annieb727
09-18-2007, 09:43 PM
Hello!!
Well, I am on the internet for the first time since leaving Washington state!
We are staying at the Castle Inn & Suites. I am in the lobby right now with my laptop...had some school work to do, so I thought I'd drop by and give a short so-far trip report! I don't have my notes with me (I keep a small pad of paper and pen with me, so I can take notes as I go along)...so I'll just go from my memory...and I'll correct things later as necessary :).
We left WA around 7:10am on Friday Morning. The original plan was to leave around 4am...BUT, we were so tired, I figured sleeping in would be good. It worked out well, we didn't hit much traffic anywhere, well until we got to I-580 near Hayward, CA - but even then, the traffic flowed...there was just a lot of it. We got to hayward around 9:45pm.
Saturday, we got to spend some time with the grandparents. Grandma came home from the hospital around 11:30am (she had surgery for cancer on her kidney on Wednesday the 12th). We could tell she was really tired and worn out, so we left that evening around 7pm to begin the rest of our drive to Anaheim.
I was the driver the entire time...while dh was a great co-pilot - well for most of the trip anyway. He'd get me food, drinks, etc, and kept me company and awake. On Friday evening...as we were getting close to Hayward, he was falling asleep RIGHT when I needed directions to get to his grandma's house! I literally had to hit him a couple of times to get his help :eek:
Anyway, on Saturday, we drove down to Buttonwillow - and stayed at Willow Inn (or something similar)...it included a free breakfast at the truck stop nearby. Great deal. The next morning we got up and hit the road by 8am (after having breakfast at the truck stop). We got to just north of LA on I-5 when traffic came to almost a complete stop!! After a while, the interstate went down to ONE single lane. After we passed that area, it was all smooth sailing! We checked in around 11:30, and a room was ready.
We walked into the room and it didn't smell very good - our five year old said, "Wow! this is a stinky room!" The fridge didn't smell very good either. But we got our room set up, left the fridge open and made sure it was plugged in and turned on. Turned the AC on, and went to DL! Our very first ride was Nemo. I had the ECV, so we went in the wheelchair line - it was about a 40 minute wait.
After that we went over to Toontown so Caleb (our 3 year old) could ride his first roller coaster - Gadget's Go Coaster - he loved it. I don't remember all the rides we did that day - but we hit Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Buzz, Space Mtn (I think), Matterhorn...ugh...can't remember...glad I took notes. Anyway, if I remember correctly, we came back and went to bed early...Monday we were planning for EE.
Monday, September 17th
Well, Adam lost his hat, and had to use my Mickey Visor. Our first goal today was to do Matterhorn, Buzz and Space during EE. But now I can't remember what exactly we did during EE...I know we did those three (and space was a Child Swap)...but there was more??? UGH!
Alright so after EE, we went to Mad HAtter on Main Street, it was about 10:30 - and it was like fish swimming up stream...very hard to get down main street at that time. The boys got mickey ears - Elijah (the 5 year old) got pirate Mickey ears, and Caleb chose black mickey ears. Adam ended up getting a visor like mine (copycat).
While he was waiting for the embroidery, I went over to City Hall - and got him a birthday pin (that I am making him wear every day - his birthday is friday). When I got back, and they finished with the ears, we got our APs. The sooner the better - that way we can get our 10% off meals! YAY!
Then we played around at DL a little more (I'll give more details later when I have the notes). We went to DCA for a while too - we went on Monster's Inc - dh loved it and of course the boys did too. I took Elijah on ToT...he freaked and didn't want to do it again (he went on it last year), so dh didn't want to go alone. Then we did Soarin' - child swapping (caleb is about 38 inches tall). Then did Screamin' single riders, and just made it on the Sun Wheel (swinging gondolas) for the last ride of the day.
We went back to DL until the park closed. We went to Peterpan and saw a PHotopass photographer - who took us all around Fantasyland taking pictures of us! We did the whole round in Fantasyland - Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, Carousel, Dumbo, Tea Cups, Alice, Small World (skipped Mr. Toad - Caleb didn't like it). We hit Nemo right at closing with less than five minute wait in the wheelchair line.
We went to DTD and ate at Wetzel's Pretzels and Haagen Daaz (did I spell that right?). And got to bed TOO Late - 11pm or so.
Tuesday, September 18th
Well, we had to get up early for 7:40am Goofy's Kitchen. We got there late, but it worked out well. We saw Aladdin, Baloo, Cinderella, Goofy, and Chip.
When Caleb touched Aladdin, he said, "Oh, is he real?" and ran back to his seat.
We went to DCA this morning - got there around 9:40am, and did Soarin' - well Elijah and I did - Adam got the Child Swap pass - but we never did use it. We went to the Visa Meet and Greet and saw Mickey and Goofy. Then when we came out, they said that CHip and Dale were coming soon. So we used the bathroom right there and then went and saw them. Also, Caleb had a great time with the CM outside of the Meet & Greet...he was hugging her and everything. SHe was a really sweet too - I wish I could remember her name! The photopass person didn't take great pics like I was hoping - I was hoping she would snap some of the interactions with the charcters - not just the posed pics...because three and five year olds get SICK of posing for pictures!
We then went to Bug's Land and rode all the rides there - Heimlich's we rode twice. Then we went over to Screamin' and I did single rider (adam didn't feel like riding it). Then we went to Monster's Inc. THe boys wanted to do Muppetvision 3D again, so adam took them, and I went on ToT. Timing was GREAT on that.
Then we had lunch at Taste Pilot's Grill - where they messed up the order - but we ended up ahead a couple of dollars b/c of it. We tried to pay to get it fixed (he wanted the five piece ribs and they put down the three piece), but they just gave it to us and said not to worry about it.
Then we went back to DL - we did a few rides - Jungle Cruise, Indy - child swap (Elijah loved it) - I took caleb on Jungle cruise again while Adam and Elijah went on Indy, Splash - child swap (did Pooh while others went on Splash). Caleb had fun with the CM at Pooh - Brittney. She was really nice. OF course, Caleb's so cute and cuddily and sweet, that it's hard NOT to play and have fun with him.
We then got popcorn and frozen lemonade and rode the train. Then we went on Matterhorn. Got balloons for the boys and came back to the hotel. So now it's getting close to 10pm...I gotta get back to the room and get a shower and go to bed...tomorrow we're planning 7:40 at Storyteller's Cafe, Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness...and of course Matterhorn, Buzz, more Fantasyland...and who knows what else?
Well, I am on the internet for the first time since leaving Washington state!
We are staying at the Castle Inn & Suites. I am in the lobby right now with my laptop...had some school work to do, so I thought I'd drop by and give a short so-far trip report! I don't have my notes with me (I keep a small pad of paper and pen with me, so I can take notes as I go along)...so I'll just go from my memory...and I'll correct things later as necessary :).
We left WA around 7:10am on Friday Morning. The original plan was to leave around 4am...BUT, we were so tired, I figured sleeping in would be good. It worked out well, we didn't hit much traffic anywhere, well until we got to I-580 near Hayward, CA - but even then, the traffic flowed...there was just a lot of it. We got to hayward around 9:45pm.
Saturday, we got to spend some time with the grandparents. Grandma came home from the hospital around 11:30am (she had surgery for cancer on her kidney on Wednesday the 12th). We could tell she was really tired and worn out, so we left that evening around 7pm to begin the rest of our drive to Anaheim.
I was the driver the entire time...while dh was a great co-pilot - well for most of the trip anyway. He'd get me food, drinks, etc, and kept me company and awake. On Friday evening...as we were getting close to Hayward, he was falling asleep RIGHT when I needed directions to get to his grandma's house! I literally had to hit him a couple of times to get his help :eek:
Anyway, on Saturday, we drove down to Buttonwillow - and stayed at Willow Inn (or something similar)...it included a free breakfast at the truck stop nearby. Great deal. The next morning we got up and hit the road by 8am (after having breakfast at the truck stop). We got to just north of LA on I-5 when traffic came to almost a complete stop!! After a while, the interstate went down to ONE single lane. After we passed that area, it was all smooth sailing! We checked in around 11:30, and a room was ready.
We walked into the room and it didn't smell very good - our five year old said, "Wow! this is a stinky room!" The fridge didn't smell very good either. But we got our room set up, left the fridge open and made sure it was plugged in and turned on. Turned the AC on, and went to DL! Our very first ride was Nemo. I had the ECV, so we went in the wheelchair line - it was about a 40 minute wait.
After that we went over to Toontown so Caleb (our 3 year old) could ride his first roller coaster - Gadget's Go Coaster - he loved it. I don't remember all the rides we did that day - but we hit Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Buzz, Space Mtn (I think), Matterhorn...ugh...can't remember...glad I took notes. Anyway, if I remember correctly, we came back and went to bed early...Monday we were planning for EE.
Monday, September 17th
Well, Adam lost his hat, and had to use my Mickey Visor. Our first goal today was to do Matterhorn, Buzz and Space during EE. But now I can't remember what exactly we did during EE...I know we did those three (and space was a Child Swap)...but there was more??? UGH!
Alright so after EE, we went to Mad HAtter on Main Street, it was about 10:30 - and it was like fish swimming up stream...very hard to get down main street at that time. The boys got mickey ears - Elijah (the 5 year old) got pirate Mickey ears, and Caleb chose black mickey ears. Adam ended up getting a visor like mine (copycat).
While he was waiting for the embroidery, I went over to City Hall - and got him a birthday pin (that I am making him wear every day - his birthday is friday). When I got back, and they finished with the ears, we got our APs. The sooner the better - that way we can get our 10% off meals! YAY!
Then we played around at DL a little more (I'll give more details later when I have the notes). We went to DCA for a while too - we went on Monster's Inc - dh loved it and of course the boys did too. I took Elijah on ToT...he freaked and didn't want to do it again (he went on it last year), so dh didn't want to go alone. Then we did Soarin' - child swapping (caleb is about 38 inches tall). Then did Screamin' single riders, and just made it on the Sun Wheel (swinging gondolas) for the last ride of the day.
We went back to DL until the park closed. We went to Peterpan and saw a PHotopass photographer - who took us all around Fantasyland taking pictures of us! We did the whole round in Fantasyland - Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, Carousel, Dumbo, Tea Cups, Alice, Small World (skipped Mr. Toad - Caleb didn't like it). We hit Nemo right at closing with less than five minute wait in the wheelchair line.
We went to DTD and ate at Wetzel's Pretzels and Haagen Daaz (did I spell that right?). And got to bed TOO Late - 11pm or so.
Tuesday, September 18th
Well, we had to get up early for 7:40am Goofy's Kitchen. We got there late, but it worked out well. We saw Aladdin, Baloo, Cinderella, Goofy, and Chip.
When Caleb touched Aladdin, he said, "Oh, is he real?" and ran back to his seat.
We went to DCA this morning - got there around 9:40am, and did Soarin' - well Elijah and I did - Adam got the Child Swap pass - but we never did use it. We went to the Visa Meet and Greet and saw Mickey and Goofy. Then when we came out, they said that CHip and Dale were coming soon. So we used the bathroom right there and then went and saw them. Also, Caleb had a great time with the CM outside of the Meet & Greet...he was hugging her and everything. SHe was a really sweet too - I wish I could remember her name! The photopass person didn't take great pics like I was hoping - I was hoping she would snap some of the interactions with the charcters - not just the posed pics...because three and five year olds get SICK of posing for pictures!
We then went to Bug's Land and rode all the rides there - Heimlich's we rode twice. Then we went over to Screamin' and I did single rider (adam didn't feel like riding it). Then we went to Monster's Inc. THe boys wanted to do Muppetvision 3D again, so adam took them, and I went on ToT. Timing was GREAT on that.
Then we had lunch at Taste Pilot's Grill - where they messed up the order - but we ended up ahead a couple of dollars b/c of it. We tried to pay to get it fixed (he wanted the five piece ribs and they put down the three piece), but they just gave it to us and said not to worry about it.
Then we went back to DL - we did a few rides - Jungle Cruise, Indy - child swap (Elijah loved it) - I took caleb on Jungle cruise again while Adam and Elijah went on Indy, Splash - child swap (did Pooh while others went on Splash). Caleb had fun with the CM at Pooh - Brittney. She was really nice. OF course, Caleb's so cute and cuddily and sweet, that it's hard NOT to play and have fun with him.
We then got popcorn and frozen lemonade and rode the train. Then we went on Matterhorn. Got balloons for the boys and came back to the hotel. So now it's getting close to 10pm...I gotta get back to the room and get a shower and go to bed...tomorrow we're planning 7:40 at Storyteller's Cafe, Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness...and of course Matterhorn, Buzz, more Fantasyland...and who knows what else?