Our very first Disneyland trip

[mfleeting]

We have never been to Disneyland or Disney World. So when we decided to take our very first Disney trip we decided to do Disneyland since it's "Walt's Park." Also, my husband was against going to Florida unless its for Universal Studios only and we have always wanted to visited California. So off to Disneyland we shall go.

So for around 9 months we sort of planned this trip out. We had so many things in California we wanted to do, our dates kept changing, and I think I booked like 5 hotel rooms before we left. In the end our final dates ended up being November 22nd - 29th; with 3 of those days being dedicated to Disneyland/California Adventure.

Who's all going on this trip? For starters myself. I have always wanted to go to either DL or WDW and told my family that our first vacation after graduating nursing school would be to Disney!

My DH is also joining us. He is completely against the idea of going but is willing to give it a try. He does however keep reminding us that he may spend a bunch of time in the hotel since thats his idea of a "perfect vacation."

My DS is 11 and is also against the idea of going on this trip. We made changes to our schedule just to try and make him enjoy this trip. He enjoys Disney movies but feels like he is to old to be into Disney.

My DD is 9 and is the most excited about this trip. She loves the Disney Princess' and believes that one day she will be a princess just like them. She spent 6 months exploring youtube videos and making a list of everything she just had to do while at Disneyland.

My DH's grandmother will also be joining us on this trip.

 

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The first step of our vacation was to get out to California from Texas. We could drive for 2 days (and do some sightseeing) but then we would have to drive 2 days back and my husband did not want to be tired. We could also be practical and take a 3 hour flight out there but my husband and son were against this and decided they wanted to enjoy their trip before they died. So we went impractical = a 36 hour Amtrak Train ride.

We decided on a train ride to find something that my husband and son would enjoy. We also could start our adventure 2 days early without it eating into our budget and see some more parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. We also could sleep and wouldn't be so exhausted once we arrived in California.

Some of the sites we saw on our journey

http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s389/Melissa_Fleeting/trainride_zpsf814b4bc.jpg

Amtrak's do have sleeper cars but we decided to just do coach. They were suppose to save us 5 seats near each other but that didn't happen 100%. We had 2 seats next to each other, 1 in front of that, 1 in front of that, then one in front and across the aisle. Luckily the next night someone next to my son left so I moved there and we were finally all together. The seats do recline so in reality is wasn't that uncomfortable at all.

We had brought plenty of snacks which was good because the food was way overpriced and wasn't that good. They have a snack bar with pizza, sandwiches, and burgers - I assumed like a snack bar at a event/amusement park. Nope this was 7-11 food - everything was microwaved on the spot and didn't even look very good. Luckily we ate one decent meal (well as decent as McDonald's gets) we were able to eat this meal because my SIL just moved to El Paso like 2 weeks ago and it was one of our longest stops. So we got to see some family for 15 minutes and get food! Some of our other longer stops were San Antonio and Tucson.

We also originally planned to get dressed right before we get on the train and just change Monday morning when we got to LA at like 5am. We were going to do anything on the train to get dirty and we hear they keep it cold so why not? Well, in the end I decided to pack 1 set of clothes for each of us and to save room I packed ALL of our clothes in ziplock bags for each day. This ended up being a good thing because as we got onto the train in Austin it started to pour and our train car was the very last one. After we got on the train we were completely soaked and we watched our checked bags sit out in the rain for a good 5 minutes. But guess what everything was dry because it was bagged. My husband's grandmother didn't have the same luck as us though and her clothes in her luggage were damp and she was soaked

How we kept busy on the train when we werent looking out the windows or sleeping.

 

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We arrived to the Los Angeles Union Station at 530am. We grabbed some breakfast and went to go get in line for the rental car. I had heard some bad things about that Hertz location on Yelp so I was a little worried especially when 7am rolled around and nobody was there yet; luckily someone showed up at 7:03 and more people by 7:30. We were out of there within 45 minutes

Union Station in Los Angeles

Our first day in California. What are we going to do? Legoland of course! We decided to do Legoland because 1) mark it off our bucket list and 2) my son was convinced it would be better than Disneyland.

A beautiful site to see on our drive out to Carlsbad

We arrived a little later than we wanted to and by time we got there 15 minutes after they opened one of the rides the kids wanted to try was already on a 90 minute wait (Sky Cruiser). We had to skip this ride because we would only be here for a total of 6.5 hours and the kids wanted to do Mindstorms which would take up an hour.

The rides we did here were: The Dragon, Coast Cruise, Technic Coaster, and Lost Kingdom Adventure. We did 4 rides and that's it in 6 hours. The waits for some were a little long (upwards of 30 minutes) but we also wanted to spend a lot of time in mini-land which was our main reasoning for coming to the park.

We spent probably like 2 hours just between miniland and star wars miniland. The kids absolutely loved it and was surprised when some of the cars/boats would move. We also really enjoyed Mindstorms and we think the kids may actually want us to buy them a robot!

A lot of people told us that Legoland could be done in 1 day. I think this is true if it wasn't busy. This was the Monday before Thanksgiving and even though it wasn't extremely packed it was pretty busy. This park is also pretty large and it takes time just to walk around. Even though we barely did anything here we actually felt like we should have just skipped it. We have a Legoland Discovery Center not far from us and have gone to the Lego Land Fests; so even though miniland was cool we can see similar things quite often. The kids did have fun though so it was not a total waste.

Before we left we also had to try the Apple Fries! YUM!

After spending to much in the gift shop - off to Anaheim we must go!

 

[mfleeting]

The drive to Anaheim Monday night ended up taking almost 3 hours due to traffic. We are use to traffic though so wasn't a big deal but we were excited to get there and eat and explore.

When we first planned out our vacation we originally decided we would not stay at a Disney hotel. So after asking around on here I booked a hotel across the street with 2 rooms, then switched it to the HOJO after they had their Facebook promo come out for most of our dates. But last month my husband decided he wanted to help us plan our vacation (yup a month before we leave and he decides to start helping). So whats the first thing he wants to change? The hotel. And what does he want? The Disneyland Hotel. Booking this hotel just about 30 days before we leave is ridiculous (and so is the cost) so after doing some exploring we found a way to save 20% to Orbitz and my husband was able to find a way to make up the difference - so we jumped on board and booked a Premium View Room at the Disneyland Hotel.

The view from our room:

My kids loved the headboards and made us turn on the music every night for her to fall asleep.

We were hungry, I love Mexican food, and havent had a real meal in 2 weeks due to having gum surgery and not getting the stitches out until Friday and we left on Saturday. So we walked through Downtown Disney to Tortilla Jo's. The food here was decent but not great. I was also surprised to not see Queso on the menu - I did ask and they did bring some out; it was not very good at all and seemed to have Monterrey Jack in it which was the only interesting thing about this dip.

While waiting for our table we decided to look around Downtown Disney and found our way in the Wonder Ground Gallery. We ended up buying a few pieces of artwork here and would end up coming back later on to buy even more. I think this ended up being one of our favorite shops in the end.

We really enjoyed Downtown Disney and it really helped set the mood for our Disneyland days!

 

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Since we were staying at the hotel we were able to use the early entry morning everyday. We decided to take advantage of this and the goal was to get to the gate at 645am. We unfortunately though got a late start and didn't get to the gate until about 710am and was in the park within 10 minutes. We spent our morning in Tomorrowland doing Star Tours first then Space Mountain. We felt like this was a good use to our extra hour!

This day we also did Pirates, Finding Nemo, its a small world, Astro Blasters, Tarzan's Treehouse, and Jingle Cruise. We also saw quite a few characters this day and had dinner at Goofy's!

We really enjoyed both the Astro Blasters and Pirates. The 2 drops were really a shock and my husband ended up getting really wet on one. The kids did Tarzan's tree house before we headed on over to see the Jedi show.

They were both really hoping they would get picked and even had their star war shirts on but they weren't. They handled it very well though and we all enjoyed the show. I was a little disappointed in this show because they tell everyone your kids may not be chosen - one dad ended up complaining for a few minutes and they finally added his kid to it so they could continue on. Since they were not chosen after the show we allowed them to go make their own light sabers before dinner.

We didn't eat many snacks this day but one thing I decided I had to have was a souvenir popcorn bucket and when I saw the Dumbo one I just had to get it. Fortunately we didn't even care about the popcorn because there wasn't much in it at all.

Goofy's dinner was okay (I'm not a big buffet person). I was disappointed that we were stuck in a booth near the front but on the side. Everyone came by but we missed the parts where everyone the characters did their parade around the restaurant. Chip also never came by but Dale came by twice so now we have 2 Dale autographs and no Chip.

Next up Fireworks. We got there at 8 and grabbed a spot between the castle and the statue directly in the middle of the castle. It started late though due to "technical issues" and those technical issues seemed to be that only half of the fireworks were working. No big ones ever went off on the right side only the left. A little disappointing but still a good show! My husband also thought it was suppose to be longer but it was only about 10 minutes.

Overall we really enjoyed our first day at Disney. My son - who thought it would be horrible - also told us he agreed with all the signs because he now believes that it is "the happiest place on Earth".

 

[luulu1999]

I am enjoying your report!!! We are from MO and I really wanted to do the Amtrak route--my boyfriend won't fly--but we ended up driving we went over the summer and I just LOVE it!! It was our second time (we drove both times) and we our hoping to have a small first WDW trip next fall for Halloween time since it is a lot closer and the kids only get a small break from school!!...I knew once your son got there he would change his tune!!!

 

[mfleeting]

I am enjoying your report!!! We are from MO and I really wanted to do the Amtrak route--my boyfriend won't fly--but we ended up driving we went over the summer and I just LOVE it!! It was our second time (we drove both times) and we our hoping to have a small first WDW trip next fall for Halloween time since it is a lot closer and the kids only get a small break from school!!...I knew once your son got there he would change his tune!!!

My husband didn't want to fly either. But the Amtrak was fun. The food is overly priced though but you can bring food/drinks on with you. So we brought some water (plus they provide water to refill bottles), chips, granola bars, chicken/tuna salad, and other quick things to snack on. They do provide food in a restaurant as well but its like 15pp for lunch and 30pp for dinner.

Definitely a fun experience though and next time we will try to get a sleeper car which includes meals and have more room.

 

[mfleeting]

For our second day at the parks we decided to go to California Adventure since it was extra magic hour there. Once again our goal was to get to the gate by 645 but once again it was shortly after 7am (its hard to get 5 people out of bed and dressed quickly).

So as soon as we hit the park we, like everyone else in the park, went straight for Radiator Springs Racers. We ended up being in line for awhile but it didn't seem that way. It actually seemed to move pretty past. When we were done with the ride it was right at 8am and I rushed off to get inline for fast passes. On my way I got to see Tow Mater leading the line of people off to Radiator Springs which was cute. When I got inline it for fast passes it was all the way to Carthay Circle Restaurant and the CM was telling everyone it was a 40 minute wait. I was half tempted to just leave but I'm glad I stayed because it was seriously only a 5 minute wait and they were out of fast passes by like 1030.

We were able to do both tracks and we won both times! Our favorite side was the tires side and not the painting side.

For the rest of the day we did Luigi's Tires (which we thought was fun), Flik's Flyers, Golden Zephyr, Jumpin Jellyfish, Ariels Adventure, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, Monster's Inc, The Trolley, Toy Story, Tuck and Roll's Buggies, Turtle Talk with Crush, Animation Academy, Sorcerer's Workshop, and Goofy's Sky School.

We also had lunch at Ariel's Grotto and got to see quite a few characters around the park.

Ariel's Grotto was ok. We had to sit outside and even though it was only in the 80's my husband and kids hate the sun. My son also had to order off the adult menu and there wasn't much he enjoyed off of it (but he got the Tri Tips like the rest of us). We were able to see Ariel, of course, and Rapunzel, Snow White, Belle, and Aurora. My daughter was a little bit upset that Cinderella or Jasmine wasn't there but enjoyed seeing everyone else. The service was also a little lacking for the price we were paying. We had to ask someone like 3 times just for refills at one point and sat around for 10 minutes before dessert was even offered. But in the end it was good food and worth seeing some of the princess'.

We all absolutely loved Radiator Racers and glad we got to do it twice this morning. Me and the kids also loved Goofy's Sky School and Talk with Crush was pretty cool. We also saw Aladdin and we think that was the highlight of the whole day!

We made better use of fast passes today unlike the day before. The fast passes definitely made it easier to get more done. We were also given a fast pass for 6 people to use on anything but WOC and the racers so we used it to skip the 45 minute line on Toy Story. I actually meant to do a fast pass for Soarin but I forgot until about 4pm and by then it was running into 8pm and the kids wanted to go swimming instead. Due to using fast passes we were able to get so much done today and the only things we didn't do was the Ferris Wheel, Soarin Over California, and WOC. We actually had plenty of time to do these things but decided to head back to the hotel at about 600, get in the pool, and order room service for dinner.

The kids were passed out before dinner even arrived so I take it they had a great day.

 

[mfleeting]

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, would be our last day at Disney and since we still had a bunch of still to finish at Disneyland itself we hit that park first. Our goal today was to finish everything we wanted at Disneyland and go finish some rides at California Adventure. But we also needed Ana and Elsa fast passes so that our daughter wouldn't murder us

So last night we made it very clear to everyone - get out of the hotel room by 630 so we can get inline and maybe take the monorail depending on the line. Well, once again nobody wants to get up on time BUT we were out the door a little earlier than every other day. As we were passing the monorail we saw a decent line and was like we can get to the gates before 7 so lets try that way. We were in line right at 7 and there are maybe 20 people ahead of us in line. It took 30 minutes to get through that line - some lines were moving fast but most of them were running SUPER slow. We saw multiple monorails pass by before we even got in the gate. When we got up to the line we saw that they had to take multiple pictures for people (which we got our pics taken the afternoon of our first day but my husbands grandmother never had her picture taken not even this morning) but the systems were also taking about 10 seconds to pull up everyone pictures. We were super worried this day that we would miss Ana and Elsa all together.

As soon as we got through the gate me and my daughter grabbed everyone's tickets and decided to head straight to the castle to get in line. As I am getting up to the castle my husband keeps texting me - some CM's stopped him and a bunch of others wanting to see their tickets to see if they had magic morning. Really? Are we not trusting our CM's at the front? Plus its like 735 are you really that worried if someone got in 25 minutes early? Plus if we had magic morning would you be able to tell by looking at a ticket? Well, anyways now I gotta turn around and head back to them near Plaza Inn.

So now we as a group all head to get inline for Ana and Elsa. As we get in line we are told that we may not be able to get tickets but go ahead and stay inline just in case. Really? Can they really be sold out this early? My husband was convinced that it would be irresponsible of them to not allow passes to be given out to normal ticket holders who come in at 8am. Well, we were able to get our passes for a return time of 130-150 and they were out of tickets by 745 - we barely made the cut off

We spent the rest of our morning in Fantasyland getting as much done as possible. We were able to do Mr. Toads, Peter Pan, Carrousel, Pinocchio, and Snow White done all before 930.

We were also to spot some characters like Hook, Fairy Godmother, and Peter Pan. We didn't take a picture with peter pan he seemed to run off quite often with kids in tow. We also saw Alice walk by and a few others.

Next we went and decided to use fast passes again today to get stuff done. So while everyone else headed to the Haunted Mansion I grabbed fast passes for Indiana Jones. A little while later we then grabbed some for Splash Mountain (which had to have a return time after Ana and Elsa of course) and Big Thunder Mountain. The kids LOVED splash mountain and we all enjoyed Indiana Jones!

I had to run back to the hotel because I forgot our photopass and our autograph book so they rode the train and headed to Main Street to see some characters. They were able to finally see Mickey and Donald which were the last 2 they really wanted to see.

It was then lunch time. We ended up riding the train back over to New Orleans because I wanted to be close to Splash Mountain to grab our fast passes. Then it was a quick walk through of the Castle and then Ana and Elsa return time. I felt bad for so many kids who wanted to see them because their parents were not aware that they had to be there early and had to get inline for them. Many kids turned away very sad.

This was one of the highlights of my daughter's day!

We then did Splash Mountain (the kids went twice), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, watched some of the Parade, and then went to Innoventions.

My son really liked Innoventions. However, both of the kids really wanted to go swimming again and do the monorail slides so we didn't stay long. The signs all said open until 8 so we decided we would be back around 7 and it shouldn't be a problem right? Well, unfortunately we found out later that yes its open until 8 but they close the character areas at 7. Ugh really? Luckily my son wasn't that disappointed.

Around 4 we did head to the hotel to go swimming we also then had reservations at Carnation Cafe at 550. The pool was still a little cold but the kids had fun so thats all that matters. At Carnation Cafe we indulged in their Thanksgiving special (besides my daughter who had a hamburger). It was all pretty good except for their cranberry sauce.

Afterwards, my husbands grandmother headed back to the hotel and we decided to go back to Innoventions (and see if we could fast pass Space Mountain but they were out) and then went on the Matterhorn. We liked the Matterhorn BUT it was really was jerky. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to call it a night but not before we did some more shopping in Downtown Disney.

 

[mfleeting]

Our last full day in California would be used around the LA area. We wanted to see the Hollywood sign, Santa Monica Pier/Beach, WB studio tour, and some area's like the walk of fame/Rodeo Drive.

We've never been to California and we have also never been to an ocean so it was a very exciting day for all of us. We left super early this day (what everyone can actually get up this day?). We were expecting traffic since you know its Black Friday but there was none and we got to LA super early. First off Hollywood Sign at the Griffith Observatory.

We loved the views of LA but unfortunately it was still early in the morning so the observatory was not open.

Afterwards we headed to the WB Studio Tour. Besides Universal Studios this was the only studio tour we could do because of my daughters age. It was fun though. We got to drive around some of their lots and see their mini city.

We also got to see some Batman props and cars and Harry Potter props. Another highlight was we got to see an area with the Central Perk from Friends all set-up. We also walked through the set of "The Fosters" and got to see the set of "2 Broke Girls." With "The Fosters" we actually went through the entire set - walked through the house, walked around their backyard, saw the bedrooms etc. With "2 Broke Girls" since they have a live audience and multiple cameras they shoot differently so we just got to sit where the audience sits and see the sets from their. We couldn't take pictures of the sets though.

http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums...B-4470-445B-8067-DB614D0CB0FF_zpsfrp9b6bw.jpg

After the studio we went and ate at Islands which was recommended by a friend who grew up in LA. We then headed straight for Santa Monica Beach. We were very lucky and got parking right near the beach First up the Ferris Wheel. Since we missed Mickey's Fun Wheel we decided to do this one to see the better views of the ocean.

Then it was off to play in the cold water some. The kids were a bit disappointed with the water though. We went to Cozumel a few years ago and it was a beautiful blue color that was completely see through. Here the water was clear but still dirty - BUT they still had fun!

Afterwards it was late so we just drove down Rodeo Drive and by some of the Theater's like El Captain. We checked in our hotel to get some sleep as we had a 6am flight back to Austin.

We've never been on a plane before and everyone - especially my husband was very nervous - but despite what my husband and son thought we made it home alive!

Overall we absolutely loved Disneyland and everyone had fun - and our bank account is so not happy with us. BUT everyone is already talking about going back to Disneyland one day and my husband - who was against ever going to Florida - has already decided that we will be going to WDW in 2-3 years. Nobody really wants to wait that long but we are moving to the east coast in a few months and then want to take a trip to Alaska first. So WDW will have to wait a little bit.

Our trip was probably also VERY VERY busy for everyone but fortunately for us we have our annual Christmas trip to Great Wolf Lodge in 19 days where we can relax for a few days!