Halloween fun!- and we are heading back!!

[Yakety76]

Bob and I were back at the hotel by about 10:30. The next day was our last in the park and a Magic Morning, so we wanted to get some sleep. Kaleb had other plans for me though. He slept fine. However, I find it hard to sleep when we co-sleep. Kaleb likes to cuddle very close and likes to mess with me by grabbing my ear, nose and whatnot. Needless to say, this did not lead to a very relaxing sleep for me. DLH rooms do come standard with a pack n play and we set it up even though we knew Kaleb would probably not use it. He didn’t disappoint. He took one look at that contraption and said, “Sleep in Mommy’s bed.”

Even though the night’s sleep wasn’t the most restful for me, I was up and ready to go early. Today was a Magic Morning!! And with the park opening at 8:00, that meant we had to be in line by around 6:30 for a 7:00 Magic Morning. My kids, mom and I are all early birds so this was not a problem. Bob would have gladly slept in, but we had things to do.

Our goal for Magic Morning was to ride the Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides that the kids wanted. We did not want to hit all of them as we had done that in February and we just didn’t have the time this trip to do every ride. With this being our last day, we just wanted to go where the kids took us. Of course, they didn’t have a choice about the first ride though. That always has to be Peter Pan. The kids really started noticing the details on Peter Pan this time.

Next, it is onto Dumbo for a couple of spins around in a circle. At about this time I realize I forgot to take my Dramamine. Riley and Kaleb want to go on the Tea Cups. There is no way I am riding these without Dramamine in my system. I let Bob and my mom take them while I try to get some pictures. I was trying to get a picture of Riley like the one of the older couple in the Spirit of DL picture thread. My pictures all turned out blurry, though. She was having so much fun. Her laugh was so loud and contagious. I was laughing like crazy. I might have looked a little crazy since I was standing there by myself laughing.

Bob did manage to get a cute picture of Kaleb on the Tea Cups. It is one of my favorites from this trip.

When the ride stops, Riley asks if she can ride again. The CM says yes, so I think she is going to start it up. Nope. She waits for more people to come fill some of the tea cups. That took a little bit of time, but oh well. Riley enjoyed her second ride as much as her first. Kaleb declined a second ride, so he and Bob went to ride Alice. When they returned, Riley’s tea cup ride was finishing up. She found out they went on Alice, so now she wants to go on Alice. I take her and Bob takes Kaleb. I found out when we reunited that he took my baby on the Matterhorn.

Riley and I walk right onto Alice.

We happily begin our trip down the rabbit hole and then stop. That is right. The ride broke down. All the lights come on and they tell us to stay seated. Someone will come for us shortly. At first Riley is fine, then she gets a little freaked out. Thankfully they came for us before she started to have a major freak out. We were sitting there for at least 10 minutes before anyone came for us. By the time we walked off the ride, Bob and Kaleb had already finished their ride on the Matterhorn. My mom was thinking that Riley and I had finished our ride and she wanted to start searching for us. Thankfully, Bob kept his head and stayed put. We met up with our group and headed over to Tomorrowland.

 

[RayDiz]

Great stories. I'd love to go someday for Halloween. Great pics too

 

[travelmel]

Took your baby on the matterhorn! That's not right! LOL

DDC once went on the NYNY hotel (Vegas) roller coaster by herself. I almost cried... well, wait, maybe I did. So sad. It's hard!

You had a ride EVAC! LOL

Alice and Peter are my personal faves... love that Flying business. Can't get enough.

 

[Yakety76]

Great stories. I'd love to go someday for Halloween. Great pics too

Thank you so much. The decorations were amazing. Halloween is Riley's favorite holiday, so we really wanted to take her to see all the decorations.

Took your baby on the matterhorn! That's not right! LOL

DDC once went on the NYNY hotel (Vegas) roller coaster by herself. I almost cried... well, wait, maybe I did. So sad. It's hard!

You had a ride EVAC! LOL

Alice and Peter are my personal faves... love that Flying business. Can't get enough.

I am so glad I didn't know Bob was taking Kaleb on the Matterhorn because I would have put my foot down. Turns out, Kaleb loved it.

Riley was looking forward to riding Alice because she had just recently watched the movie for the first time. This time she would have actually understood what was happening in the ride. There is always next time, right?

I don't know about riding the NYNY roller coaster. Isn't that on top of a building?

 

[travelmel]

I forgot to say, that is an AWESOME action shot of Kaleb on his first roller coaster!

 

[Yakety76]

In our last installment, Riley and I had just barely escaped Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Now we were ready to battle the evil emperor Zurg. Off to Tomorrowland and Buzz Lightyear we go. Kaleb LOVES this ride. He loves using the “shooter”- as he calls it. It is still Magic Morning, so there is no line at all for Buzz. I really like how my young kids can be completely independent on this ride, so that I can focus on my own game.

After Buzz, we head over to Astro Orbiters. I had promised Kaleb that we would ride them this trip because we missed them last trip. The Unofficial Guide claims that it is virtually the same ride as Dumbo, so that is why I didn’t bother with them last trip. I found the ride to be different, though. The rockets go at more of an angle which led me to feel a need to actually hang on. Riley really enjoyed it. She and I stayed on to ride a second time. The CM manning this ride was very sweet when he saw Riley coming back right away for another ride. My mom took Kaleb off to battle Zurg yet again.

Riley and I decided we needed another ride on Buzz too, so we went and joined the rest of our group. My mom and Kaleb had just gotten seated for their third ride in a row, when the ride came to a stop. “Not another broken ride,” we are all thinking. Turns out someone lost their Mickey Ears, so the ride had to be shut down for about five minutes while a CM retrieved them. We all finally got to take one more shot and Zurg. My mom decided that Kaleb needed to be able to practice for future battles with Zurg, so he now has his very own Buzz Blaster. I made her leave it to her house for him to play with there.

By this time the park had opened for regular hours, so we make our way to Critter Country.

On the way to see Pooh and friends, we took some pictures in front of the castle and met a little fairy.

Riley seems to think I have gone a little crazy in this picture.


Riley decides that she wants to ride the Haunted Mansion. I warn her that it is a little scary and that she might not like it. She calmly looks at me and tells me that she is “into spooky stuff now”. Okay. Good to know.

We ask Kaleb if he wants to come with us. “Too scared,” is his answer. Grandma stays with Kaleb and ends up buying him a Mickey light saber. Another great toy for you to have at your house, Mom. I can just imagine what kind of mischief would be caused at my house if we had toys like that here.

Since the park has just recently opened, there is not yet a line for the Haunted Mansion. We go into the stretching room. I again warn Riley that there is a little scream (didn’t know what else to call it) after the spiel in the stretching room. She tensed up and hugged me, but she actually seemed to think it was kind of cool. She did great through the ride. She hasn’t seen the movie, but she seemed to enjoy herself. She really liked the end where Sally waves and says to come see her again.

Next we ride Pirates one last time. Thankfully no one was talking or taking pictures this time. Then off to Pooh we go. Writing this trip report made me realize that this is the only time we rode Pooh on this trip since it broke down when we tried to ride it on our first day. My poor kids. We simply most go back soon to rectify this.

After Pooh we stopped into the snack shop. When we had asked what souveniers they wanted from Disney, Kaleb had said he wanted a Tigger Tail and Riley wanted pumpkin fudge. Don't worry, they got other souveniers too. Bob got a pumpkin muffin and my mom got a Tigger Tail from the sweet shop. I helped the kids with their treats.
Riley’s pumpkin fudge was soooooo good. Bob said his muffin was good, but there was too much frosting. Off course the Tigger Tails were excellent. Cannot go wrong there.

I know it is just wrong to post this picture of Riley, but I cannot help myself. She was trying to eat that fudge as fast as she could because the rest of us kept stealing bites. It was so good.

After our treats, we decide that we are going to hop over to DCA and ride Toy Story. It is about 9:30 at this time, so DCA hasn't yet opened.

Up Next: Toy Story and Goofy’s Kitchen

 

[Yakety76]

I forgot to say, that is an AWESOME action shot of Kaleb on his first roller coaster!

Thanks. He looks so serious. My mom was snapping pictures while Bob and I were riding with the kids. I am glad she got that one.

 

[mommaU4]

Riley seems to think I have gone a little crazy in this picture.

That is so funny! I laughed so loud my kids came running to see what was going on!

I think that's cute she said to you she is "into spooky stuff now". Everyone's treats look so yummy.

 

[travelmel]

The pic with Bob and his muffin makes him look more like Riley's brother than father. LOL I love how people are willing to act at Disney. It's like a holiday every day.

 

[Jennifer03]

All of the snacks you bought from Pooh's Corner look so good!

 

[Yakety76]

That is so funny! I laughed so loud my kids came running to see what was going on!

I think that's cute she said to you she is "into spooky stuff now". Everyone's treats look so yummy.

I didn't realize Riley was looking at me like I was crazy until I got the pictures printed off. I am sure she gives me that look more often than I realize.

Riley takes her role as the Halloween lover very seriously, so she decided she wasn't going to be scared by any of the Halloween decorations anymore- including Jack Skellington. My brave little girl. They grow up so quickly.

The pic with Bob and his muffin makes him look more like Riley's brother than father. LOL I love how people are willing to act at Disney. It's like a holiday every day.

We had already checked out of our room and Kaleb's pirate hat didn't fit in our bags. Kaleb started the day wearing the hat, but quickly tired of that. Bob was a good sport and wore it. The things we do for our kids.

All of the snacks you bought from Pooh's Corner look so good!

They were all so yummy! Well, I don't really know if Bob's muffin was good or not because he wouldn't share. His growling whenever anyone got too close leads me to believe it was pretty tasty, though.
I love Tigger Tails, but the pumpkin fudge was the best.

 

[Yakety76]

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone. I will be back on to finish the last day of my trip report soon. Thanks for reading along with me.

 

[trodrigue]

What a great report. It looks like you had a truly wonderful time.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

What a wonderful picture!!

Btw, I love your DD's name. Riley is such a pretty name!

 

[travelmel]

Awww! So sweet! Happy Turkey Day!!!!

 

[mommaU4]

I didn't realize Riley was looking at me like I was crazy until I got the pictures printed off. I am sure she gives me that look more often than I realize.

Riley takes her role as the Halloween lover very seriously, so she decided she wasn't going to be scared by any of the Halloween decorations anymore- including Jack Skellington. My brave little girl. They grow up so quickly.

I think all kids look at their parents like that, and those looks increase when they become teens.

I love Halloween too so I think it's cool she loves that holiday. She has good taste. And yes, they do grow up too quickly.


Love the pic of them in the leaves. That's what being a kid is all about. Jumping in a big old pile of leaves. Enjoy your holiday!

 

[Yakety76]

What a great report. It looks like you had a truly wonderful time.

We did have a wonderful time. Thank you.
I was afraid we would feel rushed because it was such a short trip, but we were still really able to enjoy our time. It was great!

What a wonderful picture!!

Btw, I love your DD's name. Riley is such a pretty name!

Thank you. It is one of my favorite pictures from this fall. I love Kaleb's eyes in it. You can see he is going to be up to something soon.

I also love the name Riley. It seems to really suite her.

Awww! So sweet! Happy Turkey Day!!!!

Thank you. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
At the table when we were giving thanks, Riley said she was thankful for all the people she loves. Made my heart burst.

I think all kids look at their parents like that, and those looks increase when they become teens.

I love Halloween too so I think it's cool she loves that holiday. She has good taste. And yes, they do grow up too quickly.


Love the pic of them in the leaves. That's what being a kid is all about. Jumping in a big old pile of leaves. Enjoy your holiday!

I expect I will be at the receiving end of many more "Riley looks" as the years pass. It is only fair, as I gave my mom the same look many times while I was growing up. Now it is my turn.

I love that she has taken such a shine to Halloween. Because it is Riley's favorite holiday, we have decorated and had Halloween parties for her and her friends the past two years.
I think I enjoy Halloween more now than I did when I was a kid because I see it through Riley's eyes.

The kids had so much fun "helping" me rake up the leaves. Small pleasures!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

[Yakety76]

DL was starting to get a little busy and Bob really wanted to ride the new Toy Story ride, so we headed over to DCA to be there for rope drop. They were already letting people in, so we hustled over to the side leading to Bug’s Land. I had read on the DIS boards that the CMs were leading the lines for Toy Story around by Soarin. I didn’t see any signs and didn’t want to take the chance that I was mistaken, so we hung tight where we were. It seems that everyone that was in DCA had the same mission- ride Toy Story. We had tried to ride it during the Halloween party and on Friday, but the line was always super long. Today was our last chance, so there was no turning back.

Once the rope dropped, we wound our way with the crowd and found ourselves lined up against the fence by the pond (not sure of its name). We were able to watch Screamin take off a couple of times and that was fun. It didn’t look like the line was that long. Looks can be deceiving. Others have said how entertaining the wait is and how it goes by quickly. Mr. Potato Head did not work the entire time we were in line, so we didn’t find the line very entertaining. We patiently waited with everyone else, though. Finally it was our turn at around 11:00 after waiting in line for an hour.

I have to say that I didn’t love this ride and I wouldn’t wait for an hour to ride it again. It was cute and would be fun to ride if the lines were shorter. The kids were not able to be independent with the shooting because you have to push the barrel down and pull back on a string. To do those two things at once was very tricky for my young children. I can see how it would be a very entertaining ride for older kids – especially ones that like video games.
I would have liked to ride again because I know between aiming my own gun and trying to help the kids with theirs, I missed seeing a lot of the details. I also didn’t feel the bursts of air or squirts of water that we had heard were part of the ride. Regardless, we had fun riding it.

Bob had picked up fastpasses for Soarin’ before we got into line for Toy Story, so we decided to take Riley on that for our last ride of the trip. My mom took Kaleb to a store to do some more shopping. Boy, can she shop.
We had to wait a couple of minutes for our fastpass time to roll around. Riley played in the mister. Then we walked right on and went Soarin’ over California again. I noticed all the scents this time, so that was really nice. Riley loved every minute.
After the ride we met up with my mom and Kaleb and hustled to Goofy’s Kitchen. Our PS was for 12:00. It was already a quarter till 12, so we were really pushing it.

We arrived at Goofy’s right at noon. Wow! It was busy. Everyone was celebrating a birthday. Somehow, we got right in. Since we hadn’t arrived early for our PS, I was really expecting to have to wait when I saw the crowds.

We took our picture with the greeter, Pluto.

We then followed the host to our seats. We were seated on the left hand side when you first walk in. We saw quite a few characters and had some good character interaction. Goofy was great – as he has been the other two times we went.

Chip was the best! He took a shine to Kaleb and spent quite a while tickling him.

Prince Phillip really tried hard to win Riley over, but she was being shy with him.

We noticed on this visit that she is really uncertain about the male face characters. Both of my kids do better with the fur characters. The face characters bring out the shy side in my kids.

The music came on for the kids to go bang the pots and pans at the same time that Jasmine came to our table.
Kaleb chose to go do pots and pans and Riley stayed to talk with Jasmine- her favorite princess. Both kids were a little disappointed with their choice. Since there were so many kids there, Kaleb wasn’t quick enough to grab two things to bang. Then when Jasmine left, Riley came hurrying over to bang some pots. The music ended right when she reached us.

After this, we quickly wrapped up our meal. The kids were in need of some down time. All in all, we enjoyed Goofy’s. The characters that we saw were great. Dale and Captain Hook were also roaming around, but they never made it to our table even though we were there for an hour and a half. I was disappointed in a couple of the guests that were seated near us. Two moms kept bringing their children over to our table while the characters were visiting with us. Maybe they didn’t realize that the characters would come see them too. It bothered me that they would encourage their children to interrupt our time, though. Regardless, it was fun and we will be returning to Goofy’s on future visits.

After Goofy’s, we went to the gift shop in the hotel lobby and bought some more souvenirs. We then collected our bags and waited for the Disneyland Express. Apparently, there was some confusion about the Disneyland Express. When our bus arrived, the people from the other hotels all got off and then boarded another Express shuttle because they were not going to LAX. Not sure if the shuttle made a mistake, if the people got on the wrong shuttle, or if this is normal. But it was kind of chaotic with everyone getting off and unloading their bags. The kids and I were actually surrounded by bags and had to move bags in order to get on the bus.
We did manage to get on the shuttle and had a nice ride back to the airport, though. Kaleb fell asleep and Riley cuddled with me during the drive. This driver didn’t show a movie on this trip either. Maybe they have changed that since we went in February.

We got through LAX security and had some time on our hands, so we found an empty space and let the kids run around and play a little. Those of you who read my first trip report might recall that the smell in the airport had me checking Kaleb’s diaper constantly. The same smell was in the air this time. That airport just stinks!! This time I knew not to blame Kaleb, though.

We were a little concerned about our flight because we had a layover. We couldn’t get a straight flight to Boise on a Saturday. Those flights are only on the weekdays. Riley is a great traveler. We don’t ever have to worry about her getting upset or making a scene. Kaleb doesn’t like sitting still at all, so we have to pack many diversions to occupy him on flights. He did really well, though. He got a little grumpy towards the end, but nothing major at all. The people around us on the plane actually told us what well behaved kids we have.

We had a very quick layover that was only long enough for us to use the restroom and then re-board. It was the kids’ bedtime at this point, so we were hoping they would sleep on the next leg of our journey. They both happily went to sleep as soon as the lights were dimmed on the plane. Kaleb was not happy when he got woken up by bright lines being turned on when we arrived in Boise. My mom and I quickly took the kids to our car, which we had left at the airport during our trip, while Bob went for our bags. The kids fell right back to sleep.

We had a great trip and I would love to have a longer trip during the fall to enjoy all the decorations. I see other’s pictures on their trip reports and know we missed a lot of the wonderful details. I also didn’t see any characters in costume. That was a major bummer for me.
We would try to plan around UEA if we went in October again, though. It was nice to have the parks open so early because we are early birds, but Bob really didn’t like the crowds in the afternoons.


Thank you for taking the time to read my trip report. We had a wonderful trip and I enjoyed sharing it with all of you.

The kids ask if we can go back to Disney almost every day. We are currently in the early planning stages of our next trip. We are thinking of going to Disneyworld next November. Maybe we will go for Riley’s 5th birthday.

 

[mommaU4]

I loved your TR. All those pics from the character meal are so cute. And we were at DCA on the 18th too!

Thanks for sharing and I hope your plans for WDW next November are realized.

 

[travelmel]

Chip was the best! He took a shine to Kaleb and spent quite a while tickling him.

OMG SO CUTE!

My DH looked over after I was laughing and said, "Wow, that's DISNEY happy right there, boy."

Nice job making it over to TSM! That kind of pressure can be murder! I can see how it could be a let down for the little ones. Our girls were perfect ages for it but that would be a long haul for such a short and busy ride with little ones. I liked it BUT.. I agree that you don't really have time to see the stuff when you're so busy doing the stuff. lol

What a great report. Your kids are so adorable (beautiful skin!)! Isn't it fun to see them experience everything?? I'm really looking forward to your WDW report. Keep me posted!