KSJayhawk
10-30-2007, 09:12 AM
We recently returned from DLR, and it had been about 15 years since I had been... reading the updates and blogs on MousePlanet proved to be so helpful! So, here's my report:
Myself (29), my son (2 1/2), my mom (60), and my aunt (57) were present for the trip!
Sunday, Oct. 21st
We live in Wichita, KS and there is now a direct flight on Delta from Wichita to LAX. It was a little over 3 hours, and my aunt, who lives in Fullerton, was able to find us quickly at the airport. We picked up our bags and headed back to Fullerton to rest up for the next day!
Monday, Oct. 22nd
We had made priority seating reservations for brunch at Goofy's Kitchen at 8:30am. We arrived just a few minutes early, and were seated immediately. The food and table service were both great. The characters that we saw were Goofy, Pluto, Aladdin, the Genie, and Chip. Our only disappointment was that the staff photographers were not following the characters around during the meal. There was one photographer with Pluto at the entrance of Goofy's, and the pictures were brought to us during our meal. For the steep price of $32.95 (yikes!) we could purchase them there, or else they were trashed. We had hoped they would put them on PhotoPass. Oh well! Shortly before 10am, we headed out to DLR. We rode the Monorail into Tomorrowland, and rode the Autopia. We then headed over and rode Dumbo, the Carousel, and Casey Jr Circus Train. My 2 1/2 year old was starting to get tired (the 2 hour time difference definitely is hard on the little ones!!) and so we decided to make one more stop before going home for a nap. We went into DCA to Enginear Toys to purchase some Disney parts for our Mr. Potato Head. What a darling idea for a fun Disney souvenir. After that, we drove back to Fullerton -- only about a 15 minute drive. We headed back to DLR around 5pm, rode the train over to Toontown, toured Mickey's House and took some fun pictures with Mickey, rode the Jungle Cruise, and then sat down to grab some good seats for the Parade. While we were waiting, my mom took my son to get his own Mickey ears with his name on them... so cute. :) We strolled through DTD on our way out -- pretty crowded, but fun to look around. On our way out, we knew that we would owe about $10 for parking -- we parked in the DTD lot, but the attendant said, Don't worry about paying tonight. Have a great one!! We were shocked! What a nice gesture. All in all, we had a great day... the longest wait for a ride was 15 minutes. Not bad!
Tuesday, Oct. 23rd
We just hung out with my aunt, went to the pumpkin patch, etc. Rested up for another big day with Mickey!!
Wednesday, Oct. 24th
My son was up again really early... he's always awake by 6:30am CST, so in CA that translates to 4:30am!:eek: We were set on finding more of the characters walking around, so we stopped at City Hall, and they were able to give us some times that we might see them. We headed straight to Fantasyland when DLR opened at 10am, riding the Tea Cups, Dumbo, the Matterhorn (my 2 1/2 year old loved it!!), touring Minnie's House (but Minnie wasn't there:(), rode Gadget's Go-Coaster. Then we stopped for a quick bite on Main Street. We split a couple of hot dogs and soft Mickey-shaped pretzels w/ cheese... they were cute! It was getting close to the times that we had been told to look for the characters, so we window-shopped and just hung out close to Town Square... watching. Minnie came out first, and then about every 5 minutes or so, another character would come out to meet and greet everyone. We got pictures with Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Chip, Dale, and Donald Duck. It was fun!! By then, it was nearing nap-time, so we ran over to DCA to get Fastpasses for Soarin' and then we were back in the car headed home. We returned to DCA about 4:30pm, my aunt and I rode Soarin' (what a marvelous ride!) while my mom and my son went to the Bug's Life area. He loved all the little rides! Per his request, we went back to the Jungle Cruise -- he was sure the tiger on the cruise was Shere Khan from the Jungle Book... and he wanted to see Shere Khan again. Ahhh -- to be 2 1/2 again! :) So we walked right onto Jungle Cruise, rode Astro Orbiter in the dark, and then watched the Parade. We did a little shopping in Toontown after the Parade, then rode the train back to Main Street. It was a great day!
We had a wonderful time, although we toured more slowly due to having a 2 1/2 year in tow. But, what fun to see him meet and greet the characters and enjoy the rides and sights of Disneyland. The Halloween decor was just beautiful, and the park is always kept up so nicely. We did take some of our own snacks in each day (a MUST if you have a little one) and water bottles, too. I had also purchased 2 Disney DVDs prior to coming, with all the characters singing and walking through both DLR and WDW. My son knew all of their names prior to our trip, and I really think that helped him not to be scared or overwhelmed. We can't wait to go back!! :D
Myself (29), my son (2 1/2), my mom (60), and my aunt (57) were present for the trip!
Sunday, Oct. 21st
We live in Wichita, KS and there is now a direct flight on Delta from Wichita to LAX. It was a little over 3 hours, and my aunt, who lives in Fullerton, was able to find us quickly at the airport. We picked up our bags and headed back to Fullerton to rest up for the next day!
Monday, Oct. 22nd
We had made priority seating reservations for brunch at Goofy's Kitchen at 8:30am. We arrived just a few minutes early, and were seated immediately. The food and table service were both great. The characters that we saw were Goofy, Pluto, Aladdin, the Genie, and Chip. Our only disappointment was that the staff photographers were not following the characters around during the meal. There was one photographer with Pluto at the entrance of Goofy's, and the pictures were brought to us during our meal. For the steep price of $32.95 (yikes!) we could purchase them there, or else they were trashed. We had hoped they would put them on PhotoPass. Oh well! Shortly before 10am, we headed out to DLR. We rode the Monorail into Tomorrowland, and rode the Autopia. We then headed over and rode Dumbo, the Carousel, and Casey Jr Circus Train. My 2 1/2 year old was starting to get tired (the 2 hour time difference definitely is hard on the little ones!!) and so we decided to make one more stop before going home for a nap. We went into DCA to Enginear Toys to purchase some Disney parts for our Mr. Potato Head. What a darling idea for a fun Disney souvenir. After that, we drove back to Fullerton -- only about a 15 minute drive. We headed back to DLR around 5pm, rode the train over to Toontown, toured Mickey's House and took some fun pictures with Mickey, rode the Jungle Cruise, and then sat down to grab some good seats for the Parade. While we were waiting, my mom took my son to get his own Mickey ears with his name on them... so cute. :) We strolled through DTD on our way out -- pretty crowded, but fun to look around. On our way out, we knew that we would owe about $10 for parking -- we parked in the DTD lot, but the attendant said, Don't worry about paying tonight. Have a great one!! We were shocked! What a nice gesture. All in all, we had a great day... the longest wait for a ride was 15 minutes. Not bad!
Tuesday, Oct. 23rd
We just hung out with my aunt, went to the pumpkin patch, etc. Rested up for another big day with Mickey!!
Wednesday, Oct. 24th
My son was up again really early... he's always awake by 6:30am CST, so in CA that translates to 4:30am!:eek: We were set on finding more of the characters walking around, so we stopped at City Hall, and they were able to give us some times that we might see them. We headed straight to Fantasyland when DLR opened at 10am, riding the Tea Cups, Dumbo, the Matterhorn (my 2 1/2 year old loved it!!), touring Minnie's House (but Minnie wasn't there:(), rode Gadget's Go-Coaster. Then we stopped for a quick bite on Main Street. We split a couple of hot dogs and soft Mickey-shaped pretzels w/ cheese... they were cute! It was getting close to the times that we had been told to look for the characters, so we window-shopped and just hung out close to Town Square... watching. Minnie came out first, and then about every 5 minutes or so, another character would come out to meet and greet everyone. We got pictures with Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Chip, Dale, and Donald Duck. It was fun!! By then, it was nearing nap-time, so we ran over to DCA to get Fastpasses for Soarin' and then we were back in the car headed home. We returned to DCA about 4:30pm, my aunt and I rode Soarin' (what a marvelous ride!) while my mom and my son went to the Bug's Life area. He loved all the little rides! Per his request, we went back to the Jungle Cruise -- he was sure the tiger on the cruise was Shere Khan from the Jungle Book... and he wanted to see Shere Khan again. Ahhh -- to be 2 1/2 again! :) So we walked right onto Jungle Cruise, rode Astro Orbiter in the dark, and then watched the Parade. We did a little shopping in Toontown after the Parade, then rode the train back to Main Street. It was a great day!
We had a wonderful time, although we toured more slowly due to having a 2 1/2 year in tow. But, what fun to see him meet and greet the characters and enjoy the rides and sights of Disneyland. The Halloween decor was just beautiful, and the park is always kept up so nicely. We did take some of our own snacks in each day (a MUST if you have a little one) and water bottles, too. I had also purchased 2 Disney DVDs prior to coming, with all the characters singing and walking through both DLR and WDW. My son knew all of their names prior to our trip, and I really think that helped him not to be scared or overwhelmed. We can't wait to go back!! :D