Go tell it on Space Mountain-Dwheatl does Disneyland in December

[dwheatl]

There are really just 2 reasons to read this trip report:
1) To see a mild-mannered kindergarten teacher almost get into a fist fight on Main Street USA.
2) To find out how I saved a bunch of money on APs for my family and me.

We have been to DL during the week between Christmas and New Year before, and although it's beautiful and magical, it is also one of the most crowded times of year, so it's not my favorite week to go. However, we wanted to do a winter trip, and this was the only week that DS's college break coincided with the rest of the family's time off, and I'm so thrilled that he still loves to do Disney with us, that we decided to make a quick trip down on Dec. 26 and return home on the 30th. I wanted to get APs since I was planning a meet in January (which didn't pan out ) but the dates we were going were blocked. I decided to buy 3 day passes, and when I did, there was an ad for a Disney Visa card, with an offer of a $40 credit if you bought the tickets on the card. So there was my first savings on the tickets.
I booked a mini-suite at the Holiday Inn Express, 1 1/2 blocks from DL, $94 a night for a room with 2 queen beds and a pullout couch, and those yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
Since our tickets were only for 3 days, when we checked in on Tuesday afternoon, it was a Downtown Disney day. A friend had asked me to look for the baby Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals, not the oddly shaped ones, like Porno Pig,

as he is referred to on the Secret Green Club thread, but the super soft pastel ones. I wanted to take care of this first so I wouldn't forget or have to carry the package around the park, or go to package pickup with the bazillion other people there at closing time, so we hit World of Disney first. Lucky for me, somebody had placed a baby Tigger where he didn't belong, and I found him, so I was able to pick him up and show him to a CM instead of having to explain about how I didn't want Porno Pig and all. He took me to the display, and I was able to get a 20% discount with my coupon from my new VISA card.
We had dinner outside at the Naples Ristorante. They had the big outdoor heaters working, so it was very comfortable. The food was OK. They went a little overboard on some super-salty olives. Next we hit Starabilia, one of our favorite stores at DTD. I had to laugh that they were selling a check Gregory Peck had written to an office furniture store with a standard publicity picture from To Kill a Mockingbird. That's a weird thing to sell, and a weird thing to buy.
We were all worn out from the drive down (traffic in Southern CA was brutal that day) so we went back to the hotel. DD and I went swimming, DS sat out and talked to us, and DH went to bed. We met some really nice people in the pool, and watched the fireworks from the jacuzzi. We all went to bed then to get ready for our big day in the park on Wednesday.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Great start Danielle. I really can't wait to "be there" for the fist fight on Main Street. We only had very LOUD discussions.

 

[crossfamily]

Porno Piglet

Gotta him!!!!

Great start Danielle!! Can't wait to read more....

 

[Poohbear85]

Lol porno pig, can't wait to hear about the fist fight!

Great job so far!

 

[UtahMama]

Dweatl- I didn't know you were doing a TR! I'm all over it!

I'm planning a quickie trip for the end of this month so I'm doing my homework.
So far so good! I cant wait to hear about the cat-fight on Mainstreet! Meee-yow! I 'm wondering who "done you wrong"!

 

[kaw1218]

Great start Danielle. I really can't wait to "be there" for the fist fight on Main Street. We only had very LOUD discussions.

Loud discussions are inevitable in my family !!!!

I can't wait for more Danielle!

 

[Bee]

I am IN!!!

 

[dwheatl]

Hello my friends. So good to see you all here. Today we actually get inside the parks. If you read my first trip report, then you know my idea of a Disney vacation is getting there at rope drop and staying till they kick me out. My kids idea is sleep till the afternoon, and DH's idea is stay till he poops out, then go back to the hotel. Well, love is all about compromise, isn't it? And nobody enjoys a vacation with a shrieky mama (do you remember this character from the Care Bears?)

, so we let the kids sleep in and head for DL. We don't make it for rope drop, but the plan is to get FPs for Space Mountain to give the kids later, and ride Space Mountain ourselves first thing. We stop to rent an ECV for DH, and the CM asks if we would like a free stroller since we are using our new Disney Visa. Well, DH is 6 ft. and weighs 200, so we stick with the ECV.
We tool over to SM and the ride is down. We head to POTC, and I am so excited. We've seen the changes at WDW, but we haven't been on the DL one since just before they closed it to make the changes. It is my favorite ride at DL, and I think it beats the one at WDW hands down. As we float past the Blue Bayou, I whisper to DH that I read on the funniest comments thread that someone heard a guest on the ride say, "This restaurant was full of animatronic people last time I rode this. I wonder why they took them out?" We giggle quietly, because I can't stand noisy people on Disney rides, and I don't want to be one myself.
When we get off the ride, we stop at Cafe Orleans to ask if they have seating available for lunch. They do, so we make ADRs for lunch for the 4 of us. I call the kids and tell them to "stir their stumps" (I was raised on pirate talk. My mom would often say things like "stir your stumps" or "eat hearty me hearties," and that was before the POTC craze). They agree to meet us at Cafe Orleans at 12:30.
We ride Haunted Mansion next, and enjoy the Jack Skellington theming. We like the original better, but the holiday theming is fun. I can't work my minor psychic talent of predicting which hitch-hiking ghost will be riding with us, because the Nightmare Before Christmas characters throw me off (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).
Next we go to the New Orleans train station and ride around to Space Mountain. The back car can accomodate the ECV, so that's where we ride. It's too cold for me to consider Splash Mountain, so riding the train through the Zip-a-dee-doodah section is the closest we get to the ride this trip.
OK, maybe Space Mountain is my favorite ride at DL, and it also beats the pants off the one at WDW. It's so smooth, I really feel like I'm flying. it leaves me breathless every time. DH always makes a bored face for the picture so I can't buy it. One day, I'm going to just go ahead and buy the picture, and let everyone see what I have to put up with sometimes.
We just have time to ride Indiana Jones before meeting the kids for lunch. No comments from the Filthy Minded Club, thank you very much. I know exactly what I'm saying here. How do you think I got to be secretary? It's a rough ride, the roughest I'll agree to go on, just because I love Indy, and I have a good time ducking the blow darts and the snake.
Coming up next-the best lunch ever, the dating Game with the ugliest bachelorette imaginable, and the time I think of UtahMama.

 

[spongemommie05]

wow i am excited i did not know you were doing a tr i am just trying to plan our dl trip in oct ..
i am waiting to hear about a mild mannered k-g teacher and a fight (those two just don't seem to go together)
can't wait for next installment.

 

[dwheatl]

Hi Spongie. I'm excited for your Oct. trip too. Make sure you take your little guys to CA Adventure and do the Bug's Land. Even my kids enjoy the kiddie rides there.

Alright, back to the report. After several phone calls back and forth, Brendan and Julia (DS and DD) made it to Cafe Orleans right on time. Brendan is vegan, so he ordered salad or pasta or something, which is about what he always does. Julia is super-picky, so she ordered a kid's meal (we have never had a problem ordering off the kids' menu at DL, even though Julia is almost 17). I had read that Cafe Orleans has the Monte Cristo sandwich, which I hadn't had since before I had kids, and that the sandwiches are huge. DH and I agreed to split one, and since he doesn't eat red meat, we got the one without meat. It was FANTASTIC! It looked like this, but with a clear fruit dipping sauce instead of the berries (this is food porn bootlegged from another site; I am embarassed to take pictures of my food and let people know how obsessed with it I am).

However, I don't mind taking pictures of decorations, and the Christmas decorations in New Orleans Square are my favorite. Here are some along the alley across from the Cafe Orleans.

After lunch, the kids want to do their own thing, and that's fine. DH and I get on the Jungle Cruise, and the guide is fine, but I wish it was UtahMama giving the spiel. The guide did have one joke I hadn't heard before- "Look at that poor zebra; he's scared stiff!"
From the Jungle Cruise, DH and I ride the Columbia, the pirate ship that goes around tom Sawyer Island and that plays a starring role in Fantasmic. When we get off the boat, there are street performers in front of the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, and they are doing an old West version of the Dating Game, but the bachelorette, in a dress with a bustle and a pretty bonnet, also has a big mustache. They have 3 guys from the audience as bachelors 1, 2, and 3, and #3 is a blind-folded little kid. The whole thing is pretty funny
, so if you're passing through this area, ask a CM when the next performance is.
Our family has pretty much outgrown Toon Town, but they do have a fun gag shop there, so DH and I cruise over just to look around a little. Coming back, we decide to ride the Christmas version of IASW, and it's probably the longest line we wait in on this trip, about 40 minutes. The decorations are cute,

and the Christmas music gets stuck in your head just like the regular song. Here's one of the themed wreaths around IASW that reminded me of my twin in the SGC, VA Bear.

Just as we were getting onto IASW, the 3:00 parade was starting (what time does that start, anyway?) We headed over to Tomorrowland next, and rode Buzz Lightyear, but our scores were pretty dismal. I was able to beat DH because I hit the target on the ceiling in the tunnel, but my score was still nothing to write home about. From there we rode Star Tours, met the kids at Pizza Port, which has pretty good food, I think, then the kids took off again, we watched the evening parade (why did they change the reindeer? We like the old ones with the lolling tongues) and then DH and I were ready to call it a night. We had been very busy right up through Christmas, and the crowds were exhausting, especially with the ECV. We called the kids and told them to meet us back at the hotel when the park closed, stopped for some chocolate pretzels at the candy store on Main Street, and then I hit the jacuzzi for fireworks again while DH went to bed. I got a little nervous about the kids walking back so late, so I stayed up, but I noticed that there was a stream of people, including many families, walking back to the hotels when the park closed.
Boy am I glad I just saved this in Word. I accidently closed the window and lost everything!
Next up-I share pixie dust with a stranger, but burn up the karma points on 2 separate meltdowns, and a second brush with a beloved (by me) celebrity.

 

[crossfamily]

Danielle the pics were great... I how you tell detail between the 2 parks. I wish my trip would have worked out... I am so jealous of you... Great TR so far... Now I can't understand why dh didn't push you in that free stroller???

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Danielle, I didn't know you had a TR going.... and at my beloved DLand?? I'm joining this pow wow!
I can't wait to read about the brawl on Main Street. I tell you I lose my cool everytime I go to DLand. Alot of people there are so rude, and that includes CM's. It's like they check their manner at the turnstyles.
When we went to WDW, I notice how different (read: polite) people were there, including CM's!
You're trip sounds great, even with the holiday attendance. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[UtahMama]

YAY! I got a shout out! I'm hono(u)red! I LOVE the Jungle Cruise and cant wait to do it in CA again!!!!

That food sounds and looks delicious!

Blue Bayou animatronics!!!! That's funny!


Keep it up! You are a hoot!

 

[mikayla73]

Yippee, more great trippiees!!

OH I am a poet and didn't know it!

 

[dwheatl]

Well, I should be working on report cards for my little kinder-winders, so of course, that's the incentive to get me to work on my trip report. (Can you say procrastination? Good, I knew that you could!)
Thursday started with a trip to the ECV rental counter. When DH got to the front of the line, I noticed a lady who could barely stand joining the end of the line. I felt inspired to spread some pixie dust, so I walked over and asked her if she'd like me to hold her place in line until I got up to the counter, and then she could come up and rent her ECV. She happily accepted, and told me that she had walked around the park the day before, I believe with her daughter and grand-daughter, and she had walked over from their hotel, and she just couldn't keep walking. Her family had gone on ahead, not knowing the shape she was in. I was glad to help, and felt a little pang of guilt for how I push DH on these Disney trips.
We got the ECV, refused the free stroller again (Teresa, there's no way on earth we could fit my behind in one of those things; one cheek, maybe) and headed into the park.
DH and I decided to go into Fantasyland, since the kids are not as enamored of it now, and the lines get so long later in the day. Our first ride was Peter Pan. I love the twinkly little lights, and Smee's valiant effort to save Cap't. Hook. I like to think these pirates are like Jessica Rabbit; they're not bad, they're just drawn that way.
Next we ride Mr. Toad, which DH and I love because we read the Wind and the Willows together for fun when we were in college. I know - we're kid lit nerds. Next we hit Pinocchio, which used to scare the bejeebers out of DS when he was little. He did not like Monstro popping up at him. Did you know that Monstro is a shark (called a giant dogfish in the text) and not a whale in the original story? More kid lit nerd trivia for ya.
Next we ride the Storybook Boats, and all the tiny villages are decorated for Christmas, with tiny wreaths and ribbons, and miniature poinsettias even. I tried to take a picture, but the decorations were too miniature to show up. Sorry!
We had had our fill of Fantasyland for the time being, so we decided to head over to the Golden Horseshoe to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. We were surprised that the Diamond Horseshoe at WDW didn't have a show last year, but I guess they don't want it to compete with the Hoop De Do Review. Anyway, we love Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, so of course I was the loudest one there when they asked people to join in on a song from the Country Bear Jamboree, which is no longer at DL. They also do this thing where each of them holds an instrument (fiddle, base, and guitar, I think) and the other one plays it while they hold it. It is really a spectacle. What did I take a picture of at the GH? A painting that hangs over the bar, that is somewhat suggestive, but looks to me like Martha Washington (ok, so I'm also a little of a history nerd!) What do you think?

We tried to go to the Tiki Room next, but by now, the park is absolutely packed, and Frontierland and Adventureland have become a one-way circle, with CMs blocking the way into Adventureland from Main Street. Rather than backtrack all the way through Frontierland and Adventureland to get to the Tiki Room, we decide to leave DL and go over to DCA.
When we get to DCA, I tell DH we should go to Guest Relations and find out what they do for wedding anniversaries. Here's a little tip for you all. City Hall in DL is Guest Relations for DL, and it is always jam-packed. There is a Guest Relations office at DCA too, and I have never seen it packed. If you need extra help, or are celebrating a special occasion, go to the Guest Services at DCA.
The CMs at Guest Services are very kind, and give us anniversary buttons with a smoochy Mickey and Minnie on them. They ask how long we've been married , and I tell them 22 years, and yes I was a child bride. Our real anniversary is on Friday, but we're not sure we'll be in DCA that day, so we go ahead and take the buttons now. Anyways, you can't have too many happy anniversary wishes, can you? While we're in the office, I ask about APs, because there had been a sign up somewhere that you could apply the cost of your tickets to the cost of an AP. The CM tells me you can only do that on the last day of your ticket, so we resolve to take care of it the next day. I'll tell you more about that when we get to Friday.
When we go into the park, we stop at Engine-Ears to look at the Mr. Potatohead pieces. I need some ears, arms, hat, etc. for my classroom, but if you get the Chinese food carton, part of it has to be the potato, and I don't need that. I wish there was a way to get the carton just filled with accessories, but it isn't happening, so we move on.
By now it's lunch time, and we've talked to the kids. They've gone to pick up a friend of DS's whose family has moved to OC, and they're on their way back. we tell them to call us when they've got the friend's ticket, and we'll meet them at the gate. The plan is to go back into DL when the kids get here. DH and I decide we have time for lunch, so we opt for Mexican food at Cucina Cucamonga. It's standard, Taco Bell type food, and fills us up.
We walk over to the Animation Building to see what the wait is for Turtle Talk, but the crowd has just gone in, so we decide to go on TOT instead. When we get there, the CM tells us that ECVs can't go through the line, so he gives us a Fast pass type thing and tells us to come back in about 45 minutes. We go back to the Animation Building to play in Ursula's Grotto, where you can try to lip-sync with a Disney musical cartoon. We choose The Lion King. The family in the next cave has the rudest little boy, who thinks the lyrics to some Disney song are, "Fart, fart, fart, fart, big fart." Do you think the Sherman brothers wrote that one, or was it Elton John?
When we come out of the Grotto, it is about 10 minutes to the next turtle Talk with Crush, so we get in line. We have never been to this, so I am very excited. Crush talks to a lady who says she likes to eat anything that's bad for her. Crush says, "You humans have some serious thrill issues!" He's so right! the show is just amazing, and I wish the kids had been with us. Maybe next time.
When we get out, it's time for TOT. We always watch the Sci-Fi channel NYE marathon of Twilight Zone, so we're pretty familiar with many of the episodes. We get a nerdy thrill out of looking for props from the show in the queue area. The best is the wall where you can hear the little girl trapped in another dimension (although that is about the corniest episode of the show). The ride is great, as always. When we get off, there's a message from the kids that they could not get a ticket for Tina for DL because it is sold out (I TOLD you it was crowded) so they got her a DCA ticket, and are coming into the park.
We meet up with the kids and give them FPs that we had picked up for CA Screamin'. I decide I want to ride too, and DH doesn't, so I get in the single rider line. There's some in line telling everyone how to cheat and cut in line. I won't repeat it, because I don't want to be a source of temptation to you all. I'll just say right now, it was cutting, pure and simple, and just because you won't get caught doesn't make it right.
Now help me off my soapbox so I can tell you how I threw a fit at Taste Pilot's and then made a "redneck burger" side salad. DH and I rode single rider on Soarin' (love it!), then came in the side door to Taste Pilot's. every line was very long, and we got in the one closest to the door because a) it was the closest line and, b) it was ECV accessible(Big blue wheelchair sign posted right above it). After about ten minutes, there was just one party ahead of us, then the two of us. A CM comes over and tells us that this line is closing because the cashier needs to take a break, so get in another line. What? I asked if the other lines were ECV accessible (in my still-friendly DIS voice) and she snottily says, "Well, there's a wheelchair in that line over there, so it must be!"(hey DL Mama-you're right about some rude CMs.) of a girl! Now I'm , so I raise my voice and tell DH, "Well, go ahead and run over whoever you have to so we can get in another line, because obviously, she doesn't care!" DH is embarassed, but the cashier (not ) says she'd be happy to stay and help us before she goes on her break. Apparently, it was a potty break, because she left after helping us, but came back about 5 minutes later.
Once we get our order, there is no table at which to sit. I ask a family if they mind if we join them, and they kindly agree to let us sit there (maybe they heard me yelling and were ascared!) I take my burger and pile on lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, BBQ sauce, the works. There is no way to actually eat this as a burger, so when I get back to the table, I eat the fixings with a fork. Some people call this stealing. I call it getting the most for my money.
OK, speaking of food, I have to go get dinner ready. When I come back, I'll tell you about the (almost) c-c-c-catfight, and a brush with a celebrity. Thanks for reading!

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

Great TR Danielle! I'm waiting to hear the rest so hurry back!

 

[AJA55]

I was beginning to think you’d dropped in the well with the archeologists! Sometimes it’s hard to keep your happy face on. It has a tenancy to slip when encountering some types of people…. Keep the TR coming.

 

[crossfamily]

Wow and I thought it took me a long time to cook dinner!! You are so like me.. I find it really hard to keep my mouth shut at times well ok all the time

The toy store in DW lets you get the potato head pieces without the pieces.. I will get you a box full when I go in August and send them to you... let me know if you are looking for any pieces in particular... I am writing it in my passporter now so I won't forget by the time August arrives..

 

[Va-bear]

WOw Danielle - you really have agreat pics and it makes me want to hop on a plane a zoom zoom zoom out to DL!!!! (As you know I have a cousin there already!) Those pics of the New Orleans area were totally rad!!! (My California speak...) ....so pretty.

Ok, give us more soon and great job, dude!!!

Va. (ps - 5 more day..... )

 

[dwheatl]

After eating dinner, we gave up our seats to another family at Taste Pilot's (it was so crowded) and decided to go back to DL. DH had been having trouble with the ECV, so we'd traded it in for another one on our way in. This one is a little skittish, too, and you have to fiddle with the key once in a while to keep it going. When we get into the park, the time for the evening parade is approaching, and Main Street is jam-packed. The CM's have traffic going single file one-way on each side of Main Street, behind all the people waiting for the parade. We're trying to get into the Emporium, because the weather has turned very chilly, and I want to buy some gloves. I think I'm walking just ahead of DH, and he's leaving a little space between the ECV and me and the other people in front of me so he won't slam into us if traffic suddenly stops. the ECVs stop pretty quickly, but not as fast as a person walking. I turn to say something to him, and he's not there. People are just cutting around him because they see a teeny little bit of space between him and the people in front of him. He can't move because the people are cutting right in front of him, and he's too polite to run them over. I shout, "What happened?" and he tells me that people just keep pouring around him so he can't move. I walk back and say, Excuse me!" with scary eyes, so the people behind him know not to continue the rudeness. Then I turn towards the family who had most recently cut in front of DH, and I shout, "I can't believe how RUDE some people are!" The mom of the family looks at me and points to herself with a questioning face. I growl, "Yes, I'm talking about YOU!" She sort of does that "bring it" stomp towards me, and I give back an "It's go time" stomp towards her, and she grabs her kids and dodges into the crowd. That's right, sister. You better make yourself scarce, 'cuz I'm one mean momma right now, and I've forgotten that I don't ever want to see DL jail (my friend in high school got hauled off there on our senior trip). DH asks me what that was all about, and I tell him. Then he tells me that he had been having a little trouble with the ECV, and maybe people were passing him because it was stopping and starting. Oh! Well still. It's not like he was broken down, he was just moving a little slowly. And you'd think that people could see that he would be really stuck there if there were a continuous stream of people pouring around him.
Now I feel grouchy and out of sorts, so I'm not happy with any gloves I see in the store. We make our way to the crossing area of Main Street, and head to Buzz Lightyear, where I can take out my aggressions on Zurg and his cronies. Still no incredible scores, but I feel better coming off.
DH is also feeling a little out of sorts with the ECV problems, so we head to our happiest happy place, POTC. I could ride that ride everyday of my life and still enjoy it. After that, we hit Haunted Mansion, then back to Main Street for ice cream, since the parade is over and the crowd has died down a little.
While we're standing in line for ice cream, I'm looking at the sign, day-dreaming about what delicious treat I'm going to stuff my face with. I hear a buzz going on around me, but I'm oblivious, thinking about chocolate and fudge and whipped cream and nuts. Then the people in front of us say, "That was him, right?" and DH says, "Yeah, I thought so." I say, "Who? Who?" and he says, "Eric Estrada." "What? Darn it! Why didn't you nudge me or tell me or something?" I ask. He says, "I wasn't sure at first, and then he was gone."
Well, I just have to laugh. A little over ten years ago, DH and I got in an argument at WDW because Eric Estrada was signing autographs at the bookstore in MGM, and I really wanted to go. DH said he wasn't going to waste his vacation time standing in line to see the guy from CHiPs. I wanted to see him, because I went to elementary/junior high school in downtown San Jose, and almost all the cute guys were Hispanic, and Eric Estrada was one of the few guys on TV that fit that mold, and I had a crush on him. Now, my Dh has robbed me not once but TWICE of seeing EE in person! Oh well, it's probably better that way. Who knows what would happen to our 22-year marriage if I actually got to speak to the man. Plus, I'd probably make a fool of myself, anyway.
After the ice cream, DH and I are ready to go back to the hotel. The fireworks are going off as we head back up Main Street, and then it starts to "snow". It's very pretty. DH asks me to drive the ECV because he's had enough of seeing nothing but s everywhere. All the traffic is going the same way, and again, someone decides to cut right in front of the ECV, and then the people in front of her stop, and I accidentally clip her ankle. It really was an accident. She looks back at me and pointedly says, "Ow!" I put on my most sympathetic face and say, "I'm so sorry!" Well, I was sorry, but probably not SO sorry. We leave the ECV at the rental counter, and walk back to the hotel. The kids drive their friend back to wherever (Downey, maybe ), and we hit the hay to prepare for our last day in the parks, our real anniversary.
Gotta go. we're renting an SUV (not an ECV ) for our trip to Reno. I'll post the last day soon-ish (to quote UtahMama). BTW, I love seeing all the SGC friends and Disappearing Peeps on here, and to new friends too.