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...
Friday, July 6, 2001
We woke up around 8 and threw on some clothes and went down to get breakfast. After eating we showered and left for the park. It was overcast and looked like it might rain. In fact by the time we got to Fantasyland it did begin to rain. We rode Pinocchio. For some reason I am always surprised at what a nice ride this is. It is actually better IMHO than Snow White, which seems to end abruptly.
It had stopped raining so we rode Dumbo. The line was short by Dumbo standards. I love this ride. Then we rode Storybook Land Canal Boats and noticed that the CMs had new costumes and I think the boats are new too. This is another one of my Disneyland favorites. There were ducks and ducklings lying right in the middle of London Park. It did begin to rain again while we were on it so we couldn't ride Alice in Wonderland afterwards like I wanted. Alice shuts down in the rain.
We decided to ride the Monorail round trip and noticed that now the Monorail doesn't stop in a Disney hotel but instead stops in Downtown Disney. We also got a nice view of Disney's California Adventure. When we returned to Tomorrowland we saw a Bride and Groom waiting to board the Monorail with their wedding party. How beautiful! Too bad it was rainy.
We went to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience, rode Jungle Cruise and had cones before heading back to the room for an early rest around noon. Our room hadn't been made up so we headed to the pool for a while. Boy did the cool water feel good on our feet! When we returned to the room it still wasn't cleaned up so we just went ahead and rested. Around 230pm housekeeping called and asked if we wanted our room made up. We told them we'd leave by 3pm and they said fine.
Our plan was to head back to Downtown Disney(DD) for a late lunch/early dinner. So we got off the bus and walked through DD again to ESPN. We shared the Zone Burger this time and split the Sudden Death Brownie. Yummy!
Then we took the Monorail back into the park. I should mention that the rain had cleared and it was hot and humid now. The parade was scheduled to start in about a half hour so we staked out a spot for the Parade of the Stars. I like Parades like this where they have lots of characters much better than parades that are focused on one show.
Afterwards we headed over to ride Alice in Wonderland, got Haunted Mansion Fast Passes and waited about 30 minutes in the shade while sipping Iced Mochas before our Fast Pass time. After riding we went to the Disney Gallery and I fell in love with a print, which we bought and had sent to the Package Pickup.
We realized we hadnt made a full circle on the train yet so we headed over to Toon Town and caught the train so we could see the Grand Canyon and Dinosaurs dioramas. We had a family behind us and we know this must have been their first trip. They were talking about the photos that are taken at Ariels Grotto and the mother was surprised when the father told her that they would charge for the photo. He said, he didnt think they charged much, maybe $5! We werent sure who was the more naïve in terms of Disney.
We spent much of the rest of the evening people watching and found a good place to wait for the fireworks. We watched them and then headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but it seems you can't pass through the castle until the fire marshal clears it after the fireworks. Apparently they shoot the fireworks off of the castle. So we were held up for a bit. We did get a nice photo of the castle unobstructed by people though!
The wait for Big Thunder was 40 minutes and the fast pass time was also in 40 minutes. Normally we'd get a Fast Pass and sit and wait but my arms were cold so we though the line would be warmer. It was and it really only took 45 minutes but it seemed so much longer. Even the Fast Pass line was backed up.
We rode and then went over to Fantasyland for our last few rides. We rode Tea Cups, which we normally dont ride. We really got it spinning fast and afterwards Roger felt a bit sick. Then we rode Alice in Wonderland again and slowly strolled out of the park and back to the hotel (after picking up our print).
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...
Friday, July 6, 2001
We woke up around 8 and threw on some clothes and went down to get breakfast. After eating we showered and left for the park. It was overcast and looked like it might rain. In fact by the time we got to Fantasyland it did begin to rain. We rode Pinocchio. For some reason I am always surprised at what a nice ride this is. It is actually better IMHO than Snow White, which seems to end abruptly.
It had stopped raining so we rode Dumbo. The line was short by Dumbo standards. I love this ride. Then we rode Storybook Land Canal Boats and noticed that the CMs had new costumes and I think the boats are new too. This is another one of my Disneyland favorites. There were ducks and ducklings lying right in the middle of London Park. It did begin to rain again while we were on it so we couldn't ride Alice in Wonderland afterwards like I wanted. Alice shuts down in the rain.
We decided to ride the Monorail round trip and noticed that now the Monorail doesn't stop in a Disney hotel but instead stops in Downtown Disney. We also got a nice view of Disney's California Adventure. When we returned to Tomorrowland we saw a Bride and Groom waiting to board the Monorail with their wedding party. How beautiful! Too bad it was rainy.
We went to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience, rode Jungle Cruise and had cones before heading back to the room for an early rest around noon. Our room hadn't been made up so we headed to the pool for a while. Boy did the cool water feel good on our feet! When we returned to the room it still wasn't cleaned up so we just went ahead and rested. Around 230pm housekeeping called and asked if we wanted our room made up. We told them we'd leave by 3pm and they said fine.
Our plan was to head back to Downtown Disney(DD) for a late lunch/early dinner. So we got off the bus and walked through DD again to ESPN. We shared the Zone Burger this time and split the Sudden Death Brownie. Yummy!
Then we took the Monorail back into the park. I should mention that the rain had cleared and it was hot and humid now. The parade was scheduled to start in about a half hour so we staked out a spot for the Parade of the Stars. I like Parades like this where they have lots of characters much better than parades that are focused on one show.
Afterwards we headed over to ride Alice in Wonderland, got Haunted Mansion Fast Passes and waited about 30 minutes in the shade while sipping Iced Mochas before our Fast Pass time. After riding we went to the Disney Gallery and I fell in love with a print, which we bought and had sent to the Package Pickup.
We realized we hadnt made a full circle on the train yet so we headed over to Toon Town and caught the train so we could see the Grand Canyon and Dinosaurs dioramas. We had a family behind us and we know this must have been their first trip. They were talking about the photos that are taken at Ariels Grotto and the mother was surprised when the father told her that they would charge for the photo. He said, he didnt think they charged much, maybe $5! We werent sure who was the more naïve in terms of Disney.
We spent much of the rest of the evening people watching and found a good place to wait for the fireworks. We watched them and then headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but it seems you can't pass through the castle until the fire marshal clears it after the fireworks. Apparently they shoot the fireworks off of the castle. So we were held up for a bit. We did get a nice photo of the castle unobstructed by people though!
The wait for Big Thunder was 40 minutes and the fast pass time was also in 40 minutes. Normally we'd get a Fast Pass and sit and wait but my arms were cold so we though the line would be warmer. It was and it really only took 45 minutes but it seemed so much longer. Even the Fast Pass line was backed up.
We rode and then went over to Fantasyland for our last few rides. We rode Tea Cups, which we normally dont ride. We really got it spinning fast and afterwards Roger felt a bit sick. Then we rode Alice in Wonderland again and slowly strolled out of the park and back to the hotel (after picking up our print).
