My 1st Disneyland Trip Report!!!

[tyffanidawn]

I so much enjoy reading all of the amazing trip reports that get posted on this site!!! And all the great photos that go along with them so I thought I'd make an attempt at my very first trip report!!!

So, here it goes...

My family and I took our very first Disneyland trip last May (2013) and instantly fell in love with everything Disney!!! Our trip was perfect and the look on my kids' faces was absolutely priceless and a memory that I'll treasure forever!!!

Our Cast of Characters:

Myself (29)
DH (29)
DS (6)
DS (3)
DGrammie (48)
DSisters (both 10)

Day 1 Tuesday, May 14th, 2013-

We arrived at the airport at about 4:30am for our 6:15am flight!!! This was all four kids' first time on an airplane so you can imagine their excitement seeing all of those giant planes taking off and landing!!! They were bright eyed and bushy tailed from the moment we woke them at 1:30am to head to the airport... too excited to go back to sleep!!!





We did finally convince them to get in a little nap while on the plane... telling them that they needed to be well rested when they met Mickey!!!

After landing and exiting the airport we headed straight for our bus, the Disneyland Resort Express, and of course DS3 had to have his picture taken in front of the giant Buzz Lightyear mural on the side of the bus... Buzz is, after all, his favorite Disney character!!!



After being dropped off at our hotel we quickly ditched our luggage and headed straight to the parks!!! Our first day we spent at DCA and no more than two minutes after we entered the park who do we see cruising down Buena Vista Street?!? No other than Mickey Mouse himself!!! What an amazing moment for the kiddos to see Mickey waving and greeting them as soon as we get there!!! Too cool



The first thing on the kids list of things to do was Grizzly River Run so we headed straight over!!! A 30 minute wait to get on the ride but they didn't mind at all and were great little troopers... no amount of waiting was gonna stop them from getting completely soaked!!!

I wanted to make sure that I got a before and after pic of them on this ride and I'm glad I did... these are a few of my favorite pics!!!

BEFORE... DRY!!!



AFTER... COMPLETELY DRENCHED!!!



Next up on our list of must do things... Soarin' Over California (one of my personal favorites!!!), Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Jumpin' Jellyfish, Silly Symphony Swings and the Golden Zephyr!!!



At this point everyone started to get a little hungry... and it was just our luck that Corndog Castle just happened to be right next to Goofy's Sky School which was our next ride destination!!! DH went to grab our Fastpasses while the rest of us went to order our food!!! They have a Cheese Corndog that is to DIE for!!! This was hands down my favorite Disney food!!!



Love this pic... DS(6)'s "angry face"... his mean Mommy made him sit down and re-hydrate before he could go on another ride



After we finished eating and used our FP's at Goofy's Sky School we headed over to Mickey's Fun Wheel!!! Were a very sweet CM overheard us say that this was our first trip to Disneyland and gave all the kids a 1st Visit pin!!! I was VERY impressed with how absolutely amazing every CM that we encountered was... each and every one of them made our trip that much more magical!!!



The kiddos had decided ahead of time that they wanted to do a swinging gondola so, of course, with a little reluctance on DGrammie(48)'s part they got their way!!! The six of us (minus DH, who is TERRIFIED of heights) hop into the swinging gondola!!!









They had a BLAST!!! Also, zoomed in for a great picture of DH down below waiting for us to get off the ride!!! Notice the giant YAWN!!! Perfect timing for that photo



Our next stop was Games of the Boardwalk... DS(3) was SO excited that he won the BIG prize on Dumbo's Bucket Brigade(with Daddy's help, of course!!!)







Right next to the Games of the Boardwalk was a very friendly CM who was doing face painting... DS(6) immediately hopped in the chair and let the CM know that he wanted to be a pirate (even though it wasn't on the board of designs to choose from) but the CM didn't even bat an eye and went straight to work telling him he was going to be the "most fiercest pirate since Captain Hook!!!"











Our last adventure of the day was King Triton's Carousel... which the kids rode five times





After a few stops to look in some of the shops we decided to head on back to our hotel and get some rest... we had been up since 1:30am after all

I hope you all enjoyed Day 1 of my trip report... soon to come... Day 2

 

[lucysmom]

Oh my goodness, such joy and excitement on your kids' faces! I am loving your trip report. BTW--I think I would look like Grandma if I had to ride Mickey's Wheel of Death!! I am looking forward to day two.

 

[tyffanidawn]

Day 2 - Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

On our second day we decided to head back to DCA and check out the other half of the park!!! We woke up early, ate breakfast at our hotel and headed out the door for another day of adventure arriving at the gates about a half an hour before the park opened!!! While waiting in line we happened to see my "Honorary Mom", Des, who just so happened to be on vacation with her DH, DD and 2 DGrandkids the exact same days as my family... LOL!!! I absolutely love this lady for SO many reasons and this day was no exception!!! Our first priority like many others this day was to get a RSR FP before they were gone!!! Seeing the VERY long line for FP's we were a little discouraged but then who steps in to save the day... no other than my best friend, Des, who offered to take our park tickets and pick up FP for us while we went on with the kiddos to enjoy the rest of the park!!! What a life saver... we really would have regretted not going on that ride!!! Here's a very cute pic of DS(3) with Des' grand-daughter, Taylor, while we waited to enter the park!!! What cuties...



We headed back towards Paradise Pier and right away saw Duffy and Donald Duck and hopped in line for pics and autographs...







Our first ride of the day was Toy Story Mania... so much fun... and a BIG hit with the kids!!!





And they loved the Toy Story themed gift shop as you're coming out of the ride!!! They couldn't help but try on the Woody, Buzz and Jesse hats!!!



By this time it was starting to get a little toasty out so we all decided it was definitely ice cream time... the kids got large swirl ice creams from Paradise Pier Ice Cream and us adults made a stop at Ghiradelli's... best decision of the day!!!





After cooling off with our ice cream we rounded the corner into Cars Land and met Red and Mater!!! A dream come true for my DS(3)!!!





By then it was time to use our RSR FP's!!! I now understand the hype surrounding his ride... it was AWESOME!!!



We headed through Bug's Land and the kids got to meet Flik... another favorite!!! And ride the Bug's Land rides!!!



We decided on Taste Pilot's Grill for lunch this day!!! I ordered the chili cheese fries and loaded them up with all kinds of yummy toppings!!! DELICIOUS!!!



Next on our list was Hollywood Land!!! We'd grabbed FP's for ToT on our way to have lunch so by the time we got back we were ready to ride!!!



We got to meet Sully and told DS(3) to try and scary him!!! He made a funny face and Sully pretended to be scared and jumped back with his hand covering his face!!! Needless to say DS(3) got a real kick out of this and proceeded to make the same funny face at every character meet and greet we had from that point on... LOL!!!





While heading out of Hollywood Land we also bumped into Chip and Dale and jumped in for a quick photo... Chip even joined in on the fun and made funny faces with DS(3)!!!



Half way through our day we decided we'd head on over to DL and the first ride the kids wanted to go on was the Jungle Cruise!!! The CM we had driving our boat was SO funny and the kids loved it!!! At one point they almost fell off their seats trying to get away from the piranhas... LOL (as you can see in the pic below!!!)





We went on POTC, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (twice!!!) and TMAOWP... grabbed some yummy churros and called it a day!!!



Hope you enjoyed our Day 2 adventure... soon to come... Day 3!!!

 

[luulu1999]

Following along!!! It has been almost a year since your trip!! That means it is about time to start planning another (if you haven't already)

 

[tyffanidawn]

Following along!!! It has been almost a year since your trip!! That means it is about time to start planning another (if you haven't already)

You're absolutely right!!! Now that we've caught the Disney bug we'll be making Disneyland an annual vacation spot for our family!!! Our next trip is late Sept/early Oct of this year!!! DL at Halloween Time... we can't wait!!!

 

[luulu1999]

You're absolutely right!!! Now that we've caught the Disney bug we'll be making Disneyland an annual vacation spot for our family!!! Our next trip is late Sept/early Oct of this year!!! DL at Halloween Time... we can't wait!!!

O I would LOVE to go at Halloween time unfortunately it is such a long trip for us and our kids fall break is only a day or maybe two its not feasible for us

 

[tyffanidawn]

Day 3 - Thursday, May 16th, 2013 -

This day was our Early Entry day into DL!!! We ate a light breakfast at our hotel and headed out the door getting to DL about 15 minutes before the park opened!!! A few quick pictures and we were off to Fantasyland!!!











Our plan was to ride Peter Pan and Dumbo first thing when we got in the park and were a little surprised to find that they both had over 30 minutes waits already... we decided to pass on those and headed over to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride... which only had a 5 minute wait!!!



Hang on guys... crazy little driver at the wheel...



After that the kids asked if we could go find the Sword in the Stone... as they were all four determined to be the one to pull it out...







Not even some amazing team work could get that Sword to budge...



A quick trip on King Arthur's Carousel and then we were off and running to the Mad Tea Party!!!





One of the kiddos favorite rides!!! After that we made THE biggest mistake of our trip... hoping in line for Storybook Land Canal Boats!!! The sign had it posted as a 5 minute wait... no big deal, right?!? Well, that 5 minute wait turned into a 35 minute wait in a very tight line of people!!! After finally making it onto the ride the kids were completely bored... LOL!!! Other than the beginning when we went into the whale's mouth it was a complete bore!!! I was glad that I got to experience it once but we'll definitely be skipping it on our future trips!!!

Next came it's a small world!!! DGrammie(48)'s all time favorite ride!!!





Then a nice relaxing train ride around the entire park...



At this point everyone was getting a little tired so we decided to head on back to the hotel to take a break... but not before picking up our Disney hats!!!







Back at our hotel we thought a dip in the pool would be the perfect way to relax before heading back to the parks...



Then it was time to meet up with Des and her family for our Rainforest Cafe reservations and take some time to explore Downtown Disney...









Day 3 continued in next post...

 

[tyffanidawn]

Day 3 continued...

More Downtown Disney fun... Build-a-Bear... and World of Disney shopping...









After that it was back into DL for some more shopping... and a quick meet and greet with Mickey...





Then back to the hotel for bed!!!

Hope you enjoyed Day 3 of our trip... coming up... Day 4!!!

 

[wiscbugs]

Love all the pics...looks like the kids had a blast!

 

[sophies*mom]

Everyone looks like they're having a blast! I'm enjoying reading about your very first trip!!

I agree about the Storybook land boats, I think they're not worth waiting in line for.

One tip I always give people (which I'm sure you figured out now! ) is to head straight to Fantasyland if you want to ride any rides there. They back up so fast, and they are long all day long, it's crazy!

I bet you're excited for your next trip!

 

[luulu1999]

LOVING your report!!! Those Chip and Dale hats are too cute!!!! We have done Build A Bear locally one time and it was the cutest thing ever (but very expensive) so my DD got a BAB gift card for our upcoming trip and my son got Ridemakerz I can't wait to get to do those two things!!!