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disneyhound
02-01-2005, 12:36 PM
Thursday, January 27th, Day 1

We left home at 4:45AM for the airport, arrived at our hotel, Crowne Plaza around 11:00AM. Nice looking place; even though we arrived hours before check-in time, the front-desk person found us a room, 7th floor, over-looking, "the hotel next-door". I asked for a room that might see the park, but too many buildings between us and DL. We took the first available shuttle to DL. My daughter wanted to ride TOT, so DCA was our first stop. We hadn't eaten since we left home, so first we headed for Cocina Cucamonga, love those fresh tortillas. We did the tortilla factory prior to ordering our lunch. :cool:

Since we were so close to Screamin, we went there after lunch, only about a five minute wait. We grabbed desert from the Ice Cream vendor near the coaster, walked towards Orange Zinger, and basically walked right on. Next Mullholland Madness, no lines. Finally, we headed for TOT, again no lines, rode this ride twice in a row, great ride! Everything about it was terrific, all the detail and effects! Next was Soarin, since we were already so close, longest wait yet, about 15 minutes. After that, we needed Disney! :D

This was our first visit since they began the security checks at the entry to the main gate area, rather than each park, that was nice. Our first stop was to Town Hall. Got a listing of the Pressed Penny Machines and where they are located. Thanks to the Padder that posted that factoid a couple weeks back; my daughter has a collection! We strolled down Main Street, soaking in the atmosphere! Rod Miller was playing, we caught his last song. ;)

We went to Adventureland, Indy was down, so we walked onto POTC, they couldn't even fill every other boat, it was wonderful! Yo Ho! My daughter wanted BTMRR, so we headed that direction. The Mark Twain was preparing to head out, so we quickly jumped on, all the seating area was taken. The CM in the wheelhouse looked my way, and I asked her, "How's the view from up their?". She smiled and came down to the door. My daughter had a blast "steering", and of course the steam whistle, and her offical "Pilot's Certificate"! Thanks again to the Padder that shared that little gem; I have learned a lot from this terrific site! Our trip on the Mark Twain was definitely a highlight from this years trip. Everyday, whenever we could see the riverboat, we would look to see if someone was up in the wheelhouse. We never saw anyone other than the CM. :p

Next it was off to BTMRR. About a 15 minute wait. As we were making our first climb, I filled my daughter in on the infamous "Goat Trick". She looked at me like I was setting her up for something, I told her I was serious and that we had to give it a try, after all I had read about it here at MousePlanet, cool, the "Goat Trick"... We got Fast Passes for BTMRR as we left heading back to Indy. Still down. Off to Autopia, not a very long line, but they were only operating one track with not very many cars, so we had our longest wait of the day, 20 minutes, love it! We went to the Matterhorn after Autopia, again short lines, I think I have a theme going here...

We headed to Main Street, got sandwiches at Blue Ribbon Bakery, walked up to Coke Corner and caught the end of Rod's show. After Dinner, we headed back to Adventureland, Indy was finally open! We loved all the fixes/enhancements made to the ride. Got Fast Passes for Indy after our ride, then went to HM. Again, we liked the changes, guess I am not the purest I thought I was. When I read about the changes, I thought "Oh No, not Eddie Murphy popping out from behind a tombstone!" :eek:

We headed to BTMRR from HM and used our Fast Passes, the line was so short, may have saved us one train at the most; so we rode it twice, "Goat Trick" both times! We always ask for row 13 on BTMRR, front row last car. We headed back to Indy, used our Fast Passes, not much gain there either over the "commoners", the lines merged before any back-up. After Indy, we decided to call it a day, we were running out of steam. As we headed down Main Street, I told my daughter about the Compliment Forms, so we stopped at City Hall and filled one out for the Mark Twain CM we encountered earlier in the day. :)

Made it to the hotel around 8:00PM, crashed!

Coming up, Days 2-5; lots more adventure around the bend, including "Rain", "Food Poisoning", "Hidden Mickey" and the "Vanishing Laundry".

Surfingstitch
02-01-2005, 12:42 PM
I want those wait times!!!

rentayenta
02-01-2005, 12:58 PM
Good form disneyhound! Can't wait to read the rest :)

Earkid
02-01-2005, 05:13 PM
Keep 'em coming Disneyhound. Love it!

disneyhound
02-02-2005, 09:02 AM
Friday, January 28th, Day 2

We walked across the street from our hotel and had breakfast, picked up some water, soda and snacks at Target, and caught the first shuttle to DL. We looked around Main Street until the park opened. We went straight to the Matterhorn, got right on. Asked a CM to take our photograph; she was really fun! We rode both sides; we liked the Fantasyland side the best. ;)

Next off to Autopia; my daughter loves that ride, but she never waits for me to catch up, something about me bumping into her car, I don't know… We went back to Fantasyland and rode Alice, Pinocchio and Mr. Toad. No more than a five minute wait in Fantasyland except for Peter Pan; already had a line! We rode the Storybook Land canal boats next. A few sprinkles started falling. :(

We decided to head for BTMRR, stopped at "Patch of Heaven" Petting Ranch so my daughter could pet the goats, no "Goat Trick" here! We went on BTMRR twice, "Goat Trick" please. It started to sprinkle more and more. We ducked into POTC. When we got out, the sprinkles were raindrops. We went over and rode Indy. When we finished Indy, the rain was heavier; we got Fast Passes for Indy for later, and while under cover, put our rain ponchos on. We decided to head for HM; we stopped for Churros near the front gate of HM. :p

It was raining steady as we stood in line for HM. People were ducking for cover where they could. A group of people in line in front of us tried to hold out, but they quickly put their rain ponchos on, only after being soaked to the bone! After HM we walked over to see the Billy Hill show, just missed the opening, we squeezed through to the upper rear balcony area. Great Show! We had never taken the time to see this show; knew we had to see it after reading all the great comments about it right here at MP.

After the "Billies" show, we were ready for lunch, so we headed to Main Street, and the sky let loose. We were near Coke Corner, so we claimed a group of chairs in the corner near the front door and ate hot dogs for lunch. No one was on the piano... As we ate, it kept pouring and pouring. Soon we were watching a steady stream of blue ponchos heading out of the park. :crying:

We had planned to head back to the hotel for a break, even before the rain. We wandered into the Candy Palace, on the way to the Penney Arcade, so my daughter could get some pressed pennies; when all of a sudden she remembered her back-pack. We hurried back to Coke Corner; it was gone! Fortunately, someone had turned it in, and when asked to describe it, the guy at the counter pulled it up and gave it to her. We were so relieved, she loves that backpack! Thanks to whoever turned it in! :D

We stopped at City Hall and filled out a "Compliment Form" for another CM from earlier in the day, kind of our "CM of the Day" award. Even though we had our ponchos on, our legs, feet and arms were soaked by the time we got back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, I decided to do a load of laundry while my daughter worked on her geometry homework. Yes, she lugged her geometry book all the way to DL. So, I opened the "Guest Directory" book in our hotel room, and under "Guest Laundry", it said that coin operated machines and supplies were located on the Mezzanine Level. Great, I thought I would check it out before I showed up with an armful of clothes. So I get off the elevator at the Mezzanine Level, and I wonder around a bit. I didn't see any laundry facilities, so I walked up to these four hotel staff people sitting around a desk and inquire. This one guy looks up and says, "This is a private floor, you'll need to go downstairs." OK, so much for hospitality. I must have disturbed their break. I got to the front desk and asked about the Guest Laundry on the Mezzanine Level. The "lady" laughs and says, "Those room directories have not been updated for a long time!" She proceeds to talk to me like I am some lost two-year old.

At this point I am thinking, "OK, our room is nice, but the staff could be friendlier". Maybe I'm wrong, not fair to compare the good vibes from DL CM's to a hotel desk clerk with an attitude. So I find the laundry room: each floor has a vending room, with soda and ice machines in it. On the Second and Third floors, the soda machines have been removed, and a washer/dryer are positioned there; nothing about that in the "Guest Directory" back in our room. No Laundry Soap or change machines either. :(

So, back up to our room. My daughter was wondering where I had been. I called down to the front desk to ask about laundry soap and change, and was put on hold. While waiting I told my daughter about my hunt for the laundry room. I hung up after five minutes on hold, went back downstairs to the front desk. There were two people behind the counter, they were engaged in a conversation; they saw me standing there and still continued talking. I finally said "excuse me", and the man behind the counter asks what I need. I asked where I could find some soap for the laundry. He said I could try the gift shop. As this guy was talking to me, the "lady" picks up the phone, and says, "Thank you for holding, how may I help you?"; could have been the line from our room. I go to the gift shop to get some Tide, in those single load boxes, go counter, pay for it, and ask for two dollars worth of quarters in change. This person says, "Ooh, that would nearly clear me out of quarters, could you ask for change at the front desk?" So, back to the front desk. I finally get everything I need, only to find both floors laundry facilities are now occupied! Am I still in TOT? :eek:

The Crowne Plaza may be 3 1/2 stars, but the service was less than any of the 2 star hotels we have stayed at across from the main gate. I finally get a load going after an hour or so, and countless trips in the elevator. I head down to get my load from the dryer, it's gone! I think, I must be on the wrong floor. I head to the other laundry room and there is a lady and her daughter there with my clothes in her pillow case. She apologizes for her daughters mistake. I gather up our clothes, smile, and head back up to the other laundry room and put my load back in the system! If you had seen that lady and her kid, you would have re-washed the load as well!

By this time, I am fit-to-be-tied. I get back to our room, my daughter asks what’s wrong, and I tell her, we laughed it off and watched some TV. With the laundry finished, we head back to DL. This time we go to DCA. The crowds have picked up, no rain, lines are lengthening. We rode TOT twice. Walked over to Screamin, stopped for a fresh tortilla along the way, flour this time. Rode Screamin twice, about 25 minute wait time, no Fast Passes being issued. We were ready for dinner, my daughter wanted pizza, so Oom Pow Pow it was. :p

Next it was a trip on Zinger and then Mullholland Madness, lines were long now. When we got back to the "Sun Area" as we refer to that area, the Surfing Band was playing. They were having a Hula-Hoop contest, we stopped and watched. My daughter commented on this one girl who was a real pro. She was walking around, turning this way and that, completely effortless. We thought for sure she would be the winner! We stopped at the souviner shop near the Golden Gate as we were leaving, I needed some Sour Balls. By this time DCA was closing. We felt we had reached our goal for day 2, and headed back to the hotel. I couldn't wait to see the "lady" at the front desk once again. ;)

Surfingstitch
02-02-2005, 10:17 AM
Wow.

I have never really encounter bad service before on vacation. But I would give them a piece of my mind if I did get it.

Terri
02-02-2005, 10:43 AM
..."The CM in the wheelhouse looked my way, and I asked her, "How's the view from up their?". She smiled and came down to the door. My daughter had a blast "steering", and of course the steam whistle, and her offical "Pilot's Certificate"! Thanks again to the Padder that shared that little gem;"...

You can do this? Wow! I had no idea! So...if we just ask and there's no one in the wheelhouse (other than the CM) they will let us in? Cool... :D

disney jones
02-02-2005, 11:08 AM
great report! we're going tomorrow and we'll prepare our 'puppy dog eyes' for a trip to the wheelhouse! :D

disneyhound
02-02-2005, 02:21 PM
You can do this? Wow! I had no idea! So...if we just ask and there's no one in the wheelhouse (other than the CM) they will let us in? Cool... :D

I don't know if works all the time; but I would give it a try! They have a guest book up there that people sign, we did; so I'm thinking it is a fairly regular event. Go for it! ;)

disneyhound
02-03-2005, 06:01 AM
Saturday, January 30th, Day 3

Ate Breakfast across the street from the hotel and caught the first shuttle to the park. We were on a mission before the park opened; we were hunting pressed pennies for my daughter’s collection. She reviewed the "pressed penny location sheet" that we had picked up Thursday, and she marked the ones that she was interested in; we went hunting! :geek:

Once they opened the park, we headed for the Matterhorn. We rode the Tomorrowland side twice, only side open at the time. Then we headed for Autopia. Next to BTMRR, twice, "Goat Trick" thank you, then to Indy. We got Fast Passes for Indy for later, then decided to head for DCA.

The lines to get into the parks were long. At DCA the lines went way past the standing big letters in the main quad area. Once in, we headed for TOT. They had set up a stage near the Animation building for a TV music special. We watched somebody named "Raven" rehearse a song; she sang and danced around with a group of back-up singers/dancers. We didn't stand in line for the actual filming. If you wanted, you could be in the filmed audience. There were going to be 6-8 different singers on both Saturday and Sunday.

We rode TOT, twice, and even though we had the drop sequence down, it was still a kick! We grabbed a bite before we left the Hollywood Pictures area, then went to Screamin, 25 minute wait time. We picked up a pressed penny from the T-Shirt shop under the Coaster area, and then rode Zinger. Mullholland Madness had a 35 minute wait time, so we headed for Soarin. :p

It was near 1:30 and we were ready for a break, so we headed for the shuttle to go back to the motel. By that time I was feeling pretty green in the gills. I thought I was going to lose it in the bushes at the bus stop. I couldn't imagine doing that to the "Happiest Place On Earth". I managed to maintain a degree of normalcy until we got back to the hotel. I think I got "food poisoning" from breakfast. I could give you my reasoning, but let’s just say I spent the next few hours singing to the "porcelain goddess". Suffice it to say, we didn't make it back to the park that afternoon/evening... :crying:

CrazyTrain
02-03-2005, 06:43 AM
Sick on vacation! :(

disneyhound
02-03-2005, 01:00 PM
Sick on vacation! :(

Tell me about it, every vacationers potential reality! :|

kohl
02-03-2005, 02:58 PM
I feel your pain about the food poisoning. I got it from Rain Forest Cafe.
Not a good night for me. My wonderful husband had to run to the store at midnight to get some medicine. I spent the next day in the hotel room while everyone else was in the park :crying:

disneyhound
02-03-2005, 03:08 PM
I feel your pain about the food poisoning...

I was surprised, I have a cast iron stomach. I knew it wasn't the flu, since I bounced back so quickly and had no other symptoms. :D

kohl
02-03-2005, 06:45 PM
I know! I can't remember the last time I was sick. We had dinner somewhere between 6:30 and 7pm. Went back to the hotel to get ready for bed. I was telling my husband I wasn't feeling to good, but thought I would be fine after I fell asleep. At 11pm I woke up and don't think I could have felt any worse!
It lasted about an hour of non stop, well, you know. The next day I didn't get sick anymore (Nothing else in me I think), but felt quesy. By dinner time I was fine. Thank God!

Shortiemetoo
02-04-2005, 04:56 AM
Wow, my daughter and I were there the same time. We didn't get food poisoning, but she had all day morning sickness....I felt so sorry for her as I do for you :( No fun to be sick in DL!!!

disneyhound
02-04-2005, 05:09 AM
...I felt so sorry for her as I do for you :( No fun to be sick in DL!!!

Thanks, I am somewhat positive it was the diner across the street from our hotel! At least that is what I want to believe... :p

disneyhound
02-04-2005, 06:56 AM
Sunday, January 30th, Day 4

Feeling much better thank you, even the "lady" at the front desk had a glow about her, funny how things look so much better the day after... We decided not to eat breakfast across the street. We took the first shuttle to the park; got a muffin from the Blue Ribbon Bakery on Main Street. :cool:

Once the park opened, we headed for Indy. The line for Indy was about 30 deep by the time we got there. They didn't open right away; by the time they did, the line was out of sight back towards Main Street. We got Fast passes when we got off. We went on POTC next, and there were no people there! People everywhere, but no one in the POTC building; so we got a boat to ourselves! No one else around! I took advantage of our isolation to keep the flash on my digital camera turned on! "No Flash Photography Please!" :D

Next we went to HM and then to Pooh, and we had to get a pressed penny of Pooh. Then it was off to Fantasyland, rode Alice, Snow White, Mr. Toad and Pinocchio. We went back to Indy and used our fast passes, this time we walked by a whole lot of people. Next, BTMRR, lines were about 20 minutes by then, but I wasn't going to do the "Goat Trick" today! :eek:

We headed for the Billies Show, different cast this time, still a fun show! We got there about 15 minutes prior to the opening, so we got a table on the floor. Ordered the chicken strips, not bad, but I hadn't much of an appetite.

Headed back to the hotel, laundry, movie on HBO was Harry Potter! We got back to DL later that day, and went to DCA; rode TOT twice, then Screamin, Zinger, Mullholland, and Soarin.


Monday, January 31st, Day 5

Last Day, Oooh Noooo.

We used our Early Entry, so we were in DL by 9:00AM. We headed for Matterhorn, rode twice. The we did everything that was open in Fantasyland except the carosel. They were doing a Photo Shot of several adults just inside the castle. I asked a CM about. He said that the folks were the original group of kids that were seen running into Disneyland on opening day in the original DL park commercial back in the 1950's. So, naturally, I took some pictures... ;)

When the rest of the park opened, we headed for Indy, then POTC, then BTMRR. We got chicken skewers from Bengel BBQ and headed for Main Street. We bought all our souveneers, my daughter wanted a plush Mickey, and we got those pens with the flying characters attached that you twirl around. My duaghter had bought a couple last year, and all her friends kept "borrowing them". We bought 9 of them, and lots of suckers, and sour balls for me and... :rolleyes:

Since we had limited time, we decided to get to DCA. Rode TOT twice, still a fun ride the tenth time or so! Then we did Screamin et al. We wanted to go on Soarin one last time, but we had to catch a shuttle back to the airport in an hour. So, we got a cone at Burrbank and soaked up the last of our DL vacation before heading back to our hotel.

The shuttle van to take us to John Wayne was early, and waiting for us when we got back to the hotel. We had already checked out, so we got our bags and were off. A lady from Nevada sat next to us on the shuttle back to the airport. She worked for an airline, and had AP's, she was there with her daughter! How cool would that be, free airfair! Shop on-line for a good price for a hotel room, and you could play for a weekend for 100-150 bucks.

We flew out at 3:40PM, and got home about 10:00PM. Was great to be home, our cat missed us, but we already miss Disney. Got some great photos, even a hidden Mickey that many people have never seen… :)

Terri
02-04-2005, 07:43 AM
Where's the hidden mickey? We are always searching for them...it's fun when we find them and get the picture to prove it!

I can't wait until my trip...111 more days...

Even with the food poisoning and laundry from h*ll...it sounds like it was a wonderful trip! :p

disneyhound
02-04-2005, 08:52 AM
Where's the hidden mickey? We are always searching for them...it's fun when we find them and get the picture to prove it...

We did have fun! :D

I am not sure how I get a photo of the Hidden Mickey inserted into my reply! :confused:

CrazyTrain
02-04-2005, 08:59 AM
Thank you so much for that wonderful report!

Gramiangel420
02-04-2005, 09:06 AM
Saturday, January 30th, Day 3

By that time I was feeling pretty green in the gills. I thought I was going to lose it in the bushes at the bus stop. I couldn't imagine doing that to the "Happiest Place On Earth".

:) I sympathize. I had this happen at DLR and I kept looking for a good place to lose it. There just isn't any non-conspicuous place to do that. LOL! Fortunately I made it back to my hotel, but I missed going back with the family. It is no fun to get sick on vacation!

disneyhound
02-04-2005, 10:31 AM
:) I sympathize. I had this happen at DLR and I kept looking for a good place to lose it. There just isn't any non-conspicuous place to do that. LOL! Fortunately I made it back to my hotel, but I missed going back with the family. It is no fun to get sick on vacation!

LOL! Maybe we should start and new thread, "Places you got sick at DLR!" :eek:

stinkerbell
02-04-2005, 12:29 PM
Great trip report! :) Thanks for posting!!!

We'll have to remember the wheelhouse on our next family trip in December....we'll give it a go on my daughter's bday. They can't deny us then, can they? ;) We tried it once and got denied....two adults were up there, so my girls got turned down. They were so heart-broken, that I never tried it again!! We'll give it another whirl next time though, thanks for the reminder!

disneyhound
02-04-2005, 12:42 PM
...two adults were up there, so my girls got turned down...

The area of the wheelhouse is fairly small, so I can understand why they would only allow one group up there at a time. But definatley, give it try next time you are there. No way they would turn down your birhtday girl! ;)