High Season DL Adventures--Aug 09 TR--Complete!

[Hawleys]

In another nod to how nice the Hojo is, CR was totally surprised when we opened the door to our hotel room and he saw the size of the room and the skylights. We all took a pretty long nap at the hotel and woke up hungry. Made it out the door around 6pm, I think. First we headed to Mimi's but the wait was 20 minutes and we were all more interested in heading to the parks. We thought it would save some time to just get McDonalds. Not sure if we saved any time as DW can only eat plain hamburgers and they of course screwed up and gave her one with ketchup. Seriously, we must have waited 20 minutes for our order because CR was finished eating by the time our food arrived.

On the way to the parks, CR expressed interested in riding Toy Story Mania again. It took some convincing to get B in the line but CR wore him down. In the spirit of friendly competition, the two top scorers from our previous ride (CR and I) rode in the same car. I don't want to brag but CR was dominated by yours truly. I'm sure that in the grand scheme my score was not that high but it sure felt good. After riding TSM, we decided to head back to DL to use our Space, BTMRR and IJ fastpasses. On the way out of Paradise Pier, DW and I were looking longingly at the 15 minute wait time at California Screamin'. CR must have noticed because he asked if we wanted to ride. Of course we wanted to ride! The line moved quickly and CR took a dramamine so everyone was happy.

By this time, it was getting dark and we all enjoyed the lights along Paradise Pier as we made our way out of the park.

Back in DL, we beelined for Space to use our Fastpasses. The plan was to catch a couple more rides and then be in position to swoop into New Orleans Square as the first showing of Fantasmic finished up. Turns out we really only had time to use our FPs for Big Thunder Mountain. Too bad, as CR never got to ride IJs. But we did have the awesome experience of riding BTMRR while the fireworks were going off. If you can time it right, do this! We caught glimpses of Tinkerbell through the trees while we were waiting in line. Very cool. We had six FPs for BTMRR left and I found a very sad looking family of 6 staring at the 50 minute standby wait time. Happy to say that I was able to provide them with some Disney magic! I hope they knew the FPs could be used after the return time printed on them.

We waited at the rope between New Orleans Square and Adventure land while folks from the first Fantasmic made their way out. Once we were let in, the first row seats along the water were already gone but we found some second row spots behind a short family.

For B and I, it was our first time to see Fantasmic and it did not disappoint. Truly incredible and such fun music (thanks again to CR for making me listen more closely). Truthfully, I think B could have done without the show. By the time 10:30 rolled around, he was SO ready to go to sleep.

We fought our way through the crowds to the entrance, hugged CR one more time, slogged back to the hotel and collapsed. Happy and tired.

 

[JustAKid]

So I started by just using the planning board and am slowly branching out to the other boards the DIS offers. So glad I did because your trip report is awesome!

It looks like your DN has a wonderful personality, I look forward to the pictures so that I can see how he's posing and with what. My favorite is the one of him and your DW with the light saber pointed directly at the camera lens. SO CUTE!

Also wanted to wish you a good time at Gay Days! I remember you saying that you'll be staying at the DI&S, I wouldn't mind you steering away from your TR again for a post to let us know what you thought about it when you're back!

Bee and bee keeper is totally cute, but no red!

 

[Hawleys]

So I started by just using the planning board and am slowly branching out to the other boards the DIS offers. So glad I did because your trip report is awesome!

It looks like your DN has a wonderful personality, I look forward to the pictures so that I can see how he's posing and with what. My favorite is the one of him and your DW with the light saber pointed directly at the camera lens. SO CUTE!

Also wanted to wish you a good time at Gay Days! I remember you saying that you'll be staying at the DI&S, I wouldn't mind you steering away from your TR again for a post to let us know what you thought about it when you're back!

Bee and bee keeper is totally cute, but no red!

Welcome JustAKid. I'm so glad you are enjoying the trip report. B is a total character and such a ham for the camera. On our next day at DL, we spent time in Toontown so you'll get lots of great pictures.

I am so excited for Gay Days!! We leave tomorrow! We will be wearing red on Saturday and Sunday.

We changed our reservation to the Tropicana because we were able to get a slightly better rate and it had better reviews on TripAdvisor. I was able to get a room at the Hojo again but not at the Entertainment rate. DW hasn't been feeling great so we decided to stay closer to the parks. I will definitely post a trip report.

My goal is to finish this trip report before we leave for our next trip so I may be burning the candle on both ends tonight.

You are going to be a Disneyland expert by the time your trip rolls around. There is so much information on these boards.

 

[JustAKid]

Well, you didn't post any more of your trip report so I hope that doesn't mean you decided to panic about all the stuff you had to get done before leaving instead. Hope you have/had a wonderful time!

 

[Hawleys]

Sorry I wasn't able to write. I was given a last minute work assignment.

But I'm done now and we're on our way in just a few hours!!

 

[disneynerd420]

Have a great time at Gay days. I wish I could be there right now, but I just got back a few days ago. I''m looking forward to seeing more pics and I really hope you bring some back from Gay Days.

 

[radiatorsprings]

I love your trip report. Your nephew is lucky to have such cool aunts. I love the stuff you sent for him to get him ready, especially the puzzle. Can I ask where you ordered it from? Too bad one of the pieces is missing though.

 

[Hawleys]

I love your trip report. Your nephew is lucky to have such cool aunts. I love the stuff you sent for him to get him ready, especially the puzzle. Can I ask where you ordered it from? Too bad one of the pieces is missing though.

Sorry for the super late reply. I ordered from an internet retailer called TreasureKingdom.com

Good luck finding the puzzle!

 

[Hawleys]

After a loooong hiatus, I'm back and ready to finish up my trip report. This last day won't be quite as detailed because it's been awhile. Sorry folks.

When I left you last, we had spent an awesome day in the parks with Cuncle Robert and stayed up for the late showing of Fantasmic. We slept in a bit this morning, packed up all our stuff, checked out, stowed our bags at the hotel desk and headed off to Disneyland! We didn't make it to the gates for park opening but that was ok as the plan for today was to take it easy, see some favorite attractions one last time and ride a few things that we had missed.

First up, Space Mountain fast passes. DW ran off to get FPs while B and I went to ride BTMRR. There was a bit of a wait at BTMRR so Stephanie went to the opening ceremonies at Toontown while we rode. She picked up FPs for Roger Rabbit and we walked to Toontown to meet her. We spent some time in Toontown, goofing off and taking lots of pictures. I guess I didn't realize what a ham B is, he LOVED posing with all the props. Here is a selection of his greatest photos.

 

[Hawleys]

After taking a bunch of pictures, we realized that there was no wait for Roger Rabbit so we jumped in line and tucked our FPs away for later. As many folks have said, the queue for this line was tricked out and fun to walk through. Don't hate but I think I prefer the queue for Monsters Inc...I'm sucker for the bad puns. The ride was just ok. I got an incredible arm workout spinning the wheel. B went in his own car and he hardly spun at all because it was so hard to turn. This was a new attraction for me.

Next we wandered over to It's a Small World, by special request from B who has really great memories of riding this with his Mom. There was minimal line and looking for the Disney characters was like having a little scavenger hunt while we were riding. Two big thumbs up for this other new attraction!

On the agenda for today was the Jedi Training Academy. I had hoped to go to the 10:30 show which was in about 25 minutes. DW convinced me that we could use our Space FPs first. We flew through the line, had a great ride, collected another set of FPs and made it to the Jedi Training Academy. Whew! Fortunately, this was the most rushing around we would do all day.

B was one of the first kids picked for the Jedi show. I had a sign which said "The Force Is Strong With This One" and he had on a Lego Star Wars t-shirt.

I think B enjoyed the experience but it was hard for me to pay attention because I spent the first few minutes of the show laughing so hard. Here's why: At the beginning of the show, the Jedi Master gives a little spiel about the Jedi code, only for defense, never for attack and most definitely never hit the other Padewans or your instructors. Well, B must have missed that part because when the Jedi master starts to teach the kids the fighting routine, he turns to the girl next to him and starts hitting her with his lightsaber! Not hard or even with much accuracy but definitely trying to follow instructions. Right shoulder, left shoulder... If you've seen the show, you'll know what I'm talking about. The girl he was hitting had this look on her face like "What is this crazy kid doing?!?". Fortunately, the Assistant Jedi Master intervened. DW was afraid they were going to kick him out but they let him stay and face Darth Vader. I hope he enjoyed it. I can admit that this was one of the activities where I was participating vicariously through my nephew. If only they let adults do this...sigh.

 

[Hawleys]

We asked B what he wanted to do after the Jedi Academy. His response...go back to Toontown and take more pictures! Ok, kid, let's ham it up. Off to Toontown we went.

Here are my favorites:

That last photo documents our one and only character interaction. I have to admit I was a bit creeped out until I realized it was Goofy behind me on the cable car, not some big, strange, sweaty man.

We rode Roger Rabbit again using our FPs and I still found the ride to be just meh. I could take it or leave it. DW was dying for a corn dog lunch so we headed toward the Hub. On the way we ducked in to the castle walk through which I adored. B was kinda bored.

Food porn:

The corn dogs were delicious! B asked for two (!) corn dogs. DW only bought him one and when it came he said that this was the biggest corn dog he had ever seen, much bigger than the ones at school.

 

[Hawleys]

Around here, I start to forget what we did for the rest of the day. I know we went to the Tiki room for some air conditioned relaxation time and maybe went for another ride on BTMRR. We did some shopping in Adventureland and B picked out gifts for my nephew (age 7) and niece (age 3). Having a kid who loves shopping came in handy! We also bought another poncho for B (his first had ripped when we pulled his giant head through on Pirates). Eventually, we headed over to DCA to ride Grizzly River Run. I loved this ride but would love it even more if it were twice as long. Oh and I forgot about the free lockers so we had to put all our stuff in a plastic bag and stuff it in the center of the float.

We had some ice cream (yum!) and rode on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. I am enthralled by this ride and all the silly things Heimlich says to you. "Is candy corn a vegetable?" (Please repeat this with vaguely German accent in your head for the full experience). I only wish that this ride were twice as long as well.

When we first got to DL, B always wanted to ride with either DW or I but by the end of our trip he was asserting his independence and riding by himself, as you can see in this picture. We went back to DL for another ride on BTMRR (total of 7 rides in 3 days!) and he rode by himself and turned around to talk to us on the ride! I was so scared that he was going to get tossed out of the car. Those seats are slippery!

At some point in DL, DW and I upgraded our hoppers to APS.

Our final ride of the day was Space Mountain. What a great way to finish a Disneyland vacation!

B wanted to buy some action figures of Disney characters dressed as Star Wars characters (like Yoda Stitch) and had a bit of a snit when he realized he didn't have enough money to buy two. I have to say this was the only time he acted up on the whole trip and I know he was upset about vacation finishing up. We did get a kick out of following him around the store picking up things and looking to see if he could buy them with his remaining funds. At one point he turned to DW and said "This is all overpriced crap!". I thought I was going to die laughing. Lesson learned kid.

Action figure purchased, we headed down Main Street to say our last goodbyes at the partner statue. We also stopped at the candy store and B bought some chocolate with the last of his cash. We were all pretty bummed to be leaving and B was especially sad. DW and I had upgraded our hoppers to APs so we knew we were coming back which softened the blow.

After collecting our bags at the Hojo, I wrote the fastest postcards ever, dashed in to the desk to have them mailed and made it back out before the DL express came. On the ride back to the airport we gave B his last secret agent package, this one for completing all his Disneyland missions. It had some comic books and other things for the long plane ride home.