Our Adventures in Disneyland!! Days one and Two....more to come

[shellyof4]

Cast: Shelly 31, Jared, 34, Grant 11, Adam 8, Brooke 3, Anna 11 months

Sunday-Jan. 21—2007

We left around 6:00 am for the airport and had a nice easy flight into Long Beach. It’s a great little airport! It was so easy to navigate and we were in our rental van before we were even expecting to land! (Plane got in early).

So, we were off to Disneyland! We checked into the Hojo and had them hold our bags since our room wasn’t ready. We also parked there and walked over. I was surprised at how much nicer that whole strip was than when we were there in 1999. By this time it was about 12:15 and we were through the gates and walking down mainstreet, soaking up the magic. We were all basically giddy!

Jared (dh) ran to get Grizzly River Run fastpasses as this ride was scheduled to go down for the rest of our trip (turns out it didn’t and we got to ride it many more times) while the rest of us headed to the French Market for lunch. We ordered two plates of fried chicken, salads and one plate of fruit and that fed all of us nicely. Jared called while we were walking there to say GRR was down for a while and we’d have to try back later.

Our very first ride was Splash Mountain. We got fast passes and then got in the standby line. We wanted to ride it as much as possible because it would be down for it’s extended refurb after this. It was awesome. Brooke (dd 3) was able to ride it and she loved it too. I love that ride and was so glad we got on it! Brooke only wanted to ride it once though so while she and I and Anna waited for the boys to get off their second ride, we went on Winnie the Pooh which was cute (we’d ridden the WDW version) and also stood in line to get Pooh’s and Tigger’s autograph. Tigger was making us laugh because he would lie down on the rocks while waiting for people to finish talking to Pooh.

Then we headed over to Small World for the same refurb reasons. On the way we saw that the Pirates line was only 10 minutes so we jumped on that. I warned Jared that the line would probably get shorter during the week (and it turns out I was right) but hey, it was our first day and we all love that ride. Then we went over to Small World and rode it once. We also caught the tail end of the parade at this time. It was terrific! I loved the music and how Walt Disney’s voice is part of the parade and I loved the acrobatics! (We would see the whole thing on Wednesday). There were these older Asian men and a woman who were obsessed with my daughter Brooke and kept trying to get a picture with her. She was a little weirded out and wouldn’t do it. She’s blonde haired blue eyed so maybe this was why they were interested in her, and I was trying to be polite, but she did not want her picture taken with them and I wasn’t about to force her!! They finally gave up. I’m sure it was harmless, but to be honest, I’m glad she didn’t get her picture taken.

Anyway, then we popped over to Toontown and did Gadget’s go-coaster and got Roger Rabbit Fastpasses which we didn’t use.


We did a few more rides including the new Space which we all loved..Brooke rode it with her hands up the whole time! The boys loved it. Buzz was fun! We ate the fusilli at RR Pizza Port which was really good.

The girls and I were tired so we headed back to the Hojo and the boys stayed and did Indy, Space and Big Thunder and then headed back. Busy first day!

Day 2—Monday, Jan. 22.

This was our day off. For various reasons we picked this day not to use our 5 day park hopper (combination of ride refurbs and crowd levels) and we slept in and went to Goofy’s Kitchen for a late breakfast. It was really fun and we saw Goofy, Chip n Dale, Alice, Belle and Pluto! We danced with Goofy and got autographs and had a nice lunch. It was a fun thing to do on our day off. We shopped around the Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney that day too and I took Brooke to Libby Lu and she got a “makeover”. Oh man, she was in heaven. She sat so still while they did her hair (unlike for me) and she loved the glitter that they sprinkled in her hair. Later we went swimming and had dinner at Tony Roma’s and we split meals there knowing they had large portion sizes. We also checked out the Grand Californian because we had planned to stay there on Friday night. Well, after seeing how beautiful it was and how close it was to California Adventure we changed our reservation from one Theme park view night, to two standard view nights. It was great because we spent Thursday at California Adventure and we were able to check in on Thursday morning and our room was ready and we used the room all day Thursday, Friday and then checked out Friday. We really lucked out.

Anyway, we just relaxed after that and got ready for our early entry day on Tuesday!

 

[abookworm]

Sounds great so far Can't wait to hear more!

 

[lulubelle]

Great start, Shelly!

Love the details. I totally understand how you feel about the Grand We stay there when we can afford it...which is about every fifth trip, it truly is a treat. Anyway, can't wait to read more.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[TwingleMum]

Fbulous report so far. Keep it coming

 

[shellyof4]

Day 3:

On Tuesday, we used our Early Entry day. We got to the gates at around 8:15 and we were basically the first ones there. By 8:30 there were some good lines forming at the gates. It was fun to be there when the park opened! Once the rope dropped on Main St. at 9:00 we walked quickly to Peter Pan and loved it of course! Then it was off to the Matterhorn and while we waited for baby switch time we went on Alice in Wonderland and the teacups…My daughter’s favorite ride! Well, that and Space Mountain she says! Then we did a bunch of other Fantasyland rides and headed over to Big thunder at 10:00. We all love that ride and I love the little town that the DL version has at the end…Later in the week we rode on the Mark Twain and got to ride with the Captain and she told us that the town was part of a different train ride and that they left that part in for Big Thunder…I’m sure lots of you already knew that! We did Haunted Mansion after that and then got some lunch and went bag to the hotel for a nap.

After the nap we swam at the Hojo for a bit and then headed back to the park.

I’m having trouble remembering exactly which rides we did which days, but basically we did all the rides in the park we wanted to many many times. We got to try a few new things like the Mark Twain that I mentioned. We had never done that before and the boys and my dd loved ringing the bell and pulling the whistle and wearing the extra captain’s hat! It was great!

The lines were very short and we did get fastpasses but basically didn’t use them…

We rode Buzz multiple times and I won every time except the last time! Dh finally beat me!

After the park closed we went and ate at Mimi’s and had a great meal and our server was awesome!

Day 4:

On Wednesday we arrived for the regular opening time at around 9:30 and the lines were already pretty long. The family got in line and walked around to make sure there were no more lines open and as I did this we noticed a guy we had seen the other day in a goofy hat who was again waiting off to the side and I went over and noticed that they were opening up some more lines! Goofy hat guy knew what he was doing, that’s for sure! Anyway, so I motioned to Jared and he came over to get in line with me. I really think we’re nuts at how much joy we get out of not waiting in line for anything…. We’re crazy, but at least we’re both like that!

We went straight to Indy and fastpassed that and then headed to Big Thunder again and did all the Frontierland, Adventureland rides.

The highlight of this day was we had lunch at the Blue Bayou…something we’ve wanted to do since our first trip to DL and we went through Pirates and marveled at the “lucky” people who got to eat in there…Little did we knew how easy it was! Thank goodness for the internet! We had a good lunch…we split a Monte Cristo which was good. The food was fine, but the atmosphere was great!

We went back for a nap again and got a great spot to watch the parade that night. Then we stayed till park closing and shopped on Main st. for a bit and then back to Mimi’s. Dh had promised my dd to take her to the hot tub for a few minutes too so they did that and the rest of us hit the sack.

 

[shellyof4]

Day 5:

Thursday was our main California Adventure day though we had spent some time there previously.

But first we had to check out of the Hojo which was very quick and easy. I used my mousesavers coupon and we got a great deal and it was nice place to stay. I’d recommend it.

Then we drove over to the Grand Californian and checked in and got so lucky because our room was ready so we got to use it all day. Our room was really nice and I loved the bunk beds! It was really fun to be in a Disney Hotel again and honestly, if we can afford it, I think we’ll stay there next time for the whole stay…It’s so expensive but I loved the entrance to DTD and California Adventure…and it’s a nice hotel.

Anyway, we took a quick look at our room and headed off to DCA. We went to Soarin first and loved it of course…I had heard that there were orange smells and stuff but I didn’t notice that…Was I informed wrongly? We loved the ride though. We went and waited for the rope drop and rode ToTerror. My boys did not like it! Grant said, “I hate that ride!” and they wouldn’t ride it again, so dh and I had them watch the girls and we rode together which was fun.

Then we got Screamin Fastpasses and did Monsters inc. which was awesome! Brooke and I had a PS for Ariel’s grotto but we had a few more minutes so we went to see Turtle Talk with Crush. Wow, that was great! Like I mentioned in an early post, my dd Brooke got picked to talk to Crush first which was fun and then he talked to me too and was very impressed that my name was the same as his “turtledove, Shelly”. What a great attraction! I could have done that over and over.
So then Brooke and I boogied over to Ariel’s to see the princesses which was fabulous. We saw Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Snow White and Aurora. The food was pretty good, but again, that wasn’t the main attraction. We did enjoy our desserts and cotton candy and the princesses were very sweet. DD was wearing her Belle costume and Belle paid some special attention to her.

Then we went and found the boys who were checking out the other Pier rides and wanted to ride some more, so I took the girls to A Bug’s Land. We rode all the rides except the bumper cars because dd Anna was too small but the boys showed up right on cue and they took Brooke on that. Then we went to see It’s Tough to Be a Bug…that show’s great…we loved it at WDW and it’s basically the same, and super fun!

We had found out earlier that GRR was still open so we rode that a bunch of times and then headed to the hotel for a swim. Grizzly was great...we think we liked it slightly better than Kali at WDW.
When we went back in the park we rode Screamin’ and boy, I love that ride! It rocks! So fun! I love the take off!

It was a great day and we loved DCA. We had some soup from Pacific Wharf café before heading back to the GC.

Day 6:

Friday, our last day in the parks. We got there at opening again and headed for Peter Pan and the matterhorn again since DD wanted to ride those one more time. We did Casey Jr. and Storybook land and then hit some of our favorite rides. The park was really busy though so we didn’t get as much done as usual. We did Tiki Room and the Mark Twain that day too. It was a nice relaxed day. We again took a break in the middle of the day since we knew we’d be out later to watch the fireworks etc.

We went over to see Aladdin at noon and that was a really fun show. I loved the carpet and the Prince Ali “parade”.

After our break dh took dd to see Playhouse Disney and then we met up at Soarin and rode that again. Then headed over to Disneyland.

We did some rides that we had fast passes for, Winnie the Pooh and then Pirates and then got some Dole Whips and headed over for the fireworks.

We LOVED the fireworks, they were amazing. Totally worth waiting for and I got all teary a few times…

We decided to do Buzz one more time before we left Disneyland for good (and this was the time dh finally beat me.) Funny how he got better after I told him some of the secrets!

Day 7:

We woke up late, checked out and headed to the Lilo and Stitch breakfast. We saw Pluto, Minnie as well as Lilo and stitch…there was someone else too and I just can’t remember.

Anyway, it was good and the scones and pineapple preserves were really yummy. My camera finally quit on me so we had to use dh’s camera phone for a pic of Stitch. He was pretty funny about it. I love how much the characters can communicate with saying a thing…

Dale was pretty hilarious at the goofy’s kitchen breakfast…My dd showed him her Pirate Minnie and he looked at it and started laughing…then he grabbed her pen and wrote on the table, “Don’t you thin her feet are a little…LARGE?” and then started laughing again…Then he wrote, “I love Minnie and she’s a great girl, but…Don’t you think her feet are a little LARGE???” It was hilarious! Now to fully appreciate that hilarious, you have to read it in your mind with a Canadian accent. HillAAAAYYriousss...

Anyway, after that we went to Downtown Disney and spent 20$ on 5 jellybeans at Marcelines And about 175$ at World of Disney for a coffee mug and some chocolates. Ok, I’m exaggerating, but holy smokes! Even with my Disney Visa discount it is $$$$ there!

Oh, and I learned something new! You don’t have to USE your Disney Visa to get the discount. Just show it! Niiiice!

We lost about 4 things while we were there so we went and checked lost and found and they did have my blue baby blanket so I was happy about that though dd was sad that they didn’t find her previously mentioned Pirate Minnie…boohoo…

Anyway, then it was time to get to Long Beach for our flight home. We were all sad to leave. We had had a great time! Flight home was awesome…security took about 2 minutes! There were some people on the flight home that my dd made friends with their dd. They’d been at Disney too and live not too far from us. She wanted to sit with her new friend, but she fell asleep even before the plane took off I think. The flight left early and landed early and it was a nice end to our great trip!

I’m sorry this was so long!! If you have any questions, feel free to ask since I’m not too sure how clearly it all came out!

 

[abookworm]

What a great recap!
It makes me even more excited to go-especially since we got our maps today! THANK YOU so much!
So glad to hear that the character breakfasts were good-I can't wait to take DS to Ariel's grotto and I'm pretty sure we're going to Storyteller's-that's where you saw Chip & Dale right?
We're staying at HoJo too so I was glad to hear you liked it.
So glad you had a fun trip

 

[chanchiluv]

Hi! Great Trip Report. Thanks so much!!!

Can I ask you what Libby Lou's is? How much was it for a "makeover" and what all did they do? I think my DD might enjoy it.

Thanks!

 

[AJA55]

Shelly,,,, great report. We will be heading for the Grand in a few months. (OK 5... and yes we are crazy....DL on the 4th of July) Got the maps you sent and wanted to throw a big "THANKS" your way!

 

[pumpkinfish]

Thanks for the trip report! I am eagerly awaiting our upcoming trip, and the maps you so graciously sent are coming in useful! Thanks again

 

[shellyof4]

Hi! Great Trip Report. Thanks so much!!!

Can I ask you what Libby Lou's is? How much was it for a "makeover" and what all did they do? I think my DD might enjoy it.

Thanks!

Libby Lu is this cute girly shop that sells all sorts of spa, makeup and girly things for girls. The makeovers were 25, 30 and 35 depending on the package. They do the girls' makeup (very light, eyeshadow and lipgloss), nails, and hair...and then the girls get a backpack, get to keep the makeup and then depending on the package, get to choose 5 accessories, a "potion" (which is a choice between things like lotion, lipgloss etc. that they MAKE themselve), a pooch (dog) and purse. We did the 30 dollar one and got the makeover, makeup, backpack, 5 accessories and a potion. Also, her particular hairstyle came with a necklace...some come with a crown or a pop-star microphone or a curly hair extension.

Be warned: You will come out of there covered in glitter! And you may want to watch how they do the hair so you can recreate it without spending the money again

Hope that helps! If you have a girly girl, you may want to check it out...some girls hate that store, but mine loved it.