NostalgicDad
"iHopeWeNeverLoseSomeOfTheThingsOfThePast"-WD
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2006
We (Me, DW, DS13, DD9, & DS6) took a late flight out of LAX and pulled into our garage at 2:30 in the a.m. today. August 1st - 4th......hiking in Yosemite. August 5th......all day at the SD Zoo. August 6th - 10th.......closed down DL each day.
Can anyone recommend a good place to purchase new feet??? It was simply a fantastic trip, though! From past experience, we knew we were in for lots of foot pain so we managed to pace ourselves at DL and even took mid-afternoon breaks/naps at the hotel. Four days in the parks was perfect as we did not have to rush to get things done. There were still things that we didn't get to but nothing to worry about. However, we all still suffered from the sore foot thing so I'm not sure if it's avoidable or not. We wear the right shoes, etc but I guess there's no magic pill when you open and close the park. If we could solve that mystery, I think our DL trips would be complaint free!
We stayed at the CCI for the 1st time. Super place, super location! Our room was a premium room and was fine even with the rollaway. An unfortunate occurence on one night when we returned after midnight, was handled superbly by the manager without me forcing the issue. I called the front desk to let them know housekeeping had left our door open. I was transferred to the manager and she immediately reduced our rate and the next day a letter from the general manager awaited us along with fresh cookies. We would regularly beat the hotel shuttle as the walk was next to nothing.......10 minutes tops. Although, we did take the hotel shuttle on a few occasions when the timing was right and our feet were screaming! We will definitely stay there again.
The crowds at both parks seemed really heavy although they dwindled a bit each day from Monday on. However, wait times for rides were acceptable with the amount of people there and FP worked great as usual. The longest line, of course, was Nemo. We did it on our EE day getting in line at about 7:30am. We waited right at an hour. Well worth it! Shortly after that and for the rest of the day it was a 2 1/2 hour wait so we timed it right. If you want to do this ride, it's worth a long wait. I just can't justify waiting in line 2+ hours for any ride, though.
We did brunch at Goofy's Kitchen for the 1st time. Again, super! We had a total of 8 characters come by the table including Minnie Mouse. Great interaction but I think all the food on the buffet was even better! Holy cow, I basically ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one sitting! Man, that was good.
We watched the parade a couple of times. If someone could tell me where I can download the "celebration" music that would be great. I just love the part in that song when Walt says "To all who come to this happy place.......welcome". Even typing that makes me misty. We also watched the fireworks again on once occasion. I was able to set up a tripod and get some great pictures this time around.
My personal top favorite rides for DCA and DL would be Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Soarin' over California, Nemo, Monster's Inc, Mr. Toad's, Buzz Lightyear, It's A Small World.
Oh, almost forgot. We were hanging out in the shade near the front of DCA one day, changing shoes, etc. (foot thing again) My DD9 was dressed as Alice (spitting image) and my DS6 was dressed as Peter Pan. DS13 was dressed as a 13 year old. A nice lady from Guest Services (Krystal) approached us and started chatting with the 5 of us. She asked the kids' favorite characters, etc. and told us to return to Guest Service either that night or the next morning. The next morning we went by there and they had autogrophed pictures personalized to each kiddo from Goofy, Alice, Peter Pan, and Captain Hook! How's that for out of the blue niceness?
Stuff like that I'll never forget but, and most importantly, my kids will never forget. What a great place to be.
Can anyone recommend a good place to purchase new feet??? It was simply a fantastic trip, though! From past experience, we knew we were in for lots of foot pain so we managed to pace ourselves at DL and even took mid-afternoon breaks/naps at the hotel. Four days in the parks was perfect as we did not have to rush to get things done. There were still things that we didn't get to but nothing to worry about. However, we all still suffered from the sore foot thing so I'm not sure if it's avoidable or not. We wear the right shoes, etc but I guess there's no magic pill when you open and close the park. If we could solve that mystery, I think our DL trips would be complaint free!
We stayed at the CCI for the 1st time. Super place, super location! Our room was a premium room and was fine even with the rollaway. An unfortunate occurence on one night when we returned after midnight, was handled superbly by the manager without me forcing the issue. I called the front desk to let them know housekeeping had left our door open. I was transferred to the manager and she immediately reduced our rate and the next day a letter from the general manager awaited us along with fresh cookies. We would regularly beat the hotel shuttle as the walk was next to nothing.......10 minutes tops. Although, we did take the hotel shuttle on a few occasions when the timing was right and our feet were screaming! We will definitely stay there again.
The crowds at both parks seemed really heavy although they dwindled a bit each day from Monday on. However, wait times for rides were acceptable with the amount of people there and FP worked great as usual. The longest line, of course, was Nemo. We did it on our EE day getting in line at about 7:30am. We waited right at an hour. Well worth it! Shortly after that and for the rest of the day it was a 2 1/2 hour wait so we timed it right. If you want to do this ride, it's worth a long wait. I just can't justify waiting in line 2+ hours for any ride, though.
We did brunch at Goofy's Kitchen for the 1st time. Again, super! We had a total of 8 characters come by the table including Minnie Mouse. Great interaction but I think all the food on the buffet was even better! Holy cow, I basically ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner all in one sitting! Man, that was good.
We watched the parade a couple of times. If someone could tell me where I can download the "celebration" music that would be great. I just love the part in that song when Walt says "To all who come to this happy place.......welcome". Even typing that makes me misty. We also watched the fireworks again on once occasion. I was able to set up a tripod and get some great pictures this time around.
My personal top favorite rides for DCA and DL would be Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Soarin' over California, Nemo, Monster's Inc, Mr. Toad's, Buzz Lightyear, It's A Small World.
Oh, almost forgot. We were hanging out in the shade near the front of DCA one day, changing shoes, etc. (foot thing again) My DD9 was dressed as Alice (spitting image) and my DS6 was dressed as Peter Pan. DS13 was dressed as a 13 year old. A nice lady from Guest Services (Krystal) approached us and started chatting with the 5 of us. She asked the kids' favorite characters, etc. and told us to return to Guest Service either that night or the next morning. The next morning we went by there and they had autogrophed pictures personalized to each kiddo from Goofy, Alice, Peter Pan, and Captain Hook! How's that for out of the blue niceness?
Stuff like that I'll never forget but, and most importantly, my kids will never forget. What a great place to be.
ours were beat after 5!
