5/27/06 "Il pochi il fiero i blabbermouths" We *will* sail again Part 5

[WDWLVR]

I noticed that too.... Grand CALIFORNIAN. My favorite place, a lot like the Wilderness Lodge...no where near like the Grand Floridian....you'd have to go to San Diego to find something like the GF...or rather, the GF is made after the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.

Mary...for some reason, we were always placed in the Bonita Tower at the Disneyland Hotel...no view of the pool, but right at the koi pond and sometimes a view of the dancing fountains. Do they still do the dancing fountains?

Opps - had us in the wrong state. Grand Californian it is!

No they stopped having the dancing fountains about 6 months ago I think. We are in the Sierra tower with a real nice view. We went over to the Bonita tower this morning to go see the koi fish.

 

[WDWLVR]

Back in the hotel room after another fun day. This place is packed however! Went to try and eat at the family dining spot here at the Disneyland hotel and they are booked solid. We are both so beat I think we will just be skipping dinner.

Today we started out with breakfast with Lilo and Stitch over at the Paradise Pier hotel. Nice character buffet. We kind of slept in and didn't go have breakfast until 8:30. After that it was a walk to the Grand Californian and entered Disney's Californian Adventure from there. The park wasn't open yet and there was a huge line for Soarin already. We grabbed fast passes that were good for 10:25 and went off to explore more of the park. Really cute decorations with a beach theme.

After the park opened and we did some browsing we did Muppet Vision 3D - always a favorite. When that was over it was time for our fast pass at Soarin. Walked right on! After that we went over and did the Sun Wheel. Then stopped for a some chicken strips and fries. With the package we are on we had a coupon good for priority seating at the Aladdin show at the Hyperion theatre so we went over there for the 12:30 show. Only problem was that the priority seating is only for the first 120 people at each show. When we showed it to the guy at the front he said it was no good but that was still plenty of space for the show so we went in. The lines were packed! Yikes. Don't know why but I decided to just double check with one of the girls further in at the line. Asked her nicely if the priority seating area was full and she said yes and suggested when we should come back to get it for the next show. I thanked her and asked what was the easiest way to get out, then walked away. Well we got sprinkled with some pixie dust. She came right after us and asked us our name. We told her and she then said "well since you have been my most pleasant guest today I'm going to let you in the VIP section!" We were among the first 20 people in the theatre and got seats 3rd row center (we bascially could sit wherever we wanted). So lesson learned - a smile, a thank you, and going with the flow can sometimes bring you some Disney magic! Poor girl must have really been chewed out by some others!

The Aladdin show is amazing. Definately the quality of a show you would see on the Magic or Wonder - maybe even moreso since they have some major flying effects! The show is about 45 minutes long and well worth the time to see it. We looked for the girl who seated us after the show but couldn't find her. We did see one of the other girls from that area and asked her to pass on our thanks!

The package we are on also included a coupon booklet and one of the coupons was 10% off a $50 or more purchase. Mark had found some DVD's he wanted in the Animation area so we bought those. When we were checking out the girl informed us that we could have also gotten 10% off by using our Disney Visa - we put that info to good use! Next up was to leave the park and head over to Downtown Disney. Hit World of Disney to pick up a few more things and used that Disney Visa discount.

Since we knew Disneyland itself would be a zoo we decided to spend the afternoon at the movies. We had gotten a coupon good for $6.50 off a Narnia ticket in a DVD we had bought a couple of weeks ago. We brought it along and put it to good use. Amazing movie! The theatre here was really nice as well. Had another coupon that gave us a free small popcorn with the purchase of a large drink.

All in all a great day with lots of little savings and a big dose of Disney magic!

No going out tonight - we are beat!

 

[BWVPam]

Hey everyone. Just caught up on the last 15 pages that I was behind on. Love hearing all about your trip reports Mark and Mary. Sounds like you are having a great time. I agree with you about the Aladdin show at California Adventure. I think it is the best show at any of the disney parks. We used to go to California almost every year, but since we have been spending so much time at WDW over the last few years, it has been 2 summers since we have gone to DL.

 

[itdjbw]

JUSTMESTACE - thanks for the welcome, we are looking forward to the cruise, one great thing about booking late is less of a countdown.

 

[BWVPam]

I really haven't posted much lately, so much to do to get ready for Christmas. I had a really rotten day today. Took Ashley to early swim practice (7 a.m.) and we finished up at 9 and met Charley and Dale at Cracker barrel for breakfast at about 9:30. Dale and I both needed hair cuts badly, so we went to the new Fantastic Sams. I had found a lady there that I really like. Unfortunately, she was not there today. The lady that did my hair did a good job, just a little shorter thanI would have liked. The lady that Did Dale's hair did not do a good job and left it pretty botchy on one side. The lady that did my hair tried to fix it and did a decent job. Hoping it will look okay once he puts gel and stuff in.

The worst part, Ashley wanted her eyebrows waxed. Just a little in the middle where her brows grow a little too much. Unfortunately, they burned her. She has a big spot in the middle of her forehead with the skin gone. She is also not wanting to cut the bangs as she has been letting them grow out for almost 5 months. Now, keep in mind we are leaving for our family trip next week to WDW and our going to be taking family photos for my mom and dad's 50th anniversary. We both are upset and crying,etc. I just lost it.

I don't usually let her wear makeup (only 11) but we went and bought neosporin and coverup and makeup. At first she didn't want to go to a Christmas party she was invitied to tonight, but since the makeup took away the redness, she went ahead and went. She looked very cute, she went as an elf.

So, I had my meltdown today, hopefully I won't have anymore before we leave next Saturday. This time next week, we will have arrived in Orlando.

 

[itdjbw]

Welcome.

Your first assignment is to read all past 20,000 posts to get caught up. Have fun and enjoy your weekend.

Thanks for the welcome, read pageone and when I realized how many posts there were I read the last 2 and will keep it at that, thanks for trying to take care of my weekend though!!!

 

[BWVPam]

Julia,

Welcome aboard. Glad you are coming on the cruise with us!

 

[itdjbw]

Thanks for all the welcomes, I will go back and find the link to post our info.
Are there any activities planned for the kids, we did some really cool ones in September and the kids had a blast.

 

[BWVPam]

Well, we only need 11 more posts before we hit another milestone post. Is there anyone going to be here tonight to take it???

 

[BWVPam]

Everyone must be out at Christmas parties tonight. I had one last night and luckily, it was not a late night.

 

[BWVPam]

Well -- this is my 1,000th post and there is no one here to share it with.

 

[WDWLVR]

Pam - I'm here. Congrats on post #1000! :thewave:

 

[itdjbw]

Welcome! So glad you'll be cruising with us! How old are the kids?

We're in Grayson, GA (by Lawrenceville) - we spent 17 years in Cobb County before moving over to the east side of metro about 10 months ago!

We're also driving, not sure which day we'll be going. Last day of school for Gwinnett County is Wed 5/24, so we may head down Thursday.

Tell us about the reunion cruise to Alaska you're planning - we love to hear about cruises other than DCL too!!

Congrats on your *new* City status!

My DD is 11, will be 12 in June, DS turns 8 next week, this will be there 4th Disney cruise and they have done 2 others.
DH and myself are originally from South Africa and have been in GA 12 years so this is home.

There were about 20 of us who met on line about 2 years ago and cruised together last November - Mexican Riviera out of LA, about 12 of us are booked for a reunion B2B in Alaska next September, there was a small group who did the same cruise this November and arrived back today from there B2B, we have some Australian's who we saw there( we spent 5 weeks in oz) over the summer and then others from different states, This will be our first Alaska so I am excited.

We will probably pull the kids out early so we can try miss the rush, we are also going to be in FL the W/E of the 20th, wish school finished earlier so we could do 1 trip down.

 

[BWVPam]

Pam - I'm here. Congrats on post #1000! :thewave:

Mary -- how is DL. When do you all go back to cold Chicago??

 

[WDWLVR]

Mary -- how is DL. When do you all go back to cold Chicago??

Disneyland is wonderful - but packed! We leave early Tuesday morning and get back into Chicago early afternoon!

 

[BWVPam]

My DD is 11, will be 12 in June, DS turns 8 next week, this will be there 4th Disney cruise and they have done 2 others.
DH and myself are originally from South Africa and have been in GA 12 years so this is home.

Looks like we will have a lot of "tween" girls on this cruise. My daughter will be 12 in September and there are several other 11 and 12 yo girls on this cruise, so your daughter should fit right in.

Look forward to meeting you all soon.

 

[BWVPam]

Mary -- HOpe the rest of your vacation is fun and relaxing. How has the weather been in California?? I am sure it is much warmer than it is in Chicago.

 

[BWVPam]

Okay -- we only need a few more posts before we hit 21,000. Need to do this soon, have to leave to pick up ashley in a few minutes. Anyone else still here to go for it??

 

[BWVPam]

Is it time?

 

[BWVPam]

Okay, How about now? Yea - now I can leave and go pick up Ashley.