The Flippant Trip - (new TWILIGHT TR update 11/16/09 bottom of pg 29)

[travelmel]

You are SO old school!! hehe I remember the books to and going home with a few extra a and b tickets.

And yes, please find some of your old DL pics from awhile ago.

I'll try but.... I'm not even sure if I Have them.. and the sad part is, my mom and my grandma are both passed away so I have all their "stuff" and I can't recall seeing them. I'm not sure who would have them if not me!

 

[stagemomx3]

 

[travelmel]

My hand hurts so bad.. I need to pop some oxycontin and get "happy" enough to update my TR!


(JK!)

 

[mommaU4]

I also lived in Vegas several years ago... back in 1997. We lived near Arizona Charlies (on decatur). It was alltogether TOO HOT there! I am grumpy in the heat! LOL But my littlest girl was born there and if you ask her where she was born she used to say, "BAGAS BAYBEE!"

Aww, how cute! LOL

It is too hot here. I had to go to the school today for a Meet and Greet with the teachers and we walked. It was about 104 degrees out and we probably won't start to cool down until sometime in October.

 

[travelmel]

Ha! That title cracked me up... all this perscription medicine talk will be cleared up for you once you read my update! Well, the next update... well, after this one cause THIS IS A DISNEY UPDATE! (Then afterwards I'll re-post my Melting Pot review that stagemom was kind enough to let me post in her TR). Cause it's my Tee-R and I'll veer if I want to, veer if I want to, VEER if I want to....

OMG, where the heck was I?? AH yes...
Day 2
Monday
July 14th
Mid-morning
After a wonderful morning of Nemo, Main Street Bakery, and Ice Cream cones (a typical vacation breakfast) we left DL and headed over to DCA . It was hot so I found a great little margarita stand near the Tortilla and Bread tour area. BTW, we took both of those tours and found them to be quite the waste of time. I like corny stuff, don't get me wrong.. but these tours were BORING. I was one, hot, cookie who needed a break but I wouldn't do it again, even for the WONDERFUL air conditioning. It was just plain boring. Blech. We did enjoy the warm, fresh dozen tortilla's we got for having a birthday sticker (more on the sticker vs button later). Ok, we're all caught up now! So we resume......

I had just finished my adult beverage (do you sense a theme here? ) and we headed over Grizzly River Rapids!

Hi, you look like a water magnet, please be seated in the next raft

Actually, as hot as it was I would have loved to get really wet on this ride but alas, it was not ment to be. The rest of my family did fairly well and were sufficiently (and in DDB's case over-sufficiently) wetted. Here is my DH trying to dry DDB's socks by pounding them over the rocks. (shaken, not stirred)

Those used to fit an 11 yr old girl, now they'd fit that giant bear claw on DDC's shoulder

I don't know if you can see but DH is pretty wet, too! This ride seemed to have a really long line most all the times that we walked by it during our trip but we knew that the FP for this ride is disconnected so we had no problem getting one. I would have ridden this more than once but wet socks can cause MUCHO foot problems so we only went the one time. I had heard really good things about this ride.. I think it holds the record for length of water rapid ride.. or severity of dips... something like that.. but I found it pretty tame. It was FUN... but sorta tame. It probably seemed more so cause I had hyped it in my head to be like a real river rafting experience. Which, now, come to think of it I'm glad it wasn't all that real. My dd's went river rafting yesterday with my step mom and her partner... and they (the older women) each fell out of the raft and the girls were petrified and it was life threatening and serious. All are safe though Thank goodness....They should have never put them in that situation. I'm angry and torn on how to respond but...we won't go into it!

Ok, moving on.....

Right near the GRR is the Redwood Creek Trail and play area. This area is really cool! I wish I could have done this as an actual kid (not just a pretend one who's all fat and drives a mini van and gets great treatment if I return something even though in my head I still have a sideways punk rock haircut and a bad teenage attitude) ok...breathe....

The Redwood Creek Trail is really big and has a lot of areas to run around. The best part is this HUGE canopy of rope bridges that are about 15 feet up in the air and span probably a 1/4 mile or so of rope-bridge-trail on different levels/heights, up and down and all kinds of climbing monkey-loving fun!

Tom-ette Sawyer

Actually, she's more Huck Finn-ish. She is a hoot!

This girl (DDC in pink shirt) is 100% kid. She's an old-timey kid with Dennis the Mennis-like genes. You gotta love her. The other one (DDB in green shirt) is an old soul.. a real BFF with wings People LOVE her. But this one.... you can see trouble in her eyes, can't ya??

Sassafrassparilla

I don't know where she gets it? I plead the 5th.

I really loved this place (Redwood area) and felt like we were transported away to a deserted island or playing Swiss Family Robinson or something. It was really fun.

Let's never be rescued

There was a little area where they did a "Brother Bear" show but the girls had decided they wanted to do more time on the bridges so we missed it. I caught parts of it and it looked REALLY cute. I liked the movie Brother Bear but I felt that the main THRUST of the moral of the story happened so quickly in the begining that most kids probably missed it and therefore may have been lost. I, however, liked it.

There's also a cute little tree area you can go inside and see what kind of animal you would be. This place was really dead and that was nice because we had alot of it to ourselves. It was more like a neighborhood park then Disney. A getaway inside a getaway so to speak. It was themed in a Pacific Northwest Redwoods kind of way that speaks to the outdoorsman in us all. Did I mention I liked this place? It would be hard to justify any time here if I only had a short visit or it was my first time at DLR but I could imagine spending ALOT more time there if I stayed next door at the Grand California.. what a WONDERFUL hotel playground! My kinda camping.

There was also a little zipline that was surprsingly empty. The girls had a great time swinging and swinging over and over. The CM's were really nice and had a special place for parents to stand and get the best pics while their child did the zipline.

Wahhooooo!

Watch out for that treeeeeeeeeee

Speaking of CM's... this is exactly the place where some magic happened. Earlier when we entered the DCA we tried to get a birthday button at Guest Services. We walked in the park and we saw the Guest Services sign and we veered towards it and entered the building. We noted that the Guest Services building is shared with another entity.. I forget what.. maybe Park Big Wigs... can't remember. But anyway, we walk in and say in our happiest place on earth voices, "HI! Can you tell us where we could get a couple of birthday buttons?" and we are truely joyful and exuberent and she says to us in her snottiest, I work for the Deville voice, "Did you TRY Guest SERVICES?" and she even had her lower jaw jutted out during the word -servicessssss-. I was taken aback and at a loss for words for a moment. All I could muster was to turn and look behind me as though she was talking to somebody else then blink in slow motion and turn back and say, "this IS guest services?" to which she replied in a your an idiot tone, "no... it moved... it's outside the park gates and around the corner to your right." Ummm..... Oh KAY.... thanks. (NOT)

I couldn't believe her! The sign on the outside of the building was HUGE and so was the sign on the door and she had the nerve to get that snotty with us for thinking we were in the guest services building?? It was weird.

We made our way out of the park and to guest services only to find out that they were out of Bday buttons or didn't do them or whatever so they gave the girls a "Hi, My name is _____" sticker that said Happy Birthday on it. Or some such thing. We were happy enough and we left.

So you're asking yourself, how was THAT when the magic happened? Ok, fast forward to the sweet CM's on the zipline ride. One of the older CM's says Happy Birthday to my DD's and then disappears for awhile. Several minutes passed and the girls were happily riding. Then he reappeared with Two Birthday Buttons! How cute is that!!?? I wish I would have taken his picture so all the Dis could see and then say, "hey you rock" if they came across him! He's a tall, skinny, doesn't look spry enough to be helping kids on and off this ride, sweet PEA of an older CM. If you see him, share the love

Also, the other cute thing about him/the incident is that I had made DDC wear her B-day sticker stating "Cassidy" and she had wanted Cassy and when the CM brought them their buttons Cassy is exactly what it said. She was so pleased.

I may be nearing my pic limit due to all my faces (Love those things.. I don't know if I'll ever be able to write another correspondance without the likes of my favorite scared face of the blue, hair-raised guy!)

Dear Principal ,
Please excuse Bailey from school, she was very and threw up all over the place last night
Sincerely,

 

[travelmel]

Aww, how cute! LOL

It is too hot here. I had to go to the school today for a Meet and Greet with the teachers and we walked. It was about 104 degrees out and we probably won't start to cool down until sometime in October.

When I lived there we didn't have A/C in our car! Bailey was 1 yr old at the time and had permanent rose-stained cheeks.. probably broken capillaries from the wind blowing her head off in the non air-conditioned car. I moved there when I was 6 mos pregnant with Cassidy and I left there (alone with the two girls) when Cassidy was 5 days old and Bailey was 1 yr and 10 days old.

I raised them by myself and went to college full time for 6 yrs. I didn't meet my DH until after I graduated from college.. about 4 yrs ago. It's all good!

I love, love, love your new BETH in the Mickey head Siggie!!!

 

[travelmel]

Before we left the Redwood Creek area I spotted this guy. I was glad we were still in a camping themed area because we were about to go way more Deliverence then Disney...

Excuse me sir, I don't know if you can do that here!

Now the reason I had to stop this guy is because I saw that on his shoulder there was a tattoo of a planet and I said, "hey, my office manager and good friend at work has a tattoo that covers her back that has planets and fish and looks like an underwater solar system." He said, "Really, cool, my tattoo is called 'Planetary Tsunami'" I asked him if I could see it and he said, SURE! And he proceeded to whip his shirt off in the middle of DLR! He showed me that his, too, had a planets underwater fantasy world...TOO WEIRD! They both even had this fish prominently featured in both of their tattoo's...

Below is a close-up of under his arm where he showed me this....

Trippy Twin Tattoo Fish

When I got home from my trip I told my friend about her tattoo doppler ganger! She's prideful and swore that hers was better...so she e-mailed me this pic to post for my TR so that you, the Awesome Dis-judges could vote for yourself! (She knows I'm a boards-geek )

My friend's Tattoo. The ink is about 30 years fresh-er

You can see the similarity, yea? Which do you like better? The stranger's tattoo has a manta-ray, which I love... and a very cute Giant turtle that looks exactly like Crush.....but Jamie's (my friend's) is just so much more detailed... she says she may put in a ray of some kind later...

Ok, back to the TR....

We decided to take a peek inside the Grand California Lodge .. I don't recommend this. If you've seen it on TV then call it good. The reason I say this is because it's a LONG walk (if your shins are splinting) and the payoff was, "oh yea, it's pretty, let's go"

Dueling pian anyone?

I would have loved to have eaten in the Storytellers Cafe as I have seen about 9 different travelchannel shows where the host goes there but... we had already spent what, for us, was quite a bit on a the Blue Bayou and so we tightened our purse strings and moved on. (there needs to be a heavy sigh graphic!!!) It looked REALLY CUTE though

My memory is kinda shady here... but my photo's say that next we had another ride on California Screamin'

Redneck thumbs up, non candid pose

I love the quick take off on this ride... but to be honest, it's got NOTHIN on the X-Cellerator at Knott's Berry Farm

From Wikipedia: Xcelerator's powerful hydraulic catapult motor accelerates the train to 82 MPH in 2.3 seconds. It only uses 157 feet of track to launch the train, making Xcelerator's launch the shortest, fastest, and most intense in the world.

That's a WHOLE-LOTTA-COASTER

Straight up 205 feet. STRAIGHT UP

I know I post alot of other park pics and it's not that I don't LOVE LOVE LOVE Disney but I'm also a thrill hound so.... you know..ok, moving on.

Next we headed over to do Tower of Terror again (LOVE IT!). Here is a shot of the super cute chandalliers in the que. Well there are two shots.. the first is one that I took to try and remember how cute they were (I'm thinking of trying to find that style for our entryway though it probably wouldn't match as we have no style). I posted this shot on the Disneyland UNO thread and thought nobody would recognize where/what they were (I was tryin' to stump 'em!)

My sad, pathetic shot of the chandallier

But RobertTG, master of all things photographic at Disneyland, immediately followed up with the next (and WAY excellent, Dude) shot!

You win this one, ROBERT!

Who am I kidding, Robert see's ALL!

I love the theme-ing of this ride que. It's so cool how your picture is actually used in the Twilight Zone portion of the ride... right before you drop you see yourself (the whole car of riders) disappear

At first I thought it was just a camera trick with a generic group of riders but then on our second or third ride I stuck my hand up in the air and did a weird pose and when the "disappearing" thing happened my hand was still there! I think it's done with like thermal imaging... but it's a GREAT effect. Goodtimes!

You might find yourself...in the Twighlight Zone ..do do do do do do do do

To be continued.......(but not next month.. like right now... on the next page)

 

[travelmel]

After ToT we were feeling pretty tired and my DH was draggin'. As we were walking down the street in front of the Animation Studio's I was wishing that there was a coffee stand and BLAMO! I looked up and saw SCHMOOZIES!

menu link here: http://allears.net/dlr/din/menu/men_schm.htm

Real Espresso can be found at DLR! (for now.... )

While I was looking up the name of this place I found the COOLEST link to yesterland.com which talks about the real buildings that inspired buildings in DCA!! WOW SO COOL.. check it out...

http://www.yesterland.com/replicas-dca1.html
http://www.yesterland.com/replicas-dca2.html
http://www.yesterland.com/darkroom.html

Schmoozie's is NOT a quick service juice and coffee bar... we were 2nd or 3rd in line and still waited a good, solid 15-20 min total. But it was worth it!

We asked for an extra shot of espresso and I think we may have even gotten it! All the drinks are custom made when you order them which goes for premium time and premium dollars...

I think our "frosty-latte-moolah-cheeno" (read that drink title again slowly) was about $7 when all was said and done

DH had been resting on a bench while the DD's and I ordered and was completely oblivious to the price. He enjoyed it, immensly, and slurrped away, blissfully unaware of the damage to his wallet.

We used our last FP on Soarin'...what a great ride. It is so worth it to politely ask a CM to ride in the front row. I cannot stress this enough.

not my picture and I don't remember whose it is

ASK FOR THE FRONT ROW! it may take an extra 2-4 minutes of your day but you'll be SO glad you did. Ba-leeme.

And after our gliding trip across the great state of California we left the park that bears it's name for the final time. We will most likely never see it again as it stands today.

But we look forward to what lies ahead for the used to be parking lot! For what it's worth, I like it better as a park. You can only have so much fun on a tram.

You ever notice how cold and windy it is when you leave the park and have to take that tram??? Everybody's all snuggled up for warmth!!

If you are parked in: , , , , , , , or parking lots, please exit the tram to your drivers left. All others, stay on board with your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times!


Next stop...... Main Street, USA!



My shirt has hidden Mickey's

That's it for tonight..... my pain meds are wearing off!

Up Next: Back to Disneyland for our final night!

 

[Robert TG]

...
The oldest little decided she wanted Ice Cream due to the ice cream parlor we were sitting in. Unfortunately it wasn't open yet.

I sat DH and DDC down with their treats next to the most BEAUTIFUL blue glass/ice looking statue (an elephant maybe?) and said in my own head, "Wow, that's beautiful..I am so going to want a picture of that later. A picture of us having just a moment at Disney enjoying this blue thing and eatin' junk" My camera was right there. Just sitting there. I didn't do it. Lord knows why.

Just Read your fantastic Trip Report. You have such a beautiful family.
So you forgot to Take The Picture!!!!
Here is one for you.

 

[travelmel]

Just Read your fantastic Trip Report. You have such a beautiful family.
So you forgot to Take The Picture!!!!
Here is one for you.

Wow Robert!! What a great gift!!! I so totally LOVE that picture!!! That view is the exact vantage point from where I was sitting!!

It's funny cause I saw the update in my email and scanned it briefly before I pressed the link and I thought to myself.. OH BOY! Maybe the person who sent me this picture will let me use it in the DL UNO game...

Robert will be so impressed!!! Then I got up from my computer and when I sat back down I saw that the pic was from YOU!!!!

SO FUNNY!

Thanks again... I was hoping somebody would take pity on me and have a copy of that somewhere! I have not seen it on the boards until now!

Thanks!

 

[mariezp]

This is a really great shot of you and your family! Your trip report is such a fun read. Looking forward to more!

 

[tofubeast]

We used our last FP on Soarin'...what a great ride. It is so worth it to politely ask a CM to ride in the front row. I cannot stress this enough.

ASK FOR THE FRONT ROW! it may take an extra 2-4 minutes of your day but you'll be SO glad you did. Ba-leeme.
[/COLOR][/COLOR][/B]

I didn't even think to ask when we rode Soarin'. At EPCOT I have asked several times and have always been told they cannot accomodate that request, so I didn't even bother at DCA. Oh well!! Glad it worked for you guys!!

I am loving the pics. Can I go on a family vacation with you guys? It looks like so much fun!

 

[reyasmommy]

Ohhhh, I'm so glad you finally updated your TR!! Great updates!!

You look like such a fun family! Can't wait for more.

 

[heatherleigh]

What exactly is the Tower of TerroR? Is it a drop, similar to the Stratosphere, or is it a simulated ride like Star Tours? It sounds scary , but if it isn't a real drop, I may give it a whirl.

I can't wait to try CA Screamin. I love roller coasters too. The one you posted from another theme park looks so scary and fun!

 

[mommaU4]

When I lived there we didn't have A/C in our car! Bailey was 1 yr old at the time and had permanent rose-stained cheeks.. probably broken capillaries from the wind blowing her head off in the non air-conditioned car. I moved there when I was 6 mos pregnant with Cassidy and I left there (alone with the two girls) when Cassidy was 5 days old and Bailey was 1 yr and 10 days old.

I raised them by myself and went to college full time for 6 yrs. I didn't meet my DH until after I graduated from college.. about 4 yrs ago. It's all good!

I love, love, love your new BETH in the Mickey head Siggie!!!

Thanks. One of the awesome DISigners made it for me.

Wow, you did quite a lot on your own!! You go girl!


As for your updates, LOVE them!

Redwood Creek area is one of my favorite parts of the park. I could live there and never want to leave. My kids love that zipline too. We go after dark before the park closes, and it's empty. They get to ride over and over with no wait.

Sorry about the rude CM. I hate that.

Ummm, what else... OH! That coaster at Knott's?!?!?!? No way!!! LOL

Yesterland is a very cool website, I agree.

And we always try to sit in the first row on Soarin. Best views that way.

Oh, and I like your friends tattoos better. They are both cool, but hers are brighter, prettier? Something. I just like them best.

 

[stagemomx3]

I miss DCA so much. I love that park! Grizzly River Run is so much fun, much better than Kali at AK.

I wish we could afford to stay at GC again, but that would mean our trip would have to be one night instead of 5!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks for coming by! It's funny when you're reading other TR's you get the link for MORE TR's in the quotes/replies then you read THEIR TR's and it's just a big circular TR love fest! LOL

I didn't know InNOut offered chili and the likes... My friends aunt actually started that business! She has a nice house, I've heard!

Oops! They don't have chili - the animal style fries are just kind of like chili fries Because of the soupy oniony nature of the sauce, cheese and onions.


It is such a great rush! I absolutely love it... I also rode that thing that looks like it's going to drive off the edge AND The roller coaster (which may be gone now).. all were cool but NONE as cool as the Big Shot

I also lived in Vegas several years ago... back in 1997. We lived near Arizona Charlies (on decatur). It was alltogether TOO HOT there! I am grumpy in the heat! LOL But my littlest girl was born there and if you ask her where she was born she used to say, "BAGAS BAYBEE!"

That's so cute!

I'm all caught up! Love your TR! It's fun to see someone else experiencing the same things we just did, and how different our days could be.

Thanks for sharing your wedding with us! You look so beautiful and happy. I'm glad you have such a loving family and such a wonderful DH! He's a keeper! I look forward to reading more!

 

[travelmel]

I didn't even think to ask when we rode Soarin'. At EPCOT I have asked several times and have always been told they cannot accomodate that request, so I didn't even bother at DCA. Oh well!! Glad it worked for you guys!!

I am loving the pics. Can I go on a family vacation with you guys? It looks like so much fun!

I'd so love to do a Disneyland Dis Meet some day..

Yea, it was easy for us to get on the front of anything we wanted. We would just be directed to the side and wait like 2-3 cars and we were right on! Sorry you missed it.

I am SO loving your TR.. I can't even stand it (when the update ends, that is)!

What exactly is the Tower of TerroR? Is it a drop, similar to the Stratosphere, or is it a simulated ride like Star Tours? It sounds scary , but if it isn't a real drop, I may give it a whirl.

I can't wait to try CA Screamin. I love roller coasters too. The one you posted from another theme park looks so scary and fun!

Tower of Terror is definitely a drop. I think they even PUSH you down so that you're extra dropping at some points! It's really fun.. it's INSIDE and so it may be a LOT easier for somebody with height issues because you don't know you're up that far at all (Until the window opens and even then that's only for a brief second). I encourage you to try as many rides as you can muster up the courage for.. LIFE IS SHORT! But, even having said that AND being a ride junkie... I didn't go on the sunwheel..... I don't like ferris wheels... Maybe someday...

Thanks. One of the awesome DISigners made it for me.

Wow, you did quite a lot on your own!! You go girl!


As for your updates, LOVE them!

Redwood Creek area is one of my favorite parts of the park. I could live there and never want to leave. My kids love that zipline too. We go after dark before the park closes, and it's empty. They get to ride over and over with no wait.

Sorry about the rude CM. I hate that.

Ummm, what else... OH! That coaster at Knott's?!?!?!? No way!!! LOL

Yesterland is a very cool website, I agree.

And we always try to sit in the first row on Soarin. Best views that way.

Oh, and I like your friends tattoos better. They are both cool, but hers are brighter, prettier? Something. I just like them best.

Beth, you are my idol at comments. I love everybody's comments and I am so thankful for them all It makes me so happy to see comments have been made! Thanks for being so great.

I miss DCA so much. I love that park! Grizzly River Run is so much fun, much better than Kali at AK.

I wish we could afford to stay at GC again, but that would mean our trip would have to be one night instead of 5!

It's good to see all those great attractions so close together (DCA and DL). Makes me feel not so unsuperior since I can't go to WDW... or as I told my DH (with GREAT dramatic effect) "I let my dreams die"

That's so cute!

I'm all caught up! Love your TR! It's fun to see someone else experiencing the same things we just did, and how different our days could be.

Thanks for sharing your wedding with us! You look so beautiful and happy. I'm glad you have such a loving family and such a wonderful DH! He's a keeper! I look forward to reading more!

Thank you SO MUCH for your wonderfully sweet comments.

I read them out loud to my DH and he was pleased and smiley. He is, indeed, a keeper.

Yes, I love to compare TR's too.. it's fun to see the different angles and different days that people come up with. Too cool!

THANKS GUYS!
Melissa

 

[travelmel]

I have decided that I need to really not be on the boards for awhile. My hand hurts really bad and I need to take a break from the keyboards. As much as I HATE, HATE, HATE to do it.... I'm signing off for at least a week. I don't plan on being back on until after the 3 day weekend.

No catching up on others TR's, no UNO, no POTD.... OMG it's too depressing to think about!!! LOL But seriously, it is!!

Alright ..... see you guys later.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I see you out there - still reading two hours later? Seriously, rest your hand, we'll be waiting - hope it feels better fast!