Which way to Disneyland? TR (comparison update 7/26)

[tmkinney]

Excited you started! The girls looks so cute... Looking forward to more!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Congrats on the job! I know you're excited about that! Will that affect your December plans? I can't wait to hear you compare the two! This is going to be such a fun trip report! Love the pics so far. The girls look tickled to be at the beach! Those swimsuit covers are so cute!

How did the last day of school go for your oldest DD? Did she get to tell all of her friends goodbye. I hope the gift warmed over the teacher.

I'm uploading pics today so I can start my May trip report. I got more pics than I thought. I left the camera behind a lot of the time because of the rain. It rained every single day! It was crazy! I'll send you a link as soon as I get started.

Meanwhile I can't wait for more over here!!!

 

[Sarah84]

Glad you had a great trip and a great start to the trip report . Coronado island looks lovely, i must make sure we make time to visit when we go to SD in september. Look forward to reading more.
Congratulations on the teaching job

 

[miprender]

Yeah you started. Can't wait to read more!

 

[pmama]

You started...

Thanks for reading!

DD5 looks so cute in her coverup and sunglasses. Little Miss Hollywood

yep, those are some High School Musical sunglasses she picked out. Big huh?

I'm glad you started! The beach looks great!

Your girls look like little fashionistas at the airport

Thanks, the beach was great.

L-O-V-E the Disney clothes...Disney backpack...swimsuit...and they don't even know! hehehe!

its like little hints.

I thought the same thing when I looked at the pictures. LOL DD5 was in disney princess outfit down to the shoes. DD8 had on a Hannah Montana outfit.

Excited you started! The girls looks so cute... Looking forward to more!

I always love when you post. Glad to see you're still here. Thanks so much for reading and posting.

Congrats on the job! I know you're excited about that! Will that affect your December plans? I can't wait to hear you compare the two! This is going to be such a fun trip report! Love the pics so far. The girls look tickled to be at the beach! Those swimsuit covers are so cute!

How did the last day of school go for your oldest DD? Did she get to tell all of her friends goodbye. I hope the gift warmed over the teacher.

I'm uploading pics today so I can start my May trip report. I got more pics than I thought. I left the camera behind a lot of the time because of the rain. It rained every single day! It was crazy! I'll send you a link as soon as I get started.

Meanwhile I can't wait for more over here!!!

Well if all goes well I plan to still do the December trip. My teacher job this year is a job share. I will do afternoon while DD5 is in afternoon kindergarten. I will have to teach full time for the first 5 weeks while the other teacher is on maternity leave. I've already asked her if she'd be willing to swap and teach full time the week I am gone. My husband's job is kind of in a scary spot now a days so that would be the only thing that could get in the way.

DD5 was just fine with saying goodbye to everyone on her last day. In fact her teacher allowed her to take pictures and spend extra time saying goodbye. Her teacher loved the personalized Tinkerbell watch. In fact, she made a video of the year and the last picture was of her and DD8 hugging w/ her new watch on.

Glad you had a great trip and a great start to the trip report . Coronado island looks lovely, i must make sure we make time to visit when we go to SD in september. Look forward to reading more.
Congratulations on the teaching job

Yes, it is definitely worth the visit. There is a ferry that you can take from downtown San Diego to Coronado too.

Yeah you started. Can't wait to read more!

Thanks so much for joining me again.

 

[pmama]

Well we just had DD's 5th birthday party w/ friends at Chuck E Cheese. She had a great time and boy was that the longest birthday ever. It started w/ her party at preschool before we left on vacation. Then Disneyland, then Chuck E Cheese w/ friends and family. Let's hope she doesn't expect that next year.




We were up bright and early for our day at Sea World. I wanted to be there before opening. Granita thought I was crazy for wanting to leave at 8 when it didn't open until 9. All my Disney folk would find that normal. We were up early for our nice continental breakfast, then off to Sea World. Here is a picture of DD5 standing next to our rental PT Cruiser by our hotel. I loved all the beautiful flowers in Coronado.

We missed a couple exits even with the GPS and got to Sea World just before opening! It was a sure change for me. I was still in the commando mode but it was totally unnecessary. The park was almost empty first thing in the morning and many attractions were not yet open. We visited the Clydesdale horses then enjoyed the arctic polar bears, etc. (Granita is supposed to be copying her pictures for me. She took way more pictures.)

Granita had not done any sort of roller coaster since I was a young teenager and she got sick on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I have no idea how we talked her onto Journey to Atlantis but we did.

Great ride. It starts as a log ride like Splash Mountain. Then it takes you onto tracks and becomes a roller coaster with a couple of big dips. It is definitely more extreme than BTMR. The girls loved it too! It was hazy and not real warm that morning so we were glad we had ponchos. We wear our ponchos proudly. We may look stupid getting on the wet rides but we are the envy of many getting off.

We then went to the Shumu show.

The girls were in awe. We had to get our ponchos out again as we ended up in the top of the soak zone. We were glad we had them on. I was amazed by the amount of water and the projectory those whales could achieve.
In my opinion the Shamu show is worth the price of admission alone. I love it. It is amazing.

We then saw the Seasame Street 4D show.

It is one of the best 4D shows I've seen. Great illusions.

The girls were very entertained by the Sea Lion Live show. So funny.

Granita was getting very tired and wanted to return to the hotel for a nap. We had lunch and I convinced her to go through the Shark Encounter and penguin exhibit before leaving. The shark encounter was amazing. You go in a tunnel under a shark tank. AMAZING!

On our way out we had overpriced soft-serve icecream in cute whale bowls. At least we got to keep our bowls.

Granita was a little more tired because she and her friend had walked all over Coronado the day before while we played at the beach. We headed back to the hotel with plans to return for the evening show and fireworks. So far we had had a fabulous time in Sea World. It was a good time to leave right before 3 p.m. It was getting crazy crowded.

Up Next: Swim time at Glorietta Bay in Cornado!

 

[Me&3]

Have you ever gone to Sea World in Orlando? I was just wondering how they compared to each other? Can Wait to see and hear more.

 

[Princess_K]

Great update! Sea World looks like a lot of fun. I've always wanted to go, but never had a chance to

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

GREAT update!!! Love all the pics. That is so sweet that the teacher ended with that picture. I hope our paths cross in December. A bunch of us are going at the same time. I hear there's a free dining promo going around too that lasts through Thanksgiving. We didn't get that one. If we do I might add a week to the Nov/Dec trip. I can't resist a free dining offer. I finally started my May trip report just a few minutes ago. Come by and check it out when ya get a chance. It's just an introduction right now but I hope to start adding more tomorrow. Here's the link...

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2190891

 

[alan_renfroe]

Oh wow...great update! Sea World looks amazing!!! I would LOVE that ride! Also, I love the name "Granita!" We always called my grandmother "Gran."

 

[Dizneydaz]

Glad you had such a great time at SW! I too love it. We used to have AP but haven't for a few years. When gas got so expensive I had to rethink the $60 in gas it cost to drive there. But your TR reminds me of how much I enjoy it. Maybe we'll have to get AP again this summer.

I know what you mean about the Shamu show-did your eyes tear up during the show? Mine always do.

Waiting your next update.

 

[lmillercrew]

Your trip looks like it is off to a good start! Coronado sounds like a beautiful place.

 

[tmkinney]

Great pics! Makes me want to do Sea World when we go to Disney again (which we may finally be planning the next trip for early next year! )

 

[princess&her4princes]

Sea World looks like fun! I did the one in Orlando about 20 years ago and enjoyed it.....maybe on our next family trip....seems like the girls really enjoyed it!!

BTW, so happy to hear that DD5 had a nice birthday!!!!

 

[pmama]

Have you ever gone to Sea World in Orlando? I was just wondering how they compared to each other? Can Wait to see and hear more.

Nope, we always seem to be way too wrapped up w/ all things Disney while in Orlando.

Great update! Sea World looks like a lot of fun. I've always wanted to go, but never had a chance to

The shows at Sea World were great and I found Sea World to be just as clean and friendly as Disney.

GREAT update!!! Love all the pics. That is so sweet that the teacher ended with that picture. I hope our paths cross in December. A bunch of us are going at the same time. I hear there's a free dining promo going around too that lasts through Thanksgiving. We didn't get that one. If we do I might add a week to the Nov/Dec trip. I can't resist a free dining offer. I finally started my May trip report just a few minutes ago. Come by and check it out when ya get a chance. It's just an introduction right now but I hope to start adding more tomorrow. Here's the link...

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2190891

Yes, I always love reading your TRs. Free dining offers are amazing. I think that is one thing that really made Disneyland seem very different for us. Dining in general is just different.

Oh wow...great update! Sea World looks amazing!!! I would LOVE that ride! Also, I love the name "Granita!" We always called my grandmother "Gran."

Yep, I bet you would love that ride! What is funny about "Granita" is that she was originally going to be "Grandma Nita", but my oldest couldn't say the two seperately when she first started talking thus mom became, "Granita" and we all love it.

Glad you had such a great time at SW! I too love it. We used to have AP but haven't for a few years. When gas got so expensive I had to rethink the $60 in gas it cost to drive there. But your TR reminds me of how much I enjoy it. Maybe we'll have to get AP again this summer.

I know what you mean about the Shamu show-did your eyes tear up during the show? Mine always do.

Waiting your next update.

You are so lucky to live so close to all the magic and beauty California has to offer.

Your trip looks like it is off to a good start! Coronado sounds like a beautiful place.

I thought of you when I posted the picture of the shark. Sorry.

Great pics! Makes me want to do Sea World when we go to Disney again (which we may finally be planning the next trip for early next year! )

Yeah, hopefully it works out and I can start reading your next PTR! I'm now getting super excited for our December cruise. We only plan to do Magic Kingdom one day for MVMCP after the cruise but we'll stay 2-3 nights on sight and take in some extra magic. I'd like to check out all the hotels and see how they are decorated for Christmas.

Sea World looks like fun! I did the one in Orlando about 20 years ago and enjoyed it.....maybe on our next family trip....seems like the girls really enjoyed it!!

BTW, so happy to hear that DD5 had a nice birthday!!!!

The girls really did enjoy it. Infact, in my next installment DD8 will discover what she currently wants to be when she grows up.

 

[pmama]

So, we headed back to our hotel in Coronado which was just about 20 minutes away. One thing we really enjoyed was that the hotel had lemonade and cookies out from 3-5 p.m. We enjoyed some lemonade and home-made cookies before changing into our suits and sending Granita to bed for a nap. I really enjoyed the time the girls and I spent this afternoon. I was able to lounge in a chair while the girls played in the pool. They were the only kids in the pool for most of the time. I read my magazines and called DH. I had to be careful because my calls kept bouncing off a tower in Mexico while in Coronado.

For some reason I took just one picture of them swimming at this time.

I would have been able to avoid getting wet altogther except for the fact that DD8 thought it would be fun to teach DD5 how to swim. Despite my chastising DD5 kept throwing away her floaty and attempting to swim on her own. I had to act as a lifeguard and jump in to save her twice.

After a couple hours by the pool it was time to go get changed to return to Sea World for their evening show and fireworks. When we returned to the room Granita decided she was too tired to return so we wished her sweet dreams and some rest and headed out. I was a bit scared to be driving my girls around San Diego in a rental car on my own but I am proud to say we did just fine. (Thank God for GPS!) It was quite beautiful to drive over the Coronado bridge at night too. I wished I didn't always have to drive it so I could fully take it in.

When we returned the girls and I had not yet had dinner but most dining places were closing down. We were a little early so we walked through the Manatee exhibit and then I of course had to do the shark encounter one more time!

Well, would you like to know what this great mother fed her children for dinner this evening? A Churro. Yep, we wanted to get a good spot for the night Dolphin show so we each grabbed a long churro, (which by the way cost over $13 for 3). Terrible isn't it? In my defense our hotel always had free bananas and apples available so they ate an apple on the way.

We carried our churros into the stadium and got great spots right past the soak zone. There is no way I'm getting soaked at night. Alright you all, this show was EVEN MORE amazing than the Shamu show, if that is possible. Those dolphins move so fast. They would do something like triple flips each time they popped out. What was even more exciting is that everything was so synchronized that the music and lights would all be on time with the dolphins jumping out of the water. It's hard to get good pictures of this show. First because it is dark, second because those dolphins are so fast. But I have a great one coming up I can't wait to show you all.

First, here is one popping out of the water.

Then, here is a woman riding a dolphin super fast.

Now, here is a super neat one. At the end of the show I was determined to take a picture of the big fire balls kept erupting. I tried several times w/ no success. However, I was pretty sure I had gotten the last one. Then I heard the man behind me say to his wife, "WOW, did you see that? She was standing on top of the dolphin." I had been too focused on getting a picture and had missed that a trainer had been on top of the dolphins nose. So, I looked back at the picture and sure enough!!!

AMAZING!!

So, that night DD8 decided what she wants to be when she grows up. Drum roll please .................................................A Dolphin Trainer!!
Poor Granita missed an unbelievable show.

This was a great evening. The dolphin show was done about 30 minutes before fireworks were scheduled. So, the girls and I headed to the Seasame Street play area. First we did the Elmo flying fish. (Just like Dumbo). Cute ride though, every flying fish is a little different, made to look like Elmo in the face. DD8 was old enough to ride alone.

I climbed up the long netted area w/ the girls and played with them in the huge play feature thingamabob.

Then they enjoyed fun time on a huge bouncing play area.

Good times!

They closed the whole play area at 9 p.m., which was the same time that the fireworks were set to go off. The girls hurried to put their shoes back on as we heard the first firework go off. We ran with the handful of other families in the immediate area to get a good view of the fireworks. While the fireworks were nothing like Disney I enjoyed the perfect view we had with no crowds whatsoever. That certainly was different. I enjoyed that we could play all the way up until showtime without having to reserve our spot for an hour beforehand.

We made a couple pressed pennies on our way out and all agreed it was a fabulous evening. DD8 especially could not stop talking about the night dolphin show. In fact looking back at this day I would have to say it might be my favorite of all the days on our vacation. It was layed back, not rushed, yet we got so much done. We truly had a great time at Sea World. I also felt like we were able to do and see just about everything we wanted.

Up Next: San Diego Zoo

 

[dawnrose]

Very much enjoying your trip report. Looks like you are having a great time! And you're definitely making me think I need a gps. lol.

 

[DisDancerina]

Haha, that looked like it was so much fun!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

That's a great shot you caught of the fireballs and woman standing on the dolphin. So DD wants to train dolphins...DS wants to be a Paleontologist ever since he fell in love with dinosaurs. (Or a plastic surgeon...don't ask, lol)

A churro for dinner....my kids would be happy with that. Geez they're 1.00 at Costco...$14 for 3 of them at Sea World??? That's a little high. Those places rob people!

So are you guys still considering hanging at WDW the week before your cruise? What day does the cruise start? We leave on the 6th but I'm still hoping to get some sort of deal so we can extend the stay to 10 or 12 days.

 

[Princess_K]

A churro for dinner? There's definitely nothing wrong with that! It is vacation after all

The dolphin show looked awesome! That's great that you got a picture of the trainer standing on the dolphin's nose!