When Can We Do This Again? May 2018 Finished 2/2 The End

[jonahsmommy]

I'm loving your trip report! We have a lot in common. I teach TK (4 year olds) with 1-2 special needs students mainstreamed in my room. I'm absolutely terrified of flying (every flight I have been on has had an emergency landing) so I'm thinking that I shouldn't got anymore. It's been 25 years. And of course we both love Disney. We just got back today from Disneyland, we walked 25,765 steps on Tuesday, my feet were killing me. Really looking forward to reading more.

 

[RedHotMama]

Hi! I'm here!
It sounds like you had a bit of a rough first day. With some good stuff, too. I'm glad you (and your hubby) took lots of photos.
I'm so bummed for you about Fantasmic!. So disappointing! I really hope that someday you'll get to see and "get" the show. We love it.
I think reading trip reports can help people get a realistic idea of what a Disney trip is really like. It's not like the commercials *all the time*. And that's ok. There are magic moments, and not-so-magical ones. Thanks for sharing your ups and downs with us. I hope the rest of the week got better.

 

[BrerMama]

I'm loving your trip report! We have a lot in common. I teach TK (4 year olds) with 1-2 special needs students mainstreamed in my room. I'm absolutely terrified of flying (every flight I have been on has had an emergency landing) so I'm thinking that I shouldn't got anymore. It's been 25 years. And of course we both love Disney. We just got back today from Disneyland, we walked 25,765 steps on Tuesday, my feet were killing me. Really looking forward to reading more.

I love when the 4 year olds from our "buddy" classroom come into my room to play. My students aren't the greatest at playing and pretending and having them there not only gives opportunities for inclusion, but they are so funny. No filter.

Not flying anywhere for a really long time. My son just got back from a trip to New Orleans and they hit so much turbulence that I get anxiety just listening to him talk about it. More trip report coming up next!

Hi! I'm here!
It sounds like you had a bit of a rough first day. With some good stuff, too. I'm glad you (and your hubby) took lots of photos.
I'm so bummed for you about Fantasmic!. So disappointing! I really hope that someday you'll get to see and "get" the show. We love it.
I think reading trip reports can help people get a realistic idea of what a Disney trip is really like. It's not like the commercials *all the time*. And that's ok. There are magic moments, and not-so-magical ones. Thanks for sharing your ups and downs with us. I hope the rest of the week got better.

I was not at all bummed about Fantasmic. We were just on the border of meltdown. I wanted my shoes off, a bed and some cold medicine. We did much, much better with taking a break in the room on the 3 days we did that. My trip reports are pretty real. I don't sugar coat much.

 

[BrerMama]

Day Two
Everybody’s got a laughing place​

We went into this day with a plan. Water rides, then back to the room to rest, then Carsland at night. No more doing full days in the park (although I’d screw this up again the next day), and we had done so much the day before that we only had a few things on our “to do” list.

We woke up and ate breakfast in the room while getting ready. We left the room a little later than we did the day before, more like 7:20 walking out of the room. They let us through the gates about 7:45 am and I had MaxPass purchased and our first MaxPass booked -- Big Thunder -- before we got through the tunnel. When we walked out, Goofy and Pluto were right there, so I just headed that way.

​

This was when I realized Dan really wasn’t going to be in many character photos and that he was more than happy to be behind the camera. Honestly, I’m pretty sure he would have been fine with not meeting any characters the entire trip, while Ches and I would have been happy with double the number of characters… so we had a pretty good compromise.

​

Because we stopped for meet and greets, we were a little back from the crowd being held at the end of Main Street, but still close enough that we were able to be at the entrance to Adventureland when the rope dropped. We walked right to Splash Mountain and climbed on. We were wearing hoodies this morning because it was wet outside; I guess you’d call it a light mist. We took the hoodies off for Splash because our daughter that was at home had given us all matching shirts for Christmas so we wanted some photos of us all wearing them in Disneyland. There was one group of two in front of us, and we loved every minute of the ride. Splash has always been one of my favorites and having it be newly refurbished was pretty awesome. When we got back to the station, the group in front of us was climbing out of their log, but the nice CM working loading asked if we’d like to go around again and our response was a huge “You bet!” so we did a second time. It was actually a good thing we did because the photo system wasn’t up and running for our first ride and it only got the second one. Surprisingly, we didn’t get very wet either trip (I think they had the “extra” splash turned off) and we’d been sitting on our hoodies and they weren’t wet at all so we slipped them back on as we came off the ride.

​

After Splash, we walked over and onto Haunted Mansion. I just think HM is so classic and I’ll ride it every time I get the chance. I always notice a detail I missed on the last trip. Also, it was strange having three of us because on many rides someone had to go alone. We figured out pretty fast how to divide that up. For example, on HM, we just took turns going solo. On Buzz, Ches and I rode together because Dan is ruthless in trying to win and we were both happier playing against each other and letting him just play.

​

After our ride through Gracey Manor, we used our Big Thunder pass and while in line, I booked a MP for Toy Story Midway Mania. We were still somewhere well before 10 am, so when we came off Big Thunder we used the Fantasyland pathway and saw that Pinocchio didn’t have a line so jumped on it. Ches had never seen the movie (or at least couldn’t remember seeing it) and thought it was pretty dark. We looked at the line for Peter Pan but it was close to 45 minutes so no go. Instead,we went through the castle and did a little photo shoot with a Photopass photographer to get even more pictures for our daughter.

​

We still had some time before we could use our Toy Story pass, so I suggested we go meet some princesses. We were pretty much the only adult only group in line but I had decided not to care. Our first princess was Ariel and she immediately saw Chesney’s “just graduated” button and asked her about it. When Ches told her we were in Disneyland to celebrate, Ariel was taken aback that we actually planned to spend an entire week only at Disneyland. We like the bubble. No one would think twice about the fact that we spent two weeks in Florida doing only WDW, but say you’re going to Disneyland for a week and there’s this “I hope you at least get to the beach” response. (That’s really what Ariel said.) No thank you. We wanted all Disney, all the time. But at least she was in character.

​

Cinderella talked to Ches about finishing school and walking around with books on her head, and Snow White just said hi. It’s fine. Princesses really aren’t my thing, but they were there and inside where it wasn’t raining.

​

Next up: Back to California Adventure...

 

[Jaina]

Love, love, LOVE your Splash Mountain pic and your photopass pics in your matching shirts!
That's such a bummer that Fantasmic ended early, but I suppose it's better than getting seated and it getting canceled all together! We waited around forever (it felt like, because it was cold and we had taken almost 30,000 steps already that day!) for fireworks on our last 1-day trip, and they were a no-go too. It would have been a perfect night to hit some more rides (since people were streaming out) but we were too tired, too! I wish I had had the funds to spend more time at Disney in my late teens/early 20's when I could do those late nights, but now it's harder or impossible!
That is a crazy price for NyQuil! I'm glad it helped though, so you were able to get up and enjoy your next day!

 

[BrerMama]

Love, love, LOVE your Splash Mountain pic and your photopass pics in your matching shirts!
That's such a bummer that Fantasmic ended early, but I suppose it's better than getting seated and it getting canceled all together! We waited around forever (it felt like, because it was cold and we had taken almost 30,000 steps already that day!) for fireworks on our last 1-day trip, and they were a no-go too. It would have been a perfect night to hit some more rides (since people were streaming out) but we were too tired, too! I wish I had had the funds to spend more time at Disney in my late teens/early 20's when I could do those late nights, but now it's harder or impossible!
That is a crazy price for NyQuil! I'm glad it helped though, so you were able to get up and enjoy your next day!

I still didn't understand Fantasmic, so I wasn't too sad. I think my issue with Fantasmic is that it's always come after a very long day and I'm not sure that the storyline is all that lucid anyway...

And thanks for the comments on the pictures. We did have fun that morning!

 

[BrerMama]

We came out of the royal hall and walked down Main Street and over into California Adventure. It was getting close to 10 am now and we went to head over to Pixar Pier to ride Midway Mania but were stopped by a very official cast member who told us that we had to get in a very, very long line to walk over there even if we had a fast pass. That seemed a little… um, unnecessary. So we waited a few minutes for the line to start moving and mostly get onto the pier and then we walked over, scanned in and rode. Disney is great at crowd control and I most always follow their directions when they’re trying to direct traffic, but I was not going to walk clear back by Goofy’s to get in a line that was moving and I could stand there a few minutes and it would catch up to where we were and could walk over. I got a side to myself on the ride, and I thought I was doing pretty good at the whole Midway Mania. It’s nice how I can be delusional when I’m riding alone.

As an aside, I’m really glad I wrote down everything we did, because I would never have remembered that we rode Luigi’s next. Can I tell you how much I loved those little dancing cars? It was one of my favorite rides and I bought myself a little die cast car of my favorite roadster. I especially liked when you thought the dance was over and then it would do a last minute spin. It was just pure fun and everything you go to a Disney park to experience.

​

So we walked from the Pier to Carsland and then we went to Smoke Jumpers and ate lunch. I must have grabbed a Soarin MaxPass while we were in line for Toy Story, so we ate lunch next to it. We didn’t eat a lot of burgers this trip and it was really good. We enjoyed the burger bar and Ches and I got onion rings and they were really delicious.

​

Because we’d pushed it too much the day before, our plan was to leave right after lunch. But of course MaxPass makes me lose my mind and I had to squeeze in one more ride, and it was Soarin. Fun fact -- I freaking hated it this time. We were on the front row this time, which is the one that goes the highest and for some reason, this time I could not stop thinking about how high we were and how I was probably going to fall out and die, and the motion sickness was worse and I ended up squeezing my eyes shut until we came back down. I think some of it may have been that the day before I’d been wearing my Skechers Go Walks and this day I was wearing my Ohana Flip Flops (with ever present moleskin to protect that blister). The flip flops were under my seat and maybe the sensation of dangling bare feet did it. And maybe I was just more tired, not riding that Disney high and also had a full stomach. I’m not sure but this was my last ride on Soarin for the trip.

To make ourselves feel better about leaving the park so early in the day (it was 2 pm and we had plans to come back) we decided to wander through the snack-ish places on the way out of the park. We ended up in Clarabelle’s and shockingly given the fact that it was in the low 60s and a little rainy outside, we were the only people there. I was looking at the sundaes and then I saw “Hand-dipped ice cream bars.” Like… I’ve been studying Disneyland for months. Why did I not know about this? We all got one. I did vanilla bean ice cream with dark chocolate coating and everything but pop rocks on top. Dan did the same ice cream and coating with chocolate chips and Ches did the same as him except went for chocolate ice cream. They were the best. I could use one right now in fact.

​

After that, we really did go back to the room. We stayed about two hours, during which Dan took a nap and we also discovered that our hotel had an emergency intercom system which they used to alert us the water was going to be off about a half hour. It didn’t really affect us, so they must have stuck to that. At some point, I grabbed a MaxPass for Radiator Springs Racers from 7:30-8:30 because I wanted to ride in the dark, and I also got one for Guardians for Dan and Ches, I think for around 6:30.

Dan’s kind of like a puppy in that he’ll drop right into a nap, and then wake up and be “I’m ready to go. When can we go? Can we go yet?” So we ended up going back to the parks earlier than I intended, but that was OK with me because Ches and I made him go back to the Pixar Pals area next to Goofy’s Sky School and meet whatever character was there. It was actually the Incredibles (Mr & Mrs) when we arrived but pretty quickly the cast member working the line came through and said by the time we got to the front it would be Mike and Sully.

Which… yes. I may have jumped up and down clappping.

​

I got to hug Sully (and Mike) and it may have been one of the best moments of the trip. Ches loves Sully as well, and we both got a lot of attention. Hugging Mike is strange. It’s kind of like hugging a giant golf ball. Sorry, Mike. Sully’s my fave.

​

Since we were in the area, I found a nice seat at a table (there’s a lot of seating for the restaurants in that corner) and Dan and Ches went on the Golden Zephyr and Goofy’s. At some point after we’d returned to the parks our time for another MaxPass had come up and I had grabbed Goofy’s since it was right there and the return time was almost immediate. So just picture me sitting a table in the shade reading on my phone.

Next up: Animation building and meeting Spiderman​

​

 

[RedHotMama]

I got to hug Sully (and Mike) and it may have been one of the best moments of the trip.

It's so great that you got to meet Sully!!! That photo of you two hugging is the best!

 

[Jaina]

So much fun! I'm sorry that you had a bad ride on Soarin' though. That's no fun! I feel like we eat at Smokejumpers (I still have to look back to find its new name and not call it the Taste Pilot Grill) almost every trip, because it's convenient, yummy, and has something everyone likes.
Yay for getting to meet Sully! That is awesome! And I hadn't heard of the hand dipped ice cream bars, but I just added them to our list to check out. My 10-year-old would LOVE those!

 

[BrerMama]

It's so great that you got to meet Sully!!! That photo of you two hugging is the best!

Sully is my queen. King. Monster. Whatever.

So much fun! I'm sorry that you had a bad ride on Soarin' though. That's no fun! I feel like we eat at Smokejumpers (I still have to look back to find its new name and not call it the Taste Pilot Grill) almost every trip, because it's convenient, yummy, and has something everyone likes.
Yay for getting to meet Sully! That is awesome! And I hadn't heard of the hand dipped ice cream bars, but I just added them to our list to check out. My 10-year-old would LOVE those!

You must check out the ice cream bars. Man, I crave them at random times now. Usually just after dinner.

 

[BrerMama]

From there we still had time to kill before their Guardians window came up so we went to the Animation place (I know there’s a name for it, but I’m too lazy to look it up) and went into the area where you can go into the Beast’s library and we all did “Which Disney character are you?” Ches got Belle, I got Mrs Incredible, and Dan got Marlin. And then we stopped to take a picture at the “Happily Ever After” wall and my husband did this.

​

Next up was Guardians, but you know, there was Peter Parker taking pictures. What a fun character! We watched him interact with a little boy dressed just like him and laughed, and then I saw him do his classic Spiderman squat and pose thing and I went “I am *so* doing that.” One of the things I bought for my classroom this year is a full set of Avengers capes and masks for my dress up area and every day I had a little boy from my buddy room come in to play and he’d put on the Spiderman set and shoot me with his web for a half hour. I wanted that classic Spiderman picture so I could hang it in my classroom. And I made Chesney do it with me.

Me and the Spiderman discussing what must be done. And...



I've been doing yoga almost every day this summer and could so pull this off more gracefully right now. But the final product looks good.
​

Still some time and I knew the Incredibles preview was just around the corner from Spidey, so we went over that way and walked right in. Seriously, how much fun was this? It wasn’t just a plain ole preview. It was the first 10 minutes of the movie and they used the old Muppetvision theater to full effect. There was wind when Frozone was on screen, and when Dash was running they used screens all around the theater to add to the experience… I just loved it. Cannot wait to see the movie. [Update -- we’ve seen it twice since it was released. We *really* like it.]

Finally I let Dan go use his Guardians pass and made them take a picture before they got on because that’s what I do. I sat on a curb across from the ride this time and people watched. There were a lot of people and a lot to watch. I’ll add here that this is the only time we had issues with a group of unruly teenagers. During our trip there were two grad nights (this was not one of them) and this was the only time we were bothered by a group of teens and that was only because it was a group of rowdy males and they flipped off the ride camera and so we didn’t get the ride photos. But it wasn’t a huge annoyance and Dan and Ches had fun.



After they were done, I pretty much went right to Flo’s V-8 Cafe because I was stinking hungry. Dan got the Cobb salad, I got the turkey club, and Ches went with the tuna sandwich. I thought this was one of the best meals we had on the trip, but I love a good club sandwich and it really seemed to be right what I wanted when I wanted it. We sat out outside overlooking Radiator Springs and I watched this PhotoPass photographer taking the funnest pictures with groups and I said, “I want that guy to take my picture.”





Cobb salad. I took the tomatoes because Dan won't eat them.



And the Turkey Club. For some reason, I think of this as a perfect California sandwich. Avocado mayo, light and not heavy. And a pickle. Bonus points to any restaurant that gives me a pickle.

And of course when we were done eating and ready to take pictures, he was gone. Ah well, I got another ride on Luigi’s. We did also take photopass photos both in Radiator Springs and then later in front of Stanley. We wandered in and out of the shops in Radiator Springs because Ches has a good friend that loves Cars the movie, but especially Lightning, and she wanted to look at what was there so she could decide on a souvenir. She eventually decided on a die cast Lightning with Mickey ears and a Mater with Goofy ears. It was cute.





See how happy I am right there? I'd really like to recapture that grin at the moment. I am so very, very glad I wrote this trip report as soon as we got home (it was priority one) because my brain is a foggy mess and I wouldn't remember half these details. I don't sleep well in the summer (heat + not working as much = not being able to sleep as deeply). And then we sold our house last weekend -- we have two kids moving out and want to downsize and not own for awhile -- and have to be out by August 31 and currently have no where to live. We're looking and applying but apparently verifying that we're approved and have an address is not a priority for anyone but me. And that's not even throwing in the enormous stress of moving at the same time as I'm starting a new school year. So yeah. Glad I did this and hopefully I remember to update...

​

 

[RedHotMama]

And then we stopped to take a picture at the “Happily Ever After” wall and my husband did this.

Husbands and their faces. Mine does it to me, too. Sheesh.

And...

I LOVE your Spidey pic! The kids in your class are going to love it, too.

After they were done, I pretty much went right to Flo’s V-8 Cafe because I was stinking hungry. Dan got the Cobb salad, I got the turkey club, and Ches went with the tuna sandwich.

I'm glad you liked your meal there. We were so disappointed when we heard they were changing Flo's menu. I'm thinking I want to try that club sandwich next time I'm there.

 

[BrerMama]

Husbands and their faces. Mine does it to me, too. Sheesh.

I LOVE your Spidey pic! The kids in your class are going to love it, too.

I'm glad you liked your meal there. We were so disappointed when we heard they were changing Flo's menu. I'm thinking I want to try that club sandwich next time I'm there.

My husband was a super good sport about all the character pictures we wanted taken and he was photographer on all of them, so I'll give him a break. I'm excited to print that Spidey pic. I'm in the last few days of summer school and then normally I'd be all ready to get into my room and start prepping for next year, but not right now. Too much other stuff going on. And I really loved Flo's. We never had the old menu, though, so we only knew what they have now and really liked it.

 

[BrerMama]

At some point in the evening we ended up over by Filmore’s and I saw the famous bead curtain. I yelled “Oh, Ches, we have to do the bead thing.” And there was a little kid playing in the beads and his mom was taking pictures and then she made him get out because we were waiting and I was all, “Hey, he can stay, we’re just going to do the bead thing” but they left anyway. And then Ches went first but apparently she doesn’t know about the Britney Spears bead thing so she was just awkward. Then I went and slayed it. So much so that I had to do a side by side, which led to the following text conversation. Then Ches tried again, but still didn’t kill it. At least not like her momma.

​

We rode RSR in the dusk and it was everything (again, I didn’t take a lot of on-ride pictures on this trip because I wanted to actually enjoy the moment)

OK, this one is from right after dinner, but you get the idea. We were having fun in Carsland...
​

and then as we were heading back to the hotel, we saw Mater with a very short line and I jumped us into line. Dan loves Mater, so it was a fun little meet and we got pictures which Ches could send her friend. All the way back, Dan kept talking about how he was craving dark chocolate (there are always dark chocolate dove candies in our fridge at home because that’s just the right amount of chocolate after a meal) so we ended up going to the hotel food court (I use that term very loosely… it was basically a Pizza Hut Express with some dry goods and a fridge with cold drinks) and paying $4 for a package of M&Ms and a Snickers. And I didn’t think that was too awful, which just shows what a few days paying Disney prices will do to you.



We went back to the room, Ches took a shower, I changed into my PJs and then at 9:30 Ches and I went out and stood on the walkway and watched the fireworks. Dan was already in bed, just in case you’re wondering how big a party pooper he is. Ches and I would watch and kept saying, “Is that it? Is that the finale?” until we really saw the finale and then we were like “Ooooohhh. That’s the finale.”

​

Then bed and up early because we were about to push it too hard again...

Next up: Day 4 One Day I Know How Far I'll Go​

 

[Jaina]

I love that family pic with Mater! And the text about the beads picture made me laugh. So much fun!

 

[Jason2015]

Enjoying your report. Seems like you had a good time overall. Looking forward to more posts.

 

[Little E]

@BrerMama You. Are. AWESOME. I am so loving your trip report! From the Spidey pose (I have teen boys so this was terrific) to the Brit side-by-side bead pose (you totally killed it, my friend!), and everything in between, I am having a fabulous time following along. We are WDW vets, but have our first DL trip planned for August of this year. Your pics and narrative have me so very excited for our family's trip!

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now; hang in there as you sort out selling your home and getting ready for a new school year. I understand completely, as I'm a former teacher and early childhood administrator. I get the stress of end of summer, family, work, and home, but selfishly, I'm really looking forward to your next TR installment.

 

[BrerMama]

I love that family pic with Mater! And the text about the beads picture made me laugh. So much fun!

It was such a fun evening. Mater made us all laugh... I love how he talks to you!

Enjoying your report. Seems like you had a good time overall. Looking forward to more posts.

Thank you! So happy to have you reading along!

@BrerMama You. Are. AWESOME. I am so loving your trip report! From the Spidey pose (I have teen boys so this was terrific) to the Brit side-by-side bead pose (you totally killed it, my friend!), and everything in between, I am having a fabulous time following along. We are WDW vets, but have our first DL trip planned for August of this year. Your pics and narrative have me so very excited for our family's trip!

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now; hang in there as you sort out selling your home and getting ready for a new school year. I understand completely, as I'm a former teacher and early childhood administrator. I get the stress of end of summer, family, work, and home, but selfishly, I'm really looking forward to your next TR installment.

Seriously, thank you. This trip was so much fun and my favorite moments were the quiet, unplanned moments. I really feel like we had even more fun the 2nd half of the trip, so the best may be yet to come!

My plate is overflowing. Did I mention my best para quit? It's a great thing for her and I'm happy for her, but just another little pile on my plate. I'm not going back to school until my first contracted day and the trip report is written and the pictures are pulled, so shouldn't be any delay... other than that whole moving thing...

 

[BrerMama]

Day 4
One Day I’ll Know How Far I’ll Go​

You know what one of the best things about Fairfield Inn Anaheim is? There’s a Panera right in front… which means ordering rapid pickup when Dan wants a little more in the morning. He even went and got it and said it added no more than 600 steps to his day. I just liked my blueberry muffin.

​

We got to the gates that morning about 7:20. Since it was a grad night, the plan was to hit California Adventure right away and then move to Disneyland for the rest of the day. I really wanted to see fireworks from Main Street this night (because I wanted to get it done earlier in the week rather than later), so that was the main thing to get done that day.

​

As we were waiting in line to get in, I pulled up my Prime Now app and placed an order for more cold medicine. Just Mucinex, NyQuil, and cough drops. Obviously, this respiratory thing I had was not the end of any virus and it was only getting worse. I didn’t take notes on how many coughing fits I had, but I constantly had cough drops in my purse and would almost always have one in my mouth to suck on. I also took some form of cold medicine every 4 hours (including through the night because I could not sleep for more than 3 hours straight, so I’d take another dose when it was time). Honestly, it was fairly miserable but I think I made the best of it. I stayed hydrated and didn’t complain much, but it wore on me. [PS -- We came home on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. By the time we got home, I had no voice because all the coughing had ruined my throat. I pretty much communicated via text that weekend. That Tuesday as soon as the dr’s office opened, I was on the phone and had an appointment for 9:30 am. My doctor gave me steroids, codeine cough syrup, and a z-pac. And a week later… still coughing. Not as much, but still coughing. It’s probably allergies. But the steroids did restore my voice.] Anyway, second best thing about Fairfield is that the front desk signed for my delivery and then locked it up until I could pick it up later.

They let us into the CA about 7:30 again and Dan and Ches immediately followed the sign to ride Guardians in the stand by line. I booked a Radiator Springs Racers MaxPass; we really love that ride. I was sort of done with sitting around waiting for the rest of my family (while I was not feeling great on top of it) so I went to the little hub area and got some Photopass photos taken.

​

And then I went and sat outside Guardians and while I waited for them my hair turned gray and I lived three lives.

​

OK, maybe that’s a bit melodramatic but it took FOREVER for them to get through the queue and onto the ride. They thought they were in the first group on the ride, but I’d guess they were 3rd or 4th group. Just slow getting going that morning I guess.


When they finally got off the ride, I made everyone get in line for a Photopass photo with the little Buzz and Woody Cars at the entrance to Carsland because they are seriously too cute.

​

Next up, we took a spin on Maters and while we were in that line, I booked Indy.

​

Another ride on Racers later, and we were ready to leave the park.

​

On the way out, we noticed Lightning was there with a very short line so we hopped in line so Ches could get a picture with him for her friend. We did tend to meet characters while we were either entering or leaving a park. That just seemed an easier time to stop for us.

And with that I'm at my picture limit, so more soon... crossing over to Disneyland!​

 

[BrerMama]

We crossed over into Disneyland and walked onto Jungle Cruise with an even shorter line than we’d had the other evening (the line didn’t even go upstairs this time). We had a female skipper this time and either she wasn’t as funny as the first guy and/or I wasn’t as tired and I didn’t find it as funny.

​

By the time we had sailed the rivers of the world, we were able to use our Indy MaxPass and before we went into the temple, I had booked a Buzz fastpass. (Are you getting a feel for which rides we really like?) Went through the temple, came out and headed over to Tomorrowland.

Once we scanned into Buzz, I got Star Tours for Dan and Ches and got another Buzz for me. Did I mention I was getting tired of waiting around for them? I rode Star Tours the last time we were in a Disney park but it made me seriously nauseous and I didn’t think it was the smartest choice for me.

By the time we got off that first Buzz ride with all three of us, we were getting hungry. Since we were in Tomorrowland, I suggested Pizza Planet. Dan and I both had the chicken fusilli -- very good -- and Ches tried the burger pizza. She said it was fine and then we all shared an alien dessert. Because cute.

​

When we first got our food there was nowhere to sit in the restaurant but just as we were getting frustrated with the lack of seating, they opened the “outdoor” seating that’s next to the Space Mountain queue. We were the only people out there for a long time and it was actually quite relaxing.

After lunch, they were off to Star Tours and I rode Buzz.

​

Before we separated, we decided to meet in front of the big ball that’s in front of the AstroOrbiter. I was done quite a bit before them, so I sat there and waited. Once I was sure they had scanned into Star Tours, I booked Big Thunder, but when I was sitting there waiting, I got a notification that Big Thunder had gone down and it had converted to a MultiExperience Pass.

And then strangely it let me book another MaxPass for Big Thunder for an almost immediate return time. It worked for me.

When they came off the ride, I told them we could immediately go on Big Thunder so we headed over there,

​

then used our MEP on Haunted Mansion since it’s practically right next door. Somewhere in this time frame, I booked a Hyperspace Mountain MaxPass for later in the day.

​

You know, I forgot the other big thing we wanted to do this day. Ches was wearing her Blue Skies and Sunshine Guaranteed shirt and her Tiana ears, so she wanted to meet Tiana. The times listed on the app were strange -- like 12:00 to 12:05, but we walked by at 12:20 and saw Tiana getting off the riverboat and realized she comes out and rides the riverboat. Her next time up was 2 pm and it was only about 1 pm and Dan was getting a headache. When I’d gone to my doctor with a 3 day long migraine in April, she’d told me that I should try drinking a regular coke as soon as I felt a headache coming on, so I told Dan he should try it. We had wandered over to Fantasyland to get one so he grabbed that and I got a frozen lemonade (really can’t remember if Ches had anything) and we sat down in the Red Rose Tavern seating area to take a break.

While we were sitting there, we started discussing what was left to do in the park, if we should leave after seeing Tiana, where we were going to eat dinner. Somehow we decided to eat a dinner at Carnation Cafe to waste a little bit more time and I was able to get a reservation on the app for around 5 pm. Which meant we were now committed to staying in the park.

When we finished up there, we went over to sit next to the riverboat with Dan asking a ton of questions about when Tiana came out and what she did and Ches and I got a little annoyed with him because we really did not know the answers. We just saw the time on the app, saw her on the boat and made some inferences. Once the boat left about 1:45 pm, we went ahead and went into the riverboat waiting area (which had nicer benches available) and sat around until we we saw Tiana heading toward the riverboat.

Tiana went right up the stairs to the second floor, where there is a little meet and greet area set aside. We quickly boarded and Ches was the second person to meet her and it was very sweet. First Tiana noticed her ears and then she noticed the shirt and then she figured out Ches was a big fan. It was cute. And we got a ride on the Riverboat, something I’m not sure I’ve ever done.

And with that, I'm at my limit for pictures. I'm posting this a little early because tomorrow I'm heading up to see my parents as well as an aunt and uncle that I haven't seen in several years. Eventually my family will be at my parents and from there, we're heading to Kansas City for a few nights. Our list includes Dave and Buster's (my husband's favorite place in the world) and IKEA (because where else do you go when you're moving to a new home?). Anyway, we get back from KC and move the next day. I do have internet being hooked up at the new place the day we move, but who knows how long it will be until I am able to sit and update this? I really, really hope it's not more than a week because the homebody, introvert in me wants some downtime before I go back to work, but we'll see... Anyway, thanks for reading along and hanging in there with me. I'll be back as soon as possible.​