We are in Disneyland!! (a mini trip report, sort of)

[annieb727]

Eeyore is my absolute favorite character!

Thanks for the reminder. What is Eeyore? A dog? Hippo? Rolly Polly whatever?

thanks
jan

A donkey

 

[disneyL0VE]

OOH how cool that you got to go to that CM&guest disney store!! I am SO jealous. Hope you have plenty of fun! Can't wait to see your pictures esp what they've done for Disney's 53rd birthday!

 

[dizneekrazee]

Dont you just love the CM store!! Its called Company D. We go every trip!! Saves a bit of money on things you were already planning on buying!!

Glad you are enjoying your self. I am not a big pin collector, but I like to buy pins that represent when we were there or if something special is going on. We were there last year for Jungle Books 40th anniversary, I had to get my pin on ebay because unfortunatley they release them so dang early

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[disneyL0VE]

Dont you just love the CM store!! Its called Company D. We go every trip!! Saves a bit of money on things you were already planning on buying!!

Where is Company D ??
I want to make a trip every year there too!

 

[Gisele]

Thank you for sharing your very nice trip report, I enjoyed reading it.
I hope that you and your family will continue to have a wonderfully fun visit to the mouse. And.............will have no long lines, no sunburn, nor any commando baby strollering types rolling over your toes! poor toes!
again, have fun! just live! and breath!

 

[jory29]

LMAO!!! I read your posting, thought, "What a wonderful, spunky gal" then noticed it was YOU!

Wow girl, you are indeed a Disneyland-Nut-TAH (true at heart) and I applaud you for it... but how - how on earth can you stay awake when you trod the DL grounds all day today?

((GIRL, YOU ROCK!!!!))

Thanks for the trip report, LOVE it, thanks so much for spreading the DL Cheer!

(((HUGS))

Jory29

 

[caldad]

I will try to keep you updated...but it really depends on how well I can sleep in tomorrow or what time we get back tonight. I have never been great at trip reports but I will do my best. I will post pictures when I get home.

Awesome! We are heading to DL on the 23rd so we're looking forward to your reports.

Have a Magical time!

 

[j_lehr]

Hey J_Lehr,

I'm from Jersey too, and I will be there at the end of the month. I am interested in the shuttle service you used. Did the shuttle take you straight to the hotel without any stops? I will also be staying at the same Marriott.

I see you are having a great time. Wish I had been there for the birthday celebration. Maybe there will still be some commemorative pins when I get there. Well, you are missing the 95+ temperatures, and all that sweltering humidity we are having in Jersey.

Mickey, here I come!!!

Well, I must have jinxed myself by claiming the weather was great (and it really was that first day!!) But since then, the weather has been HOT HOT HOT! But I would rather it be warm then cold AND I am in Disneyland so who cares!!

The shuttle we used was Prime Time Shuttle. There is another shuttle company we saw called Super Shuttle but it looked more like a van that a lot of people share so that probably means multiple stops. This one was a little more expensive but it was a private van that took us directly to the hotel. The phone number is 1-800-RED-VANS.

Where is Company D ??
I want to make a trip every year there too!

I am not really sure where it is since my husband's cousin drove. I would guess that it is maybe ten or so minutes from the hotel by car. It was really cool. I actually wish I had bought a few more things that I was hesitant on. DH's cousin actually went back for us and picked us up more pins which was cool! The only way you can get in is with a cast member.

Thank you for sharing your very nice trip report, I enjoyed reading it.
I hope that you and your family will continue to have a wonderfully fun visit to the mouse. And.............will have no long lines, no sunburn, nor any commando baby strollering types rolling over your toes! poor toes!
again, have fun! just live! and breath!

LOL, well we haven't really had long lines but I will type about that in a minute. I definitely have some sunburn though, lol! I have raccoon eyes! My feet hurt but I have the worse toes! We have been taking breaks and that helps. Haven't had any strollers run over me yet but I do feel bad for those babies who are in this heat, esp the ones that are screaming and look miserable!!

LMAO!!! I read your posting, thought, "What a wonderful, spunky gal" then noticed it was YOU!

Wow girl, you are indeed a Disneyland-Nut-TAH (true at heart) and I applaud you for it... but how - how on earth can you stay awake when you trod the DL grounds all day today?

((GIRL, YOU ROCK!!!!))

Thanks for the trip report, LOVE it, thanks so much for spreading the DL Cheer!

(((HUGS))

Jory29

Thanks so much!! I am a bit Disney crazy but I have met a few people where who are completely obsessive! I met a girl today who spent the night outside Disneyland to buy a pin. She said there were about 150 people who stayed the night since it was a limited edition Haunted Mansion pin and they only made 300 of them. That is crazy!

Thanks to everyone for their replies...thanks for reading!

 

[j_lehr]

Hello everyone! Today is Day 3 of our 4 days at Disneyland. It is going so fast and I am sad that tomorrow is our last day but we have gotten so much done. Rather than give you a minute by minute account of everything (too many details would probably get boring), I thought it would be cool to share out experiences with rides, restaurants, etc... that you guys might be soon experiencing too!

First off, I have to say it, and every experiences Disney person says it (Hydroguy!!) but it is KEY to get there early and use fastpass. We haven't had to wait more than 10-15 minutes for almost every ride (there was the odd exception of course!) My daughter and I have done Disney World a few times and even though she always thinks I am crazy for getting to the park at the crack of done, she ALWAYS appreciates it afterward!

So with that said, my thoughts on...

CROWDS - It is pretty crowded this week, I think. Early mornings are nice and you walk on a lot of rides. But by noon, it is difficult to walk though Disneyland without bumping into people and California Adventure is only slightly better. But it's weird, because fastpasses don't seem to be going as fast as you would think with the crowds we are seeing. (or maybe not as fast as they go at Disney World?) I am really not sure but hey, no complaints here!

WALKING from Marriott and the ART - The ART is very easy to use. The Marriott (and I know the Hilton across the street) each have their own dedicated trolley that runs every 20 minutes. However, the walk from the Marriott is very easy to do - it took us about 15 minutes the first morning. Yesterday we also walked from our hotel to the Garden Walk and ate at Bubba Gumps (GREAT food, GREAT service!) and it was maybe a 20 minute walk.

WELCOME to Disneyland TOUR - We decided to take this tour because it was recommended to us by my DH's cousin. We honestly didn't need the tour because it was basically a "how to" tour. However, it was only $20 a person with the Disney Visa and on the tour we were able to collect fastpasses and at the end of the tour we got two bonus fastpasses for Buzz and Soarin'. We also got VIP seating for the Parade of Dreams, which was AMAZING! In addition to that, and I guess this isn't something that happens on every tour, but we rode the train and got to sit in a private car that is used for VIP guests. It wasn't being used and our tour guide knew the cast member working that attraction.

Something we learned on the tour as well - our tour guide said that Disney wants to completely redo California Adventures - the big letters, the murals and the sun theme is going away she says within the next 5 years! I think this is very sad!

PLAZA INN - Breakfast with Minnie & Friends - One word - AMAZING! If you have done character dining, you know that normally you get 4 or 5 characters and they briefly stop at each table for a pic and some might interact with the guests but they might not. Before we were even seated, we had three characters at our table. The character interactions were incredible. They played and interacted with us even though we didn't have any small children. They kept coming back over and over and they interacted with each other - almost like they were putting on little shows for the guests. It was awesome! AND the number of characters we saw was more than we have ever seen anywhere - we had 12 characters at breakfast with us. We saw Minnie, Goofy's son, Jepato (sp?), Brer Fox (again SP?), Chip, Dale, Mad Hatter, Alice, Tigger, Eeyore, Pooh and Captain Hook. I can't wait to post photos when I come back!

NEMO - Cool ride, but not sure worth the hour or more waits that we saw everyday. We rode this yesterday! The park opened at 8 and we were the third family in line at the gate. We probably arrived at the park about 7:20 am. As soon as the park opened we walked very quickly back to Nemo and there were about 35 people in front of us and we were on the first sub. When we got off the ride, the line was already an hour long!

TOY STORY MANIA! - We got to the gate a little before 9 am. They opened the gate at 9:30 and we lined up for Toy Story Mania near Grizzly River Run. They have a "pre-line". They walk the pre-line over to the ride at about 9:50. We were the 2nd to next people on the ride when it broke down at 10:05 am. At 11, they still had no clue when they were going the ride was going to be running. Finally after some guests started to complain, they gave us attraction re-entry passes so we did get to go on eventually. I am running out of adjectives but this ride was GREAT! We are planning on riding again tomorrow morning! =D (And the cast members were really nice...while we were waiting the first time, they let my daughter and some other guests get out of line to go grab fastpasses for California Screaming and then let them back in line. That was really cool of them!!)

So, in conclusion, everything has been really wonderful and magical so far. I am sure there is much more I could tell you about but I can't think of it right now and we are getting ready to head back to the parks. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to post and I will respond as soon as I can!

One thing I want to note...I am a Disney World girl...I had only been to Disneyland for one day before this trip and to Disney World multiple times. And while I still love Disney World. there is something so very special and magical here. Things are more relaxed, the cast members seem more relaxed and they really seem to love their jobs! A lot of them get really into their parts. Today, the guy on Tower of Terror had us totally freaked out. I am not saying that you don't find that at Disney World, but in MY opinion, it doesn't happen as often. I think the World is just so busy and there are so many people, it has sort of a rushed feeling to it.

Thanks for reading!

Jes

 

[MadiMouse]

Loving the report. I am looking forward to our first DLR trip in September!!

 

[PatMcDuck]

PSST, if you work for The Disneystores, you get access to those Cast Member stores. CoD sells mostly cast member stuff, clothing and accessories that say CoD or Cast Member on them. The other stores sell close out or dmamged merchandise deeply discounted. It was always a trip highlight for me.

Once the stores were sold to Childrens Place, this access was lost. Now that the stores are once again owned by Disney, TDS CMs can shop in these stores again. (Some of them allow CMs to bring in guests, others do not allow guests. )

 

[Gisele]

Thank you so very much for continuing to post your in progress vacation, I definitely enjoy reading your posts.
It sounds like you are having an awesome, if not, awe inspiring trip! Don't forget to mail me that limited edition HM pin, OMG! only 300 released, oh well what can one do, other than perhaps ebay.
Anyway, if you can, please ride the draft horse drawn wagon for me, I missed out on it, last year, and the year before that, yada, yada, my timing always seemed to be a bit off, then the horses disappeared for the day! you know that there are many horses actually at the park, amazing how you never seem to realize that, until you remind yourself of that simple fact, matter of fact, if memory is serving me correctly, DL has 28 horses,unless I had heard incorrectly, but I don't think so, if you can double check that for me, that would be wonderful. I love horses, I think sometimes more than life itself.

Americans should have vacations like the Europeans do, 5 weeks of paid vacation every year, and all have universal health care, so much for this country being so advanced.

Continue to have an awesome time by yourself and with your family!

 

[arliepooh68]

we were there yesterday and today, we got on TSMM not long after it reopened. .. and yes AMAZINGLY AWESOME is what it was. . . i am not a line waiter, but i did it for my neice, and OMG . . it beats the snot out of buzz! Did you run into any of the celebs there yesterday?? We ran into one, myself literally as we were coming off a ride and they were coming on. . . We heard that joey fatone, rob schneider, and robert downy jr were there, but the dude we ran into I did not know his name, just knew I knew him him. . . looked it up once I got home, casper van something. . . I'm not one to take pictures, he had quite the number of kids in his group, but at least I can say we ran into someone right???

I hope the rest of your mornings are nice and cool like the past two have been! and totally agree with you on the minnie breakfast!

have fun!

 

[caldad]

we were there yesterday and today, we got on TSMM not long after it reopened. ..

Looks like TSMM is a MUST! Where is the ride located? We're staying at GCH so if it's close to the Grizzly it will work out great for us.

 

[Jazziered]

I was at Disneyland on the 17th too.

It was a spur of the moment trip and I didn't even know I was going til the afternoon of the 16th!! I did absolutely NO planning and the only thing I did was make sure I was at the park by 8. I didn't even get to buy my ticket on the internet, because I barely had time to pack to catch the plane.

What a great day. I only had one day, I didn't use a fastpass once and rode 18 rides, that included Indy twice and Pirates twice.

The weather WAS great. I did buy a little Micky fan for the lines, and that was a bonus for when I was standing in the sun.

There were a lot of characters out and about, and I have to say, they and all the cast members where super friendly. I had one of the best days of my life.

I swear it was majical.

The only bummer was that they canceled the fireworks that night because of wind.

I am now planning a real trip to Disneyland, with a four day Park Hopper. I think we will go off season.

 

[j_lehr]

PSST, if you work for The Disneystores, you get access to those Cast Member stores. CoD sells mostly cast member stuff, clothing and accessories that say CoD or Cast Member on them. The other stores sell close out or dmamged merchandise deeply discounted. It was always a trip highlight for me.

Once the stores were sold to Childrens Place, this access was lost. Now that the stores are once again owned by Disney, TDS CMs can shop in these stores again. (Some of them allow CMs to bring in guests, others do not allow guests. )

Maybe I should get a job at the Disney Store!! At least if I got discounts, then maybe it would be easier to talk my DH into going again!

Thank you so very much for continuing to post your in progress vacation, I definitely enjoy reading your posts.
It sounds like you are having an awesome, if not, awe inspiring trip! Don't forget to mail me that limited edition HM pin, OMG! only 300 released, oh well what can one do, other than perhaps ebay.
Anyway, if you can, please ride the draft horse drawn wagon for me, I missed out on it, last year, and the year before that, yada, yada, my timing always seemed to be a bit off, then the horses disappeared for the day! you know that there are many horses actually at the park, amazing how you never seem to realize that, until you remind yourself of that simple fact, matter of fact, if memory is serving me correctly, DL has 28 horses,unless I had heard incorrectly, but I don't think so, if you can double check that for me, that would be wonderful. I love horses, I think sometimes more than life itself.

Americans should have vacations like the Europeans do, 5 weeks of paid vacation every year, and all have universal health care, so much for this country being so advanced.

Continue to have an awesome time by yourself and with your family!

As soon as I get my hands on one of those pins....lol! Let me tell you, I met some pretty interesting people at the park that were really really into pin trading. We met one woman standing in line at the pin trading board (my daughter wanted to check that out...a bit disappointing for us). She said she had already spent between 300 and 400 that day on pins. She lives in the area and it sounds like she is there quite a bit.

Unfortunatly, I don't get ANY paid vacation!

we were there yesterday and today, we got on TSMM not long after it reopened. .. and yes AMAZINGLY AWESOME is what it was. . . i am not a line waiter, but i did it for my neice, and OMG . . it beats the snot out of buzz! Did you run into any of the celebs there yesterday?? We ran into one, myself literally as we were coming off a ride and they were coming on. . . We heard that joey fatone, rob schneider, and robert downy jr were there, but the dude we ran into I did not know his name, just knew I knew him him. . . looked it up once I got home, casper van something. . . I'm not one to take pictures, he had quite the number of kids in his group, but at least I can say we ran into someone right???

I hope the rest of your mornings are nice and cool like the past two have been! and totally agree with you on the minnie breakfast!

have fun!

I didn't see any celebrities but then again, I am not the most observant person either. The tour guide we had the other day did tell us that high profile celebrities get taken through the exits and right onto the rides because of the chaos it would cause for them and the park having them strolling around like everyone else.

Looks like TSMM is a MUST! Where is the ride located? We're staying at GCH so if it's close to the Grizzly it will work out great for us.

Toy Story Mania is back on Paradise Pier, between the midway games and California Screamin? But the pre-line started right around the entrance for GCH. It really is a MUST! I think it is my favorite ride at California Adventure!

I was at Disneyland on the 17th too.

It was a spur of the moment trip and I didn't even know I was going til the afternoon of the 16th!! I did absolutely NO planning and the only thing I did was make sure I was at the park by 8. I didn't even get to buy my ticket on the internet, because I barely had time to pack to catch the plane.

What a great day. I only had one day, I didn't use a fastpass once and rode 18 rides, that included Indy twice and Pirates twice.

The weather WAS great. I did buy a little Micky fan for the lines, and that was a bonus for when I was standing in the sun.

There were a lot of characters out and about, and I have to say, they and all the cast members where super friendly. I had one of the best days of my life.

I swear it was majical.

The only bummer was that they canceled the fireworks that night because of wind.

I am now planning a real trip to Disneyland, with a four day Park Hopper. I think we will go off season.

Glad you had a great day! It was very magical!

 

[j_lehr]

I am sad to say that our time at Disneyland is over and we are now back home. It was a good flight...but then again I slept most of the time so it could have been bad and I wouldn't know it!

I am exhausted. And my feet really hurt. I noticed this trip and the last trip I took to Disney World that my feet started to hurt on the first day. The previous two trips before that I didn't seem to have that problem. I think it might be because my sneakers are getting worn out and don't have enough support anymore. So...make sure you have good sneakers when you go!

I know there is a bunch of little things I wanted to share but am so tired, I can't remember it all. But here is what I do remember...

DON'T WAIT! - If you see something you want to do, buy or take a picture of, etc...DO IT. I must have said it a dozen times during my trip...I want to do....but we'll come back later. So here are some things I forgot: a Christmas ornament, to trade the rest of my pins I didn't want, a picture of the front of California Adventure (one that included the letters and mural...I was told by the tour guide that it is meant to look like a post card)...and although I didn't think about this there, I wish I would have bought a Disneyland tee shirt. Of course, these are all reasons to go back really soon!

TOY STORY MANIA - I know I told you guys about our experience riding it the first time and what a truly great ride it was. You must understand that I NEVER wait in lines. After experiencing Disney World and Land without having to wait much more then 10 to 15 minutes, I guess I am a bit spoiled. Or a bit knowledgable. Or Both. Either way, we decided to get in line for this again, that is how much we loved this ride. The guy standing at the entrance said the wait was 60 minutes...although h was standing by the sign that said the wait was 60 minutes and the line didn't reach as far back as he did. I would estimate that the line was somewhere between the 40 minute sign and the 60 minute sign. WE WAITED 35 MINUTES!!! Seriously, the line moved very quickly and it didn't even feel like it was 35 minutes. And it was just as great the 2nd time we rode AND I beat my daughter!! (She beat me the first time around!)

FIREWORKS - We stood at the end of Main Street towards the left. We had just gotten back to the park so the area was pretty packed of course. It ended up being a pretty good spot but there is this one tree to the left that blocked a bit of the view...so I would make sure when you watch the fireworks that you can see the sky above the castle, tree free.

EVENING CROWDS - The evenings in Disneyland seemed super crowded but the rides really weren't. Of course the really popular ones were (Space, Indy, Nemo) but everything else was managable. I think because Fantasmic and the fireworks are around the same time, it gets really busy! My husband's co-worker was going to come to the parks Saturday night and thought the park wouldn't be crowded if he came after 9!

LATE FAST PASSES! - These, are a life saver. I know I already stressed about how important these are, but really they are so important, it is worth mentioning twice! It really amazed me the number of people who didn't know how to use fastpass or didn't even know what it was. I helped a few people at the fast pass stations because they couldn't figure out how to insert their tickets. And I saw a few people just give up and walk away and not use it at all.

Sunday night (our last night) my husband and his co-worker decided to come over. They were able to buy twilight passes at a convention rate. During the day I picked up fast passes for Space and Indy (enough for all 4 of us to ride) and it worked out great! I am always nervous using the late fastpasses but have never been turned away. Nickie and I took a break around 6 and went back to the hotel and then the 4 of us went back to the park around 8:00 or so. We grabbed fastpasses for Buzz and then rode Space Mountain with less than a ten minute wait (stand by was 45 minutes) using fastpasses I already had. We got in line for the Matterhorn and waited five minutes. By this time, all the lines were short because everyone was waiting for Fantasmic and the fireworks. Later in the evening, the Matterhorn line was CRAZY! We then crossed the park (wanted to get to Indy before we couldn't get across due to the fireworks crowd) and rode Indy (stand by around 45 minutes too!) and Pirates (no line!!). We took the train back across the park and ate dinner and used rode Buzz with our fast passes. We left after that, it was around 10:30. So the guys got to experience 5 rides and have dinner in 2 1/2 hours...this would have never worked if they just came in without fast passes on their own.

4 DAYS = 4 DAY PARK HOPPER??? - As much as I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Disney, I wish we would have taken a day off to just relax! I don't exactly feel like I have been on vacation, lol! We arrived in California Wednesday evening, spent Thursday - Sunday at the park and left Monday early morning. So we literally spent our vacation in Disneyland. Which is great, I love Disney but I am so tired right now and my feet hurt so badly that a day off might not have been such a bad idea. Don't get me wrong, we did take breaks, but usually only about 2 or 3 hours. Friday night we actually didn't go to the parks in the evening but we had dinner with my husband and by the time we got back to the hotel there wasn't much time before bed. I think a whole day off, to just relax, sit at the pool, read, to whatever would have helped us to enjoy our experience all the more because there were times we were just dragging!

IN CONCLUSION - We really did have an amazing trip! We utilized most of the tips that we found on the DIS and got to ride/see everything we wanted to and most things we got to do TWO or THREE times. We even managed to see some of the less popular things that weren't even on our list like Tarzan's Treehouse (cute) and Innoventions (we were bored!). Of course, there are still a few things we didn't do but there is always next time! And hopefully there will be a next time! =D I am trying to talk the DH into going and visiting family next year so we'll see!

Some of our favorites...Toy Story Mania, Indiana Jones (me, my daughter refused to ride it when the guys came!), Space Mountain (much better version than in Florida), Alice in Wonderland and being able to e mail our Buzz picture and score home. I loved that Disneyland isn't so spread out. I loved how magical everything seemed without the feeling that anyone was trying to hard. I loved how some cast members really got into their parts on the rides. We loved the Parade of Dreams!

I promise, I will post some pictures soon (probably by Wed afternoon - unfortunately I have to work ALL day/night tomorrow!). Thank you for letting me share our experiences with you. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.

Jes

 

[Sy-]

4 DAYS = 4 DAY PARK HOPPER???

Thanks for the report and tips. Sounds like you had a great time! We are doing to be in Anaheim for 7 days in October but we are getting an 8 day parkhopper only because the 8 day pass is the same price as the 7 day pass. Now I don't really plan on being in the parks a full 7 days. Realistically only 5 days at most. I did buy the extra days only for the flexibility. See we get into Anaheim late the first day probably around 5pm. I didn't originally plan on going to the park that day, but since I have enough days on the parkhopper we will probably go into Disneyland that evening just to watch the fireworks after (or before) dinner in Downtown Disney. On one of the non MM days I plan on doing a character breakfast then taking the DW shopping on Rodeo Drive (Yea right, more like Block at Orange). Then we can return in the late afternoon and head back to one of the parks for dinner and spin on the Tea Cups right after .

You did right in buying a parkhopper for each day you were there, in fact you may have been better off buying a 5 day pass (depending on what time you arrived in Anaheim) and got the fireworks and/or Fantasmic out of the way first! Then, during the time you actually spent watching these shows, you could have spent it hitting more rides!

 

[Gisele]

It sounds like you and your family had a very wonderful time, I am very glad and happy about that. Vacations are meant to be as enjoyable as one can stand! I am sorry to hear about your feet though, I don't think that it is so much the walking that can hurt, but rather the hard cement pavement, that can do your tootsies in.
I say, if you are working full time, you should be able to have a paid vacation! I also say, that it should be placed on the next ballot, for a 5 week paid vacation for every full time working American, since Europe can do it, I don't see why we cannot, and don't forget about universal health care, the Europeans have that too! America, should have both!