Amy&Dan
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2004
- Messages
- 15,958
We just returned from six wonderful days and nights at Disneyland. One week ago at this time we were airborne and on our way, I wish it was then! Here is a recap of our trip:
This trip included:
Me, Amy
Husband: Dan
Son: Matthew, age 11
Daughter: Maria, age 9
Brother: Stephen
Sister in Law: Jennifer
Nieces: Madeleine and Charlotte, both 5 years old
Father in Law: Gordon who joined us twice
Thursday, June 15
We left out of Denver International at 9:22 a.m. We cut it way too close and made it to the gate only five minutes before they began boarding. Never again! But our flight was uneventful, my son enjoyed seeing Downtown Denver, Six Flags, Coors and Invesco Fields out his window and in no time we were at LAX. LAX was uneventful, we made it to the baggage claim in no time and I was glad we had flown into it since doing so saved my family about $400. My father in law Gordon lives in Orange County and picked us up and less than two hours after touching down we were checking in at the Grand Californian. The hotel is beautiful, the lobby alone is an attraction. Our room wasn't ready which was fine since it was not even 12:30. We left our bags with them and headed to the park. We had a 1:50 ps for Carnation Cafe but we were hungry so we decided to see if they could get us in early which they did. We enjoyed our lunch, it was so nice to be back at Disneyland. The crowds didn't look too bad, it seemed as though most of the people there were with school groups, we saw tons of matching tee shirts and large groups. After lunch we saw the 50th anniversary movie with Steve Martin then headed to the area near Matterhorn to get a spot for the parade. Dan began getting fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain and Buzz. My brother and his wife and girls were set to arrive into Disneyland late in the afternoon from Chicago and my nieces had requested Uncle Dan get those ride fastpasses! He was able to fastpass both rides by carefully monitoring the times. I was afraid that since we only had our five passes that we wouldn't have time to basically get four sets of fp's but he did it. After the parade, Gordon took the kids on Small World while Dan and I ran back to the GCH (they had called me on my cell saying our room was ready). We got our stuff up to the room and then met Gordon and the kids back in Fantasyland and saw the Snow White show. I was foaming at the mouth I was so excited to see my brother and his family. They had flown into San Diego and were enroute. I hadn't seen my little nieces in exactly a year and the excitement was building. My kids kept asking me "when will they get here?" Finally, Stephen called, they were in their room and getting ready to come meet us in the park. They were hungry so I suggested Plaza Inn for dinner. At long last they arrived, my nieces looked huge and so grown up, amazing what one year can do! From this point on, Stephen and Jennifer had two built in babysitters and were chopped liver in the eyes of their daughters. It was all about their big cousins Matthew and Maria! We ate dinner, then rode Buzz. Naturally Dan and Matthew, our resident video game experts, racked up the highest scores. Then we rode BTMRR. My nieces hadn't done this one before and we were all a bit nervous but they loved it. Even with all the noise of the ride, I could hear Madeleine behind me squealing and clapping the whole time. Two new thrill ride junkies were born this night! We then headed into the hub for the fireworks. We sat on the ground, which is not easy for my father in law so he sat on a bench near the Matterhorn and made his way over just before they started. He did manage to sit on the ground, albeit a bit uncomfortably! The viewing dynamics in the hub area always seem to make for some testiness between people. When Gordon first arrived he stood and said he would sit at the last possible moment. We told the people behind us that was the plan but another lady started whining at him and my brother (Stephen stood with him to chat and also help him to sit when the time came). She was really nasty and getting herself in a real tizzy. As soon as the lights dimmed we got my fil down and she was still griping! Two older ladies stood behind me and a young dad behind them got really testy and disrespectful of them. They explained they simply could not sit on the ground. I offered to let his kids squeeze in up by us but he didn't seem interested in that. I really saw his point, it is frustrating, but I also could understand the plight of those very elderly ladies. And in fact, a lady in front of Dan stood the whole time, and with some leaning over and the high up nature of fireworks, Dan saw fine so it can be done. But as much as I understood that dad wanting his kids to see the fireworks, I really thought his mean attitude was more a shame than an obstructed view. Well enough about that. Madeleine and Charlotte had never seen Remember from inside the park so they really enjoyed them, especially Tinkerbelle. After the show, we headed up Main Street, we were all exhausted and it was a human traffic jam. But we made it out of the park very slowly and were inside the GCH in no time. Location, location, location! Stephen and Dan headed to the grocery store while Jennifer and I put our respective cherubs to bed. I got the room all organized (it had really killed my anal self not to do this earlier but I was more overcome with desire to see my family than organize which was amazing). Dan and Stephen returned from the store, they had gone to some very nasty grocery store nearby. They both realized while there they each had about $500 cash on them but they made it out fine even with some hassling from some strange beings in the store parking lot. I know there is an Albertson's somewhere fairly close to DL on Katella that we have been to before, we will stick to that from now on! This was some part of the Kroger chain but it was a discount type store. After they got back safe and sound, Stephen, Dan and I had a beer out on our balcony. The first night is the best, we had our whole trip ahead of us! Matthew and Maria were long since asleep. We agreed to meet in the lobby at 8:30, the park was opening at 9:00.
Friday, June 16:
We met in the lobby as agreed and were standing on Main Street with lots of other people by about 8:45. Once rope drop happened we made our way back to Peter Pan. We had about a 15 minute wait but I assured everyone this was the best time to ride. Dan was already off and running to get Splash Mountain fastpasses. In fact, this became his new mission in life the whole trip and he was in charge of running to get more fp's as soon as possible each day we were there. What a guy! Unfortunately, the Splash fp machines were not running yet, the cm told him they hold off opening them as they go so quickly. So he got BTMRR instead and met us back in Fantasyland. He missed Peter Pan but did manage to ride everything else. We had minimal waits for pretty much everything in Fantasyland which was nice. We then headed over to BTMRR and did some other things in that area. Dan did get Splash fastpasses and we rode that just before lunch. The line was already over an hour. We had an early lunch at Rancho del Zoccalo. Again, the kids all just sat at their own table and Stephen and Jennifer marveled at how easy life would be if Matthew and Maria were always around to keep the twins occupied and happy! After lunch we did a few more things and then saw the Snow White Show at 2:15. This is my favorite show at either DL or WDW. So even though we had seen it the day before I was game. While everyone else went on Small World, I stood in line, in fact I was first in line and ended up getting us front row seats. It was worth broiling in the hot sun for about 40 minutes while I stood in line! Madeleine and Charlotte enjoyed this (it wasn't running for their last visit in January) but Madeleine did not like that queen! In fact everytime she would come out to her tower, Madeleine would stick her tongue out at her! This seemed to work with the Ursula float in the parade and any other Disney character that scared her. After the show we decided to head to the GCH for some down time. Dan had hightailed it over to DCA earlier to fp Soarin so we went over there, rode that and then entered the GCH through that entrance. Again, the location of the GCH just brings about all sorts of convenient perks! I had thought we might swim but Stephen's girls were needing a nap and my kids seemed content to eat Pringles, drink cold water and watch the Disney Top Seven on TV about 20 times through. Dan and I sat on our shady balcony and watched the monorail whizz by while we had a cold beer. We had a 5:10 ps for Goofy's so after rest and showers headed to the DLH for that. We had a great dinner. I must say, the last two times I have been to Goofy's the food has been vastly improved. They have a balsamic raspberry vinegarette along with some glazed pecans on the salad bar that is wonderful. They also had pesto. I pretty much ate a lot of that and then moved to the desserts. Jennifer ran into her old boss, he was there with his family, she hadn't seen him in years, talk about a small world! After dinner, we headed into DCA to ride a few things and see the Electical Parade. We rode Monsters which we all love. My family was at Disneyland in February and we rode it but at that time I hadn't seen the movie. Maria and I watched it on the plane for this trip so the ride was even more fun for me this time. Then we rode Mullholland Madness, the girls had never done this one. Charlotte loved it but Madeleine didn't like the feeling that her "car" would go flying off the tracks! Then Jennifer and I took the girls to get seats for the parade while Dan and Stephen took my kids on Screamin. When they returned I could tell some disaster had struck. Maria had somehow lost her earrings on Screamin and realized she had left her Minnie ears on Mullholland. Dan went back to Mullholland to see if her ears were turned in (they weren't but they nicely checked each car which took FOREVER). Since the parade was starting on the opposite end of what we thought, he got stuck and missed sitting with us. Big bummer and now Maria was beside herself knowing if she hadn't left her ears behind this wouldn't have happened. Then Charlotte wanted cotton candy to which her mom and I both said no and so she joined Maria in the ranks of Disillusioned at Disneyland. Since her twin and her cousin were both unhappy, Madeleine decided she needed to be sad too. But then some nice guy was more than happy to sell me three glow necklaces to save the day and night! The girls loved the EP, it was their first time seeing it. After the parade, Dan and I took our kids out to the plaza area to see the fireworks and then we headed back to our room to bed. Long, great day.
Saturday, June 17:
We did Early Entry today. It was killer getting up at 5:45 so that we could meet in the lobby by 6:45 but we did it. And it was so nice and cool and uncrowded it was worth it. We spent the morning riding things in Disneyland and had breakfast at the Riverbelle Terrace. I love this place and as usual I got a big cinnamon roll and as usual I regretted eating something so sweet and rich so early! We rode Haunted Mansion, the girls had ridden it but weren't so sure. But when we told them the Doom Buggies would seat them plus an adult plus Matthew or Maria that helped. I rode with Jennifer and was surprised to see some of the new scenes. They also moved the hidden Mickey dinner plate arrangement, its always nice to have a change to an old favorite. We then decided to head over to DCA. Since we were staying at the GCH using our Disney Vacation Club Points, our DVC rep had called to welcome us home. She actually happened to be at Disneyland that weekend and had offered us some fastpasses. Dan had gone over and met her the afternoon before and she gave him 16 fastpasses for any ride in DL or DCA. They had no time constraint either. Dan had gotten us Soarin fp's earlier in the day so we rode that then we used our freebie fp's to ride GRR twice. On a hot day this was just what we all needed. We all got soaked and I really felt sorry for all the standby's when we exited off the ride and got right back on again using our second set of fp's. Then we walked into the GCH entrance and got our swimsuits on and headed to the pool. It was so hot that many other's had the same idea but we managed to get a couple of chairs in a semi shaded spot. We had lunch and some Mai Tai's while the kids swam. Then we headed to our rooms to rest and change and decided to go back into Disneyland for dinner and Remember. We had dinner at the Village Haus, not my favorite but we wanted to see the fireworks back by Small World and the location was good for that. The food was okay, but it was positively filthy in that restaurant. They had one guy cleaning tables but the poor man had his work cut out for him. I used some wipes I had in back pack to clean off tables and chairs for us and we made out fine. We saw the fireworks and Stephen and Jennifer decided they liked this location much better. Much fewer crowds and much fewer testy, complaining people. They rode the monorail (the girls love the monorail) and went back right after fireworks, we stayed in the park for a bit longer and then went back to the hotel about 11:00.
Sunday, June 18:
We slept in and had a 10:20 ps at Storytellers. This is the one character meal my family had never eaten at Disneyland. We really enjoyed it, it was crowded but the buffet line moved quickly and it was all delicious. And Stephen and Dan got their fill of bacon on Father's Day! Poor Jennifer was going to have to fly home for two days this evening. Her office had moved a mandatory budget meeting from the previous week to Monday and Tuesday that she could not miss. They nicely flew her home but it meant her missing out on a day and half of Disneyland. We had a nice afternoon of riding things in Disneyland, it was crowded but not horrible. The waits were generally not as big of a problem as the crowds clogging the walkways. The area in Frontierland was all blocked off, they had bleachers set up for the Pirates Premier and this meant Adventureland was a nightmare. We never did ride Indy (fastpass machines were covered, major bummer) or Jungle Cruise as we just tried to avoid that area as much as possible. We did see the Tiki Room that day which Madeleine and Charlotte loved. We then headed over to DCA to see Aladdin and do Bugs Land. Jennifer had to leave the park by 7:30 to get back to the hotel to freshen up in time for her flight. We headed back to DL and all but Jennifer rode Splash Mountain (she didn't want to get wet understandably) just before she left. Madeleine is so so on this ride, she doesn't like the big hill. But this time we had her sit in the far back next to her daddy. At the end of the ride she told him she liked it that time! I had really wanted to buy the picture since it would just be our family in it but something was wrong and it got washed away. Stephen accused me of making an obsene gesture to the camera causing this, but it was just bad luck I guess! We said goodbye to Jennifer, they headed back to the GCH while my family rode a few more things. Then we decided we were tired and headed back to the hotel. Dan and Matthew wanted Mexican so they went to get take out from the Tortilla Joe's window while Maria and I went to Club Libby Lu so she could spend some of her money she had saved and then we got pizza from the Naples pizza takeout. These were both great options budget wise. Dan got two orders of nachos and an order of pork tacos and Maria and I got two huge pieces of pizza. Combined we spent $28 and had way more food than we could eat. We ate up on our balcony, we could hear the fireworks but couldn't see them. Then the kids went to bed while Dan and I continued to sit outside, we could faintly hear our favorite musician Drew Tetrick playing his violin on DTD.
Monday, June 19:
We did Early Entry and were at the park by 7:15. Again, cloudy and cool and low crowds. We decided to do Tomorrowland first. We rode Astro Orbitor. Its funny how you can change. I have always hated this ride, mostly because I think I look pretty ridiculous getting in and out of the rockets. But then on our last visit I watched Dan and the kids ride and noticed that even the skinny minnie's of the world look kinda funny getting in and and out so I rode it this trip. I love that ride now. It has such great views plus its Madeleine and Charlotte's favorite so whats not to love? Then Stephen decided m & C were ready for Space Mountain. We told them it was less bumpy than BTMRR but dark but they were ready to try. We waited for 20 minutes, they were nervous but once on did great and loved the ride. We had a 9:50 ps for the Minnie and Friends breakfast. We were seated pretty quickly and I always enjoy this one (I did when it was princesses and before that when it was Pooh and Friends too). But I must say, this is the most poorly run of all the character meals at Disneyland. There never seems to be an rhyme or reason to how the characters make their appearances. I even heard the manager tell one family to go to Ariel's next time because it was so much better than this one. I just don't think the Plaza can handle the crowds a buffet generates. I wish they would just make it an all you can eat family style breakfast served to you like what they do at Ariel's. Also, many people find ways to sneak in to get autographs and pictures which is really irritating. The cm working at the station that had the french toast and waffles just kept screaming "waffles" at the top of her lungs hoping I guess somebody would bring out more (no idea why she didn't go back and get some). It reminded me of the "cheeseburger, chip, Pepsi" skit on Saturday Night Live of years ago. "Waffles" screamed over and over very loudly. While we all just stood there and waited and tried not to laugh. And the male manager was a joke. When after one and half hours Minnie had come to every table in our section but kept leaving before ours I asked if he could send her over. His answer: "isn't this just all so frustating, I have no idea what to tell you, I am so bummed for your kids". What a helpful guy. I mentioned that the people at the table next to us hadn't even been paying guests and had gotten autographs. Finally a female cm came and kicked them out and sent Minnie over. So-so food, horrible service, noisy atmosphere and dorm cafeteria lines = NEVER AGAIN! After breakfast we rode some more rides then decided to let the kids swim. The crowds were awful, by far our busiest day yet. We left the park about 12:30 and Gordon who had been going to meet us that day met us at the pool instead. It saved him $40 on a scooter and he still got to see the grandkids having fun which is what he comes for anyway. We ordered lunch at the pool, we weren't really hungry but it was 2:00 and Gordon hadn't eaten and we weren't eating dinner at RFC until 7:30. The pool was packed and it took about 45 minutes to get our food but that was fine. We just split two sandwiches for my family and Gordon got his own. Stephen and his girls were taking a nap and joined us at the pool around 5:00. We swam for a bit and then showered and changed and headed to RFC for our 7:30. We had a good dinner, Gordon's friend Lawrence joined us and then after dinner we walked up DTD and saw the fireworks from the plaza area. My family had done that on Friday but tonight they piped the music in which made them better. This really is not a bad place at all to see them. You miss alot but you see a lot too. Afterwards we said goodbye to Gordon and Lawrence, Lawrence took Gordon home so he didn't have to take the bus (he doens't have a car right now) and we headed to our room. Tomorrow is our last day
!
Tuesday, June 20:
Early Entry again, Godsend again. We did Astro Orbitor, Space and Buzz, then headed over to the Matterhorn. Charlotte decided she didn't like that ride so I took her over to the teacups. Suddenly I look up towards the Alice ride to see 4 people waving at me, its my family. Stephen sign languaged that the Matterhorn was already a long line so they were riding that. Charlotte and I spun then I told her, look over there, there's everybody else getting on Alice. This did not sit well with her, she thought she was missing out only on a ride she hates not one she likes! I told her she and I could get in line and ride but she decided we would just wait for them to get off. So we all rode Mr. Toad and then realized we were starving (no breakfast) so we decided to head to Blue Ribbon Bakery then DCA. We had a nice sugary, high carb breakfast, the kids played games in the penny arcade and we got into DCA by about 9:45. Dan had already been fastpassing away, by the time we exited Disneyland we had fp's for Space, Splash and BTMRR. We got into DCA and thought we would do Soarin but the line was already 45 minutes. So we fp'd that and then GRR and headed over to the Golden Zephry, Jumpin Jellyfish and Mailboomer. The kids and I rode Mailiboomer, Matthew is afraid of Jumpin Jellyfish but loves that one. This makes no sense to anyone but him. Then Dan fp'd Screamin, we took an ice cream break and decided to ride TOT with Stephen while Dan took the girls to Monsters Inc. Stephen loved TOT but Monster's was about a 45 minute wait so Dan had taken the girls to Animations and then some little show and was waiting in an endless line for Madeleine to meet her favorite princess Cinderella. Then we decided to have lunch. It was so crowded. I also must mention I saw my first celebrity sighting today. When we were over by GRR earlier, I saw Diane Keaton coming out of the GCH entrance with her family. She is really beautiful in person I must say. Although her outfit was an interesting pick. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, a brown, full skirt with black pants and black boots underneath that. She probably lost about 25 pounds of water since it was steamy hot that day. We saw her again in Sunshine Plaza eating popcorn and wating for her son to meet Max. Anyway, we had lunch at the Mexican place near Paradise Pier but sat over in the area near Bugs Land since there was more shade. I decided Dan and Stephen could take my kids on Screamin while I took Madeleine and Charlotte to Turtle Talk with Crush, which I or them had never seen. Since we had 7 fp's they could all ride and then Stephen could take my kids for a second ride. So we separated and I took the girls over to Turtle Talk which was very cute. They got a big kick out of that. Then we all rode Soarin together and then rode GRR for one last time before heading to our rooms for a break. I should have begun packing but didn't feel like it so Dan and I just sat out on balcony relaxing while Matthew and Maria played. Matthew had spent most of his money at the magic shop on Main Street and was trying out all his magic tricks on Maria so they were happy. We all took showers and changed clothes and then went back into the park about 5:00. We saw the Steve Martin movie one last time, I love that show! Then we decided to get a spot for the parade. Stephen's family hadn't seen it yet, Jennifer's plane had landed and they were going to meet up with us for the parade. Main Street was a mob scene. I managed to get a spot that would hopefully hold our party of seven. It did, but just barely! We all enjoyed the parade, Madeleine spent lots of time sticking her tongue out at Ursula and then got quite a startle when one of the guys carrying the big long poles with fish stuck one right in her and Maria's face! I told her Ursula had sent that mean fish over to pay her back for sticking out her tongue! I was getting really sad, knowing our trip was almost over. We headed over to Redd Rockets for dinner, it was total chaos getting there. Since the parade was over, everyone was heading the same direction and they also all seemed to be heading over into Tomorrowland. We all managed to get separated but since each kid was holding someone's adult hand it wasn't too much of a worry. We had to split up during dinner sine the restaurant was packed. After dinner we headed into Fantasyland for the fireworks. I still hadn't riddent Small World so my family of four did that while Stephen and Jennifer held our spot on the benches near Small World for the fireworks. We were all beat and sad. Each day we had done Early Entry when it was offered and those 7:00 a.m. morning had caught up with us. After the fireworks, we had to say goodbye, our flight was leaving at 6:45 a.m. and Stephen's family was going to drive down to San Diego for four days before they headed home. We said a quick, sad farewell, Maria was crying, hating to tell her cousins goodbye. They headed back to to the hotel and we told the kids we could stay in the park until midnight if they wanted. They did and since we had fp's for Space, Splash, BTMRR and Buzz we knew we could have some fun. We rode all of those, we had extra fastpasses since we had gotten them earlier in the day using all seven tickets. I saw a very nice dad and his little girl near Space debating whether they wanted to wait 85 minutes and I gave them two fp's which made them very happy. They got in line with us, and then Dan realized he had extras for Splash and BTMRR too so he gave them those as well. Then we rode Buzz before heading over to ride Splash and BTMRR. We also rode Haunted Mansion and were going to ride Indy but it was a 45 minute wait. I really hate it that they took fp out of this ride. So we headed into Fantasyland which was uncrowded except for Peter Pan. We rode Casey Jr., and then Mr. Toad for our last ride, boarding Toad at 11:58 p.m. We said a sad goodbye to Fantasyland then shopped til we dropped on Main Street until almost 1:00. We exited the park remembering all of our fun times with family wondering when we would make it back again. The saddest part of all of this was that Gordon was picking us up in exactly three hours for our obnoxiously early flight and I still had to pack. The kids fell into their respective bunks and were asleep immediately while Dan and I got down to the task of packing. As usual, the stuff that fit into the suitcases before the trip wasn't doing so well at fitting in now. Plus we had tons of souveneirs we had bought. We finally got it done, took showers and took a 45 minute cat nap before we got back up, dressed and woke up two very sleepy, grouchy kids. We pulled out of the GCH at 4:08 and I was so sad remembering how excited we had been pulling in just six days earlier. We got to LAX before 5:00, checked in a very long line at American but got to the gate in no time. Then we all fell asleep except Dan who had the good sense to stay awake to hear our boarding call. We got on the plane last since we had only two carryons and didn't need any overhead space. We all conked on the plane, exhausted and depressed but happy that we had had so much fun!
Crowds were really intense. I think this would have been the case anyway but the way they had Frontierland closed off in parts due to the Pirates hoopla made this worse. The park looked beautiful as always and in spite of the huge numbers of peope was really clean (except for the Village Haus). I am bummed that I missed Indiana Jones but since Madeleine and Charlotte couldn't ride and since Adventureland was a constant jam of people it just didnt' work out. There's always next time. I also somehow missed California Screamin but am glad I got to take Madeleine and Charlotte to Turtle Talk. The only other thing I really missed doing was riding the train, I always enjoy that. However the lines were always so long, I think lots of people were taking that to get over to New Orleans Square to avoid the closed off parts in that area. I would go again during this time, we usually try to go off season but due to my son's school schedule now being traditional calendar I doubt that will happen too often. With our many trips in the past we know how to use fastpass wisely and getting there early at opening each day but one really helped too. I also noticed our last night when we did stay until closing things got really manageable in all areas but Tomorrowland once Remember was over and many people left. It was a great trip made greater by sharing it with my brother and his family! Thanks for reading!
Amy
This trip included:
Me, Amy
Husband: Dan
Son: Matthew, age 11
Daughter: Maria, age 9
Brother: Stephen
Sister in Law: Jennifer
Nieces: Madeleine and Charlotte, both 5 years old
Father in Law: Gordon who joined us twice
Thursday, June 15
We left out of Denver International at 9:22 a.m. We cut it way too close and made it to the gate only five minutes before they began boarding. Never again! But our flight was uneventful, my son enjoyed seeing Downtown Denver, Six Flags, Coors and Invesco Fields out his window and in no time we were at LAX. LAX was uneventful, we made it to the baggage claim in no time and I was glad we had flown into it since doing so saved my family about $400. My father in law Gordon lives in Orange County and picked us up and less than two hours after touching down we were checking in at the Grand Californian. The hotel is beautiful, the lobby alone is an attraction. Our room wasn't ready which was fine since it was not even 12:30. We left our bags with them and headed to the park. We had a 1:50 ps for Carnation Cafe but we were hungry so we decided to see if they could get us in early which they did. We enjoyed our lunch, it was so nice to be back at Disneyland. The crowds didn't look too bad, it seemed as though most of the people there were with school groups, we saw tons of matching tee shirts and large groups. After lunch we saw the 50th anniversary movie with Steve Martin then headed to the area near Matterhorn to get a spot for the parade. Dan began getting fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain and Buzz. My brother and his wife and girls were set to arrive into Disneyland late in the afternoon from Chicago and my nieces had requested Uncle Dan get those ride fastpasses! He was able to fastpass both rides by carefully monitoring the times. I was afraid that since we only had our five passes that we wouldn't have time to basically get four sets of fp's but he did it. After the parade, Gordon took the kids on Small World while Dan and I ran back to the GCH (they had called me on my cell saying our room was ready). We got our stuff up to the room and then met Gordon and the kids back in Fantasyland and saw the Snow White show. I was foaming at the mouth I was so excited to see my brother and his family. They had flown into San Diego and were enroute. I hadn't seen my little nieces in exactly a year and the excitement was building. My kids kept asking me "when will they get here?" Finally, Stephen called, they were in their room and getting ready to come meet us in the park. They were hungry so I suggested Plaza Inn for dinner. At long last they arrived, my nieces looked huge and so grown up, amazing what one year can do! From this point on, Stephen and Jennifer had two built in babysitters and were chopped liver in the eyes of their daughters. It was all about their big cousins Matthew and Maria! We ate dinner, then rode Buzz. Naturally Dan and Matthew, our resident video game experts, racked up the highest scores. Then we rode BTMRR. My nieces hadn't done this one before and we were all a bit nervous but they loved it. Even with all the noise of the ride, I could hear Madeleine behind me squealing and clapping the whole time. Two new thrill ride junkies were born this night! We then headed into the hub for the fireworks. We sat on the ground, which is not easy for my father in law so he sat on a bench near the Matterhorn and made his way over just before they started. He did manage to sit on the ground, albeit a bit uncomfortably! The viewing dynamics in the hub area always seem to make for some testiness between people. When Gordon first arrived he stood and said he would sit at the last possible moment. We told the people behind us that was the plan but another lady started whining at him and my brother (Stephen stood with him to chat and also help him to sit when the time came). She was really nasty and getting herself in a real tizzy. As soon as the lights dimmed we got my fil down and she was still griping! Two older ladies stood behind me and a young dad behind them got really testy and disrespectful of them. They explained they simply could not sit on the ground. I offered to let his kids squeeze in up by us but he didn't seem interested in that. I really saw his point, it is frustrating, but I also could understand the plight of those very elderly ladies. And in fact, a lady in front of Dan stood the whole time, and with some leaning over and the high up nature of fireworks, Dan saw fine so it can be done. But as much as I understood that dad wanting his kids to see the fireworks, I really thought his mean attitude was more a shame than an obstructed view. Well enough about that. Madeleine and Charlotte had never seen Remember from inside the park so they really enjoyed them, especially Tinkerbelle. After the show, we headed up Main Street, we were all exhausted and it was a human traffic jam. But we made it out of the park very slowly and were inside the GCH in no time. Location, location, location! Stephen and Dan headed to the grocery store while Jennifer and I put our respective cherubs to bed. I got the room all organized (it had really killed my anal self not to do this earlier but I was more overcome with desire to see my family than organize which was amazing). Dan and Stephen returned from the store, they had gone to some very nasty grocery store nearby. They both realized while there they each had about $500 cash on them but they made it out fine even with some hassling from some strange beings in the store parking lot. I know there is an Albertson's somewhere fairly close to DL on Katella that we have been to before, we will stick to that from now on! This was some part of the Kroger chain but it was a discount type store. After they got back safe and sound, Stephen, Dan and I had a beer out on our balcony. The first night is the best, we had our whole trip ahead of us! Matthew and Maria were long since asleep. We agreed to meet in the lobby at 8:30, the park was opening at 9:00.
Friday, June 16:
We met in the lobby as agreed and were standing on Main Street with lots of other people by about 8:45. Once rope drop happened we made our way back to Peter Pan. We had about a 15 minute wait but I assured everyone this was the best time to ride. Dan was already off and running to get Splash Mountain fastpasses. In fact, this became his new mission in life the whole trip and he was in charge of running to get more fp's as soon as possible each day we were there. What a guy! Unfortunately, the Splash fp machines were not running yet, the cm told him they hold off opening them as they go so quickly. So he got BTMRR instead and met us back in Fantasyland. He missed Peter Pan but did manage to ride everything else. We had minimal waits for pretty much everything in Fantasyland which was nice. We then headed over to BTMRR and did some other things in that area. Dan did get Splash fastpasses and we rode that just before lunch. The line was already over an hour. We had an early lunch at Rancho del Zoccalo. Again, the kids all just sat at their own table and Stephen and Jennifer marveled at how easy life would be if Matthew and Maria were always around to keep the twins occupied and happy! After lunch we did a few more things and then saw the Snow White Show at 2:15. This is my favorite show at either DL or WDW. So even though we had seen it the day before I was game. While everyone else went on Small World, I stood in line, in fact I was first in line and ended up getting us front row seats. It was worth broiling in the hot sun for about 40 minutes while I stood in line! Madeleine and Charlotte enjoyed this (it wasn't running for their last visit in January) but Madeleine did not like that queen! In fact everytime she would come out to her tower, Madeleine would stick her tongue out at her! This seemed to work with the Ursula float in the parade and any other Disney character that scared her. After the show we decided to head to the GCH for some down time. Dan had hightailed it over to DCA earlier to fp Soarin so we went over there, rode that and then entered the GCH through that entrance. Again, the location of the GCH just brings about all sorts of convenient perks! I had thought we might swim but Stephen's girls were needing a nap and my kids seemed content to eat Pringles, drink cold water and watch the Disney Top Seven on TV about 20 times through. Dan and I sat on our shady balcony and watched the monorail whizz by while we had a cold beer. We had a 5:10 ps for Goofy's so after rest and showers headed to the DLH for that. We had a great dinner. I must say, the last two times I have been to Goofy's the food has been vastly improved. They have a balsamic raspberry vinegarette along with some glazed pecans on the salad bar that is wonderful. They also had pesto. I pretty much ate a lot of that and then moved to the desserts. Jennifer ran into her old boss, he was there with his family, she hadn't seen him in years, talk about a small world! After dinner, we headed into DCA to ride a few things and see the Electical Parade. We rode Monsters which we all love. My family was at Disneyland in February and we rode it but at that time I hadn't seen the movie. Maria and I watched it on the plane for this trip so the ride was even more fun for me this time. Then we rode Mullholland Madness, the girls had never done this one. Charlotte loved it but Madeleine didn't like the feeling that her "car" would go flying off the tracks! Then Jennifer and I took the girls to get seats for the parade while Dan and Stephen took my kids on Screamin. When they returned I could tell some disaster had struck. Maria had somehow lost her earrings on Screamin and realized she had left her Minnie ears on Mullholland. Dan went back to Mullholland to see if her ears were turned in (they weren't but they nicely checked each car which took FOREVER). Since the parade was starting on the opposite end of what we thought, he got stuck and missed sitting with us. Big bummer and now Maria was beside herself knowing if she hadn't left her ears behind this wouldn't have happened. Then Charlotte wanted cotton candy to which her mom and I both said no and so she joined Maria in the ranks of Disillusioned at Disneyland. Since her twin and her cousin were both unhappy, Madeleine decided she needed to be sad too. But then some nice guy was more than happy to sell me three glow necklaces to save the day and night! The girls loved the EP, it was their first time seeing it. After the parade, Dan and I took our kids out to the plaza area to see the fireworks and then we headed back to our room to bed. Long, great day.
Saturday, June 17:
We did Early Entry today. It was killer getting up at 5:45 so that we could meet in the lobby by 6:45 but we did it. And it was so nice and cool and uncrowded it was worth it. We spent the morning riding things in Disneyland and had breakfast at the Riverbelle Terrace. I love this place and as usual I got a big cinnamon roll and as usual I regretted eating something so sweet and rich so early! We rode Haunted Mansion, the girls had ridden it but weren't so sure. But when we told them the Doom Buggies would seat them plus an adult plus Matthew or Maria that helped. I rode with Jennifer and was surprised to see some of the new scenes. They also moved the hidden Mickey dinner plate arrangement, its always nice to have a change to an old favorite. We then decided to head over to DCA. Since we were staying at the GCH using our Disney Vacation Club Points, our DVC rep had called to welcome us home. She actually happened to be at Disneyland that weekend and had offered us some fastpasses. Dan had gone over and met her the afternoon before and she gave him 16 fastpasses for any ride in DL or DCA. They had no time constraint either. Dan had gotten us Soarin fp's earlier in the day so we rode that then we used our freebie fp's to ride GRR twice. On a hot day this was just what we all needed. We all got soaked and I really felt sorry for all the standby's when we exited off the ride and got right back on again using our second set of fp's. Then we walked into the GCH entrance and got our swimsuits on and headed to the pool. It was so hot that many other's had the same idea but we managed to get a couple of chairs in a semi shaded spot. We had lunch and some Mai Tai's while the kids swam. Then we headed to our rooms to rest and change and decided to go back into Disneyland for dinner and Remember. We had dinner at the Village Haus, not my favorite but we wanted to see the fireworks back by Small World and the location was good for that. The food was okay, but it was positively filthy in that restaurant. They had one guy cleaning tables but the poor man had his work cut out for him. I used some wipes I had in back pack to clean off tables and chairs for us and we made out fine. We saw the fireworks and Stephen and Jennifer decided they liked this location much better. Much fewer crowds and much fewer testy, complaining people. They rode the monorail (the girls love the monorail) and went back right after fireworks, we stayed in the park for a bit longer and then went back to the hotel about 11:00.
Sunday, June 18:
We slept in and had a 10:20 ps at Storytellers. This is the one character meal my family had never eaten at Disneyland. We really enjoyed it, it was crowded but the buffet line moved quickly and it was all delicious. And Stephen and Dan got their fill of bacon on Father's Day! Poor Jennifer was going to have to fly home for two days this evening. Her office had moved a mandatory budget meeting from the previous week to Monday and Tuesday that she could not miss. They nicely flew her home but it meant her missing out on a day and half of Disneyland. We had a nice afternoon of riding things in Disneyland, it was crowded but not horrible. The waits were generally not as big of a problem as the crowds clogging the walkways. The area in Frontierland was all blocked off, they had bleachers set up for the Pirates Premier and this meant Adventureland was a nightmare. We never did ride Indy (fastpass machines were covered, major bummer) or Jungle Cruise as we just tried to avoid that area as much as possible. We did see the Tiki Room that day which Madeleine and Charlotte loved. We then headed over to DCA to see Aladdin and do Bugs Land. Jennifer had to leave the park by 7:30 to get back to the hotel to freshen up in time for her flight. We headed back to DL and all but Jennifer rode Splash Mountain (she didn't want to get wet understandably) just before she left. Madeleine is so so on this ride, she doesn't like the big hill. But this time we had her sit in the far back next to her daddy. At the end of the ride she told him she liked it that time! I had really wanted to buy the picture since it would just be our family in it but something was wrong and it got washed away. Stephen accused me of making an obsene gesture to the camera causing this, but it was just bad luck I guess! We said goodbye to Jennifer, they headed back to the GCH while my family rode a few more things. Then we decided we were tired and headed back to the hotel. Dan and Matthew wanted Mexican so they went to get take out from the Tortilla Joe's window while Maria and I went to Club Libby Lu so she could spend some of her money she had saved and then we got pizza from the Naples pizza takeout. These were both great options budget wise. Dan got two orders of nachos and an order of pork tacos and Maria and I got two huge pieces of pizza. Combined we spent $28 and had way more food than we could eat. We ate up on our balcony, we could hear the fireworks but couldn't see them. Then the kids went to bed while Dan and I continued to sit outside, we could faintly hear our favorite musician Drew Tetrick playing his violin on DTD.
Monday, June 19:
We did Early Entry and were at the park by 7:15. Again, cloudy and cool and low crowds. We decided to do Tomorrowland first. We rode Astro Orbitor. Its funny how you can change. I have always hated this ride, mostly because I think I look pretty ridiculous getting in and out of the rockets. But then on our last visit I watched Dan and the kids ride and noticed that even the skinny minnie's of the world look kinda funny getting in and and out so I rode it this trip. I love that ride now. It has such great views plus its Madeleine and Charlotte's favorite so whats not to love? Then Stephen decided m & C were ready for Space Mountain. We told them it was less bumpy than BTMRR but dark but they were ready to try. We waited for 20 minutes, they were nervous but once on did great and loved the ride. We had a 9:50 ps for the Minnie and Friends breakfast. We were seated pretty quickly and I always enjoy this one (I did when it was princesses and before that when it was Pooh and Friends too). But I must say, this is the most poorly run of all the character meals at Disneyland. There never seems to be an rhyme or reason to how the characters make their appearances. I even heard the manager tell one family to go to Ariel's next time because it was so much better than this one. I just don't think the Plaza can handle the crowds a buffet generates. I wish they would just make it an all you can eat family style breakfast served to you like what they do at Ariel's. Also, many people find ways to sneak in to get autographs and pictures which is really irritating. The cm working at the station that had the french toast and waffles just kept screaming "waffles" at the top of her lungs hoping I guess somebody would bring out more (no idea why she didn't go back and get some). It reminded me of the "cheeseburger, chip, Pepsi" skit on Saturday Night Live of years ago. "Waffles" screamed over and over very loudly. While we all just stood there and waited and tried not to laugh. And the male manager was a joke. When after one and half hours Minnie had come to every table in our section but kept leaving before ours I asked if he could send her over. His answer: "isn't this just all so frustating, I have no idea what to tell you, I am so bummed for your kids". What a helpful guy. I mentioned that the people at the table next to us hadn't even been paying guests and had gotten autographs. Finally a female cm came and kicked them out and sent Minnie over. So-so food, horrible service, noisy atmosphere and dorm cafeteria lines = NEVER AGAIN! After breakfast we rode some more rides then decided to let the kids swim. The crowds were awful, by far our busiest day yet. We left the park about 12:30 and Gordon who had been going to meet us that day met us at the pool instead. It saved him $40 on a scooter and he still got to see the grandkids having fun which is what he comes for anyway. We ordered lunch at the pool, we weren't really hungry but it was 2:00 and Gordon hadn't eaten and we weren't eating dinner at RFC until 7:30. The pool was packed and it took about 45 minutes to get our food but that was fine. We just split two sandwiches for my family and Gordon got his own. Stephen and his girls were taking a nap and joined us at the pool around 5:00. We swam for a bit and then showered and changed and headed to RFC for our 7:30. We had a good dinner, Gordon's friend Lawrence joined us and then after dinner we walked up DTD and saw the fireworks from the plaza area. My family had done that on Friday but tonight they piped the music in which made them better. This really is not a bad place at all to see them. You miss alot but you see a lot too. Afterwards we said goodbye to Gordon and Lawrence, Lawrence took Gordon home so he didn't have to take the bus (he doens't have a car right now) and we headed to our room. Tomorrow is our last day
!Tuesday, June 20:
Early Entry again, Godsend again. We did Astro Orbitor, Space and Buzz, then headed over to the Matterhorn. Charlotte decided she didn't like that ride so I took her over to the teacups. Suddenly I look up towards the Alice ride to see 4 people waving at me, its my family. Stephen sign languaged that the Matterhorn was already a long line so they were riding that. Charlotte and I spun then I told her, look over there, there's everybody else getting on Alice. This did not sit well with her, she thought she was missing out only on a ride she hates not one she likes! I told her she and I could get in line and ride but she decided we would just wait for them to get off. So we all rode Mr. Toad and then realized we were starving (no breakfast) so we decided to head to Blue Ribbon Bakery then DCA. We had a nice sugary, high carb breakfast, the kids played games in the penny arcade and we got into DCA by about 9:45. Dan had already been fastpassing away, by the time we exited Disneyland we had fp's for Space, Splash and BTMRR. We got into DCA and thought we would do Soarin but the line was already 45 minutes. So we fp'd that and then GRR and headed over to the Golden Zephry, Jumpin Jellyfish and Mailboomer. The kids and I rode Mailiboomer, Matthew is afraid of Jumpin Jellyfish but loves that one. This makes no sense to anyone but him. Then Dan fp'd Screamin, we took an ice cream break and decided to ride TOT with Stephen while Dan took the girls to Monsters Inc. Stephen loved TOT but Monster's was about a 45 minute wait so Dan had taken the girls to Animations and then some little show and was waiting in an endless line for Madeleine to meet her favorite princess Cinderella. Then we decided to have lunch. It was so crowded. I also must mention I saw my first celebrity sighting today. When we were over by GRR earlier, I saw Diane Keaton coming out of the GCH entrance with her family. She is really beautiful in person I must say. Although her outfit was an interesting pick. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, a brown, full skirt with black pants and black boots underneath that. She probably lost about 25 pounds of water since it was steamy hot that day. We saw her again in Sunshine Plaza eating popcorn and wating for her son to meet Max. Anyway, we had lunch at the Mexican place near Paradise Pier but sat over in the area near Bugs Land since there was more shade. I decided Dan and Stephen could take my kids on Screamin while I took Madeleine and Charlotte to Turtle Talk with Crush, which I or them had never seen. Since we had 7 fp's they could all ride and then Stephen could take my kids for a second ride. So we separated and I took the girls over to Turtle Talk which was very cute. They got a big kick out of that. Then we all rode Soarin together and then rode GRR for one last time before heading to our rooms for a break. I should have begun packing but didn't feel like it so Dan and I just sat out on balcony relaxing while Matthew and Maria played. Matthew had spent most of his money at the magic shop on Main Street and was trying out all his magic tricks on Maria so they were happy. We all took showers and changed clothes and then went back into the park about 5:00. We saw the Steve Martin movie one last time, I love that show! Then we decided to get a spot for the parade. Stephen's family hadn't seen it yet, Jennifer's plane had landed and they were going to meet up with us for the parade. Main Street was a mob scene. I managed to get a spot that would hopefully hold our party of seven. It did, but just barely! We all enjoyed the parade, Madeleine spent lots of time sticking her tongue out at Ursula and then got quite a startle when one of the guys carrying the big long poles with fish stuck one right in her and Maria's face! I told her Ursula had sent that mean fish over to pay her back for sticking out her tongue! I was getting really sad, knowing our trip was almost over. We headed over to Redd Rockets for dinner, it was total chaos getting there. Since the parade was over, everyone was heading the same direction and they also all seemed to be heading over into Tomorrowland. We all managed to get separated but since each kid was holding someone's adult hand it wasn't too much of a worry. We had to split up during dinner sine the restaurant was packed. After dinner we headed into Fantasyland for the fireworks. I still hadn't riddent Small World so my family of four did that while Stephen and Jennifer held our spot on the benches near Small World for the fireworks. We were all beat and sad. Each day we had done Early Entry when it was offered and those 7:00 a.m. morning had caught up with us. After the fireworks, we had to say goodbye, our flight was leaving at 6:45 a.m. and Stephen's family was going to drive down to San Diego for four days before they headed home. We said a quick, sad farewell, Maria was crying, hating to tell her cousins goodbye. They headed back to to the hotel and we told the kids we could stay in the park until midnight if they wanted. They did and since we had fp's for Space, Splash, BTMRR and Buzz we knew we could have some fun. We rode all of those, we had extra fastpasses since we had gotten them earlier in the day using all seven tickets. I saw a very nice dad and his little girl near Space debating whether they wanted to wait 85 minutes and I gave them two fp's which made them very happy. They got in line with us, and then Dan realized he had extras for Splash and BTMRR too so he gave them those as well. Then we rode Buzz before heading over to ride Splash and BTMRR. We also rode Haunted Mansion and were going to ride Indy but it was a 45 minute wait. I really hate it that they took fp out of this ride. So we headed into Fantasyland which was uncrowded except for Peter Pan. We rode Casey Jr., and then Mr. Toad for our last ride, boarding Toad at 11:58 p.m. We said a sad goodbye to Fantasyland then shopped til we dropped on Main Street until almost 1:00. We exited the park remembering all of our fun times with family wondering when we would make it back again. The saddest part of all of this was that Gordon was picking us up in exactly three hours for our obnoxiously early flight and I still had to pack. The kids fell into their respective bunks and were asleep immediately while Dan and I got down to the task of packing. As usual, the stuff that fit into the suitcases before the trip wasn't doing so well at fitting in now. Plus we had tons of souveneirs we had bought. We finally got it done, took showers and took a 45 minute cat nap before we got back up, dressed and woke up two very sleepy, grouchy kids. We pulled out of the GCH at 4:08 and I was so sad remembering how excited we had been pulling in just six days earlier. We got to LAX before 5:00, checked in a very long line at American but got to the gate in no time. Then we all fell asleep except Dan who had the good sense to stay awake to hear our boarding call. We got on the plane last since we had only two carryons and didn't need any overhead space. We all conked on the plane, exhausted and depressed but happy that we had had so much fun!
Crowds were really intense. I think this would have been the case anyway but the way they had Frontierland closed off in parts due to the Pirates hoopla made this worse. The park looked beautiful as always and in spite of the huge numbers of peope was really clean (except for the Village Haus). I am bummed that I missed Indiana Jones but since Madeleine and Charlotte couldn't ride and since Adventureland was a constant jam of people it just didnt' work out. There's always next time. I also somehow missed California Screamin but am glad I got to take Madeleine and Charlotte to Turtle Talk. The only other thing I really missed doing was riding the train, I always enjoy that. However the lines were always so long, I think lots of people were taking that to get over to New Orleans Square to avoid the closed off parts in that area. I would go again during this time, we usually try to go off season but due to my son's school schedule now being traditional calendar I doubt that will happen too often. With our many trips in the past we know how to use fastpass wisely and getting there early at opening each day but one really helped too. I also noticed our last night when we did stay until closing things got really manageable in all areas but Tomorrowland once Remember was over and many people left. It was a great trip made greater by sharing it with my brother and his family! Thanks for reading!
Amy
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