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

[TheTXTaylors5]

After ToonTown DH and DD6 went to ride BTMRR (It was down earlier in the day when they went to use their FPs). The DLP version is a "little" different than the MK version. It is a draw to me on which is better.

I took DS8 and DS3 off to ride ... you guessed it Buzz. After Buzz, we found a cart that was selling Mickey pretzels. Only at Disney. They're like the Mickey bars. You have to eat the ears first (poor Mickey).

We met back up with DH and DD6 and then they were off to ride Space Mountain while I relaxed with DS8 and DS3 to finish up the pretzel and rest our poor feet.

Being so close to the monorail station, we decided to take that back. But, when we entered the line it was pretty long. So, we decided to make the walk through DTD instead. On our way back to our hotel room, we pass by the Rainforest Cafe. DH popped in to see if they had any openings for dinner. They had an opening in about an hour and half. So, he put in our name and we went back to the room to rest our sore feet and get refreshed for dinner. Taking off your sneakers and socks is so relaxing after being in them all day. Putting on my sandals for dinner was heaven. We've eaten at the Rainforest Cafe in other locations (Grapevine, TX ~ Las Vegas, NV ~ Downtown Disney - Buena Vista, FL ~ Disney's Animal Kingom park). So, we know the menu pretty well and have some personal no-fail favorites (DH the pizza and me the grilled chicken sandwich). The food was not the issue with the restaurant, it was the service. It was so slowwwwwwwwwww. DH and I dared to order drinks from the bar. They took forever and mine even got spilled before she made it to the table. So, they had to re-make mine. I had a coupon for a free appetizer. We ordered the mozarella sticks. We ordered those and the drinks as soon as we sat down (hoping they came before our main course). Even those took forever. After the appetizer, DH looked at his watch and noticed if we got out of there within the next 45 minutes we could catch the fireworks from our room again. So, we were really in a time crunch now. Tick Tock ... Tick Tock ... Tick Tock ... I almost asked to have our food boxed to go. That is when the food finally came out. It always happens that way. You almost leave and then the food miraculously arrives.

We rushed back to the room with five (yes five) minutes to spare. Everyone threw off their shoes, the lights went off, the music on the tv and another beautiful show out our hotel window. This night DS8 and DD6 grabbed pillows from the bed and were laying on the floor with their heads out the balcony. It was really cute. One thing I forgot to mention about the first night with the fireworks, after the first big boom the car alarms were going off like crazy. We all had a good laugh.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Day 5 (Wednesday)

Coming soon ... character breakfast at Storytellers Cafe, no Grizzly River Run and riding in the back of the monorail.

 

[pmama]

There's actually 3 different Mickeys that you can meet at his house (they rotate them, but I'm not sure of the rotation schedule): Sorcerer, Steamboat, and Classic (which is the normal outfit).

Lovin' the TR!

Good to know. Do you know if they post the scheduled rotation somewhere?

Mickey pretzel is adorable. That would be hard to eat.

I remember you posting a link to the coupon for a free appetizer at Rain Forest. Is that at the beginning of this trip report? I'll have to look for it.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I remember you posting a link to the coupon for a free appetizer at Rain Forest. Is that at the beginning of this trip report? I'll have to look for it.

I hope these help your trip ...

From the Anaheim Orange County website:
Rainforest Cafe - Free Appetizer or Save $5 off two breakfast entrees coupon (Anaheim location)
McDonalds - 10% Discount (food only) (Anaheim location)
Universal Studios Hollywood - $8.00 off General Admission/$10.00 off Front Of Line Pass
Anaheim Gardenwalk - Complimentary VIP Shopping Pass & Eco-tote
Disneyland Resort Express - Save $2 when booking online

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Day 5 (Wednesday)

The night before, I knew there was no way we were getting up for a 7:20 am PS at Goofy's Kitchen. I called to try and change it. They didn't have any other openings. So, I made a PS at the Chip 'n Dale Critter Breakfast at the Storytellers Cafe in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel for 9:40 am.

Wandering around the Disneyland Hotel two nights before, we walked passed Goofy's Kitchen around dinner-time. It was loud and chaotic in there. So, I was a little relieved we wouldn't be partaking in the chaos too. When we walked into the Storytellers Cafe that morning it was like all the children were put on mute or low volume. This was a great laid-back dining experience. If you have young children, they will act like what the environment allows. Our children were also calm. This made for a fantastic breakfast. The character interaction was amazing. Dale spent (what felt like ten minutes) at our table playing around with our children. The best was the gorilla from Tarzan. DS3 was eating and he quietly snuck up behind DS3 and started grooming his hair and then pretended like he didn't know what DS3 was. It was precious. We've been to Chef Mickey at WDW numerous time and the food was "okay". The buffet here was fantastic. It was a little limited. But, the quality top-knotch. They have a man that makes made-to-order omelettes. It was yummy!!!! The Ranger had the kids play games and at the end they were given a special button. Great breakfast overall. We plan to do it again when we come back.

You can't have a Disney breakfast without Mickey waffles. We plan to buy a Mickey waffle maker at WDW in June.

After breakfast, we entered DCA through the entrance at the GCH. Walking past GRR, we got FPs for later (Using the special FP cards I received the day before. They were still working. Don't know how.) Then, we walked over to California Screamin', a new family favorite. DH and DS8 got into a relatively short line and I got a Rider Swap. I also picked up some FPs for later. We didn't attempt to ride Toy Story Mania while there. The line was always ridicuously long. We have ridden it numerous time at DHS. It's the same exact ride I was told. We didn't ride a lot of rides they have in Florida too (ie: Dumbo, ToT, Muppet Vision 3D, Peter Pan, Snow White, Turtle Talk w/Crush, It's Tough to be a Bug, Enchanted Tiki Room, Astro Orbiter, etc...) because they were the same and we honestly didn't want to waste precious park time. We wanted to ride new or better versions at DLP.

We had so much fun in A Bug's Land on Monday, we decide to head back over there for more fun. It was starting to get pretty warm by this time. Exiting A Bug's Land, they have a little water play area called Boutiful Valley Farmers Market. We normally don't let the kids run through the water areas in the parks. Having wet soggy children and socks the rest of the day is not pleasant. However, we planned to ride Grizzly River Run soon and I knew they would get wet anyways. So, we let them play. They had a blast and it was refreshing. This also stopped them asking for the millionth time, "Can we go swimming?" I didn't, but DH even dunked his head in the water. After that, we headed back to Paradise Pier to ride California Screamin' again. Then, DD6 and I rode the Golden Zephyr. I am sure that ride is a little more exciting when there's water in the lake. We had a birds-eye view of the construction site. Then it was off to finally ride GRR. I kept trying to call it Grizzly River Run. But, DS8 kept correcting me and calling it Grrrrrrrrrrr! (grunting like a bear. )

(these pictures are from Monday)

I went to park the stroller while DH, DS8 and DD6 got into a very long FP line. It was out the queue. That is when I noticed the height restriction for this ride. I stood DS3 up to the measuring chart and he was nowhere near close to riding it. A nice CM saw this and handed him a card to come back and ride when he is tall enough. So, I went to tell DH. We decided, he would take DS8 and DD6 on the ride (I honestly don't like wet rides) and I would meet back up with them at World of Disney. I had two FPs in my hand and gave them to two people about to get into the GRR stand-by line. We try and give away unused FPs whenever possible. Pass on the Disney magic. I meant to write about the day DH got his Birthday button from the Blue Bayou. Random park goers (non-Disney CMs) were telling him Happy Birthday. We thought that was pretty nice and hadn't seen that at WDW before. Back to shopping ... We hadn't done any shopping yet this trip. I like to get it all out of the way at once. I don't shop in the parks. You can get pretty much all the same items at WoD. So, DS3 and I exited the park at the GCH and made our way to DTD. I was in the store for about one minute when DH called and said the ride was down and they were on their way to meet back up with us. We didn't plan to return to DCA. So, GRR will have to wait for our next trip.

 

[CanadianPaco]

What wonderful pictures!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I can spend over a hundred dollars just smelling the air in the World of Disney store. In the past, I've done some damage to the bank account at the one in Florida. I already bought our souvenir t-shirts at the over-stock temporary Disney store. So, my main goal purchases were a Disneyland scrapbook (w/pages and embellishments), magnet and gifts for family and friends. Currently the item you can purchase if you spend $40 or more is a Disneyland beach towel for an additional $10 each. We ended up buying three (one for each kid).

After WoD, we were a little hungry/thirsty. So, we stopped off at Haagen Dazs for some cones and a shake. It was very refreshing. Next stop on our shopping extravaganza was the Build-A-Bear store. We have those here and have around eight animals from bunnies to bears. DD6 went to a fellow classmates birthday party at our local B-A-B a few weeks ago. She got a white seal. DD6 brought her along for the trip. So, we bought her a new Mickey-inspired outfit. We got the Mickey Disneyland t-shirt and Mickey ears. It is adorable.

We planned to head to Disneyland park for our last night. So, we headed back to the room to get the kids out of their wet socks (their clothes were dry by this time.) and relax for a bit. I could get use to this. Being so close to DTD and the parks was amazing. We've been spoiled.

Coming soon ... fireworks from Tomorrowland, riding in the back of the monorail and more Buzz ride.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I'm surprised by Mickey's attire. I'd expect him to be in his normal get-up right there in Toon Town.

Love how you're presenting the pictures. Great idea.

I was surprised too. I was "hoping" for the normal Mickey attire with bow and all. The kids didn't care though. DS3 saw "his Mickey". DS3 isn't very patient for many things. He patiently waited in line to see Mickey. Children surprise you sometimes. I love my "Disney kids". Wish they were this well behaved at home too.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We have a busy weekend ahead ... DD6's soccer game, attending a Dallas Stars game, DH biking, shopping, laundry, etc ...

I'll try and finish up the Trip Report early next week.

Have a great weekend y'all!

Jennifer

 

[thmar]

I hope these help your trip ...

From the Anaheim Orange County website:
Rainforest Cafe - Free Appetizer or Save $5 off two breakfast entrees coupon (Anaheim location)
McDonalds - 10% Discount (food only) (Anaheim location)
Universal Studios Hollywood - $8.00 off General Admission/$10.00 off Front Of Line Pass
Anaheim Gardenwalk - Complimentary VIP Shopping Pass & Eco-tote
Disneyland Resort Express - Save $2 when booking online

Jennifer

Thanks for the link to the coupons! Another incidence of spreading the "magic" around.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Being so close to the monorail station from the Disneyland Hotel, we decided to hop on the monorail to Tomorrowland. We inquired on the platform if anyone asked for the back car. It was free. Yea! This is another difference between WDW and DLR. You can have like seven or eight people in the DLR special car. You can only have four in the WDW monorail front car. So at WDW, we've had to split up before to let the children experience the front of monorail ride. At DLR, we all hopped into the space-like back car. We had it all to ourselves. It was a really neat experience. Thank you to the DISers that mentioned it.

Being a Wednesday night, we were hoping the park to be less crowded than the earlier night. No such luck. We even overheard locals comment on how busy it was. I guess the Spring Breakers were in full force this week. Even so, we still didn't wait too long for the rides or refreshments. If we saw a long line, we moved along until we found a smaller line. It paid off. On this night we only rode Buzz (2xs) and Space Mountain. We tried to do the penny press near Buzz. But, it wasn't working. I noticed that 50% of the penny press machines park-wise we tried did NOT work. I plan to bring lots of quarters and pennies to our WDW trip in June. It is an inexpensive souvenir for the kids and they seemed to enjoy it.

Due to the crowds, we stayed pretty close to Tomorrowland. It was close to fireworks time and the hub was ridicuously crowded. Another thing I noticed, the CMs bring out benches near the hub for the guests to sit on during the fireworks. That's nice and all. However, it leaves a lot of places you cannot walk. I've never seen so many roped off areas in a park before in my life. Also, I meant to comment on the night we caught the fireworks from BTMRR. When we went to cross the park at the hub, they had us all going in one direction to keep the traffic flow moving. I felt like I was in Europe at one of the roundabouts. "Big Ben. Parliament." That made a lot of sense and kept the crowd moving.

Being in Tomorrowland didn't bother us. We were in the park and not sitting in our hotel room twiddling our fingers. After the rides, we were hungry and got some counter service food at the Tomorrowland Terrace. The food was fine for park hamburgers and chicken sandwich. The fries were hot and pretty good. Yum! Yum! We sat at the farthest table heading back towards Buzz. We had the whole area to ourselves. That was nice. We were still eating when the fireworks started. We could see all the "high" fireworks. We had a great view and didn't plan it that way. It was great to be away from all the crowds and got to see the fireworks in our own little private area.

Hanging out in Tomorrowland.

DS8 and DD6 tried to stop the sphere in front of Space Mountain. They had fun. Another thing I normally wouldn't let them do if we were going park "commando". It's nice to stop and smell the flowers at times.

After the fireworks, we took the monorail back to DTD. We planned to wake up early for "Take 2. MM at DLP". Being a Disney "onsite" guest, you can go to ALL the MM offered during your stay. The CMs may beat around the bush and not always tell you that. But, it IS true. thumbsup2 Thanks for the tip HydroGuy!)

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Day 6 (Thursday)

Coming soon ... Nemo Subs, Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through, lunch at The Golden Horseshoe, fun on Tom Sawyer Island and one last ride on Pirates of the Caribbean and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

DH just informed me that Disneyland resort has a current "Get Two More Nights FREE With a 3-Night Hotel and Ticket Package" . Where was this promo when we went??????

Maybe, it can help some of y'all.

Jennifer

 

[azdisneylover]

What a great trip report! You have a beautiful family.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Day 6 (Thursday)

I was up late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning packing. I don't like to be rushed packing and always feel like I will forget something when rushed. So, I kept the toiletries bag open and laid out everyone's clothing for our last day at Disneyland.

The alarm clock went off around 6:15 am. I couldn't drag myself out of bed. I don't remember if I mentioned earlier, I had been sick for most of this week. I was fine during the day, nothing hot tea and my meds couldn't cure. But at night, my sinus infection made it very difficult to sleep. I was finally feeling better, now that we were leaving. Go figure. So, I really wanted to sleep in a bit. However, this morning was another MM. DH really wanted to ride the Nemo Subs and it was in our plans for an attempt on this morning. So, DH and DS8 went off to enjoy the MM at DLP. I slept in this morning with DD6 and DS3. Also, I finished closing up the suitcases. So, when DH and DS8 came back around 10:30 am, we could check-out and put the suitcases in the car. Then, we could enjoy our last day at DLP as a family.

DH and DS8 came back gleaming. They loved the ride. They hustled enough to be in the first sub of the day. However, even that took some time to get going. DH said they check and re-check everything before letting the sub out. DH videotaped the ride for me. So, I could experience it too. Being so busy, we haven't got around to watching our vacation video yet. Maybe tonight. Since DH and DS8 were traveling back to DTD at an "off" time from Tomorrowland, it wasn't very busy. So, DH inquired about riding in the front of the monorail. They got to. That was a nice treat for DS8. DH said the monorail driver chatted with them on the way back. DH commented on the size of the DLR monorails and how they leaned more than the ones at WDW. The driver told him the monorails at DLR are considered a "ride" more than a form of transportation. Also, since they are smaller than the ones at WDW, you feel the turns more. No kidding. It was a little scarey riding in it the night before. Fun, but scarey.

We walked through DTD to DLP one last time. One last walk through the turnstile and one last walk down Walt's Main Street. Of course, we stopped by the Fire Station. We let the kids play in there a little. DH and DD6 took a semi-slide down the fire pole. As we were getting ready to walk down Main Street, the Disneyland Band came out. It was quite a production and loud. When we made our way to the hub, we noticed a camera crew. DH said he saw some earlier that morning too. The people were saying "Thank you Best Buy!" So, I assume they won a contest or something. That was interesting to see. I'll have to keep my eye out for the commercial.

The taping of a Disney commercial.

We made our way to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz with the FPs DH got during MM thumbsup2 Our special FP cards were still working!). Also, we obtained five more FPs for later in the day. Then, we made our way through the crowds to Sleeping Beauty Castle. I couldn't believe all the time we had been there that week, we hadn't walked through the castle. So, we made our way to find the spike inside the castle walk-through. I honestly think some of the passer-byers thought I was crazy. I took a picture of the spike (The geographical center of the Disneyland park).

Before our trip, I read about the new walk-through "inside" the castle. So, we found the very little doorway (You might miss it, if you're not looking for it.) to enter the castle. The special effects are really neat and impressive to know they are old and have been revived. They make the story of Sleeping Beauty come to life.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

I read they re-did Tom Sawyer island with more of a Pirate theme. So, we made our way to the dock to hop on a raft to the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. Our children loved it! They let loose exploring all the caves and playing with the hands-on items. Pretty cool place for any pirate in training. They were very excited to find the treasure. They didn't want to leave. We had to bribe them off the island with lunch.

On our way to lunch, we noticed no line for PoTC. However, DD6 and DS3 DIDN'T want to ride. So, DH and DS8 went off to ride. While I scouted out the area for lunch.

We decided on our last meal at DLP to be at The Golden Horseshoe. We dined on yummy vittles (chicken caesar salad, chicken nuggets, chili cheese fries and rootbeer floats.). We were almost done, when I noticed on my timesheet that Billy Hill & the Hillbillies were getting ready to come on stage. So, we sat and listened to a few songs. Then we did something we haven't done at MK yet, we let the kids try out the shooting arcade in Frontierland. My BIG and little kids tried their aim.

If we wanted to get somewhat close to The Grand Canyon for our next day's visit, we had to make our way back to the car pretty soon and bid DLR a tearful farewell. But, not before one last ride on Buzz and Mickey bars all around. We hadn't eaten a Mickey bar all week. What were we thinking? Those creamy treats are so good and part of my WDW "must eats". At first I was going to share with DS3. But, once he took a lick of the chocolate and ice cream, there was no way I could pry it out of his grip. So, I had one all to myself. Yum! Yum!

 

[darose1234]

Great Pictures! I can't wait to go in May

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Great Pictures! I can't wait to go in May

Thank you for the kind words. As you will notice, I am not in too many of the pictures. DH is the video-recorder of the family and I am the digital camera picture-taker. We did have some PhotoPass photos taken of the whole family. I need to get them loaded and will incorporate some of those into the Trip Report too.

I want to go back.!!!! Can I come too?!?!?!?! Is it your first trip to DLR? This was our first trip to the west coast. First, but NOT last.

At first, we thought the five-day Park Hoppers was going to be too much for just DLP and DCA. However, we soon found out ... DLP and DCA get VERY crowded and you have to be patient when touring at DLR. There is still so much we haven't done (pretty much all of Fantasyland). This left us wanting more and have plans in the works for a return in 2011 or 2012. We easily could have spent a full week there.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

What a great trip report! You have a beautiful family.

Thank you for reading and coming along on our "magical" journey.

Jennifer

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Thanks for the link to the coupons! Another incidence of spreading the "magic" around.

No problem. Someone passed the site on to me and I passed it on for others to benefit. When visiting any Disney property, every penny saved helps.

The site updates often and will post new coupons when those listed have expired. I hope it helps.

Jennifer