grimgrinninggirl
10-26-2008, 09:15 PM
Travel dates: October 19-24 for 7 of us, October 19-22 for 6
Travel method: Southwest flights from Tucson and Phoenix for 7, driving from Las Vegas for 6
Resort: Disneyland Hotel for 7/ unknown hotel for 6
Accommodations: Suite at Disneyland Hotel/ 2 rooms for the 6
Ages Represented in Group: 65, 63, 38, 37, 35, 32, 30, 18, 10, 7, 5, 2
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Almost everyone from 18 up are veterans. The kids aged 5, 7, and 10 have been 3 times. The 2 year old is a first timer, though he was in his mommy’s tummy during another trip.
Comments:
Cast of characters: Me (30), DH (30), Amie (sister 37), Ross (bro-in-law 38), Rob (nephew 18), Mom (63), Dad (65) – We all stayed in the Disneyland Hotel
The Carsons – Susie (sister 32), Ryan (bro-in-law 35), Riley (nephew 10), Morgan (niece 7), Hannah (niece 5), Drew (nephew 2) – All stayed at an off property hotel
Day One
Sunday October 19, 2008
Busy, but manageable
The Carsons arrived at the park by about 10:30 am. Everyone else besides me and DH arrived at Disneyland around 11:00 am and checked into the Disneyland Hotel and stored their luggage. Dad had reserved an electric cart from the Deckert Surgical Company, and it was there waiting for them when they got to the hotel. It worked really well throughout the trip. We all got to have a go at it and thought it was fun. Dad is even saying he wants one next time (and if that happens, we can see them racing each other through Disneyland). The only thing Mom didn’t like was trying to navigate through crowds and not being able to get in and out quickly to get into stores. DH and I got into the park about 12 and met up with the rest of the family. I was pleased to see all the Halloween decorations that were everywhere. We went to the park several years ago during Halloween and they had virtually no decorations. It’s nice that they are now doing so much to celebrate the holiday. We were all hungry so we debated where to eat. We all wanted to eat at El Rancho Zocalo but my sister Susie couldn’t find anything for some of her kids to eat there (picky eaters). So we ended up eating at River Belle Terrace, which was great. They had excellent food. We got the turkey sandwich, roast beef sandwich or salad and everyone loved their food. The beans were great and the bread was so fresh. We then rode some fantasy land rides with small wait times. At some point DH and I and my parents went back to the hotel to check into our suite. The suite was beautiful and very large. We had two normal sized rooms connected by a large living room. One room had 2 queen beds, a couch/bed and a large bathroom with both a shower and a separate bathtub. The other room had a king sized bed and a bathroom. The living room had tons of places to sit and included a half bath. DH and I rode one of the new monorails back. I can see why everyone is freaking out about lack of air flow. I can’t imagine riding the monorail in the hottest part of the summer. We tried to ride Indy using the baby swap, but it broke down when we were in line. I’ve never experienced Indy getting broken down before while in line. People were starting to get claustrophobic as they waited to see if it was going to get fixed. Then they started herding us out, and it was mad chaos to get out of there and people began to panic as we were walking out through the exit lanes. We heard one lady remark to a cast member that they needed large emergency exit doors for such occasions. Fortunately, we got out without any major incidents, (I.E. Panicked shouting or pushing). We then rode Splash Mountain, Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. I decided to start waiting for the fireworks at about 6pm. I like to sit on one of the benches in front of the Mickey and Walt statue right in front of the castle. It was hilarious watching people line up for the parade in front of the castle even though the parade doesn’t go through there. I started telling people as they sat on the curb that they wouldn’t see anything from there and they’d better move. (I should note here that DH, while he loves all things Disney, does not love the music from the Parade of Dreams or HSM 3. He swore that he would try to avoid both parades at all costs. He jinxed himself but good! Because he heard the songs at almost every turn, he got so mad he wanted to stab his eardrums out.) Susie and her family came at about 7 with dinner and sat on the sidewalk and ate. The rest of the family came after a while and we all ate dinner at various places. It was kind of chilly that night and I was glad I brought a blanket. Susie’s daughter Hannah ended up falling asleep before the fireworks started and became the recipient of my blanket. The rest of the family really enjoyed the fireworks and were glad I found such a good spot from which to view them. I always cry at the climax. After the fireworks, we parted ways and went back to our hotels.
Day Two
Monday October 20, 2008
California Adventure
We got into the park through the Grand Californian sneaky entrance at 9:30, met the Carson’s at Soarin’, and rode it. We then went to get in line for Toy Story Mania. It was broken, but we stuck it out, and ended up getting on after an hour. Some went on CA Screamin’ while we waited. We all loved Toy Story Mania and ended up riding it 4 times during our trip, though I feared I may get carpel tunnel from pulling the string as quickly as I could. I could never quite get the ring toss game down. Nine of us then went to Ariel’s Grotto for lunch at 11:40. We all loved it and Sleeping Beauty came out which was great since she is Hannah’s favorite. It was very pricy but worth it if you have princess obsessed children. The food was excellent, and really fills you up. While we were at Ariel’s Grotto, 4 of the boys went to Taste Pilot’s Grill and were awarded a magical meal service by the Dream Team. They were escorted to a special table with real silverware, tablecloth, and plates (no trays and plastic cutlery for these fellas) They were also presented with delicious…and huge chocolate shakes with 2 inches of whipped cream and cherries and nuts on top. There was no e-ticket riding for these boys for a while after as they were stuffed to the brim. It should be noted that this was the one and only time we ever won anything during our 6 day trip, despite my insistence on staking out areas that are apparently stopping grounds for the Dream Team. Frankly, it got to the point where I was getting frustrated and un-Disney-like in my quest for a free lanyard, hat or dream fastpass. I will be glad when this whole prize winning is over and I can stop grumbling under my breath at every person who passes with a dream fastpass around their necks. After Ariel’s Grotto we stopped by the Blue Sky area which is apparently new. This exhibit showcases all the changes/improvements they are making to DCA, including a Cars land, Little Mermaid dark ride attraction, completely renovated entry gate area, and a new water light show “Walt Disney’s World of Color” (finally). These changes all look amazing and will be finished steadily by 2012. We spent the rest of our day in DCA going to Bug’s Land, riding ToT and Monster’s Inc and watching the Muppet’s show. We decided to call it a day and spent a leisurely evening at the hotel suite in which the Carson’s came and we all went to Croc’s Bites and Bits and ate it in our room.
Day Three
Tuesday October 21, 2008
The Carson’s last day in the park
We intended to utilize the Magic Morning, and were surprised when we got into the park at 8:30 since Magic Morning wasn’t supposed to start until 9. Well, come to find out that by some fluke thing, the park decided to open one hour earlier on Tuesday than it did the other 3 weekdays. I had planned everything out months before, utilizing the Disneyland hours and show times online and didn’t pay attention to the fact that the opening time had changed when I got my paper show schedule. This is a lesson to all of us to pay attention to any park hour changes immediately upon getting to Disneyland. We spent the morning going on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Teacups and Nemo (kids loved it, I wasn’t that impressed, and would definitely not wait more than 20 minutes), Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and Fantasy Land rides. We finally agreed to eat at El Rancho Zocalo for lunch (I always love that place. I had the Villa Monterey tacos which were great). The Carson’s got food for the picky eaters at the Stagecoach place that serves chicken fingers and fries. My DH and I insisted that the kids would LOVE Pirate Island, so we headed over there next. They did love it, but it ended up being almost 100 degrees in the park that day and we got very hot very quickly over there. They really do need to have some kiosks over there selling refreshments. We rode SM again, got soaked and DH and I had to go to the hotel to change clothes. We rode the monorail back to Tomorrowland and ate at Pizza Port. I have never liked the pizza at this place. I tried some of my mom’s Asian chicken salad and that was so much better than my pizza. I will have to get that next time. Everyone else liked it though, especially the kids. We always wonder though why they don’t re-name this place Pizza Planet and really play up the whole Toy Story angle. After dinner we rode Fantasyland dark rides: Peter Pan, Snow White and Pinocchio. We then walked out to Main Street, USA to hit the shops before exiting the park. At the end of the day, we said goodbye to the Carson’s, limped back to the hotel and collapsed into an exhausted heap.
Day Four
Wednesday October 22, 2008
We entered at 9:30 through the Grand Californian entrance and went on Soarin’, but also got fast passes to ride it later. We then proceeded to Toy Story Mania. I kept trying to beat my high score but never did better than my first time. DH felt ill from the heat after this ride and opted to go back to the hotel to sleep. The rest of us went to see the Bug’s Life show and did a little shopping. I finally got my fat chocolate chip cookie that I must always get. We then went over to Disneyland and rode Pirates and HM. At about 11:30 we got Bengal Barbecue (a family favorite). DH rejoined us and we had managed to get a last minute reservation to Café Orleans and ate there for dinner. We all really liked the new menu and would definitely go there again. The pommes frites were excellent, and my dad never stopped talking about the beignets the rest of our trip. We spent the rest of the day riding a few rides including Thunder Mountain Railroad and HM and did some shopping.
Day Five
Thursday October 23, 2008
We went to the park at 9am for magic morning. We were kind of irritated because everything that is usually open for magic mornings was broken down except Buzz Lightyear, Nemo, and fantasy land rides (minus Matterhorn). We ended up waiting around until 10 for the rest of the park to open since all the open rides were so busy. We also scouted out Dream Team members at this point to no avail. Once the park opened we headed to Thunder Mountain RR only to see that it was closed as well. That ride was annoyingly closed down a lot during our trip. Since it was so hot that day in the park, we decided to hit as many shows as possible. We watched Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, which is always great though we do miss the original Billy who did the bit with the funny teeth and the “Riverdance” routine. We then went to the 50Th year anniversary show with Steve Martin. I love that show and always get a little teary eyed as I watch Disneyland come to life. We next went to the Blue Bayou for our 1:40 priority reservations. We ended up getting a water-front table even though we didn’t request it. We all got different things and enjoyed it, though some felt that the New York Roast was a little dry. After lunch we went on a few rides, saw the Tiki Room show and then headed over to DCA for our Halloween Time Tour at 5:15. This was the first tour any of us has ever done and we all really enjoyed it. Our two tour guides, Rachel and Ryan, were great and quite captivating and really made the tour fun. We had one girl in our tour who we swear either was dating our guide Ryan or had a major crush on him because she stuck like glue to him the entire night. We were all given headsets through which we could hear the guides, which was great since the parks are always so loud and it would be impossible for us to hear them otherwise. The only negative thing I would say about this tour is how much walking and standing around you do. My dad, who is 65, has a hard time standing around for long periods. The tour was about 3 hours, and can be pretty tiring. I was also irritated that we only got to ride 3 out of the 4 promised rides because Thunder Mountain was closed. I thought they should have made up for it by getting us on another ride, like Pirates. At the end of the tour, we were given yummy candied apples. The family split up and did some shopping and got dinner wherever. DH and I went back to the hotel but stopped at the Tortilla Joes place first which I had never eaten at before. We thought it was pretty good, and they have nice to-go boxes if you want to carry it back to your hotel.
Day Six
October 24, 2008
Last day in the park (sob!)
We got into the park about 8:30 and rode Matterhorn twice, one from each side. I insist that one side is better, and faster than the other. We then rode Storybook Canals. We saw a Dream Team member and tried to see if she was giving anything out, but she wasn’t. I really just don’t get how they work. Why have Dream Team people wandering around aimlessly without passing out anything? It drove us crazy. We then rode Indy and Pirates before meeting up with my parents to go to Carnation Café. Something worth noting here is that when I called to make a reservation months ago, I was told that Carnation Café cannot accommodate a party larger than 6. Since we had 7 people in our party, we decided to make 2 reservations for 3 and 4 and just eat separately. But when I checked in, I mentioned the situation and they were surprised because they can indeed seat 7. So yay! We got to sit together. Also, Oscar came out to say hi! I have heard about him often from people on this board but have never met him. I told him how famous he is and he chuckled and we got a few pictures with him. The food here is always amazing. I made sure I got a cup of the cheesy potato soup! Most of our group got the meatloaf and all of them liked it. After lunch, we hurried over to DCA. DH and I wanted to ride Soarin’ again, so we decided to do the single rider line. We were surprised when we got to the front because they herded us right away to the single rider line initially but then ended up putting us both in the regular line so we ended up sitting together. We had no wait at all. We normally ask for the front middle on this ride, but ended up on the right side. I have to say I don’t like it as much on this side. We both found it to be a little disorienting with the curve of the screen and got a little dizzy. Once we got off the ride, we hurried over to Toy Story Mania and were lucky enough to find our family in a part of the line where we could easily sneak in with them. After Toy Story, we hurried back to Disneyland to spend our last few hours there. We did a little shopping and then rode HM for the last time. (I know I know, we rode it a lot, but it is a favorite. Though we do like the original version 10 times better than the Holiday version). We then bought ice cream from Gibson Girl (it’s funny that I make such a big deal about going here when I could just as easily buy a carton of Dreyers ice cream at home) and headed over to the flag pole for the flag lowering ceremony. We have never seen this in all our years of going to Disneyland. Ross is an army veteran, and it’s neat because as the band plays each military branch’s march song, those who are veterans in the crowd are invited to come forward and be recognized for their service. The flags are then lowered and folded in a very orderly manner. We were all really impressed with the reverence and respect given to this ceremony. Our time was up and we headed back to the Disneyland Hotel to pick up our luggage, return our scooter, and board the Disneyland Express to the airport.
DH and I are already planning our next trip in December 2009 for his birthday, though this time it will be to Disney World. Neither of us has been there, so it will be interesting to see how much we can get done in such a huge park.
Travel method: Southwest flights from Tucson and Phoenix for 7, driving from Las Vegas for 6
Resort: Disneyland Hotel for 7/ unknown hotel for 6
Accommodations: Suite at Disneyland Hotel/ 2 rooms for the 6
Ages Represented in Group: 65, 63, 38, 37, 35, 32, 30, 18, 10, 7, 5, 2
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Almost everyone from 18 up are veterans. The kids aged 5, 7, and 10 have been 3 times. The 2 year old is a first timer, though he was in his mommy’s tummy during another trip.
Comments:
Cast of characters: Me (30), DH (30), Amie (sister 37), Ross (bro-in-law 38), Rob (nephew 18), Mom (63), Dad (65) – We all stayed in the Disneyland Hotel
The Carsons – Susie (sister 32), Ryan (bro-in-law 35), Riley (nephew 10), Morgan (niece 7), Hannah (niece 5), Drew (nephew 2) – All stayed at an off property hotel
Day One
Sunday October 19, 2008
Busy, but manageable
The Carsons arrived at the park by about 10:30 am. Everyone else besides me and DH arrived at Disneyland around 11:00 am and checked into the Disneyland Hotel and stored their luggage. Dad had reserved an electric cart from the Deckert Surgical Company, and it was there waiting for them when they got to the hotel. It worked really well throughout the trip. We all got to have a go at it and thought it was fun. Dad is even saying he wants one next time (and if that happens, we can see them racing each other through Disneyland). The only thing Mom didn’t like was trying to navigate through crowds and not being able to get in and out quickly to get into stores. DH and I got into the park about 12 and met up with the rest of the family. I was pleased to see all the Halloween decorations that were everywhere. We went to the park several years ago during Halloween and they had virtually no decorations. It’s nice that they are now doing so much to celebrate the holiday. We were all hungry so we debated where to eat. We all wanted to eat at El Rancho Zocalo but my sister Susie couldn’t find anything for some of her kids to eat there (picky eaters). So we ended up eating at River Belle Terrace, which was great. They had excellent food. We got the turkey sandwich, roast beef sandwich or salad and everyone loved their food. The beans were great and the bread was so fresh. We then rode some fantasy land rides with small wait times. At some point DH and I and my parents went back to the hotel to check into our suite. The suite was beautiful and very large. We had two normal sized rooms connected by a large living room. One room had 2 queen beds, a couch/bed and a large bathroom with both a shower and a separate bathtub. The other room had a king sized bed and a bathroom. The living room had tons of places to sit and included a half bath. DH and I rode one of the new monorails back. I can see why everyone is freaking out about lack of air flow. I can’t imagine riding the monorail in the hottest part of the summer. We tried to ride Indy using the baby swap, but it broke down when we were in line. I’ve never experienced Indy getting broken down before while in line. People were starting to get claustrophobic as they waited to see if it was going to get fixed. Then they started herding us out, and it was mad chaos to get out of there and people began to panic as we were walking out through the exit lanes. We heard one lady remark to a cast member that they needed large emergency exit doors for such occasions. Fortunately, we got out without any major incidents, (I.E. Panicked shouting or pushing). We then rode Splash Mountain, Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. I decided to start waiting for the fireworks at about 6pm. I like to sit on one of the benches in front of the Mickey and Walt statue right in front of the castle. It was hilarious watching people line up for the parade in front of the castle even though the parade doesn’t go through there. I started telling people as they sat on the curb that they wouldn’t see anything from there and they’d better move. (I should note here that DH, while he loves all things Disney, does not love the music from the Parade of Dreams or HSM 3. He swore that he would try to avoid both parades at all costs. He jinxed himself but good! Because he heard the songs at almost every turn, he got so mad he wanted to stab his eardrums out.) Susie and her family came at about 7 with dinner and sat on the sidewalk and ate. The rest of the family came after a while and we all ate dinner at various places. It was kind of chilly that night and I was glad I brought a blanket. Susie’s daughter Hannah ended up falling asleep before the fireworks started and became the recipient of my blanket. The rest of the family really enjoyed the fireworks and were glad I found such a good spot from which to view them. I always cry at the climax. After the fireworks, we parted ways and went back to our hotels.
Day Two
Monday October 20, 2008
California Adventure
We got into the park through the Grand Californian sneaky entrance at 9:30, met the Carson’s at Soarin’, and rode it. We then went to get in line for Toy Story Mania. It was broken, but we stuck it out, and ended up getting on after an hour. Some went on CA Screamin’ while we waited. We all loved Toy Story Mania and ended up riding it 4 times during our trip, though I feared I may get carpel tunnel from pulling the string as quickly as I could. I could never quite get the ring toss game down. Nine of us then went to Ariel’s Grotto for lunch at 11:40. We all loved it and Sleeping Beauty came out which was great since she is Hannah’s favorite. It was very pricy but worth it if you have princess obsessed children. The food was excellent, and really fills you up. While we were at Ariel’s Grotto, 4 of the boys went to Taste Pilot’s Grill and were awarded a magical meal service by the Dream Team. They were escorted to a special table with real silverware, tablecloth, and plates (no trays and plastic cutlery for these fellas) They were also presented with delicious…and huge chocolate shakes with 2 inches of whipped cream and cherries and nuts on top. There was no e-ticket riding for these boys for a while after as they were stuffed to the brim. It should be noted that this was the one and only time we ever won anything during our 6 day trip, despite my insistence on staking out areas that are apparently stopping grounds for the Dream Team. Frankly, it got to the point where I was getting frustrated and un-Disney-like in my quest for a free lanyard, hat or dream fastpass. I will be glad when this whole prize winning is over and I can stop grumbling under my breath at every person who passes with a dream fastpass around their necks. After Ariel’s Grotto we stopped by the Blue Sky area which is apparently new. This exhibit showcases all the changes/improvements they are making to DCA, including a Cars land, Little Mermaid dark ride attraction, completely renovated entry gate area, and a new water light show “Walt Disney’s World of Color” (finally). These changes all look amazing and will be finished steadily by 2012. We spent the rest of our day in DCA going to Bug’s Land, riding ToT and Monster’s Inc and watching the Muppet’s show. We decided to call it a day and spent a leisurely evening at the hotel suite in which the Carson’s came and we all went to Croc’s Bites and Bits and ate it in our room.
Day Three
Tuesday October 21, 2008
The Carson’s last day in the park
We intended to utilize the Magic Morning, and were surprised when we got into the park at 8:30 since Magic Morning wasn’t supposed to start until 9. Well, come to find out that by some fluke thing, the park decided to open one hour earlier on Tuesday than it did the other 3 weekdays. I had planned everything out months before, utilizing the Disneyland hours and show times online and didn’t pay attention to the fact that the opening time had changed when I got my paper show schedule. This is a lesson to all of us to pay attention to any park hour changes immediately upon getting to Disneyland. We spent the morning going on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Teacups and Nemo (kids loved it, I wasn’t that impressed, and would definitely not wait more than 20 minutes), Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and Fantasy Land rides. We finally agreed to eat at El Rancho Zocalo for lunch (I always love that place. I had the Villa Monterey tacos which were great). The Carson’s got food for the picky eaters at the Stagecoach place that serves chicken fingers and fries. My DH and I insisted that the kids would LOVE Pirate Island, so we headed over there next. They did love it, but it ended up being almost 100 degrees in the park that day and we got very hot very quickly over there. They really do need to have some kiosks over there selling refreshments. We rode SM again, got soaked and DH and I had to go to the hotel to change clothes. We rode the monorail back to Tomorrowland and ate at Pizza Port. I have never liked the pizza at this place. I tried some of my mom’s Asian chicken salad and that was so much better than my pizza. I will have to get that next time. Everyone else liked it though, especially the kids. We always wonder though why they don’t re-name this place Pizza Planet and really play up the whole Toy Story angle. After dinner we rode Fantasyland dark rides: Peter Pan, Snow White and Pinocchio. We then walked out to Main Street, USA to hit the shops before exiting the park. At the end of the day, we said goodbye to the Carson’s, limped back to the hotel and collapsed into an exhausted heap.
Day Four
Wednesday October 22, 2008
We entered at 9:30 through the Grand Californian entrance and went on Soarin’, but also got fast passes to ride it later. We then proceeded to Toy Story Mania. I kept trying to beat my high score but never did better than my first time. DH felt ill from the heat after this ride and opted to go back to the hotel to sleep. The rest of us went to see the Bug’s Life show and did a little shopping. I finally got my fat chocolate chip cookie that I must always get. We then went over to Disneyland and rode Pirates and HM. At about 11:30 we got Bengal Barbecue (a family favorite). DH rejoined us and we had managed to get a last minute reservation to Café Orleans and ate there for dinner. We all really liked the new menu and would definitely go there again. The pommes frites were excellent, and my dad never stopped talking about the beignets the rest of our trip. We spent the rest of the day riding a few rides including Thunder Mountain Railroad and HM and did some shopping.
Day Five
Thursday October 23, 2008
We went to the park at 9am for magic morning. We were kind of irritated because everything that is usually open for magic mornings was broken down except Buzz Lightyear, Nemo, and fantasy land rides (minus Matterhorn). We ended up waiting around until 10 for the rest of the park to open since all the open rides were so busy. We also scouted out Dream Team members at this point to no avail. Once the park opened we headed to Thunder Mountain RR only to see that it was closed as well. That ride was annoyingly closed down a lot during our trip. Since it was so hot that day in the park, we decided to hit as many shows as possible. We watched Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, which is always great though we do miss the original Billy who did the bit with the funny teeth and the “Riverdance” routine. We then went to the 50Th year anniversary show with Steve Martin. I love that show and always get a little teary eyed as I watch Disneyland come to life. We next went to the Blue Bayou for our 1:40 priority reservations. We ended up getting a water-front table even though we didn’t request it. We all got different things and enjoyed it, though some felt that the New York Roast was a little dry. After lunch we went on a few rides, saw the Tiki Room show and then headed over to DCA for our Halloween Time Tour at 5:15. This was the first tour any of us has ever done and we all really enjoyed it. Our two tour guides, Rachel and Ryan, were great and quite captivating and really made the tour fun. We had one girl in our tour who we swear either was dating our guide Ryan or had a major crush on him because she stuck like glue to him the entire night. We were all given headsets through which we could hear the guides, which was great since the parks are always so loud and it would be impossible for us to hear them otherwise. The only negative thing I would say about this tour is how much walking and standing around you do. My dad, who is 65, has a hard time standing around for long periods. The tour was about 3 hours, and can be pretty tiring. I was also irritated that we only got to ride 3 out of the 4 promised rides because Thunder Mountain was closed. I thought they should have made up for it by getting us on another ride, like Pirates. At the end of the tour, we were given yummy candied apples. The family split up and did some shopping and got dinner wherever. DH and I went back to the hotel but stopped at the Tortilla Joes place first which I had never eaten at before. We thought it was pretty good, and they have nice to-go boxes if you want to carry it back to your hotel.
Day Six
October 24, 2008
Last day in the park (sob!)
We got into the park about 8:30 and rode Matterhorn twice, one from each side. I insist that one side is better, and faster than the other. We then rode Storybook Canals. We saw a Dream Team member and tried to see if she was giving anything out, but she wasn’t. I really just don’t get how they work. Why have Dream Team people wandering around aimlessly without passing out anything? It drove us crazy. We then rode Indy and Pirates before meeting up with my parents to go to Carnation Café. Something worth noting here is that when I called to make a reservation months ago, I was told that Carnation Café cannot accommodate a party larger than 6. Since we had 7 people in our party, we decided to make 2 reservations for 3 and 4 and just eat separately. But when I checked in, I mentioned the situation and they were surprised because they can indeed seat 7. So yay! We got to sit together. Also, Oscar came out to say hi! I have heard about him often from people on this board but have never met him. I told him how famous he is and he chuckled and we got a few pictures with him. The food here is always amazing. I made sure I got a cup of the cheesy potato soup! Most of our group got the meatloaf and all of them liked it. After lunch, we hurried over to DCA. DH and I wanted to ride Soarin’ again, so we decided to do the single rider line. We were surprised when we got to the front because they herded us right away to the single rider line initially but then ended up putting us both in the regular line so we ended up sitting together. We had no wait at all. We normally ask for the front middle on this ride, but ended up on the right side. I have to say I don’t like it as much on this side. We both found it to be a little disorienting with the curve of the screen and got a little dizzy. Once we got off the ride, we hurried over to Toy Story Mania and were lucky enough to find our family in a part of the line where we could easily sneak in with them. After Toy Story, we hurried back to Disneyland to spend our last few hours there. We did a little shopping and then rode HM for the last time. (I know I know, we rode it a lot, but it is a favorite. Though we do like the original version 10 times better than the Holiday version). We then bought ice cream from Gibson Girl (it’s funny that I make such a big deal about going here when I could just as easily buy a carton of Dreyers ice cream at home) and headed over to the flag pole for the flag lowering ceremony. We have never seen this in all our years of going to Disneyland. Ross is an army veteran, and it’s neat because as the band plays each military branch’s march song, those who are veterans in the crowd are invited to come forward and be recognized for their service. The flags are then lowered and folded in a very orderly manner. We were all really impressed with the reverence and respect given to this ceremony. Our time was up and we headed back to the Disneyland Hotel to pick up our luggage, return our scooter, and board the Disneyland Express to the airport.
DH and I are already planning our next trip in December 2009 for his birthday, though this time it will be to Disney World. Neither of us has been there, so it will be interesting to see how much we can get done in such a huge park.