This was the kids' first trip to DL and USH (not to mention CA). They are: DD13, DD11 and DS9.
We drove from Portland to Anaheim, straight through. Our first stop was breakfast near the park at IHOP. Almost $70, we weren't impressed. The restaurant was pretty shabby, food didn't seem as heaty as IHOPs at home.
We stayed in a rented house about 1 or 2 miles from the park. We were able to bring our dogs (saving quite a bit of money) and this gave the kids and us some space from each other. Always important when you have teen and pre-teen sisters in the same general vicinity.
After breakfast and getting to the house, we napped. Then, we went to Von's for groceries. After a homemade dinner, we headed to Downtown Disney to give the kids a taste of DL and to walk around a bit. We walked from our house, about 20 minutes.
On Sunday we had a MM and used it. We didn't get to the gate as early as I wanted, but were still among the first 12 groups inside. Our first ride was SM, as was our second. We then walked right onto all the rides in Tomorrowland but Nemo. And SM again. At 9:20AM we found the Dream Team over by the Tomorrowland store and were awarded Dream Passes! Very exciting! We went to get on Nemo and by this time the wait was really long.
We napped and ate at home around 12:30 and drove back to the park. We went to DCA since we had Dream Passes to use. Rode Soarin', Screamin' and Tower or Terror (twice). Then headed back to DL, rode some rides (some so slow we didn't use our passes) then watched the fireworks before closing down the place over at Indiana Jones. On the way out we stopped at Nemo and finally at 11:50 we could get right on. We decided that anyone who would wait more than 20 minutes for Nemo was a fool. Sorry, but it wasn't that great and the subs were hot and miserable.
Oh, ate dinner at Award Weiners at DCA. They tasted like hot dogs! DF liked that the chili dog was easy to eat without a fork -- not very messy.
On Monday we spent the day at DCA and rode everything at least twice, never with more than a 20 minute wait. We had lunch at Cord Dog Castle, which everyone loved, then headed home after closing for dinner.
Tuesday we stayed home and the kids did their homework.
Wednesday we headed up to USH for the day. Traffic wasn't horrible, we did not take 101 though. We were first in line at our gate. One day was perfect (very hot though) and we walked onto Mummy and Jurassic Park each three times before moving on. We did every show and ride at the park. Simpsons was first and last without much of a wait. The Studio Tour line was the longest at 25 minutes. Right before Simpsons at the end of our day, we walked through the House of Horrors which is kinda scary and fun. Turned out to be a bit much for the 9 year old (ten in a few weeks) and after we got out he was crying, but more from a really bad headache that got worse with the screams he was emitting. He quickly recovered. DD13 screamed a lot, but laughed, DD11 felt the same but while DD13 would have gone again, DD11 said "no thanks." DF and I were cracking up the whole time and I laughed so hard I cried because the kids were screaming their heads off while no one else in there made a peep.
After our trip to USH we went to Hard Rock Cafe at CityWalk. I was disappointed. Our server was way too busy and forgot DD13's b-day. Salads served with meals, etc. Denny's service with high prices. Kids were happy to get Hard Rock t-shirts though. Then, we went to Hollywood Blvd. where we walked around looking at the stars and such. Kids thought that was cool.
On Thursday we had another MM and headed to DL early. We also went to DCA. SM was never more than a ten minute wait. We rode everything once again and never waited more than 20 minutes except the Toy Story ride at DCA where the wait was 30ish. DD11 and I ate dinner at Blue Bayou. We had a 3pm PS and waited until 3:15 for a water table. We shared the crab cakes, gumbo and Monte Cristo. Crab cakes were good, gumbo wasn't very authentic, but still good (DD11 loved it) and the Monte Cristo was excellent. Not too greasy and very fresh. I can't see how someoune could eat a whole one though. Very rich. We enjoyed our dinner a lot, our server was very pleasant and attentive. Our only complaint was that it was cold in there but we should have known since Pirates was chilly, too. DF, DD13 and DS9 ate at Rancho del Z (something) and said it was good and filling. Their total was $35 so it must have been reasonable, too. We went to the first Jedi Academy show where DS9 did not get chosen. We went back for the next show and he was chosen. He loved it! We had him wear an old school Star Wars t-shirt which helped. Kids with signs were chosen first. It didn't matter where they stood as they tood kids from both sides and the middle.
Friday was a different story. The wait to get in was long and while we did get on SM right away, ride-wise we had a lot of wait time on most everything else. We were also tired and went back home for lunch and naps before noon. We went back to DCA and were bummed the ToT wait was one hour and 15 minutes. We did get on Screamin' with a 25 minute wait. We closed down DCA and went to our Character Meal at Goofy's Kitchen. Service was really good, food very fresh and tasty. There wasn't a huge selection except at the dessert bar, but overall we were pleased. DD13 puked afterward, but it's not the first time she's done that at a buffet.
At least this time she made it to the bathroom, though. 
After Goofy's we headed back to the park where it was still packed. We did wait the hour to get on the Haunted Mansion, it was the shortest wait in the park. There were a lot of people there for the Trick or Treat party. Also, we noticed quite a few people there for Gay Day. Mily's b-day is also this weekend, so we're assuming there were some people there for that. Finally, it was the first weekend the park was open with the Halloween theme.
Random thoughts . . .
We did drive to/from the parks for the most part. The walk wasn't very long for us, but our dogs were barkin'! The driving didn't take much time from us as the lines weren't long at all, never more than about four cars in front of us.
We liked having the house because of the space and getting away from the crowds. My DF and his kids are more homebodies than I am, so I knew it would be better in the long run.
The kids loved Autotopia -- I thought it was really dumb.
DL was a little disappointing to me as I noticed trash under the rides, gum stuck everywhere, paint chipping, etc. However, after going back to DL from USH, it didn't seem so bad anymore.
Three days at DL and DCA mixed was enough for our family. We are all capable of long days and since on all but one day we hardly had to deal with crowds, it would have worked. The last day was overkill for us.
The kids whined about Innoventions . . . until they got there. It was a nice break with the AC, out of the sun. The kids were really excited. I sat in the theater room, on the soft and watched Cars on the big screen tv.
The kids also moaned about every show, but loved them at the end.
If I think of anything else, I'll add to this report. Otherwise, if you have questions ask away!
We drove from Portland to Anaheim, straight through. Our first stop was breakfast near the park at IHOP. Almost $70, we weren't impressed. The restaurant was pretty shabby, food didn't seem as heaty as IHOPs at home.
We stayed in a rented house about 1 or 2 miles from the park. We were able to bring our dogs (saving quite a bit of money) and this gave the kids and us some space from each other. Always important when you have teen and pre-teen sisters in the same general vicinity.
After breakfast and getting to the house, we napped. Then, we went to Von's for groceries. After a homemade dinner, we headed to Downtown Disney to give the kids a taste of DL and to walk around a bit. We walked from our house, about 20 minutes.
On Sunday we had a MM and used it. We didn't get to the gate as early as I wanted, but were still among the first 12 groups inside. Our first ride was SM, as was our second. We then walked right onto all the rides in Tomorrowland but Nemo. And SM again. At 9:20AM we found the Dream Team over by the Tomorrowland store and were awarded Dream Passes! Very exciting! We went to get on Nemo and by this time the wait was really long.
We napped and ate at home around 12:30 and drove back to the park. We went to DCA since we had Dream Passes to use. Rode Soarin', Screamin' and Tower or Terror (twice). Then headed back to DL, rode some rides (some so slow we didn't use our passes) then watched the fireworks before closing down the place over at Indiana Jones. On the way out we stopped at Nemo and finally at 11:50 we could get right on. We decided that anyone who would wait more than 20 minutes for Nemo was a fool. Sorry, but it wasn't that great and the subs were hot and miserable.
Oh, ate dinner at Award Weiners at DCA. They tasted like hot dogs! DF liked that the chili dog was easy to eat without a fork -- not very messy.
On Monday we spent the day at DCA and rode everything at least twice, never with more than a 20 minute wait. We had lunch at Cord Dog Castle, which everyone loved, then headed home after closing for dinner.
Tuesday we stayed home and the kids did their homework.
Wednesday we headed up to USH for the day. Traffic wasn't horrible, we did not take 101 though. We were first in line at our gate. One day was perfect (very hot though) and we walked onto Mummy and Jurassic Park each three times before moving on. We did every show and ride at the park. Simpsons was first and last without much of a wait. The Studio Tour line was the longest at 25 minutes. Right before Simpsons at the end of our day, we walked through the House of Horrors which is kinda scary and fun. Turned out to be a bit much for the 9 year old (ten in a few weeks) and after we got out he was crying, but more from a really bad headache that got worse with the screams he was emitting. He quickly recovered. DD13 screamed a lot, but laughed, DD11 felt the same but while DD13 would have gone again, DD11 said "no thanks." DF and I were cracking up the whole time and I laughed so hard I cried because the kids were screaming their heads off while no one else in there made a peep.
After our trip to USH we went to Hard Rock Cafe at CityWalk. I was disappointed. Our server was way too busy and forgot DD13's b-day. Salads served with meals, etc. Denny's service with high prices. Kids were happy to get Hard Rock t-shirts though. Then, we went to Hollywood Blvd. where we walked around looking at the stars and such. Kids thought that was cool.
On Thursday we had another MM and headed to DL early. We also went to DCA. SM was never more than a ten minute wait. We rode everything once again and never waited more than 20 minutes except the Toy Story ride at DCA where the wait was 30ish. DD11 and I ate dinner at Blue Bayou. We had a 3pm PS and waited until 3:15 for a water table. We shared the crab cakes, gumbo and Monte Cristo. Crab cakes were good, gumbo wasn't very authentic, but still good (DD11 loved it) and the Monte Cristo was excellent. Not too greasy and very fresh. I can't see how someoune could eat a whole one though. Very rich. We enjoyed our dinner a lot, our server was very pleasant and attentive. Our only complaint was that it was cold in there but we should have known since Pirates was chilly, too. DF, DD13 and DS9 ate at Rancho del Z (something) and said it was good and filling. Their total was $35 so it must have been reasonable, too. We went to the first Jedi Academy show where DS9 did not get chosen. We went back for the next show and he was chosen. He loved it! We had him wear an old school Star Wars t-shirt which helped. Kids with signs were chosen first. It didn't matter where they stood as they tood kids from both sides and the middle.
Friday was a different story. The wait to get in was long and while we did get on SM right away, ride-wise we had a lot of wait time on most everything else. We were also tired and went back home for lunch and naps before noon. We went back to DCA and were bummed the ToT wait was one hour and 15 minutes. We did get on Screamin' with a 25 minute wait. We closed down DCA and went to our Character Meal at Goofy's Kitchen. Service was really good, food very fresh and tasty. There wasn't a huge selection except at the dessert bar, but overall we were pleased. DD13 puked afterward, but it's not the first time she's done that at a buffet.
At least this time she made it to the bathroom, though. After Goofy's we headed back to the park where it was still packed. We did wait the hour to get on the Haunted Mansion, it was the shortest wait in the park. There were a lot of people there for the Trick or Treat party. Also, we noticed quite a few people there for Gay Day. Mily's b-day is also this weekend, so we're assuming there were some people there for that. Finally, it was the first weekend the park was open with the Halloween theme.
Random thoughts . . .
We did drive to/from the parks for the most part. The walk wasn't very long for us, but our dogs were barkin'! The driving didn't take much time from us as the lines weren't long at all, never more than about four cars in front of us.
We liked having the house because of the space and getting away from the crowds. My DF and his kids are more homebodies than I am, so I knew it would be better in the long run.
The kids loved Autotopia -- I thought it was really dumb.
DL was a little disappointing to me as I noticed trash under the rides, gum stuck everywhere, paint chipping, etc. However, after going back to DL from USH, it didn't seem so bad anymore.
Three days at DL and DCA mixed was enough for our family. We are all capable of long days and since on all but one day we hardly had to deal with crowds, it would have worked. The last day was overkill for us.
The kids whined about Innoventions . . . until they got there. It was a nice break with the AC, out of the sun. The kids were really excited. I sat in the theater room, on the soft and watched Cars on the big screen tv.
The kids also moaned about every show, but loved them at the end.
If I think of anything else, I'll add to this report. Otherwise, if you have questions ask away!
