oldcrow
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2006
- Messages
- 142
Disneyland Trip Report April 28, 2006
Cast:
Me, a 34 year old male who loves all theme parks, but most especially any Disney theme park.
Two friends (man and woman.) The two friends are married (to each other,) I am still single.
First of all, this trip wasnt solely a Disneyland vacation. It was actually a Los Angeles mini-vacation (4 days and 4 nights.) We had planned a lot of stuff in and around L.A. and we wanted to spend at least one day at Disneyland. We decided to spend the first 2 nights in Anaheim at the Holiday Inn Anaheim @ the Park. Im a priority club member and I had enough points to get one free night at that hotel. The other night we paid for, but it wasnt bad. In fact, when we arrived on the night of the 27th and I went to check in, I was informed by the front desk clerk that we had been upgraded to a family suite for that first night, but that we would have to move to a regular room for the second night. You see, it was actually two separate reservations, this was necessary because the first night was being paid for with priority club points, while the second night was going to be paid for on a credit card. This didnt bother us one bit, we counted ourselves fortunate to get an upgrade even for just one night. The room was very spacious and we were extremely pleased. It had a full kitchen and a big projection television in the living room. The bathroom had the largest tub I have ever had in a hotel room. Anyway, we were pretty tired the first night after flying in from Columbus, Ohio, so all we really did was stand out on the walkway outside our 5th floor room and watch the fireworks over at Disneyland across the I5, then we went to bed. We had a full day at the park planned for Friday. The park would be open from 8:00 am to Midnight and we planned on being there the whole time, since it was our only day.
On Friday morning we were all wide awake in plenty of time to start getting ready for the park. After I showered and got dressed, I went down to the front desk to arrange our move to a different room for the second night. Well, our luck only got better. After first speaking to a slightly confused clerk, I later spoke with the manager and without even trying, we somehow got upgraded again for the second night, no extra charge. So, we didnt have to move out of our big family suite and we didnt have to worry about packing up again (too bad we had already packed, oh well.) The Holiday Inn Anaheim @ the Park does offer access to a shuttle that runs to the parks. The printed shuttle schedule was sort of contradictory. It said that the first shuttle runs starting a half hour before park opening, which should be 7:30 on this day. However, it also listed the time of the first shuttle on April 28th as being 8:30 am. To confirm what time the first shuttle would be, I asked the front desk clerk and he confirmed 8:30 am. The park opened at 8:00 and we wanted to be outside the gates at 7:30. So, we said to heck with the shuttle and we walked. Its really not a long walk from the corner of Ball Rd and Harbor Blvd to the entrance of Disneyland. It took us maybe 10 to 15 minutes, if that. Sure we had to walk on a freeway overpass, but big deal. We were flying high anyway, we were going to Disneyland.
We arrived at the front gates right at about 7:40 am, I think, but who cares, we were plenty early for our day of fun. Me and one of my traveling companion friends were the only two of us who had ever been here before, but that was in 1996 and we were part of the Ohio State Marching Band at the time, out there for the Rose Bowl. We had performed a concert in Disneyland, then we had about 4 hours of free-time in the park. We often joked that although we had been to Disneyland, we had never seen it in the daytime, which was entirely true, until April 28, 2006. In fact, this was to be the very first time I had ever been to a Disney park without being part of either a high school or college marching band. I had been to Walt Disney World on 4 separate occasions, once with a high school band and 3 times with the Ohio State Marching Band, and I had been to Disneyland just once, well, just 4 hours.
Anyway when we arrived at the gates, there were lines at all the turnstiles, but we were only about 15th in line, things were looking good. At 8:00 am, the train pulled into the Main Street station and the gates were opened. We entered and casually walked down Main Street. While most people were making a beeline for Space Mountain or Indiana Jones, we headed for the Matterhorn. My friend and I remembered the Matterhorn fondly from our 4 hour visit 10 years earlier. We rode the Tomorrowland side and after we got to the station there was still nobody else in line, so we asked the CMs if we could stay on and they said yes without hesitation. After riding a second time we got off and headed towards Peter Pan. Actually, we stopped at Mr. Toad first because it comes first. After Mr. Toad, we rode Peter Pan. This was actually the very first time I had ever ridden Peter Pan, either in Disneyland or Disney World. We then decided wed better head to Indy. The standby line for Indy was showing as 10 minutes, but there was no way it was 10 minutes, more like 3 minutes. We decided that they probably dont go lower than 10 minutes because for some people it may take them that long just to walk through the very long queue line even if it is completely empty. Indy was great, I loved it. After Indy, we headed to Splash Mountain, then to Pooh. So far, we hadnt encountered a single line for any ride that was longer than 10 or 15 people (that would change about 12:00 that day as more people streamed in.) We started walking towards Space Mountain, then decided to just take the train to Tomorrowland. We hopped on and rode through Splash Mountain, past IASW and got off at Tomorrowland. The wait for Space Mountain was listed as 15 minutes, but it took about 4 or 5. Next we went to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. After that we went to Innoventions, listened to the introduction at the beginning, then wandered around for about 5 minutes before heading back out to ride more rides. We decided we were thirsty, so we stopped at the Buzz Stage area and got some Diet Cokes, then we set out to ride more. I cant remember exactly what was done and in what order from that point on. Sufficed to say that we rode everything we wanted to ride and then some. In fact, its easier to list the rides we did not ride. We did not ride Autopia, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Astro Orbiter, Tea Cups, POTC (closed), Gadgets Go Coaster, and Im sure there are a few others that we werent really interested in. We did Matterhorn again later on, to ride the Fantasyland side, which we decided we liked better. We rode all other major attractions at least twice. Peter Pan had a very long line the rest of the day and we unfortunately never rode that one again, I was glad we got to ride it in the morning. We watched Fantasmic without even trying to get a good seating position and we watched the second parade and the fireworks from rather poor locations, but we arent really into stuff like that, so we werent about to waste precious time by staking out prime spots.
We had lunch at the French Market and dinner at the Plaza Restaurant. The food was unremarkable, but we enjoyed it anyway.
We finished the day by riding Space Mountain using fastpasses that had a return time of 11:30 PM. We had gotten the fastpasses at about 7:30 PM, when the standby line for SM was 50 minutes long. After SM, we reluctantly headed out of the park. We didnt want to leave, but at the same time, we longed for our beds. We had earlier thought about going to Downtown Disney for a little while after we left the park, but decided to forego that.
The next day, we woke up around 8:00 AM, packed our stuff and checked out. We then decided to head to DTD for a little while. We browsed the Lego store, then we headed to La Brea Bakery for brunch. The food there was quite good. We then went into the World of Disney store where I bought a Disneyland t-shirt that I had seen the day before and had thought about buying. This time I gave in and bought the shirt. I havent worn the shirt yet. Im saving it for my trip to Walt Disney World this October. I like the way a shirt feels when it is brand spanking new and I dont want to have to wash it before I wear it in WDW. I also bought a Disneyland magnet to further clutter up my refrigerator at home. Those were the only souvenirs I bought, but I did take about 200 pictures with my digital camera the day before. On the way out of DTD, we stopped in at the lobby of the Grand Californian. I had recently seen the hotel on the show Great Hotels on the Travel Channel and I wanted to see that lobby for myself. I found the grandfather clock with the hidden Mickey stamped into the face and I was happy. We left Downtown Disney and headed out of Anaheim to Los Angeles. We had a good time the next few days in L.A., Hollywood and Santa Monica, but Disneyland was definitely the highlight of the trip.
And about that trip to Disney World in October. We booked that vacation shortly after we booked the mini-vacation to L.A. It wasnt until we started talking about visiting Disneyland that we realized we would have to head to WDW some time this year. We knew that after visiting Disneyland for just one day, we would not be satisfied until we got to WDW. So, this October, for the first time in MY life, I will get to experience a true Walt Disney World vacation. We booked 10 nights at the All-Star Movies. It will again be me and my two married friends. October cant get here soon enough.
Cast:
Me, a 34 year old male who loves all theme parks, but most especially any Disney theme park.
Two friends (man and woman.) The two friends are married (to each other,) I am still single.
First of all, this trip wasnt solely a Disneyland vacation. It was actually a Los Angeles mini-vacation (4 days and 4 nights.) We had planned a lot of stuff in and around L.A. and we wanted to spend at least one day at Disneyland. We decided to spend the first 2 nights in Anaheim at the Holiday Inn Anaheim @ the Park. Im a priority club member and I had enough points to get one free night at that hotel. The other night we paid for, but it wasnt bad. In fact, when we arrived on the night of the 27th and I went to check in, I was informed by the front desk clerk that we had been upgraded to a family suite for that first night, but that we would have to move to a regular room for the second night. You see, it was actually two separate reservations, this was necessary because the first night was being paid for with priority club points, while the second night was going to be paid for on a credit card. This didnt bother us one bit, we counted ourselves fortunate to get an upgrade even for just one night. The room was very spacious and we were extremely pleased. It had a full kitchen and a big projection television in the living room. The bathroom had the largest tub I have ever had in a hotel room. Anyway, we were pretty tired the first night after flying in from Columbus, Ohio, so all we really did was stand out on the walkway outside our 5th floor room and watch the fireworks over at Disneyland across the I5, then we went to bed. We had a full day at the park planned for Friday. The park would be open from 8:00 am to Midnight and we planned on being there the whole time, since it was our only day.
On Friday morning we were all wide awake in plenty of time to start getting ready for the park. After I showered and got dressed, I went down to the front desk to arrange our move to a different room for the second night. Well, our luck only got better. After first speaking to a slightly confused clerk, I later spoke with the manager and without even trying, we somehow got upgraded again for the second night, no extra charge. So, we didnt have to move out of our big family suite and we didnt have to worry about packing up again (too bad we had already packed, oh well.) The Holiday Inn Anaheim @ the Park does offer access to a shuttle that runs to the parks. The printed shuttle schedule was sort of contradictory. It said that the first shuttle runs starting a half hour before park opening, which should be 7:30 on this day. However, it also listed the time of the first shuttle on April 28th as being 8:30 am. To confirm what time the first shuttle would be, I asked the front desk clerk and he confirmed 8:30 am. The park opened at 8:00 and we wanted to be outside the gates at 7:30. So, we said to heck with the shuttle and we walked. Its really not a long walk from the corner of Ball Rd and Harbor Blvd to the entrance of Disneyland. It took us maybe 10 to 15 minutes, if that. Sure we had to walk on a freeway overpass, but big deal. We were flying high anyway, we were going to Disneyland.
We arrived at the front gates right at about 7:40 am, I think, but who cares, we were plenty early for our day of fun. Me and one of my traveling companion friends were the only two of us who had ever been here before, but that was in 1996 and we were part of the Ohio State Marching Band at the time, out there for the Rose Bowl. We had performed a concert in Disneyland, then we had about 4 hours of free-time in the park. We often joked that although we had been to Disneyland, we had never seen it in the daytime, which was entirely true, until April 28, 2006. In fact, this was to be the very first time I had ever been to a Disney park without being part of either a high school or college marching band. I had been to Walt Disney World on 4 separate occasions, once with a high school band and 3 times with the Ohio State Marching Band, and I had been to Disneyland just once, well, just 4 hours.
Anyway when we arrived at the gates, there were lines at all the turnstiles, but we were only about 15th in line, things were looking good. At 8:00 am, the train pulled into the Main Street station and the gates were opened. We entered and casually walked down Main Street. While most people were making a beeline for Space Mountain or Indiana Jones, we headed for the Matterhorn. My friend and I remembered the Matterhorn fondly from our 4 hour visit 10 years earlier. We rode the Tomorrowland side and after we got to the station there was still nobody else in line, so we asked the CMs if we could stay on and they said yes without hesitation. After riding a second time we got off and headed towards Peter Pan. Actually, we stopped at Mr. Toad first because it comes first. After Mr. Toad, we rode Peter Pan. This was actually the very first time I had ever ridden Peter Pan, either in Disneyland or Disney World. We then decided wed better head to Indy. The standby line for Indy was showing as 10 minutes, but there was no way it was 10 minutes, more like 3 minutes. We decided that they probably dont go lower than 10 minutes because for some people it may take them that long just to walk through the very long queue line even if it is completely empty. Indy was great, I loved it. After Indy, we headed to Splash Mountain, then to Pooh. So far, we hadnt encountered a single line for any ride that was longer than 10 or 15 people (that would change about 12:00 that day as more people streamed in.) We started walking towards Space Mountain, then decided to just take the train to Tomorrowland. We hopped on and rode through Splash Mountain, past IASW and got off at Tomorrowland. The wait for Space Mountain was listed as 15 minutes, but it took about 4 or 5. Next we went to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. After that we went to Innoventions, listened to the introduction at the beginning, then wandered around for about 5 minutes before heading back out to ride more rides. We decided we were thirsty, so we stopped at the Buzz Stage area and got some Diet Cokes, then we set out to ride more. I cant remember exactly what was done and in what order from that point on. Sufficed to say that we rode everything we wanted to ride and then some. In fact, its easier to list the rides we did not ride. We did not ride Autopia, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Astro Orbiter, Tea Cups, POTC (closed), Gadgets Go Coaster, and Im sure there are a few others that we werent really interested in. We did Matterhorn again later on, to ride the Fantasyland side, which we decided we liked better. We rode all other major attractions at least twice. Peter Pan had a very long line the rest of the day and we unfortunately never rode that one again, I was glad we got to ride it in the morning. We watched Fantasmic without even trying to get a good seating position and we watched the second parade and the fireworks from rather poor locations, but we arent really into stuff like that, so we werent about to waste precious time by staking out prime spots.
We had lunch at the French Market and dinner at the Plaza Restaurant. The food was unremarkable, but we enjoyed it anyway.
We finished the day by riding Space Mountain using fastpasses that had a return time of 11:30 PM. We had gotten the fastpasses at about 7:30 PM, when the standby line for SM was 50 minutes long. After SM, we reluctantly headed out of the park. We didnt want to leave, but at the same time, we longed for our beds. We had earlier thought about going to Downtown Disney for a little while after we left the park, but decided to forego that.
The next day, we woke up around 8:00 AM, packed our stuff and checked out. We then decided to head to DTD for a little while. We browsed the Lego store, then we headed to La Brea Bakery for brunch. The food there was quite good. We then went into the World of Disney store where I bought a Disneyland t-shirt that I had seen the day before and had thought about buying. This time I gave in and bought the shirt. I havent worn the shirt yet. Im saving it for my trip to Walt Disney World this October. I like the way a shirt feels when it is brand spanking new and I dont want to have to wash it before I wear it in WDW. I also bought a Disneyland magnet to further clutter up my refrigerator at home. Those were the only souvenirs I bought, but I did take about 200 pictures with my digital camera the day before. On the way out of DTD, we stopped in at the lobby of the Grand Californian. I had recently seen the hotel on the show Great Hotels on the Travel Channel and I wanted to see that lobby for myself. I found the grandfather clock with the hidden Mickey stamped into the face and I was happy. We left Downtown Disney and headed out of Anaheim to Los Angeles. We had a good time the next few days in L.A., Hollywood and Santa Monica, but Disneyland was definitely the highlight of the trip.
And about that trip to Disney World in October. We booked that vacation shortly after we booked the mini-vacation to L.A. It wasnt until we started talking about visiting Disneyland that we realized we would have to head to WDW some time this year. We knew that after visiting Disneyland for just one day, we would not be satisfied until we got to WDW. So, this October, for the first time in MY life, I will get to experience a true Walt Disney World vacation. We booked 10 nights at the All-Star Movies. It will again be me and my two married friends. October cant get here soon enough.
Besides that I just want to? Might go over to Universal though. Thanks for the awesome report and I can't wait to see pictures. You sure took alot for 1 day too!
