A world traveler gets a once in a lifetime chance to see the land

[cesariofamily]

A brief intro................
I am a Disney world lover. We have gone 5 times since 2000. My husband's company decided to send him on a trip to Anaheim! Whoooopeee I am so there! So we planned a little trip for me to meet him there WITHOUT our children. THEN his boss decided he didn't want him to go to the conference. So my wonderful wonderful husband said he would take some vacation and go to CA anyway! Here is a picture of our family at the world in 2008.

So on June 23 I awoke at 2:45 am and did all the necessary stuff to arrive at the Pittsburgh Airport at 4:15 AM. Note to those in PGH nothing at the airport opens until 4:30 AM. So my husband and I were on different flights but both arrived in Chicago. My husband's flight took off a half hour earlier than mine. He made it out of the airport. I however did not I waited on the jet way due to weather. It was pouring down rain and I felt like crying.

 

[cesariofamily]

So after what I think was 1 hour and 45 minutes on the jet way we took off into a rainstorm. I arrived in LAX about 1 hour behind schedule so you can't complain. I found the super shuttle with out problem and after a short wait I took the shuttle to our hotel. My husband had a full van but I only had one other family. My husband ate and checked in and bought our beautiful 3 day park hoppers. Look at the fortune that attached itself to our ticket!

We were staying at the Carousel Inn. It was under renovation but I found it very nice. Pretty furnishing, clean with a fridge and microwave. We had so much fun we NEVER turned on the TV but it was there. We also got free breakfast which was very minimal but good enough for early morning touring. I was shocked at how close the entrance to Disneyland is from the hotel. In Disney World you enter a huge parking lot that is so big they take you by tram to the TTC (transportation ticketing center) where you get on a boat or monorail to then arrive at the entrance to Magic Kingdom where you will finally start having your bag checked and getting in line with tickets. This was like staying in the parking lot of Magic Kingdom! Check it out my husband by the hotel's entrance and then I turned around and took a picture of the entrance. So awesome.

I was frantic to get to the parks so we headed right over. We ate in New Orleans square because there was no line. It was a cute little restaurant that faced the rivers of America. I had a pulled pork sandwich that came with a pickle and beans that I do not eat. I also bought a small drink. The cost was $17, I almost fell over! I was so hungry I hadn't noticed the price at all! I ate the whole sandwich and it was very tasty but seriously expensive. My husband wanted to do the Davy Crockett canoes. It was around 3 or 4 and there was a short line. We both had fun but felt we had to paddle too much to really enjoy the scenery.

Next we headed to Haunted Mansion. On the outside it is very different from Magic Kingdom but we have the Disneyland sing along video so we knew what to expect. Short lines and a fun ride. Next we headed to Pirates. This ride was surprisingly different from its MK sister. The outside was different and the ride itself was different. We loved the little dips and splash downs of the land version. We also thought the Blue Bayou was very cool. I had reservations there for Friday and my husband was happy. We took the little indoor tour of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. I found it very cute and loved the little touches like the fairy godmother's wand's shooting lights and her dress changing color at the end.

We rode Buzz with little wait and then got in line for Nemo during the parade. The line was down from 45 when we got on Buzz to 30 minutes. My husband took pictures of the Nautical flags and decoded them later in the trip. They say find Nemo! We loved the ride. It was fun and cute with great technology. After Nemo we headed to DCA for dinner. We tried Wine Country but it was sold out. We went to the little mex place and had no one in line in front of us. Our counter service guy was super friendly he noticed our first visit buttons and started a conversation. The tacos were very very tasty and I was happy. Again there was a ton of beans. Disney I don't eat beans, can I get something else? Anyway it was getting very cold and we were very tired so we headed back to the hotel for a new adventure in the AM. As an aside I was very excited to get first visit pins for Disneyland since I can't get one for the world. I think it was a bit strange though given I had a full laynard of pins.

 

[Yankeemouse]

how fun! Can't wait to hear more. I've been to WDW 11 times but never to DL, and really want to get there. Enjoying all the details, keep them coming!

 

[cesariofamily]

I really LOVED our trip it was different but very fun. I'll post again soon.

 

[cesariofamily]

Day two of our trip so it is Thursday June 24, 2010. We have morning madness (early entry) for our three day park hoppers so we are up and headed out of our hotel at 6:30 AM for a 7 AM opening at Disneyland. No breakfast until 7 at the hotel so we just head out with out. We have to line up for bag check since it is not open yet and then again at the turnstiles. I was so excited to try Disneyland's space mountain. We headed straight over and were about 50 people back going through the Que which is very long. The ride was great. I loved the music and the ride was MUCH smoother than at MK. I hope they give space an update there too. We really enjoyed the ride. Next on our touring plans was the Matterhorn. We did not try to squish together and I was glad. It was OK but I'm glad we only had a 10 minute wait. I don't think it is worth more than 30 minutes. Next we headed to Dumbo. I was very happy my husband agreed to ride. I would say Dumbo is in my top five at MK. I was disappointed at DL though. It is not elevated like MK and the castle is much shorter so when you were flying around you don't get the great views that you do at MK. In fact you mostly see trees, and the top of the carousel that blocks out much of the rest of fantasyland. Bummer.

We were following the recommended Magic hour touring from the unofficial guide (plus Dumbo) so next we headed to Peter Pan. I loved the theming on the outside.

I really enjoyed all the theming in fantasyland. It is more cohesive and less plastic than MK. We tried Mr. Toad, which was only okay. I couldn't remember the plot so it was hard to follow along. Then my husband was starving and we got some fruit form a cart and found these cute little puppets in a candy shop window in fantasyland.

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We continued to tour about fantasyland, trying Pinocchio and Alice. Here are some more pictures of the area.

I thought Alice was particularly cute and took a bunch of pictures. I was beginning to feel sad the kids were not with us. The girls would have loved this one.

http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/qq79/cesariofamily/Disneyland 2010/momBdayDisLand083.jpg
We left fantasyland and rode Winnie the Pooh it had cute outdoor theming very different from MK and in a different part of the park. It was 9:15 AM and we had rode 8 rides in 2 hours and 15 min. We then headed off for DCA opening at 9:30 AM.

 

[cesariofamily]

We got to DCA at 9:30 Am because it just right across from DL. A VERY short walk. For those WDW vets out there it is very different from park hopping in the world. I considered them almost one park. You didn't even need to have your bag rechecked.

I was following touring plans from the unofficial guide but at this point got confused. The advice is ride Soarin if it is open before the rest of the park. It was 9:30 the park was suppose to open at 10 so I thought this was the only ride open. We road Soarin with NO line and it was AWESOME it is my very favorite ride. Then we got FP for good measure and headed to Toy Story. We arrived before 10 the official opening time and the was already a 45 minute wait We got in line and started to worry. CA screaming we had walked past had a long wait and the park felt packed. We decided to see about lunch so we called and got reservations at wine country for 1 pm while we waited in line for Toy Story. We love this ride but missed the very cool and elaborate theming that they have at Hollywood Studios. Due to the really great weather most of the lines are outside. We decided to switch strategy and start collecting FP's. We got one for CA screaming and rode Mickey's Fun Wheel. I found this ride to be very boring (we did not use swinging gondolas) and not a great view. My husband could see DL to his right but didn't say hey look. It is very pretty to look at. Here are some night pictures, I didn't take any during the day.

We headed next to check out blue sky cellar for 30 minutes before lunch. I found it neat and enjoyed it even though I could see it was an elaborate commercial. Here are some pics.

 

[cesariofamily]

We had no problem getting seated at Wine Country Tratorria. It was great to have a lunch date with my husband. We ordered the CA wine flight. I thought the wine was fantastic. The white tasted like summer Here is a picture of the menu.

I got a salad with chicken. It was really great. It had goat cheese, walnuts, and figs! I really loved it. I also ate a lot of bread with dipping oil too because after the wine flight my husband ordered me another glass of the white wine I'm a light weight. My husband had spaghetti. We sat on the porch which was in the shade. I loved the flowers and the fountain. Our server was nice and friendly. We aren't big drinkers but this was our most expensive meal of the trip.
After lunch we were able to get a FP for Grizzly Run. Prior to lunch they still had all the FP machines turning out world of color fast passes. We had priority seating for world of color so I didn't check out how the fp's worked but they were available until after 2:00 PM. We went and checked out monsters inc. The theming in the waiting area was hilarious. The wine may have helped but I found it so cute I took a bunch of pictures.

I think my daughters would have loved this ride. I found the animatroinics to be outstanding very lifelike or monster like.

Next we RAN to the Aladdin show. We were lucky to get seats. I would suggest getting there early. Since we were only two we found seats on the floor! This show is amazing. Genie was really funny, the entire cast is great. It was elaborate with elephants and caves. Aladdin and Jasmine sang their entire love song soaring over the audience on a magic carpet. The show was about 45 minutes and it was as good as a Broadway show. I think it was worth the price of the theme park ticket. This was my second favorite after Soarin.

After the show we set off to use up all of our fast passes. We walked to CA screaming which lived up to its name. This coaster kicked my butt. It was fast and high and I was upside down. I have to admit I felt old when I got off and wondered if I had spent too many years sitting with the babies. My husband did not scream like a girl (I did) but didn't seem to have any interest in getting another fp for it. Next we went to grizzly run. That was a fun raft ride! We rode with a family from Canada and they cracked me up. The kids were so excited to get wet and see their parents/grandparents get wet I kept laughing. It was the best raft ride I'd ever been on. Animal Kingdom's theming is way cooler but this was much more fun. I did get wet but my poor husband was soaked! It made him a bit cranky.

We tried to dry off but we still had FP for Soarin. It was cold in there with the AC. We got row 1! Whooooooppppeeeeeeeee no feet! I don't think I had been in row 1 before. It made the ride even better! I love the feeling of soarin along. If I could change the ride I'd make it longer! I didn't notice any difference in the ride itself. The smells were stronger but I never got sprayed with water but I'm not sure if that has more to do with your seat. The inside has alot of airplane history and pictures which is cooler than the que in Epcot. At this point it was time for naps! We had 8:30 dinner reservations and the world of color at 10:00 awaiting us and we were beat!

 

[cesariofamily]

I had made reservations at 8:30 PM for dinner and then we would see the 10 PM world of color show. I made the reservation fairly late because my husband would have been working until at least 4. Since our plans changed it was not an ideal time for dinner. I had wanted to arrive at 8:00 in case we could get seated a bit earlier but we had trouble waking up and only made it there at 8:15. Our reservation was for Ariel's Grotto. There are no characters/princesses for dinner.

While we waited I went shopping and bought a blanket. It was black with multi colored wording that said World of Color. Many people were interested in the blankets. It is very cool in the evenings there in June. Each evening and morning it would be around 60 and would go up to about 80 during the day. Someone else had posted about buying one on the dis-boards and I had been wanting one too. I also tried to buy a pin but they didn't have them at that store. All around DCA it was packed tight. It was hard to get to Ariel's so I did not try to look around for a pin. We had a fixed price meal which I found very good. Here is the menu

We got Antipasti for the table which was grilled veggies, olives, cheese and a salad. All very tasty.

I had the beef which was thinly sliced and served over potatoes and veggies. We also had a beautiful flower shaped sour dough bread for the table. During our main course the 9:15 show of world of color started outside. We could somewhat see it from our seats but I wasn't trying to watch it because I wanted to see it during out show slot. When the water fountains were high in the air or there was fire you couldn't help but really look out at it. The restaurant itself was very pretty and the decor was tasteful. It had an under the sea mosaic but it was not the Little Mermaid cartoon. I was also given a princess pin Dessert was very super yummy. I could have just ate it. We had so much food in the course of an hour that I couldn't eat half of it. If I could do it over I would have had 7:30 reservations and lingered and savored my food. Here is a picture of dessert. It was a sampler which I love.

The movie strip was made out of chocolate. We got a to go box and took our left over dessert and the sour dough bread with us. I tried to eat all of it but I was stuffed! Once you pay you are given special seating fast passes and you line up between 9:00-9:30 but it was already 9:30 yikes! Also you line up in front of wine country! We hauled but over there and found the line easily. We took turns running to the restrooms while the other held the place in line. We didn't move until 9:45. We were near the end of the line but across from the super long crazy regular line across the street for regular fast passes. We lined up against a fence one up from the lowest terrace. This was very good for me since I am short, not quite 5 foot tall. I had a great view and we were very much in the center. I did not take pictures of the show because I just wanted to watch and enjoy. It was FABULOUS! The fountains shoot so high they appear as tall as Mickey's fun wheel. The colors are intense and the lasers are cool. The score was fabulous and there were many instrumental pieces which I preferred. The show was loose on plot but full of that WOW factor. I loved the whole show. I was also glad we had special seating because we were not packed in at all and no one was pushing from the sides or behind. The regular seating was a mass of squished humanity. Here are some pictures of the area before the show.

After dinner I found a world of color pin and we started toward the exit. Glo fest was in full swing. I didn't care for glo fest it was loud and crowded and always in my way. We went fast to sleep in the hotel with full happy bellies and were ready for more adventures on Friday.

 

[cesariofamily]

Friday June 25th. We headed to DL at the 9 AM opening with a fast pass collecting strategy. We were admitted into main street before the 9 o clock opening. We lined up in a huge crowd and I don't like the feeling of only being able to see peoples backs. There were some very pushy patrons! As soon as the rope dropped we headed to Splash and got a pass. Then we rode Big Thunder Mtn Railroad. The theming was very cute and we were in line before they even really started the ride going. Next my husband did a fast spin on Tarzan and I took a break. The climbing did not appeal to me. Then it was time to get another FP and we picked up Indiana Jones. Then we headed over to DCA to get in line for the 9:30 opening. This time the park was obviously not fully open. Over by Hollywood people were lining up behind the rope. We rode Soarin.SUPER LOVE It. Got a fast pass for it and lined up to run over to Toy Story Mania. We were not close to the rope at all and we followed a huge MASS of people over straight to Toy Story. CA people are serious they know how to tour and can not be lured by characters or anything. We had a 10 minute wait and I did worse than the day before! If the line wasn't so long I would ride it 10 times in a row. Next we headed over to see the animation building and crush. On the way we quickly checked out a Bug's World and saw the Green Men who gave a neat little show like the blue man group.

At turtle talk they picked a 3 year old girl and she asked such nonsense questions and was so funny and cute. Crush did a good job playing along with her and being funny. She didn't give him much traditional material to work with. We looked around for a bit in the animation building but didn't have much time. I did love the zoetoetrope. Here is a picture.

Next we headed to Muppet's. Here is my husband trying to go back to work.

Then we got a mickey ice cream and rode soarin again. I also took a bunch of pictures of the area on my way out since it was our last time there for this trip.

 

[tksbaskets]

Great trip report. My family has come to love DL. We are now alternating trips between DW and DL.

Thanks for sharing!
TK

 

[cesariofamily]

We had 3:30 lunch reservations for the Blue Bayou and we had finished up DCA and headed back to DL. I was hungry so we stooped and bought a hot dog and had an apple that we brought with us from breakfast. Then we headed to Captain EO. I had never seen the show. My husband had seen it at MK when he was young. I think the show opened shortly after I went to MK as a child. My Mom and Step Dad honeymooned at WDW and took us kids. At the time there was only MK and EPCOT. Based on my parents wedding date Captain EO was either just opened or not quite open at MK when I went. I am not a Michael Jackson fan but was curious about Captain EO. We found the preshow funny, full of leg warmers and totally 80's. Some of the people in the crowd were true Michael Jackson fans and were yelling I love you Michael. I found the show to be really really strange and it was hard to imagine the girly voiced Jackson as a galactic hero. I would not watch it again but I was glad I did get to see it once. After that we got some space mtn fast passes and headed for the train. The first train that came by was the one with the Lilly Belle car.(the Lilly Belle is named after Walt's wife and was his personal car. It is all red velvet and plush inside with real furniture. I have seen pictures. There is also a photo of Lilly Disney) I was stoked. I was going to ask to ride in there. I had no idea if my wish would be granted but its worth asking right? So then no one got off the train and they only let a few people in front of us get on. I was stuck in line, I couldn't ask anyone to ride and then it was gone. I was kind of bummed out about it. I was also starting to feel a bit tired and cranky, uh-oh. The next train came and very few got off again but this time we made it again. I liked the train ride and the animatronics. Here is a picture from the train.

We got off in New Orleans and went over to ride Splash Mtn. Thank Goodness for the fast pass since the line was posted as 75 minutes. We had no wait and I felt a bit bad for those in line. The ride was fun and more outside than at MK. I felt like I was missing pieces of the plot at DL, however there were a few more splash downs from small hills that I liked better. Next we headed to It's a Small World and my husband went to grab Rodger Rabbit fast passes. I thought its a Small World was BEAUTIFUL. The outside is fabulous and MK could use a make over! I also liked the addition of the character dolls. I didn't find them overwhelming or cheesy.

As we were leaving at 2:45 the clock struck the quarter hour and we got a little show. Here are some pictures.

After small world we tried to do Pirates before our reservation but the line was too long and we were worried we'd miss our reservation. So we went over early and got seated after 5 minutes. The Blue Bayou restaurant is super cool. It is dark like night and light by neat gas lanterns. We were seated along the rail looking into Pirates and the water which really looks like a bayou. The trees are covered in Spanish moss and there are twinkling fire flies. My husband was like a little kid he was stoked. I had heard that the Monte cristo sandwiches were fabulous from the dis boards and the unofficial guide. I didn't even look at the menu. I had a great salad with a lemon vinaigrette. My husband had chicken gumbo and I had a taste excellent as well. Then I had my Monte cristo. It is a ham and cheese sandwich that is FRIED. YUM, I was in heaven. It also came with a jelly. At first I was unsure about the jelly but then I put some on and it was really tasty like that too. I had 4 large sandwiches and I couldn't eat it all. I was stuffed to sickness! I would highly recommend the restaurant and the sandwich. It is expensive which is why we went at 3 it is slightly cheaper for lunch.

As we were leaving I saw the frog Princess.

We still had a few rides we wanted to get in before nap time. We did Indiana Jones with FP. The que is LONG and interesting with lots of cool theming. It is dark and a bit spooky. As we walked along a corner a cast member jumped out and I think said boo. I SCREAMED it scared the poop out of me! My husband laughed, the people behind us laughed, the cast member laughed, I stooped shaking and then I laughed. I was really feeling nervous when we got to the entrance. I have been on dinosaur at AK and I think it is scary so I was on edge especially after the whole boo thing. I got the drivers seat. What a FUN ride. It was great. I was laughing and the ride was almost as good as Soarin. I wish we had rode it earlier in the trip so we could have had a few more rides on it. Then we got another fast pass for a return time of 11:00 PM! We were off too ride the storybook land canals and Rodger Rabbit. We had tried 2 other times to ride storybook land canal boats but they close for parades and a good bit early for parades. I loved this ride everything is miniatures, the houses and landscaping are so cute and pretty. The line closed for another parade or else I may have gone again. Here are some pics.

We then headed to toontown for Rodger's Spin. It was okay. I think we were dark rided out. I loved the theming of Toon Town. It felt like you were in a giant cartoon.

We had fast passes for Indy and space mountain and we headed out of the park for a nap! On our way out we checked out Snow White's Grotto. The poor girl cant' get a castle they give her a grotto and a wishing well!

other random photo's

Here is main street . You can hardly find the castle.

 

[cesariofamily]

We left by way of monorail to down town Disney. I like the WDW version much better. They have way more Disney shops. I like looking in the Disney Kitchen store and especially the Christmas store. They had many of the same stores I find in my mall in Pgh. We did stop and buy our three daughters socks from Little Miss Matched. They all loved them and somehow Knew about the mis matched sock thing. I think I was too tired to enjoy Downtown Disney and I thought my husband was mad at me but he was exhausted too. We were back around 8:00 and set the alarm for 10:00. My husband had trouble waking up and I didn't think we were going to make it back He rallied and we did head back to DL. We attempted to get Dole Whips. My last trip to WDW I tried to get a dole whip too. This time we waited 15 minutes and the machine was broken and we never got a dole whip. I am starting to think I am cursed about dole whips somehow. I can watch others enjoy them but I cant' get my own. I was tired of wasting time so we used our fastpases for space mountain and there was a large group of young men chanting USA. Funny since it is almost all families at WDW. Then we headed to Haunted Mansion because its scarier at night. Actually Mickey was fighting bad guys for fantasmic and it really did feel spookier. Haunted Mansion was EMPTY and I was a bit nervous. The ride was great and when we got out the crowds were gone but the park was still standing so I think Mickey won Next we did a spin on Pirates and lastly our FP for Indy and we got out of the ride at exactly 12 AM the park was closing our trip was ending. I didn't want to go We slowly made our way down mainstreet and enjoyed the lights. We stooped and bought a bit of popcorn and sat on the bench for a little while and munched. I had a great trip with my husband. Enjoying his company getting to give him my full attention not having our meal conversations interrupted. I loved Disneyland and DCA they were similar and loved yet different and a ton of fun. I was grateful for our surprise trip. It was time to go home and be a parent again. I missed my girls. I hope someday we can take our whole family to see the park that Walt built.

PS my younger children onlly knew we were in CA and have no idea that we went to Disneyland.

 

[tksbaskets]

Sounds like a nice trip for you and your DH. Thanks for sharing

 

[Magalex]

Excellent trip report! Hopefully I will give ya call when we plan our DL trip for next summer!

From your DIS neighbor in Dormont!

 

[Yankeemouse]

loved your report. Perfect! I hope to get to DL someday, do you think 4 days there is too long for both parks? thanks for sharing!

 

[cesariofamily]

We spent 2.5 days in the park and we didn't see and do everything. I would have liked to have seen fantasmic and we skipped a lot of kid rides since we didn't have the family. Also we did not see any parades or get one autograph. I think you could definitely fill 4 days.

 

[Magalex]

We are planning 4 days at DL/DCA and one day at SW & then one free open day to make last minute plans if we see anything that would interests us.

 

[Joan S.]

Hi, LOVED your trip report. Isn't Indiana Jones a GREAT ride?? I SO WISH they would bring it to WDW! I think it is SO MUCH better than Dinosaur in the AK. (which supposedly it is like??) My family and I last visited DL and CA in 2005 and we are hoping to go back soon since my DD is in Southern California looking for a job! Joan

 

[cesariofamily]

LOVED Indy it was so so fun. I do like Dinasour but it is scary and jolts you around crazy. Somehow Indy gets the right mix of adventure fun and speed. Thanks!