We're Home From the Road!! 17 Days of Travel with Tons of Pics~COMPLETE!!

[WDWJonasGirl]

Glad they liked the beach!! I love Mike's shirt. They also had it at WDW. Didn't get it

 

[DizNee Luver]

Glad they liked the beach!! I love Mike's shirt. They also had it at WDW. Didn't get it

They had a lot of fun playing in the sand & surf!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 9, Part 3:​

We wiped off as much sand as we could & stripped the twins out of their shorts since they were wet & sandy and got them in the van. We decided to just hit McDonald's drive-thru. As we headed back to the motel, I noticed that Michayla was looking at one ringlet that was coming down in front of her & making some of the funniest faces. I finally captured it!! I was dying laughing & I think Mike thought I had lost it!!! lol



We got back to the motel & ran all the kids through baths & then us adults got a much needed shower. I rinsed out all the sandy beach toys & clothes & hung them up (hoping they would dry before we needed to pack them up as we would be moving motels the next morning). About 4:30pm, we loaded up in the van & headed to Angel's Stadium to watch a baseball game vs the Seattle Mariner's. These were as we approached the stadium & in the parking lot.









We had our tickets & got in line to go in!!











We got inside the lobby & got these pictures. We also hit up the gift shop & got everyone an Angel's shirt. They had a special on tees for $10/adult & $8/youth!!









LOOK a Dooney & Burke Angel's Baseball Purse!!! (no, I didn't bring it home with me)



The girls.....think Michayla was a bit tired!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 9, Part 4:​

I forgot to mention that it was Mike Trout Gnome Night, so we ended up with 8 of these......lol



We headed up to our seats on the right field side and this was our view for the evening. We were in Section 428, Row J, Seats 1-9. We took up about half the back row in that section. We were able to keep Betty & Michayla in their chairs until we got to our seats & then I was able to take the chairs to Guest Services (not too far from our seats) to have them hold it until after the game.























Tyler, the king of selfies.......lol



Honorary First Pitch:



The starting line-up for the Angel's:

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 9, Part 5:​

FOOD~~We got 2 kid meals (hot dog, soda & fruit snacks), 6 hot dogs, 2 waters & 4 souvenir cup sodas for $69. Later we got Dippin Dots~8 of them ran $52.

We also picked up 2 souvenir programs for $3/each and a $10 little "Rally Monkey".

Random picks from the game:





































This was a message I paid to come up on the scoreboard during the 7th inning stretch. It also scrolled before the game & the kids saw it but I missed it because I was getting them food!! They said our name had shown up!! I said "surprise"....even though I wasn't there to see their reaction. I did see it in the 7th inning.



The kids enjoying the game!









The game stayed tied in extra innings & finally in the 14th inning, we decided it was time to go because the kids were getting too tired. Tyler & Derek didn't want to leave, so they said they would walk back to the motel after the game ended. So we got the chairs & headed back to the van. We got this before leaving the parking lot.





So the boys stayed & the game finally ended in the 16th inning with the Angel's winning! The boys finally made it back to the motel around 2:30am!!

When we got back, it was past 11:30 & we got all the kids in bed and then I started packing up everything. I spent about an hour + sorting & repacking to maximize space. We move to Hollywood in the morning!!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Wow!! My dad is a HUGE Angels fan. Those Mike Trout things are so cute.

 

[DnA2010]

Haven't been on much, but all caught up! What a wonderful trip to remember!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Wow!! My dad is a HUGE Angels fan. Those Mike Trout things are so cute.

I was sorry to see them lose in the playoffs!!

Haven't been on much, but all caught up! What a wonderful trip to remember!

It really was!!! Still more to come!!

 

[kelmac284]

Great update as always. Beach looked like fun as did the game. I have never been to a pro baseball game. I had wanted to take the girls to a Giants game with Shane but obviously now THAT won't be happening. (I'm too afraid to drive to the city by myself so yeah). But glad you had fun!!

Looking forward to your next installment. I know you said your universal day wasn't so hot but I am hoping the girls have fun next month. It aint no Disney that's for sure LOL and compared to the one in Florida it is pretty lame but I figure since we can't do Disney at least it is something LOL.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Great update as always. Beach looked like fun as did the game. I have never been to a pro baseball game. I had wanted to take the girls to a Giants game with Shane but obviously now THAT won't be happening. (I'm too afraid to drive to the city by myself so yeah). But glad you had fun!!

Looking forward to your next installment. I know you said your universal day wasn't so hot but I am hoping the girls have fun next month. It aint no Disney that's for sure LOL and compared to the one in Florida it is pretty lame but I figure since we can't do Disney at least it is something LOL.

The kids had a blast at the beach and I enjoyed the baseball game.....but I played softball for years.......(one summer I played on 4 different teams & also worked security at the ball field).....that's how big a die hard I was for the game......lol Kinda miss it....... But watching softball & baseball also is enjoyable.

Universal is next......didn't try to compare to Disneyland because believe me, they don't fall in the same category on anything!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 10, Part 1:​

After a very late night at the ball game, we were up at 8:45am and checked out by 10. Today we were heading to Hollywood to visit Universal Studios. No one in our family has been before and I'll be honest......I was most concerned about this park because it didn't really seem like it was set up for young kids and I didn't think the twins would have much to do & enjoy. We first made our way to our motel for the night the Beverly Gardens to see if we could leave some of our items so they wouldn't be in the van all day. We got the motel & emptied some of the suitcases & computers and headed off to Universal Studios Hollywood.















It ran us $16 to park with the handicap placard. They led us to the preferred parking lot.





We walked up to Universal CityWalk by Johnny Rockets & made our way towards the theme park. These are pictures of the CityWalk.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 10, Part 2:​

We made our way through the CityWalk and to the iconic Universal Studios World outside the gates of the park.









With tickets in hand, we made our way to the gates. Half of our party got scanned in while the other half was stuck & being ignored in the wheelchair/strollers line. Even though they had told the gal we were all together. After standing there for about 5 minutes, someone (Mike??) went back up to the gal scanning tickets & asked her to let the rest of our family in. Mike & I took the twins to Guest Services to look into getting a Guest Assistance Card.





Well this is where my day started to sour towards Universal. I had wrote prior to coming to find out about the passes & also explaining that we would have 9 in our group. I was told that both girls would qualify & so each pass would be good for a twin and up to 6 family members. We get up to the counter and the gal is arguing with me that the pass is only good for 6 people and we were only getting one pass for our family. I explained that I have 2 children that qualify for the pass and so between the two of them, we should have our family of 9 people covered. We went back & forth for a while on this and finally she gave us a card for return times for Shyann and a Stroller as a Wheelchair card for Michayla. She just didn't understand that each child should have their own card.....they may be twins, but they are two very different kids. There would be things Shy would do but not Michayla....so we needed 2 individual cards to have the freedom to do that.

We decided since it was lunch time, to go to Mel's Drive In. So we headed that way.





Derek & Ty went in & got in line (which was not yet in the roped off queing area) and we decided to skip running the rope course with the wheelchairs & came in from the side to join them. Well since our group being as big as it was, extended straight past where the queing line tied into the line that an employee came over and told us we had to get in the roped line. I said, our family extends up to those two (pointing to the front of our group) and we wanted to avoid trying to maneuver thru the poles & ropes. She continued to tell me that we weren't in line & these (pointing to the people now in the roped area) people are and we needed to get in line behind them. I again tried to explain that NO ONE was in that line when we got up there & we didn't want to squeeze a full size wheelchair thru the narrow turns of the queing line. There was no budging this gal, so we said "forget it"! At this point I'm about ready to head back out of the park. I have never met so many rude employees in such a small amount of time.

We found a sandwich shop that had tables & chairs out front, so we grabbed those & then picked up some lunch at the International Cafe (to go/grab-n-go). Most of the stuff is pre-made which makes it hard to accommodate Shy's allergies but we did find some fruit.











After lunch and calming our nerves, we headed to The Simpsons Ride. The pathway to get there was wall to wall people. They need wider passages.....holy cow!!! People were stepping over Michayla and bags & backpacks were hitting her. We got shoved all the way to the side where we were hitting the poles......ugh! We made it through the madhouse & got to the ride and were given a return time for 35 mins later. We were kinda stuck in this area because of the crowds, so we just hung out and waited.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 10, Part 3:​

We decided since there was a bathroom near the Simpson's Ride that we would do that while we waited. Mike took these pictures.







We got back near the ride & Bart came out to do a meet-n-greet, so Mike took Shy, Addy & Anthony and got in line. The character escort came over and asked me if Michayla would like to meet Bart. I explained that the other kids were in line & he said, well let's get them & go on up. It was the FIRST nice & good thing that happened. The kids got to meet Bart & get pictures.











I thanked him...a lot for the act of kindness. We were talking about our day and was not happy to hear about all the rude employees we had encountered. He apologized and wished us a better rest of the day. Well next thing we know, we have a "suit" over talking to us about what had happened earlier. So we told them from the entry gates, guest services to Mel's Diner. He also wasn't thrilled to hear that (especially from first time guests).....he gave us Front of the Line passes that were good for up to 5 people for 10 rides (or 5 rides for our entire family). I told him that was very generous and thanked him.

It was finally time for our ride on the Simpson's, so we got in line & went in.





We were told to go to a specific row and a group of older teens were sitting on the railing with their backpacks hanging over & covering a bit of our row and we politely said excuse me & nothing......well this mama, who had already had enough, just elbowed my way down the row knocking their backpacks enough to tip them off the railing..........(for those that know me.....you will know that I will tolerate a LOT and am usually overly nice.....but this placed had pushed my buttons and I wasn't in the mood!! lol)









Each group of 8 are led to a separate room (Betty was sitting this ride out)......





It was time to load in our ride vehicle. This is a motion sensory ride (that makes Mike sick) and it was pretty fun......not sure what the twins thought?? I did spend most of the ride watching Michayla's reactions.....she did a lot of arm flailing so I knew these types of rides wouldn't be a fit of her. This was our on-ride photo......they make it so taking pics of the pic don't work and you need to buy them. We didn't........



It cracked me up......I was looking at Shy, not sure what Michayla was thinking, Anthony seemed to know when to look at the camera, Derek looked bored, Mike's in the back trying not to get sick, Addy's chilling, Shy doesn't look thrilled & Tyler is holding Shy's hand.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

OMG!! I can't believe how rude many of the CMs are at Universal It's been a long time since I've been to the park (I was like 8 or 9) and that was the only time I've been to California's Universal. I've been to the Florida one. How does the Guest Assistance Card work at Universal? I like the Simpsons Ride picture Sorry to hear you had to deal with a lot of rude CMs.

 

[DizNee Luver]

OMG!! I can't believe how rude many of the CMs are at Universal It's been a long time since I've been to the park (I was like 8 or 9) and that was the only time I've been to California's Universal. I've been to the Florida one. How does the Guest Assistance Card work at Universal? I like the Simpsons Ride picture Sorry to hear you had to deal with a lot of rude CMs.

The GAC is like the new DAS program at Disneyland. You just go to each ride to get a return time.

I was shocked at the eye rolls and just down right not wanting to listen. If they had just listened to what I was trying to explain to them, it would have been much better but it was almost like it was personally hurting them to let us into the park, get 2 GAC for 2 kids or eat lunch. I wasn't expecting Disney but I also expect the same respect I show you. That didn't happen and then I got irritated.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

The GAC is like the new DAS program at Disneyland. You just go to each ride to get a return time.

I see. I wonder if it's like that in the Florida one.

I was shocked at the eye rolls and just down right not wanting to listen. If they had just listened to what I was trying to explain to them, it would have been much better but it was almost like it was personally hurting them to let us into the park, get 2 GAC for 2 kids or eat lunch. I wasn't expecting Disney but I also expect the same respect I show you. That didn't happen and then I got irritated.

I'm sorry this happened to you guys If it makes you feel better, I'm glad that there was one CM at the Simpsons who understood. I found the ride picture hilarious

 

[kelmac284]

Boo that really sucks that they were so rude and I am glad that the suit came to talk to you. I can tell you this place is def not on my priority list but the last time we went was in winter and the place was absolutely dead. So IF you ever try it again (like maybe when Harry Potter opens) I would try to go during down time. Because unlike Disney they DEF have down time. And I can't ride the simpsons either. I liked it better when it was Back to the Future but even then it made me sick. I am assuming the new minion ride and transformers are the same way? I would love to try them but am afraid they will make me sick. So basically when we go next month I will do the tour, jurrassic park and the mummy and that's prob it :/

 

[DizNee Luver]

I see. I wonder if it's like that in the Florida one.

I'm sorry this happened to you guys If it makes you feel better, I'm glad that there was one CM at the Simpsons who understood. I found the ride picture hilarious

I'm not sure......

Yes, the character escort was very nice & giving. He took care of us & then contacted management. They tried but I don't think this kind of park is our thing. Too many motion, computerized rides and not a lot for the twins.

Boo that really sucks that they were so rude and I am glad that the suit came to talk to you. I can tell you this place is def not on my priority list but the last time we went was in winter and the place was absolutely dead. So IF you ever try it again (like maybe when Harry Potter opens) I would try to go during down time. Because unlike Disney they DEF have down time. And I can't ride the simpsons either. I liked it better when it was Back to the Future but even then it made me sick. I am assuming the new minion ride and transformers are the same way? I would love to try them but am afraid they will make me sick. So basically when we go next month I will do the tour, jurrassic park and the mummy and that's prob it :/

Well, I've been told that going in the summer was our first mistake.....I knew it would be crowded, I was prepared for that but this park doesn't seem to be set up to accommodate big crowds and employees are cranky!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I've been to the one in Florida.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I've been to the one in Florida.

I've heard the Florida one is totally different then the one in California. We just don't have a lot of interest in the things they offer. We are not into Harry Potter, so that isn't a draw for us. The ONLY thing I'd like to see is the Christmas Who-ville, but I doubt it will be something I get to do.