM

FlameGirl

09-23-2010, 01:34 PM

I have read your trip reports today and really enjoyed them. How fun that you got your husband to come over to the right side. :cool1:

I am really looking forward to hearing how your daughter does on the rides this time.

We will be there a couple weeks before you.

Thanks for your comment!

It's getting closer! My daughter wants to talk about Disneyland every single night at the dinner table. :)

wdwfan22

09-23-2010, 01:53 PM

Ooh, I wish I had someone to talk about Disney with every night. My son loves it as much as I do, (which is why we are taking a trip with just the 2 of us, plus it's a sort of college graduation present). But he doesn't like talking about it nearly as much as I do. He doesn't like getting so excited and worked up about it. Plus, I guess, he works full time and goes to college full time, so he's pretty busy. :lmao:

FlameGirl

09-23-2010, 01:57 PM

That's cute.

We love talking about our trip with her but omg....it's every night, planning "which ride first", "which restaurant what night", etc. Over and over....it's a little bit exhausting. :lmao:

magichusky

09-23-2010, 09:32 PM

We got a Dole Whip while we waited for the show:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/2089571354_0a26b6fc54.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl1969/2089571354/)

Hahaha what a funny "Dad" photo! Dads have a way of always looking "cool" in DL but we all know they love it! I have a photo of my Dad directly after my family went on IJ right after it opened in 1994 (we spent almost 3 hrs waiting in line for that thing; no FPs at the time!) and he's absolutely beaming!! :goodvibes It's pretty funny!

Hopefully Natalie will try TOT this year! The first time I went on it I was considerably frightened :scared1: but TOT has turned out to be one of my most loved rides of all time! :love: Can't wait for your 2010 TR!

FlameGirl

09-23-2010, 10:05 PM

Hahaha what a funny "Dad" photo! Dads have a way of always looking "cool" in DL but we all know they love it! I have a photo of my Dad directly after my family went on IJ right after it opened in 1994 (we spent almost 3 hrs waiting in line for that thing; no FPs at the time!) and he's absolutely beaming!! :goodvibes It's pretty funny!

Hopefully Natalie will try TOT this year! The first time I went on it I was considerably frightened :scared1: but TOT has turned out to be one of my most loved rides of all time! :love: Can't wait for your 2010 TR!

Hi there - thanks for posting and welcome! :)

You should post the Indy photo of your dad! I'm pretty sure that hubs had no idea I was taking that photo, but he did manage to look bored and too cool for school, didn't he? :lmao:

I'm so excited to see if the kid goes on the rides...maybe we should take bets! :)

She asked if I'd buy her a "I survived the Tower of Terror" t-shirt if she goes on it.

FlameGirl

09-27-2010, 06:16 PM

We are finally below the 60 day mark! Yay! I remember when I first put up my ticker and it said 350-some-odd days and now we are at 59!!:woohoo:

Anyway...I've started mading dining reservations which always makes it seem real. Dinner the first night (Thanksgiving) at Naples, and the next night at RFC. I don't especially love RFC but Natalie loves it.

More to come!

BeautyAndTheBeast22

09-27-2010, 06:47 PM

FlameGirl

09-27-2010, 06:55 PM

FlameGirl

09-28-2010, 12:43 PM

I'm here and loving your previous pics and TR's!:yay:

Funny you mention youtube video's.. I also thought that we were the only "crazies" (as my husband calls the boys and I) who like to sit and watch others DL vacation videos. I have posted ours from 2006 and 2007, but am I bit behind on 2008 and 2009. I am a perfectionist so it takes me forever to make even the shortest video. They are under the user "cspasley22" if you ever want to check them out.

Your countdown is ticking away! :banana:

I just watched your videos. Your family is SO CUTE. The last clip from the 2007 video with your son on the rollercoaster is priceless. Also, I LOVE the Mr. Toad tees you and your hubs have...I know you said in your TR thread that they don't get as positive of a response as the Beauty / Beast shirts but I think they are hysterical.

Also....as someone who has done video editing for a living in my former life, you have a great eye for editing!

Thanks for sharing.

Made my Saturday night ressies today at RBJK. We're going to do an early 5:30 dinner that night, as I'm going to make our Fantasmic ressies for the same night. I'm just not sure if I want to do the first or second show. Decisions, decisions...

BeautyAndTheBeast22

09-28-2010, 12:58 PM

[QUOTE=FlameGirl;38395434]I just watched your videos. Your family is SO CUTE. The last clip from the 2007 video with your son on the rollercoaster is priceless. Also, I LOVE the Mr. Toad tees you and your hubs have...I know you said in your TR thread that they don't get as positive of a response as the Beauty / Beast shirts but I think they are hysterical.

Also....as someone who has done video editing for a living in my former life, you have a great eye for editing!

Thanks for sharing.
QUOTE]

The Toad tee's are actually my younger sister and BIL. They only travel with us about every 3 years. Thank you for the compliment on the vids. I have made a few videos for friends' weddings, child births, and etc., but I could never do it for a living. I am too much of a perfectionist and one video takes me months to complete!

We have never been to RBJK. Will have to try it one of these times. Don't forget the food pics! :thumbsup2

Littleprincess2010

09-28-2010, 01:53 PM

Love your previous trip reports and can't wait to read the one for November!! Those are some lovely photos and its really neat to read how your daughter tried more rides as the years went on. Count me in as a "Follower" popcorn::

FlameGirl

09-28-2010, 01:59 PM

Goofy_Mom

09-28-2010, 02:05 PM

FlameGirl

09-28-2010, 02:51 PM

I'm in too. Our DD is 9, we've had to "make" her try new rides every trip. She does the drama thing, too. Then she gets off the ride and, 9 times out of 10, she asks to go again. The exception to the rule was TOT. She'll still ride it for me, but only once per trip. Moholand Madness was her favorite DCA ride, I told her that is was down for a Goofy transition during our trip, but she could ride CS instead. She said pass.

We will be in the parks on the 24th to the 26th, if your DD would like a riding buddy. . .

We generally try not to *make* her go on stuff, but sometimes we do strongly suggest she try something at least once and if she's not into it, she doesn't have to try it again. The POTC incident was pretty out of character for us, but it was one of those moments when we were out of patience and she was acting pretty silly. As it stands now, Soarin' is the only ride she is absolutely diametrically opposed to going on, in theory, this next trip. I'm not above bribery though...she's positioned herself for a trip to BAB (ugh) if she tries CS, and a "I survived the TOT" t-shirt if she goes on that twice. :lmao:

We won't actually be in the parks until the 26th, but I'm not opposed to a meet and greet! :)

FlameGirl

09-29-2010, 10:11 AM

Sunday November 27...just booked Blue Bayou! We haven't been since 2007. :woohoo:

I wonder if Natalie will be allowed to order off the kids menu...she's 11 now. :upsidedow

Goofy_Mom

09-29-2010, 10:23 AM

Sunday November 27...just booked Blue Bayou! We haven't been since 2007. :woohoo:

I wonder if Natalie will be allowed to order off the kids menu...she's 11 now. :upsidedow

When you made your ressies did the CM if you had anyone in the kid group? When I made mine, they asked the age of the youngest member of the party, even if they are under 3. If they are clueless of the age of your DD, I'ld order off the kids menu like its the normal thing to do. I've never eaten at BB, I don't know how the system works over there. At Goofy's kitchen, they always ask the age of the kids under 17.

FlameGirl

09-29-2010, 10:26 AM

They asked if there were any kids age 3 - 9. I will still ask for a kids menu when we are seated. It's worth a shot.

BeautyAndTheBeast22

09-29-2010, 11:28 AM

FlameGirl

09-29-2010, 11:32 AM

When I booked the BB the CM asked for how many adults and children, but did not mention ages. Hopefully it won't be an issue that DS is 10. There is no way he could finish an adult meal at the BB, plus I would hate to pay the adult price for him!

I guess we will see!

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Natalie is 11 but eats like a bird.

ETA: Interesting...after doing a quick search it looks like they are pretty strict about the age limit on the kid's menu. This kind of bugs me, as a 9 year old palate doesn't magically change to an adult's palate once they turn 10...and looking at the adult's menu at BB, there is NOTHING my daughter would eat, I'm almost positive. She likes steak and salmon, but the rubs and blackening seasoning and sauces they put on everything will be the dealbreaker. I wonder, if posed with her ordering off the kid's menu or ordering nothing at all, if they will cave.

Goofy_Mom

09-29-2010, 12:12 PM

FlameGirl

09-29-2010, 12:15 PM

I'm a little worried for my son, he's only 2 1/2 but wares a 4T. (I'm 5'8" and DH is 6'2") I don't want to get a CM who thinks I'm lying about his age. My DD is Shorty McShort-shorts and my DS is Hercules, I smile every time I think about it.

Oh, I don't think anyone would accuse you of lying...if they did, that would pretty outrageous and not good for business, you know? I'd hope not, anyway!

Natalie is quite tall for her age and we've never been questioned in the past when we've asked for a kid's menu. Come to think of it...last year at the Surf's Up breakfast, they gave her a kid's menu without even asking her age and she was over the limit.

DisneyMomma81

09-29-2010, 12:38 PM

FlameGirl

09-29-2010, 12:45 PM

Great TRs ~ I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time during your upcoming visit *we'll share some of your days ~ it's just a quick trip for us, we'll be in the parks Turkey day, Fri & Sat.

DD's 1st Indy experience was this past July *she was finally tall enough* well once was enough for her :scared1:. I'll have to see if I can talk her into it in Nov. ~ DS will be with us so she can sit in the middle :dance3:

Feel free to come say hi if you see us wandering around! :)

Have you tried the Youtube video thing? That really took the teeth out of some of the rides Natalie wasn't too sure about - once she could see that it wasn't really very scary, she was totally up for it.

DisneyMomma81

09-29-2010, 12:49 PM

Feel free to come say hi if you see us wandering around! :)

Have you tried the Youtube video thing? That really took the teeth out of some of the rides Natalie wasn't too sure about - once she could see that it wasn't really very scary, she was totally up for it.

Nope haven't tried youtube yet ~ but you know what - we visited WDW last Oct. and rode Dinosaur *very similar - just different, scarier I think - I closed my eyes the entire time! She rode that one fine :confused3

FlameGirl

09-29-2010, 12:59 PM

Nope haven't tried youtube yet ~ but you know what - we visited WDW last Oct. and rode Dinosaur *very similar - just different, scarier I think - I closed my eyes the entire time! She rode that one fine :confused3

Oh, that is so funny. I wonder if there was one thing in particular on Indy that scared her and left a lasting impression? I know Natalie notices some details that I don't and has a memory like an elephant.

I hope she goes on it again....you never know...a year can make all the difference!

FlameGirl

09-30-2010, 10:08 AM

Wow. Calling Disney Dining right when they open makes all the difference in the world as far as hold times...two days in a row now I've gotten someone immediately as opposed to waiting on hold for 20 minutes. Nice.

Anyway...Monday Nov. 29th: Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast, and Cafe Orleans for dinner. :banana:

Goofy_Mom

09-30-2010, 10:30 AM

Great TRs ~ I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time during your upcoming visit *we'll share some of your days ~ it's just a quick trip for us, we'll be in the parks Turkey day, Fri & Sat.

DD's 1st Indy experience was this past July *she was finally tall enough* well once was enough for her :scared1:. I'll have to see if I can talk her into it in Nov. ~ DS will be with us so she can sit in the middle :dance3:

Turkey day is our second day in the parks;) Hopefully I'll have our LGMH on

FlameGirl

09-30-2010, 11:28 AM

Looks like the calendar has been updated through Thursday the 25th...the day we arrive. Open until midnight. Hmm....the kid and I may try to get in a ride or two that night after all, depending on crowds...

FlameGirl

10-07-2010, 10:12 AM

We leave 7 weeks from today. Woohoo! 49 days! In other news, I can't believe the end of 2010 is approaching. Where has the time gone?

All our dinner ressies are made and the only thing left to do is make our ressies for Fantasmic. It will be here before we know it.

FlameGirl

10-16-2010, 12:00 PM

40 days! OMG!

It's really starting to sink in now...all dining ressies are made, I ordered a Disney Gift Card yesterday (more on that) and I'm starting to dump money into savings like nobody's business. My hope is to have enough $$ when we leave so that we don't even have to think twice about spending money on this or that...we can just go and enjoy ourselves and I don't have to spend my time making a running tally of how much we've spent.

As for the Disney Gift Card...it sounds like an excellent idea in theory (which is why I ordered it) but the more I think about it, the more nervous it makes me. I know it's accepted everywhere inside the park, but we will be eating at a lot of restaurants in DTD so I'll still need the debit card. Also...I don't want to load too much onto the card because if I understand correctly, you can't redeem anything you've loaded onto the card back for cash...right? If anyone has used a gift card in place of cash or debit cards on their trip, please chime in and let me know your strategy.

Thanks!

FlameGirl

11-01-2010, 11:36 AM

24 Days! Getting super close!

We have had a slight change of plans...we are no longer going to do the WoC Ariel's Grotto dinner. We decided that we aren't the kind of people that can abide paying for an expensive meal to see WoC, and then waiting in line for another 2 hours to find a spot, so we've scrapped it altogether.

The bright side is, we have decided to have dinner that night at Napa Rose instead! I'm SO excited, we've never been and I've always wanted to go.

So we are getting super excited around here and we will be on our way before we know it. Natalie mentioned this morning that she fully realizes that it will be here and gone before we know it, too. Bittersweet. :)

FlameGirl

11-23-2010, 08:31 PM

With only 1-1/2 days to go until we leave, Seattle's been hit with some super nasty weather which has created about 1,000 different logistical problems for us.

First off, Natalie was at my parents house for a few days which is across the Puget Sound. Got a call from my dad telling me he had no idea how he was going to get her back to us with all the snowfall, and no end in sight. It finally let up enough today for him to drive her to the ferry...I only had to walk 2-1/2 miles in the snow and ice to go pick her up (we still can't get our car out of the driveway).

Wednesday morning, we were supposed to drive 1-1/2 hours north to Bellingham to take our flight (got a super cheap deal through a little airlines instead of SeaTac which we would normally do) and now, the forecast is for another below freezing day tomorrow and more snow beginning tomorrow evening. Which means our car is useless and now we have to find another way to Bellingham. Great.

I spent a while calling every rental car agency in the city looking for a 4-wheel drive, with no luck. Super.

Finally we figured out that Amtrak goes from Seattle > Bellingham for about $75 for the three of us...the only problem is that it leaves at 7:40 TOMORROW MORNING. So, we lose an entire day to finish up last-minute stuff.

Welcome to my meltdown...

skiingfast

11-24-2010, 03:58 PM

Kathy just remember things can only get better!

FlameGirl

11-24-2010, 05:29 PM

I hope you're right!

We made it to the hotel in Bellingham and despite the taxi almost careening into several cars due to icy streets, the train ride was uneventful (praise the heavens) and actually quite pleasant.

We will be landing in Long Beach this time tomorrow, barring another catastrophe (knock wood).

I already miss my dog, though.

PrincessKell

11-24-2010, 08:25 PM

I have just spend the last few hours reading and gazing over your TR. I love it. My dd is 8 and sounds like yours with face stuff and not wanting the noses. I have to say our first stop when we go to either park is the first aid to grab free ear plugs for the "just in case" moments like that. And she loves POTC, I loose track of how many times we go each time.

We might be going in March for Cheer Nationals competition. Her birthday is a month before so if they make it we will turn the weekend into a five day trip.

I love DL at holiday time. Two years ago we were there for Thanksgiving and had the best time ever. I look forward to your TR when you return! Have fun!!

FlameGirl

11-24-2010, 08:29 PM

PrincessKell

11-24-2010, 09:22 PM

Me too! I actually just got off the phone with my mom, who lives in SoCal. I asked her if we skipped any gifts for Christmas if we my dd and myself could take the train down for a week and get a 2 day hopper pass and spend a few days with her and a few at the parks, she said she would look into it!!! SO we might get to go sooner than expected. Heck, both times would be great. Until then, I read and drool. haha

FlameGirl

11-25-2010, 10:22 AM

I love it! Here's to hoping!

FlameGirl

12-06-2010, 01:16 PM

And we had an amazing time....despite getting off to a VERY rocky start. Matt you were wrong....the train debacle wasn't actually the end to our bad luck. More to come. I'm uploading and editing the 1000 photos I took while we were there and hopefully I can start on the official TR soon.

stich626

12-06-2010, 05:35 PM

I'm along for the ride. Sounds like you were on an episode of amazing race.

FlameGirl

12-06-2010, 05:52 PM

I'm along for the ride. Sounds like you were on an episode of amazing race.

:lmao:

It kind of felt like that too! When we got to the airport (after having taken a train 2 hours north and spent the night in a hotel) it was snowing. After sitting in the airport for two hours with the line not moving, Allegiant Air announced they would be canceling all flights that day (Thursday), and that they'd rebook us for SUNDAY.

I'm editing photos like a mad woman so hopefully I can start writing the TR soon! Thanks for reading! :)

FlameGirl

12-08-2010, 11:43 PM

I finally got all of my photos downloaded and organized so it's on with the show!

Day 1 is actually Day -1. We were due to leave our house on Thursday, 11.25 at 8 AM to make the 1-1/2 hour drive from Seattle to Bellingham to catch our flight. I had gotten wind several months ago that Allegiant Air was having an airfare sale and for all three of us, round trip into Long Beach, it was $400. We decided for that price, we didn't mind making the extra drive up to B-Ham.

About a week before we were to leave, my parents had requested to have Natalie come stay with them for a few days as they wouldn't be spending Thanksgiving with us. Right before she was set to go, my dad mentioned via email that there was snow in the forecast, and my radar immediately went off. I asked him if it was supposed to stick and if so, we may need to rethink her going over there (three hours away) to avoid risking getting snowed in and missing our flights. Oh, don't worry, says my dad...I don't think it will get cold enough to stick and even if it does, I can drive in anything! So, off she went.

On Monday I get a phone call from my dad telling me it was dumping snow and he couldn't even dig his way out of his driveway. Great. She was due to come home the next day and it wasn't looking good. I spent the rest of the night between panic and rage.

Tuesday morning he calls me and tells me he can get out of his driveway but we may want to wait another day. I have a quick conversation with John and we both agree that it's not worth cutting it so close, so I call my dad back and tell him that he needs to drive her home that day, and that I'd walk the 2 miles in the snow to the ferry to pick her up as now I can't get out of MY driveway (we live on a super steep hill).

So, off I go through the snow and ice to retrieve my child and several hours later, we're back home, safe and sound. Then, John emails me: more bad news. It's forecast to start snowing Wednesday night and not get above 25 degrees, making our drive up to Bellingham on Thursday a death wish. We go back and forth trying to figure out what to do: I put an SOS alert up on facebook asking if anyone in the area has a 4-wheel drive and wants to make $100. I start calling every car rental agency in the area and there are NO 4-wheel drives to be found. So, panic sets in again.

Then John suggests we take Amtrak up to Bellingham and stay in a hotel. Brilliant! Except now I've got about 6 hours to get everything done that I thought I'd have 30 hours to get done, so now I'm scrambling around the house trying to get everything packed and in order for our housesitter. We got to bed around 2 AM.

At 6 AM the alarm goes off and we leap out of bed. I immediately call Puget Sound Dispatch which is the call center for most of the taxis around town...and it's busy. So I call again....and it's busy, again. This goes on for a while and now we're worried that taxis aren't running and now how are we going to get to the train station?

Finally we find another cab company that had an online automated taxi service request thing that I submit, with very little faith. But low and behold, a few minutes later, we've got a cab on its way.

We haul all of our bags outside to the curb and wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. And then finally we see a cab at the bottom of the hill, but that's as far as he's going. He can't get up the hill with all of the ice. So, we haul all of our stuff down the hill to him. We pile in the cab and he very nearly slid into 3 or 4 cars on the way back down the hill. :scared1: But, we made it to the train station on time, boarded the train and we were off! :woohoo:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5086/5238926134_ca906efbcf.jpg

Sleepy girl on the train

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/5238926948_c07055fa95.jpg

VERY sleepy husband on the train

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We were right next to the dining car

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Can you tell I was bored?

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5202/5238939748_223ca9925f.jpg

That's more like it!

2-1/2 hours later we pulled into the train station and I called the hotel that I'd booked on Priceline the night before, asking them to dispatch the shuttle to come get us. It took about 20 minutes but finally the shuttle driver showed up and took us to the hotel. They were so kind at the front desk to let us check in at 10 AM which is relatively unheard of!

By now, I was completely exhausted, so I went to the room to lay down while John and Natalie went to the pool to swim for a few hours. Later that night we went downstairs and had dinner and then went back to the room to watch iCarly and the Dead Poet's Society. RANDOM! Anyway, iCarly is a truly awful show. So, so bad. But I digress...

I don't remember what time we finally hit the sack but it wasn't terribly late. We were all tired and knew we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow.

To be continued...

FlameGirl

12-09-2010, 12:54 PM

Day 1

Our alarms went off about 7 am so we could get showered, (re)packed, and catch the shuttle to the airport. As soon as we opened our eyes, we saw several inches of fresh, new snow, and lots of snowflakes still coming down. WHEW! We just about broke our arms patting ourselves on the back because we were so smart and left a day early! Yay us! Oh, we would have NEVER gotten here if we'd left today like we'd planned. All is right with the world, right?

We went downstairs and talked to the front desk to let them know we were checking in for the shuttle I'd reserved to the airport the night before. The lady working the front desk went into a door behind her and came back out with another young guy who said he'd be driving us.

"Did you call the airline to make sure you'd be getting out today?" he asked.

"Um, no...?" WTH? I'm thinking...I've taken off in far worse conditions than this.

He asks for our flight number and brings up the Allegiant web site, which doesn't show any flight delays or cancellations, and says we're good to go, so we're off. Again.

We pile into the van and I'm once again struck by A) how glad I am we left the day before (yay us! WE ARE SO SMART) and B) how glad I am I'm not the one driving us to the airport.

Once we arrive at the teeny, tiny airport, we unload and make our way to the Allegiant checkin desk behind 5 or so other people. It doesn't take long for me to piece together that the line isn't moving. At all. And then I realize that there isn't anyone even AT the Allegiant desk. There are a few TSA agents milling around behind the counter, but nobody from Allegiant is there. The only other airline in the airport, Alaska / Horizon, has agents working and people are progressing through that line, however. I fire off an irritated comment to John about how the airlines require you to be at the airport 2 hours before your flight for the luxury of just standing there because they don't have anyone working. Nice.

Every once in a while, someone from behind us in line, which is now becoming substantial (thank God we got there early) approaches one of the TSA agents behind the counter, doing nothing, and asks a question. This part really made me laugh because each and every time, the TSA agent would raise their eyebrows as if they were taking a genuine interest in helping the person with their question, and each and every time the response from the TSA agent was "I don't work for the airline, I can't help you. Sorry." Your taxpayer dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen.

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You can see the line forming behind us and winding its way through the airport. You can also see the line for Alaska / Horizon which this old guy is in is nice and short, and moving right along. I don't think the old guy wanted me taking his picture. Oh well.

It was about then that someone from Allegiant emerged from the mysterious door behind the counter and announced that they would begin checking us in in about 20 minutes. Our flight was due to leave at noon and it was now about 10:45. We'd been in line since 10:00. Aaaaaaand then he quickly disappeared back through the mysterious door.

It was then that I shot a nervous glance over to John and asked if he thought we'd be getting out today. He said "no problem".

Close to an hour later, the natives were getting restless. There were finally a few Allegiant agents at the desk and all they were doing was fielding questions from people who were too far away from the desk to hear what was going on. Basically, there was a flight to Las Vegas that morning that was supposed to leave at 8:00. That flight never got out, due to snow. OUR flight, to Long Beach, was supposed to be on the plane that was supposed to have gone to Vegas, and since the Vegas people were still in the airport, no one knew what was going to happen. Would they reschedule the Vegas flight and put us on the plane that was sitting right outside to keep the schedule flowing? No one could answer any questions and people were starting to get really irritated.

There was a super cute family right behind us in line that was going to Disneyland, too. Young couple, and two little boys, probably ages 5 and 3. Bless their little hearts, they were being so good. So was Natalie, for that matter. I could tell she was anxious, but she wasn't complaining. She's such a good kid.

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You can kind of see the blank look on the Allegiant agent's face...all they kept saying was that "someone" was on the phone with corporate, and it was corporate that had to make the call on what would happen with all of these flights. Until then, they couldn't answer any questions.

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Natalie and John decided to have something to eat in the line from hell

Finally around noon (guess), Allegiant came on the intercom and announced that they would be canceling all flights out of Bellingham today. We weren't happy to hear that, but we were already bracing ourselves for it. What we WEREN'T bracing ourselves for, was the next bit of information...

"...if you would like to reschedule your flight with us at no cost, we will begin resuming our flight schedule on..."

...wait for it...

"...SUNDAY"

Today was Thanksgiving, which made that Thursday. They weren't going to try to get us to our destination for THREE DAYS. Natalie burst into brokenhearted, frustrated tears.

Now's when it started to get a little bit scary. The Vegas people were all still in the airport, and they'd been there for 6 hours. WE, however, were in line and had been for hours. So when our line of people started approaching the counter in an orderly fashion, the Vegas people started screaming at us. Allegiant did NOTHING, they just stared at all of the mutineers like deer in headlights and let us fight it out amongst ourselves. I really, truly thought it was going to come to physical blows. I understand their frustration completely, but we were still in line. Allegiant handled this situation incredibly poorly.

I was shaking I was so angry. Our vacation was paid for in advance. Allegiant said they'd issue vouchers if we didn't want to wait 3 days to fly with them, but no refunds. So, we were stuck.

I knew one thing: I wasn't budging from that line and I made sure I held a defensive position. I also wasted no time. As I waited to speak with the Allegiant agent, I used my iPhone to start checking train schedules, bus schedules, ANYTHING that would get us back to Seattle. When I finally got to the girl at the counter I told her my vacation was paid for and my daughter was in tears.

"You need to make sure our flight back to Bellingham out of Long Beach isn't canceled because we didn't show up for the originating flight. We're not waiting THREE DAYS to get our kid to Disneyland. And you need to do this fast. I have no time to waste".

She looked afraid of me. :rotfl:

She picked up the phone and started punching stuff into the computer. A minute passed, two minutes passed....I interrupted her when she started talking while on hold to the agent next to her.

"Excuse me....you need to deal with me NOW. I have to go and find some way to get my family to Los Angeles. Make sure my flight back home is still good and email me the voucher...I need to walk away NOW."

Seriously. I was in commando mode.

She said she needed me to wait to print the voucher and hand it to me and I told her to email it to me because I'M WALKING AWAY NOW.

She said OK. 30 seconds later I heard the "ding" on my iPhone and it was the voucher from Allegiant.

I walked over and met up with John and Natalie. I told them there were flights out of both Vancouver BC and Seattle that were arriving in SNA that day, but we had to make our way to Vancouver or Seattle. I had brought our passports "just in case" (in case of what, I don't know but I just do this) so we had either option available. I ran over to the rental car counters and every single one of them was closed for Thanksgiving. Panic started setting in.

I ran back over to John and Natalie and started trying to pull up the Amtrak schedule on my phone and I kept getting an error message. Crap. Finally, without rhyme or reason, I planted myself in the Alaska / Horizon line, while I dialed the 1-800 Alaska Air number and got an agent on the phone. The whole time I was dialing, Natalie kept choking through tears "Thank you Mommy".

I told the woman on the phone my situation: We had just been screwed over by Allegiant, we were stuck in Bellingham but would jump through hoops to get to Vancouver or Seattle and we just needed a one-way ticket to anywhere in the LA area and omg please help me. A few minutes later she said there was a flight, OUT OF BELLINGHAM at 3:30 that looked like it was still scheduled to make it out, but she couldn't promise anything. She booked it for me and then like magic, I was the next person in line at the counter. Everyone else from Allegiant had just gotten into the Alaska Air line hoping the agent at the counter could do something for them, but she kept telling everyone she could only check people in, she couldn't book flights. And by the grace of God, I was the only schmuck that had actually done just that....booked our flight. We got one of the last seats on the plane.

The agent at the counter told us that it still looked like the flight at 3:30 would get out, but it might be delayed by an hour. And it was then that I fully realized the extent of our debacle: the flight was leaving Bellingham and had a layover....in Seattle. You know....the city that we live in? The city that we had just about killed ourselves getting out of by train to stay overnight in a hotel so we could fly out on the SUPER CHEAP FLIGHTS I had found because I AM SO SMART AND CLEVER?

Yep. We had a layover 20 minutes from our house. Oh, and if you're curious, the hotel room was $80. The train for the three of us was about $80. The one-way tickets through Alaska > Seattle > SNA were $600. Seeing the look of relief and adoration on my little girl's face that Mommy and Daddy were not going to let her miss her vacation?

I think you know.

There were a few additional scares as to whether the flight would get out or not, and if we would make our connection in Seattle, but we were assured that if we didn't make our connection we had a ton of options and flights were all getting out of Seattle just fine. It was teeny, tiny Bellingham airport and Allegiant air with one de-icer that was the problem.

When we finally made it (back to) Seattle for our layover, we decided it was time for a drink or twenty and I can't even begin to tell you how much the mood had lifted by then.

We'd spent the past nine hours traveling back to the city that we live in so that we could get the heck out of dodge and we were exhausted, but by God, we were going to get to Disneyland if it killed us.

To be continued...

FlameGirl

12-09-2010, 01:56 PM

Day 1 - WE MADE IT!!! :woohoo::yay::banana::dance3:

When we finally touched down in Orange County, it was about 9 PM. After all of that, we were only 6 hours behind schedule.

We quickly grabbed a cab (I adore SNA) and we were off to the Best Western Park Place Inn. We had the nicest cab driver who was from Korea....we talked a little bit about Korea since I have been there, and until this latest bit of ugliness between N. and S. Korea, had been scheduled to travel to Pyongyang, North Korea via Beijing in April to work on a documentary. He begged me not to go.

He dropped us off and we made our way to the front desk and it felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted. We'd spent the last four days struggling to get here and now, we were here. We could see the lights and the sign welcoming us in. Natalie looked like a kid on Christmas.

Now, I need to take a minute to wax poetic about my kid. Sorry, bear with me. Through this entire ordeal, she never complained. Not once. She was nervous and scared we wouldn't make it and when our flight was canceled she was absolutely crestfallen, but she never complained or griped. She is such a wonderful little girl.

We got the keys to our room, hauled our luggage upstairs, dropped the bags in the room and turned right back around and headed across the street to Disneyland. After all of that, it was my mission in life to make it onto Pirates, at the VERY least.

And, we did. We walked onto Pirates and I just about burst into tears. The look of worry on Natalie's face was replaced by pure joy. The emotional rush of relief took over me because the hellish nightmare was over and we were here. We made it, more or less on time. And THAT is a miracle. When we first got inside the queue, Natalie noticed the parrot was missing. Bummer! Hearing that parrot squawk is one of the charms of the queue. When we got to the part where you tell them CM the number in your party, Natalie sweetly says "This is my first ride, can we please sit in front?" and of course they obliged. How can you resist such sweetness? ;) She also asked him what happened to the parrot and he told her he must have flown away because he didn't want to be Thanksgiving dinner. :rotfl:

When Pirates was over, John told me he couldn't go another step and would meet us back at the room. I told him I'd stay with Natalie to get a few more rides in because as far as I was concerned, the kid was a Viking and she had more than earned it, regardless of how exhausted I was.

We headed for Splash after we parted ways with John and walked right on. It may have only been 60 degrees but it felt downright balmy after the weather we'd just left behind.

Now if you'll remember from my PTR, Natalie had been working up to challenging herself to be more brave, and this was her first opportunity...she had really wanted to ride in front on Splash, but when the rubber met the road, she wasn't ready. So we got a log to ourselves and decided to sit in row 2 and 3. Miraculously, I didn't get wet. :yay:

After Splash, we headed over to Indy where again there was virtually no wait. After Indy, we did something I've always heard about but had never experienced: the Jungle Cruise at night. We loved it! It's such a different experience and I'm not quite sure why...maybe it's because you can suspend reality a bit better....who knows.

It was about this time that I got a text from John:

"Hey, how are you"

I was honest: "Ugh. Tired"

"Yeah. This isn't the quietest room ever, but I stopped and bought you a bottle of wine and myself some beer and WE SOMEHOW (bleep!) MADE IT HERE tonight so I really don't give two flying (beeps).

That means I love you. Nice job, wife." :goodvibes

I convinced Natalie that I had one more ride in me and she wanted to do Pirates again.

After we started heading back, John texted me again letting me know he was ready to eat. I walked up and down Harbor looking for anything that was open, and nothing was. We asked the front desk what we could have delivered, and ended up having some surprisingly good Italian food delivered to our room. I wish I could remember the name of the place, but it was not too shabby at all!

We decided to watch a little TV before going to sleep, and I think it may have been about 5 minutes that Natalie and I both lasted before completely crashing.

Longest. Day. Ever.

To be continued.....

FlameGirl

12-09-2010, 03:12 PM

Day 2 - Our first full day in Disneyland!

We decided that we'd sleep until it was time to wake up, and let Natalie sleep as long as she could. She is usually an early riser so if she sleeps past 9 AM, she's exhausted.

John was up before everyone and headed over to the continental breakfast to scrounge together some food for the troops. He came back with OJ, apple juice, a few danishes, a few doughnuts and a couple hard boiled eggs. Maybe a bagel.

We quickly got ready for the day and headed on over to DTD.

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A sight for sore eyes

We headed straight to World of Disney, where we would redeem our free lanyards through Costco Travel, as well as put some $$ on the gift card I came armed with. The lanyards were SO cheesy...they said "Costco Travel" all up and down them. Oh well, they were free and they had a plastic pouch where I could stash all of our PH's and FP's so I didn't care. After I gave the girl my debit card and gift card, she had me sign a receipt and then handed me a copy of the receipt and my debit card, thanked me, and told me to have a nice day. I reminded her that it would be super if she could give me back the gift card I'd just put $1000 on. :lmao:

Next stop: Disneyland! :yay::yay::yay:

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Once inside the park, we got FP's for Indy straight away, and then of course Natalie wanted to do Splash first.

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Again, she wasn't ready to ride in front. We weren't as fortunate as the previous night because our log was filled to capacity (read: heavy) and I had the pleasure, once again, of taking the helm. After we did the first mini-drop, I knew I was in trouble. I was wetter than I'd probably ever been on Splash, and we still had the dark inside drop and the big daddy to go. And, I was right. I was completely soaked from head to toe, literally. I was wearing a long sleeved tee with a short sleeved tee over the top and jeans and both were soaked to my skin (but mostly on the right side which always seems to be the case, go figure). My jeans were soaked, front and back, from top to bottom. And as we sat in the log jam area before you get to see your picture right before you disembark the log, I sat shivering. I think I may have been mildly hypothermic.

After we got off Splash, I told Natalie I'd never been on Pooh and she balked but I reminded her how I just took one for the team and was soaked, so she agreed and we walked right onto Pooh.

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One of the things we had vowed as a family for this trip was to take time to smell the roses. Do a little shopping here and there, not just sprint from ride to ride to ride. After we got off Pooh, we decided to escape the insane crowds for a while and to do just that, and headed into Pooh Corner.

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The obligatory Tigger Tail photo

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Natalie LOVED the snowman marshmallows but we never got around to getting one for her :sad1:

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I'd never noticed the tiny bumblebee on these apples...adorable!

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Natalie found some super cute silver Mickey filigree style earrings while we shopped at Pooh and decided she wanted to spend some of her own money to get them. Wish I had thought to take a photo.

By this time, John and I were both getting a bit ravenous, so we decided to try out Troubador Tavern.

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Stopped to fire off a shot or two of the beautiful holiday themed castle along the way

We liked Troubador Tavern! I had the butter and sour cream potato without the bacon, John had the Brat with sauerkraut and the butter and sour cream with bacon. Everything was really good, by Disneyland food standards.

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John's Brat with kraut

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My potato sans bacon

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John's potato with bacon

To be continued...

FlameGirl

12-09-2010, 04:01 PM

Day 2 Continued

After feasting on baked potatoes, we thought it was time to grab FP's for Space Mountain so that we could indoctrinate Natalie. She insisted she was still going to ride it, so we said little as we braved the heavy crowds over to Tomorrowland. FP's in hand, we had an appointment to meet Dr. Jones.

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Natalie is so funny...she has an incredible memory. She knows every single little detail of this ride and even knows what to expect based on what door we go through...Blue, Yellow, or Purple. She insists Blue is best and Purple is the lamest. :rotfl:

After Indy, Natalie wanted to go on Pirates again. We hadn't been here a full day yet and this was my third time on Pirates. I mentioned to her that she needed to pace herself after this, because it was possible for me to get Pirated out. Once in line, she asked yet another CM what had happened to the parrot and was told he must have flown south for the winter. I'm guessing they probably aren't allowed to tell guests when things are broken?

As we were floating along in our pirate ship, right at the bride auction, I happened to look up as we were going underneath the brick arch and noticed about 8 or 10 wads of gum. :sick: When we got off the ride I mentioned it to the CMs, not to complain but because I thought they might want to know so they could get rid of it. Hopefully I'm not "that guest".

After exiting Pirates, Natalie told us she wanted to find a place that sold beignets - she's been dying to try gumbo and beignets ever since the Princess and the Frog came out. :lmao: We headed over to the Mint Julep Bar and got beignets, a mocha for John, and my very first and probably last mint julep. :rotfl: I didn't hate it, but it's not something I'd ever seek out to drink again. Natalie is now a tried and true beignet fan, however. The fact that they were Mickey shaped didn't hurt either.

After our snack, I took a few moments to wander around NOS to take some photos. It's true that it's not decorated the same way that it has been in previous years, but it is still beautiful.

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I was captivated by the gorgeous masks

Next we decided it was time to head on over to DCA. We had made a bargain with Natalie on a few of the rides that we were almost positive that she would never go on of her own volition: Tower of Terror, and California Screamin'. The deal was this: If she goes on California Screamin', we'd take her to Build-A-Bear where she could make whatever she wanted. If she went on Tower of Terror twice in a row, we'd buy her a TOT t-shirt of her choice. The reason for the twice in a row clause was because I knew it would scare her the first time, but the second time on that ride, it really loses its teeth. We thought she'd enjoy it if she tried it twice.

All that being said, it was time to get FP's for ToT. FP's in hand, I noticed that there was a showing of Aladdin about an hour and a half out, and because I've missed out on seeing it every time we've gone, I told John and Natalie it was time to do it and get it out of the way. The last time we were there, we waited until the last showing on the last day, and couldn't get there in time. I wasn't going to make that mistake again! ;) Plus, we had Priority Seating again courtesy of Costco Travel, so I really wanted to take advantage of that. Natalie griped a bit and John said it sounded dumb. I was firm in my resolve.

We killed a little time at the Animation Studio...we watched the zoetrope and played a bit in Ursula's Grotto and the Beast's library. For some reason, I couldn't get Natalie to do the drawing academy with me which made me sad as we loved that in the past. At any rate, it was time to line up for Aladdin.

I do have to say that I'm not overly thrilled with how they handle the seating for Aladdin...we were at the front of the Priority Seating chain and when they dropped the chain, my god, what a mob scene. Adults were RUNNING to get the Best Seats Possible. We grabbed a few seats in the middle, 4 or so rows back from the stage. And we really enjoyed the show! Natalie included, even though she only admitted to me last night that she loved it when I caught her watching Aladdin. John liked it too. It's not something I would need to see every time we're there though, but I'm glad I saw it once. The genie is excellent.

After the show, we had reservations at the Rainforest Cafe and I normally am not a big fan of this place, but this time it was pretty good! Our server was really on the ball and I LOVED the tortellini that I ordered. I forgot to take photos of the food, doh!

The time had now come, ladies and gentlemen, to see if my little angel was going to live up to all of the bravado of the previous year and go on Tower of Terror. We paid the check at the Rainforest and John needed to go back to the room for his jacket, so Natalie and I headed over to DCA alone. The line was LONG, and although we had FP's, we didn't want to use them without John. Also, for her to live up to her end of the bargain, we had to go on twice in a row, so we figured John would be back to meet us by then.

Drumroll please.................

.............SHE DID IT!!!:cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

I think it scared her half to death and she kept her eyes shut tightly the entire time and screamed her little lungs out, but she did it and got right back in line once we met up with John to do it again. When we were waiting in line the first time, I could tell she was on the edge of a panic attack...she was taking deep breaths and had her hands on her heart. I tried not to feed into it and acted like it was all no big deal. She's so funny...each ride that she has been afraid of in the past, she would tell me what she was on a scale of 1 - 10 nervous and excitement. I think she said she was a 4 nervous and a 7 excitement. The next time we got in line, she said she was even MORE nervous...something like a 7 nervous and a 2 excitement. But, she did it again, all the while keeping a death grip on my arm. :rotfl: We went straight down into the ToT gift shop and picked out the shirt she wanted. So proud of that girl.

Now with the big bad demon ToT out of the way, it was time to redeem our Space Mountain FP's so we headed on over to Tomorrowland and got straight into line. I could tell she was really nervous again so we just kept telling her how ToT was the scariest ride in either park so if she can handle that, Space should be no big deal. Once again, she shocked me by getting right on the ride with no fuss. Afterwards, she told us in a shaky voice that she liked it, but I could tell the jury was still out.

It was getting late, and we figured we had done enough scary rides for one night so we headed on over to Adventureland because John wanted a Dole Whip, end of story. He missed out his Dole Whip during the last trip, so this was his Aladdin. :lmao:

Right before we got to the counter to order, I told him I didn't want my own, I only wanted a few bites of his. He had a fit telling me there was no way he would share his precious Dole Whip with me. Once it was time to order, the guys behind the counter were laughing at us and I asked if they could give us one Dole Whip with THREE EXTRA BITES worth in it. The guy laughed and then gave us the biggest Dole Whip you've ever seen. It was like double the normal size. :lmao: He also gave me an empty cup to scoop out my THREE EXTRA BITES into. We went and found a place to sit while we enjoyed our Dole Whip, and then boarded the Jungle Cruise so that John could experience it at night.

And then...it was time to head back to the room. We had been wanting to take a taxi to a grocery store where we could grab a few things and we were too exhausted to go on anything else that night. Once we were done shopping and got back to the room it was a repeat of the night before...our heads hit the pillows and we were OUT.

Up next: Day 3

deejdigsdis

12-09-2010, 06:05 PM

Man, I feel like I need a nap after reading about your first day! Yikes! Glad it all worked out in the end, but how horrible to be in the middle of all that.

I liked the CM answers regarding the missing parrot. :laughing: When I was there in Oct. Snow White broke down. When the CM came to get us and lead us out my sister asked what happened. The CM said, "Well, Sneezy and Dopey seem to be a little slow right now and need a little nap." We thought it was funny that she didn't include Sleepy in that excuse.

Congrats to Natalie for conquering some of her ride fears. I am loving your pictures and can't wait to hear about Day 3. :goodvibes

FlameGirl

12-09-2010, 06:13 PM

Man, I feel like I need a nap after reading about your first day! Yikes! Glad it all worked out in the end, but how horrible to be in the middle of all that.

I know! I actually got a little anxious and weepy when I was recounting it again...it seems silly to get that stressed out over vacation, but when you've planned it for a year, it's important!

Thanks for reading. I will start working on day 3 tomorrow. :goodvibes

FlameGirl

12-09-2010, 08:41 PM

Day 3

Again, we slept in til about 9:30 or so. We are just never going to be one of those families that gets up at the crack of dawn to be the first ones at the gate. Nothing wrong with those that do....it's just not our style.

The first thing we did after fueling up on the free breakfast at the hotel was to procure a locker. I went through the usual steps....touch screen to begin....selected the little American flag for English....said I wanted a regular sized locker....entered my pin twice....inserted my card....nothing. So, I tried again. And then we realized, it had issued me a locker, it just hadn't printed the receipt. So now, we had two lockers. Great.

The very next thing we did was head to the AP processing center at Plaza Gardens (I think that's the name right?) to upgrade our 6 day Park Hoppers to DAPs. We did the math and realized it was actually cheaper to upgrade to AP's than to purchase 4 day PH's for the extra days we wanted to visit the park, so that was a no brainer! I don't know why, but I was so excited. I'm such a dork.

Shiny new AP's in hand, it was time for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! Natalie had choked the first time we tried to get her to ride it the year before and then was very unhappy with all the noise it makes clattering through the caves when we finally did get her on it, so it was time to try it again now that she had conquered ToT and Space Mountain!

Or....not. When we got to BTMRR it was down. Shoot. Plan B.

Natalie wanted to ride Splash Mountain again, and I wanted no part of it, after having been wet the majority of the day before. John took her by himself to ride Splash, while I made my way to Space Mountain to grab FP's, via the hub.

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When I arrived at Space I discovered that FP's were completely gone for the day, and it was maybe 11 AM. :scared1: I texted John to tell him about the FP situation and he told me that they had just gotten in a log, and Natalie was in front this time. Brave girl!

I hustled over to Critter Country and waited hoping to shoot them coming down the drop.

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And waited

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Finally I spotted them!

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You can see John cowering behind Natalie in the last shot, trying to avoid being soaked. :rotfl:

After I met back up with the family, I thought I'd pop into Guest Services to see if they could give me a credit voucher for a locker, since I'd accidentally bought two. John told me it was a waste of time, but I thought it was worth a shot. And there was no line!

The girl was very sweet...she asked if I had a receipt and I explained that that was the very nature of the problem: if I had a receipt, I'd have never bought a second locker. :lmao: Then she asked me where the locker was located and when I started to tell her, she finished my sentence for me; they had had a few complaints that day of the machine in that spot not working properly. So she filled out a form and handed me $7. I waved it in John's face and told him I was rewarding myself with a giant coffee from La Brea Bakery.:lmao: :thumbsup2

Natalie saw a PB&J on the menu at La Brea that she had to have, so we sat and let her eat that while I sipped my triple iced Americano. Yum.

Fueled with caffeine, we decided it was time for the big daddy: Screamin'. We headed on over to DCA and as we were approaching, Natalie took a look at the cars taking off and said "There is no way I'm going on that". I reminded her there was a trip to Build-A-Bear in her future but she said she was unswayed. I grabbed three FP's for Screamin' just in case.

We thought we'd check out the far end of Paradise Pier, which we never have before and pointed ourselves in the direction of the Silly Swings. On the way there, John gave Natalie $5 to play some of the Midway Games because she really had her eye a giant stuffed Bullseye. She lost. :(

When we got to Silly Swings, I was surprised that my newly brave girl started to balk. She didn't want to go on the ride and she was about to make a stink, I could tell. We reminded her she had been on ToT and Space Mountain so Silly Swings should be NO PROBLEM. She was quiet as we entered the Silly Swings arena and we all found our swings. A few moments before the ride was to start, she kind of hyperventilated and said she didn't want to do the ride. John told her "OK", she could get off, and she bolted for the exit. Oh well.

Once off the thrill ride Silly Swings, John and I were starving. We decided to check out the Cove Bar, as every time in the past we had tried to go, we had been thwarted. To our shock and amazement, it was open! I had been dying to try the lobster nachos, so this was very exciting. John ordered a vodka martini and I had the red wine sangria.

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She had recovered from the Silly Swings trauma by then

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Sangria

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Belvedere Martini

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Lobster Nachos

I am sad to report that the Lobster Nachos were horrible. They could have been good, but they came out so fast after ordering that I'm almost certain they were made way in advance. They were cold when we got them and even worse, the layer of cheese beneath what you see was not even remotely melted. We ate about 1/4 of them before we we came to the agreement that they were pretty much inedible. We hate complaining in restaurants, so we flagged down our waitress and asked if there was any way they could refire them so they were at least warm. She said she would bring us another order and we felt bad about that, but she explained that health codes prohibited them from taking partially eaten food back into areas where food was prepared. We exchanged glances and John asked if we could just order the wings instead.

When the wings arrived, they were delivered by the manager. :scared1: She wanted to apologize for the nachos and said that she wanted to make sure we didn't feel bad because it was clear that they were a mess and that most of the cheese wasn't melted. She took them off the bill, which was very nice. We thanked her and ordered another round of drinks! :lmao: Only this time, I had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc - the sangria was tasty but SO sweet.

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Wings of redemption

Day 3 to be continued....

skiingfast

12-10-2010, 01:03 AM

Sorry to hear about the excessive problems getting going. I really feel bad, but you said it was 'amazing" so I look forward to reading the rest. So far I just read to getting to bed a the hotel in Bham I hope you get on the plane the next day when I start reading again.

FlameGirl

12-10-2010, 02:15 PM

Day 3 Continued...

We left the Cove Bar and John said he needed to head back to the room for a bit to grab a few things. Natalie and I agreed that we would hop over to Disneyland, grab FP's for BTMRR, and then catch the Monorail and meet John in DTD to avoid the parade congestion. We figured we'd have some extra time to kill waiting for him so we'd do a little shopping. WRONG!

We got the Thunder FP's and then headed to the Monorail. And we waited.

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And waited.

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AND WAITED.

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Apparently, they had only one monorail in commission, so it took us about 40 minutes to get on one. John was waiting for us at the bottom of the exit and was irritated that he had to wait so long. I told him to cram it. :rotfl:

We headed back into DCA after meeting up with my cranky husband and grabbed ToT FP's, and then wandered back over to Paradise Pier where Natalie watched us ride Screamin' from the rail, again.

We thought we'd mosey on over to check the wait time for Toy Story and saw that it was 40 minutes. We weren't in the mood to wait that long, so we gave Natalie $20 to play the Midway games to try to win the coveted Bullseye, again.

After a few losses, John and I decided to try to increase her odds, and we joined in alongside her. We were playing the horse race game that is like skeeball. We kept getting SO CLOSE to winning and then someone would slide in under the wire.

Finally, we were down to our last credits....Natalie and I were playing and there wasn't enough on the card to allow John to play so this was it: do or die. I felt good when I saw a bunch of really little kids sit down...I was pretty sure I could beat them. ;):rotfl::rotfl: And sure enough, Mommy pulled it out at the last second we were handed the grand prize: the beloved Bullseye. She was a very happy girl! And I was just glad that my competition was a bunch of toddlers. ;)

We tried to get her on Screamin' once again, and once again she rejected the ride. Sigh.

Now it was time to head back to Disneyland, only we made a huge blunder and arrived just as the parade was coming down Main Street. Ugh. We tried to get out of dodge fast by heading up and hopping on a train, not realizing that the train doesn't operate during the parade. So, we were stuck.

Once the parade was finally over, we bolted up the stairs and got on the first train and rode over to New Orleans Square where we rode Indy once again. As we were exiting, a teenage or early 20-something guy was pushing a girl the same age in a wheelchair the other way through the exit - I'm sure to access the disabled entrance, which is fine. What I had a problem with is he was running while pushing her and came right up on Natalie before she had time to react and get out of the way. OK, you're rude, whatever. No, what really set me off was the girl when she hissed "WATCH OUT!" at Natalie. Before I even knew what I was doing, I snapped at her "Is that how you say 'excuse me' in your language?" She was almost out of earshot when I heard her say "Yeah, it is" in her snotty tone. Some people's kids. :mad: If we had been practically ANYWHERE else in the world, I would have turned right back around and given her an earful. I'm a redhead. It's what we do.

After exiting Indy, it was time to make our way to Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen for our dinner reservations at 8:00. The restaurant looked packed when we got there and sure enough, they gave us a buzzer so we sat down outside and waited. It was only a few moments that we had to wait before we were seated.

Man, I just love this place. John looked at the menu and remarked that he could happily eat anything on there. Our waiter was nice, and recommended a good Cabernet. We shared the garlic bread which is heavenly...I don't know why I didn't take photos! I love the lemon squeezed over the bread...yum. I got the shrimp and grits which were heavenly, and John got the New York strip, which was also fantastic, and Natalie had the kids mac and cheese which she loved.

At some point during dinner, people began clearing out which was nice because it allowed us to hear ourselves think. John looked outside and we had this conversation:

Him: It's pouring

Me: Pouring?

Him: Pouring. POURING.

Me: As in....raining?

Him: Seriously?

Me: Are YOU serious?

Him: ...:confused3

I had a hard time believing him because it had been perfectly clear when we walked to dinner. I looked outside and there was an inch of water on the ground and people running for their lives.

So, we sat and had another glass of wine and waited for the rain to let up. And when we saw a break, I realized the waiter hadn't come back with the card, so John said he'd wait and we should take the opportunity to stay dry. Natalie balked at having to walk all the way back to the hotel and I told her it would only take 10 minutes. She didn't believe me, so I told her I'd start the stopwatch on my phone to prove it. Well, once back at the hotel, we totally forgot about the stopwatch and it continued to run. After a few days, I showed it to her and that became our joke...how long it had been since we left RBJK.

Do you want to know how many hours have passed since we left RBJK? Because it's still running, even now. :)

302:35:30 :lmao:

Next up: Day 4!

FlameGirl

12-10-2010, 02:32 PM

skiingfast

12-10-2010, 02:50 PM

Thanks Matt. It was quite a test of wills to get us to DLR that day, but it makes for a good story. :)

I agree, it's like "Planes Trains and Automobile" mixed with "Family Vacation".

I haven't read down enough Wally World wasn't closed was it?

FlameGirl

12-10-2010, 02:55 PM

I haven't read down enough Wally World wasn't closed was it?

OMG I'm absolutely howling right now...I'd never thought about it but that is EXACTLY how I felt at the time. And I would have CUT a YOUKNOWWHAT in that state of mind! :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

FlameGirl

12-10-2010, 03:48 PM

Day 4

When we woke up, John decided to take a break from the park and watch football, seeing as it was Sunday. Natalie and I were happy to head to the park by ourselves and have a little girl time.

When we first stepped foot inside the park, she said she was disappointed we only took the train from Main Street to NOS the night before, and asked if we could ride the train, which we did. When we were about 1/2 way around the park, I asked her if she wanted to get off in Toontown and she decided she'd rather ride the train back to Main Street.

Back in Main Street, we decided to spend some time shopping at each of the shops which was fun. I took about a billion photos while shopping. :)

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I decided to get into the spirit of things and purchase a set of sequined Minnie Mouse ears. It felt a little funny wearing them, at first, but I told myself we were in the only place on earth that I could pull it off. :rotfl:

I forgot to mention, also, that the day before, John decided he was going to start collecting pins. I was shocked to hear this, and mildly fascinated, as six years ago, this was the man that swore he would never step foot in Disneyland with us. And now, six years later, he's collecting pins and totally getting into trading with CM's. Every time he would see a CM with a lanyard, he'd stop and examine their pins and then ask if it was OK to trade with them. :) When I questioned him about it...why all of a sudden is he getting into it....he said "Yeah, it'll be my thing".

OK so back to me. :lmao: Newly eared, we stepped outside the shop (the big shop first on the left next to the firehouse) and Natalie squeals "It's Goofy! I'm going to give him a high-five!" and she skipped off.

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And that's exactly what she did

Then we spotted the Mad Hatter. I stood back and quietly took a few photos of him until he spotted me and then said "Hi there!" and waved, giving me the PERFECT photo op....until an oblivious kid walked right into the shot and then the Mad Hatter was off doing his Mad Hatter business. Creepy little kid. :rotfl:

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After our brief character interactions, we proceeded to hit every shop on Main Street. We spent a little time in the magic shop, which was fun. They guy behind the counter there was really good! He captivated Natalie with his tricks and I have NO idea how they do some of them. Man, they're pricey though.

Next we went into the kitchen store, where I fell in love with a set of Mickey martini glasses. Sadly, I'd have no way of getting them home. Maybe next time.

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After our shopping expedition, we thought we'd grab FP's for Indy, and then I told Natalie it was time to do the Haunted Mansion because, seriously, we were on day four and we hadn't done the HM yet? No bueno.

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After HM, Natalie wanted to ride Pirates again, and then it was time to redeem our Indiana Jones FP's. Once we were off Indy, we decided to try out BTMRR, again. I was worried that Natalie would chicken out but she didn't and she absolutely LOVED the ride. I can remember hearing her as we whipped around the turns "THIS IS AWESOME! WOOHOO!" which was completely adorable.

After our AWESOME ride on BTMRR, I got a text from John telling me he was inside the park, and starving. I texted him back and told him to meet us Rancho Del Zocalo for lunch. Once again, no pictures of the food. I thought I did such a good job of taking food photos for the food porn thread, but I guess not. We split the carne asada / enchilada and tamale platters, and Natalie had the kid's chicken taco. The tamales were much better than the enchiladas and by the time we were done eating, we were stuffed.

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Rancho Del Zocalo has great atmosphere

As we finished eating, Natalie noticed that BTMRR had broken down, with a train right outside the dining area window for RDZ and we listened to them make the announcement that guests were to remain seated, etc. She was sad so I explained that rides go down all the time and it was certainly going to be back up before we had to leave for home. Regardless, we thought it would be wise to grab FP's for it before they stopped distributing them.

John spotted the pin trading store in Frontierland next to the shooting gallery and wanted to stop in. He had done his homework and wanted to buy a pack of 7 pins for $30 so he could really start trading. I was still wearing my empty lanyard and somehow I'd acquired a Maleficent pin either from John or Natalie, and thought it might be fun to start collecting the female villians. John ended up buying the weirdest set of pins - all baby characters. Baby Dopey, baby genie, baby Little Mermaid Eric, it was so odd. His reasoning was that he wouldn't feel bad about getting rid of these pins so he could start trading. We teased him anyway. He said it was either those, or princesses and he wasn't quite ready to start sporting a bunch of princesses around. When we paid for his set, the woman at the register asked if he wanted to purchase a "mystery pin" for $1 and of course he said yes. She told him he could choose from "Mickey and Friends" or "Attractions". He chose attractions, and I teased him and said "I hope you get the teacups". She handed him his mystery pin inside a little black plastic envelope and when he tore into it, sure enough, it was the teacups. :lmao: I must admit, however, that it is a cool pin. It's a "retro" Disneyland attraction pin so he wears it with pride. ;)

Natalie, on the other hand, decided she wanted a new lanyard. She had seen me looking at the lanyards and I really liked one that I saw, but didn't feel like paying $7 for it, so I put it back. Naturally, THAT is the lanyard that she chose. She had also seen John eyeballing a Steamboat Willie lanyard ornament and she went over and scooped that up, too. Stinker.

After we finally left the pin trading shop, we discovered BTMRR was back up, so we decided to cash in our FP's. Natalie decided she wanted John and I to ride together and she wanted to go alone. This will become a recurring theme. She loved it even more the second time and proclaimed it had beaten out Pirates and Indy as her FAVORITE RIDE.

Next we headed over to Tomorrowland where we grabbed Space Mountain FPs, and then got in line for Autopia. When we got into our cars, Natalie rode with John as he would need to hold down the gas pedal for her. I overheard him say to her "Let's get the car behind Mom" and I knew they were going to be buttheads. I reminded him ramming the car in front of you is frowned upon. He gave me an evil grin in return.

***I'd like to pause here to say that Disney could really do the right thing and make the Autopia cars electric. It would be environmentally friendly, and it would save their guests from inhaling the nasty diesel fumes as they stand in line. Man, it's bad.***

Once we got the green light, I took off because I knew I'd have my precious family on my tail, with evil on their minds. And naturally, my car died. And then BAM! They hit me. I tried getting my car going again and I could hear my husband and daughter giggling and then BAM! They hit me again. I turned around and yelled at them to stop and that my car had died. And then of course, it started up again and I zoomed off (as much as one can actually zoom in one of those little cars).

Day 4 continued...

roxy72

12-10-2010, 05:37 PM

Does your daughter have a lot of anxiety? I know you mentioned that she was anxious about going on rides, and nearly had a panic attack before getting on one. I also have a lot of anxiety and don't like going on rides or in cars/planes or anywhere that I cannot escape easily. Congrats to her for going on so many rides!

FlameGirl

12-10-2010, 08:49 PM

skiingfast

12-11-2010, 01:41 AM

FlameGirl

12-11-2010, 02:45 PM

So when flying back to SEA TAC from Bham I mean, did you see your house as you flew in? That would really be the icing on the cake. It all reminds me why I'm so picky about flying, how, where and when.

Ha, no...but that would have been something else. Luckily our house isn't directly under the flight path. :)

It sucked, to be sure, but there is always a silver lining. In this case, it's that I cashed in the voucher Allegiant sent me for return tickets from LGB > Seattle and I had enough miles on Alaska for a free one-way from Sea > SNA. Long story short, out of pocket, airfare for my daughter and I to take another trip in February cost me $95 out of pocket.

I thought about flying out of Bellingham again but when I considered that it was in February, I didn't want to take my chances.

Belle Ella

12-11-2010, 09:09 PM

FlameGirl

12-12-2010, 07:17 AM

You are on a roll Kathy! I'm trying to catch myself up. But I'm still on Day 2 ;) I swear I had to reread and reread all about your travel debacle. I could hardly believe it! It's a good thing you can stand up for yourself and take charge. I don't know what I would have done in that situation, but I don't think I would have made it to Disneyland on time! Good job, momma bear!

Thanks Jazz. And yeah, I definitely hit a breaking point and went into super commando mode. What I didn't mention was that I was right on the very edge of a complete hysterical-sobbing-sit-on-the-floor-clutching-myself-rocking-back-and-forth-blubbering breakdown. So it was one or the other and super commando Kathy won. Also in part due to my wonderful, supportive husband who could see that I was RIGHT THERE and would give me a reassuring hug and whisper "it's going to be OK" from time to time.

Overly dramatic? Yeah maybe. But I swear, watching your kid suffer that huge of a shift in emotion - from giddy excitement at knowing we are on our way, to the crushing news that we aren't going for another 3 days and vacation is cut short - I swear there is a switch in us moms that when it's on...beware. Haha. It all worked out in the end. :)

Glad you're still along for the ride!

FlameGirl

01-06-2011, 12:06 PM

I've really dropped the ball with my TR. And I'm not even 1/2 way through it! I will have to get on that...

FlameGirl

01-06-2011, 12:34 PM

Next we headed on over to New Orleans Square and decided to kill a little time before dinner just shopping and taking in the sights. John had to make a trip back to the room (or locker) to grab something, so Natalie and I wandered around for a while. We caught up with Tiana and her band and watched for a bit.

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At the risk of repeating myself, NOS is so beautiful during the holidays.

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We caught up with John after a bit, and pulled up a few chairs to watch the Jazz band inside the French Market, while we waited until it was time to head on over to the Blue Bayou for our dinner reservation.

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On the way to BB, I caught the Mark Twain lit up like a Christmas tree, coming 'round the bend.

And then we checked in at the Blue Bayou. We asked if we could possibly get a waterside table, and we were told it would be an hour to an hour and 1/2, so we said forget it. We were then seated almost immediately...nowhere near the water. In fact, we were the second table from the back, all the way to the left. I never really have good luck getting a good table here. Oh well.

After we took a look at the menus, Natalie decided she had her heart set on the braised short ribs. I tried telling her that these were not the ribs she thought they were, so then she asked the waiter if she could have a kid's menu. I have to say, I love Disneyland, but I think it's total BS that an 11 year old kid can't order off the kid's menu...of course we were told they could make her an adult's sized portion of mac and cheese...I just think it's dumb. Would some people take advantage of the kid's menu if their policy weren't so stringent? Sure, probably. But I highly doubt they'd lose money in the process. But I digress. She turned her nose up at the mac and cheese option, so John threw out there that he wasn't starving, so he'd be happy to split the short ribs with her, which she was agreeable to.

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We all ordered the Gumbo. Natalie ended up giving hers to John. :)

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I ordered the surf and turf...and ended up giving 1/3 of the filet to John, and 1/3 to Natalie.

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1/2 portion of braised short ribs

All in all, the meal was fine, but I'm inclined to skip the Blue Bayou in the future. This was my third time dining there and it's fine, but not great.

Day 4 continued...

amamax2

01-06-2011, 01:41 PM

Yay, you're back! Awesome report and awesome pictures! I am loving watching Natalie grow up through all the reports.

FlameGirl

01-06-2011, 02:32 PM

Yay, you're back! Awesome report and awesome pictures! I am loving watching Natalie grow up through all the reports.

I'm back! :)

That's very sweet of you to say...thank you. I'm enjoying writing the report....if for no other reason than to just document it for us, so we don't forget all the little details.

Thanks for posting! :)

deejdigsdis

01-07-2011, 01:26 PM

Oh I'm so glad you came back! I absolutely love your pictures.

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 01:04 PM

Oh I'm so glad you came back! I absolutely love your pictures.

Thank you so much! :goodvibes:goodvibes

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 01:37 PM

After our meal at Blue Bayou, we had just time enough to go on Haunted Mantion before it was time to get in line for our Fantasmic! seats.

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I told John and Natalie that I'd wait in line if they wanted to go off for a bit, which they did. I was third in line.

As I was waiting, I started talking to a mom who had a daughter Natalie's age a little bit. After a bit, Natalie and John returned to check in with me, and she and the girl started talking. They were INSTANT BFF's. :lmao: Natalie then mentioned that she'd like to go on Haunted Mantion while I continued to wait in line, and I told the mom that her daughter was welcome to go with Natalie and John. She seemed kind of hesitant but then the daughter totally put her on the spot by doing the ohpleseohpleaseohplease bit, so she let her go. I told them the line looked short and that I promised John would bring her right back. About 25 minutes later, still no sign of our peeps and she started to look pretty nervous. I told her it was probably kind of unsettling to allow her child to go off with complete strangers, but that John was as harmless as they come. Right about then they returned, and she was visibly relieved.

FINALLY, they began checking us in for the show. Everyone in front of me was seeing the earlier show, and we were seeing the later show, so I got first pick of the seats. We chose seats 1, 2, and 3 in the front so we were happy. We said our goodbyes to our new friends, and headed on over to Space Mountain, BTMRR, then Pooh.

After Pooh, we decided to poke around a little bit inside Pooh Corner as everyone in the world was watching Fantasmic! so it was empty, which was very nice. Natalie mentioned that she would like to find a restroom so we headed on over to the Hungry Bear which was also completely empty and it was a little bit weird, to be honest. When we came back out, we sat down and waited for John who had wandered off, and caught the Mark Twain rounding the bend with all of the Fantasmic! characters dancing around. Well, because we were the only people in that area, they all saw us and sprang to life waving and carrying on. Natalie thought that was pretty neat that they were all waving to her, personally. :)

Next it was time for us to grab our seats and watch the show. As we were sitting and sipping our hot chocolate, I saw something that to this day, I can't wrap my head around. We watched the people who were all in front of us, jockying for position to see the show...and suddenly we noticed that right before the show started, a woman was getting very upset with one of the security guys, but we couldn't understand what was happening. UNTIL...she grabbed her Cadillac sized stroller and parked it back behind where people were sitting, roughly 25 feet from where she was sitting. She hissed "There....are you HAPPY NOW?!" at the security guy and everyone sitting around us sort of muttered that geez, she should take it easy, this IS Disneyland, for Pete's sake. Then she went back over and sat down with her husband and kids. Well, THEN the security guy tried saying something else to her but she gave him "the hand" and wouldn't acknowledge whatever it was he was trying to say to her. I could see people sitting around her cringing. The security guy walks away and comes back with a female supervisor. The supervisor says "Ma'am??" quite loudly and she whips her head around, at which point the supervisor says "You have to remain WITH YOUR CHILD, or I'm going to have to escort you out."

We all sat in stunned silence. This nut had actually parked her stroller, WITH HER INFANT IN IT, 20 or so feet away to watch the show (with her back turned to her baby). Seriously. She stormed over and yanked her baby out of the stroller which confirmed what none of us could actually believe. My god.

Fantasmic! was cool....literally. We were already quite cold, and when the mist would hit us, oh my. Freezing. We all liked the show a lot, but all agreed that the dessert seating package would be a once in a lifetime thing...we didn't need to do it again.

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We all really liked it when Murphy the dragon shot out flames at Mickey, because it meant we felt some heat. :lmao:

After the show, we waited for the crowds to clear out a bit, and then started back for the room...it had been a long day and we were exhausted. Right near the Xmas tree, we spotted Mickey with no waiting, so Natalie ran over and Mickey pretended to warm her up. I guess everyone was feeling it that night!

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Once we were back inside our warm hotel room, I fired off a few shots of the dessert boxes, which we nibbled on for DAYS. We were all so full from dinner at the Blue Bayou that we didn't even touch our dessert boxes during the show. :)

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And so concludes (FINALLY!) the end of day 4. I'll be in the old folk's home by the time I get this TR finished, at this rate. :goodvibes

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 02:23 PM

We had to wake up at the crack of dawn, because we had 8:00 reservations at Goofy's Kitchen, compliments of Costco Travel. During the previous year, we had experienced our first character breakfast ever at the PPH, and it seriously left something to be desired. But, people rave about Goofy's so we thought we'd give it a shot.

Man, it was a long walk, too. It's fun to walk through DTD when there is no one in it, though. :)

Once we got to GK's, I made a TOTAL rookie mistake. I wanted to get a shot of Natalie with Pluto and I could see there was nobody in line, so I told Natalie to get on in there, which she was happy to do, and I got her photo.

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After I got the photo, the photographer behind me asked if they had called our names yet. Um, no? I still didn't get it. Then she explained that you're only supposed to get a photo with Pluto AFTER you've been called. Oh. Whoopsie.

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Natalie's odd breakfast choices. She got the yogurt because she thought it would make me happy. :lmao:

I had the banana fosters crepes which were good but VERY sweet. After I had one of those babies, I had to have something NOT sweet, so I had a little macaroni and cheese. And then I was stuffed.

We sat and watched as character after character passed us by on their way out, without even a wave. Goofy, the White Rabbit, Balou, and many others....no love. We had a brief interaction with Jasmine (Natalie couldn't give a fig about face characters) and that was it. So, we are 0 for 2 when it comes to the character meals. We all agreed that unless we get vouchers with our travel package, we won't ever pay for one out of pocket. If I'd have paid $97 for the little amount of food that we did eat with no characters, I'd have been really, really upset.

John was still exhausted from having to get up so early after our late night the night before, so he decided to head on back to the room for a nap, while Natalie and I headed over to Fantasyland, where we rode Snow White (it still irks Natalie that the ride goes from death and destruction to "And they lived happily ever after"), Pinocchio (she was shocked by the usage of the word "jacka**") and then Alice before heading over to grab FP's for Space Mountain. When we got to Space, we saw that the line was pretty reasonable, so we grabbed the FP's and then got in the standby line.

After Space, we headed over to Frontierland and rode BTMRR, and then we got something to drink in Rancho Del Zocalo.

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Naturally, Natalie decided it was time to ride Pirates again, and after POTC, we discussed the fact that we still hadn't done the Tiki Room. Since she had chickened out of a few rides, she realized she owed me three visits to the Tiki Room, so she thought now might be a good time to get one of them out of the way. :)

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Once inside the Tiki Room, we were sitting next to a girl who thought it might be a good idea to talk on her cellphone, in a normal speaking voice, the entire time. We got up and moved away from her.

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After our Tiki experience, we poked around a little bit in the fruit stand outside of the Jungle Cruise.

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Right about then, Natalie asked if she could get an ice cream cone, so we headed for Gibson Girl's on Main Street. She wanted chocolate ice cream, in a cone, and came unhinged when they served her this:

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She didn't want it in a CUP in a cone, she wanted it in a cone. I told her to pick it up and do the best she could, but it was a disaster. And I heard about every single person who got theirs in a cone, sans cup, too. If I'd been on my game, I would have told them it wasn't what she'd asked for, and in retrospect, I feel bad. Oh well.

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Next on my to-do list was to visit the Lost and Found...I had lost an earring the night before that was very sentimental, and while it was a long shot, I at least wanted to see if it had turned up. No such luck.

I was really starting to wonder about John at this point...he had gone back to the room hours ago for a nap, and wasn't returning texts or answering his blackberry or the room phone. I texted him that I was getting hungry and would he like to join us, with no answer. Natalie was full from her ice cream debacle, so I just wanted something quick and easy. I opted for the Spicy Korean Beef bowl at the Lucky Fortune Cookery, which was not bad!

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Day 5 continued...

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 03:26 PM

After my quick lunch, we took a stroll through the Mission Tortilla Factory, which was fun because again, it was completely empty. I was stuffed from lunch, so I handed Natalie my tortilla, and then we went across the way to the Boudin Bread place, which we've never done.

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I couldn't get over how enormous the Mickey Sourdough loaves were!

Aaaaand...still no word from John. So, we headed over to a Bug's Land, and did It's Tough To Be A Bug, which was also a first for us. Once we were down there, waiting for the doors to open, Natalie tells me she has to use the restroom. I told her to ask the CM handing out glasses where the closest restroom was, and said it was a hike. I asked her if she could hold it and she said she was desperate. Then, he said he could let her use a secret bathroom but had to check with his supervisor first. Sure enough, they whisked her back to what I gathered was an employee restroom, which was so nice of them to do. He didn't want us to miss the show.

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We both enjoyed the show...I think I enjoyed it more than Natalie did though. Neither of us was expecting the bug to run under our butts at the end and I squealed like a little girl. :lmao:

After the show, Natalie wanted to go on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train and there was no line, so why not. Kind of silly, but whatever. :) Next we went on Flik's Flyers, and while we were waiting in line, we both agreed that we would try to get the Chinese takeout container for our ride vehicle. Once we got in and the door was closed....right before it was time to take off....my Minnie ears flew off my head and landed on the ground...outside the ride vehicle. Natalie was DYING laughing, and every time we flew by my ears, she would start with another fit of hysterical laughter. Luckily, we landed right where we started, and I was able to retrieve my poor, forsaken ears with no trouble. Poor ears.

Once we were done with Flik's Flyers, I told Natalie that the Silly Symphony Swings were really not much different, and she was surprised by that. I told her she might like them, maybe we could give them another shot? And she agreed. So, off to Paradise Pier we went.

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I stopped along the way to take a shot or two...

When it was time to find our swings, she decided that she would ride on the inside, and I would ride on the outside. And up we went! It was funny to watch her face, because I could tell she was very nervous. When the music started, her eyes were clenched tight, and when we started "flying", I saw her slowly open her eyes and look around and then cutest look came across her face...I could tell she was surprised that she liked it so much, and then she was beaming. Adorable. Anyway, when we landed, she proclaimed the ride to be "AWESOME" and of course, wanted to do it again immediately. Only this time, she wanted to ride it by herself, so I had to get a swing on the other side. When we went up, I gave her the "thumb's up" signal and she thumb's upped back at me so I knew she was good. :)

After Silly Swings, we thought we'd mosey on over and get in line for Toy Story, and it was then that I finally heard from John who had been on a wild goose chase all over DTD and Disneyland, because he'd left his phone charger back in Bellingham. His phone was dead, which is why he wasn't answering me, and he bought a new one in DTD...only he couldn't find anyone who would let him plug in his phone so he could charge it. I told him to meet us at Toy Story as by now, we were already in line. He ended up being not too far behind us, but we didn't want to do the line cutting nonsense so he would ride by himself.

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After we got off Toy Story and FINALLY hooked back up with John, Natalie spotted Woody so we went and got in line for yet another photo op.

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I've said it before, but I just love the green army men. They are hysterical.

Now that we'd reconnected with John, he was hungry so we hit up the Cove Bar again for a snack and a drink.

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Messy hair

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Pear Martini (I didn't care for this at all. Way too boozy.)

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BBQ Chicken Pizza. Natalie loved this, and I didn't like it at all, but that's because I don't like BBQ sauce.

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Goofballs

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After the Cove Bar, John and I wanted to grab a couple of Screamin' FP's, and Natalie still wanted nothing to do with it. While we waited for our FP's to become valid, we did the Silly Swings again, then Midway Games again and then finally Screamin' before we ran smack into the Pixar Parade. We were trying to get out of DCA and over to Disneyland for our reservations at Cafe Orleans and were having a tough time. Finally we made it to CO, and by the time we were seated, we realized that we really weren't terribly hungry, after our visit to the Cove Bar. We opted for a cup of Gumbo each and split the Pommes Frites.

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And then it was time to head back to the room, we were all spent.

Next up...Day 6!

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FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 04:22 PM

When we rolled out of bed and as I was getting ready in the bathroom, Natalie says to me:

"I'm still debating going on Screamin'. I haven't made up my mind."

This is huge. That she is even considering it is amazing. Then she tells me she wants to do it, but that she wanted to ride some other stuff first.

I tell her that if she's nervous about it, we should go straight away and ride it FIRST, otherwise she is just going to build up the anxiety until we do it and it'll make it that much worse. Really? She asks? Dad agrees. She agrees. Off we go.

Now, my memory fails me for a bit here, because I know that Natalie and I set off by ourselves. The whole way there, I just knew she would chicken out, but we kept getting closer and closer. When we actually got to Screamin, we got right in line. John texted me and asked where we were and I told him in line...and he said he was crossing the bridge. I told him to hustle if he wanted to watch us take off from the rail.

The whole way through the line, she kept asking me to compare it to other rides so she would know what to expect. I told her I thought Space Mountain was probably scarier and woman ahead of us in line turned and asked if it was her first time. Natalie nodded, nervously. She assured her Space was scarier and she had nothing to worry about. When we got our seat assignments, we were in row 2. There were two guys beside us in row 1 and they noticed that Natalie was quite nervous, as well. One guy told her she had nothing to worry about and that the ride was awesome. The other guy said something like "You'll be fine....if you survive" and I told her not to listen to him and I told him he was awful. I know he meant it in a joking way but what a thing to say!

Once we got in and pulled the safety bars down over us, Natalie says to me "MommyIdon'twanttodoitIwanttogetoff" and is borderline tears. I knew that we were just about to start moving, so if I could stall her for just a few seconds, we would be committed. And that's just what happened. I told her it was too late and she would be fine.

I saw John at the rail when we came around the bend, waiting to take off. 5...4...3...2...1...SCA-REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM! WHOOSH! We were off! Natalie was screaming her little lungs out and as soon as we hit the first drop, I hear her scream "OH MY GOD THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!" and I knew all was well. And I also knew that the thing she was the most afraid of was the loop. She was loving the ride, but she always keeps her eyes closed the first time she rides anything scary, so I waited until after the loop to tell her "Natalie! That was the loop! You did it!" and she chirps back "REALLY? OH MY GOD THAT WAS NOTHING!" Haha. What a kid.

When we got off the ride, the guys next to us caught up to us and gave her the ?Well? Thumbs....up? Sign and she beamed and gave them both a big double thumbs up. They gave her high fives. I think the one guy felt a bit bad.

We caught back up with John and he showed the photo he took of us at takeoff. I wish I had it. We hastily grabbed three FP's for Screamin', and then we were off to Build-A-Bear, while John took off to procure a locker for us. And let me tell you, she chirped on and on about how awesome the ride was and how proud of herself she was the entire way through DTD. And I was so proud of her, too. And I told her that she had now conquered every single scary ride at Disneyland and DCA! There was nothing left to fear! :)

Once we got to Build-A-Bear, I was relieved to see that it was empty. She picked out a Boxer that she named Buddy, as well as some sunglasses for Buddy and a shirt. That kid has more stuffed animals...

Once we hooked back up with John, we headed over and grabbed ToT FP's and then walked on to ToT twice, then headed over to Natalie's new favorite ride of all time, ever, California Screamin', and used our FP's.

After Screamin', we were all feeling a bit hungry so we meandered on over to Whitewater Snacks, where John and I split the beef nachos and the chicken sandwich. I think the nachos have been significantly downgraded...they were much smaller than I remember and there was barely any beef, where there used to be a ton.

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Man, that chicken sandwich was messy. Anyway...after our lunch, we headed over to Grizzly River Run and got a bit wet, but nothing like that time on Splash. We rode with another dad and his three kids that were making him go over and over and over...they were cute. He told them to get it completely out of their system so that he could change clothes once they were done with that ride. Smart.

After Grizzly, we wanted to do Soarin' but Natalie was still not up for it. I don't think she'll ever get on it again. We asked her if it would be OK for us to go on it and to wait for us...and she didn't seem to mind.

After Soarin', we did ToT once more, and then headed across the Esplanade for Disneyland.

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Had to get a shot of her with the giant N since it would be the last time, ever.

*sniff*

Once back in Disneyland, our mission was BTMRR.

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John left something back at the room, again, and told us he'd catch up with us later, so Natalie and I decided to do the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough, since we'd never done that before.

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Stopped at the hub for a photo or two...

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Got a few of the castle...

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The walkthrough was pretty neat. I was sorry that John had to miss it.

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Spooky!

Then we poked around for a bit in Fantasyland. She rode the carousel, but couldn't find the elusive horse with the gold tooth which was Walt's wife's favorite horse.

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We stopped for a bit to watch the teacups in motion...

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...and then we headed over towards the Matterhorn and Tomorrowland Terrace where we pulled up a seat and waited for John to catch up with us. Once we were finally together again, we headed on over to Space Mountain.

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Once we'd ridden Space for the nine-thousandth time, it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner at the Napa Rose which we were REALLY looking forward to. We caught the monorail back to DTD (we didn't want to fight with the parade crowd) and then headed to the hotel.

Once ready for dinner, we thought it would make sense to walk through DCA and enter the hotel from there, so I snapped a few photos of Paradise Pier all lit up along the way.

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To be continued...

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 04:45 PM

Napa Rose gets its own post. :)

All I can say is, wow...what a meal. We were seated at the chef's counter, and they treated us like royalty. And I really appreciated that they allowed Natalie to order off of the kid's menu without any hesitation.

Our server / sommelier was a guy who goes by "Saucy" but that's not his real name. After we told them we would like to try the tasting menu, and I would like the wine flights, the chef approached us and asked about our likes and dislikes. I told them I don't like mushrooms, or mollusks. I also don't like lamb, but I didn't want to come off as being too picky. And then the food started rolling in...oh my.

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Our chef

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Goat cheese panna cotta amuse bouche

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Natalie's salad

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This was my Ahi tuna carpaccio with blue crab, beluga caviar and truffled lentils

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John's "Smiling Tiger" Salad

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My pan seared diver scallop in a lobster sauce

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Natalie's butternut squash bisque

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My winter squash risotto

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John's rabbit "meatloaf"

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Natalie's filet mignon

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My braised beef shortrib

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John's lamb chop

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Natalie's creme brulee tartlet

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My apple tart with green apple sorbet (inside the sugar apple)

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John's chocolate hazelnut somethingorother

And that was our fabulous meal at the Napa Rose! John loved it so much, he's considering flying down to Anaheim next month when Natalie and I take our girls trip, just for dinner, and then flying back home. That says a lot!

Next up: Day 7

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 05:14 PM

The day after our food and wine extravaganza, we decided it was a good day to sleep in. We had 1:00 PS at Carnation Cafe (oof...can we really be eating again?) so we skipped breakfast and stayed in bed watching the tube until it was time to head out for lunch.

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John had the 1/2 Turkey sandwich and cup of baked potato soup

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Natalie had the PB&J Painters Palette. She put all those marshmallows on her sandwich which promptly came right back off once she took a bite.

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I had the 1/2 veggie sandwich and baked potato soup...sans bacon.

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Chef Oscar came to our table and asked us if everything was OK. It's so cool to see him still working the crowd in there. :)

Next we decided to head on over to the Main Street Cinema and check out Steamboat Willie. True confession the "Look how dumb I am" edition: I always thought Steamboat Willie was driving...

...wait for it...

...a train. Yes, I am that stupid. When I watched the whole cartoon it dawned on me that heeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy.....that's a boat he's driving! A....STEAM BOAT. Duuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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After my deep epiphany, we thought we'd go check out the Tiki Room since John was back at the hotel when Natalie and I went before. Because she had manned up in a huge way and went on Screamin', I absolved her of all Tiki Room visits that she owed me. She asked if she could go on Indy single rider while we did the Tiki Room...we handed her John's phone and told her precisely where to meet us the second she was done. And she did...she's such a good kid.

Next we headed off to Splash, then POTC, grabbed Indy FP's and then headed on over to BTMRR. After we rode, we headed to the Roundup Ranch and I snapped a few photos of BTMRR along the way.

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After we left Frontierland, we headed over to Tomorrowland and grabbed some Space Mountain FP's, rode Buzz Lightyear, then Space.

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The Astro Orbiter was down the entire time we were there.

We told Disneyland goodbye for the evening and headed over to DCA to ride a few rides before our dinner reservation at ESPN Zone. We were able to get on Screamin', Toy Story, and the Silly Swings before it was time to head to DTD for dinner.

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Spinach Dip

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Kid's Mac & Cheese

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We split the Buffalo Chicken Burger

After dinner, we headed upstairs to play some games for a bit. Natalie found a horseracing game that she really liked, and John tried his hand at boxing.

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I told him he reminded me of the Kangaroo on Bugs Bunny cartoons

This was a short day after getting such a late start. After we used up our game credits, it was time to head back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep so we could get up the next day and do it all over again. :)

Next up...Day 8

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 06:09 PM

We missed breakfast at the hotel because we slept in too late, so we thought we'd give Jazz Kitchen Express a shot. Which was a mistake. It wasn't awful but it was not great by any means.

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Natalie had the kid's cheeseburger and fries

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We split an order of hushpuppies, but I think I ate most of them because I really didn't care for what I ordered which was...

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...popcorn shrimp

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John had the Gumbo Ya-Ya

After brunch, we headed to Disneyland and got Indy FP's, rode Splash, BTMRR, grabbed Space FP's, rode Indy, and then Natalie wanted to ride Indy single rider while John sat and waited and I put some more money on our gift card.

As per usual, John had left something behind in the room, so Natalie and I headed over to Innoventions to kill some time. She liked it...I wasn't thrilled. When we caught back up with John, we all rode Matterhorn, then Space, and then headed over to DCA to grab Screamin' FP's. We decided to take a load off at the Cove Bar while we waited for our FP's to become valid, and then we all rode Screamin'. After Screamin' we headed over to the Silly Swings where John and Natalie rode, and I hung back to snap some photos.

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John and Natalie wanted to ride Screamin', and Natalie was acting super bratty, so I told them I'd meet them at Naples for our dinner reservation. By the time we reconnected, she had straightened out her attitude and apologized to me. Sweet girl.

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I love the ceiling at Naples.

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Naples takes a lot of heat on the DIS...many people don't like it, but we've always had good luck. When our pizza came out this night, however, it was awful....the crust was mushy and completely soggy and inedible. We flagged down our server and he whisked it away and brought us a new pizza that was perfect. It happens...I just wonder if people don't like to complain and don't really give the place a chance. Oh well.

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During dinner, the balloon lady came around, and Natalie decided she wanted a turtle.

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And after dinner we headed back to the room. :)

Up next...day 9.

deejdigsdis

01-14-2011, 06:12 PM

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 06:23 PM

OK, I didn't take the time to go back and "quote" properly, but...

My family and I had that same experience with being the only ones sitting by an empty Hungry Bear and having the characters sail by and wave to us and us alone. That was clear back in 1993! A magical memory for sure.

That lady who deserted her baby...wow. My husband works in a prison and runs a treatment program for s** offenders, so sometimes it seems like it takes a lot to shock me -- as far as the awful things people do goes -- since I hear a lot. But I have to admit that this was extremely shocking to me. Who DOES that? That poor child.

Natalie and Screamin'... that totally reminded me of my son's first time to ride it. He was 9. We were all latched in and slowly pulling away from the loading area when he very calmly stated, "Mom, I changed my mind." "What?!?" "I changed my mind. I don't want to go on this anymore..." Well of course it was a little too late to do anything about it. And just like Natalie, it became his new favorite ride. :)

Really enjoying your report...your pictures are beyond stunning!

Oh, I'm so glad you posted...I was beginning to feel like I'm completely talking to myself like a crazy person! :lmao: :goodvibes:goodvibes:goodvibes

We were really surprised by the Fantasmic! boat floating by and wave, and what a great memory. I will also always remember it, because I'm pretty sure it was either there, or the restroom, that I lost my earring. :(

And yes, nobody around us could BELIEVE that woman left her baby in the stroller. The freakin' show is 1/2 hour long...I wouldn't have even been comfortable leaving Natalie during that show for that long. Everyone was gasping and saying "OMG she left her BABY in the STROLLER!?!?" It was nuts. Wretched woman.

That's so funny you had the same experience on Screamin' as well! I kind of come off sounding like a bad mom "forcing" her on the ride, but I knew she's love it. And she LOVED it. :)

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment! :goodvibes:goodvibes

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 06:24 PM

I sure hope that woman isn't a DISer. That would be...uncomfortable. :lmao:

Sherry E

01-14-2011, 06:44 PM

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 06:48 PM

I'm here too, Kathy - but I know all too well that 'talking to yourself' feeling in TR's. I have experienced that in the past. It's frustrating.

My friends and I were horrified at a stupid woman who left her baby in a stroller next to the line for tables at Carnation Cafe a couple of years back. She must have assumed it was safe to leave this child in the stroller next to a line full of strangers - who only had the best intentions, I'm sure.:confused3 Meanwhile, the stupid woman in question was off, yapping on her cell phone on Main Street, but no one knew that the yappy woman on Main Street was connected to the abandoned stroller baby until she finally stopped yapping and came back to the line. She wasn't even looking back to be sure the baby was okay. She had her back to where the line was as she stood on Main Street, so anyone could have run off with this child.

Hi Sherry! :cheer2:

I thought of you when I was writing the part in my TR about Naples...and I actually thought of you when we were there and our pizza was inedible. I was so glad they redeemed themselves...I didn't want to become one of the haters. :goodvibes

God, what is wrong with people? It is unlikely someone would steal a baby from Disneyland, but why take the chance? And how do you override the innate maternal instinct that causes most of us to break into hives when we can't see that our child....especially our infants...are safe?

And the gene pool just keeps getting weaker. :sad2:

Sherry E

01-14-2011, 07:05 PM

Hi Sherry! :cheer2:

I thought of you when I was writing the part in my TR about Naples...and I actually thought of you when we were there and our pizza was inedible. I was so glad they redeemed themselves...I didn't want to become one of the haters. :goodvibes

God, what is wrong with people? It is unlikely someone would steal a baby from Disneyland, but why take the chance? And how do you override the innate maternal instinct that causes most of us to break into hives when we can't see that our child....especially our infants...are safe?

And the gene pool just keeps getting weaker. :sad2:

:rotfl2: I know - we're two of the lone Naples supporters! We have to stick together!:rotfl2: I know there are a few more like us out there on the DIS, but for the most part it is pretty widely bashed!

I'm sure I'll hit one of those 'off' days at Naples eventually. It seems like all of the DLR restaurants are having more 'off' days, more frequently, in the last year, based on the variety of complaints that we read on this board. Actually I considered going to Naples last month when I was trying to decide where to do a solo table service meal. For some reason I decided against it and went with Storytellers instead. But I know that, eventually, I will get an inedible pizza or horrible service. So far, I've been lucky. Then again, some folks have gotten food poisoning at Tortilla Jo's while others say they love it, so you just never know what you're going to get at these places on any given day, I guess.:confused3 It's a gamble!

I don't know where the maternal instinct goes with some of these women at DLR. It's not even like the yappy woman we saw was on her cell phone for 2 or 3 minutes. She left that child in the stroller for a good half hour or more, not paying any attention.

I don't know what people are thinking half the time.:confused3

Belle Ella

01-14-2011, 07:05 PM

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 07:10 PM

We got another late start and missed breakfast, so we headed straight to DCA to the Pacific Wharf Cafe, where (seriously, we truly did more than eat and hang out at the Cove Bar during our trip, I SWEAR) John got the clam chowder bread bowl, and I got the Sonoma Chicken Salad bread bowl. I forgot to get photos.

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I did get a photo of the all-female mariachi band, however

After lunch, John....go ahead and guess....needed something back at the room - SHOCKING - so Natalie and I headed over to Screamin' where we rode twice and then a third time when we John rejoined us.

Next, we decided to let John experience It's Tough To Be A Bug, since he had missed it the first time around. He agreed that it is pretty cute!

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After ITTBAB, we grabbed ToT FP's, and then thought we'd take in Monster's Inc. I've only ever been on the ride twice in my life, but am I crazy? Or does it smell like ginger when you're inside the sushi restaurant scene in the ride? John thought he smelled it too, but I've never read anything about that on here before.

After Monster's Inc., we ran into none other than Sully! Of course Natalie had to get a photo with him.

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After we said our goodbyes with Sully (well, we said our goodbye, he didn't say anything), to the Animation Academy to check out the zoetrope, and then we did a few drawing classes. We drew Piglet and Pooh. I absolutely adore the Animation Academy.

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By now, it was time to redeem our ToT FP's!

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By now, we parched (quiet!) so we thought we'd check out the Al Fresco Lounge upstairs from WCT. What a lovely little oasis! It was practically empty, no kids, other than Natalie, which means it was very quiet, great service, win win win.

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Stop taking my photo, Mom!

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Nonsense! I'll never stop!

We thought we'd head back on over to Disneyland and grab a quick bite near Space Mountain, which meant Pizza Port. NOT one of our finer decisions. The place was wall-to-wall people, and the food was bad. Really, really bad.

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I forgot to mention that there were no Space FP's available, and we were not about to wait in the insane standby line, so we decided to take a break from all of the hoards and took the monorail to DTD so Natalie could play some more games at ESPN Zone. While we waited for the monorail, we had a nice view of the fireworks.

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We played at ESPN for a bit...

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...and then we decided the crowds had hopefully died down enough to give the park another shot.

When we walked up to the monorail, we asked one of the CM's if we could ride in front, and she told us we had to ask the driver WAAAAAAAAY at the other end and if we didn't hurry, someone else would get there first. So we hustled all the way over there and the sweetest gentleman saw us coming and said "Don't worry...I'll block anyone else from getting here!" :lmao: Sure enough, we asked the driver if we could sit in front and she was happy to oblige. That was a first time ever for us and it was SO COOL. We decided she has the coolest job in Disneyland.

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Once we left the monorail behind us, we made our way to Fantasyland where it was nice and quiet...everyone else was off watching Fantasmic! And we made another very exciting discovery: Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was finally open for the first time since we'd been there! Natalie was ecstatic!

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And then we rode Dumbo...

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And the Storybook Land Canal Boats...

And then it was time to head back to the hotel. That still didn't stop me from firing off a few last shots along the way, however!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5210/5240211662_279b9e77bd.jpg

And on the way out, Natalie decided she wanted to give Gibson Girl a chance to redeem themselves...and they delivered. She was a happy girl.

Up next....day 10

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 07:16 PM

:rotfl2: I know - we're two of the lone Naples supporters! We have to stick together!:rotfl2: I know there are a few more like us out there on the DIS, but for the most part it is pretty widely bashed!

I'm sure I'll hit one of those 'off' days at Naples eventually. It seems like all of the DLR restaurants are having more 'off' days, more frequently, in the last year, based on the variety of complaints that we read on this board. Actually I considered going to Naples last month when I was trying to decide where to do a solo table service meal. For some reason I decided against it and went with Storytellers instead. But I know that, eventually, I will get an inedible pizza or horrible service. So far, I've been lucky. Then again, some folks have gotten food poisoning at Tortilla Jo's while others say they love it, so you just never know what you're going to get at these places on any given day, I guess.:confused3 It's a gamble!

I don't know where the maternal instinct goes with some of these women at DLR. It's not even like the yappy woman we saw was on her cell phone for 2 or 3 minutes. She left that child in the stroller for a good half hour or more, not paying any attention.

I don't know what people are thinking half the time.:confused3

I know! Tortilla Jo's gets no love either! We've always had good luck there. So yeah, we still like Naples and we are going there the first night we're there next month, when it's just Natalie and myself. :goodvibes

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 07:20 PM

I always, always, always love your photos. I'm in love!!

I had a similar experience in the Tiki Room with someone on their cell phone. Let's just say that we (everyone watching the show) weren't very pleasant about it we were all so annoyed. The worst thing was, she was blocking the exit (in an ECV -- or is it EVC?) and talking on her phone and when a CM asked her to move in or out because he couldn't start the show until the exit was closed she kept holding her finger up to him like "wait just a moment" and then she decided to come in still jabbering away on her cell phone and when it came down to it the entire audience counted down to three and yelled at her to get off the phone. Well, we said get off the phone, but very loudly. And she still didn't.

:eek:

I am so so so jealous of Natalie's photo with Woody and on of the Green Army Men.

Hiya Jazz! And wow...you're making me blush. Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment! :hug:

People. They're the worst. :rotfl:

Isn't that cool that she got to pose with both those guys? I wanted to make SURE I got a decent shot of it, so I fired off a succession of shots (you can see it in the movement of the army guy) and he said in his best R. Lee Ermey voice "Wow! Your mom is like a paparazzi! She just took about 100 pictures in 3 seconds!"

I love the army guys. :lovestruc

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 07:57 PM

We got another quasi-late start again today, and were hungry as soon as we got to DCA. I talked John into trying the Lucky Fortune Cookery since he didn't get to last time.

When we got to the window, the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi. 2 Spicy Korean Beef and one kid's chicken teriyaki.

Her: OK, got it...1 Thai Curry and one kid's chicken teriyaki.

Me: No, two SPICY KOREAN BEEF and one kid's chicken teriyaki.

Her: OK, so you want a Mandarin Orange Chicken and a Spicy Korean Beef?

Me: Um, no. TWO SPICY KOREAN BEEF AND A KID'S CHICKEN TERIYAKI.

Her: OK, got it....Spicy Korean Beef and a kid's chicken teriyaki

Me: TWO! TWO SPICY KOREAN BEEF!

Her: Yes! Got it!

2 minutes later...

Her: Here's your Spicy Korean Beef and kid's chicken teriyaki.

Me: I ordered two Spicy Korean Beef....

Guy next to us in line: One Spicy Korean Beef and a Mandarin Orange Chicken please?

Me: Good luck with that.

After lunch, we headed on over to Disneyland (very efficient) and grabbed Space Mountain FP's, and then into Adventureland so Natalie could ride Indy single rider and John and I shopped while we waited. She was loving her little bit of independence that we were affording her.

When we found Natalie again, I told she and John that I wanted to check out the Billy Hill show, because I'd heard rave reviews and I'd never seen it. Natalie rolled her eyes and huffed a bit, but I told her we'd been doing pretty much everything she'd wanted to this whole time, and I wanted to see this show. Besides, it was wall to wall people again (it was Saturday) and it would be nice to get away from the crowds.

We got to the Golden Horseshoe about 15 minutes before the show was supposed to start, and it was packed. We couldn't even find a table...we had to lean up against a pillar all the way in the back.

Well, surprise surprise, Natalie LOVED the show. Absolutely loved it. So much so, in fact, that when it was over, she asked if we could get a front row table and wait for the next show. I told her it was an hour and 1/2 from now, but she was undeterred. So, we waited, and it was a completely different experience center stage! And of course, the main Billy flirted incessantly with Natalie and she ate it up.

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After the second show, we headed over to Indy and grabbed FP's and then got out of dodge to avoid the parade. John wanted to grab a martini at the Alfresco Lounge again, so we headed over to DCA.

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The Pixar Play Parade came through while we were at the Alfresco Lounge and Natalie wanted to go watch it from the street so we gave her John's phone again and let her go.

When we left the lounge, we headed back over towards Disneyland via the Grizzley River Run side of the park.

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Got to Frontierland, grabbed FP's for BTMRR, and then headed to DTD for dinner at Tortilla Jo's. During dinner, Natalie spotted our favorite balloon guy from the year before (previous TR) and wanted a balloon, so I reached inside my camera bag to grab some cash to tip him, and realized that somewhere along the way, $100 fell out of my bag. I was so upset. Anyway...

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The "Rosarita"

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John's Chili Verde Burrito

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Carne Asada

After dinner, we headed back to Disneyland to use our FP's and rode BTMRR and Indy, and then it was beddy-bye time so it was off to the hotel with us!

Up next...Day 11ish

FlameGirl

01-14-2011, 08:25 PM

Sunday morning, and it was time for us to vacate the hotel. Natalie and John headed on over to Disneyland to get in a few last rides while I packed us up. We had accumulated so much stuff while we'd been there, it was going to be a real challenge to get everything into the bags we came with without having to check bags (Allegiant wanted $40 per bag! :eek:)

John and Natalie managed to get in Space, Thunder, Splash x2 and then Space Mountain again before I sent John a text that I was ready to haul the bags downstairs (I actually did manage to condense everything down into one carry on and one personal item per person!) and I needed help.

I got a few texts that said she was absolutely crestfallen about having to leave, and tears were imminent. I saw them coming across Harbor Blvd. so I stood and waved. When she got to me, she threw herself into my arms and burst into tears. I tried to remind her that we would be returning in a little over 2 months, but she was very, very sad.

We left the bags with the front desk, and decided to go to the Rainforest Cafe for a bite to eat. She didn't want to eat inside the park, because it would be "too painful". Haha.

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That's the face of a husband who's ready to head back home

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BBQ ribs smile. (Gross)

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Buddy the Boxer

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Appetizer sampler platter

After we paid the bill at RFC, it was time to head back and retrieve our luggage and then grab a cab back to the airport. We really misjudged our time and by the time we had a cab, we were sweating getting to the airport on time.

But we did, and lo and behold, Allegiant got us out of Long Beach on time.

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Bye bye SoCal.

Once we were back in Bellingham, we had a short wait until our train left, and then it was smooth sailing all the way back home to Seattle.

And that's it! TAADAA! Thanks so much for those of you who have followed along on our journey! We had an amazing time, and now Natalie and I are headed back for 4 days Feb 22nd. We can't wait!

(PS: It's been 1149 hours and 36 minutes since we left Jazz Kitchen ;))

Disgram23kids

01-15-2011, 11:59 PM

JH87

01-16-2011, 12:45 AM

You take some amazing photos!! Loved the TR!

FlameGirl

01-16-2011, 12:54 AM

Hi FlameGirl - I really enjoyed reading your trip reports. Going through them from the beginning, I felt like I was watching Natalie grow up. Congratulations to her for conqering all the thrill rides. :thumbsup2 Even though you had a rocky (or maybe I should say snowy) start, sounds like you all had a wonderful time! Loved all your photos.

Thanks so much! The beginning of the trip was definitely an adventure, and we were happy that the rest was relatively uneventful. :)

You take some amazing photos!! Loved the TR!

Thank you so much! I had fun writing it and I read it to Natalie last night. She loved reliving the whole trip. :)

deejdigsdis

01-16-2011, 09:41 AM

That is so crazy (your Lucky Fortune Cookery order experience)!

Really enjoyed your report! Thanks for sharing. :goodvibes

FlameGirl

01-16-2011, 01:57 PM

That is so crazy (your Lucky Fortune Cookery order experience)!

Really enjoyed your report! Thanks for sharing. :goodvibes

It was pretty weird alright...I wasn't mad...I just didn't know how to better communicate what we wanted to her. It reminded me of this time that an old coworker and I went to grab some lunch at the deli. He stepped up to the counter and ordered a chicken breast and a chicken leg. The woman behind the counter says something like "OK a breast and then we have wings, thighs, and legs...which do you want?" so he says again...a leg...and she POINTS to the chicken and says "wing, thigh or leg?" and he looks at me and whispers "Chickens HAVE legs, right??"

It was so funny that she made him doubt his own sanity for a second...that was how I felt.

Thanks for hanging in till the bitter end! Now to get planning the next trip! :)

yamindie

01-19-2011, 05:59 PM

your daughter is sooo cute! looks like you had a great time!!! loved the post :thumbsup2

purplecrush

01-19-2011, 11:05 PM

Wow!! I loooooved reading every bit of your trips!!! I cant believe your luck with this last one!! The snow....oh my! Any mother would do the same thing for their kiddos!!

Our trip is in 150 days and im impatiently waiting till we are running all over the park like you guys!!

I , on the other hand, have a very adventurous 12 year old daughter! She begged us to go on ToT!! We went 3 times our last trip...she also LOVED California screamin! There is no ride too scary for her!

My 14 year old strappin' son is a different story lol..hes a chicken!! He crosses his arms and says" Im NOT going on that " . Hes so stubborn! He didnt even want to come with us on this Disney trip, so I decided we would do the City Pass so we could go to Sea World, San Diego zoo and Universal studios, and now hes all for going.

It was lovely seeing your little angel grow up to be such a beautiful young lady :)

FlameGirl

01-19-2011, 11:12 PM

your daughter is sooo cute! looks like you had a great time!!! loved the post :thumbsup2

Thank you...we kind of like her. :lmao: We had such a great time that Natalie and I are going back for 4 days next month. :yay:

Thanks for reading and the nice comment! :)

Wow!! I loooooved reading every bit of your trips!!! I cant believe your luck with this last one!! The snow....oh my! Any mother would do the same thing for their kiddos!!

Our trip is in 150 days and im impatiently waiting till we are running all over the park like you guys!!

I , on the other hand, have a very adventurous 12 year old daughter! She begged us to go on ToT!! We went 3 times our last trip...she also LOVED California screamin! There is no ride too scary for her!

My 14 year old strappin' son is a different story lol..hes a chicken!! He crosses his arms and says" Im NOT going on that " . Hes so stubborn! He didnt even want to come with us on this Disney trip, so I decided we would do the City Pass so we could go to Sea World, San Diego zoo and Universal studios, and now hes all for going.

It was lovely seeing your little angel grow up to be such a beautiful young lady :)

Thank you so much for the nice comments! And welcome to the thread! :)

You will be there before you know it. And you should start a PTR now! :)

Welcome to the DIS to both of you. :goodvibes:

skiingfast

01-23-2011, 10:48 PM

This trip report is making me hungry.

It's good to know you got a few rides in between meals. ;)

FlameGirl

01-24-2011, 11:32 AM

It's good to know you got a few rides in between meals. ;)

I know...as I was writing it, I kept thinking my god...is all we did the entire time eat? It really didn't feel that way at the time...

Sally_fan

01-24-2011, 05:16 PM

FlameGirl

01-24-2011, 05:23 PM

Hi FlameGirl! I absolutely love your photos!! :love: The colors are so crisp! The ones that stood out to me in particular are allll of your food pictures & the ones that you took outside of the Tiki Room. They are amazing! I am sure that you have answered this before but what kind of camera do you use?
Your trip report was so much fun to read as well! We were there to experience the Christmas season for the first time this past year (Dec 3-11) & it brought back so many memories. I am planning another Christmas-y trip this year we enjoyed it so much!
Oh & I can not believe the start of your trip & I know exactly the weather that you are talking about! We are from Vancouver, BC & I was starting to get worried about getting up to Seattle to get our flight. Weather turned around for us by the time we were due to leave, thank goodness. But I am glad to hear that it all worked out for you in the end despite all the crazyness! :)

Hi! Thanks for stopping by.

I use a Nikon D40, and I had a 35mm f/1.8 lens on it during that trip. Thank you for the kind words. :)

Ugh, Snopocolypse 2010...what a nightmare. Too funny that we were entertaining the idea of going up to Vancouver to fly down. My husband commented on how we kept traveling north, to fly to SoCal.

So glad you made it and didn't have the difficulty we did. We have actually already booked our Thanksgiving trip for this year and will be there another 10 days. I must say, however, that I'm really looking forward to going next month when it's not decked out for the holidays. 2004 was the last time I saw it undecorated and I miss the regular Hanted Manion! :)

:goodvibes:goodvibes

Sally_fan

01-24-2011, 06:52 PM

FlameGirl

01-24-2011, 07:07 PM

Yeah I guess we are up & you are down right? I even went back & changed it to "up to Seattle"! Oops! lol
Hey....Bellingham isn't that far from you IF you're going to save a ton of $$ & you are actually going to travel directly there. ;) Interesting that my friend flew with Allegiant Air out of LGB into Bellingham & was delayed 10 hrs (this past December but not snow related). :sad2:
Oh I hear ya on the Haunted Mansion thing!!! It's been my favourite ride (tied with POTC) since I was a kid. We have only been there 2x with the kids to see it in it's un-holiday form. First time was about 4 years ago and last time it was during Spring Break last year (went to say goodbye to the ELP) & is was crazy busy so we only got to ride it 1x. :( I am a huge NBC fan so I love HMH of course but it's nice to see the original once in awhile.
Enjoy your trip next month!! I look forward to your next trip report & plenty more pictures (esp the food ones!!). :)

Ugh...Allegiant will never get my money again. I can understand a weather delay, but to not make an effort to get us out for 3 days was unacceptable, as was their lack of crowd control when things got ugly. I'll pay the extra $200 and stick with Alaska.

I LOVE NBC but the HTH just doesn't do it for me the same way the original version does. The story seems disjointed.

I plan on taking many photos again next month...food too! :)

Sally_fan

01-24-2011, 07:35 PM

Yeah no doubt! 3 days is ridiculous! You'd think that they would have sent someone out to help organize everyone rather than let their customers battle it out on their own. Yours is another bad experience to add to my list of why not to fly with them. We are Alaska fans too & always fly out of Seattle. :thumbsup2
Thanks for the info on your camera too btw!
And I have to ask...your avatar pic intrigues me.....can I ask you what it is from? Looks like Jack in the background but it does not look familiar? I really like it anyways!

FlameGirl

01-24-2011, 07:43 PM

You are quite welcome! :goodvibes

My avatar is a photo that I took for a flickr group called Project 365, wherein the goal is to take a photo a day for a year. I was lacking inspiration one day so I photographed two little figurines that I have - one called Voodoo Girl and you are correct - that is Jack in the background. They're both Tim Burton characters. :)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5045/5354532745_1f2a5db11f.jpg

There was a "cheap flights" thread a few days ago and I cringed, because I saw all these people discovering Allegiant and getting very excited about saving so much money on airfare. I tried to explain that our great deal through Allegiant ended up costing us over $1200 in unexpected costs - aside from the airfare we paid for through Allegiant - but I don't think anyone was interested in my story. :lmao:

Sally_fan

01-25-2011, 07:02 PM

kaoden39

01-25-2011, 08:52 PM

Kathy, I decided to devote sometime right now to read your trip report. I am on page two and I have to tell you I was laughing so hard about the rain I had to read it aloud to Scotty. I can so picture that. You have a great turn of word.

kaoden39

01-25-2011, 10:47 PM

Well, I made it to the end. The whole calamity at the beginning of your trip would have made me cry. I think that Natalie is a trooper. I am truly impressed. It was a great trip report, thank you for sharing it.

FlameGirl

01-25-2011, 11:03 PM

I love, love, LOVE that picture! It is brilliant!

You know....our flights with Alaska out of Seattle ended up costing less than our friend's flights with Allegiant out of Bellingham (minus our park & fly hotel costs of course) when it was all said & done. That was, of course, after I had redeemed many flight credits when they lowered the ticket price but still. And then they had that wonderful 10 hr delay! The stories that I have heard (yours, theirs & others as well) make me not even consider booking with them. I realize that any airline can have delays or cancelations but they just seem to have so many!

Thank you! :)

I hate to be the jerk that rain on everyone's parade, but I will speak up where I can about Allegiant Air. They may seem like a bargain, to begin with, but between their "pay for assigned seating before you board" policy (at $13 a person), their $40 per checked bag policy, and my own personal experience with how they handle delayed/canceled flights.....never, ever again.

All that being said? Natalie and I are flying back from LGB on Allegiant next month...we are using our voucher to get back home from SoCal...I didn't want to chance another botched vacation relying on Allegiant to get us down there. At any rate....Allegiant will never get another one of my hard-earned dollars again.

(rant over)

Kathy, I decided to devote sometime right now to read your trip report. I am on page two and I have to tell you I was laughing so hard about the rain I had to read it aloud to Scotty. I can so picture that. You have a great turn of word.

Well, I made it to the end. The whole calamity at the beginning of your trip would have made me cry. I think that Natalie is a trooper. I am truly impressed. It was a great trip report, thank you for sharing it.

You are too sweet Michele.

Seriously...the rain that we experienced back in 2007 was unreal. To this day, I mention that rain to my family and they still shake their heads. Unreal.

As for the rest of it...I'm sure you would have been a soldier just like me. ;)

Natalie is a trooper and I am constantly reminded (pretty much daily) how lucky I am as a mom. They just don't come much better than her.

Thanks for reading my (very long) TR. I'm so glad you are here! :)

xo