[twist1980]

Cast of Characters!
Myself (25) Been to Disneyland more times than I can count
Boyfriend- Will (29) First trip to Disneyland
Sister (19)- Bethany (Several trips to DL (last trip was 8 yrs ago, but went to WDW this summer, never been to DCA)
Mom (50) Patti- Last visit to DL was 10 yrs. ago, but went to DCA with me two years ago.
Step-Dad (53)- Kelly: Last trip to DL was 10 yrs. ago, never been to DCA.


Pictures:
http://joysdisneytrip.dell.shutterfly.com/action

So let me start with the background of the trip. A few years ago my Mom mentioned that she was turning 50 the same year as Disneyland. I sat and thought about it for a minute and an idea was born! I brought it up to my family around Thanksgiving of last year and they all seemed up for it. I decided that it would be more fun if she didn’t know about the trip at all. So I arranged for her to have a week off of work and on her birthday I told her that her present from me was a plane ticket to stay with my aunt (who lives in Huntington Beach) for a week. She flew out on Friday the 9th thinking her entire trip consisted of staying with her sister. Thus begins my part of the trip report!



Tuesday, December 13th. (Travel and Downtown Disney)
Will and I got up at 3:00 a.m. to finish last minute packing and to get ready. Got to the airport around 4:30 or so and took off at 6:30 a.m. We got to Orange County at about 11:00 and took Super Shuttle to the DL Hotel (only $10 pp, not bad). When we got to the hotel to check in Goofy was out front greeting guests, I thought that was a nice touch (he was also out when we were leaving). We checked in and as I figured, our room wasn’t quite ready. I was pleased to find out that my Step-dad and Mom’s room was connected to ours even though they weren’t checking in until the next day. So we left our bags and off to DtD for us!

Both Will and I were dying to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and so our first stop of the day was at the AMC theatre. We both loved it and as an added bonus it took up most of the time before our room was ready! We did a little window shopping and I showed Will the entrance to DL and DCA and then called the hotel and found out that our room was ready! Our room was in the Sierra tower on the sixth floor. We had a lovely view of the parking lot, but I knew that was what we would have. Sierra has the furthest walk, but I think it is the prettiest area. The waterfalls are awesome, I wish I had taken pictures! We were both pretty tired so we took a short nap. When we woke up both of us were starving as we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning. We were both feeling ultra-picky so we spent a while browsing the menus at Hooks Pointe and all the DtD restaurants. We finally decided on Naple’s and got in line. We only had to wait about five minutes even though the place was packed. The outside patio was a little less crowded and they had heat lamps so we decided to eat out there. I’m always cold, but I actually felt fine with the heat lamps. We ordered calamari as a starter and a calzone to share. The calamari was pretty good, but I wasn’t a fan of the dipping sauce, as it was a bit spicy for me. When we got our calzone we were surprised at how small it was. Luckily between the two bread baskets we ate (yes, we were starving at the beginning of the meal) and the calamari it actually ended up being the perfect size. Otherwise I wouldn’t recommend splitting one! The calzone was delicious and they made it perfectly despite our substitutions and special instructions!

After that Will wanted to explore the World of Disney store a bit more and then we wandered back to the DL Hotel. We did a bit of exploring around the hotel grounds, checked out the pool and all that and then it was off to bed. After all we had to be up early to go to DL!


Day Two, December 14th (Disneyland)
Today it was just Will and I. We woke up bright and early so that we could be at the gate by 8:30 at the latest (park opening was 9). We stopped at La Brea Bakery (short line, only two people in front of us) and got pastries and juice and off to DL! We got in to DL at 8:30 and spent the first half hour browsing the shops on Main Street and then waiting for the rope to drop. Our first stop was Tomorrowland to get FP’s for Space Mountain. Once we got those we went to the VMK booth outside Innoventions. For those of you who don’t know, VMK (Virtual Magic Kingdom), is an interactive game based on the Disney parks and I’m totally addicted to it. I had vouchers from the game to turn in, plus a voucher for a free tour! Will and I got signed up for the 1:30 tour.

We hit Buzz Lightyear, which we both loved. Then it was time for Space Mt. FP’s! I loved being back on Space, I missed it! The tunnel at the beginning kind of made me dizzy though! As soon as we got off, we got more FP’s! We headed off to Adventureland and got FP’s for Indy (we booked through AAA, so we could have multiple FP’s). While we waited for that we did Pirates and HMH. I love HM and I love Nightmare Before Christmas, but I really didn’t care for HMH. Too many black lights and it just wasn’t the same! Then it was time for a snack stop at Bengal BBQ. I’ve never eaten there before and had heard good things! I wasn’t disappointed! I got the chicken skewer, Will got a beef skewer and a jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel. Everything was great, I just wish I had tried the bacon wrapped asparagus. Oh well, there is always next time!

We did a few more rides and then it was close to time for our VMK tour. The tour was great, mostly because of our fantastic guide, Albert (yes, we left comments at City Hall). We caught dinner after that at Rancho del Zocalo. I had a burrito and Will had tacos. It was okay, nothing great, but it filled us up.

We did one last spin on Thunder Mt. and it was time to get back to the Hotel. My sister and step-dad were arriving at the hotel around five and my cousin was picking us all up to go surprise my mom! When we got to my cousins, my mom was already there and she was shocked when we all walked in! I did the old Super Bowl spiel: “Patti, you just turned 50, where are you going next?” And she answered correctly. We filled her in on all the details and then we stayed and had dinner and spent some time with my cousins, aunt and uncle.

[twist1980]

Day Three, December 15th (Disneyland)
Early Entry day! We all woke up way too early for vacation and left the hotel by 7:30. Stopped for coffee and pastries at the Coffee shop at the DL Hotel. I’m kind of a coffee snob and I really didn’t care for the latte I got, but I drank it anyways cause I needed some caffeine! We did great during EE. We did the Matterhorn twice (once on each side), Space three times, Buzz once and Star Tours once (Will and I sat that one out and he ate at Club Buzz). I highly recommend their breakfast. We paid $7.50 for his breakfast and got eggs, bacon, potatoes, a muffin and a small orange juice. It was a lot of food too!

We got another FP for Space and headed to the other end of the park and did Splash and Thunder Mts. Then we split up and the boys went to the Frontierland shooting gallery while us girls did some shopping. We met up at 11:20 at the Blue Bayou for our 11:50 reservation. We got seated before some of the 11:30 reservations since we were so early and we got a seat by the water. The food was okay, my pork loin wasn’t as good as it was last time. The calamari sauce was good though. I don’t eat at the BB for the food though, I eat there for the ambiance. After lunch we did some more rides and then Will and I went back to take a nap (but of course I had to grab a Dole Whip on the way out). When we got back, Will and I grabbed dinner at the Village Haus. I had a burger and he had a turkey sandwich. We were starving so they both tasted fantastic!

We caught a little of the Christmas parade and then staked out our fireworks spots about thirty minutes before the show. We sat at the north end of the hub (the end closest to the fireworks). I’m pretty short, but I found a garbage can to sit on so even when everyone stood, I could see well. And I wasn’t blocking anyone as we were in front of the planter box (at least I hope I wasn’t blocking anyone). The show was AMAZING! I had bought the soundtrack several months prior and to see the show along with the music was great! I loved the fire effects during the Indy portion! And the cannonballs during Pirates! Words can’t even describe my excitement. I was especially impressed by the fact that the fireworks were going off all around the hub, not just from the castle. Then it was time for the snow. We didn’t have snow right above us, but it was fun to watch anyways. We sat for about ten minutes to try to avoid the crunch on the way out, but it was still pretty crowded.

[twist1980]

Day Four, December 16th (California Adventure)
We stopped at La Brea Bakery again, and there was no line. This time we had full breakfast, which was pretty good. Once we got to DCA our first stop was FP’s for Soarin’ as the line was already pretty long. Then it was off to Paradise Pier where we decided to get in line for Screamin’. The line was only about five minutes long.

Then we did all the Paradise Pier rides. My mom was so freaked out on the Sun Wheel! We all laughed so hard at her that our stomachs hurt when we got off (see my picture link). We got lunch at Pizza Oom Mow Mow. I really liked my BBQ chicken pizza, but Will’s Canadian bacon wasn’t very good. My family got McDonalds…oh excuse me, Burger Invasion! Then we headed towards Bugs Life (I love watching people doing that show for the first time). Everyone loved that one. We headed over to ToT which I was especially excited for. I missed it when I was at MGM, so it was my first ride. There was no line what so ever, so we jumped right on. It was fun and I loved looking over the park before we dropped, but it seemed sort of tame to me. Maybe I’m just getting more used to scary rides…who knows!

We did one last run on Screamin’ and then headed to Grizzly River Run before we left for our nap. We planned to save this for before break time because we knew we would all be soaked and it was too cold to walk around in wet clothes! So of course we got soaked, but we were leaving, so who cares!? Just a tip, if you ever see the Miner 49ers outside of GRR, you have to stop and watch them. They are extremely talented. We spent a while watching both on this day and Sunday. We walked out though the Grand Californian, I just love the lobby there, it is gorgeous. When we got back, I needed a nap. This trip made me feel really old. All my other trips my best friend and I would be at the park from open to close every day with no breaks! How did we do it?

We woke up and we all decided to head back to DCA, do a few rides and then catch the Electrical Parade. I also thought it would be a good idea to head over to DL and try to catch the 10:30 Fantasmic, since it was Friday and I didn’t want to deal with the crowds on Saturday (turned out to be the best decision ever). Then we all separated to get snacks and get ready for the Electrical Parade. Will and I got corn dogs from Corn Dog Castle. I have never waited so long for food in my life! And there were only two people in line before us! Seems they were making each corn dog after it was ordered! Wow! But the corn dogs were excellent, so we didn’t let it worry us too much! We got great seats for the EP, we were right in front of the winery. As you all can imagine, it was a little tough getting out of there, but oh well! As we walked across the esplanade, the fireworks were going off and they were pumping the music out there.

We entered as the snow was starting and I was crossing my fingers that all the people would leave and not go to Fantasmic! The train station wasn’t full at all and when we got to NOS, we were pleased to see that there were still river front spots open. We got front row spots and my sister and I went off to get dinner as we were the only ones who had seen Fantasmic, so it didn’t matter to much if we missed some. We spent almost the entire half hour standing in line at the Stage Door Café. I’m not sure I will ever sit right along the river ever again. While we had a great view of everything, the mist from the water screens sprayed us and all I could think of was how much duck poop and other stuff was in the water…yuck! The show got over and Will, Bethany and I rushed over to Splash. Let me just tell you that I have never gotten wet on Splash. Usually I just get misted or a few drops. I got SOAKED! My whole right leg was completely soaked. The girl in front of me was the same way. I guess that makes up for all my dry rides in the past!

We got off at about 11:20 and ran to Thunder Mt. There was about a fifteen minute wait, which shocked us because even during the busiest parts of the day it had been ten at the most! By the time we got done we ran to Tomorrowland and did Buzz. We ran up to the Space Mt. line at about 11:55 and they let us get in line! There were only about ten people let in line after us. The only thing I didn’t really like was that they opened up the indoor line, so we spend twenty minutes in cramped quarters. I had forgotten how tight those hallways are! They used to be more themed with more tv screens and you could see the ride as well. We all felt a little claustrophobic. By the time we got off it was about 12:30 and we were so exhausted. When we got back we thought about maybe setting the alarm for 5:00 (so we could be in the park at 7 for EE). That thought lasted about two seconds and we decided not to set an alarm at all. We needed some sleep

[twist1980]

Day Five, December 17th (Disneyland)
We got woken up by Mom calling us. She was worried about the park hitting capacity and us not being able to get in as it was the first day of most schools Christmas break. So we got up and got to the park about ten. We were meeting my cousin and his son at 10:30 and all of us were separated so my sister and I headed off to grab Dole Whips for breakfast (I eat so healthy on vacation).

My mom called to say that my cousin was running late so Bethany and I met up with Will to grab fastpasses. The park was a NUTHOUSE! We went over to Space and our FP time was 6:00 p.m. Yikes! We then ran to get FP’s for Thunder Mt., Buzz and Indy. After we did those we were hungry so we hit the Hungry Bear. I always have to eat there. For some reason they are the best bacon cheeseburgers in the world. I think it is just because I’m usually tired and starving when I get there!

The park was getting to be a little too much for us so we decided to do some wandering and catch some entertainment. We were just in time to catch the Barbershop Quartet. I just love them. There is one guy that I recognized from previous trips, so it was nice to see a familiar face. I looked at the entertainment schedule and saw that the Laughing Stock Co. was performing over in front of the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland. We had caught one of their shows the day before and we laughed harder than we had in a long time! We also caught Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, they were great and the music was fantastic!

We decided that we wanted to watch the rest of the Laughing Stock performances that day, so we would grab FP’s for Thunder Mt., watch a show, ride Thunder Mt, grab another FP and so on. At the second show that we watched, Will got picked to play the town drunk! Oh how I laughed! He has an infectious laugh and he got the guy playing Clem laughing pretty hard! It was great. Then as we walked around people kept coming up to him saying “I’ll drink to that!” Which was his line. At the next show they picked him again (he must be an easy target). This time he was a bear who had to roar and say “I’m hungry.” I got some great pictures and I highly recommend this show to everyone. They improv a lot of the show, and each show is different, kind of a continuing story throughout the day. They were the highlight of our trip!

After their last show we decided to leave since it was way too crowded. We gave our FP’s for Space to a couple on the way out who looked like they didn’t have a clue what to do with them. That kind of frustrated me because they were out of FP’s for the day, I wish we would have given them to someone who really appreciated them! We decided to have dinner at the Lost Bar at the DL Hotel as I felt kind of like snacky food. We also wanted to catch up on the football scores from the day. I got nachos and they were really good.

[twist1980]

Day Six, December 18th (DL and DCA) Final Day
Sad, sad day. We had to get up and pack so we could check out before we went to the park (check-out is at 11, our shuttle was picking us up at 3:35). We spent the day mostly shopping. Bought souvenirs and got our picture taken in front of the castle (bought the pic). We did Small World Holiday. It was cute.

Took Will through ToonTown and rode Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin. We then spent the rest of the day at DCA. I had been craving a chili dog (what did I say earlier, I eat terrible on vacation)! So we headed to Award Wieners. Will got a Sicilian dog which was yummy. It was an Italian sausage in a bun with marinara and cheese. We also got fudge which was delicious. I highly recommend the cookies and cream fudge. On the way back to the hotel we bought some more stuff at World of Disney and then had fun trying to cram it in our suitcases.

Then it was off to the airport. We got there pretty early and sat in the bar to watch all the football highlights. FYI, airport bars are a great place to people watch! We finally made it home after missing our connecting flight in San Fran due to inclement weather, running from terminal to terminal trying to find a flight and then sitting in a long line after our luggage didn’t quite make it to Seattle (United had it delivered to our house the next day, so brownie points for them).

I’m sad I’m home, but I’m happy I have all of you great DC members to share my experience with! Now its time to plan another trip! Feel free to check out my pictures!

PICTURES:
http://joysdisneytrip.dell.shutterfly.com/action

[Princess Tessa]

WOW! You did this report all in one sitting What a wonderful sounding trip!!!
You sure know how to do it!
I love the Laughing Stock shows you watched, and got picked on those are SO much fun! Gosh I love Disneyland

Ok, now I have to go look at all your pics! Thanks for the great TR!

[jo-jo]

I haven't read your TR yet (saving it for walking on the treadmill), but I wanted to thank you for doing all in one swoop. I love reading these TR but so disappointed when I have to wait for the "next day". Of course when I was writing mine, people got old waiting for me to finish.

[Andrea]

Thanks for the TR!

Ah... DISNEYLAND.

[Maria]

Thanks for the wonderful TR and the great pictures!

[tiggerlover1971]

sounds like you all had a wonderful time . Someday I wish to go to Disneyland

[tinkerbell]

I have not been to DL in years ..before California Adventures opened .. the way you write about it, makes me want to go :)