ChrisMouse
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2007
- Messages
- 1,077
You can read the text only version below, or you can go to www.freewebs.com/chrismouse to see the same text with photos included. I just couldn't figure out how to add them here.
I’m starting this trip report on our laptop on the plane home to Denver. Luckily I made a really cool journal out of scrapbook materials, so over the last week I’ve written my own journal of our trip to enjoy as well as to help me to write this online trip report. I feel like I need to share the trip because it would never have been so successful without the DISboards. I just wish I would have run into another LGMH SOMEWHERE at the parks. I know you were out there, I just didn’t spot you! But I read so many trip reports while planning ours that I wanted to post mine in turn in case it can help anyone else in their planning, or just to help them get excited to go to what truly is the Happiest Place on Earth
The Cast:
Me: Chris, Mickey lover from childhood, Disney freak
DH: Scot, amusement park fan, ACE rollercoaster freak
DS: Josh, age 6, shy & not very adventurous
DD: Katie, age 4, Princess lover & daredevil
Grammie: My mom, age 55, Peter Pan fan, not a big rider
Poppa: My dad, age 60, Pirate obsessed
We kept this trip a secret from the kids for many reasons, the biggest of which was the fact that this was our first family vacation EVER. We’ve never taken them on a plane, to a hotel, etc., let alone on a trip to Disneyland. Because it was going to be such an event, we knew we’d hear every day “When are we going?” Plus, we just love surprises.
It’s hard to believe our kids are this old and we’d never been on a trip, but I’m glad we waited. They were the perfect age for a first trip, and now that we’re headed home I’m going to want to go every year. I’ve already started lobbying…I’m thinking Christmas 2008…
At any rate, this trip report begins on Tuesday, May 8th, at 6am, when we snuck into our kids’ rooms and woke them with the news that we were going to Disneyland. They were sleepy and shocked, but bounced out of bed in record time. We managed to get them to eat a GoGurt before my father in law picked us up and whisked us to the airport.
We were pleasantly surprised by our trip through security. It went very smoothly. We had been nervous about getting through the airport & security since the kids had never done it before, but it went very well. They were troopers! We’d packed backpacks with new activit books, animal crackers and other snacks, their leapster games, stickers, etc. We’d also packed some empty disposable sippy cups for them to use on the plane so we wouldn’t have a spill. They chewed gum, but Katie did have a little trouble with her ears since she has allergies. But we made it, and it was a great adventure. I just have to give a quick shout out to Frontier Airlines, though…thank goodness for the little TVs and Nick Jr. That was the best $5 we spent…a great deal and it really helped the plane ride fly by.
When we landed at SNA I was thrilled at how quickly and easily everything went. Our bags were waiting for us, and we easily made our way to ground transportation, where our Super Shuttle was waiting for us. We paid $94 for round trip exclusive van service for our party of 6, and it was awesome. The van was right there waiting for us. We had brought the kids’ booster seats (just the base part) and these worked great in the vans, which had shoulder belts. Although the Super Shuttle employee had told us ahead of time that the boosters were not required, I felt MUCH safer with them, as the van felt like a regular vehicle and we did take the highway…I would not have been comfortable without the boosters.
There was no traffic, and we made it to the resort in record time. It was so fun to spot the Matterhorn in the distance and tell my kids we were finally at Disneyland!!! Seeing the Matterhorn didn’t mean much to the kids, who were looking for a castle, but the grownups all knew—we had arrived!! It was only 11 am, and we had arrived! Even better, they had rooms ready for us! We loved our room. We were in Bonita Tower, 11th floor, room 2992 at the Disneyland Hotel, and had a great view of the pool, Downtown Disney, AND we could see the Matterhorn. There were autographed photos for the kids, along with 1st visit buttons (thank you vacation planning!) We loved the subtle theming of the room…the themed furniture, tiny drawings in the bedspreads, and topiary wallpaper in the bathrooms, as well as the Tink border. My son really enjoyed the whole hotel experience. He immediately decided where he would sleep and unpacked his belongings, while we were all urging him to hurry so we could get into the park.
We could tell it seemed hot right away. We’d watched the weather forecasts for weeks, and it seemed high 70’s daytime and low 60’s nighttime was the norm. That was even the prediction…but the day we arrived it hit 98. We couldn’t believe it, and did have a little trouble adjusting to the heat that first day. Even with SPF 50 I burned. Luckily I did a better job of sunscreening the kids. I “had” to buy a new hat right away at the World of Disney, and wore it pretty much constantly from then on, to provide some shade. Don’t get me wrong, the weather was beautiful, just not what we expected, especially with no Splash to cool us off. We caved and my mom bought the kids those ridiculously expensive water bottle fans, but they were surprisingly hardy and entertaining through each day of our visit.
That first day was a little rough since we had to buy bottled water, but our grocery order arrived that evening, so it wasn’t too bad. We were just so glad to see all of that food and water arrive!!!
The esplanade is just amazing. It’s soo cool to see both parks right there, facing one another. Yet the child in me was thrilled that nothing has REALLY changed about the park that is my heart’s home---WALT’s park.
A cheery English cast member made conversation with us, we had our bag checked briefloy, and we were in….every other theme park in America should take lessons.
Our first of 77 photopass photos was taken there at the entrance, and this was easy and fun. Anyone who wants a positive review of the photopass program should talk to me. I am splitting the cost of the CD with another DISer, but now that I’ve done it, I would have paid full price by myself (though I am still glad to be splitting!) It is easy to get the photos taken, and we found quite a lot of the photographers in both parks, in all kinds of great places. The best part was that I’m never in our vacation photos, so this way I’m in some of them. I’m not fond of photos of myself, but it’s nice for the kids to someday see I went along! I really, really, love the photos we had taken, and can’t say enough good things about Photopass. None of my photos were lost, I even managed to keep the same card the whole time (though I DID take advice from here and photographed my card so I’d have the number if I needed it). Luckily we had our laptop with us, so I could see our pictures every night, which was fun. In addition to photopass, I took nearly 400 of my own photographs (I’m a photograph/scrapbook hound). I can’t wait to get home and get busy!!
We went to stroller rental and were thrilled that we could just check in our crummy umbrella strollers and exchange them for the Disney Visa free rental strollers. LOVE those rental strollers…great height on the handle, great sun canopy…AWESOME, and LOVED getting them for free. We only brought the crummy umbrellas to get to and from the hotel, and boy, were we glad we did that! We saw so many poor parents carrying sleeping or crying kids back to the hotels at night, and I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a HIKE to the Disneyland Hotel. GCH is MUCH closer!!! We also liked that no one ever stole our stroller, and we loved having them marked with our name. As usual, Disney is smart!!!
We proceeded up Main Street, delighted that nothing has changed. So much charm and joy. My Katie was in awe at the sight of the castle for the first time. She was just thrilled, and it was a moment I’ll never forget.
We were hungry and grabbed a corndog at the Red Wagon…which lived up to its fame. Best corndog EVER. Josh (doesn’t like corndogs) had a regular hot dog from the Refreshment Corner. Incidentally, the “lite” lemonade served at the park actually tastes great, and we enjoyed a light sugar option.
We went to the castle and had more photos taken, and then spotted Mary Poppins and Bert. Katie got her first autographs, and this was one of our favorite moments of the day. They were so true to character and were just charming. They made a big deal out of Katie’s book, and were so excited that there was a page just for them. Katie held Mary’s hand for the photo, and it was pure Disney magic. I was so glad we had rented Mary Poppins for the kids to watch 2 nights before while we packed in secret!
We of course had to ride Peter Pan first, and poor Josh was on sensory overload. It took him awhile to get over it, but he eventually got on the ride and enjoyed it. I loved flying over London, feeling like I’d just come home…there is nothing quite like that ride.
We also did Dumbo and the Teacups (glad the lines were pretty minimal, we didn’t wait longer than 20 minutes for anything). It was fun taking photos of my kids on these traditional rides.
We didn’t see any other characters, which was a big disappointment for Katie, but we reassured her we’d see lots over the 4 days of our visit.
We were extremely hot, and got the kids ice creams (Josh a Mickey ice cream sandwich he loved and Katie a sorbet thing that got all over her clothes—pink, of course). The grownups made a special trip for a Dole Whip, which lived up to its fame on this board…and THEN SOME. I think we had at least 4 Dole Whips during our trip. It cracks me up, but even sitting here right now one sounds awfully good…
Pirates was shut down for a problem, and worried us, since that ride is very special in our family, esp. for my dad. I thought Dad was going to lose it until we finally got to ride after the parade.
The Haunted Mansion was a bit much for Josh, but Katie loved it and wanted to go again right away, the little daredevil! Josh spotted some wind chimes he loved in Adventureland and we rolled our eyes at the Aladdin’s Lamp fortune teller thing at the Bazzaar, what a rip off!
We were hot and hungry and made the mistake of just eating at the first place we came to (against my plans) and ate at the Hungry Bear…please don’t ever eat there. YUCK. It was really awful, and since everything at Disneyland is so expensive, it was a waste.
Pooh’s ride was a delight, and we enjoyed walking right on without a li ne. The kids loved this one, even though it broke down at the end and we had to walk through. We went on it again later in the trip to see the real deal. It was mainly a good change for Josh after those Grim Grinning Ghosts…
We headed for Tomorrowland for 3 rides in a row on Buzz—what a great ride! We’re addicted, and competitive, of course. We kept sending our scores home as we improved. Mom and Dad rode Star Tours and Josh had a slice of pizza at Pizza Port since he (intelligent kid) wouldn’t eat at the Hungry Bear. We did Astro Oribitors and grabbed a nice curb for the parade. We bought drinks and popcorn, and were shocked at the crowds an hour before. However, it was worth the wait, because it was a wonderful parade. Katie finally got to feast her eyes on her characters…the entertainment was great, and she became a parade addict. We had to watch the parade EVERY NIGHT of our visit.
The crowd was behind us as we snuck onto pirates after the parade. My dad was grinning ear to ear. I love that ride AND what it does for him. He is usually stressed, but not when he’s carousing with Jack and his buddies. I was glad they did not interfere with the integrity of the ride when they enhanced it. Oh, and I forgot how much I love how that ride SMELLS.
We headed back to the hotel, and the bell desk delivered our groceries. SO AWESOME. We ordered online through Vons, and did not have to pay for delivery since it was our first delivery. This was just the smartest idea—water, pop, bread, peanut butter, jelly, fruit…bagels, cereal….yogurt…chips & cookies, hooray! You have NO IDEA how grateful we were to have done this. We loaded up our backpacks each day, and then we ate PBJ’s at night…we had a hard time eating at Disney. The expense was amazing, and we learned pretty quickly that we didn’t like a lot of what was offered.
We organized the room, splashed in the pool, showered, and tumbled into bed around 10:30…the kids were exhausted.
Wednesday, May 10th
I was too excited to sleep after I woke up at 5:17 am, so I got the kids clothes ready, made some breakfast, and got ready to hit the ground running. Everyone was so excited when they woke up. We love it here!
A word about Crocs. People are not kidding. You have lost your mind if you don’t wear them to Disney. I have owned mine for a few years, but I remember having “Disney feet” where my legs would ache even upon waking up in the morning after a full day at the park. My legs and feet are in perfect condition as I sit here on my way home….I will never again wear anything but Crocs at Disney. My Crocs are a little worse for the wear, but my feet are great.
We raced through DTD to get to the gates and stroller rental early. We checked our umbrella strollers in and exchanged them, and headed up Main St. looking for a hat for Scot. We didn’t really browse, but Scot wanted an Indiana Jones hat, so we popped into the Bazaar, where Josh used every last cent of his spending money on a set of wind chimes. I also found a scrapbook that I loved for my own souvenir so that I can scrapbook our trip memories when I get home. Luckily the shop cast members were able to send them back to our hotel so we didn’t have to carry them. We also bought Mickey ears for myself, Josh and Katie. Josh chose some with Donald, Goofy and Pluto on them, and Katie chose princess ears with a tiara and veil, of course. I opted for traditional, with my name embroidered on the back. I felt like a kid!! I wore them all day.
We met my parents for the character breakfast (Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn). Ok—here’s my take on character breakfasts. Expensive, but worth it if character interaction is “your thing”. It is definitely my daughter’s thing, so it was a great experience for us. We saw Minnie, Alice, Captain Hook (he was GREAT…very interactive, and SO IN CHARACTER!!) Fairy Godmother, Tigger, Eeyore, and Mad Hatter. They were all fantastic, and I have to say that the characters are really amazing. They work so hard, are so kind, and are completely kid focused. I was astounded at how perfect the “face’ characters are…and even their voices are as they should be. They hug the kids, hold hands, and are so very, very kind. The costumed characters who cannot speak have an even harder job…they manage to communicate just fine without words, and the kids don’t even notice they can’t talk. Meeting characters was Katie’s favorite thing, so the breakfast was worth it. The food was less than terrific, which was unfortunately my experience in a lot of different places. I guess the food at the buffet just all tasted sort of the same, and bland. I had a sausage, a Mickey waffle, and some fruit. The fruit seemed to taste watery and not full of flavor. I guess I was just disappointed.
After breakfast, we headed to Tomorrowland to catch Star Tours as a group. This is my mom’s favorite ride, so she was excited to do it with the kids. Both kids were somewhat uncertain—we did not repeat it since it made them a little nervous. (Mom did it three more times, of course)
A word about lines…Our lines were pretty great Tues, Wed, and Thursday. The longest line was 20-25 minutes. We also used fast passes whenever we could (my husband was in charge of this) and we made use of our kids’ fastpasses as well for rides they could not ride. The Friday crowds at DL were huge, so we were glad we chose to spend the bulk of the day at DCA, where the lines were really pretty manageable.
Because it’s who we are, after Tomorrowland, we headed back to Pirates, HM, and a snack, and roamed a bit. We did some rides in Fantasyland and Scot and Josh headed to the hotel to change, etc. via the monorail while the rest of us did the carousel.
We met up in NO Square for our special Blue Bayou dinner, Poppa’s treat. I have wanted to eat there since I was a little girl, so it was extremely special. There is just something special about it…the dark, the water, the lanterns, the sounds, the boats floating by on one of my favorite rides…plus, I thought the food was really AMAZING. I had the filet mignon (so did mom). Dad had the mahi mahi and Scot had jambalaya. The kids had the PBJ monte cristo, and did not eat a bite because it was “weird” and fancy. The wedge salad was really great, the steak was perfect, and the pirate boat dessert was a work of art. In all, it was a really great (but very expensive) experience.
After dinner, my parents headed back to the hotel, Katie crashed in her stroller, and we browsed, roamed, and took some photos. We followed the parade down Main St. and got an amazing spot at the very end, so we watched the whole thing again. For Katie, that parade is MAGIC. For me, being there with my family was priceless.
THURSDAY, MAY 10
6am Mickey Mouse wake up call.
We hit the ground running again, up early to shower and scarf breakfast in the room. We raced out to get to the park by 7:45 for early entry into Fantasyland. My parents were waiting at the gates. We exchanged strollers and hit Main St. where we were thrilled to immediately spot Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, and Chip & Dale. It was so fun to race around and have the kids meet the characters for autographs and photos. The way Pluto has to sign the book is so funny…up on his nose….after the autographs we headed up Main st to catch all of the rides in Fantasyland. We managed to get nearly all of them done in about 90 minutes. The kids had their first rides on Matterhorn, Mr. Toad, Snow White (don’t even ride this if you have little kids…I don’t understand this ride…I know it’s her “scary” adventures, but it would be good to see some of the happier moments of the story….I would skip this one next time). But we loved nearly everything. By this point, we had done everything in FL except the Storybook boats and Small World. After the kids did so great on Matterhorn we rushed to Frontierland to tackle BTMRR, which they absolutely loved, and the adults took turns riding Indy (SO GREAT!!!! The line was 10 minutes, and we were thrilled, since the fastpass entrance was closed in prep for the Pirate premiere). Katie is 40 ½ inches, and we were so glad, because she loved the rides. We also snuck in a ride on Autopia, which the kids loved but my mom wasn’t crazy about. The ride made me fear the day that my daughter turns 16. While in Tomorrowland we ran into Buzz Lightyear, and, you guessed it, an autograph and photo. Katie was unnerved by Buzz, but got his autograph (no photo). Josh got both.
We park hopped to DCA and it was such fun to experience it for the first time, though you do really have to switch gears. It’s such a different atmosphere, and for my DL – lovin’ heart, it wasn’t as good as being “next door” but it has a nice charm of its own…it’s definitely Disney-does-traditional-amusement-park, if you know what I mean. Everything was done WELL, just not as magical, I guess. We took lots of photos, and raced to catch Aladdin, which was FANTASTIC. We were glad we had the priority seating from our hotel package, because we were in the third row, and LOVED it. We were so glad we went, because it was our only sighting of Jasmine, and Katie “counts it”, even though we did not get a photo or autograph. The production was great, and the Genie stole the show. The effects were stellar—this is a MUST NOT MISS. Katie’s favorite parts were the elephant and the flying carpet.
We made the mistake of going from Aladdin to Taste Pilot’s Grill, which was mobbed at 1:30. It was a madhouse, and the ordering kiosk broke when the lady in front of us put her credit card into the cash slot. Somehow there was a disconnect between the kiosk and the food at the counter…it took 45 minutes to get our food, and then it wasn’t good. The onion rings and fries were good, but the meat had an odd taste. Josh’s chicken strips were tasteless and dry. It was a big disappointment. After most of us finished lunch (except Josh), my parents went on Soarin and then headed back to their hotel, because my mom’s legs and feet had started to swell and turn this weird bright red rash color. We’re not sure why this happened, but she has high blood pressure, and was having trouble staying hydrated with the heat. The rest of us grabbed fast passes for Soarin for later and headed off to explore. This turned out to be GREAT, because as we were checking out the entrance to the Grand Californian Hotel, we were “Dreamed” with Dream Ears. The “squad” members were so nice and happy, telling us we were in the right place at the right time for the Year of a Million Dreams. It was so coooooooolllll! A security guard saw our ears later and was so excited for us. It was really a fun and special part of our trip.
We rode the Zephyr, which the kids loved, and got to see Lightning McQueen and Mater drive in. Josh’s face lit up and he was so excited to pose for photos. They rocked—their motors were loud and they were so great. It was a highlight for Josh.
We got to take photos with Mrs. Incredible in the backlot (another highlight for my Pixar-loving son) and got to take a family Photopass photo with BOTH Mickey and Minnie in their CA gear. This was a dream come true for this Mickey-lover and collector, since I love them so much.
We went to the Playhouse Disney show, which both kids really loved. I even found myself enjoying seeing Bear & gang, Jo Jo, Stanley, etc. It was very fun for the kids to play and dance in the air conditioning. It was just their speed.
We went to ride Soarin, which we all loved. Another DO NOT MISS. We loved the total sensory experience of the scents and the feel of the breeze in our faces as our feet dangled…After Soarin, we caught Monsters, Inc. before the park closed, and loved it since we love that movie. Roz really cracked us up at the end.
We met up with my dada once we returned to DL. We enjoyed an ice cream in a chocolate waffle cone at Gibson Girl—it rocked…so GREAT. MMMMM We were able to walk on Pirates and explored the Disney Gallery above Pirates. We again caught the parade for my crazy daughter, who every single time waved at Tinkerbell and the princesses, just SURE that they were waving JUST AT HER. We headed back to the hotel exhausted but happy, and the kids scarfed a late night PBJ.
FRIDAY, MAY 11th
We got up early (again!) but not as early as Thurs. We had Mickey’s ToonTown Morning Madness, so we were up at 7 for showers and breakfast. We ate cereal and yogurt in the room and hit the road (again, LOVE those groceries!) This was the first day that we started to notice the length of the walk through DTD. It’s quite a hike! Esp. pushing our lousy umbrella strollers! We called to check on Mom, and she said she was better and was up for ToonTown, so we met them there. We could sure feel the difference in the Friday crowd. There was more entertainment (bands, etc.) everywhere, and the crowds were much bigger. Since we had enjoyed light crowds the last few days, it was hard to take the bigger crowds.
The kids enjoyed ToonTown, and explored everything. We even got my mom on Gadget’s Go Coaster, which was funny. We watched the festivities and got in a pretty short line to Meet Mickey, even though we’d seen him on Main Street. There’s just something about meeting The Mouse alone in his house…while we did this, Mom and Dad went back for another boat trip with Jack Sparrow. When we left Toontown, it was after 10am, so we headed back to DCA. We did Turtle Talk with Crush, which was EVERYTHING the hype said it would be and MORE. This is definitely a DO NOT MISS. We ended up seeing it again later with my parents…it rocked!! Katie was a tad disappointed not to get picked to ask her question, but we all just loved it. DUDE!
At 11:30 we met my parents to get Katie dressed for the Princess Lunch at Ariel’s. After seeing his little princess in her finery, Scot took Josh off for some “guy time” (insert: eat lots of pizza and ride Mulholland 5x). Katie loved the new Belle dress my parents bought her for the occasion, and looked lovely. She only wore it for the lunch, and we explained she had to go back to her regular clothing after. I can’t tell you how many dirty and tattered princess costumes I saw in the park all day long. It was sad! The food was mediocre, but the experience was priceless for anyone who has a princess-obsessed child. My daughter was beside herself with joy and could not even eat. I think she ate part of a roll. My parents were too busy tearing up over their grandchild to eat. The princesses were spectacular and breathtaking. We saw Ariel (of course), Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Each one was incredibly kind, and each one became our new favorite…they went out of their way to make the experience special for Katie, who really felt like she was one of them. I can’t say enough about how amazing it was…none of us will ever forget it. I DO have to say that not including the Ariel photo in the photopass is a real rip-off. After what you pay to eat there, it should be all inclusive. My parents caved on the photo (which is really beautiful) but it was the only disappointing part of the experience for me, because it was a little bit over the top on the gouging. I think it should be part of photopass, and I think a Photopass photographer should follow each princess. I was prepared for it, thank goodness, but both the cost of the lunch and the cost of the CD are high enough that the extra charge for the Ariel photo package is just too much. I hate to complain about the cost of things at Disney, but when it comes to the food throughout the parks and this one situation with the photo package, I felt they went too far. I don’t mind paying higher prices for food at amusement parks, but it had better be good quality. Throughout the parks, we found consistently poor food quality (except desserts and beverages…Dole whips, ice cream, frozen lemonades, etc.) Blue Bayou was our one exception.
After we recovered from the Princess Lunch, we met up with the boys again and thanks to the joys of fast passes Scot and I were excited to have the chance to ride both Screamin and Tower of Terror each TWICE while my parents took the kids on Monsters Inc. Screamin was fun, definitely a good Disney coaster. TOT we knew we loved from FL, but found it slightly inferior to the MGM version (odd, because most DL rides we like better than the WDW counterparts). The drops and effects still rocked, but we missed the extra movement of the elevator down the hallway, etc.
My parents didn’t like DCA, so they headed back to DL, while the four of us stayed to finish up. We were making a plan in the backlot area when we heard Katie yell, “There’s Mickey”. Sure enough, he was across the street, walking alone, but heading straight for Katie. He came all the way across the street, despite a growing following, and went right to Katie. He goofed around with both kids for several minutes, playing with their hats, blowing kisses and giving hugs, before turning his attention to the mob that had formed. It was a really special moment for Katie (and me!)
After that, we headed for the pier, where Scot got us on the Sun Wheel. It was fun, but the swinging car was a bit much, and I was nervous since there wasn’t anything holding Katie into her seat. The swinging is pretty serious…and I was glad to get off.
The Block Party Bash was OK. Josh got to see Woody (we asked a cast member where to stand so he’d be right there, and it worked perfectly). I guess it was just a bit disappointing. The dancing is fun, but you only get to see one section of the bash, so you miss all the other characters. We also were disappointed that we only saw Frozone from The Incredibles (some of Josh’s faves)…in the Disney Planning Video, it looks like The Incredibles are a big part of the bash, but we only saw Frozone pop out of the top…and NO sign of the other Incredibles. We took one last SOAR, before we said goodbye to DCA and headed back to DL.
We suffered through It’s a Small World for Katiebug, who loved it (of course) and then carried her on our shoulders so she could see her beloved parade one last time, 4th night in a row.. That child just loves the parade.
We commandeered a pretty good spot for the fireworks (near the Refreshment Corner/entrance into Adventureland—a great spot for many reasons, one of which being the close proximity to the bathrooms with our small kids), grabbed a corndog for dinner, and started to freeze as the weather changed a bit. We had to buy sweatshirts for the kids. The fireworks were every bit as good as everyone on the board told me they would be. The audio was just fantastic, and I loved all of the inclusions from the ride audios. My kids recognized them and loved pointing out what rides they were from. We loved the projections on the Matterhorn, colors of the castle, directions all the fireworks came from, and, of course, TINK!!! There is no way to describe or explain the way this fireworks show makes you feel…it was just the perfect ending to our trip, and made me cry. I was sad to be going home, yet so thrilled that we had had such a perfect time. The fireworks just summed all of that up for me.
A couple of things we did that were great:
1). We didn’t really go into shops with the kids. We had no trouble with the “gimmes”…my kids were amazing. We told them on our last day we would choose special mementos in The World of Disney…therefore, we did not waste any real time shopping, or fighting and having to say NO all the time to the kids.
2). Groceries!!! We also packed a big backpack each day filled with water and snacks to take into the park. This helped us save money, time, and we ate better because of it. Fewer lines for food…We still had the occasional Dole Whip, Ice Cream, Frz. Lemonade, etc., but I felt better about my kids eating peanut butter crackers, fruit, etc. for most of their snacks, esp. since SO MANY of our meals were really disappointed.
3). DISNEY VISA!! The free stroller rentals ROCKED, and we enjoyed the discounts this morning when we shopped at the World of Disney for our souvenirs.
4). Character meals—we did two of these, but I think it really did cut down on the number of lines we stood in for character interactions. We did not do the Princess Faire, but when the Princess Lunch went so well, we were glad we skipped the Faire and the mob of people that were always there.
5). PHOTOPASS --can’t say enough, and I already have an email with a discount code for the CD. My advice—find people on the board, share the cost, and enjoy. My photos with Tinkerbell are priceless…and I don’t have to pay $12.95 each to give our loved ones a 5x7…we are also planning to use one of the photos for our Christmas card this year.
6). FASTPASSES—Read Hydroguy’s rules. Read them again. Take them in your carry on and review them on the plane. Read them again before you leave for the park. Then follow them!
A couple of things that were not so smart:
1). Too much wandering. We were stuck with this because my dad has to ride Pirates every 5 minutes, but I wish we could have been smarter about how we progressed through the parks. We did not miss much, but wouldn’t have missed anything if we had been more organized.
2). Postcards—buy postcard stamps before you leave home. We didn’t, and will be mailing our postcards now that we are home. Kind of lame, if you ask me.
3). Take more food into the park. I wish we had taken MORE. We would have been happier with PBJ sandwiches for our in park meals for the most part, compared to the food we didn’t like but paid SO MUCH for.
4). Don’t be afraid to ASK—we never would have known that we could check the strollers in and leave them there if we hadn’t asked, and it was nice not to worry about them.
5). Ask/figure out where the parade will start and end before making a plan, so you can choose your spot carefully and maximize your ride time.
6). For character meals, I guess I would suggest doing this on a day you aren’t going into the park. I know there are good character meals at the hotels, etc…and this wouldn’t waste ride time. We loved the interaction at our breakfast, but we did miss good park time.
7). Plan to eat at completely OFF times…the longest lines we experienced were for FOOD. What a waste!!
I guess that’s it for this ridiculously long trip report. If anyone gets this far, thanks for reading about my trip. I had such fun, and I owe so much to the people on this board for helping me to plan.
If I can ever figure out how to add photos to this, I will!!!
Thank you all SO MUCH!
Chris
I’m starting this trip report on our laptop on the plane home to Denver. Luckily I made a really cool journal out of scrapbook materials, so over the last week I’ve written my own journal of our trip to enjoy as well as to help me to write this online trip report. I feel like I need to share the trip because it would never have been so successful without the DISboards. I just wish I would have run into another LGMH SOMEWHERE at the parks. I know you were out there, I just didn’t spot you! But I read so many trip reports while planning ours that I wanted to post mine in turn in case it can help anyone else in their planning, or just to help them get excited to go to what truly is the Happiest Place on Earth
The Cast:
Me: Chris, Mickey lover from childhood, Disney freak
DH: Scot, amusement park fan, ACE rollercoaster freak
DS: Josh, age 6, shy & not very adventurous
DD: Katie, age 4, Princess lover & daredevil
Grammie: My mom, age 55, Peter Pan fan, not a big rider
Poppa: My dad, age 60, Pirate obsessed
We kept this trip a secret from the kids for many reasons, the biggest of which was the fact that this was our first family vacation EVER. We’ve never taken them on a plane, to a hotel, etc., let alone on a trip to Disneyland. Because it was going to be such an event, we knew we’d hear every day “When are we going?” Plus, we just love surprises.
It’s hard to believe our kids are this old and we’d never been on a trip, but I’m glad we waited. They were the perfect age for a first trip, and now that we’re headed home I’m going to want to go every year. I’ve already started lobbying…I’m thinking Christmas 2008…
At any rate, this trip report begins on Tuesday, May 8th, at 6am, when we snuck into our kids’ rooms and woke them with the news that we were going to Disneyland. They were sleepy and shocked, but bounced out of bed in record time. We managed to get them to eat a GoGurt before my father in law picked us up and whisked us to the airport.
We were pleasantly surprised by our trip through security. It went very smoothly. We had been nervous about getting through the airport & security since the kids had never done it before, but it went very well. They were troopers! We’d packed backpacks with new activit books, animal crackers and other snacks, their leapster games, stickers, etc. We’d also packed some empty disposable sippy cups for them to use on the plane so we wouldn’t have a spill. They chewed gum, but Katie did have a little trouble with her ears since she has allergies. But we made it, and it was a great adventure. I just have to give a quick shout out to Frontier Airlines, though…thank goodness for the little TVs and Nick Jr. That was the best $5 we spent…a great deal and it really helped the plane ride fly by.
When we landed at SNA I was thrilled at how quickly and easily everything went. Our bags were waiting for us, and we easily made our way to ground transportation, where our Super Shuttle was waiting for us. We paid $94 for round trip exclusive van service for our party of 6, and it was awesome. The van was right there waiting for us. We had brought the kids’ booster seats (just the base part) and these worked great in the vans, which had shoulder belts. Although the Super Shuttle employee had told us ahead of time that the boosters were not required, I felt MUCH safer with them, as the van felt like a regular vehicle and we did take the highway…I would not have been comfortable without the boosters.
There was no traffic, and we made it to the resort in record time. It was so fun to spot the Matterhorn in the distance and tell my kids we were finally at Disneyland!!! Seeing the Matterhorn didn’t mean much to the kids, who were looking for a castle, but the grownups all knew—we had arrived!! It was only 11 am, and we had arrived! Even better, they had rooms ready for us! We loved our room. We were in Bonita Tower, 11th floor, room 2992 at the Disneyland Hotel, and had a great view of the pool, Downtown Disney, AND we could see the Matterhorn. There were autographed photos for the kids, along with 1st visit buttons (thank you vacation planning!) We loved the subtle theming of the room…the themed furniture, tiny drawings in the bedspreads, and topiary wallpaper in the bathrooms, as well as the Tink border. My son really enjoyed the whole hotel experience. He immediately decided where he would sleep and unpacked his belongings, while we were all urging him to hurry so we could get into the park.
We could tell it seemed hot right away. We’d watched the weather forecasts for weeks, and it seemed high 70’s daytime and low 60’s nighttime was the norm. That was even the prediction…but the day we arrived it hit 98. We couldn’t believe it, and did have a little trouble adjusting to the heat that first day. Even with SPF 50 I burned. Luckily I did a better job of sunscreening the kids. I “had” to buy a new hat right away at the World of Disney, and wore it pretty much constantly from then on, to provide some shade. Don’t get me wrong, the weather was beautiful, just not what we expected, especially with no Splash to cool us off. We caved and my mom bought the kids those ridiculously expensive water bottle fans, but they were surprisingly hardy and entertaining through each day of our visit.
That first day was a little rough since we had to buy bottled water, but our grocery order arrived that evening, so it wasn’t too bad. We were just so glad to see all of that food and water arrive!!!
The esplanade is just amazing. It’s soo cool to see both parks right there, facing one another. Yet the child in me was thrilled that nothing has REALLY changed about the park that is my heart’s home---WALT’s park.
A cheery English cast member made conversation with us, we had our bag checked briefloy, and we were in….every other theme park in America should take lessons.
Our first of 77 photopass photos was taken there at the entrance, and this was easy and fun. Anyone who wants a positive review of the photopass program should talk to me. I am splitting the cost of the CD with another DISer, but now that I’ve done it, I would have paid full price by myself (though I am still glad to be splitting!) It is easy to get the photos taken, and we found quite a lot of the photographers in both parks, in all kinds of great places. The best part was that I’m never in our vacation photos, so this way I’m in some of them. I’m not fond of photos of myself, but it’s nice for the kids to someday see I went along! I really, really, love the photos we had taken, and can’t say enough good things about Photopass. None of my photos were lost, I even managed to keep the same card the whole time (though I DID take advice from here and photographed my card so I’d have the number if I needed it). Luckily we had our laptop with us, so I could see our pictures every night, which was fun. In addition to photopass, I took nearly 400 of my own photographs (I’m a photograph/scrapbook hound). I can’t wait to get home and get busy!!
We went to stroller rental and were thrilled that we could just check in our crummy umbrella strollers and exchange them for the Disney Visa free rental strollers. LOVE those rental strollers…great height on the handle, great sun canopy…AWESOME, and LOVED getting them for free. We only brought the crummy umbrellas to get to and from the hotel, and boy, were we glad we did that! We saw so many poor parents carrying sleeping or crying kids back to the hotels at night, and I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a HIKE to the Disneyland Hotel. GCH is MUCH closer!!! We also liked that no one ever stole our stroller, and we loved having them marked with our name. As usual, Disney is smart!!!
We proceeded up Main Street, delighted that nothing has changed. So much charm and joy. My Katie was in awe at the sight of the castle for the first time. She was just thrilled, and it was a moment I’ll never forget.
We were hungry and grabbed a corndog at the Red Wagon…which lived up to its fame. Best corndog EVER. Josh (doesn’t like corndogs) had a regular hot dog from the Refreshment Corner. Incidentally, the “lite” lemonade served at the park actually tastes great, and we enjoyed a light sugar option.
We went to the castle and had more photos taken, and then spotted Mary Poppins and Bert. Katie got her first autographs, and this was one of our favorite moments of the day. They were so true to character and were just charming. They made a big deal out of Katie’s book, and were so excited that there was a page just for them. Katie held Mary’s hand for the photo, and it was pure Disney magic. I was so glad we had rented Mary Poppins for the kids to watch 2 nights before while we packed in secret!
We of course had to ride Peter Pan first, and poor Josh was on sensory overload. It took him awhile to get over it, but he eventually got on the ride and enjoyed it. I loved flying over London, feeling like I’d just come home…there is nothing quite like that ride.
We also did Dumbo and the Teacups (glad the lines were pretty minimal, we didn’t wait longer than 20 minutes for anything). It was fun taking photos of my kids on these traditional rides.
We didn’t see any other characters, which was a big disappointment for Katie, but we reassured her we’d see lots over the 4 days of our visit.
We were extremely hot, and got the kids ice creams (Josh a Mickey ice cream sandwich he loved and Katie a sorbet thing that got all over her clothes—pink, of course). The grownups made a special trip for a Dole Whip, which lived up to its fame on this board…and THEN SOME. I think we had at least 4 Dole Whips during our trip. It cracks me up, but even sitting here right now one sounds awfully good…
Pirates was shut down for a problem, and worried us, since that ride is very special in our family, esp. for my dad. I thought Dad was going to lose it until we finally got to ride after the parade.
The Haunted Mansion was a bit much for Josh, but Katie loved it and wanted to go again right away, the little daredevil! Josh spotted some wind chimes he loved in Adventureland and we rolled our eyes at the Aladdin’s Lamp fortune teller thing at the Bazzaar, what a rip off!
We were hot and hungry and made the mistake of just eating at the first place we came to (against my plans) and ate at the Hungry Bear…please don’t ever eat there. YUCK. It was really awful, and since everything at Disneyland is so expensive, it was a waste.
Pooh’s ride was a delight, and we enjoyed walking right on without a li ne. The kids loved this one, even though it broke down at the end and we had to walk through. We went on it again later in the trip to see the real deal. It was mainly a good change for Josh after those Grim Grinning Ghosts…
We headed for Tomorrowland for 3 rides in a row on Buzz—what a great ride! We’re addicted, and competitive, of course. We kept sending our scores home as we improved. Mom and Dad rode Star Tours and Josh had a slice of pizza at Pizza Port since he (intelligent kid) wouldn’t eat at the Hungry Bear. We did Astro Oribitors and grabbed a nice curb for the parade. We bought drinks and popcorn, and were shocked at the crowds an hour before. However, it was worth the wait, because it was a wonderful parade. Katie finally got to feast her eyes on her characters…the entertainment was great, and she became a parade addict. We had to watch the parade EVERY NIGHT of our visit.
The crowd was behind us as we snuck onto pirates after the parade. My dad was grinning ear to ear. I love that ride AND what it does for him. He is usually stressed, but not when he’s carousing with Jack and his buddies. I was glad they did not interfere with the integrity of the ride when they enhanced it. Oh, and I forgot how much I love how that ride SMELLS.
We headed back to the hotel, and the bell desk delivered our groceries. SO AWESOME. We ordered online through Vons, and did not have to pay for delivery since it was our first delivery. This was just the smartest idea—water, pop, bread, peanut butter, jelly, fruit…bagels, cereal….yogurt…chips & cookies, hooray! You have NO IDEA how grateful we were to have done this. We loaded up our backpacks each day, and then we ate PBJ’s at night…we had a hard time eating at Disney. The expense was amazing, and we learned pretty quickly that we didn’t like a lot of what was offered.
We organized the room, splashed in the pool, showered, and tumbled into bed around 10:30…the kids were exhausted.
Wednesday, May 10th
I was too excited to sleep after I woke up at 5:17 am, so I got the kids clothes ready, made some breakfast, and got ready to hit the ground running. Everyone was so excited when they woke up. We love it here!
A word about Crocs. People are not kidding. You have lost your mind if you don’t wear them to Disney. I have owned mine for a few years, but I remember having “Disney feet” where my legs would ache even upon waking up in the morning after a full day at the park. My legs and feet are in perfect condition as I sit here on my way home….I will never again wear anything but Crocs at Disney. My Crocs are a little worse for the wear, but my feet are great.
We raced through DTD to get to the gates and stroller rental early. We checked our umbrella strollers in and exchanged them, and headed up Main St. looking for a hat for Scot. We didn’t really browse, but Scot wanted an Indiana Jones hat, so we popped into the Bazaar, where Josh used every last cent of his spending money on a set of wind chimes. I also found a scrapbook that I loved for my own souvenir so that I can scrapbook our trip memories when I get home. Luckily the shop cast members were able to send them back to our hotel so we didn’t have to carry them. We also bought Mickey ears for myself, Josh and Katie. Josh chose some with Donald, Goofy and Pluto on them, and Katie chose princess ears with a tiara and veil, of course. I opted for traditional, with my name embroidered on the back. I felt like a kid!! I wore them all day.
We met my parents for the character breakfast (Minnie and Friends at the Plaza Inn). Ok—here’s my take on character breakfasts. Expensive, but worth it if character interaction is “your thing”. It is definitely my daughter’s thing, so it was a great experience for us. We saw Minnie, Alice, Captain Hook (he was GREAT…very interactive, and SO IN CHARACTER!!) Fairy Godmother, Tigger, Eeyore, and Mad Hatter. They were all fantastic, and I have to say that the characters are really amazing. They work so hard, are so kind, and are completely kid focused. I was astounded at how perfect the “face’ characters are…and even their voices are as they should be. They hug the kids, hold hands, and are so very, very kind. The costumed characters who cannot speak have an even harder job…they manage to communicate just fine without words, and the kids don’t even notice they can’t talk. Meeting characters was Katie’s favorite thing, so the breakfast was worth it. The food was less than terrific, which was unfortunately my experience in a lot of different places. I guess the food at the buffet just all tasted sort of the same, and bland. I had a sausage, a Mickey waffle, and some fruit. The fruit seemed to taste watery and not full of flavor. I guess I was just disappointed.
After breakfast, we headed to Tomorrowland to catch Star Tours as a group. This is my mom’s favorite ride, so she was excited to do it with the kids. Both kids were somewhat uncertain—we did not repeat it since it made them a little nervous. (Mom did it three more times, of course)
A word about lines…Our lines were pretty great Tues, Wed, and Thursday. The longest line was 20-25 minutes. We also used fast passes whenever we could (my husband was in charge of this) and we made use of our kids’ fastpasses as well for rides they could not ride. The Friday crowds at DL were huge, so we were glad we chose to spend the bulk of the day at DCA, where the lines were really pretty manageable.
Because it’s who we are, after Tomorrowland, we headed back to Pirates, HM, and a snack, and roamed a bit. We did some rides in Fantasyland and Scot and Josh headed to the hotel to change, etc. via the monorail while the rest of us did the carousel.
We met up in NO Square for our special Blue Bayou dinner, Poppa’s treat. I have wanted to eat there since I was a little girl, so it was extremely special. There is just something special about it…the dark, the water, the lanterns, the sounds, the boats floating by on one of my favorite rides…plus, I thought the food was really AMAZING. I had the filet mignon (so did mom). Dad had the mahi mahi and Scot had jambalaya. The kids had the PBJ monte cristo, and did not eat a bite because it was “weird” and fancy. The wedge salad was really great, the steak was perfect, and the pirate boat dessert was a work of art. In all, it was a really great (but very expensive) experience.
After dinner, my parents headed back to the hotel, Katie crashed in her stroller, and we browsed, roamed, and took some photos. We followed the parade down Main St. and got an amazing spot at the very end, so we watched the whole thing again. For Katie, that parade is MAGIC. For me, being there with my family was priceless.
THURSDAY, MAY 10
6am Mickey Mouse wake up call.
We hit the ground running again, up early to shower and scarf breakfast in the room. We raced out to get to the park by 7:45 for early entry into Fantasyland. My parents were waiting at the gates. We exchanged strollers and hit Main St. where we were thrilled to immediately spot Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, and Chip & Dale. It was so fun to race around and have the kids meet the characters for autographs and photos. The way Pluto has to sign the book is so funny…up on his nose….after the autographs we headed up Main st to catch all of the rides in Fantasyland. We managed to get nearly all of them done in about 90 minutes. The kids had their first rides on Matterhorn, Mr. Toad, Snow White (don’t even ride this if you have little kids…I don’t understand this ride…I know it’s her “scary” adventures, but it would be good to see some of the happier moments of the story….I would skip this one next time). But we loved nearly everything. By this point, we had done everything in FL except the Storybook boats and Small World. After the kids did so great on Matterhorn we rushed to Frontierland to tackle BTMRR, which they absolutely loved, and the adults took turns riding Indy (SO GREAT!!!! The line was 10 minutes, and we were thrilled, since the fastpass entrance was closed in prep for the Pirate premiere). Katie is 40 ½ inches, and we were so glad, because she loved the rides. We also snuck in a ride on Autopia, which the kids loved but my mom wasn’t crazy about. The ride made me fear the day that my daughter turns 16. While in Tomorrowland we ran into Buzz Lightyear, and, you guessed it, an autograph and photo. Katie was unnerved by Buzz, but got his autograph (no photo). Josh got both.
We park hopped to DCA and it was such fun to experience it for the first time, though you do really have to switch gears. It’s such a different atmosphere, and for my DL – lovin’ heart, it wasn’t as good as being “next door” but it has a nice charm of its own…it’s definitely Disney-does-traditional-amusement-park, if you know what I mean. Everything was done WELL, just not as magical, I guess. We took lots of photos, and raced to catch Aladdin, which was FANTASTIC. We were glad we had the priority seating from our hotel package, because we were in the third row, and LOVED it. We were so glad we went, because it was our only sighting of Jasmine, and Katie “counts it”, even though we did not get a photo or autograph. The production was great, and the Genie stole the show. The effects were stellar—this is a MUST NOT MISS. Katie’s favorite parts were the elephant and the flying carpet.
We made the mistake of going from Aladdin to Taste Pilot’s Grill, which was mobbed at 1:30. It was a madhouse, and the ordering kiosk broke when the lady in front of us put her credit card into the cash slot. Somehow there was a disconnect between the kiosk and the food at the counter…it took 45 minutes to get our food, and then it wasn’t good. The onion rings and fries were good, but the meat had an odd taste. Josh’s chicken strips were tasteless and dry. It was a big disappointment. After most of us finished lunch (except Josh), my parents went on Soarin and then headed back to their hotel, because my mom’s legs and feet had started to swell and turn this weird bright red rash color. We’re not sure why this happened, but she has high blood pressure, and was having trouble staying hydrated with the heat. The rest of us grabbed fast passes for Soarin for later and headed off to explore. This turned out to be GREAT, because as we were checking out the entrance to the Grand Californian Hotel, we were “Dreamed” with Dream Ears. The “squad” members were so nice and happy, telling us we were in the right place at the right time for the Year of a Million Dreams. It was so coooooooolllll! A security guard saw our ears later and was so excited for us. It was really a fun and special part of our trip.
We rode the Zephyr, which the kids loved, and got to see Lightning McQueen and Mater drive in. Josh’s face lit up and he was so excited to pose for photos. They rocked—their motors were loud and they were so great. It was a highlight for Josh.
We got to take photos with Mrs. Incredible in the backlot (another highlight for my Pixar-loving son) and got to take a family Photopass photo with BOTH Mickey and Minnie in their CA gear. This was a dream come true for this Mickey-lover and collector, since I love them so much.
We went to the Playhouse Disney show, which both kids really loved. I even found myself enjoying seeing Bear & gang, Jo Jo, Stanley, etc. It was very fun for the kids to play and dance in the air conditioning. It was just their speed.
We went to ride Soarin, which we all loved. Another DO NOT MISS. We loved the total sensory experience of the scents and the feel of the breeze in our faces as our feet dangled…After Soarin, we caught Monsters, Inc. before the park closed, and loved it since we love that movie. Roz really cracked us up at the end.
We met up with my dada once we returned to DL. We enjoyed an ice cream in a chocolate waffle cone at Gibson Girl—it rocked…so GREAT. MMMMM We were able to walk on Pirates and explored the Disney Gallery above Pirates. We again caught the parade for my crazy daughter, who every single time waved at Tinkerbell and the princesses, just SURE that they were waving JUST AT HER. We headed back to the hotel exhausted but happy, and the kids scarfed a late night PBJ.
FRIDAY, MAY 11th
We got up early (again!) but not as early as Thurs. We had Mickey’s ToonTown Morning Madness, so we were up at 7 for showers and breakfast. We ate cereal and yogurt in the room and hit the road (again, LOVE those groceries!) This was the first day that we started to notice the length of the walk through DTD. It’s quite a hike! Esp. pushing our lousy umbrella strollers! We called to check on Mom, and she said she was better and was up for ToonTown, so we met them there. We could sure feel the difference in the Friday crowd. There was more entertainment (bands, etc.) everywhere, and the crowds were much bigger. Since we had enjoyed light crowds the last few days, it was hard to take the bigger crowds.
The kids enjoyed ToonTown, and explored everything. We even got my mom on Gadget’s Go Coaster, which was funny. We watched the festivities and got in a pretty short line to Meet Mickey, even though we’d seen him on Main Street. There’s just something about meeting The Mouse alone in his house…while we did this, Mom and Dad went back for another boat trip with Jack Sparrow. When we left Toontown, it was after 10am, so we headed back to DCA. We did Turtle Talk with Crush, which was EVERYTHING the hype said it would be and MORE. This is definitely a DO NOT MISS. We ended up seeing it again later with my parents…it rocked!! Katie was a tad disappointed not to get picked to ask her question, but we all just loved it. DUDE!
At 11:30 we met my parents to get Katie dressed for the Princess Lunch at Ariel’s. After seeing his little princess in her finery, Scot took Josh off for some “guy time” (insert: eat lots of pizza and ride Mulholland 5x). Katie loved the new Belle dress my parents bought her for the occasion, and looked lovely. She only wore it for the lunch, and we explained she had to go back to her regular clothing after. I can’t tell you how many dirty and tattered princess costumes I saw in the park all day long. It was sad! The food was mediocre, but the experience was priceless for anyone who has a princess-obsessed child. My daughter was beside herself with joy and could not even eat. I think she ate part of a roll. My parents were too busy tearing up over their grandchild to eat. The princesses were spectacular and breathtaking. We saw Ariel (of course), Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Each one was incredibly kind, and each one became our new favorite…they went out of their way to make the experience special for Katie, who really felt like she was one of them. I can’t say enough about how amazing it was…none of us will ever forget it. I DO have to say that not including the Ariel photo in the photopass is a real rip-off. After what you pay to eat there, it should be all inclusive. My parents caved on the photo (which is really beautiful) but it was the only disappointing part of the experience for me, because it was a little bit over the top on the gouging. I think it should be part of photopass, and I think a Photopass photographer should follow each princess. I was prepared for it, thank goodness, but both the cost of the lunch and the cost of the CD are high enough that the extra charge for the Ariel photo package is just too much. I hate to complain about the cost of things at Disney, but when it comes to the food throughout the parks and this one situation with the photo package, I felt they went too far. I don’t mind paying higher prices for food at amusement parks, but it had better be good quality. Throughout the parks, we found consistently poor food quality (except desserts and beverages…Dole whips, ice cream, frozen lemonades, etc.) Blue Bayou was our one exception.
After we recovered from the Princess Lunch, we met up with the boys again and thanks to the joys of fast passes Scot and I were excited to have the chance to ride both Screamin and Tower of Terror each TWICE while my parents took the kids on Monsters Inc. Screamin was fun, definitely a good Disney coaster. TOT we knew we loved from FL, but found it slightly inferior to the MGM version (odd, because most DL rides we like better than the WDW counterparts). The drops and effects still rocked, but we missed the extra movement of the elevator down the hallway, etc.
My parents didn’t like DCA, so they headed back to DL, while the four of us stayed to finish up. We were making a plan in the backlot area when we heard Katie yell, “There’s Mickey”. Sure enough, he was across the street, walking alone, but heading straight for Katie. He came all the way across the street, despite a growing following, and went right to Katie. He goofed around with both kids for several minutes, playing with their hats, blowing kisses and giving hugs, before turning his attention to the mob that had formed. It was a really special moment for Katie (and me!)
After that, we headed for the pier, where Scot got us on the Sun Wheel. It was fun, but the swinging car was a bit much, and I was nervous since there wasn’t anything holding Katie into her seat. The swinging is pretty serious…and I was glad to get off.
The Block Party Bash was OK. Josh got to see Woody (we asked a cast member where to stand so he’d be right there, and it worked perfectly). I guess it was just a bit disappointing. The dancing is fun, but you only get to see one section of the bash, so you miss all the other characters. We also were disappointed that we only saw Frozone from The Incredibles (some of Josh’s faves)…in the Disney Planning Video, it looks like The Incredibles are a big part of the bash, but we only saw Frozone pop out of the top…and NO sign of the other Incredibles. We took one last SOAR, before we said goodbye to DCA and headed back to DL.
We suffered through It’s a Small World for Katiebug, who loved it (of course) and then carried her on our shoulders so she could see her beloved parade one last time, 4th night in a row.. That child just loves the parade.
We commandeered a pretty good spot for the fireworks (near the Refreshment Corner/entrance into Adventureland—a great spot for many reasons, one of which being the close proximity to the bathrooms with our small kids), grabbed a corndog for dinner, and started to freeze as the weather changed a bit. We had to buy sweatshirts for the kids. The fireworks were every bit as good as everyone on the board told me they would be. The audio was just fantastic, and I loved all of the inclusions from the ride audios. My kids recognized them and loved pointing out what rides they were from. We loved the projections on the Matterhorn, colors of the castle, directions all the fireworks came from, and, of course, TINK!!! There is no way to describe or explain the way this fireworks show makes you feel…it was just the perfect ending to our trip, and made me cry. I was sad to be going home, yet so thrilled that we had had such a perfect time. The fireworks just summed all of that up for me.
A couple of things we did that were great:
1). We didn’t really go into shops with the kids. We had no trouble with the “gimmes”…my kids were amazing. We told them on our last day we would choose special mementos in The World of Disney…therefore, we did not waste any real time shopping, or fighting and having to say NO all the time to the kids.
2). Groceries!!! We also packed a big backpack each day filled with water and snacks to take into the park. This helped us save money, time, and we ate better because of it. Fewer lines for food…We still had the occasional Dole Whip, Ice Cream, Frz. Lemonade, etc., but I felt better about my kids eating peanut butter crackers, fruit, etc. for most of their snacks, esp. since SO MANY of our meals were really disappointed.
3). DISNEY VISA!! The free stroller rentals ROCKED, and we enjoyed the discounts this morning when we shopped at the World of Disney for our souvenirs.
4). Character meals—we did two of these, but I think it really did cut down on the number of lines we stood in for character interactions. We did not do the Princess Faire, but when the Princess Lunch went so well, we were glad we skipped the Faire and the mob of people that were always there.
5). PHOTOPASS --can’t say enough, and I already have an email with a discount code for the CD. My advice—find people on the board, share the cost, and enjoy. My photos with Tinkerbell are priceless…and I don’t have to pay $12.95 each to give our loved ones a 5x7…we are also planning to use one of the photos for our Christmas card this year.
6). FASTPASSES—Read Hydroguy’s rules. Read them again. Take them in your carry on and review them on the plane. Read them again before you leave for the park. Then follow them!
A couple of things that were not so smart:
1). Too much wandering. We were stuck with this because my dad has to ride Pirates every 5 minutes, but I wish we could have been smarter about how we progressed through the parks. We did not miss much, but wouldn’t have missed anything if we had been more organized.
2). Postcards—buy postcard stamps before you leave home. We didn’t, and will be mailing our postcards now that we are home. Kind of lame, if you ask me.
3). Take more food into the park. I wish we had taken MORE. We would have been happier with PBJ sandwiches for our in park meals for the most part, compared to the food we didn’t like but paid SO MUCH for.
4). Don’t be afraid to ASK—we never would have known that we could check the strollers in and leave them there if we hadn’t asked, and it was nice not to worry about them.
5). Ask/figure out where the parade will start and end before making a plan, so you can choose your spot carefully and maximize your ride time.
6). For character meals, I guess I would suggest doing this on a day you aren’t going into the park. I know there are good character meals at the hotels, etc…and this wouldn’t waste ride time. We loved the interaction at our breakfast, but we did miss good park time.
7). Plan to eat at completely OFF times…the longest lines we experienced were for FOOD. What a waste!!
I guess that’s it for this ridiculously long trip report. If anyone gets this far, thanks for reading about my trip. I had such fun, and I owe so much to the people on this board for helping me to plan.
If I can ever figure out how to add photos to this, I will!!!
Thank you all SO MUCH!
Chris
Great trip report...we are going in two weeks and have small kids too... 3 & 4. I am very interested in the food delivery...did you have to be there when it was delivered?? Did the hotel keep the stuff cold for you?? We are staying at the Carousel Inn, not on site. We drive, but I always pack tons of food and we have to lug the cooler...
