IdahoMike
08-18-2009, 10:36 PM
Travel dates:Aug 14-Aug 18, 2009
Travel method: Delta Airlines to John Wayne Airport, Rental Car to Hojo's
Resort: Disneyland Resort
Accommodations: Howard Johnson's bldg 2
Ages Represented in Group: Me:37, Wife:38
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Me: 10th trip, Wife: around 25 trips
Comments:
Cast of characters: Just me and my wife of 13 years!
Friday Aug 14th: Back Story: I found super cheap airfare ($120 round trip to SNA) so we decided to take a "no kids" anniversary trip for a 4 day weekend. YAY! We got up bright and early, caught our 6:30 am flight out of Boise, quick layover in Salt Lake City, then landed at John Wayne by 9:45. Picked up the rental car and headed to Costco to pick up our Deluxe Annual passes with the $50 giftcard. Ours had expired in May, and we definitely felt waiting to get new ones at Costco was well worth it for the $50 giftcards. We will get 3 more for the kids in October when we return! Picked up some snacks, soda, and water, and headed to Hojos to check in. Room wasn't ready, so we decided to head to the resort. We really had no specific plans, other than to see each of the following at least once: Fantasmic!, fireworks, Billy Hill, Aladdin, and Pixar Play Parade. Can't stand the Celebrate Street Party, so we went out of our way to avoid that. We grabbed some fastpasses for Indy, and decided to ride Jungle Cruise first. That seems to be a frequent routine for us for some reason. Anyhow, we hit Haunted Mansion and Pirates after that. I guessed the ghost who would be hitchhiking in our doombuggy correctly 3 out of 4 times (it was Phineas this time). My wife was 0 for 4! Noticed the same things as others had pointed out on Pirates, missing crab, missing pirate above the tunnel. The swordfighting silhouettes right after Barbossa's ship didn't seem to be working very well all weekend either. We hit Buzz next, and then decided to go back and check into our room. Took care of that, and headed to DCA. We had PS for 4:50 at Ariel's Grotto. Having 3 boys, we had never been there, so we decided to try it out. Had a GREAT experience. I will highly recommend it after this. Service was outstanding from start to finish, food was excellent (tri-tip rules!) dessert plate was awesome, and the character interaction was great too! They have a very organized system for the princesses to follow, so they don't miss any tables, unlike other places where the characters often seem to wander from spot to spot. After that, went straight to Toy Story Mania, as it is the favorite ride for both of us. Fastpassed Screamin as well, so we did that, and then I convinced her to ride the moving cars on Mickey's Fun Wheel. I had done them once, my wife had never done them. It didn't seem nearly as scary this time, and was actually a lot of fun, as opposed to the last time when I feared for my life! We hit Mulholland Madness and by that time, it was Electrical Parade time. We hadn't seen this in about 3 years, so it was a nice treat, especially to see the new additions. Only disappointment was that all the lights went out on Pete's Dragon right in front of us! Boooooooo! After the parade, we filed back to DL with everyone else, watched part of the fireworks from the esplanade, and then headed to Star Tours, 1 minute walkon during the fireworks! Matterhorn also had a reasonably short line, so we hit that, and It's a Small World. By that time, we were tired from a long day, so we headed back to the hotel. End of Day 1, having a blast!
Travel method: Delta Airlines to John Wayne Airport, Rental Car to Hojo's
Resort: Disneyland Resort
Accommodations: Howard Johnson's bldg 2
Ages Represented in Group: Me:37, Wife:38
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Me: 10th trip, Wife: around 25 trips
Comments:
Cast of characters: Just me and my wife of 13 years!
Friday Aug 14th: Back Story: I found super cheap airfare ($120 round trip to SNA) so we decided to take a "no kids" anniversary trip for a 4 day weekend. YAY! We got up bright and early, caught our 6:30 am flight out of Boise, quick layover in Salt Lake City, then landed at John Wayne by 9:45. Picked up the rental car and headed to Costco to pick up our Deluxe Annual passes with the $50 giftcard. Ours had expired in May, and we definitely felt waiting to get new ones at Costco was well worth it for the $50 giftcards. We will get 3 more for the kids in October when we return! Picked up some snacks, soda, and water, and headed to Hojos to check in. Room wasn't ready, so we decided to head to the resort. We really had no specific plans, other than to see each of the following at least once: Fantasmic!, fireworks, Billy Hill, Aladdin, and Pixar Play Parade. Can't stand the Celebrate Street Party, so we went out of our way to avoid that. We grabbed some fastpasses for Indy, and decided to ride Jungle Cruise first. That seems to be a frequent routine for us for some reason. Anyhow, we hit Haunted Mansion and Pirates after that. I guessed the ghost who would be hitchhiking in our doombuggy correctly 3 out of 4 times (it was Phineas this time). My wife was 0 for 4! Noticed the same things as others had pointed out on Pirates, missing crab, missing pirate above the tunnel. The swordfighting silhouettes right after Barbossa's ship didn't seem to be working very well all weekend either. We hit Buzz next, and then decided to go back and check into our room. Took care of that, and headed to DCA. We had PS for 4:50 at Ariel's Grotto. Having 3 boys, we had never been there, so we decided to try it out. Had a GREAT experience. I will highly recommend it after this. Service was outstanding from start to finish, food was excellent (tri-tip rules!) dessert plate was awesome, and the character interaction was great too! They have a very organized system for the princesses to follow, so they don't miss any tables, unlike other places where the characters often seem to wander from spot to spot. After that, went straight to Toy Story Mania, as it is the favorite ride for both of us. Fastpassed Screamin as well, so we did that, and then I convinced her to ride the moving cars on Mickey's Fun Wheel. I had done them once, my wife had never done them. It didn't seem nearly as scary this time, and was actually a lot of fun, as opposed to the last time when I feared for my life! We hit Mulholland Madness and by that time, it was Electrical Parade time. We hadn't seen this in about 3 years, so it was a nice treat, especially to see the new additions. Only disappointment was that all the lights went out on Pete's Dragon right in front of us! Boooooooo! After the parade, we filed back to DL with everyone else, watched part of the fireworks from the esplanade, and then headed to Star Tours, 1 minute walkon during the fireworks! Matterhorn also had a reasonably short line, so we hit that, and It's a Small World. By that time, we were tired from a long day, so we headed back to the hotel. End of Day 1, having a blast!