Here now on our 1st trip!

[JAA'smom]

We flew in this morning and checked into the Anaheim Islander Inn and Suites. This is an alright place to stay. The walk to the parks isn't too bad. The room is a good size we have two queens and a sofa sleeper. I don't believe the beds are true queens though. I will post pictures later in the week to show everyone the room.
We walked over to the parks this afternoon to pick up our 6 day park hoppers and we asked to upgrade to 7 days and they said "sure no problem." The charge was 5 dollars per ticket. we went ahead and went into the parks and had a late lunch and walked around some and rode a couple of rides. We were all so tired that after 4 hours we just came back to the room to rest and grocery shop and of course swim. Tomorrow morning we are going to start out early at DCA. We are looking forward to it. If you have any questions ask away and I will see if I can find the answer out for you.

 

[Susie63]

Ooooh! lucky you
Would you keep an eye out for potato head parts in DCA.We have a thread going in our quest to see if they have been brought back! Have fun.....

 

[DisneytheKid]

Have a great time!!!

 

[Disney Dory]

Have a great time! Keep us posted on your trip!

 

[kylie71]

Yay, a LIVE trip report! Please come back with pics, and details...
Thanks for sharing! Have a Blast!!!

Lori

 

[JAA'smom]

Ok we got to DCA this morning at 7:40am and they let us right in. We decided earlier in the week to just experience everything else in the parks this morning and wait for Cars Land until later. We walked over towards TOT and that was our first ride. We did that twice, everything in Bugs Land(for the little one), twice on Califorina Screamin(after it came back up), Soarin, TLM, the Carousel, and Monsters, Inc. The lines aren't too bad. We have fast passes for Soarin, CS, TOT and GSS for tonight. We had lunch at the Pacific Wharf Cafe and loved it. We came back to the room to rest for a couple of hours and then we are going back. I can tell you that the Verizon Mobile Magic app is spot on with wait times.

I have been looking in the stores this morning for Mr Potatoe Head stuff and so far no luck. I will keep looking. I will post pictures each day starting tomorrow. We left our camera at home by accident and my brother sent it to us yesterday and it will get here tomorrow. So Yay! If there is anything anyone wants to know just let me know and I will see if I can find out. Thank you all for all your help with my planning for this trip.

 

[kylie71]

Sounds like you are having a Great time! Thanks for taking the time to report to us!! Have FUN!

Lori

 

[sammatt]

Sounds like a great start! When you arrived at 7:40, did they let you in to the full park, or have you wait until 8?

 

[DarthMole]

We walked over to the parks this afternoon to pick up our 6 day park hoppers and we asked to upgrade to 7 days and they said "sure no problem." The charge was 5 dollars per ticket. we went ahead and went into the parks...

So you were able to upgrade BEFORE entering the park?

I would also like to know about entering DCA early. 7:40 sounds early for full park access.

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like you're having a good trip. Enjoy.

 

[Magalex]

Yes I would like to know where the location is where you upgraded your park tickets. We are planning our first DL trip for next summer (July 2013). Keep us updated on any stand out meals (TS or CS) too.

 

[JAA'smom]

Sorry about that I meant that we were let in to line up again at the rope. Then at 8am we were led to the rides.

DarthMole yes we were able to upgrade before we used our tickets. We asked the nice lady who was helping us about upgrading to 7 day tickets and she said we could do it then or we could do it later. Since someone was telling me yes I went ahead and did it.

 

[mystic_path]

Have a great rest of the trip. I am excited to hear more and see pictures later on!

 

[disneydreamer74]

Sounds like a great start to your trip! About how long would you say your walk is to the hotel? I have not read any reviews on the Islander. Have a great trip!!

 

[JAA'smom]

Just got back again. Took a picture with my phone of wait times at DCA at 7pm tonight but for some reason I can't get it to post so I will try tomorrow to post that picture. I can tell you the wait time for RSR was 180min, LFT was 120min and MJJ was 30min. We rode Soarin, GSS. GRR(about 6 times) and we walked over about 9pm to use our fast pass on TOT but the fast pass return was 30min and the stand by line was 85min and that was just too long.

DisneyDreamer74 we actually timed the walk back to the hotel this afternoon and it was 14min. It's not a bad little place. It has a fresh paint job in the rooms and the room is clean and the beds are comfortable.

Well that is all I have for tonight I am going to bed to start early again in the morning. Tomorrow morning we are going to DL. I will post midday tomorrow about our moning there. Thanks

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I hope you're enjoying your Disneyland morning!

 

[Lucille1963]

I love the updates!

 

[raftislander]

Make sure that you see the Aladdin show in DCA- it is terrific. I love GRR and will often ride it back to back to back. It is the one ride where you always bond with your raft mates wondering who is going to get the worst of it!

 

[philliplc]

i have the islander reserved for this fall as they seem to have the most reasonably priced suite-type setups (2 rooms with 3 or 4 queen beds) of any decently reviewed place within walking distance, so appreciate any comments.

how is parking there? looks pretty limited on google satellite. we will be arriving around 11 PM on a saturday night so a little worried about that.

 

[JAA'smom]

Ok we are back in the room after spending the morning in DL. This morning we rode ST, Matterhorn, Alice, Mr Toad, Snow White, HM, Splash, Pirates 2x's loved it, Astro Orbitor, Buzz and my two oldest did Space. Then we had some snacks and fell in love with that hunk of pineapple covered in chocolate. Then we did Indy and this is so much smoother than dinosaur, but I can't decide if I like it better than dinosaur, but I think I like them about the same. It started getting a little busy around 2pm so we headed back to the room to rest and then we will go back tonight to ride some more and try to see Fantasmic and the fireworks.

I am really enjoying myself out here. I love the parks I wish I could take DCA and drop it on top of Hollwood Studios, but keep the Great Movie Ride and Rockin Roller Coaster. I would also put both TOT's side by side. There are elements that I like about both of them. Our camera came today so I am excited to start taking pictures tonight.

Philliplc there appears to be just enough parking spots for the amount of rooms here. In other words its tight, but I believe you will be fine. For breakfast each morning there have just been apple and cheese danishes and a couple of different kinds of mini muffins. We drove down to target and picked up breakfast supplies. If you have any other questions or you want a picture of something let me know.

 

[tffnyjean]

Thanks for reporting from the parks!