Life’s too short...to never sleep in a treehouse! 8/27 TR is up! Link in siggie

[mickeysmyboy]

Knott's Berry Farm looks like so much fun! I'm glad you had such a good day! That wooden rollercoaster looks awesome!!!

 

[MEK]

Personally, I think I would prefer the Silver Bullet over the Xcellerator! I love those loops, especially in the front seat!

 

[Angies1274]

Great updates!! I loved looking at all your pictures at Knott's Berry Farm! How wonderful there was no crowds!! It sounds like you had such a fun day!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[eandesmom]

Knott's Berry Farm looks like so much fun! I'm glad you had such a good day! That wooden rollercoaster looks awesome!!!

It was! I think we all decided it was our favorite wooden one so far. Close call between it and the one at Elich's in Denver but..it wins.

It was a really good day.

Personally, I think I would prefer the Silver Bullet over the Xcellerator! I love those loops, especially in the front seat!

Me too! Well maybe not the front seat. I was deliberately ambivalent about it because 1) I didn't care one way or another and 2) I KNEW Evan wouldn't do on it and didn't want him to feel pressured.

I totally get the freak out factor of feet free though, the kids have never done it and it is freaky!

That said, the Hulk is one of my all time fav's and Eric said, just this morning, that he intends to go on it. We will see!

Great updates!! I loved looking at all your pictures at Knott's Berry Farm! How wonderful there was no crowds!! It sounds like you had such a fun day!! Can't wait to read more!

We had an absolute blast! It was a really really good day.

 

[carissanboys]

The name Boomerang for a ride just sounds wrong. Looks like you guys had a fabulous time at Knott's Berry.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi! I'm finally caught up, but had to skip alot of chatter. Sorry I've been MIA - I'm just having trouble keeping up with everyone lately. Your Marina activities and boat excursions look really great! We always head straight to DL or family, except we went to Huntington Beach once on the way in.

Looks like you had a great day at Knott's! Maybe we should give it another chance. When we went, it was August - it was so hot and dirty - we had surly employees with lots of non-service everywhere - my comment was, "have they every BEEN to Disney?" I couldn't believe it was so sub standard. But then, DH and DS and DIL really enjoyed the coasters. My job was to babysit DGS, then 18 mo. - That could be why I had a different experience We loved Peanuts on Ice, the Train Robbers, and DGS loved Snoopy!

I am enjoying your updates and your fun family! Thanks for sharing your life and vacations!

ask and ye shall recieve........

Oh the joys of planning a vacation with the in-laws!
My opinion is stick to what you have planned and let them figure out their "stuff". I know, it's so much easier said than done!

My inner control freak hyperventilates at just the thought of planning a joint trip to disney!

Those smileys are priceless!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Wow that was quite an update.

Had to do an double take on the "root beer" bottles. I'm sure the E's enjoyed that. I know my DS7 would love to have root beer in a beer bottle.

The park looked like it was alot of fun. You guys certainly packed in a bunch for your time there. Lucky the crowds were light and the day looked gorgeous.

Oh and Eeoyre my DS11 who was previously "unsure" of weather or not he should own a yellow t-shirt has now decided he could wear one if it was abercrombie. He was looking over my shoulder. I guess I got off easy. I thought he was going to say he had to go to the park too. A yellow t-shirt (even an abercrombie one) is a much less expensive outcome then a trip to california.

 

[eandesmom]

The name Boomerang for a ride just sounds wrong. Looks like you guys had a fabulous time at Knott's Berry.

yeah it does, doesn't it! It was a good coaster but pretty darn intense!

Hi! I'm finally caught up, but had to skip alot of chatter. Sorry I've been MIA - I'm just having trouble keeping up with everyone lately. Your Marina activities and boat excursions look really great! We always head straight to DL or family, except we went to Huntington Beach once on the way in.

Looks like you had a great day at Knott's! Maybe we should give it another chance. When we went, it was August - it was so hot and dirty - we had surly employees with lots of non-service everywhere - my comment was, "have they every BEEN to Disney?" I couldn't believe it was so sub standard. But then, DH and DS and DIL really enjoyed the coasters. My job was to babysit DGS, then 18 mo. - That could be why I had a different experience We loved Peanuts on Ice, the Train Robbers, and DGS loved Snoopy!

I am enjoying your updates and your fun family! Thanks for sharing your life and vacations!

Those smileys are priceless!

Hi Tammie!

I can relate to having trouble keeping up! I'm behind everywhere I think. I think because it was deserted and we really weren't having a ton of interaction with anyone on the CM side, it made for a nice day. Although the CM's at the Stagecoach were the BOMB! It was the only "real" line we waited in and we had so much fun with the guy in the queue and then the actual drivers, it truly was a highlight of the day.

Hanging out with an 18 month old at Knotts would get old though, really fast! There's nothing to do!

Wow that was quite an update.

Had to do an double take on the "root beer" bottles. I'm sure the E's enjoyed that. I know my DS7 would love to have root beer in a beer bottle.

The park looked like it was alot of fun. You guys certainly packed in a bunch for your time there. Lucky the crowds were light and the day looked gorgeous.

Oh and Eeoyre my DS11 who was previously "unsure" of weather or not he should own a yellow t-shirt has now decided he could wear one if it was abercrombie. He was looking over my shoulder. I guess I got off easy. I thought he was going to say he had to go to the park too. A yellow t-shirt (even an abercrombie one) is a much less expensive outcome then a trip to california.

We actually see root beer in bottles a lot like that out here as there is a lot of old fashioned root beer made by the various microbreweries in the area and it tastes more similar to sarsparilla than not. But it is always fun for them to drink out of!

Everything looks ok if it's abercrombie and you are an 11 year old boy I think. Or at least that's Evan's position. He would have worn that yellow shirt every day of the CA trip if we'd have let him, I shouldn't have packed him anything else!

For his birthday he requested t shirts from there, yellow or green only thank you very much. Cargo shorts, khaki only thank you very much.

He has an official arsenal of yellow and green t's now! Which must go under the requisite plaid shirt, sleeves rolled up super high (which looks uncomfortable, albeit cute). Thankfully Sandie bucked the request and a red one is in the mail as we have to do a double take daily to make sure he's wearing a different one from the day before. I can't complain too much, they are cute. Jeff however refused to buy him the yellow vans he asked for.

Do you have the tween version up there? I'm actually grateful it exists as Ev's in that in between size where the styles he wants don't fit so it's about the only place he will find things he likes that are his size and I can pretty much stick to sale stuff and it's not too bad. He's become a pro at digging through the $13.90 tee shirt table. Plus their stuff is cut on the slim side, which helps a ton.

Both boys seem to have outgrown everything lately and Eric has officially caught up meaning they are the same size, (no more hand me downs!) so it's been more shopping than I would have liked! Just there yesterday getting him a little report card reward. I'll probably regret it as now we will see the same swimsuit on him every day for the entire summer!

Eric is far easier, as long as it's blue, he's good.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great Knotts update!! The wooden rollercoaster looks like a ton of fun!! But I think I'd pass on the one Jeff went on... Alex was looking at the pictures and was very concerned that the riders didn't have anything to hold onto!

Did you get your sunglasses yet? Or did I skim over that somehow?

Also anxious to hear what Sandie decides!

 

[eandesmom]

Great Knotts update!! The wooden rollercoaster looks like a ton of fun!! But I think I'd pass on the one Jeff went on... Alex was looking at the pictures and was very concerned that the riders didn't have anything to hold onto!

Did you get your sunglasses yet? Or did I skim over that somehow?

Also anxious to hear what Sandie decides!

Well you can hold onto your shoulder harness! That's about it. They usually have little handles though, not that it really makes you feel all that much safer.

I did get my glasses and need to post a review. Overall, a thumbs up. I made an error that was all mine so...it will be a mixed review. You do get what you pay for but, for the money, it's a great backup.

Sandie decided and oh, have I been busy! Once the dust settles I will update.

 

[eandesmom]

When I left you, we were still full from popcorn and sarsaparilla, “done” with all the rides that Knott’s had to offer and a couple of adults jonesing to go check in to our new digs at Paradise Pier.

But what do to about dinner? The original plan was to do a sit down meal at the very famous, and fond fond memory for yours truly, Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner restaurant.

Being completely indecisive, as we are wont to be at times, we decided to shop. Hoping inspiration would strike us.

Not to mention we were still searching for the Red Baron. Out of the park we went and off to the marketplace. Which is about as mini of a DTD version as you can get but still rather cute in its own way. We hit the main store, the world of Knotts if you will and must have looked, I mean REALLY looked in there for at least 30 minutes, perhaps more. A couple red baron snoopys almost made the cut, but the scarf wasn’t right or something else wasn’t exactly perfect. What can I say, Jeff knows his red baron. Nary a pin to be had, or even a T. Which I think, is a miss. Nothing sang a sirens song and so finally, we walked out, empty handed. And slooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy walked the path down to Mrs. Knott’s.

What do you want to do?

I don’t know, what do you want to do?

We could get it to go

We could scrap the idea and go to DTD after we check in

We could eat at the hotel

We could give up food
​

Talk about 2 people who were uninspired to make a decision! I was torn. I REALLY wanted that chicken. I REALLY REALLY wanted that pie. I really really wasn’t hungry at that moment. At all.

Finally, it was decided.

Take out.

Off to the car we went, purchases in hand. Fried chicken and biscuits for the boys and I, a pot pie for Jeff. Sides of beans, mashed potatoes and the piece de resistance…an ENTIRE boysenberry pie.

We headed out. Where are we going?

Somewhere

Somewhere where?

Somewhere we can sleep

But where?

You’ll see.
​

We drove to….

The grocery store. To get beer to go with our chicken!

Except we missed the main store and ended up at a Hispanic one. Which, since we didn’t want Dos XX or Pacifico, didn’t work. Luckily there was a nice scary package store in the parking lot. Which had exactly 2 different IPA’s for us to try and so we bought both. For some reason the payment was ridiculously complicated and took forever, we might have been better off buying it from the hotel, that’s how long it took. Not to mention chicken was getting cold and we were ready to settle down.

Next stop, Paradise Pier. We pulled into the lot, the kids asking what are we doing here? Well….how would you like to stay here for the next 2 nights?
Suffice to say, it was a BIG thumbs up. Between the chicken to go and the beer and Fred the Disney Dog I think we looked like the Clampetts rolling all our stuff in. I had check in duty. It took FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. At one point she asked me if I was expecting a fax.

No.

Are you sure?

No.

Let me go check.

It says you have a fax

Ok.

Whatever
​

At this point we are getting a bit tired, and cranky even though it wasn’t that late. It seemed like we’d left Knott’s a million years ago and now it seems like she’s gone forever, looking for the mystery fax. That I’m not expecting. I’m sure she wasn’t gone very long, I was just mortified in the lobby with my Knott’s bag of fried chicken and Jeff rolling his eyes doing sign language for what the heck is taking so long?

Finally she comes back. Holding a bunch of balloons.

And says, your room is ready but we have something for you.

Ok, what?

You are the BIG KAHUNA FAMILY OF THE DAY!

Which means........

• an upgrade to a theme park view
• A photo
• Rice Crispy treats
• Pins
• Leis
• And Turn Down Service!

How cool is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, balloons in hand, we had our celebratory picture taken and headed up in the glass elevator to our room.

The room rocked.

And a killer view….looking out on Disney’s California Adventure. You can see the exposed jets for World Of Color in the pictures, we saw a lot of testing going on.

I LOVED this room. The daybed was the bomb.

The view of DCA was just spectacular, my pictures really do not do it justice.

Some pics of our Big Kahuna goody pack

The folder

A picture from the big guy himself

Our pins

Treats

A pool was calling to 2 little boys but first on the agenda, Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner!

Which was also

THE BOMB!
Sooooo good! Soooo worth it! We couldn’t eat it all!

In fact, with 3 dessert options before us, Mickey Rice crispy treats, Disney chocolate medallions and a whole pie, we opted out of dessert entirely!

Thank heavens the room had a fridge!

Even Fred was excited!

Continued in next post

 

[eandesmom]

The boys got changed, Jeff and I poured a beer into a to-go coffee cup from the bathroom and up to the rooftop pool we went. But first, I had to snap some pics of our nighttime view from the room.

And then, up to the pool. Really fun theming! And a pretty nice view as well!

And…as hoped…just in time for fireworks!

The pictures are pretty crummy but you get the idea

An attempted handstand

Some hot tubbing

Bad blurry nighttime photos of happy wet kids

And it was time for bed. We had a big day ahead of us.

California Adventure, here we come!

But first...POP goes POP?

 

[Flossbolna]

This chicken dinner looks wonderful! When I am at DL the next time (won't be for some years, but I am sure I will make it there to see Carsland at some point!) I need to get a chicken dinner from Knott's!

Congratulation on the upgrade and Big Kahuna! What a fantastic surprise. I like the look of that rooftop pool, very neat!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Whew for getting the chicken dinner to go! I was really worried about what you would decide! It looks delicious! Now, I have a craving for fried chicken.

Hurray for being the Big Kahuna Family of the Day! How cool is that??? Theme park view, pins, treats, leis! Does it get any better than that??? That is just so cool, and everyone must have been so excited!!! What a great view of California Adventure out of your window!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Great update. Awesome upgrade! That's too cool. And who kney they had the Pop Century Surfin Goofy in the lobby?

The chicken looked great as did the view. Nice job on the picutre taking.

Can't wait for more!

 

[winkers]

How cool, Big Kahuna family!!

but why wasn't the bag of chicken and beer included in the family pic?

that chicken looks delish....hmmmm, I think I need to make dj head to kfc!

 

[eandesmom]

This chicken dinner looks wonderful! When I am at DL the next time (won't be for some years, but I am sure I will make it there to see Carsland at some point!) I need to get a chicken dinner from Knott's!

Congratulation on the upgrade and Big Kahuna! What a fantastic surprise. I like the look of that rooftop pool, very neat!

The pool was very cool, as was the slide. I forgot to mention that they pipe in the music for the fireworks at one edge of the roof that has the best fireworks view so it was pretty cool to at least "hear" what we couldn't see the first night in DTD and as we suspected, it really wasn't stop and start, we just couldn't see everything.

The food was SOOOO good. I'd love to have it for dinner tonight. Especially the pie. I have a good story about the pie coming up.

It was such a special, unexpected magical thing to be the family of the day it just made us all feel so "Disney" and at home. Of course the fact that the lobby smells yummy (that beachy coconut smell) didn't hurt either!

We will be back when Carsland opens, if not before.

Whew for getting the chicken dinner to go! I was really worried about what you would decide! It looks delicious! Now, I have a craving for fried chicken.

Hurray for being the Big Kahuna Family of the Day! How cool is that??? Theme park view, pins, treats, leis! Does it get any better than that??? That is just so cool, and everyone must have been so excited!!! What a great view of California Adventure out of your window!

The view was truly unbelievable! It was so cool and no, I don't think it gets better, I'll probably be secretly disappointed when we don't get magical upgrades from now on! I am SO glad we made the move, if only for 2 nights, it was absolutely worth it and I'd stay there again in a heartbeat. More on the hotel later but we really liked it!

Great update. Awesome upgrade! That's too cool. And who kney they had the Pop Century Surfin Goofy in the lobby?

The chicken looked great as did the view. Nice job on the picutre taking.

Can't wait for more!

I think POP copied the Paradise Pier Goofy, he surfs in CA! Goes with his low rider dontcha know! Actually that would be fun to find out which one came first.

Thanks on the pictures, I really need a better low light camera (and distance low light especially) but all things considered it was ok.

I'd kill for some of that chicken tonight. Not to mention I wouldn't have to figure out what to make for dinner!

 

[eandesmom]

How cool, Big Kahuna family!!

but why wasn't the bag of chicken and beer included in the family pic?

that chicken looks delish....hmmmm, I think I need to make dj head to kfc!

Well, it was actually 4 bags. 2 for the chicken, one for the pie and one for the beer. And our 4 suitcases, my purse, the daypack, and Fred.

We left those off to the side, ruining the beachy coconut smell that they pipe in while they took our picture.

 

[MEK]

I
I totally get the freak out factor of feet free though, the kids have never done it and it is freaky!

That said, the Hulk is one of my all time fav's and Eric said, just this morning, that he intends to go on it. We will see!

I think your feet are IN the car in the hulk, but they are OUT of the car on Fire and Ice. I might be wrong, but they are both great rides. There is something different about the two coasters other than the fact the hulk blasts off 0 to 60 mph. Fire & Ice (whatever its real name is) are GRRRRRRRREAT in the front seat. Really fun, but I lost one of my really pretty gold hoops on them many years ago and I still grieve for it (mostly because I can't afford to replace them any more). Learned that lesson.

 

[MEK]

WOWSA! My favorite update so far. First of all, boysenberry pie. I could go for a slice of that right now.

I know that feeling when you FINALLY get to the hotel to check in and your legs begin to feel a little wobbly and you think "yeah, yeah, yeah hurry the SAM H$LL up". And then - Wow - the big Kahuna family. I bet you never saw that coming! How super fantastically magical. The room and the view are awesome. The pool likes like a blast. The only thing I really want to know is how awesomely good was that pie?????!!!!!!