Four Sisters & a Nephew ~ June 2009 ~ TR w/Pics

[WA Kay]

Would it be completely ridicules to complete a trip report almost 21 months after the fact?

You see, after we got back from our June 2009 trip life got a little crazy and it was just not on my mind and then when it occurred to me that I had not done it... well it just seemed too late.

Last October my sister Sandy and I went to visit our Niece and great nephew. Bailey quickly reminded me that I had promised I would go with him on his first trip to Disneyland. This promise was made when he was about 2 so I am guessing he had some help remembering that one.

My great nephew Bailey.

Because a new little brother came along about 18 months ago my niece decided that the trip would have to wait until 2012. After some discussion and research we decided to make the trip mid October. This way the kids will be 8 1/2 & 3 when we go and likely love the Halloween decorations.

As all you super planners know, once we get our teeth into an upcoming trip there is no stopping us. So the planning begins. The problem with that is.. well it has got me thinking about, looking at pictures from, and talking about the 2009 trip.

So the question is do I finish the last trip report or just start the new and do a better job of keeping it up?

 

[davidsprincess]

Finish it!!!!!!!!!!!! I was just getting into it. Don't leave us all hanging!!!!! The suspense is killing me. Can't wait to read more and see your pictures.

 

[WA Kay]

I spent the last couple of days trying to get my thoughts and details together so I can put together a reasonably coherent trip report. My memory isn't the best (never has been) and I am terrible at remembering to take pictures so I was digging for any help I could find.

I always try and save all the "paperwork" from my travels thinking one day I will organize it all and scrapbook. Pffffft. Yah, that's going to happen real soon. I did find receipts for some meals with dates and times and that helped to jog my memory on some other things. So, with any luck I may just have it.

Moving forward to the last things done before we left.

Sandy and I went to Spokane a few months before the trip to visit the other two sisters and my nephew Benj. While there we all decorated homemade envelopes for hotel housekeeping tips. We could have easily just left the tips in the room but it was a fun way to pass the time until the trip. We did a separate envelope for each room on each day. A few days before we left we added the cash so we were all ready when we arrived in Anaheim.

About a week before arriving I placed our online order with Vons. I picked the closest delivery window to our expected arrival time at HoJo's as the hotel said they would hold it for us if it beat us there. It was pretty easy to navigate their site and turned out to be a great money saver.

A couple of days before we left we decided to drop the Blue Bayou and Wine Country Trattoria reservations. It started to feel like we had a lot of heavy meals planned so I called and canceled those two.

The Pacific Northwest had a strange heat wave the last week before we left making it difficult to get motivated to pack. Yes, I know that I am heading to Southern CA where it will be a lot hotter but there will be ac in the hotel room so I can sleep at night. Not so here. I finally fished up the last night before we left. Don't you just love it.... plan the trip almost two years out and still loading the suitcase the night before. I am just a little hopeless.

So.. planning done, reservations made, tickets purchased, flights & hotel reconfirmed, packing done. Time for a drink and a good nights sleep.

 

[WA Kay]

Sandy and I used mileage to purchase our tickets from SEA to SNA and because we were traveling in summer we knew we would need to get our tickets as soon as the June schedule popped up. So eleven months out when we were making our reservations the Spokane sisters asked us to get an afternoon flight so they would arrive in CA the same time as us. They have never been able to get moving very early in the morning so we agreed.

Now my first choice would have been the first flight out so that we would have a solid day at Disneyland but for the sake of harmony we can live with this adjustment. Our Alaska Airline flight left Seattle at 12:30pm and arrived in Santa Anna at 3:20. It was nice not having to get up at 3:00am for a morning flight.

Now I hate to talk smack about my family because I do love them and they do try. That being said... those darn women ended up getting their airfare last minute and to top it all off they got morning flights. What the heck? Sandy and I were so annoyed that we made them sit at the Santa Anna airport and wait for us for 3 1/2 hours. I may have told a small lie to punish them. I said because the hotel rooms were registered in my name they could not get into the room without me. I have no doubt that HoJo would have at least let them store their luggage and hang out around the pool and wait but i wasn't going to tell them that.

So... Sandy and I landed ontime, scooped up our laggage and met the others at the John Wayne statue at 4pm. Then we headed out and caught Super Shuttle to the hotel. Because it was a 7 passenger shuttle there was only one other couple and we got dropped off first.

Talk about timing. The Von's delivery truck was just pulling up at the same time we were so they hung out for a few minutes waiting for me to get the keys. I asked the shuttle driver to drop me at the office and then take everyone else and the luggage around to the parking lot entrance of building 2 so we would not have to drag all our luggage through the whole complex. That really helped because the other sisters had a ton of luggage and one of them has mobility issues.

The people at HoJo's front desk were friendly and quick and I got the rooms that I requested so that was great. When I made the reservations I requested connecting rooms with balconies and that is what we got.

So I headed over to building two to find everyone waiting for me. The Von's driver was a nice guy who quickly delivered our groceries and left. As soon as he was gone I divided up the order between the two rooms, unpacked, and took Benj down to Castaway Cove. It had been a long day for him and he needed a break from his Mom and Nana.

I only took a few pictures but here they are. He loved it and there were plenty of kids around for him to play with.

We stayed for about two hours as the plan was for the sisters to take a nap and then we would head over to the park.

 

[WA Kay]

Benj and I left Castaway Cove and headed up to the room. While he was in the bathroom getting dressed Sandy is nodding her head towards the door connecting the two rooms. I know this means there are shenanigans going on with the other sisters so I quietly head over to take a peak.

A little back story... way before the trip I reminded everybody that the airlines had started charging for checked luggage and to do the best they can to pack accordingly. I knew that there was no way the Spokane sisters could live with just carry-on's but I figured, based on the high cost of checked bags, that they would be able to managed with one shared suitcase and carry-on's. Nope. I was wrong. They had three suitcases. Three! This was between 2 woman for a one week trip to Disneyland at a hotel with laundry facilities.

OK. Back to the story. I poked my head around the door with the ruse of telling them that Benj and I were back and we would be heading to the park soon. I was stopped dead in my tracts and I am sure I could have caught a small plane in my open mouth but the large suitcase sitting open on the bed was filled with junk food. I kid you not. Bags and bags of store brand Cheetos, potato chips, and Doritos. Seriously. A suitcase that they paid $20.00 to get from Spokane to Santa Anna filled with junk food!

You may think that bringing snacks is not soooo strange but remember we had a load of groceries delivered. Everyone knew they could add or subtract to the order up to the day before delivery. I gave them my Vons log-in and password so they could add whatever they wanted. Trying very hard to keep my mouth shut and failing miserably I said "you know they do sell junk food in Anaheim."

Their reasoning was that they wanted a spare suitcase for souvenirs and it seemed silly to bring it empty. My next question was why didn't they just nest the medium suitcase inside the large and save the $20.00? Oh, we didn't think of that. Aaaarg. Let's not even get into the fact that they had to bring salty junk food.

Anyway... turned out that the Spokane sisters were too tired to go to the park so they decided to get some dinner and go to bed early. Very understandable as they had a very long day. So Sandy, Benj, and I headed over to Disneyland.

It is true what they say. It is a pretty easy walk. I was 48 at the time and am very Pooh sized. Five feet two and 280 lbs. It took us about 10 minutes and that was from the back of the complex. Disneyland! Here we come.

 

[WA Kay]

Finish it!!!!!!!!!!!! I was just getting into it. Don't leave us all hanging!!!!! The suspense is killing me. Can't wait to read more and see your pictures.

Davidsprincess,
Thanks for encouraging me to finish. It was the motivation I needed and I appreciate you stopping by to read my TR.

 

[davidsprincess]

Your last entry just cracks me up!!! I can't stop giggling. I could just picture the whole scene with the suitcase filled with junkfood You are doing great with the telling of your trip. I feel like I was there with you!! Keep it up. You are doing great!

 

[WA Kay]

I did not bring my camera because I didn't want to have to carry it or hassle with anything other than having fun for those first few hours. I am, however, going to post a few pictures I took a couple of days later. When I was doing my trip planning there had been some people asking about the Disneyland Kennel Club so I made a point of finding it. I tried to take the photos all in a row and in relation to the entrance.

Starting from the right hand side of the entrance area and continuing on to the right.

I think most of the time we are in such a hurry to get into the parks that we don't notice the things outside. I meant to find the outside picnic area but we never even went to Downtown Disney.

We got into a relatively short line and were inside in just a few minutes. I was surprised because it was a Saturday. No stopping to look at the Mickey Mouse head garden just a straight line for the tunnel under the train tracks.

Why is it that I am completely incapable of coming out from under the train tracks for the first day on each trip without crying? Every single time in my adult life. Like a baby.

We decided to go straight up the stairs and get onto the train for a quick ride to New Orleans Square so Benj's second ride would be on Pirates. What 10 year old boy wouldn't love it. This was the first time that I had been on the ride since the movie based changes were made and I did enjoy them. Captain Jack was a nice addition. Benj loved the ride as I knew he would.

We spent the rest of the evening hitting all our favorites. During Fantasmic we were able to get right onto several rides so that was great. We decided to leave at 11:00pm in hopes of beating the rush. We purchased ART passes for the week so we would have a choice of walking or riding and I am glad we did. By the end of the day we were beat and that 10 minute walk would have ended with me crawling the last 100 yards.

We got on the ART shuttle at 11:23pm (I found that on the back of my ART pass. First use time stamp.) and headed back to the hotel. Even the walk from the bus stop right in front of the hotel to our room seemed to take forever. But we made it and went to bed with smiles on our faces and dreams of Magic Morning dancing in our heads.

 

[WA Kay]

June 21, 2009 (Sunday)

Keeping in mind that I was born and have spent my entire life living just north of Seattle... I love cool weather. Honestly. My favorite days are driving rain with a good book. I sleep with my bedroom window open 360 days a year. I can live with the heat but I need the evenings to cool down in order to sleep well. The problem is that when I travel to warm climates I like the cool that you get from air conditioning but I get all stuffed up after a day or two. Not sure if it is recycled air or what but I end up sounding like I have a cold.

So, the plan was to try and sleep with the balcony door open at night. Sandy and I closed the door between the other two sisters and us, turned off the ac, and opened the sliding glass door. I stripped everything off the bed but the sheets and it worked out great. I wouldn't call the evenings cool but good enough to sleep pretty good and I could actually breath all week.

We decided to use our Magic Morning today as we figured that Sunday would be the busiest day of our week at the parks. Turned out to be true. Disneyland's regular opening time was 8:00am so we planned on getting there by 6:30am. The hope was to be out waiting for the ART shuttle by 6:00 but we would be happy with 6:15. The other sisters idea of early is anything before 9am so we knew it would be a challenge to get them moving.

As soon as we got up we opened the connecting door hoping our "noise" would get them up and going and it seemed to work. At about 5:50 I went into the other room to see how close they were to being ready and what did I see? A freaking toaster! Seriously... an entire suitcase of junk food was not enough but now we need kitchen appliances from home. Now I could understand it if luggage was still free on airplanes but it is not. I just don't understand. This is their idea of packing light?

Anyway... Sandy, Benj, and I headed out the door for the ART stop in front of the office at 5:55am. We were leaving on the next shuttle with or without the other two. They managed to make it by 6:13 and the shuttle came a few minutes later. Off to our first shiny morning at the Happiest Place on Earth.

We were at security by about 6:25 and made it through very quickly. Pretty short lines there and at the gates. We waited around taking in that "early morning quiet excitement". You know how it is. Everyone is kind of quiet and maybe still a little bit asleep until it gets closer to opening. I am not sure what time they started letting everyone in but as soon as we crossed under the train tracks and I cried again (Come on. I already cried last night. What the heck? I am hopeless.) I took my little group over to City Hall.

You see, this day was to celebrate Benj's half year birthday. The poor kid was born on December 21st. A date often lost in the holiday shuffle. So I wanted to give him a special day today. We went in and I asked ever so nicely for a Birthday button for Benj, 1st Time buttons for the Spokane sisters, and a Citizenship button for Sandy. Score. Thank you to the nice cast member who took an extra minute to talk to Benj.

Now we are off to our first steps down MainStreet USA. Last night we kept to the train so Benj could be with him Mom on his first walk down to Walt & Mickey's statue.

I love this little area at the end of MainStreet. The statue, seating, and view. It is a nice place to sit and people watch. Next stop FantasyLand. That is me with the lime green Baggallini.

 

[WA Kay]

Heading through Sleeping Beauty Castle we headed over to Peter Pan's Flight first, then Dumbo, King Aurthur Carrousel and then we did a loop around to all the inside/dark rides. We made very good time and surprisingly everyone kept up and was having fun. Magic Morning is well worth getting up early for.

At about 9:00am we headed over to Tomorrowland Terrace for a late breakfast/early lunch. Because today was Benj's "birthday day" I was doing everything I could to get him picked for Jedi Training. (Thank you DISers for all the great tips.) We arrived early to get a table with a view, quickly fed Benj, parked him in the first spot on the right hand side facing the stage, and waited. I purchased him a bright yellow/orange Star Wars shirt and made a sign.

By 10:00am the place was packed and kids were waiting as patiently as they could. I did not see any other kids with signs so I was very hopeful. Watching the cast members/Jedi Masters get these kids all worked up and excited is truly a sight to see. In no time at all the entire place was ramped up and ready to take on the "dark side."

Benj front and center with his mouth wide open.

Then what happens? You guessed it. Sound system problems and they canceled the show. Talk about a let down. Oh well, everyone was pretty understanding and we had plenty of opportunities to come and try again.

 

[WA Kay]

Now that our schedule had been altered slightly we finished eating at a more leisurely pace. I have heard negative things about Tomorrowland Terrace but we have always liked it. It is not great food but good enough considering it is fast food, big portions, and cheap prices. Great for sharing. I was surprised that we were able to get both lunch and breakfast menu items. We ended up getting two breakfasts, two burgers, and a fruit platter for sharing.

After eating far too much food we decided we would need to hit a couple of "calmer" rides so we headed over to Storybook Land. The line was still relatively short and everyone enjoyed it. I did not take any pictures "inside" the ride as I am not big on scenery pictures. I prefer pictures with people in them so here are a few as we were heading into the whale.

After this we went over to Small World. By now the lines were getting pretty long so with some time to kill.... well, the shenanigans began. The two "youngest" started pestering each other like a couple of naughty 5 year olds. I am sure that I do not need to tell you which "kid" started it.

I can't believe we got them to settle down long enough for this picture.

This was the first time I had been on the ride since the redo and it really did look "refreshed". It is not anywhere near my favorite ride but it is a classic and I was glad when they decided to give it a face lift. The Spokane sisters loved it and Benj didn't hate it. Not "10 year old boy cool" but no complaints.

We decided, based on how close we were, that ToonTown was up next. There was high hopes that all that walking would help burn off some of that food we ate and it worked.

 

[WA Kay]

Our first stop was Micky's house so the Spokane family could meet him for the first time.

Then we set everyone free to explore at their own pace. I wandered a bit and took a few pictures and then parked on a bench in the shade. At 1pm in Southern California the heat was starting to catch up with me and as a skin cancer patient I have to be careful.

I know at some point Benj, Sandy, and I went on Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. I love that ride as I do most of Toontown. I would sure hate to loose it the way DisneyWorld has. It is a great place to let the kids explore and relax a bit.

By now it is getting pretty close to 2pm and we decided to head on out of the park for the afternoon. Sandy, Benj, and I went straight back to the hotel and the other two hit Mainstreet for some shopping.

After we got back to HoJo's Benj and I did some swimming and then we all had some lunch in the room. Then it was, of course, nap time. One of my favorite times of the day.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Just hopped aboard your TR. I am enjoying your trip and look forward to more. Plus as a bonus looks like I finally found someone who takes longer than me to finish one up...Gotta love that I was starting to feel guilty toward my fans...well mostly they are my son's fans I think LOL.

You are a good aunt! I too have family that I chose instead of being born into so I totally get it!

 

[WA Kay]

Just hopped aboard your TR. I am enjoying your trip and look forward to more. Plus as a bonus looks like I finally found someone who takes longer than me to finish one up...Gotta love that I was starting to feel guilty toward my fans...well mostly they are my son's fans I think LOL.

You are a good aunt! I too have family that I chose instead of being born into so I totally get it!

Thanks for stopping by. If feels good to know that there are people out there appreciating trip report efforts. Yah. It sure did take a bit of time to get this thing going again but it has been fun remembering the trip.

You are correct that Colton seems to have quite the fan club but it is clear to me that he is an amazing boy because he is surrounded by a great family. You do get the sole credit for being a great writer. I have seen you in several places and enjoy reading your stuff. Particularly with the Divas. They look like a fun group of women.

Looking forward to more of your TR.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Thanks for stopping by. If feels good to know that there are people out there appreciating trip report efforts. Yah. It sure did take a bit of time to get this thing going again but it has been fun remembering the trip.

You are correct that Colton seems to have quite the fan club but it is clear to me that he is an amazing boy because he is surrounded by a great family. You do get the sole credit for being a great writer. I have seen you in several places and enjoy reading your stuff. Particularly with the Divas. They look like a fun group of women.

Looking forward to more of your TR.

I hope they are as fun in person...but it looks like a great time was had and next years trip sits firmly the week before our family trip so I should be able to go.

I just finished another part of my TR just before I came to check on yours so I hope you continue to enjoy it!

 

[WA Kay]

I hope they are as fun in person...but it looks like a great time was had and next years trip sits firmly the week before our family trip so I should be able to go.

I just finished another part of my TR just before I came to check on yours so I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Talk about timing. I just came from your TR.

I would love to join the Divas but this fall we are going on a family cruise and fall 2012 we are going to Disneyland in October as I have never seen the Halloween decorations. Maybe 2013.

 

[BellaBaby]

Just found your trippie!! Enjoying it and waiting for more!!

 

[WA Kay]

Just found your trippie!! Enjoying it and waiting for more!!

Thank you for joining in. It is great to have you here and just the motivation to get me writing.

 

[WA Kay]

So... after some much needed down time away from the afternoon heat and crowds we were ready to head back to the park. I believe it was about 6:30 pm when we left the hotel and rode ART on over. I did not bring my camera for this trip as I just wanted to enjoy without having to carry anything. The security line was pretty short and I was happy to noticed that overall everyone was ready by the time they got up to the front of the security line. People had their bags opened etc. so it moved quickly.

As we walked under the train tracks we heard the train coming so we very quickly decided to ride it to the next stop. Next stop New Orleans Square. I love the train and the best time is in the evenings when it starts to cool off. You get that nice breeze as you circle the park. After we got off the train and saw the largest crowds I had ever seen lining up for Fantasmic this early we changed our minds on watching it and decided to hit the rides instead. With the masses lined up for Fantasmic we were able to walk right onto most rides. If there were lines they were very short.

We decided to start at the top of the hill and work our way down. We hit Splash first, using Fast Passes that we had collected in the morning, then Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Indy, and then the Jungle Cruise. Now I have to stop and say that I love the JC at night. It is a whole different experience and worth the effort. Things are lit up nicely so you can still see everything but it has a quietness to it that is nice. Next we went to the Tiki Room and , of course, had our Dole Whips while watching the pre-show. Now came the real challenge... getting from the Tiki Room over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Yes I know it is not that far but add the thousands of Fantasmic viewers into the mix and you have grid lock the likes of which most New Yorkers have never seen.

I am not sure how but we all made it in one piece. I was at the front of the line and knew that Benj was holding onto the back of my shirt. It turns out that they had all grabbed the shirt in front of them making us a 5 person chain not to be broken. Well we must have looked silly but no one got lost so whatever works. We all rode BTMR together and then everyone wanted to go again because there was no line. As I was getting more than just a little motion sickness I waited on a bench near the exit holding all the bags while they all took their second ride.

I just love watching my family get off rides. Everyone has that flushed excited look. They are all talking at once about how fun it was or their favorite part. It makes me smile thinking about it now.

Since we did not want to try and squeeze back through the crowds we walked around past Big Thunder Ranch to Fantasyland. Depending on the lines we wanted to ride the Matterhorn and Storybook Land (love this one in the dark too). We got onto the Matterhorn pretty fast and everyone loved it. Right after we got off we were surprised by the fireworks just starting. We had not planned to watch them but it was nice being in the right place at the right time.

It was a pretty good location too. I have no idea why but where you would normally see Tink flying by we got to see Dumbo and Tinkerbell flying. It was pretty cool as I had never seen it before. After the fireworks ended we went and got in line for Storybook Land. We had to wait about 7 minutes for them to open it back up but it was well worth the wait as it is another special ride to see at night. All the little buildings are lit up.

After this we headed over to Mainstreet to do some shopping and people watching before heading back to the hotel. It was a great day. Tomorrow California Adventure....

 

[BellaBaby]

Good to know about walk on rides during Fantasmic. We have seen it several times and it is not a must do for us. So we will love to be riding rides during it (with less crowds). How fun to see Tink and Dumbo flying from that perspective and the fireworks!!

We usually just watch the fireworks from wherever we are in the park and it's just as fun! One time we were in FL in WDW and the fireworks started and it was just so magical, they were right above us, it was beautiful. My DH is not usually impressed with such things and he still talks about it, he absolutely loved it!!