So we just got back from 3 day at Disneyland. So I thought I would do a quick trip report.
Sorry no pictures
i know, i know
Day 1:
This was a last min trip we planed since we have always wanted to see DL during Halloween time. It was going to be DW, DD8, DD5, DD2, and myself. We decided not to pay for a Saturday night stay and just drive down early in the morning. So we left our house at 11pm Sat night for our 6hr drive. I-5 from Sacramento to LA at night is the best way to do drive. There was no one on the road and we made GREAT time. The wife and kids sleep the entire trip without waking up once, not even when we stopped for gas at Pilots off Lost Hill exit. We started to hit rain going over the grapevine and thought that was odd since we have been checking the weather every other day leading up to our trip and all 3 days showed clear and sunny. We arrived at our hotel the Anaheim Plaza at 5am and got our parking pass and see when we could check in. Check in was at three so we would come back later in the day. I also asked the desk clerk what the weather was going to be like. He said last he checked sunny but would look it up. Sure enough now the next three days showed rain. I woke up my wife who then asked me if we made it to lost hills yet???? “no dear we are at the hotel already” “shut up” she says. After seeing the Buss and Drop off entrance she believed me. I then told her we had a problem. “It might rain all three days”. “GREAT we didn’t pack any jackets, sweatshirts, paints, or rain gear for us or the kids”. So it was off to wal-mart. $130.00 later and we where set for the park in the rain. It was now 6am and the park didn’t opened till 9am that Sunday due to a CHOC Walk event so we still had an hour to sleep. The kids still have not waked up nor have any idea we are at DL. It was going to be a surprise for the kids. We told them we will be waking them up late at night to drive to meet someone. To our surprise then didn’t even ask who we are going to meet. So once again the wife and kids are all sleeping and me, I’m wide awake and shaking due to the 2 energy drinks, and a 5 hr energy shot I took to stay awake all night. 7am could not come fast enough for me, but was finally here. I woke DW up first and had her get dressed and then we would wake the kids up. We still didn’t know how we were going to tell them we are at DL but I decided since we were right across the street from the old parking lot entrance that we would line them up out side and have them look at the DL sign. A few seconds go bye and all I get was a “oh look it’s Disneyland” from my DD5… no excitement, no jumping up and down, nothing. Then my DD8 says can we go there after we meet this person? So I said laughing we are here to see MICKEY. That worked now the kids were all excided and realized they were going to get to go to DL. We then walked up to Denny’s for breakfast. At 8am we headed over to the park. We still needed to get our tickets from the ticket booth since we ordered our tickets from GAT. They had no problem finding them and we were inline 50min before the park opened. This year was going to be the first time we have ever got a Guest Assistance Card for my DD8 who has Aspergers. So that was our first stop, City Hall. After we got our GAC we headed to Fantasy land.
We completed all the rides in FL by 10:30 and only used the GAC card once for Peter Pan. By 11am the park was getting busy and all morning it was misting but no rain. We then hit IASW and headed over to Frontier Land for BTMRR. The wait time was about 30min, we still didn’t feel comfortable using our GAC but after waiting in this line it was apparent we need to. My DD8 was already starting to have problems and just wasn’t going to last if we had to do it over and over again. We then went on POTC, HMH, Pooh, Indy, and JC. It was 2:00 and we completed over 13 rides, 10 without the GAC. It was a great start but the crowd’s just keep getting bigger. We headed back to the hotel round 2:30 to see if we can check in, nap, and eat an early dinner. We got our room, unpacked and I NEEDED a nap since it has been over 30hrs since I last sleep. We told the kids they needed to nap because it was going to be a late night and if they wanted to stay in the part late they needed a nap. The only ones who sleep were DW, DD2, and Me. We sleep a good 2 hrs and got up to make dinner. We brought a lot of food since we didn’t want to eat in the parks, which is easier said then done, but we did do good about it.
After dinner it was just after 6pm so we headed back into DL to hit Tomorrow Land since we didn’t ride any rides in this area. We completed them all by 8pm. Before finding a spot for the Fireworks we went back to Fantasy Land to ride as meny rides as possible till 8:45. We got 5 more rides in and then went too staked out a spot for the Fireworks show that started at 9:30. The fireworks were RDCT and they were awesome as always. Right after the fireworks we quickly headed over to find a spot for Fantasmic. We found a realy good spot on the rail behind the handicap parking section, and the wait wasn’t that long. But by this point the two older girls who didn’t nap were falling asleep. I told them if they can stay awake we would ride more rinds and leave around 12am. Well they fell asleep on the ground during the show, so I guess we are done for the night. We headed back to the hotel, which when holding a big 5 year old, makes the walk a lot longer. DD8 complained that she had to walk and not be carried. I told her she should have napped and all would have been fine.” I will tomorrow I promise” “that’s nice but the parks close early the next 2 days and we are not taking nap breaks.” So that was the end of the first day, and it was a great start to a great vacation.
Day 1 thoughts:
Space Mnt. was awesome but I was expecting Ghost Galaxy to be more scary…Even my two older DD’s didn’t find it scary. HMH was very cool but we have still yet to see its non holiday overlay. Crowds were big, but we expected that. Just as busy as a weekend during xmas time IMO. GAC, so glad we got it. If you are like us and need one but are afraid to ask for it, please do it will make your trip so much better. And cast members are great about it. Disappointed in the decorations, thought there would be a lot more then there were. I guess if you want the Halloween spirit you need to buy and go to MHP. DL in the light rain/mist/cold, very fun and IMO better then it being hot. Fantasmic, Not as good without Murphy, but still good. Completed 22 rides and watched 3 shows (tiki room is a show not a ride). This was the 1st time watching the tiki room show and might be the last. The show was OK but killed my neck to look up the whole time and I just didn’t get the excitement of the show. And yes I had a dole whip.
Day 2 next.
Sorry no pictures
i know, i knowDay 1:
This was a last min trip we planed since we have always wanted to see DL during Halloween time. It was going to be DW, DD8, DD5, DD2, and myself. We decided not to pay for a Saturday night stay and just drive down early in the morning. So we left our house at 11pm Sat night for our 6hr drive. I-5 from Sacramento to LA at night is the best way to do drive. There was no one on the road and we made GREAT time. The wife and kids sleep the entire trip without waking up once, not even when we stopped for gas at Pilots off Lost Hill exit. We started to hit rain going over the grapevine and thought that was odd since we have been checking the weather every other day leading up to our trip and all 3 days showed clear and sunny. We arrived at our hotel the Anaheim Plaza at 5am and got our parking pass and see when we could check in. Check in was at three so we would come back later in the day. I also asked the desk clerk what the weather was going to be like. He said last he checked sunny but would look it up. Sure enough now the next three days showed rain. I woke up my wife who then asked me if we made it to lost hills yet???? “no dear we are at the hotel already” “shut up” she says. After seeing the Buss and Drop off entrance she believed me. I then told her we had a problem. “It might rain all three days”. “GREAT we didn’t pack any jackets, sweatshirts, paints, or rain gear for us or the kids”. So it was off to wal-mart. $130.00 later and we where set for the park in the rain. It was now 6am and the park didn’t opened till 9am that Sunday due to a CHOC Walk event so we still had an hour to sleep. The kids still have not waked up nor have any idea we are at DL. It was going to be a surprise for the kids. We told them we will be waking them up late at night to drive to meet someone. To our surprise then didn’t even ask who we are going to meet. So once again the wife and kids are all sleeping and me, I’m wide awake and shaking due to the 2 energy drinks, and a 5 hr energy shot I took to stay awake all night. 7am could not come fast enough for me, but was finally here. I woke DW up first and had her get dressed and then we would wake the kids up. We still didn’t know how we were going to tell them we are at DL but I decided since we were right across the street from the old parking lot entrance that we would line them up out side and have them look at the DL sign. A few seconds go bye and all I get was a “oh look it’s Disneyland” from my DD5… no excitement, no jumping up and down, nothing. Then my DD8 says can we go there after we meet this person? So I said laughing we are here to see MICKEY. That worked now the kids were all excided and realized they were going to get to go to DL. We then walked up to Denny’s for breakfast. At 8am we headed over to the park. We still needed to get our tickets from the ticket booth since we ordered our tickets from GAT. They had no problem finding them and we were inline 50min before the park opened. This year was going to be the first time we have ever got a Guest Assistance Card for my DD8 who has Aspergers. So that was our first stop, City Hall. After we got our GAC we headed to Fantasy land.
We completed all the rides in FL by 10:30 and only used the GAC card once for Peter Pan. By 11am the park was getting busy and all morning it was misting but no rain. We then hit IASW and headed over to Frontier Land for BTMRR. The wait time was about 30min, we still didn’t feel comfortable using our GAC but after waiting in this line it was apparent we need to. My DD8 was already starting to have problems and just wasn’t going to last if we had to do it over and over again. We then went on POTC, HMH, Pooh, Indy, and JC. It was 2:00 and we completed over 13 rides, 10 without the GAC. It was a great start but the crowd’s just keep getting bigger. We headed back to the hotel round 2:30 to see if we can check in, nap, and eat an early dinner. We got our room, unpacked and I NEEDED a nap since it has been over 30hrs since I last sleep. We told the kids they needed to nap because it was going to be a late night and if they wanted to stay in the part late they needed a nap. The only ones who sleep were DW, DD2, and Me. We sleep a good 2 hrs and got up to make dinner. We brought a lot of food since we didn’t want to eat in the parks, which is easier said then done, but we did do good about it.
After dinner it was just after 6pm so we headed back into DL to hit Tomorrow Land since we didn’t ride any rides in this area. We completed them all by 8pm. Before finding a spot for the Fireworks we went back to Fantasy Land to ride as meny rides as possible till 8:45. We got 5 more rides in and then went too staked out a spot for the Fireworks show that started at 9:30. The fireworks were RDCT and they were awesome as always. Right after the fireworks we quickly headed over to find a spot for Fantasmic. We found a realy good spot on the rail behind the handicap parking section, and the wait wasn’t that long. But by this point the two older girls who didn’t nap were falling asleep. I told them if they can stay awake we would ride more rinds and leave around 12am. Well they fell asleep on the ground during the show, so I guess we are done for the night. We headed back to the hotel, which when holding a big 5 year old, makes the walk a lot longer. DD8 complained that she had to walk and not be carried. I told her she should have napped and all would have been fine.” I will tomorrow I promise” “that’s nice but the parks close early the next 2 days and we are not taking nap breaks.” So that was the end of the first day, and it was a great start to a great vacation.
Day 1 thoughts:
Space Mnt. was awesome but I was expecting Ghost Galaxy to be more scary…Even my two older DD’s didn’t find it scary. HMH was very cool but we have still yet to see its non holiday overlay. Crowds were big, but we expected that. Just as busy as a weekend during xmas time IMO. GAC, so glad we got it. If you are like us and need one but are afraid to ask for it, please do it will make your trip so much better. And cast members are great about it. Disappointed in the decorations, thought there would be a lot more then there were. I guess if you want the Halloween spirit you need to buy and go to MHP. DL in the light rain/mist/cold, very fun and IMO better then it being hot. Fantasmic, Not as good without Murphy, but still good. Completed 22 rides and watched 3 shows (tiki room is a show not a ride). This was the 1st time watching the tiki room show and might be the last. The show was OK but killed my neck to look up the whole time and I just didn’t get the excitement of the show. And yes I had a dole whip.
Day 2 next.
