We had a great time in Disneyland. We arrived at the Disneyland Hotel about 11 am but could not check into our room until 3pm. We had the bell desk hold our luggage. We went to Downtown Disney and had lunch at Rainforest Cafe. No wait on Tuesday-got right in. From there we went to Disneyland. Only about 15 minute wait or less for the major rides. It was hot out or at least seemd hot.
We went back to the room about 6pm and the kids went swimming in the pool. They do have life jackets for the little kids. The water slides close at 7pm and lifeguards leave at 7pm but the pool stays open till 10pm. The water is at least 4 feet deep in the Neverland Pool. The cove pool is at least 3 feet deep and is not attached to the main pool area but is another pool.
The next day we went to California Adventure. Got in before the 10 am opening and waited until the rope drop at 10 and then my husband and three kids (12, 8, and 4) rode the Tower of Terror. You have to be at least 40 inches to get on and they do measure. My 4 year old loved it and thought that was the best part of the trip was Tower of Terror. They take your picture on the ride and for 16.95 you can buy it. It was once again hot. Ate at Burger Invasion which is McDonald's. Drinks don't come with the BigMac meals like they do at a regular McDonald's but they do come with the Happy Meal. The Happy Meal toy was a Minnie Mouse figure and a Disney trading card. It ended up costing 45.00 for lunch for 5 of us. We rode the water ride and my husband got soaked but it was hot enough that he dried off quickly. Did the tortilla tour and sourdough tours. They were ok.
The Block Party parade was great. Very colorful. The cast members pull the kids out into the parade when it is stopped and have the kids dance with them. My two little ones did this and they had fun. At the end of the parade the cast members throw little Nerf balls out that had Block Party written on them so be prepared. They are about the size of a golf ball. My two little ones each got one. Each cast member probably throws out about 5 of them.
Some of the characters are around the park but many times they leave before you get up to the front of the line for pictures. We missed about 6 characters between California and Disneyland as we got in line then they left about 5 minutes later. It seems like they are only there for less than 10 minutes then they leave.
We ate supper at Tortilla Jo's in Downtown Disney and had to wait about an hour. You stand in line outside the restaurant then they call you in and you think you are getting a table only to find out you are now waiting once again inside the restaurant.
Thursday we went back to Disneyland and it was early entry. I thought since it opens at 8am you should get there by 7:30 as I thought they would let you in about half an hour early to wait on Main Street. Got there at 7:15 am and no one else there except for some Disney workers. They don't open the gates until shortly before 8am. Since we were the front of the line a cast member asked us if we would like to be the opening family and we said sure. They then let only us in and have us stand inside the park facing everyone else who is still behind the gates and then the cast member tells us how Walt Disney opened the park 50 years ago and we have to do a good job at opening the park so as not to let Walt down. We had to scream "Let the magic begin" and then do the count down from 10 to one and then they opened the gates. We each got a sticker that said Honoary Citizen but opening the park was probably the greatest thing about the trip. The cast member really put the pressure on to do a great job and you actually felt like Walt was watching. So I screamed as loud as I could so every one could hear. A few people told us we did a good job.
We did alot of the rides in FantasyLand and got right on with little or no wait. Also did the rides on Tommorrowland except Space Mountain as did that Friday night using the fast Pass. Friday night was the only time we used Fastpass otherwise hardly any wait for rides.
Thursday night we ate at ESPN zone and had priority seating reservations. Food was good but service was a little slow.
Friday morning we went back to Disneyland and it was now alot busier.
We stopped at City Hall so my son could get his birthday sticker.
Indiana Jones ride was a 75 minute wait when it was only 15 minute wait the day before. You have to be 46 inches to ride so my 4 year old wasn't tall enough. He was upset but they were measuring the kids and pulling them out is they weren't 46 inches.
I had the Dole whip as I had read in the posts that people said they were good. It is frozen pineapple yougart. The kids liked it too.
We did the birthday party at the Plaza Inn. I had made reservations about 3 weeks earlier to do this and when we showed up they didn't have my reservations. Luckily we were still able to get in even though they said they was no room. They had techincal difficulties so the party started about 20 minutes late. You got to decorate a large cupcake with frosting and sprinkles and then Minnie and Mickey come out for pictures. They also have the Disney photographer there taking pictures too which you could buy for 16.95 or 3 for 29.95. We did the 3 for 29.95. They also took a group picture of your family to start with. You get a Happy Birthday drink cup with a straw and a Disney party hat and sticker for 10.00 per person. They have a character named Patrick Edward Cake who tries to be the MC and then he gets a congo line going after the cake decorating. Try to be first in the congo line as that is how you line up for the pictures. They rush you through on the pictures as Minnie and Mickey have to get ready for the parade.
The parade of Dreams is great. They have some different floats for each parade. We went ot one parade but then skipped the next one only to see different floats appear. The one we missed had the Lion King float in it.
Then we went back to the Disneyland Hotel and went to Goofy's Kitchen for supper. I had made birthday reservations there and they had helium balloons at the table so it looked really nice. I had also preordered party bags for my three kids and they each got a Goofy pen and maraca and a foam puzzle and party hat. They were 5.00 each. The characters came through except we missed Minnie and Chip as they never made it to our side of the restaurant. A couple of times Goofy takes a bucket of plastic dishes and "drops" them on the floor and encourages the kids to help him pick them up and bang them together as they sing songs. it is choreagored to music. My two little ones liked that and another time they danced the Marcarena with the characters. Goofy's cousin Max was there as was Belle, Chip and Dale, Goofy and Pluto. Pluto never made it to our table either but was out front taking pictures and for 16.95 you could get a picture with Pluto. I bought 6 pictures for like 60.00 and the meal with the party bags was over 150.00 so it costs quite a bit but I think it was worth it. My son also got a Disney cupcake that had two candles in it and the workers sang Happy Birthday to him and he got a pin that said Happy Birthday from Goofy's Kitchen. I had wanted to order a cake for him but when I made the reservations the lady said they have desserts on the buffet line. I wished I had ordered the cake as they had cupcakes on the buffet line with flavored frosting which the kids didn't like. They also had bread pudding, cheesecake, jello and other stuff but no other type of cake. They had prime rib which was good and the mashed potatoes were great. My husband said the fish was good.
We went back to California Adventure and rode some rides. CA doesn't seem that busy even on a Friday. We skipped the electrical parade to get good seats for the fireworks at Disneyland. CA closed at 9pm.
We got great seats for the fireworks then about 9:10 when the fireworks were to start at 9:25 they came across the loud speaker and said due to high winds at higher elevations they may have to cancel the fireworks. They ended up cancelling the fireworks. Tons of people were leaving Disneyland. Rides had long waits. We did the Space Mountain with fast pass and still had about a 30 minute wait. Once agin you can buy a picture for 16.95.
At about 11 we went back through Downtown Disney and I wanted to get a bear at Build a Bear workshop. Line was out the door. This store isn't that busy during the day so next time I would have done it during the day and not wait till night but the line went fairly fast. They have Disney outfits for the bears.
Also if you like Mr. Potatoe Head go to Engine Ear toys in California Adventure. It is on your right hand side once you get in to CA. They have Disney themed potatoe head pieces and they are 18.00 for what you can get put into a box. I had to buy two boxes in order to get all the different Disney peices. I didn't buy the body as I had those already at home. The cashier made the comment that I didn't buy a body but said that was ok. You can get more pieces in the box if you don't need the body as the body takes up alot of room.
Also they no longer send your purchases to the front gate anymore. Last time I went to Disneyland in 1999 they would send anything you bought to the newsstand at the front gate so you wouldn't have to carry it around. Now you have to take your purchases to the Newsstand yourself or Engine Ears in CA. They will send your stuff to the Bell desk at the Disney resort Hotels but you don't get the stuff until the following day. Try telling your kid that the toy they want to play with at the hotel tonight will be available tomorrow.
We tried to get a later check out than 11 am but were told we could stay no later than noon as they were booked for the Holiday weekend.
We went and had lunch at Rain Forest Cafe. Had about a 30 minute wait. The nachos are great. Some of the small kids get scared with the thunder storms that happen every 23 minutes.
The kids played with the remote control boats at Disneyland Hotel out by the pool. They weren't that fun as it was hard to figure out how to steer them. They have koi fish feeding on certain days but we missed that as didn't see the sign until later in the day when it was over with.
The hotel had a small fridge and a playpen, hairdryer, iron and ironing board. We asked for a room with a daybed and the room was quite big in the Sierra tower. No coffe makers in the room. There weren't any pop machines in the Sierra Tower as the worker said they were remodeling or something. Downtown Disney has music everynight that you can hear from your Sierra Tower rooms if they overlook Downtown Disney. Usually I can't sleep if I hear noise but I fell asleep right away even with the music.
The LA airport won't check your luggage more than 4 hours before your flight leaves.
Craig T. Nelson was on the plane with us going home. He was in the series "Coach" that was popular years ago. So I guess that was our celebrity sighting.
If you order a kids meal at Buzz Lightyear cafe it comes in plastic box that the kids liked. Once again the drinks don't come with the hamburger meals for adults but do with the kids meal. Buzz shows up and you can get pictures if you get there before he leaves.
The restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel (I can't remember the name) has a really good breakfast. The breakfast potatoes were really good. My 13 year old even thought they were good.
Those of you who are hockey fans Hockey Giant superstore is only about 3 1/2 miles from Disneyland. They have a good selection of hockey equipment and jerseys, plus a good selection of goalie equipment. Costs about 12.00 one way for taxi. You need to have the directions (I pulled them up on Mapquest before I left home) as the taxi driver acted like he never heard of it before. They have hockey jerseys at Disneyland with Mickey, Goofy or Donald on them. They also had a Donald Duck bobblehead and a Grumpy with a hockey stick lapel pin. I never did find the stuffed Tigger with the hockey outfit on it and I asked in every store I went in. The build a bear workshop has a Build a Bear hockey outfit. The Internet site has about 6 American hockey team outfits and the Canadian Build a Bear website has some of the Canadian teams.
Well that is about it. It was a great trip.
We went back to the room about 6pm and the kids went swimming in the pool. They do have life jackets for the little kids. The water slides close at 7pm and lifeguards leave at 7pm but the pool stays open till 10pm. The water is at least 4 feet deep in the Neverland Pool. The cove pool is at least 3 feet deep and is not attached to the main pool area but is another pool.
The next day we went to California Adventure. Got in before the 10 am opening and waited until the rope drop at 10 and then my husband and three kids (12, 8, and 4) rode the Tower of Terror. You have to be at least 40 inches to get on and they do measure. My 4 year old loved it and thought that was the best part of the trip was Tower of Terror. They take your picture on the ride and for 16.95 you can buy it. It was once again hot. Ate at Burger Invasion which is McDonald's. Drinks don't come with the BigMac meals like they do at a regular McDonald's but they do come with the Happy Meal. The Happy Meal toy was a Minnie Mouse figure and a Disney trading card. It ended up costing 45.00 for lunch for 5 of us. We rode the water ride and my husband got soaked but it was hot enough that he dried off quickly. Did the tortilla tour and sourdough tours. They were ok.
The Block Party parade was great. Very colorful. The cast members pull the kids out into the parade when it is stopped and have the kids dance with them. My two little ones did this and they had fun. At the end of the parade the cast members throw little Nerf balls out that had Block Party written on them so be prepared. They are about the size of a golf ball. My two little ones each got one. Each cast member probably throws out about 5 of them.
Some of the characters are around the park but many times they leave before you get up to the front of the line for pictures. We missed about 6 characters between California and Disneyland as we got in line then they left about 5 minutes later. It seems like they are only there for less than 10 minutes then they leave.
We ate supper at Tortilla Jo's in Downtown Disney and had to wait about an hour. You stand in line outside the restaurant then they call you in and you think you are getting a table only to find out you are now waiting once again inside the restaurant.
Thursday we went back to Disneyland and it was early entry. I thought since it opens at 8am you should get there by 7:30 as I thought they would let you in about half an hour early to wait on Main Street. Got there at 7:15 am and no one else there except for some Disney workers. They don't open the gates until shortly before 8am. Since we were the front of the line a cast member asked us if we would like to be the opening family and we said sure. They then let only us in and have us stand inside the park facing everyone else who is still behind the gates and then the cast member tells us how Walt Disney opened the park 50 years ago and we have to do a good job at opening the park so as not to let Walt down. We had to scream "Let the magic begin" and then do the count down from 10 to one and then they opened the gates. We each got a sticker that said Honoary Citizen but opening the park was probably the greatest thing about the trip. The cast member really put the pressure on to do a great job and you actually felt like Walt was watching. So I screamed as loud as I could so every one could hear. A few people told us we did a good job.
We did alot of the rides in FantasyLand and got right on with little or no wait. Also did the rides on Tommorrowland except Space Mountain as did that Friday night using the fast Pass. Friday night was the only time we used Fastpass otherwise hardly any wait for rides.
Thursday night we ate at ESPN zone and had priority seating reservations. Food was good but service was a little slow.
Friday morning we went back to Disneyland and it was now alot busier.
We stopped at City Hall so my son could get his birthday sticker.
Indiana Jones ride was a 75 minute wait when it was only 15 minute wait the day before. You have to be 46 inches to ride so my 4 year old wasn't tall enough. He was upset but they were measuring the kids and pulling them out is they weren't 46 inches.
I had the Dole whip as I had read in the posts that people said they were good. It is frozen pineapple yougart. The kids liked it too.
We did the birthday party at the Plaza Inn. I had made reservations about 3 weeks earlier to do this and when we showed up they didn't have my reservations. Luckily we were still able to get in even though they said they was no room. They had techincal difficulties so the party started about 20 minutes late. You got to decorate a large cupcake with frosting and sprinkles and then Minnie and Mickey come out for pictures. They also have the Disney photographer there taking pictures too which you could buy for 16.95 or 3 for 29.95. We did the 3 for 29.95. They also took a group picture of your family to start with. You get a Happy Birthday drink cup with a straw and a Disney party hat and sticker for 10.00 per person. They have a character named Patrick Edward Cake who tries to be the MC and then he gets a congo line going after the cake decorating. Try to be first in the congo line as that is how you line up for the pictures. They rush you through on the pictures as Minnie and Mickey have to get ready for the parade.
The parade of Dreams is great. They have some different floats for each parade. We went ot one parade but then skipped the next one only to see different floats appear. The one we missed had the Lion King float in it.
Then we went back to the Disneyland Hotel and went to Goofy's Kitchen for supper. I had made birthday reservations there and they had helium balloons at the table so it looked really nice. I had also preordered party bags for my three kids and they each got a Goofy pen and maraca and a foam puzzle and party hat. They were 5.00 each. The characters came through except we missed Minnie and Chip as they never made it to our side of the restaurant. A couple of times Goofy takes a bucket of plastic dishes and "drops" them on the floor and encourages the kids to help him pick them up and bang them together as they sing songs. it is choreagored to music. My two little ones liked that and another time they danced the Marcarena with the characters. Goofy's cousin Max was there as was Belle, Chip and Dale, Goofy and Pluto. Pluto never made it to our table either but was out front taking pictures and for 16.95 you could get a picture with Pluto. I bought 6 pictures for like 60.00 and the meal with the party bags was over 150.00 so it costs quite a bit but I think it was worth it. My son also got a Disney cupcake that had two candles in it and the workers sang Happy Birthday to him and he got a pin that said Happy Birthday from Goofy's Kitchen. I had wanted to order a cake for him but when I made the reservations the lady said they have desserts on the buffet line. I wished I had ordered the cake as they had cupcakes on the buffet line with flavored frosting which the kids didn't like. They also had bread pudding, cheesecake, jello and other stuff but no other type of cake. They had prime rib which was good and the mashed potatoes were great. My husband said the fish was good.
We went back to California Adventure and rode some rides. CA doesn't seem that busy even on a Friday. We skipped the electrical parade to get good seats for the fireworks at Disneyland. CA closed at 9pm.
We got great seats for the fireworks then about 9:10 when the fireworks were to start at 9:25 they came across the loud speaker and said due to high winds at higher elevations they may have to cancel the fireworks. They ended up cancelling the fireworks. Tons of people were leaving Disneyland. Rides had long waits. We did the Space Mountain with fast pass and still had about a 30 minute wait. Once agin you can buy a picture for 16.95.
At about 11 we went back through Downtown Disney and I wanted to get a bear at Build a Bear workshop. Line was out the door. This store isn't that busy during the day so next time I would have done it during the day and not wait till night but the line went fairly fast. They have Disney outfits for the bears.
Also if you like Mr. Potatoe Head go to Engine Ear toys in California Adventure. It is on your right hand side once you get in to CA. They have Disney themed potatoe head pieces and they are 18.00 for what you can get put into a box. I had to buy two boxes in order to get all the different Disney peices. I didn't buy the body as I had those already at home. The cashier made the comment that I didn't buy a body but said that was ok. You can get more pieces in the box if you don't need the body as the body takes up alot of room.
Also they no longer send your purchases to the front gate anymore. Last time I went to Disneyland in 1999 they would send anything you bought to the newsstand at the front gate so you wouldn't have to carry it around. Now you have to take your purchases to the Newsstand yourself or Engine Ears in CA. They will send your stuff to the Bell desk at the Disney resort Hotels but you don't get the stuff until the following day. Try telling your kid that the toy they want to play with at the hotel tonight will be available tomorrow.
We tried to get a later check out than 11 am but were told we could stay no later than noon as they were booked for the Holiday weekend.
We went and had lunch at Rain Forest Cafe. Had about a 30 minute wait. The nachos are great. Some of the small kids get scared with the thunder storms that happen every 23 minutes.
The kids played with the remote control boats at Disneyland Hotel out by the pool. They weren't that fun as it was hard to figure out how to steer them. They have koi fish feeding on certain days but we missed that as didn't see the sign until later in the day when it was over with.
The hotel had a small fridge and a playpen, hairdryer, iron and ironing board. We asked for a room with a daybed and the room was quite big in the Sierra tower. No coffe makers in the room. There weren't any pop machines in the Sierra Tower as the worker said they were remodeling or something. Downtown Disney has music everynight that you can hear from your Sierra Tower rooms if they overlook Downtown Disney. Usually I can't sleep if I hear noise but I fell asleep right away even with the music.
The LA airport won't check your luggage more than 4 hours before your flight leaves.
Craig T. Nelson was on the plane with us going home. He was in the series "Coach" that was popular years ago. So I guess that was our celebrity sighting.
If you order a kids meal at Buzz Lightyear cafe it comes in plastic box that the kids liked. Once again the drinks don't come with the hamburger meals for adults but do with the kids meal. Buzz shows up and you can get pictures if you get there before he leaves.
The restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel (I can't remember the name) has a really good breakfast. The breakfast potatoes were really good. My 13 year old even thought they were good.
Those of you who are hockey fans Hockey Giant superstore is only about 3 1/2 miles from Disneyland. They have a good selection of hockey equipment and jerseys, plus a good selection of goalie equipment. Costs about 12.00 one way for taxi. You need to have the directions (I pulled them up on Mapquest before I left home) as the taxi driver acted like he never heard of it before. They have hockey jerseys at Disneyland with Mickey, Goofy or Donald on them. They also had a Donald Duck bobblehead and a Grumpy with a hockey stick lapel pin. I never did find the stuffed Tigger with the hockey outfit on it and I asked in every store I went in. The build a bear workshop has a Build a Bear hockey outfit. The Internet site has about 6 American hockey team outfits and the Canadian Build a Bear website has some of the Canadian teams.
Well that is about it. It was a great trip.
I love all your details about when to go to places, prices, and whether you get drinks with combos! It sounds like you did a very similar trip to what I'm planning for my 2 DDs birthdays next year. 
