Brina78
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2005
- Messages
- 311
The party consisted of nine, count 'em, nine of us! Other than myself, it was my mom Dianna, sister Christine, Aunt June, Uncle Lee (whom we've dubbed 'Clee), cousin Josh, his girlfriend Mak, his four year-old son, Tristan, and friend Shannon. This was Josh and Mak's actual birthday and Tristan's first time ever, so despite both parks being very busy, it was bound to be a good day.
We arrived at the gate at close to 10 a.m. Because Josh, Mak, Tristan and Shannon are not AP holders, we had to get their tickets over at the Will Call line. That didn't take long, and the rest of us who weren't in line chatted with a family on a bench.
We hit DL first and went over to City Hall to get birthday stickers for Josh and Mak. Tristan wanted one too, and the CM added 'Un'birthday for him! Next, it was decided to head to Space Mountain first to get Fast Passes right away. We knew it was bad when there's a line to get just that! Our return time read 5:35-6:35. Good thing we got their early. Josh got one for Tristan as well, but Aunt June kept going, "No, no, no!" He could ride it, he did meet the height requirement! Hehehe.
Next, we felt we should get poor Tristan on a ride soon. He was sooooo excited and was itching to ride something! We walked through Sleeping Beauty Castle to Fantasyland and ended up in the worst gridlock you can imagine! That walkway between Peter Pan and Snow White was packed with crowds. We decided to get in line for Snow White and that ended up being Tristan's first ride of the day. He was fine with it; wasn't scared at all. Josh and Mak sat with him in the front row and Christine and I rode in the back. Aunt June got a picture of us before we left the boarding zone.
Afterward, we had to go eat. We went to the Coca-Cola place on the corner of Main Street but Mom and I went and got corn dogs at the stand across the way. This was insane, listen to this. Two corn dog meals, two drinks, and I upgraded my chips to get a bag of Doritos, it came to $19.02! I thought that was ridiculous! Whenever that happens, 'Clee's famous line is, "Welcome to Disneyland!"
Next, we didn't want to do anything rough after eating, so we headed to Adventureland to do the Enchanted Tiki Room. However, the park was so crowded, they wouldn't allow entry into the land. We had to walk through Frontierland and around near River Belle Terrace in order to get inside Adventureland! They even blocked that side entrance near the restrooms! We went to FL and noticed Woody and Jessie standing outside one of the souvenir stores. Tristan was perched on Shannon's shoulders and spotted Jessie, saying he wanted a picture with Woody's sister. So adorable. We stopped for pictures and then went over to New Orleans Square.
Mak wanted to shop in Le Bat-en Rouge real quick and found a new Jack Skelington coin purse for herself and wallet for Josh. Next, we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room. Mak craved a Dole Whip Float, but we ended up getting some of those later. Tristan sat on 'Clee's lap and enjoyed the show immensely.
After the show, it was after 1:45 and we could pick up a second Fast Pass. We headed to Indiana Jones to pick up Fast Passes to return between 7:45 and 8:45. 'Clee noticed the Jungle Cruise only had a 20 minute wait. We decided to go on it and Tristan sat next to our boat driver named Ron. Nice guy. Very funny.
It was then we headed back to the Enchanted Tiki Room to purchase the Dole Whip Floats. Mom split one with Aunt June, I split one with Christine, and Mak split one with Josh. Next, we took a walk over near the Tom Sawyer's Island boarding zone for Josh to have a smoke in the smoking area. Haunted Mansion had an hour wait, but I clocked it about 30 minutes long. Tristan rode it with no trouble; I think the worst part for little kids is going down the elevator. He seemed spooked by that, but was still okay to continue.
Next, it was a stop in the hat store near Splash Mountain's line for Tristan to get his own set of Mickey Mouse ears. He almost got a set of gold ears, but Josh wanted him to get the classic black ones. He got his name put on the back while Mak bought a Minnie Mouse headband with the classic red with white polka dots bow. We next got in line for Winnie the Pooh which started outside the barn! Yeah, still crowded. In line, we played with Mak's new headband by putting it on Christine, then Aunt June, then Mom, and then 'Clee! It looked so hilarious on him, but I said I wouldn't take a picture. I was nice and wasn't going to humiliate him for life.
After the ride, we went to get pictures with Pooh Bear, Tigger, and Eeyore. While waiting, we watched the characters do cute things, such as Pooh Bear pushing a stroller with a sleeping boy over toward Tigger and Eeyore. It was an adorable site to watch. Or, while Pooh Bear got pics and the others had nothing to do, Eeyore often went to graze in the small patch of grass behind him. As the CM went to reach for some fresher grass further away, Tigger came over and lifted her legs up, almost sending her into the bushes! They'd also dance or do all sorts of weird stuff as they waited for people to come up to them. Tristan was very happy to see them and we got some good pictures.
Next, it was another smoke break for Josh at the same smoking area by the docks. We planned to get on the Disneyland Railroad of New Orleans Square to stop in Mickey's Toontown, but the line was too long and too crazy. We walked it in the direction of Frontierland and into Fantasyland again where we stopped for another food break at the Village Haus.
By then, it was going on 6 p.m. and we were in line for Casey Jr. when I felt the ones with Fast Passes for Space Mountain had better head over to Tomorrowland instead. Josh, Mak, Shannon, Christine, and I all got out of line and headed straight over without any stops along the way. We actually made good time. We got off the ride and back outside by 6:29, 6 minutes short of the end of our Fast Pass! Josh stopped again at the smoking area across from Innoventions, or where you can see that booth for Virtual Magic Kingdom. Christine called Mom to touch base and discovered they were heading toward "It's A Small World."
We headed in that direction and met up with them along the walkway, hearing what we missed. They got on Casey Jr. with no trouble and proceeded to do Dumbo next. The line was so long, it would have taken them an hour to get on and they decided to leave. Tristan was so crushed, he cried and Mom consoled him. I felt bad for the poor kid. We checked the line out for "It's a Small World" and it was also too long of a wait. We only looked over to the entrance of Mickey's Toontown and felt there was no point in going inside. After a restroom break near the Fantasyland Stage, we made a B-line for the exit to DCA.
Allow me to explain how much fun it was to get there first. As we made our way, barricades appeared all around due to the Parade of Dreams starting up around 7 p.m. Everywhere I tried to go seemed jam-packed with people or blocked by Cast Members telling us to go another way. I noticed someone break a barrier near the Astro Blasters' line and Ariel's Grotto and I followed them with my group in tow. We linked hands as soon as we got to Main Street, stopping a few times to see bits of the parade. I took some pictures and poor Mom got yelled at by a CM! She screamed, "Get out of the way!" when the fact was Mom wasn't in anyone's way! That really upset her.
We got to DCA and, for kicks, checked out the line for Soarin'. I think it said 95 minutes. We skipped it and walked toward Grizzly River Run where Mak stopped at the souvienr store to buy some new shoes. Her sneakers were bothering her feet and she ended up buying some flip flops. We headed toward Paradise Pier, but never got to that point. We stopped to do rides along the walkway as you're heading toward Mulholland Madness and the Corn Dog Castle stand.
At this point, a depression started to set in on me and I felt like I was about ready to cry. I usually get like this at the end of a good day due to I didn't want it to end. It was going on 8 and pretty soon, it would all be over and I'd be at work the next day. We went on the Golden Zephyr and I rode alone while everyone else had someone to ride with. There were nine of us and it seated two per row. Oh, well.
Next, the family got in line for Jumpin' Jellyfish which was a good 30 minute wait. I looked quite pitiful at this point and the sadness was getting worse and worse. Christine picked up on it and knew she had to get me out of there by suggesting we go use our Fast Passes for Indiana Jones. We had until 8:45 and it was 8:20. The rest of our group was cool with us leaving and we took off to do a very long run/jog back into DL and over to Adventureland!
That was a good idea to do despite the crowds bottling up worser by the minute. We reached the entrance to Indiana Jones by 8:30 and ran inside to have some fun. An even better thing was a lady stood next to us with her son and she had five extra Fast Passes that she couldn't use. She had to get back to the hotel and wouldn't have time. I saw she had two Space Mountain ones and my eyes lit up. They were expired, though. Drat! The other three were of Indiana Jones and the return time read 8:20 and 9:20. We were able to get off and immediately get back on again at 9:15! This was starting to make me feel better, but the best part was yet to come.
The Indiana Jones exit was at a complete standstill due to so many people wanting to get out of there or get on the ride. We could see and hear "Fantasmic!" ending and enjoyed the few remaining fireworks overhead. Christine called Mom to find out where they were and we planned to meet up in the main plaza area between the parks near the "Where's Boo?" Monsters Inc. door.
We reached near the Penny Arcade when the lights all shut off and "Remember, Dreams Come True" started up. I ducked under the rope line and went to stand in the street to watch. Christine followed me and I sort of stood on the curb to get a higher view. The lady in front of me was short, thank goodness. She was real nice, too. This was the first time we got to see this show in view of Sleeping Beauty castle. A tree blocked the view of the Matterhorn, followed by another tree blocking the left-hand side where fireworks went off. But, we could see the castle in plain sight and we never knew about all the effects/multi-colored lights done to it!
Finally, we met up with everyone outside near the Monsters Inc. door and then proceeded to go visit World of Disney to look for stuff. Only me, Aunt June, 'Clee, Josh, Mak, and Shannon went inside. Tristan came along as well in hopes of someone buying him a lollipop. He had a bit of red around his eyes from being so tired. 'Clee picked him up and carried him around the store. I got a three pack of lollipops and Shannon bought Tristan a big, green sour lollipop.
With Josh parked in another lot and my car parked at Mickey and Friends, we said our goodbyes to Shannon, Mak, Tristan, and Josh. After that, it was on the tram and onward to home. So, despite the crowds and absolute craziness, it was an extremely good day. We usually try to make the best of it. I think Tristan had a lot of fun and hopefully we'll be able to take him again when it's not so busy. And that's my report!
We arrived at the gate at close to 10 a.m. Because Josh, Mak, Tristan and Shannon are not AP holders, we had to get their tickets over at the Will Call line. That didn't take long, and the rest of us who weren't in line chatted with a family on a bench.
We hit DL first and went over to City Hall to get birthday stickers for Josh and Mak. Tristan wanted one too, and the CM added 'Un'birthday for him! Next, it was decided to head to Space Mountain first to get Fast Passes right away. We knew it was bad when there's a line to get just that! Our return time read 5:35-6:35. Good thing we got their early. Josh got one for Tristan as well, but Aunt June kept going, "No, no, no!" He could ride it, he did meet the height requirement! Hehehe.
Next, we felt we should get poor Tristan on a ride soon. He was sooooo excited and was itching to ride something! We walked through Sleeping Beauty Castle to Fantasyland and ended up in the worst gridlock you can imagine! That walkway between Peter Pan and Snow White was packed with crowds. We decided to get in line for Snow White and that ended up being Tristan's first ride of the day. He was fine with it; wasn't scared at all. Josh and Mak sat with him in the front row and Christine and I rode in the back. Aunt June got a picture of us before we left the boarding zone.
Afterward, we had to go eat. We went to the Coca-Cola place on the corner of Main Street but Mom and I went and got corn dogs at the stand across the way. This was insane, listen to this. Two corn dog meals, two drinks, and I upgraded my chips to get a bag of Doritos, it came to $19.02! I thought that was ridiculous! Whenever that happens, 'Clee's famous line is, "Welcome to Disneyland!"
Next, we didn't want to do anything rough after eating, so we headed to Adventureland to do the Enchanted Tiki Room. However, the park was so crowded, they wouldn't allow entry into the land. We had to walk through Frontierland and around near River Belle Terrace in order to get inside Adventureland! They even blocked that side entrance near the restrooms! We went to FL and noticed Woody and Jessie standing outside one of the souvenir stores. Tristan was perched on Shannon's shoulders and spotted Jessie, saying he wanted a picture with Woody's sister. So adorable. We stopped for pictures and then went over to New Orleans Square.
Mak wanted to shop in Le Bat-en Rouge real quick and found a new Jack Skelington coin purse for herself and wallet for Josh. Next, we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room. Mak craved a Dole Whip Float, but we ended up getting some of those later. Tristan sat on 'Clee's lap and enjoyed the show immensely.
After the show, it was after 1:45 and we could pick up a second Fast Pass. We headed to Indiana Jones to pick up Fast Passes to return between 7:45 and 8:45. 'Clee noticed the Jungle Cruise only had a 20 minute wait. We decided to go on it and Tristan sat next to our boat driver named Ron. Nice guy. Very funny.
It was then we headed back to the Enchanted Tiki Room to purchase the Dole Whip Floats. Mom split one with Aunt June, I split one with Christine, and Mak split one with Josh. Next, we took a walk over near the Tom Sawyer's Island boarding zone for Josh to have a smoke in the smoking area. Haunted Mansion had an hour wait, but I clocked it about 30 minutes long. Tristan rode it with no trouble; I think the worst part for little kids is going down the elevator. He seemed spooked by that, but was still okay to continue.
Next, it was a stop in the hat store near Splash Mountain's line for Tristan to get his own set of Mickey Mouse ears. He almost got a set of gold ears, but Josh wanted him to get the classic black ones. He got his name put on the back while Mak bought a Minnie Mouse headband with the classic red with white polka dots bow. We next got in line for Winnie the Pooh which started outside the barn! Yeah, still crowded. In line, we played with Mak's new headband by putting it on Christine, then Aunt June, then Mom, and then 'Clee! It looked so hilarious on him, but I said I wouldn't take a picture. I was nice and wasn't going to humiliate him for life.
After the ride, we went to get pictures with Pooh Bear, Tigger, and Eeyore. While waiting, we watched the characters do cute things, such as Pooh Bear pushing a stroller with a sleeping boy over toward Tigger and Eeyore. It was an adorable site to watch. Or, while Pooh Bear got pics and the others had nothing to do, Eeyore often went to graze in the small patch of grass behind him. As the CM went to reach for some fresher grass further away, Tigger came over and lifted her legs up, almost sending her into the bushes! They'd also dance or do all sorts of weird stuff as they waited for people to come up to them. Tristan was very happy to see them and we got some good pictures.
Next, it was another smoke break for Josh at the same smoking area by the docks. We planned to get on the Disneyland Railroad of New Orleans Square to stop in Mickey's Toontown, but the line was too long and too crazy. We walked it in the direction of Frontierland and into Fantasyland again where we stopped for another food break at the Village Haus.
By then, it was going on 6 p.m. and we were in line for Casey Jr. when I felt the ones with Fast Passes for Space Mountain had better head over to Tomorrowland instead. Josh, Mak, Shannon, Christine, and I all got out of line and headed straight over without any stops along the way. We actually made good time. We got off the ride and back outside by 6:29, 6 minutes short of the end of our Fast Pass! Josh stopped again at the smoking area across from Innoventions, or where you can see that booth for Virtual Magic Kingdom. Christine called Mom to touch base and discovered they were heading toward "It's A Small World."
We headed in that direction and met up with them along the walkway, hearing what we missed. They got on Casey Jr. with no trouble and proceeded to do Dumbo next. The line was so long, it would have taken them an hour to get on and they decided to leave. Tristan was so crushed, he cried and Mom consoled him. I felt bad for the poor kid. We checked the line out for "It's a Small World" and it was also too long of a wait. We only looked over to the entrance of Mickey's Toontown and felt there was no point in going inside. After a restroom break near the Fantasyland Stage, we made a B-line for the exit to DCA.
Allow me to explain how much fun it was to get there first. As we made our way, barricades appeared all around due to the Parade of Dreams starting up around 7 p.m. Everywhere I tried to go seemed jam-packed with people or blocked by Cast Members telling us to go another way. I noticed someone break a barrier near the Astro Blasters' line and Ariel's Grotto and I followed them with my group in tow. We linked hands as soon as we got to Main Street, stopping a few times to see bits of the parade. I took some pictures and poor Mom got yelled at by a CM! She screamed, "Get out of the way!" when the fact was Mom wasn't in anyone's way! That really upset her.
We got to DCA and, for kicks, checked out the line for Soarin'. I think it said 95 minutes. We skipped it and walked toward Grizzly River Run where Mak stopped at the souvienr store to buy some new shoes. Her sneakers were bothering her feet and she ended up buying some flip flops. We headed toward Paradise Pier, but never got to that point. We stopped to do rides along the walkway as you're heading toward Mulholland Madness and the Corn Dog Castle stand.
At this point, a depression started to set in on me and I felt like I was about ready to cry. I usually get like this at the end of a good day due to I didn't want it to end. It was going on 8 and pretty soon, it would all be over and I'd be at work the next day. We went on the Golden Zephyr and I rode alone while everyone else had someone to ride with. There were nine of us and it seated two per row. Oh, well.
Next, the family got in line for Jumpin' Jellyfish which was a good 30 minute wait. I looked quite pitiful at this point and the sadness was getting worse and worse. Christine picked up on it and knew she had to get me out of there by suggesting we go use our Fast Passes for Indiana Jones. We had until 8:45 and it was 8:20. The rest of our group was cool with us leaving and we took off to do a very long run/jog back into DL and over to Adventureland!
That was a good idea to do despite the crowds bottling up worser by the minute. We reached the entrance to Indiana Jones by 8:30 and ran inside to have some fun. An even better thing was a lady stood next to us with her son and she had five extra Fast Passes that she couldn't use. She had to get back to the hotel and wouldn't have time. I saw she had two Space Mountain ones and my eyes lit up. They were expired, though. Drat! The other three were of Indiana Jones and the return time read 8:20 and 9:20. We were able to get off and immediately get back on again at 9:15! This was starting to make me feel better, but the best part was yet to come.
The Indiana Jones exit was at a complete standstill due to so many people wanting to get out of there or get on the ride. We could see and hear "Fantasmic!" ending and enjoyed the few remaining fireworks overhead. Christine called Mom to find out where they were and we planned to meet up in the main plaza area between the parks near the "Where's Boo?" Monsters Inc. door.
We reached near the Penny Arcade when the lights all shut off and "Remember, Dreams Come True" started up. I ducked under the rope line and went to stand in the street to watch. Christine followed me and I sort of stood on the curb to get a higher view. The lady in front of me was short, thank goodness. She was real nice, too. This was the first time we got to see this show in view of Sleeping Beauty castle. A tree blocked the view of the Matterhorn, followed by another tree blocking the left-hand side where fireworks went off. But, we could see the castle in plain sight and we never knew about all the effects/multi-colored lights done to it!
Finally, we met up with everyone outside near the Monsters Inc. door and then proceeded to go visit World of Disney to look for stuff. Only me, Aunt June, 'Clee, Josh, Mak, and Shannon went inside. Tristan came along as well in hopes of someone buying him a lollipop. He had a bit of red around his eyes from being so tired. 'Clee picked him up and carried him around the store. I got a three pack of lollipops and Shannon bought Tristan a big, green sour lollipop.
With Josh parked in another lot and my car parked at Mickey and Friends, we said our goodbyes to Shannon, Mak, Tristan, and Josh. After that, it was on the tram and onward to home. So, despite the crowds and absolute craziness, it was an extremely good day. We usually try to make the best of it. I think Tristan had a lot of fun and hopefully we'll be able to take him again when it's not so busy. And that's my report!
