It’s Always Sunny in California!..Eh?...L’il Bit!

[Mndisneygirl]

Great pics!
Congrats on your graduation and cute pictures with Graduate Mickey!

Too bad about the rain. And the wall of water splash on Splash! Wet jeans and wet shoes are the worst!

 

[MEK]

So BTMMR and Splash were both down at the same time? Really? I'm glad you got on Splash. I agree that the seating looks weird and seems a little scarier to me. Great pictures while on the ride.

For as wet as it was, all your pics turned out great. I like the ones from HM too! Very cool.

I like the little parasol in the dole whip float. Nice touch.

Fun last day.

 

[jenseib]

Sorry that I didn't update today...though some of you might be glad.
I have to write out more and when I started, wouldn't you know my internet went out and was out for several hours. I decided that I am too tired to do it tonight, but will try to get one up tomorrow.

 

[KatMark]

Jen, caught up again.

Sorry about the rain, but so glad that Mickey was at graduation.

I love the tour of Disneyland through your pictures.

That Pooh area is too darn cute...I just want to hang out there.

Too funny how that one leg got drenched on Splash Mountain.


Oh and congrats on some more time in Florida to go to Universal.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

OK I just got all caught up again.

I just wanted to say that Cass's soup bowl was HUGE!

That's great you are going to Universal too. I knew you would add something else on to your trip

How cool they opened Splash Mountain. They must have known you were there!

 

[jenseib]

You look like you were having a great time on SM even if you did get really wet.

The pooh area is adorable.

Yes, we had fun. I think I tried to dry off a bit in the bathroom a bit later too.

How strange about the delayed soaking. What a shame that the canal boats were down again.

Corinna

I guess it pushed the water, but it hadn't come back at us yet to hit us. LOL..well me!

I always seem to post the same thing every single time but I can't help myself: "I love all of the pictures". It's just neat to me to see the park through your pictures.

We haven't ridden the WDW version of Splash in several years because I don't like getting wet and having to walk around with a wet butt and shoes. At least your shoes didn't get soaked 'cause I know that you hate wet shoes.

Thanks Lisa!
I do hate wet shoes! I almost name the TR that because I had said it a few times during the trip. Cass had also suggested on our first day to go on the Grizzly River Run and I told her I hate wet shoes.

 

[jenseib]

Great pics!
Congrats on your graduation and cute pictures with Graduate Mickey!

Too bad about the rain. And the wall of water splash on Splash! Wet jeans and wet shoes are the worst!

Thanks!
Wet jeans are icky, but wet shoes are worse, so glad I didn't have those.

So BTMMR and Splash were both down at the same time? Really? I'm glad you got on Splash. I agree that the seating looks weird and seems a little scarier to me. Great pictures while on the ride.

For as wet as it was, all your pics turned out great. I like the ones from HM too! Very cool.

I like the little parasol in the dole whip float. Nice touch.

Fun last day.

There were a ton of things down while I was there. Splash, BMTR, Small World, Soarin...just to name a few of the major ones.
I like the parasol too. I guess thats why it cost the same but was smaller, that little bugger is probably costly.

Jen, caught up again.

Sorry about the rain, but so glad that Mickey was at graduation.

I love the tour of Disneyland through your pictures.

That Pooh area is too darn cute...I just want to hang out there.

Too funny how that one leg got drenched on Splash Mountain.


Oh and congrats on some more time in Florida to go to Universal.

I was so happy to hear he was there. We have heard that he hasn't been at all of them lately.
The Pooh area is really cute. I really need to go back and explore more of it, plus other things I just didn't get a chance to see or do. They say most people only do 3 or 4 days, which is why they don't sell anything bigger than a 5 day ticket, but I could easily do a week.
I guess I didn't have the poncho adjusted all that well to cover me.

OK I just got all caught up again.

I just wanted to say that Cass's soup bowl was HUGE!

That's great you are going to Universal too. I knew you would add something else on to your trip

How cool they opened Splash Mountain. They must have known you were there!

That soup bowl was so funny.
My Universal ticket arrived in the mail today. So excited!
I usually have bad luck, so I was happy that at least one ride opened before we left!

 

[jenseib]

The line for Casey wasn’t that long, but it’s a slow loader, so it was longer than we thought it would be.
I heard a lady telling her girls that maybe they would look for Anna and Elsa after this and pop in on them. I pointed her to the direction of where they were and let her in on a secret….the lines are very long! She seemed surprised by that and hopefully her wait wasn’t, but I doubt it.

A few pictures while we waited.





Now Casey’s train is more for little ones and Cass and I scoped out some seats on the train we wanted to get. But of course, kids and others went to those too. I can’t remember what we got, but it wasn’t the ideal ones we wanted. Also this ride is not what you would call exciting, but it did give us a view of the stuff we would’ve seen had we been able to ever ride the Storybook Canal boats and I tried to get some pictures of them……but I had the point and shoot with me and most turned out kind of blurry.















And a view of the castle from here…wish it came out sharper.



I am currently reading the latest book about the Kingdom Keepers. (Actually I have been reading it for some time, but I just don’t have much time to sit and read these days) and it takes place in Disneyland. They had a part about the miniature’s in it and of course after I read that part I had to go and look over my pictures. I am really glad I had gone to DL before reading it as I can place so many things now as I read the book.

With the ride done, we were now running slightly late for our lunch ADR so we rushed over there to check in!



Cass got in line to check us in and I took pictures.

Looks like some work is going on.



And where is lunch today?



Cass pointed out something I did not notice.



So that’s where it is! Right next to the Blue Bayou entrance.



And that would be where it is.



We got checked in and had to go and wait inside for a few minutes before being called.



Soon we were called and seated, pretty much in the middle of the restaurant, so we didn’t get one of the neat tables on the edge overlooking Pirates.

 

[jenseib]

We made our orders. I think we got just about the same thing today, but I believe Cass got a salad, while I went for the Cup of the Signature New Orleans Gumbo.(or was it Jambalaya? Not sure, I mix those up)



It was yummy!

We also had some rolls.



We both had the Slow-Roasted Beef Strip Loin - Over Rock Salt and Carved to Order. Crispy Shoestring Onions, Blue Bayou Au Gratin Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables and Armagnac Green Peppercorn Sauce.



It was very good and very similar to what we had at Steakhouse 55 the night before. We only wished we could’ve gotten the same potatoes as we did the night before. Don’t get me wrong, these were good, but last nights was just awesome!

I think we were both just too full for dessert today, so we skipped that option and paid our bills and went off on our merry way.

I believe this is when we went to go get FP’s for Space Mountain. I just want to say once again that DL’s version is superior to WDW’s version.

I think this is when this happened, but it might have been later at our return time….but I’ll write about it now………..

When you go to Space Mountain, you have to go up a ramp. It was wet because of it raining off and on all day. I noticed other people slipping and tried not to laugh. Well God punished me…because as we were walking, my foot slipped and I just about did the splits, but I caught myself and I didn’t go down too far, but of course you feel like a big idiot. I think I shouted OMG!!! And Cass turned and looked at me and had about 1.5 seconds of concern on her face before she busted out laughing. I am so glad I could provide her with some extra entertainment! LOL.
She said that if that was her going down, she doesn’t think the words being shouted would’ve have been so nice. And honestly, I am surprised I didn’t let slip out a naughty word or 2 when it was happening as well.

We had time to waste, so we went over to the Innoventions building. Another thing I did not realize that DL had.

I believe this was the view we had as we walked up the ramp to get in.



They had an Iron Man exhibit and I don’t think it was open yet, but I believe they are doing the same thing that the Disney Magic does now, with some sort of interactive thing.





I took a lot of pictures in here, but because it was my point and shoot, a lot are blurry.







They had a thing that took your picture and did the future story, just like on Spaceship Earth. I posted a pic on facebook and so many people asked me where I was as they all thought I was at DL…which I was…and thought perhaps I flew to WDW that day. LOL.









Downstairs they had the Dream Home, but we didn’t think it was much of a Dream to us.



















I am not sure what this area was.



After we looked around and played a bit we headed back outside towards Space again.

 

[jenseib]

We had a few minutes to wait for our FP time to open, so we hung out and we spotted some strangely dressed people and I took a quick shot.



That was a guy…and see, the person walking by even did a double take. LOL

We finally were allowed in and made our way to the loading area.



And the ride was great once again…and once again, Cass looks cool…and I look like I might throwup. Which I don’t know why, because I loved the ride.



We did some shopping after the ride. I know Cass was looking for some Star Wars things, but I am not sure if she ended up buying anything or not…My memory is now going from that long ago.



I think we then headed back to the Storybook Canal boats (or at least to check something in Fantasyland) to see if they were opened and I took some more pictures along the way.



Well isn’t he cute?



See!!!! The Castle isn’t THAT small like everyone says.



Wait~!!!! How have I never seen this before now? Cass said she tried to take me through a different route each day so I would see different things. Now I know I have seen pictures of this before, but had totally forgotten it even existed. How cool! I love it!











I believe this was a store window display.







I think we bought something in here. I think we each bought our girls some Frozen figurines. The Frozen merchandise was really lacking in the parks. They told us they just couldn’t keep it in stock.



We now were getting tired. The week was catching up with us and we were wet. The day was dreary and we had wanted to watch the parade, Fantasmic and the fireworks later, but if the weather kept on as it was, there was a good chance all would be canceled. Cass was also having issues with her feet and ankles swelling. We decided to head out of the park. Cass said she was done for the day and I felt done, but I was going to wait and see if we heard if the parade or Fantasmic was canceled and come back later if they were still on.
So we headed to the front of the park.



But then we heard a marching band coming and I told Cass to go ahead as I wanted to get some pictures.





I took a few pictures of the area and just lingered.





So…after putzing around watching the band go by and taking a few pictures I turn around and start to head to the front and I see Cass off to the side waiting for me. That was so nice of her since I knew she was in pain. We then made our way down Main Street to exit.

Again I snapped a few more shots on the way.







Bye Bye Disneyland!

 

[jenseib]

Cass wanted to go to a few Downtown Disney stores on the way back to the Grand, which was fine with me.



We went in and out a few stores and Cass was looking for something for her husband. I am not sure if she ended up finding anything or not…again my memory is fading.

We headed back towards the room again. I think I may have stopped off at the fire pit as I often did each day and I am sure I called home one last time. Cass said she was going to the hot tub to soak her ankles and I told her I would meet her there soon.
When I got back to the room, she was already gone and I put my swim suit on and decided I was going to wear one of the robes down to the pool as my cover up. I had seen so many people doing this throughout the week and I thought it sounded like fun…..because I am a geek that way. I go to get a robe and notice there is only 1 left. I had to laugh to myself, because I knew there had been 2 in there, so Cass must’ve done the same thing.
I headed down to the pool and I think it took me a few minutes to find Cass. It was dark, I didn’t have glasses on and my eyes were tired, but she finally spotted me and we went in the hot tub and just relaxed.
I asked her if she wore a robe too and she had. We both thought it was so funny that we both decided to do it on the same day.
We spent a good amount of time in there just talking. It was really hot, so at times we would just sit on the edge and dangle our feet in while we cooled off a bit.
Neither of us wanted to go home. We missed our families, but if dreams could come true, we would want our families to fly out the next day and meet us, rather than us go home to them.
It was such a nice week…with not having to cook for anyone, make sure everyone was up and ready for the day. To only have to dress ourselves and to not do laundry or cleaning.
It was such a wonderful week and we were both sad that it was coming to an end. And really…we hit it off so well with each other. We had laughed so much and it was so refreshing to do that.
After our hot tub time was over….I think we stayed till it closed….because everything in DL closes early in Feb….we got changed and needed a bite to eat.
I think I debated on Earl of Sandwich, but just didn’t have the desire to walk all that way….not that it was far, but I just was really running on low steam now.
Cass already knew what she was getting…..the Chicken Nachos from Whitewater Snacks.
I decided I would go down with her and get them too. But tonight I mixed it up and got wild….I went with the beef ones.



Yes, they were good too. I thoroughly enjoyed them, but I could not eat all of them. It’s such a big portion.

Sadly, it was time to pack. I had to leave very early in the morning, so I gathered my things and arranged my suitcases. Now normally I am pretty organized, but when I go to a hotel…I start losing things left and right. It’s because I put things in a “safe spot” and then forget where that is…like my passport. But I did eventually find it in it’s safe spot.
I took a shower as well so all I had to do in the morning was throw on clothes.
We just were too tired to go and see if Fantasmic or the fireworks were still on, but we did hear later that they were all canceled, so we didn’t miss anything.
However, World of Color was still on that night and we went out on the balcony and watched it begin, but our view wasn’t the best and we watched a few minutes and headed back in.

My intentions once we left DL were to go to bed early that night. When we got back to the resort, I was just so tired, so I figured I could easily go to bed by 9 or so. Yeah, that didn’t happen. I think by the time I had packed and showered and just fumbled around, it was getting late. And of course we talked a bit too. It was probably 11 before I went to sleep.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Looks like you had a good last day at Disneyland despite it being wet and tired. Your lunch looked delicious. I think the building works you saw were for the expansion of Club 33. I have not been inside Innoventions in Disneyland for years. I may give this another go. What a shame that your trip is over. Thank you for sharing.

I hope that you get a chance to finish reading the last Kingdom Keepers book. I read this on our cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Corinna

 

[BellaBaby]

That Snow White area by the castle is so cute. We have stopped by and looked at it before but this time we were too busy riding rides. I saw it from afar though! Also, I wish we had walked through the castle and saw the Sleeping Beauty area. We have done this in the past at least. I agree 5 days are not enough!! I wish they would sell 6 or 7 day tickets!! Also it was VERY crowded while we there so we wanted to make sure we got all our favorite rides in several times especially with the old FP system we were able to do that! We did have an awesome time.

Looks like you had a great trip. Looking forward to reading the new TR and how you got along with FP+. Lucky you--get to go back very soon again!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

We really wanted to stay another day on our DL trip too, but we'd need to buy one day tickets! No way! We could've ridden BTMRR if we had one more day. A 6 day ticket would have been perfect.

I loved that little Snow White area! We wandered back there and met up with the Evil Queen and only ONE other person was back there to see her! She was great!

Too bad about the rain! sad your trip is coming to an end - it's been fun following along!

 

[natebenma]

Crud! I was way behind again, but I just binge-read and caught up!



That is too funny that you haven't seen Monsters, Inc. That opened when my boys were young enough to enjoy the movie. I remember getting all of the Happy Meal toys, but we missed getting the first one (either Mike or Sully). I was going to get it on ebay to complete the collection, but a friend of mine had one that she generously gave to Nate.

I have not seen Monsters U yet, though.

We really, really want to ride RSR at night!

Still trying to figure out where we are going to eat during our 4 days at DL. Nate loves steak, so Steakhouse 55 would be a great selection, but boy did everything look pricey.

Cass's big soup bowl is hilarious.

Looks like the dessert was a chocolate mouse cake, not mousse cake.

The food at Goofy's Kitchen looked really good. Seems like a pretty unrelated grouping of characters.

Yay for Graduation Mickey. You pictures with him are really nice.

Bummer about all the rain on your last day. And getting really wet on Splash (who knew???)

Dole Whip=YUM!

Your picture of the partners statue with the castle in the background is awesome!

Thanks for the info about Kingdom Keepers. I think I have only read the first one (maybe 2) and I was just wondering today if there were any DL ones. Do you know if I have to read them in order to follow the storyline/characters or can I just read the most recent book?

Your steak at Blue Bayou looked really good, so maybe I would consider that as a way to satisfy Nate's craving for beef.

 

[jenseib]

Looks like you had a good last day at Disneyland despite it being wet and tired. Your lunch looked delicious. I think the building works you saw were for the expansion of Club 33. I have not been inside Innoventions in Disneyland for years. I may give this another go. What a shame that your trip is over. Thank you for sharing.

I hope that you get a chance to finish reading the last Kingdom Keepers book. I read this on our cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Corinna

We made the best of the wet day, but being on the go for so many days in a row really started getting to us too.
I was thinking that was probably what the construction was for as well.
I will eventually finish reading it. I actually sat down to read some yesterday and as soon as I did, Paige called to tell me she was coming over...so it inver happened. LOL.

That Snow White area by the castle is so cute. We have stopped by and looked at it before but this time we were too busy riding rides. I saw it from afar though! Also, I wish we had walked through the castle and saw the Sleeping Beauty area. We have done this in the past at least. I agree 5 days are not enough!! I wish they would sell 6 or 7 day tickets!! Also it was VERY crowded while we there so we wanted to make sure we got all our favorite rides in several times especially with the old FP system we were able to do that! We did have an awesome time.

Looks like you had a great trip. Looking forward to reading the new TR and how you got along with FP+. Lucky you--get to go back very soon again!!

5 days just seems to short to a WDW vet. I guess they have done their research and thats the norm for most of their guests. I did 6 days because I was able to get a ticket through my work and then through the conference and had I had a late flight on Sat, I would have easily gone to the parks that day as well.
I'll give you a spoiler....I am not a fan of FP+...It's more like "MY Disney Experience" sucks!.
Since then they have gotten better with some things though, still tweaking....but then lately I keep reading where things like Anna and Elsa and Mine Train FP's are just disappearing off peoples accounts and they are not doing anything to get them back for people.

We really wanted to stay another day on our DL trip too, but we'd need to buy one day tickets! No way! We could've ridden BTMRR if we had one more day. A 6 day ticket would have been perfect.

I loved that little Snow White area! We wandered back there and met up with the Evil Queen and only ONE other person was back there to see her! She was great!

Too bad about the rain! sad your trip is coming to an end - it's been fun following along!

Yeo, I would've easily done another day or 2 as well. Now I did not spend all day in the parks when I went, but I could have. Or a lot longer than the time I had. I ended up with 6 days in the park because I was able to get a ticket through my work and then one came with the conference. So in all I had 7 days worth of tickets and used 6. The 7th would have been used if I didn't fly out till later on Sat as well.
How awesome to meet up with the Evil Queen! I would love that.
I am sad it's over, but I do have a very long WDW/DCL trip to write up yet and I have not even come up with a title for that one yet.

Crud! I was way behind again, but I just binge-read and caught up!

I binge read every so often too!



That is too funny that you haven't seen Monsters, Inc. That opened when my boys were young enough to enjoy the movie. I remember getting all of the Happy Meal toys, but we missed getting the first one (either Mike or Sully). I was going to get it on ebay to complete the collection, but a friend of mine had one that she generously gave to Nate.

I have not seen Monsters U yet, though.

Thats funny about the Happy Meal toys. Most of the time it's junk and every so often they have some good ones!

We really, really want to ride RSR at night!

It's really pretty all lit up.

Still trying to figure out where we are going to eat during our 4 days at DL. Nate loves steak, so Steakhouse 55 would be a great selection, but boy did everything look pricey.

It is very pricey. With us doing the set meal, it was a little cheaper, but I think those change through out the week.

Cass's big soup bowl is hilarious.

We had laughing fits over how big it was.

Looks like the dessert was a chocolate mouse cake, not mousse cake.

LOL! Very true!

The food at Goofy's Kitchen looked really good. Seems like a pretty unrelated grouping of characters.

Yes, I have heard you never really know who you will get, it can be pretty random ones.

Yay for Graduation Mickey. You pictures with him are really nice.

Thanks!

Bummer about all the rain on your last day. And getting really wet on Splash (who knew???)

Well it was probably just me because I was in the front...and shielded everyone else!

Dole Whip=YUM!

Your picture of the partners statue with the castle in the background is awesome!

Thanks

Thanks for the info about Kingdom Keepers. I think I have only read the first one (maybe 2) and I was just wondering today if there were any DL ones. Do you know if I have to read them in order to follow the storyline/characters or can I just read the most recent book?

I do think you probably need to read them all for much of it to make sense. Heck I have and sometimes I have to sit and think things over and remember what happened in the other books. I read the first one several years ago and then the rest over the past few years, but the last one was a year ago and I guess my memory is going.

Your steak at Blue Bayou looked really good, so maybe I would consider that as a way to satisfy Nate's craving for beef.

Blue Bayou is really good too, but again it's pricey too.
I do love a good steak though too and was happy to devour the red meat!

 

[jenseib]

Sat. March 1, 2014

I had the alarm set for pretty darn early! I want to say it was set for 4:30 AM. Yep, not much sleep for me that night!

I got up and got ready and Cass got up as well to send me off, which was really nice of her since her flight was later and she could sleep a few more hours. I had Bell services come up to get my bags and we headed downstairs. The guy was friendly and had family and friends that lived in my area. What a coincidence.




He told me he would come get me when the super shuttle arrived and I could wait in the lobby, so I did…after all it was still raining.

A few last pictures.









After a few more minutes he came in to ask me if I was waiting for the super shuttle or the DL express. I told him super shuttle as I was told the DL express didn’t start running till around 6ish and I wanted to be picked up around 5:15-5:30 to allow enough time.
He told me I was right, but for some reason the DL express had a van out there and was loading a family. He said it was really odd and the driver was not parked in the right spot either, so he assumed something had happened and Disney was giving this family special treatment to make up for something.

I didn’t wait too long and my Super shuttle arrived and I got in and my bags were loaded. I have to say my driver was kind of weird. It was early and dark and he kind of whistled as he drove and played with the radio and something kept beeping and that drove me nuts. LOL. It was kind of creepy.
We made several stops at offsite hotels and picked up others before heading the airport. It was by now getting light out and I was actually kind of nervous that I might be running late now.
I got out and the guy just threw my bags along the road and not even on the curb. So I had 3 bags including my carryon and a back pack and I am sure I looked pretty comical trying to get them up on the curb and then over to the SW line……which by the way was extremely long, but at least it wasn’t raining anymore. Luckily the line moved fast, but it was very awkward moving along with my bags. I was super happy to get those checked in and not having to worry about them for several hours.

I went through security and found my gate area, which was packed. I bought some McDonalds for breakfast and found a chair to sit and eat. I had hoped to charge my phone some more, but there were very limited plug in areas and they were all in use. I have 2 portable chargers, but I was hoping to get one last charging in before I left.
I messaged back and forth between some friends, one being Keri who I had met up with on my first night at CA during WoC.
I also talked to Skip and he once again told me that a storm was coming in. Oh dear…I really did not want to be stuck in Nashville.
At one point several people left to board a flight at a gate nearby, so I snagged a seat next to a plug and charged up. After a bit I saw my plane arrive and I headed off to the bathrooms and it wasn’t too long after that we were called to board.
Now typically I buy the early bird check in with Southwest, but since I was by myself and I knew I could check in at 24 hours…which I did on my phone…I didn’t. Even doing it at exactly 24 hours the best I could get was a B1 boarding.
I was really hoping to luck out and get one of the front seats again, but luck was not on my side and they were full when I got on.
Actually this worked out better for me in the long run. I found an open aisle seat and once we took off I got out my laptop and edited pictures I had taken on the trip. I was smart enough to load some on it the night before and it really made the flight go so much faster.

When I arrived in Nashville, I knew I had a few hours layover, so I went in search of food and found a place where I could sit and eat and they had plugs nearby, so I charged my phone and laptop.
While I was sitting there I heard a lady at a table near me talking on her phone. She had said something about the Detroit flight being delayed at least an hour and that almost all SW flights leaving Nashville had some sort of delay. Oh good grief.
I looked up on my phone, and sure enough there was a delay. Well I made the best of the situation and just stayed right there and edited more pictures.
I called Skip and let him know and also called my parents to let them know as well. They were picking up Claire to come get me and if my flight had been on time, they would be leaving soon.
I think in the end, it was delayed a couple of times. At this point I just wanted to get home. Sitting in an airport is not my idea of fun! Had I known early on I was going to be delayed this long plus the long layover, I would’ve gone outside and got some fresh air and walked around more.

As the time got closer to when the flight was now supposed to be taking off I headed to the gate and sat and waited. I think I bought a snack and ate that too.

Finally our plane arrived and I took a picture of the people getting off.



Finally we were allowed to board…and the nice thing was, the flight was not full.
While in line to board, I was behind a nice lady and we talked a bit. When I got on, she had picked a window seat and I decided to take the aisle seat in her row. We never had anyone sit in between us and it was so nice to have some extra space.

The flight attendants got us all seated and ready to go immediately. They were tired as well and they were not happy with the delay either. The captain told us he was going to fly extra fast to get us home. YAY!

I pulled out my laptop again and worked on a few more pictures, and I did chat with the lady next to me for a bit as well. This flight was really fast. I think we got back to Detroit in less than an hour! Yahoo!!!

Once I landed, I called my parents and told them I had arrived, but still had to get my bags. The calls kept getting dropped and I am not sure why. I guess Mom didn’t have a good signal on her phone.
I went outside to wait, but it was snowing and freaking cold out! You could tell that it had just started snowing as there wasn’t a lot on the ground yet.
I ended up going back in the doorway area between the 2 sets of doors to wait for them to arrive.
Once they did I dragged my bags out to the car and Claire jumped out and tackled me. I guess she missed me!

We got the car loaded fast and we all jumped back in and took off. Dad started to complain about all the luggage I had. He would be picking us up from the airport when we came back from out WDW trip in just a few weeks’ time and he said that his car would not be able to handle all the luggage we would be bringing home, along with all the people. I told him not to worry about it but he just went on and on about it. Does he really think I am going to pack lighter for a longer trip and for 3 people???? LOL.

The ride home was a little slow going because the snow was really picking up. Dad said the roads were clear on the way up, but now they were covered and in the open areas it was practically a white out at times.
We finally did make it back to Toledo. Claire was hungry and I could go for a bite as well, so we stopped off at McDonalds and picked up some food and used the restroom. Back on the road we went and headed home.

It really felt like Ohio. We had such a bad winter this year and of course I was coming home to a new batch of snow in my honor!

We did make it home and pulled the bags out and I dropped everything pretty much just inside and pulled out one prize for Claire, which made her happy and then hugged my husband and called it a night!

Coming from the west coast I had lost 3 hours of my day and I spent a lot of time in the air and in airports. I was exhausted and it felt like such a wasted day. I was happy to finally be home and to be able to sleep in my own bed again.

Of course the next day there was a lot of laundry to do…as when I am gone, no one else’s laundry gets done as well. And Paige, my oldest daughter, who was living with us at the time, brought down her laundry the next morning for me to do as well. Wasn’t that so nice of my 21 year old? I didn’t think so either and told her so.

The nice thing was, as I did my laundry I could pack it back in the suitcase because we were heading to Disney World in 3 weeks’ time! I was excited…and I really like these back to back trips. I had done that in 2012 with a cruise in late Sept, and then a WDW/Cruise in early Nov. It’s a nice pattern to get into if I do say so myself……and I will give you a little teaser…..it’s planned to happen yet again this year!

Thanks so much for reliving my fabulous trip with me. I had so much fun, learned so many new things, met some new and old friends and made some magical and hilarious memories.
I was really happy with the amount of rides and attractions we had tackled this week. I am sure I didn’t post them all, but we rode all the important ones (that were open) to us. We even did some extras.
I was also happy to come home and have Skip say more than once that he would like to go to California next year. Now whether we do or not is still in the air…..you know how he is…..he will decided to go and then expect me to plan the trip in 3 days.

Stay tuned for my WDW/DCL Cruise Trip Report…..coming soon!

 

[petals]

great report!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Great report! Thanks for sharing!

Glad you made it home safe and sound (even though delayed). Too bad about the mountain of :laundry:

Disneyland really is so cool! I think it's great to mix up our Disney experiences!

Can't wait to see/read your next TR - although I've had a sneak peak with your pics on FB!

 

[jenseib]

great report!

Thanks, hopefully it helps you a little bit with your planning.

Great report! Thanks for sharing!

Glad you made it home safe and sound (even though delayed). Too bad about the mountain of :laundry:

Disneyland really is so cool! I think it's great to mix up our Disney experiences!

Can't wait to see/read your next TR - although I've had a sneak peak with your pics on FB!

The laundry really sucks...and I gave Paige strict instructions when we went to WDW that she better do her own laundry while I am away. And if she didn't, I wasn't even going to look at hers till a week after I got back.
She did it!
I was so glad to finally get out there and it was a great experience!