June 7th- 12th with pictures

[stagemomx3]

Cast of Characters-
Me- first trip back to DL since I was 17, I'm 35
DH- 38 first trip in 30 years
Daisy- 10(thinks she's 14)
Joey- 9
Adam- 8
My aunt
My mom

Day 1 June 7th

I stayed up until midnight doing laundry and last minute packing, then a 4am wake up time! Got the kids up and gave them their start of vacation packages each on had a Cars themed pez, mini Mickey Mouse playing cards, Incredibles watches, and a mini M&Ms cannister with pennies and quarters for the penny press machines.

We had an uneventful flight down to Californina and picked up our rental mini van with no problem. Daisy picked the gold van in the lot which seemed appropriate for the 50th anniversary. We drove to the hotel and checked in, our room wasn't ready yet so we locked the van and headed out to walk to Disneyland. Now my note for future reference is do NOT attempt to visit Disneyland on your travel day. We should have taken the day to settle in and relax! By the time we actually got into the park it was just before 1pm and everyone was very hungry! We walked down Main Street and spotted Mary Poppins, she was heading the other direction though. We wandered through Fantasyland, stopping first to get a picture in front of the Castle.

We saw the Evil Queen from Snow White in the Villians Lair, and we bought the kids their autograph books from the cart right next to it. They didn't want to stand in line to see the Queen though, we were all to hungry. Fantasyland was packed so we opted not to eat there and headed across the way to Adventure Land. We went to the Bengal BBQ which had a HUGE line, but was the only place inside AL to eat, I grabbed fast passes for Indian Jones while everyone else got the food.

We were all feeling overwhelmed by things, and several in our group were slightly car/airplane sick. Joey started crying because his stomache hurt! He seemed to perk up a bit after eating some of a pretzels so we went on the Jungle Cruise for the kids very first Disneyland ride. The kids loved it, I thought our tour kid was a bit lame, since he mumbled a lot. Then it was onto Tarzan's Tree House which is really quite cool. The exploring area at the bottom was fun for the kids. The Tikki Room was next, and I can see why that would be popular on a hot day. We had to take Joey out, well actually my mom and aunt did, right before the end because he said he was going to throw up. Which he did, luckily he made it to the bathroom. After the show we all tried the Dole Whips because I had heard they were wonderful. We all enjoyed them, but didn't think we would need to eat them again. Joey said he was feeling better so we headed over to Indian Jones with our FP and went on that. None of us knew what to expect from the ride, and we were all feeling slightly ill after the being tossed about so much!

We then took the raft over to Tom Sawyer's island and the kids explored for awhile, I wish we had been feeling better as I don't think the kids really got to explore the island enough.

Next we got in the very short line for Haunted Manshion, again Joey felt sick, so DH took him out of line to find a bathroom. The rest of us went on HM, Adam was a little scared, but he did well sitting between me and his sister. I was on the lookout for the new bride portraits in the attic, which really go by very fast!

After that we met up again with DH and Joey and decided to head back to the hotel and check in since no one was feeling that terrific. On the walk out we saw Woody and he signed the kids autograph books.

We got check in and everyone rested, my aunt took the kids to the pool area where they swam and went in the hot tub. We went to DTD for dinner and ate at ESPNzone. They gave a wait time of 45 minutes so we bought some game cards and the kids and DH played games while my mom, aunt and I just chilled upstairs. It was about a 30 minute wait and then we were seated for dinner. The food was good, the portion huge, and our desserts were awesome! After dinner we went back to the hotel and called it a night since we had 7am PS at Chip and Dale Storytellars Breakfast.

 

[stagemomx3]

Day 2 June 8th

Thursday started with a 5:45 wake up so that we could make our 7am reservations for Chip & Dale Critter Breakfast at Storytellar's Cafe. We did not need reservations the place was almost empty! The food was good, but the character interaction was a little disappointing. There was only ever one character out at a time. There was Brother Bear, Chip, Dale, Meeko, and Kenai. Brother Bear and Kenai couldn't sign the kids books, but both Chip and Dale were very cute with their anticts.

Then it was off to Universal Studios for the day. The crowds here were very light, we walked on to almost everything, or had very little wait time. The Jurassic Park water ride was the favorite for all of us, well that and the Studio Tour. Once again the longest line we stood in was for food at lunch time. We made the last show of Waterworld which was an AMAZING stunt show. When the park closed at 6pm we head out to the city walk.

We decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. When we went in they said it would be at least an hour wait, but it was less then 20 minutes later when we were seated. The food was pretty bad, and none of the kids ate very much of their meals. We did all pick up Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts though.

We then drove into Hollywood and walked up the red carpet set up for the Cars premier.

We were rather shocked to see Sally, Lightening McQueen and Mater out in front of El Capitan. Of course we took the kids pictures in front of the cars.

Then it was into the Disney Soda shop for dessert and some souvenier shopping before the midnight showing of Cars.

Across the street some award show was going on, and there were lots of limos lined up. We had fun standing behind the barriers and people watching across the street. We didn't see anyone famous, but it was a fun atmosphere to be in! We went into the El Capitan and got press type badges with Lightening pictured on them.

We had VIP balconey seating which ment we had our own refreshment center with complimentary popcorn and soda. The popcorn came in plastic tubs that had the cars characters on them, and lids and handles. There was a stand up comic performing, and a live band playing before the movie started. It really was a not to be forgotten experience, even if we all were having a hard time staying awake through the whole movie.

After the movie we headed back to the hotel and bed knowing that Friday was our "rest & recover" day!

 

[stagemomx3]

Day 3 June 9th

Friday was our Rest & Recovery day, we all slept in after our late night in Hollywood. After everyone was up and dressed we went to explore Downtown Disney.

DH, Joey, Adam, and my Aunt hit the Lego Store, while Daisy, my mom, and I headed over to Libby Lu we made an appointment for Daisy to come back later and get her second holes in her ears. Then back to meet up with the others. The boys had each gotten something at the Lego Store so my aunt let Daisy go to Build-a-Bear where she made a bunny in a Tinkebelle outfit named Stella, very cute. While we were doing that the boys and DH went to ESPNzone game room. We met up with them there and the kids all played games for a long time, and then we got pretzels and while Daisy got her ears pierced again.

Back to the hotel to rest for awhile, I was really surprised that the kids didn't ask to go swimming or in the hot tub, but they were content to play with their new legos and stuff. Then we got ready and drove to the Medievel Times Dinner Show.

This was so cool! We had bought the royalty tickets so we were in the front row for the Yellow Knight. He won all of his games and after the first one, gave his first flower to Daisy, she was thrilled and even managed to bring it home. We all loved the show, the horses were beautiful and the story really kept everyone "into" all the fighting. It was so much fun to cheer for our knight during the evening.

It was another late night since we had gone to the 8:45 dinner show, but we set our alarms so that we could get up for EE at Disneyland on Saturday!

 

[stagemomx3]

Day 4 June 10th

We used our Early Entry day and were inside Disneyland at 7am! We headed straight for Fantasyland and walked onto Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Matterhorn, Teacups(twice)

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pinnochio, Snow White, Matterhorn again, and Small World. We then headed over to Autopia and had a less than 10 minute wait to drive the cars. The kids then got their photos taken at the little booth and put them on their drivers license.

We headed out of Tomorrow Land and spotted Gippetto near Mainstreet and he signed the kids books. A stop at Blue Ribbon Bakery for snacks was next and we sat on the curb on Mainstreet enjoying them for a short while. Then it was off to California Adventure.

We got to CA at around 9:45 and they had opened the gates, so we headed over to the rope at the Hollywood Backlot street. Pluto was there and the kids got his autograph, he signed Daisy's upsidedown.

We were first through the rope drop and the two CMs lead us all the way through and onto the first car of Monster's Inc. GREAT ride! I loved when the door opened and the Abominable Snowman offers you snowcones and you can smell the lemons! Then it was on to Tower of Terror! We had a less than 10 minute wait here, and the ride was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. I don't think I need to go on it again though! The CM loading us asked if Daisy was a seventh grader, since she was doing the "my family stinks and I wish I was here by myself" routine. I said no she's just a fourth grader with advanced attitude! She did like TOT though she would barely admit it!

Next we went into the Animation building, Abbey from Chicken Little was in there taking pictures and signing autographs. The place was practically empty. The next Animation Academy was coming up, so DH and I headed over to get fast passes for Soarin and Grizzly River Run, while the kids, my mom and aunt did the Academy, they drew Mickey Mouse and they turned out great! Chicken Little was now inside Animation so the kids got his autograph. Then we walked over and right into Muppets 3D, cute show!

Soarin was next and what a terrific ride! I loved it, Daisy almost wouldn't go on it, but we talked her into it, this would be an all to frequent battle! Then it was Grizzle River Run, and the Redwood Challenge Trail.

We were all hungry so we at lunch at Taste Pilot's Grill, again the longest lines of the day were for food! The food was ok, and the little box the kid's lunches came in were cute. After lunch we headed back to Hollywood and got in line for the Aladdin show.

We had about a 15 minute wait and we got great seats, mostly because no one else was walking around the back to sit in the middle section on the other side, they were all filing into the side section. Once I walked my family around others followed and the far side of the middle section filled quickly after that. The Aladdin show was fabulous!!! I'm so glad we did not miss it. The theater is really beautiful too!

After the show we saw Cinderella, Mulan, and Hercules wandering the Hollywood street. The kids got Hercules' autograph.

We decided to head over to Paradise Pier, we got fast passes for California Screamin and had a snack of churros while we watched the ride take off. The kids rode King Triton's Carousel, and then we just sat by the fountain and rested until our Fast Pass time came up. Only Joey, DH, and my aunt opted to ride screamin, so my mom and I stayed by the fountain and Daisy and Adam rode the carousel, there was no line so the CM was just letting the kids stay on as long as they wanted. Joey loved Screamin, and he and my aunt rode it a second time while we waited for them.

We then grabbed more churros and headed up to grab spots for Block Party Bash that was starting in 20 minutes. We got great spots, with benches in the shade and spaces on the ground at the parade route for me and the kids. The kids got pulled in to help start of the parade with the Green Men, though Daisy opted not to.

The parade was fantastic, those performers sure work hard, they were sweating up a storm. The kids all ended up with balls at the end which was a neat keepsake to bring home.

We walked back over to the Redwood Challenge Trail and the kids enjoyed playing in there. Then it was Grizzly River Run, Daisy chose not to join us on this ride, she did wave happily from up above at us though. After GRR, we headed over to Bugs Land, very little kidish! The kids did go on the bumper cars, but we didn't hang out here long. We went back to Hollywood Backlot and Monster's Inc. again, then grabbed hot dogs Award Weiners. Daisy wanted to do the Animation Academy again, so she my aunt, mom and DH went and did that and Joey and Adam and I went and rode Monster's Inc. There was absolutey no lines in CA this day!

Then the boys and I headed over to grab spots for the Electrical Parade, we got great ones, and with less than 30 minutes before the parade! The rest of them joined us, they had drawn Tigger this time. The parade started and it was just as magical as I remembered! My favorite is Pete and Elliott from Pete's Dragon. My kids had no idea who they were, but I love that dragon!

After the parade we followed the herd out of California Adventure and saw some of the fireworks going off in Disneyland while we waited for our shuttle. We opted to head back to the hotel and bed rather than return to Disneyland for the last two hours it was opened, this way we decided we could be up bright and early to open Disneyland on Sunday!

 

[stagemomx3]

Day 5 June 11th

We started off the day early again, grabbed some breakfast at the hotel and took the shuttle over to Disneyland, we got in line about 7:40am and there were just a few people ahead of us. We went in, took a picture of the kids in front of the marching band and flowers and Mickey statue. We walked down Main Street, the double decker bus was loading and Adam wanted to ride so we climbed on board while we were sitting the top section waiting to leave we saw Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald come out and play around in the courtyard. We rode in the top section over to the entrance to Fantasyland and Tomorrow Land.

We spotted Aurora and Cinderella walking near the castle and we headed into Tomorrow Land. We wanted to ride Buzz since we hadn't yet. Buzz wasn't open yet though so we went to Space Mountain. Only DH, Joey and I went on the other four spent their time in the souvenier shop, Adam picked out a Goofy swearshirt, and Daisy got a Tinkerbell one, we would spend the rest of the trip trying to find Joey a child sizes pirates sweatshirt! We all did some shopping, then headed over for the opening of Toontown, there was not more than a handle full of people who went in at the opening.

Toontown looks great! We wandered over to Minnie's House she was in the doorway and the kids got her signature in their books, then it was Mickey's House, he also was right on his front porch and the kids got his autograph as well.

We walked slowly through his house, but I'm sure we missed a lot in both of those houses. We then walked onto Roger Rabbit and rode it, not a bad ride, but none of the kids wanted to ride it again. There was almost no one in this area, and the kids just ran around looking at everything. The places over by Roger Rabbit that you could hit a button and here noises or voices was great! I loved Donald's boat, and we took Daisy's picture in front of Daisy's Diner. The only disappointment was that none of the food stands were open while we were there. The kids went in Chip and Dale's treehouse, and Joey rode Gadget's Go Coaster. We then saw Goofy and he signed the kids books, Adam was thrilled because Goofy was a leftie like him. Then it was off to Frontier Land.

Big Thunder Mountain is one of my all time favorite rides and we were going to grab fast passes, but there was only a 10 minute wait, so Joey, my mom, my aunt, and I jumped in line and DH, Daisy and Adam walked over and grabbed us fast passes for Splash Mountain. They also walked onto Winnie the Pooh. I told DH where to look for the surprise on the wall in the ride, but he didn't see it. We met up again and got some fries(McDonald's) at a snack counter and hopped on the train at the New Orleans station. The train ride was great I had forgotten about the dinosaurs scenes, and I didn't know you got to see inside Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain was next with our fast passes, Daisy refused to go, so she sat and watched the backpack for us. I LOVE SM, it is my new favorite ride!!! We grabbed another fp for it, and headed over to the canoes. I can see how just like Jungle Ride, your experience on the canoes is totally depended on the CM who is guiding you. We had a lot of kids in our canoe and rowing was definetly difficult! After the canoes we all went on Winnie the Pooh which was definetly our families favorite dark ride, and I pointed out the animal heads mounted on the wall in the honey room. We then did SM again, well not Daisy! Joey and I both got SOAKED this time! It was definetly time for some lunch so we ate at the Hungry Bear, this was my favorite place to eat our whole trip. It had the most helpful and fastest lines, and the most relaxing atmosphere to eat in. After lunch we rode on the Mark Twain which was fun and very relaxing!

Next we walked through Fantasyland, the only crowded place in the park, and back into Tomorrow Land we grabbed fast passes for Buzz Lightyear and went into Star Tours, this ride is very dated! After Star Tours we got popcorn and grabbed spots for the Parade of Dreams.

While we were sitting there we saw the Queen of Hearts, Gipetto ran up behind her and flipped up her skirt Then Captain Hook went by, followed by Peter Pan and Wendy. Also Alice and the Mad Hatter, and then Eeyore all went by. The Parade of Dreams is fabulous! The floats that stopped in front of us were Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. The bird girls on the ropes were just jaw dropping fantastic! I'm so glad we got to see that.

After the parade we rode Buzz with our fast passes, fun ride, but Adam's gun didn't work the whole time. I should have said something, but it really wasn't crowded and I knew we would ride it again. On the way out we grabbed more fast passes for the ride and then went on Autopia and practically walked on, the wait was less than 10 minutes. We really were fortunate in having very lite crowds and almost no lines for rides. We went in Innoventions next, pretty boring for me, the kids liked it some, and I can see how on a really hot day it might be a good place to hang out for awhile.

It was time for Buzz again, and this time everyones guns worked! We then grabbed churros, and got to see the Trashcan Trio perform right in front of us as we waited in line. After getting the snacks we walked back through Fantasyland, still packed, no one was in the Villian's lair either time we went through, and crossed into Frontierland. The four of us rode BTM again, while the other three once again grabbed fast passes for Splash Mountain, if I had known how empty Critter Country was going to be later, we would have grabbed fast passes for Indian Jones, but you live and learn.

We walked over to Adventurland, my least favorite area, it's to dark for me! The kids went in Tarzan's Tree House, and then we all ate dinner at River Belle Terrace. The CM looked at me funny when I ordered to Mickey PB&Js one with just jelly and one with just peanut butter. I had the chowder in the sourdough bowl and it was pretty good. We ate at a very nice spot on the terrace and enjoyed the people watching.

The kids wanted to ride the Jungle Cruise again, so we did, we had a little better CM this time. We were still on the lookout for a pirate swearshirt, but no luck so far. Then we made the trek back through Frontierland, going on BTM again, this time DH went with and my aunt sat with Daisy and Adam. Then into Fantasyland, Parade of Dreams was still going on so the Teacups were empty, Daisy had been asking about going on them again all day, so the kids went on the Teacups twice. The parade let out and Storybook Cruise opened up, we got in line for that, it was the only long line we stood in the whole trip, we waited about 20 minutes, but we had a nice chat with a friendly CM almost the whole time. We ended up with the gold Tinkerbelle boat, which the CM loading us told us was the fastest. Adam got invited to sit up on top with the CM and be the co-captain, he was absolutely thrilled!

We then headed back over to Critter Country since we had those fast passes for SM and I wanted us to get over there before the first showing of Fantasmic started. Critter Country was empty, we rode Winnie the Pooh twice in a row, while my aunt went and bought us ponchos for SM, since it was dark out none of us wanted to get wet! Then Adam and Daisy waited while the rest of us rode SM, we didn't even use our fast passes we just walked on. After that ride through my mom and aunt went with Adam and Daisy on WtP while DH, Joey and I rode SM again. We walked onto it twice more, we just loved that ride! Daisy and Adam also enjoyed getting to go on WtP all by themselves!

Then it was time to head over to Fantasmic dessert buffet, now I did not know we could have check in earlier, so we did not end up with very good seats. In fact for the price I don't think I could reccomend the dessert buffet to people. It was nice having a chair, and not having to spend the time saving a spot, but we really could have just hung out in CC like we did and then followed the crowds that were leaving and grabbed a spot for the second show. The chocolate covered strawberries were fabulous though. I thought Fantasmic was good, but I really didn't get what all the hype was about, it was not something I would necessarily take the time to see again.

We wandered out through Frontierland and did some shopping. The kids did the shooting gallery and we just enjoyed the atmosphere on our last night in Disneyland, it was midnight by now, and we had amazingly opened and closed Disneyland, it sure didn't feel like we had spent 16 hours in the park, but we had!

 

[stagemomx3]

Day 6 June 12th

Our "go home" day. We at breakfast outside on the veranda nad enjoyed out last morning in California. We then packed up and checked out heading for Downtown Disney.

Once we got to DTD my aunt and I hit the bookstore for lattes (why is there no Starbucks in DTD?) and the boys and DH headed for the Disney Store. Daisy and I then went to Libby Lu so that she could do her final shopping there. She made a perfume potion, a lip gloss, picked out a new purse and got some earrings. We then joined everyone else in the Disney Store. I picked out "I survived the Tower of Terror" t-shirts for all the kids. The boys spent their money, Adam insisted on getting the huge "mickey hands" no one could talk him out of it, and a small stuffed Mickey. Joey got an assortment of little things including a baseball, and a water gun of some sort.

We then all got snacks at Wetzels Pretzels- YUM! and said Goodbye to Disney.

The flight home was uneventful, well except for right after we landed Adam thought he had left his stuffed Mickey and Woody Woodpecker at the LAX airport so he was really sad. I remembered after we got home that I had stuck them into the outside pocket of his carry on suitcase, so they were saved.

The kids then all wore their "I survived TOT" t-shirts to school the next day.

 

[SpectroBelle]

Great report! We were in DCA on the same day and saw that Hercules. He did a great job posing with the kids for pictures. We actually saw a ton of characters that day.

LOL Why is there no Starbucks in DTD?????? I needed that too!!

 

[stagemomx3]

I loved that Hercules I thought he was fabulous with all the kids, plus he sure was a cutie!

 

[mystic_path]

OH WOW! OK I hope that exact Hercules character is there when I go... WOOOO!!!!! He's cute! Id tell him I need to be rescued.


Fantastic report. It sounds like you had a blast! Thanks for posting. It really gives other people ideas as to what to expect when going to DL.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reports ~ Thanx for sharing.

Outstanding piccies.

 

[disneycutie84]

Loved your trip report! The pictures were great and I'm glad you and your family had so much fun!

 

[Baloo2003]

Great report! We were in DCA on the same day and saw that Hercules. He did a great job posing with the kids for pictures. We actually saw a ton of characters that day.

LOL Why is there no Starbucks in DTD?????? I needed that too!!

We were at DCA the sameday too and saw that Hercules. I needed a Stabuck's frapaccino (sp) several times during our stay...Jun 8-12. I tried on Main Street to describe a frozen coffe...frappacino....they just didn't get it. They kept calling it blended which was the frozen slushy consistnecy, but it was just coffe and needed sweetener bad. I got the caffeine with none of the flavor I was hoping for. I saw a girl with one similar but it had caramel in it. She said hers was sweet. They should at least try for fair immitations since they are so popular.

WDW does offer frozen coffee drinks which work pretty well. I found them mostly in EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.

 

[SpectroBelle]

We were at DCA the sameday too and saw that Hercules. I needed a Stabuck's frapaccino (sp) several times during our stay...Jun 8-12. I tried on Main Street to describe a frozen coffe...frappacino....they just didn't get it. They kept calling it blended which was the frozen slushy consistnecy, but it was just coffe and needed sweetener bad. I got the caffeine with none of the flavor I was hoping for. I saw a girl with one similar but it had caramel in it. She said hers was sweet. They should at least try for fair immitations since they are so popular.

WDW does offer frozen coffee drinks which work pretty well. I found them mostly in EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.

LOL I was having major frappucino cravings too! There is a slushy shop in DCA in the Hollywood Backlot area that had a mocha latte smoothie. I was so excited.............but it tasted exactly like chocolate milk! Couldn't taste the coffee at all. It was good but it wasn't a frap.