I finally have a few minutes to type up our trip report.
Our trip was June 27th thru July 1st. Our party consisted of my dd (8), my parents (early 50s), and myself (33). We stayed in a two bedroom suite (suite with a room connected) at the California Grand.
We had a very frustrating first day (June 27th). We flew in a little airplane into DFW airport and were suppose to leave an hour after our arrival. We ended up not leaving DFW for another two and half hours. Which put us into SNA at 3:50pm instead of 1:11 pm? We finally got our luggage and was on our way by Taxi to the hotel (Taxi cost $36.40 one way) at 4:20 pm. We arrived a little before 5pm at the hotel. We went to check in and was told that our room was not ready and was told to call a number back in about 20 minutes and the room would then be ready. We went ahead and left the hotel and went over to build a bear and got that out of the way. 20 minutes later we call and the room is still not ready, 30 minutes later room is still not ready. Finally 40 minutes later we are told that the connecting room was ready, but not the suite. We went ahead and went up to the connecting room (4449) and decided to open up the suite (4451) to see what was going on. Guess what the suite was ready, but the room did not get cleared. A manager came up and said that we could go ahead into both rooms.
The rooms were both gorgeous. Our room was over the Disney store by the bakery. We were the farthest away from the elevator, but there was an exit right outside of the room that came out between to the Disney store and bakery (you can not reenter the hotel here). We had a huge balcony where we could see Space Mountain, Sorin, and perfect view of the fireworks. The room was very noisy, because of the music and everyone in downtown Disney, so we asked for fans and this helped block the noise.
After settling in my father decided that he needed a sit down dinner, so we went down to Storyteller Café. We finished dinner and waited forever for our check, so my daughter and I headed over to Sorin while my parents paid. The wait was 40 minutes, but it was worth it. After Sorin we headed over to Disneyland and got in line for Pirates. What a mess this was. Nobody could tell wear the actual line was and CMs were yelling at everyone. We were getting ready to say forget it when a CM came up and put her arm on my shoulder and started yelling that I was the line and everyone needed to get behind me. We waited in line for 30 minutes. My father asked if he and my daughter could sit in the front and was told it was not a problem at all. We loved the ride and were glad we waited the line out. After Pirates we headed over to Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. We decided to head back to the Hotel, because we were all tired after Winnie the Pooh.
June 28th
This day went a lot smoother. We did not arrive at the gates until 8:10, but we decided to go ahead and go over to Fantasyland. Fantasyland was dead! We only waited 10 minutes for Peter Pan and 7 minutes for Dumbo. We rode every ride in Fantasyland (including the Matterhorn and Small World) by 9:20. It was crazy everything was walk on or we just waited for the next turn. After Fantasyland we decided to ride the train so we could see the Dinosaurs. We got off at Main Street and walked over to the Tikki room. We had just missed getting in, so we had to wait awhile for the show. We went ahead and did some shopping on Main Street and headed over to California Adventures. We grabbed fast passes at Sorin and then my Father needed a restroom break. While waiting for him so guy came up to us and asked us if we wanted fast passes for Sorin. His parents had chickened out, so he was trying to find someone that could use them. We went ahead and used them and then headed over to get Grizzly River Run fast passes. We went back to the hotel and eat at White Water Snacks. We got back to the hotel room by 12:30. I could not believe we did so much in such a short amount of time.
We went back to DCA at 3pm and rode Sorin, and the Monster Inc. ride. My DD chickened out on Grizzly River Run, so my father and I went twice while my mother took DD on the Trail. We again went back to the hotel and went swimming while our clothes dried.
That evening we had tickets for the Fantasmic River Side seats. When we arrived at the park at 7 pm I noticed that the man who you check in was already at his station getting ready to check people in. I went ahead and walked over and asked what time we could check in. He said I could go ahead and check in. As of June 28th they have changed how they do the seating arrangements. When you check in you do not all have to be there. You just need everyones tickets. You then look at a seating chart and tell them which seats you want. They put the seat number on the back of your ticket and it is now your permanent seat. You do not have to come back at a certain time or anything like that. You can show up at 9:10 and you will still have the same seat.
While waiting for F! We went ahead and rode Pirates again with a 15 minute wait, Haunted Mansion, and my dd and dad went up in Tarzans tree house. After the fireworks we went back to the hotel and went to bed.
June 29th (early entry)
We did not get to the park until 7:45, but we did not care, because we already rode all of the Fantasyland rides. When we walked into the park Mickey was standing there waiting for someone to get autographs from him, so we went ahead and got him out of the way. We arrived in Tomorrow land and went on Astro Orbiter, Buzz and Star Tours. My DD and Dad went over to Autopia and my Mom and I went and got fast passes for Indiana Jones. After we met back up we headed over to BTMR and waited in line to ride. It was time for Indiana Jones fast passes, so we went ahead and got BTMR fast passes for later. We decided to go ahead and use the Indiana fast passes. After riding Indiana we headed over to get Splash Mountain fast passes. We had reservations for Goofys Kitchen at 10:30, so we decided to ride the monorail over to Goofys.
Goofys Kitchen was a lot of fun. The following characters were present: Goofy, Donald Duck, Max, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Mad Hatter, and Belle (in blue dress). After lunch we went back to Disneyland and used our fast passes, and did Tom Sawyers Island. We then returned to the hotel and swam for most of the day. We decided not to go back to the parks that evening, so we went shopping instead and watched to fireworks for our balcony.
June 30th (toontown morning madness)
We started off in toontown which was really nice. We were able to get all of our pictures and ride the rides in Toontown, before the parade and ceremony. When the ceremony was over we headed over to Minnies so we could get her picture and Signature. We had been lucky earlier in the week and she was the only one that we needed. After we finished with Minnie we headed over to do Buzz again and went over to Innoventions. My dd loves Innoventions so we spent a good 2 hours there. During this time my father got a call that someone at his work had cut off his fingers, so my dad had to go back to the hotel for meetings. We had lunch reservations for Ariels at 1pm, so we went back to the hotel and picked up my father.
Ariels was great, but they kept coming and taking our food away before we were finished. The following princesses were present: Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora.
After lunch we went over and did Bugs land, Aladdin, and Muppets. My dad had to go back to the hotel again because of the person cutting his fingers off, so we stayed and shopped. We headed back to the hotel around six and decided to just hang out in the room. My dd watched the Princess story which was really cute and then we watched the fireworks from the balcony.
July1 (fly home)
This day went a lot smoother and we arrived home on time.
We had a great trip and we were glad we got to spend some time as a family!
Our trip was June 27th thru July 1st. Our party consisted of my dd (8), my parents (early 50s), and myself (33). We stayed in a two bedroom suite (suite with a room connected) at the California Grand.
We had a very frustrating first day (June 27th). We flew in a little airplane into DFW airport and were suppose to leave an hour after our arrival. We ended up not leaving DFW for another two and half hours. Which put us into SNA at 3:50pm instead of 1:11 pm? We finally got our luggage and was on our way by Taxi to the hotel (Taxi cost $36.40 one way) at 4:20 pm. We arrived a little before 5pm at the hotel. We went to check in and was told that our room was not ready and was told to call a number back in about 20 minutes and the room would then be ready. We went ahead and left the hotel and went over to build a bear and got that out of the way. 20 minutes later we call and the room is still not ready, 30 minutes later room is still not ready. Finally 40 minutes later we are told that the connecting room was ready, but not the suite. We went ahead and went up to the connecting room (4449) and decided to open up the suite (4451) to see what was going on. Guess what the suite was ready, but the room did not get cleared. A manager came up and said that we could go ahead into both rooms.
The rooms were both gorgeous. Our room was over the Disney store by the bakery. We were the farthest away from the elevator, but there was an exit right outside of the room that came out between to the Disney store and bakery (you can not reenter the hotel here). We had a huge balcony where we could see Space Mountain, Sorin, and perfect view of the fireworks. The room was very noisy, because of the music and everyone in downtown Disney, so we asked for fans and this helped block the noise.
After settling in my father decided that he needed a sit down dinner, so we went down to Storyteller Café. We finished dinner and waited forever for our check, so my daughter and I headed over to Sorin while my parents paid. The wait was 40 minutes, but it was worth it. After Sorin we headed over to Disneyland and got in line for Pirates. What a mess this was. Nobody could tell wear the actual line was and CMs were yelling at everyone. We were getting ready to say forget it when a CM came up and put her arm on my shoulder and started yelling that I was the line and everyone needed to get behind me. We waited in line for 30 minutes. My father asked if he and my daughter could sit in the front and was told it was not a problem at all. We loved the ride and were glad we waited the line out. After Pirates we headed over to Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. We decided to head back to the Hotel, because we were all tired after Winnie the Pooh.
June 28th
This day went a lot smoother. We did not arrive at the gates until 8:10, but we decided to go ahead and go over to Fantasyland. Fantasyland was dead! We only waited 10 minutes for Peter Pan and 7 minutes for Dumbo. We rode every ride in Fantasyland (including the Matterhorn and Small World) by 9:20. It was crazy everything was walk on or we just waited for the next turn. After Fantasyland we decided to ride the train so we could see the Dinosaurs. We got off at Main Street and walked over to the Tikki room. We had just missed getting in, so we had to wait awhile for the show. We went ahead and did some shopping on Main Street and headed over to California Adventures. We grabbed fast passes at Sorin and then my Father needed a restroom break. While waiting for him so guy came up to us and asked us if we wanted fast passes for Sorin. His parents had chickened out, so he was trying to find someone that could use them. We went ahead and used them and then headed over to get Grizzly River Run fast passes. We went back to the hotel and eat at White Water Snacks. We got back to the hotel room by 12:30. I could not believe we did so much in such a short amount of time.
We went back to DCA at 3pm and rode Sorin, and the Monster Inc. ride. My DD chickened out on Grizzly River Run, so my father and I went twice while my mother took DD on the Trail. We again went back to the hotel and went swimming while our clothes dried.
That evening we had tickets for the Fantasmic River Side seats. When we arrived at the park at 7 pm I noticed that the man who you check in was already at his station getting ready to check people in. I went ahead and walked over and asked what time we could check in. He said I could go ahead and check in. As of June 28th they have changed how they do the seating arrangements. When you check in you do not all have to be there. You just need everyones tickets. You then look at a seating chart and tell them which seats you want. They put the seat number on the back of your ticket and it is now your permanent seat. You do not have to come back at a certain time or anything like that. You can show up at 9:10 and you will still have the same seat.
While waiting for F! We went ahead and rode Pirates again with a 15 minute wait, Haunted Mansion, and my dd and dad went up in Tarzans tree house. After the fireworks we went back to the hotel and went to bed.
June 29th (early entry)
We did not get to the park until 7:45, but we did not care, because we already rode all of the Fantasyland rides. When we walked into the park Mickey was standing there waiting for someone to get autographs from him, so we went ahead and got him out of the way. We arrived in Tomorrow land and went on Astro Orbiter, Buzz and Star Tours. My DD and Dad went over to Autopia and my Mom and I went and got fast passes for Indiana Jones. After we met back up we headed over to BTMR and waited in line to ride. It was time for Indiana Jones fast passes, so we went ahead and got BTMR fast passes for later. We decided to go ahead and use the Indiana fast passes. After riding Indiana we headed over to get Splash Mountain fast passes. We had reservations for Goofys Kitchen at 10:30, so we decided to ride the monorail over to Goofys.
Goofys Kitchen was a lot of fun. The following characters were present: Goofy, Donald Duck, Max, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Mad Hatter, and Belle (in blue dress). After lunch we went back to Disneyland and used our fast passes, and did Tom Sawyers Island. We then returned to the hotel and swam for most of the day. We decided not to go back to the parks that evening, so we went shopping instead and watched to fireworks for our balcony.
June 30th (toontown morning madness)
We started off in toontown which was really nice. We were able to get all of our pictures and ride the rides in Toontown, before the parade and ceremony. When the ceremony was over we headed over to Minnies so we could get her picture and Signature. We had been lucky earlier in the week and she was the only one that we needed. After we finished with Minnie we headed over to do Buzz again and went over to Innoventions. My dd loves Innoventions so we spent a good 2 hours there. During this time my father got a call that someone at his work had cut off his fingers, so my dad had to go back to the hotel for meetings. We had lunch reservations for Ariels at 1pm, so we went back to the hotel and picked up my father.
Ariels was great, but they kept coming and taking our food away before we were finished. The following princesses were present: Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora.
After lunch we went over and did Bugs land, Aladdin, and Muppets. My dad had to go back to the hotel again because of the person cutting his fingers off, so we stayed and shopped. We headed back to the hotel around six and decided to just hang out in the room. My dd watched the Princess story which was really cute and then we watched the fireworks from the balcony.
July1 (fly home)
This day went a lot smoother and we arrived home on time.
We had a great trip and we were glad we got to spend some time as a family!
