PTR#2~ What am I going to do differently? Glad you asked!

[awdsmama]

A week and we'll be checking into our airport hotel!! I got a good park and fly rate so that will be nice to be able to sleep in a bit in the morning (the drive from home to airport is about an hour, not including parking and taking the shuttle etc).

I told DS9 we will be spending this Saturday cleaning the house top to bottom so it's nice and clean when we get home. He was not impressed with this idea.

 

[Jairy]

A week and we'll be checking into our airport hotel!! I got a good park and fly rate so that will be nice to be able to sleep in a bit in the morning (the drive from home to airport is about an hour, not including parking and taking the shuttle etc). I told DS9 we will be spending this Saturday cleaning the house top to bottom so it's nice and clean when we get home. He was not impressed with this idea.

I think our trip dates are very similar. We are going the 16th-24th and also spending the 15th cleaning the house. Lol
And I saw that we will be at the same Fantasmic seating.
We have a 9 year old ds too! What hotel are you staying at? We are at the PPH.

 

[awdsmama]

I think our trip dates are very similar. We are going the 16th-24th and also spending the 15th cleaning the house. Lol
And I saw that we will be at the same Fantasmic seating.
We have a 9 year old ds too! What hotel are you staying at? We are at the PPH.

Ours is the 19-26, but no park on travel days or Saturday. We're at Tropicana.

see you at F!

 

[awdsmama]

About to head to bed.

When I wake up in the morning I can check in for our Wednesday morning flight!!!! It's getting more and more real now!


Im pretty much packed. Too tired to keep going tonight, will finish tomorrow.

 

[awdsmama]

Deleted, duplicate info

 

[MommyMissy]

Your plans seem a lot like ours for next week, I would love to hear about the rest of your trip and see pictures.

 

[awdsmama]

Your plans seem a lot like ours for next week, I would love to hear about the rest of your trip and see pictures.

I'm sorry, I'll update later tonight!

If you have specific questions feel free to ask

 

[awdsmama]

I know this trip report is a bit delayed, so sorry! I am going to throw the basics up right now, and come back later to add any details and pictures!

Cast:
ME – Mom
Austin – 9yr old son, his 2nd trip – first was in 2012 at age 7.


Arrival Day, Wednesday March 19th: We arrived into SNA just about 9:30am and found the airport very easy to navigate, it’s so small! I called Karmel Shuttle and a driver arrived within 5 minutes. The driver was very polite, courteous and a safe driver.

Once we arrived at the Tropicana, I was nervous if a room would be ready so early or not (about 10:15 by this point). The room they had assigned us was NOT ready (upper floor, rear of property on south side) but they did have a first floor room open if I wanted it. I was weighing “rear of property with possible firework view, but wait for room” with “room ready NOW” – and room ready NOW won out! The room was nice, basic, clean. It had two queen beds, a table with two chairs, a desk with a chair, mini fridge, microwave, flat screen tv, and the vanity/sink was outside of the bathroom which I personally like so more people can get ready at the same time easier. The ONLY drawback I can mention is that the shower pressure is definitely lacking – I have think curly hair. However, my son didn’t seem to notice.

After an hour of unpacking/relaxing etc we headed out to meet a friend for lunch @ Storytellers. Son had the make your own pizza, I had a turkey sandwich. Spent a few hours strolling the shops before parting ways and heading back to the hotel. On the way out of the esplanade we stopped at the transit ticket machine so we could buy our ART pass for that evening’s trip to Medieval Times. Our show was at 6pm, we hopped on the 4:00 ART bus – Route 18. It got us there with plenty of time to spare. We shopped a bit, son got a slushy and I got an adult beverage, we checked out the horses. Then it was time to take our seats. The show was good, not excellent but very entertaining. The food: tomato bisque soup was delicious, sausage was good, chicken was eh – a tad try in places. All in all we’d go again, my son enjoyed it and it was fun. May try the pirates one next. FYI – when the show lets out there is a 20-30minute wait for the ART bus to take you back, so bring a jacket if you think you’ll need it in the evening.

Watched a little tv when we got back, then went to bed – early day tomorrow!

FIRST PARK DAY!! Thursday, March 20thThis was our Magic Morning day. Regular park opening was 9am.
The order we did our Magic Morning:
Snow White
Mr Toad
Teacups twice in a row
Star Tours
Buzz

At this point, the hour was up. We headed to Carnation Café for a light breakfast then went over to the photo store so I could pick up the Photopass Plus!

At this point it was 10am so Toontown was opening, home of one of DS’s favorite rides so off we went:
DS rode Gogo gadget three times in a row 

Then we went on Roger Rabbit and the crowd in TT was really thick by this point so we headed out - we had lunch reservations coming up soon anyway.

Stopped by the Frontier shooting range for a few rounds.

Then headed to Blue Bayou for our 11:30 reservation (it was 11, I wanted to be early for waterside table!). They obliged the request and we sat next to the rail/water. It was beautiful. Both of us loved the experience! We shared the monte cristo which more than lived up to the hype especially with the 3 dipping sauces: vanilla, black cherry and blackberry I believe they were? I think the all cheese version would be too rich, I found the meat helped to cut that a bit! I had asked for an extra plate so I could share it with DS, they were very nice about accommodating that request. DS did not want any of the salad, but he sure loved the bread basket ;-) People on Pirates would wave, we’d wave back, it was a fun time. We’ll be eating there again!

Next, it was off to Splash Mountain! DS loved this ride last time, so we thought nothing of doing the Single Rider option (especially since the regular line was at 90minute standby!). We were the front of the SR line and the ride went down! Apparently the animatronics inside were not working. Frankly? Big deal, we want the water ride haha. Tons of people left because they didn’t have an eta of when it would be up again. About 40-50min later it was up again and even though we were in SR the CM’s put us in the same log. I think DS is more aware of danger/fear now because he started to panic a bit on the big climb haha! But he did well despite getting SOAKED since he was in the front seat hehehe.

After the mini panic moment and getting drenched, I figured it was a good time for a treat @ Poohs Corner. DS had a big cupcake with blue frosting (good and moist). I had the tigger tail! It was good but way too sugary for me. I took two bites and threw it away.

We then hopped on the train to Main Street Station as DS wanted to take a hotel break. However once we got off the train, he wanted to go into Adventures with Mr. Lincoln so we spent a bit of time there.

Then we took about a 2-3 hour hotel / swimming break.

Headed to DCA around 5:30-5:45pm and rode:
Heimlich
Took a small break to eat dinner at Flo’s – DS had the roast I had the turkey. It was okay but not worth the raving I’ve heard?

More rides:
Luigi bumper tire
Flik’s Flyers (cute!)
Monsters Inc
Tower of Terror – this was DS’s FAVORITE ride last trip. Again though I think there’s more sense of awareness now because he didn’t like it quite as much but still did like it. He said he didn’t remember it having so many up and downs ;-)

It was now 9pm and DCA was closing. We both agreed it was time to head to hotel for the night, not to DL for another hour.

Day 1 was done. We had a blast, and got 13 rides in, with a few ridden more than once.

 

[awdsmama]

PARK DAY 2, FRIDAY MARCH 21ST.

We did not get to DCA as early as I wanted, but we were there when the gates opened, the lines were fast and not very long to get in. However, the RSR line was RIDICULOUS. We agreed that we would forget about it for today, and be sure to get in line early another morning.

So we then headed for Soarin – my favorite! After soaring we headed over to TSMM but it was already at 60min+ wait so bypassed it, son took a few turns on King Triton’s Carousel and we played a few games on the pier/boardwalk.

Then we headed to Pacific Wharf Café for breakfast bread bowls, yum! This was followed by ice cream for dessert at Ghiradelli’s. What, you’ve never heard of dessert after breakfast? ;-)

Strolling around DCA, we then got in a short line to meet Mater.
Got a wild idea after that, and headed to RSR and whattya know, the single rider line was “only” 40 minutes instead of the over an hour for standby. DS and I agreed that although it was both of our first time on the ride, we were both okay with it being single rider. SO.MUCH.FUN!!! Love the scenery, the animatronics, everything. My car won, DS’s car lost.

DS was tired early today – can’t say that I blame him; we crammed a lot of rides into the first day! So we headed back to the hotel for a break – but not before riding the trolley!

Came back to DL in time to catch part of the parade.

Next was Haunted Mansion followed by dinner at the Golden Horseshoe. I really like their fish basket, it’s a good value IMO.

Finally it was time to line up for Fantasmic Dessert Seating! The waiting/lining up was painfully long. We got in line around 6:30 I think? There were about 10 people in front of us. By the time it was finally 8pm there were SO MANY people behind us – I see why you are told to line up early. I do wish they would assign/offer seats when you buy the tickets though – I feel like we wasted so much time in this process. HOWEVER – it was AMAZING. The desserts were delicious – I especially loved the lemon tart. I wasn’t a fan of the truffles though. I do wish they’d put more stuff in them to cut back the sweetness, neither of us could finish it because of the sugar high haha. But we snacked on them for the next 3 days in the hotel! I picked our seats in the 3rd row (there were already no 2 seats left together in the front row) so we could move around a bit, DS stood most of the time. Both DS and I thought it was a great experience. Not sure I’d do it EVERY trip, but every few for sure and only if we have enough days at DL so we can “afford” to miss out on those hours in line vs on rides.

The plan was to stay in the seats for fireworks, but DS needed to use the restroom so we left. Then we got on the train for another loop around to Main Street Sure, it would have been quicker to walk, but it’s a nice relaxing way to cap off the day!

We didn’t ride a lot of things today, but walking around taking it all in was just as fun.

 

[Rubygoose]

glad you started your TR! It sounds like your first park day was busy but fun. We're thinking of maybe going during March next year because the kids school district and my school district get 2 weeks spring break in March. Was it busy at that time? Warm enough to swim? I'm interested to read about whether or not you enjoyed the discover the magic tour and the Fantasmic dessert seating.

 

[awdsmama]

glad you started your TR! It sounds like your first park day was busy but fun. We're thinking of maybe going during March next year because the kids school district and my school district get 2 weeks spring break in March. Was it busy at that time? Warm enough to swim? I'm interested to read about whether or not you enjoyed the discover the magic tour and the Fantasmic dessert seating.

My son is a TOTAL water kid always has been so he thought it was perfect swimming weather. Weather was 63-75 while we were there.

Both tours were worth it, the Fantasmic recap is above and I'll do the others shortly

 

[awdsmama]

SATURDA, MARCH 22 – WARNER BROS AND HUNTINGTON BEACH

Today was a “no park day” and I must say, even though we were doing things it really was a nice break and made the overall trip seem relaxing and not rushed.

I rented a mid-sized car from the Alamo on Katella and they were very nice when we arrived.* We were given a very nice new Toyota Avalon, my son loved the backup camera haha.* They offer you an area map, take it!* It’s actually pretty decent and came in handy when my cell battery got on red from all the pictures I’d been taking and the drain of using its GPS.*

We took off from the rental car location by 10am and were on the road for our 11:15am tour at Warner Brothers.* We should have allowed more time, traffic was THICK in parts and we arrived for the tour with literally a minute to spare.* I didn’t expect that on a Saturday morning, lesson learned.* Our tour guide was Blaire, very friendly and knowledgeable.* The whole purpose for this tour was that my son is a HUGE Big Bang Theory fan and I wanted to see if we could tour the set.* We got to see 3 sets on this tour:* Ellen, Friends and BIG BANG!* I tell ya, the camera can do amazing things with perspective.* You’d never guess, but the distance between Penny’s couch and kitchen island, and the guys couch and their kitchen – is no more than 3 feet.* The walls are slanted, to throw off depth perception and the camera also adds 10ft (and 10lbs haha).** We really enjoyed touring this set.* We got to see:* Penny’s apartment, Sheldon/Leondards apartment,* the guys cafeteria, and a restaurant that they had set up that was not the cheesecake factory.* Oh and a short peek at Sheldon’s room.** We saw tons of their back lots and streetscapes, it was amazing.* We saw a jungle area that has been the set for:* China Beach, Jurassic Park, Free Willy, Hart of Dixie and more.* We saw several fake streets/buildings from Hart of Dixie, Pretty Little Liars, Gilmore Girls, Friends, Big Bang, Casablanca, some old westerns and a ton I’m forgetting.** One neat thing about their grounds is they camoflauge everything.** For example, you’d think the WB offices would be in nice fancy buildings right?* Well there is one.* But the others are hidden in apartment/motel style looking buildings – that way they do double duty and can act as a film set on the outside!** The houses on the streets you see in tv?* Production houses – with each show having their own house and having their offices inside.* It’s all so interesting how it works!** You cannot take pictures on live sets, but Friends isn’t active anymore so we could take pics there.** We also got to go into a building where they have cars from films on display:* Batmobiles, Austin Powers car, The General Lee! And a few others.* All in all it was a fun 2.5hrs VIP tour and well worth the money to us.

Off to the beach we go!* We got out of the gift shop around 1:30* and decided to head straight to Huntington Beach.** We stopped at Subway along the way to grab some lunch and ate it on the nice warm sand watching the waves.* It was about an hour to get there, nowhere is close in LA.* But it was an easy drive.* We went to Huntington Beach State Park specifically.* It was easy to find parking, the beach was clean and there were lifeguards.* My son loved jumping waves and realizing that there is warm ocean water in the world (just not in Oregon haha).** The beach isn’t fancy, but some people had volleyball nets set up, were playing Frisbee, digging huge holes etc.* It’s a great beach for kids IMO.

Coming up tomorrow……Discover the Magic Tour!

 

[Jairy]

We ended up getting a Soaring Fastpass that cut into our line up time for checking in at Fantasmic. I think we got there just a touch before 8 and only a few people were behind us. The plus side was we were seated right away. We also sat in the 3rd row which was not too bad for us. Ds and I stood for the actual show, then sat for the fireworks after. I swear we must have walked by each other a few times. We had breakfast on the Wharf Friday morning.

 

[Dreamer2012]

I am loving this thread! We are headed to Disneyland for 9 nights - 8/27 - 9/5, 2014! Primary reason is for my DD16 & myself to get our Coast2Coast Medals after doing the Dumbo Double Dare! We are staying at Best Western at Stovall's. Has anyone here stayed there? I am following this thread now and hoping to learn some "tips" so please everyone help out a Newbie! Thanks!!

 

[awdsmama]

SUNDAY MARCH 23 – DISCOVER THE MAGIC TOUR!
I had booked the Discover the Magic Tour because it sounded SO fun! I mean, what wouldn’t love a scavenger hunt thru Disneyland along with some ride perks, a frozen treat, and a private Mickey meet-n-great!

Since the tour started at 10am, and you have to check in 15 minutes early, I decided this morning would be a sleep in a bit morning. We perused the shops on Main Street a bit, with DS loving the magic shop. He could stay there all day. We headed over to the tour check in kiosk at 9:45 and got checked in. We had two tour guides and they were wonderful. Very entertaining and good with wrangling the kids. There were about 7 kids and one tour guide always stayed in the front, with one bringing up the rear. We followed clues from land to land, looking for treasure chests. We got to go on Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Buzz without any waits, that alone is worth the cost on a busy Spring Break Sunday! We also took the raft over to the island to look for the treasure. At the end, we put our puzzle pieces together and headed off to Mickey’s house! Mickey sat and listened to our guides explain the fun things we had done, and Mickey gave each person (adults too!) a Discover the Magic lanyard w/ medal and also a pin, my son that that was AWESOME! Then Mickey posed for a group and individual pictures (there is a PhotoPass photog here as well). We were then treated to frozen apple juices in a souvenir cup. That is when the tour disbanded and we were on our own again (about lunch time).

DS played in Chip’s tree house for a bit and we decided we were hungry. First we tried Big Thunder BBQ (without reservation) and the wait was 45min+. So we went to Village Haus. It was nice to sit outside and relax. DS had their pizza and he liked it. I don’t remember which burger I tried but the burger was fine and the rest of it was okay.

We swung by Autopia and grabbed a FastPass next.

We took off from there and hit up Space Mountain. Neither myself or DS had ridden this before so we were willing to jump in the 40min standby line, plus it would put us right about our return time for Autopia. We both loved it! He truly has become a roller coaster junkie as of this trip.

Next we went over to Autopia to use our FP. DS spent $5 on the plastic driver’s license photo booth afterwards. The thought of him with a real license in 7yrs makes me cringe, let’s hope he improves haha.

We had not ridden the monorail yet this trip so we decided to hop on. I’ve never waited so long for it before. The line was all the way down the ramp to the ground. But it was neat to peek in the fences around Nemo while we waited.

After our round trip on the monorail it was dinner time and since we were close to it we decided to try the Plaza Inn chicken dinner. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Whatever seasoning they use is WONDERFUL. The chicken was tender and moist, the green beans fresh and had a “snap” to them. Absolutely a do-again meal for me. DS wanted “his own” dinner, not to share so he opted for the adult size pasta (red sauce) and it was not a hit. The sauce or noodles, not sure which, were watery and runny. He ate some of it then ended up with my drumstick. Lesson learned. Maybe the alfredo is better?

We decided to head back to the hotel, even though it was early. We meandered down Main Street, stopped in the little old time theater so DS could watch a few black and white cartoons, then headed to the hotel and he hit the pool for awhile and I did laundry! The Tropicana has 2 washers and 2 dryers. I had no problems with them – but do check the lint trap it was quite full. I had bought a travel/sample size of detergent at Target the day before so this worked perfectly. I believe it was .75 to wash and .75 to dry?

This night we realized we were on the downhill slope of our trip…..must admit that made me a bit sad.