We're back!

[swimrsal]

We were at Disneyland May 9-13 with our 21 month old. I'm not going to do an official Trip Report because I didn't keep a journal while I was there and I'm not sure where to start. So... if you have any questions for me I'd love to answer them!

A few things...
We stayed at The Grand Californian with a Downtown Disney view. We were able to watch the fireworks from our bed which was great since ds was too young to stay at Disneyland (we tried)! We took Supershuttle there which was just perfect.

We loved California Adventure. I was surprised at how big it was - it was so fun for all of us. DS loved Playhouse Disney - we went twice. The Aladdin show there was incredible! Even ds loved it. We didn't stand in line - we just walked in before it started and even the balcony seats were incredible. We also really liked the Bugs Life 3D show - it was so fun! Soaring was incredible!

Disneyland was lots of fun. It was a little more crowded than I expected but not bad. Fast Pass wasn't as "fast" as I thought it would be. DS seemed to like Pooh Bear ride but Pirates scared him (I forgot how dark it was)! The Buzz ride was so much fun!!! I just loved it!

Favorite Restarants - Blue Bayou - shared the Monte Cristo with my husband thanks to your suggestoins. DS loved the mini corndogs. Did an 11:30 PS for Wednesday and forgot!!! That's right, we totally forgot!!! We went there at noon though and were able to make PS for the next day. Whew! Also loved Goofy's Kitchen. Only bad thing that happened with the Restaurants was we had a hard time finding something open for dinner in Adventureland, Frontierland, etc at 7:30pm. Everything was closed!

We also had Albertson's deliver some groceries to our room and that went well. We did Gift Baskets too - which I kinda wished I hadn't. It would have been more fun to pick out own own stuff. I think if ds had been older it might have been more fun.

Feel free to ask me any questions - I love talking about Disneyland!!!

-Sally
Disneyland May 9-13

 

[lap3]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Glad to hear that you had a great time!

 

[maddy]

We wanted to take Super Shuttle and found two different prices. One seems to be a lot higher and involves a reservation, and one seems "catch the shuttle as it circles the airport" and more along the $12 line.
What was your experience? (Anyone feel free to jump in with info.)

Yours in confusion,
Maddy

 

[swimrsal]

We got ours as part of our package through the Disneyland website (or maybe on phone eventually). We had vouchers that we used and were picked up at the John Wayne Airport without a problem. We just walked out to where the shuttles were when we got off our plane and they took care of us.

I don't know about the price part though!

-Sally

 

[Dobie]

Thanks for your report!

I have a couple of questions about your room. . .

1. How well could you see the fireworks?

2. How close were you to an elevator? To the DTD entrance? To the lobby? To the pool, Whitewater snacks, etc?

Thanks! Dobe

 

[DLovinFam]

Thanks for the trip report! Sounds like you had a great time and it gets me even more excited to go!!

 

[crazymomof 4]

Was the DD view worth the upgrade? It looks like those are fun rooms. Kind of puts you in the action? What kind of trinkets did you get? Are there some nice 50th sweatshirts to choose from? We have missed playhouse disney two times. Not going to miss it this year. Sounds cool. Was Rollie Pollie Ollie there? What was your favorite part of the trip? Sorry about all the questions not going till December! Have to live through other folks until then!

 

[swimrsal]

Thanks for your report!

I have a couple of questions about your room. . .

1. How well could you see the fireworks?

2. How close were you to an elevator? To the DTD entrance? To the lobby? To the pool, Whitewater snacks, etc?

Thanks! Dobe

We could see the fireworks very very well. Our room was #5151. We were on the 5th floor and looked directly down on Naples Restarant. We could lay and bed and watch them if we wanted to!

We were pretty far from the elevator for sure. But it was worth it to us for the fireworks. The elevator we used was next to the lobby. The DTD entrance was just a short walk away as were the pool & whitewater snacks. Just getting to the elevator took a while (especially with a 21 month old who wanted to run screaming down the halls)!

-Sally

 

[swimrsal]

Was the DD view worth the upgrade? It looks like those are fun rooms. Kind of puts you in the action? What kind of trinkets did you get? Are there some nice 50th sweatshirts to choose from? We have missed playhouse disney two times. Not going to miss it this year. Sounds cool. Was Rollie Pollie Ollie there? What was your favorite part of the trip? Sorry about all the questions not going till December! Have to live through other folks until then!

The DD view was worth it to us because we knew that our DS would go to sleep around 8pm and we'd want to feel like we were still a part of the magic! It was so nice to watch the fireworks and the people walking in DTD.

Oh dear... what didn't we get! DS got a 50th anniversary hat with his name on it, black mickey ears, red 50th t-shirt, hooded zip up sweatshirt, and lots and lots of toys and stuffed animals. I got one of the retro looking sleeveless shirts with the cool artwork on it, two other neat shirts (a blue one with Mickey out of the Men's section and a brown one from the retro section), a retro sunhat (my favorite thing - it's brown with three patches - mickey mouse club, tinkerbell & retro disneyland logo - and a pink band). DH got a golf shirt, 50th t-shirt, sunhat and about 30 pins. He really got into those pins! We also had DS silloette done on Main Street.

The 50th sweatshirts are very nice. The one I got is a hooded pullover with a glittery castle scene on the back. I totally love it!

Playhouse Disney was totally worth it. We waited until 10 minutes before the show to get in line and that was perfect both times - we ended up about center. No Rolie-polie anymore (I heard he used to be part of it). it's Bear in the Big Blue house, JoJo's circus (obviously the big favorite), Stanley and Pooh & Friends. It was a cute show and the kids danced and had a great time.

Our favorite part? Hmmm... I sure liked Goofy's kitchen - I think because DS loved it so much! He loved meeting the characters. I also loved the Block Party Bash - DS danced and danced!

Have fun when you go!!!

-Sally

 

[RADOPT]

The 50th sweatshirts are very nice. The one I got is a hooded pullover with a glittery castle scene on the back. I totally love it!-Sally

What is on the front? We went w/o the kids and I got them stuff but did not look for me. The sweatshirt sounds nice.

Maddy - we took the shuttle from John Wayne airport. Just walked out and caught it. We were going to do a cab but the line was long. If you do this be sure to tell them where you are going and then ask how much. If they are empty you might get it cheaper. We paid $10/person. We did not use it to go back to the airport, we used a service - $35.00 but much more comfortable (SUV) and less waiting.

 

[swimrsal]

What is on the front? We went w/o the kids and I got them stuff but did not look for me. The sweatshirt sounds nice.

The front upper right of the sweatshirt has Mickey dressed up for a parade with the 50'th emblem. The sleeve also has a golden 50th emblem. It's a grey sweatshirt - very comfortable - I'm so glad I bought it!

-Sally

 

[crazymomof 4]

Thanks for all the info! Too bad about Rollie Polllie though he's cool! Now I know I need to start saving up for all the cool trinkets!

 

[boscoj]

We just got back Monday and I totally agree with Sally that the DD view is worth it! We were in room 4137 right accross of the Hagen Daas and the view was awesome! The only thing that threw us off on the first night is that since the new fireworks show has sections that are narrated, there are gaps were you don't have any fireworks and everytime we thought the show was finished, it would start up again. Only after seeing it in the park did we realize everything that was going on...

 

[Mom2Joce]

Could you give me a little info on having the groceries delivered? I was planning on doing this as well.

Did you have to be there when they delivered? Can you set up a time when they actually come/when the items are delivered?

 

[Dobie]

Wow, great info! Thanks so much.

We've always stayed DCA view, but I thought that the DTD view might be cool so we could see the fireworks everynight from our balcony. It would be hard to give up the short walk to the elevator, though!

 

[greengirl]

Swinrsal-We were there at the same time! My DH, 8yo DD and myself went the 9th and got back on the 15th. I'm still buzzing from the trip! We loved CA also (way more than we expected based on feedback from others). Lucky you on where you chose to stay. We stayed at the Anaheim Marriott, which was WONDERFUL, but next time will definitely stay at a Disney property for convenience.

 

[Disneyfamfan]

Could you tell me what the lunch at the Blue Bayou costs for the 3 of you?

 

[swimrsal]

Could you give me a little info on having the groceries delivered? I was planning on doing this as well.

Did you have to be there when they delivered? Can you set up a time when they actually come/when the items are delivered?

We used www.albertsons.com
They have windows of time that you can pick for the groceries to be delivered that are an hour and a half each. So we said between 11:30am and 1:00pm (if I remember right). We got to the hotel about noon and they told us our room would be ready in 10 minutes (which was great)! The Albertson's guy walked in while we were waiting for our room, so it worked out perfectly. If we hadn't been there - they said that either guest services would call us when the groceries got there or the front desk would. They also told me that they would refrigerate items that needed it for us if we weren't there in time. But we never got that far so I don't know if it really would have happened or not.

I hope that helps!

-Sally

 

[swimrsal]

Swinrsal-We were there at the same time! My DH, 8yo DD and myself went the 9th and got back on the 15th. I'm still buzzing from the trip! We loved CA also (way more than we expected based on feedback from others). Lucky you on where you chose to stay. We stayed at the Anaheim Marriott, which was WONDERFUL, but next time will definitely stay at a Disney property for convenience.

Yes, we definitely stayed at a Disney hotel just because with a 21 month old we didn't want to deal with shuttles, etc! It was sure fun!

-Sally

 

[TinkerBellz33]

Thanks for the info!