potterphreak
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2005
- Messages
- 326
Cast of Characters:
CJ, 27-3rd trip to Disneyland since Thanksgiving-AP holder
Nancy, 29-1st trip to Disneyland since high school-never seen DCA or DTD
***First time for both of us as adults with NO children!***
Day One: Thursday, December 15, 2005:
We left Modesto around 9am, after getting breakfast at the nearest McDonalds. We stopped in Tulare to check out the outlet mall (woohoo, Stride Rite and Oshkosh, oh my!) and then we were on our merry way. We arrived at our hotel sometime around 3pm after hitting some mildly horrendous LA traffic. We were staying at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel and Suites at 1700 Harbor Blvd. We had requested a room with 2 queen beds. After checking in with the SUPER nice Barbara (manager) we were given room 709. I dont know what the deal is with all of the mixed reviews-we loved this hotel! Our room was excellent, especially for the price ($114 for 2 nights, after tax!) We didnt notice any musty smells, although the smell of new paint of was everywhere-but everything looked nice and fresh because of it and we quickly forgot about it. Our room was pretty spacious and 2 beds were really nice!
After unpacking and all, we headed over to Downtown Disney. We parked near the Disneyland Hotel (the DLH sign is no longer there and it looks terrible!! Very sad!) and walked. We stopped in Build A Bear where it wasnt very crowded and I picked up some Christmas gifts for my daughters (a Woody costume, a Buzz costume, and a tooth pillow) and then headed to Basin (which I LOVE!) and got some bath bombs and made some bath salts for a few of my friends for Christmas. Then we arrived at WoD and Nancy was just in awe. We spent probably 30-45 minutes in here and made a few purchases. I wanted to go into Disneyland for a moment to mail off a letter to my daughters and write a check at City Hall, since I hadnt received my new ATM/check card replacing the one I lost on my last visit but the lines were HUUUUUUUUGE! Nancy and I took one look and said, uhhhh no thanks! We walked to ESPN Zone for dinner and had about a 5 minute wait. Nancy ordered the BBQ Chicken, clam chowder and the peppermint patty brownie and I ordered the Shrimp Alfredo and the peppermint patty brownie. Service AND food here was exquisite! This restaurant has been added to my MUST-SEE/DO lists! We headed back to the hotel with our desserts and vegged out on the beds, watching TV and talking to our hubbys and children. While I was in the potty, Nancy heard a bunch of booms and went to the window-we could see the fireworks from our room!!! We had a few trees in our way, I think the second floor would be much better for this, but wow! What a perk for this hotel!!! I took a shower and then lights out at about 11:30pm.
Day Two-December 16, 2005:
Early wake up call at 5:55am. Nancy and I grudgingly woke up. Nan got in the shower and I got dressed and ready to face the day. We grabbed a few granola bars and some bottled water and were in the car by 6:50am. We arrived at the entrance to Disneyland parking (the entrance on Harbor) at 6:53am and we were second in line. We waited FOREVER (ok, 40 minutes) to be let in and then boy howdy, it was like a drag race!! These people mean business, LOL. We arrived at the park at about 8:30am <sigh> and started our day. We got lockers on Main Street and then we walked on to Buzz Lightyear, and then headed to Space Mountain where we had about a 15-20 minute wait. Nancy LOVED SM, just didnt think the music went very well. Then we went to Star Tours which had a 15 minute wait; we both decided we are done with this ride. We did some shopping in the Star Tours shopping area, as our husbands and her two oldest children are Star Wars nuts (me too!) and then headed to the Blue Bayou for our 11:50am reservation. We arrived at the BB about 11:15am and we checked in then we got photos in NOS at that little place with the stairs. We got FastPasses for Haunted Mansion Holiday and then headed back to BB, where we were seated in less than 5 minutes. Food and service was excellent, as usual. We both got Monte Cristos except I substituted my pasta salad for mashed potatoes instead. I also ordered the Blue Bayou mint doubloons and they arrived with my check-too pretty to eat! We left BB and went to HMH and used our FastPasses. Neither of us like Nightmare Before Christmas at all but you have to see experience all of the work and effort at least once. Then we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean, which we both loved. We went over to Critter Country meaning to go on Splash Mountain and the Pooh ride but Nancy got sidetracked when she saw Pooh and buddies in their little spot. So we waited about 15 minutes for Nancy to get her pictures with the three characters there (Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore). Then we went into the Pooh store where I bought a scrapbook set I hadnt seen on my previous trips and a poncho and Nancy bought a poncho, a sweatshirt, a keychain and 2 shirts for her youngest two kids. We decided not to do the rides and got on the train to Main Street, where we stashed our goodies in the locker (it all barely fit and they were already sold out of lockers for the day! This was somewhere around 1pm). We decided to head to California Adventure as she had never been. We got FastPasses for Soaring Over California, which had a really long line for standby AND FP and then headed over to Grizzly River Run. We got our ponchos on (yes, we are sissies, but it was cold out!) and then had about a 3 minute wait. We were loaded on a boat with a couple who had never ridden before and we all enjoyed the ride. We headed over to Tower of Terror before I could lose my nerve (first drop ride for me EVER!) and had about a 20-30 minute wait. Not bad and very nicely themed! We got on our elevator and all I have to say is, OMG I wish someone had warned me about this ride!!! I didnt realize you dropped more than once! LOL It was amazing and terrifying (two days later my voice is still hoarse from screaming and laughing!). I had Nan on one side of me and we had linked arms and a big macho looking man on the other side of me. During the first drop, he grabbed me and I grabbed him, LOL fear always brings people together, right? LOL Nancy absolutely LOVED this ride. I liked it a lot but there was no way I was going on it right away again. I soothed her with We will come back later and headed to Soaring. Nancy really liked Soaring and then we headed to Screaming Over California. This was my first ride since the accident and I noticed a few changes but we still enjoyed it very much. I had a headache afterwards so I stopped and got an ice cream (yummy-but I wish they could mix flavors) and then we headed to the All Ears store so Nancy could fill two boxes with Potato Head parts. We spent about 45 minutes here and I ended up caving and getting a box of parts for my youngest daughter (they had Tinkerbell parts!!!) for Christmas. Afterwards, we headed to Disneyland to put our new purchases in the locker and to get a spot for fireworks. We got a spot RIGHT IN FRONT of the castle at 6:25pm. I went and got us hot chocolate and the came back. The place was packed!! Looked like Woodstock! LOL People had blankets all over the place, several people were wrapped in blankets and lying down, go figure! Fireworks were at 9:25pm and I saw Tink for the very first time!!!! She was amazing!!! Go figure tho, the one time I didnt have kids she shows up! LOL Hopefully we will see her in January. After fireworks we headed to Tomorrowland to do Buzz Lightyear again and then we went to Its A Small World Holiday (the first time for Nancy). She loved the decorations and was awed that they painted it new for each season. We got in a VERY long line and waited about 30-45 minutes, not bad considering the length of the line. We both very much like the Holiday version of this compared to the normal version. We decided to NOT do Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn and joined the cattle line to leave the park. It wasnt as bad as it has been in the past as it wasnt quite closing time (sometime around 11:30pm) and we reached our car about 12:15am. We arrived back at the Hotel and checked our cell phones where had several missed phone calls from hubbys and children. I called my husband and yapped for a few minutes and we watched a little TV, and then bedtime for us bozos!
Day Three-December 17, 2005:
We woke up at 9:30 or so and laid around for a bit. We got up and showered and packed and checked out with no problems. Check out at this hotel is noon instead of the usual 11am; another perk! We drove to Downtown Disney where Nancy went to WoD again and I went in the park for her to get the ears for her daughter fixed. There was a huge line to get in the park and it was just wall to wall people everywhere. I made my way to the Mad Hatter and got in another long line. The lady at embroidery machine tried to fix Abbys hat several times (the thread had come undone in several places) and then decided to just get a new one after several failed attempts. I left the park and headed back to WoD. Nancy was waiting for me outside of the store and we got in the car and left. Traffic in LA was HORRENDOUS and we put our plans for a quick lunch on hold until after we escaped its clutches. We stopped at a McDonalds and then we were on our way. We made it home in 4.5-5 hours and had smooth sailing most of the way.
DL 12/16
CJ, 27-3rd trip to Disneyland since Thanksgiving-AP holder
Nancy, 29-1st trip to Disneyland since high school-never seen DCA or DTD
***First time for both of us as adults with NO children!***
Day One: Thursday, December 15, 2005:
We left Modesto around 9am, after getting breakfast at the nearest McDonalds. We stopped in Tulare to check out the outlet mall (woohoo, Stride Rite and Oshkosh, oh my!) and then we were on our merry way. We arrived at our hotel sometime around 3pm after hitting some mildly horrendous LA traffic. We were staying at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel and Suites at 1700 Harbor Blvd. We had requested a room with 2 queen beds. After checking in with the SUPER nice Barbara (manager) we were given room 709. I dont know what the deal is with all of the mixed reviews-we loved this hotel! Our room was excellent, especially for the price ($114 for 2 nights, after tax!) We didnt notice any musty smells, although the smell of new paint of was everywhere-but everything looked nice and fresh because of it and we quickly forgot about it. Our room was pretty spacious and 2 beds were really nice!
After unpacking and all, we headed over to Downtown Disney. We parked near the Disneyland Hotel (the DLH sign is no longer there and it looks terrible!! Very sad!) and walked. We stopped in Build A Bear where it wasnt very crowded and I picked up some Christmas gifts for my daughters (a Woody costume, a Buzz costume, and a tooth pillow) and then headed to Basin (which I LOVE!) and got some bath bombs and made some bath salts for a few of my friends for Christmas. Then we arrived at WoD and Nancy was just in awe. We spent probably 30-45 minutes in here and made a few purchases. I wanted to go into Disneyland for a moment to mail off a letter to my daughters and write a check at City Hall, since I hadnt received my new ATM/check card replacing the one I lost on my last visit but the lines were HUUUUUUUUGE! Nancy and I took one look and said, uhhhh no thanks! We walked to ESPN Zone for dinner and had about a 5 minute wait. Nancy ordered the BBQ Chicken, clam chowder and the peppermint patty brownie and I ordered the Shrimp Alfredo and the peppermint patty brownie. Service AND food here was exquisite! This restaurant has been added to my MUST-SEE/DO lists! We headed back to the hotel with our desserts and vegged out on the beds, watching TV and talking to our hubbys and children. While I was in the potty, Nancy heard a bunch of booms and went to the window-we could see the fireworks from our room!!! We had a few trees in our way, I think the second floor would be much better for this, but wow! What a perk for this hotel!!! I took a shower and then lights out at about 11:30pm.
Day Two-December 16, 2005:
Early wake up call at 5:55am. Nancy and I grudgingly woke up. Nan got in the shower and I got dressed and ready to face the day. We grabbed a few granola bars and some bottled water and were in the car by 6:50am. We arrived at the entrance to Disneyland parking (the entrance on Harbor) at 6:53am and we were second in line. We waited FOREVER (ok, 40 minutes) to be let in and then boy howdy, it was like a drag race!! These people mean business, LOL. We arrived at the park at about 8:30am <sigh> and started our day. We got lockers on Main Street and then we walked on to Buzz Lightyear, and then headed to Space Mountain where we had about a 15-20 minute wait. Nancy LOVED SM, just didnt think the music went very well. Then we went to Star Tours which had a 15 minute wait; we both decided we are done with this ride. We did some shopping in the Star Tours shopping area, as our husbands and her two oldest children are Star Wars nuts (me too!) and then headed to the Blue Bayou for our 11:50am reservation. We arrived at the BB about 11:15am and we checked in then we got photos in NOS at that little place with the stairs. We got FastPasses for Haunted Mansion Holiday and then headed back to BB, where we were seated in less than 5 minutes. Food and service was excellent, as usual. We both got Monte Cristos except I substituted my pasta salad for mashed potatoes instead. I also ordered the Blue Bayou mint doubloons and they arrived with my check-too pretty to eat! We left BB and went to HMH and used our FastPasses. Neither of us like Nightmare Before Christmas at all but you have to see experience all of the work and effort at least once. Then we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean, which we both loved. We went over to Critter Country meaning to go on Splash Mountain and the Pooh ride but Nancy got sidetracked when she saw Pooh and buddies in their little spot. So we waited about 15 minutes for Nancy to get her pictures with the three characters there (Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore). Then we went into the Pooh store where I bought a scrapbook set I hadnt seen on my previous trips and a poncho and Nancy bought a poncho, a sweatshirt, a keychain and 2 shirts for her youngest two kids. We decided not to do the rides and got on the train to Main Street, where we stashed our goodies in the locker (it all barely fit and they were already sold out of lockers for the day! This was somewhere around 1pm). We decided to head to California Adventure as she had never been. We got FastPasses for Soaring Over California, which had a really long line for standby AND FP and then headed over to Grizzly River Run. We got our ponchos on (yes, we are sissies, but it was cold out!) and then had about a 3 minute wait. We were loaded on a boat with a couple who had never ridden before and we all enjoyed the ride. We headed over to Tower of Terror before I could lose my nerve (first drop ride for me EVER!) and had about a 20-30 minute wait. Not bad and very nicely themed! We got on our elevator and all I have to say is, OMG I wish someone had warned me about this ride!!! I didnt realize you dropped more than once! LOL It was amazing and terrifying (two days later my voice is still hoarse from screaming and laughing!). I had Nan on one side of me and we had linked arms and a big macho looking man on the other side of me. During the first drop, he grabbed me and I grabbed him, LOL fear always brings people together, right? LOL Nancy absolutely LOVED this ride. I liked it a lot but there was no way I was going on it right away again. I soothed her with We will come back later and headed to Soaring. Nancy really liked Soaring and then we headed to Screaming Over California. This was my first ride since the accident and I noticed a few changes but we still enjoyed it very much. I had a headache afterwards so I stopped and got an ice cream (yummy-but I wish they could mix flavors) and then we headed to the All Ears store so Nancy could fill two boxes with Potato Head parts. We spent about 45 minutes here and I ended up caving and getting a box of parts for my youngest daughter (they had Tinkerbell parts!!!) for Christmas. Afterwards, we headed to Disneyland to put our new purchases in the locker and to get a spot for fireworks. We got a spot RIGHT IN FRONT of the castle at 6:25pm. I went and got us hot chocolate and the came back. The place was packed!! Looked like Woodstock! LOL People had blankets all over the place, several people were wrapped in blankets and lying down, go figure! Fireworks were at 9:25pm and I saw Tink for the very first time!!!! She was amazing!!! Go figure tho, the one time I didnt have kids she shows up! LOL Hopefully we will see her in January. After fireworks we headed to Tomorrowland to do Buzz Lightyear again and then we went to Its A Small World Holiday (the first time for Nancy). She loved the decorations and was awed that they painted it new for each season. We got in a VERY long line and waited about 30-45 minutes, not bad considering the length of the line. We both very much like the Holiday version of this compared to the normal version. We decided to NOT do Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn and joined the cattle line to leave the park. It wasnt as bad as it has been in the past as it wasnt quite closing time (sometime around 11:30pm) and we reached our car about 12:15am. We arrived back at the Hotel and checked our cell phones where had several missed phone calls from hubbys and children. I called my husband and yapped for a few minutes and we watched a little TV, and then bedtime for us bozos!
Day Three-December 17, 2005:
We woke up at 9:30 or so and laid around for a bit. We got up and showered and packed and checked out with no problems. Check out at this hotel is noon instead of the usual 11am; another perk! We drove to Downtown Disney where Nancy went to WoD again and I went in the park for her to get the ears for her daughter fixed. There was a huge line to get in the park and it was just wall to wall people everywhere. I made my way to the Mad Hatter and got in another long line. The lady at embroidery machine tried to fix Abbys hat several times (the thread had come undone in several places) and then decided to just get a new one after several failed attempts. I left the park and headed back to WoD. Nancy was waiting for me outside of the store and we got in the car and left. Traffic in LA was HORRENDOUS and we put our plans for a quick lunch on hold until after we escaped its clutches. We stopped at a McDonalds and then we were on our way. We made it home in 4.5-5 hours and had smooth sailing most of the way.
DL 12/16
