DonnaS
Ratsrule & CathyCanada-- 2 who are greatly missed
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
Adventurers:
Donna.... trip reporter and veteran Disneyland guest but first time DCA guest!
Roger... DH of Donna who also is a Disneyland veteran but first time DCA guest. Roger had been diagnosed with an illness a month before and we weren't quite sure how he would do on this trip...
Wednesday, July 4, 2001
Roger and I got up at about 545am to get ready for the taxi to pick us up at 630am to take us to the airport for our 755am flight. The taxi was actually early and we were at the airport before we knew it.
Our flight was uneventful. We landed and caught another taxi to take us to the Candy Cane Inn. The driver apparently didn't know where the Candy Cane Inn was other than it was near Disneyland. But did he ask us? Noooooo! We ended up getting the scenic tour of the new Disneyland Resort. We drove down Disneyland Way and saw the Paradise Pier Hotel and the Grand Californian and Downtown Disney. It actually was kind of nice and the driver took $4 off the meter since he took us out of the way.
We got to the Candy Cane Inn and there weren't any rooms ready yet so we stowed our luggage and hopped onto the Candy Cane Inn shuttle. We were at the Resort within 5 minutes and headed for our first line.
Since we have Disneyland Annual Passports but didn't upgrade them to include Disneys California Adventure (DCA) we had to buy one-day admissions to DCA. The sign said $43 per person but I asked the Cast Member if there were any discounts for Disneyland Annual Passports, Disney Club, American Express and she said they only had one promotion and it was for DCA not Disneyland. Since that was where we wanted to go we hopped on it! The discounted price was $33 each. I'm not sure what the qualifications for the discount were but we weren't going to argue with saving $10 each. The woman did ask to see an ID but I later noticed that they do this a lot now at Disneyland when you charge something.
Walking into DCA was a visual feast. It had been quite some time since we had experienced so much new to look at. Per CathyCanada's advice we headed straight for Soarin' Over California and got a Fast Pass for 110pm. The wait was an hour so we walked around a bit and headed towards Paradise Pier to ride California Screamin'. Unfortunately it was down and from what we heard this happens often on hot days.
We walked around a bit more before we decided to head back and wait in line for Soarin'. Roger wanted to make sure that our first ride was a good ride. The line had shortened a bit and was labeled 45 minutes. I think it took longer.
It was very hot with little sun protection and only an occasional breeze. Roger wasn't feeling well and we began to think that we were going to end up spending most of our day in the hotel. But he stuck it out and we were thrilled with Soarin'. We had heard so many good things and the ride lived up to it. It was beautiful and breathtaking and just plain old neat.
By now it was nearing noon so we decided to grab some lunch. Roger hoped that getting out of the sun would help him to feel better. He was really dragging. We had already decided to eat at the Golden Vine Terrace but found that there were tables at the Vineyard Room available without Priority Seatings. We got a beautiful table on the shaded balcony and enjoyed our meal immensely. Roger had the Shrimp and Pasta dish and I had the Warm Chicken and Walnuts Salad. The bread they brought to the table was fantastic. We then threw our diets out the window and shared an order of Tiramisu.
Roger felt much better but it was still pretty warm so we just wanted to try and get a Fast Pass for later after our rest at the room. California Sreamin' was up and running but the Fast Pass was for 3pm for something and we didn't want to come back that soon. So after walking around a bit we headed to the Grizzly River Run. Since it was so hot, the line for this ride had a 90-minute wait. We picked up Fast Passes for 610pm, used our Fast Passes at Soarin' over California and headed back to the hotel.
We checked in and found that they had upgraded us to a Deluxe Room with a king bed and refrigerator. Roger slept probably two hours and then we went to the ABC Market next door to the hotel. We bought primarily bottled water. Paying $2 for a gallon of water sure beats paying $4 for a liter in the parks. We bought some smaller bottles to take into the park and refilled them from the larger 1 gallon bottles.
Around 530pm or so we headed back to the park. We headed to California Screamin' and got Fast Passes for around 8pm. We then headed to Grizzly River Run and found a very long line for the Fast Pass Return. The ride had broken down and didn't look to be coming up soon.
We went and had dinner at the Bountiful Valley Farmers Market. I had the Cambrian Salad, which was very heavy in bleu cheese, and Roger had the BBQ chicken. Both were very tasty.
We went on over to Hollywood Pictures Backlot and saw the Robin Williams film. It was kind of fun to see it with new people who hadn't seen it before. The set up in the Animation Building is very interesting. You can see the different attractions in any order although they do direct you certain ways. We had been told that the Sorcerer's Workshop area was different from Disney MGM Studios but the line was long and not moving so we'll have to do that next time.
We went on over to SuperStar Limo. After about 15 minutes of waiting the line stopped moving. They never did announce that it was down but it must have been. After quite a wait it started up again. This is a good ride if you want something the entire family can ride on but we'll probably never do it again. Be forewarned: the announcements played while you wait in line get very annoying after a short time since they start repeating after 10 minutes.
By now it was time for our California Screamin' Fast Passes but lo' and behold the ride had broken down again. They said they thought it would come up again later in the night but they didn't know when. They suggested that we could use our unused Fast Passes on other rides.
We decided to do the Sun Wheel. The wait was about 45 minutes but by now the sun was down so it was much more comfortable. This ride is fun and a bit freaky when your car begins to slip and slide. The best part was that we could see the Electrical Parade across the lagoon while we were on it. We also saw two or three instances of fireworks in the distance.
After disembarking we felt like sharing a milk shake so we went to Sam Andreas' Shakes. The chocolate shake was weak (in terms of chocolate) but Roger had a Cookies 'n Crème Shaker, which was tasty. While there we could see the fireworks over Disneyland. They were gorgeous and had a bit extra at the end since it was the 4th of July.
We decided to use our Grizzly Fast Pass on Mulholland Madness. This is a rough ride. They need more padding on the sides. I ended up with bruises. By the time we were done it was around 10pm and we noticed that Sceamin' was running again. We practically ran over there and got in the Fast Pass line. What a great ride! It is a really smooth roller coaster that is still quite thrilling. The ride is pretty long too. I think it's the best I've been on. We actually bought the photo they were selling. They offered two postcard size photos for $12.95 and since they now use digital cameras they could actually crop out the other riders and center us in the frame.
The park was to close at 11pm (in 5 minutes) so we began to walk out but decided to take Grizzly River Run before heading home. We got quite wet which would have felt great during the heat of the day. The theming is very nice; we especially liked the cave. Be aware that there are not dry wells like at Animal Kingdom to put your stuff into. I think I saw some special lockers nearby though.
We did use the regular lockers throughout the day and they are kind of neat. You can charge your locker to a credit card or you can use cash or change. You pick an area and go to a kiosk where you pay. The machine assigns you the locker and it becomes available. You get a printout of your locker number and the secret code to re-enter your locker. While there are downsides to this there are also pluses in that if you take all of your stuff out but think you might want to put stuff back later... but then you don't... well in that case you don't need to go back to return a key, etc. The fee is $3.
We headed back to the hotel and dropped into bed exhausted.
Donna.... trip reporter and veteran Disneyland guest but first time DCA guest!
Roger... DH of Donna who also is a Disneyland veteran but first time DCA guest. Roger had been diagnosed with an illness a month before and we weren't quite sure how he would do on this trip...
Wednesday, July 4, 2001
Roger and I got up at about 545am to get ready for the taxi to pick us up at 630am to take us to the airport for our 755am flight. The taxi was actually early and we were at the airport before we knew it.
Our flight was uneventful. We landed and caught another taxi to take us to the Candy Cane Inn. The driver apparently didn't know where the Candy Cane Inn was other than it was near Disneyland. But did he ask us? Noooooo! We ended up getting the scenic tour of the new Disneyland Resort. We drove down Disneyland Way and saw the Paradise Pier Hotel and the Grand Californian and Downtown Disney. It actually was kind of nice and the driver took $4 off the meter since he took us out of the way.
We got to the Candy Cane Inn and there weren't any rooms ready yet so we stowed our luggage and hopped onto the Candy Cane Inn shuttle. We were at the Resort within 5 minutes and headed for our first line.
Since we have Disneyland Annual Passports but didn't upgrade them to include Disneys California Adventure (DCA) we had to buy one-day admissions to DCA. The sign said $43 per person but I asked the Cast Member if there were any discounts for Disneyland Annual Passports, Disney Club, American Express and she said they only had one promotion and it was for DCA not Disneyland. Since that was where we wanted to go we hopped on it! The discounted price was $33 each. I'm not sure what the qualifications for the discount were but we weren't going to argue with saving $10 each. The woman did ask to see an ID but I later noticed that they do this a lot now at Disneyland when you charge something.
Walking into DCA was a visual feast. It had been quite some time since we had experienced so much new to look at. Per CathyCanada's advice we headed straight for Soarin' Over California and got a Fast Pass for 110pm. The wait was an hour so we walked around a bit and headed towards Paradise Pier to ride California Screamin'. Unfortunately it was down and from what we heard this happens often on hot days.
We walked around a bit more before we decided to head back and wait in line for Soarin'. Roger wanted to make sure that our first ride was a good ride. The line had shortened a bit and was labeled 45 minutes. I think it took longer.
It was very hot with little sun protection and only an occasional breeze. Roger wasn't feeling well and we began to think that we were going to end up spending most of our day in the hotel. But he stuck it out and we were thrilled with Soarin'. We had heard so many good things and the ride lived up to it. It was beautiful and breathtaking and just plain old neat.
By now it was nearing noon so we decided to grab some lunch. Roger hoped that getting out of the sun would help him to feel better. He was really dragging. We had already decided to eat at the Golden Vine Terrace but found that there were tables at the Vineyard Room available without Priority Seatings. We got a beautiful table on the shaded balcony and enjoyed our meal immensely. Roger had the Shrimp and Pasta dish and I had the Warm Chicken and Walnuts Salad. The bread they brought to the table was fantastic. We then threw our diets out the window and shared an order of Tiramisu.
Roger felt much better but it was still pretty warm so we just wanted to try and get a Fast Pass for later after our rest at the room. California Sreamin' was up and running but the Fast Pass was for 3pm for something and we didn't want to come back that soon. So after walking around a bit we headed to the Grizzly River Run. Since it was so hot, the line for this ride had a 90-minute wait. We picked up Fast Passes for 610pm, used our Fast Passes at Soarin' over California and headed back to the hotel.
We checked in and found that they had upgraded us to a Deluxe Room with a king bed and refrigerator. Roger slept probably two hours and then we went to the ABC Market next door to the hotel. We bought primarily bottled water. Paying $2 for a gallon of water sure beats paying $4 for a liter in the parks. We bought some smaller bottles to take into the park and refilled them from the larger 1 gallon bottles.
Around 530pm or so we headed back to the park. We headed to California Screamin' and got Fast Passes for around 8pm. We then headed to Grizzly River Run and found a very long line for the Fast Pass Return. The ride had broken down and didn't look to be coming up soon.
We went and had dinner at the Bountiful Valley Farmers Market. I had the Cambrian Salad, which was very heavy in bleu cheese, and Roger had the BBQ chicken. Both were very tasty.
We went on over to Hollywood Pictures Backlot and saw the Robin Williams film. It was kind of fun to see it with new people who hadn't seen it before. The set up in the Animation Building is very interesting. You can see the different attractions in any order although they do direct you certain ways. We had been told that the Sorcerer's Workshop area was different from Disney MGM Studios but the line was long and not moving so we'll have to do that next time.
We went on over to SuperStar Limo. After about 15 minutes of waiting the line stopped moving. They never did announce that it was down but it must have been. After quite a wait it started up again. This is a good ride if you want something the entire family can ride on but we'll probably never do it again. Be forewarned: the announcements played while you wait in line get very annoying after a short time since they start repeating after 10 minutes.
By now it was time for our California Screamin' Fast Passes but lo' and behold the ride had broken down again. They said they thought it would come up again later in the night but they didn't know when. They suggested that we could use our unused Fast Passes on other rides.
We decided to do the Sun Wheel. The wait was about 45 minutes but by now the sun was down so it was much more comfortable. This ride is fun and a bit freaky when your car begins to slip and slide. The best part was that we could see the Electrical Parade across the lagoon while we were on it. We also saw two or three instances of fireworks in the distance.
After disembarking we felt like sharing a milk shake so we went to Sam Andreas' Shakes. The chocolate shake was weak (in terms of chocolate) but Roger had a Cookies 'n Crème Shaker, which was tasty. While there we could see the fireworks over Disneyland. They were gorgeous and had a bit extra at the end since it was the 4th of July.
We decided to use our Grizzly Fast Pass on Mulholland Madness. This is a rough ride. They need more padding on the sides. I ended up with bruises. By the time we were done it was around 10pm and we noticed that Sceamin' was running again. We practically ran over there and got in the Fast Pass line. What a great ride! It is a really smooth roller coaster that is still quite thrilling. The ride is pretty long too. I think it's the best I've been on. We actually bought the photo they were selling. They offered two postcard size photos for $12.95 and since they now use digital cameras they could actually crop out the other riders and center us in the frame.
The park was to close at 11pm (in 5 minutes) so we began to walk out but decided to take Grizzly River Run before heading home. We got quite wet which would have felt great during the heat of the day. The theming is very nice; we especially liked the cave. Be aware that there are not dry wells like at Animal Kingdom to put your stuff into. I think I saw some special lockers nearby though.
We did use the regular lockers throughout the day and they are kind of neat. You can charge your locker to a credit card or you can use cash or change. You pick an area and go to a kiosk where you pay. The machine assigns you the locker and it becomes available. You get a printout of your locker number and the secret code to re-enter your locker. While there are downsides to this there are also pluses in that if you take all of your stuff out but think you might want to put stuff back later... but then you don't... well in that case you don't need to go back to return a key, etc. The fee is $3.
We headed back to the hotel and dropped into bed exhausted.
) but I bet it won't be as warm.
