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Thread: MadasaHatter Xmas trip with Cousin Maude and Captain Able

  1. #1

    MadasaHatter Xmas trip with Cousin Maude and Captain Able

    WHEN: December 10 and 11
    WHERE: Paradise Pier Hotel
    WHO: The Hatter, Cousin Maude and her Husband Captain Able (Marine)
    WHY: It's Christmastime (technically Advent but hey.....)
    HOW: Virgin Airlines. Yeah Baby!
    WHAT: Disneyland. Duh.

    So my cousin Maude who lives in San Clemente is jonesing for a XMAS trip to Disneyland and after the FAMILY REUNION trip report (it's a doozy if you want to look in the archives) she wants a trip REALLY BADLY with no "old people" slowing us down. We want cousin (her sister ) Ynez to join us but too busy at work. She insists also that we do Magic Morning which means a night in the hotel. I get a free flight so I say "Why not" (to no one in particular) since I had the frequent flyer miles.

    I fly into San Diego from SF with no incident and am early! Maude picks me up and we wait for Able to get off the base early. SHe says it is ok to drive up and check in and relax and he can motor up on his own but I say we should all go together. SO we catch up and watch REAL HOUSEWIVES and other craptastic TV. Able shows up and with the Car pool lane we arrive at PP around 4:00 and of course check right in. Maude waited too long to get a room at the DLH with their military discount BUT I am totally jazzed to check out that hotel and it ends up being the BEST THING EVER.....The tree is in peacock palate and is gorgeous. The beach theming is fantastic and bow does that HOTEL look out over PP.....we got a great room with a view on the 8th floor and I think it was a free upgrade. Looked right down and into Paradise Pier in DCA. The room details are almost cooler than the DLH I think. THere is a beach ball pillow on both beds (with a sign saying that if you take them they will charge you 65 bucks a pillow. ) Who would take them? Surf board lamp. Great big print of a Beach themed Disney movie....ours was Donald Duck and he is my fave of the big five.

    WE were flipping hungry so we headed out to UVA and got dinner. Had brews and Able had Lamburger, Maude had Fish N CHips and I had this fried chicken that was all fast and hot and delicious. The evening was pretty sultry for December so it was pretty cool. WE went shopping at World of Disney and I wanted to get all my stuff straight away but nothing was purchased. WHy is that? Maude and I ended up buying what we said we would anyway so why didn't we handle that.....maybe my stuff wasn't there......more on that later.

    Maude LOVES the Trader Sam's so that was the plan. But we looked at the time and it was close to WOC time at 8:15 so I said let's do it....we have the view.....let's not let that go to waste. Hello everyone out there.....DO NOT LET THAT GO TO WASTE.....Able found out from the Disney people that this liquor store delivers and he got a 6 pack for like ten bucks! ( a beer at the hotel is 7....do the math) and we drank beer and shut out the lights and watched the show. Warm and cozy and having already seen it it was fantastic. You do not get the front view of the screen but from up high it is awesome! You can hear the music and just a cool view. I am not a big fan of that show but I would book PP again and watch that again from up high. SO then we hightailed it out to TRADER SAM'S but heard the fireworks so went over to a side window and watched them perfectly. Not as cool without the music but stlll a fun thing to do.

    TRADER SAM'S - One of my favorite additions to the parks. They had snowflakes swirling about over the Island Volcanoe. Hilarious. I think all of the hotels need a bar like that.....small and intimate with great Disney theming. They need a total surfs up bar at PP and Something at GCH in ADDITION to the Hearth Lounge. Hard pressed to think of a wacky theme in such a grand hotel but I will think on that and come with something for you all. The surfs up bar can have a wave window and when you order a specific drink called "SURF'S UP" Mickey can surf on the screen as the wave swells and Donald wipes out and splats on the window and slides down it. Stuff like that. Very Beachy Sandy theme instead of Tiki.....now what for GCH....

    IT was pretty full and there was one chair and we took turns sitting and had cocktails. I had the ginger Pear-adise. I personally cannot stand run unless it is an aged sipping rum so the drink choice is limited but it is a full bar and I have no problem ordering classic drinks. They got beer. Then we went outside for our second round and listened to the Hawaiian duet finish up there set under the torches. LOVE the details.

    THen off to bed.

    TUESDAY- ONE FULL DAY in BOTH PARKS.....go.......

    Pot of coffee and pastry while we get ready. Able had an incident with swallowing a Dayquil. Apparently a great big Marine dude cannot swallow pills. Um. Hello. Liquid form. So we were late for MAGIC MORNING. No biggee. Maude was a bit cranky but we got into DL around 8:15. The goal was to do all of FL without the crowds. WALL TO WALL crowds. It was as if the park was already open! Nutso! I guess it is late enough that all the kids got breakfast and made it in. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY KIDS out of school on DECEMBER 12???? I was shocked. WE didn't stress. We rode the Tea Cups and it was already 8:30 so we headed to SM. On our way over FINDING NEMO had no wait so we rode that. We walked over to SM around 9 sharp. Literally no wait. WE walked right onto it. It was decided no STAR TOURS as that made the Marine Jet flyer sick......again.....really? I was ok with all of these decisions by the by.....so we rode BUZZ as they had not done that ride (Able's 2nd trip to DLR) Then off to Splash Mountain. No wait whatsoever. Able's first time. We had our own log and no one got wet but me in the front but not bad. Then we went on HM. Love the gingerbread house. Love it! LIke the real HM better but still very festive. Then off to INdy. Maude and Able nixed the POC.

    INDY!!!! It was down for refurb from last trip so this was Able's first time. SO the refurb was pretty darn good. IT really was a major touch up. The audio and lights were stellar. I noticed the lightning bolts are much improved but otherwise it is pretty much the same. Everything is just really spiffed up. New coat of paint feel. The animatronics seem tighter. I did notice the fire behind the first INDY holding the door looked like a big sheet jiggling.....they could have fixed that better but otherwise Able was super impressed! Me too. I tried to talk them into a quick JUNGLE CRUISE but we had 15 minutes to head over to PLAZA INN for Minnie's Breakfast and Able was hungry! The best part of that breakfast is the OMELETs as they are made to order and are hot and delicious. I got Maude some eggs after that and she said they just aren't very good compared to a fresh Omelet so that is our advice. Chip and Dale were adorable. I had a long conversation with Minnie and Eeyore. We really dug that they walked around to us and we were relaxing. All very good. BIG MONEY GRIPE about Disney and I think a big waste of resources.......when we entered they took our picture. While we were eating they brought and 8 by 10 pic and an 8 by 10 pic of Minnie Mouse over with a few (3 0r 4 small ones?) and offered it to us for 30$$$$$???? We said no. SO the Minnie Mouse pic they could re-use. But they are just going to THROW AWAY our 30 dollar picture. Hmmmmm? What is the mark up on that? Costs them pennies and they charge us 29.99???? Why don't they sell it for ten bucks? I think that is steep. Work that out bean counters....if EVERYONE buys a picture at 10 bucks as opposed to a handful of people buy the picture at 30 aren't you making a ton of money? OR how about selling the small pics for a buck... They just threw all of those away. I mean.....tell me if I'm mad here?????

    Then I dragged Maude and Able over to SANTA'S JAMBOREE to watch Billy Hill....we didn't get to them with the "old people" even though they would have LOVED them. It was a sub lead BILLY and he was fantastic. Not the same but really good. I was impressed. I think they are playing all everyday over there for the holidays. SOme usual stuff, some new stuff, lots of XMAS but the finale had all the COUNTRY BEARS come out and they were a hoot! They were really messing with the CMs. Really cool. Able and Maude thanked me profusely and thought they were great. Whew, I'm still golden as a tour guide. I have been raving about IASW holiday and they are making fun of me claiming I said you have to ride this 15 times at XMAS ( I said twice). WE do STorybook first as Maude loved it and it was down. FL is still crowded as all get out! SO we do IASW. THey love it but say once is enough. I have seen it enough and am cool with that. WE go into TOONTOWN as Able has never been. They don't want to wait for 25 minutes of RRCS but love looking around. KInda regret not forcing them on that ride. SO then we walk by Peter Pan and it is less of a line than during MAGIC MORNING. About 20 minutes wait (lunch time) so they get in line since Able has never done it because the lines were too long. I leave them to it as I go to gather some info.

    I walk up and down MAIN ST USA and ask about Flag Ceremony....I thought that Able should see it since he is a Marine but due to all the CANDLE LIGHT stuff they only do a silent ceremony. Bummed but glad to find out. ALso find out that when the parade only goes once it originates from MAIN ST and ends at IASW so when it goes twice it always STARTS at iasw......I am sure you all knew that but now you do again. They really want to see the parade. I also wanted to ride my precious MAIN ST VEHICLE but they are done for the day and no OMNI BUS due to CANDLELIGHT.....so my review of CANDLE LIGHT is ......yes....move it to the theatre next year if you are going to do so many shows. It really kind of ruins the magic of walking onto Main St. USA which is my favorite land you all know. I love that DL is half the size of DW so I think if they are going to do something SO BIG it needs to be in a legit space that doesn't mess with flow at a very busy time. I know that it is gone by the 12 days of XMAS but still.....just my humble opinion....

    SO here is one of my first mistakes. WE should have stayed in DL and rode JUNGLE or BTMRR but I was itching to go to DCA and see all the XMAS finery....one trips are hard! SO we head over to Carsland but I get distracted by OSWALD being drawn at ANIMATION ACADEMY and talk them into doing it.....I tried to tell them to check out something else in the building as they have never been in there but I sense that Maude wants us ALL TO BE TOGETHER which is slightly annoying to me at this point. SLightly!!!! WE do it and again they like it. THey comment how cool that is.....I then say should we check out something else and they say no, let's do big rides. So we go and check the times on RSR. Only an hour wait but we did it twice and it isn't a high priority for all of us. We soaked up the decorations in Carsland and saw DJ which was pretty cool. Single rider was only 30 but looking at watches I tell them that IF they want to see the XMAS parade RSR is out of the question. The song in the XMAS parade is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Give me iasw any day and I warn them to bring headphones. Maude really doesn't want to separate and I tell them I don't mind being alone. Able talks his wife into going to the parade which makes me happy! The three person dynamic with a married couple is a bit hard which I knew going in. I am not cranky as my real goal on this trip AND theirs is to make it a XMAS affair! THe hilarious thing about the parade is that they agreed about the annoying song and the music went out and the parade continued. Maude thought that was hilarious! They agreed that they wouldn't do the parade again but that they are very glad they did it once! SO all was good.

    While they did the parade I was going to rush off and ride some rides but then I thought about how tired I was getting and it was going to be a long night and I got a Habanero Margarita at Cove Bar facing out over the lagoon as the sun was setting. AMAZING view. A group of ten came in wearing ugly Xmas Sweaters and that was fantastic and THE JUST ADD WATER SHOW started and that was fantastic. SO very cool that they are doing that. Really dug that. ANd the best seat in the house. Then I did some shopping....love the OSWALS stuff. I bought a T SHIRT and some ears for a friend that wanted ears....cannot wait to see her face when they are RABBITT EARS.... I will have to get those next trip for myself. Met Maude and Able at the TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY on Buena Vista St. That tree rocks. The ornaments are really good reproductions of vintage ornaments. SO very cool. ALl of the shops look great and BV st is one of my favorite new lands. Enjoyed the time to explore all shops and window shop while waiting for the kids. We used a FP to get on Screamin' which is so cool at dark. THen we got a FP for SOarin' and then we got caught in the PIXAR PARADE and Maude wanted to watch. WE got to see the whole thing and that made her very happy. A little late for dinner reservations at TRATTORRIA but so glad we had them. No walk up tables available and Able and MAude were again so very happy that I made reservations as they were hungry and thirsty. Maude had chicken and it was great and Able and I had pasta. I had the clams and he had the broccoli. I must say that they clams were a little sparse but it was indeed delicious and happy to be sitting. So back to RSR and we saw DJ again at night. SO AWESOME....check that out if you can. Able didn't want to do single rider and MAUDE wanted to do MICKEY'S FUN WHEEL which I warned them is very barf inducing to lots of people. We saw that TSMM wait was only 30 minutes and opted for that as a last ride in DCA instead of FUN WHEEL....whew. I thought that was a great choice as I think you should leave on a bang! ON our way out we watched the opening to WOC with the XMAS segment so we got that XMAS magic in ....That took more time and it was decided that if we try to do too much we won't get a good stand for the fireworks which was on Maude's giant MUST DO list......she was so excited for the snow (born and raised in Mexico) So big lines to get into DL and we had watched the WOC start. I wanted some hot chocolate while watching but the lines were crazy long and even though she prodded me ....I said it was more important for me to see the fireworks and they would start while I was waiting. SO they started....

    Ok, another DIsney fail....The woman that does the narration on XMAS sounds like the Evil Queen????Really? These are XMAS fireworks. Not Hallowe'en. I do voice overs and it is really strange to me that they have that. WE all laughed at that. Maude said it sounds like the FANTASMIC wicked queen. I guess maybe the idea is that even the villain's celebrate XMAS! THen the song is way over the top and kind of irritating too. SOme of my music snob friends have commented on how they hate the overplay of Disney movie songs but always comment on how great they are written though and that really good singers sing them (Yes, I know they are Grammy award singers usually, i.e. stars) and how they use many different types of singers so you can't claim there is one sound (Like the brilliance of ANGELA LANSBURY singing the love song in Beauty and the Beast) but some of the theme park music has gotten SO cheesey lately. Weigh in out there? Do you all like the music they write for the parades?? I think the SOUNDSATIONAL SONG is really good but it is also cleverly interrupted by Drums and has a catchy tune that is sung very straight rather than vocal gymnastics..) Ok. Off soap box,

    the XMAS music is great and the snow is awesome. WE shopped got Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Bark Ice Cream at Haagen Dazs and drove home and I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow. TRIP VERY SUCCESSFUL! Bummed we didn't RSR having stood in front of it twice but we soaked up the XMAS MAGIC.


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  3. #2

    So glad you had a great time! And that you got to introduce your cousins to some real holiday gems in the parks. You're right, one day trips are really hard, but it sounds like yours went very well overall.


  4. #3

    And thank you for my postcard! Happiest of holidays to you and your family!


  5. #4

    Thanks T42.....I love mouseplanet and the cool folks on here. YOu made my trip.....


  6. #5
    Registered User LauraTD's Avatar
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    Great Trip report! It makes me wish it was January 2nd already so I could go soak up the Holiday Magic right now. I didn't make it to Trader Sam's on my last trip, but will definitely try to do so on my upcoming January visit. As for your idea for a kitchy bar in GCH: maybe a bear theme. They could have a drink called the Grizzly and when you order it, the bear head on the wall growls. Those of us from the bay area could make jokes about it was so different from the "Bear Bars" back home. I am with you on the park music, i love the music on the rides (even It's a Small World) and I love the background music in the lands, but the special event music is a bit cloying and annoying and (I was trying to come up with a third appropriate adjective that rhymes... hobbledlyhoying?) in my opinion. It reminds me of that kind of country music that isn't really country music, but that gets sold as country music or that kind of R&B music that has no rhythm and sounds nothing like the blues that still gets sold as R&B. I am planning on seeing the parade once because I have never seen the holiday parade once, but I may bring ear plugs.

    "Hesitating to act because the whole vision might not be achieved, or because others do not yet share it, is an attitude that only hinders progress." -Gandhi

  7. #6

    I seriously would plug in some of my favorite XMAS music in my ipod and watch the parade. IT is quite cute. Tell me what you think of the holiday EVIL QUEEN voice over!


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