Eeee-va's Super-Historic Christmas Season Trip! Completed 10/10/12

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

Please note, this report is from December 2009, so at this point is is more interesting for historic reasons than trip-planning reasons. Some of the later parts may be mildly interesting for planning if rain is forecast for your trip.

Apologetically,
Eeee-va

INDEX:
Cast of characters - this post
Part I - 12/9/09 - Blythe, Wait Board, Tiana's Showboat, Mark Twain
Part II - 12/9/09 - Cool Hat Story, Indy, Birthday Song, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Bengal Barbecue, Snow on the Rivers of America, Tigger Tail
Part III - 12/9/09 - Fantasmic! Hojo! Oh, Murphy! Sparkles!
Part IV - 12/10/09 - May's Adventures! (Winged Unicorn, Princess and the Frog Meet and Greet, other childish stuff )
Part V - 12/10/09 - Exploring previously uncharted parts of DCA and a delicious salad!
Part VI - Mom's here! (Tiana's Showboat Jubilee, Cafe Orleans, Baked Goods, Indy's Secret Garage)
Part VII - 12/11/09 - As Magic a Morning as cheap AP-holders are gonna get... (Fantasyland and Toontown)
Part VII (b)- 12/11/09 - COOKIES! Main Street and DCA (lunch and a show...)
Part VII (c)- 12/11/09 - Here comes the rain (another secret; Downtown Disney)
Part VIII - 12/12/09 - When Innoventions is busy, you know it's raining (Rain, Complaining, House of Tomorrow)
Part IX - 12/12/09 - Ghost Town and Time Machine (Old DCA in the rain at night)
Part X - Interlude - Thoughts on Rain (no pictures; slight silliness)


For those of you keeping score:
12/9/09: (2:30 PM - 11 PM)
Rides: 10
Shows: 3
Attractions: 1
Meal: 1
Snack: 1

12/10/09: (9:00 AM - 9:50 PM)
Rides: 13 (plus 2 for Miss D)
Shows: 1
Attractions: 2
Meal: 2
Snack: 1

12/11/09: (8:00 AM - 10:18 PM)
Rides: 12
Shows: 2
Sorry excuse for a show (castle lights): 1
Attractions: 5
Meal: 2
Snack: 1
Snacktivity: 1




Dear DISboards,

I know I haven't finished my last trip report, but I'm going to Disneyland again real soon and I'm super-excited. I hope you don't mind if I start a PTR?

My friend and I bought APs at the end of our trip in June so that we could do a Christmas trip. We're driving over on 12/9! Judging from this thread it sure looks like all of DISboards is going too, doesn't it? Do you think I'll see anyone there?

The weather forecast keeps hovering between cloudy and rain throughout the whole trip, with highs in the 60s...being from Arizona, I think that's awful cold. But I like to wear warm clothes, I'm still impressed by water falling from the sky (and lower crowds) and we're going to have a super-fun time whatever happens!

We're totally NOT going to use Ridemax--we know what gets busy early and last time we spent all our time trying to ride rides and stuff, which wasn't very cool.

I think if I revealed names my trip buddies would be super-mad, but here we are. We all went in June 2009 too!

Eeee-va: That's me! I'm well into adulthood (maybe not mentally). I love things that sparkle but don't wear jewelry. My favorite ride is probably Space Mountain. The music is super-cool! Either that, or Pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates definitely has the best wait-to-ride ratio of awesome rides. I miss the Peoplemover, though. I hate drops so I'm terrified to go on Tower of Terror. My number one thing to do this trip is actually to see Tiana's show, and maybe even get up the courage to meet her! (I am shy around strangers and characters both, and I haven't even seen her movie... ) Second biggest goal is to finally see Murphy in Fantasmic!

Miss D: That's my friend from college, who lives about 90 minutes away and is a week older than me. Her favorite color is purple. From how often she rides it, I think Indiana Jones may be her favorite ride, but I've never asked. (EDIT (can you edit a letter?)--I just asked her and she said "I don't know." ) I know she wants to see the same entertainment I want to see, but the one thing she'd mentioned to me that she wanted to do was the Aladdin show, which is super-cool! She's a real picky eater so I don't know if we'll eat at any sit-down restaurants...

Mom: She's totally not a frog and she's totally not a boy, but she likes the Muppets and used to be a reporter. She used to take my brother and I to Disneyland every Spring Break back in the 1990s, which was super-fun! We used to go to the parks from opening to closing, even when the parks were open late. I don't know how we did it, but I remember my feet hurting a lot more than they do when I go now! The humidity really gets to Mom--last time she spent a lot of time in the room --and Miss D and I really like to go quick in the parks, so it might be a challenge...I'm hoping that if she takes ART to the parks each day that will help her some?

We'll be staying at HoJo, which didn't wow me last time, but the prices were so cheap! We're not bothering with the Entertainment rate because the AP rate I booked is just a few dollars a night more and I'm still irked at Entertainment for messing up my order and being so mean to me last time. (Though to their credit, I got my refund for the books I mailed back to them, and it only took like 6 emails and about that many weeks...)

I still need to buy some warmer clothes and make a new LGMH since my last one got lost at the end of the trip. And I'm working on something Tiana-related, but I don't know...

Anyway, DISboards, I know this was a long letter but I'm just so excited! There will be so many things to do and the park will be so pretty! I wonder what kind of fabulous Christmas food I should eat? Write back soon.

With deepest esteem,
Your friend,
Eeee-va

 

[deejdigsdis]

Have fun! I am missing that Christmas-y atmosphere on Main Street so much!

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear Deejdigsdis,

Thank you for your kind words! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to help you live vicariously...in a week or two!

Dear DISboards,

Just one week before I get to go to Disneyland! Or the Disneyland Resort if you want to be all proper. Today I went to Ross and bought two pairs of pants. (In the fitting room area were some kids who were super-loud! It was really weird.) They actually had a couple Princess Tiana journals too--I thought Ross was mostly close-outs? I didn't see any typos on them or anything. I was tempted but decided not to, even though I'm already more or less in love with that movie (Tiana appears to be a wonderful character and I love the 1920s!). Anyway, now I have pants for every day of my trip, which will probably come in handy. I also got my hair cut, which I try to do at least annually. I was a few months behind that goal. I think it looks much nicer now...

The current weather forecast is a shower on Thursday, and rain on Friday and Saturday. But as long as I can see Tiana's show and Fantasmic, I'll personally be happy! I think we should TRY to see both of those things on Wednesday, but we'll see.

I hope you are doing well, DISboards! If you could only do one thing at Disneyland--er, the Disneyland Resort--what would you do?

With deepest affection,
Eeee-va

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

I'm just a few days away from visiting Disneyland! I'm so excited!

I have a doll who's super-excited to meet Princess Tiana. I even made her a dress. She's 9 years old so she is allowed to dress up at Disneyland. I worked on it Friday after work and then for 2 hours on Saturday, and I only used fabric and trims and stuff that I already had. Not bad, huh?

I keep forgetting to get my LGMH! I'd better hurry and pick some up!

How are you?

Love,
Eeee-va

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

Can you believe I forgot to get my LGMH AGAIN???????????? I hate packing; don't you? It's a good thing we're not flying. At least I can bring everything I can cram into my largest suitcase.

Love,
Eeee-va

 

[deejdigsdis]

Great job on the dress! Tiana will be impressed, I'm sure.

 

[hurleysweety]

Love your report so far! Have sooo much fun!

The Tiana doll looks wonderful, by the way! Great talent.

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear deejdigsdis and hurleysweety,

THANK YOU!

Dear DISboards,

The countdown is on; we leave sometime tomorrow! I still need to talk things over with my travel buddy Miss D, but that's fun. She'll be arriving in about 90 minutes from now.

I'm virtually packed (although as my dad noted, "virtual" technically means "not"--think of offers where something "virtually pays for itself," for instance! ).

I still have do wash the sheets for the futon and some towels, and cleaning a bit more here would be helpful, but yeah, no. I didn't buy a tree for the room after another friend said it was silly --well, and I'm lazy . But I did buy a tiny Nativity set, even though it wasn't easy to find, LOL. I checked Home Depot (where I was picking up my LGMH ) and didn't see a single one. I checked Big Lots and they did have a $5 town (?) set that included a Nativity, but it the Nativity so homely that I think even Dollar Tree would flush to put it up. So I finally went to the 99(.99) Cent Only store next-door...yes, I DID buy a 99 cent Nativity sculpture; oh dear. I did look them over and found one that I thought was fairly good looking. It was a little weird; they all had the same Mary and all appeared to have the same baby Jesus, but they had two different adult male figures. Half were bare-headed with short beards (and looked more like Joseph for me) and others had an older-looking man who seemed to me like a cross between a shepherd and a wise man. Interesting!

Anyway, I'd better buckle down and get to work, but instead I'm watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special. I hope you are having fun tonight!

With deepest affection,
Eeee-va

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

We're leaving in just a few hours! (Well, like 9, but still.) I'm so excited! Miss D is here and seemed OK with most of my plans, which include:

*Try to do as much outdoor entertainment as possible on Wednesday afternoon/evening, as we don't know how the weather will be on the days that follow
*See Fantasmic Wednesday night, if possible, instead of later (since Fantasmic is a higher priority than fireworks for both of us! and my mom isn't interested anyway, or at least not interested enough to wait for it in the cold/on the pavement)
*Try to do as many rides/etc. until maybe 11 AM, and then take things more leisurely
*Strongly consider spending "all day" at the parks on Friday and leave sometime after dark, as if it were a day when the parks close early (the reasoning being that locals are more likely to come after work, which means that the evenings might not be any less crowded than the afternoons, plus early on she had wanted to spend the whole day at DLR on the days when the park "closed early," which turns out to be none of them ) Of course, IF we don't manage to see Fantasmic on Wednesday or Thursday that may not be an option...oh, Eeee-va, shut your mouth!
*Go visit the GCH lobby
*Maybe eat at a sit-down restaurant (as my mom likes those very much)
*Maybe eat breakfast in the park one day (as I haven't done that in years, unless you count some fairly bad fritters in NOS back in June )
*Mini-Meet in front of the castle on Saturday

Whew! Do you think we will get that all done?

Love,
Eeee-va

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

I put some info at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2348094 as well.

Love,
Eeee-va

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

I am totally going to start my real trip report soon, honest.

Love,
Eeee-va

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

I'm finally starting my trip report! I'm going to have to limit my letters because if I put too many pictures in a letter, it will be expensive to mail.

I checked the weather reports again and again and they all said Wednesday, 12/9, would be clear, with rain likely from Thursday through Sunday! So I definitely wanted to get there early if possible and try to get the things that can be rained out, done.

Miss D and I planned to leave home no earlier than 8 (as that's when we'd be at work anyway). We left about 8:30, so yes, we managed! We were famished (and I think the car was, too) when we reached Blythe, so we stopped at Jack in the Box for breakfast/lunch. It was before 10:30 California time, so it was basically breakfast time for them...it was kind of lunchtime for us, but I was hungry for breakfast, so...

No, it didn't come half-eaten. I liked the half-eaten picture, though.

We got to Hojo about 2 PM...our room wasn't ready yet, and they suggested we check all of our things, so we basically did. (We left two cases of water and my mom's Pepsi One in the car.) That took a while, but we still made it into the parks about 2:30 PM. We dropped our things off at the locker--it was in the 60s but with the sun out, it was too hot for a sweatshirt and/or trenchcoat.

The last time I went to Disneyland was June, and my jaw dropped now to see the wait times at 2:30 in the afternoon! 20 minutes for major rides!

I was THRILLED, figuring that Thursday was likely to be more of the same.

So first we got Fastpasses for Indy, and then we did Tarzan's Treehouse, since I'd wanted to go through last time but it wasn't open at night when Ridemax told us to.

People were already queuing for Tiana's Showboat Jubilee. (About 2:33 PM)

We moseyed on over that way too. I thought the little Cinderella on Tom Sawyer's Island was too funny.

Then we decided to wait for the 2:45 PM Tiana's Showboat Jubilee, since we were in the area and it was one of my top priorities.

The Tiana parade just runs right through so quick! (about 2:47 PM)

But once they get on the boat it was a bit longer and a lot easier to photograph. (about 2:56 PM)

I thought Prince Naveen was very cute with his ukulele. It's probably a good thing that I hadn't seen the movie when we went to Disneyland, because I now have a bit of a crush on him and I would've been horrifically shy, LOL.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is another of those things we did not want to ride in the rain, so we did it too. (about 3:11 PM)

Then we went on the Mark Twain since we hadn't done that in June (about 3:23 PM). Miss D's keen eyes spotted this in the blocked off top level of the boat.

I got a kick out of seeing Space Mountain from the Rivers of America.

Though this was my favorite spot on the ship that day--the machinery radiated warmth!

And I think this envelope is going to burst if I keep putting in pictures. I'll write again soon!

Love,
Eeee-va

 

[kaoden39]

Eeee-va,

First off, I love your name. Wall-E is one of my favorite movies and certainly a wonderful love story. I hadn't been in the trip report section for a while so I missed the first part of the trip report. I am really enjoying it, and the dress you made for your doll is beautiful.

 

[tksbaskets]

OK, I'm officially hooked and waiting for another newsy letter!!

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear Kaoden39,

Thank you! I love WALL-E too (though I love them both, I am even more partial to EVE ). Yes, it's an awesome love story; one of my favorites! I think it's the best robot love story ever made. I didn't get a picture sadly, but I'll have a super-cute text update for you near the start of my next part of the report. Thank you for the kind words about the dress too!

Dear tksbaskets,

Thank you! I will try to update again tonight. If I'm super-lucky I might even get through Wednesday, but then, maybe not.

Love,
Eeee-va

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear DISboards,

So I got a little confused and missed something--we picked up a FP for Haunted Mansion Holiday along the way, I think a little before we got on the Mark Twain. (It wasn't really necessary, but that's all right. I just wish I would've saved it for my collection!)

But anyway, the IMPORTANT thing is that there was a fairly young girl with a white knitted/crocheted hat, with a very large black oval in the middle and two blue felt (?) ovals sewn onto the oval, like eyes.

Yes, someone made an EVE hat!!!!!! I really should've thought to ask for a picture, but when I let the two know that was the cutest thing I'd seen all day, they pretty much looked at me like I'd lost my mind, so asking for a photo (even if I promised to not show the girl's head) may not have been too wise anyway. But I loved it! I'll have to cajole someone into doing the knitting/crocheting for one so I can have one too. (There actually is a seller on Etsy who makes them, but this one was different, as the black part was crocheted/knitted in, I'm almost certain, and the eyes looked hand-sewn on.)

So the next thing we did after the Mark Twain was Indiana Jones. The line was fairly short with our FP (though in fairness I don't remember how many people we walked by...). (3:58 PM)

The ride itself was fun, as usual. I kept forgetting to ask Miss D if she noticed anything different (though honestly, I'm not sure the rat mist was working when we were there in June, and that was more noticeable to me than the new Indy Audio-Animatronic).

But I tucked my purse into the bag you're supposed to tuck everything into, and I realized as I was walking out of the queue that I'd LOST my LGMH! Luckily I brought two purses and made two LGMHs, but I didn't have one for the rest of the day.

Then we went on the Jungle Cruise. (4:10 PM) Our pilot was all right--there was a wait to actually get back into the dock, so he asked if it was anyone's birthday. First he sung a song that evidently is common at Disneyland, as I heard a couple other CMs sing it too, albeit to a different tune:

"This is your birthday song,
It isn't very long."

A bit of a pause and the boat didn't move, so he added,

"This is the second verse,
It's shorter than the"

I laughed so hard, and when I sung it for my brother yesterday, he totally explained why it was funny--something along the lines of, "As you're singing, I'm thinking, 'No it's not shorter than the first one!' And then it was!"

Next, I believe we retrieved our coats (4:39 PM)--it wasn't really cold but it was chilly enough that I definitely wanted my sweatshirt, and I just took the trenchcoat too. Miss D had a kind of short trenchcoat thing too.

OK, I'm a bit fuzzy but I THINK what happened was that we went to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain and the ride was down. So I THINK we didn't know what to do and wandered by and saw the last half of the Jedi Training Academy. (4:47 PM) It was pretty cute, but for some reason, even though Darth Maul was there, all the kids fought Darth Vader? It was really funny to see the evil Darth Vader not actually beat the crud out of these little kids, but wait patiently while they executed their moves. (Obviously if I had kids and they were in it, it would've been the best thing ever. )

Then I THINK we got a Space Mountain Fastpass when it came up again (I'm sure the wait for the ride wasn't terribly long, but we were already getting spoiled!).

Then, Miss D had wanted to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience during our trip. Although it was not a busy evening by any means, it seemed reasonable to do early on--after all, with the rumors of Captain EO coming, it seemed possible that it MIGHT have closed while we were there, even. (Which it didn't, but yeah.) (5:02 PM)

Anyway, it really wasn't a horrible show or anything, but it started out SO slow. I'll bet Captain EO will be great in there, though! (Even if that story makes little sense, either.) Oh, it's fun to have an Annual Pass!

Then we did Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. (5:26 PM) I had horrible luck this time (I think my gun sights tended to be bad, or maybe I was just tired ).

We hung out in Star Traders, waiting just a few minutes for our Fastpass window to open at 5:40 PM. We then picked up a "Just in Case" Space Mountain FP for later (per the time stamp we actually got it at 5:49, with a return time of 6:25), and then rode Space Mountain, which was totally awesome. Throughout the trip, that's the main ride that people have been actually CLAPPING at the end with fair consistency.

We were hungry and so Miss D wanted to go to the Village Haus, as she remembered having something good there years ago. (6:20 PM) The line was so crazy-slow! I couldn't bear to pay all that money for a hamburger or personal pizza, so I didn't want to eat there.* Instead she got a box for her meal and then we headed to Adventureland, for my standby favorite meal at Disneyland.

Banyan Beef Skewer and Tiger Tails from the Bengal Barbecue! (6:53 PM) It was also cheaper than a hamburger and fries. (Spicier too. )

We used our Haunted Mansion Holiday FPs, I'm sure; I recall it being just about walk-on (7:09 PM).

Then we did PotC (probably got on around 7:30 PM). Then it was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, in the dark. (7:52 PM) It DOES seem faster in the dark, and the lights are SO pretty as you rise up and catch glimpses of the Rivers of America and the lit tree in Frontierland. Delightful!

To try to get one of the last "must-dos" in Disneyland Park done, we headed over to It's a Small World Holiday. (8:12 PM) Unfortunately, the line was over 40 minutes (!)--someone nearby asked me if the ride was running again, so I reckon it was down for a while and that's why the line was so long.

That said, Fantasyland was awful busy at night most days we went. I think it was just a huge draw for families? The decor was very pretty, too.

We DID hang out to watch the facade show at the quarter of the hour, though. People clapped for it pretty consistently too, I suppose because it was unexpected.

Then we worked our way back around and saw the pretty swirls in the lake in Pixie Hollow. OK, no one but someone from Arizona would call that tiny body of water a lake. Leave me alone. (8:23 PM)

Then, on to Star Tours! (8:26 PM) Does anyone else really really REALLY hope that Jar Jar Binks isn't in the next version of the ride? (Unless, of course, you get to run over him with a pod racer? Er, I officially apologize to anyone who loves Jar Jar Binks. )

Restroom stop! (8:51 PM)

We aimed to get back to the Rivers of America around 9:20 or 9:30, so we could watch fireworks there and get a good place for the 10:30 PM Fantasmic. So we had plenty of time to hop over to Critter Country and get an elusive Tigger Tail! (9:08 PM) The store was DEAD (unlike the Main Street Bakery)--I'll bet on many nights, it would be quicker to send a "runner" over to Critter Country to buy your cookies and then come back to Main Street, to be honest.

We saw Murphy from near the Haunted Mansion and then headed down to the terraced area. I think a lot of people were already standing there, to be honest, and definitely stood and just hung out for the snow.

I was worried that with everyone standing there, we wouldn't get a good spot along the fence, but to be honest, we could've gotten there 10 minutes after fireworks and probably sat waterside in the seated area.

Here is my Tigger Tail!

To be honest, I wasn't wowed. It was really cute, but it actually wasn't sweet enough for me (!!!!!!). This is someone who had a Krispy Creme donut for the first time many years ago, in Las Vegas, and didn't think they were sweet enough, either. Next time, I think I'll just get something chocolate.

It was nice to eat two foods on a stick in one day though.

The view was lovely even as we waited, and the New Orleans Square Christmas loop may be my favorite in the parks. (I should know. We heard it more than once. )

It was so peaceful! To our left was a group of people who I think were used to WDW. I told them that the dragon here would knock their socks off. I hope it did!

And I took a lot of Fantasmic pictures and some of them might actually be good, so I'd better send this letter.

Happy Disney Love to all of you,
Eeee-va

 

[tksbaskets]

I loved the comment about Jar-Jar. I'm with you on that one

Enjoying your trip report!
TK

 

[kaoden39]

Dear Eeee-va,

I so enjoy these postcards from your trip. Thanks so much for sending them.

 

[deejdigsdis]

That's funny that Tigger Tails aren't sweet enough for you. Just tonight my son was eating a sweetened popcorn treat that someone dropped off for us. He had just a little bit because "it's too sweet for me, just like Tigger Tails are too sweet for me."

 

[Eeee-va]

Dear kaoden39,

Thank you!

Dear Deejdigsdis,

Yes, I know, I think ALL my teeth are sweet teeth.

Dear DISboards,

I'm sorry I took so long to get back to you. Things got really busy!

As promised, though, yes, we finally saw Fantasmic! I was hoping to see Murphy (the new dragon) in June, but no good. A CM in the Grand Californian back in June had told my friend (who was staying there) that the dragon would be appearing during our trip but that CM was mistaken by a couple whole months.

But no matter!

Was this lighting new? We didn't remember the trees looking so bright in June.

Fantasmic started! I had my night settings and everything, but still had trouble getting good shots. Though part of it may have been the cold. I remembered the DISer who once posted that they camped out to get Fantasmic seats that were front and center on a cold night, only to laugh at how hilariously BAD the seats were when the mist screens came up and they were just getting soaked and frozen? Yeah, it wasn't quite that bad, but I think I was shivering a little bit, so even using the railing as a makeshift tripod for my camera, I don't think I did that great.

Am I the only one who gets teary-eyed with the princess floats?

(Though I think it's worrisome that Mickey is imagining three Disney princesses as the fairest of them all, and not Minnie. )

Snow White is only "lit up" for a tiny part of her song, but she was by far the easiest to photograph!

We waited with bated breath and FINALLY! YES!

She didn't quite breathe fire, though plenty of fire came up. I was in love with that dragon for spreading her sweet delicious warmth to all of us. I love Fantasmic on a cool night. (Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful...)

Honestly, I think she was probably in her most cautious/least impressive mode--but she was still pretty spectacular.

Mickey is downright tiny next to her! Do you see that little needle-looking thing to the lower left of the dragon? Yeah, that's his sword.

Do you think she likes being photographed? I do, since she always seems to be posing.

Even when she's working on dying, she's photogenic.

I belatedly realized that the mist screens stayed up the whole time, with sparkles projected--that's right, Murphy the dragon didn't go down all the way, so they had to go to a Plan B to keep her hidden from view. I had read about her failing to go down back into the pit all the way, and was thrilled to see something go wrong. (I'd also thought the sparkles looked pretty in the videos and yes, they looked really nice!)

Anyway, I thought it was GREAT--I think it was nice of Murphy to behave as per her name (going wrong) during the show. Even one of the people from WDW next to us, who had no idea what Murphy was supposed to do (I think), saw Murphy behind the screen. It was still very good show though; I'll bet most people didn't know anything was wrong!

You would have thought that I would have WANTED the mist to go away quickly because it was awful cold, but no! It stayed in place well after the show ended.

(I actually had only subconsciously noticed that something else was wrong, but evidently Captain Hook didn't manage to swing out over the Columbia either; oh dear. Must have been a hard day for the performers and techs. But I suppose any Fantasmic you can walk away from is a good one! I thought it was a GREAT one!)

The park was closing at 11 PM, so we could've definitely rushed to Indy and done another ride. I don't remember if we had any Fastpasses or not but I don't think it would've mattered. But we wanted to get to the park at opening the next day and had not actually taken our things to our room yet. So we meandered through Frontierland to avoid the crowds (mission accomplished; Frontierland was deserted!). We were about at Coke Corner when they played the "Disneyland is closed" message. SNIFF.

Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

After a nice invigorating walk, we arrived back at the Hojo.

It didn't magically turn to daytime (their customer service is great, but not THAT good). But I figured this would be a good place to talk about our room. I'm sorry I didn't take any photos of the room itself for all of you! But the website totally has videos and stuff.

We went to the front desk and they retrieved our bags for us and then rolled the cart to our room for us. The service was warm and attentive. Miss D and I felt a little special that they brought our bags to our room for us!

It was a "Garden View" room, with a view of the monorail track!

It has two "oversized double" beds. For two people (or one adult and two kids, or two adults who are used to sharing a bed and one extra adult or 1-2 kids), it's a great room. It has a little table with chairs next to one bed and with my 14' Ethernet cord (brought from home) I was able to plug my computer right in to get online and check the weather repeatedly.

For three adults who aren't used to sharing beds, I think it's a little difficult--the "oversized double" beds appear to be the same WIDTH as a double bed, but 6 inches LONGER. I'm not disputing that they're only 6 inches more narrow than a regular queen, but they sure felt small! There's a rollaway in the ginormous closet (!) and a nice balcony-thing, even on first-floor rooms. (No steps to get into our first-floor room, though.) If you use the rollaway it should be splendid for 3 adults, but you'd have to budget that in.

The room was mostly quiet, except we could technically hear some people through the walls--wasn't a big deal for me, at least. The heater was old-fashioned window-type unit like I hadn't seen since the early 1990s, and LOUD but I didn't mind, at least, because we only used it for maybe an hour the first night and then never turned it on again. The comforter was plenty to keep me all toasty warm--I get cold pretty easily but am used to sleeping with no heat on in a well-insulated apartment...

ANYWAY, I'm sorry for digressing, DISboards. So it was just me and Miss D that night, so plenty of room for both of us, and my little travel partner as well. But you'll get to see her tomorrow! (Or if you go back to Page 1 you could totally see her too.)

I can't believe what a magical day we had. We had only been in the park for like 8 hours and I already felt like we'd had a GREAT trip! I just knew the rest of our trip would be magical, and I was right!!!

Stay warm, DISboards!

Love,
Eeee-va