Never done a trip report before....here goes:
Monday, October 15
Checked into Tropicana at noon. Room wasn't ready, but they gave us a parking pass and off we went to California Adventure. We had planned our vacation in what we hoped was off season. I was surprised by what looked to be a lot of people milling about in the area between DL and DCA. Thankfully, we were pleasantly surprised when we actually went inside.
Went to get a Fast Pass for Soarin'....wait was only 20 min, so we decided to wait instead. We were on in about 10-15 minutes. Wonderful start to our day! Headed over to Paradise Pier and rode Screamin (15 min wait) and the following walk-ons....Carousel, Golden Zephyr, Mulholland Madness, Orange Stinger. Jumpin' Jellyfish was a 10-min wait. Quite a few rides in such a short time. Didn't ride Maliboomer or Grizzly River Rapids, although they were walk-ons. (DD7 didn't want to ride them.) Over to Monster's Inc and Turtle Talk with Crush. Then DCA was closing so we headed over to DL.
Nabbed a bench by Matterhorn for the parade while we enjoyed a churro. A wonderful first day!
Tuesday, October 16
Early entry at 9am. Headed over to Astro Orbitors and then rode Buzz Lightyear twice in a row (both walk-ons). Then we went to Autopia. Big mistake! Line was 40 minutes, even though it was only 8:35. DD7 was so excited about it though, so we waited for it. She got to ride again later that day and it was only a 5-min wait!
Everything was pretty much walk-ons for us this whole day, with the exception of Indiana Jones. We used a fast pass for that one, but still had to wait at least 20 minutes. (I really don't like this ride, too jerky! Felt bruised afterwards.) We probably rode at least 15 rides this day with little or no wait. What a dream day! Ate at Blue Bayou (had PS reservations) for dinner. It was fabulous. Had prime rib. The portion was huge, it was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious.
Wednesday, October 17
Grandma was meeting us here today, and she wanted to see DCA. Went over and road Soarin' and all the Paradise Pier rides again with little or no wait. Then headed over to DL for the Billy Hill show. Definitely a highlight of our trip! After that, rode Winnie the Pooh and felt nostalgia for my childhood as I looked behind me and saw the old Bear Country Jamboree heads. (Got that insider tip from reading this board.) Decided to finally bite the bullet and headed over to Nemo about 30 minutes before closing. Sign said 60 minute wait, but CM told us it was more like 45. We were on the ride in 35 minutes. Not too bad! I didn't think the ride was wonderful, but acted excited for my DD7...as she was thrilled by it!
Thursday, October 18
Mickey's Halloween Treat at DCA. This was so much fun! We loved it. Got tons of candy and rode tons of rides in only 4 hours. Lots of characters roaming around and the costumes...both CMs and patrons....were phenomenal. This is going to be our yearly tradition from now on.
Restaurants offsite: Stay away from IHOP on Harbor. It is way over-priced, about 50% more than regular IHOPs ($48 for 2 omelets, kids meal and ice teas). Mimi's was fabulous at almost 1/2 the price. Even our dinner at Tony Romas (good food) was $15 less than our breakfast at IHOP!
We never got "dreamed" although I was keeping an eye out for the dream team. It's okay though, our trip was magical and everything we hoped for. The whole trip was a dream!
We upgraded to annual passes and are planning our next trip in April. Plan on doing some things we missed....Princess Fantasy Faire, kid's baking with Pillsbury, pirate island. Even with 3 days, we just didn't have enough time to do it all! Can't wait till next time.
Monday, October 15
Checked into Tropicana at noon. Room wasn't ready, but they gave us a parking pass and off we went to California Adventure. We had planned our vacation in what we hoped was off season. I was surprised by what looked to be a lot of people milling about in the area between DL and DCA. Thankfully, we were pleasantly surprised when we actually went inside.
Went to get a Fast Pass for Soarin'....wait was only 20 min, so we decided to wait instead. We were on in about 10-15 minutes. Wonderful start to our day! Headed over to Paradise Pier and rode Screamin (15 min wait) and the following walk-ons....Carousel, Golden Zephyr, Mulholland Madness, Orange Stinger. Jumpin' Jellyfish was a 10-min wait. Quite a few rides in such a short time. Didn't ride Maliboomer or Grizzly River Rapids, although they were walk-ons. (DD7 didn't want to ride them.) Over to Monster's Inc and Turtle Talk with Crush. Then DCA was closing so we headed over to DL.
Nabbed a bench by Matterhorn for the parade while we enjoyed a churro. A wonderful first day!
Tuesday, October 16
Early entry at 9am. Headed over to Astro Orbitors and then rode Buzz Lightyear twice in a row (both walk-ons). Then we went to Autopia. Big mistake! Line was 40 minutes, even though it was only 8:35. DD7 was so excited about it though, so we waited for it. She got to ride again later that day and it was only a 5-min wait!
Everything was pretty much walk-ons for us this whole day, with the exception of Indiana Jones. We used a fast pass for that one, but still had to wait at least 20 minutes. (I really don't like this ride, too jerky! Felt bruised afterwards.) We probably rode at least 15 rides this day with little or no wait. What a dream day! Ate at Blue Bayou (had PS reservations) for dinner. It was fabulous. Had prime rib. The portion was huge, it was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious.
Wednesday, October 17
Grandma was meeting us here today, and she wanted to see DCA. Went over and road Soarin' and all the Paradise Pier rides again with little or no wait. Then headed over to DL for the Billy Hill show. Definitely a highlight of our trip! After that, rode Winnie the Pooh and felt nostalgia for my childhood as I looked behind me and saw the old Bear Country Jamboree heads. (Got that insider tip from reading this board.) Decided to finally bite the bullet and headed over to Nemo about 30 minutes before closing. Sign said 60 minute wait, but CM told us it was more like 45. We were on the ride in 35 minutes. Not too bad! I didn't think the ride was wonderful, but acted excited for my DD7...as she was thrilled by it!
Thursday, October 18
Mickey's Halloween Treat at DCA. This was so much fun! We loved it. Got tons of candy and rode tons of rides in only 4 hours. Lots of characters roaming around and the costumes...both CMs and patrons....were phenomenal. This is going to be our yearly tradition from now on.
Restaurants offsite: Stay away from IHOP on Harbor. It is way over-priced, about 50% more than regular IHOPs ($48 for 2 omelets, kids meal and ice teas). Mimi's was fabulous at almost 1/2 the price. Even our dinner at Tony Romas (good food) was $15 less than our breakfast at IHOP!
We never got "dreamed" although I was keeping an eye out for the dream team. It's okay though, our trip was magical and everything we hoped for. The whole trip was a dream!
We upgraded to annual passes and are planning our next trip in April. Plan on doing some things we missed....Princess Fantasy Faire, kid's baking with Pillsbury, pirate island. Even with 3 days, we just didn't have enough time to do it all! Can't wait till next time.
