Our Very Own California Adventure!! July 30th-August 11th, 2008

[Disneygrl36]

Awesome updates.
I am really impressed with the tree shots....I believe Sequoia will have to be on my must do lists sometime in the future.

Yeah you made it to DL. That kids suite is too cute. Sorry you didn't get to stay on property but I am glad you convinced the Grump to at least stay within walking distance. Go you.

I love this shot with the partners statue in the foreground & beautiful fireworks in the background. Good job.

I just know I am going to cry when I hear Julie Andrews & see the fireworks. I love her so much & it will be just perfect Disney Magic I am sure.

Can't wait for more......

 

[jonsmom57]

Great fireworks pictures with the statue in the foreground.

I always got goosebumps and choked up to hear "wishes" at WDW.

One of my friends took her first ever trip to WDW a few years ago & used a photo company that she was able to insert about 3 different photos for a holiday card. It was very nice.

We visited Seaworld in Orlando when my son was about 5 years old and I am sure he doesnt remember much of it now, so he will be 11 next year when we go.

How were the temps in Anaheim? Did you need sweatshirts at night?

The photos of the Carousel are very nice as well. Cool rooms.

 

[jaycns]

I am still loving this trip report! Shame on you for pretending you might not know how to write one! I have always wondered with the Indiana Jones ride at DL is like? Can you describe it?

Your room at DL (well walking distance from it ) looks really cool. I love the sheets on the boys' beds. I can just imagine the feeling of choking up at the fireworks! Now I know I HAVE to make it to DL!

I am looking forward to more updates! Enjoy the football game!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Awesome updates.
I am really impressed with the tree shots....I believe Sequoia will have to be on my must do lists sometime in the future.

Yeah you made it to DL. That kids suite is too cute. Sorry you didn't get to stay on property but I am glad you convinced the Grump to at least stay within walking distance. Go you.

I love this shot with the partners statue in the foreground & beautiful fireworks in the background. Good job.

I just know I am going to cry when I hear Julie Andrews & see the fireworks. I love her so much & it will be just perfect Disney Magic I am sure.

Can't wait for more......

I would highly recommend going to Sequoia National Park, those trees are just something that has to be seen to be believed!

That firworks picture is one of my favorites too. If you've never seen Remember Dreams Come True, just prepare yourself! It's really good! (Shhhhh, but I think I like it even better than Wishes......)

We visited Seaworld in Orlando when my son was about 5 years old and I am sure he doesnt remember much of it now, so he will be 11 next year when we go.

How were the temps in Anaheim? Did you need sweatshirts at night?

We really like SeaWorld, and I know we would have had a good time if we had gone, I just really wanted the last few days to slow down a little, and I wanted to do something that I knew DH would really enjoy (ya have to keep the Grump happy if any future Disney trips are going to occur!! )

The temps in Anaheim were great at night! It was warmer during the day than I had expected - it was down right hot during the middle of the day (not Florida hot, but hot none-the-lesss), nighttime was perfect though! We didn't need sweatshirts at all.

I am still loving this trip report! Shame on you for pretending you might not know how to write one!

Well, I don't know how good a job I'm doing, but I'm trying to emulate the queen of all trip report writers, Jaycns!! I'm just not nearly as good at having all of the incredible surprises that you have along the way!!

I have always wondered with the Indiana Jones ride at DL is like? Can you describe it?

I don't want to give everything away, but it's similar to Dinosaur, in that they use the same ride vehicles. It's an adventure through many of the same things that Indy goes through in his movies, it's fun, and your Indy loving boys would definitely enjoy it!

Your room at DL (well walking distance from it ) looks really cool. I love the sheets on the boys' beds. I can just imagine the feeling of choking up at the fireworks! Now I know I HAVE to make it to DL!

You need to make a trip out west, jay. There is definitely not as much of a "resort" feel at DL as there is at WDW, but it's fun to see the differences and it has it's own charm. And there is so much to do in California, it's a great vacation!

I am looking forward to more updates! Enjoy the football game!

Thanks, we had fun at the game, but left at halftime because we had bad weather moving in and were up 50-0 at halftime It honestly gets boring when you are beating a team like that!

My comments are in red


I'm off tomorrow and we have no plans, so I'm hoping to get another update up!

 

[travelmel]

I'm all caught up! Great TR so far

I'd love to go to WDW someday (after I hit the powerball) but until then, I've got DL

Loved your pics of northern california... Tree's of Mystery is our favorite spot up there....I'm glad you had a chance to see that side of California (and all because of a dis-er!).

Thanks for sharing and I'm excited to see more pics and here your take on the comparrisons to WDW.

 

[jess98ac]

Just found this TR today and I'm LOVING it. We have planned and canceled a similar trip a few times, but will definitely be making it someday! We spent a couple days in SF on our honeymoon three years ago and want to go back to see what we missed...and we have friends in Huntington Beach, so it's the perfect beginning and end to a CA coastal trip!!
Can't wait for the rest!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm all caught up! Great TR so far

I'd love to go to WDW someday (after I hit the powerball) but until then, I've got DL

Loved your pics of northern california... Tree's of Mystery is our favorite spot up there....I'm glad you had a chance to see that side of California (and all because of a dis-er!).

Thanks for sharing and I'm excited to see more pics and here your take on the comparrisons to WDW.

Trees of Mystery is in Redwood National Park, right? Just one more thing for us to go back to see!

I hope you really do like pictures, because there are a LOT from day 6! I tried really hard while we were in DL not to compare it WDW, it's hard not to though!

Just found this TR today and I'm LOVING it. We have planned and canceled a similar trip a few times, but will definitely be making it someday! We spent a couple days in SF on our honeymoon three years ago and want to go back to see what we missed...and we have friends in Huntington Beach, so it's the perfect beginning and end to a CA coastal trip!!
Can't wait for the rest!

Hi, and welcome! I'm so glad you are enjoying my report!

San Francisco to Huntington Beach sounds like a great road trip!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 6, Monday August 4th

This morning we had a very rude awakening. At about 5:45am we started hearing all this stomping above us, and this continued the entire time that we were getting ready. We were getting rather irritated because we couldn't figure it out, we thought that maybe we just had very rude people above us that were allowing their children to jump up and down and run constantly across the room.

But, when we went up for breakfast, we figured it out. The dining room was directly above our room, so we were hearing them getting breakfast ready and then hearing the people coming in for breakfast too. That's when it dawned on us that that is how we would be awoken every morning for the duration of time there. The genius who decided to put a dining room right above a guest room needs to be fired!! DH wanted to ask if we could change rooms, but I really didn't want to pack up and move again, and we were planning on being up early two out of our four mornings anyway, so we just stayed put. (Strike one against the Carousel Inn & Suites )

We also were not at all impressed with their breakfast. The only fruit they had were oranges, now I like oranges, but it's not what I would chose to have for breakfast. They had doughnuts and danishes like you would expect. The only cereals they had were oatmeal and raisin bran, neither of which my kids would eat. Then they didn't even have water to drink (DS7 doesn't like milk or orange juice), if you wanted water you had to pay $2 for a bottle. (Stike two against Carousel Inn & Suites )

We all grabbed a little something and then put our grumpy moods behind us, because we were about to spend the day in the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!

First photo of the day, standing on the corner by our hotel about to cross into my happy place!

When we entered the park the first thing I noticed was a photopass photographer, and since I am a sucker for pictures, I made my family stop. Here are the first of a LOT of photopass pictures we had taken today.

This one is one of my favorites, it's also my new siggy pic!

After our pictures we were off to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. I had read about the differences between DLs SM and WDWs and was anxious to try it out! We grabbed a FP for later (knowing already that we would love it) and then got in line to ride standby. We only had about a 20 minute wait, and then it was time for blastoff! OK, I have said for awhile that WDWs version of Space Mtn needs to be referbished, and after riding DLs version I am even more convinced. DLs version blows WDWs away!! I'm not going to spoil all the differences for those who haven't riden it yet, but I will say that it is a much smoother ride, and I don't know if it is faster, but it sure felt faster!

After our ride though space, we went over to Fantasyland. We rode the Storybook Land Canal Boats first.

Here we are passing through Monstro's mouth into Storybook Land!

And, a couple of pictures from the ride.

After the boats came the teacups. My boys have to ride this one without me. I have motion sickness issues, most of which can be controlled with Bonine, but there is no help for me on the teacups!

After the teacups we got in line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. We never went to WDW when they had this attraction, so it was new for us. A couple of months before our trip I was in Wal-Mart and saw a Disney DVD that The Adventures of Mr. Toad on it and immediately bought it so that the boys would have some background on the ride. We all thought it was fun, it's too bad they took it out of WDW!

Then we rode Snow Whites Scary Adventure. The boys tried to take the apple out in front of the ride and we saw the evil queen peering down at us!

It's been awhile since I rode WDWs version of this, but it seemed somewhat different. I think I like WDWs better on this one.

As we were walking past the carrousel, the boys spotted the sword in the stone. They tried their hardest, but that thing wasn't going to budge!

Day 6 to be continued - back to Tomorrowland we go!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 6 continued

It was time for our FPs for Space Mountain, so we headed back towards Tomorrowland, we took a peek at Nemo along the way, but the wait was crazy long, so we kept on going! We used our FP and enjoyed it just as much the second time around!

We were a little hungry at that point since we didn't have much of a breakfast and our lunch reservations were not until 1:00, so we stopped at a fruit cart and got some fresh fruit to snack on. The boys got an apple and DH & I got some pineapple, it was yummy and refreshing and hit the spot!

We noticed a small line forming across from us, so I checked the times guide and saw that Buzz Lightyear would soon be making an appearance, so we walked over and got in line to hi.

After we saw Buzz, we went over and got in line to ride his attraction. This is very similar to WDWs version, only you can remove your guns and move them around. Now, let me just say, DH always kicks my tail on this one, I've rarely even come close to his score. But, this time I must have hit one of those hidden targets worth a lot of points because I beat him!! I love that you can email your ride pic to yourself on this one, because I had to have a copy of this momentous occassion

A little sidenote, Wendy if you are still reading this, I'm posting this just for you. DS12 was wearing a Hollister shirt this day, and as we exited Buzz a relatively young woman (late 20's, early 30's) stopped us to ask what the heck Hollister was, because she was seeing those shirts all over the place! I immediately thought of you and figured this should make you feel better!

OK, sidenote over, we went and got in line for Astro Orbitor. This is another attraction that I don't do so well on in WDW, but I decided to give this one a try. I don't know if it was because it is lower to the ground, or if maybe it doesn't spin as fast, but I did fine!

We weren't quite sure where we wanted to head next, so we began walking in the direction of the castle. I noticed a photographer in front of the partners statue and and drug my family over for more pictures.

She was doing some shots with Mickey and Minnie placed into them, so we posed for those photos too.

When we finished she told us that there was a photographer doing "magic" shots in front of Tomorrowland as well. How the heck did I miss him?! So, we walked back over to Tomorrowland for a few more pictures.

I loved these next two!

On this one, Darth Vader was missing from the shot when I looked at my pictures, but I just emailed Disney and they were able to add him, no problem!

The kids decided that they wanted to ride Haunted Mansion, so we started walking in that direction. Here is a picture of DLs HM, much different than WDWs, but it really fits into the New Orleans theme nicely!

There was a photopass photographer there too!

It was incredibly crowded by this point and there was a long wait for HM, so we decided to just go see if we could get in early for lunch. We had a 1:00 Priority Seating for Cafe Orleans, and it was about 12:20. I asked the hostess if there was any chance of us getting in early and she said she didn't think so, so we had some time to kill. We decided to use that time to go through Tarzan's Treehouse.

The kids had fun "trashing the camp"

There was another one of these pretty waterfalls right next to it too.

We finished here with still about 15 minutes before our PS, we walked slowly back over but still had 10 minutes to go. I went to check in and was told we couldn't check in any earlier than 5 minutes before our PS. Ooooookkkkkkaaaaayyyyy. So, I stood there for 5 minutes and then she checked us in.

I was really excited for this meal! I had been drooling over all the food pics on the DL food porn thread for months! First off, I ordered a basket of Pomme Frites for us all to share. They were as good as I had hoped! For our main meal, I had the Monte Cristo, DH had the Crab Salad Sandwich, DS12 had the Blackend Chicken Ceaser Salad, and DS7 had macaroni & cheese.

DH said the Crab Salad was good, but not great. DS7 ate all of his mac & cheese but said it was a little bland. DS12 loved the chicken in his salad, but the dressing was a bit stronger than he is used to. I liked the Monte Cristo, but it was just way too heavy for me. It wasn't too heavy for DS12 though, he loved it! He ate his chicken and most of my sandwich, while I ate his salad. All in all, the meal was pretty good.

After we were finished eating we decided that it was nap time. We had gotten up early that day and it was starting to get very hot and very crowded! So, we headed back to the hotel for a rest. But, not without stopping for a couple more pictures

Coming Up Next - California Adventure!

 

[pperfectmom]

OOH...loving the Disneyland report Michelle. I know absolutely nothing about DL so this is so exciting. Even with the negative aspects of the hotel, would you recommend it or stay there again, or do you think it would be much better to stay on site?

 

[SoonerGirl]

Day 6 continued, California Adventure

DH and I were pretty tired and slept for about 2 hours, I don't think the boys slept at all, but at least they had their own room where we could close the door and they could watch tv.

Our plans for this evening were to go to California Adventure until closing, which was 9:00 and then call it a night because we planned on being at DL for a 7am early entry the next day. My only must do for tonight was the Electrical Parade. My kids are not parade people (silly boys, I can never convince them to stop for a parade ) but I was putting my foot down for this one! I wanted to see it!

I stopped and took this picture on the way in, I thought it was a cute store front.

Our first stop was Soarin'. We witnessed a not so magical moment when we were in line for it too. There was a group of about 5 people all with matching shirts on that got in line right behind us and that group contined to grow and grow and grow - I bet there was 30 of them by the time it was all said and done, they just kept coming up and cutting in line with their group. Line cutters really irritate me, now I don't mind if a few family members are line and a couple more join them shortly after, but a whole huge group? And they didn't come all at once right after they got in line, they straggled in at all different times, many after we had been in line for 15-20 minutes. All I can say is I'm happy we were right in front of them and not right behind them, otherwise I'd have been a little mad!

That aside, we enjoyed Soarin' just as much as we always do. It's one of our favorites! Even the Grump loves this one The ride is identical to the one in Epcot, but the que is much better (this is probably the only que at DL that beats out WDW though, most of the DL ques are just lines without much of any interest to look at).

I took this picture of the boys outside of the ride.

Next we headed over to Paradise Pier. Of course, I had to stop on the bridge for a photo.

Our destination was Toy Story Mania. DS7 and I had ridden the one at MGM (sorry, DHS - still not used to that!) a couple of weeks prior and LOVED it! We couldn't wait to ride since we had the heads up on what to do and we knew we would be able to beat DS12 and DHs scores! Yes, we are competitive family! The wait was about 40 minutes, and we figured we weren't going to see it much shorter than that so we got in line. I'm not sure why they don't have FP for this attraction at DL, they do at DHS.

DS7 & I were correct in assuming we could beat our respective partners, our advance training had served us well!

After Toy Story the boys rode Maliboomer, another one I'm not even going to attempt! Being shot up and dropped at a ridiculously high rate of speed does not look like fun to me! The adrenaline junkies in my family loved it though!

We were all getting hungry by this point, so we went over to Pizza Oom Mow Mow for dinner. We all had a big slice of pizza, which was really pretty good, then we went out to stake out a spot for the parade. I had written down a tip from Lynne's (Spartangirl's) TR about where to sit for the parade, and the tip worked to perfection. We found a bench right across from the Orange Stinger and took a seat. We had about 30 minutes until parade time, and there was next to no line for the Orange Stinger, so the kids went over and rode that 3 times in a row! When they got back it was almost parade time!

Here are some my pictures from the parade. Again, my nighttime shots are not so great, but you get to see them anyway! Get ready, there's a lot of them!

The parade was so good, the kids loved it too! I was hoping that that would mean that they might let me see another parade later in the week, but no dice there. They just don't like to "waste" (their word) time waiting for a parade to start.

After the parade we called it a day. We were (or the kids and I were - the Grump could care less) determined to make it for the 7am early entry the next day!

 

[SoonerGirl]

OOH...loving the Disneyland report Michelle. I know absolutely nothing about DL so this is so exciting. Even with the negative aspects of the hotel, would you recommend it or stay there again, or do you think it would be much better to stay on site?

I don't think we would stay there again - getting woken up at 5:45 every morning with a bang (literally!) got to be more annoying than I had anticipated, and that really left a bad taste in our mouth about the hotel. I'm sure if we had been in another room it would have been fine, and I know Monica really likes this hotel, I just don't know if I could get past the bad feeling we left with.

 

[got2travel]

Yes Monica does like this hotel. But I can see where a room under the breakfast room would be a problem. Not sure if I'll stay there anymore though, since they now have a $15 per night parking fee. That just started this year. As for the breakfast, believe it or not, Carousel has one of the better offerings. At other places you don't get any fruit choices, and for cereal you have to pay $1 for a single serving and $1 for the milk.

Having a blast reading your trip report. Maybe next time you make it to northern CA I can show you some of the non-tourist spots and you'll enjoy SF much better.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Yes Monica does like this hotel. But I can see where a room under the breakfast room would be a problem. Not sure if I'll stay there anymore though, since they now have a $15 per night parking fee. That just started this year. As for the breakfast, believe it or not, Carousel has one of the better offerings. At other places you don't get any fruit choices, and for cereal you have to pay $1 for a single serving and $1 for the milk.

Having a blast reading your trip report. Maybe next time you make it to northern CA I can show you some of the non-tourist spots and you'll enjoy SF much better.

Hey Monica!! Glad to see you back from your cruise, can't wait to hear all about it!

I really wish I had asked for a different room after that first night, I think that would have made a big difference. We got lucky and they waived the parking fee since we had made our reservations in January and the fee wasn't listed on their website yet.

Glad you are enjoying my report. I thought about you when we were in SF and was wishing that I knew how to get ahold of you! I don't know why I didn't think to get your number before we left.

 

[tinkermell]

Just now catching up on your report.

I'm sure someone has told you, that the best shopping compared to Chicago and New York is SF. Too bad you didn't get to Union Square. That is where it is at.

Next time!!

I'm really enjoying your TR. Now off to read more!

 

[tinkermell]

All caught up!! What a great report!!

Wanted to let you know that I live in the Valley right below the Sequoias. So you probably left via the route where I live.

Now I have an admission to make. It has been a long time since going up the hill all the way to the Sequoias. You know what they say when you live by something.....you don't take advantage of it. Anyways, just last month I was thinking of going again, but didn't know where to stay. Did you like the Lodge there? Was it fairly clean and nice?

Thanks!

 

[SoonerGirl]

All caught up!! What a great report!!

Wanted to let you know that I live in the Valley right below the Sequoias. So you probably left via the route where I live.

Now I have an admission to make. It has been a long time since going up the hill all the way to the Sequoias. You know what they say when you live by something.....you don't take advantage of it. Anyways, just last month I was thinking of going again, but didn't know where to stay. Did you like the Lodge there? Was it fairly clean and nice?

Thanks!

We probably did drive right by you! What a beautiful area to live in! I know what you mean though about living by something and you get to the point where you just don't "see" it anymore, you're just so used to it being there!

We did like the Lodge, it was just as clean as any hotel we stayed in our entire trip. The rooms had small refrigerators in them, which was a nice plus, and I think a microwave too (my memory is a little fuzzy on that one ). We weren't there long enough to try out the restaurant they have, but it looked nice as well. I'd stay there again!

 

[Disneygrl36]

I love your photopass pictures. We will have to get some of those as well because I hate always having to bug people to take our picture together.

I the shots of the Electrical Parade.......I am so excited to get to see this again. It has been years since I last saw it at WDW but that music & parade holds such a special place in my heart as I remember seeing it on my first trip to WDW. I am sure I will get something in my eye the night I watch it at DCA.

Can't wait for more.

 

[Spartangirl]

Yay....loving your updates!!! Your pictures are wonderful and I love the photopass pics!

Isn't the electrical parade great? I'm so glad you were able to score a bench too!

I'm kind of living through your TR and pics right now and wishing we had a Disney trip planned sometime soon...

Can't wait for more!

 

[weslovesauntmeg]

Just read your entire trip report in one sitting and I'm loving it!! I go to DL at least once a month and never tire of reading trip reports!! And I must say your's is very good..can't wait to hear about San Diego!! (look at my location)

I've only been to Northern Ca once and after reading your report it makes me want to spend a week up there!!

Can't wait to read more!!