Balalalala! BaymaxDLR's Disneyland Resort Adventures Chapter 1 *Day 1 complete*

[Rubygoose]

This trip report will be different than my others. First, I actually plan to finish this one; and second, this TR will focus on Baymaxdlr's adventures, rather than on my cute children (although they're still an important part.)

Prologue (A little background on our family)
This is our family's 5th trip to DLR and second Disney trip in 2015, as we visited WDW for the first time in March. We've made an annual trip to DLR since 2011.

Our cast of Characters:




My husband Bryan is the family photographer. He is into all things Star Wars. He also loves Splash Mountain and enjoys It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean for their nostalgia value.

I'm Kati, the Mama Bear of the family. I'm a special education teacher. (If you followed my other trips reports, you'll remember that I didn't finish my TR from 2014 because I was taking courses - I finished my program in June!) I love planning Disney trips and have it down to an art form. I am also the crafty one in the family. I LOVE Splash Mountain and Radiator Springs Racers.

Our daughter Annie just turned 8 and she is the thrill seeker of the family. Her favourite rides are California Screamin' and Goofy's Sky School. She loves meeting Characters - especially teasing Captain Hook.

Our son Gavin is, as he says "5 and 3 corners" (he'll be 6 in October) and is the most social and charismatic of all of us. He loves meeting characters, going on rides, eating at restaurants and doing just about everything!

During our trip we also met up with Bryan's BFF and his family, but we'll get to them a bit later.

Our trip started off on Tuesday, August 11, 2015. We flew from our home town of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada to Seattle, to Orange County. We arrived at the HOJO at around 5pm and headed into California Adventure for the evening. We rode Ariel's Undersea Journey, got some pizza, rode Goofy's Sky School, rode the Golden Zepher, watched It's Tough to be a Bug, rode Soarin' Over California, visited the gift shop, then headed back to the hotel to go to bed.

We got up bright and early on Wednesday morning to make it to rope drop at Disneyland. Little did we know, this day would start the beginning of a most magical adventure with Baymax!

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1:
We made it to Disneyland before rope drop and rushed with the giant crowd right to Peter Pan's Flight. We waited for about 20 minutes and then enjoyed the new elements added to the ride. After PP, we headed to Dumbo the Flying Elephant - we always do these two rides first thing on the first day of our trip. As we were waiting in the short line for Dumbo, a couple approached us and commented on the children's hats and our matching t-shirts. DD and I had painted these shirts on a Girl's Night when DH took DS to Marvel Universe Live (he won 2 tickets - he's always winning tickets to things!) I noticed that the young man had a Baymax shirt and was carrying a cute Baymax stuffy.

We rode Dumbo and then surprisingly, this same couple approached us as we were exiting the ride. The young man explained that they were looking to spread some magic and we were just the family they were looking for. He explained that he works here in DLR and the young lady works in WDW. They asked if Baymax could join us on our trip, like Flat Stanly. I said "Do you want us to bring him back to Canada?" and he said that the idea was for Baymax to stay in Disneyland and we were to pass him on to another family to share the magic. Baymax's laminated card attached to his back with zip ties gave us all the information we needed to know in order to care for him. We agreed, took some photos, then went our separate ways... or so we thought!


Nathan, Jenni, Baymax, the kids and myself


Baymax's Instruction Card


Our family's adventures with Baymax begin!

 

[labordefam3]

This sounds like it's going to be such a fun read!

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I'm looking forward to hearing more! My family was able to visit your beautiful Victoria for just a few hours last July (a stop on an Alaska cruise). We loved it so much we are planning to go back for one of our week-long breaks in February or April.

Can't wait to hear more about Baymax!

 

[Rubygoose]

This sounds like it's going to be such a fun read!

Glad you're following along! If you want a sneak peak at some of the photos, you can search the hashtag #baymaxdlr on Instagram. I put a bunch of photos on there (I'm @KatididDisney), and just recently, the young lady we passed Baymax on to has posted her photos!

I'm looking forward to hearing more! My family was able to visit your beautiful Victoria for just a few hours last July (a stop on an Alaska cruise). We loved it so much we are planning to go back for one of our week-long breaks in February or April.

Can't wait to hear more about Baymax!

I would suggest April over February to come to Victoria, since all of the flowers will be well in bloom in April. This year our spring started early and we had a few blossoms starting in February, but that's unusual. Once in a while we get snow in February or even early March. April will be nice, but you'll likely get rain. PM me if you have any questions about things to do and see in Victoria!

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1: continued
We just received Baymax, and it was somewhere between 8:30 and 9am. All 4 of us were eager to take photos with him and bring him on rides with us. Our next stop was Alice in Wonderland. Coincidentally, as we headed towards the Alice ride, we spotted Alice herself!


The kids got their first signature in their autograph books!


We rode Alice in Wonderland (one of my favourite dark rides! I missed this when we were in WDW) and as we got off, we spotted Nathan and Jenni in the line up! We waved to them with Baymax and joked that they are following us.

The Matterhorn was our next stop. The line was over 10 minutes long, but we knew it was probably our best chance to ride it. This one isn't really a favourite of anyone in our family, but we always do it once "just because". As we were getting closer to the loading area, Annie points out "I see them!" It took me a while to figure out where they were, but then Bryan spotted Jenni and Nathan in the single rider line.


We all had a big chuckle when those two single riders were added in with our family of four on the bobsleds!


Baymax was a bit scared of the snow monster, but otherwise, he enjoyed the ride.


Don't worry, I held on tight!

We said goodbye to Nathan and Jenni and headed to Pixi Hollow.

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1: continued (approx. 9:15am)

It was a very short line-up at Pixi Hollow.


We waited for about 2 minutes and then were ushered in to meet with Iridessa.


She gave Baymax a little tour of Pixi Hollow.

Next we visited with Tinkerbell. She was quite excited to meet us, and hear about Baymax beginning his journey.


(I wasn't sure if she'd give him back!)


Tink read Baymax's instruction card aloud, and when she got to the part with the e-mail address she muttered "I don't know what that means" then continued reading. A Cast Member explained to her that e-mail is something in our land that is similar to their bee-mail - messages attached to bees. Tink concluded that the 'e' must stand for elephants, but that sounds like a very dangerous way to send messages.

We left Pixi Hollow and headed into the Jungle!

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1: continued

We headed into Adventure land to grab a FP for Indiana Jones. On the way, we spotted this friend:



We noticed that it was only a 5 minute wait for Jungle Cruise, so we jumped in line. Our skipper wasn't very memorable this time, though.



Baymax enjoyed the scenery.



Although some parts of the cruise made him a little uneasy.


He was quite intrigued by the back side of water!


It was time to head towards the Plaza Inn for Breakfast with Minnie and Friends. But first we had to wash up.

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1: Breakfast at Plaza Inn (10:30am)

Breakfast with Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn has been a tradition since our first DLR trip in 2011. It's a great way to start off our trip, meet lots of characters and fill up our bellies! I was very excited to have Baymax join us in this family tradition.



The characters started arriving right away.





Max did some dancing


He even enjoyed a Mickey waffle.


Rafiki presented him to the kingdom


Dale engaged him in a fist bump


Captain Hook attempted to steal him



And he even got a little cuddle with our Hostess, Minnie!



With our bellies full, we headed on to Adventure Land for Baymax to continue his DLR adventures.

 

[kaoden39]

I love it!! I'm following along!! I'm enjoying Baymax's DLR trip!! That's a really cute idea!!

 

[Rubygoose]

I love it!! I'm following along!! I'm enjoying Baymax's DLR trip!! That's a really cute idea!!

Glad to have you following along! Keep an eye out for him when you're there! I hope whoever has him will get him dressed up for Dapper Days.

 

[kaoden39]

Glad to have you following along! Keep an eye out for him when you're there! I hope whoever has him will get him dressed up for Dapper Days.

That would be great and I will keep my eyes open for him!

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1: approx. 11:30am

On the way to Adventure Land we stopped by the castle for a family photo


We headed to Indiana Jones - the only ride in Disneyland that we hadn't been on. Gavin wasn't tall enough for this one last year.

We got a photo of Baymax in the queue to prove he was there.


And just before the ride began


Next we headed towards Splash Mountain to grab a FP. If you have read my previous trip reports, you'll know how much we all enjoy Splash - especially on a super hot day in August! Unfortunately, when we got to Critter Country, Splash Mountain was down so the FP machines were not open. I decided to wait in the FP line while Bryan and the kids went to visit with Winnie the Pooh and friends. I waited for about 10 minutes, but they still weren't distributing the passes and I was getting tired of people coming by and asking why the lineup wasn't moving. So, I left the line and went to see what the kids were up to.

Baymax gave Tigger the thumbs up!


Was Eeyore satisfied with his care? Not sure.


Pooh seemed to think Baymax could use a small smackerel of honey


Baymax was full of energy (and Honey) and ready to ride Splash Mountain. Unfortunately, it was still down when we walked by the Fast Pass machines, so we kept walking towards Pirates. But just as we got near the standby line for Splash, we noticed that it was up and running again, so jumped in the line. Little did we know, this would be a 30 minute wait. I guess all of the people who had FPs for the time the ride was down were loaded ahead of us.

Finally Baymax was able to come with us to our Laughing Place!




And Baymax sure had a Zip-a-de-doo-dah day!

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1: early afternoon (My watch shows 1:45 in the following picture)

After being thrown into the Briar Patch, we took a somewhat soggy Baymax to ride Pirates.


Yo-ho! A Pirate's life for Baymax!


It had been a busy morning, so we brought our new friend back with us to the Hojo for a bit of pool time. Don't worry, we waterproofed him!







While the kids were playing in the water park, I posted a few pictures to Facebook and Instagram, letting friends back home hear of our new travel companion. My mom, however, was a little skeptical. She sent me a message warning that Baymax may contain drugs and that she didn't want to see me on the next episode of Border Patrol. I let her know that Baymax wasn't coming home with us to Canada, and that seemed to calm her nerves a little bit.

 

[kaoden39]

How fun! Baymax seems to really be having a good time!! If I happen to see him in my travels next month I will definitely take his picture!!

 

[Rubygoose]

Day 1: approx 4pm

We were recharged and ready to return to Disneyland for the evening.

We stopped in front of the train station for a photo


We got a little Disney Magic


Then we headed over to Splash Mountain to use our FP that we picked up before we left the park earlier. Baymax must have been in the back pack this time, as he didn't show up in the ride photo. Next, we took a ride in a bee hive to wish Winnie the Pooh a happy birthday!



Our dinner reservation for Cafe Orleans was for 5:20, but I think we actually ended up being seated closer to 5:40. Annie has food allergies, but they are uncommon, so when I refused the allergy menu, the waitress insisted that the chef come speak to us. We ate here last year with no problems, so I was a little miffed that she wouldn't just let us order.

I had all of these wonderful ideas of getting Baymax's photo with him eating the pomme frits and Bryan's Monte Cristo sandwich, but we were all just to tired and hungry by this point that those photos didn't happen. Baymax did, however, drink my pomegranate lemonade while I took the kids to the restroom.



The plan was to get a spot for Paint the Night after dinner, and since dinner ended up running later than we planned, we got our beignets to go and started heading towards main street to find a piece of pavement at about 6:45. We found a spot on the curb in front of Plaza Inn, right next to where they roped off a walkway. There was a young man sitting on the last little piece of raised curb, but there was enough room for the kids to sit next to him on the flat part of the curb and Bryan and I could sit behind them. Bryan and Baymax relaxed on the blanket in our spot while I took the kids to look in the gift shops. We bought some pins and then the kids made their first trade with the CM standing near our little piece of pavement.

Baymax recognized some pals!


I took the kids to the Tiki room, but Baymax stayed with Bryan to help hold our spot. While in the Tiki room, a man asked the kids who their favourite characters were and then gave them each a pin! Gavin's pin fell off as we were leaving the Tiki room, but we were able to find it after everyone left the room. As we were leaving adventureland, a girl passed me 3 pin backings just in case we needed them.



Paint the night and the Disneyland Forever fireworks were amazing! I would have liked to see them both again from the Small World end, but we decided that it was too much of a time commitment to get a good view.

We walked back to the Hojo at around 10pm, extremely satisfied with our new travel companion and the experiences we had with him on day 1 of our Disneyland 60 year anniversary celebration vacation.

 

[Rubygoose]

On day 2 of our trip we went to Knott's and on day 3 we went to Legoland. Now, if you read my tr from last year, you may be surprised that we actually went back to Legoland! Bryan won two tickets from a sweepstakes, so we only had to pay for the kids. Our passes were Resort Hoppers, so we were able to get into the water park and the aquarium this time. We actually really enjoyed Legoland this year, and I didn't yell at any of the employees! I even left my purse in one of the little cubbies at the ride entrance like I was supposed to. And Annie was excited to see that Andrea the Lego Friend had the right colour skin.

Baymax didn't join us for this part of our trip. Instead, he took a little rest with his new friends.

 

[kaoden39]

That's so cute!!

 

[labordefam3]

I love your profile pic! That is too cute!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What a cool idea and a fun time so far!

We have our first trip to DLR coming up in October and are staying at the HoJo - hoping to take in some good tips