25th Ann.-2 TR w/over 1500 pics!!!!

[mt mommy]

Fun trip report and what a fun Anniversary, can't wait for more!

 

[DizNee Luver]

So now we get to enter the shrine known as Club 33. We get to stand in the lobby & we're told about the history & told about pictures that are hanging up in the lobby. We also heard about the "lift" & how Walt wanted to purchase it while on a trip one of his many "Good Will Ambassador" outings. We can't remember what country it was...but they wouldn't sell it, so he sent his imagineers over to see it so they could replicate it for Walt. They actually took a piece of the wood from the back so they could get the coloring correct!! The name doesn't have a real meaning, it was "named" Club 33 because Walt didn't want to have a liquor license in Disneyland's name, so he used the address to apply. The address is 33 Royal Ave. It was fascinating to be inside & even be standing on the first couple steps that would lead up to the club itself. We actually spent quite a while in there, as we all asked questions....I don't think any of us really wanted to leave...but alas, we had to....they were about to open for lunch.

We continued our tour in NOS as Albert pointed out the different balconies & what part of Club 33 is behind those windows. Of course we were pointed out the initials on the balcony (which used to be the Disney Gallery & now the Dream Suite) belonging to Walt & Roy Disney. We next took the back trail thru Frontierland into Fantasyland & made our way over to IASW. We were told the history of this ride & then moved on to Snow White's Grotto to the right of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Snow White was the first full length animated movie & it took a lot of convincing to make this dream a reality. It was of course, a huge success & the rest is history. Snow White grossed over 1.5 million dollars.....that was a huge amount back then. The wishing well back in the grotto we found out that all the coins collected are donated to the Make-A-Wish foundation, so please feel free to empty your pockets every trip!!!!

I snapped this pic on our way thru the castle towards the front of it....this being the back (I'll explain the relevance of this pic in a minute)

We went off to the left of the castle & were told some of the interesting facts & history of it. When Disneyland opened with Sleeping Beauty's castle.....no one knew who Sleeping Beauty was. The movie wasn't released until 1959!!! Talk about a great advertisement!! Ok, back to the above picture. When the imagineers were working on the replica, one of the guys decided to move the top piece (now the pink area of the castle) & turn it around backwards as a joke. Walt came in & looked at it & loved it & that's how it stayed. Sooooo the back of the castle actually was originally the front. What you see now is actually the back in the early planning stages.

Our next stop was at the Enchanted Tiki Room....we took advantage of this to pick up our first Dole Whip Float.....yum!! After enjoying the show, we got to stay inside the attraction & get some inside tips & history of the show. Originally this was a restaurant, but the patrons wouldn't leave because they were fascinated by the talking birds. The center podium was actually the server's station. If you notice the parrots near the back, those are actually the back ups to the 4 main birds. The birds chest is done with cashmire, because originally it was feathers....but they kept molting & making a big mess. Walt noticed a lady with a cashmire sweater on & realized it would look authetic...minus the mess. They are feathers on the backs & wings.

We headed back up Main Street & stopped at the Main St. Cinema. We went inside & heard the story about Walt's first cartoon character being stolen from him thru a contract loophole. His character was Oswald the rabbit. Even after it was taken from him, he was tied to the contract & still had to draw him for a short time. Walt along with 3 other people (one being his soon to be wife Lillian) came up with a new character. A mouse he wanted to name Mortimer but Lillian hated the name & suggested Mickey. Guess you know who won out of that one!!!

We then went to the Opera House to view the 50th historical display. I was fascinated with the display of old tickets.

We were told about the sad news of when Walt got gravely ill & called for his big brother Roy to come to the hospital to see him. Roy had always been the one Walt relied on to get him what he needed, but Roy had retired & Walt asked him to come out of retirement to see that the Florida park got finished. Roy did that, & then dedicated the park by naming it Walt Disney World to his brother.
I got very choked up during this part....which is how the tour pretty much ends. We walk back over the the Tour Gardens to have lunch. Next set of pics will be from that & the rest of our day.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Fun trip report and what a fun Anniversary, can't wait for more!

Thank you very much!!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

At the Tour Gardens which is behind where you check in for the tour, we find our pre-order lunches. We sit & visit with the other guests that were on our tour & get to do some one on one with the tour guide.

So into the tour, we found out there was a fellow DIS member with us. "Walt1967" & his wife. Here's a pic of me & Walter:

After a fabulous tour; that I would recommend for anyone that loves everything Disney to do, we met up with the kids. Ty & Derek wanted to go back to their motel for a swim, so we took Anthony & Addy & headed towards Critter Country. POTC had no wait, so we jumped on.....Addy now does the drops with her arms up...hilarious!! Headed up into Critter Country & lookie who we found...... Brer Bear & Brer Fox!!!

These 2 are a lot of fun....teasing each other with the pen & the autograph books, playing with the kids, etc. (Derek was upset he missed this....Brer Fox is one of his favorites!!)

We continued up the trail & decided it was time to do the meet-n-greet with Pooh. We got in line....no Pooh bear....we got to see Eeyore & Tigger. A little disappointing for Addy who cried with joy last year when meeting Pooh...but hopefully we'll catch up with him later. I LOVE TIGGER!!! So I was happy to run ahead while Mike finished autographs with Eeyore so I could get a big hug!!!

Time for a snack in Pooh's Corner...... we got a Tigger Tail to share & a Celebration Marshmallow for each kid.

Best way to finish off our time in Pooh country is to get on the Winnie the Pooh ride. I was able to catch (almost all 3 of them) the 3 remnants of the old Country Bears Attraction. You have to look up & behind you & snap fast!!

We got the chance to meet up with Leanne & Alex one more time before they had to go catch their flight home. We met at the Tiki room & saw the show again...... it was relaxing in there!

Anthony & Alex really got along well it was a shame they had to say goodbye!!

We went to the Golden Horseshoe to watch the Billy Hill & the Hillbillies. Hilarious!!! If you haven't caught their show, plan it in. They are extremely talented musicians & the leader is very comedic!! We enjoyed the show from the balcony (no pics...bad lighting) but did dive into our funnel cakes. One is chocolate brownie & the other is powdered sugar.

We realized we had yet to see Mickey, so Mike took the kids into ToonTown & to Mickey's house...they got there 10 mins before 5pm & were told that Mickey was gone (schedule says until 5pm...) so they rode Roger Rabbit & waited for me to get back from the photo shop on Main Street. The boys actually found me there & we went to ToonTown to grab the rest of the family. We had to go ride.............can you guess?????? We rode BTMRR!!!! Woo Hoo.....we love it, love it, love it!!!

We went back to the motel & to get ready for dinner.

Last section for day 6 will be dinner at PCH Grill.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We drove over to the Paradise Pier Hotel & checked in for our dinner at the PCH Grill. We were seated & the next thing I know....here comes the hostess with a bouquet of silver & white balloons (20 is what we counted) for our silver anniversary!!!

We looked at each other & tried to figure out how in the world we'd get those into our crowded car after dinner & decided the best thing was to share with all the kids in the restaurant. When we were done, it looked very festive in there!!!

We ordered 2 appetizer plates of quesadillas, then ordered our dinners: fish-n-chips, bbq ribs, hawaiian pizza, bbq bacon cheeseburger, mac-n-cheese kids meal & Anthony did the "Make your own Pizza" & created a sausage pizza masterpiece!!

The food & service is excellent at this restaurant. You get huge servings & it is now a must on our next trip.

They brought out a card for Mike & I with a Celebration Dessert to share for our anniversary.

We had a fun dinner & then headed back to our motel. We got back just in time to watch the fireworks from the parking lot. We went back to our room & we decided we just had to get some Cold Stone to cap off the night. It's right next door to our motel, so that was convenient & yummy!!

Tomorrow....our last day in the parks! Goofy's Kitchen, DCA in the morning, Pat E. Cake birthday party, did we find Pooh & Mickey today?? & Rainforest Cafe.

 

[kaoden39]

Sorry, I haven't commented much the last couple of days but things have been kind of crazy here with Kody and the DRs office.

I love the pictures of your tour I think that I might like to do that in December with Scotty.

I love the abandon that kids have with the characters. They have no inhabitions and love them with open hearts. The best thing is they don't hide it and you see it in their faces.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Sorry, I haven't commented much the last couple of days but things have been kind of crazy here with Kody and the DRs office.

I love the pictures of your tour I think that I might like to do that in December with Scotty.

I love the abandon that kids have with the characters. They have no inhabitions and love them with open hearts. The best thing is they don't hide it and you see it in their faces.

Oh I hope everything is ok?!

The tour is definately good. You get some much information...I tried to remember key things to pass on in the report. I failed to mention you also get a pin at the end of it.

My kids love the characters....last March Addy was afraid of Brer Fox (one of the few furries with teeth), but she warmed up to him after he stole her pen at Goofy's Kitchen. They played back & forth & she remembered that. The first thing she said to him this trip was......you stole my pen!!!! It was very cute!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh I hope everything is ok?!

The tour is definately good. You get some much information...I tried to remember key things to pass on in the report. I failed to mention you also get a pin at the end of it.

My kids love the characters....last March Addy was afraid of Brer Fox (one of the few furries with teeth), but she warmed up to him after he stole her pen at Goofy's Kitchen. They played back & forth & she remembered that. The first thing she said to him this trip was......you stole my pen!!!! It was very cute!

Kody has been having headaches for over a month now so I started taking her to the DR weeks ago and the DR decided maybe she should have a CT scan. So she put her on migraine medicine which did nothing and scheduled the CT scan. The CT scan showed a spot so they arranged an MRI. THe MRI was fine. So they changed medicines and tried to get her in to see the pediatric neurologist who was not much help honestly. It could be common daily headaches. Give up caffeine and sleep 8-9 hours a day and don't take anything for the headache pain. Or it is a pseudo tumor caused by too much spinal fluid pinching her optic nerve. Possible blindness if not controlled. So Kody goes off of her meds and goes into a painful tailspin. I being a Mama bear when it comes to my kids call her DR and the pain meds came back. And so Kody needed a spinal tap to measure her spinal fluid. The HMO wants her pediatrician to do it and that was waht Kody wanted. The DR had a problem Kody is 14.5 she has a grown up body. Kody now has back and leg pain. And it wasn't successful so off to the opthamologist to check if she can see anything. Well the opthamologist says she may or may not have a problem she has to have another spinal tap or the next one will be done by a neurologist an adult on at that. The one thing Kody requested was that she not have to do it on April 1 because her cousin is taking her out to celebrate her last birthday. A tad late but the thought and all that. So when did they want to do it? Needless to say we postponed it until the next week. I am sorry it was such a long story but you know. I have felt so helpless.

How funny that your little noe remembered and said something to him. Kids are so great.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Kody has been having headaches for over a month now so I started taking her to the DR weeks ago and the DR decided maybe she should have a CT scan. So she put her on migraine medicine which did nothing and scheduled the CT scan. The CT scan showed a spot so they arranged an MRI. THe MRI was fine. So they changed medicines and tried to get her in to see the pediatric neurologist who was not much help honestly. It could be common daily headaches. Give up caffeine and sleep 8-9 hours a day and don't take anything for the headache pain. Or it is a pseudo tumor caused by too much spinal fluid pinching her optic nerve. Possible blindness if not controlled. So Kody goes off of her meds and goes into a painful tailspin. I being a Mama bear when it comes to my kids call her DR and the pain meds came back. And so Kody needed a spinal tap to measure her spinal fluid. The HMO wants her pediatrician to do it and that was waht Kody wanted. The DR had a problem Kody is 14.5 she has a grown up body. Kody now has back and leg pain. And it wasn't successful so off to the opthamologist to check if she can see anything. Well the opthamologist says she may or may not have a problem she has to have another spinal tap or the next one will be done by a neurologist an adult on at that. The one thing Kody requested was that she not have to do it on April 1 because her cousin is taking her out to celebrate her last birthday. A tad late but the thought and all that. So when did they want to do it? Needless to say we postponed it until the next week. I am sorry it was such a long story but you know. I have felt so helpless.

How funny that your little noe remembered and said something to him. Kids are so great.

Michele, hugs for you & Kody! How scary!!! I'd be doing the mother bear thing as well. I hope you get some answers & it's an easy fix. I will keep your family in my prayers!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Forgot this picture...as we were having fun at the PCH Grill...the boys decided to play with the straws.....

Do you see the 1-2-3-4 ??? LOL

 

[pmama]

My girls love making their own pizzas! We may have to check out PCH Grill. Your older boys seem like they are really centered young men. It is so sweet of them to take the younger two around so you two can have some alone time together.

 

[DizNee Luver]

My girls love making their own pizzas! We may have to check out PCH Grill. Your older boys seem like they are really centered young men. It is so sweet of them to take the younger two around so you two can have some alone time together.

I couldn't be prouder of my older boys. They are very family oriented & really came thru for us this trip!!!

If your girls like making their own pizza...for sure take them to PCH Grill. They get a chef hat & the board with all the pizza makings. They'll have a blast!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Alright, Day 7.....Last Day!!! (March 13)

We started our morning with a drive over to the DL Hotel for our breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen.

We stopped to see Pluto before being seated. Today is the day we're celebrating Anthony's 8th birthday (in 3 days) & Adaleah's adoption...so we had deluxe party packs waiting for them at the table (hooked to a balloon).

It included with the tote...2 buttons, a magnetic board w/5 magnets, a punch out with memory cards & birthday mouse ears & a coloring book w/crayons. It cost $9.99

The little ones looked ready to start their day....not as sure about the older two!!! lol

We were visited by Chef Goofy & then we went for our food......look at these goodies!!

As you can see there are tons of choices....good luck picking!! Next post a continuation of breakfast.......

 

[DizNee Luver]

We were next visited by Alice....she was very engaging with Addy!!

They brought both kids a cupcake & sang happy birthday!!

Our next visitor was Chip (we saw Dale running around, but he never made it over to our table)

We surprised the kids with a couple gifts:

We asked about Baloo that we had seen exit earlier to find out if he would be coming back soon...we were told 10 mins so we took our time finishing our meal to make sure we got to see him.

Addy ran right up to him & started singing the Bear Necessities...I think she had everyone within ear shot going awwwwwww..... it was very sweet!!

Baloo loved the song!!!

After Baloo moved on to the table behind us, we started to make our exit. The 4 gals were taking turns at getting pics with Baloo so we offered to take their group picture. I got home & started reading someone else's trip report & went hmmmmm......they kinda look familiar. I realized they were the ones we took the picture of!!!!!! We had a DIS run-in & didn't even know it!!!! It ended up being TinkSassy. Kinda cool to go thru my pics to spot them in the background!!!!

We went back to the motel to drop the car off & headed straight to DCA. Today Mike & I are going to make it to Toy Story Mania & ride it no matter how long the line is!!!! We made our way towards the pier & snapped a couple more construction pics:

Jumped into a pretty short line for TSM. Gotta love the shades!!!

The boys had ran ahead of us before we met up at TSM, so they got us FP's for California Screamin'. Ty & Derek rode together & then they took the kids up towards GRR while Mike & I took our turn on Screamin'. I don't know if I waited to late in the trip to do this ride, if I was too tired or it being Friday the 13th.....but I hated it!!!! My biggest fear is having it break down while I'm on it........ I usually like this ride....but I couldn't wait for it to be over. I told Mike I may have ridden it for the last time!!! We'll have to wait for next trip to test that. We headed up to GRR to meet up with the kids. The boys rode single rider until our FP time arrived. They actually ended up on the same raft.

When it was time to ride, I rode with Mike & Anthony.....I "weanied" out & got a poncho.....I think maybe my body is done.... I love this ride, but hate running around wet! After our ride, Tyler, Derek & Anthony rode. While I was riding, the boys had run down to Soarin' to pick up FP's. Our time was for early afternoon but we wouldn't be able to wait & hopefully will make it back later to use them.

Next up: DCA plans, lunch & the birthday party

 

[DizNee Luver]

Mike got some great shots of the DCA renovation plans & I wanted to share them with you:

I am very excited for the new water show, but will be sad to see the bridge go over the entry. The next couple years will be very exciting!!!

It was just before 1pm & so we decided to grab a quick lunch at Coke Corner before we needed to check in for the Pat E. Cake Birthday Party at the Plaza Inn.

We crossed Main Street to check in. You are given a party hat w/mickey ears on it. When seated, you get a plastic tumbler filled with lemonade to take home. Addy was in a foul mood but Anthony was ready to party!!

After everyone is seated, Pat E. Cake comes out singing a birthday song. While he's passing thru the crowd, the wait staff brings everyone their own personal cake to decorate. (WARNING: the frosting food coloring is very vibrant & stains like crazy!!) The next set of pics I apologize for the blurry smudge on them....something got on my lens.

Addy's followed by Anthony's, Mikes & Mine:

Pat E. Cake goes thru the crowd & comments on some of the cakes as this is a decorating contest. He decides that EVERYONE is the winner!!! He then gathers the kids in the center to sing another birthday song & surprise-----Mickey & Minnie appear & they all sing Happy Birthday. They do a short congo line & then the kids can line up for a picture with them.

After the pic, you sit back down & eat your cake. Party's over & you leave.

Now here's my review of this:
You pay $15.99 per person. The main character of Pat E. Cake does not make it to every table, so depending on where you are sitting....you may never get any comments & such. (which we didn't). When Mickey & Minnie do the photo op.....you CAN NOT get autographs!!! Are you kidding me??? We just paid almost the price of a character meal to get no time with any of them. You are hurried thru the photo & that's that!!! It's about 40 mins, the cake was nothing to write home about & you really don't get any character interaction.
We had really hoped for Mickey's autograph, since we had not seen him all trip. I think for $15.99 I should have been able to get it!!
I found this party way over priced, not a lot of fun & my kids were definately ready to leave!!

Next post: Back to Pooh, random park pics & the Rainforest Cafe!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

While we waited for the boys to meet back with us, I took a few random shots:

Finally got a pic (not a close up....) of the Mickey ring on Walt's finger!

The boys found us in the hub & we headed to BTMRR to get FP's. Next stop....Critter Country....still looking for Pooh Bear. I saw that Pooh & Rabbit were there & ran to get the kids in line. Ty, Derek & Mike went to ride Splash Mtn on single riders as we waited. While in line, Rabbit leaves then Pooh....oh no!!! Eeyore comes in, then Pooh bear....no Rabbit! We see Pooh, Tigger & Eeyore. I'm glad we got to Pooh Bear...but Rabbit would have been a bonus!!

We went back to BTMRR to pick up another set of FP's & use our first set. We next went to Tarzan's Treehouse as the boys got Indy FP's. I had never been in the treehouse & probably won't be doing it again. I had no idea how high up you get in there!! The rope bridge, of course I get with a family that thought it was funny to bounce & swing.......EGADS!!! I'm afraid of heights!!! I did manage to snap a few pictures:

We all gathered together & rode the train from NOS back to Main Street. We walked thru DTD towards the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. We checked in & made it all the way upstairs for the check-in there & they only had our reservation for 2 people. Originally the resie was for 2, but when the kids were added to our plans....I called & changed it to 6 people. Somehow that got lost (it also sounded like they had a new system & errors were not uncommon). The gal was a bit snippy & asked us to wait to the side until they had a table to accomidate us. They wear head-sets & I think mgmt over-heard her & they came up & took her aside & then next thing we know, mgmt is apologizing & offering us a free appetizer for the inconvenience. The gal that had a bit of a tude comes up to us & apologizes as well & says a table by the aquarium would be ready in a couple minutes. Then one more mgmt (higher than the first one) comes up & makes sure we are being dealt with appropriately & apologizes as well. They were totally freaking out about something we found to be really not a big deal!!!
So we were seated by the aquarium. I love the decor in this place!!! We ordered & mgmt came by again to make sure our server knew we had a free appetizer coming....lol

Next post food pics!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Next our food came out......so much & soooooo good!!

Appetizer of quesadillas

Cedar Plank Salmon

Sampler plate of appetizers (calamari, cheese sticks & mexican ?)

BBQ chicken wrap

Pasta & Marinara

Kid's cheese pizza

They brought Anthony a birthday sundae:

After dinner we spent some time in the gift shop downstairs, then made our way back thru DTD to DCA. We headed straight to Soarin' to use our FP's from earlier in the day. We then headed back to Disneyland to use our Space Mtn FP's. We decided to head towards NOS to catch the fireworks....bad idea.....they were running Fantasmic & the crowds were nuts!! We did eventually get over to Royal Street by Cafe Orleans to find a spot to watch. The fireworks as always are beautiful....wish I could have seen them by the castle again, but with the huge crowds today that wasn't an option.

We waited for the masses to somewhat clear before we headed over to BTMRR. This is always our last ride (we chose to not use our Indy FP's). After our ride, we took the back path towards Fantasyland.....hmmm that's interesting..... the path had been blocked on the left side all trip & now it's blocked on the right side... While going over the path I was able to find a hole in the fencing & snapped this pic!

We made our way up Main Street & stopped at the candy shoppe to pick up some goodies to take home.

We got the Rocky Road, Smore, Peanut Butter Cup & Rice Krispy Block:

We stopped in to the Emporium & Tyler pointed these out above us....I had never noticed the diarama's near the ceiling before. So here's a couple of them:

We made our way thru the exit & said our goodbyes to Disneyland & DCA!!!

We noticed this on the sidewalk under the sign....had anyone else seen this????

We had a great trip & the crowds were manageable most of the time. Wednesday was definately our lightest crowd day!!

In the morning we packed the car & remembered we needed to pick up a few thank you gifts. So we picked up the boys & all their stuff, crammed it into our SUV & parked over at the Mickey & Friends Parking.....if the traffic is any indication of what the parks are going to look like.....all we can say is YIKES!!! We rode the tram to DTD & stopped at the World of Disney. The park opened at 8am so we figured at 9am they'd be open.....nope! They didn't open until 10am, so we walked around DTD trying to decide where to get breakfast. We ended up back at the Rainforest Cafe. We were seated immediately & the food & service was excellent again. I didn't have my camera this morning...it was packed....but now I wish I had it since we spent quite a bit of time in DTD this morning. We went back to the World of Disney & it was now open. We finished our last minute shopping (which ended up being our most expensive spree all trip!!!!) & headed back to the tram. Holy moly.....the crowds just to get thru security was backed up past the World of Disney entrance (parkside). Someone was saying it was a 30-40 min wait just to go thru security, then these poor souls had to get in the gate lines!! I'm sooooooo glad we're leaving today!!!

We got back to our car & took off for home. We almost got side-swiped before leaving LA but luckily Mike is a great driver & avoided it....dumb drivers!!! Then before we were totally out of the LA area, Anthony decided to throw up.....oh no!!! Tyler was sick the night before because he doesn't handle too much sun....normal for him but I think Anthony was having the same problem. We pulled over & ended up at a gas station across from the LA Coroner's on North Mission Road....eeekkkkk time to go. We cleaned Anthony up & got him a 32 oz cup with lid to keep with him for the trip. He finally got better about half way home & it was smooth sailing to the house. We got home about 12:45am & everyone headed straight to bed.

Best trip ever!!! Of course I say that everytime!! Thanks to those that have stayed with me on this journey, I appreciate it!!! I will post some facts & specifics with random pics over the next couple weeks.....this will become the never-ending report....lol

 

[burly]

Just finished it. Great!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Just finished it. Great!! Thanks for sharing.

You're very welcome!!! Thank you for joining in on it!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I realized when I was done I had omitted these pics from the Rainforest Cafe dinner:

Now I think I got them all...lol