mystycalchyk
05-11-2005, 10:58 AM
Well I figured I may as well do one too. why not ;)
I haven't yet uploaded any of my pics, but I will probably get to it this weekend.
Tuesday May 3rd. I got off work at 5:30. We had packed the night before and Will picked me up and we drove straight down to Phoenix to catch our flight out. We had just enough time to get to the airport an hour before the flight left (at 9:30).
Once at The Duke we had thought we would just take a cab to our hotel, but decided a shuttle was cheaper so we went that route. The shuttle driver apparently was not happy that we were his only fare. He did not speak to us once throughout the drive there and we went from parked at the airport to parked at the hotel in 13 minutes flat. He was FLYING on the highway. I kept trying to peek to see just how fast we were going, but he had his panel lights turned down really dim so I wasnt able to see. But if the average car was driving approximately 60 to 70 there is no doubt we were going closer to 90 to 100. I am not exagerating. When we finally came to a stop light I leaned over and whipsered to Will "Permanencer sentados por favor" (or however thats spelled), because it truly felt like we were on a coaster ride.
We checked into our hotel (Best Western Park Place Inn & Mini Suites) and was pleasantly surprised at the size of the room. This was our first visit there and it was clean and had plenty of hangers (I always have to ask for more, not this time). The decor reminded me a bit of the Tiki Room (the furniture had a bamboo look to it) and although it is not brand new was just fine by us. We have always just desired a place that is clean. We sleep and shower there and nothing more, who needs fancy schmancy? We had a king sized bed and the room was separated by a half wall and there was a sleeper sofa and coffee table on that side. Plenty of room. The fridge was way bigger than any other regular mini fridge I've ever seen in a hotel, plus there was a microwave, coffee maker and iron and ironing board. Like I said they had plenty of hangers (I always like to hang my clothes) and the drawer space was quite sufficent. (yes Im one of those weirdos that likes to unpack fully)
The only complaint I have about the room was the shower. The water pressure was great but the shower head was way low!!! I am only 5'3" and even I had to duck to wash my hair, My husband at 6'3" had an awful time. And the curtain was so low that I couldnt be in the bathroom at the same time he was in the shower because the water splashed out over the top and soaked EVERYTHING in there. Not a huge deal but certainly not the best hotel shower ever. Not enough of a big deal to make us not stay there again. We most certainly will. We are already booked at the Tropicana for our trip in July and I wish we could switch it to tell the truth. The proximity to the park simply cannot be beat. You walk out the front gate and across the street and the hotel it right there just maybe 20 feet to the left. We were on the ground floor on the other side of the hotel and it was very quiet.
We never used the pool so I cant comment on that, and we only did their 'continental breakfast' one day. Your basic fare. Criossants, muffins, pastries, cereals juices and fruit. Nothing special, and not bad, but we just didnt utilise it. We grabbed a couple of criossants the first day and that was it.
So we get all checked in and crashed for the night.
We were up the next day (Wednesday the 4th) by 7 or so. We had thought that since Disneyland was closed there was a good chance that DCA would actually be crowded, so we wanted to get there early. We were wrong. No biggie. We got to DCA by 8:45ish and headed straightaway to Soarin'. We thought we had better get a fast pass for this one ASAP and ride it immediately. (Again we still thought it might get busy later on) So we rode Soarin', (no wait, walked right on, and even got to sit in B1 where we prefer to sit) grabbed our passes for later and then walked over to ride ToT.
I get extrememly nervous when we get in the queue for this. I have ridden it before I dont know why it freaks me out so. I guess it's just the anticipation. It's not my favorite attraction by far, but Will loves it so I do it for him.
We walked right onto it, no wait at all. After that we went into the 'Off the Page' store and picked up the Olszewski pieces we had missed since our trip in December. We got the Emporium, the Market House/Disneyana and the Opera House as well as all the accessories pieces including the princess set. We now are caught up. I cant wait for the train station and Mad Tea Party to be released. We should be able to get them when we go in July. (IF we go in July).
We looked really hard at that 6 CD set but couldnt make up our minds. That new Mickey Big Fig was calling to us too (we collect the Mickey Big Figs). We had them hold our purchases there and decided to head on out before we spent all our money.
As we walked out we ran into two dear dear friends of ours. They are part of of our New Years Hub Club group. They had another friend with them as well. We all decided to hang out together for the day. They were heading to ToT. Will was frothing at the mouth to go again so He and Arnie and Chris went to ride that while Doug and I went to the Animation building to sit and soak up the vibe and catch up on all our gossip since we last saw each other at New Years.
Within 20 minutes the boys were back sans Will. They had ridden ToT (it was Chris' first time). When the ride was over, since there was no one else in line the CM asked them if they wanted to just go again. Will immediately said yes, but Chris was done with it. Arnie went with Chris.
Will was back with us within another 5 minutes or so.
We ended up back in 'Off the Page' and this time the call of the 6 CD set was too much, so we nabbed it. Added it to our stack o' merchandise and then ran off to catch the Alladin show.
After Alladin we convinced them that D.U.H. was a must see, so we managed to make it just in time. Of course it was great, and they thanked us for sharing it with them :)
After D.U.H. we headed over to Grizzly River Rapids and Doug opted out of it and offered to hold all our various backpacks while the four of us rode it.
Again, walked on, no wait.
We still had a little time before the Block Party Bash and truth be told I wasnt all that enthusiastic to see it, so we decided it was lunch time. Off to the Boudin tour and the Mission tour for a pre lunch snack and then a bread bowl salad for me with yummy green apples and cranberries and a roast beef sourdough sandwich for Will and the other three guys all got soup bowls.
Still some time before the Block Party Bash so we trotted off to Mulholland Madness. This time I was the bag holding lady and the four guys rode it. Kelsey Grammer was in the car right in front of them and they got a picture of him afterwards. He was limping a bit from his fall off the stage at the Hyperion the night before, but was very nice.
By now it was getting close to time for the Block Party Bash so we hung out to watch it. Again, I wasnt enthused at all, but I was proven wrong. It was a great parade! So much energy! I swear they must give those kids major caffiene before they go out!! You just cant help yourself.....after watching a bit we were all tapping our feet and really enjoying it.
After the parade we headed toward The Sunwheel. Arnie, Doug and Chris rode the Orange Stinger while Will and I watched and enjoyed some frozen lemonade. Then Arnie, and Will rode the Maliboomer. Not me, not ever. No way.
(Neither of these had any wait...all walk on...we reallised that DCA was never going to get busy today and we pretty much had the place to ourselves)
The Sunwheel was the only line we ever waited in. It was about 10 minutes. Chris and I rode a red car while the other three opted for a swingey evil purple car.
Then off to Screamin' and then to Golden Dreams.
By this time Doug and Arnie had to leave (they were meeting Dougs parents for dinner). Chris and I went to Muppets 3D while Will ran our purchases back to our hotel for us.
After Muppets Chris was hungry too, so he took off while Will and I rode Soarin' again and then headed over to closer to the front of the park to get a spot for the Electrical Parade. He wanted to look in a shop while I kept our bench and this was when this lady came up to me and said "Is your name Victoria?"
Me: :confused: "Umm...yes?"
Her: "Are you a member on Mouseplanet?"
Me: "yes?" (still wondering who this person is who knows me) LOL
Her: "I'm D-Lander 1956 there, Jodi"
Me: :eek: :D "Ahhhhhhhh"
Mystery solved. She recognized me from the pic I had posted of our New Years group. What a lovely lady. We chatted for the remainder of the night till the parade started. Jodi, it was so nice getting to know you!!! I hope we get to hang out again sometime :)
After the parade we decided it was best to get a good nights sleep since we knew were needed to be up at the crack o' dawn in the morning.....
We had dinner at Tony Roma's, Doug and Arnie joined (just to chat while we ate since they had already had dinner) and then afterwards we went to the hotel to get them a parking pass to use for our hotel so they wouldnt have to wait for Mickey & Friends to open in the morning.
(more later)
I haven't yet uploaded any of my pics, but I will probably get to it this weekend.
Tuesday May 3rd. I got off work at 5:30. We had packed the night before and Will picked me up and we drove straight down to Phoenix to catch our flight out. We had just enough time to get to the airport an hour before the flight left (at 9:30).
Once at The Duke we had thought we would just take a cab to our hotel, but decided a shuttle was cheaper so we went that route. The shuttle driver apparently was not happy that we were his only fare. He did not speak to us once throughout the drive there and we went from parked at the airport to parked at the hotel in 13 minutes flat. He was FLYING on the highway. I kept trying to peek to see just how fast we were going, but he had his panel lights turned down really dim so I wasnt able to see. But if the average car was driving approximately 60 to 70 there is no doubt we were going closer to 90 to 100. I am not exagerating. When we finally came to a stop light I leaned over and whipsered to Will "Permanencer sentados por favor" (or however thats spelled), because it truly felt like we were on a coaster ride.
We checked into our hotel (Best Western Park Place Inn & Mini Suites) and was pleasantly surprised at the size of the room. This was our first visit there and it was clean and had plenty of hangers (I always have to ask for more, not this time). The decor reminded me a bit of the Tiki Room (the furniture had a bamboo look to it) and although it is not brand new was just fine by us. We have always just desired a place that is clean. We sleep and shower there and nothing more, who needs fancy schmancy? We had a king sized bed and the room was separated by a half wall and there was a sleeper sofa and coffee table on that side. Plenty of room. The fridge was way bigger than any other regular mini fridge I've ever seen in a hotel, plus there was a microwave, coffee maker and iron and ironing board. Like I said they had plenty of hangers (I always like to hang my clothes) and the drawer space was quite sufficent. (yes Im one of those weirdos that likes to unpack fully)
The only complaint I have about the room was the shower. The water pressure was great but the shower head was way low!!! I am only 5'3" and even I had to duck to wash my hair, My husband at 6'3" had an awful time. And the curtain was so low that I couldnt be in the bathroom at the same time he was in the shower because the water splashed out over the top and soaked EVERYTHING in there. Not a huge deal but certainly not the best hotel shower ever. Not enough of a big deal to make us not stay there again. We most certainly will. We are already booked at the Tropicana for our trip in July and I wish we could switch it to tell the truth. The proximity to the park simply cannot be beat. You walk out the front gate and across the street and the hotel it right there just maybe 20 feet to the left. We were on the ground floor on the other side of the hotel and it was very quiet.
We never used the pool so I cant comment on that, and we only did their 'continental breakfast' one day. Your basic fare. Criossants, muffins, pastries, cereals juices and fruit. Nothing special, and not bad, but we just didnt utilise it. We grabbed a couple of criossants the first day and that was it.
So we get all checked in and crashed for the night.
We were up the next day (Wednesday the 4th) by 7 or so. We had thought that since Disneyland was closed there was a good chance that DCA would actually be crowded, so we wanted to get there early. We were wrong. No biggie. We got to DCA by 8:45ish and headed straightaway to Soarin'. We thought we had better get a fast pass for this one ASAP and ride it immediately. (Again we still thought it might get busy later on) So we rode Soarin', (no wait, walked right on, and even got to sit in B1 where we prefer to sit) grabbed our passes for later and then walked over to ride ToT.
I get extrememly nervous when we get in the queue for this. I have ridden it before I dont know why it freaks me out so. I guess it's just the anticipation. It's not my favorite attraction by far, but Will loves it so I do it for him.
We walked right onto it, no wait at all. After that we went into the 'Off the Page' store and picked up the Olszewski pieces we had missed since our trip in December. We got the Emporium, the Market House/Disneyana and the Opera House as well as all the accessories pieces including the princess set. We now are caught up. I cant wait for the train station and Mad Tea Party to be released. We should be able to get them when we go in July. (IF we go in July).
We looked really hard at that 6 CD set but couldnt make up our minds. That new Mickey Big Fig was calling to us too (we collect the Mickey Big Figs). We had them hold our purchases there and decided to head on out before we spent all our money.
As we walked out we ran into two dear dear friends of ours. They are part of of our New Years Hub Club group. They had another friend with them as well. We all decided to hang out together for the day. They were heading to ToT. Will was frothing at the mouth to go again so He and Arnie and Chris went to ride that while Doug and I went to the Animation building to sit and soak up the vibe and catch up on all our gossip since we last saw each other at New Years.
Within 20 minutes the boys were back sans Will. They had ridden ToT (it was Chris' first time). When the ride was over, since there was no one else in line the CM asked them if they wanted to just go again. Will immediately said yes, but Chris was done with it. Arnie went with Chris.
Will was back with us within another 5 minutes or so.
We ended up back in 'Off the Page' and this time the call of the 6 CD set was too much, so we nabbed it. Added it to our stack o' merchandise and then ran off to catch the Alladin show.
After Alladin we convinced them that D.U.H. was a must see, so we managed to make it just in time. Of course it was great, and they thanked us for sharing it with them :)
After D.U.H. we headed over to Grizzly River Rapids and Doug opted out of it and offered to hold all our various backpacks while the four of us rode it.
Again, walked on, no wait.
We still had a little time before the Block Party Bash and truth be told I wasnt all that enthusiastic to see it, so we decided it was lunch time. Off to the Boudin tour and the Mission tour for a pre lunch snack and then a bread bowl salad for me with yummy green apples and cranberries and a roast beef sourdough sandwich for Will and the other three guys all got soup bowls.
Still some time before the Block Party Bash so we trotted off to Mulholland Madness. This time I was the bag holding lady and the four guys rode it. Kelsey Grammer was in the car right in front of them and they got a picture of him afterwards. He was limping a bit from his fall off the stage at the Hyperion the night before, but was very nice.
By now it was getting close to time for the Block Party Bash so we hung out to watch it. Again, I wasnt enthused at all, but I was proven wrong. It was a great parade! So much energy! I swear they must give those kids major caffiene before they go out!! You just cant help yourself.....after watching a bit we were all tapping our feet and really enjoying it.
After the parade we headed toward The Sunwheel. Arnie, Doug and Chris rode the Orange Stinger while Will and I watched and enjoyed some frozen lemonade. Then Arnie, and Will rode the Maliboomer. Not me, not ever. No way.
(Neither of these had any wait...all walk on...we reallised that DCA was never going to get busy today and we pretty much had the place to ourselves)
The Sunwheel was the only line we ever waited in. It was about 10 minutes. Chris and I rode a red car while the other three opted for a swingey evil purple car.
Then off to Screamin' and then to Golden Dreams.
By this time Doug and Arnie had to leave (they were meeting Dougs parents for dinner). Chris and I went to Muppets 3D while Will ran our purchases back to our hotel for us.
After Muppets Chris was hungry too, so he took off while Will and I rode Soarin' again and then headed over to closer to the front of the park to get a spot for the Electrical Parade. He wanted to look in a shop while I kept our bench and this was when this lady came up to me and said "Is your name Victoria?"
Me: :confused: "Umm...yes?"
Her: "Are you a member on Mouseplanet?"
Me: "yes?" (still wondering who this person is who knows me) LOL
Her: "I'm D-Lander 1956 there, Jodi"
Me: :eek: :D "Ahhhhhhhh"
Mystery solved. She recognized me from the pic I had posted of our New Years group. What a lovely lady. We chatted for the remainder of the night till the parade started. Jodi, it was so nice getting to know you!!! I hope we get to hang out again sometime :)
After the parade we decided it was best to get a good nights sleep since we knew were needed to be up at the crack o' dawn in the morning.....
We had dinner at Tony Roma's, Doug and Arnie joined (just to chat while we ate since they had already had dinner) and then afterwards we went to the hotel to get them a parking pass to use for our hotel so they wouldnt have to wait for Mickey & Friends to open in the morning.
(more later)