nurse.darcy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2007
- Messages
- 6,815
The Dates: Dec 20 through the 23rd.
The Party: Me, my teen son and his best friend (also a teen)
The stay: The Portofino Inn
Extras: A birthday lunch at the Blue Bayou
Okay, now that you know the cast of characters, let me fill you in with the details. . .Mind you I did not take many pics so this will not be a pictoral report. . .we seemed to be more focused on fun. . .
Arrival. . .we arrived at the Portofino Inn at 0900. . .pretty early for check in but I thought I would check anyway. . .voila, our room is ready. . .imagine that. We take the bags to the room and then relax for a bit since we just had a 2 hour drive. So, then we head out to Disneyland. . .we decide to go to the main park since it is not quite 10 yet and DCA does not open till 10. Since it is just a few days before Christmas we are expecting HUGE crowds. . .however, they do not materialize on this day and we are just WALKING on rides. . .all day long. I think our longest wait for a ride was 15 minutes, and that was because the ride broke down temporarily. . .silly. We went on Space Mountain 3 times in 20 minutes this day. Well, about noon, I let the teens go off by themselves so I can take a siesta back at the hotel. I am expecting a friend and she is due to arrive around 2 p.m., more on that later. I get to the hotel close to one and immediately lay down and fall asleep. . .the rest is dreamland. . .lol. My friend calls me at 3 and says she is on her way. Well, at this point I think it important to get back to the parks and make sure my teens know that I am WATCHING them. . .ya know. . .the parent figure. However, they are busy at DCA with Mulholland Madness, The funny looking ferris wheel (can't remember the name) and the Maliboomer. So I really had nothing to worry about except the fact that they expected me to go on these rides with them. No problem since I am a daredevil at heart (I skydive for fun). Of course, they are repeating these rides again since the lines have been so short today. . .Well now it is 1630 and my friend calls to say she is in the parking lot of the hotel. I walk back and find her, give her the parking pass and then take her to the room. We then walk back to Disneyland and get her a one day pass and go to the main park (the only one she is interested in). We are in at about 5 p.m. Believe it or not, except for toontown, we go on EVERY RIDE IN THE PARK within a three hour span. . .this is how light the crowds are. . .it was utterly amazing. We then start to repeat some things. We go on Pirates again because we had a horrible experience the first time around. . .(won't go into detail. . .not important) Then we repeat Haunted Mansion Holiday again. . .After that we repeat Matterhorn and Space Mountain. . .it turns into a great evening. The teens eventually call to say they are tired and going back to the hotel. . .we bid them goodnight and we stay till nearly closing. . .my friend wants to get the most out of her one day one park ticket. Its getting fairly near fireworks time so we decide to take a trip on IASW before crowding around Sleeping Beauty Castle for the fireworks. . .well, we get stuck on IASW during the fireworks. . .believe it or not, it turns out to be awesome. . .we are in the canal and can see ALL the fireworks from our boat. . .and just before it starts to "snow" we get off the boat and start walking toward the castle. . .we get snowed on, start believing in magic and truly enjoy our awesome experience. Sorry the kids missed it but hey, we had a great time.
Day Two. . .I say goodbye in the AM to my friend and proceed out the door early with the teens. . .we are out the door by 7 a.m., even though they said they wanted to sleep in as there was no early entry this day. We get to the gate early and are the first ones in line. . .they are opening even numbered gates this day and they direct us to the fence to be first. Okay, is it just me or did I think that EVERYONE liked to be first in line so at the gate really early. . .We are let in at 8 (there is a family that opened the park but it was not us) and head straight for Space Mountain (our thinking is this is the Friday before Christmas. . .its probably going to get REALLY crowded today). We get fastpasses and then go on the ride. We can use the fastpasses to ride again later. . .we go, then go on autopia, then on star tours, then back on space mountain and still have not come up to our fastpass time. . .oh well, we just have to ride it again. . .lol. So we finally get done in tomorrowland and head off to adventureland. Today's goal, to ride Indy more than once. . .we get fastpasses and then notice that the standby line is 10 minutes. . .what the heck. . .we shall wait in line. . .to be fair, when we get off the ride, the standby line is now up to 20 minutes, but we have FASTPASSES, so who cares. . .we go on Indy again. The Pirates and Haunted and BTMRR. Okay, its just not even 10 yet and too early to go to DCA. The kids decide that is exactly what they want to do. . .go to DCA, so off we trek. We pretty much hit every ride twice before noon. . .I am still amazed by the lack of crowds so close to christmas. . .I am sure our luck will change eventually but hey, why knock a good thing. . .
By about 3 p.m. on Friday, the crowds have started to turn out. Its about time. . .I mean I would not have planned 3 days in the Parks if I was not expecting crowds. . .The rest of the time is about riding and enjoying the parks. . .
Two notes: The fireworks only went off on Thursday that whole weekend thanks to high winds aloft. . .regardless of fireworks they still make it snow every night. Early entry on Saturday was AWESOME. Its amazing how much you can get done before the parks get too crowded. . .
Restaurant review: Blue Bayou. . .we did like our experience here. The food for my son and his friend was excellent but I had the Monte Cristo. . .it was good but for the price I could have had the salmon that my son had, which was infinitely better. We were three adult sized portions, our total bill including tip was just under $130 at lunch. We had an appetizer, and 3 meals. . .a little pricey for no alcoholic beverages. . .but the food and service was quite enjoyable. . .also, think twice before ordering an appetizer. . .the cup of soup or wedge salad that comes with the entree is plenty for a starter and the meal is HUGE. I would eat here again. The service was impeccable. . .
The Party: Me, my teen son and his best friend (also a teen)
The stay: The Portofino Inn
Extras: A birthday lunch at the Blue Bayou
Okay, now that you know the cast of characters, let me fill you in with the details. . .Mind you I did not take many pics so this will not be a pictoral report. . .we seemed to be more focused on fun. . .
Arrival. . .we arrived at the Portofino Inn at 0900. . .pretty early for check in but I thought I would check anyway. . .voila, our room is ready. . .imagine that. We take the bags to the room and then relax for a bit since we just had a 2 hour drive. So, then we head out to Disneyland. . .we decide to go to the main park since it is not quite 10 yet and DCA does not open till 10. Since it is just a few days before Christmas we are expecting HUGE crowds. . .however, they do not materialize on this day and we are just WALKING on rides. . .all day long. I think our longest wait for a ride was 15 minutes, and that was because the ride broke down temporarily. . .silly. We went on Space Mountain 3 times in 20 minutes this day. Well, about noon, I let the teens go off by themselves so I can take a siesta back at the hotel. I am expecting a friend and she is due to arrive around 2 p.m., more on that later. I get to the hotel close to one and immediately lay down and fall asleep. . .the rest is dreamland. . .lol. My friend calls me at 3 and says she is on her way. Well, at this point I think it important to get back to the parks and make sure my teens know that I am WATCHING them. . .ya know. . .the parent figure. However, they are busy at DCA with Mulholland Madness, The funny looking ferris wheel (can't remember the name) and the Maliboomer. So I really had nothing to worry about except the fact that they expected me to go on these rides with them. No problem since I am a daredevil at heart (I skydive for fun). Of course, they are repeating these rides again since the lines have been so short today. . .Well now it is 1630 and my friend calls to say she is in the parking lot of the hotel. I walk back and find her, give her the parking pass and then take her to the room. We then walk back to Disneyland and get her a one day pass and go to the main park (the only one she is interested in). We are in at about 5 p.m. Believe it or not, except for toontown, we go on EVERY RIDE IN THE PARK within a three hour span. . .this is how light the crowds are. . .it was utterly amazing. We then start to repeat some things. We go on Pirates again because we had a horrible experience the first time around. . .(won't go into detail. . .not important) Then we repeat Haunted Mansion Holiday again. . .After that we repeat Matterhorn and Space Mountain. . .it turns into a great evening. The teens eventually call to say they are tired and going back to the hotel. . .we bid them goodnight and we stay till nearly closing. . .my friend wants to get the most out of her one day one park ticket. Its getting fairly near fireworks time so we decide to take a trip on IASW before crowding around Sleeping Beauty Castle for the fireworks. . .well, we get stuck on IASW during the fireworks. . .believe it or not, it turns out to be awesome. . .we are in the canal and can see ALL the fireworks from our boat. . .and just before it starts to "snow" we get off the boat and start walking toward the castle. . .we get snowed on, start believing in magic and truly enjoy our awesome experience. Sorry the kids missed it but hey, we had a great time.
Day Two. . .I say goodbye in the AM to my friend and proceed out the door early with the teens. . .we are out the door by 7 a.m., even though they said they wanted to sleep in as there was no early entry this day. We get to the gate early and are the first ones in line. . .they are opening even numbered gates this day and they direct us to the fence to be first. Okay, is it just me or did I think that EVERYONE liked to be first in line so at the gate really early. . .We are let in at 8 (there is a family that opened the park but it was not us) and head straight for Space Mountain (our thinking is this is the Friday before Christmas. . .its probably going to get REALLY crowded today). We get fastpasses and then go on the ride. We can use the fastpasses to ride again later. . .we go, then go on autopia, then on star tours, then back on space mountain and still have not come up to our fastpass time. . .oh well, we just have to ride it again. . .lol. So we finally get done in tomorrowland and head off to adventureland. Today's goal, to ride Indy more than once. . .we get fastpasses and then notice that the standby line is 10 minutes. . .what the heck. . .we shall wait in line. . .to be fair, when we get off the ride, the standby line is now up to 20 minutes, but we have FASTPASSES, so who cares. . .we go on Indy again. The Pirates and Haunted and BTMRR. Okay, its just not even 10 yet and too early to go to DCA. The kids decide that is exactly what they want to do. . .go to DCA, so off we trek. We pretty much hit every ride twice before noon. . .I am still amazed by the lack of crowds so close to christmas. . .I am sure our luck will change eventually but hey, why knock a good thing. . .
By about 3 p.m. on Friday, the crowds have started to turn out. Its about time. . .I mean I would not have planned 3 days in the Parks if I was not expecting crowds. . .The rest of the time is about riding and enjoying the parks. . .
Two notes: The fireworks only went off on Thursday that whole weekend thanks to high winds aloft. . .regardless of fireworks they still make it snow every night. Early entry on Saturday was AWESOME. Its amazing how much you can get done before the parks get too crowded. . .
Restaurant review: Blue Bayou. . .we did like our experience here. The food for my son and his friend was excellent but I had the Monte Cristo. . .it was good but for the price I could have had the salmon that my son had, which was infinitely better. We were three adult sized portions, our total bill including tip was just under $130 at lunch. We had an appetizer, and 3 meals. . .a little pricey for no alcoholic beverages. . .but the food and service was quite enjoyable. . .also, think twice before ordering an appetizer. . .the cup of soup or wedge salad that comes with the entree is plenty for a starter and the meal is HUGE. I would eat here again. The service was impeccable. . .
