Grumpy'sWife4Ever
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2008
We have returned from our visit of March 11-13th (plus a sojourn to DTD on the morning of the 14th) and it was simply a wonderful vacation. I will warn you now that I tend to get a little wordy so you might want to grab a snack and settle in to a comfy chair before you dive into my report......
I will start with a little background -We drove from Tillamook, Oregon to Fresno CA on Saturday March 7th and it was such a successful road trip I could barely believe it. Traffic, the weather, and all three of our children behaved well above expectation. Dreams DO come true!
We spent a few days with family and then on Wed March 11th we left Fresno for Anaheim. Again, the roads and weather gods cooperated and we were standing in the lobby of Hojos by 1pm and walking in the shadow of the castle before 2pm. I have to add that Hojos was having some sort of computer problem but they were still so friendly and accommodating.
DL itself was pleasantly cool weather-wise and while there were certainly plenty of people milling about, it was far from crowded. We walked right onto BLAB without a wait at all, and right after strolled directly into HISTA (which was simply dumb-luck timing, but nice all the same) We soon decided to grab some snacks and sit at Coca Cola Corner to nosh and people watch. After that we headed toward Fantasyland to ride Storybookland (15 minute wait) Casey Jr (Ditto) Dumbo (15-20 ish) and the Tea Cups (maybe 10 minutes at the most) We then visited Toon Town for a bit where we entered Mickey's House and was at the waiting area to meet Mickey almost immediately. This was a big difference from our July '06 trip where we waited for an hour to see him. My two youngest happily posed with Mick and then it was onto Minnie's house and the wishing well. Someone suggested the Roger Rabbit ride and the line was short as well, maybe 10 minutes? We decided to eat dinner at the Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, my kids fell in love with it last trip although this time they swore the slices were smaller (I hated to inform them that they themselves had grown bigger, LOL) After eating we strolled around Main Street and did a little shopping before heading back to our room. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we could see most of the high fireworks from our balcony!
Thursday the 12th - we had intended to make it for our Magic Morning, but with our crazy crew intentions are just about all we have....There were nine of us in our party altogether and after showers and dressing and a quick pick-me-up breakfast at McD's, we rolled into the park right around nine AM. I figured we missed our shot to find a short line at Nemo but we checked it out anyway....and were happy to find ourselves aboard in just about 30 minutes! Afterward we all got our driver's licenses at Autopia - this line was a bit long, which surprised me - but it was a BLAST and my DD4 drove just like most of the LA drivers we had encountered the day before.....
Then my DS10 begged to check out Innoventions which we did for a while but I wasn't really impressed. 
By now it was time to start toward California Adventure - the "girls" in my party (DD 4, me, my mother, my aunt and my cousin) had ressies at Ariel's Grotto for lunch. The boys (DH, DS10, DS7, and my cousin) headed off for TSM and Soarin' so they weren't really feeling too left out, LOL!. I had originally made my PS for four, not being certain which of my relatives were going to join us. When it became clear that all of the ladies were game, I called Disney Dining and asked to add one more. They were accommodating, but we ended up losing our indoor table and had to be kicked outside. At first this irritated me (inside was SO pretty and outside was blah due to the refurb) but my DD got so much individual attention from the Princesses that in the end I could not complain. In addition, the weather was mild and the food was great - and since the whole process took a while my DD was able to get up and kind of wander and dance and explore and it was okay because most of the tables were empty. In the end outside probably worked out for the best. Of course we bought the Ariel photo package (suckers!!!) but it was all worth it and my DD was blown away to meet Sleeping Beauty, her all time fave princess!
Once lunch was over we all went our separate ways - DD and I met up with a friend from the area and her two little girls, and we hit Playhouse Disney Live, A Bug's Land and Monster's Inc before heading back to DL to do the carousel and Dumbo. By this time my DH and sons met back up with us, and we decided to grab a bite at the Village Haus before hitting the Mad Hatter to pick up some stylin' ears and riding the Tea Cups AGAIN, this time by the light of the glowing lanterns above which was BEAUTIFUL (BTW, can you tell all my kids LOVE the Tea Cups?
) Then it was time for some more Main Street shopping and a nice stroll home.
Friday morning - I was a little worried being that it was Friday the 13th and so far everything had gone so well that something HAD to go wrong soon. It was immediately clear that the parks were going to be much more crowded than the past two days, but that didn't really count as bad luck since we knew Fridays are typically much busier. As it turned out, when we arrived at the gates my mother realized she had left her Hopper back in the hotel room. She and my aunt walked back to get it, so the rest of us decided to ride the train around the park. From this vantage we could REALLY see how big the crowds were. When we arrived back at Main Street Station my mom and aunt hadn't returned yet so I went to City Hall to get a birthday button for my DS (his true b'day is the 14th but since we weren't going to be there that day we celebrated a day early) and I also requested Family Reunion buttons for all the members of our party. Finally we met up with Mom and my aunt, and they took DD to Fantasyland so we could take our boys on some "bigger" rides. We did Star Tours (the boys LOVED it) followed by Indy (the boys were not so impressed, said it was too dark and scary) and then Pirates (we were back in their good graces again, they LOVED it -- which is a good thing because if they hadn't I may have had to disown them
) We walked off POTC just in time to make our PS at the Blue Bayou. I tried not to have too many expectations because I knew my kids might not like the food, my DH might not like the prices, etc......But in the end I need not have worried because we had a WONDERFUL meal! My DH and I split the Monte Cristo and were amazed at how large the portions were. We were both glad we only had 1/2 plates because we couldn't have possibly eaten a full plate. My mom and oldest DS split the Chicken cooked in Au Jus (sorry, the name escapes me) and they were also pleased with the portions. Our server had noticed DS's birthday button and she brought him out a small chocolate mousse with a candle in it! My younger two grabbed their spoons and were more than happy to help him eat it, LOL! The small kids ordered from the child's menu and got good sized portions of chicken and mac and cheese respectively. At the end of our meal (even though we were all stuffed) I just HAD to order a cookie boat for us all to share.....it was warm and wonderful and the kids thought I was so smart to know about such a fun dessert! 
After lunch my mother took DD to ride Pooh while we took the boys to ride the HM. Our oldest DS talked himself out of it before we ever even got in line but DS 7 was game to try it. I let DH take him and when they got off the review from the little guy was NOT good, LOL! I now realize how sheltered we keep our poor kids, they don't like anything that is not warm and fuzzy. To make it up to them we headed for It's A Small World. Since Pooh is such a quick ride we had sent my mom ahead with DD and told her not to wait for us. When we got there we spotted our stroller but not Mom and DD so we figured they were already riding. We closely watched all the boats as they unloaded but we didn't see them. Finally, it was our turn to ride and who should pull up to disembark our boat but Mom and DD....and in the exact same row that DH and I were loading into! As a result, we were able to grab DD and take her with us, so she got to ride two times in a row. Proof it really IS a small world!
We then got to discussing what to do next and I suggested the Tiki Room. I had not been in YEARS and none of the others had ever been so it was a must! The kids LOVED it and they loved their Dole Whip after even more! Since we were in the neighborhood we jumped on the Jungle Cruise next. DD had her one and only crying fit when she was startled by the "native attack" but it was short lived and soon she was happy again - especially when we headed back to Fantasyland so we could ride Alice and (everyone say it with me) the Tea Cups.
At this point my mom took DD to have dinner at McD's and then back to the hotel. We took the boys to do some more shopping - we asked Zak what he wanted for his birthday and he chose a custom light saber from the Star Trader. We also got him some birthday ears, which he loved. Since we were right there, we chose to grab a quick dinner at the Pizza Port again before making our way over to Fantasmic. In the interim DS7 lost a band-aid from a minor boo-boo on his finger and was completely convinced he couldn't go another step without a replacement. Unfortunately, when we sent Mom and DD off we sent her potty seat bag along as well...which held our first aid kit! So I got to visit the First Aid station for the very first time, and my shy son was given a very cool Nemo band-aid PLUS a replacement just in case. The nurse was very nice, and I counted myself as lucky that our visit was for something so minor.
Crisis averted, and we were off to the Rivers of America to scout our spots for Fantasmic. As an avid Dis board reader I was prepared to seek out the secret "good spots" that have been discussed so much....but when we came across some pretty good spots in the standing area I decided to just grab them while the getting was good. As it turned out, we had a super nice family from Canada standing in front of us so we pleasantly chatted until the show began.
At this point I have to say that our DS7 had such a look of pure joy and delight on his face throughout the entire production that the trip was more than worth any money we put out or sore feet we might have acquired. The magic to him was REAL and at the end of the show he reverberated with excitement. It is a moment I will never ever forget, and I doubt he will either.
Okay, mushy stuff aside - we contemplated staying for the fireworks but we were tired and decided to leave instead. Somehow
we ended up stopping in the Emporium on our way out and of course more shopping ensued.....
Saturday morning was our DS11s REAL birthday. He chose to have his birthday breakfast at Denney's so we Grand Slammed and then made a jaunt over to DTD to get those last minute souvenirs that had eluded us while we were in the parks. My oh my but the lines at the security checkpoints and at the parks were LONG. Since we didn't go into the parks I can't say for sure, but I am betting that was a crowded day! World of Disney wasn't crowded at all, however, and we were able to grab what we needed and got out in a pretty reasonable matter of time.....just to get back into the LONG security lines again. LOL!! It just gave DS a chance to milk his birthday button and ears that many more times as each CM greeted him with a hearty "Happy Birthday Zak!" when they saw him.
After that we were pretty much done with this trip, there was nothing left to do but go jump in our minivan and start talking about all the great memories we made. We did make a side trip to the La Brea Tar Pits on our way north (lots of fun for dinosaur buffs) but of course our biggest topic of conversation on the way back home was when we could go back to Disney. Isn't that always the way??
I will start with a little background -We drove from Tillamook, Oregon to Fresno CA on Saturday March 7th and it was such a successful road trip I could barely believe it. Traffic, the weather, and all three of our children behaved well above expectation. Dreams DO come true!
We spent a few days with family and then on Wed March 11th we left Fresno for Anaheim. Again, the roads and weather gods cooperated and we were standing in the lobby of Hojos by 1pm and walking in the shadow of the castle before 2pm. I have to add that Hojos was having some sort of computer problem but they were still so friendly and accommodating. DL itself was pleasantly cool weather-wise and while there were certainly plenty of people milling about, it was far from crowded. We walked right onto BLAB without a wait at all, and right after strolled directly into HISTA (which was simply dumb-luck timing, but nice all the same) We soon decided to grab some snacks and sit at Coca Cola Corner to nosh and people watch. After that we headed toward Fantasyland to ride Storybookland (15 minute wait) Casey Jr (Ditto) Dumbo (15-20 ish) and the Tea Cups (maybe 10 minutes at the most) We then visited Toon Town for a bit where we entered Mickey's House and was at the waiting area to meet Mickey almost immediately. This was a big difference from our July '06 trip where we waited for an hour to see him. My two youngest happily posed with Mick and then it was onto Minnie's house and the wishing well. Someone suggested the Roger Rabbit ride and the line was short as well, maybe 10 minutes? We decided to eat dinner at the Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, my kids fell in love with it last trip although this time they swore the slices were smaller (I hated to inform them that they themselves had grown bigger, LOL) After eating we strolled around Main Street and did a little shopping before heading back to our room. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we could see most of the high fireworks from our balcony!
Thursday the 12th - we had intended to make it for our Magic Morning, but with our crazy crew intentions are just about all we have....There were nine of us in our party altogether and after showers and dressing and a quick pick-me-up breakfast at McD's, we rolled into the park right around nine AM. I figured we missed our shot to find a short line at Nemo but we checked it out anyway....and were happy to find ourselves aboard in just about 30 minutes! Afterward we all got our driver's licenses at Autopia - this line was a bit long, which surprised me - but it was a BLAST and my DD4 drove just like most of the LA drivers we had encountered the day before.....
Then my DS10 begged to check out Innoventions which we did for a while but I wasn't really impressed. By now it was time to start toward California Adventure - the "girls" in my party (DD 4, me, my mother, my aunt and my cousin) had ressies at Ariel's Grotto for lunch. The boys (DH, DS10, DS7, and my cousin) headed off for TSM and Soarin' so they weren't really feeling too left out, LOL!. I had originally made my PS for four, not being certain which of my relatives were going to join us. When it became clear that all of the ladies were game, I called Disney Dining and asked to add one more. They were accommodating, but we ended up losing our indoor table and had to be kicked outside. At first this irritated me (inside was SO pretty and outside was blah due to the refurb) but my DD got so much individual attention from the Princesses that in the end I could not complain. In addition, the weather was mild and the food was great - and since the whole process took a while my DD was able to get up and kind of wander and dance and explore and it was okay because most of the tables were empty. In the end outside probably worked out for the best. Of course we bought the Ariel photo package (suckers!!!) but it was all worth it and my DD was blown away to meet Sleeping Beauty, her all time fave princess!Once lunch was over we all went our separate ways - DD and I met up with a friend from the area and her two little girls, and we hit Playhouse Disney Live, A Bug's Land and Monster's Inc before heading back to DL to do the carousel and Dumbo. By this time my DH and sons met back up with us, and we decided to grab a bite at the Village Haus before hitting the Mad Hatter to pick up some stylin' ears and riding the Tea Cups AGAIN, this time by the light of the glowing lanterns above which was BEAUTIFUL (BTW, can you tell all my kids LOVE the Tea Cups?
) Then it was time for some more Main Street shopping and a nice stroll home. Friday morning - I was a little worried being that it was Friday the 13th and so far everything had gone so well that something HAD to go wrong soon. It was immediately clear that the parks were going to be much more crowded than the past two days, but that didn't really count as bad luck since we knew Fridays are typically much busier. As it turned out, when we arrived at the gates my mother realized she had left her Hopper back in the hotel room. She and my aunt walked back to get it, so the rest of us decided to ride the train around the park. From this vantage we could REALLY see how big the crowds were. When we arrived back at Main Street Station my mom and aunt hadn't returned yet so I went to City Hall to get a birthday button for my DS (his true b'day is the 14th but since we weren't going to be there that day we celebrated a day early) and I also requested Family Reunion buttons for all the members of our party. Finally we met up with Mom and my aunt, and they took DD to Fantasyland so we could take our boys on some "bigger" rides. We did Star Tours (the boys LOVED it) followed by Indy (the boys were not so impressed, said it was too dark and scary) and then Pirates (we were back in their good graces again, they LOVED it -- which is a good thing because if they hadn't I may have had to disown them
) We walked off POTC just in time to make our PS at the Blue Bayou. I tried not to have too many expectations because I knew my kids might not like the food, my DH might not like the prices, etc......But in the end I need not have worried because we had a WONDERFUL meal! My DH and I split the Monte Cristo and were amazed at how large the portions were. We were both glad we only had 1/2 plates because we couldn't have possibly eaten a full plate. My mom and oldest DS split the Chicken cooked in Au Jus (sorry, the name escapes me) and they were also pleased with the portions. Our server had noticed DS's birthday button and she brought him out a small chocolate mousse with a candle in it! My younger two grabbed their spoons and were more than happy to help him eat it, LOL! The small kids ordered from the child's menu and got good sized portions of chicken and mac and cheese respectively. At the end of our meal (even though we were all stuffed) I just HAD to order a cookie boat for us all to share.....it was warm and wonderful and the kids thought I was so smart to know about such a fun dessert! After lunch my mother took DD to ride Pooh while we took the boys to ride the HM. Our oldest DS talked himself out of it before we ever even got in line but DS 7 was game to try it. I let DH take him and when they got off the review from the little guy was NOT good, LOL! I now realize how sheltered we keep our poor kids, they don't like anything that is not warm and fuzzy. To make it up to them we headed for It's A Small World. Since Pooh is such a quick ride we had sent my mom ahead with DD and told her not to wait for us. When we got there we spotted our stroller but not Mom and DD so we figured they were already riding. We closely watched all the boats as they unloaded but we didn't see them. Finally, it was our turn to ride and who should pull up to disembark our boat but Mom and DD....and in the exact same row that DH and I were loading into! As a result, we were able to grab DD and take her with us, so she got to ride two times in a row. Proof it really IS a small world!
We then got to discussing what to do next and I suggested the Tiki Room. I had not been in YEARS and none of the others had ever been so it was a must! The kids LOVED it and they loved their Dole Whip after even more! Since we were in the neighborhood we jumped on the Jungle Cruise next. DD had her one and only crying fit when she was startled by the "native attack" but it was short lived and soon she was happy again - especially when we headed back to Fantasyland so we could ride Alice and (everyone say it with me) the Tea Cups.
At this point my mom took DD to have dinner at McD's and then back to the hotel. We took the boys to do some more shopping - we asked Zak what he wanted for his birthday and he chose a custom light saber from the Star Trader. We also got him some birthday ears, which he loved. Since we were right there, we chose to grab a quick dinner at the Pizza Port again before making our way over to Fantasmic. In the interim DS7 lost a band-aid from a minor boo-boo on his finger and was completely convinced he couldn't go another step without a replacement. Unfortunately, when we sent Mom and DD off we sent her potty seat bag along as well...which held our first aid kit! So I got to visit the First Aid station for the very first time, and my shy son was given a very cool Nemo band-aid PLUS a replacement just in case. The nurse was very nice, and I counted myself as lucky that our visit was for something so minor.
Crisis averted, and we were off to the Rivers of America to scout our spots for Fantasmic. As an avid Dis board reader I was prepared to seek out the secret "good spots" that have been discussed so much....but when we came across some pretty good spots in the standing area I decided to just grab them while the getting was good. As it turned out, we had a super nice family from Canada standing in front of us so we pleasantly chatted until the show began.
At this point I have to say that our DS7 had such a look of pure joy and delight on his face throughout the entire production that the trip was more than worth any money we put out or sore feet we might have acquired. The magic to him was REAL and at the end of the show he reverberated with excitement. It is a moment I will never ever forget, and I doubt he will either.
Okay, mushy stuff aside - we contemplated staying for the fireworks but we were tired and decided to leave instead. Somehow
we ended up stopping in the Emporium on our way out and of course more shopping ensued.....Saturday morning was our DS11s REAL birthday. He chose to have his birthday breakfast at Denney's so we Grand Slammed and then made a jaunt over to DTD to get those last minute souvenirs that had eluded us while we were in the parks. My oh my but the lines at the security checkpoints and at the parks were LONG. Since we didn't go into the parks I can't say for sure, but I am betting that was a crowded day! World of Disney wasn't crowded at all, however, and we were able to grab what we needed and got out in a pretty reasonable matter of time.....just to get back into the LONG security lines again. LOL!! It just gave DS a chance to milk his birthday button and ears that many more times as each CM greeted him with a hearty "Happy Birthday Zak!" when they saw him.
After that we were pretty much done with this trip, there was nothing left to do but go jump in our minivan and start talking about all the great memories we made. We did make a side trip to the La Brea Tar Pits on our way north (lots of fun for dinosaur buffs) but of course our biggest topic of conversation on the way back home was when we could go back to Disney. Isn't that always the way??
OMG, the lines thru security were nuts!!! Luckily we parked in the Mickey & Friends Parking & got to ride the tram & NOT stand in those lines. I'd have to say, we all left at a good time!
