NightKidsGTR
08-09-2007, 04:45 PM
Travel dates: July 30 - August 2, 2007
Travel method: Car
Resort:
Accommodations: Carousel Inn & Suites
Ages Represented in Group: Me (22), my gf (21)
DLR Experience Represented in Group: Intermediate to Advance
Comments: First Disneyland trip with my gf; phrase of the trip: "Thank you, RideMax"
Cast of characters: Me (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096039080996055730), my gf (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096039093880957634) , with special appearance from other family members
Background: 22 year-old Management Information Systems major at San Jose State University in San Jose, CA. As a child, my family would visit DLR sporadically (as it's harder to drive 6-7 hours and visit the parks with 3 children), however, the magic always stayed with me. Like many children, I grew up watching the Disney animated films and knew them front to back. In my late teenage years, I worked at The Disney Store at my local mall, back when they were still owned by Disney (I left after the stores were sold). It was there that I met my gf who was also working there; we have been together for a little under 2.5 years. We hadn't spent much time planning for this trip; I believe preparations were made about 3-4 weeks in advance. This was our first (and not the last) trip to Disneyland together.
July 30, 2007 - Day 1 - Time to go to Disneyland!
I had been excited to leave for the past few days and just couldn't wait to get down to Anaheim. This would be my first real Disneyland trip with my gf, just the two us. I was a little anxious for the drive, since it's about 6-7 hours from the Bay Area and I-5 gets a little boring. Also, there tend to be a lot of CHP out there and I have a heavy foot. After I said good-bye to my parents, I threw all the stuff into the trunk of car and it was off to pick up my gf and start our adventure. The plan was to be at her house by 7:30am and hit the road; in reality, I arrived at 7:45am and we ended up leaving at 8am. The drive on I-5 wasn't that bad, considering the fact that there weren't very many cars. I spent most of the drive by myself, as it was still early in the morning and my gf was rather sleepy. Though the road was long and empty, I resisted the urge to drop the pedal, as my 2006 Honda Civic has a few mods on it. But, since I was fresh out of traffic school, I thought it best to keep the cruise control on at 75mph and just cruise. We stopped for lunch right before the Grapevine at about 11:30am and filled up the tank before heading to Anaheim (I averaged 37mpg this leg of the trip). To make a long story short, we traveled the rest of the ~115 miles to Anaheim through the L.A. traffic and made it to the Carousel Inn & Suites at about 2:30pm. Check-in wasn't until 3pm, but our room was already available. I found a nice covered parking spot in the back and lugged all our stuff to our room, which happened to be on the 5th floor in the FRONT of the hotel. My younger sister, my aunts, uncle, and cousins had been in the area for a few days before us so we called them and decided to meet up for dinner at Tortilla Jo's in DTD. After a filling meal, myself, my gf, and my uncle decided to hang around DTD and have a few drinks. After having a rather large New Castle at ESPNZone, my gf and I decided to hit up the Lost Bar at the DLH. After another drink, we decided we should probably head back, since we had a full day tomorrow.
July 31, 2007 - Day 2 - First Day in the Parks, EE day
We woke up at 6am to get ready to get in the line as early as possible. After taking our showers and doing the daily morning routine, I grabbed a Monster energy drink from our refrigerator and we were out the door. We were in line by 7:15am and were pretty close to the gate. Through the process of new lines forming, we strategically made it to the front of a newly opened line. While standing in line, the discussion of which ride to hit first could be heard from all groups. My gf and I, however, decided to use RideMax for this trip. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first, not wanting to be confined to a schedule. However, as the day progressed, I was proven wrong. As soon as the gates opened, we were off to the first to-do on our list: grab an Indy FP. After that, we headed to Mr. Toad's, the Matterhorn, IASW, and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin before using our Indy FP @ 9:25. After Indy, we grabbed a Space Mountain FP and headed to the Plaza Inn for our character breakfast reservations. Of course, the breakfast was great and we had a fair share of characters come to the table, despite the fact that we're two grown kids. Among our visitors were Pooh (with my gf (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096026969188277554) and with me (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096026982073179458), Minnie (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096026956303375650), and Chip, with me (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027003548015970) and with my gf (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027020727885170). Not pictured, but who still showed, were Eeyore, Captain Hook, and Brear Fox, who decided to show an interest in my gf. Of course, were we other places without children, I wouldn't have let it slide. If you're out there, Brear Fox, you're lucky we were in Disneyland! Anyhoo, back to the report. As I had never done Honey, I Shrunk the Audience before, we decided to give it a try; it's not bad, but I dearly miss Captain EO. Afterwards, we cashed in our Space Mountain FP (Space Mountai (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027098037296578)n Pic; that face was deliberate)before we decided to head to DCA for some fun. On the way out, my gf convinced me to upgrade my 2-day hoppers into an AP. She took care of the extra costs, as I paid for her ticket for her last trip (which I didn't make her do...really). And so, it was on that day, that I became an Annual Pass Holder (here's me still looking tired holding my pass (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027033612787074)). After that, we headed to DCA to hang out in the Animation Studio before we had to get our CA Screamin FPs at 1:36pm. We did Turtle Talk with Crush and watched as Snow White danced with other young princesses in the main room of the Animation Studio. After we got our CA Screamin FPs, per RideMax, we headed over to do Monster's Inc. It's such a cute little ride and I love the room with all the doors. Afterwards, we headed out to Soarin and stuck it out in the 40 minute line, which ended up being around 30-35 minutes. After Soarin, we cashed in our CA Screamin FPs (CA Screamin pic (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027123807100386)) and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. We headed back to DLR around 6 to have dinner at Pizza Port. Afterwards, we headed over to do Buzz, where I was just decimated by my gf (Picture of the Score (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096862305967614722)). Afterwards, we decided to visit the Gallery for the last time. I'll admit, I had never visited it much, but I wish it could stay because it's so nice there. After that, we walked around a little and took a picture (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027823886769954) or two (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027763757227778) before grabbing a nice spot in front of the Castle before the fireworks show. While waiting, we saw a man propose to his gf in front of the castle; luckily for him, she said "yes," which was accompanied by cheers and applause from the first few rows of spectators. Before the show, we met a nice family from Utah who had come to DLR for the first time as a family. The father had used to work in the Bay Area and was talking to me about getting me into Juniper Networks, a rising company in the Bay Area that deals with networking hardware and such. Kingi, if you're reading this, what's up! Anyhoo, after the fireworks, we did the Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, Alice in Wonderland, and Snow White. At about 11:30pm, we finished our RideMax itinerary ahead of schedule and decided to check out the line for Nemo. When we got there, the CM informed us that it was only a 1 hour wait so we jumped in line. As we got closer and closer, we got more excited, since we hadn't been on the subs for soooo long. We were not disappointed; I love that ride. We wanted to ride it again, which is why it was a good thing that it was our first ride on the itinerary for tomorrow. With that, we headed back down Main Street (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096029516103885570) and headed back to the room for some much needed rest.
Meanwhile, take a break from my rather lengthy trip report. Part 2 will be coming in just a few short hours. Thanks for reading so far!
Travel method: Car
Resort:
Accommodations: Carousel Inn & Suites
Ages Represented in Group: Me (22), my gf (21)
DLR Experience Represented in Group: Intermediate to Advance
Comments: First Disneyland trip with my gf; phrase of the trip: "Thank you, RideMax"
Cast of characters: Me (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096039080996055730), my gf (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096039093880957634) , with special appearance from other family members
Background: 22 year-old Management Information Systems major at San Jose State University in San Jose, CA. As a child, my family would visit DLR sporadically (as it's harder to drive 6-7 hours and visit the parks with 3 children), however, the magic always stayed with me. Like many children, I grew up watching the Disney animated films and knew them front to back. In my late teenage years, I worked at The Disney Store at my local mall, back when they were still owned by Disney (I left after the stores were sold). It was there that I met my gf who was also working there; we have been together for a little under 2.5 years. We hadn't spent much time planning for this trip; I believe preparations were made about 3-4 weeks in advance. This was our first (and not the last) trip to Disneyland together.
July 30, 2007 - Day 1 - Time to go to Disneyland!
I had been excited to leave for the past few days and just couldn't wait to get down to Anaheim. This would be my first real Disneyland trip with my gf, just the two us. I was a little anxious for the drive, since it's about 6-7 hours from the Bay Area and I-5 gets a little boring. Also, there tend to be a lot of CHP out there and I have a heavy foot. After I said good-bye to my parents, I threw all the stuff into the trunk of car and it was off to pick up my gf and start our adventure. The plan was to be at her house by 7:30am and hit the road; in reality, I arrived at 7:45am and we ended up leaving at 8am. The drive on I-5 wasn't that bad, considering the fact that there weren't very many cars. I spent most of the drive by myself, as it was still early in the morning and my gf was rather sleepy. Though the road was long and empty, I resisted the urge to drop the pedal, as my 2006 Honda Civic has a few mods on it. But, since I was fresh out of traffic school, I thought it best to keep the cruise control on at 75mph and just cruise. We stopped for lunch right before the Grapevine at about 11:30am and filled up the tank before heading to Anaheim (I averaged 37mpg this leg of the trip). To make a long story short, we traveled the rest of the ~115 miles to Anaheim through the L.A. traffic and made it to the Carousel Inn & Suites at about 2:30pm. Check-in wasn't until 3pm, but our room was already available. I found a nice covered parking spot in the back and lugged all our stuff to our room, which happened to be on the 5th floor in the FRONT of the hotel. My younger sister, my aunts, uncle, and cousins had been in the area for a few days before us so we called them and decided to meet up for dinner at Tortilla Jo's in DTD. After a filling meal, myself, my gf, and my uncle decided to hang around DTD and have a few drinks. After having a rather large New Castle at ESPNZone, my gf and I decided to hit up the Lost Bar at the DLH. After another drink, we decided we should probably head back, since we had a full day tomorrow.
July 31, 2007 - Day 2 - First Day in the Parks, EE day
We woke up at 6am to get ready to get in the line as early as possible. After taking our showers and doing the daily morning routine, I grabbed a Monster energy drink from our refrigerator and we were out the door. We were in line by 7:15am and were pretty close to the gate. Through the process of new lines forming, we strategically made it to the front of a newly opened line. While standing in line, the discussion of which ride to hit first could be heard from all groups. My gf and I, however, decided to use RideMax for this trip. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first, not wanting to be confined to a schedule. However, as the day progressed, I was proven wrong. As soon as the gates opened, we were off to the first to-do on our list: grab an Indy FP. After that, we headed to Mr. Toad's, the Matterhorn, IASW, and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin before using our Indy FP @ 9:25. After Indy, we grabbed a Space Mountain FP and headed to the Plaza Inn for our character breakfast reservations. Of course, the breakfast was great and we had a fair share of characters come to the table, despite the fact that we're two grown kids. Among our visitors were Pooh (with my gf (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096026969188277554) and with me (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096026982073179458), Minnie (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096026956303375650), and Chip, with me (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027003548015970) and with my gf (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027020727885170). Not pictured, but who still showed, were Eeyore, Captain Hook, and Brear Fox, who decided to show an interest in my gf. Of course, were we other places without children, I wouldn't have let it slide. If you're out there, Brear Fox, you're lucky we were in Disneyland! Anyhoo, back to the report. As I had never done Honey, I Shrunk the Audience before, we decided to give it a try; it's not bad, but I dearly miss Captain EO. Afterwards, we cashed in our Space Mountain FP (Space Mountai (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027098037296578)n Pic; that face was deliberate)before we decided to head to DCA for some fun. On the way out, my gf convinced me to upgrade my 2-day hoppers into an AP. She took care of the extra costs, as I paid for her ticket for her last trip (which I didn't make her do...really). And so, it was on that day, that I became an Annual Pass Holder (here's me still looking tired holding my pass (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027033612787074)). After that, we headed to DCA to hang out in the Animation Studio before we had to get our CA Screamin FPs at 1:36pm. We did Turtle Talk with Crush and watched as Snow White danced with other young princesses in the main room of the Animation Studio. After we got our CA Screamin FPs, per RideMax, we headed over to do Monster's Inc. It's such a cute little ride and I love the room with all the doors. Afterwards, we headed out to Soarin and stuck it out in the 40 minute line, which ended up being around 30-35 minutes. After Soarin, we cashed in our CA Screamin FPs (CA Screamin pic (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027123807100386)) and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. We headed back to DLR around 6 to have dinner at Pizza Port. Afterwards, we headed over to do Buzz, where I was just decimated by my gf (Picture of the Score (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096862305967614722)). Afterwards, we decided to visit the Gallery for the last time. I'll admit, I had never visited it much, but I wish it could stay because it's so nice there. After that, we walked around a little and took a picture (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027823886769954) or two (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096027763757227778) before grabbing a nice spot in front of the Castle before the fireworks show. While waiting, we saw a man propose to his gf in front of the castle; luckily for him, she said "yes," which was accompanied by cheers and applause from the first few rows of spectators. Before the show, we met a nice family from Utah who had come to DLR for the first time as a family. The father had used to work in the Bay Area and was talking to me about getting me into Juniper Networks, a rising company in the Bay Area that deals with networking hardware and such. Kingi, if you're reading this, what's up! Anyhoo, after the fireworks, we did the Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, Alice in Wonderland, and Snow White. At about 11:30pm, we finished our RideMax itinerary ahead of schedule and decided to check out the line for Nemo. When we got there, the CM informed us that it was only a 1 hour wait so we jumped in line. As we got closer and closer, we got more excited, since we hadn't been on the subs for soooo long. We were not disappointed; I love that ride. We wanted to ride it again, which is why it was a good thing that it was our first ride on the itinerary for tomorrow. With that, we headed back down Main Street (http://picasaweb.google.com/NightKidsGTR/Disneyland200702/photo#5096029516103885570) and headed back to the room for some much needed rest.
Meanwhile, take a break from my rather lengthy trip report. Part 2 will be coming in just a few short hours. Thanks for reading so far!