Disneyland or Bust: A Mother-Daughter Coastal Road Trip

[pkondz]

After surviving the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

Wait. You went back to that road just off HWY 1 that terrified you?

AGAIN????

What??? Brewing what????

Plus.... now I want popcorn.

When we saw PotC up ahead, we couldn't resist! (Anyone who has only done this attraction at WDW's MK needs to go to Disneyland and do the version there - you may never do the one in MK again!)

Really!
I thought they were both essentially the same!
Now I'm really intrigued.

This questionable picture was taken in an attempt to show you the Blue Bayou restaurant, which is situated inside the Pirates attraction.

I question that photo...

The line looked VERY long.
But the posted wait time was 20 minutes, so we decided to go for it.

Woot!

We got in line at 9:27 and made our way through the queue,

I fully expected at some point to read that the wait was far, far longer than 20 minutes.

with Willow having her height checked two or three times.

Did she grow, or worse, shrink, in between measurements?

Surely we’re going to find the ride in here at some point, right?????

No. They moved it. Now it's just the queue.

And we were on the ride at 9:49, so that was a pretty accurate wait time!

No it's not!
That's an extra two minutes!!! Who has that kinda time????

Willow: The bridge was very scary! Because it looked like it was wavy. But it wasn’t real.

It wasn't real wavy? That's so strange!

We had never done JC at Disneyland before (well, I had several decades ago, but you know what I mean).

I hear ya.
People tell me that MK has changed since 1977... but I don't believe 'em.

And, of course, we had a fun and corny cruise!

The best kind! Thanks for the update!

 

[KatMark]

Roni, fun update.

Question...does POTC break down at DL as much as it does DW? POTC is one of the main reasons I want to get to DL at some point.

I love all of your pictures as you walk along.

Glad you had a great cruise in the Jungle and that Willow was able to do Indiana Jones.

Wishing you and Willow a very

​

 

[RGirl]

Wait. You went back to that road just off HWY 1 that terrified you?

AGAIN????

What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment!

What??? Brewing what????

Plus.... now I want popcorn.

That picture had the exact same thoughts running through my head.....

Really!
I thought they were both essentially the same!
Now I'm really intrigued.

The one at DL is significantly longer and has two drops - one of them quite a big drop. It is far superior.

Did she grow, or worse, shrink, in between measurements?

It's a distinct possibility given the difference in measuring approaches taken by different CMs.

The best kind! Thanks for the update!

Thanks for joining in! Going to try to get quite a few posted this week since we leave again next week!

Roni, fun update.

Thanks Kathy!!!

Question...does POTC break down at DL as much as it does DW? POTC is one of the main reasons I want to get to DL at some point.

We have seen it broken down once, but I don't know whether we've just been lucky.

It really is something you just have to do - I think you'll really enjoy it.

I love all of your pictures as you walk along.

Thanks!

Glad you had a great cruise in the Jungle and that Willow was able to do Indiana Jones.

She was so excited to make that height cut-off. She still hasn't reached the point where she can ride California Screamin' at DCA, so it was nice that there was something she was able to graduate into riding.

Wishing you and Willow a very

​

Thanks so much, Kathy! I hope 2015 is a wonderful year for you.

 

[RGirl]

A Christmas Intermission​

Hello DIS friends! I thought I would share a little with you about how Willow and I have spent our holidays.

We did a lot of decorating this year.

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I made this ornament for the piano.

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Oh, these are the ornaments we picked out at Disneyland this year (we get ornaments on every trip) :

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Our Christmas card photo.

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Tree on Christmas Eve with snowman door behind.

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Willow decorated a snowman door too.

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Willow had a great time at her school Christmas program:

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Willow visited Santa:

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I host Christmas Eve at my house (for my folks and my brother and his family). I made lots of food, including treats like reindeer chow, caramel candy, chocolate fudge, gingerbread fudge, red velvet fudge, hot cocoa cookies, and peanut butter kiss cookies.

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We did have non-sweet food too - homemade meatballs and sugar dogs, caesar salad, cheese and crackers, chips and guacamole, chips and dill pickle dip (I have a great love for dill pickle flavor - I have seriously considered moving to Canada just because there are so many more dill pickle-flavored foods there).

Willow and her cousin opened their traditional Christmas Eve presents from me - a photo ornament and new jammies for each of them.

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Willow left cookies and milk for Santa and reindeer chow for the reindeer, along with a note (translation: Dear Santa - You may turn on the fireplace when you are eating your milk and cookies) :

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What was left after Santa visited:

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The presents Santa left:

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Willow had asked Santa for feetie jammies with Anna, Elsa, Sven, and Olaf on them and a Snow Glow Elsa doll. He delivered those items along with the full 9 season collection of Little House on the Prairie. Willow and I have been reading the Little House books (my favorite childhood books) together, and Santa must have known how much I was looking forward to sharing the television show with her.

Willow digs into her presents pretty early on Christmas morning. Everyone (my folks and bro and fam) all come over late morning for Christmas breakfast. Here she is with the loot from her stocking:

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Thrilled about her Olaf robe:

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Willow had kind of a retro Christmas. Among other things, she got the Simon Says game, a potholder loom, and an Easy Bake Oven - all favorites from when I was a kid.

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Later on Christmas, we went to my parents' for dinner, and Willow got MORE presents.

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And since then, we’ve basically spent our time like this.

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Oh, and Willow is learning to cook (wearing her new chef’s coat, of course) - she cooked scrambled eggs for herself for the first time last night.

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I sure hope all of you are having as wonderful a holiday as we are!

 

[KatMark]

Roni, it sounds like wonderful holidays (and Willow is so cute). Wonderful presents. And I remember the Easy Bake Oven myself.

That's a lot of food you made. And your decorations are all lovely.

 

[pkondz]

We did a lot of decorating this year.

Love the mantle decorated.

I made this ornament for the piano.

I really like that!

Our Christmas card photo.

Too cute!

Willow had a great time at her school Christmas program:

She wasn't upset to be the only one without the nose and glasses?


yes, I'm kidding.

treats like reindeer chow,

What is that? M&Ms and... ?

chocolate fudge,

Love fudge.
Can never have enough fudge.

gingerbread fudge,

Yay! More fudge!

red velvet fudge,

FUDGE!!!

We did have non-sweet food too - homemade meatballs and sugar dogs,

sugar dogs?

(I have a great love for dill pickle flavor - I have seriously considered moving to Canada just because there are so many more dill pickle-flavored foods there).

Our first DD's first non-baby food was.... sucking on pickles.

I'm not making that up.

Willow and her cousin opened their traditional Christmas Eve presents from me - a photo ornament and new jammies for each of them.

Awwww.... Look at them in their jammies!!

Willow left cookies and milk for Santa and reindeer chow for the reindeer, along with a note (translation: Dear Santa - You may turn on the fireplace when you are eating your milk and cookies) :

This was the first year that DD didn't leave milk and cookies for Santa.


Yes.... I was sad.

Willow and I have been reading the Little House books (my favorite childhood books) together, and Santa must have known how much I was looking forward to sharing the television show with her.

Smart Santa.

Willow digs into her presents pretty early on Christmas morning.

What kid doesn't????

Among other things, she got the Simon Says game, a potholder loom, and an Easy Bake Oven - all favorites from when I was a kid.

Ah yes... the Easy Bake Oven. I remember when my DSis got one... And we got DD one as well.

Nothing says patience like cooking with a light bulb!

Later on Christmas, we went to my parents' for dinner, and Willow got MORE presents.

Sounds like my DDs.

And since then, we’ve basically spent our time like this.

Ooohhhh.... Nice.
I went back to work on the 26th. Boo!

Oh, and Willow is learning to cook (wearing her new chef’s coat, of course)

I want one of those chef's coats!

- she cooked scrambled eggs for herself for the first time last night.

Good for her!
(And doing it right, too!)

I sure hope all of you are having as wonderful a holiday as we are!

Totally exhausting.... and wonderful.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

 

[pkondz]

Happy New Year Roni & Willow!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Awww, it looks like you both have had a wonderful Christmas! Hope your New Years was fun!

 

[afwdwfan]

Looks like you had a great Christmas.

And all those snacks... mmmm... looks delicious!

I hope you and Willow have a Happy New Year!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Does the fact that it's "Diamond Horseshoe" and not merely Golden in Magic Kingdom automatically make it better? Probably not.

Pirates in Dland truly is a completely different experience. That was one of my main goals on my trip. It's almost hard to call it the same ride. Doesn't the beginning remind you a bit of of the Gran Fiesta Tour in Epocot's Mexico?

Yes I believe the Indy and Dino vehicles are the same, but for me, that's where the comparison ends. Indy for the win!

Awww thank you for the Christmas update. I LOVE that Mickey ornament with the big "D".

And more AWWWWWWWW, what an adorable Christmas card.

Oh wow, the snowman door is so clever. I may have to steal that one.

Um OK, I have a bit of a head cold, but still no excuse. At first I could not figure out why Willow was the only one who didn't get a pair of nose glasses. Yeah, I'm slow.

"Dear Santa - You may turn on the fireplace when you are eating your milk and cookies" OK, that may be the cutest thing EVER!

Incidentally, that is EXACTLY how I'd look if I'd gotten an Olaf robe.

 

[RGirl]

Roni, it sounds like wonderful holidays (and Willow is so cute). Wonderful presents. And I remember the Easy Bake Oven myself.

Thanks Kathy! We really have had a very nice time - especially this week when it was all about being lazy.

That's a lot of food you made. And your decorations are all lovely.

I went a little nuts this year - I was SO TIRED once Christmas was finally over.

Love the mantle decorated.

Thanks!

She wasn't upset to be the only one without the nose and glasses?

yes, I'm kidding.

What is that? M&Ms and... ?

It's basically the standard "puppy chow" recipe (Chex cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar) with the M&Ms to make it Christmasy.

Love fudge.
Can never have enough fudge.

Yay! More fudge!

FUDGE!!!

And I don't even really like sweets. I have no idea what possessed me to make so many of them.

sugar dogs?

Sugar dogs - I make them once a year on Christmas Eve, and Willow will never let a Christmas Eve pass without them. They are horribly unhealthy but wildly delicious - basically hotdogs cut into bite-sized pieces, wrapped in bacon and then cooked in brown sugar.

Our first DD's first non-baby food was.... sucking on pickles.

I'm not making that up.

That's hilarious! Does she still like them???

This was the first year that DD didn't leave milk and cookies for Santa.

Yes.... I was sad.

That is so sad.

Smart Santa.

The guy really knows his stuff. And we have been binge-watching Little House now for DAYS.

Ah yes... the Easy Bake Oven. I remember when my DSis got one... And we got DD one as well.

Nothing says patience like cooking with a light bulb!

We haven't fired it up yet, but my mom (who purchased it) said that they no longer use a light bulb as the heating element.

Ooohhhh.... Nice.
I went back to work on the 26th. Boo!

Ugh - that bites. I'm so sorry. As the only parent in this family, I hoard my paid leave and calculate out the whole year from the start because I need to be off when the schools are closed. It's actually great - forces me to take vacation time. But I am very lucky to get quite a lot of it, which makes it much easier.

I want one of those chef's coats!

Me too! I can't believe my mom didn't get one for me too.

Good for her!
(And doing it right, too!)

She was very proud of herself and ate every bite that she cooked.

Totally exhausting.... and wonderful.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

I'm glad you had a good holiday as well. Back to real updates now!

 

[RGirl]

Happy New Year Roni & Willow!

Thank you!! We are looking forward to a great year. Happy New Year to you too!

Willow: I like when you do comments, and I like that card that says Happy New Year. Thank you! And a happy new year to you too! I hope you liked our card.

Awww, it looks like you both have had a wonderful Christmas! Hope your New Years was fun!

Thanks! We did. Happy New Year!!!

Looks like you had a great Christmas.

And all those snacks... mmmm... looks delicious!

I hope you and Willow have a Happy New Year!

We have really enjoyed our Christmas Stay-cation. I hope your holidays have been great as well. Happy New Year!

Does the fact that it's "Diamond Horseshoe" and not merely Golden in Magic Kingdom automatically make it better? Probably not.

Well, based on other dual-coast attractions, it just might.....

Pirates in Dland truly is a completely different experience. That was one of my main goals on my trip. It's almost hard to call it the same ride. Doesn't the beginning remind you a bit of of the Gran Fiesta Tour in Epocot's Mexico?

It really is so much better, isn't it? I love the beginning with the fireflies and Blue Bayou. I remember when we went to WDW for the first time when Willow was 3. I was so excited to ride PoTC. And afterwards, I thought, "Wow - we really do remember things from childhood as being a lot more exciting than they really are." Of course, then we went to DLR when she was 5, and I learned that I had remembered it exactly right - the WDW just doesn't have the excitement.

Yes I believe the Indy and Dino vehicles are the same, but for me, that's where the comparison ends. Indy for the win!

Totally agree!

Awww thank you for the Christmas update. I LOVE that Mickey ornament with the big "D".

That is the one that I chose!

And more AWWWWWWWW, what an adorable Christmas card.

Thanks! I had to get that picture so quickly - we were late getting our tree this year, so I was down to the wire to get pictures taken for a card.

Oh wow, the snowman door is so clever. I may have to steal that one.

That was a Pinterest find - so easy to do but a pretty nice impact. We had a lot of fun doing them.

Um OK, I have a bit of a head cold, but still no excuse. At first I could not figure out why Willow was the only one who didn't get a pair of nose glasses. Yeah, I'm slow.

I hope you feel better soon!

"Dear Santa - You may turn on the fireplace when you are eating your milk and cookies" OK, that may be the cutest thing EVER!

Thanks! She almost always leaves some kind of note for Santa. I will miss those.

Incidentally, that is EXACTLY how I'd look if I'd gotten an Olaf robe.

 

[RGirl]

***NOTE: Don't miss the last update on page 24 - I think I distracted from it being there by posting all the Christmas stuff right away on the next page.***

The Contest: First person to provide the movie title from which the chapter heading comes get a point; two points if the character who utters the line is also identified. If the first person doesn’t name the character, the first poster to do so will get a point.

Current Standing:
Courtney (courtneybelle): 6 points
Jill (jedijill): 20 points
pkondz: 8 points
Megan (MonsterWDWmom): 2 points
Shannon (shan23877): 6 points
Lori (STLMickeyMom): 3 points
petals: 1 point
Rob (DisneyKid4Life): 2 points

"And if you can find something suitable to wear."​

Day 10E - Sunday, 3 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort

After our Adventureland fun, we headed over to Tomorrowland.

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It was about 10:15 at this point, and we really wanted to see if we could do Space Mountain before the line got too long. When we arrived, we decided that we would opt for FPs, which were going to be usable at 11:25. Not bad!! (Yep - Disneyland Resort still sports the old paper FP system. )

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Hmmm, looks like the stand-by wait was only 25 minutes.

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Shows you just how much we hate standing in line.

What to do when in Tomorrowland and waiting to use a FP for Space? Well, head to the Matterhorn, of course - one of Willow's absolute favorite attractions.

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We got in the line at first, but it seemed VERY long and wasn't moving very fast. So we quickly ducked out of line and walked over to the front of the attraction where we entered the Single Rider Line. Willow LOVES the single rider line here and always flaunts her little green single rider card.

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There was pretty much no one in the single rider line with us, so we were soon being seated in opposite ends of a bobsled pair. As usual on my first ride of the trip on the Matterhorn, I tried to get some pictures for you. *sigh*

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After the Matterhorn, Willow was hoping to do the Alice ride, but the wait seemed quite long, so we opted for the teacups instead. The cups had no wait whatsoever - my kind of attraction!

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I love the little cottage for the CMs!

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After we left the Teacups, it was about 10:45. Now, Willow has done the BBB at MK several times and even the BBB on the Fantasy, but she had never done it at DL before. And this trip, she was going to get the chance! In fact, she had her appointment later this very day. However, she had been torn for months on what dress she was going to get (which shouldn't really be surprising since she already has almost every dress ). Anyway, we thought that this would be a good opportunity, before our Space FPs were usable, to figure out exactly where the BBB is at DL and to check out the available dresses. So we headed to the DL BBB!

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Up Next: Day 10E (cont.)

 

[RGirl]

Day 10E - Sunday, 3 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort (cont.)

Willow looked around in here for a LOOOOOONG time.

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At the end of this browsing session, she still wasn't totally sure. She had REALLY been hoping that the Elsa dress would be here, but I had warned her that it wouldn't, and sadly, I was right. So many of the dresses that she didn't have (such as the Anna non-coronation dress and the Merida dress) were long-sleeved, and it was just too hot for that. I did suggest a couple of times that maybe she didn't actually need to get a dress this time. Somehow that suggestion was not really heard. : By the time we left, Willow was pretty sure that she was going to go with the Minnie Mouse dress for a little change of pace.

When we left the BBB, it was getting very close to 11:00. Our Space FPs would not be usable for another half hour, and we knew that we wanted to have an early lunch since we hadn't really had any breakfast. So we decided to head back towards Tomorrowland and get some lunch at the pizza place. However, on the way there, Willow spotted the Tomorrowland Terrace where we had eaten on our last trip, and she really wanted to go there instead. So I got in line to order while Willow went to find us a table (no easy feat).

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Check out the Stormtrooper mug! Are these at WDW too now?

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Soon, I was delivering our lunch to the table - man, we were hungry!!! Willow went out on yet another limb with chicken strips and French fries. Sheesh!

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And I tried the chicken sandwich with avocado salsa.

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Do you think Willow was a little hungry there? Her hand was in everything!

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Both meals were tasty and much appreciated by our tummies. We enjoyed relaxing here for a bit.

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After lunch, it was time for Space Mountain, of course! We made short work of the FP queue.

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The stand-by line was at about 40 minutes, I believe. We were happy to find ourselves ready to board very quickly!

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After our ride, Willow needed to do a little more merch browsing and was soon pretty confident that she had settled on her pillow-pet purchase for the day, although she was going to wait to actually buy it until the end of the day since we still had a lot of big plans ahead.

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Up Next: Day 10F

 

[pkondz]

Okay I'm 90% certain on this one.
The evil stepmother in Cinderella

 

[pkondz]

Aaaaand... Going back to read... Later

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Can I get a pity point for saying the evil stepmother is lady tremaine?

I missed the updates before the Christmas ones, but they all look great! I can't wait to see what dress willow finally decides on!

I like that space mountain is a side by side ride in DL. That looks fun and different then wdw. It's weird to see paper FP though!

Oooooo, the tea cups! Best ride ever! I love how they are uncovered. And look so pretty!

And those pics of willow and Pluto are adorable! I love how much she loves Pluto.

 

[Dugette]

Okay, joining in after reading the whole thing in one sitting last night!

Love the report! Driving the west coast is one of my favorite road trips! As a kid, we used to take road trips to visit family in Oregon and I know I've been to some of the touristy places you stopped at - we have pictures from the drive-through tree for sure. Then, when I was college age and beyond, I made a couple drives up the CA coast on my own. I know Highway 1 and all those gorgeous views! When Izzy is older, we'd love to do a trip much like this (with DL included, of course!) We are hoping to get to DL sometime soon (maybe even late this year), so that part of the report is great to read as well!

Really cool to hear what the mother/daughter travel is like when the daughter isn't two anymore. Sounds like you two have a really great time together - so much fun! Looking forward to more!

 

[jedijill]

Looks like you guys had a great Christmas!

Looks like another fun morning at DL! So many dress choices! I'm shocked that Willow had chicken strips again! Yay for Space Mountain! DL's version is my favorite!

Jill in CO

 

[RGirl]

Okay I'm 90% certain on this one.
The evil stepmother in Cinderella

You are correct, sir!