Family of 7 Goes to DLR 2/4-2/10/18 *update 9/9* - “Final Thoughts”

[RedHotMama]

Thursday 2/8 California Adventure - “Feelin' the magic again" Part 2

Next, we walked back over the bridge (most of the pier was walled off for Incredicoaster construction) to the Little Mermaid. On the way, I took photos of some of the concept art for the new Pixar Pier that they had along the walls.

And my hero, Mrs Incredible:

We checked out some of the work going on.

We rode the Little Mermaid twice. I love it! The details in the queue!! On our second ride, I thought “This is already a perfect day. The magic is back.” I felt so content and happy. I sat back and watched my family enjoying the ride. I was glad that I was alone in a clamshell with P. I teared up a little.

Do you see the “fossils” in the concrete?

P loved the bubble effect going down into the water.

Next, T (Dad) took E (14), J (12), and N to Goofy's Sky School. They walked right on three times! They loved it!

 

[RedHotMama]

Thursday 2/8 California Adventure - “Feelin' the magic again" Part 3

I had the stroller with the little boys. We walked around the pier taking pics of the Lunar New Year decorations. The Asian-inspired music was calming and beautiful.

We saw Mulan greeting guests.

P fell asleep. S (3) was asking for the Nemo ride (in other park), and I realized that the next several rides we would be doing, S can't go on. We decided it was time for a churro!

T, E, J, and N rode the Jumping Jellyfish with a 5 minute wait. T said it felt much, much longer and was not worth it. He said only one side was running. E thought it was disappointing because it was such a short ride. J liked the view. N liked the feeling of going up and down. But they all agree it wasn't really worth it. S got mad at me because I said the ride was supposed to look and move like jellyfish and he said they're not jellyfish so he threw the sunglasses T just bought for him on the ground (for the 2nd time). So I took them and put them in my pack. Huge fit! 3 year olds! He asked for his pacifier so I gave it to him until he calmed down.

Then S said he wanted to go on the fish ride again (the carousel). So, this happened:

I slowed down on my walk back and enjoyed myself. Warm sun, breeze, music, sights, smells- I was smiling.


So, the older kids rode the Silly Symphony Swings 3 times as a walk on.

At some point, I had booked a Grizzly River Run FastPass. I rode first with E, J, and N. This is one of my favorite rides! The bouncing on the water, twists, turns- so much fun! And the scenery is beautiful.

While we rode, T met Chip! (the little boys were still asleep)

It was T’s turn to use the Rider Switch pass for Grizzly. The girls were really sweet and let me ride again with T and J.

These guys got soaked! J loved that.

It was almost 12:30 and we had had a very full and satisfying morning! Time to fuel up with lunch!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Sounds like a lovely relaxing morning!

 

[BrerMama]

Looks like a fun morning with all the walking right onto rides. We didn't ride Grizzly one time because it was always pretty chilly, and I'm kind of sad about it, but kind of not. I would have been the one who was soaked and miserable. It's so great your little ones nap in the stroller. That helps a lot! And tell me about 3 year old tantrums... my life. Sometimes I wonder why I chose to teach pre-K and then I work with older kids in the summer and I remember. 3 year olds are the best!

 

[Jaina]

I love those times when things just work out, and you have a great experience! Any emptiness at Disney Parks can totally make that happen! And I really love the walkway back by the Redwood Challenge Trail, too. I'm so glad it continued through the morning!
That's crazy that you got to ride Toy Story so many times in a row! It's such a fun one, but we don't ride it a lot because the line is usually so long. I wonder what's going to happen to those pretty carousel animals with the refurb. So hard to tell!
Grizzly River is one of my favorites too, but I find myself avoiding (or at least wearing a poncho) the older I get, because the possibility of getting completely soaked seems so high! Of course, Splash Mountain hasn't been much better the last couple times I went on it. My last ride on GRR I was with two friends who hadn't been on it, and I sneakily made sure I didn't sit near an entry way, and they did. They got soaked and I was only a little splashed.
I hope the rest of your day went even half as well!

 

[SeiterClan]

Wednesday Morning 2/7 Disneyland! - “A whirlwind through space”

We had an early start Wednesday morning! I woke at 6, and tried to go back to sleep. J (12) was up coughing by 6:30. I sent him in for a long, hot shower. Everyone else got up early, too. It was a foggy morning, and everything outside was damp. So the outside eating area for breakfast was closed. I took a quick photo of my plate while my family was laughing at me for taking pictures of everything.

Look at that fog! We were able to leave early, at 8:30am. I was happy about that.

We were at the security tables, which had no lines, at 8:42, and to the very short lines at the gates at 8:46! I pointed out to the family the rewards of getting out early. They heartily agreed.

We went to check on that line we had found on Monday, that had been shorter than the rest. No one was there! We got the front place in the center line! In this short time, the fog had burned off and it was hard to not squint at the camera.

We sunscreened, took a bathroom break, and happily sung Disney songs.

We also tried to get portraits of the kids with this perfect backdrop, but it was just too sunny, and they were all shiny from the sunscreen.

The little guys got tired of the long wait, but we pacified them with animal crackers. And S (3) hid from the world behind his huge shade canopy.

And now I have to share another flashback. To the first day of our trip, five years ago...

***Memory Flashback***

The first day of our 2013 trip was T’s birthday and we had scheduled a character breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn just before park opening. N (then 2) had never been to a Disney park, and E (then 9) and J (then 7) had only been to WDW, and they had been babies. One of my sisters was joining us for a couple days in our trip. We were all so excited!!! That morning was very wet. We had stayed at Desert Inn, a motel just across the street from the entrance, so the walk was very short. On the way, we pulled out our ponchos we had brought for Splash Mountain. By the time we got to the gates, we were soaked!

But we were at Disneyland and we didn’t care about the rain! We ended up in the front of our line, I’m guessing partly because most of the crowds were hiding from the weather.

The kids were just letting out their excitement, and dancing around, when a Cast Member came over, talked to us a minute, and asked if we wanted to be the First Family in Disneyland that morning! Of course, we said, “Yes!”

So they scanned our tickets, let us into the park, and took photos of us in front of the Mickey flowers.

Then they led us in the countdown to open Disneyland!

It was literally our family’s Best. Day. Ever.

The CM gave us two really special FastPasses. They would let our whole family on any ride in the park, and not just ones that accept FastPass. We ended up using them at the end of our day for Peter Pan’s Flight and Storybook Land Canal Boats.

Right after we opened the park that morning, we had a magical time at Minnie’s breakfast.

Little N was terrified of all of the characters. The Fairy Godmother was the only one she would let get close to her. We had a really special time with her that created lasting, sweet memories.

Thanks for sharing that Magical Memory with me!

***End of flashback.***

So, we were the first in line Wednesday morning, singing and dancing, and a Cast Member approached us. I had actually really hoped this would happen again, and had told the kids if they showed their enthusiasm, we’d probably have better chance.

And… We were chosen to open Disneyland again!! But, since we had done it before, she wanted to give someone else a chance. I get that. I should have said that the two Littles haven't ever opened the park. But I didn’t think about that. I made a mental note in case we ever had the opportunity again. The Cast Member was walking away and we called out that the people behind us haven't ever done it. (Hi, Hunt family from Lodi!) They were chosen, and we smiled, knowing what a great day they were about to have.

We entered through the right tunnel today, because we would be spending the beginning of our day in Tomorrowland! I purchased four MaxPasses and booked Space Mountain FastPasses right away. E saw a lady with Tinkerbell earrings and she just loved them. E hadn’t yet decided to pierce her ears, but made up her mind then to do it so she could get Tinkerbell earrings.

(Can you tell that my husband thinks I take too many pictures? heehee)

Our first stop was the Jedi Training sign up, which was a little hard to find. I didn't get clear directions from the Cast Member I had asked at rope drop. But we found it. There was quite a line. Here’s a video of N (7) playing with P (20mos).

N and J got spots in the 3:25 show that we were hoping for! They were asked some questions and received instructions about returning for the show.

T (Dad) and E (14) didn’t need to be with us for the Jedi Training sign-up, so I had sent them over to ride standby while it was a walk on for Space Mountain when the rope dropped. E loved it. She especially liked the music.

I love the look on her face!

So cool that you got there so early & got offered to open the park again! I've always wanted to do that. Do they do it on Magic Mornings or only regular start mornings? Also what gate # was it that you got in line at that no one was in? I have loved following your report as we are a large family too with 6 kids! Thanks for all the great details.

 

[RedHotMama]

So cool that you got there so early & got offered to open the park again! I've always wanted to do that. Do they do it on Magic Mornings or only regular start mornings? Also what gate # was it that you got in line at that no one was in? I have loved following your report as we are a large family too with 6 kids! Thanks for all the great details.

I don't know how they do the park opening for Magic Mornings; I don't think we've ever done MM. And I don't know the gate number, but it was in the very middle.
Thanks for reading!

 

[RedHotMama]

"Real-Life" Update:

Summers are always busy for our family. The last weekend in July, my family participated in a dancing show that is a big event in our community.

Here's N with her group:

And J and E on both ends of their group:

T and I on the left:

Then we took a break and went camping. We just got home this afternoon.
We played lots of dominoes.

The kids made fairy houses.

Drank ranch dressing through veggie straws. Lol!

And visited the lake.

The smoke from all the California fires is what caused the haze in the photo. Here's a comparison from our trip in 2012:

And because of the bad conditions, we weren't able to have any campfires this trip. So, here's T and I making s'mores for the family over the camp stove.

The air didn't bother us, thankfully, and we had a lot of fun!

And I'll post a real trip update soon...

 

[RedHotMama]

Thursday Afternoon 2/8 California Adventure - “Right here!”

After a perfectly wonderful morning on Paradise Pier, we moved into Grizzly Peak. We ate lunch at Smokejumpers Grill at 12:30.

While waiting in line to order, we enjoyed looking all around at the decor.

We loved the baby Groot there.

Ordering and getting our food took a while. My food photos are time-stamped at 1pm, so it took 30 minutes from the time we entered to the time we brought our food to the table. (I’m excited to try the new mobile ordering on our next trip!)

E (14) and I split a Bacon Cheeseburger (no cheese, please) with Onion Rings. We loved it all.

T (Dad) ordered the Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Waffle Fries. He said it had good kick and good flavor. But it was really messy and he had to clean his beard afterward.

J (12) ordered the Campfire Chili Cheeseburger with Onion Rings. He said the chili on the burger was delicious and the onion rings were super delicious. Lol.

N (7) and S (3) got the Chicken Tenders. P (20mos) must have snacked off of all of our plates.

Smokejumpers is a great place to eat! The food was very tasty. I think the best part is that they have a toppings bar where you can load up your burger with as much of whatever you want. E and I got lots of veggies. J got none. Perfect.

We chose an outdoor table and it was very nice.

While we were in the area, I got another idea for some homemade shirts…

We had Soarin’ Around the World FastPasses ready to go. And at lunch I booked some evening passes for Radiator Springs Racers.

T took E, J, and N next door on Soarin’. The little guys and I stayed at our table S colored in his trip journal. P walked around the tables receiving compliments from the other guests. Then, I took E and J back on Soarin’ with a Rider Switch.

We picked up Mickey bars on the way to the 3pm Lunar New Year Processional back at Paradise Pier. We passed Grizzly River Run and the FP line was crazy long! We had planned on riding again that afternoon. But we weren’t sure if we wanted to after all, even with FPs.

Oh, the Lunar New Year Processional! When we got there people were already lining up along the side of the pathway. Not having a clue where the processional would be happening or what it would be like, we almost just took a place next to a family already there. But I asked a Cast Member where I should go to get a view and she said, "Right here!" She was laying down tape in the middle of the path. She said, "This will be the front of the 'stage.'" "Really?” I asked, surprised. “That's perfect!" She said that because of the sun, they don't put down the line earlier. They were about ready to start. We plopped ourselves, with our sitting mats, down right along the line and others did the same. All of a sudden, there was no pathway anymore, just a crowd of people waiting. I'd guess that's another reason they don't put it down early, so as not to block the path. If we had stayed where we were, we wouldn't have been able to see. But, besides the sun being in our eyes, the spot was perfect! Amazing seats front and center!

We enjoyed our delicious, cold Mickey bars waiting for the show.

Here’s the beginning:

Mulan and Mushu came right up to us several times during the show.

I thought the show was beautiful! And our seats were great! But I think our phones got too hot in the sun and some of our videos turned out choppy. Does anyone have tips on how to keep your phone cool in the sun?

The kids thought Goofy was funny. He would try to imitate the performers.

 

[RedHotMama]

Thursday Afternoon 2/8 California Adventure - “Right here!” Part 2

Next, T, E, J, and N rode the Golden Zephyr. They found out in line that there wasn’t a height requirement, so E came back to get S.

There he goes!

The family enjoyed the Golden Zephyr. It was relaxing, and a good way to cool off. They also said the view was cool.

S loved his first “big” ride!

At some point, I had booked another Grizzly FP, just in case. We walked back and the line wasn't as long, but T still didn't want to wait for it twice so he said not to bother getting a Rider Switch this time. But the line moved very fast, so I decided to go back and get a RS in case T wanted to do it after all. Super fun time!

Tom went to the viewing areas and got pics.

After, we decided to let the kids use the Rider Switch on their own. It was fun to watch them. And we got some mom and dad time (with the littles with us, haha).

E told us that only two other people in the raft spoke English. The others spoke Spanish. But they all talked together and the others translated. They bonded over the splashes and falls. E said it was her favorite time on the ride.

It took about 40 minutes for both groups to go through the ride.

As we walked through Grizzly Peak, I took pictures of the area. My favorite thing about being in Disneyland is experiencing the theming.

We were heading to Hollywood Land because we hadn’t participated in Turtle Talk with Crush on Tuesday and we just had to do it. On the way, we got our photos taken with the Storytellers statue.

They gave Mickey some love.

I got a couple funny photos of P outside the Animation building. He must have seen something that amazed him or something.

The animation building is so cool.

 

[RedHotMama]

Thursday Afternoon 2/8 California Adventure - “Right here!” Part 3

Turtle Talk with Crush was incredible! We went 5 years ago and thought the Disneyland version wasn't as good as the one in Disney World. This time was better than ever. Crush noticed N and talked to her first. He called her "Nautical N-". Then he talked to her dad. He asked how many kids we have and T said 5. "You're just getting started!" LOL!

Squirt and Marlin came.

Dory and Destiny called a humpback whale over!

We went next door to the Off the Page shop to admire some art. P really liked the vintage Mickey. E loved the Thomas Kinkade ones, particularly the Tangled one. “It’s so perfect!”

We saw Groot. E really wanted a high 5, but he was finishing his meet and greet and it wasn't happening. His “helper” was not about to let anyone close to him.

We walked through Bugs Land on our way to use some Radiator Springs Racers FastPasses. And we actually rode a ride! We never stop in Bugs Land. S chose the ladybugs. The theming in this land is really good, too.

We moved into Cars Land. And we got to see “shboom” again! (That’s when they turn on the neon in the evenings.)

T, E, J, and N used the Racers FastPasses. Here’s their ride photo.

S, P, and I walked around taking pics of the neon.

They took longer than I expected. S spent another 10 minutes putting his hand in Stanley's water fountain. Again, thankfully P is a laid back guy and is happy to sit back in the stroller and watch.

 

[RedHotMama]

Thursday Afternoon 2/8 California Adventure - “Right here!” Part 4

Then the girls Rider Switched Racers. I took pics of the queue.

I was excited to notice Lizzie’s and Stanley’s suites.

Then I got a couple crummy videos on the ride.

And our ride photo. My hair is everywhere.

+

Exiting the ride:

DJ came out again while we were riding. S was one of the first kids dancing (staying right next to his Dad) so the Cast Member invited him to come up closer to DJ. (Blurry pic) No way! He shrunk back behind T. He kept dancing though, right near Dad.

I couldn’t resist getting a few more photos of the area.

And I got a few more homemade shirt ideas…

Then we got a (rather goofy) family photo with Radiator Springs behind.

It was 6:30 now and time for dinner at the wharf.

 

[Zarina_Stardust]

I loved Cars Land at night and wish we had been able to see more but we rushed off for the Paint the Night parade and never made it back. It just looks amazing!

 

[Jaina]

What a great afternoon and evening! Smokejumpers is one of my favorite places to eat for plenty of food and lots of nice lettuce with my burger. THat's awesome that you got such a great seat for that show! Also, my littles usually love the Golden Zephyr. I think it's underappreciated. For a 2/3-year-old, it's a great thrill ride! I really love Carsland. I'm so excited to see it in like 6 weeks!

 

[BrerMama]

Your Smokejumpers photos brought back some good memories. The toppings bar is the best! Loved all your stories and your photos of Carsland at night are great!

 

[RedHotMama]

Thanks for being loyal and patient readers!

I loved Cars Land at night and wish we had been able to see more but we rushed off for the Paint the Night parade and never made it back. It just looks amazing!

Cars Land is amazing! And a really different feel day vs night. But Paint the Night is an amazing parade, too! It would be hard to choose between the two.

I'm so excited to see it in like 6 weeks!

I'm excited for you, too!!!! You are going to have a great trip!!

Your Smokejumpers photos brought back some good memories. The toppings bar is the best! Loved all your stories and your photos of Carsland at night are great!

Yes, we all loved Smokejumpers! And now that you can mobile order, it will be even better!

 

[RedHotMama]

Thursday Evening 2/8 California Adventure - “Ending a perfect day”

We had had a perfect day in California Adventure. The morning was magical on the pier. We enjoyed Grizzly Peak and the Lunar New Year processional so much, and had a blast at Turtle Talk with Crush. And we all got in another ride on Racers. We would be getting in line soon to get spots to see World of Color a second time. So we headed to the wharf for our dinner.

We got dinner from Pacific Wharf Cafe, which is the Boudin sourdough bread company from San Francisco. We enjoyed seeing the shaped loaves while in line.

I ordered the kids the Potato Soup in a Sourdough Bread Bowl.

I knew they would get a kick out of eating their soup out of the bread. But I was secretly disappointed that they didn’t make the bread bowl look like a Mickey head like I’ve seen in photos. I think that was at a restaurant in Disneyland, though.

I ordered another Potato Soup, and also a Broccoli and Cheese Soup, with the soup served separate from the bread bowls. That way, if we didn’t finish the bread, we could take it with us in some plastic bags I had brought.

That ended up being very useful, because we had plenty of bread left over when we were all done eating. We enjoyed snacking on that sourdough over the next couple of days.

We all shared both soups and I believe we all liked the Broccoli and Cheese best. Of course, we all loved the sourdough. It reminded us of our trip to San Francisco when we ate Boudin sourdough bread everyday. I do think the ratio was off, though. We would have appreciated a little more soup, and could have done with less bread. But the meal was delicious!

And the atmosphere was lovely with the pier lit up behind us.

T (Dad) and E (14) had FastPasses to ride on Guardians of the Galaxy one more time. So they headed for that after dinner. Ends up, E was freaking out the whole time in line, except when she was distracted by the amazing queue, because she wasn't really sure if she wanted to ride it again. But she did ride and liked it even better than the first time!

They had gotten this photo from the ride photo area, but hadn’t gotten the numbers, so we couldn’t download the pic. They are in the middle back.

Meanwhile, the rest of us went to get spots for World of Color. I was really hoping for a specific spot this time, called the “hydrant spot.” It was a little confusing at first where blue FastPasses enter (I should have studied the map I had seen better). Then it was really frustrating once we got into the waiting area. The Cast Member was only saying that the lower levels would be opened later. I hated not knowing where I should go to be ready when those levels were opened. He wasn't friendly or clear. The area he was directing everyone to actually had a decent view behind a rail, so we just placed ourselves there. It would be ok. But the Cast Member kept telling us we needed to move into the crowd of people. He kept saying, "It's not single line viewing. We need everyone to fill in the space." I told him we want to just stay here. Finally, he left us alone. Eventually, he announced that the crowd he was forcing us into would be the first ones into the lower level. Oh! This was just the holding area! Somehow I hadn’t gotten that. All these people would be going down. So I did need to be in this crowd to get the hydrant spot. Got it! (Just wish that had been more clear in the first place. I should have asked more questions.) But then I worried that in this crowd of people, someone might take my spot. It's a small spot, only big enough for one group. (Until they trim that hedge!) And we did have a decent spot up here behind the rail…

So J (12) and I made a plan. I would go into the crowd with N (7) and wait, and when it opened up, we would try for our spot, and make sure it would be good viewing for the little guys. J would stay here with the stroller until I motioned for him. Waiting in the holding area, away from the other kids, not knowing why T and E were taking so long (found out later they were looking at a cute Groot picture book in the gift shop), I was feeling really anxious. I just wanted to be settled.

Then, Finally! the line was opened and the crowd moved, and all my fears and stress were in vain because the crowd did indeed all move quickly down as far as they could go and I slipped right into my spot behind the fire hydrant. I relaxed. Then I motioned for J to join us.

There was a little more stress as the lower levels filled and people started filling in around us. T and E still weren't back and I was trying to make sure there would be comfortable room still for all of us. When they found us, they told me about E freaking out, and about the book, and I was just glad we were all there.

Now, about the hydrant spot. It is really good. The projections looked amazing (made a little more sense than they did from the far part of the bridge on Tuesday night) and we could see the whole scope of the show. But there's this hedge. It is just too there. It really needs to be cut down about a foot. It makes the ideal viewing area pretty small and unless you're pretty tall, you can't see over / around it. I don't think I missed much of the show because of it, but the hedge definitely makes it harder for little people. Afterward, I wondered to T if it would be better for our family to just claim a spot on the close side of the bridge. He liked the hydrant spot, though. We just need to plan on holding the kids during the show, rather than them staying in the stroller.

World of Color is a beautiful show!

As we were all leaving the park, we saw a wedding being set up for “Jessica and Amir” on Buena Vista Street. Someone said it was a TV wedding that would be happening that night. I think reality TV? Anyway, it was very pretty.

We were back to the hotel by 9:20. We had walked 9 ½ miles. And it had been a wonderful day!! Probably my favorite day in the whole trip.


Thursday Favorites: T- beating the family at Toy Story Midway Mania, taking S on the Golden Zephyr, but #1 Turtle Talk, R- everything!, but probably my moment on the Little Mermaid, E and J- Grizzly River Rapids, N- Lunar New Year processional, S- Triton's Carousel

 

[BrerMama]

I feel you on the stress of waiting for a spot you really want. So me for Paint the Night and fireworks. It looks like you had a good spot, though, except for the shorter members of your group. What a fun day, though! You did so much!

 

[Jaina]

I had no idea you could order the bread and the soup "separate!" I'm going to have to file that one away... I'm glad you guys had such a good day! But I totally hear you on the WoC stress. With a big group of little people, it's hard to be able to plan sufficiently for a good viewing spot (and a bit expensive to do the special dining). We did see WoC once, but we didn't do any of the big shows last trip, between that kind of stress, and kids that were ready for bed by 6/7 CA time...

 

[RedHotMama]

I feel you on the stress of waiting for a spot you really want. So me for Paint the Night and fireworks. It looks like you had a good spot, though, except for the shorter members of your group. What a fun day, though! You did so much!

Yes, we loved the show, and I think it was worth it. And I'm glad that our little ones are pretty light, so we could hold them up the whole show.

I had no idea you could order the bread and the soup "separate!" I'm going to have to file that one away...

I know! I got the idea somewhere on these boards, I'm sure.