Party of Five - Five Days at Disneyland Resort May 15-19 2010 *complete!*

[DisneyIsMagical]

The picture of your girls with Minnie is priceless! Adorable! Sorry you weren't feeling well!

 

[mello]

Aw, I'm so sorry you were sick, that's no fun. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying your trip report. Your girls are so cute, and that picture of them with Minnie is adorable!

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

aww.... yep sounds like strep throat! i hope it didnt ruin the rest of the trip! I really am looking forward to reading more!

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

also the pics are really really adorable! I cant wait to see more pics!

 

[McNic]

Loving the TR and your girls are so cute in their outfits. Hope you didn't spend the rest of your trip in the ER!

 

[momto2nenas]

5 months later I am ready to finish up this Trip Report! We've since moved to a new town for my husband's new job training. He graduates in a few weeks and then we are off to ANOTHER town. This one is in...

CALIFORNIA! That's right, according to my girls we are "moving to Disneyland!" Actually we are moving about 7 hours North but we are hitting the parks for a 3 day layover on the way, so excited!

Before I start the pretrip and trip report for that trip I need to finish up last year's! Thankfully I still have my notes and photos are already uploaded to Photobucket so it shouldn't take me too long.

 

[momto2nenas]

So last time I posted we had just returned to our hotel for an afternoon break on our 2nd day of the trip...

I woke up feeling worse than even before and I didn't think that was possible. The front desk called me a taxi and I was on my way to the local emergency room. DH was very upset about me going alone but we didn't need the 3 kids stuck in the waiting room for who knows how long so he took them back to the park as planned.

I spent a few hours in a semi-shady ER in Fullerton but was so thankful for the antibiotic shot, liquid steroid, and pain relievers they pumped into me! I was back in our room just in time for the 9pm-ish fireworks and feeling almost like a new person that quick!

I stepped out of our room and watched the fireworks for a few minutes and was excited that that DH and my babies were finally getting to see them too! We just had bad luck in the past with high winds or going mid-week that we'd never had the opportunity since '06 to see them!

Here are a few pictures DH snapped of their trip back that night:

And can I just say, I was so completely in love with my husband's daddy skills that night, taking all 3 girls to Disneyland by himself for several hours?

 

[momto2nenas]

Monday morning I was feeling 80% better and was ready to go. We were so excited to be hitting up California Adventure this day. It also meant we got to sleep in a little bit longer since they weren't opening until 10am.

We were lined up at the gates and within a few minutes walking into CA at 9:40 and the big girls and I walked straight on to Soarin'. My favorite ride in CA and after ToT, my girls' favorite too! We made sure to ask for front row so they could get the best view and it was not a problem since we were the first people to ride the ride that day!

DH waited with DD3 and met Aviator Goofy who we didn't remember ever seeing before....

We picked up a FP for Soarin' to use later on and headed over for rope drop to get in line for Toy Story Midway Mania!

I know I'm probably in the minority here but I just don't consider it a favorite and it was an easy decision for me to stay back with DD3 while the older ones took turns riding with DH. DD3 and I ended up riding King Triton's Carousel 4 times that morning!

We also got to meet Jessie for the first time!

DH and the big girls rode Mickey's Funwheel (non-sliding car!)

While I took a time out on the benches with the baby.

We made out way around the "outer rim" of CA riding whatever rides were open and then picking up our lanyards from our travel package before heading to DTD to meet a friend who lives in the area at the ESPN Zone.

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Hi ... just came across your TR today and am really enjoying it. Sorry you got sick at DLR, you really seemed to handle it well according to the photo's! Love your girl's outfits ... did you make them yourself? If so, you are very talented! Look forward to reading the rest.

 

[momto2nenas]

Hi ... just came across your TR today and am really enjoying it. Sorry you got sick at DLR, you really seemed to handle it well according to the photo's! Love your girl's outfits ... did you make them yourself? If so, you are very talented! Look forward to reading the rest.

I am amazed at how I look in the photos too considering how sick I was, I guess the Disney spirit kept me going.

I got the girls' dresses from a seller on etsy.com. I did make their black tshirts and a few other things they will be wearing as I continue the trip report. Thank you for the kind words!

 

[BellaBaby]

Your girls are beautiful!! Looking forward to reading more of your TR!

 

[momto2nenas]

We had lunch at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney and then returned to CA. My older girls were busting at the seams to ride Tower of Terror! While I also really enjoy this ride, the anticipation right before you drop always freaks me out so much I wonder why I am riding it in the first place. But as soon as its finished you always want to ride it AGAIN!

We must have ran into Goofy on our way to the Animation Academy building..

This was the most time we'd ever spent in the Animation Academy bldg, and it was a great place to relax and mainly let the baby crawl around and get some exercise since she was on Day 3 of being in her stroller. DH and the older girls went to draw a picture of a Disney character and they all came back with very cute Mickey drawings. We also got some neat pictures in the building.

We ran into our old pal Stitch back out on Hollywood Blvd:

Monsters Inc. was up next and this is a ride that DH and I both are sentimental about. Monsters Inc. was the first Disney movie that DD1 really got into. We learned it by heart when she was around 2 years old, so it will always hold a soft spot for us.

We rode Soarin' again using our FPs from earlier and let the girls meet Mater and Lightening McQueen.

We called it a day at California Adventure and headed back to Disneyland.

 

[momto2nenas]

We arrived at Disneyland just in time for the Flag Retreat ceremony. Being a military family we are also very patriotic so this was fun for us to see.

We stopped in front of the castle for my favorite of all photos at Disneyland, CASTLE photos!

I especially love this one:

Anyone remember this one from last year?

 

[momto2nenas]

We booked our trip throgh Costco Travel and one of the perks was 4 vouchers for a character dining. We opted for Goofy's Kitchen since we had done Ariel's Grotto and Lilo and Stitch (now Mickey's Surf's Up or similar) on previous trips.

We took the Monorail from Disneyland into Downtown Disney and then made the short walk to the Disneyland Hotel. The food was the typical Disney buffet type stuff and we stocked up on the fresh fruits since they are usually what we lack while on trips and live on at home!

Our table was in a corner and we didn't get that much attention from our server if I recall but since it was a buffet we were not too upset. We missed a few of the characters walking around as well but Mulan and Minnie made up for that since they were both so great and interactive with the girls!

Mulan especially made sure to ask about their day, outfits, and was very impressed when DD1 told her she was Mulan for Halloween the year before.

 

[momto2nenas]

After our dinner at Goofy's Kitchen we caught the Monorail back into Disneyland and hung out in Fantasyland for a little bit longer.

We rode the Teacups, King Arthur's Carousel, and then the Teacups again!

Disneyland is so amazing all lit up at night.

Day 3 was definately our best day so far. I was feeling so much better and that made it better for everyone else as well.

 

[TinyDancer]

I am so glad you are finishing your TR! I can not believe how grown up the girls look NOW as compared to last May! Unreal!

I started my PTR if you want to check it out.

 

[Bungle]

Those are great pictures. Reading your trip report makes me look forward to visiting in may!

 

[Briarrose1306]

This is the first TR I've read and I'm glad I did! You've done an amazing job telling about your trip and with the pictures, i almost feel like I went with you! Great job, can't wait for more!

 

[yupikgal]

Thank you for the fun trip report...it was kind of reminding me of our trip last May, but we got there right around the time you left, we also did the 5 for 3, stayed at the Fairfield, and I was getting over my illness when we got there too! In fact, since we flew all night from Alaska, I was EXHAUSTED and asked if we could check in early, which after they tried putting us in a 1st floor room (which I politely declined, not feeling comfortable with that idea) they ended up putting in a higher room and I got to rest for a while before heading to the park! Not the most exciting thing to do, but I really needed it, and since I don't sleep well on planes, and I was sick, I was very tired. Your girls are adorable, especially the way you dressed them!

 

[momto2nenas]

Well it's been exactly 1 year ago since this trip in May 2010... I just celebrated my 32nd birthday on the 18th so I figured now is a good time to finish up my Trip Report from my 31st birthday at Disneyland.

We'd just finished up our 3rd day but first full day at the parks. I was feeling 100% percent better and looking forward to our Magic Morning on our 4th day at the parks. Some little beauty was not ready to get up that early...

We got her up and everyone ready to wait at the gates for our Magic Morning....but it was raining.

But rain shouldn't stop anyone from having the best time at Disneyland! We went to Fantasyland and did all our favorites with time to spare before official park opening.

For the first time ever, we rode Finding Nemo subs. We were there for the grand opening in June '07 and not interested in 3 hour lines AT ALL. But during MM it was manageable. Will we ever ride it again...no. None of us really enjoyed it. It was cramped, stuffy, *stinky (hold the gas people for 11 minutes would ya?!) and just too slow. The kids enjoyed it at first but were getting bored by the end.

The rain let up and we were off to explore the rest of the park and another first for us was Thunder Ranch. So cute!

We took a quick ride on BTMRR (my big girls' #1 favorite in the park!) and then headed to Cafe Orleans for my birthday lunch.