pinktink83
DIS Veteran
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- Jul 20, 2003
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DAY 2 of 3
Day 3 of 3
This is our trip report, I'm way late posting it...I thought I already had?! But it turns out I didn't! I use a lot of detail because when I was planning I was specifically interested in which rides worked for what age and how to schedule the day and whatnot. And let me just say: Our trip was MAGICAL, WONDERFUL, AMAZING!!! This was the *perfect* age to take them, and we all had so much fun! Thank you to all the disboard members for your help! Sooo here it is!
When: Sunday-Tuesday, May 21-23, 2006
Who: DH, me, DS5 (42") and DD3 (38")
Where: Disneyland, Disney's California, the beach
Hotel: Red Roof Inn Anaheim
Transportation: drove from AZ, took ART tram to the park
Park Package: 3 day park hopper passes, with Early Entry (SO WORTH IT!) and Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness.
Weather: almost perfect, cool in the mornings & evenings (bring jackets), perfect in the afternoon the first two days, drizzled Monday morning but nothing serious. By Tuesday it was HOT in the afternoon and we got a bit red.
Okay, so we drove from AZ over to California on Saturday, May 20th in the afternoon, arrived at our hotel, Red Roof Inn, later that evening. DD3 threw up in the car about 2 hours away.
So that was unpleasant. But we had our trusty portable dvd player, and the ride was not so bad. The kids handled it attention span-wise pretty well. Our hotel room was clean and comfortable, highly recommend it. It wasn't within walking distance of the park, but we had decided to take the ART transit system, so we looked for the best price instead of distance. I *HIGHLY* recommend using the tram to get to the parks instead of driving your own car. We bought week passes for the family. The only downside was that they closed at lunchtime for a couple of hours (right about the time we planned to go back to the hotel for naps) so just make sure you find out exactly what time that is, and plan accordingly. It was really fun getting to wait at the tram stop with everyone else at the hotel, we were all so excited! 
And the anticipation from all the little kids was just too cute. Our kids' eyes were the size of dinner plates, and their smiles were so big. They got to sit on their own little bench in the tram together, which they liked, too (so did we, lol). Definitely worth the price.
DAY 1:
So Sunday morning we had our Early Entry pass, got up early, and took the 6:00am tram over to the park. Got in line about 6:30am, and into the park exactly at 7am! It looked crowded when we were standing in line, but we headed straight over to Fantasyland and walked right onto 4 rides with no wait at all. But first we saw Cinderella on the castle bridge, and of course DD3 had to stop and say hello. She got some pictures and a hug and was just in love with her
DS5 wanted *nothing* to do with her and hid far off in the bushes with DH until we were done, lol. First ride was Peter Pan (of course!) which the kids LOVED! Then we went on Mr. Toads Wild Ride because it was right there, and no line. DS5 liked it, DD3 did NOT like it at all. It really scared her, she was crying by the time we got off. (great start, eh?) 
Next we went on Pinnochio, again no line at all, which DS5 liked and DD3 did NOT. Again, she was crying before we got off the ride. After that we decided to avoid the indoor rides for awhile, even though Snow White didn't have a line either, lol. We rode Dumbo then, it had a small line at that point, but DD3 LOVED it! (It was her favorite ride) Early Entry was SO WORTH IT! Then we decided to head over to Tomorrowland because DS5 saw the Astro Orbitors the *second* we walked into the park, and had been begging to go on it. Both kids went on it, DS5 LOVED it, DD3 liked it! Then we walked by Star Tours which DH told me he had never been on (I KNOW!!!!) 
So I immediately dragged him into line and we asked about switching w/ the kids. DH and DS5 went together first, and DD3 and I waited in the gift shop where the ride gets out. While they rode that, I walked over and got Fast Passes for Buzz Lightyear. When they came out, DS5 and I went back up the exit and rode it together. (the park worker told us to!) DS5 LOVED it!!! It was so fun riding it with him. It was my first heartstring-pulling experience with him in the park, and I'll never forget that feeling. When he got off the ride he was like "That was SO COOL, mom!" and we ran up the ramp together, giggling our heads off, so excited. During the ride he would be like "Careful, Mom! This part is scary!" It was so cute. 
After that we went on Buzz Lightyear, I was a little concerned about DD3 after her Fantasyland experience, but both the kids LOVED it and wanted to ride again. Don't forget to smile- the ride takes your picture and when you get off you can have your pictures emailed to you at the computer kiosk. Then we walked over to Red Rocket's Pizza Port and saw Buzz Lightyear. They had a singing/dancing thing going on and a trashcan that moved. The kids thought this was sooooo cool, and had to peek inside it- it just looked like a regular ole trash can. After that anytime we saw one in the park, the kids ran up and had to peek inside to see if it was the moving one, lol.
After that it was time for Breakfast with Minnie and Friends. We went at 9am which was perfect timing, it gave us enough time to enjoy being first in the park, and right when the lines picked up we got to sit down and eat. I highly recommend this character meal- it was definitely worth the price and its the only one inside the actual park. I would've HATED to walk a far distance just to eat and go through the hassle of leaving/re-entering the park more than once (we already left in the afternoons for naps). It wouldve been a big waste of time. At that point we had only seen one character, so having breakfast the first morning, right off was perfect. We sat outside on the veranda and took turns taking the kids in to get their plates. They had Mickey shaped waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, hash browns, doughnuts, eggs, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Yummy! We saw and got pictures/hugs from Minnie Mouse, Eeyore, Baloo the Bear, Chip, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Capt Hook (the kids were slightly scared of him, but not too bad, it was more of a "fun" scared, lol. They just didnt want to get too close to him, but were fine watching him from afar). There may have a been a couple other characters, I cant remember now.
After that we headed over to Frontierland. We did Shootin' Exposition which DS5 loved, DD3 was sorta into it, but couldn't really aim & shoot. Then we went over into Adventureland and got fast passes for Indiana Jones. After that we rode Jungle Cruise. The line was still really short and we got on fairly quickly. Both kids loved the ride, and it was a nice change of pace to get to sit for awhile and just relax. After that we did the parent switch thing for Indiana Jones (which DH had never been on either!!!) DH went on first, and I got in a special line. The line was long, but not as terrible as I have seen it. It was under an hour at least. While we waited for each other to get out, the other parent took the kids over to Tarzan's Treehouse and let them run around. Both kids LOVED it, and we played on there many diff times throughout the trip. Afterwards we went into New Orleans square and wistfully looked at Pirates of the Caribbean which was still closed for refurbishing. (DARN!) We walked right on past the Haunted Mansion, lol, figured there wasn't even a point to try.
Then we headed back over to Fantasyland for Storybook Hour with Snow White in the Once Upon a Time gift shop (its to the left of the castle inside Fantasyland- the one with all the Princess stuff!).
Storybook Hour was really fun. I totally recommend it, especially if you have a little girl (DS5 enjoyed it, too, however this might be a good time to hit up the Matterhorn or other "scary" rides). Try to sit on the front left hand side because that is where the line forms to get pictures/hugs afterwards. We got there about 30 minutes early (which was recommended to me by fellow Disboard-ers) and hung out. I wish we had had drinks/snacks at that point because the kids were kinda cranky/restless waiting. Next time we're bringing a backpack. After Storybook Hour we went on the Matterhorn. We did the parent/child swap thing b/c DD3 didnt want to go (she was tall enough though). DS5 loved it! He wasnt too scared at all, which really surprised me! Then DD3 and I went and stood in line for pictures/hugs with Ariel while DH and DS5 went on some other big rides. DD3 was really excited (a girl after my own heart!) I was really excited, too! The line was FOREVER but we finally got there, and she was so sweet. Next we went into the Mad Hatter gift shop and got some ears for the kids. DS5 picked out the Fantasia Wizard Mickey Ears and DD3 picked the pink & white sequined Princess ears. I already had my own ears from a high school trip to DL, black sequined Minnie ears! DH didn't buy any ears b/c he's a party pooper, LOL. 
Then we went on the Teacups and Alice in Wonderland, which were fun. The lines were really super long at that point though. We headed over to the Storybook Canal, but they had just closed it because of the parade. I think it was around 1pm at this point. It was starting in about 15 minutes and there was plenty of space to sit down still, so we decided to just stay and watch it. I bought popcorn at a nearby vendor for while we waited. It was the perfect spot! We watched the whole parade, the kids had so much fun! It was very entertaining- the music, dancing, costumes were really neat. We gave DS5 the digital camera and let him take his own pictures of the parade, which he thought was pretty cool. As soon as the parade ended we stood up and got in line for Storybook Canals. We were first in line, so no wait! (perfect!) After that everyone was pretty tired and cranky so we decided to go back to the hotel for a nap. Thats when we learned that the trams closed around lunchtime for a couple of hours, but one of the tram drivers (nice but cranky as well) said he'd take us to our hotel anyway. His was the last one and fortunately he took pity on our sad looking party.
We slept for a few hours at the hotel. I had to drag DH back out of bed though around 5-6pm. He was wanting to keep sleeping, but I wasn't going to waste our vacation doing something silly like that!!!
So we caught the tram and headed back to the park. We wanted to watch Fantasmic which started in an hour & a half, so we went over to New Orleans Square. We saw some people sitting outside the French Market restaurant on the veranda eating and we thought "hmm, I wonder if theyre allowed to stay there for Fantasmic?" So I went and asked a worker, and he said 'yes!' Hey, two birds with one stone! So we stayed there to eat dinner, and got a table *right in front of the rail* by pure luck...someone got up and we swooped right in. We sat and ate (chicken, cornbread, soup, etc- the kids liked it), and had about 30 minutes of downtime before the show started. But we had dessert so the kids were pretty well-behaved. The seats were perfect for Fantasmic, we could see over everyone's heads down in the street and had a place to sit the whole time. AWESOME! After that we walked back through Adventureland (much less crowded) bought the kids some pirate swords and then headed over to Tomorrowland to watch the fireworks. We all got on the Astro Orbitors cause there was no line and got to see the fireworks from way up above the park! Even more AWESOME! Then we went over to Space Mountain- which I was SO EXCITED for!!! It had been years since I rode it! We did the parent switch thing and we LOVED IT! SO COOL. 
The kids had fun playing with their new swords while they waited, too. There's a big area right outside the ride with benches and they found another little friend who was waiting and they had a blast.
After that it was almost time for the park to close, and we were all pretty tired, so we caught a tram back to the hotel and SLEPT.
Click HERE to read DAY 2 of 3!
DAY 2 of 3
Day 3 of 3
This is our trip report, I'm way late posting it...I thought I already had?! But it turns out I didn't! I use a lot of detail because when I was planning I was specifically interested in which rides worked for what age and how to schedule the day and whatnot. And let me just say: Our trip was MAGICAL, WONDERFUL, AMAZING!!! This was the *perfect* age to take them, and we all had so much fun! Thank you to all the disboard members for your help! Sooo here it is!
When: Sunday-Tuesday, May 21-23, 2006
Who: DH, me, DS5 (42") and DD3 (38")
Where: Disneyland, Disney's California, the beach
Hotel: Red Roof Inn Anaheim
Transportation: drove from AZ, took ART tram to the park
Park Package: 3 day park hopper passes, with Early Entry (SO WORTH IT!) and Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness.
Weather: almost perfect, cool in the mornings & evenings (bring jackets), perfect in the afternoon the first two days, drizzled Monday morning but nothing serious. By Tuesday it was HOT in the afternoon and we got a bit red.
Okay, so we drove from AZ over to California on Saturday, May 20th in the afternoon, arrived at our hotel, Red Roof Inn, later that evening. DD3 threw up in the car about 2 hours away.
So that was unpleasant. But we had our trusty portable dvd player, and the ride was not so bad. The kids handled it attention span-wise pretty well. Our hotel room was clean and comfortable, highly recommend it. It wasn't within walking distance of the park, but we had decided to take the ART transit system, so we looked for the best price instead of distance. I *HIGHLY* recommend using the tram to get to the parks instead of driving your own car. We bought week passes for the family. The only downside was that they closed at lunchtime for a couple of hours (right about the time we planned to go back to the hotel for naps) so just make sure you find out exactly what time that is, and plan accordingly. It was really fun getting to wait at the tram stop with everyone else at the hotel, we were all so excited! And the anticipation from all the little kids was just too cute. Our kids' eyes were the size of dinner plates, and their smiles were so big. They got to sit on their own little bench in the tram together, which they liked, too (so did we, lol). Definitely worth the price. DAY 1:
So Sunday morning we had our Early Entry pass, got up early, and took the 6:00am tram over to the park. Got in line about 6:30am, and into the park exactly at 7am! It looked crowded when we were standing in line, but we headed straight over to Fantasyland and walked right onto 4 rides with no wait at all. But first we saw Cinderella on the castle bridge, and of course DD3 had to stop and say hello. She got some pictures and a hug and was just in love with her
DS5 wanted *nothing* to do with her and hid far off in the bushes with DH until we were done, lol. First ride was Peter Pan (of course!) which the kids LOVED! Then we went on Mr. Toads Wild Ride because it was right there, and no line. DS5 liked it, DD3 did NOT like it at all. It really scared her, she was crying by the time we got off. (great start, eh?) Next we went on Pinnochio, again no line at all, which DS5 liked and DD3 did NOT. Again, she was crying before we got off the ride. After that we decided to avoid the indoor rides for awhile, even though Snow White didn't have a line either, lol. We rode Dumbo then, it had a small line at that point, but DD3 LOVED it! (It was her favorite ride) Early Entry was SO WORTH IT! Then we decided to head over to Tomorrowland because DS5 saw the Astro Orbitors the *second* we walked into the park, and had been begging to go on it. Both kids went on it, DS5 LOVED it, DD3 liked it! Then we walked by Star Tours which DH told me he had never been on (I KNOW!!!!) So I immediately dragged him into line and we asked about switching w/ the kids. DH and DS5 went together first, and DD3 and I waited in the gift shop where the ride gets out. While they rode that, I walked over and got Fast Passes for Buzz Lightyear. When they came out, DS5 and I went back up the exit and rode it together. (the park worker told us to!) DS5 LOVED it!!! It was so fun riding it with him. It was my first heartstring-pulling experience with him in the park, and I'll never forget that feeling. When he got off the ride he was like "That was SO COOL, mom!" and we ran up the ramp together, giggling our heads off, so excited. During the ride he would be like "Careful, Mom! This part is scary!" It was so cute. After that we went on Buzz Lightyear, I was a little concerned about DD3 after her Fantasyland experience, but both the kids LOVED it and wanted to ride again. Don't forget to smile- the ride takes your picture and when you get off you can have your pictures emailed to you at the computer kiosk. Then we walked over to Red Rocket's Pizza Port and saw Buzz Lightyear. They had a singing/dancing thing going on and a trashcan that moved. The kids thought this was sooooo cool, and had to peek inside it- it just looked like a regular ole trash can. After that anytime we saw one in the park, the kids ran up and had to peek inside to see if it was the moving one, lol. After that it was time for Breakfast with Minnie and Friends. We went at 9am which was perfect timing, it gave us enough time to enjoy being first in the park, and right when the lines picked up we got to sit down and eat. I highly recommend this character meal- it was definitely worth the price and its the only one inside the actual park. I would've HATED to walk a far distance just to eat and go through the hassle of leaving/re-entering the park more than once (we already left in the afternoons for naps). It wouldve been a big waste of time. At that point we had only seen one character, so having breakfast the first morning, right off was perfect. We sat outside on the veranda and took turns taking the kids in to get their plates. They had Mickey shaped waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, hash browns, doughnuts, eggs, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Yummy! We saw and got pictures/hugs from Minnie Mouse, Eeyore, Baloo the Bear, Chip, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Capt Hook (the kids were slightly scared of him, but not too bad, it was more of a "fun" scared, lol. They just didnt want to get too close to him, but were fine watching him from afar). There may have a been a couple other characters, I cant remember now.
After that we headed over to Frontierland. We did Shootin' Exposition which DS5 loved, DD3 was sorta into it, but couldn't really aim & shoot. Then we went over into Adventureland and got fast passes for Indiana Jones. After that we rode Jungle Cruise. The line was still really short and we got on fairly quickly. Both kids loved the ride, and it was a nice change of pace to get to sit for awhile and just relax. After that we did the parent switch thing for Indiana Jones (which DH had never been on either!!!) DH went on first, and I got in a special line. The line was long, but not as terrible as I have seen it. It was under an hour at least. While we waited for each other to get out, the other parent took the kids over to Tarzan's Treehouse and let them run around. Both kids LOVED it, and we played on there many diff times throughout the trip. Afterwards we went into New Orleans square and wistfully looked at Pirates of the Caribbean which was still closed for refurbishing. (DARN!) We walked right on past the Haunted Mansion, lol, figured there wasn't even a point to try.
Then we headed back over to Fantasyland for Storybook Hour with Snow White in the Once Upon a Time gift shop (its to the left of the castle inside Fantasyland- the one with all the Princess stuff!).Storybook Hour was really fun. I totally recommend it, especially if you have a little girl (DS5 enjoyed it, too, however this might be a good time to hit up the Matterhorn or other "scary" rides). Try to sit on the front left hand side because that is where the line forms to get pictures/hugs afterwards. We got there about 30 minutes early (which was recommended to me by fellow Disboard-ers) and hung out. I wish we had had drinks/snacks at that point because the kids were kinda cranky/restless waiting. Next time we're bringing a backpack. After Storybook Hour we went on the Matterhorn. We did the parent/child swap thing b/c DD3 didnt want to go (she was tall enough though). DS5 loved it! He wasnt too scared at all, which really surprised me! Then DD3 and I went and stood in line for pictures/hugs with Ariel while DH and DS5 went on some other big rides. DD3 was really excited (a girl after my own heart!) I was really excited, too! The line was FOREVER but we finally got there, and she was so sweet.
Next we went into the Mad Hatter gift shop and got some ears for the kids. DS5 picked out the Fantasia Wizard Mickey Ears and DD3 picked the pink & white sequined Princess ears. I already had my own ears from a high school trip to DL, black sequined Minnie ears! DH didn't buy any ears b/c he's a party pooper, LOL. Then we went on the Teacups and Alice in Wonderland, which were fun. The lines were really super long at that point though. We headed over to the Storybook Canal, but they had just closed it because of the parade. I think it was around 1pm at this point. It was starting in about 15 minutes and there was plenty of space to sit down still, so we decided to just stay and watch it. I bought popcorn at a nearby vendor for while we waited. It was the perfect spot! We watched the whole parade, the kids had so much fun! It was very entertaining- the music, dancing, costumes were really neat. We gave DS5 the digital camera and let him take his own pictures of the parade, which he thought was pretty cool. As soon as the parade ended we stood up and got in line for Storybook Canals. We were first in line, so no wait! (perfect!) After that everyone was pretty tired and cranky so we decided to go back to the hotel for a nap. Thats when we learned that the trams closed around lunchtime for a couple of hours, but one of the tram drivers (nice but cranky as well) said he'd take us to our hotel anyway. His was the last one and fortunately he took pity on our sad looking party. We slept for a few hours at the hotel. I had to drag DH back out of bed though around 5-6pm. He was wanting to keep sleeping, but I wasn't going to waste our vacation doing something silly like that!!!
So we caught the tram and headed back to the park. We wanted to watch Fantasmic which started in an hour & a half, so we went over to New Orleans Square. We saw some people sitting outside the French Market restaurant on the veranda eating and we thought "hmm, I wonder if theyre allowed to stay there for Fantasmic?" So I went and asked a worker, and he said 'yes!' Hey, two birds with one stone! So we stayed there to eat dinner, and got a table *right in front of the rail* by pure luck...someone got up and we swooped right in. We sat and ate (chicken, cornbread, soup, etc- the kids liked it), and had about 30 minutes of downtime before the show started. But we had dessert so the kids were pretty well-behaved. The seats were perfect for Fantasmic, we could see over everyone's heads down in the street and had a place to sit the whole time. AWESOME! After that we walked back through Adventureland (much less crowded) bought the kids some pirate swords and then headed over to Tomorrowland to watch the fireworks. We all got on the Astro Orbitors cause there was no line and got to see the fireworks from way up above the park! Even more AWESOME! Then we went over to Space Mountain- which I was SO EXCITED for!!! It had been years since I rode it! We did the parent switch thing and we LOVED IT! SO COOL. The kids had fun playing with their new swords while they waited, too. There's a big area right outside the ride with benches and they found another little friend who was waiting and they had a blast. After that it was almost time for the park to close, and we were all pretty tired, so we caught a tram back to the hotel and SLEPT.
Click HERE to read DAY 2 of 3!
