First DLR Trip was magical! TR (3/09) Heading back for more magic! TR w/pics (4/10)

[TheTXTaylors5]

6 days until we get to "Walk in Walt's Footsteps"!

Jennifer

Anyone still out there?

I still have some things to sort out before the trip. There is the saying ... "So much to do, so little time." It is so true. I pulled out our suitcases this morning. However, the only thing in them right now is our bathing suits. If we don't have anything else, at least we can swim.

Is there anything "special" you pack for a DLR trip?

Jennifer

 

[mariezp]

Hi Jennifer!
I apologize for having "abandoning you in your hour of need".... so close to your trip. I should have been here for you cheering you on! I've been self absorbed in the overwhelming task of pre-planning our first trip to WDW. Let me tell you, honey! If you have mastered WDW, Disneyland is gonna be a breeze!

Anyway... I am going to scan back thru your posts since the last time I posted to see if I have anything to offer. Hmmm....

Bubba Gump is an excellent choice for a first meal. We loved it! Blue Bayou is our other favorite choice too!

I wish I could offer you some info on using Ridemax but we always stay so many days we have never had a need for planning much beyond dining. With 3 days in the park it would definitely be different. It IS possible that it does take parades and fireworks into consideration when creating a plan and that is why it has you running all over the park to make optimum use of that time while everyone else is watching the shows. You can get from Fantasyland to New Orleans Square without going through those crowds via Big Thunder Trail. Now, Fantasmic crowds are a different story.

Again, we don't generally make rope drop. I travel with a lazy bunch. But if my memory serves me correct most people recommend NOT using your early morning time for NEMO, well, unless you are a track star and don't mind out running the crowds. We have found the best time to ride Nemo is late in the evening, right before closing time. Aside from that, I would just pass by every now and then to see if I might stumble by chance upon a shorter line. If your DH wants to ride it, by all means, be sure to humor him!

I've never tried it but I do remember reading that CA often opens early for Soarin. TSM's line does get long fast and Soarin offers Fastpass so I would assume that's why they head you to TSM first. Both great rides, BTW! Grizzly and Screamin both offer Fastpass so you can stock up on Fastpasses and make your plans from there. Keep in mind that you don't have to return at the specified time... just any time AFTER they are valid. I am pretty sure you could just get the 2 Fastpasses and use the rider swap passes for the other 2. I don't know if you would like riding alone but my DS just said the single rider lines are awesome!

I hope ya'll have great trip!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

3 days until we bask in the warmth of the California sun!

It is a miserably cold day here today in the DFW area. Rainy and cold. A big change from the past 80 degree days. Come Saturday, we'll be ready for CA.

Today's Goals:
Get the car cleaned. It is always nice to travel in a clean car inside and out. However due to the rain, I may put off the exterior until Friday.
Put air in the tires (if needed). I just had an oil change, new tires, new battery and new brake pads installed within the past two months. The car is ready for the road!
Get more items put into the suitcases. Our bathing suits are still the only items in them. All our "vacation clothes" are clean. I just need to get them organized and packed.

Jennifer

 

[Brady's Mom]

3 days until we bask in the warmth of the California sun!

It is a miserably cold day here today in the DFW area. Rainy and cold. A big change from the past 80 degree days. Come Saturday, we'll be ready for CA.

Today's Goals:
Get the car cleaned. It is always nice to travel in a clean car inside and out. However due to the rain, I may put off the exterior until Friday.
Put air in the tires (if needed). I just had an oil change, new tires, new battery and new brake pads installed within the past two months. The car is ready for the road!
Get more items put into the suitcases. Our bathing suits are still the only items in them. All our "vacation clothes" are clean. I just need to get them organized and packed.

Jennifer

I had to laugh at the stuff not in your suitcases - normally I would still be doing the last minute laundry to be able to put the stuff in the suitcases.

Have you thought about sorting your vacation clothes into "outfits"? We did this our last 2 trips. Everything together - socks, underwear, shirt, shorts and then rolled them up in a roll and put them in the suitcase. It worked great. Then whomever pulled something out of the suitcase didn't mess up all of the other stuff in there. I only have boys, though. So my Dsis puts her girl stuff in a ziploc with hair thingy's and accessories, too. Which makes me laugh, because I NEVER think of those sort of things. KWIM??

I hope you have a great trip! Safe driving!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

2 days until we start hearing "Are we there yet?"

Another gloomy day in the Texas. It is suppose to clear up when we depart. Go figure.

Here's the weather forecast for our Disneyland trip:

Sunday: Hi 66 Lo 49/Fair
Monday: Hi 74 Lo 53/Clear
Tuesday: Hi 78 Lo 53/Clear
Wednesday: Hi 77 Lo 52/Cloudy
Thursday: Hi 76 Lo 54/Fair

Looks like a nice week in Anaheim! We've had warmer weather here in Texas last week. But, our unheated pool is still too chilly to swim in. I hope the pool at the hotel is heated.

Today's "Must Do" List:
Get a new air freshener for my minivan.
I got one of those little canister ones you place in the car, pineapple scent. It is driving DS8 crazy. He can't stand the smell. So, we are on a quest today to find a scent he does approve. I don't want to hear whining the whole way.

Continue packing.
I now have t-shirts and some toiletries packed. Slowly, but surely, the suitcases are getting filled. Last year, we bought a Mickey-head suitcase set from disneyshopping.com. I love pulling that set out. Seeing the Mickey heads, always gets me in the "Disney-spirit".

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Have you thought about sorting your vacation clothes into "outfits"?

Brady's Mom - Thank you for the packing tip. I thought I was the only one that did that. Usually, when we go to WDW and a DCL cruise, I make sure we have enough outfits and put them all together like you mentioned. It does help. I may try it again for this trip.

Thanks again!

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Bill (DH) has decided we are NOT driving the southern route to Anaheim. Juarez seems to be a hot-bed of the drug war fighting on the U.S.-Mexico border. With our initial map, we would pass right through Juarez. We don't want to chance it. So, we are taking the northern route to and from California. Better to be safe than sorry.

From The Dallas Morning News:
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico
... "Since the beginning of the year, Juárez has suffered an onslaught of killings – 72 as of Wednesday – most of them tied to organized crime. They are the result of a bloody fight for control of drug distribution routes to U.S. cities, including Dallas. And U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials say the worst is yet to come.

Separately, Mexican officials on Wednesday announced the discovery of eight bodies buried at a Juárez warehouse.

The surge in violence is generating much concern across the border in El Paso – worries buttressed by a recent El Paso Times/News Channel 9 poll that showed 64 percent of El Paso residents fear that Juárez violence is spilling into the U.S.

U.S. and Mexican officials warn that Juárez is all too quickly facing the fate of Nuevo Laredo, where a bitter cartel feud in the last five years over transportation routes has left hundreds dead and sent businesses fleeing to Laredo, Texas." ...

There is more, but you get the idea.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

1 day until the anticipation is over!

DH purchased our Disneyland 4-Day Park Hoppers online today. There's no turning back now! You see correctly "4-Day Park Hoppers"! Since we're not going to Legoland this trip, DH surprised me and added an extra Disneyland park day. Yay! More Disney fun to be had.

Today's "To Do List":

Drop our DISdog off at the boarder.
Go to Game Stop to see if I can find any cheap/used DS games.
Fill-up the car
Get cash from the bank
Get the exterior of minivan washed (Hopefully, the rain will stay away today.)
Pick-up last minute things from Target (batteries, snacks, caffeine for DH, etc...)
Pick-up DD8 from school
Finish packing
Go insane

Wish me luck!

Jennifer

 

[javamoma]

Have a great trip. I too am am WDWer who is thinking of switching coasts next trip. Can't wait to hear your post trip report!

 

[Sarah84]

Have a wonderful trip and hope you dont go to insane waiting for the day to be over

 

[javamoma]

We were in Dallas last week visitng family and the temporary Disney consinment outlet store in Lewisville is still open! We found great deals. Thanks for the tip.

BTW, my husband is from Denton and we have family all over Dallas and up in Corinth by you!

Hope you are having a great trip and can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We are back home. What an amazing trip!!!!!!

Some Trip Highlights:
Seeing the light on in the Fire Station. (Thanks Walt!)
Seeing the fireworks from our hotel room (Disneyland Hotel - Magic building)
Eating riverside at the Blue Bayou.
Eating at the Storytellers Cafe - Chip 'n Dale Critter Breakfast @ GCH. Great character interaction. (We never made it to Goofy's Kitchen. I'll explain that in my TR).
Riding in the back and front of the monorail. (When it was working. )
Riding the "original" PoTC with my family. (Great ride. Definitely better than the WDW version. IMO)
Riding California Screamin' (Great ride! Loved it!)
Special "Fast Pass" card (I'll explain that in my TR).
Seeing the Grand Canyon with the children.
Seeing a wild coyote run in front of us at the Grand Canyon.
Driving through snow flurries in New Mexico. (We live in Texas. So, anytime we see snow is a treat.)

I will load the pictures onto the computer and then compose a Trip Report soon.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Some Observations:

Churros, churros, churros. They are EVERYWHERE. But, so yummy!

I've heard numerous times that Disneyland is a locals park. We found that to be so true. 99% of the people we encountered were Southern Californians. Which makes the parks crowded no matter what time of year you visit. Both parks were crowded during our visit. But, we still didn't wait more than 20 minutes for a ride, except for Nemo Subs. Using FPs and riding the more popular rides in the morning helps in touring efficiently. The parks were definitely more crowded after 11 am.

Disney's California Adventure is a mess. But, we see their vision for the future and can't wait to see it completed. We plan to return when the renovations are completed. Next year, the water show should start. It is going to have lights on the water like Fantasmic! at DHS and also a water show like the Bellagio in Vegas. It looks like it will be an amazing show. We can't wait to go back and see it. In 2012, Cars Land should be completed. A nice CM told us that the Cars ride will be like Test Track. But, your car races the one next to you. It should be fun.

There always seemed to be a ride closure somewhere. While at DLR the following rides/attractions were down at least once:

Monorail
Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Indiana Jones Adventure
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Grizzly River Run

Rides/Attractions we liked at DLR better than WDW:

Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Jungle Cruise
It's a Small World
Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
Mickey's Toontown

Jennifer

 

[Kalamazoo Dutchman]

You couldn't have picked a nicer week weather-wise to visit. I'm glad to hear you had an amazing trip. Can't wait to read you're report. Being a new local here, I would have to agree with you on the locals comment. It seems that a lot of people I've met here in southern Cal have annual passes. Disney has such great deals for locals!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Last night, I finished my scrapbook from this trip. Now, I can start my Trip Report ...

Day 1 (Saturday)

We planned on leaving home around 5/5:30 am. After being up late finishing up laundry and last minute packing, I didn't get to bed until 1 am. Needless to say, we didn't leave at 5 am. It was closer to 6:00 am. We got everything in the car, sat down and turned the GPS on, it wasn't working. DH figured there was a fuse short and would keep his eyes open for a Radio Shack on the way. I honestly never knew what Radio Shack was for. You see them everywhere. But, how often do you shop there? DH said he could get us into Arizona without the GPS, good thing. Why is it when you need something, you can't find it anywhere. We went from Texas into New Mexico and still didn't find a RS. We finally found one in Arizona.

We saw an amazing site in west Texas going into New Mexico ... SNOW!!!!! There was snow on the ground. We hardly ever see snow. So, this was a treat. I even saw a family stop off at a rest area and were making a pretty large snowman. That was a sight. It was all beautiful until, it started to snow. Poor DH had to drive through snow flurries. Of course that makes traffic drive slowly.

It was amazing seeing the scenery change from state to state. We both agreed, Arizona is beautiful. There were parts where we felt like we were in the Cars movie. The mesas are amazing. We made it to Flagstaff, Arizona for the night. We found a great Hilton Garden Inn with a great view of the mountains. Flagstaff is beautiful.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Day 2 (Sunday)

When we awoke this morning, we all had a little extra pep in our step. I didn't have to ask anyone to get up more than once. We knew later on, we'd be in California and Disneyland.

When we approached the Arizona-California border we saw a sign about a checkpoint. When we pulled up, they asked if we had any fruits, vegetables or plants. What is that about? I felt like I was coming back from Mexico. After going through the desert, which felt like forever, we made one last pit-stop at the Barstow Station (Barstow, CA). Next stop ... Anaheim!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We arrived in Anaheim on a Sunday. So, we didn't run into too much traffic on the CA freeways. However, once we got off the freeway, this is what we encountered ...

(bumper to bumper traffic)

It was such a tease to finally get to Anaheim and have to sit in traffic. We drove past the parking garage that said Full. We knew today was NOT a day to be in the parks. So, we planned to explore our hotel and Downtown Disney.

Seeing this sign made our anticipation grow.

The sweetest sight all day ...

We finally arrive at the Disneyland Hotel around 4 PM. Time for some Disney fun!

 

[Brady's Mom]

More, More!! Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Sarah84]

Great start and lovely picture esp the ones of the mountains. Look forward to reading more

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

At first, we were a litte skeptical on paying the extra money to stay "on-site". Everyone kept saying Disneyland is not like Disney World and you don't need to stay at a Disney-owned hotel. When we pulled up to the Disneyland Hotel, I knew we made the right choice. We loved this hotel. It was iconic Disney with a huge Mickey statue greeting us out front. We were "home".

I love the Mickey hand sconces. I want some for home.

Our room was located in the main tower (Magic Tower). When we entered our room, we were a little disappointed with the view. We overlooked the front entrance. We booked a "standard view". So, we shouldn't have expected anything better (ie: parks view or pool view). We were pleasantly surprised with our view at night (later on that ). Initially, I hoped to go off-site for dinner at Bubba Gump's. But once DH parked our car in the far, far, far away Disneyland Hotel parking lot, he decided the van was staying there until we left. We ventured a "few steps" away from our hotel to Downtown Disney. It was crowded beyond belief. Be browsed and decided it was too crowded for us. So, we headed back to our room. We tempted with the idea of just ordering room service for dinner. But, the prices (like most resort room service) were outrageous. So, I left DH with DD6 and DS3 in the room to relax, while DS8 and I took off back to DTD to find some reasonably priced food. We ended up getting take-out at the Cajun (Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Express) restaurant. I ordered the jambalya (It was okay. The boxed Zatarain's is better. IMO), the kids got popcorn chicken and I ordered DH a burger. Also, you can't go there and not get some beignets for dessert. DH opened the beignet bag and was sad because they didn't add any powdered sugar. He ate a plain one anyways. After my meal when I went to eat dessert, I noticed a white residue at the bottom of the beignets bag. There was powdered sugar in there after all. You have to shake the bag to get the beignets coated in the sugary goodness. So, if you ever get their beignets, make sure to shake the bag.

After dinner, we noticed it was almost time for the DLP fireworks. We could make out the very tip of Splash Mountain from our room. So, we hoped to get a glimpse of the fireworks. We had a perfect view for the DLP fireworks. The hotel plays the "Remember... Dreams Come True" fireworks music on the tv every night. So, we put the tv on, turned off all the lights and opened our patio door. It was a perfect end to our first night at the DLR.