jodyb
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 15, 1999
- Messages
- 788
Cast:
Liav Now 14 years old!
Jody still a lot older than Liav (old enough to be her mother!)
December 13, 2005 Day 2
Had a great night's sleep and what a thrill to wake up in the Sequoia Lodge!
Pinch me!! After all those days of counting the minutes here we are!!!! I woke up about 7:30, and only then remembered that sunrise in Paris in winter is very late it was still quite dark. Here in Israel by 5:30 the mountains are pink and orange, so darkness at 7:30
even 8
takes getting used to. I could see some stars, so I assumed we'd have a clear day with sunshine
At around 8 I woke Liav and we went down to the Hunters Grill for breakfast.
Okay a word or 100 about breakfast at DLP
As everyone knows, I am not a fan of breakfast at the Sequoia.
I like real coffee and real food for breakfast, so croissants and machine coffee (IMHO) are not breakfast
. But the good news this year I figured out a way to make the coffee work for me! I pressed "espresso" twice, and then "milk", rescueing the cup from the machine when it started to overflow. Sorry about a bit of spilled and wasted milk the result was an excellent latte! YAY!!! 
This made all the difference, and I was able to "enjoy" breakfast
well, sort of. I did not take the breakfast time cards I know some of you don't agree with my rebellious ways, but I do not believe in having to plan the times of your breakfasts in advance, and the system doesn't work for its purpose anyway
and FYI all of you staying at the Sequoia in the future, your pink ID card is all that is needed to enter breakfast. Simply queue on the RIGHT hand side of the rope for people coming "not on time", and you will be allowed in with no problem. Anyway, we were there at around 8:30 and the crowds were quite light, although unlike last year when we were there late Jan. early Feb., BOTH restaurants were open and serving breakfast.
At about 8:45 we went back to the room to bundle up against the cold before our walk to the park. This is another advantage of the Montana room in winter no need to bring everything to breakfast you don't need to go outside to get to it By 9 we were at the gate to Disneyland Park, and found a queue waiting to be let in for the Fantasyland breakfast. I asked the CM if my Annual Passport Dream would allow entry (the park officially opened at 10) an hour early as it did last year, and he said yes. Problem While I have a DREAM, this year I had bought Liav a FANTASY passport which costs 40 Euros less and does not have early entry privileges! I was prepared to accept this and wait, but the CM felt badly and asked another who appeared to be his boss, and came back with the happy news that Liav could be allowed in early with her DREAM-carrying mother! YAY!!!
So we were the first ones in the park!! 
The breakfast people for some reason were held up not sure why but we were let in straight away and made our way down the EMPTY and beautiful Main Street! What a feeling
I just love Main Street. I think it's my favorite place in all of Disneyland (maybe the world!) 
There was a thin layer of ice on the street and sidewalks which made walking a bit challenging. CM's were about sprinkling salt though, which Liav commented actually looked nice sort of like a light snow had fallen! The sun was out, but the air was quite cold don't know what the temperature was, but we kept those gloves and hats on! 
When we got to the Castle, there was the rope for fantasyland, but I explained that I had a DREAM passport and the CM there let us in with no problem. So into Fantasyland we went
still quiet, no sound but the beautiful MS music (Christmas songs) 
which changed to Fantasyland music when we came out on the other side of the Castle. We went straight to Peter Pan, but they told us it would be closed for at least several hours and maybe all day!!! Dumbo wasn't open yet, but after a short wait we were the first to ride I know
lame
but I LOVE it. Flying around looking down on Fantasyland
the only thing better is riding at night! We stayed on the ride a second time there was almost nobody in the area the breakfast "crowd" had all gone into the restaurant, but had yet to emerge, so we still had the park to ourselves!!! 
At exactly 10:00 we entered Adventureland, and turning left, made our way to Frontierland, on our way to Big Thunder Mountain. We knew that there were probably people waiting for the rope drop for Frontierland in front of the Castle, and sure enough, we met them running in the opposite direction toward the ride! They needn't have run, everyone made it on the first train of the day and we really enjoyed the "wildest ride in the wilderness"!! We couldn't stay on for a second ride because by the time ours was through a small queue had formed, so we went around again and queued up, but really there was no wait to speak of just a minute or two. By the time our second ride was over, however, the queue was longer (although still very manageable) but it was getting close enough to 10:45 for us to go over to Discoveryland to get our Lion King tickets.
The queue was just starting to form when we arrived at Videopolis. They'd changed the location for the ticket distribution slightly, and put up ropes to organize people a bit more. At exactly 11 they started giving out the tickets and it went very quickly.
We got tickets for the 12:00 show, which is in English, and then headed to Space Mountain our plan was to ride a couple of times while waiting for LK. But SM was closed!!! And they did say it was "for the day" not even "maybe"!!! So we went into Videopolis to wait for LK, and sat up in the restaurant area until they allowed us down to our seats. We sat second row center and enjoyed every minute of this fantastic show! I think it was even better than last year!
After LK we decided to stay at Videopolis and get some lunch. There was no wait and we had some mediocre burgers and chips. After lunch we went to the shops to start looking at PINS, of course! I had told Liav that she could have one starter set, so she'd have 4 pins to trade with CM's, and that I'd buy her a few more pins that she really liked. Also she had a few on her lanyard from last year that she had decided she would trade if she found some she liked better. Also, I was in WDW in October (yes, bad Mom, without Liav!) and when entering one of the attractions in Epcot I admired the pin lanyard of one of the CM's. I saw a nice (I thought) pin of vintage Mickey, and remarked that my daughter would love it. The CM said well, I'll trade with her. I said, oh, she's not here, and I don't have any pins and yes, you guessed it . Disney Magic, he just took it off his lanyard and insisted I take it as a gift for Liav!
Well, she did appreciate the gift, but the pin went into the "can trade" category! With my AP I get 10% on everything in the shops, and I could choose one day where everything was 20% off so we tried to keep our shopping to one day only and for the most part that worked. The other days we just "looked" and got a handle on what we "really" wanted.
Another aside: The AP comes with a gift, and we had received a picture album which sells for 12 Euros in the shops, and a CD holder which sells for 5. Liav asked in one of the shops if she could exchange those gifts for pins, and she could! We didn't have them with us of course, but the next day we took them to the Disney Store in the village and exchanged them for Stitch (with birds in his ears?), a glittery 2006 pin, and a black and white Mickey. Liav was beyond thrilled.
We shopped our way down Main Street and out of the park, then through the village, and back to our hotel room for a warm-up and rest. As usual, Liav watched Disney Channel and I went down to the lounge to enjoy a Lumberjack my new favorite thing!
At around 5 we went back to the park for the lighting ceremony and then stayed for Fantillusion. We watched from the beginning of the parade, which this year is over next to IASW. We sat on a bench just at the beginning of the parade route, and the crowd was very thin almost non-existant! The parade was fantastic as usual!!! I absolutely adore this parade
sigh
when the last float (Minnie) came out, we fell in behind the rope, and followed it around to the Pooh stage, where we left it and made our way over to Main Street. When we got there, the parade was just arriving! So we got to see it again! After the parade, being on MS with the Castle and the Christmas lights
well, do I have to tell you? It can almost bring tears to my eyes that's how much I love it!!!
We walked back to the hotel past the Bavarian Christmas Market, but we were too cold to pay much attention to what was on offer. More on that later in the week
Back to the Sequoia an hour of work for me, and another Disney movie for Liav . And good-night!
Liav Now 14 years old!
Jody still a lot older than Liav (old enough to be her mother!)
December 13, 2005 Day 2
Had a great night's sleep and what a thrill to wake up in the Sequoia Lodge!
Pinch me!! After all those days of counting the minutes here we are!!!! I woke up about 7:30, and only then remembered that sunrise in Paris in winter is very late it was still quite dark. Here in Israel by 5:30 the mountains are pink and orange, so darkness at 7:30
even 8
takes getting used to. I could see some stars, so I assumed we'd have a clear day with sunshine
At around 8 I woke Liav and we went down to the Hunters Grill for breakfast. Okay a word or 100 about breakfast at DLP
As everyone knows, I am not a fan of breakfast at the Sequoia.
I like real coffee and real food for breakfast, so croissants and machine coffee (IMHO) are not breakfast
. But the good news this year I figured out a way to make the coffee work for me! I pressed "espresso" twice, and then "milk", rescueing the cup from the machine when it started to overflow. Sorry about a bit of spilled and wasted milk the result was an excellent latte! YAY!!! This made all the difference, and I was able to "enjoy" breakfast
well, sort of. I did not take the breakfast time cards I know some of you don't agree with my rebellious ways, but I do not believe in having to plan the times of your breakfasts in advance, and the system doesn't work for its purpose anyway
and FYI all of you staying at the Sequoia in the future, your pink ID card is all that is needed to enter breakfast. Simply queue on the RIGHT hand side of the rope for people coming "not on time", and you will be allowed in with no problem. Anyway, we were there at around 8:30 and the crowds were quite light, although unlike last year when we were there late Jan. early Feb., BOTH restaurants were open and serving breakfast. At about 8:45 we went back to the room to bundle up against the cold before our walk to the park. This is another advantage of the Montana room in winter no need to bring everything to breakfast you don't need to go outside to get to it By 9 we were at the gate to Disneyland Park, and found a queue waiting to be let in for the Fantasyland breakfast. I asked the CM if my Annual Passport Dream would allow entry (the park officially opened at 10) an hour early as it did last year, and he said yes. Problem While I have a DREAM, this year I had bought Liav a FANTASY passport which costs 40 Euros less and does not have early entry privileges! I was prepared to accept this and wait, but the CM felt badly and asked another who appeared to be his boss, and came back with the happy news that Liav could be allowed in early with her DREAM-carrying mother! YAY!!!
So we were the first ones in the park!! The breakfast people for some reason were held up not sure why but we were let in straight away and made our way down the EMPTY and beautiful Main Street! What a feeling
I just love Main Street. I think it's my favorite place in all of Disneyland (maybe the world!) There was a thin layer of ice on the street and sidewalks which made walking a bit challenging. CM's were about sprinkling salt though, which Liav commented actually looked nice sort of like a light snow had fallen! The sun was out, but the air was quite cold don't know what the temperature was, but we kept those gloves and hats on! When we got to the Castle, there was the rope for fantasyland, but I explained that I had a DREAM passport and the CM there let us in with no problem. So into Fantasyland we went
still quiet, no sound but the beautiful MS music (Christmas songs) which changed to Fantasyland music when we came out on the other side of the Castle. We went straight to Peter Pan, but they told us it would be closed for at least several hours and maybe all day!!! Dumbo wasn't open yet, but after a short wait we were the first to ride I know
lame
but I LOVE it. Flying around looking down on Fantasyland
the only thing better is riding at night! We stayed on the ride a second time there was almost nobody in the area the breakfast "crowd" had all gone into the restaurant, but had yet to emerge, so we still had the park to ourselves!!! At exactly 10:00 we entered Adventureland, and turning left, made our way to Frontierland, on our way to Big Thunder Mountain. We knew that there were probably people waiting for the rope drop for Frontierland in front of the Castle, and sure enough, we met them running in the opposite direction toward the ride! They needn't have run, everyone made it on the first train of the day and we really enjoyed the "wildest ride in the wilderness"!! We couldn't stay on for a second ride because by the time ours was through a small queue had formed, so we went around again and queued up, but really there was no wait to speak of just a minute or two. By the time our second ride was over, however, the queue was longer (although still very manageable) but it was getting close enough to 10:45 for us to go over to Discoveryland to get our Lion King tickets.
The queue was just starting to form when we arrived at Videopolis. They'd changed the location for the ticket distribution slightly, and put up ropes to organize people a bit more. At exactly 11 they started giving out the tickets and it went very quickly.
We got tickets for the 12:00 show, which is in English, and then headed to Space Mountain our plan was to ride a couple of times while waiting for LK. But SM was closed!!! And they did say it was "for the day" not even "maybe"!!! So we went into Videopolis to wait for LK, and sat up in the restaurant area until they allowed us down to our seats. We sat second row center and enjoyed every minute of this fantastic show! I think it was even better than last year! After LK we decided to stay at Videopolis and get some lunch. There was no wait and we had some mediocre burgers and chips. After lunch we went to the shops to start looking at PINS, of course! I had told Liav that she could have one starter set, so she'd have 4 pins to trade with CM's, and that I'd buy her a few more pins that she really liked. Also she had a few on her lanyard from last year that she had decided she would trade if she found some she liked better. Also, I was in WDW in October (yes, bad Mom, without Liav!) and when entering one of the attractions in Epcot I admired the pin lanyard of one of the CM's. I saw a nice (I thought) pin of vintage Mickey, and remarked that my daughter would love it. The CM said well, I'll trade with her. I said, oh, she's not here, and I don't have any pins and yes, you guessed it . Disney Magic, he just took it off his lanyard and insisted I take it as a gift for Liav!
Well, she did appreciate the gift, but the pin went into the "can trade" category! With my AP I get 10% on everything in the shops, and I could choose one day where everything was 20% off so we tried to keep our shopping to one day only and for the most part that worked. The other days we just "looked" and got a handle on what we "really" wanted. Another aside: The AP comes with a gift, and we had received a picture album which sells for 12 Euros in the shops, and a CD holder which sells for 5. Liav asked in one of the shops if she could exchange those gifts for pins, and she could! We didn't have them with us of course, but the next day we took them to the Disney Store in the village and exchanged them for Stitch (with birds in his ears?), a glittery 2006 pin, and a black and white Mickey. Liav was beyond thrilled.
We shopped our way down Main Street and out of the park, then through the village, and back to our hotel room for a warm-up and rest. As usual, Liav watched Disney Channel and I went down to the lounge to enjoy a Lumberjack my new favorite thing!
At around 5 we went back to the park for the lighting ceremony and then stayed for Fantillusion. We watched from the beginning of the parade, which this year is over next to IASW. We sat on a bench just at the beginning of the parade route, and the crowd was very thin almost non-existant! The parade was fantastic as usual!!! I absolutely adore this parade
sigh
when the last float (Minnie) came out, we fell in behind the rope, and followed it around to the Pooh stage, where we left it and made our way over to Main Street. When we got there, the parade was just arriving! So we got to see it again! After the parade, being on MS with the Castle and the Christmas lights
well, do I have to tell you? It can almost bring tears to my eyes that's how much I love it!!! We walked back to the hotel past the Bavarian Christmas Market, but we were too cold to pay much attention to what was on offer. More on that later in the week
Back to the Sequoia an hour of work for me, and another Disney movie for Liav . And good-night!
Oh, they could definitely be devils! I have no idea really... to me they looked like birds!!! Sorry! 
