Are you scared yet? My October 2016 Trip Updated 11/6

[Kindermouse]

I know what your thinking. October is still so far away. Anything you plan know will get changed and cancelled a hundred times before then. Your probably right...but the planning is part of the fun.

So, long story short, I am planning a trip to DLR for the first week of October and I am taking my DS 13, my niece 5 (wil be 6 next week), and my nephew 8 (will be 9 during the trip). That's 3 kids and just one little old me. We all have AP's and I have the time off work paid and the kids all have the week off school for fall break so it's a pretty cheap and easy trip which is good for this single mom.

I have never taken extra kids to Disneyland by myself before and I would be lying to say it doesn't make me a little nervous. Also my son has neurological disabilities so vacations can get a little hairy even without the extra kids. Also my niece has many food allergies including but not limited to: Peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, milk/dairy, shellfish, citrus fruits and more. Infact there are so many it's hard to remember them all. I have never actually given her her epipen before and I hope I never have too. Did I bite off more than I can chew...I usually do.

So what have I got planned so far? Transportation-driving which is a no brainer when you live only a 5 hour drive away and your bringing extra kids. The hotel is booked-4 nights 5 days at the Desert Inn and Suites. And I just made my new Disney Dollars Savings Jar and I have saved 75 dollars to put in the jar in the last 3 weeks. Now only 1000000 more details to plan.

 

[Kindermouse]

I ordered some Disney dollars yesterday, since we won't be able to get them at Disneyland this time . I know, I know, I can still get gift cards but it's not nearly as fun. Disney dollars are just cool.

I have been going back and forth all week about Mickeys Halloween party. For 4 it would be a lot of money for a budget trip. But, it's part of what makes October at Disney special and having less crowded park time is so awesome. But then again can I really afford to spend the extra money? So still undecided I guess. I know I need to make up my mind in the next few weeks because if I do decide to do a Halloween party I need to buy the tickets before it sells out.

I have also been looking up the allergy menus and trying to determine our dining options. I always bring most food with me but I like to eat in the park atleast a little. I called today about allergy information about the food for Aladdins Oasis for the paint the night to go meal. I was told I should talk to the special diets people directly because the people who answer the phone may not always have the most up to date and and with severe allergies all safety procautions that can be taken should be. I sent them an email (FYI their email is special.diets@disneyland.com). I'm really hoping that they can accomidate my nieces allergies so we can get good seating for the parade and have a reasonably priced dining option. If they can't I think I might ask if I can somehow just purchase her a fastpass and meals with the fastpass for the rest of us. She is kind of used eating apaches meal around everyone who gets to have a resturant meal.

Incase anyone was curious what this band of scariness looks like. so this is us.

 

[tjcrabb]

We always use the party ticket as a park day. We do brunch at Goofy's (I am a special diet person as well ) then head to DTD for a little while. We then go in to the parks the earliest we are allowed in and enjoy the rest of the evening. I brought a friend last year (adult) and you should have seen her eyes light up at the trick or treat stations. She demanded we visit everyone of them, she isn't really a candy person either.

 

[Jaina]

Following along! Planning our trip for late November, so I don't think you're jumping the gun too much. Our drive is closer to 6 hours, and we're bringing more kids, but it sounds similar! We have a few food issues too (DH is celiac, and my 2-year-old is sensitive to dairy and corn) so it will be interesting to see what kind of information you get. We bring a lot of our own food in too, for budget and health reasons. (Partially so we don't all feel icky and bloated from too much fried food/sugar when we're supposed to be having fun!)

 

[Kindermouse]

So I got a gargantuan email back from special diets yesterday. It was really long but it didn't actually give much more specific food information than I can find through a combination of the Disboards and the official Disneyland dining website. However attached to the email was a form to fill out about all the members of our party with food allergies. You also put your reservation number on the form so that when you turn in the form it connects the info you provide to your reservations which I though was especially nice since I can have my sister fill it out about all of my nieces allergies since there are so many of them and I sure don't want to forget one. I was also very impressed with disneys dedication guest safety in regards to food allergies when I read that they have specially trained personnel at many quick service places to help maintain food safety for guests with allergies.

Here is the email:
You may be interested to know that the Walt Disney World Resort along
with Disneyland Resort have begun to introduce menus to assist Guests
with special dietary needs. These new allergy-friendly menus provide
allergen content for each menu item, making informed choices easier upon
arrival. Menu selections include appetizers (where applicable), entrées,
side items, desserts and kids' meals, and focuses on the most common
allergens: gluten/wheat, dairy, peanut, tree nut, soy, shellfish, and
fish. Although these new menus are available, Guests are still able to
consult directly with a restaurant chef or special diets trained cast
member upon request. We also encourage guests to continue to communicate
special dietary needs to our restaurant Cast Members once they arrive,
as this allows our culinary team to take extra measures during
preparation to prevent the introduction of the allergen.

As safety is our number one priority, we are sending the most updated
information regarding the special dietary process. I apologize for any
duplicate information.

Disneyland Resort Food & Beverage team is committed to offering a wide
range of options to accommodate Guests with food allergies or
intolerances. When booking your dining reservations, please be sure to
advise the Cast Member of your special dietary restrictions. If you book
online, please make sure you include your dietary restrictions on each
reservation. If you have already booked your reservations and you are
not sure if you included the restrictions, please contact Disney Dine
Line at (714) 781-DINE or (714) 781-3463. Guests are also welcome to
speak to a Chef or a Manager on duty when arriving at the dining
location.

Whether dining at a Table Service or Quick Service restaurant, Guest
food allergy or intolerance requirements will be addressed when brought
to our attention. Due to the large volume of meals we serve, vendors and
suppliers occasionally swap out product. Therefore menu items and
preparation is often updated.

Disneyland Resort will use reasonable efforts to prevent the
introduction of the allergen of concern into the food through close
attention during our sourcing, preparation and handling processes.
However, it is ultimately up to the Guest to use his or her individual
discretion to make an informed choice regarding whether to order any
particular items. Disneyland Parks and Resorts cannot guarantee that
allergens may not have been introduced during another stage of the food
chain process or, even inadvertently, during preparation. We do not have
separate kitchens to prepare allergen-friendly items or separate dining
areas for Guests with allergies or intolerances.

Table Service restaurants that accept reservations at Disneyland Resort
can accommodate most food allergies or intolerances.

Common Food Allergies include:

- gluten or wheat
- shellfish
- soy
- lactose or dairy
- peanuts and tree nuts
- fish
- eggs
- corn

If a member of your party has any of the common food allergies listed
above, please speak with a Cast Member when arriving at the dining
location. They will be happy to assist with your selection and provide
allergy-friendly menus as well as product labels for menu items.

Guests having requests associated with the list below should fill out
the attached Guest Allergy Dietary Request Form and return it by email
to special.diets@disneyland.com or fax to 714-781-4519. Be sure to
list the restaurant names, reservation number(s) and dates where you
plan to dine. This way we can alert all the various restaurant Chefs
and Managers of your upcoming visit and there would be no need for you
to contact the individual restaurants directly. For the safest and
smoothest service possible, we encourage you to return the completed
form no earlier than 30 days prior to your arrival date.

- PKU
- Metabolic disorders
- A single Guest with 4 or more common allergies/intolerances

The Quick Service locations listed below have menu items or products
that, upon request, may accommodate common food allergy or intolerance
requirements.

Disneyland Park:
- Galactic Grill
- Hungry Bear Restaurant
- Jolly Holiday Bakery Café
- Plaza Inn
- Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante
- Redd Rockett's Pizza Port
- Refreshment Corner
- Village Haus Restaurant

Disney California Adventure Park:
- Award Weiners
- Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta
- Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill
- Flo's V8 Café
- Lucky Fortune Cookery
- Smokejumpers Grill

Most Quick Service locations in the Disneyland Resort Hotels are able to
accommodate special dietary needs and provide menu items and ingredients
upon request. All of our Quick Service locations have Designated Trained
Cast Members that are happy to discuss and attempt to accommodate all
dietary requests once you arrive in the location in which you plan to
dine. In order to ensure the safety of our Guests, at each Quick Service
location there are specific people who have been trained to take and
fill special dietary orders. Each of these Cast Members has taken
extensive training to better understand and handle special dietary
needs. Because of menu changes, availability of special dietary
products, and possible cross-contamination of which the cashiers and
front of line Cast Members might not be aware; each location has
specific people on hand to give the safest service possible. The larger
Quick Service locations tend to have more items on hand and a Designated
Trained Cast Member is generally more readily available.

For prepackaged items, we recommend that Guests read the ingredient list
on the label before purchasing any product.

All Chefs in our Theme Parks and Resorts are trained to handle allergies
and take every precaution against any cross contact. As mentioned
previously, due to the large volume of meals we serve, vendors and
suppliers occasionally swap out product. Therefore, menu items and
preparation are often updated. We encourage you to alert the Cast
Members of your special dietary request when you arrive at the
restaurant. They will be happy to assist with your selection and provide
allergy-friendly menus as well as product labels for menu items.

If you have any questions and would like to speak with someone at the
Special Diets Team, please reply to this email with your daytime
telephone number and someone from this team would be happy to reach out
to you at their earliest convenience.

The restaurants will do their best to accommodate Guest dietary
requirements, but cannot guarantee they will be able to meet all
requests. For additional information, we encourage you to visit our
website
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/special-dietary-requests
/

Wishing you a magical visit!




Also I was excited to get my Disney dollars! I didn't get nearly enough, since I'm still in the process of saving and I'm pretty dead set against using credit cards for vacations but it was nice to get some before they are discontinued forever. The problems is that now I kinda don't want to spend them, becuase they are the last Disney dollars we will ever get.

 

[Kindermouse]

We always use the party ticket as a park day. We do brunch at Goofy's (I am a special diet person as well ) then head to DTD for a little while. We then go in to the parks the earliest we are allowed in and enjoy the rest of the evening. I brought a friend last year (adult) and you should have seen her eyes light up at the trick or treat stations. She demanded we visit everyone of them, she isn't really a candy person either.

We have done that in the past, and it is surely more budget conscious than buy park tickets and party tickets. We all have APs this year though so the real question is, can I come up with an extra 320ish dollars. I'm very against debt so I never charge things I can't afford but I'm really starting to consider putting part tickets on my credit card. I keep rationalizing it in my head.

My niece and nephew have never seen DL done up for Halloween and never been to a party and I can't help but smile just thinking about their faces when they step into the magic.

 

[Kindermouse]

Following along! Planning our trip for late November, so I don't think you're jumping the gun too much. Our drive is closer to 6 hours, and we're bringing more kids, but it sounds similar! We have a few food issues too (DH is celiac, and my 2-year-old is sensitive to dairy and corn) so it will be interesting to see what kind of information you get. We bring a lot of our own food in too, for budget and health reasons. (Partially so we don't all feel icky and bloated from too much fried food/sugar when we're supposed to be having fun!)

Celiac and corn allergies. Ugh. My son is allergic to corn but the older he gets the less he reacts to it, but corn is in everything I swear.

I'll be following your PTR too!

 

[Jaina]

Celiac and corn allergies. Ugh. My son is allergic to corn but the older he gets the less he reacts to it, but corn is in everything I swear.

I'll be following your PTR too!

Thankfully he's just sensitive (and it's gotten calmer as he grows - he's only 2.5). I have a friend whose baby is super allergic, and there has been almost nothing she can eat while nursing him! Corn really IS in everything!

 

[DisneylandDarling]

Fun! We're also going in October!

I would totally do the Halloween party! We've done a few parties in the past and they are so amazing! We're hoping to do 2 on our trip in October. I can't wait!

 

[Kindermouse]

So I stopped reporting here for while a few reasons. 1-there wasnt much to report other putting some money in our disney jar...only to take it back out and have to spend it on an unexpected expense. . aso there was me scouring the internet for hyde or hair of information about DLR Halloween time or the halloween parties.

When the information was finally released I knew a few things. 1. I would need to make the purchase of the tickets work since it would be our only chance to see a nighttime parade (even if it is only a cavalcade) and fireworks that last more than 5 minutes, and 2-I was going to go very simple on my costume to prevent any chance of it not working out. 3. I would be riding TOT and getting the photo so that I could remember it since this would be my last chance to ride.

Then I managed to get another 100 in disney gift cards in the jar...which I spent to soften the blow when I bought our HALLOWEEN PARTY TICKETS!

I am a teacher and I just changed schools and grade levels, which you may not know causes a lot of extra work for a teacher. So this summer, rather than spending my days dreaming and about and planning out my fabulous Fall trip I was packing, then moving furniture, then sort out supplies (a lot of my school things were pretty kindergarten specific and would be useless in third grade), then moving my stuff into my new room and unpacking, and then finally starting to learn the new standards and curriculum for third grade. Plus school started on the 27th and I had to report to school for training days starting july 21.

But the 21st was the first day halloween party tickets go on pre-sale for annual pass holders. Ugh, I got home at 7:00 pm and I almost forgot to buy my tickets. Thankfully I just had to check in on the DIS before going comatose for the evening and I saw an explosion of activity on halloween time thread. AAAAHHHHH gotta buy my tickets.

The process was in fact quick and painless. I went online and, after a few final minutes of waffling over dates (Monday would be fun since it's our arrival day...but we will be tired from getting up early that day to get on the road by 5:00 am...but Wednesday would be smack dab in the middle of our stay and we might be tired from late nights combined with ear rope drops...but monday is the day following gay days weekend so it will be extra crowded...what to do...what to do...heck with it were going on Wednesday) I made my selection and had my etickets in no time.

 

[Kindermouse]

My ADRs have been made!

It was an exciting week with ADR's opening up and I of course I just had to do a bit more waffling. I made ADR's and then I cancelled ADR's and then I changed the times of the new ones I had made. It is a very good thing that we are going to DisneyLAND and not Disney World because otherwise I likely would have ended up swapping myself right out of any availability.

The places I settled on for our 3 table service meals are Blue Bayou, Carnation Cafe, and Cafe Orleans. I am not at all sure if we will do a WOC package so I guess it's a good thing they haven't released those yet huh.

We will be having a special Birthday Lunch for my 34th birthday at Blue Bayou on Monday-arrival day. I MUST eat by the water so that is why I ended up going with a lunch rather than a dinner. Since that is a party night, a party that we arent going to, the latest ADR for the day was 4:50. I had booked it, thinking I wanted to do dinner, but then I got some feedback from other Dis'ers and I realized that If I wanted to sit by the water the last ADR of the day was a risky choice. If they are trying to change over to a special dining experience for the party like they did last year they are not going to want to accommodate my requests if it will make my meal run later. So, with a water side table gleaming like a shiny new toy just within my grasp I made a lunch ADR.

I also ordered a custom cake for my birthday. The guy I spoke to with Dining was all about the "yes". Yes they can make a gluten-free, nut-free, soy free cake. Yes I can get it with red velvet cake and fondant. Yes I can get a nightmare before christmas theme with a black and purple color scheme and Jack Skellington on top.

Actually it was almost too easy...now Im worried. What if that guy is full of bologna and just likes to make promises he cant keep? Should I have insisted on speak to the baker myself? He asked what to write on the top and I said "Happy Birthday Jessica" but he didn't have me spell it. what if he misspelled my name. AAAAAAHHHHHH! To many what ifs, and all of those what ifs have a story that goes along with them right here on the Dis in the cake thread. for now I'll take a deep breath...and call Dining tomorrow.

The allergy form from the special diets people doesnt need to be submitted for another few weeks. So I guess thats all for tonight.

 

[Meldev]

Following along! Also going first week of Oct (for 3 days)...I have 4 kids and may have them sans DH on the first day of the visit.

Looks like you already purchased your MHP Tix?
I was going to suggest opening a Disney Visa - you'd get a gift card I believe of some value, as well as discount on some weekday MHP party Tix (it's like $7/ticket but it's something $42 saving for my family).

Have fun planning - I'm so used to WDW planning this is so different!

 

[Kindermouse]

Following along! Also going first week of Oct (for 3 days)...I have 4 kids and may have them sans DH on the first day of the visit.

Looks like you already purchased your MHP Tix?
I was going to suggest opening a Disney Visa - you'd get a gift card I believe of some value, as well as discount on some weekday MHP party Tix (it's like $7/ticket but it's something $42 saving for my family).

Have fun planning - I'm so used to WDW planning this is so different!

Yes have had our tix since 7/21 since we are AP holders. luckily we also got the discount. I know 7 bucks doesn sound like much but its nearly a dole whip and a churro each.

 

[Kindermouse]

My ADR's have changed. Imagine that-after all the time I spent coming up with the most perfect table service meal days and times!

After the announcement that the MHP BB dinner would not be the 3 hour long Mystical spirits of the BB but instead would be a regular dining experience with parade seating I switched my BB dinner to the 4:00 special event dinner at the BB for our MHP on the 5th. It will be my birthday dinner with my cake and I'll be in costume as Sally when I get it! How fun is that. I'll even be done in time for the Toon Town preparty, Yea! If the spot isn't the best for watching the fireworks too we can always move on down the street after the parade-it's still better for me than having to spend too much time during our halloween party holding our spot for the parade.


But this meant that I would need to cancel my late lunch ADR for Carnation Cafe that I had for that day. Well now all my ADR's would be better off being switched around. luckily I didn't have any trouble there since this is DisneyLAND. I think I'm in big trouble when we head off to the WORLD next year where all the shifting around just wont fly.

Since I was moving things around and I saw a 7:10am plaza Inn character breakfast ADR I decided to snap it up. Since we are all going to the parks with AP's and we're not staying onsite we don't have any MM's but with the Minnie's Breakfast we can still get in early. Yippy. I havent done this before though so i'll have to ask around the Dis how early entry for a character breakfast works. After breakfast I'll get the little guys signed up for Jedi Training and then grab SM FP's. It sounds to me like a sound plan for a Tuesday morning.

I have also picked some of my Disneybounds. I went through my closet with a glass of wine and an eye for inspiration and I settled on Snow White, Jack Skellington, and tuxedo Mickey. I have a black and white striped sundress that I will wear with black capri leggings (cause being in a dress getting in and out of rides makes me nervous) with. For Snow I'll actually be wearing one of my "teachers shirts" since it is royal blue with a sparkly red apple on the front with a pair of yellow capris, a red belt and a red bow headband. For tuxedo Mickey I'll be wearing red leggings with a white pintuck high-low blouse and a black shrug with a yellow necklace.

29 days to go!

 

[Jaina]

Catching up! I'm glad you were able to buy your Halloween tickets, and I'm excited to see pics of your Disneybounds! They sound fun!

 

[Kindermouse]

Day 1 4:30 doesn’t come easy

The night before our trip all the kids slept over since we planned to leave at 4:30 am. We loaded most of the luggage into the car the night before so we could just get up and go. The problem with that however was that my niece and nephew wanted to sleep in my bed. They both sprawl out and kick in their sleep so I was relegated to the couch where I got about 3 hours of sleep. I gave up at about 3:00 and started loading the car with the food and bags with expensive items in them like iPads. I dressed and had coffee and turned on the car to warm it and turned on the heater so everyone would be warm and comfy and able to sleep. My 13-year-old was up and actually helping me-why couldn’t he get up this easily on school days? I then planned to load a couple of sleeping bundles into the backseat and get in a few hours of driving however this is where my plans very first plans started to go sideways. Kids who would normally sleep through atomic war woke up on the walk to the car and said with bleary eyes “are we going to Disneyland now?”. when I said “yes we are but it’s a long drive so you should go back to sleep” those bleary eyes got more focused, and opened wider and wider. As we drove off everyone was as wide awake as they could be.

And then 15 minutes from my front door…we hit traffic. Monday morning traffic. I didn’t realize it started at 4:30. The kids were instantly full of questions and a few complaints. “why is there traffic?”, “is it going to be like this the whole way?”. “Do you remember the time when…”. “This one time at band camp...”. ok not the last one but every other story and question they could be in the most remote way related to this moment was rehashed.


Luckily after about 20 minutes we finally got to the I5 where it was smooth, dark and boring sailing and everyone else fell back asleep. I put on a nice audiobook with an earbud in one ear and I settled in for the drive.

Except, remember how I had all that time to drink coffee that morning. Well about hour later you can guess what I needed to do. But it was only 6:00 and the kids wouldn’t have had enough sleep yet
I knew if I pulled into a brightly lit and noisy gas station it would be over. I managed another half hour before I gave in. that meant the kids were now awake about an hour earlier than their usually wake up time and they had been up for nearly an hour when we first left the house so I was going to be dealing with some very tired kiddos on day one of our trip and I had to listen to them for the next 4 hours on the road assuming we would need at least 2 more potty stops. I could just curse my short sighted coffee gulping ways.

If you have ever travelled long distance in car with a child with Tourette syndrome, ADHD and OCD before you’ll know I was right to be afraid. It was a noisy ride filled with eccentricities that are a bit harder to ignore when your all strapped in for hours together. But we all survived It! Everyone woke up and stayed awake for the rest of the drive. I gave ETA updates every 20 minutes for the next 4 hours. The windows went up and down 3 times every hour on the hour. Luckily we hit only a little bit of traffic in LA and finally pulled into the Desert Inn and Suites at about 10:30 in the morning. Too early to get into our room of course but we could still check in and use their bathroom to get the kids changed into their park clothes. We were at the turnstiles by 11:00 and excitedly marching down main street shortly thereafter. We had to stop at City Hall for our DAS and so we hopped into the first of many lines.

When we got to the counter I did the usual explaining of my sons needs and that we had gotten the DAS for them before. Well this CM then informed me that I shouldn’t have gotten a DAS. She told me that they are only for people with Autism and Down Syndrome. She would check with some else about what to do. She then came back and informed me rather brusquely me that she would give me the DAS for this trip but that I shouldn’t try to get one again since my son doesn’t have Autism or Down syndrome and that is who it is for. This was so at odds with how we were used to being treated at city hall that I was a bit taken a back. I had always had stellar experiences with CM’s who were filled with compassion and understanding and who just seemed to exude a sense of caring. I left City Hall feeling like she saw me as a jerk trying to abuse the system and get accommodations my child didn’t deserve. I decided to shake it off. I was in the happiest place on earth after all and I wasn’t going to give into to the grumpies.

SO I asked the kids, what do you want to ride first and it was unanimous. “Space Mountain” they joyfully cried in collective excitement that made my heart grow 3 sizes. On our way over we grabbed Buzz and Star Tours FP’s. Everyone was even chipper enough to shared their packed snacks while we waited to ride. It was great and I got my first of very few pictures of the trip.

View attachment 200098

 

[Kindermouse]

There is a lot of Space in Disneyland…Did Walt Disney Wanna be an Astronaut?

We grabbed FP’s for both Star tours and Buzz light year. Everyone was captivated by my esoteric knowledge that you could have 2 FP’s at once if one of them was for Buzz. Yeah I’m a pretty learned person. Lol. While we waited for those we saw that Autotopia was only a 15-minute wait. Score! Autotopia was on my nephews list of must do’s.

(side note: I have heard Autotopia get a lot of grief around the boards for not being cool/fun/relevant enough of an attraction and I have to say the 3 kids with me on this trip would totally disagree. We rode Autotopia more and another ride on the trip. They couldn’t get enough of it and it never wore out its welcome in their hearts. I now hope and pray every night that it is the closest my niece ever come to driving-the little thing is a menace behind the wheel)

We zig-zagged and over corrected our way down the course banging along the track the entire way while my niece white knuckled it down the “road” looking not unlike Mr. Toad himself on her very own wild ride.

After we got off we walked over to get a return time using our DAS for the Nemo Subs. This was my nieces must do ride. It was 40 minute wait so we walked over to Buzz to use our FP’s. It was Fun as usual. While I didn’t get the best score of my space blasting career I did beat the tiny tot next me so I didn’t go out in flaming disgrace either.



After we got off of Buzz I told the kids we had about 15 more minutes before our next trip into space so we should have a snack. My niece looked at me and said “there is a lot of space here auntie it this Space land?” “No”, I replied “This is Tomorrowland It’s supposed to be about the future”. She thought about this for a minute and the responded “If Walt Disney thought the future was all about space then he must have wanted to be an astronaut”. You gotta love the leaps in logic that go through the mind of 6 year olds.

So we were onto Star Tours and all this space was creating bit of a wave of excitement. It turns out that my niece and nephew didn’t know anything about Star Tours and it was their first time ever being on it. Apparently their parents don’t know how to have good time. They weren’t sure about it as we were walking in but I assured them they would have great time and they it wouldn’t be scary (this would be a repeating theme during our trip as they little guys seemed to be constantly worried that things would be too scary). They enjoyed the droid in the line area and they got a kick out of the preflight safety video. During the part where the ewoks are getting seated she said- “do those little things ride on this ride with us?”. Sorry little sister no cuddly furry ewoks would be making the trip from Endor on this flight. When the ride started they were captivated. I heard several giggles and “wows” and when it was over they wanted to go again. Sorry, not time for now. It’s time for my ride pick before we head back to the Nemo Subs, and my pick is the ever hilarious and previous closed-for-a-refurb Jungle Cruise.

We walked on over and by the time we got there everyone wanted another snack-but not the ones we had pack. Oh no they wanted Pineapple spear and giant pickles and soda. It was pretty hot and I was getting sweaty and thirsty too so this sounded pretty good. OK, and so it begins. We sat down in the shade of the little store across from the Dole Whip Stand (the line was too long for a Dole whip at this point since it was hot and sweaty for everyone in the park) and we munched out pineapples and pickles and drank a sprite. Then we got in line for the Jungle cruise.

The line was about 20 minutes which is about the longest my son can wait in a line but this line was very smooshed and he had a hard time with it. The more claustrophobic a line the tougher it seems to be. I could see his body get more and more tense as the time went on. He also started grouching at everyone which is also a telltale sign that he isn’t handling a queue well and that he is struggling to not be able to perform his compulsions (he touches sign posts at the corners 3 times and washes his hands or he might go into one of the shops and counts their electrical outlets for whatever reason these things are calming for him and he feels like has to do them or he is going to be grievously injured). Really squished lines are the hardest because he knows he couldn’t leave the line in an emergency in needed to because there isn’t anywhere to go.

But finally we were on the boat. Yea! And our skipper was pretty good and the jokes we nice and corny (That snake there is a confirmed bachelor. He decided that relationships with other snakes weren’t worth it because they have to many hisssss-y fits and they are too clingy…hardy har har).

After the Jungle cruise we started to hit the wall of exhaustion. We started to make our way back to the Subs but we hit a solid wall of people. The Soundsational parade was just finishing with Mary Poppins and her rooftop dancing chimney sweeps tapping along to ‘Stepping Time” and the party guests for that nights MHP were arriving. Two tidal waves of people were hitting each other with a crash. We struggled to take even a single step in this crowd. What a rookie move for me-I know better than to be on Main Street when the party guest are arriving.

Ugh after a few minutes the kids said- “we wanna leave”. “What about the Nemo Subs?” I asked. They all shook their heads. The littlest one shouted out “Let’s just go swimming instead”. Alright. We walked over to the hotel and got our room. We would be all the way in the back on the top floor room 328. The kids had asked for the top floor at check-in but I had hoped to be toward the front. The rooms in front at the desert Inn tend to be a bit roomier and nicer, however the ones in the back are quieter so fine. We got a handy capped accessible room. Not sure why since we didn’t request that but whatever.



They jumped around and selected their beds and made their first of several messes getting into their swimsuits. The walked over to the pool and swam and laughed and had a wonder time until we took in an early dinner in our room, watched movie on the Disney channel went to be by 8:30-absolutely pooped by our first day.

 

[Kindermouse]

Day 2: Baboons, and Tiggers and Bears Oh My!

We had a very early morning planned for day 2 so it was a good thing we had tucked in early. Because of our 7:10 Minnie and Friends ADR we needed to be up at 6:00. I got up even earlier to pack up the stroller and double check that we had everything we needed (lanyards, AP’s, money, phones, sun glasses, sunscreen, band aides, chapstick, gum. water, juice pouches, fruit and crackers) and make a first cup of coffee or I would never make past security without causing someone grievous bodily harm. I also needed to make sure my photopass+ was in order so we could get our character dining photos.

No one wanted to get up. I got my nephew up first since he would be the most chipper. He wanted to text him mom so they texted a bit. My niece has a reputation for sleeping like the dead and making the family late for school because she is so hard to wake so she was next. I tried some very good natured morning kisses. That got me nowhere. On to some tickles. I definitely saw iris’s for a flash. Well that promising. I doubled down and tickled and smooched and sang this is the day the Lord has made. Finally I got one slanted peeked eye and small smile, alright! We dressed and put her hair in a neat braid while the boys decided to face tine grandma. I doubt she was expecting that at 6:15 in the morning. Grandma was also on vacation Capitola Beach so I just say they were helping her enjoy sunrise at the beach.



I felt like it was pulling teeth to get everyone out the door. But finally-15 minutes late might I add we were on our way to our character breakfast. 6:45 for a 7:10 reservation isn’t that bad right…wrong! I hadn’t anticipated how crowded that 7:00am MM would be. Getting through security took about 15 minutes. The lines at the turnstiles were nuts. Then I thought I reached the character breakfast entrance and it was 30 deep at least. I got in line and asked my son too walk upto thefront and check that we were in the right place. I felt certain that this couldn’t be the right line-but it was the lines closest to DTD that I could see. His response.” I cant”. “I cant walk up there when its so crowded” there is too many people. I know that he gets like this-cant leave my side in a crowd, feels like the world is in defcon 4 when we are in crowded unfamiliar situations and yet I’ll admit I was annoyed. I’m not asking for the moon here. I can tell by the look on his face that he isn’t going to feel any better with the idea the he holds are line spot while I walk up there. Fine let the 9 year old walk up and get a closer look at the sign. I send him up and comes back-yep it’s the character breakfast spot. No... Freaking …Way. I am about to let the defeat sink in when I look up and see a lady in uniform a few gates away standing out from with absolutely no one in front of her. This must be it-she is not stand there for the fun it so there must be a reason and the reason it surely to help me arrive on time to my ADR. It was 7:05 when I finally found the character breakfast entrance and I was flustered. I was…snippy. You see I HATE it when the best laid plans go sideways and I HATE being late. Luckily it was simple and fast to get in through the correct character breakfast entrance and I was on main street in a jiffy.

I arrived at 7:12. Not exact but not bad either. I checked in. I got the wrong reservation at first-same last name but no my first name isn’t Jody and I have no plans of turning this little shindig into a party of 9. Glad I fixed that before I got wrung up-wouldn’t that have been a surprise. We got our picture and went on is to a totally empty Plaza Inn. Funny thing about the photopass pictures at Plaza in-it was just us. No character (presumably Minnie) to take a picture with. At Goofy’s you get a picture with him out front, at Ariels you get a picture with her (I cant remember if we got one with stitch out front at the Surfs Up breakfast) but at Plaza it was just a picture of us.




We see Minnie on our way in and while I’m busy paying my niece rushes up to her, tells her that she is dressing up as her for Halloween. Minnie is very sweet and points to the Minnie on my niece’s skirt and puts her hands over her heart in joy. The hostess shows us to our table and the chief came by to talk about my nieces allergies. Apparently there is citrus in the eggs-but no worries they would make her a fresh batch citrus free. This nice calm and uncrowded environment helped my son settle down and get comfortable. Yea!

The characters started to arrive right away. First we got Chip-and I mixed him up with Dale. He pointed to his nose-yes I know the one had the black nose and one had the red nose but which name goes with which nose alluded my sleepy brain. I just kept calling the guy the wrong name so he makes a motion to the kids that I’m crazy. Yeah you live in a tree with you manic brother and tease everyone by throwing nuts at them-the very nuts you need to store up for winter and I’m the crazy one…right. People in bark houses shouldn’t throw acorns dude. We hugged. We laughed. We got a few pictures.





Then I see Rafiki-the wise ape medicine man with a plan himself and I just can’t help myself I starting sing the circle of life to him and hold up the smallest child. I’m not sure what came over me, as im not usually quite so silly but I just couldn’t help myself in the moment. He raised his hands to the heavens and either blesses or curses my littlest one. Either way it was majestic and how will I know the difference anyway unless wildebeests stampede through our downtown. I’m not too worried. More laughter and pictures. But what is this-we still haven’t bothered to get any food. I am now on food and beverage duty so I head out to fill plates for everyone. My son- who is having fun now since his mom had clearly lost it- is on picture duty if anyone should come by while I’m gone.







They are just snapping a few with tigger when I get back laden with plates, trays and cups of juice (and more coffee of course). My niece has been delivered her personal plate of citrus and dairy free eggs. And some other nut free, soy free, dairy free, gluten free offerings. She is happy. We are all having a blast and I am reassured that it was worth the price. I even got us some mickey waffles. Yippy!







Next comes Eeyore and we chat and I ask him if he is feeling happy or glum today. He points to a missing tail. Oh no, we all fawn over his poor missing tail and tell him to cheer up, for surely it will be found. More hugs and pictures and Eeyore blows be me a kiss. Well the kids are rolling with laughter over that one. Eeyore is just my type though. Every guy I have dates was a real jack…donkey.



Next up it was the lady of the hour herself. Ms. Minnie Mouse. My niece was practically humming with excitement and wiggling out of her chair to greet Minnie. “Remember me, remember me!” my niece cries out to Ms. Mouse. Well unless Minnie suffered from a traumatic brain injury in the last few minutes I’m sure she does. You introduced yourself all of 15 minutes ago kid. MY niece hugs her and chats her up and Minnie does a nice game of charades to have a conversation with gestures expressing a full host of ideas and emotions. Apparently my niece is fluent in mouse sign language but she totally gets it and just keeps the convo rollin. They talked about high fashion and school, hair styles and everything in-between. Eventually though all good things must come to an end and Minnie excused herself to visit all the other princes and princesses so they could all have their chances to cling to her with syrupy paws. What a job!






The food was actually pretty tasty (no pictures of this, sorry I never remember to take pictures of my food. I’m too busy trying to eat it while its hot while assisting 3 kids) and there was certainly a wide assortment. I still think that the food at the Surfs up breakfast is the best but this is not far off. I think the food it best first thing so perhaps the 7:10 ADR makes for the tastiest grub. I have yet to meet a meal that improves by sitting under heat lamps so as I munched down and macabrely nibbles mickey’s ear off I was once again happy with my reservation time.

There wasn’t much down time though as we had more characters to meet. Next up was Winnie the Pooh, and even the 13-year-old was happy to see this silly old bear. He happily exclaimed “awesome, Pooh it here. That guy is my favorite.” Nothing warms a mother’s heart more than seeing her big boy let down his oh so grown up walls and let in the Disney magic. Pixie dust and happy though had me nearly levitating. We asked Pooh if his tummy was rumbly and if he had gotten his honey yet this morning. His rubbed his tummy and gave a thumbs up-which I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that means he had a nice filling breakfast. Everyone gave him a big hug and a high five and he was on his was way. Careful Pooh, it was getting a bit crowded at this point and I would hate to see him get stuck again. We all know how that worked out for him the last time.





Next up was Captain Hook and he was clearly in a kindly mood. He was all hugs and sunshine and none of us had to walk the plank or anything. Maybe his temper is improving by getting off of his ship and away from the hardships of pirating and crocodile.





Then we got a little visit from the most magical lady in Park-Fairy Godmother. She asked my niece if she was a princess to which my niece replied “oh I’m the princess in my family, just ask anybody”. Well that is surely the truth. She asked the boys if they were princes, and both said…no way. We chatted about the taxing nature of granting wishes and making happily ever after a reality. She asked if she had seen me before-she said I looked familiar. “We must have met at a ball” I replied. We got a picture of the “family princess” with her fairy and then she was off to wave her wand and turn someone else’s pumpkin muffins into a carriage.







Continued in the next post so I can upload more pictures...

 

[Kindermouse]

Baboons, and Tiggers and Bears Oh My! Part 2

Well who did we see after that but the girl mouse from Cinderella. The CM in this costume was well under 5 feet tall and their diminutive size really was right on for a mouse. Disney really does pay attention to details. I praised her dress making skills and she gave me an “Oh stop you flatterer” type of gesture. She was a sweet character-even if I didn’t know her name until I looked it up on google (apparently the blue mouse is Suzy, while the pink mouse is perla). She also curtsied which I thought was a nice touch.






Then came Dale-the kids had to recount how I was mixing up his name with his brothers earlier and all have a nice chuckle with him. Either this was a bit blander than the other character or I was starting to space out since I don’t remember much else about this encounter. Except that we saw Eeyore again and we wave to him at the adjacent table. He stopped and did a fun little BFF’s handshake with Dale which was very cute. And what do you know-he had found his tail. It was a joyous miracle and we all cheered for him and the reunion of his precious tail.






We were full and we had seen and gotten pictures with so very very many great characters and it was now 8:05 so we decided to jump in line for Trials of Jedi training sign ups.

Holy cow that line was LLLLOOONNNGGG. And slow. And half of the good times were already gone just 7 minutes after the park opened to the non-MM/ EE guests. Geez I thought getting picked for the show in the old days was stressful. No sir. If you were one of the first I the parks that day you could forget Jedi training. At least the old way everyone who showed up at show time had a chance. Now its rope drop or forget it. I sure am glad my own child is too old for this now. I don’t need this kind of high stakes stress in my vacation. We waited a full 35 minutes to sign my nephew up and all that was left when we made it up to the front was the last 2 shows of the day. We opted for the 4:30 show so we could it right before and so we had time for nice long swim break mid-day. They asked my nephew a few questions to be sure he was a youngling capable for participating and that he had the heart of a Jedi padawan. 1. Can you follow directions, 2. Can you be on stage without your mom (this had better be true since he had come all the way across the state to DL without her. If he lost his resolve to be mom-less now I was in big trouble) and 3. Can you face the dark side without fear in your heart. The last part was pretty cute and had my nephew been a bit younger I could see him taking this vow very seriously.


They handed me a ticket and gave me instructions to return at 4:10 with the ticket. Little did I know how very important this little slip of paper would soon become.

I'm blaming it on Jedi Mind tricks- That was not the ticket I was looking for.

 

[Kindermouse]

Day 2.5 From Princess to Pauper We lose All of our Money

We had our coveted ticket, and getting said ticket had taken up quite a bit of that precious first hour of the day. I was kind of missing the old pick ‘em from the crowd days. The app was showing Peter pan at a 45 minute wait already.

What did everyone want to do now-more Autopia. The kids were totally crazy for this ride the entire trip as I said before and since it seemed like we were standing near it and it had pretty consistently short wait times (20 minutes or less) why not.

We hopped in line and then we started to situate who would ride with whom and we got the first nibble of bickering on this trip and the first of the all or nothing statements and accountings of how many times so and so got to ride with so and so. You know the hyperbolic statements about how “I never get to”-and “he/she always gets to”. Children. You can’t live with them and yet you can’t legally abandon them in front of the castle either. Sheesh. The problem was that my son wanted to drive as well as whichever child that rode with him. He needed to take one of them since neither was tall enough to ride alone. Eventually we had it settled and we were on the road and I was riding with my nephew who really only missed the height cut off for the ride by about a half of an inch poor kid. He also seemed to settle down and complainless about the unfairness of the world when I let him play on my phone while in line. I had it in a water proof case with a clear front that you could use the touchscreen through so as long as he promised not to take of the lanyard from around his neck it should get dropped. He was a bit more self-assured behind the wheel but only the smallest bit better at steering. One thing about this ride however was that it seemed like we always had a very long wait to park and get of the ride when it was over. I spent a very long time doing the autopian equivalent of sitting in gridlock. I think I see why many adults don’t enjoy this ride as they may be suffering from Monday morning flashbacks.

After autopia we got a FP for Space and then got in the line for the Matterhorn. This turned out to be another ride that my niece and nephew had never been on. My little niece was not too sure about it. It sure did look like a very big mountain and it sure did look like it went very fast. “Is it dark in there auntie” she asked with a touch of nervousness. Why no honey it’s not dark at all. Well I guess I forgot about the beginning and how it starts out dark with the yeti growling and pounding on the ice at all bobsledded mountain interlopers. Woops! Any way the line was only about 10 minutes so we were on it in no time. My niece was too small to ride without an adult behind her so everyone’s spots for this ride weren’t negotiable thankfully.

I held her tiny little hand as the bobsled took off and I quickly realized the error of my ways when we entered the dark cavern that opens this ride. She was sure squeezing my hand in a way that absolutely communicated with no words at all that she was royally pissed at me for my lapse in memory as the bobsled inched slowly past the howling yeti in the near pitch darkness. But then we were off and slicing through the air up, over and around that Swiss mountain of doom. I didn’t hear much out of the little one but the boys were howling in delight. We finally sluiced through the water (what body of water is this supposed to be anyway?) at the bottom and everyone, even the little one was laughing. Apparently I was forgiven because she loved the ride, momentary dark part or not. Yippee.


Now we headed across the park for a group favorite- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Every one of us has a big love for the wildest ride in the wilderness. The wait-short once again at only 15 minutes! We really did pick a pretty good week to go and I was really feeling pleased with the wait times as compared to the crowds and waits we had dealt with over spring break. The one thing with my crew however was that they all felt the need to climb around on thing in line. I know better than to let them climb on stuff but I started to feel like a big nag. The line was moving pretty well so it wasn’t that much of an issue but I was certainly glad that it wasn’t a super crowded week. My nephew was begging for my phone again so I let him have it and told him to be careful and not take the lanyard off. He gave my worries the brush off. “I know, I know I’ll be careful with it-how do I start up math verses zombies again?”. So he slayed zombies with his superior knowledge of math facts while we waited for our turn to ride. I just love this ride. I love the effects in the tunnel with the explosion. I love how smooth it is for a roller coaster. I love to details like the goat that bleats at you and the rattle snake with its rattling tail and I love the views from the top-Star Wars Land is coming along but it sure has a long way to go.

After the coolest ride in the wilderness we headed to get a FP for Haunted Mansion since our FP window was open once again and the wait time in the app was already showing 60 minutes-yikes. After we got our fast passes went wanted to start headed back towards space and get a ride on POTC on the way. The wait time was posted at 20 minutes.

I parked the stroller and the little kids jumped out of it and into line. The line moved fairly fast but I was starting to doubt the posted 20-minute sign. As we were finally getting close to the indoors portion of the queue I thought I’d check the app again-and that was when I realized that I wasn’t wearing my lanyard still. I asked my nephew-“hey where’s my phone” and his face turned a little red and a thought moved across his face like a cloud across the sun. “um I took it off in the stroller”. “WHAT! After all my warning not to take it off.” You see I didn’t want to lose my phone or for it to get broken but the bigger issue here was that I wasn’t carrying a bag-my driver’s license, my debit card and about 400 dollars in Disney gift cards were in that lanyard. This was a huge Issue and I think smoke may have rolled out of my ears.

“Oh my Gawd, we need to go get my phone-If it hasn’t been stolen already!” Then he started to cry.

My son volunteered to go to the stroller and look for the phone. This was very big of him. On our last trip he had hardly been able to ride anything and was never able to leave my side he had such horrible anxiety. Just that morning he hadn’t been able to leave my side and walk 20 feet to get a better look at a sign and here he was stepping up and overcoming his anxiety and walking off of a ride alone. In the moment I was so worried about the fate of a big bulk of our money that I didn’t realize what a big step this was for him. Looking back now I realize how far he has come and just how important it is for him to take his anxiety medicine and antidepressants for him to be able to live a normal life.

I went to comfort my nephew and say it would be ok (even if I wasn’t sure that this was true just yet) he then started saying how it wasn’t his fault and how if everyone wasn’t rushing him all the time he wouldn’t get distracted and make mistakes. Well now let me hug you, but let me also let you know that you don’t need to blame your mistakes on others. No one had been rushing him, if anything we had been nagging him all morning to slow down and not run ahead. I gave him a there, there but I looked him straight in the eye and I said, “I understand that we all make mistakes, especially when we are kids in an exciting and distracting place like Disneyland. I’m not happy about the money getting lost if it is lost but I’m not mad at you either. But I don’t want to hear you blame your mistake on the rest of us. I shouldn’t have let you wear my lanyard since so much money was in it and I’m going to be more careful from now on about not letting kids hold money but please don’t say it was everyone else fault for rushing you, because that isn’t what happened”. He sucked it and we continued in the line. The longer I waited the more and more nervous I was thinking that if he had found it right away he would have been back by now. In a few minutes we were on the ride and now I was really worried. What if my son came back now and we were already on the ride and he panicked? Geez I really need my phone so I could call or text him! It was possible that he just didn’t feel comfortable squeezing back up the line to get to us. He has never been able to do that and the very idea of squeezing past stranger who might think he was cutting, and might even make a comment to him about it is like a fate worse than death to him. I didn’t really get to enjoy pirates-as much as I love that ride.

As soon as we were off I practically sprinted back to where our stroller was parked. And there sat my son, on the ground next to the stroller holding my lanyard and phone was my son. Thank the Heavens! We wouldn’t need to beg for food to eat today! I nearly collapsed in relief.

My son had in fact not felt like he could rejoin us in line so he sat and waited for us after all. I decided to treat him to caramel apple from Jolly holiday for his heroics. Of all the delicious and adorable apples to choose from He went with the plain Caramel apple.

I also got myself a poison apple to make me feel better about not being able to get the mug and to restart my heart with a little sugar. I even shared it with my nephew-who was a totally hog and ate about 2/3 of it. The caramel apples are delicious and not to be missed I assure you.




Then we headed back to do our space mountain FP. Then we walked back to do our HM FP. My nephew was not 100% sure he would like this ride and he was worried it would be too scary. “I just don’t like that little room and the way the voice talks auntie or the hanging lady”. I assured him that this would be even less scared because it was the Haunted Mansion Holiday with Jack and Sally so there was no hanging lady and the little room is way less scary. He started to get fear face with water eyes as we walked in but within a minute he realized that I was right. He was smiling like a fool by the time we got in the doom buggies.



It was as awesome as I remembered (I hadn’t been in DL for Halloween time in a while) and maybe even better. Haunted Mansion Holiday really is fabulous with so many fun impressive details that I really wish I had a fancy camera to capture pictures of it. I was especially excited to see the monkey bride! Thanks Dis’ers for the intel about where she was at. I grabbed Indy fast passes on the way b since my niece’s head just barely hit the measuring pole out front. Score! They had never been on that one either. They hit up Tarzans tree house on our way through. I was stick in the mud and I waited at the exit.


Ok people my feet were getting a bit sore already. It was truly time for lunch and a mid-day break. I figured now would be a great time to grab a FP for ToT so as we left DL we made a side trip into DCA to grab my coveted FP. With the Tower getting ready to leave forever this FP was a big deal to me and I had seen on the app that they were already gone by the afternoon the day before so I really needed to grab one now. The app was showing that the return time for FP was only an hour away-well that couldn’t be right. We walked all the way down Buena Vista Street only to realize that the app was not just wrong-it was dead wrong. There was a sign blocking off the FP area that said FP had concluded for the day. Rats! But I still had 3 more days. It shouldn’t be a problem. I sure wasn’t gonna wait in the standby line with all these kids for the posted 2 hours when the little ones wouldn’t ride it if their lives depended on it. My son did want to ride it but he didn’t want to ride it by himself and most certainly couldn’t wait in that line for 2 hours alone and I knew I couldn’t leave him with the little kids for 2 hours to wait for me using rider swap so we would have to be more careful to get a FP on another day.

We walked back to the hotel and made sandwiches and fruit and chips and a cookie for lunch. Not fancy but perfect. The in room fridge is always important on our trips because I like to eat in with some of our usual foods when we can. Everyone’s tummies are a bit happier when we don’t go too over board with food that are richer than we are used to. Also it is much easier to eat according to my niece’s special diet with things we pack from home. Plus, I just plain love Immaculate brand gluten free chocolate chip cookies and fresh organic strawberries from our local farmer’s market.

The kids also wanted to swim in the hotel pool. The pool at the Desert Inn is by no means large but its always sufficient for my son and it proved to be sufficient for my niece and nephew as well. We usual have it to ourselves or close to in when we come here and this was no exception. There was one family there and it was no problem to share the pool area. The also enjoyed the hot tub which is funny because at home they never use a hot tub when we swim anywhere. I only got in as far as my calves while I read my book (in case you care at all I was reading Drums of Autumn-book 4 in the outlander series. I can’t think of a better way to relax than to be soaking ones feet in a bubbly hot tub while reading such a great book-unless there had been a good glass of red wine and perfect silence to go with it-but alas you rarely get to have it all).

Before we went back to the parks I decided that I should take into the parks with me only what I needed so that incase I lost my lanyard again I wouldn’t lose some much. I took my driver’s license and my debit card out and I threw away the receipts that we had accumulated from that day and the day before. We needed to be back in the parks by 4:00 for my nephews Jedi training we headed back into the park. We were hoping to ride a few more rides but overall our plan was to call it a day fairly early. I was now organized and prepared what could possibly go wrong. Why do people ever think things like that? What a Jinx!