Alex2kMommy's Little Quickie Trip!

[Alex2kMommy]

I returned from a quick little trip to Disneyland last weekend, and thought I'd share my experience with you. This was my third trip to Disneyland; the first was in September 2006, and that was so incredible we went again in October 2007.

On the second trip I realized that (at least at the time) it was more cost-effective to get APs for the adults in our party, as it saved us about $10 over the park hoppers, not to mention any discounts we'd get due to the AP. On the other hand, it would cost us about $50 per child to get them APs. We decided it was well worth $100 to plan a second trip within a year, so APs all around!

This is a summary of our bonus trip.

But first let me introduce myself and my family.


Cast of Characters:

Alex2kMommy: I have been a Disney fan since the 1960s, when I faithfully watched Tinkerbell wave her wand over the Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night. I took my first trip to Disneyland in 2006, and I’ve been hooked on the place ever since!

(To read about our first trip to Disneyland, click here: Alex2kMommy's First Trip to DL!)

DH: A hard-working man who has a hard time breaking away for vacation; but once he does, he has a great time and always says, “Gee, honey, we should do this more often!”
Also a Disney fan, but more in the vein of Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean. He visited Disneyland 2 or 3 times as a child, and we’ve gone twice as a family.

DS7: Growing up on Disney movies, his favorites including Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and more recently the Pirates of the Caribbean series. We discovered on our first trip that my sweet, sensitive, mild-mannered little boy is quite the thrill ride junkie! His first amusement park ride ever was Splash Mountain, which I still haven't quite recovered from. And he has most recently conquered California Screamin’. He has been to Disneyland twice.

DS3: Our resident Winnie the Pooh fan, my baby is a happy, outgoing boy, loves to play dress-up, and adores (and tortures) his older brother. Our last trip he was just barely tall enough to ride Splash, and he insisted. His ride photo looks a lot like this: but naturally as soon as his feet were back on land he wanted to ride it again. Also growing up on Disney movies, his favorites parallel his brother’s (of course!), and much to my dismay include the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. He loves “Chacken Jack!”

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Intro


Mid-January weather in Seattle is depressing. It’s cold, overcast and rainy. Every once in awhile the sun breaks through the clouds, and I kid you not, we rush to the window and say, “Look! It’s the sun!”

We did have an unusual stretch of several sunny days around this time, the first day of which I was out driving with the boys, and DS3 began to whine and complain from the backseat. I couldn’t see what was wrong as he got more and more annoyed, so DS7 finally spoke up: “He’s upset because the sun is in his eyes.” My poor little mole.

One evening out of the gray, DH said, “I think you should take the boys to Disneyland.” I reminded him that we are taking the boys to Disneyland, planning a trip for late April. He said, “No, no, I think you should take the boys now.”

I eyed him suspiciously. I was not sure what he meant, but my mind immediately jumped to conclusions about my workaholic husband. I gasped, “You’re trying to weasel out of the family trip in April!” He assured me he was not, he just thought it would be nice to get away for a bit now, but he could not go with his job responsibilities. I reminded him that, having taken DS7 out of school in October, and now with the April trip planned, we couldn’t take him out for any more days than that.

“OK,” and he thought for a moment. “What about if you took DS3 to Disneyland? It would be nice for just the two of you to get out and have some fun. I could get DS7 to and from school without too much trouble, we’ll make it work. It will be for just a few days. And trust me, if you’re taking DS3, I’m getting the better end of the deal!”

It’s true. DS3 is the wild child, the Houdini who can get out of darn near any locking mechanism, and has no sense about personal safety. He is the reason the front door of our house is zip-tied and a shower curtain rod bars the back door. Yes, we get funny looks from strangers as we manipulate through 3 locks to open the door, but it was a lesson learned the hard way, and at least for now, it works. So to say the idea of taking him by myself to Disneyland was daunting is an understatement. Besides, it really wouldn’t be fair for DS7 to have his brother go to Disneyland without him, would it? DH said to leave it to him, he would talk to DS7. I chuckled.

The next day as we walked home from school, DS7 said very seriously, “Mama, Daddy and I think you need a break. We think you should take DS3 to Disneyland!”

Honestly, I was stunned. I asked, “Isn’t that going to bother you, not being able to go?” and he assured me it wouldn’t. He and Daddy had big plans for a guys-only weekend, involving pizza, videogames and movies.

So I started to look into making a short trip. A few quick checks online revealed a great AP rate for the Paradise Pier Hotel for April 7 – 10, and a great airfare deal to Orange County and back. Before I knew it, we were booked for Disneyland in 3 weeks! (I even splurged for a park view room!) I excitedly told DS3 that we were going to Disneyland. He ran and brought me his shoes to put on. Oops, I forget how literal he is.

Counting down the weeks to the trip, I began thinking about PSes to make, shows to see, things to make sure I packed. And I also began to worry. I’ve never taken a trip by myself before, let alone a trip being solely responsible for my little one! He'd challenge an octopus! A trip with DS7 would be a breeze; he’s a good traveler, he can entertain himself, he stays with me when we’re out, he doesn’t run into traffic, and he hardly ever throws up.

I have nicknamed DS3 “Little Vesuvius”, because he erupts when he is excited or ill. The only two times we’ve vacationed with DS3 have been our Disneyland trips, and both times he has thrown up at the airport. The first time it was just a little urpage right before boarding, probably from excitement... either that or the gigantic Starbucks cinnamon roll he ate right beforehand. We were fortunately able to quickly clean him up and make the flight.

The second trip we thought his cookie-tossing was again a reaction to the excitement of the trip, but it turned out to be more serious; he threw up at the airport, several times during the plane flight, and even as we disembarked from the plane in Long Beach. We had brought 2 extra changes of clothes for him, and still he arrived at the hotel wearing his brother’s shirt and a diaper.

I was dreading a repeat performance.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

So remind me again why I was considering taking him on a trip by myself? Ohhhh, right. To go to Disneyland.

I’d bring the stroller, of course. There’s no way I could carry a 3yo through Downtown Disney if he was too tired from the parks. And if he’s buckled in, he can’t run away. Of course he won’t want to sit the entire time; I’d bring his little bear backpack with the attached leash (he calls it his “pappack”), which he loves. Well, he loves wearing the backpack, not so much being tethered to a parent, but it’s the only way I’d be comfortable with him walking around.

With just the two of us, we could stop and meet every character if we wanted; ride Winnie the Pooh over and over again if we wanted; maybe watch the Tiki Birds or The Aladdin and Jasmine Storytime, which we’ve never seen! Ohhhh, we could go to dinner with the princesses, whom DS3 adores! Couldn't get near that with a 10-foot pole with DS7 around! And I could get a Dole Whip. Man, I love those things! To be honest, just the idea of being in the sun for a few days sounded too good to be true.

DH finally admitted that was the real reason for suggesting the trip. Every winter I lament the loss of the sun and await the crocuses in February, our first sign that spring is truly coming. DH said this year has been especially bad for me, so he thought a quick trip to see the sun would do me some good. Love that man!

As the trip neared, DIS friends began making their own plans for the same weekend. Sameyeyam, a fellow Washingtonian, decided to treat her two kids and a friend to a weekend at Disneyland. FunnyGarcia, a recent Minnesota transplant to Southern California, decided to visit Disneyland that Saturday so that we could all meet up. We agreed to have lunch at Rainforest Café on February 9th. I made a PS for dinner with the princesses at Ariel’s Grotto in DCA, and one for Carnation Café. And I packed.

DH thought we should be able to fit all of our stuff into one big checked bag, plus a few carry-ons. Since DS3 and I are probably the two with the most stuff to drag along, I was dubious. But we did it! One big rolling bag, one small rolling bag, two backpacks, plus a carseat. Not bad for me.

Finally it was the night before our trip. I worried about DS7 and DH eating right and getting enough sleep while I was gone. I worried about getting stuck at the airport, losing our luggage, or losing DS3 in Disneyland. (E-ticket printout? Check. Luggage tags? Check. Stroller and “pappack”? Check. Cell phone? Check. Phone numbers? Check.) I worried about DS3 getting sick (Infant Tylenol in the checked bag? Check.) All the bases seemed to be covered.

And as it turned out, only one of these concerns came to life.


Wednesday, February 6: Seattle Temp Hi 43F

 

[kingshockey04]

Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[Merryweather]

Enjoying your trip report thus far. I can really appreciate your sun deprivation issues. I lived in Ithaca NY for over seven years and had no clue how much I missed the sun until I was in Key West for a long weekend.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Kingshockey and Merryweather, thanks for reading!
I'll try to get Day 1 up soon.

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Hi, Moto! Thanks for reading along!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Even though I’d gone to bed around midnight, I was too excited to sleep well, and got up before 5:00 a.m. I showered and dressed, then began packing up my toiletries and other last-minute items. DH was up and ready in no time, and it wasn’t too much trouble to get DS7 out of bed, which is very unusual. We let DS3 sleep until about 10 minutes before leaving, as he wakes happily and is generally cooperative.

We packed everything and everyone into the SUV and headed to the airport. We made great time on the road, and arrived nearly 3 hours before our flight. DH pulled up right in front of the curbside check-in. He unloaded luggage while I unloaded DS3 and strapped him into the stroller, and said my goodbyes to DS7. I said goodbye to my lovely DH, and stepped into line with all the luggage. He drove away, and I tried to feel more exhilarated than abandoned.

Much to my surprise, curbside check-in was a breeze! What happened to the TSA labeling my 3yo an enemy of the United States???
[We found out on our first trip two years ago that someone with a similar name is on the TSA’s No Fly list, and we get delayed on every airport check-in.] I dashed away before they could say they’d made a mistake, and made my way to the security check.

We’d worn our Crocs to get through Security without having to tie shoes and all that, but I’d forgotten to wear socks with my Crocs so had to pad around in bare feet. Ick! The Security folks were very helpful, friendly dealing with my toddler, and one gal even tried to unfold my stroller for me! In the past our trips through Security have been with grumpy, stony-faced personnel, so it was nice to see pleasant people who were actually helpful!

Our gate was right at the end of the security check, how convenient! I hauled the stroller, the two backpacks and large carry-on bag over to have a seat for a few minutes. DS3 played a bit and watched planes taking off, then I realized we should probably eat something sooner rather than later. I went in search of a Starbucks, which was not to be found. I settled on a newsstand for a couple bottles of water I was sure we’d need on the flight, and dug some snacks out of DS’s backpack.

DS3 ate some peanut butter cracker sandwiches, and I broke open a bottle of water. He was still hungry after the crackers, so then ate some Scooby Snacks (bone-shaped cinnamon-flavored graham crackers), and then went on to some Bug Bites (also graham crackers, but shaped like cute bugs.) Well, he’d pretty much plowed through everything I had to eat on the flight before we’d even boarded! But he was happy, so Mama was happy.

Across the aisle from us was a little 2yo girl in a red polka-dot dress and ears, so cute! I wonder where they were headed?

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Finally it was time to board. First class and families with children aged 2 and younger were called first, so I waited. Then the frequent fliers boarded, then darn near everyone else on the plane. We were in the last group to board, then had to wriggle DS3 out of the stroller and into his backpack, so that when I got to our seat there was no overhead room to put the big bag. I managed to cram it at my feet and put both backpacks at DS3’s feet.

A youngish man came along with a seat assignment at the window next to DS3, so we got up and he stepped through all our stuff. I hoped he was patient with children, because I never really quite know what to expect from DS3!

There was some sort of “safety” or “security” issue that required the plane to delay take-off for half an hour (did Security finally find out about DS3???), but then we were zooming down the runway and up in the air. It was a windy day in Seattle, so the ride up was a bit bumpy, and DS3 began to giggle. As the bumping got bigger he began to hoot along with the giggles, and the guy next to him couldn’t stop laughing. Several passengers ahead of us turned around to see what was so funny, and laughed along when DS3 squealed, “Is juss like a wolla coasta!”

We spent most of the flight filling out a Toy Story sticker book I’d brought along. I also drew on a mini Magna-doodle while he tried to guess what I’d drawn. And he’s pretty good, because I am not that good an artist! We also read some stories, and before we knew it the mountains underneath us had turned to ocean and we were heading in to Orange County airport.

Once again on the ground, I popped DS3 into the stroller and wheeled out to baggage claim. Our big suitcase rolled around and I grabbed it, the carry-on on top of it, and slowly wheeled outdoors to catch a cab. There was a big line-up of cabs, and a guy directing cabs and passengers to designated numbered spots. We were quickly assigned a cab, and when the cabbie began loading our luggage I realized I didn’t have DS’s carseat, which was still on the carousel!

I apologized, explained that I needed to go back to the carousel, and told him he didn’t have to wait, I’d catch the next one. I dashed back in (or lumbered is more accurate) with all the bags, grabbed the carseat, shot an arm through the straps in the back, and trudged back outside. The guy directing the cabbies rushed over to help me carry the bags (thank you!) and waved a cab over.

Our new cabbie, Fred, was a father of two little ones. And therefore after loading all our bags, he easily installed the carseat, which I’d been fumbling with. Fred was so sweet, asking DS3 his name, how old he was, and who he was going to visit at Disneyland. He explained to me that he had a 5yo and 3yo at home; he was just so entertaining for DS3 that it made the cab ride fly by. He even pointed out a big dinosaur (statue) along our drive that his own 3yo loves to see.

We drove to the entrance of the Paradise Pier Hotel, and he unloaded our bags while DS3 again was put in the stroller. I paid him with a credit card, but messed up on the tip, realizing later I should have given him nearly double that. I’m still mortified!

The hotel check-in went quickly as well, and soon we were in our room, looking at a beautiful view of the California Adventure park! While DS3 bounced on one of the beds, I unpacked our bags, and re-filled the backpack with items for the park. We changed into shorts and I lubed us both up with sunscreen (which we both hate, but with our pasty skin, one does what one must.) Then we took off in search of fun, sun… and food! By then we were starving!

 

[staley7580]

Cute! Great job so far!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I walked across the street toward Downtown Disney, and headed to the Monorail station. After showing our APs and a peek inside my backpack, we were onto the elevator and up to the 2nd story platform. I let DS3 out of the stroller so that I could fold it up, but it took me a bit longer to do that; meanwhile he ran down to the other end of the platform and waved his arms as if to say, “Catch me if you can!” Oyyyy…

I wandered down there, dragging the folded stroller with me (which is very unwieldy, I might add) and after a few missed tries, managed to grab his hand. We walked back toward the center of the platform and waited. I was standing in front of one of the gates that open when the monorail arrives, in hopes of ensuring I could sit forward instead of backward.

When the monorail arrived and the riders disembarked, only two gates opened up, and they were at either end of the platform. A sea of bodies suddenly swarmed my direction, so I turned to head toward one of the open gates. A young woman nearby yelped, “Whoa!”, and I looked in time to see her hop over the low end of my folded stroller. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” I said, and pulled it away from her and continued on. Another woman behind me, who apparently was with this girl, said, “Wow! We’re both disabled and you almost knocked her over!” I repeated my apology and smiled at both women, and headed through the gate and toward one of the compartments.

These women had darted around me through the gate and already sat in one compartment, so I passed that one and finally found one with forward facing seats. DS3 bounced into a seat; I sat next to him and pulled the stroller in as close to my lap as possible. Soon we were on a winding tour of Disneyland, and arrived at the Tomorrowland station.

I told DS3, “Honey, we’re in Disneyland!” and he squealed in happiness. I headed out onto the platform and followed the crowd. I didn’t see a sign for an elevator before we came to a flight of stairs, so I hoisted the stroller and held tight to DS’s hand as we began down the stairs. At a brief landing partway down the steep stairs the person in front of me suddenly stopped to look over the Nemo submarines below. I mentally groaned when I realized it was one of the women from the stroller hopping incident, and she had a little girl with her, maybe 5 or 6 years old. I was so glad I hadn’t crashed into her when she stopped, and carefully stepped around her. She apparently decided to move on as I walked past, however, and as she turned she brushed my backpack. She said loudly, “There’s that damn stroller again!” This time I ignored her and just kept on walking down the stairs.

And as luck would have it, at the bottom of the stairs was stroller-hopping girl. As I wheeled past she glared and yelled, “Try to be more careful with that thing!” I gritted my teeth and said, “Thanks” and kept on walking.

I was so ticked, but kept thinking, “We just got here! Don’t let them ruin the trip!” So a few deep breaths later, I had the stroller unfolded, DS3 installed, and I headed through Tomorrowland Terrace toward Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port. It was about 3:30 p.m., and all we’d had to eat that day was a few peanut butter cracker sandwiches and some graham crackers. We needed something more substantial.

I asked DS3 what he wanted to eat, telling him they had spaghetti and pizza, fairly confident he’d choose the pizza, a new-found favorite. He did not disappoint. I grabbed a kid-sized pizza meal, and spaghetti for myself. The gal behind the counter informed me that the kid’s meal comes with a drink, which I could choose from around the corner, so I dragged the stroller and tray that way. I chose milk for the boy and a water bottle for myself, and headed to the cashier.

After paying for the meal I found a clean table that wasn’t too close to an exit, and got DS out of the stroller to eat. I opened his milk and popped the straw in it, and put the pizza plate in front of him. I realized I hadn’t grabbed any eating utensils or napkins on the way to the table, but figured I could probably run to the counter to grab those and still manage to catch him if he made a dash for the door… So I did. It wasn’t necessary, I think he was too hungry to think of escape.

He complained that his pizza was “too hot”, but I had a sore throat so didn’t want to blow on it myself. I encouraged him to blow on it, and gave him some apple slices that came with his meal to munch on. He had soon made his way through the mini-pizza (the size of half an English muffin) and apple slices, and was eyeing my spaghetti. So I got another fork and put some on his plate. He happily ate two small servings of my spaghetti, and then we were ready to hit some rides!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

He wanted to ride the Matterhorn, but I wasn’t sure that was a good idea with a bellyfull of spaghetti and pizza. Besides, the line was halfway around the mountain, so we passed on that.

The Buzz Lightyear ride had only a 5 minute wait, so in we went. A group of adults (mostly men) ahead of us began talking to a man behind us, and then finally at a bend in the queue the man stepped in line ahead of us. I was a bit surprised at his presumptuousness; I sort of expect that kind of behavior from kids, and had he asked, I would have encouraged him to join his friends. One of the men explained a little late, “We’re a group of school principals, we gotta stick together!” That just made it funny; even principals cut in line!

DS3 and I boarded our vehicle and immediately began racking up points. I will admit that my scores are not much better than his, and I didn’t miss DH’s mocking look at the end of the ride. We stopped to send our photo home to Daddy to let him know our fun had begun!

Once outside we saw that the ride’s line was still very short. DS asked if we could go again. Why not? So we did.

After Buzz, we headed into Fantasyland. DS asked if we could go on the “bug wide”, and I told him that Bug’s Land was in the other park, we could ride that tomorrow. He looked so disappointed, but the line for the Alice ride wasn’t too long, would he like to go there? “Yay, the bug wide!” he exclaimed. Ah ha. Mama clues in to the unique naming standard of the 3yo.

There was NO LINE for the Teacups, so we walked right up to the front of the gate and waited our turn. The gate opens wide so kids started running off to get their favorite teacup. We walked to the far end and lucked into a purple teacup. I snapped a few quick pictures of DS, since he was captive, and then we began to spin. The little stinker grabbed the wheel in the center and tried to spin us even faster, but of course he's not strong enough. I really don't like spinning, and have to take Bonine or some sort of anti-motion-sickness medication at Disneyland. I'd had my dose before leaving the hotel, so what the heck? We both pushed hard and really whirled and twirled, lemmee tell ya! He was laughing and screaming in pure happiness, and I was proud that I'd made that happen.

I was stunned that the line for Dumbo wasn’t bad, either! After perhaps two flights, DS had feather in hand and eagerly awaited his turn. We climbed into a purple Dumbo (my favorite color!) and he squealed in anticipation. Once we passed the feather over, we took off. I reminded him how the lever worked to make Dumbo go up and down, but he could barely reach it, so I just kept pushing it the whole ride. All the way up, then all the way down, all the way up… It’s funny how most of the Dumbos are all the way up the entire ride.

“Can we wide the train?” DS3 asked. DS had mentioned the train several times while I planned the trip. I mentioned to DH that I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the Disneyland railroad, or the Casey Jr. Circus Train (which he’s never been on), but I would make sure we did both. DH said that was great, but DS3 was actually meaning Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Sure enough, he was excited to get measured for the ride, then ran happily down the queue area to stop at the end of the line. His eyes got big as he spied the large dinosaur bones, and even bigger as the train raced past. Once we were seated on a train I snuggled him tight to try to minimize the jolting a bit. It was dark by then, so I think he got a little nervous as we rode through the cave and it looked like big rocks would tumble onto us. But he threw his little hands in the air as we picked up speed for the big downhill runs, where did he learn that?!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I am loving your TR!!!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

After BTRR we wandered into New Orleans Square. DS said he wanted to see the “Kissmass House”, pointing toward the Haunted Mansion. I wasn’t sure if he really wanted to go in there, because the stretching room really scares him, but he insisted. I was eager to see it without the holiday overlay, and the line was short, so in we went. He hugged my legs once the ride narrator began to speak, so I picked him up and held him close. He startled at the big finale in the stretching room, but then was fine walking through the rest of the mansion toward the ride.

I have only been on this ride maybe 2 times with the holiday overlay, and one of those times I had only my sunglasses on, having forgotten to swap glasses before entering the mansion. So I was wishing I could remember the ride better to see what was different this time. I didn’t remember catching the storyline before, with the bride having multiple husbands, and all the photos on display with the various men and the dates of their passing.

I think my favorites parts are the floating crystal ball, and the large dining room with its ghostly dancers and the man blowing out the birthday candles on the cake. And isn’t one of the gentleman spirits seated at the table the same face as one of the pirates in the Pirates of the Caribbean? He looks so familiar!

After HM we walked into Critter Country to the Winnie the Pooh ride, the first ride DS3 ever went on, and still a favorite. We rode Pooh a couple of times and then looped back down to ride Pirates.

I just love that musty wet smell as you first walk into POTC, I don’t know why. My favorite part is the introductory bayou scene, with its twinkling fireflies, old guy on the porch, the soft banjo and crickets chirping. Even the dim view of the Blue Bayou patrons and lovely lanterns adds to the peaceful calm of that scene. For some reason there was no Davy Jones in the mist on this ride, I’m not sure what happened, we just suddenly dropped down into the thick of it after that. DS3 sang along: "Yo yo yo ho, da pirates like-a me!"

I wandered back up toward Autopia, thinking it would be our last ride of the night, but the line was quite long. It was nearly closing anyway, so I just continued on toward the Monorail station. Thankfully the ride back to DTD was uneventful, and after a short walk we were at the hotel. By then we were hungry, having had only one real meal that day, so I bought some chocolate milk, a mixed fruit bowl, and some orange juice at the lobby lounge.

We returned to our room to eat. We shared the fruit, and DS3 watched the Princess Storytime and a Chip & Dale cartoon while I got our clothes out and re-packed the backpack for the next day. My head was feeling stuffed up, and especially with the little sleep from the night before, I couldn’t wait to get some rest.


Thursday, February 7: Temp Hi 73F

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Cute! Great job so far!

Hey, you! Thanks!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I am loving your TR!!!

Thank you! And congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

 

[tinkermell]

Alex,

I'm loving your TR, and waiting for more!!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Thank you! And congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Thanks!!! Our Honeymoon starts off at DLR so your TR has me so excited. I love the musty smell of POTC as well!

 

[Ferry Joy]

Your trip report is great, and what a wonderful husband!