[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by Val32

Lovin' your TR Jess!!!!
Your room is just gorgeous and the view???? BREATHTAKING!!!!

You were above, SEPHORA, the cosmetics store?

even though it was cool there, Iam sure it was wayyyy better than our weather here! Blah!

what a nice trip with your dad! My parents are 40yrs older than me so we never had that "close connection".

Can't wait for more!!!

YUP, Sephora the cosmetics store. They have one in DtD there!

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by dancinDisney28

Love it so far! So your Sully picture...yeah I have the same one from that same day! Curious how close we were to each other in line that day, huh? I'll just die if you post a ride picture and we are on the same ride at the same time. Far fetched, I know, but it would still be kinda cool, yeah?

As much as I hate to say this, but I think that I brought the weather with me from home (San Francisco). It was overcast and rainy and cold when we left and when we got down there. But how great was it when it started to clear up and warm up a bit? Plus, the attendance wasn't bad either. Friday was great! It was like there was nobody there! Very similar to Saturday's numbers.

How funny! I BET we passed right by each other at some point during the weekend. Are you going to do a TR? I looked at all my 'ride photos' and I don't see anyone that would even remotely resemble you but that WOULD have been pretty crazy! The weather I didn't mind so much, I was thankful it wasn't raining hard or too cold. How beautiful was the weather Monday, oh my gosh! Blue skies & warmer!

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by Dana

The difference in your ages is very similar to me and DD's...I had her when I was twenty, so I am looking forward to times like this with her when I am older. BTW: dad is a handsome man. You two look like you always have so much fun together..it's awesome.

He definately has always been more like my best friend than a 'Dad,' even though he's been an awesome Dad too. I bet you and your DD are going to be exactly the same when she gets to be my age. It's REALLY nice to have a parent to be that close too, especially since my Mom & I aren't.

He does still do stuff to annoy the crap outta' me though. Then again, I am SURE he could say the same.

[MickeyMcFizzle]

My mom had me at 20 as well - she's only 49! My dad is 55 though. I feel very close to them b/c of our ages. We love to hang out with them ... on a Saturday night even! (Never thought I'd say that when I was a teenager! lol)

Great TR Wishy! Can't wait or more!

[StaceyDarling!]

I LOVEEEEE your TR! I'm sooo excited about it hahah. I'm on the edge of my seat! Can't wait for moreee :D

[babets]

Loving the TR! Can hardly wait to read day 2!!

[dznygrl]

Mmmkay Wishy, I'm ready for Day 2 now.

[mousemom]

Yeah, Wishy, We are waiting for the rest. Don't you feel so special knowing your TR is waiting with anticipation? I love to hear all about your trips. Just think,you have another one in June.

[WishUponAStar]

I'm here! I'll start day 2 real soon.

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

I'm here! I'll start day 2 real soon.

Hooray! Okay, that gives me the perfect excuse to go do some cleaning...then I can come back and reward myself with this TR. Hehe.

[KittieKChick]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

I'm here! I'll start day 2 real soon.

Yay! Can't wait.

[cinderbella]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

I'm here! I'll start day 2 real soon.

Hooray! I'm so bored.

[WishUponAStar]

Day 2, Sunday 1/25/09

I woke up naturally around 7am and literally jumped from the bed out to the balcony. I wanted to see "who was down there" already and to my surprise there were already one or two families pacing through DtD, I assumed they were going to an early breakfast somewhere. Some Disney security guards were doing morning stretches in front of the Libby Lu store & a couple morning joggers were up & at 'em.

Early entry into Disneyland park for resort guests was 8am and after showering, dressing, & getting ready for the day I decided to go downstairs and explore a bit while waiting for my Dad.

We met in front of Sephora & were into Disneyland park no later than 8:15am. Our plan was to go straight to the Nemo subs but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to greet all of the characters waiting for us on Main Street; Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy were all just hanging out. Never in ALL of my Disney trips have I ever seen such a small amount of people greeting characters; there were LITERALLY only 3 people in line to meet Mickey & only a few other families in the area.

We hit Nemo subs (which my Dad LOVED), Space Mountain twice, the Matterhorn, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's Pinnochio, Snow White, Big Thunder Mountain twice, PotC, and Indiana Jones all before 10:30 am!!! It was AMAZING! There was literally such a small amount of people in the park that it even felt a little creepy.

After 10:30am a lot more people filled the park but I did notice that it seemed to be A LOT of locals & TONS and TONS of birthday buttons, tiaras, birthday balloons, etc. It seems like A HUGE portion of Sunday's crowd was taking advantage of the new "Birthday Celebration" offer. It kinda felt like I was invited to a private birthday party in the park.

Right before we got hungry for lunch I noticed something INSANELY strange... a big puffy CAT just chillin' in Frontierland! Of course we've all seen the ducks that live in Disney parks, various birds, etc... but how is there a CAT hanging out & nobody seemed to care or notice? Is this a cat that lives in Frontierland normally? He seemed completely unphased by the children getting closer to him & even me coming closer to take a picture. Within a couple minutes the cat strolled off into some bushes but I just found it SO odd that a cat was just hangin' out in Frontierland.

We had an awesome, as usual, lunch at Rancho Del Zocalo of soft tacos, rice, & beans. DELISH!

After lunch we did some more attractions like Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, etc. and made our way toward the castle again.

I was SOOOO excited to see the Sleeping Beauty walk-through open again inside the castle. I was lucky enough to see the original one before they closed it down & now the new version is SPECTACULAR! Awesome effects in the windows, gorgeous illustrations, and it is just SO special and beautiful. Sleeping Beauty will always be my favorite Disney movie & Aurora has always had a special place in my heart. So I was REALLY thrilled to go through the walk through again. The refurb blew me away, AWESOME!

Then, something interesting happened..... we walked past Pixie Hollow. The outside is GORGEOUS! For anyone who hasn't heard about or seen pictures of Pixie Hollow in Disneyland, it is located all outside. There are jumping water fountains, mini pixie houses, flowers EVERYWHERE, gorgeous statues of the fairies likenesses & other creatures, and HUGE blades of tall grass and flowers as you enter the actual meet n' greet area.

I was REALLY hesitant to do the meet & greet. As I've expressed MANY times before, even though the 'story' of how & why we're able to meet Tink makes sense, I was just not comfortable with it. I like the original Tink from Peter Pan, she's my absolute FAVORITE. I am not into the new CGI version of Tink & I am not too into the whole new "Fairies" business. I also wasn't too thrilled with the idea of her becoming a face character available for Meet & Greets.

Alas, there were only about 20 families in line & the GORGEOUS Pixie Hollow garden lured me in. So... I did it! I actually met Tinkerbell!

I have mixed feelings. Yes, Pixie Hollow was amazing, the experience was unrushed & personal but to be honest Tink was just... not Tink. She looked like Kelly Osborne & had the personality of ummm, a pixie pretending to be Tink. It was honestly the first time I met a face character and actually thought, "uggg, this is so fake." It just wasn't right. Even when I've taken pictures & met the princesses I TOTALLY knew it was REALLY Aurora, etc... but this was just not right. So much so that later that night, when we were eating dinner at Storyteller's Cafe our server saw me flipping through my pictures on my camera and said, "OooOoO, let me see!!" When I got to the picture of Tinkerbell, he LITERALLY, and I kid you not said; "Who is that?" She was also wearing this leafy jacket that probably confused him a little too, it just didn't resemble her in either attitude or look.

I am glad I did it though.

After Pixie Hollow I wanted to shop around Main Street & DtD for a bit while my Dad went back to our room for a nap.

I had a GREAT time hanging out in the stores & getting to know the whole "vinylmation" scoop (you can read about in this thread: http://www.mousebuzz.com/forum/mouse...rs-thread.html). I picked up some goodies & returned to our room soon after.

We had a 5:30pm at Storyteller's Cafe. When I called a couple days before our trip they told me they'd be having the dinner buffet that night. I was so glad b/c my Dad and I have vast differences in food tastes so I try to choose places where we can just pick & choose, like Goofy's Kitchen which is a buffet. When we arrived at Storyteller's there was LITERALLY only 2 families eating in the whole restaurant and I was told at the desk that they "cancelled the buffet" for that night & we could order from the menu.

To be honest, the dinner menu at Storyteller's really isn't that thrilling but we were HUNGRY & not in the mood to go wait somewhere else without a PS reservation. The manager himself saw our hesitation & came over to explain to us that anything on the menu could be personalized to our liking & he'd hope that we'd stay. So, of course we did. My Dad ended up with a MArket Salad & Chicken Quesadillas. I ordered the Sonoma Valley Braised Chicken with mashed potatoes & seasonal vegetables. Ugh, I wish I could say it was amazing but it was crap. The chicken was LITERALLY a small leg & wing and it was SO over braised that it resembled beef; both in color & texture. The veggies were DROWNED in the same brown sauce over the chicken & the mashed potatoes were just ok.

My Dad and I were both literally hungry two hours later so we had some snacks back in the park. We stayed in the park until closing & once again, we were fast asleep in our room by 11pm.

It was a great day! Although, Day 3 [coming soon] was the BEST!

Here are the pics from Day 2.

[lovemysons]

WOW! The view from your room was truly magnificent. I have always been close to my dad, so it warms my heart that you were able to have such a lovely trip with your dad!

[WishUponAStar]