When: February 21 to 29, 2008
Who: Me 40 something
DH well call him Grumpy.
DD 15 wants to be Tinkerbell at Disneyland
This was our first trip to Disneyland. We were in Disneyworld in 1998, 2002 and 2007. I like both of them but feel that WDW is a destination where you would go for 2 weeks and DL is a short getaway. We found that this trip was just a little too long and we could have left 2 days earlier. Weve stayed on property at WDW and noticed the difference between the two experiences.
We actually were going to go to San Fransico but when we were at the travel agent the package to DL was just too good to pass up.
I want to thank all the people on the DIS boards. I was able to pick up so many hints that Im sure helped make our vacation as fun as it was. We are not big planners and really didnt have a schedule. Reading the DIS boards was about as commando as I got. Having said that, we experienced every attraction but Nemo, some twice, and were even able to visit some of the minor ones. We went to the Enchanted Tiki Room for the first time. I loved it.
My biggest complaint CROCS. I have 2 pairs but bought a new pair for DL. I thought I had broken them in but they werent. I ended up buying a new pair of Sketchers, even though I have 2 pairs at home. Good thing DD and I now wear the same size shoe.
February 21, Thursday
What we left:
Finally arrived at LAX at 2:45 p.m. after leaving our house in a northern Alberta city at 5:00 a.m. My daughter, as with most teenagers, is not a morning person so she was not the most pleasant person to travel with. She finally woke up about 2:00 p.m. and then our day was good.
Air Canada is not my favorite airline to fly with but it was part of the package and we couldnt switch carriers. We couldnt get a direct flight and had to transfer in Vancouver.
HINT: For those flying in the next few years be aware that the Vancouver airport is undergoing massive renovations to accommodate the Olympics. You have to walk for miles to claim your luggage and go through Customs. There is very little signage because apparently the construction crews move signs as needed.
Caught the Disneyland Express and arrived at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim. The longest wait was for our luggage to come off the plane. Air Canada, again, has no customer service. HINT: Regarding the shuttle through Southern California Gray Line, they are regular sized charter buses and cannot drop you off on hotel property at most hotels. They drop you off on the street and you have to walk from the street to your hotel entrance. Kind of a pain with luggage, etc. As well, from LAX they first go to the Disneyland Hotel where one of the Disney people comes on the bus to claim your voucher. When we left, they picked up at the hotels and then stopped at the Disneyland Hotel where we turned over our vouchers.
Changed from our winter clothes to our summer clothes and walked to Downtown Disney stopping along the way to take pictures with the California Adventure letters. We browsed the stores and then went for supper at Tortilla Jos. As this was the tale end of Presidents Week, it was busy. We got in with a 10 minute wait but when we were leaving the entrance was packed with people waiting for a table.
When we left Tortilla Jos it was raining lightly. What a good excuse to go shopping and buy a sweater. When we were walking past AMC Theaters we realized the Hannah Montana movie was playing. DD talked DH into taking her to it. She had been dying to see it. I walked back to our hotel alone. I must say I felt very safe walking alone.
February 22, Friday
Walked to Disneyland and exchanged vouchers for our 5 day for the price of 3 park hoppers. We only used 4 of our 5 days and never did use the early entry feature.
It was a rainy, wet morning and we didnt arrive until about 10:30. DD spent 40 minutes straightening her hair only to have it curl by noon. From the pictures you can see how empty the park was even though it did fill up later in the day.
We thought it would be busier and had planned that we would just walk around and do Disneyland through a view finder but realized we could get on rides just by walking on. I wont list all the rides we rode on but by the end of the week we rode everything except Nemo. I can give some hints though:
HINT: Pirates of the Caribbean go left people if there are two lines. The sign said 10 minutes but we didnt wait at all. We entered and walked on the left side right to the front of the line and got on our boat right away. People in the right line were waiting. DL is much better than WDW in terms of the queuing and theming. Im sure there are more effects.
HINT: Everyone should stop to the right of the castle and visit Snow Whites Grotto, or not. What a treasure! We stopped there every day and not once were any others around.
Now I have to decide if I like Dopey or Cruella better.
Went back to the hotel in the late afternoon stopping at Mimis along the way for supper. This was one thing we really liked. We could walk back and forth without having to rely on buses. Returned to DL just in time to watch the Electric Parade. Our plan was to return for the fireworks but we had time to go on a couple of rides. We got our prime place to watch the fireworks (thanks DIS people) and were there at about 8:15. Sat there and sat there and sat there and then the fireworks were cancelled.
I think every family in the park that day but ours received a Dream. Everyone had Dream fastpasses. I was surprised at the number of characters we saw and I must apologize to those families whose children were knocked over by my grown husband who wanted his picture taken so badly. I have no idea what came over him and what it is at Disney that turns grown men into kids. I must have 30 pictures of him with the characters.
February 23, Saturday
Breakfast at Dennys. Walked across the street to the shuttle area, purchased 1 day passes for the ART x 3. Waited and waited and waited, finally found out the bus was only scheduled to run on the hour and we missed the first one by about 5 minutes. They should have schedules posted for people like me who leave them in the hotel. Didnt want to wait around so took a cab to the Block at Orange. Took a cab to Target and one back to the hotel. That was an expensive venture for mediocre shopping. After a swim and supper from Pizza Hut we walked to Downtown Disney. DD talked me into going to the Hannah Montana movie and DH went to ESPN. We were going to go into Disneyland to watch the fireworks but were told that they would likely be cancelled again.
I finally figured out today that portion sizes no matter where we went were HUGE even though we are all big eaters. DD and I started sharing our meals and that worked out a lot better. We found after we ate breakfast we didnt eat again until supper.
February 24, Sunday
Rented a car. Went to Huntington, Newport and Laguna Beaches and every mall in between. Had lunch at Rubys on the Huntington Beach pier. The burgers and milkshakes were awesome.
Finally saw the fireworks from the 7th floor at our hotel. Wished we could have been on the property. My daughter doesnt believe me that Tinkerbell is a real person.
Monday February 25
Arrived at Disneyland at about 10:15. No early mornings for this family. The park was again somewhat empty.
We certainly noticed the difference in crowds everywhere including restaurants. On Friday and the weekend it was busy with waits and line-ups. From Monday to Thursday we didnt have to wait for anything. Should I have the opportunity to go back this would definitely be the week I would go.
At about 2:00 it was starting to get somewhat busy in the park so we decided to walk over to California Adventure. What a difference. You could have had a bowling game.
DH and DD walked right on to Soarin. I waited outside because I have such a fear of heights. When they got off they said it was awesome and I would like it so we walked right back on. We waited about 5 minutes to get on Grizzly River Run. We didnt have rain ponchos or anything like that and did get wet but we stopped and got a churro and dried out while we sat on a bench eating them. I was quite amused watching the talking garbage can and the reactions to it. We then walked over to the Sun Wheel. No way was I getting on that. DD knew there were 2 lines: one for gondolas that move and one for gondolas that dont move. She didnt tell her dad that and they went on a moving one. When they got off he said that was it for him and he left us in the park. We stopped and had corn dogs at Corn Dog Castle. This was one of our favorite counter service meals. The corn dogs were fresh and huge. We shared and still didnt finish it all. We walked around stopping to watch High School Musical. We made our way over to Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Once again there was no wait. I hadnt paid much attention to the reviews or anything of this ride and we never rode it in WDW. What a mistake. All I can say is we absolutely HATED IT. I thought my heart was going to stop more than once. When we got off we both sat on the sidewalk for about 15 minutes. We walked back to our hotel and ended up spending the night watching tv and going to the pool. For the rest of the week I used the stairs at the hotel.
Again, Im sure every family but ours had Dream Fast passes. Not that it was really a big deal because the lines were never that long. We never had to get a Fastpass for any ride. Last year at WDW that was the only way we could get on the major attractions.
Tuesday February 26
We had Character breakfast reservations at Goofys Kitchen for 9:30. The character breakfasts came with our package otherwise we wouldnt have gone. We did those when DD was younger. It was pretty empty at that time. I guess most people with small children were there earlier. We saw Goofy, Peter Pan, Jasmine, Chip, Dale and others. There was a birthday party next to us and the characters and cast members all came over and sang to the fellow. I was walking back to the table at that point and heard one of the cast members say thats why I like working here.
DD and I went to Disneyland on the monorail. DH went to the ball stadium for a tour. We met up later that afternoon at DL.
We left about 6:00 and stopped at IHOP on the way back to the hotel at the end of the day. The servings were huge but of poor quality. It was very, very busy since kids meals are free after 4:00 p.m. For the 3 of us it cost $64.00. I dont know about you but to me that is not good value for my money considering we only ordered food and no drinks, alcoholic or otherwise.
Wednesday February 28
Were suppose to go on the LA by Night Tour at 5:30 but they phoned at 9:00 a.m. and cancelled so we had to plan our day over. We ended up going to collect pressed pennies from various areas and to purchase souvenirs. I started DD on that when she was small. We ended up buying another book at DL just for the Disney coins.
What possesses us to buy Mickey or Minnie t-shirts. Im not a t-shirt kind of girl but I did buy two. Well see if I ever wear them. Oh, and I bought a hoodie which is just not me either. DH bought a Grumpy t-shirt. He never wears t-shirts either other than for yard work, etc.
We did some of our favorite rides a second time. We toured the exhibit in the Opera house showing the first 50 years. I found it quite interesting.
We ended up back at DL and were able to have an early supper at Café Orleans. We walked up to the counter at 4:30 and were seated within 5 minutes. After reading so many reviews, etc. I ordered the Monte Cristo. I cant say I would ever have one again. It wasnt very hot when I got it so it may have been better had it been. We were able to sit outside on the patio at a table along the railing. Several people walking by glanced at our plates, no problem, but one lady, I thought she was going to grab part of my sandwich. I felt like swatting her with my fork. The pirates were out wandering around and one kept scowling at me. There was a band performing in New Orleans Square throughout our meal so that was kind of nice.
Thursday February 28
Took the LA/Hollywood Experience tour through Southern California Gray Line. Picked up at 8:25 and dropped off at about 7:30. We toured Los Angeles: saw the Staples Centre, downtown LA and the park where Pretty Woman was filmed in addition to the office Richard Gere worked from. Had a half hour stop at Olvera Street which is the birth place of Los Angeles. Stopped at Hollywood Blvd. and saw the stars and footprints of celebrities.
We also saw Elvis (he ate one too many Big Macs), Marilyn Monroe and Jack Sparrow. Drove down Susnet Strip, past Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and Melrose Ave. Stopped for lunch at the Farmers Market and for shopping at the Grove.
Then went to Santa Monica and stopped at the Pier. My daughter and I had a bite to eat at Bubba Gumps which I highly recommend. The last stop was Venice Beach.
We really enjoyed the tour and believed we saw more this way than if we had gone ourselves. Our guide, Juan, was very informative and talked throughout the entire trip pointing out things to us and giving us the history on different places.
When we got off the bus we went to Mimis for a small snack instead of supper. HINT: this was one of our favorite restaurants. It was of good value, the portions were very large, the food was well prepared and the staff was exceptionally friendly.
Friday February 29
Caught the shuttle at 6:30 a.m. and arrived at LAX at 7:30 a.m. Cleared Customs and Security within 15 minutes. Did I tell you how much I hate Air Canada. This time we had a direct flight but of course it was delayed by 3 hours. I was not thrilled.
For anyone who is interested in my opinion on the Fairfield Inn, we picked that location because we tend to stay at Marriott hotels when traveling finding them to be of higher standards. While this location is close to the parks, etc., has the standard Marriott pool, very friendly and helpful staff, it is definitely not up to Marriott standards and definitely needs some TLC. Our room, the lobby, the exterior and grounds were clean but are all looking a little worn. We did phone for a new hair dryer our first morning and one never did arrive. The Pizza Hut and snack bar on the 3rd floor are very convenient, but very, very expensive. I found in the morning if you didnt get there early, which we usually didnt, they were running out of things. The gift shop on the main floor was well stocked. The concierges were inexperienced but helpful.
Who: Me 40 something
DH well call him Grumpy.
DD 15 wants to be Tinkerbell at Disneyland
This was our first trip to Disneyland. We were in Disneyworld in 1998, 2002 and 2007. I like both of them but feel that WDW is a destination where you would go for 2 weeks and DL is a short getaway. We found that this trip was just a little too long and we could have left 2 days earlier. Weve stayed on property at WDW and noticed the difference between the two experiences.
We actually were going to go to San Fransico but when we were at the travel agent the package to DL was just too good to pass up.
I want to thank all the people on the DIS boards. I was able to pick up so many hints that Im sure helped make our vacation as fun as it was. We are not big planners and really didnt have a schedule. Reading the DIS boards was about as commando as I got. Having said that, we experienced every attraction but Nemo, some twice, and were even able to visit some of the minor ones. We went to the Enchanted Tiki Room for the first time. I loved it.
My biggest complaint CROCS. I have 2 pairs but bought a new pair for DL. I thought I had broken them in but they werent. I ended up buying a new pair of Sketchers, even though I have 2 pairs at home. Good thing DD and I now wear the same size shoe.
February 21, Thursday
What we left:
Finally arrived at LAX at 2:45 p.m. after leaving our house in a northern Alberta city at 5:00 a.m. My daughter, as with most teenagers, is not a morning person so she was not the most pleasant person to travel with. She finally woke up about 2:00 p.m. and then our day was good.
Air Canada is not my favorite airline to fly with but it was part of the package and we couldnt switch carriers. We couldnt get a direct flight and had to transfer in Vancouver.
HINT: For those flying in the next few years be aware that the Vancouver airport is undergoing massive renovations to accommodate the Olympics. You have to walk for miles to claim your luggage and go through Customs. There is very little signage because apparently the construction crews move signs as needed.
Caught the Disneyland Express and arrived at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim. The longest wait was for our luggage to come off the plane. Air Canada, again, has no customer service. HINT: Regarding the shuttle through Southern California Gray Line, they are regular sized charter buses and cannot drop you off on hotel property at most hotels. They drop you off on the street and you have to walk from the street to your hotel entrance. Kind of a pain with luggage, etc. As well, from LAX they first go to the Disneyland Hotel where one of the Disney people comes on the bus to claim your voucher. When we left, they picked up at the hotels and then stopped at the Disneyland Hotel where we turned over our vouchers.
Changed from our winter clothes to our summer clothes and walked to Downtown Disney stopping along the way to take pictures with the California Adventure letters. We browsed the stores and then went for supper at Tortilla Jos. As this was the tale end of Presidents Week, it was busy. We got in with a 10 minute wait but when we were leaving the entrance was packed with people waiting for a table.
When we left Tortilla Jos it was raining lightly. What a good excuse to go shopping and buy a sweater. When we were walking past AMC Theaters we realized the Hannah Montana movie was playing. DD talked DH into taking her to it. She had been dying to see it. I walked back to our hotel alone. I must say I felt very safe walking alone.
February 22, Friday
Walked to Disneyland and exchanged vouchers for our 5 day for the price of 3 park hoppers. We only used 4 of our 5 days and never did use the early entry feature.
It was a rainy, wet morning and we didnt arrive until about 10:30. DD spent 40 minutes straightening her hair only to have it curl by noon. From the pictures you can see how empty the park was even though it did fill up later in the day.
We thought it would be busier and had planned that we would just walk around and do Disneyland through a view finder but realized we could get on rides just by walking on. I wont list all the rides we rode on but by the end of the week we rode everything except Nemo. I can give some hints though:
HINT: Pirates of the Caribbean go left people if there are two lines. The sign said 10 minutes but we didnt wait at all. We entered and walked on the left side right to the front of the line and got on our boat right away. People in the right line were waiting. DL is much better than WDW in terms of the queuing and theming. Im sure there are more effects.
HINT: Everyone should stop to the right of the castle and visit Snow Whites Grotto, or not. What a treasure! We stopped there every day and not once were any others around.
Now I have to decide if I like Dopey or Cruella better.
Went back to the hotel in the late afternoon stopping at Mimis along the way for supper. This was one thing we really liked. We could walk back and forth without having to rely on buses. Returned to DL just in time to watch the Electric Parade. Our plan was to return for the fireworks but we had time to go on a couple of rides. We got our prime place to watch the fireworks (thanks DIS people) and were there at about 8:15. Sat there and sat there and sat there and then the fireworks were cancelled.
I think every family in the park that day but ours received a Dream. Everyone had Dream fastpasses. I was surprised at the number of characters we saw and I must apologize to those families whose children were knocked over by my grown husband who wanted his picture taken so badly. I have no idea what came over him and what it is at Disney that turns grown men into kids. I must have 30 pictures of him with the characters.
February 23, Saturday
Breakfast at Dennys. Walked across the street to the shuttle area, purchased 1 day passes for the ART x 3. Waited and waited and waited, finally found out the bus was only scheduled to run on the hour and we missed the first one by about 5 minutes. They should have schedules posted for people like me who leave them in the hotel. Didnt want to wait around so took a cab to the Block at Orange. Took a cab to Target and one back to the hotel. That was an expensive venture for mediocre shopping. After a swim and supper from Pizza Hut we walked to Downtown Disney. DD talked me into going to the Hannah Montana movie and DH went to ESPN. We were going to go into Disneyland to watch the fireworks but were told that they would likely be cancelled again.
I finally figured out today that portion sizes no matter where we went were HUGE even though we are all big eaters. DD and I started sharing our meals and that worked out a lot better. We found after we ate breakfast we didnt eat again until supper.
February 24, Sunday
Rented a car. Went to Huntington, Newport and Laguna Beaches and every mall in between. Had lunch at Rubys on the Huntington Beach pier. The burgers and milkshakes were awesome.
Finally saw the fireworks from the 7th floor at our hotel. Wished we could have been on the property. My daughter doesnt believe me that Tinkerbell is a real person.
Monday February 25
Arrived at Disneyland at about 10:15. No early mornings for this family. The park was again somewhat empty.
We certainly noticed the difference in crowds everywhere including restaurants. On Friday and the weekend it was busy with waits and line-ups. From Monday to Thursday we didnt have to wait for anything. Should I have the opportunity to go back this would definitely be the week I would go.
At about 2:00 it was starting to get somewhat busy in the park so we decided to walk over to California Adventure. What a difference. You could have had a bowling game.
DH and DD walked right on to Soarin. I waited outside because I have such a fear of heights. When they got off they said it was awesome and I would like it so we walked right back on. We waited about 5 minutes to get on Grizzly River Run. We didnt have rain ponchos or anything like that and did get wet but we stopped and got a churro and dried out while we sat on a bench eating them. I was quite amused watching the talking garbage can and the reactions to it. We then walked over to the Sun Wheel. No way was I getting on that. DD knew there were 2 lines: one for gondolas that move and one for gondolas that dont move. She didnt tell her dad that and they went on a moving one. When they got off he said that was it for him and he left us in the park. We stopped and had corn dogs at Corn Dog Castle. This was one of our favorite counter service meals. The corn dogs were fresh and huge. We shared and still didnt finish it all. We walked around stopping to watch High School Musical. We made our way over to Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Once again there was no wait. I hadnt paid much attention to the reviews or anything of this ride and we never rode it in WDW. What a mistake. All I can say is we absolutely HATED IT. I thought my heart was going to stop more than once. When we got off we both sat on the sidewalk for about 15 minutes. We walked back to our hotel and ended up spending the night watching tv and going to the pool. For the rest of the week I used the stairs at the hotel.
Again, Im sure every family but ours had Dream Fast passes. Not that it was really a big deal because the lines were never that long. We never had to get a Fastpass for any ride. Last year at WDW that was the only way we could get on the major attractions.
Tuesday February 26
We had Character breakfast reservations at Goofys Kitchen for 9:30. The character breakfasts came with our package otherwise we wouldnt have gone. We did those when DD was younger. It was pretty empty at that time. I guess most people with small children were there earlier. We saw Goofy, Peter Pan, Jasmine, Chip, Dale and others. There was a birthday party next to us and the characters and cast members all came over and sang to the fellow. I was walking back to the table at that point and heard one of the cast members say thats why I like working here.
DD and I went to Disneyland on the monorail. DH went to the ball stadium for a tour. We met up later that afternoon at DL.
We left about 6:00 and stopped at IHOP on the way back to the hotel at the end of the day. The servings were huge but of poor quality. It was very, very busy since kids meals are free after 4:00 p.m. For the 3 of us it cost $64.00. I dont know about you but to me that is not good value for my money considering we only ordered food and no drinks, alcoholic or otherwise.
Wednesday February 28
Were suppose to go on the LA by Night Tour at 5:30 but they phoned at 9:00 a.m. and cancelled so we had to plan our day over. We ended up going to collect pressed pennies from various areas and to purchase souvenirs. I started DD on that when she was small. We ended up buying another book at DL just for the Disney coins.
What possesses us to buy Mickey or Minnie t-shirts. Im not a t-shirt kind of girl but I did buy two. Well see if I ever wear them. Oh, and I bought a hoodie which is just not me either. DH bought a Grumpy t-shirt. He never wears t-shirts either other than for yard work, etc.
We did some of our favorite rides a second time. We toured the exhibit in the Opera house showing the first 50 years. I found it quite interesting.
We ended up back at DL and were able to have an early supper at Café Orleans. We walked up to the counter at 4:30 and were seated within 5 minutes. After reading so many reviews, etc. I ordered the Monte Cristo. I cant say I would ever have one again. It wasnt very hot when I got it so it may have been better had it been. We were able to sit outside on the patio at a table along the railing. Several people walking by glanced at our plates, no problem, but one lady, I thought she was going to grab part of my sandwich. I felt like swatting her with my fork. The pirates were out wandering around and one kept scowling at me. There was a band performing in New Orleans Square throughout our meal so that was kind of nice.
Thursday February 28
Took the LA/Hollywood Experience tour through Southern California Gray Line. Picked up at 8:25 and dropped off at about 7:30. We toured Los Angeles: saw the Staples Centre, downtown LA and the park where Pretty Woman was filmed in addition to the office Richard Gere worked from. Had a half hour stop at Olvera Street which is the birth place of Los Angeles. Stopped at Hollywood Blvd. and saw the stars and footprints of celebrities.
We also saw Elvis (he ate one too many Big Macs), Marilyn Monroe and Jack Sparrow. Drove down Susnet Strip, past Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and Melrose Ave. Stopped for lunch at the Farmers Market and for shopping at the Grove.
Then went to Santa Monica and stopped at the Pier. My daughter and I had a bite to eat at Bubba Gumps which I highly recommend. The last stop was Venice Beach.
We really enjoyed the tour and believed we saw more this way than if we had gone ourselves. Our guide, Juan, was very informative and talked throughout the entire trip pointing out things to us and giving us the history on different places.
When we got off the bus we went to Mimis for a small snack instead of supper. HINT: this was one of our favorite restaurants. It was of good value, the portions were very large, the food was well prepared and the staff was exceptionally friendly.
Friday February 29
Caught the shuttle at 6:30 a.m. and arrived at LAX at 7:30 a.m. Cleared Customs and Security within 15 minutes. Did I tell you how much I hate Air Canada. This time we had a direct flight but of course it was delayed by 3 hours. I was not thrilled.
For anyone who is interested in my opinion on the Fairfield Inn, we picked that location because we tend to stay at Marriott hotels when traveling finding them to be of higher standards. While this location is close to the parks, etc., has the standard Marriott pool, very friendly and helpful staff, it is definitely not up to Marriott standards and definitely needs some TLC. Our room, the lobby, the exterior and grounds were clean but are all looking a little worn. We did phone for a new hair dryer our first morning and one never did arrive. The Pizza Hut and snack bar on the 3rd floor are very convenient, but very, very expensive. I found in the morning if you didnt get there early, which we usually didnt, they were running out of things. The gift shop on the main floor was well stocked. The concierges were inexperienced but helpful.
