Jambalaya!!! Our October DL trip.

[gnbuggy]

The cast...Me, DH (Known as B, and not excactly a DL fan) and DSS (13, AKA Mr.T).
When October 12th-20th (actual DL days, 14th-18th)

We left Eugene on Friday Oct. 12th around 9 am. We got to Lincoln CA with out snow. or rain, and got Mr.T. The first night we stayed in Lodi. What a happen place. Got up early and headed south to DL. We got to Valencia/Magic Mountain around 2 pm and traffic stopped. . We had heard earlier that I-5 was closed at hwy 14 due to a huge crash involving 25 vehicles. We sat on I-5 for 4 hours!!! 5 lanes of traffic stopped and being funneled into 1 off-ramp It started to move fast when they closed the road we were detoured onto to oncoming traffic and allowed 4 lanes to go one way (instead of just 2) back to I-5.
The still smouldering tunnel 20 hours after the accident.

A view of the traffic and the responder vehicles.

Then we got stuck again about 15 miles from Anaheim. It was a total of 6 1/2 hours that we sat in the car and only went about 70 miles. We finally got to the Hojo at 8pm. We were so tired and had to pee really badly. We ate dinner at Mimis Cafe (it was yummy), and missed the fireworks from our room. But its ok, we had 5 whole days of DL in front of us.
More installments to come, stay tuned.....

 

[gnbuggy]

So my friend was at DL the week before us. They left the day were were arriving, skipping the Goofys kitchen ressies b/c their 2 kids woke up sick at 1:30 that morning . They stayed at the Hojo too. She told me what room they had and said that if they try to give us that room we should ask for another (b/c of how sick the kids were). Guess what room we got...511, their room. One thing I can say is that the housekeeping staff does a great job. It was perfectly clean, and didnt stink. (which is the ? I got from my friend.)
After dinner we took our sore behinds to our room and crashed.
Our first day at DL, Sunday the 13th. Well, some of us were excited.

Come on B, smile....

Isnt that better??
We got to the park around 9. We rode 7 rides before our 11:30 reservations at Carnation Cafe. I thought that we were going to have lunch at Carnation, but they were still serving breakfast. I was really wanting to try the potato soup, but the breakfast was really good.
Mr.Ts plate before...

And after...

So, we got a suprise charater visit while we were there.
B was hoping to be ignored,

But instead he made a new friend!

After lunch, we decided to take the Monorail for a round-trip ride. While waiting in line we witnessed something that I have never experenced ever at DL or WDW. People cutting in line through groups of people. With strollers running over feet. Needless to say, they got the whole end car to them selves, maybe b/c the CMs knew that they didnt play well with others. I asked Mr.T if he knew how to record video on his camera. I was sure that we would have a clip for YouTube.
Anyway, after that we decided to head to DCA. Rode ToT, tried to get on Soarin', but it broke down. We ate dinner at Pacific Wharf Cafe. I love the turkey sandwiches. We were so cold (had gotten a locker for our hoodies at DL) So we headed back.

.
We rode Splash got to watch the Fireworks from the hub, then hauled over to Rivers of America to watch Fantasmic. It was late and we had a full first day. We head back to the Hojo, for a good nights sleep.

 

[S. C.]

Can't wait for the next installment! Glad B finally smiled

 

[gnbuggy]

Today we had ressies for Blue Bayou for lunch. We didnt start out very early this morning b/c we had been out so late the night before. I was really stressing about getting water side tables at BB. So I checked in way early and double checked to make sure that I didnt mess up when we were to be there. We walked around a lot this morning, I dont remember doing much before lunch. We checked back at 11:15 for our ressies. We were the 4th group to be seated, at a water side table. We really enjoyed the salads, and rolls. I chose the Monte Cristo, B and Mr.T had the Jambalaya. They both liked theirs, my sandwich was a bit rich for me. Between B and I, I dont think that we ate 1/3 of the whole sandwich. Soon Mr.T excused himself to the restroom, he was gone for a bit, but returned to the table. We asked if he was ok, and he replied "JAMBALAYA!" And so the first of our 2 repeated phrases was born. So, to explain the second. Have you ever seen the Carls Jr. Flatbuns commercial? Well, Mr.T (being 13) really got a kick out of it. Everytime we got on the elevator he would sing it from floors 2 to 4.
Later we met with Mickey...

Got visit with a burro...

And saw some really cool pumpkins...

Thats it for day 2...3 days to go. and MHT!

 

[gnbuggy]

Tuesday, we ate breakfast at McDonalds, and headed to the Disney Character Warehouse, got a few things then headed to DCA. The guys got me on Grizzly River Run. I didnt get too soaked, unlike the other people in our raft. We went headed for Screamin', but it was a really long wait. So on to Muholland Madness, the swings, B and Mr.T did the Maliboomer. Had lunch at Taste Pilots Grill. Then headed for ToT. We headed over to DL mid-afternoon. I cant remember what we had for dinner. We may have just snacked. This was a pretty low key day.
Apparently we were in a goofy mood.

Still goofy...

And yet even goofy-ier...

 

[S. C.]

Keep them coming, love TRs with pics.

 

[LittleBlue22]

Glad to see B' smiling face warming up. B looked so thrilled w. Eeyore

I the teacups

can't wait to read more gnbuggy!

 

[BecBennett]

This is great, I want to hear more!

 

[gnbuggy]

I am cracking myself up looking at the last pics I posted.
Mr.T realized that my camera has a delay on some of the settings, so he would smile nice at first, then get into his goofy faces.

 

[LittleBlue22]

maybe the Jambalaya made him do it?

 

[gnbuggy]

I think you might be right. The sillyness really started midafternoon on Monday.
Every potty break he would yell out "JAMALAYA!!"

 

[gnbuggy]

Wednesday...
We got to the park before it opened and before the rope drop. This was a first for me. B was a little irritated. He was done on Tuesday. Probably when the silliness got underway. We got some coffee for B, and some treats to take place of breakfast. (hey, we're in DL right.) All of the days are running into each other, and, what a shame that we had to ride POTC, HM, Splash, BTM, teacups multiple times
We ate lunch at Golden Horseshoe. or as Mr.T called it the Bronze something, it changed every time. But still, it was funny. Mr.T had the chili bowl, its always interesting to watch him eat things like that. At Pacific Wharf Cafe both B and Mr.T broke forks trying to cut the bread bowl. B and I shared the chicken strips and cheese sticks. This show always cracks me up, some it is the same, but it was still funny. The guy sticking the violin bow up his nose. I was in tears.
We rode the train...

Saw more cool pumpkins...

And visited with a other donkey...

We rode splash, again...

And got B on Autopia, not his fave...

Tonight was our Rainforest Cafe reservations at 6:30. We got to our table and had our food before 6:30. Mr.T pondered having the Pastalaya, but thought that through, and had some burger. B and I had the Rasta Pasta. I can make this at home, and I decided that it was just as good, if not better when I make it. Now if only I could make the bread... We spent the rest of the evening in the World of Disney.

B is really tired. Again ready to go home. So we called it a night.

 

[gnbuggy]

Today was going to be a long one b/c we had tickets to MHT.
For breakfast we got Toll House Cookies from Blue Ribbon Bakery. They were the best. We headed back to see if we could get on Space. We had only gotten to ride it once, since it was closed randomly thru the week. It was closed, again, so we tried Nemo. Way to long of a line for all of us. We can wait for another trip to go there. Matterhorn was almost a walk on, so...

We went to Critter Country and got soaked on Splash, you should have seen the guy in the front of the log.

umm, Mr.T did you have an accident??
For lunch we ate at Hungry Bear. Salad for B, burgers for Mr.T and I. We watched some other guests visit with one of the Disneyland cats. And enjoyed watching the ducks.
And we finally got on Space, almost a walk on.

We hung out knowing that we only had a few more hours left in DL before we needed to leave for DCA. One of the last things we did was watch the First 50 Years of Magic. This made me wistful. I was tired, but not tired of being at the park. So we headed over to get in line for MHT.
We got in line and started to wait. B asked when we would be let into DCA. 6:30, I said. He was irritated, again. He wanted to go back to DL and ride the train, or something. So we went back. Started to wait, I explained to him that by the time the train made it around the park, and back to get us (since we just missed it) and we went around the park, it would be after 6:30. So, back to DCA we went, and got back in line.
They started letting people in the park a little after 6. We got our bags and went to head back to Screamin. The vibe was so nice, everyone was in good moods, and the kids were dressed up in costumes.
The decorations were so cool

Waiting patiently?

More cool stuff...

Once they dropped the rope, we started back to Screamin. My friend was at the MHT the week before, and said it was busy. We stared of fast, but realized that there werent that many people. We rode Screamin 3 times choosing where we wanted to sit. We did collect some candy, the dried apples were interesting. After Screamin, we went to the Orange Stinger, one of my faves. Then off to Mulholland Madness, and to Soarin. All pretty much walk ons. We got over to Tot, love that ride too. And a walk-on. Mr.T and I wanted to go again, but B was fading fast. I was a little sad b/c I didnt really see Mickey and Minnie much this trip. With the visit to Mickeys house and Fantasmic those were the only times I saw Mickey. We saw Minnie on Main Street twice, but had places to be, and didnt feel like waiting in a long line. I asked a Cm where we could find them, and they told me they were in the Parade, but they might be wondering the park. We were all pretty satisfied with our 5 day visit. Had lots of fun and wanted to leave some things for our next trip...always planning our next.

B and Mr.T by one of the 'A's...

 

[S. C.]

Love it!

 

[gnbuggy]

Here are some random pics,

B wistfully thinking of his moment with Eeyore

The next day (Friday) we headed north, not getting too much traffic, dropped Mr.T off at home, and made it to Corning for the night. Got up early and continued to Eugene. We got back around 2. Its good to be home, and the pets were happy to see us.
Thanks for reading.

 

[gnbuggy]

Love it!

 

[XTinabell]

love the pics, looks like you guys were having a lot of fun.

 

[bumbershoot]

Sounds like a good trip!

You live in Eugene, I love Eugene...and you stayed the night in Corning. We always end up stopping there...who doesn't, right?

It's so cool that you got to have such fun with your stepson. As a stepdaughter twice over, no, thrice over (mom was married three times and my dad twice, so I have stepmom, stepdad, and ex-stepdad, LOL), it's always fun to hear about people having fun with stepkids. And, of course, boys of that age are just hilarious (I have three younger brothers).

 

[OregonDisneyFanatic]

Good job collee Love the pictures. Now when do I get to see the rest? I walked out to "burb" this morning and saw my present. I it. Thanks again

 

[LittleBlue22]

checking in