W's go West, TR Day 10 DISNEYLAND!!!

[RobynPrincess]

We were up early, well I say we.... Jane had been up for quite sometime already, in fact she hadn't really slept at all... She said she's never gonna accuse me of exaggerating Sy's snoring ever again Ooops! Welcome to my world I managed to sleep through most of it as I'm so used to it.


We were soon up and ready to go, and whaddyaknow? It was POURING with rain. Fun. Never rains in southern California.... apparently.... and it was COLD. Way colder than San Francisco. Grrrr. I of course had a plan of attack, Jane had just 1 day in Disney and I was determined to make it a good one (kinda ulterior motive in that I'd love her to come to WDW one time with me). So off we went to California Adventure. Bit of an issue with tickets so we had to back to the front desk and back again. First stop was the shop to get some plastic ponchos. Just what I need, more ponchos! I have them for WDW and always take them away with us being seeing as you know, it never rains in Southern California I didn't think I'd need them... But I was pleased to get discount in the shop from being a DVC member.


Next stop was to guest services to ask about a DAS, this didn't go well. I always take my last one with me so I had my WDW one even though in DL, but the CM didn't want to know. Said there was nothing they offered to help me, it was only for children with cognitive behavioural disorders. I tried explaining exactly why I needed it, but was told tough luck basically. I said I wouldn't be able to ride anything because I couldn't take the risk of being stuck in the queues but the CM really didn't seem to care, I got the distinct feeling he thought I was trying it on. I'm ashamed to say I burst into tears, I won't go into all the issues here but the DAS is something which gives me a peace of mind, and I personally am glad to wait the queue times not in a queue as I have no problem in waiting but its the panic of being trapped and not being able to get out (there is no quick exit when you're in a wheelchair!) which is a big problem.


We left and stood outside debating what to do as I wouldn't be able to go on anything with a wait time. Sy went back in to speak to the guy again but came back out again having got no further, I don't think he expected to but I think as my hubby he didn't like seeing me so upset. It really put a dampener to the start of our day, I just had to accept that I would be waiting around for Sy and Jane a lot today and get on with it. We decided to go and get some breakfast in Starbucks. Sy and Jane went to queue while I sat at a table. Sy got what would become his favourite drink of the trip which was a Valencia Orange cooler. I got a diet coke and we had some pastries.


Back outside we headed straight to Soarin' over California, today was the first day it had reopened after a long refurb so we thought we would head there early to try and avoid a long wait. Turns out there was only a 5 minute wait so I was able to ride no problem!








I dunno if it was just me, but the ride felt ever so slightly slower than the WDW version? Anyone else ever noticed?


We got some fastpasses for ToT and then went on a ride around on the little Trolley car





We went to ride Ariel as there was no wait time, half of the shells were going round empty! The rain was really keeping people away, so while it was cold and annoying, it was a relief that I was able to ride stuff that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise, every cloud has a silver lining


We hung about for a little bit waiting for our fastpass and then headed inside to ToT.








Jane LOVED this ride yay! We made our way over to the front of the park and passes Monsters Inc so we went on that too, again as it had no wait lol. It was a really cute little ride.








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We then popped back to the hotel quickly before making our way to DL! We decided to get the monorail over, we arrived just as one was pulling away and the next would take ages to come so we kinda regretted, it also meant we didn't go in the front entrance (I didn't realise it dropped guests off in Tomorrowland).


First up was Space Mountain. We didn't have a problem with me riding things in the DL park as the queue lines aren't wheelchair friendly so you get a return time as standard. We went over to SM and spoke to the CM outside who explained how it worked as I wasn't 100% sure. His name badge said he was from the UK but he had such a broad American accent I asked him about it, turned out he wanted to work on the Jungle cruise so he had to learn to speak with an American accent early on and it had stuck! He was really sweet and sent us right on the ride without having to wait! What a babe! However, turns out I did not enjoy this version of SM. I was sure I had read online that it was tamer than the WDW SM, omg! I thought I was gonna throw up big style :-/ I didn't speak for ages as I was too scared to open my mouth in case vomit came out BLEUGH!


It was lunchtime now so we went in search of food. I wasn't sure I was up for food but I definitely needed a cold drink! We made our way to New Orleans square. Jane wanted to try a corn dog so we went there as the map said they sold them, sadly it turns out it wasn't really worth it as she wasn't keen lol. She was glad to have tried it though! I went for the staple chicken nuggets in the end. The most amazing thing happened while we sat there, the sun came out! WOO! It felt so good to feel some warmth.


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*off topic slightly* The other day I was looking through old photo albums and I came across one of my Papa's of when he and my nanny went to the West Coast. I found a pic of him sitting right where we were sat having lunch! I was very close to my Papa so it was heart-warming to think he had been there right where I was but years before (it was before I was even born). Obviously it was lovely seeing Disneyland so many years ago and seeing things that are no longer there now and some that still are! But it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside seeing him sat right where we had been. Anyway I digress...


First ride after lunch was the Haunted Mansion. I really wanted to try it out and see the differences with it being themed slightly differently. I thought it was really good though in my heart, WDW still does it better I was shocked that in the stretching room, we did actually move!


The only pic I managed to take while we were in there lol





Afterwards we went over to Splash. We got a return time and waited nearby, went to the restroom and chilled out in the sun. It didn't take long for our time to come around (I was very surprised all trip at how short the waits were for the rides!).








Poor Sy hahahahaha


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He seemed ok about it though...


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Ooops, Sy's got no face...

 

[RobynPrincess]

Afterwards it was time for the parade! Woo! We found the disabled viewing area and grabbed a seat. Weirdly just before it started we were asked to move a few rows back for another family to sit in front. I didn't really understand why and it wasn't obvious. I was a bit miffed as we had got there nice and early to make sure we got a good spot. By that point the rows behind us had filled up so it wasn't like we just had to move back a single row but a few rows, they didn't ask everyone to move back a row each, just us who were in the front row had to go near the back. Sy went to find some funnel cake and a drink while we waited.


The parade was good though I thought it was weird the way Anna and Elsa had their own parade before the actual parade, they came along on their own about 10 mins before the rest.








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Ducks were obviously not as excited to see the parade as we were!


Afterwards we went to ride Big Thunder. The sun was fully out now so we could lose the layers and get a proper picture of our t-shirts











Ride was good but still not as good as Disneyland Paris. I liked the scene with the broken rail-track though, I thought that was really well done.


We then made our way over to Pirates which was another fab ride, I thought it was better here than anywhere else!


Next up was Jungle cruise. A classic. Was really cool seeing some of the differences to the WDW version, especially as I wasn't expecting them!





We got a return time for Indiana Jones but there was a little bit of a wait so we decided to head to GS to talk to them there about the DAS, see if talking to a different CM got the same reply (in the mean time I had been online on my phone and couldn't find anywhere it said that it was ONLY for children with cognitive behavioural problem). I explained my concerns for when we were over at CA, well he gave me a DAS no question! He said the rides at DL I could use the wheelchair pass but for when I went over to CA I would need the DAS and gave it to me. He asked what ride we would like to go on next as he could put a return time on our tickets right away. We hadn't planned on going back over to CA today but he tempted us with Radiator Springs and before we knew it we were heading out of DL and into CA! How nice was that?! He had to cancel the Indiana Jones time to get the RS time but we didn't mind!


We had to wait for a little bit for the time so we grabbed some food nearby, we went for the Mexican counter. Sy and Jane went to get food again while I grabbed a table. I dunno what the problem was, there wasn't much of a queue but it took 20 minutes to get the food, and then they got it wrong! But we didn't have time for them to fix it. The food was pretty good. We had to shovel it down quickly cause of timings to get back into DL for the fireworks and Fantasmic.





Once finished we made our way to RSR. Wow. We all loved it! Now I know why the wait times were so long! Its so well thought out and themed. It didn't matter that none of us had seen the film (well technically I had but I don't remember any of it)


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Afterwards we dashed back over to DL for the fireworks, we arrived on Main Street and got a spot ready to watch them. What a waste of time they were! About 5 minutes of fireworks! We needn't have rushed for them. We then made our way to get a spot for Fantasmic. We were in the disabled section off to one side so we didn't have a great view but it was a good show. We were early so we had to wait for a little while but it was worth it. Just a shame it was really cold again so we were freezing while we waited. Jane got some candy floss while we waited.


I thought the show was awesome and I agree with everyone else who says its better in DL than WDW. I loved the Peter Pan ship scene!











We waited for a few minutes once the show had finished for the crowds to disappear somewhat before making our way back to the hotel via DTD. Jane did some packing and sorting of her things as she would be leaving the next day boooo! We were so knackered we fell into bed at 12:30am and slept right through (even Jane did!).

 

[Disneymadhouse]

Aww, such a shame you got a rubbish CM first thing! Glad it worked out in the end!

Claire

 

[Chilly]

Deffo agree on Fantasmic is better at DL.