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!!
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!!