eagleTransalp
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2013
- Messages
- 11
Driving sixteen hours from Boise to Disneyland in one day may strike you as wacky, but that is what my wife and daughter did this October. My daughter has at least a hundred pounds of disney pins, but she only took about ten pounds with her. They like to wander the park catching the performers (figuratively) and pouncing on the cast members (literally) who have pin lanyards.
They went to Mickey's Halloween party dressed as Ellie from Up and as a penguin. I helped my wife make bottle cap pins for her Ellie costume and found a travel themed print blouse on eBay. I won't attempt to describe the penguin outfit my daughter created. Wacky again.
I couldn't miss out on all the fun, so I flew down after work on Wednesday with a friend's high school senior daughter. We all stayed in a the Alpine Inn on Katella. This place is a bit of a walk, but not bad. We were looking for a bargain and found it to be just fine for a place to be briefly unconscious. The beds are comfortable and the linens are nice. It is an old fashion motel but I liked it.
The four of us had three days together in the parks and were there from open to close. I made a list of things I wanted to do and got it all in. I wonder how many days are required to visit absolutely every attraction... We were in line when the parks opened each day and left when they closed. We rode single rider whenever possible. I rode the Bobsleds three times in an hour single rider. We rode Radiator Spring Racers single rider several times.
But we did not rush. We encouraged our guest to enjoy all the touches including the window displays on Main Street and Buena Vista Ave. We had a relaxed breakfast at Jolly Holliday while the crowed rushed into adventure land. We explored the caves on Tom Sawer Island.
We ate at Flo's and talked with Red. We had a Chili Cone Queso at the Cozy Cone. Our only table service meal was at the Story Teller and it was a good one.
Our teenaged guest was afraid of Tower of Terror and California Screamin, so my daughter and I snuck off to do those while she rode other stuff with my wife. In past years my wife had the courage for the Tower when I called it "The High-rise of Hilarity", but not this year.
We did Disneyland only on Thursday, exercising our early entry. We did DCA only on Friday. Saturday we did both parks, in line at 8:00 and walking out at midnight. We walked back to the Alpine and slept five hours before the sixteen hour drive home. I drove us to Lone Pine and then our daughter took over. We ate at Erick Schats Bakkerÿ in Bishop, but that was our only real stop. We took turns driving and sleeping. Our 18 year old guest slept all day. We wore her out. I'm sure she thinks we are nuts. We were in bed at home at 11:00 and at work on Monday at 8:00. Wacky.
I treasure that bittersweet look over my shoulder at Ornament Valley on the way to the front of the park and that final glimpse of the train station through the gate. I can still hear the final serenade of the Esplanade music as we began the march back into reality and responsibility. It fills me with that Disney feeling of optimism to know that the park is still there and that people are being blessed by it at this moment. Yeah, I know: wacky.
They went to Mickey's Halloween party dressed as Ellie from Up and as a penguin. I helped my wife make bottle cap pins for her Ellie costume and found a travel themed print blouse on eBay. I won't attempt to describe the penguin outfit my daughter created. Wacky again.
I couldn't miss out on all the fun, so I flew down after work on Wednesday with a friend's high school senior daughter. We all stayed in a the Alpine Inn on Katella. This place is a bit of a walk, but not bad. We were looking for a bargain and found it to be just fine for a place to be briefly unconscious. The beds are comfortable and the linens are nice. It is an old fashion motel but I liked it.
The four of us had three days together in the parks and were there from open to close. I made a list of things I wanted to do and got it all in. I wonder how many days are required to visit absolutely every attraction... We were in line when the parks opened each day and left when they closed. We rode single rider whenever possible. I rode the Bobsleds three times in an hour single rider. We rode Radiator Spring Racers single rider several times.
But we did not rush. We encouraged our guest to enjoy all the touches including the window displays on Main Street and Buena Vista Ave. We had a relaxed breakfast at Jolly Holliday while the crowed rushed into adventure land. We explored the caves on Tom Sawer Island.
We ate at Flo's and talked with Red. We had a Chili Cone Queso at the Cozy Cone. Our only table service meal was at the Story Teller and it was a good one.
Our teenaged guest was afraid of Tower of Terror and California Screamin, so my daughter and I snuck off to do those while she rode other stuff with my wife. In past years my wife had the courage for the Tower when I called it "The High-rise of Hilarity", but not this year.
We did Disneyland only on Thursday, exercising our early entry. We did DCA only on Friday. Saturday we did both parks, in line at 8:00 and walking out at midnight. We walked back to the Alpine and slept five hours before the sixteen hour drive home. I drove us to Lone Pine and then our daughter took over. We ate at Erick Schats Bakkerÿ in Bishop, but that was our only real stop. We took turns driving and sleeping. Our 18 year old guest slept all day. We wore her out. I'm sure she thinks we are nuts. We were in bed at home at 11:00 and at work on Monday at 8:00. Wacky.
I treasure that bittersweet look over my shoulder at Ornament Valley on the way to the front of the park and that final glimpse of the train station through the gate. I can still hear the final serenade of the Esplanade music as we began the march back into reality and responsibility. It fills me with that Disney feeling of optimism to know that the park is still there and that people are being blessed by it at this moment. Yeah, I know: wacky.
