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

[mvf-m11c]

Nice to see some good photos from you today Deej. Good update and the Mickey Ice Cream bar looks so good to eat. It is very interesting to hear that Buddy likes the Matterhorn so much and made it his new favorite ride. More little ducks right by the former Motor Boat Cruise station, nice shots of the ducks.

 

[tksbaskets]

WOW I don't know what to comment on first....

I just love seeing DL through Buddy's eyes. I was getting misty eyed when you were describing your experiences with him. SO special and I'm sure you cherished every moment with your Buddy. So cute that you practiced your Matterhorn ride at home. I'm thinking Buddy doesn't feel bad that you made him go to DL with you!

Next, Grumpy and Donald are sitting here when I literally burst into laughter with your pics of Buddy enjoying his Mikey ice cream bar. The first two were so precious....the next ones are when the boys looked at me like I was crazy and I was glad I didn't just take a sip of my beverage because it would have been sprayed across my computer screen. LOVE IT!!

Last but not least - GREAT flower pictures.

I'm hoping you have about ten more days to report on but I fear not. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Sherry E]

I bet the other people taking photos of the flowers outside of Alice were DIS'ers too - or at least from some other message board where they share DLR photos! That seems like a very Disney-uber-fan-who-loves-to-post-photos thing to do, and anyone who is NOT like that or not from a message board doesn't seem to understand or 'get it.' (Remember the various quizzical looks and comments I received from passersby during my December trip, when I stopped to photograph plants or window displays? That one guy even said to me, "I've just never seen anyone take pictures of...a PLANT." Muahahahaha! Little does he know!)

How long did it take the Mickey ice cream bar to get to that melty stage? I ask because those things are hard like cement and seem to take forever to melt down.

I was going to comment before about the Jungle Cruise Syndrome or whatever it is....where the pictures are often a blurry mess. I would almost kind of expect some blurry stuff on JC because the boat rocks from side to side. I think it's more the Small World Syndrome because that's where it is deceptively hard it is to get clear shots. I know we have discussed this phenomenon before - where IASW seems to move so slowly through the ride, so you think the pictures will not be hard to get. But they are! And the ones that DO come out clearly seem to be the same ones that everyone gets good shots of (like during the holiday version, for example). Certain areas of that ride are easier to photograph than others, apparently.

 

[deejdigsdis]

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

Thank you. I love the ice cream pictures. I took quite a few. Definitely a favorite moment this trip. I thought that was so funny when I looked up after taking a picture of my ice cream bar and saw my sister doing the same thing. I don't think I've ever seen her take pictures of food until she started hanging out with me at Disneyland.

Nice to see some good photos from you today Deej. Good update and the Mickey Ice Cream bar looks so good to eat. It is very interesting to hear that Buddy likes the Matterhorn so much and made it his new favorite ride. More little ducks right by the former Motor Boat Cruise station, nice shots of the ducks.

Thank you for the compliments Bret. I was happy he loved the Matterhorn. Just today he was saying how fun it would be if we could ride down and around clear from the very top.

WOW I don't know what to comment on first....

I just love seeing DL through Buddy's eyes. I was getting misty eyed when you were describing your experiences with him. SO special and I'm sure you cherished every moment with your Buddy. So cute that you practiced your Matterhorn ride at home. I'm thinking Buddy doesn't feel bad that you made him go to DL with you!

Next, Grumpy and Donald are sitting here when I literally burst into laughter with your pics of Buddy enjoying his Mikey ice cream bar. The first two were so precious....the next ones are when the boys looked at me like I was crazy and I was glad I didn't just take a sip of my beverage because it would have been sprayed across my computer screen. LOVE IT!!

Last but not least - GREAT flower pictures.

I'm hoping you have about ten more days to report on but I fear not. Thanks for sharing!

Disneyland with Buddy was very special indeed. Taking a 5 year old son had a certain amount of wonder and innocence that just wasn't quite as present with an 11 year old son. Each trip was special in its own way, though. And I certainly know where you're coming from with the "misty eyes." On our family blog I did a post that went something like this: Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar. $4. [insert picture of Buddy holding his before taking the first bite here] Mickey Mouse Ears With Name Embroidered On The Back. $15. [insert picture of Buddy watching the carousel -- the picture where I changed the name on his hat to "Buddy" -- but of course I left his real name on the pic posted on the blog] Hanging Out With Your 5 Year Old At Disneyland. Priceless. [Insert about 10 pics of Buddy with the the biggest smile ever having the time of his life. Laughing on the Teacups, arms raised high. Riding the carousel -- me looking down at him because I'm in the "up" position, and he's looking up at me and smiling. Etc. Etc.] Kind of like that old MasterCard commercial. Anyway, every time I see that post I get a little misty. We had such a great time.

I'm glad you didn't spray all over your computer screen too! That would not have been good. Unfortunately I only have 3 days to report on...not 10.

I bet the other people taking photos of the flowers outside of Alice were DIS'ers too - or at least from some other message board where they share DLR photos! That seems like a very Disney-uber-fan-who-loves-to-post-photos thing to do, and anyone who is NOT like that or not from a message board doesn't seem to understand or 'get it.' (Remember the various quizzical looks and comments I received from passersby during my December trip, when I stopped to photograph plants or window displays? That one guy even said to me, "I've just never seen anyone take pictures of...a PLANT." Muahahahaha! Little does he know!)

How long did it take the Mickey ice cream bar to get to that melty stage? I ask because those things are hard like cement and seem to take forever to melt down.

I was going to comment before about the Jungle Cruise Syndrome or whatever it is....where the pictures are often a blurry mess. I would almost kind of expect some blurry stuff on JC because the boat rocks from side to side. I think it's more the Small World Syndrome because that's where it is deceptively hard it is to get clear shots. I know we have discussed this phenomenon before - where IASW seems to move so slowly through the ride, so you think the pictures will not be hard to get. But they are! And the ones that DO come out clearly seem to be the same ones that everyone gets good shots of (like during the holiday version, for example). Certain areas of that ride are easier to photograph than others, apparently.

Yes, I agree. Small World Syndrome is a better term for the reasons you describe. I just called it Jungle Cruise Syndrome since that was the first ride this trip that I suffered from The Syndrome.

I wonder if we'll see any pics of those same Alice flowers show up around here on the DIS. That would be funny! It didn't occur to me to ask. I just thought, "We aren't the only ones that noticed how pretty those flowers are." They just seemed extra pretty, but there weren't many there. And yes, I remember that guy who made the comment to you about never having seen someone take a picture of... a plant. He was probably thinking, "Who comes to Disneyland and takes pictures of plants when there are rides to be ridden?!?"

And about the Mickey Ice Cream Bar... I checked the times that all the pictures were taken and it was a total of 10 minutes between 1st bite and that melted mess of a face. Today I happened to ask Buddy what his favorite food was at Disneyland. He said the ice cream bar. "The next time you eat one of those, eat it so your face gets really messy like I did. It's more fun that way." He was so serious, so I just chuckled inside.

OK, it looks like I won't be able to get another update posted until tomorrow, so stay tuned...

 

[deejdigsdis]

Continuing on with Fantasyland...

OK. I did something that I haven't done in years. YEARS. I rode the Teacups! Oh, what we mothers do for our children... I haven't been able to ride these due to the spinny factor in like...forever. Here I am back in 1979 riding with my bro and sis. We are in the yellow teacup. My brother is on the far left, you can barely see my head poking up, and then D is on the far right. (Everything looks so different!)

It was one of Buddy's favorites from his first trip, as well as one of my favorite memories from the first time we took the kids. I happily watched from the sidelines as my husband took all 3 boys for a wild spin. Anyway...Buddy wanted to ride the Teacups. At first I thought, "Sorry Buddy but there's no way..." (Man, I am all over the ellipses tonight. I know I overuse them, and even use them incorrectly at times...but I just really like them. ) Then I got to thinking, "Well if we don't do any extra spinning, maybe I can handle it. Maybe." I decided to give it a go for Buddy's sake. The line was very short, so there was no time like the present!

Buddy's favorite colors are blue and yellow, so he chose to ride in a blue teacup.

I had the camera on video mode as Buddy and I were sitting there, waiting for the teacups to start spinning. I was aiming the camera at Buddy and said, "Are you ready for this? I don't know if I'm ready for this. I might throw up on you." Boy, did he ever move quickly! He had been sitting all scrunched up against the spinning wheel, but as soon as I mentioned the possibility that he might get thrown up on he was outta there. Once we started and it appeared that I wasn't going to lose my Mickey Ice Cream Bar he started spinning us. And you know what? It wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. Of course that had a lot to do with the fact that we weren't spinning out of control. I was either recording Buddy or taking pictures, which seem like they would contribute to feelings of motion sickness. But they didn't. I was quite proud of myself! To see Buddy's reaction during the ride...arms up, laughing and smiling all the while...a favorite memory from this trip for sure.

Taken during the ride, to distract me from possible motion sickness:

From here we headed to Dumbo. 15 minute wait. What is up with these short lines this afternoon?

I meant to take a picture from the front of the Dumbo topiary after the ride, but I forgot.

Sticking with the theme of choosing vehicles that were his favorite color, Buddy chose this blue(ish) Dumbo.

After Dumbo we headed over to Pinocchio. Another short wait (as usual, I guess) at 5 minutes.

It was about 6:15pm at this time. D had plans to meet an old friend for dinner in DTD so we parted ways. She hopped on the Monorail with plans to maybe meet up with us around 10:00pm. We had Indy FPs to use, after all. And BTMRR at night was a must as well.

So Buddy and I were left to do our own thing. I asked him what he wanted to do. Here we come Indiana Jones! We walked through the castle with a stop at the Golden Spike. I believe taking this picture will become a new tradition.

Pausing to look at the castle before heading to Adventureland.

Now, I still wasn't sure if Buddy was tall enough for Indy. I had measured him at home, and it was really close. He hit 46" -- but I could see it going either way depending on the CM. We walked up to the measuring stick and he just barely made it. Whew! Off we went, skipping the 45 minute standby line and waiting 10 minutes in the FP line. I thought it might be best for Buddy to sit somewhere in the middle of row 3 for his first Indy ride -- just because I thought he'd feel safer/less scared. Well, remember how I mentioned that we seemed to luck out in the front row department this trip? Here we were once again, assigned to the front row. I asked Buddy if he was OK with that, and he was. He even got to sit at the steering wheel! He really liked this ride, but he DIDN'T say, "This is mine new favorite ride!" So that honor still belonged to the Matterhorn.

When we got off the ride I made him stand by the sign and hold up 5 fingers, showing that he was 5 years old the first time he rode Indy.

ETA: I just read this post and noticed a Disneyland duck sitting in the flowers by the Dumbo topiary. I didn't even notice it when I was taking the picture. How funny!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Since Buddy and I had some time to ourselves, I thought it would be good to do some things that D wasn't interested in...namely the rockets and Space Mountain. (Finally!) Off we go to Tomorrowland. We had a fairly short wait for Astro Orbitor. I usually do OK on this one, but I was kind of feeling icky when we got off.

I love this picture. I can tell by Buddy's cheeks that he is sportin' a smile!

I have to admit that I didn't take many pictures once it was just me and Buddy. Just having too much fun enjoying every moment, I guess. I know we rode Buzz next, with a 10-ish minute wait.

Finally! What Buddy had been wanting to ride all. day. long. Space Mountain! I gave him his FP as we made the walk up to the ride entrance. He was sooooooo excited. It was just fun to watch him. He showed the guy his FP and then we continued on, standing in line for less than 10 minutes. I took a pic of Buddy once we were assigned to our row -- which wasn't Row 1, but I thought that was for the best given it was his first time. He was all smiles. At last it was our turn to get on. Buddy was literally squealing with excitement. The couple sitting behind us commented on how excited he was. I told them it was his first time. He didn't get nervous at all. He was a little restless in his seat, squealing, and just ready to get going. I don't remember talking to him during this ride. He wasn't hesitant about anything so I just let him enjoy the experience. And boy did he ever! When it was all over he said, "THIS IS MINE NEW FAVORITE RIDE!!! Can we go again?!?" I was so happy he loved it. I told him we wouldn't be riding again that night since we didn't have any more "tickets" and I didn't want to go standby, but we would for sure ride it again tomorrow. We went to go see our picture, but someone tall was sitting in front of Buddy so we couldn't see him at all. Bummer. Then we went back and I had him stand by the Space Mountain entrance sign and I took Buddy's picture while he was calling his brothers to tell them that he just got off Space Mountain. As he was talking to his oldest brother, age 11, he said, "The music was so cool!" I didn't feel like I was listening to my 5 year old baby at that moment. Space Mountain had aged him somehow.

It was getting close to 8:30pm. I figured we better go find some dinner. We ended up at Stage Door Cafe. There were only 2 people in front of me but we waited in line for around 20 minutes. It was ridiculous. Buddy got the chicken (nuggets or strips? can't remember) and fries. I got a Corn Dog. That was a bit of a frustrating meal. Buddy ate maybe 3 bites of his dinner. What a waste. It had been 9 hours since lunch, with 5 or 6 hours since our ice cream. Surely he'd be hungry enough to actually eat something by now. I think I'm done getting Corn Dogs there. I just felt that yucky "heavy" feeling when I was finished eating. The bright spot from dinner was when a CM walked up and gave Buddy an "Honorary Citizen of Disneyland" button.

At some point D texted me and said she wouldn't be coming back to the park and asked me to grab her hoodie from the locker. Her friend wanted her to go see their apartment. Sherry, I thought of you. She said her friend lived within walking distance of The Grove -- in what the friend described as the tallest apartment complex in the country. I figured you'd know what that was. So she was right in your neck of the woods Sherry. Too bad she couldn't whisk you back to Anaheim with her!

Time to get back to the rides...but how much longer would Buddy last? We had been in the park for 12 hours straight and he had been on his feet all day. We decided to go back to Pooh. We walked on, and then stayed on for a second ride.

It was so dead back there. We could have stayed on for a 3rd ride had we wanted to. We made our way back to the Haunted Mansion. The fireworks were going on by this time. There were several small groups of people watching them from Critter Country, and some sitting in the middle of the walkway between Splash Mountain and HM. They actually had a pretty good view.

So we walked on Haunted Mansion, then walked on Pirates, then walked on BTMRR. From there we headed back to the Matterhorn.

Passing the castle...

Only an 8 minute Matterhorn wait. I must admit that I was getting sleepy and ready to call it a night. But not Buddy. I asked him if he was ready to go back and get some rest so we could come back in the morning and do it all over again. He said no, so we carried on.

We walked onto the Teacups. Fantasyland was very dead. (Except for the Peter Pan line.) We waited 20 minutes for Peter Pan, then walked onto King Arthur Carrousel and had a few minute wait for Mr. Toad.

Here's Buddy's horse this time around.

My plan this trip was to take pictures of ride "Exit" signs. Well, that didn't go over very well. We're at the end of Day 1 and here I am taking my first one of the day. I just didn't remember to do it.

Casey Jr. had a short wait, as there was only 1 train running by this time.

Buddy wanted to ride again, so we got back in line. I took his picture as we were waiting for the train to come back. He looked like he was just starting out the day, energy-wise. I was the one that was dragging.

The clock struck midnight when we left Casey Jr. I REALLY wanted to make the 12:15 shuttle back to the Candy Cane, but wasn't very hopeful. Buddy and I dashed across the park. Once we hit Main Street Buddy said, "Mine feet hurt." It wasn't a tired whine, it was just a matter-of-fact statement, and his first declaration of tired feet that day. So at that point I picked him up and carried him. I couldn't carry him non-stop though, so he'd walk for a bit and then I'd carry him some more. Miraculously we made it from Casey Jr. to the shuttle stop with about 2 minutes to spare. Buddy climbed up on a bench and was totally out in less than 20 seconds.

What an awesome day. We were expecting high crowds and got much lower crowds. We got in 32 rides and 2 extended treat stops! I got to hang out with my 5 year old in Disneyland for 15 hours with no whining or complaining. Sometimes I think back on that and wonder how that was even possible. The no-whining, that is. Kids are kids -- they get tired. But Buddy somehow didn't go there, thankfully. When I talk to my husband about that day I am just in awe of how perfect it was. (minus the eating thing ) It was one of those days you wish you could relive. So perfect.

 

[Sherry E]

I finally have to disagree with you on something (ordinarily I agree with you on most things)! The Teacups!

Well it probably largely depends on the person and their individual make-up, but I find the Teacups to be much more jarring to me than they were in the old days. I was never a 'spin the cup like a madman to feel like we are tilting sideways' kind of girl to begin with. I hated riding with maniacal friends who just had to spin the cup of death as fast as it would go. I would always choose to ride with people who were not very strong (even though they all thought they were!) and couldn't get it to move very easily! But at least I was okay with some wheel-spinning.

However, when I got on the 'Cups again in 2008, Shawn and I didn't even spin the cup past the first 2 seconds of the ride because the vehicle was moving fast enough for us on its own. Its natural, non-wheel spinning movement was more than enough for us! I even said, "Whoa! This has gotten faster even without spinning it!" It may just be that I cannot personally handle that kind of motion as well as I could when I was younger, but I definitely think that different people will experience the Teacups differently.



As for the ellipses...as someone who has done her fair share of proofreading and correcting of spelling, grammar, punctuation, format and overall syntax in her life, I can say that MOST of the TR's on this forum (mine included) could be victims of the dreaded red pen to varying degrees - IF we were adhering to guidelines for business letters or scripts or particular types of documents. For example, sometimes if I am posting quickly and need to sign off of the DIS fast, I leave typos. Since I have a natural inclination to spot typos, I HATE it when I leave them in a hastily typed post but it happens.

But for 'creative writing' (and I consider TR's to be creative writing) it doesn't really matter, as the punctuation is used to emphasize the thought or feeling being conveyed, as you know. There are lots of us who use ... or !!! or all kinds of fun things to express ourselves in these TR's. If we were being formal, it would be different. (Most of the e-mails and text messages I receive these days are all lower case letters - no caps at all - and riddled with weird misspellings and abbreviations. The whole compositional landscape has changed in the last decade!)

So you just keep ... 'ing away!!! I enjoy it!

 

[Sherry E]

The "tallest apartment complex" near The Grove, eh? Well, there is one huge place (it spans a lot of land) that instantly springs to mind. I used to live in that complex (pre-1996), and it has a combo of garden apartments and tower apartments. So I am thinking the towers are what D's friend was talking about.

Otherwise, if it's not that particular place there is one other kind of big apartment complex sort of across the street from The Grove that it could be, but it's not necessarily tall.

Anyway, yes, it's definitely my neck of the woods!

I'm so glad Buddy finally got his Space Mountain fix - "...mine new favorite ride" is hilarious!! So sweet!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Too funny that you were afraid of getting sick on the teacups and it was Astro Orbiter that did it. The teacups are of course my DHs nemisis (which he has agreed to take motion sickness pills and ride next time for Colton) I have never gotten sick on a ride before this last trip and I got hit 3x...the very first one being Dumbo and the second being Astro Orbiter! I think those two were directly related to how Colton "ran" the up and down motions but ewww I really did not feel well after those..(the 3rd was TOT which was a whole different kind of sick I was actually having trouble breathing after that one)

The exit sign thing was a nice idea, but I can see where it would be sooo easy to forget as you exit and are talking with Buddy about the ride....kids can be so wonderfully distracting sometimes!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Great classic pic of the Teacups. Just like the rest of the day during your visit at DL, short lines which is great for you and your group. I don't know what it is with me and the golden spike pic, those r my favorite pics from your TR. Buddy just barely made the ride height limit for INDY and I thought he would say that this would be his favorite ride at DL.

You really did a lot that day and got a lot of the rides at DL done in one day. I'm glad to hear that you are doing a Sign Exit Quest like I did with the Sign Quest. I hope to see more Sign Exits the next day.

 

[smile4stamps]

I am SO impressed that Buddy was able to make it all day!

I will be there in June and I am thinking I will need breaks! I don't think I can do 7am of MM through Midnight!

I am also afraid of the Teacups! I did not do them either of my trips to DL. I am thinking of trying them the next time but I dunno!

I loved the Mickey Ice Cream pictures! Especially the Ice Cream goatee!

As far as punctuation and grammar? Take a look above. My posts are often riddled with !!! I have tried to stop it but there isn't really another way to convey the !! without using a !

 

[tksbaskets]

I'm smiling and exhausted just reading about your day. It sounds just wonderful! I'm thinking Buddy probably slept on the shuttle too. THIRTY TWO rides???? You make my family look like lazy slouches!

 

[deejdigsdis]

I finally have to disagree with you on something (ordinarily I agree with you on most things)! The Teacups!

Well it probably largely depends on the person and their individual make-up, but I find the Teacups to be much more jarring to me than they were in the old days. I was never a 'spin the cup like a madman to feel like we are tilting sideways' kind of girl to begin with. I hated riding with maniacal friends who just had to spin the cup of death as fast as it would go. I would always choose to ride with people who were not very strong (even though they all thought they were!) and couldn't get it to move very easily! But at least I was okay with some wheel-spinning.

However, when I got on the 'Cups again in 2008, Shawn and I didn't even spin the cup past the first 2 seconds of the ride because the vehicle was moving fast enough for us on its own. Its natural, non-wheel spinning movement was more than enough for us! I even said, "Whoa! This has gotten faster even without spinning it!" It may just be that I cannot personally handle that kind of motion as well as I could when I was younger, but I definitely think that different people will experience the Teacups differently.



As for the ellipses...as someone who has done her fair share of proofreading and correcting of spelling, grammar, punctuation, format and overall syntax in her life, I can say that MOST of the TR's on this forum (mine included) could be victims of the dreaded red pen to varying degrees - IF we were adhering to guidelines for business letters or scripts or particular types of documents. For example, sometimes if I am posting quickly and need to sign off of the DIS fast, I leave typos. Since I have a natural inclination to spot typos, I HATE it when I leave them in a hastily typed post but it happens.

But for 'creative writing' (and I consider TR's to be creative writing) it doesn't really matter, as the punctuation is used to emphasize the thought or feeling being conveyed, as you know. There are lots of us who use ... or !!! or all kinds of fun things to express ourselves in these TR's. If we were being formal, it would be different. (Most of the e-mails and text messages I receive these days are all lower case letters - no caps at all - and riddled with weird misspellings and abbreviations. The whole compositional landscape has changed in the last decade!)

So you just keep ... 'ing away!!! I enjoy it!

Funny about the Teacups! I wonder if we hit it on a really slow day. With Buddy being the only one spinning, we definitely weren't spinning all that much. D said we were most certainly the most non-spinning teacup out there. I was really surprised that I could handle it and it didn't affect me at all. Now those spinning ladybugs in A Bug's Land? I wouldn't attempt to try those. Since there are fewer and the platform things are smaller, there's just too much spinning going on for me.

I will definitely keep ...'ing away!!!

The "tallest apartment complex" near The Grove, eh? Well, there is one huge place (it spans a lot of land) that instantly springs to mind. I used to live in that complex (pre-1996), and it has a combo of garden apartments and tower apartments. So I am thinking the towers are what D's friend was talking about.

Otherwise, if it's not that particular place there is one other kind of big apartment complex sort of across the street from The Grove that it could be, but it's not necessarily tall.

Anyway, yes, it's definitely my neck of the woods!

I'm so glad Buddy finally got his Space Mountain fix - "...mine new favorite ride" is hilarious!! So sweet!

The way the friend talked it was like the apartment complex was well-known for being the tallest in the country. I guess not quite as well known as they thought, if it wasn't completely obvious to a local!

Too funny that you were afraid of getting sick on the teacups and it was Astro Orbiter that did it. The teacups are of course my DHs nemisis (which he has agreed to take motion sickness pills and ride next time for Colton) I have never gotten sick on a ride before this last trip and I got hit 3x...the very first one being Dumbo and the second being Astro Orbiter! I think those two were directly related to how Colton "ran" the up and down motions but ewww I really did not feel well after those..(the 3rd was TOT which was a whole different kind of sick I was actually having trouble breathing after that one)

The exit sign thing was a nice idea, but I can see where it would be sooo easy to forget as you exit and are talking with Buddy about the ride....kids can be so wonderfully distracting sometimes!

Just reading your paragraph about the different motion sickness rides made me feel a little dizzy! It really did. Ugh. After Buddy conquered everything in DL, he said with a suspicious smile, "Now we are going to ride Tower of Terror." Will I once again go on a non-me ride for the sake of my child? We'll see...

Great classic pic of the Teacups. Just like the rest of the day during your visit at DL, short lines which is great for you and your group. I don't know what it is with me and the golden spike pic, those r my favorite pics from your TR. Buddy just barely made the ride height limit for INDY and I thought he would say that this would be his favorite ride at DL.

You really did a lot that day and got a lot of the rides at DL done in one day. I'm glad to hear that you are doing a Sign Exit Quest like I did with the Sign Quest. I hope to see more Sign Exits the next day.

Thanks for the compliments Bret. It didn't occur to me to take a pic with the Golden Spike until my trip in January. My SIL and her family went to DL for the very first time in March. They took a pic from above with all 5 family members' feet surrounding the Golden Spike. It looked really cool.

I was surprised Buddy didn't say more about Indy. He loves the Lego Indiana Jones game for the Wii, so it really surprised me that he didn't get more into it. I mean he liked it, but he didn't seem to be drawn back there over and over.

I TRIED to do an Exit Sign quest for the rides, but I kept forgetting about it. I think I only got 3!

I am SO impressed that Buddy was able to make it all day!

I will be there in June and I am thinking I will need breaks! I don't think I can do 7am of MM through Midnight!

I am also afraid of the Teacups! I did not do them either of my trips to DL. I am thinking of trying them the next time but I dunno!

I loved the Mickey Ice Cream pictures! Especially the Ice Cream goatee!

As far as punctuation and grammar? Take a look above. My posts are often riddled with !!! I have tried to stop it but there isn't really another way to convey the !! without using a !

I can't believe he made it all day either! I'm NEVER the one who wants to leave before the park closes, but I was ready this time. Which is odd since we were having such a wonderful time. I was just getting a little tired.

The Teacups really surprised me. I wasn't bothered by them either time I rode, but I did feel a tiny hint of something coming on when I rode Dumbo. That was new to me. So strange that something that started bothering me years ago didn't bother me this trip, and something that has never bothered me was on the verge of bothering me.

Keep up with the !!! I think it's fun!

I'm smiling and exhausted just reading about your day. It sounds just wonderful! I'm thinking Buddy probably slept on the shuttle too. THIRTY TWO rides???? You make my family look like lazy slouches!

It was a wonderful day. Can you believe how much we did? I didn't feel like we were rushing all around, either. It was a relaxing day in a lot of ways. I was really surprised when I counted all the rides that we had done that day. And you are right...Buddy did sleep on the shuttle. It was a bit tricky trying to carry him up the stairs once we reached Candy Cane Inn.

Did we or did we not make rope drop at 9am on Day 2??? That is the question.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Thanks for the compliments Bret. It didn't occur to me to take a pic with the Golden Spike until my trip in January. My SIL and her family went to DL for the very first time in March. They took a pic from above with all 5 family members' feet surrounding the Golden Spike. It looked really cool.

I was surprised Buddy didn't say more about Indy. He loves the Lego Indiana Jones game for the Wii, so it really surprised me that he didn't get more into it. I mean he liked it, but he didn't seem to be drawn back there over and over.

I TRIED to do an Exit Sign quest for the rides, but I kept forgetting about it. I think I only got 3!

I am enjoying your TR Deej. Its been awhile since I have enjoyed a TR on the thread since Michele (kaoden39). On one of your previous TR that you took a picture of the Golden spike with color and black & white. Your pic on this TR looked very clear and good that you want to make this a tradition for you and your family.

INDY is a very popular ride at DL, but maybe the fast rides like the roller coasters at DL got the excitement out of him.

It is nice to see some signs during your trip and when you go back to DL one day, it will be nice to see some more exit signs.

Keep up the good work on your TR.

 

[deejdigsdis]

I am enjoying your TR Deej. Its been awhile since I have enjoyed a TR on the thread since Michele (kaoden39). On one of your previous TR that you took a picture of the Golden spike with color and black & white. Your pic on this TR looked very clear and good that you want to make this a tradition for you and your family.

INDY is a very popular ride at DL, but maybe the fast rides like the roller coasters at DL got the excitement out of him.

It is nice to see some signs during your trip and when you go back to DL one day, it will be nice to see some more exit signs.

Keep up the good work on your TR.

Thank you so much Bret. It's always fun to hear someone is enjoying the TR. Glad you're along for the ride!

I think you're right. Buddy definitely developed a taste for roller coasters this trip!

Be back soon with another update.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Day 2. The hours today were once again 9am - midnight. The first shuttle of the day would be leaving at 8:30. Let's just say we weren't on it. We weren't on the 9:00 shuttle...or the 9:30 shuttle...or the 10:00 shuttle...or the 10:30 or 11:00 shuttle. We were on the 11:30am shuttle. So yeah, we didn't make rope drop. I decided to just let Buddy sleep until he woke up, which was pretty late obviously. D wanted to sleep in even longer, so we made plans to meet up with her in DCA later.

So Buddy and I hopped on the 11:30 shuttle -- 3 hours after the first shuttle. I was SHOCKED to find it was standing room only by the time we got on at 11:25. I had never seen the shuttle more than 1/3 full during any of my 7 shuttle rides (between my January and April trips). So this was weird. I was standing and holding the overhead bar while Buddy stood with his arms wrapped around my waist. Not very fun when the driver would brake. Being the seat belt-wearing stickler that I am, I was just waiting for Buddy to pipe up and say something like, "Now why is it OK for us to stand up on a bus and ride to Disneyland on a busy street, but it's not OK for me to not wear a seat belt when we just drive around the corner of a non-busy street to my friend's house???" Well, he didn't say anything. But I'm sure my older 2 boys would have made some comment.

After we were dropped off we headed straight to the stroller rental. Today would be a stroller day. Our next stop was to go into DL and get Space Mountain FPs, and then grab some fruit at the cart on Main Street. (Remember...we missed breakfast at CCI.)

We made our way into Disneyland and I just felt a little...off? Slightly bummed? Out of sorts? It just doesn't feel right to me to go in so late in the day. Missing those early morning counting down and anticipation-building moments on Main Street was a big deal to me. It shouldn't be a big deal. I'm at Disneyland for crying out loud. But it just feels wrong to start the day so late like that.

Fortunately I got over it quickly. We secured our Space FPs and went to the fruit cart as planned. We skipped the locker this morning since we had the stroller to hold jackets/water bottles. I could tell that Buddy was still tired. He was just really quiet. He wasn't willing to choose any fruit, so I chose for him. We ended up with grapes and apple slices with caramel. We headed over to Town Square, grabbed a bench, and settled in to enjoy the Disneyland Band while we shared the fruit.

My favorite part was when they played a medley of songs from Beauty and the Beast.

The band marched right by us when they left.

The look on this guy's face makes me laugh.

We caught a glimpse of Goofy while we were sitting there.

Town Square flowers.

Random Main Street shot.

Love the Disneyland D on the popcorn cart!

We had plans to spend the morning...uh, excuse me...early afternoon (!)... at DCA doing some things that D would be OK missing out on.

First stop Monster's Inc.

As we went through the queue, Buddy noticed Jiminy Cricket on the recycling cans and asked, "Why do we keep seeing that Pinocchio guy everywhere?" So of course I had to take a picture to document that little memory of his. I hadn't been paying any attention to Jiminy Cricket, but from Buddy's perspective we were seeing him everywhere we went.

I was hoping Roz would single Buddy out, but no such luck. It was a walk-on by the way. That huge queue is so interesting to me. Every time I have ridden it was a walk on. Does it fill up during the summer? Was it just not as popular as they were expecting?

Off we go toward A Bug's Land. A glimpse of what we saw on the way over...

Close up of that last one. Looks fun!

And that brings this installment to a close.

 

[Sherry E]

I didn't as much as you would think when you mentioned the time you finally got moving and on the shuttle. Sometimes you just have to go at a slower pace. I found myself getting out later than I had wanted to on my 2 solo days in DLR last year - simply because I didn't want to push myself given all the pain I was in. One part of me felt like, "I'm moving too slowly! This is not what I planned! I have to speed it up and get out of this hotel room!" And the other part of me - who was only planning on taking photos and not really going on rides - thought, "Eh...why am I rushing?"

I am still convinced that the Monsters, Inc. ride suffers solely from its location. I don't think the ride is any less interesting than the other dark rides. It's just as good. I think the inside part of the queue is full of cute jokes and details. I think there is only one time I have gone on this ride when there was any kind of a 'line' to speak of. Every other time it was a walk on, and we breezed right through the queue.

I think that if Monsters, Inc. were located smack dab in the middle of Fantasyland or somewhere in DCA or DL that wasn't tucked around a corner and out of the way, it would be packed. I also think that if the Winnie the Pooh ride were right next door to Mr. Toad or Peter Pan, it would also be packed too. But the Critter Country location seems to work against it in luring people to ride and the line is usually non-existent. The Pooh ride is another one that is just as cute as any other dark ride.

I love those posters/signs on the construction walls - especially the Trolley/Mountains of Candy/Rivers of Fudge poster! If there is any place that does construction walls well, it is the Disney Parks. They give you something interesting to look at even when construction is happening.

 

[skiingfast]

Good thing MI was walk on. Other wise you may not have gotten such great shots.

The picture of the poppies in DL, are really making me hope the ones I planted will bloom.

 

[smile4stamps]

Wow! I guess that long first day REALLY wore him out! I have yet to miss park opening and may freak out if I sleep in. But I know we may need to at some point!

I'm looking forward to some fruit from DL for my breakfasts since I won't have a continental option at either of my hotels. (I looked into concierge at PPH but wasn't in the budget!)

 

[mvf-m11c]

I am kind of surprise that you didn't get in the park later during the day after you were at the park late the other night. Looks like the long night for Buddy made him sleep longer on day 2. I always like to go to the park when it opens at that time so I can get some of the rides done in the morning and don't have to worry about it later during a crowded afternoon. Thats why I don't stay late at night anymore since I can get to DL first thing in the morning.

The bus during the afternoon shouldn't be that crowded. I'm sorry to hear that you had to stand up on the bus while Buddy was hanging on you. I thought that someone on the bus will let your son sit in one of the seats.

Everytime I go on MI, there is almost no one there and just a walk on. I like this ride and just like Sherry said that if MI was in a nice location, the lines would be decent. Even Winnie the Pooh ride at CC doesn't get a lot of people. At the MK at WDW, the lines for Winnie the Pooh is 5 times longer then DL Winnie the Pooh ride because it is in FL. If those rides were in FL, they would get a good amount of guests in the lines.

Great pics of MS TS when you and Buddy got some fruit in the afternoon.

Keep it up.