Three kids, three days at Park Vue Inn January 2015

[whitneyebz]

Hi! I'm Whitney and this is my first trip report. It was not, however, my first disney trip. When I was 14 my parents took us all to WDW and I was hooked!! I am sure it has changed a lot but I haven't been back since. We moved to Paris in my teens so I frequented Disneyland Paris often. it wasn't quite as magical as the US disney parks, but still fun. My first Disneyland trip was several years ago...I think it was summer of 2005? I went with my husband and his parents, it was a VERY last minute one day trip and it was a blast. We then went again in early March of 2012 and had a great time with our older two kids (they were almost 3 and 4.5 at the time). We only did two days at disneyland, no DCA.

This trip we had 3 day parkhoppers and enjoyed both parks each day we were there!

We brought our three oldest kids- ages 7.5, 5.5, and 3.5 (and he was magically 40 inches with shoes on! Yes!).

We live in AZ so it's about a 6 hour drive to Anaheim. Not bad at all and I really consider Disneyland our home park because of that. I feel like this trip almost did not happen. We were in the middle of getting our rental house ready to list for sale and the grandparents got sick- they were supposed to watch the baby! Thankfully, we got the house ready and SIL and BIL offered to watch our youngest (he is 1, and we just don't really enjoy theme parks with a baby- there would be a lot of taking turns on rides which we did not want).

We chose Park Vue Inn as our hotel- we got an amazing rate and I loved everything about it. We really can't afford the high prices of on property hotels, and Park Vue is SO close to the entrance. I was amazed when we pulled up and saw it. We arrived late on a Wednesday night- the kids were so excited to see bunkbeds!

I also took a shot of our bed- so you can see what it looks like. We found the hotel to be comfortable and nicely updated.



The next morning was January 29, our first park day! We did not get up early- as you will see, we are not early morning people. Thankfully, our kids aren't either. Luckily, DCA opened at 10am so we headed straight there after eating breakfast around 9am. The breakfast was good and had lots of choices- and you could see the matterhorn from the patio!


Our kids enjoying their breakfast! I think they mostly ate fruit and waffles each morning...oh and cereal, which my daughter is obsessed with!

Will continue later

 

[jhoannam]

following... we are planning our first family DL vacation this summer.

 

[petals]

joining in

 

[freckles04]

Following

 

[wiscbugs]

Can't wait for more!

 

[elaine amj]

I'm in

 

[whitneyebz]

I will add more this evening!

 

[sophies*mom]

What an awesome breakfast view of the Matterhorn!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in - we are currently planning our first trip to Disneyland this coming October.

My son will be almost 4 at that time but is a shorty - so really hoping he has a bit of a growth spurt and makes the 40"!

 

[whitneyebz]

Sorry, my daughter had an earache last night (which she has since miraculously recovered from) so I did not get much done!

Alright, so one thing I forgot to tell you about was how we told them we were going to Disneyland. We had been talking about the trip for about a month, just saying "Oh, we'll go soon" and being very vague about it. The two older kids had been, but it was almost 3 years ago. They remembered it though. The night before our trip, we gave them new t shirts (Big Hero 6 for the boys) and an elsa sweatshirt.



I apologize, the picture is terrible! But they were jumping up and down excited! We did have to explain that we would not be at the parks the next day, just driving there.

Okay, so back to Day One! DCA was our first park, because we wanted to avoid the early magic hours or whatever it's called. We did have one magic morning but never ended up using it (remember, we are not morning people!) DCA opened at 10, and we got there sometime before 9:30. I think it was around 9...which is 10 our time and the only reason we made it there so early! Ha! I had never gotten to any theme park at opening before, so I was excited! I gave the kids their lanyards and pins (pretty sure my husband was thinking I am crazy and what are these pins). The kids thought the pins were neat, though!





When we went through the turnstiles, we gave them our etickets (bought from way.com) and the kids each got an honorary citizen button! That was fun because we weren't celebrating anything, and it was only the first visit for our 3.5 year old, so I'm glad they got a button anyway!

Now, I had been on this board researching our best plan of attack. I knew our main goals were meeting Anna and Elsa (me and DD), riding RSR, and riding TSMM. I knew that we could easily do anything else, but those were going to have waits. First thing we did was line up at rope drop (obviously), and I had to ask a CM where to go for RSR since there was a separate area for people going to meet Anna and Elsa. Once in the correct line, we waited awhile...and after rope drop we walked and pushed the stroller as quickly as we could. I took my oldest's (Odin) hand and we power walked towards RSR. DH said we should skip the fastpass machine and go directly to the ride. Um...who did all the research for this trip?? But, I did what he suggested anyway. And...he was right! It was only a 20 minute wait! But first, the minute we got close to the ride entrance, one kid had to go potty. I took that one potty while DH got in line with the other two. Then, we found them in line and another kid had to go! This would become a recurring theme. I did enjoy being the first people in the bathroom at Flo's, though...very quiet and clean. Once we were ALL in line (and after letting several people in front of me while waiting for DH and kids to rejoin us) it was still only a 20 minute wait. I love off-season!





I went in front with the older two, and DH rode with our 3 year old, Jude, in the back. Jude was very excited. I had shown him ride videos before our trip and he said he would not be scared of anything! He lied. He and Odin (who is 7.5) were both scared during the tractor tipping part, and Jude was scared during the bumps (but he still says he liked it, he was just nervous). DH said the ride was just ok (what????) and Ally and I LOVED it! She can be a daredevil...on most rides...you'll see.







Now off to TSMM! I really wanted to stay and enjoy carsland at a leisurely pace, but we would be back. And I wanted to see what TSMM was about (none of us had ever been to DCA).



Fun ride! I really enjoyed it a lot. I think we all did! I rode with Jude in between me and Odin, and it was kind of annoying having Jude pull the rope on my gun, messing me up. You can see my score and Odin's below:



I know my husband got a score of about 130,00 or something. I had better accuracy though!

Next up...lunch at the Cozy Cone!

 

[wiscbugs]

The kids look like they are having a good time!

 

[whitneyebz]

The kids look like they are having a good time!

Yes, they had a blast! They kept saying "This is the best trip ever!" It makes me want to do more vacations like this with the kids...normally our only vacation is a road trip to Iowa and Michigan every summer to visit family. I love that trip but as the kids get older I think it's time to do more experiences. And once our baby (the one we did not bring) is older, we will go to disneyland more often and then WDW (which I priced out and doesn't HAVE to be as expensive as I thought it would be). Being so close to disneyland gives us the opportunity to go there more often, though.

 

[ClaraOswald]

What part of Iowa do you visit?

Looks like a great trip so far. Can't wait to hear more! When we go back, our son will probably be around 5 years old. So It's fun to read a trip report with a child that age in it.

 

[sophies*mom]

Love how happy your kids look!!
We didn't get to ride anything in Cars Land last trip because my then 3yo...she's 5 now, was scared of everything and melted down while we were in DCA...sigh. BUT we are going in 3 weeks with zero kids so I'm excited to ride RSR! I'm hoping the next time we take the kids (in 2yrs when WWoHP opens at Universal Hollywood) my DD will be more brave. My 2yo will have no problems there, he's a little daredevil.

 

[Anemone]

Following along. Really excited to read this as I am booked to stay in Park Vue Inn for 2 nights at end of March and plan to buy a 3 day park hopper. It's my first visit to Disneyland Ca and I'll be a single rider. Need to get a PTR started soon so I can gather some tips but finding this TR has been a great start.

 

[whitneyebz]

What part of Iowa do you visit?

Looks like a great trip so far. Can't wait to hear more! When we go back, our son will probably be around 5 years old. So It's fun to read a trip report with a child that age in it.

We go to Burlington...my husband's relatives are there. Now, though, his grandparents are gone and we pretty much see only his aunt/uncle so we'll stop there but maybe just a few days this time, then go see my brother in davenport.

5 year olds are so perfect for disney! 7 year olds too, but Ally just loved everything. I think she could live there. She loves the rides as much as I do. The boys loved it, too, but for some reason are more cautious. I was so proud of my 7 year old...he has a history of being scared of things (but is super outgoing) and this time he never freaked out even if he was a little scared. He would say it was scary but fun! And he even comforted his sister on a ride when she was scared (one of only two rides that freaked her out).

 

[whitneyebz]

Following along. Really excited to read this as I am booked to stay in Park Vue Inn for 2 nights at end of March and plan to buy a 3 day park hopper. It's my first visit to Disneyland Ca and I'll be a single rider. Need to get a PTR started soon so I can gather some tips but finding this TR has been a great start.

We loved Park Vue! Every day was a 5 minute walk to the parks!

I see in your signature that you've been to disneyland paris a few times...I've actually been there more times than any other disney park! It's been so long, though.

 

[Anemone]

We loved Park Vue! Every day was a 5 minute walk to the parks!

I see in your signature that you've been to disneyland paris a few times...I've actually been there more times than any other disney park! It's been so long, though.

It's a Small World after all. I've been to DLP 3 times in last 2 years with my sister. If she's up to another trip we will go back this summer - it makes her so happy. I'm going to be in Ca for a few weeks visiting our brother, his wife and new baby so the Disneyland trip is a special little treat for me while I'm there. Looking forward to comparing it with Paris.

 

[freckles04]

Enjoying your report so far! I understand the potty business. My son ALWAYS has to go to the bathroom right before a parade, when we've been saving our spot for an hour plus. Never fails, even with a bathroom break before we settle in.

 

[whitneyebz]

Day One, Part Two

I really wanted to try Paradise Garden Grill- I had heard it was Greek food, which I love! And it sounded nice to have something healthier than greasy fried stuff. Ally wanted a burger and the boys didn't care. I think we did grab a hot dog on the way...We got to Paradise Garden Grill and it was burgers and chicken strips! I was disappointed and confused, and I didn't want to pay an adult price for a burger for my 5 year old, so we trekked over to the Cozy Cone, which is so cute I had to eat there. I really enjoyed it, no pictures though! Sorry! I had the chicken cone, DH had the chili cone, kids shared mac and cheese (this was so good) and then we got churro bites, too and some yummy drinks. I do think the cones holding the chili, chicken, and mac and cheese could have been made of something tastier, but it was ok. We brought in chips and fruit so we also had that with our meal (yes we are those people).

While eating, Lightning McQueen pulled in! The kids were finished up so I told them to get in line and I would join in a minute. (The line is right there by where we were eating).



After meeting Lightning (I think we were the last ones, he wasn't there long), we decided to check out the rest of Carsland. I am pretty sure we got a fastpass for RSR at this point. And I did get an Anna and Elsa FP for Ally and myself, but I just don't remember when I did that. It was maybe before lunch or after carsland.









Mater's ride is so much fun! Cute songs and it whips you around, we all loved it. The themeing here is just great. Next we did Luigi's Tires, which is really...eh. DH seemed to like it, but he had the two bigger kids to help out and I had one small one so I was trying to maneuver the tire by myself. I basically just got bumped around by the other tires. It's bumper tires. I don't like bumper cars, I hope the redo of this ride is way better.





Okay, after this we went on the Tower of Terror. DH was dying to try this ride, and I had done it as a kid in WDW, but was a little nervous to do it again. And he decided our poor kids should try it. They are all tall enough, so we did it. And they hated it. I don't know if any of them cried, I don't remember, but they leaned into us the whole time. Odin, who is 7, said he would never again but he was the least scared. Listen, I will never make my kids do this ride again...they can choose if they want to next time! But it is really awesome to see them be brave and try new things, and that was the point of this exercise, I suppose.



After surviving that, we took them on Monsters, Inc. which I thought was cute. At the end the lady monster made a comment to either DH or Odin (it was unclear) that he was making goo-goo eyes at her. Odin thought this was hilarious. And then we met Sully, and again we were the last ones allowed in the line! Jude, who is 3.5, was a little timid but he went with his siblings.



That's it for this update since I need to put my little boys down for a nap and fold laundry...and tonight we are watching Big Hero 6!

Next up...Anna and Elsa!