Lots of Completed Trip Reports....Nov 2009 - April 2014

[TheColtonsMom]

That's a good idea. I'm not a pretzel fan but everyone else in the family is. I'll have to try that. That makes a lot of sense to use the marshmallow cream. Right now I'm picturing trying some for the 4th of July -- maybe with red, white and blue sprinkles? It seems like you could make them look like little sparklers or something. Thanks for the idea!

Thanks for the idea right back! How did I never think of the fact that they would look a bit like sparklers! I am so stealing that one! We will have to exchange photos when we both do our versions! I think I even have red/white/blue sprinkles shaped like stars!

This brings us to the inspiration for this TR's title... After the show was over Buddy asked, "Mom, are those guys robotic like the Pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean?" My sister and I got quite a chuckle out of that one. It was very cute. I tried to imagine the Billies as audio-animatronics, just as Buddy had seen them.

I noticed that Buddy was getting a little sleepy. I think because we had been sitting for so long. Sitting for lunch, sitting with our treats from Pooh Corner, and then sitting for Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. I asked him, "Are you getting sleepy?" He replied, "Mom, I have to go on a roller coaster to not get tired, so I HAVE to go on Space Mountain." I still felt like we needed to work our way up to that, so I told him that would come later. We were close to Fantasyland so we'd head there next. (Yes, I know...the perfect time to go make the rounds at Fantasyland is at 2:00 in the afternoon. )

(How do you like the hat? I went into Picasa and blocked out his real name and then added "Buddy" .)

Buddy mind is as cool to listen in to as Colton's...you never know what they are going to say at that age! The pic in my mind of the anamatronic BH&TH is hilarious and he was right a roller coaster does really wake you up!

I think I am falling in love with the back of your son's head! I am so taking some pics from behind Colton next time...a snapshot of what he was seeing at a particular moment in time LOVE IT!

 

[tksbaskets]

Checking out our FPs...

This is another place where I experience "Jungle Cruise Syndrome" -- usually my pictures are a blurry mess. I'll just share a few.

Our first ride was King Arthur's Carrousel. That was one of Buddy's favorites during his last trip. Here is another favorite picture from this trip.

(How do you like the hat? I went into Picasa and blocked out his real name and then added "Buddy" .)

I LOVE the picture of your fast pass stash! (Say that three times fast) Good work Deej

OK, now here is another thing at DL we've never done - the Billy Hilly show. Would 20 and 55 yo boys like it?

GREAT work with the photo altering from the color change to Buddy's name on the hat. You are my DIS trip report goddess!

 

[smile4stamps]

Great job on the Hat! I would not have even known if you hadn;t said something!

I will have to get a BTMRR stash like that for my June trip. It is closed all but one day my friend is there so we will need to ride it plenty that day!

 

[mvf-m11c]

The flowers in FL are very colorful and very clear from your pictures.

Now that is a lot of FPs for BTMRR.

The Mickey's hat that you changed his name almost look so real. Very nice.

 

[deejdigsdis]

I love what you did with the hat. How brilliant! We have always called our son buddy, so I was like oh wow how cool. I hadn't noticed that you did that.

Glad you liked it. I showed this picture to my husband and he said it looked better than the real thing. I guess I centered the name a bit better than the lady at The Mad Hatter.

Thanks for the idea right back! How did I never think of the fact that they would look a bit like sparklers! I am so stealing that one! We will have to exchange photos when we both do our versions! I think I even have red/white/blue sprinkles shaped like stars!



Buddy mind is as cool to listen in to as Colton's...you never know what they are going to say at that age! The pic in my mind of the anamatronic BH&TH is hilarious and he was right a roller coaster does really wake you up!

I think I am falling in love with the back of your son's head! I am so taking some pics from behind Colton next time...a snapshot of what he was seeing at a particular moment in time LOVE IT!

Kids definitely say some very cute things at that age. I've gotten into the habit of writing things down. I keep a little notebook for each boy in a kitchen drawer -- so it's handy. When they say something I know I want to remember I jot it down. They LOVE hearing things they said when they were younger. And a 5 year old says more "cute" things than an 11 year old. Two of Buddy's latest Disneyland-related things that I need to write down:

He was looking at the 8x10 pictures that I have of each boy on the wall -- current school pictures. They've been there since before he was born. (Well HIS wasn't, but you know what I mean. ) He looked up at the pictures that have been there forever and said, "Why did you put those there so they are staring at us? Is it just like Haunted Mansion? When they look at you and still look at you when you move?"

Then yesterday... "Can I buy Space Mountain for $1 so I can have it here and ride it by myself whenever I want?"

(Guess I just spilled the beans on how he felt about Space Mountain! )

I LOVE the picture of your fast pass stash! (Say that three times fast) Good work Deej

OK, now here is another thing at DL we've never done - the Billy Hilly show. Would 20 and 55 yo boys like it?

GREAT work with the photo altering from the color change to Buddy's name on the hat. You are my DIS trip report goddess!

Fast pass stash - fast pass stash - fast pass stash.

My husband really likes the Billy Hill show. You could check them out on YouTube and see if it might be a good fit for your guys. It makes for a nice afternoon break. You can get food inside (counter service) and watch the show, or bring food in from somewhere else, or just sit with no food. My 3 boys really liked it the first time they saw it, but my 2 boys who went on recent trips with me were on the bored side and just wanted to get back to the rides.

I'm glad you liked Buddy's name on the hat! My husband liked that, too.

about being your DIS trip report goddess!

Great job on the Hat! I would not have even known if you hadn;t said something!

I will have to get a BTMRR stash like that for my June trip. It is closed all but one day my friend is there so we will need to ride it plenty that day!

Oh yes, ride it as much as you can! I just love that ride. When my husband and I went last April it was down for refurb and I missed it so much. Then when I went with my mom and sisters last Oct. it seemed to break down a lot. I especially love riding it at night. I noticed you have a PTR going...I will check it out soon!

The flowers in FL are very colorful and very clear from your pictures.

Now that is a lot of FPs for BTMRR.

The Mickey's hat that you changed his name almost look so real. Very nice.

Thank you Bret! We had already used one set of FPs for BTMRR by the time that picture was taken.

 

[Sherry E]

Love the Easter goodies photos!

Love the flowers in Fantasyland - the color scheme of that flower bed is so vibrant.

Very clever the way you worked your magic with Picasa to put in the name 'Buddy'! I've been wanting to load Picasa (it's free, right?) to start playing around with it, but there is no way [in heck] I am loading it on this current PC so it will have to wait for a new one.

From now on, no matter how many 'shoot a person's head from behind' shots I see around the DIS, I will always know you were the first - or at least the first one I noticed - who came up with that creative idea! And it's such a simple, basic idea to take a snapshot of someone from behind, and yet...so evocative. It definitely conjures up a wistful - innocent - awestruck kind of vibe, all at once. It captures the sense of wonder that is synonymous with Disneyland.

I think "I Want You to Want Me" has the sort of tempo that lends itself to bluegrass-ification. I can picture that. I would have been singing right along with them, because that's a song I sing randomly as I am washing dishes or doing housework anyway! The Billy's might have a harder time if they tried to bluegrass-it-up with "Dream Police" or "Surrender" (yes, I am a Cheap Trick Fan!).

Buddy's tactics to get on Space Mountain are hilarious!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Love the Easter goodies photos!

Love the flowers in Fantasyland - the color scheme of that flower bed is so vibrant.

Very clever the way you worked your magic with Picasa to put in the name 'Buddy'! I've been wanting to load Picasa (it's free, right?) to start playing around with it, but there is no way [in heck] I am loading it on this current PC so it will have to wait for a new one.

From now on, no matter how many 'shoot a person's head from behind' shots I see around the DIS, I will always know you were the first - or at least the first one I noticed - who came up with that creative idea! And it's such a simple, basic idea to take a snapshot of someone from behind, and yet...so evocative. It definitely conjures up a wistful - innocent - awestruck kind of vibe, all at once. It captures the sense of wonder that is synonymous with Disneyland.

I think "I Want You to Want Me" has the sort of tempo that lends itself to bluegrass-ification. I can picture that. I would have been singing right along with them, because that's a song I sing randomly as I am washing dishes or doing housework anyway! The Billy's might have a harder time if they tried to bluegrass-it-up with "Dream Police" or "Surrender" (yes, I am a Cheap Trick Fan!).

Buddy's tactics to get on Space Mountain are hilarious!

Hello there Sherry! Thank you for the compliments. Yes, Picasa is free. When you're ready for it, just Google it and you'll find all the info you need. Picasa is all I know in the world of photo editing. It's easy to work with and you just can't beat FREE.

You know, I actually thought of you when The Billies were singing "I Want You To Want Me" . I don't know if we've discussed Cheap Trick before or if you just seemed like you'd be a fellow Cheap Trick fan. It was a lot of fun. I love that you sing that song randomly while taking care of household duties!

Off to work on the next update.

 

[deejdigsdis]

As told by Buddy's head, our first stop in Fantasyland was King Arthur Carrousel. 7 minute wait. I absolutely love riding this. I'm sure I took a many years long break from riding. As a teen I was all about Space Mountain, etc. I still did a lot of Fantasyland rides during that time -- would never give up Peter Pan! -- but I'm pretty sure the carousel slid off my must-do list for years and years. But I am wiser now and have learned there's nothing quite like taking your child for a spin on the carousel with perma-grin action going on -- for both of you. A fun time was had by all.

We ended up at Storybook Land Canal Boats. 7 minute wait...compared to our 35 minute wait in January. What's up with these short waits on a week that was predicted to be very very busy? Keep in mind it's during the 2 o'clock hour. I know they had more boats running in April than in January, but still.

A picture taken while we waited in line.

I love seeing little ducklings in Disneyland. When I was there last April with my husband, I remember following a mama duck and her ducklings around. It was great fun. I was taking a picture of the Castle and almost stepped on them as they came out of the bushes. I followed them through the side entrance of the Castle and just watched them for a while, until they safely landed in the shade of a tree by Peter Pan. Anyway, we spotted a mama with her babies in the grass across from where you get on the Storybook boats.

There was one little duckling that would venture out into the water alone, then rejoin the family up on the grass. Very cute.

We went over to IASW next -- another favorite of Buddy's from his first trip. (How am I doing with helping him work his way up to riding Space Mountain for the first time? ) Back then he called it "The Little World." I still call it that when I am talking to him, for nostalgia's sake, but he corrects me now.

Well today must have been The Day of the Ducks at Disneyland. We were entertained by this duck floating from side to side where the boats are released. It always looked like it was in danger of being hit by one boat, but then it would calmly float to the other side at the last moment. Back and forth. "Duck Floating Back and Forth" picture overload ahead!

If you look really hard...you can see it there in the middle.

Same pic, just closer view.

Pics taken from our boat as we sailed off.

IASW is another location where I suffer from "Jungle Cruise Syndrome." Here are the only 2 pics I could salvage from the blurry mess.

Buddy's begging me to do a puzzle with him. More later.

 

[tksbaskets]

FUN pictures. I've never seen so many ducks either. The suspense is killing me....is Space Mountain coming today??

 

[kaoden39]

I love watching the Disneyland ducks. They are a lot of fun. "Little World" I like it, I may start calling it that myself. I hope you had fun making your puzzle.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I absolutely love the back & forth duck at IASW. Obviously it has been doing this for a while...it seems to know the routine pretty well.

When we were there in Dec one of Colton's favorite things on Storybookland canal boats were the "giant" ducks sleeping under the street lamps at night in that LONG park from Peter Pan's London.

I think a DL duck is what I want to be in my next life sigh. To get to live in DL and float along the ROA without a line, to go through and see all of It's A Small World at night when it is still & quiet, to sleep in the shadow of tiny buildings in Storybookland, To play among the Elephants in their watering hole on the Jungle Cruise...Colton says if he was a DL duck he would spend the night going through Splash Mountain over & over, Brant says he would hang by the Nemo Submarine ride and stare at the silly seagulls saying "Mine Mine Mine" over & over. We could all go hang out in the water by the Hungry Bear at mealtimes and eat the leftover sweet potato fries & bread crusts (and maybe some fried green tomatoes) thrown to us by the kids visiting that day. So here we all are discussing it & wishing we were DL ducks.

 

[mvf-m11c]

The pictures of IASW are very nice and clear. Plus the duck on the IASW track was so neat to see that it once moved to one side of the track station to the other.

I was kind of surprise to hear that Storybook Land wait time was only 7 mins. around 2pm. Mostly it is in the 30+ min wait time. At least it was good for you and your group of not to have to wait that long for the ride.

Great job on your TR update today.

 

[skiingfast]

I'll like to go swimming with that duck in the Small World flume.

 

[deejdigsdis]

FUN pictures. I've never seen so many ducks either. The suspense is killing me....is Space Mountain coming today??

It's coming soon, hopefully.

I love watching the Disneyland ducks. They are a lot of fun. "Little World" I like it, I may start calling it that myself. I hope you had fun making your puzzle.

The Disneyland ducks look so content.

Buddy changed his mind about the puzzle and wanted to do a "finding book" instead. We went to the used book sale at the kids' school the other night and I sent DS8 on the hunt for any and all "I Spy" type books he could find. Buddy just can't get enough of them. DS8 found some good ones for 50 cents each. That's pretty much all Buddy has wanted to do yesterday and today.

I absolutely love the back & forth duck at IASW. Obviously it has been doing this for a while...it seems to know the routine pretty well.

When we were there in Dec one of Colton's favorite things on Storybookland canal boats were the "giant" ducks sleeping under the street lamps at night in that LONG park from Peter Pan's London.

I think a DL duck is what I want to be in my next life sigh. To get to live in DL and float along the ROA without a line, to go through and see all of It's A Small World at night when it is still & quiet, to sleep in the shadow of tiny buildings in Storybookland, To play among the Elephants in their watering hole on the Jungle Cruise...Colton says if he was a DL duck he would spend the night going through Splash Mountain over & over, Brant says he would hang by the Nemo Submarine ride and stare at the silly seagulls saying "Mine Mine Mine" over & over. We could all go hang out in the water by the Hungry Bear at mealtimes and eat the leftover sweet potato fries & bread crusts (and maybe some fried green tomatoes) thrown to us by the kids visiting that day. So here we all are discussing it & wishing we were DL ducks.

I love that you all planned out your "If I was a Disneyland duck..." life. I think I would spend my mornings in Fantasyland, head over to Hungry Bear for lunch, and then spend my afternoons in the ROA area.

The pictures of IASW are very nice and clear. Plus the duck on the IASW track was so neat to see that it once moved to one side of the track station to the other.

I was kind of surprise to hear that Storybook Land wait time was only 7 mins. around 2pm. Mostly it is in the 30+ min wait time. At least it was good for you and your group of not to have to wait that long for the ride.

Great job on your TR update today.

If you look at those duck pictures outside of IASW, you'll notice that we weren't the only ones enjoying watching them.

Isn't that weird that our Storybook wait was only 7 minutes at that time of day, during what was supposed to be a busy week? We sure were happy about that.

I'll like to go swimming with that duck in the Small World flume.

It was really fun to watch. He really looked like he knew the drill and had swam in that spot before.

Just wanted to share a little something I got from DS11 for Mother's Day. They planted marigolds at school and stuck popsicle-stick markers in the flowerpots. Everyone drew a picture of whatever they wanted and attached it to the stick. Here's what DS11 did:

I loved it! (That would be Big Thunder Mountain, the goat, and the dynamite. )

That's it for now. Back with more TR updates tomorrow.

 

[skiingfast]

Just wanted to share a little something I got from DS11 for Mother's Day. They planted marigolds at school and stuck popsicle-stick markers in the flowerpots. Everyone drew a picture of whatever they wanted and attached it to the stick. Here's what DS11 did:

I loved it! (That would be Big Thunder Mountain, the goat, and the dynamite. )

That's it for now. Back with more TR updates tomorrow.

As I was once told. Raising him Disney is raising him right!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Buddy changed his mind about the puzzle and wanted to do a "finding book" instead. We went to the used book sale at the kids' school the other night and I sent DS8 on the hunt for any and all "I Spy" type books he could find. Buddy just can't get enough of them. DS8 found some good ones for 50 cents each. That's pretty much all Buddy has wanted to do yesterday and today.

Just wanted to share a little something I got from DS11 for Mother's Day. They planted marigolds at school and stuck popsicle-stick markers in the flowerpots. Everyone drew a picture of whatever they wanted and attached it to the stick. Here's what DS11 did:

I loved it! (That would be Big Thunder Mountain, the goat, and the dynamite. )

That's it for now. Back with more TR updates tomorrow.

OK Colton is a real I spy fan too...have you played the online ones at Wild Tangent games yet ...right now I think there are 4 "I spys" and hundreds of Hidden object games with free trials...we play them often together.

Colton is home sick today and we all 3 love your Mothers Day plant stake! The pic of BTMRR is priceless and Colton really liked the "hidden mickey" in Buddy's DL sign.

 

[deejdigsdis]

As I was once told. Raising him Disney is raising him right!

Haven't heard that before, but it works for me. Yesterday my mom told me how proud she is of my Disneyland addiction. Yes, "proud" and "addiction" in the same sentence!

OK Colton is a real I spy fan too...have you played the online ones at Wild Tangent games yet ...right now I think there are 4 "I spys" and hundreds of Hidden object games with free trials...we play them often together.

Colton is home sick today and we all 3 love your Mothers Day plant stake! The pic of BTMRR is priceless and Colton really liked the "hidden mickey" in Buddy's DL sign.

I haven't heard of that website. It actually never occurred to me to look for that kind of thing online. We've worn out what is available at the library, and then we pick up used books where/when we can. I'll have to check it out.

I hope Colton is feeling better!

 

[deejdigsdis]

So we left off with the ducks of "The Little World." When we got off IASW Buddy asked if we could go ride Gadget's Go Coaster, so we headed there next. We were surprised how short the line was. 15 minutes! A few pics...

Originally I planned for THIS to be Buddy's first roller coaster this trip. He loved it when he was there before, unlike BTMRR. But, things didn't work out for that to be the case.

I love this pencil measuring stick thing...

... and the domino doors...

It seems like we had a lot of good luck this trip, as far as being assigned to the front row. I the front row! I had my sister take the front row with Buddy so I could get some pics.

He had such a great time, and is especially proud that he is able to raise his arms high in the air.

When we got off GGC, Buddy had no interest in checking out the rest of ToonTown. He said, "NOW will you go get a ticket for Space Mountain???" I had told him that one of the reasons we weren't heading to Space Mountain yet was because we didn't have fast passes for it. So...the time had come. To finally go get FPs, that is. I headed over to Space to grab FPs (with a 4 hour return time!) and then met my sister and Buddy at the Matterhorn -- Tomorrowland side. (We preferred the shade on this side.)

We had a 20 minute wait for the Matterhorn. I was looking forward to riding with Buddy for his first time. We actually practiced the seating arrangement at home! I would sit on the couch or the floor and have him come sit with me Matterhorn-style, and then I'd wrap my arms around him and tell him this is how it would be. The time had come to actually put our practice to the test. He sat down with me and we got all buckled up. We slowly pulled into the mountain and started up the long hill. I talked to him the whole way up so he wouldn't be scared in the dark. Then we were off on our journey down and around the mountain. So...what did Buddy think of the Matterhorn Bobsleds??? When we got off the ride his exact words were, "This is mine new favorite ride!"

D was ready for a treat by now, so we decided to get Mickey Ice Cream Bars and sit in that area where the Motorboat Cruise used to be.

I have trained my sister well.

It was nice to just sit and relax, basking in that feeling of Disneyland.

Buddy certainly enjoyed his Mickey Ice Cream Bar!

You can kind of see that smile behind his ice cream goatee.

Once again, we were graced with the presence of Disneyland ducks!

At one point we saw a teeny tiny duckling come out of the bushes all alone. It seemed to be lost. It hopped in the water for a bit, but then went back to the bushes. I really hope it was reunited with its mama. We didn't see it again.

Up next...more Fantasyland.

 

[deejdigsdis]

We've got Matterhorn under our belts...aka "one step closer to Space Mountain" for Buddy, and just finished up with yet another treat. Time to get back to Fantasyland.

First stop:

Pics taken while waiting in the 20 minute line:

We let Buddy take the front row.

While standing in line we had noticed some really beautiful flowers by the ride exit. We planned to take pics when we got off the ride. It was kind of funny because there was a total of 5 people taking pics of these flowers all at the same time! Who knew there would be a line to take pictures of flowers.

 

[kaoden39]

Great up date. Oh my gosh but the ice cream pictures are great!! Those are the special pictures. You have trained your sister well.