I posted Day 2 on the same thread as Day 1, then it occured to me that it might not get seen there. If you're interested in Day 2 you can read about it there. Now it's time to go on with Day 3.
Day 3 Monday September 12, 2005
The Cast of Characters remains the same.
Because Mom had dialysis this day, we decided to use our Early Entry. We all got our kids up, fed and dressed in their matching Mickey Batik T-shirts. My sister and I got directions on how to do it at Family Fun, and they turned out great. For Christmas, we always take a picture of all the grandkids for our parents, and this year we wanted to do it at Disneyland. So, we made all 10 of them matching shirts and looked for an opportunity to take the picture.
This morning we had our one bad moment of the whole trip. We were staying on the top floor of the hotel (even though we'd requested ground floor), and I guess my kids made too much noise while getting ready. We had an irate guest pound on our door as we were about to leave for breakfast. She told us in no uncertain terms to keep it down, some people were still trying to sleep. It was very unpleasant, especially since she was fully dressed, with breakfast in her hands, and it was 7:40 in the morning. Oh well, we decided we'd do our best to keep our kids feet quiet and not let her ruin our trip. Unfortunately, it did sour the hotel time for my kids as they were always afraid the "angry lady" was going to come back and yell some more. Oh well.
We all (minus mom) went to DL for early entry, and had been in line for about 15 minutes when dad realized that he had an annual pass, so wasn't eligible for early entry. He decided to just shop around DD for the extra hour, but just then a CM named Gerry, stopped by to ask what was wrong. We explained the situation, and Gerry told us not to worry about it; he would get dad through the turnstiles. Thanks Gerry, you made our day!
Once inside, we headed straight for Fantasyland to take the kids picture in the golden Peter Pan Pirate ship. We wanted to get the picture done before anyone dripped any Mickey bars, or frozen bananas on them. We got them all lined up and took a few pictures, but nothing great. Suddenly, Cinderella was there telling our kids to smile. That got 'em! Even the boys! They were thrilled that a princess would take the time to make sure our picture turned out great! Thanks, Cindy!
While we were in Fl, we decided to spend some time here. Everone except me and DD3 went back on Peter Pan. I wasn't about to make her go on that again, so she and I went to Dumbo. No line, and she got to choose her color. She didn't want the gold, she likes purple, so that's where we went. She was thrilled when I showed her how to use the lever and she "drove" Dumbo for us. She was definitely on
.
After that, DH and I swapped kids, and I took the older ones on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. DD1 went with her older cousin who she idolizes, and DS and I went together. He was terrified when I told him he would be driving. He really believed that he was guiding us through the ride. I don't think he really noticed much about the ride, he was so intent on getting us out alive. When we finally made it out ok, he said, "Well, I got us through that one, alright." I gave him a hug and told him that I never had any doubts. What a sweetheart!
Now we headed over to Tomorrowland to hit some rides over there. There was a posted 5 minute wait on Buzz Lightyear, so we dropped in there and did our best to rid the Empire of the Evil Emperor Zurg. It's so much fun!!!! I never score really well, but I love to try. At least I beat the twins! Ok, so they're only 3, don't laugh too hard.
Next DS and I went on Space Mtn. Again, he was holding my hand trying to allay any fears that I might have. He told me we'd be going through space but it would be alright. I didn't have to worry. I haven't been on this ride in about 6 years, so it was fun to go on it again. What a Rush! It seems so much faster to me than it used to. Perhaps that's because I'm older???? Naw!
After Space Mtn. we went to Autopia. I've never actually done this ride, but DS needed a grown up to go with him. This was our longest line of the whole vacation. We waited about 25 minutes here. It sure was fun though. DS thought he'd died and gone to heaven when he was issued his own driver's license. We had to take care of it and bring it home so he could show his friends. Once again, he was positive he was driving (well, he was driving more than at Mr. Toad's). My foot started to cramp, however, with pushing the gas down so hard. Youch!! Once we finished that ride, we caught the Disneyland RailRoad to Toon Town. The kids were fascinated with the train ride, especially when they got to go through Splash Mountain.
Now, I'm not a big Toon Town fan. I just get really disoriented and dizzy if I spend too much time there, but the kids love it. We let them play around for a little while on Donald's boat, and then we had to try Gadget's Go Coaster. I thought the twins would be fine on this one since they had enjoyed Matterhorn, but no such luck. They didn't like this one at all. Both cried all the way through it. However, my son loved it. Now an interesting thing has started to happen. DD1 has developed an aversion to roller coaster rides. She's been on Matterhorn, Splash and Space Mountains, and has talked herself into hating them. This is totally out of character since she has loved all of them (except Space which was new to her) in trips past. When asked if she wanted to go on Gadget's Go Coaster, she emphatically declined! When her dad tried to talk her into it, she was practically in tears. Well, we can't have that at DL, so we didn't push her. Then she was positive that everyone was having more fun than she was and that wasn't fair! More on that later.
After the Coaster, we noticed that the lines to see Minnie and Mickey were pretty lean, so it was time to haul out the autograph books, and stand in those lines. what a great experience for our kids. They had a ball, and made some good memories there. By now, it was lunch, so DH and I herded our kids out of Toon Town to go back to the hotel for sandwiches, homework, naps and swimming. On our way out of Fantasyland along comes Wendy, Captain Hook and Peter Pan. They came up right behind us and Wendy took DD2 by the hand and leads her all around FL looking for Peter Pan. DD2 was in heaven. Her favorite movie is Peter Pan, so she was one happy camper at this point. We finally had to tear her away from Wendy, so we could get lunch taken care of.
After naps, etc. we headed back to DL. Mom was back from dialysis, so she was able to join us this evening. It was kind of late by the time we got there, so we headed right over to Adventureland so we could go on the Jungle Cruise. I had heard about the new changes, but it was fun to see them. It was getting quite dark, so it was a little scary for the little ones. Still it was a fun time. Afterwards, the brave ones went on Indiana Jones, while I took my little ones (and DD1 who wouldn't touch Indy with a 10 foot pole) to Tarzan's Treehouse. With the evening swiftly coming to a close, we literally ran to Critter Country for one last ride on Splash Mtn. tonight. I took the twins and DD1 to Winnie the Pooh while we waited for them. We all finished up at about the same time, but DS wanted one more ride on Splash. He and DH got back in line and while we were waiting for them to finish the ride, we heard the announcement that Disneyland was now closing. As the boys came off the ride, we watched them close it down behind them. We swiftly walked toward Main Street with the music from the rides, etc. turning off. It was kind of wierd! I really wanted to hurry, because it seemed like the magic was ending. However, by the time we got back to Main Street, the music was still going, and the magic lives on in the minds of my kids.
Since it was only 8:00 we decided not to go straight to the hotel, but to get some dinner first. Since IHOP was right by our hotel that was a perfect choice. After we were seated and started ordering we found it was an even more perfect choice than we had at first thought. Kids eat free with each paying adult. Since we had 10 kids and 10 adults, it worked out perfectly! Way to help us save some money. We had a good meal of breakfast foods, and then went back to the hotel. We quietly got ready for bed and it wasn't too long before we were all asleep.
More to come soon. The kids want dinner.
Day 3 Monday September 12, 2005
The Cast of Characters remains the same.
Because Mom had dialysis this day, we decided to use our Early Entry. We all got our kids up, fed and dressed in their matching Mickey Batik T-shirts. My sister and I got directions on how to do it at Family Fun, and they turned out great. For Christmas, we always take a picture of all the grandkids for our parents, and this year we wanted to do it at Disneyland. So, we made all 10 of them matching shirts and looked for an opportunity to take the picture.
This morning we had our one bad moment of the whole trip. We were staying on the top floor of the hotel (even though we'd requested ground floor), and I guess my kids made too much noise while getting ready. We had an irate guest pound on our door as we were about to leave for breakfast. She told us in no uncertain terms to keep it down, some people were still trying to sleep. It was very unpleasant, especially since she was fully dressed, with breakfast in her hands, and it was 7:40 in the morning. Oh well, we decided we'd do our best to keep our kids feet quiet and not let her ruin our trip. Unfortunately, it did sour the hotel time for my kids as they were always afraid the "angry lady" was going to come back and yell some more. Oh well.
We all (minus mom) went to DL for early entry, and had been in line for about 15 minutes when dad realized that he had an annual pass, so wasn't eligible for early entry. He decided to just shop around DD for the extra hour, but just then a CM named Gerry, stopped by to ask what was wrong. We explained the situation, and Gerry told us not to worry about it; he would get dad through the turnstiles. Thanks Gerry, you made our day!
Once inside, we headed straight for Fantasyland to take the kids picture in the golden Peter Pan Pirate ship. We wanted to get the picture done before anyone dripped any Mickey bars, or frozen bananas on them. We got them all lined up and took a few pictures, but nothing great. Suddenly, Cinderella was there telling our kids to smile. That got 'em! Even the boys! They were thrilled that a princess would take the time to make sure our picture turned out great! Thanks, Cindy!
While we were in Fl, we decided to spend some time here. Everone except me and DD3 went back on Peter Pan. I wasn't about to make her go on that again, so she and I went to Dumbo. No line, and she got to choose her color. She didn't want the gold, she likes purple, so that's where we went. She was thrilled when I showed her how to use the lever and she "drove" Dumbo for us. She was definitely on
.After that, DH and I swapped kids, and I took the older ones on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. DD1 went with her older cousin who she idolizes, and DS and I went together. He was terrified when I told him he would be driving. He really believed that he was guiding us through the ride. I don't think he really noticed much about the ride, he was so intent on getting us out alive. When we finally made it out ok, he said, "Well, I got us through that one, alright." I gave him a hug and told him that I never had any doubts. What a sweetheart!
Now we headed over to Tomorrowland to hit some rides over there. There was a posted 5 minute wait on Buzz Lightyear, so we dropped in there and did our best to rid the Empire of the Evil Emperor Zurg. It's so much fun!!!! I never score really well, but I love to try. At least I beat the twins! Ok, so they're only 3, don't laugh too hard.
Next DS and I went on Space Mtn. Again, he was holding my hand trying to allay any fears that I might have. He told me we'd be going through space but it would be alright. I didn't have to worry. I haven't been on this ride in about 6 years, so it was fun to go on it again. What a Rush! It seems so much faster to me than it used to. Perhaps that's because I'm older???? Naw!
After Space Mtn. we went to Autopia. I've never actually done this ride, but DS needed a grown up to go with him. This was our longest line of the whole vacation. We waited about 25 minutes here. It sure was fun though. DS thought he'd died and gone to heaven when he was issued his own driver's license. We had to take care of it and bring it home so he could show his friends. Once again, he was positive he was driving (well, he was driving more than at Mr. Toad's). My foot started to cramp, however, with pushing the gas down so hard. Youch!! Once we finished that ride, we caught the Disneyland RailRoad to Toon Town. The kids were fascinated with the train ride, especially when they got to go through Splash Mountain.
Now, I'm not a big Toon Town fan. I just get really disoriented and dizzy if I spend too much time there, but the kids love it. We let them play around for a little while on Donald's boat, and then we had to try Gadget's Go Coaster. I thought the twins would be fine on this one since they had enjoyed Matterhorn, but no such luck. They didn't like this one at all. Both cried all the way through it. However, my son loved it. Now an interesting thing has started to happen. DD1 has developed an aversion to roller coaster rides. She's been on Matterhorn, Splash and Space Mountains, and has talked herself into hating them. This is totally out of character since she has loved all of them (except Space which was new to her) in trips past. When asked if she wanted to go on Gadget's Go Coaster, she emphatically declined! When her dad tried to talk her into it, she was practically in tears. Well, we can't have that at DL, so we didn't push her. Then she was positive that everyone was having more fun than she was and that wasn't fair! More on that later.
After the Coaster, we noticed that the lines to see Minnie and Mickey were pretty lean, so it was time to haul out the autograph books, and stand in those lines. what a great experience for our kids. They had a ball, and made some good memories there. By now, it was lunch, so DH and I herded our kids out of Toon Town to go back to the hotel for sandwiches, homework, naps and swimming. On our way out of Fantasyland along comes Wendy, Captain Hook and Peter Pan. They came up right behind us and Wendy took DD2 by the hand and leads her all around FL looking for Peter Pan. DD2 was in heaven. Her favorite movie is Peter Pan, so she was one happy camper at this point. We finally had to tear her away from Wendy, so we could get lunch taken care of.
After naps, etc. we headed back to DL. Mom was back from dialysis, so she was able to join us this evening. It was kind of late by the time we got there, so we headed right over to Adventureland so we could go on the Jungle Cruise. I had heard about the new changes, but it was fun to see them. It was getting quite dark, so it was a little scary for the little ones. Still it was a fun time. Afterwards, the brave ones went on Indiana Jones, while I took my little ones (and DD1 who wouldn't touch Indy with a 10 foot pole) to Tarzan's Treehouse. With the evening swiftly coming to a close, we literally ran to Critter Country for one last ride on Splash Mtn. tonight. I took the twins and DD1 to Winnie the Pooh while we waited for them. We all finished up at about the same time, but DS wanted one more ride on Splash. He and DH got back in line and while we were waiting for them to finish the ride, we heard the announcement that Disneyland was now closing. As the boys came off the ride, we watched them close it down behind them. We swiftly walked toward Main Street with the music from the rides, etc. turning off. It was kind of wierd! I really wanted to hurry, because it seemed like the magic was ending. However, by the time we got back to Main Street, the music was still going, and the magic lives on in the minds of my kids.
Since it was only 8:00 we decided not to go straight to the hotel, but to get some dinner first. Since IHOP was right by our hotel that was a perfect choice. After we were seated and started ordering we found it was an even more perfect choice than we had at first thought. Kids eat free with each paying adult. Since we had 10 kids and 10 adults, it worked out perfectly! Way to help us save some money. We had a good meal of breakfast foods, and then went back to the hotel. We quietly got ready for bed and it wasn't too long before we were all asleep.
More to come soon. The kids want dinner.
