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CoasterChickie
08-08-2005, 06:23 PM
Well, we did it!! We went to DL & DCA and back in less than 42 hours!!!

We couldn't leave till 6 am Saturday morning because Brittany had to work till 11:45 pm on Friday night and we had to return by midnight last night because I had to work from 8-6 today.


We are exhausted, especially Ken since he did the entire trip on crutches since he sprained his ankle sliding into third base the other night right after I'd just made the non- refundable hotel reservation. But he was quite a trooper!!


So....we left at 6 am Saturday morning with Ken, me , Courtney, Brittany, Kyle, his best friend Robert, and our exchange students, Alberto and Lorenzo on board.
(Tiffany volunteered to stay in town with her best friend Erin since we only have 8 seats in our van.) We made one pit stop in Paso Robles, another in Stevenson Ranch, hit traffic in LA , but were in Anaheim by 1 pm.

We checked in at the HOJO's where we had requested adjoining rooms in the building next to the pool. Instead we were given adjoining rooms on the second floor of Building 5 and on the backside which is next to the freeway. The noise wasn't that bad , but it was a little inconvenient for Ken to have to take the stairs since there was no elevator. And we realized that all of the top floor rooms of the HOJOs have semi circle shaped windows above the front doors and sliding doors so there's no way to completely darken the room if you want to sleep late in the morning! But we liked the hotel otherwise and it was an easy walk to and from the park!

We purchased three park hopper tickets right at the front desk, a shuttle ticket for Ken and were on our way and in the park by 2 pm. Our first stop was Space Mountain for fast passes then Star Tours. While we were on that Kyle and Robert were playing DDR and then Goofy came and started playing DDR with them! I am so bummed that I didn't get a picture of it!! We were all hungry after that so we got burgers, chicken nuggets and fries at the restaurant in front of Club Buzz. That took forever!! It was roasting hot outside so while everyone was in line I got one of those water bottles with a fan. It was well worth the $16 as we all used it the entire time. After we ate , we waited in line for Buzz Lightyear. I think everyone scored a Level 4 but me!!

Ken had been holding out for a corndog so we went to the cart on Main Street. Alberto and Lorenzo had never seen one before so they decided to try one too and they were hooked. (I thought of mystycalchky's words when I tried my first one....welcome to the dark side!! Then I had to explain what that meant to them! :D )

We all decided it was way too crowded in DL so we headed over to DCA. Our first stop was to get fast passes for Soaring then we headed over to TOT. Alberto and Lorenzo had never been on a ride like that. They both liked it , but said once was enough!! Next we went over to It's Tough to be a Bug. The four boys were cracking me up because they had the saggy kind of pants on , but they were pulling them way up high like Urkle while they were wearing the 3D glasses! That is one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip!! :~D The next ride was the Grizzley. We all got good and soaked and I have a pretty good picture of that too!!!

We were bummed that California Screamin was down, but we sent the boys over to do the Maliboomer and the Sun Wheel. They loved both. Then they found Ken, me Courtney and Brittany over at the Cove Bar where we'd stopped to get some drinks and barbecue pizza. As soon as they saw the pizza they decided they were hungry too, but it wasn't as good as usual that day so we headed toward Soarin and I ran inside the Storyteller's Cafe and ordered two pizzas to go!!

While we were in the fast pass line for Soarin', for some reason everyone got really silly and started showing off their "amazing " talents like touching their tongues with their noses, wiggling their ears etc. Kyle is the king of making strange faces so I think he won hands down. (That is my other favorite picture from the trip.) And I think the people in line with us thought we were all nuts!! :D

We waited extra time so we could get the front row of the middle section for our flight. Alberto and Lorenzo thought it was really "cool!!" (another new word for them :) ) After the ride everyone went to shop in the store across from Soarin and I went and got the pizza. We sat at the tables by Taste Pilot's to eat it. Lorenzo had decided to buy the toy that has the little grippy claw at the end of it. He was using it to give Alberto you-know-what twisters and they wanted to know what we call that in English!! :eek: LOL I was afraid to tell them for fear that their teachers/parents might kill me!!

After we ate we went in the Greetings store so I could get the picture we'd had taken when we first went inside DCA. Then we headed back over to DL so we could go on Space Mountain. That was the first time for everyone but me , but I'd not gone through the que last time so I was enjoying seeing everything. Everyone loved the ride , but me. Even with my eyes closed , it makes me positively green!!

The fireworks started right after that so we watched them from in front of the Star Wars shop. Then we headed over to Adventureland before they ended and went on POTC and Haunted Mansion with no wait at all. We also went on Splash Mountain single rider so we wouldn't have to wait. Then we went on BTMRR. Our last ride of the night was Autopia and then we all headed back to the hotel.

End of Day One!!

SallySkellington
08-08-2005, 06:26 PM
So that's why we haven't heard from you lately!

I officially hate you now. ;) :p

Disneynerd
08-08-2005, 06:37 PM
Fun!! Keep it coming...

I love those times when everyone gets silly and starts making faces and such. It's a total Disney buz!

coronado_g
08-08-2005, 07:06 PM
Day One sounded great. WoW! You all did a lot for just one day, especially with someone on crutches. I'm assuming he got a wheelchair for during the time at the parks.
Ready to read Day Two...

Javanod
08-08-2005, 08:33 PM
I'm assuming he got a wheelchair for during the time at the parks.

Well, that would have been the smart thing to do, but...

Susan L
08-08-2005, 09:01 PM
Great trip report so far, can't wait to hear more :D

Opus1guy
08-08-2005, 09:05 PM
Troupers is right! Geez...I'm exhausted just reading about it!

Mark Mywords
08-08-2005, 09:37 PM
Well, we did it!! We went to DL & DCA and back in less than 42 hours!!!


Woah! Impressive!

TowerofTerror
08-08-2005, 09:43 PM
Wow so awesome give us a trip report for day 2

CoasterChickie
08-08-2005, 09:45 PM
OK - a sneak preview of my pictures. Here is one of my favorites...

TowerofTerror
08-08-2005, 09:47 PM
wow so nice show us more keep them coming

Crazy4DL
08-08-2005, 09:47 PM
How fun CC!!! glad you had a nice time :)

Smeecanada
08-08-2005, 10:10 PM
[QUOTE=CoasterChickie]. While we were on that Kyle and Robert were playing DDR and then Goofy came and started playing DDR with them! I am so bummed that I didn't get a picture of it!!

I can't figure out what DDR is? Probably fairly obvious but my brain isn't working right now.

Sounds like you had an awesome day 1. I'm reading to day 2......

Javanod
08-08-2005, 10:19 PM
I can't figure out what DDR is? Probably fairly obvious but my brain isn't working right now.

DDR=Dance Dance Revolution (http://www.ddrfreak.com/images/photos/mario_danny_ddr.jpg).

disney jones
08-08-2005, 10:50 PM
this sounds like a fun trip for everyone. (except maybe Javanod).

i had close to the exact same thing happen in the Star Arcade. Syd and I were sitting and waiting for Zoe on Space one afternoon, when out popped Mickey and Minnie, Pluto and Goofy, all in their 50th finest. Mickey and Minnie went straight to DDR first - and like you, there i sat without enough juice in my camera batteries :| ... but also like you allude to, the best memories are often not captured on film, but they live just as brightly. :)

MommyTo3Boys1Girl
08-08-2005, 10:54 PM
Can't wait to read more. Looking forward to seeing all the pics too! I am jealous!

Hakuna Makarla
08-09-2005, 05:06 AM
Loved the report CC, looking forward to more pic's! did Javanod take his new camera? and why no wheel chair for him? there were plenty of strong boys to push him?
I loved the report, and the picture is hilarious!!

pssst Javanod..... you need a vacation from vacation :)

stan4d_steph
08-09-2005, 05:54 AM
OK - a sneak preview of my pictures. Here is one of my favorites...It looks like the person second from left is wearing a Stanford t-shirt.

GrumpyUTboi
08-09-2005, 06:43 AM
DDR=Dance Dance Revolution (http://www.ddrfreak.com/images/photos/mario_danny_ddr.jpg).

Last Oct I watched a 14-15 year kid beat the game. It was amazing at how quick, fast and nimble he was on the game. Did you have the white mans overbite.

CoasterChickie
08-09-2005, 07:40 AM
DisneyJones...even Javanod had a fun trip..he had his new digital camera to play with and must have taken almost 200 pictures!! :)

HakunaMakarla...we all encouraged Ken to get a wheelchair and we all offered to push him, but I think he was trying to prove something. After day one he was ready to get one because he had bruises under his armpits and blisters on his hands from using the crutches, but then he saw a guy with a worse injury than his getting one and felt like his injury wasn't bad enough to warrent using one. Stubborn old goat.His ankle was aching at work all day Monday so he went to the doctor and got some vicadin. But he said the agony was worth it because he enjoyed the trip so much!!


Steph...you are correct about the boy wearing a Stanford t-shirt. From left to right, that is Kyle, Robert, Alberto and Lorenzo (wearing the Alcatraz t-shirt he bought). :)


I forgot to mention that on the first day Ken decided to go back to the hotel after BTMRR. We weren't sure if we wanted to go on Autopia or not because the wait was really long , but the CM at the entrance was really fnny and convinced us t go. Then when I was in line I decided not to go because I wanted to see if I could find any shorts anywhere in the Main Street shops. I had no success, so I decided to go to the Candy Palace instead and stood in line for two caramel apples and two boxes of chocolate bars. I was a visiting with a young lady from Canada who was at DL for the first time and she said somethin along the lines of "There's sure not much security here. Do you think anyone in this store is undercover?" I wondered if she was thinking of stealing the candy or something!! :eek: LOL

After I bought the goodies, I was sitting on a bench at Town Square waiting for the kids and I started talking to two very cute little boys who had just scored some awesome Star Wars toys from their Grandma. I tld them "You better hide those when my daughters come because they love Star Wars and they'll want those toys!" So when my kids showed up , the two boys were hiding the toys and being really funny!! Courtney and Brittany played along with the joke!! :D

When we got back to the hotel, I gave my hubby his caramel apple and gave the kids each a chocolate bar and our students learned the expression "midnight snack." :D

Everyone said they were going to get up early the next day and be in the park by 8 am but I had my doubts. I wanted to sleep in , but at 6 am the sun came streaming in through the semi-circle windows and I was wide awake. I turned on the tv and watched the Adams Family until 8 am. (I love that movie) By that time my hubby was awake so we decided to go take a swim and go in the jacuzzi. We didn't go in for very long because of his ankle , but it was nice and refreshing.

We thought we'd sneak over to Mimi's for a romantic breakfast together after that, but as soon as my girls heard us talking they hopped right out of bed and wanted to come with us. Oh well. The boys woke up right after we left so they got dressed in a hurry too and joined us!! That restaurant is really good...the atmosphere is cute, the service is good, the food is great and the prices are very reasonable. Ken had a hibiscus (cranberry juice and champagne), I had a mimosa (orange juice and champagne), and the kids had orange juice and apple juice which they served in beer glasses so it looked like they were drinking beer!! Everyone ordered something different ot eatand everyone liked what they got...I had the huevos rancheros...delicious!!

It was almost 11 am by the time we finished eaing so we went back to the hotel and got everything out of our rooms. I wanted to put ice in the ice chest , but it took me a few minutes before relizing that there was a sign on the machine that said "Out of order" so the kids were laughing at me. We went to building 3 and I tried to use the one there, but when I pressed the button all the ice pured out and went right down the drain. So Lorenzo pushed the button while Alberto and I were catching the ice in our hands as fast as we could and throwing it in the ice chest.
We were cracking up and afterward I said "Believe me, most American families are not as wacky as ours!" LOL

The girls decided to walk over to DL really fast so they could do some pin trading and I gave Ken and the boys a ride to the drop off spot in front of DL, then went back to the HOJO's to park the van again and walk over. It took me a little while and during that time Ken was supposed to get a wheelchair , but didn't! :rolleyes: I met him at the the wheel chair stand and he said that the kids had gone in to see the 50th Anniversary film. He also said that they had run into Captain Josh and talked to him for a few minutes. :) We were sitting on the bench in front of the theater drinking soda and Ken was taking pictures of Town Square when who should stroll up to us , but AVP and her hubby! We weren't sure if it was her at first because she had cut her hair since we last saw her in March (cute short bob). We visited for a few minutes and admired her Incredibles shirt that she was wearing and compared our hubbies' foot injuries. We also offered to take their picture and they declined, but took one of us (very nice) , then went to meet some padders at the hub I think!! But those were the only padders we know that we ran into on the entire trip.

When the kids came out of the theater, we all had our picture taken by one of the CMs. Then Kyle and Robert decided they had had enough DL so they chose to go back to the hotel to swim, go in the jacuzzi and play games in the arcade. Ken told me later that they'd had a great time because they had the admiration of all the young boys in the arcade because they were acing all the games and showing the kids how to ace them as well! They also were able to go right over to McDonalds and refuel as needed!! :D

Meanwhile, the other 6 of us were having a great day in the parks. We went over to Adventureland and while the girls got fast passes for Indiana Jones, I showed the boys Shrunken Ned. I don't think they understood a word he was saying and then he malfunctioned and wouldn't give us the fortune cards. Alberto found a cowboy hat with the hang loose sign on it that he liked and when I explained to him what "Hang Loose" means he decided to buy it.

We went on the Jungle Cruise after that and we had a really funny CM, but I think a lot of the jokes were lost in translation for the boys. My favorite was when The CM said at the end "Get out. What? That's not rude. That's what my dad told me when I was 18. And he told me to take my mother with me!! " LOL

The girls wanted to go to the Aladdin storytelling after that so the rest of us went and got in line for the Matterhorn. By the time we were near the front of the line , the girls joined us. Ken got some nice photos while we waited. I think I am the most impressed of all the rides with how nice that ride looks now that it's been refurbished. The boys LOVED that ride and would have liked to have gone again , but the line was way too long. We walked over to IASW from there and then asked "What is this?" When we explained , they politely said "Thank you, but please, no." LOL (Ken breathed a big sigh of relief) Then we had to laugh because Alberto did a quick glance all around him and said "Can we go to Magic Mountain now?" (We had pointed it out to him on the way down I-5 the day before and he liked the look of all the roller coasters) We weren't sure if he was joking or being serious, but we knew right then what our next attraction had to be............the Tiki Room.

We headed over there and got some Dole whips and floats while we waited for the show to start. The boys asked us "What is this attaction" and we said "It's like Hawaii." Once inside, they just had this puzzled look on their faces the entire time like they didn't quite get it. But when they saw how much the little kids were all enjoying singing , whistling and one who was dancing the entire time, they understood. When the show was over it was exactly time to go on Indiana Jones. They liked that ride a lot!!

We figured we had taken them on everything teenagers like the most at DL so we headed over to Main Street to see if our photo was ready. While Ken and I were in line, the boys couldn't resist and went and got round two of corndogs. Then they went with the girls to look in some of the shops. We all met up at Town Square a half hour later. Right before the kids got there, I decided to get my picture taken with Minnie. That was the only time during the entire trip that I frowned because everyone was waiting in line nicely to get their picture taken and some loser mom with her kid in a stroller just barged right in like she was entitled to be first ...I hate it when someone does that and I'm glad the boys didn't have to witness a rude American! But everyone else we encountered on th trip was totally polite.

We all headed over to DCA, stopping on the way at the letters so we could get pictures of Alberto on the A, Lorenzo on the L and Courtney on the C.

Once inside DCA, we went to the Greetings store so Ken could get the newly released pin that has Stitch on the TOT. He also got the one that has Jasmine and Stitch on the magic carpet for Courtney. The boys had fun looking around and goofing off while I took pictures of them and Lorenzo ended up buying a really nice Mickey Mouse frame.

Our next stop was the Animation building. Like us , they thought it was really neat and enjoyed it imensely. When they took the character quiz, Lorenzo got Woody and Alberto got Mushu....definitely fitting based on what I know of them. We were cracking up when we did the acting and singing thing with Ursula!! The boys were singing "Hakuna Matata really well but with Italian accents....so funny!! :D

Courtney , Brittany and I were hungry by this time and Ken was pretty tired so he headed back to the hotel, I ran over to Taste Pilot's and got some salads to go and the kids all went over to the Paradise Pier area to ride Maliboomer again and the swings. We decided we'd meet in front of the Grizzley. I love that time of day around 5 pm when the breeze comes through the trees over there by the Grand Califonian and the "Miner 49ers " play music. They were doing "I've got no strings to hold me down" and had volunteers from the audience playing washboards. I was thoroughly enjoying watching them and listening while I ate my salad. The kids showed up pretty soon and the girls ate their salads while Alberto , Lorenzo and I went on our final ride...the Grizzley. We didn't get too wet which was probably a good thing since we were about ready to head back.

We waved goodbye to both parks, then walked back to the Hojos and found Ken and the other boys waiting for us in the van. It was 5:30 when we got on the I-5. We stopped in Gorman for gas and drinks, then we stopped in Grapevine for dinner for Ken , and one last stop in Paso Robles to use the bathroom and switch drivers , but were home by midnight!! All in all a really really great trip that we will never forget!!!


The boys' teacher was very surprised and didn't believe them at first when they said they'd gone to DL over the weekend. Obviously , he doesn't know us!!! :D

Christiii
08-09-2005, 07:48 AM
Oh my gosh how fun!!! Im sooo glad you took the students CC...they will never forget their trip with you!!
Im so sorry you got building two...building one is sooo convienient with the arcade and store in that building for the kiddles...oh well...
So who hot was it?? It was so humid when I was there a few weeks ago!! Its been 105 here, but Ive been in San Franciso at the Gift Show (Founds LOTS of cool stuff for my boutique and spent way too much money..as usual!! hehe)
and actually had to wear a sweater :eek: Boy that was nice!!
:D

Crazy4DL
08-09-2005, 08:00 AM
We were cracking up and afterward I said "Believe me, most American families are not as wacky as ours!" LOL




Oh yeah - I think they are, CC! just don't tell the boys though :D

Glad you all had a great time.

DangerMouse
08-09-2005, 08:03 AM
Hey CC, thanks for the trip report. Sounds like y'all had an awesome time. It gives me hope that we can pull off such a trip before Labor Day! Couple quick questions:

How far are you from the parks? (ok, nevermind that question. I see it took about 7 hours driving)

What kind of rate did you get at the HoJo? Were you in Bldg. 2 facing the pool? (we've reserved that same place this Dec)

Thanks!

SallySkellington
08-09-2005, 08:33 AM
OK - a sneak preview of my pictures. Here is one of my favorites...ROFLMAO! :D

SallySkellington
08-09-2005, 08:40 AM
Cool Chickie! Of course you realize those boys are never going to want to leave your house after that fun time you showed them. :p