Characters, characters, everywhere. 5 Days Plus MHP in Oct 2013

[dnamertz]

It's been 10 months, but I'm finally getting around to posting a trip report from our trip last October.

The trip included me, DW, DD (who was almost 6 at the time) all flying from the Pacific NW, to be joined by my parents who live in Northern California, and for part of the trip joined by my sister (who lives in So. Cal.). Our DD had been to DL twice before…one at 2 ½ and once when she was almost 5. The rest of us are DL veterans over the course of our lives. My mom actually went to DL the year it opened. Her and my Dad don’t ride a lot of the rides these days, but they still love DL and go with us to see their granddaughter have fun.

As a kid growing up in the 1970’s in the Los Angeles area, I visited DL a few times in the 70’s and after moving to the Pacific NW in the early 80’s made a couple more single day trips in the 80’s/early 90’s..this was back when one day was enough to do almost everything. My first multi-day visit was in 1995 (the summer Indy opened) , for five days with my parents and sister. My wife and I took our first trip to DL together in 1998 for five days, then in 1999 we took our honeymoon in L.A …five days at DL, one day at Magic Mountain (doesn’t hold a candle to DL), and a Dodger game. A couple other multi-day trips in 2001 and 2005. Then after our daughter was born, a 3-day trip in June 2009, a 4-day trip the week before Thanksgiving 2011, and now this trip in Oct 2013.



Planning the trip:

Thanks to the DIS website, I spent so many hours planning and researching where to stay and exactly which week to go. We decided on the week ending Oct 26, so then I had to spend even more time figuring out which days to use our 5 day hoppers and which day to do the MHP. This was only a one week vacation, so we had planned on leaving on Saturday and returning the following Saturday, but as I checked airfare it was actually $300 cheaper to fly back Sunday. So we decided to pay another $106 for the motel to stay an extra night, which was good because I didn’t want Friday to be our last day since there was an MHP Friday night (and did not want to do a Friday MHP for fear of crowds) but I also did not want the last night of our trip to be spent at DCA…I have to end our trip at DL, it’s tradition.

These are the days we planned for our trip:

Saturday Oct 19 – Fly into Orange County, check-in to motel, swim, visit DTD

Sunday – Day 1 of park hopper

Monday – MHP

Tuesday – Day 2 of park hopper

Wednesday - Day 3 of park hopper

Thursday – Day 4 of park hopper

Friday – Day off to relax, swim, visit DTD

Saturday – Final Day of park hopper

Sunday – Fly home



Booking the trip:

I bought our DLR tickets just before the ticket prices went up in June 2013. Thanks to a discount program I have through my health insurance, I got 10% off the ticket price. The discount is through the Disneyland website, so to pay for the tickets I bought two Disney gift cards worth a total of $750 from Safeway who at the time was offering 4x gas rewards points when purchasing gift cards. This saved me $1 per gallon three times I filled up my tank (about another $35 in savings). I wouldn’t have known about this had it not been for the DIS.

On our last two trips we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel (2009) and the Ramada Maingate (2011). Both good places to stay, but this time we wanted to be as close to the entrance as possible so we chose the Best Western Park Place Inn. We booked standard rooms at $106 per night (got a 10% discount with my Costco membership).

Airfare were booked to fly into Santa Ana (Orange County) airport arriving around noon Saturday Oct 19 and returning from LAX Sunday Oct 27 departing at 6pm (it was a lot cheaper flying back from LAX than Santa Ana).

We booked a lunch at the Blue Bayou for our first day in the park. I also decided to try the PhotoPass Plus. We have never used the PhotoPass before, but since we be in the parks for 5 days and the MHP, it might be worth it.



More Planning:

Once the dates were set and everything was booked, it was time for the serious planning of what to do each day at DLR. I’ve never researched a trip as much as I did this one. To me, planning a DL trip is almost as exciting as the trip itself. I even tried using Touring Plans and spent a lot of time developing a plan for what attractions to do each day…it was kind of fun, even though I knew we would not stick to a detailed plan once we got In the parks. The research did help me create a list of all the things I wanted to do this trip and which park to start each day in and when to try to get fast passes (especially for RSR).



Getting Ready For the Trip:

Our DD knew we were going to take a trip to California to visit Grandma and Grandpa, but we did not tell her we were going to DL. Our plan was to surprise her by revealing it to her as we arrived at the motel. She did start asking a couple days before the trip if we could go to Disneyland while in California. She really didn’t have a concept of how far Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Northern California is away from Disneyland…she just knew they were both in California. So we told her we will see about going to DL. Then, two days before we left for our trip she drew the following picture of Mickey and wrote this short statement about DL (for those who can’t interpret her writing, it says “Disneyland is fun if you be good and it is so fun that we like it so much”). She doesn’t usually write about Disney or draw Disney pics, she just happened to do this right before our trip.

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Because we were going to the MHP, we had to decide on our costumes. I decided on being Mike Wazowski and my DW was going to be Sulley, and our DD wanted to be a zebra for Hallowen. For me, we ordered a Mike t-shirt (green with a Mike eye and mouth on it) and matching green pants. Then we found a hart had at Goodwill and spray painted it Monsters Inc blue and put the Monsters Inc logo on the front. My DW ordered her Sulley costume and DD’s zebra costume online. They were both head-to-toe furry costumes (we weren’t thinking ahead when we ordered these costumes…more on that later). We also picked up some costume accessories…a plush Celia “Schmoopsie” to attach to my costume and a plush Boo to attach to the Sulley costume, and some nice Monsters U and Disney Halloween totes for only $3 each at the Disney Store. So we were all set to go.



Arrival Day:

We woke up Saturday morning and left for the airport around 8am. The flight was on-time, and the people in the seats behind us were on their way to Disneyland and with our daughter still unaware we were going, I didn’t say anything…but I so wanted to say to them “hey, we’re going to DL too”.

We landed at Santa Ana airport around noon and were greeted at the luggage carrousel by my parents. They were thinking the same thing my wife and I were thinking when they asked “Do you want to go to Inn and Out for lunch?”. Of course, we love to go to Inn and Out whenever we’re in California since there is not one near us.

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We then headed to the Best Western Park Place Inn, and the big reveal to our DD or what this trip was really about. However, instead of getting off I-5 at the Harbor exit, we got off on Katella and came up harbor from a few blocks south of DLR. So, our DD started to see Disney trams with Toy Story characters painted on them then before we came up to California Adventure she said “hey, isn’t that the Tower of Terra?” (as she calls it). So, by the time we said we were going to DL and we’d be there for 8 days, the excited reaction we were expecting was more of a mellow happy reactions (she later would say that she was so shocked that she was speechless). She was a little more excited when I told her about the Halloween party and that we’d be trick-or-treating in Disneyland.

We got checked in to the Best Western Park Place, and since we wanted joining rooms (and we had reserved one queen bed with a sleeper sofa and my parents reserved a room with two queen beds) the only two joining rooms of those types they had were on the 2nd floor at the very back of the motel. That was good and bad…the good was that there was never anyone walking past our room so it was super quiet. The not-so-good was that those motels on Harbor extend way back off the street, and it seemed like a very long walk to get from the front of the motel back to our room. When my sister joined us later in the week she joked that we got the motel as close as possible to the entrance to DL but then got the room as far away as possible. Even with the location of the room, it was great being so close to DL. The rooms were clean, and adequate which is all we really ask for at Disneyland since we spend very little time in the room.

We went to the pool for a couple hours, then headed to Downtown Disney to soak up a little Disney atmosphere and have dinner. We decided to have Dinner at Rainforest Café. The wait was almost two hours…it was a crowded Saturday night. We’ve taken our DD each or our previous two trips because she loves it. The food is usually average…not bad, but there are better places. However, this time my wife and I shared the big appetizer sampler plate and it was extremely good…the mozzarella sticks were just your average mozzarella sticks, but everything else on the plate was very good. We were surprised.

We finished dinner around 9:15 and on our way back to the motel we passed through the esplanade between DL and DCA and there were a lot of people sitting on the ground. We realized the fireworks were about to start, so we stood there got a pretty good view of the fireworks show. Then it was off to bed.


Coming soon, day 1. Here is a preview, our DD waiting to enter the Happiest Place On Earth...


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[MommyJKM]

I can't believe you remember everything almost a year later!

I have such a bad memory I forget things within days! Glad to see your DD was so excited

 

[dnamertz]

I can't believe you remember everything almost a year later!

I have such a bad memory I forget things within days! Glad to see your DD was so excited

The pictures help a lot. We take a ton of pictures, and as I look through them it's almost like a timeline of what we did and when we did it.

Without the pictures, many of the details of the trip become a big blur.

 

[petals]

joining in

 

[dnamertz]

Day 1 - Sunday:

This would be our earliest morning as DL opened at 8am that day. Our goal was to leave the motel by 7:30 hoping to be inside the DL gates before 8am for rope drop. We ended up arriving at the gates exactly at 8am, and there was no line because gates probably opened at 7:30 to let people in for rope drop. We got right in, and as we walked through the tunnel there was Mickey in the center of the square by the flag pole. Only one or two families were in line, so got some pics with Mickey. Minnie was also over by the Emporium with only one family waiting, so we got pics with her, and then Chip and Dale were in front of the Magic Shop with no wait. This wasn’t our intended first stop, but we couldn’t pass up seeing these characters with almost no wait. The thing I really like about these pics is there isn't a bunch of people in the background.

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What we intended our first attraction to be was Indiana Jones. Our DD was not tall enough the previous trip, but she just reached the 48 inch mark a couple months before this trip so we’d been talking up the ride for a long time. We agreed it would be the first ride we went on, so DW, DD and I headed toward Adventure Land (G-ma and G-pa would catch up with us at the Indy exit) but as we passed the sign in the hub that shows wait times, we saw that Indy was having a “delayed opening”. We went to the ride and sure enough it was down. While waiting for G-ma and G-pa to meet us, DD wanted to go up in the Tarzan Treehouse, so I took her up. The months of research and touring plans, I had to laugh to myself that the first attraction we went on was the treehouse. Then we went on Pirates before heading back to Indy which was finally running. After getting our DD excited about going on this ride, she ending up not liking it because it was scary (with the darkness and the bugs). She spent most of the ride with her face buried in her hands. I felt bad…I never considered she might be scared, especially since she like thrill rides and liked the haunted mansion even at the age of 2 ½. Needless to say, we didn’t ride Indy again on this trip.

Next, we hit the Haunted Mansion, got FP’s for three of us for Splash Mt, and rode the Pooh ride. Since the Splash Mt line was almost non-existent, we decided to ride that next rather than come back to use the FP.



Our daughter got this souvenir in Critter Country and this Lady would follow us on most of this trip.



On our way to the Jungle Cruise we saw Tiana and there was almost no one in line. As you’ll see later, we saw many characters during this trip and there was almost never anyone waiting in line. I don’t know if they had more characters out that they used to, but they seemed to be everywhere.



Jungle Cruise was the first ride on that morning where we saw a line longer than a few minutes (it was maybe a 20 minute wait…around 10:15am). After that my DW and parents went to wait for our 11:15 reservation at the Blue Bayou, while DD and I walked to the photo shop on Main St to pick up our PhotoPass Plus. On the way back we saw a ceremony in front of the castle with Alice, Mad Hatter, Chip and Dale and other characters. It was pretty cool…I’d never seen it before.

Heading back to the Blue Bayou I noticed the lines really starting to get long at Jungle Cruise, Indy, and Pirates. As many have said, Sunday morning can have really low crowds, and it was true on this morning…we got quite a lot done in the first few hours for going at a leisurely pace. At the Blue Bayou we got a table by the water, and lunch was great as usual. Of course, I think I’ve only ever had the Monte Cristo here, and for a rare treat, I love it…the atmosphere is the best part though.

After lunch we took the train to ToonTown and wandered around there for a while, getting a FP for Roger Rabbit and using it before we left the area. Next we wandered over to Tomorrowland where the lines were pretty long. We got FP for Autopia (which the start time was about 1 hour away) so while waiting we got on the Monorail. Going over the entrance to DCA, Buena Vista street looked pretty empty so we decided to exit the Monorail and enter DCA through the GCH. It was at least 80 degrees that day (which is very warm for us on an October day) so DD, DW and I got FP’s for Grizzly River Run (start time about 40 minutes out). My parents headed back to the motel for a break and while waiting for our FP time the rest of rode Monsters Inc and checked out Buena Vista street (which was under construction, along with Carsland, last time we were there). Over the next few days, I grew to like the vibe of Buena Vista street over what they had there before. We then went back to use our GRR FPs, and get soaked.



Next we decided to get our first look at Carsland. When I first heard they were building an entire land themed around Carsland, I was not excited. I never thought it was one of the better Pixar movies (I think it’s because the characters are based on inanimate objects…while in other Disney movies, the characters are people or animals. Yes, animals don’t really talk, but they have a personality that can translate into a great movie character…cars, not so much). That being said, I was really impressed with how great Carsland looked in person. The detail was amazing!!!

The only disappointing thing was Luigi’s Flying Tires (probably the most disappointing thing since waiting 3 hours to ride the Rocket Rods). It might have been a little more fun when they had the beach balls, but it was a lot of leaning without really going anywhere.

We left the parks and met met my parents for dinner at Mimi’s Café, and go back to the motel to put on some warmer clothes. Then back to enjoy some nighttime fun at DL, riding the Nemo Subs and Small World (it was the only day of our trip SW would be open before they closed it to start adding the Christmas decorations). By the time we got off Small World, the fireworks were starting so we stood in front of Small World and watched the fireworks and were pleasantly surprised at the show we saw. During the entire show, they displayed video images on the entire front of Small World. Videos of rides and images that went along with the music that was playing…even video of the Electrical Parade. It was great!





After the fireworks, we still had time to get to New Orleans Square for the 2nd viewing of Fanstasmic. Fantasmic is my favorite thing at DLR and it would only be playing this night and the final night of our trip. By the time we got there it was pretty packed. My Mom wouldn’t be able to sit on the ground for the entire show, even if there were spots available. So, we were looking for a table at the River Belle Terrace but all they had were tables way in the back…it looked like we were going to have to settle for a very obstructed view of the show. Then all of the sudden, a guy at a table up front came up to my Mom and said “you must be an Oregon Ducks fan” (my Mom was wearing an Oregon Ducks sweatshirt). This guy was also a huge Oregon fan so he invited us to sit at their table with him, his wife and daughter who was probably a year or two older than our daughter. They were really generous…we would actually run into them a couple more times during our trip. We got some food and enjoyed the show.

Afterwards, my parents went back to the motel for the night, and we finished the night with another ride on Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, and got on Star Tours just before midnight.



As we were leaving the park my DD said “wait, is this still the first day we came into Disneyland? It seemed like 2 days”. Yes, it did seem like 2 days to me too…unfortunately, the remaining 7 days of our trip would fly by in the blink of an eye. Up next, day 2...the MHP.

 

[Amilo]

Great tr so far! I can't believe you met so many characters with no wait! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[rentayenta]

Joining in too. Going back to catch up!

 

[204charity]

Joining in!

 

[dnamertz]

Day 2 – Monday MHP

After a late night, we slept in. We were not using our park-hoppers this day, we would only be doing Mickey’s Halloween Party. After a late breakfast, we hung out by the pool for a couple hours before starting to get ready for the party. As I mentioned earlier, we did not plan wisely when we ordered costumes for my DD and DW. They had head-to-toe furry costumes and since we’d be entering the park in the mid-afternoon on an 80 degree day, these were not warm weather clothes. My DD, who gets warm easily did not want to wear her zebra costume. Luckily my DW brought a pirate dress with us, so my DD agreed to wear that. My DW was a trooper and wore her warm Sulley costume, but changed out of it toward the end of the party.

We got in costume and arrived at the gates about 3:30 (Pre-party in Toontown started at 5:00, the rest of the MHP started at 6:00). The line to get in wasn’t too long, maybe about 15 minutes. The park seemed a little crowded when we entered, with a mixture of regular guest and MHP guests being in the park. We rode Buzz Lightyear before getting a quick dinner at Tomorrowland Pizza Port. We then made our way to Toontown but were cutoff by the parade near Small World, so we had to wait for the parade to pass before we could enter the pre-party….we entered around……………

We immediately saw Chip and Dale, and stopped to get pics (no wait). Then DW, DD and I trick-or-treated through DD’s Boat and Mickey and Minnie’s houses. Lines moved pretty fast. Then DD wanted to ride Gadget’s Go Coaster so we rode it (wasn’t a line, otherwise I wouldn’t have rode it during the MHP).

Here is a pic from the top of the coaster showing how crowded Toontown was (around 5:40).





After that we noticed Mickey and Minnie in costume posing for pics together behind the gazebo. Looked like a long line, but we couldn’t pass up that photo-op. The wait ended up being at least 25 minutes, and at one point the cast member told us we would be the last people in the line to meet M& M, and then Roger Rabbit would be coming out, which was great for us and great for the woman behind us who was actually dressed like Roger Rabbit. Gald we got this pic, it’s one of my favorites. It’s also the one pic of all the pics we had taken with our Photo Pass Plus card that we never received. Luckily we also had them take some pics with our own camera.



On our way out of Toontown, we got another pic of DD with Chip and Dale. This whole time, my parents had been off on their own, trick-or-treating in ToonTown.



We were done with Toontown, so we started making our way to New Orleans Square, hitting a couple trick-or-treat lines in Fantasyland (the line in the Village Haus had cool decorations/lighting). While I put on a warmer shirt under my costume, DD and DW rode Snow White and Pinnochio, then we all rode Mr Toad. Next we went to Big Thunder Ranch where Woody was just waiting to take a picture with us (no line) and went through their trick-or-treat trail.





Continuing through Big Thunder Trail, there were cool sound effects and orange lights coming out of the caves over on Tom Sawyer’s Island.





By the time we reached Frontiirland the whole Frontierland/New Orleans Square area was packed with people. My DW wanted to pose for pictures with Jack Sparrow (at the Mark Twain entrance), so the 3 of us got in that long line, while my parents continued to trick-or-treat. After waiting in line for 10 or 15 minutes, and still not being close to the front, we heard that Jack would be leaving any minute to be replaced by Peter Pan. Not wanting wait anymore time for Peter Pan, we exited the line to ride Pirates. When we came out of Pirates it was about 7:50 and the Cadaver Dans were performing on a raft on Rivers of America.



My DD and DW rode Splash Mt, so I met back up with my parents and went through the trick-or-treat trail along the Rivers of America (which had many candy stations extending from the front of Pirates all the way to Harbour Galley) and enjoyed the atmosphere (fog on the water was cool).





We all met back and headed toward Main Street for the fireworks, stopping to ride the Jungle Cruise (where we ran into the family that shared their table with at Fantasmic the night before). There was absolutely no line, but we did have to wait longer than normal for the next boat to come back…there were probably only a couple boats operating.

Thanks to advice I got from DIS members, we got a good spot for the fireworks 25 minutes before the show in the middle of Main Street (about even with the Corn Dog Wagon). The fireworks show was the highlight of the party.



For the final hour of the party, my parents returned to the motel. My DD and DW rode Space Mt while I waited (we didn’t think to have my parents take our 3 bags of candy and my wife’s costume). After they got off Space Mt, we got pics with Stormtroopers (no waiting).



Then my daughter insisted I ride Space Mt with her, so we rode while my DW went and watched some of the 2nd parade. We got off Space Mt with about 10 minutes left in the party and went over and enjoyed the end of the Monster Inc dance party.



Overall I really enjoyed our first MHP, just for the fact that it was like being in Disneyland in a completely different atmosphere. Six hours (counting the pre-party) was enough to do a lot, but not enough to do everything I would have liked. We were basically doing the activities our DD wanted to do, but looking back I would have saved the rides for our non-party days (it was hard to pass up such short lines…but I would have skipped Pirates, which is a long ride and I ended up going on it 4 times on this trip. I really didn’t feel like crowds were much of an issue during the MHP. Yes, it seemed packed in areas like New Orleans Squre, but I think part of that is because many of the people are there trick-or-treating in areas that are normally walkways, when they are usually out of the walkways and on the rides. If you want to get pics with some of the exclusive characters (Mickey and Minnie, Jack Sparrow, Jack Skellington, villains) then that is were you can run into long waits that will eat up a lot of your MHP time. I would definitely do an MHP again if I was going to DLR that time of year.

Got more candy than we knew what to do with…OK, we knew what to do with it. We ate it! This was our stash, and my parents got about the same amount between the two of them.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I love it so far! The characters are cute in their costumes

 

[petals]

Luvin the halloween party pics

 

[Lauren1027]

Great trip report! I'm currently planning an October 2015 Disneyland trip (first time!!!) so I'll definitely be following along =o) By the way, when in October did you go? Since this will be my first time going to Disneyland, I don't want to miss Small World, so I'll need to try and plan my trip before they shut it down for its annual refurb.

Thanks!

 

[dnamertz]

Great trip report! I'm currently planning an October 2015 Disneyland trip (first time!!!) so I'll definitely be following along =o) By the way, when in October did you go? Since this will be my first time going to Disneyland, I don't want to miss Small World, so I'll need to try and plan my trip before they shut it down for its annual refurb.

Thanks!

We were at the parks from Oct 20 to Oct 26. It's a Small World shut down for the refurb starting Oct 21.

 

[dnamertz]

Day 3 - Tuesday

Parks opened at 10am this morning, but after another late night we got to the DCA gates at 10:15. This was our day to ride RSR for the first time. I got in the FP line (which was just past the Carthay Circle restaurant), while everyone else went to ride The Little Mermaid. I got RSR FP’s for 4:30 to 5:30, and went to join my family. Turns out The Little Mermaid was not working, so we all rode TSMM. Then we enjoyed the rest of Paradise Pier (boardwalk games, Fun Wheel, Swings, The Little Mermaid) then corndogs for lunch.

After lunch we got FP’s for GRR, then went to ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. This was a cute little ride…definitely better than Luigi’s.






Next, so Bugsland rides while DW rode Twilight Zone ToT twice (she is the only one of us brave enough to ride it). Then we got pictures with Sulley before we got soaked again on GRR.



On the way to GRR we saw Chip and Dale near the fountain in front of Starbucks. We got a quick pic of our DD with them, and as I was picking up my stuff I dropped the box of popcorn I had just bought. I would have been disappointed for just spilling over $3 worth of popcorn, but then either Chip or Dale ran over to the popcorn on the ground and started scooping it up pretending to eat it. Our DD thought that was one of the funniest things she had ever seen. We still laugh about it.



Then it was time! 4:30…time to check out RSR for the first time. We walked up to RSR with our FPs in hand and…the ride was not operating. Oh well, we went to the Cozy Cones and got the chili/cheese/frito cone which was so good. By then, RSR was running again, so we rode. I was surprised by how much of the ride was inside. I was expecting mostly high-speed racing…but I guess that would be a short ride. It was like an advanced dark-ride mixed in with a trill ride. We loved it. Like the rest of Carsland, the atmosphere is RSR was awesome.









Next, we had no problem getting a seat for the Pixar Parade by the waterfall minutes before it began.







Then we hopped over to Disneyland to spend the last couple hours in that park. Had enough time to ride Casey Jr, Matterhorn (would love that ride if it wasn’t so jerky), Star Tours, and finish a ride on Space Mt just before the park closed.

Near Space Mt (by that big rotating ball) was Mickey and Minnie, just hanging out with no one around. One of those great random character encounters.



Then right at the 8:00 closing we took the Monorail to DTD for dinner at Tortilla Joe’s. We’ve eaten there at least 3 times in the past and it’s been very good, but this time the food was not great. Between the five of us, there were quite a few things we ordered that we did not like.

 

[dnamertz]

Day 4 - Wednesday

Parks opened at 8am this day because there would be an MHP later that night. Despite DCA having an Early Entry that morning, we started at DCA because I wanted to get RSR FP’s for that evening in case that crowds were heavy with the MHP going on. My sister was due to arrive later that morning, so my parents waited for her at the motel while the three of us went to DCA. Got a late start so didn’t enter park until after 9:00, and since there was only three of us in the park we could only get 3 FP’s. As we were waiting in the FP line, a family came over and called out my daughter’s name. It turns out it was a girl and her family from my DD’s preschool from the prior year. A thousand miles away and we run into people we know…It’s a Small World after all.

Took some pics around the fountain and met Goofy:





Rode Soarin’ then went to Redwood Creek Challenge (had never been before…it is great for kids who like to climb on things) until my sister and parents caught up with us.



Then our DD wanted to try CA Screamin’. She was barely tall enough but didn’t want to ride because it goes upside down, but now she was ready to try. It ended up being one of her favorite rides. Then Toy Story MM, and the swings twice (is there ever a line for the swings? We didn’t even have to get out of our swings for the 2nd ride).



Time for lunch at Award Weiners (very tasty) and then my DW went on Tower of Terror while the rest of us made are way to Disneyland. I forgot I had my DW’s park hopper ticket, so I waited for her in the esplanade, and took these pics:











Once in DL we noticed this snow had appeared on the top of the castle. It was not there the day before...they must start adding parts of the holiday decorations in October, or there was a snow storm I missed.





We visited Pixie Hollow (was probably one of our longer waits of our trip, about 30 minutes), Peter Pan, took the train to New Orleans Square to ride Haunted Mansion and Pirates.



By then, it was getting close to the start of the MHP so we hopped back over to DCA to use our RSR FP’s. Since we only had 3 FP’s, 3 of us rode while the other 3 looked in some shops in Carsland.



Then we had dinner on the wharf, and with about 15 minutes before closing we got in rides on the swings and Goofy’s Sky School.

 

[petals]

I loled Halloween at one end of Main Street and Christmas at the other end. Love it