- Joined
- Aug 7, 2000
- Messages
- 24,364
SATURDAY 2/25
If you ready my previous day report you know we wanted to do EE for the second time. We were told all we needed was our Resort IDs. So since EE was at 7:00 this morning, we were up, out, and at the gates by 6:45.
Three days into the trip, the kids were getting tired and it was tough getting them up this morning, but it was worth it.
We were let in at 7:00. At first the CM at the gate pointed out we didnt have EE left on our passes so we showed our IDs and told her what we had been told. She looked confused and checked with the CM as the next turnstile. That CM saw the Resort IDs and said we were fine to go in.
Now this is what EE should be like! It was not crowded at all. Maybe the 7:00 am thing had something to do with it?
We walked down Main St to an almost empty hub. Here we tried getting pictures of the Castle with no one around. 2 women next to us asked us to take their picture and then they took ours. This was a great photo op!
Next it was off to do all the things we didnt get to on our previous visits. We started off on Peter Pan which was a walk on today. Next we were going Mr. Toad and saw there was no line for the Carousel. Cam wanted to go ride it to get the Golden Horse, so we did that.
Next we rode Mr. Toads Wild Ride, followed by Pinocchio. All these were with no waits. We then saw no line at the Tea Cups so we quickly scooted into the waiting area to be the first ones on to get the Golden Tea Cup here.
We then rode Alice in Wonderland, and started off toward IASW. We saw the CM there waving people away from Toontown as today was Mickeys Toontown Madness. We asked him if IASW was open and he told us it would open at 8:00. It was only about 7:50 so we took a walk over to Buzz to take a spin on that. Can you tell this is one of our favorites? By the time we finished and got back to IASW it was 8:00. We had done so much in 1 hour!
We rode IASW before heading to the Blue Ribbon Bakery for breakfast. We were all getting hungry by now.
After breakfast we went to Toontown where we rode Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin (the kids love this one!) and Gadgets Go Coaster. I think my kids are little old for this one now, but they still get a kick out of it. This was our first wait of the day and it was about 5 minutes. The kids also like playing around with the gags in Toontown and these are fun for pictures too.
We now went back to Main St. to try to see the First 50 Magical Years again (we had tried last night and it broke down). Everything was working and we only had a few minute wait for the next show. I had seen this before but my family hadnt. We all enjoy this very much. I really hope they will keep this in DL after the 50th Anniversary Celebration is over.
On our way to a potty break we came across the 50th Anniversary Rededication Ceremony that is done daily at 10:30. We watched this and then headed out to California Adventure.
Now it was time to do the things we missed here and redo our favorites. First off we got a FP for Soarin. Next it was off to Ariels Grotto to get our picture taken. By having a Disney Visa Card we were entitled to a free picture with the characters. They do this daily for the first 1 ½ hours the park is open. Today the characters were Chip & Dale.
Since we were in the area and saw the single rider line for California Screamin was nonexistent, DH and I both took turns riding this again. This is really a great ride if you like roller coasters. It's amazing how smooth it is. When each of us rode, the other took the kids to Tritons Carousel again.
Next it was on to Coltons request, Jumpin Jellyfish. While this isnt much of a thrill ride for adults, you do get a very nice view up there.
By now it was 11:45, our FP time for Soarin so we went to ride that. After Soarin since we hadnt been to A Bugs Land yet, we made a quick visit there. This area is more for little kids, but we do like Tuck & Rolls Drive em Buggies (bumper cars).
On our way out, we had to stop and get the Churros that the kids had been begging us for the whole trip, usually right before or after a meal, when snack wouldnt work well.
Next it was off to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot where we saw the Muppets with a 3 minute wait. We then went back to Disney Animation to try for Crush again. We showed up and the waiting area looked packed. We asked if the next show was full and they let us in then wouldnt let anyone else in, so we just made this one. We waited probably 5-10 minutes here. This is another one of those cute Disney shows, that has just a little extra magic. It is very cool...or should I say totally righteous, dude.
By now it was close to 2:00 and we had PS at Ariels Grotto for 2:30. Since we were ready for lunch and we wanted to request a table outside we made our way to Ariels now. After checking in we were told we could wait in the adjoining lounge. This is a really nice place to go for drinks and they also serve appetizers. You sit outside, right on the water, with a great view of the park. It seemed very relaxing and set aside from the craziness of the park, even though its right in the middle of it all. Even the view from the restaurant is great. We requested a table outside and got it.
After our lunch was cut short due to a flooded kitchen, we decided to take a break. The kids wanted to do some more swimming and we had gotten a lot accomplished today so I didnt mind leaving the park for a while. We returned to our hotel and went to the pool area. Again, the kids loved the slide and Cam was enjoying the hot tub too. It had gotten a little hazy now and it was chillier today. I did get into my bathing suite but sat on the chair coverd in towels, LOL! While it wasnt great pool weather there were plenty of people around.
After about 1 hour the lifeguards announced the slide was closing so this was our chance to go warm up. We returned to the room, washed up, and got ready to go again.
Since we hadnt ridden the monorail yet we opted to take this to Disneyland tonight. When we arrived at the station we saw it was very crowded. Also, I should mention for the time being they are only providing 1 way trips from DTD to Tomorrowland or vice versa. They are requiring everyone to exit the monorail when it stops. Because of construction on the new Nemo ride there was only 1 monorail in operation, so no round trips. After waiting about 20 minutes we got on a monorail and were taken to Disneyland.
It was about 6:30 when we arrived. Because of the timing, we tried to find a good spot to watch Walt Disneys Parade of Dreams, but the sidewalks were very crowded, and since we had seen this over the summer, it wasnt a must do for any of us. The kids really had their hearts set on the Frontierland Shootin Exposition as they had seen it on a previous visit and kept asking to do it. It was one of those things we kept telling them we will get to it, so we had to finally get to it. Our park time was getting short.
After we played a while there we had to go to Tarzans Tree House another thing Colt had continuously asked to do (it had been closed before). We walked through that twice.
When we finally convinced Colt twice was enough, we took the train to the Toontown Stop. We wanted to return to Fantasyland to do Casey Jr as that was one ride we never got to on this trip, and since it is exclusive to DL I like to do it while Im out there. The train ride was fun and relaxing, but when we arrived and walked to Casey Jr, the line was 45 minutes. We didnt need to do it that bad.
As much as we hated to leave the parks on our last park day, we felt we had gotten to most of our must do attractions and anything we hadnt, wasnt worth waiting for at that point. It was Saturday night and very crowded.
Since we had a big late lunch we werent too hungry for dinner but we thought we would get something small. I suggested we go to ESPN, where we could get appetizers and dessert. When we arrived it was mobbed a 2 hour wait for the restaurant and the lounge area was packed. Ok, that was a bad idea on a Saturday night.
Now the kids had visions of dessert dancing in their heads so we went back to Haagen Dazs in DTD to get them ice creams. After they ate them we took a detour while walking back to Paradise Pier. We walked through the GC then stopped in at the Hearthstone Lounge. I just love this place, the whole lounge and lobby area seems so cozy and relaxing. Hopefully our next trip we will be staying there. Since this had worked so well, Thursday night, we decided to stop again. The lounge worked out great. There were plenty of kids there and there was even a checker board with checkers at a table in the corner. The kids sat there and played while DH and I had a drink. For once the kids played for more than 2 minutes without fighting. 
They were really having fun and we got a chance to relax too. But we were all very tired so we didnt stay there long.
We returned to our room and before long had all crashed again. In fact it was tonight, before going to bed Colton sat up in bed and said to me Colton is now closed!, then he laid down and put the blankets over his head.
Yes, we were all a little tired. At least we could sleep in a bit tomorrow. Even though our park time was over, we still had more fun to come. 
If you ready my previous day report you know we wanted to do EE for the second time. We were told all we needed was our Resort IDs. So since EE was at 7:00 this morning, we were up, out, and at the gates by 6:45.
Three days into the trip, the kids were getting tired and it was tough getting them up this morning, but it was worth it. We were let in at 7:00. At first the CM at the gate pointed out we didnt have EE left on our passes so we showed our IDs and told her what we had been told. She looked confused and checked with the CM as the next turnstile. That CM saw the Resort IDs and said we were fine to go in.
Now this is what EE should be like! It was not crowded at all. Maybe the 7:00 am thing had something to do with it?
We walked down Main St to an almost empty hub. Here we tried getting pictures of the Castle with no one around. 2 women next to us asked us to take their picture and then they took ours. This was a great photo op!
Next it was off to do all the things we didnt get to on our previous visits. We started off on Peter Pan which was a walk on today. Next we were going Mr. Toad and saw there was no line for the Carousel. Cam wanted to go ride it to get the Golden Horse, so we did that.
Next we rode Mr. Toads Wild Ride, followed by Pinocchio. All these were with no waits. We then saw no line at the Tea Cups so we quickly scooted into the waiting area to be the first ones on to get the Golden Tea Cup here.
We then rode Alice in Wonderland, and started off toward IASW. We saw the CM there waving people away from Toontown as today was Mickeys Toontown Madness. We asked him if IASW was open and he told us it would open at 8:00. It was only about 7:50 so we took a walk over to Buzz to take a spin on that. Can you tell this is one of our favorites?
By the time we finished and got back to IASW it was 8:00. We had done so much in 1 hour! We rode IASW before heading to the Blue Ribbon Bakery for breakfast. We were all getting hungry by now.
After breakfast we went to Toontown where we rode Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin (the kids love this one!) and Gadgets Go Coaster. I think my kids are little old for this one now, but they still get a kick out of it. This was our first wait of the day and it was about 5 minutes. The kids also like playing around with the gags in Toontown and these are fun for pictures too.
We now went back to Main St. to try to see the First 50 Magical Years again (we had tried last night and it broke down). Everything was working and we only had a few minute wait for the next show. I had seen this before but my family hadnt. We all enjoy this very much. I really hope they will keep this in DL after the 50th Anniversary Celebration is over.
On our way to a potty break we came across the 50th Anniversary Rededication Ceremony that is done daily at 10:30. We watched this and then headed out to California Adventure.
Now it was time to do the things we missed here and redo our favorites. First off we got a FP for Soarin. Next it was off to Ariels Grotto to get our picture taken. By having a Disney Visa Card we were entitled to a free picture with the characters. They do this daily for the first 1 ½ hours the park is open. Today the characters were Chip & Dale.
Since we were in the area and saw the single rider line for California Screamin was nonexistent, DH and I both took turns riding this again. This is really a great ride if you like roller coasters. It's amazing how smooth it is. When each of us rode, the other took the kids to Tritons Carousel again.
Next it was on to Coltons request, Jumpin Jellyfish. While this isnt much of a thrill ride for adults, you do get a very nice view up there.
By now it was 11:45, our FP time for Soarin so we went to ride that. After Soarin since we hadnt been to A Bugs Land yet, we made a quick visit there. This area is more for little kids, but we do like Tuck & Rolls Drive em Buggies (bumper cars).
On our way out, we had to stop and get the Churros that the kids had been begging us for the whole trip, usually right before or after a meal, when snack wouldnt work well.
Next it was off to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot where we saw the Muppets with a 3 minute wait. We then went back to Disney Animation to try for Crush again. We showed up and the waiting area looked packed. We asked if the next show was full and they let us in then wouldnt let anyone else in, so we just made this one. We waited probably 5-10 minutes here. This is another one of those cute Disney shows, that has just a little extra magic. It is very cool...or should I say totally righteous, dude.
By now it was close to 2:00 and we had PS at Ariels Grotto for 2:30. Since we were ready for lunch and we wanted to request a table outside we made our way to Ariels now. After checking in we were told we could wait in the adjoining lounge. This is a really nice place to go for drinks and they also serve appetizers. You sit outside, right on the water, with a great view of the park. It seemed very relaxing and set aside from the craziness of the park, even though its right in the middle of it all. Even the view from the restaurant is great. We requested a table outside and got it.
After our lunch was cut short due to a flooded kitchen, we decided to take a break. The kids wanted to do some more swimming and we had gotten a lot accomplished today so I didnt mind leaving the park for a while. We returned to our hotel and went to the pool area. Again, the kids loved the slide and Cam was enjoying the hot tub too. It had gotten a little hazy now and it was chillier today. I did get into my bathing suite but sat on the chair coverd in towels, LOL! While it wasnt great pool weather there were plenty of people around.
After about 1 hour the lifeguards announced the slide was closing so this was our chance to go warm up. We returned to the room, washed up, and got ready to go again.
Since we hadnt ridden the monorail yet we opted to take this to Disneyland tonight. When we arrived at the station we saw it was very crowded. Also, I should mention for the time being they are only providing 1 way trips from DTD to Tomorrowland or vice versa. They are requiring everyone to exit the monorail when it stops. Because of construction on the new Nemo ride there was only 1 monorail in operation, so no round trips. After waiting about 20 minutes we got on a monorail and were taken to Disneyland.
It was about 6:30 when we arrived. Because of the timing, we tried to find a good spot to watch Walt Disneys Parade of Dreams, but the sidewalks were very crowded, and since we had seen this over the summer, it wasnt a must do for any of us. The kids really had their hearts set on the Frontierland Shootin Exposition as they had seen it on a previous visit and kept asking to do it. It was one of those things we kept telling them we will get to it, so we had to finally get to it. Our park time was getting short.
After we played a while there we had to go to Tarzans Tree House another thing Colt had continuously asked to do (it had been closed before). We walked through that twice.
When we finally convinced Colt twice was enough, we took the train to the Toontown Stop. We wanted to return to Fantasyland to do Casey Jr as that was one ride we never got to on this trip, and since it is exclusive to DL I like to do it while Im out there. The train ride was fun and relaxing, but when we arrived and walked to Casey Jr, the line was 45 minutes. We didnt need to do it that bad.
As much as we hated to leave the parks on our last park day, we felt we had gotten to most of our must do attractions and anything we hadnt, wasnt worth waiting for at that point. It was Saturday night and very crowded.
Since we had a big late lunch we werent too hungry for dinner but we thought we would get something small. I suggested we go to ESPN, where we could get appetizers and dessert. When we arrived it was mobbed a 2 hour wait for the restaurant and the lounge area was packed. Ok, that was a bad idea on a Saturday night.
Now the kids had visions of dessert dancing in their heads so we went back to Haagen Dazs in DTD to get them ice creams. After they ate them we took a detour while walking back to Paradise Pier. We walked through the GC then stopped in at the Hearthstone Lounge. I just love this place, the whole lounge and lobby area seems so cozy and relaxing. Hopefully our next trip we will be staying there.
Since this had worked so well, Thursday night, we decided to stop again. The lounge worked out great. There were plenty of kids there and there was even a checker board with checkers at a table in the corner. The kids sat there and played while DH and I had a drink. For once the kids played for more than 2 minutes without fighting. They were really having fun and we got a chance to relax too. But we were all very tired so we didnt stay there long. We returned to our room and before long had all crashed again. In fact it was tonight, before going to bed Colton sat up in bed and said to me Colton is now closed!, then he laid down and put the blankets over his head.
Yes, we were all a little tired. At least we could sleep in a bit tomorrow. Even though our park time was over, we still had more fun to come. 
