Carsland, Candy Corn, and Caramel Macchiatos

[teacherlisa1978]

We were finally able to see Ariel and get a picture taken and start on our lunch. We had heard about the recent menu change right before our trip and we weren't pleased. We'd liked the appetizer tower last time we were here and I'd been dreaming of the cioppino. I was so disappointed that it was no longer being served. I ended up having a shrimp pasta that I would describe as "a not too bad Lean Cuisine". Which is not what I expect for the price of lunch for the 3 of us. Dean enjoyed the tri-tip and Michael liked his seashell macaroni, of course, so I was the only one disappointed. The desserts were less than impressive as well. Some brownies, oreo cookies, and rice krispy treats. What? Disney can do better.

All of this could have been salvaged had the princess interaction been stellar. It wasn't. I suppose it could best be described as "fine." We were comparing it to our wonderful princess meal in WDW at Akershus a year ago, where the princesses spent a great deal of time at each table and participated in a little parade through the restaurant with all of the kids. Here, it was ridiculously quick-a speedy signature in the autograph book, a hug and smile for a picture and they were gone. Truly, it all happened so fast my head was spinning.

While not a bad lunch, needless to say, this is not one that we will feel any need to return to in any hurry.

After lunch it was once again nap time. I did some shopping and browsing in DCA and Downtown Disney, but didn't find much to buy. The Halloween merchandise was down to pretty slim pickings in terms of sizes and selection, so that was disappointing. I did pick up some Mickey pretzels to take home for Michael's daycare, some chocolate covered ones for us to share with friends, and a frame, a photo album, and a couple of Christmas things for Michael. Back at the hotel we all rested, went swimming again, and Michael loved the pool party the activity staff put on again. One cast member spent time just tossing beach balls around with him when the organized games were a bit too much for a 3 year old to handle.

That night we were back to our new favorite place, Carsland. I'd wanted to be there for the lighting ceremony but knew better than to push our luck. Don't rush a tired little boy-you'll regret it!

So, we took our time, and when we were ready we headed back into DCA. First up was dinner at Flo's. Dean was really excited about the menu here, and I knew Michael would love the kid's meal in the Lightning McQueen container. I'm not much of a meat eater, so I got the guys set up in line, and ran over to the Cozy Cones for a Chile Cone Carne. It was delicious! We ate outside where we were able to see DJ's Dance party-lots of fun-and then we went to see the Muppets (which Michael insists on calling the "Muffins" although I'm pretty sure he now does it just to make us laugh) and ride the Red Car Trolleys. We did a round trip from Buena Vista Street to Tower of Terror and back.

By then it was time to line up for World of Color. We were very intimidated by the crowds and the lines and not too sure what we were doing, but we were glad we were able to keep the stroller with us as we lined up. Michael was tired and he was happy to sit down and play with the light up spining McQueen toy I'd bought for him. When the viewing area opened up we decided just to take a spot in the back where it would be easy to get out if Michael needed a potty break, and easy to leave after the show. We were near the center, on some steps and next to a wall. We talked to some people nearby who said they'd viewed the show from there before and were happy with the view. We were really happy to get to sit down on the steps while we waited!

When the show started a group of teen agers did rush in and jump in front of us, one young man stood right in front of me, then turned around and looked at me and shifted slightly over, standing in front of Michael who I was holding on my hip. I just said, "Really? You're going to block the view of a little boy?" He looked really guilty and moved. I think in the future I'd probably shift just to the left of where we were, right behind a small brick wall, so no one could be just in front of us. We couldn't see the bottom of the projections but a perfect view is not the most important thing for us, so it worked great. We were so impressed with this show, just completely blown away. Disney knows just how to tug on your heart strings, that's for certain. I laughed and cried and enjoyed every minute.

Michael was loving it too, and then all of a sudden I just felt him go absolutely limp. He fell asleep-hard-on my shoulder, open mouth with drool and all-and missed the rest of the show. He was so very asleep he didn't wake up when we put him in the stroller or even when we went back to the room. I had to undress him in his sleep and slip him into bed. Honestly-it was the easiest bedtime routine ever! We all slept well that night.

Coming Up Next: Another day in DCA, the Halloween Party, and, will Sulley ever show up?

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Well, yikes. It is more than time to finish this trip report up!

On Monday morning we once again were up and ready for a 7AM Extra Magic Hour at DCA. Michael, so tired, kept trying to convince me "it's dark out Mama! It's still sleepy time!" But we forged ahead. Today, the Racers were working, so the three of us headed down to Toy Story. We were the first on the ride, and were able to ride 3 times in a row because there was no one in line at all! What a magical time.

We spent the next few hours riding the carousel again, visiting the Little Mermaid ride, picking up Fast Passes for the Racers, and riding Mater's tractors. We tried some churro bites which must now be a must have snack on future trips. Michael met Lightning again. He was cute-he just wanted to stand next to him and smile. We headed to Monsters Inc again and when coming out, happened to ask when Sulley would be doing a meet and greet. Since it was only 10 minutes away we headed over and waited. And waited and waited and waited. Dean checked with cast members several times. Finally, it was close enough to his meeting time for the next hour that we decided to continue to wait. And still no giant blue monster! We saw Max and Sophia doing meet and greets nearby so Michael got a few cute photos with them. But his patience began wearing thin. We had hoped to do a quick meet and greet with Sulley and then head to DTD for a monorail ride before getting back to DCA in time for our Racers fast passes. That was not to be. Michael was getting cranky and really wanted to purchase everything at the Monsters Inc shop right across from the meet and greet area. So I became "that" mom with a tantrumming boy having a timeout on a bench. We knew it was time for a break then.

So we cut our losses, Dean and Michael rode Heimlich's Chew Chew train again, I rode the Racers, and then we switched. With Michael in the stroller we did a quick walk back over to Sulley's area and sure enough, this time there was a short line and a photopass photographer there along with a character handler. This was a very good sign!

After a few short minutes Sulley himself appeared. When it was Michael's turn he was absolutely thrilled. Sulley spotted himself on Michael's shirt, got excited, and then heard me say Michael's name and he really got excited then. I told the cast members that he was going to be Mike Wazowski at that night's Halloween Party and they pretty much couldn't stand the cuteness. Sulley wanted to help Michael work on his roar. (It is amazing the way the characters can so clearly express so much without saying a word!) So then we had a 7 foot tall Sulley and a 3 foot tall Michael trying to scare each other. Michael ate every moment up and ended the interaction with a big hug. I got some great pictures and felt pretty high on life. We had succeeded!

We met back up with Dean afterwards for lunch at Pacific Wharf. This has always been one of my favorites. The Crab Louie was just as delicious as I'd remembered. Dean enjoyed a bread bowl of soup and Michael, no surprise, had some mac and cheese. Our boy ate mac and cheese every single day of this vacation. And he loved every minute of it. Eh, all bets are off during vacation! He ate lots of apples, carrots, and grapes too so I decided not to fight this particular battle.

After lunch it was time for dessert at Ghiradelli. Delicious! We ordered two sundaes-we surely could have gotten by with one-but we really wanted to try two of them. A butterscotch one and a peanut butter one were equally delicious. Then I took my sticky boy back to the hotel. He became even more sticky on this walk as he spilled half a bottle of chocolate milk all over himself and, overly tired, started to weep. I decided to instruct him in the old adage "Don't cry over spilled milk" and stopped in the coffee shop to purchase a replacement bottle before taking him up to the room. I took one look at this boy and realized he'd never needed a bath more in his life.

Despite the conspicuous lack of bath toys (why don't I ever remember to pack a couple in with my toiletries?) he was much happier after a nice warm soak and rinse. He napped, and I started trying to pack things up in preparation for our trip home the next day. When Dean got back (he rode Racers at least twice more!) I went to the gift shop for "just a couple of things" and ended up with a large bag full. Including the Disney Candyland bag which I was saving for Christmas. I managed to get this all sort of hidden away and get our Halloween costumes out and ready before it was time to wake Michael up and get ready for some trick or treating!

Up next: Party Time!

 

[teacherlisa1978]

We were all really excited for this! We'd planned to be Woody, Jessie, and Buzz for the party. But then Michael became obsessed with Mike Wazowski, I found a costume for him, and that was it. We were Woody, Jessie, and Mike. The best part of this was Cast Members saying "Happy Halloween Mike!" all night long. It made me smile, Michael just expects to be well known wherever he is, I think.

We ate dinner at Earl of Sandwich before the party-at about 5:00 I think. It's another of our WDW favorites and didn't disappoint in this location. We headed into DL then, and I was surprised and delighted by the Cast Member costumes that were special for the party, as well as all of the decorations.

We headed to ToonTown with all the hordes of other people. I found this very overwhelming. We had to wait in a line to even enter ToonTown. After a short wait Michael wanted to ride Roger Rabbit immediately. So we did, with no wait. Then we headed to the Trick or Treat trail that wound through Donald's boat. I said I'd take him on the trail through Mickey and Minnie's house. Wow, that was a bit more than I had expected-45 minutes later and we were done. 45 minutes of trying to keep Michael's mouth off the ropes in the queues and convincing him that just because other kids were spinning around, hitting people, and dropping candy wrappers on the ground it didn't mean he could. I could not believe the adults in front of me who would ask the cast members for different or more candy than what they had just been given. Wow. Dean and I didn't even really think about gathering candy for ourselves although we realized we could have-but it certainly would have been much more cost-effective to purchase a few Costco bags of candy than to buy tickets to the party if candy is what you're after...

By this time the party was in full swing and we decided we'd do a little trick or treating, a little bit of character meeting, and maybe a few rides. The Monsters Inc dance party was going to be a must do, of course. We rode Gadget's Go Coaster while we were still in Toontown. Michael got right on, sat down, and pulled the bar down before I could get on. The CM had to get a special tool out to release the bar and let me in. Clearly, Michael had gotten into the Disneyland routine quickly!

Then we went off to meet Woody. He and my husband had a little high fiveing Cowboy moment together.

It was just about time for the dance party. I truly believe this was the highlight of Michael's whole trip. For the next hour he did not stop dancing. Not once! He tried out some break dancing moves that I have no idea he'd ever seen much less attempted. One of the Monster cheerleaders came and danced with him, and he was spinning and jumping and loving every minute. I went and got us some cream cheese pretzels for a little snack and we finally managed to tear Michael away for some more trick or treating-but it wasn't easy! We went through the trail that went through Innoventions, which was nice since we hadn't been in there yet. This was our last treat trail for the night, and we ended up with a nice mix of mostly candy, some cranberries, and a few apples. No carrots which was too bad because Michael really likes them and would have enjoyed snacking on them.

We were really, really tired then. We sat down on the steps on Small World Mall. Michael pretended to fall asleep, snoring noises and all. He loved the fireworks and projections on IASW and of course, all the music.

There was still about an hour of the party left at that point, but we felt done. I'd hoped for some Halloween party specific merchandise but never did see any. That was the only disappointment, though. We certainly won't be able to plan a Halloween trip to DLR every year, but I'd like to plan to go again in a few years when Michael is a little older and experience it a little differently. I'd heard the rides had very short lines during the party and that would have been fun to experience.

I wanted to pack up that night and be ready to go the next morning but oh gosh no, my feet hurt way too bad to even attempt that. Plus, Michael was over-stimulated and over-tired and needed a quiet dark room to be able to go to sleep. So we did.

Coming up: Last Day-Looking Back, Looking Ahead...

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Thankfully, our last morning didn't start quite so bright and early as some of our others. EMH at Disneyland was at 9:00. So Dean took part in the power walk through DCA for DLR Hotel guests. I'd really wanted to do this, but my feet were just absolutely way too done for that. I've never had such sore feet on a Disney trip...definitely got to get something figured out before next summer's WDW trip.

While Dean power walked I packed. Of course Michael woke up in the middle of this process, and of course his talking Mike Wazowski toy (also being saved for Christmas) began talking without ceasing...I figured out how to turn it off and get him packed before he was discovered, thankfully.

Somehow, and I'm still not sure how, everything got packed up, everyone got showered and fed and dressed, and nothing was left behind. We took our last sad walk down the PPH hallway-loved seeing the view of DCA every morning walking to the elevators.

Of course this is the time we finally ran into the infamous PPH slow elevators. We waited 15 minutes before one even stopped. And there were lots of people waiting with us, who were giving dirty looks to our giant stroller, car seat, and pile of luggage. Finally I managed to get on with Michael's stroller, one suitcase, and my giant backpack on my back, which was jammed into the chest of a very nice man who probably later complained about people with giant backpacks in elevators on a message board somewhere...I wouldn't blame him.

Dean came down a few minutes later with everything else, and we overwhelmed bell services with everything. They were very kind, and we were off to DL. It was very crowded today, we knew a later start to EMH would do that. We managed to ride Peter Pan and Dumbo and then Michael kept pleading for a ride on Mr. Toad. It was a 30 minute wait which is just about completely unacceptable to me but, for this boy, I decided I'd do it.

Even now, 2 months after the trip, he keeps telling us his favorite rides were Roger Rabbit and Mr. Toad. I think it's because he gets to "drive" on both rides. And, sigh, of course, neither of those two rides are at WDW, next summer's vacation destination. Ahh well, all the more reason to return to Anaheim sooner rather than later.

I pulled a FP for Splash Mountain and finally got to ride my favorite ride. The boys rode Casey Jr. again and we met for corndogs...and a photo op...

We ended the trip with a round trip grand circle tour on the Railroad.

We got to ride in the caboose which was a fun treat. 2 1/2 stops in, Michael declared an urgent need for the potty. We quickly decided I'd stay on the train and get the stroller back at Toontown where we boarded and meet them with Mickey bars to end the trip. By the time I got to them Michael was fast asleep on a bench on Main Street. Dean and I enjoyed some ice cream and people watching. Cruella DeVille came out and put on a little show in front of the fire house. (Dang it! Never managed to take Michael into the firehouse! How is 5 days not enough time?)

The trip ended on a high note. As I teared up, as I always do, when leaving a Disney vacation behind, Dean reminded me that I don't have to be sad. Disney every year-that was our deal a few years ago when we had to make some tough decisions about family and children and careers and life. We reminisced about our favorite moments from this trip-watching my little Mike Wazowski breakdancing was certainly right up there-looked ahead to what we look forward to in the future. (Soon he will be 40 inches tall!)

We had to wake Michael up at the hotel to get changed and ready to head to the airport. We had planned to take the DLR Express but after we talked to the folks at the hotel they suggested we take a cab-cheaper, and no time schedule to stick to. Dean was willing to install the car seat one more time so that worked out. We had a great bell hop, George, who was so helpful with a cranky Michael (Imagine, one minute you're asleep on Main Street and the next moment you're awake and being put into a cab with your vacation over!), and a great deal of luggage.

It was a quick and easy cab ride (and the hotel gave us a voucher for a contracted rate so it was inexpensive too) and we were at the airport. Because we always arrive obnoxiously early at airports there were short lines everywhere, and even the TSA agents were pleasant. We found a spot by our gate to sit and relax and this time, Michael stayed right where he was supposed to. We picked up some snack wraps from McDonald's and soon it was time for our flight home.

Once again Michael was great on the flight. Watched a movie, did some sticker books and Magic Ink books, and before we knew it we were back in the Emerald City. Grandma picked us up-in her car, not our car, which meant our luggage barely fit and Dean had to get out and re-load the back of her Escape 3 times but soon enough we were on the road and home. Michael wanted to tell Grandma everything about the trip and show her every toy, book, map, piece of paper he had picked up on the trip.

It was back to work and pre-school the next day and thankfully it didn't take Michael long to fall fast asleep in his own little bed, visions of Mickey and Minnie dancing in his head.

Coming up: Final Thoughts

 

[teacherlisa1978]

To sum it up-amazing, awesome, wonderful, terrific, practically perfect in every way could all be used interchangeably to describe this trip. Our first real vacation with just us as a family of 3 and we could not have enjoyed it more.

Highlights: staying on-site, taking Michael when he's 3 and everything is still so magically real for him, good food, attending the Halloween Party, all the character interactions, and 5 days was a good amount of time to be there.

Thoughts for next time: We'll skip Ariel's Grotto for certain. And we would definitely not sit around waiting for a character for an hour no matter how much our child would like to meet him or her.

After the trip we actually thought about swapping next summer's WDW trip for DLR. My parents have not been there since DCA was renovated and I know they'd love Carsland and World of Color...in the end we are sticking with Florida since Dad and I like it best, but a trip to DLR is certainly in our family's future.

Thank you for reading along, and have a Magical Day!

 

[mumto2]

Great TR! Thanks for sharing - picked up some great tips for our upcoming trip! Your little guy is adorable

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Great TR! Thanks for sharing - picked up some great tips for our upcoming trip! Your little guy is adorable

Thank you! We had the best time. Hope you do, too!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Cholula]

Thanks for sharing! It's always great to be thinking about ideas for the next trip!

 

[DisneytheKid]

Great TR! we haven't been that time of year so is interesting to see some of the differences

 

[TexasErin]

I enjoyed your trip report very much. Thank you for taking the time to post it!

Great pictures! Your little boy is absolutely adorable- I even made my 17-year-old daughter come and look at his cute pictures. Enjoy Michael being 3 while you still can----my kids are 11 and 17 (they grow so fast!) They don't know it yet, but we're headed to DLR for the first time in a few months instead of our yearly trek to WDW. I can't wait to tell them the night before!

As a first timer, I really got a lot of tips!