Alex2kMommy's Little Quickie Trip!

[MATTERHORN]

Alex, Finally started reading the report and now you are going to slow!! Hyena says I need more!!! Can't wait to get to the surprise ending!!!

Andrea

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Loving your trip report!!!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Tinkermell, Andrea and MommywithDreams, thank you so much for reading! I'm still working on Day 2, sorry it's taking so long. Darn these children anyway, for getting in the way of writing my TR!

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Tinkermell, Andrea and MommywithDreams, thank you so much for reading! I'm still working on Day 2, sorry it's taking so long. Darn these children anyway, for getting in the way of writing my TR!

LOL that sounds familiar. Last night my DS wanted attention so bad and I was trying to sneak in a few quiet DIS minutes. I told him "If you want to go to Disneyland on Sunday you need to let mommy read this". He sat quietly looking at a book for the next 10 minutes. Man I'm mean! lol

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

Just looking for an update!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Just looking for an update!

Your wish is granted!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I didn’t sleep well Thursday night. My head cold was getting the better of me, and my nose was running like a faucet. Every time I feel asleep, I woke shortly thereafter, feeling like I was drowning, and had to run to the bathroom for tissues. I soon emptied the box of tissues provided, and resorted to the toilet paper roll after that. I finally gave up trying to sleep around 6:00 a.m. and got into the shower.

When DS3 woke I got him dressed and ready to go, and he had a little chocolate milk while I guzzled orange juice. We packed up the stroller and headed out, stopping for breakfast at the La Brea Bakery in Downtown Disney. I chose a yummy-looking egg and bacon croissant with fried potatoes. Unfortunately DS3 did not care for the sandwich, nor did he want any of the scrambled eggs or bacon, both of which he normally likes. However, he did eat nearly all the potatoes. Ah, well, at least he ate something.

Does anybody else get a little creeped out by the little birdies scavenging for food around your table? I threw some bits of loose scrambled egg their way, and they gobbled it up! Isn't that like... cannibalism?

We ate quickly, and arrived at the gate at 8:30 AM. I was thinking we were half an hour past opening, but actually were early for a 9 AM opening. Finally! It pays to screw up on the time!

We stood with the crowd along Main St., and as opening time neared, one of the CMs appeared to be trying to pump up the crowd. I heard him yelling something at the assembled crowd, but couldn’t hear well enough to make out what he was saying. All of a sudden I heard folks ahead of me shout “Mickey!”, and after a bit the other side of the street yelled, “Minnie!” and the middle of the street shrieked another character’s name. Our side, perhaps because it was the first time, sounded pretty anemic, and each successive group was louder than the last. When it was time for our group again, I shouted loudly, “Mickey!” No one else around me participated, but they did turn around to look at me and chuckle. Geesh, that was embarrassing.

Finally we were allowed in, and we headed straight to Fantasyland. DS3 and I love the Peter Pan ride, but have only ever been on it twice due to the fact that the line is always horrendously long. DH does not like to rush to the gate first thing in the morning, so this was a real treat to be able to get in while the line was short! I parked the stroller and we walked quickly through the zig-zagging queue, the end of the line stopping just as we were under cover of the building’s roof. The ride is so charming, starting out in the Darlings’ nursery, then flying out over London and into the stars to Neverland. DS3 had recently been watching our DVD of Peter Pan, and happily pointed out all the characters he recognized, especially his favorite, Tinkerbell.

Our next stop was the Teacups, since there was almost no line at all! (I love park opening!) I told him to go on in through queue, and he excitedly began to run, with me following to keep up. Just as I was about to grab his hand to slow him down, he ran face-first into a bend in the metal railing. OUCH! He looked so surprised and rubbed his cheek, looking at me like that fence had hurt his feelings. I felt bad for not grabbing him in time. Fortunately he didn't hit too hard, and still wanted to go on the ride.

Typically I do not like rides that spin, but I find the Teacups to be such a cute setting for pictures, and my boys both seem to love the spinning. So sometimes I let DH take the boys on the ride while I take photos of them, and other times I join them and soak in some of their gleeful enthusiasm for the spinning teacups.

After whirling and twirling around there a bit, we headed to Storybook Land Canal Boats, which we’d been on only once before. DH said DS3 had been frightened on this ride the first time because of the big whale mouth at the outset, but it’s actually a quiet, sweet boat ride past story book characters’ miniature homes. I love the tiny castles and cottages, churches and village shops, but also the rolling hills and tiny trees and shrubs. I remember on our previous ride we had a young man as our tour guide, and he chattered along with a bored, nasally voice which really diminished my enjoyment of the scenery. This time we had a lovely older woman, the kind of grandma-type every kid in the world wishes for! She was a pretty blond with the sweetest smile for every child, and DS3 just beamed under her attentive care. We wanted to go back on the ride to see her again later, but of course the line got to be so long, it just didn’t happen.

We had seen the Casey Jr. Circus train pass through during our canal tour, so I took DS over to board the train. I asked if he wanted to sit in a cage or a seat, and he insisted on a cage, which is what I’d secretly hoped for! Wish I could have taken a picture of him in the cage from the outside, DH would have gotten a kick out of that! I snapped a few from inside the cage with him, and then the train began to move. The train slowly rolls around the hillside, zigging and zagging along with wonderful views of the Storybook Canal and wonderful scenes, so I took a few more pictures from up above. Even though it was just a simple little ride, I think DS3 enjoyed it a lot, and especially liked waving to the people on the canal boats and those walking by.

Up next DS chose to ride Mr.Toad, and after maybe 20 minutes in line, he was driving our horseless carriage through the library, past the village and police, careening through the court judge and on to a very warm place with funny red creatures flying around. He doesn’t really understand what that is all about and just laughs at the little devils. He laughed and pointed them out, saying, “Mama, look at da silly fairies!”

 

[Alex2kMommy]

By the end of that ride it was 10:00, and ToonTown was just opening up, so I popped DS3 into the stroller and walked on through the ToonTown gates. DS first wanted to tour Mickey’s house, and since the line was pretty short and we’d been through there before, I sort of rushed him through it and on toward Mickey’s barn.

We had a really quick meeting with Mickey. The last time we went through there they let one family in at a time, and took a picture of our boys and a picture of the whole family, and allowed the kids to chat a bit with Mickey. This time they herded several families into the small room together, and let each child approach Mickey one by one. We were at the end of our group and they were pushing the kids through fairly quickly, but before DS had his chance to meet the Mouse, another batch of families was being herded in behind us, so I just felt really rushed. We did get one photo of DS3 with Mickey, and a Photopass card from the Mickey photographer. I’d already decided to just get a Photopass CD since I knew I’d be taking fewer photos this trip, having less opportunity without another set of hands to hang onto the boy.

We then toured Minnie’s House for the first time, which was a lot of fun! So many little knobs to turn and buttons to push to animate items in the house, especially in the kitchen! We loved watching the birthday cake in the oven, and the sudsing dishwashing machine! DS played in the kitchen a bit with the other kids, then I scooted him out the kitchen door to meet… Oh! We were out of the house, and no Minnie to meet! Whoops!

As fortune would have it, Minnie was out in front of the post office, meeting and greeting lined up guests, so we got in line and (with a bit of 3yo impatience) waited our turn and finally got to give Minnie a hug.

Now, I should point out that on past meetings, DS3 and Minnie kind of had a thing for one another. It was not love at first sight when they first met at Goofy’s Kitchen when he was 2yo. She had gently touched his shoulder, and he pulled away, just a bit afraid. So she sat in the chair next to his high chair and ignored him a bit; he watched her intently as she began fiddling with a pair of sunglasses on the table. Finally she placed the sunglasses over his eyes. He beamed back at her, and that was the beginning of a great friendship. We met her again a few days later at the Lilo & Stitch breakfast, and she hugged and kissed him, then hugged and kissed him some more! He was eating it up, and she didn’t let him go for the longest time, which raised a few eyebrows in the place (ours included.)

So here we are a year and a half later, and he seemed a bit confused that she didn’t hug and squeeze him like before, just gently put an arm around his shoulders and smiled for the camera. I asked for her autograph on his behalf (and he took my momentary distraction as an opportunity to dash into the nearby post office.) Minnie heard me call his name several times, and when she handed back the autograph material, I saw she had personalized the autograph with his name. Very sweet!

Once I caught up with him in the post office, he asked if we could go on “da wolla coasta”, so we headed toward Gadgets Go Coaster. The line was very short, the end being just at the first bend at the edge of the small building, so we quickly were through the line and I was trying to fold my legs sideways into the seat. (How on earth did my taller husband fit in here last time?) The roller coaster is a short but thrilling toddler ride, and as we zoomed back into the loading/unloading area, he asked if we could ride it again. I replied, “Sure, honey” and began unfolding myself to climb out. He shouted, “Yay!” and took off through the exit, weaving in between others ahead of him to dash out toward the street. I couldn’t get past the crowd but kept an eye on him and calling his name...like that ever worked.

There was a fence around something in the middle of the street in front of Mickey’s house (I now know it’s a fountain behind the fence), and instead of heading to the right to get back on the ride, he jetted left and out of view around the fence.

I followed him as quickly as I could and kept calling out his name, but didn’t see him anywhere. I went all the way around the fence twice, calling him and looking for his little head bobbing along. I dashed through Minnie’s house, but he wasn’t there, nor was he in the post office or near the counter service restaurants. I didn’t see him in Goofy’s yard or house, nor on Donald’s boat, and he was not in line for Gadgets.

My heart began to beat a little faster. My greatest fear had come true!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

My first instinct was to call my DH. He’s got great instincts in a crisis, and I was trying not to panic, as it had been five minutes since I’d seen my baby. I realized my DH couldn’t do much from afar and I would just be panicking him unnecessarily, so I instead approached the first CM I saw and told her I'd lost my 3yo. She asked what he looked like and what his name was. I showed her a photo of him I’d taken that morning, and thank goodness he was wearing a bright orange shirt. She said she’d start looking, and directed me to Daisy’s Diner to have someone there notify Security of a missing child.

I went through all the same information with the gal at Daisy’s Diner, and was told they were “calling it in”; meanwhile I went back to the middle of the street to scan the surroundings and wait. I felt so absolutely helpless, but at least grateful that ToonTown is a fairly enclosed area (one way in and out) and I really didn’t think he’d run straight to the exit; I was fairly sure he must be close by, and that I’d contacted the CM quickly.

Sure enough, within 5 minutes of my contacting Security, the first CM I spoke with came walking up holding hands with my DS. He was as bouncy and happy as ever, squealed, “Hi, Mama!” and jumped into my arms. I hugged him tight, then asked the CM, “Where on earth did you find him?” He had been on Donald’s Boat, just in an area where he was not easily seen from the street.

She kneeled down to DS’s eye level, and asked, “Hey, buddy! What’s Mommy’s name?” I knew why she was asking and waited. (Does he even know?) He thought for a second, then said with a dramatic pause, “Her name… Mama!” and he giggled happily. She laughed and said, “OK, I guess that was asking a bit much, wasn’t it?” I thanked her profusely and got assurances from her that she would contact the Security folks and let them know the lost child was found.

DS3 was pulling on my hand and begging to go back on Gadgets, so we headed back there for another round while I tried to get my heart rate back to normal.

After that we toured Donald’s Boat, and then played at Goofy’s House. He pretended to play Goofy’s piano a bit, then headed outside to slide, crawl, follow footprints, and climb inside a large pumpkin and a big crate.

By then it was getting on toward lunchtime, and to be honest, I was wiped out! We walked toward the gates, stopping for a Photopass photo opportunity in front of the castle, and again in front of the Partners statue. I asked the photographer if he could do a Tinkerbell photo with DS3, and he said, “Sure!” He actually did two, and they are so cute! DS is beaming, with his hands cupped in front of him cradling a tiny Tinkerbell!

We walked through Downtown Disney back to the hotel, and stopped in the lobby lounge for a bite. The waitress brought us drinks first (an iced Diet Coke for me, milk for DS3), and then I remembered that we were supposed to be eating a late lunch with the princesses in a few hours!

The boy was hungry, and I’d already promised him mini-hamburgers and fries, so I went ahead and ordered for him, reasoning that we could split the 2 teeny burgers, and maybe still eat after a nap. So I ate one burger, he nibbled at the other and ate the fries.

When we returned to the hotel room, DS3 settled into bed while I called Disney Dining. I was able to reschedule our princess meal from 2:20 to 4:40, which would hopefully allow plenty of time for a decent nap, and maybe even a dip in the pool, depending on how long we slept.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I was finally able to sleep for about an hour and a half, and felt much better afterward. DS3 also woke in plenty of time for us to make our princess meal. We re-dressed, exited the hotel and walked through the Grand Californian Hotel to their private entrance into California Adventure park. Since we were about 15 minutes early for our PS, I agreed with DS to head into the Redwood Creek Trail, figuring DS3 could play while I chatted with DH. I followed DS up stairs and across rope netting, trying to keep an eye on DS while I called home.

And may I say that small children scamper across that rope netting a whole lot easier than an overweight, out of shape woman in her 40s? WOW. I was huffing and puffing trying to keep up with that kid! I was trying to keep the heavy breathing to a minimum as DH answered the phone for fear he'd think it was a crank call.

It was good to hear DH’s voice. I confessed to him about losing DS3 in ToonTown, which is something we’d both feared when talking about taking this trip. At first it upset him, but he knows how DS3 is, so was glad that I’d gotten help so quickly and everything ended well. He actually was surprised that DS3 was doing as well as he was with being in the stroller, or walking holding my hand. DS7 and DH were having fun with movies and videogames, and I suspect barely even missing us. Too quickly our 15 minutes was nearly up, so I ended the call and collected DS3.

At the check-in for Ariel’s Grotto, I was handed a pager, which buzzed within minutes. We entered the restaurant and were shown down a curved flight of stairs. A large group had been let in together, and the line stopped on the stairs. At the bottom, children were being taken to one side to meet Ariel. The little mermaid was dressed in a lovely pale green dress with a pretty jeweled flower in her red hair. We were the last in line, and when it was our turn, DS happily ran up to meet her. I tried to hand my Photopass card to the CM photographer, but he explained that they don’t do the Photopass, they take the picture and present you with a print package during your meal. I just knew I was going to buy that package, so didn’t even bother taking a photo of my own. I'm such a sucker!

Once seated, a lovely young man named Jonathan came over to our table. Jonathan was dressed in a prince-like outfit, complete with a big wide-brimmed hat sporting a large feather. He began chatting up DS3, asking him if he was excited to see the princesses, and giving him pointers on what to do when a princess comes through. He said to give her a big hug, then a big kiss on the cheek, “They love that!” DS beamed at Jonathan, eating up all the special attention. Jonathan stayed and chatted with DS for maybe 10 minutes. I was a little confused as to why… What is his role at Ariel’s? He was not dressed the same as the waitstaff, though he did offer to help us in any way. He did not stay at our table the whole time, I believe he did visit a few others, but then came back to our table later to ask if we were enjoying ourselves. I thought perhaps he would be escorting a princess around the room when one came through?

Someone gave DS3 a paper crown and some jeweled stickers to occupy him during the wait for food, so he happily began peeling and sticking. He insisted on wearing the crown immediately, so I figured out how to wrap it around and attach the ends together. (Gee, it was huge! On the smallest size, it still hung on his ears.) He wore it nonetheless, and looked so adorable with his wobbly, low-set crown and a grin from ear to ear. I wanted to take his picture in the crown, and turned the camera sideways for a portrait view. DS3 then cocked his head to the side the same direction I'd turned the camera, I suppose so that his face would still come out right-side up in the photo. That picture just cracks me up!

Shortly thereafter another gentleman grandly announce Princess Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. Belle was lovely in her bright yellow dress, which DS had not seen before, as she was dressed in a simple blue dress and white apron at Goofy’s Kitchen. Just as Belle reached the far end of the dining room, Snow White was announced, and then Cinderella, and finally Aurora. The route the princesses took around the room was the same, so no chance of getting missed, and in general the children stayed in their seats until the princess came to them. We were able to chat briefly with each princess, and get a photo and autograph easily. No scintillating conversation was had, though I do remember DS telling each princess all about his “big brudder” at home, and how much he missed him. Since the food had not been served yet, we didn’t have to clean off sticky hands or face or clear space on the table for writing an autograph. Nice!

The Ariel’s Grotto character interaction was so much more orderly than any other character meal we’ve attended, easier for me to manage than if we’d been trying to take photos, get autographs and collect and eat buffet food. But also it was not the most memorable, the princesses were lovely but not as warm and chatty as I’ve seen at other locations. Perhaps they must be more focused on their time, since each room is seated all at once, and the food is held until the princesses move along to the next room.

Food was served immediately after Aurora’s exit. I had ordered macaroni and cheese for DS3, and it looked so cute when it arrived! They had sprinkled goldfish crackers on top, then topped the whole thing with a hotdog ‘octopus’. Unfortunately DS was a little put off by the octopus, even after I cut it up for him to eat. I told him it was just a hotdog, but he kept calling it an octopus and wouldn’t touch it, nor was he then interested in the mac and cheese underneath. But he did eat a little fruit and some goldfish crackers, and he had already had lunch, so I wasn’t too worried about it.

I had fish and chips, which does seem a little strange to be served at Ariel’s. I kept thinking of Bruce the shark from Nemo: “Fish are not food! They are our friends!” It was tasty, but nothing to write home about. But I’m one of those people who attends a character meal more for the character interaction with the kids. You can see lots of characters and eat a meal in a relatively short time period. It's a huge time savings if you think about how long you'd spend waiting in line at the park to see that many characters, especially the princesses! So as long as the food tastes good, and the characters are friendly, we consider the money well spent.

The photographer came around with the photo packet; I forget what the cost was, I think it was around $30. It included one 5x7 and four 4x6 prints. Too much, in my opinion, but since I hadn’t taken any of my own, I couldn’t complain.

The meal price includes dessert, so I ordered chocolate cake because DS saw someone else’s and wanted it. The kids’ menu had apple slices with caramel sauce for dipping, so I ordered that as well. He ate most of the cake, while I ate most of the apples. Loved the desserts!

 

[staley7580]

Awww!!! How fun!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

After we finished our meal, we headed to the bathroom. We both loved the décor; the large mirrors above the sinks have beautiful gold painted wood frames. DS3 was happily singing away from inside our stall. I don’t know why, but he has to touch everything in a bathroom! He swings the lid on the garbage can, spins the roll of toilet paper, fiddles with the door lock. I’ve learned to just keep talking to him, try to keep him away from the door, and get my business done as quickly as possible! As we washed our hands and he continued to sing and admire himself in the mirror, another mom chuckled and said, “Hey! At least he’s happy!” Exactly!

It was getting dark as we headed back out onto the boardwalk, and a Photopass photographer had set up in a scenic spot overlooking the waterfront rides. We wandered down and had a nighttime photo taken, then wandered around California Adventure. We rode the Jumpin’ Jellyfish and King Triton’s Carousel before heading into Bugs Land and hitting up the rides there. We did the Tuck & Roll Drive ‘Em Buggies, which I don’t think we’ve done before. DS had a blast getting bumped into by other bumper cars. Then we went on to Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train, always a favorite of his. And then Flik’s Flyers, spinning and flying up in the air! Thank goodness for Bonine.

During our tour around the back end of the park, I was scoping out every food cart, wondering if the CM there was the famous (or is it infamous?) Albort. I knew he was moving out of the selling role and into servicing the carts with supplies, and closing them down at the end of the night. And supposedly he was working that night. I was sure I would find him this time!

I finally spied a guy near the Jumpin' Jellyfish who was shutting down a cart. Ah-ha! I walked closer, but he had his head down so I couldn't quite tell. I walked around the front of the cart, but just then he turned toward the back of the cart, darn it! I did notice dark hair, however, just like Albort's... I walked around the side of the cart and stepped a bit closer, and just then his head popped up and he looked me right in the eyes!

OH! Definitely not Albort! He looked very startled, so I gave an embarrassed smile and quickly walked away.

About fifteen minutes before the Electrical Parade was to begin, we walked back in front of the Bug’s Land entrance. I was able to get curbside in between two groups of people. I found out later that it was one large group that was trying to take up a huge chunk of the curb, but most of their group was missing, and they were getting frantic as others came up and stood near the few of them who were left. I left DS3 in the stroller curbside, but stood behind him so they had a bit more room once most of them arrived.

I noticed I had a few messages on my phone, and it took me awhile to figure out how to pick them up. (I rarely use my cell phone at home, basically it's for emergencies, or calling my mom or DH when I'm out and about. No one ever leaves me messages!) One of them was from Sameyeyam, calling to let me know her party had arrived, and that FunnyGarcia was going to be in town at 6:30. Last I'd heard, FunnyG was only going to be at DL on Saturday, so I took that to mean she would be at the DL gates at 6:30 AM, and made a mental note to keep a look-out for her if I made it to the gates for Early Entry at 7:00.

The parade seemed to take longer to begin than I expected, but I guess it’s because it’s a fairly slow-moving parade, and they start at the back of the park. As the time neared, all the lights were turned out and suddenly a glow cart burst into view, with all of its glowsticks, light sabers and other items blinking and lighting up the night. The crowd went nuts, which I thought was hilarious!

And after perhaps five more minutes the Electrical Parade began.

If you have never seen this parade and don't want to read the description of it, please skip ahead to 'After the Parade'!

The first ‘float’ in the parade was the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio. She is quite lovely, done up in all blue and white (some purple perhaps?), with an actual human as her upper body, waving and smiling at everyone as she passes by. Behind her were several footmen looking characters in glowing costume, carrying the train of her dress. It was beautiful.

Next came a red train engine with Goofy in the driver’s seat. The engine pulled a car with big round sides noting “Disney’s Electrical Parade” on the side, and Mickey and Minnie atop waving at everyone. Along came an adorable turtle and snail duo, who zigzagged down the street, stopping every once in awhile to bob their heads and spin around in circles. With them came a lightning bug, a cute green centipede and some lovely toadstools, one with a beautiful electrical butterfly, the other with the glowing green caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland on top.

Then came the mice from Cinderella: Suzy, Perla, Jacques and Gus-Gus, wearing elegant outfits with light-up trim. They were followed by a beautiful pumpkin coach with Cinderella inside. There were several dancing couples behind the coach, all dressed in ballroom attire with light-up trim. And then another float carrying Prince Charming holding the glass slipper on a pillow, and Cinderella’s two wicked stepsisters bickering away.

Lovely ballgown-wearing ladies walked along under an electrical canopy carried by footmen, and then a Big Ben-type clock tower came through. Next was Captain Hook’s pirate ship, with Hook and Peter Pan swordfighting away. Smee followed the pirate ship rowing a little electrical dingy.

A lovely green hippopotamus with long eyelashes came through, followed by a circus train, dancing clowns and a big pink elephant. Bashful and the other dwarves followed in a series of glowing gem-filled ore carts, and Snow White rode in the final cart. Pete and his dragon came by, waving and telling the crowd about his wondrous adventure.

The final two floats were very patriotic, the first being a rolling flag in lights with “fireworks” in lights above and the words “To Honor America” at the front; and then a huge electrical bald eagle with his wings unfurled.

My description cannot do this parade justice, it really is such a beautiful light display, and I’m so glad we were able to see it!

After the Parade:

We (and everybody else) followed the parade toward the park entrance, and then at Condor Flats we cut across and back around toward the Grand Californian.

We exited the park through the GCH Hotel entrance. One of the CMs there smiled and said to me, “Wow, you’re not from around here, are you?” I was caught a bit off-guard, they usually just say something like, "Have a good evening!" I confessed that we were not, and she then asked where we were from. Puzzled, I said we were from Seattle, and she and her cohort chuckled. “Yeah, you just aren’t dressed like you’re from around here.” I looked down at our shorts and t-shirts and crocs, then noticed everyone else walking past was wearing coats, hats and knit scarves, and long pants and shoes. The temperature must have been still in the 60s, so I thought the warm winter wear was pretty darn funny!

We strolled back to our hotel, and again stopped in the lobby lounge. This time DS3 clamored for a cinnamon roll and some chocolate milk, and there was a delicious looking chocolate-filled croissant calling my name... If you eat it with orange juice, it's somewhat good for you, right?

We ate the pastries and each drank half our chosen fluids. DS3 again watched the Princess story of the day, and the same Chip and Dale cartoon where they steal nuts from Donald Duck's nut processing plant.

I took out clothes for the next day, and re-packed the backpack. I think we were in bed by 10:30, and I had wanted to hit the park at Early Entry the next day, but that looked unlikely. After so little sleep the past couple nights, I wasn't sure I could get out of bed in time for that myself, but I set the alarm for a 5:30 wake-up anyway, ever hopeful.

Friday, February 8: Temp Hi 78F

 

[MommyWithDreams]

I loved reading about the Parade. We didn't see it last year but will FOR SURE be catching it this year. I have so many memories of it as a child. I can't wait for my son to see it.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I loved reading about the Parade. We didn't see it last year but will FOR SURE be catching it this year. I have so many memories of it as a child. I can't wait for my son to see it.

I had never seen it as a child, since my first trip to DL was in 2006, but I had seen beautiful photos from it and wanted so badly to see it.

Our first trip was initially planned for April 2006, and I was looking forward to catching this parade; however, DH wound up in the hospital two days before our trip, so we had to cancel it. Fortunately we were able to reschedule for that fall, but the parade doesn't run then.

So to say I was excited to finally see it is an understatement!
As beautiful as the photos are, they just can't do justice to the sight in person, can they? I just loved everything about it, I think it's beautiful, and also so charming, with the little critters that zoom right up and say hello.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

My head cold was even worse that night. I slept fitfully, finally waking for good at 3:30 a.m. I was still exhausted, but since I couldn’t get back to sleep I finally got up around 5:30 and got in the shower and hoped it would help clear my head.

DS3, who had been sleeping soundly when I got up, suddenly popped his head into the shower and cooed at me, which was a sweet surprise. I then realized he was totally naked, and climbing into the shower with me. (Yes, he does this at home, too. Probably the only little boy on the planet who actually likes to take showers!) Ah, well, that’s fine. We showered and dressed, shared a pop tart, and he drank chocolate milk (OJ for me.) I made sure we had all our stuff for the park ready before we headed out. UFF, I felt like I needed to go to bed. But we were in Disneyland, we were actually ready in time to make EE, so off we went.

I zoomed through DTD, and we made it to the security checkpoint around 6:50. WOOHOO!!! There seemed to be some sort of problem at one of the lines, the family there had been stopped, and everyone was just standing around doing nothing. So I went to the other line. They, too, stopped me from opening up my bags and everything, just held up one hand, otherwise ignoring me and talking to one another. The other family looked over at me, so I shouted back, “What’s the deal?” and they told me they wouldn’t let us through to the gates until it was closer to EE time. I asked, “But… Isn’t that now? I thought EE was at 7:00 this morning.” They said no, it wasn’t until 8:00.

Holy cow, I’m over an HOUR early for EE? Me? I couldn’t stop laughing. DH would have got a kick out of that, too.

Finally they checked my bags and waved me on through, and I reached Gate 9 at 7:10. We still had a 50 minute wait until EE. DS said he was hungry, so I pulled out some peanut butter cracker sandwiches from the backpack. He polished those off fairly quickly, but said he was still hungry, so I pulled out a banana and his water bottle. He snarfed those down as well, and said he was STILL hungry! The only food item I had left was a package of graham cracker cookies shaped like bugs. He ate all of those, too.

I remembered that Sameyeyam had left a message the day before, saying that FunnyGarcia was going to be there at 6:30 AM, so I began scanning the few others standing in front of the gates. No FunnyG in sight, but maybe they got a later start than she’d anticipated. That’s my usual M.O., anyway. As 7:00 approached, I kept looking for her, but never did spot her. We had lunch plans together, so wasn’t too disappointed.

CMs came up to the registers at the gates and fiddled with them, then walked away. Then some of them came back and fiddled some more, and walked away. The CM for Gate 9 called out to seemingly no one in particular, “It’s not working…” Oh, great! I’m at the gate that has a problem. More fiddling. Then all the gate CMs were called together for a group meeting. Park news? Pep talk? Slow torturing of overanxious guests? I don’t know, but it seemed to take forever for them to get back to the registers.

Finally the gates opened, our APs were scanned (it worked!), and I walked as quickly as I possible toward Nemo (as did nearly everyone else!) As I neared the ride, a CM directed me out of the flow of traffic to park my stroller, then changed his mind, telling me to get back in line with the stroller, they’d park it for me when I got to the sub. Cool!

We zoomed through a long and winding queue. The line for the first sub suddenly was cut off at the lady in front of me, and a CM directed us toward the second sub. Yeah! DS3 and I were near the front of the line! But we quickly realized that we’d been directed into a dead-end, what the heck? Everyone else behind us was being loaded onto the sub! We turned around and headed back out of the dead-end, and as it turned out we were the last three to get on. The woman beside me was miffed until I pointed out that we were now sitting at the front of the sub, and didn’t that mean we’d be the first to unload? Not a bad deal!

DS3 loved the Nemo ride! The “Captain” made some announcements and ordered the sub to dive, then bubbles filled the little porthole windows. Each seat has its own porthole, so having a view was no problem at all. DS3 squealed in happiness when he saw all the bubbles, and then again when he began to see objects in the water. I pointed out the wicked Darla in her scuba gear, but I’m not sure if he remembers her from the story, he didn’t react.

The lady next to me was happy as well. She had lovely red hair, I’m guessing was nearish my age (early to mid-40s) and had a cool accent, I guessed a New Zealander. She admitted she was so eager to try out this ride on her trip because she had fond memories of its previous incarnation from her childhood. And yes, we were grateful to be the first ones off the slow-to-unload ride.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

After Nemo, we headed into Fantasyland and I parked the stroller next to the carousel, which was not operating. We slipped into the Peter Pan ride, thrilled to be able to ride it twice in one trip! Once again through the Darling nursery, into the stars and on to Neverland. DS3 noticed the mermaids this time, and Princess Tiger Lily.

He wanted to ride Pinocchio next. I remember riding this with DS7 on our first trip, but I don’t believe DS3 had been on it before. I think he’s seen the movie, though, and I hoped it wouldn’t be scary for him. He did just fine, I just snuggled him close during the carnival boys-to-donkeys part. He loved seeing the Blue Fairy and Gepetto at the end.

He asked again if he could ride the Bug Ride, which I now knew meant Alice in Wonderland, so we headed that way. Almost no line to speak of there (have I mentioned yet how much I love EE?), so I think we got on after only one or two cars’ worth of people. DS3 pointed out the Cheshire Cat in every location, and we’d laugh at the queen playing croquet. He likes the outside part of the ride, which is a little too much like Mulholland Madness for my taste, but I do love the heart-shaped topiary. I wanted a photo of it, but never remembered to have the camera ready for it, and there’s certainly no time once you see it.

DS3 then wanted to ride the Matterhorn, which he’d asked to ride on previous days, but the line was always long. This time the line wasn’t bad at all, so we ran around to the end, and I told him to hop out and get in line while I walked along in the stroller beside him (outside the chain fence.) Once we were toward the front of the ride I parked the stroller and joined him in line.

While we stood in line I saw something I’d only ever seen on TV before: a guy with an elaborate tattoo covering his entire neck. I couldn’t quite make out the nature of the tattoo, just that it had lots of beautiful, intricate swirling lines in it, It suddenly dawned on me as I studied the tattoo that the show I’d seen it on mentioned that these kind of tattoos were popular mainly with prison inmates and street gangs. Yikes! Just then the guy noticed me looking at him, and I smiled quickly and looked away, hoping my thoughts hadn’t been right on my face. I really need to work on that.

Soon we climbed into a car; I got myself seated and backpack settled on the floor, then got DS3 buckled in front of me. I hugged him tight as we took off. He was just oohing at the pretty glowing crystals when the Abominable Snowman growled at him and his eyes glowed in the dark! I felt DS3’s whole body shudder in fear, and felt like the worst mother in the world! I held him even tighter and talked to him until he relaxed a bit, and he was fine the rest of the ride. I guess it didn’t scar his little psyche too badly, because he wanted to go again as soon as we exited.

After EE was over, I popped DS3 back into the stroller and headed toward Space Mountain. DH told me that DS3 had gone on it with him on our last trip, but he wasn’t sure if DS had really enjoyed it or not. I loved it, and at the time rode it a couple of times with DS7, so I zipped over there and hoped for the best.

Of course the CM wanted to measure DS3, who is just an inch over the height restriction, so lots of other guests streamed into the ride while we waited for the CM to finish answering another guest’s questions. Finally we got the go ahead for the ride and walked up the ramp and straight into the building. The other times I’ve ridden this one, we’ve always looped around that upper story outside before entering the building, so I was hoping our wait was not that long.

A group of 4 giggly teenage girls asked me to take their photo with one’s cell phone, so I did. Then we were in the room with the big humming, glowing-red engine (or whatever that’s supposed to be), and DS3 was fascinated by it. We walked around the upper walkway, and he loved watching the neon lighted gates letting people onto the ride, and watched those who’d just ridden excitedly exit.

Soon it was our turn. I’d forgotten DH had advised using earplugs for DS3 since the ride was so loud, but I’d forgotten them. Ah, well. It didn’t seem to bother him at all, he just looked around and was happy when we got out. We went over to the wall to see our photo, but since we were in the back seats behind a couple of big guys, you could barely see me, and him not at all. Finally an excuse NOT to buy a photo!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

DS3 asked if we could ride Splash Mountain. He’d asked on the day we arrived, but it hadn’t been warm enough, so I kept putting him off. But already it was warm, and besides, it was our last day! It was now or never!

We walked across Tomorrowland to the railroad station, and boarded the next train. DS loved seeing the dinosaur dioramas, so I’m going to have to remember to go on that again our next trip. As we stopped at the Main St. station, a very nice man offered to take my stroller off the train for me, and I thanked him but said we were going on to New Orleans Square. Another short ride, mainly outdoors this time, and we had arrived in the Big Easy.

I carried the stroller down all the steps and pulled DS along by the hand, and after reaching the bottom and stepping out of the way of others, I unfolded the stroller and put him in it for the walk up to Critter Country.

He decided to ride Winnie the Pooh first. This was his first ride ever, and I’m so happy that he still loves it, because I love it, too. We skipped out the exit and before heading toward the Splash Mountain line, we noticed Tigger nearby! I asked if he wanted to see Tigger, and DS said yes, so we dashed over for a quick hug, photo and autograph.

Just up the walkway a bit, closer to the entrance to the Winnie the Pooh ride, was Pooh himself, and of course he wanted to meet him, too. This crowd was quite a bit bigger, so we had to wait, and there didn’t seem to be any CM controlling a line or anything. I tried to figure out when our turn would be based on who had been there when we showed up, but lots of kids kept pressing in from behind us and slipping past to meet Pooh. I kept a tight hold on DS, keeping him from doing the same, and finally let him go when I thought all those before us (and just as many others) had met Pooh. Just then a CM (or someone sounding more official) said, “OK, honey, you’ve been so patient, it’s your turn now.” A girl maybe 5yo started toward Pooh, but DS had already reached him by then, so the girl came back. The adult said, “You’ve been so good, so patient, I promise you’ll be next.”

I honestly didn’t know if this was a CM or perhaps just the child’s parent, and I didn’t see them there before us, but I felt a bit guilty just the same. I wish the CMs who help out a costumed character would be better at crowd control and forming lines so this sort of thing didn’t happen. Anyway, I was trying to get a photo of DS3 with Pooh during all this, and then gave Pooh the autograph stuff. Then the little girl was shoved up to Pooh, so I grabbed DS’s hand and pulled him away. He waved goodbye to Pooh, and Pooh waved back, so sweet!

OK! Finally, on to the ride both my boys talk about incessantly, Splash Mountain! Again he was measured and not thrown back, so he took off down the queue and I ran to keep up. We walked quite a way before reaching the end of the line, though inside the building it still felt like slower loading than normal. We used to ask to seat one of the kids in front, but I’d read on the DIS of a new height requirement of 5 feet for that seat. I’d heard that you could ask for your child to be in the 2nd seat and the front seat left empty, but DS just wanted to ride, so we took whatever we got.

DS likes the thrill of this ride, but also the singing and the character scenes. He always points out the rabbit and the silly bear and singing geese, so I can see why he loves this ride so much. We clap and sing along. Here’s his version:

Zippawee doodah, Zippawee ayyyy
My oh my, what a wunnafull day
Pentia sunshine comin’ my way
Zippawee doodah, Zippawee ayyy!
Mr. Boo bird on my show-der,
Zippawee doodah, Zippawee ayyy!

We really didn’t get terribly wet this time, and I was glad. I really didn’t want to show up for our lunch date looking like a drowned rat! A little wet on the seat of my shorts, and a few sprays on my t-shirt, nothing bad at all!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

By this time it was 11:00, and our lunch date at the Rainforest Café was for 11:30, so we left the park and went out through the gates to DTD. We walked up to the front of Rainforest Café, and were about 15 minutes early.

I called DH to let him know we were doing fine and still having a great time. I told him that DS3 was telling everyone he met about his big brother, and he laughed. He said, “Well, he really misses you, but I think he’s enjoying not having his little brother around.” DS3 is a bit of a handful, and we do what we can to encourage them to be good to one another, but some days it’s a struggle. DH also said I sounded terrible (I had a voice several octaves lower than normal, and occasionally it went out altogether), and he told me to stop by the hotel gift shop to see if they had any meds I could take. Good idea.

I think it was around 11:40 or 11:45, just long enough that I was starting to worry, when Sameyeyam and FunnyGarcia arrived. G and I had met on my last trip to DL, and I’d been wanting to meet Sam for so long, so I was pretty excited for this lunch! I introduced my son, and Sam introduced her teenage DD and DS9, and her DD’s friend.

They were all abuzz because they had just met a couple of other hyenas, Matterhorn and Disneegrl4eva, over in California Adventure park! They were were near the Grizzly River Run heading toward DTD when they heard a familiar voice say, “I don’t know, where do you want to go first?” G whirled around and saw a familiar kid hanging off the back of a familiar looking woman’s scooter, and called out to our other friends. Man! Can you believe it?! It’s enough trouble to try to arrange to meet somewhere, but what are the odds of just bumping into someone that you know? I thought that was hilarious!

FunnyG has some sort of RFC membership card which gets her priority seating as well as a freebie appetizer, so we got in to be seated fairly quickly. We were directed to the upper story of the restaurant, so we all trudged up a flight of stairs. The personnel up there directed us back to the front of the restaurant downstairs, indicating some mistake had been made, so this time we took the elevator down. Since we had a fairly large party of 7, traipsing through the crowded aisles was a bit cumbersome. Thankfully after a fairly short wait, they had a large booth ready for us.

DS3 was happy looking at all the rainforest vegetation and animals, and tropical fish in a fishtank. We ordered drinks and G’s freebie appetizer, and tried to chat while we figured out what to eat. I told G I had looked for her at the gate this morning, and she looked puzzled. I said Sam left me a message that she’d be there at 6:30, and they laughed. It turns out that Sam had offered to let G stay with them overnight, so G’s husband dropped her off Friday night at 6:30! G didn’t get up for EE, instead sticking with Sam and her troop for the day. Which is good; honestly, I’d pictured poor G standing somewhere all by herself, wondering where the rest of us were!

The teenage girls with Sam had each ordered some sort of drink that came with a cute little critter attached to their straws, and offered them to the boys. Sam’s boy chose first (I think it was a tiger, perhaps?) and DS3 was thrilled to accept a cute elephant toy. After a little prodding he smiled and said “thank you” to both girls, since he wasn’t sure which one had given him the elephant.

We chatted quite a bit waiting for the food, and my head began to feel heavy. I worried I was terrible company due to my sleepiness. They made jokes and I smiled wanly, but I just wanted to lay my head on the table. I figured that would be rude; Suck it up, girl! These are your friends! Make conversation! So I managed to keep my eyes open and tried to keep up with the conversation.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Once the food arrived, I ate in hopes that it would perk me up a bit. DS3 ate a bit, then started getting antsy, and at one point crawled under the table. I seriously hate it when he does this, so I pulled him up, only to have him head back under a few minutes later. Sam leaned over and said, “Shall I tell him the story of the Table Trolls?” I blinked a few times, then mumbled, “Ummm, sure.” (What?)

So she leans over so she can see DS under the table and starts to talk to him. She tells him that a long time ago she had another little boy, older than her DS9. She’d warned him about the Table Trolls that live under the table and eat little children who wander under there, but he didn’t listen. And one day he went under the table, and she never saw him again. That’s why she only has the two kids today.

I chuckled, thinking, “Nice try, Sam.” But darn it if that kid didn’t crawl back out from under the table and sit in his seat!

Of course soon enough he was climbing the back of the booth seat, but I was grateful for whatever help I could get.

Sam’s kids wanted to take off as soon as they were done eating, so she gave them their hotel key, and off they went. We lingered over the meal and chatted a bit more, then headed toward the exit. We got distracted by the RFC gift shop, which had all kinds of cute kids’ clothes and toys. I found a couple of embroidered t-shirts for the boys on clearance ($7 apiece!), and DS desperately wanted a tiny stuffed tiger ($6), so I got that as well. I noticed after we bought it that the tiger has a little pullstring. I asked DS what it did, and he said he didn’t know, so we pulled it. It gave a loud, lifelike growl and the tiger vibrates!

After a trip to the loo, we stepped out into the sunshine again to say our goodbyes. I insisted on getting a photo of the two of them for my scrapbook, and they reluctantly obliged me. With the angle of the sun there wasn’t really an ideal spot, so we opted for in front of a menu sign. A couple of kids had been hanging on the sign and goofing around, so Sam shooed them away (or so she says.) Actually Sam and G just wandered in front of the sign next to the kids, and when the kids saw my camera they slithered away.

The first shot is a typical vacation shot, looks like two typical suburban moms in front of a sign. On the next one I don’t know what happened, did I ask them to do something? Arms are raised, heads are thrown back with mouths open, and it’s pretty darn funny!

They sounded like they wanted us to come and play with them some more, but I could barely see straight by then, and begged off in favor of a nap. I think DS3 would have happily stayed with them, but I wanted to make sure he had a good nap as well. I hoped to stay up late on our last night, so we both needed some good rest! So we said our goodbyes and headed toward the Paradise Pier Hotel.

On the way I got a call on my phone. Surprise! It was Matterhorn and Disneegrl4eva! They said they’d just arrived (I told them I already knew that, and how) and we laughed. I asked how they’d ended up at DL, because didn’t Disneegrl just fly out to Vegas to spend the week with Matterhorn and her kids? Yes, and apparently because of a canceled January Disney trip, they decided spur of the moment to go to DL on the weekend!

They wanted to get together, but I said we were just headed to our hotel to nap, and it was our last day at DL. As it turned out, we both had reservations for dinner at Storytellers that evening, so I said I’d call and see if we could all be together on one reservation.

I did find some DayQuil at the gift shop, and bought it before we headed to our room. I called Disney Dining, and was able to change my PS to a party of 7 at 6:10. Sweet! I let Disneegrl4eva know, took some DayQuil, and then crawled into bed.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I did manage to sleep a bit, though it didn’t feel like the DayQuil had dried me out any. Still, I felt a bit refreshed, and when DS woke we quickly dressed and headed to the Grand Californian for our dinner reservation.

We got to Storytellers a bit early (5:50ish) and kept an eye out for the hyenas. They arrived pretty close to the PS time. I had never met these two in person before, and was thrilled to finally do so. Matterhorn had been through some tough times of late, and when I gave her a hug, she held it a bit longer, so I hugged her extra tight. And Disneegrl, who has a personality bigger than life, is surprisingly short of stature, which I’ll admit made me giggle a bit.

DS3 really took a shine to Matterhorn’s DD7, and they became fast friends. Matterhorn’s DS2 slept while his two older sisters played in the grass nearby with some other kids. I didn’t dare let DS3 loose for fear I wouldn’t be fast enough to catch him when he took off! Fortunately he was pretty good natured about being tied up in the stroller watching other kids play.

I’m not sure what was going on at the restaurant that evening, but we waited almost an hour and a half past our PS time to be seated! Finally we were offered a table around 7:30.

I had felt a bit perky until we sat for a bit, then had the urge to lay down my head again. We ordered our food, and it took awhile to arrive, but fortunately they gave us bread and drinks while we waited. DS3 filled up on bread so that when his food arrived he was too full to eat. All he wanted to do was horse around with the other kids at the table. Thankfully they have better table manners, so a little order was maintained.

I had a lovely fried chicken meal that I was crushed to discover I could not taste. I could taste earlier in the day, but now that I was eating perhaps the most yummy meal of my stay, that sense was gone. Fabulous! I nibbled a few bites just because, but I really had no interest in eating. After a bit I asked Disneegrl if she’d watch DS while I used the restroom. I blew my nose in the bathroom, and suddenly my head cleared up, it was the darndest thing!

When I returned to the table I could taste the food a bit, so managed to eat a few more bites before giving up, I just wasn’t that hungry.

Matterhorn invited us to join them in DCA to watch the Electrical Parade, and Disneegrl said she was not going to watch the parade, she wanted to go on the Tower of Terror. Matterhorn urged her to go by herself. I said I’d never been on that ride, and Disneegrl said I really needed to go on it with her! Matterhorn agreed wholeheartedly, and offered to watch DS3 with the other kids during the parade. I wasn’t sure how that would sit with DS, but it turned out he was too busy playing with Matterhorn’s DD7 to notice that I was even trying to speak with him. I finally managed to tell him the parade was starting and I’d be right back, and he nodded and turned his attention back to the kids.