The stars aligned and I was able to pull my active family together for an evening at Disneyland last night. I mentally prepared myself ahead of time for the massive crowds expected on what was the next to last day before So Cal Select passes black out. Even though I have been a passholder for years, have gone at this time of year almost every year, and not found the crowds to be any worse than other busy times, I believed all the propaganda about annual passholders being like a plague of locusts and that it would be miserable. It wasn't. My first surprise came when we arrived at 3:30 in the afternoon and weren't diverted to the new parking area. We cruised right in and parked in Mickey and Friends.
We went directly to DCA and waited in the non-existent annual passholder line to get a picture taken for my daughter's friend, and then picked up our picnic dinners for the WOC show. It was the perfect snack-sized meal. The fried chicken was not very good, but surprisingly, the potato and cole slaw salads were great. By the time we finished, it was 4:30, and with WOC tickets in hand (blue section - there are horrible views in the Blue section, by the way - more on that later), we headed over to Disneyland.
Once there, we pulled BTMRR, Indie and then Buzz Lightyear fp's. We rode HM, PoTC, did the Treehouse (of course), got a Dole Whip and went into the Tiki Room. We rode the train around to Tomorrow Land and tried for a Space Mtn. fp, but they were all gone. We boogied with the DJ, met up with the teens, and at 7:30, headed over to DCA to wait in line for WOC.
It is then that the teens decide they are starving. I must say that teens and starving are like little kids and having to go to the bathroom. It happens at the most inopportune times. I usually carry about a hunded different snacks with me, but they had already eaten through those like termites. Anyway, so we wait forever for food at the Wharf in DCA, scarf it down, and don't make it to WOC until 8:15. YOU WILL NOT GET A GOOD PLACE TO STAND IF YOU WAIT UNTIL AFTER 8:00. Maybe even earlier. I knew this would happen as we waited for the food, but hey, starving kids take precedence. Plus, I must admit, after hearing how great the Blue section was, I was more relaxed about it than I should have been, thereby breaking my number one rule about what I read on these boards, to TAKE EVERYTHING WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. We stood directly behind the VIP section, where people were standing right in front of us, blocking the view. Also blocking the view was a giant planter and an arbor. And then, at 8:58, I kid you not, the 9yo has to go to the bathroom. Which, thankfully, because we were so late, we were close to the exit and were there and back in five minutes.
Breaking the rules, we sat my 9yo on the fence so her head would at least be level with ours. She was a trooper and screamed and yelled her glee with the teens over every introduction of song and characters. I honestly believe I enjoyed the reaction the kids had to their beloved Disney characters more than I enjoyed the show itself (the fact that the 9yo was sitting on my hands on the pointy fence probably didn't help).
One slight rant - PLEASE FOLD UP YOUR STROLLERS FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. I can't tell you how many strollers had perfect views along the fencelines while we stared at the back of someone's enormous head. Okay, rant over.
We went directly back to DL after WOC, breezed right in, checked the wait time on Space (it was 50 minutes), decided we didn't want to wait and used our fp's on Buzz, then BTMRR. By this point, the moment I had been dreading finally occurred. The 9yo got cold. She broke her arm on Friday and I had realized, around 8:00 that evening, that the sweatshirt I brought for her wasn't going to fit. I've heard of skinny jeans, but skinny-armed sweatshirts? Didn't even cross my mind until it was too late. So, as we all tried to make it fit over her cast, she burst into tears and said, "WHY ARE YOU ALL TOUCHING ME?!" At this point, the teen becomes the hero by offering her bigger sweatshirt. I then give the teen my sweatshirt and throw on my hubbie's extra shirt. I looked like a schmo, but, whatever. The meltdown ended, we rode Indie and then went home. The 5 northbound is closed, by the way. Don't know if it was a one time thing or if it is part of ongoing freeway work. The silver lining is that because of the close, we found a shortcut home!
The end.
We went directly to DCA and waited in the non-existent annual passholder line to get a picture taken for my daughter's friend, and then picked up our picnic dinners for the WOC show. It was the perfect snack-sized meal. The fried chicken was not very good, but surprisingly, the potato and cole slaw salads were great. By the time we finished, it was 4:30, and with WOC tickets in hand (blue section - there are horrible views in the Blue section, by the way - more on that later), we headed over to Disneyland.
Once there, we pulled BTMRR, Indie and then Buzz Lightyear fp's. We rode HM, PoTC, did the Treehouse (of course), got a Dole Whip and went into the Tiki Room. We rode the train around to Tomorrow Land and tried for a Space Mtn. fp, but they were all gone. We boogied with the DJ, met up with the teens, and at 7:30, headed over to DCA to wait in line for WOC.
It is then that the teens decide they are starving. I must say that teens and starving are like little kids and having to go to the bathroom. It happens at the most inopportune times. I usually carry about a hunded different snacks with me, but they had already eaten through those like termites. Anyway, so we wait forever for food at the Wharf in DCA, scarf it down, and don't make it to WOC until 8:15. YOU WILL NOT GET A GOOD PLACE TO STAND IF YOU WAIT UNTIL AFTER 8:00. Maybe even earlier. I knew this would happen as we waited for the food, but hey, starving kids take precedence. Plus, I must admit, after hearing how great the Blue section was, I was more relaxed about it than I should have been, thereby breaking my number one rule about what I read on these boards, to TAKE EVERYTHING WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. We stood directly behind the VIP section, where people were standing right in front of us, blocking the view. Also blocking the view was a giant planter and an arbor. And then, at 8:58, I kid you not, the 9yo has to go to the bathroom. Which, thankfully, because we were so late, we were close to the exit and were there and back in five minutes.
Breaking the rules, we sat my 9yo on the fence so her head would at least be level with ours. She was a trooper and screamed and yelled her glee with the teens over every introduction of song and characters. I honestly believe I enjoyed the reaction the kids had to their beloved Disney characters more than I enjoyed the show itself (the fact that the 9yo was sitting on my hands on the pointy fence probably didn't help).
One slight rant - PLEASE FOLD UP YOUR STROLLERS FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. I can't tell you how many strollers had perfect views along the fencelines while we stared at the back of someone's enormous head. Okay, rant over.
We went directly back to DL after WOC, breezed right in, checked the wait time on Space (it was 50 minutes), decided we didn't want to wait and used our fp's on Buzz, then BTMRR. By this point, the moment I had been dreading finally occurred. The 9yo got cold. She broke her arm on Friday and I had realized, around 8:00 that evening, that the sweatshirt I brought for her wasn't going to fit. I've heard of skinny jeans, but skinny-armed sweatshirts? Didn't even cross my mind until it was too late. So, as we all tried to make it fit over her cast, she burst into tears and said, "WHY ARE YOU ALL TOUCHING ME?!" At this point, the teen becomes the hero by offering her bigger sweatshirt. I then give the teen my sweatshirt and throw on my hubbie's extra shirt. I looked like a schmo, but, whatever. The meltdown ended, we rode Indie and then went home. The 5 northbound is closed, by the way. Don't know if it was a one time thing or if it is part of ongoing freeway work. The silver lining is that because of the close, we found a shortcut home!
The end.
