10 Mths of WDW Planning leads us to~~DISNEYLAND!! Report Completed~Pic Heavy!!!

[DizNee Luver]

It was close to dinner time, but our plan was to do ice cream at the Disney Soda Fountain but not a meal. So since we were right there.....we started with dessert!! When we went in 2010, we had quite a wait to be seated.....but today, we got right in.

I asked Mike to get a picture of the menu......and this is what I got....guess next time I need to specify that I actually want a picture of the menu items and prices......lol

We ordered Mickey's Masterpiece Sundae, which is 8 scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, caramel and marshmallow and then a whole can of whip cream (nuts and cherries....but we opted out of the nuts due to Shy's allergies). The sundae is $29.95......actually a great deal!! Individual sundaes run $5.95 to $8.95 each.

After we ordered, Mike got some pictures of merchandise available.

Here's the sundae being made!!

A few more pics of the place:

Back to the creation!!

More Disney Soda Fountain to come!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

The big announcement and presentation of Mickey's Masterpiece!!

We had vanilla, chocolate, chocolate chip mint, peppermint, cookies & cream scoops of ice cream. (the cookies and cream was an oversight on our part.....we had them replace the rocky road with vanilla....but cookies and cream would have wheat.....oops)

The kids LOVED it!!! My favorite was the peppermint ice cream with marshmallow topping and whip cream!!

Even Michayla enjoyed her little tastes!!

Once everyone started lugging out, Mike got up to get a few more pics.

Well we made a pretty decent dent in our sundae......this was what was leftover.

We all got one of these pins for ordering this sundae.....which was a cool little perk!!

One more pic before heading back to the motel.

Even with the ice cream being delicious....we were a bit defeated on how the day had ended. We thought about driving out to Universal CityWalk, but parking at the motel was tight and traffic on a Saturday night was heavy.....so we went back to our rooms. While I bathed the girls, Mike & Tyler walked about 1/2 blk to Subway to bring dinner back to the rooms. We ate in the rooms and called it a day.

The tv didn't offer many channels (and what they did get didn't come in great or were in spanish).....so this helped us get the kids to sleep early.

The motel was ok, nothing fancy.....but expensive! Being close to all the action on Hollywood & Highland......we heard sirens all night long as well as the traffic sounds. I probably would chose to stay a little further away next time we go to Hollywood or make it a day trip from Disneyland like we've done in the past.

 

[PHXscuba]

Bummer that Hollywood was a letdown. I have never stayed there (with family in OC we just make LA a day trip too), but I think if I ever went to Universal/Hollywood/zoo etc. I would stay near Universal.

Love the Mickey Masterpiece. I also loved the movie decor circling the Soda Fountain. And the pictures of the celebrities who came there to eat. Was the scaffolding outside gone when you were there? Looks like it from your photos.

PHXscuba

 

[DizNee Luver]

Bummer that Hollywood was a letdown. I have never stayed there (with family in OC we just make LA a day trip too), but I think if I ever went to Universal/Hollywood/zoo etc. I would stay near Universal.

Love the Mickey Masterpiece. I also loved the movie decor circling the Soda Fountain. And the pictures of the celebrities who came there to eat. Was the scaffolding outside gone when you were there? Looks like it from your photos.

PHXscuba

I think if I had realized that Universal was as close as it was, we would have stayed more in that area.

I don't recall any scaffolding.

 

[DizNee Luver]

So I forgot to mention this. When we went to the Walk of Fame in 2005 (our first time), we were really disappointed in how dirty that area was and how it was covered with costumed people scamming tourists for their money if you want a picture of them. The only reason we gave it another shot in 2010 was to go to the Disney Soda Fountain. We were pleasantly surprised at how much cleaner, uncluttered and no costumed freaks. So we had no problem considering it again for this trip. Well........it's back to 2005 again, except the characters used to totally take up the area in front of Mann's Chinese Theater......now they take up sidewalks and any larger area in front of a business. You couldn't even walk down the sidewalks without being surrounded by these people. Horrible Mickey and Minnie costume, 2 gals (that looked like street walkers) dressed up like Disney Princesses almost made me throw up in my mouth, super hereos (duds), Dora, Elmo, etc. Such a racket and really detracts from the history of the area. I don't plan on going back anytime soon unless they clean this up again. I didn't want my kids to go anywhere near these people......EEK!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love it so far!! I love the ones with the kids all together.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Love it so far!! I love the ones with the kids all together.

Thanks Kaitlin!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 3, Sunday the 9th.

After a restless night due to the traffic and siren noise all night long.....we were up early and out of the motel around 7am. We were headed to Torrance to surprise my brother. My older brother is the minister at the Torrance First Christian Church. We go in and are directed back to his office and SURPRISE we're here!!! He was definitely surprised and immediately called his wife Janie to get to the church as soon as she could. (she hadn't planned on being there for the first service)

Shyann was intrigued with his tie.

And some of the little puzzlers/toys on his desk.

The sanctuary:

My brother Steve:

After church, Janie arrived and we went outside and took some pictures.

Mike & I with the twins:

Shyann:

Just chatting and catching up.

Steve & Janie:

Torrance First Christian Church

 

[DizNee Luver]

After our short visit, we were on the road and headed to Anaheim. Derek's plane would be coming into the Santa Ana Airport before 1pm. Derek's girlfriend (who lives in Anaheim and is a CM at Disneyland) would be picking him up. So we were going to hit the Character Warehouse Store, have lunch and then meet up with them at the Paradise Pier Hotel. So here are a few of the signs as we neared the Disneyland Resort area!!

We headed to the Orangethorpe Mall to go to the Disney Character Warehouse......they've changed their name to Character Depot and they've added other "characters" and not exclusively Disney stuff. I didn't find the prices to be a great bargain this time either.....so we looked around and left.

Tyler wanted to have In & Out Burgers, and luckily there was one across the street.....so we headed that way. The parking lot was pretty full and the drive thru line was super long, so we found some shade to park in and Mike & Tyler went inside to order and then bring it back to the van.

The burgers are so good!! I also liked their fries but Tyler wasn't a big fan of them.

While we were eating I get a text from Derek....his flight had landed early!!!! So we finished up and headed towards the PPH.

We stopped in the valet area so our van could be unloaded. We had quite a bit of stuff that would need to go up to our rooms. The CM assisting us was very friendly and helped us bag up formula after the box broke, loaded everything on the cart and even helped throw away some garbage. We tipped him VERY WELL!!! We went inside and he checked our cart/stuff as I checked in. Our rooms weren't ready yet, but we got everything done and they would text when they became available. So we hung out in the lobby area admiring the tree while we waited for Derek to arrive.

I LOVE this tree......it's just beautiful!! You will find that it's almost impossible to get a picture that truly shows the colors. Its frustrating....but we tried different settings but I think some of the close ups show the coloring best.

It really is something to see in person!

 

[Escape2Disney]

Was the CM that helped you named Robert? He was VERY helpful for our group!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Was the CM that helped you named Robert? He was VERY helpful for our group!

You know, I don't recall....but he was tall and reminded me of Burt from Mary Poppins.

 

[Escape2Disney]

You know, I don't recall....but he was tall and reminded me of Burt from Mary Poppins.

Yep! Same guy! When we were leaving the hotel, we were scheduled to take DLE home. Because of some bus contract, we would have boarded one bus, just to change busses at DLH. Without any prompting, he offered to drive us and our stuff to the bus stop at DLH. Saved me from having to climb stairs twice!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love it so far!! Sorry to hear that Hollywood wasn't as great. I remember the fake characters from NYC when I went. Elmo came up to us while we were walking to the subway.

 

[Teki]

Oh my gosh I can't believe that happened to you in Hollywood you are so much more the calm person then I am I could feel my blood boiling just reading that situation and I know I probably would have lost control good for you being so patient! We usually don't go to that museum because we have one here in Vegas. IMHO besides losing a substantial amount of money you did not miss much if its like the one we have here.

I love the twins little striped outfits so adorable!

The Character Warehouse here in Vegas has also gone that way and I find myself spending less and less money each visit and not being interested in making the drive out there.

MMM in and out is the only fast food burger I will eat and your picks are making me hungry lol looks like you had a pretty good time so far cant wait to hear more!

 

[Trentmom]

Stinks about the Wax Museum. Did you email the lady she told you to? What happened?

That sounds awful about those creepy looking characters walking around

Disney Soda fountain looked fun and that sundae looked yummy

Bet your brother enjoyed surprise visit. Loved all the pics. I loved the twins's striped outfits. They looked so cute

Paradise Hotel looks nice

Those burgers looked really good

 

[nicholaseck]

At least Tyler has been to In-n-Out. I haven't ever seen one, let alone taste one.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Yep! Same guy! When we were leaving the hotel, we were scheduled to take DLE home. Because of some bus contract, we would have boarded one bus, just to change busses at DLH. Without any prompting, he offered to drive us and our stuff to the bus stop at DLH. Saved me from having to climb stairs twice!

Wow....that was incredibly nice of him!!!!

I love it so far!! Sorry to hear that Hollywood wasn't as great. I remember the fake characters from NYC when I went. Elmo came up to us while we were walking to the subway.

I was bummed Hollywood was back to it's old ways with all the creepy people....blah!

Oh my gosh I can't believe that happened to you in Hollywood you are so much more the calm person then I am I could feel my blood boiling just reading that situation and I know I probably would have lost control good for you being so patient! We usually don't go to that museum because we have one here in Vegas. IMHO besides losing a substantial amount of money you did not miss much if its like the one we have here.

I love the twins little striped outfits so adorable!

The Character Warehouse here in Vegas has also gone that way and I find myself spending less and less money each visit and not being interested in making the drive out there.

MMM in and out is the only fast food burger I will eat and your picks are making me hungry lol looks like you had a pretty good time so far cant wait to hear more!

Hi Sid!!! I was upset but almost to tears and then the anger later. To plan an entire stop around something and then to find out we wouldn't be able to do it was a real disappointment and then the fear of not getting my money back. I won't get my money back on the motel rooms.......so lesson learned!

The outfits I got at Kmart.......we get lots of comments on them......goes to show, you don't have to pay a fortune on clothes to look good!!

The character depot is a huge let down now. It has always been hit and miss on what they had but now it's not even good prices....so why bother.

In & Out was delicious!!!

Stinks about the Wax Museum. Did you email the lady she told you to? What happened?

That sounds awful about those creepy looking characters walking around

Disney Soda fountain looked fun and that sundae looked yummy

Bet your brother enjoyed surprise visit. Loved all the pics. I loved the twins's striped outfits. They looked so cute

Paradise Hotel looks nice

Those burgers looked really good

I did email the lady and she emailed back that she will refund our money but she needs to do this over the phone with me since we're dealing with credit/debit card #'s. So now I sit and wait for her to call me. I hope she calls tomorrow.......I could use that $100 for last minute stuff for Christmas!!!

The characters just cheapen the area and don't try and take their pictures with out having cash in your hand. They get pretty rude if you don't "tip" them. Just annoying, especially when you have young, impressionable children who get excited when they see Spiderman walk by.

The soda fountain is a lot of fun and really good......but I think it will be a long time before we go back.......location~location~location.....lol

It was great seeing my brother for a happy visit. I've seen him a few times this year but it was for memorial services for my dad and step-dad. I love listening to him preach too.....he's very visual and dramatic which makes the sermons fun and interesting.

I love those outfits and wish I had found more of them.......

PPH is my favorite of the 3 resorts.

At least Tyler has been to In-n-Out. I haven't ever seen one, let alone taste one.

Sorry Nick.....I guess we could take a cab on our trip and eat there. It's very good!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

It's also like this in New York City. One of the characters came up to my mom and WHISTLED at her wanting to take a picture.

 

[Teki]

recently we have those unsavory people in costumes here on the strip it was like overnight suddenly that was ok. They are awful here as well :-(

 

[DizNee Luver]

It's also like this in New York City. One of the characters came up to my mom and WHISTLED at her wanting to take a picture.

Just makes you feel uncomfortable when they do that!

recently we have those unsavory people in costumes here on the strip it was like overnight suddenly that was ok. They are awful here as well :-(

I have to wonder if they'll put some sort of ordinance on this at some point. As tourists, it makes you uncomfortable and some of them are pushy. Not good for "tourism"!