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View Full Version : Trip report: Pass the Pixie Dust !



passthepixiedust
09-01-2005, 05:59 PM
Well, we finally made it ! We had an absolutely fabulous time, thanks in no small part to all the great tips I picked up from you guys.

So here is our trip report !

There was me (35), my daughter Morgan (13), son Lucas (7) and son Spencer (4-almost 5). We live in Canada and Morgan and I haven't been since 96', the boys had never been so it was with much anticipation (but very little sleep) that we got out of bed at 3:30 am on August 25th to head off to the airport and begin our Disney adventure !

Day one
Now, Spencer is a VERY busy little boy and I was a little worried about travelling alone with the kids, but we managed to have an uneventful morning of travel, well, except for the part where he swan dived onto the conveyor belt with the luggage (trying to have a Toy Story 2 adventure)! Boy did that excite the people in the airport ! Thankfully, he fell back asleep on the plane.

We arrived at the park at about 1:30 pm after taking the world's LONGEST shuttle ride from the airport to our hotel to drop our bags off. It was so exciting to be walking through those turnstiles after all these months of anticipation ! We stopped at the little red cart and grabbed a couple of corn dogs... OMG ! As good as rumored ! We sat and ate those while watching Mickey climb the Matterhorn and then went to Star Tours (only a 10 minute wait !) This ride was a hit with everyone although Spence was a little intimidated with his first DL line experience (the effects that is). Then we crossed the walkway to BLAB(20 min wait) this turned out to be the ride we went on most (did I mention my boys are 4 and 7 ??) For me it was just okay, but the kids adored it.

Next, over to Pirates (20 minute wait) grabbed a dole whip float on the way mmmmmm. Then, the HM (pretty much walk on) The boys were thrilled with this. Spence told off that hitchhiking ghost in no uncertain terms ! We had a little time left before BPB so we watched HISTA (15 mins), Everyone enjoyed this alot too.

We crossed the Esplanade to DCA, which, I gotta tell ya, I think has gotten a bum rap ! We liked it alot !! Sure, it's no DL..... but what is ? I think it's a decent park all on it's own.

We found a spot to sit in front of the Candy store and looked around for Disneyjones and his cutie pies, who were rumored to be going to that showing, but alas no luck :( Morgan and Spencer got up to dance (Morgan somewhat reluctantly....) Lucas partook in the game they play with the rollerblade guys. And they all had an amazing time ! What a fantastic parade ! We got a chance to see all three parades while we were there and by a landslide, this was our favorite ! Spencer was thrilled to get one of those little balls at the end of the parade.

Okay, so the one downside about going in August was the HEAT ! By this time we were starting to melt, so we hit the waterpark it Bug's land and the kids got soaked (okay, so I admit to playing in the water too !) What a lifesaver this was !

For a little background, the next thing we did was one thing Spencer was very excited about (he wanted to scare his brother and sister). In retrospect, I was idiotic in not riding this before allowing him to go on. But in general, this kid is fearless. I really regret this next ride, it affected the rest of our visit. Now, by this time you all realize I'm talking about TOT. I have been beating myself with the bad mommy stick ever since. The poor little guy was terrified. There were many rides he wouldn't even try after that. He asked the CM at every entrance "is there a drop?" Lucas on the other hand LOVES to be scared and thought this was the best ride there!

Next, we went on Soarin (20 min). Thankfully everyone LOVED it. Morgan, in particular thought it was great. We got front row center and it was AWESOME.

By now, we are getting pretty tired so we grabbed some cotton candy, picked up a pizza on the walk back to the hotel to take back to the room, went for a swim and went to bed.

More to come.....

Crazy4DL
09-01-2005, 06:41 PM
oh I love it! can't wait for more :)

passthepixiedust
09-01-2005, 10:56 PM
Well, I didn't take many pictures of the scenery - we have Darkbeer and the many other fine photographers here for that. But here are the pics of the kids enjoying themselves (if this link thingy works !)

<A target=_top href="http://www.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=28391032/t_=32181474">pictures</A>

passthepixiedust
09-01-2005, 10:57 PM
never mind..... I suck at this computer things.... I'll try again later....

TowerofTerror
09-01-2005, 11:02 PM
try doing it again the link

passthepixiedust
09-01-2005, 11:06 PM
:mad: nope, still doesn't work

TowerofTerror
09-01-2005, 11:07 PM
nope no luck send it to darkbeer maybe he can get it to work

stan4d_steph
09-02-2005, 05:58 AM
:mad: nope, still doesn't workFeel free to contact one of the moderators or administrators here for help. :)

nvmom
09-02-2005, 07:38 PM
Keep the trip report coming... Love it.

nvmom

passthepixiedust
09-03-2005, 10:14 AM
How bout go to snapfish.com and log in as passthepixiedust@hotmail.com password wendybird.....

passthepixiedust
09-03-2005, 10:57 AM
Day 2

We got up and arrived at the park half an hour before park opening. WOW does getting there early ever make a difference with crowds ! First Lucas and I went on Space Mountain (walked right on!) while Morgan and Spencer waited. Morgan was supposed to baby swap Spencer with me, but as soon as she saw Luke's face, she changed her mind. Luke didn't want to go again anyway. I liked it alot.

Next over to splash mountain, which the kids had really wanted to go on yesterday, but it had had no fastpasses left and a 85 minute wait ! Today, however it was 10 minute wait. YAY ! This was great fun ! Spencer didn't really like the drop, but the rest of us really loved it ! After Splash we walked onto Winnie the Pooh (which the kids loved as well), then Lucas and I went on Indie (10 mins-seemed longer) while Morgan and Spence checked out the treehouse. Morgan didn't really want to go on Indie right then so we did the Jungle Cruise. OMG, I love those new jumping fish !

We decided to head over to the Matterhorn and noticed that the teacups were empty and stopped there on the way. I know its like blasphemous to say this here, but I can live without teacups... I mean you can ride them anywhere.... but oh well, the Matterhorn was good- In the three previous times I have been to DL it had always been down for refurb. so it was my first time as well as the kids' and I gotta tell ya' the first time the Snowman made an appearance, I was just as scared as any of the kids ! The seats on this were pretty uncomfortable to me as well. I found it hard on the tailbone. Next, Alice then BTMR.

A quick glance at my watch tells us it's only 1130 ! We venture off to DTD and invade World of Disney for tshirts etc. Then we went to Build a Bear. Wow. We had been in one here in BC but never made bears, and believe it or not the Disney one had much better prices ! So Lucas and Morgan made stuffed animals "Jack" and "Delila" Spencer at this time was being a stinker and didn't get one right then. We left Disney-decided that ART passes would be well worth the investment and picked some up, stopped at McDonald's for some lunch and were back at the hotel by 1pm

Well, I gotta tell ya, a little nap can work wonders ! For mom as well as kids! Feeling much cooler and refreshed we hopped on an ART shuttle and reentered the park about 530. We got our "Tink"picture taken in front of the castle and wandered into Toon Town. We grabbed our first FP's (for RRabbit) although it only had a 30 minute wait....then we investigated Toon Town for awhile, got in our longest line to date (Mickey's House) totally worth it though ! Kids were thrilled ! Next we used our RR fastpasses- just okay IMO. We were getting pretty hungry about now and went in search of food. Lines for food were worse than any ride lines we had been in but I remember reading that the Hungry Bear often gets overlooked so we went there. Next to no line ! And what a nice quiet spot it's in ! I liked it very much and particularily loved Morgan's chicken sandwich ! mmmm

Now it's about 7:45 pm and as we walk past the Rivers of America, I notice seating for F! available RIGHT in front of the riverfront seating ! We quickly claimed the spot and sat down to wait for the 9 pm show. It's kinda hard to entertain little people for an entire hour and 15 minutes ,just sitting there, but we made it and Fantasmic! was just as wonderful as I remembered. Morgan was breathtaken and Spencer almost speechless.... Lucas had passed out in Spencer's stroller and missed most of it (he was the only one who didn't catch a nap in the hotel earlier). We watched the fireworks from the same spot (not a good spot to see from, that's for sure !) Then grabbed a couple of postcards to fill out in the room. Fell asleep really quickly !

erica84
09-03-2005, 11:18 AM
The pictures were great - thanks for sharing. It looks like you all had a great time!

passthepixiedust
09-03-2005, 11:18 AM
Day 3

Got up about 8. This was going to be our "non-Disney" day as we only had 5day parkhoppers and were going to be there for six days.

We decide we are going to shop. Morgan had birthday money burning a hole in her pocket ! We start walking and decide to look for a cab. We finally find some in front of the Hilton the cabbie we speak to directs us to the cab in the front of the line. ok. We walk up there and have to lean in the window and wake the dude up. "Excuse me, how much to get to the Block at Orange ?" ask I. "whaaa... oh $25"he mumble/slurs back. I said "really ? it's that far?" he says, "well 15, 17, yeah, 25" but the guy is either still half asleep or drunk and either way I am NOT letting him drive a car with my children in it ! We start walking away and the other cabbie we were speaking to first asks what's up. I explain that I don't think the other guy should be driving and that I thought 25 was too much for a cab ride. Another cabbie joins us now, and they both say "No way ! it's $10 to go to the block !' Finally, we get in this limo/cab and my kids are tickled pink ! okay, so it's kinda dilapidated, but they have never been in a limo before and thought it was wonderful !"

We went to "Johnny Rocket's" for lunch (good !) - they don't have these in Canada. And Morgan found great deals on a whole bunch of stuff. I had to buy Lucas Heely's. He has always wanted some and they don't sell those in Canada either. The deciding factor was that look on his face when he saw them. And the fact that he didn't ask. He just looked at them and would have walked away no matter how bad he wanted them because he knew this trip had been an extravagance for us.

Back to the hotel. Bored. Decide weeeellllllll, we COULD go to Disney today... so we did !

Went to DCA and got a fp for Grizzly, saw Muppet Vision (kids LOOOOOVED it !) Saw Alladin. OMG. Totally wonderful. Everyone was amazed. I think this had to be my highlight of the trip. Next we used our Grizzly fps (great ride !) then to DTD because Spencer still needed his stuffed animal from Build a bear. So, after picking up Buzz Lightdog, we went to the Riverbelle Terrace for dinner (Kids HATED the chicken-"too hard"). We had planned to do some night rides, but the gang was just too darn cranky and we had to leave. :(

passthepixiedust
09-03-2005, 11:27 AM
The pictures were great - thanks for sharing. It looks like you all had a great time!

Thanks Erica, we did have a great time. Most of the pics are from too far away.... should have studied up on the MousePlanet tips again before I left....

passthepixiedust
09-03-2005, 04:25 PM
day 4

Breakfast at Goofy's kitchen and when we finally find it I realize that my camera's batteries had died and I had to buy batteries and the DLH. $17 !! Oh well... We enjoyed ourselves, but the boys ate NOTHING. They didn't like the taste of the Mickey pancakes and refused to try anything else ! I enjoyed the eggs benedict. I don't think I would do it again though.

Afterwards, we walked through DL to pick up our pics from the Photoshoppe and pick up fp's for BLAB.

We then went to DCA where Morgan and Lucas went on the moving Sun Wheel baskets (Spence said no way). My little Sun Wheel riders only made it around one time before asking to get off. They both said it was terrifying. Glad I stayed off with Spence ! We then saw Tough to be a Bug. I looooved it, so did Spence but Morgan found the bugs too creepy and Luke hated the bug spray effect. Said he couldn't breathe. I thought the effect with the seats (crawling bugs) was AWESOME !

We went into the waterpark section of Bugs Land again then hit the Animation building where Nala (Morgan), Jafar (Lucas), Hopper (Spencer), and I (Mulan) had fun looking around. Crush was down though and we never got around to going back.

Off to DL where we saw the Sword in the Stone presentation, the Snow White musical (good, but nowhere close to Alladin) and then rode BLAB(again). Luke and Morgan went on Astro Orbiter cause there was no line (Spence wouldn't even get on).

We left the park at 230 and returned around 6. We picked up Soarin fp's and went on the Redwood Creek challenge where I ran into one of the Doctors that I work with and his family. We didn't stay there very long as Spencer was too hard to keep track of ! We then used our Soarin' fps and waited for the MSEP. I guess I'm not really much of a parade person, cause I didn't love it all that much. Maybe I was just tired. Off to bed for us.

Day 5

Okay, there was some confusion here. I swear my park map thing said DL opened at 8 so we got there at 645 for EE. However, there was NO ONE there ! We walked right into the Esplanade where a CM told us that DL didn't open until 9, so EE wasn't till 8!! We were eventually kicked out of the esplanade and sent to join the other people now grumpily waiting for the park to open.

When EE finally opened it was great ! We walked onto Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio and Morgan and Luke road Dumbo (Spence was scared of it ! Don't ask me why....) Spence and I went on the carousel while we waited and he got to ride on the golden horse ! Next Morgan and Lucas went on Snow White's scary adventure and then the whole lot of us went on the Canal Boats.

By now, the whole park was open, so we saw the Tiki room show - and I grabbed another Dole Whip float (well, there was no line, so I kind of HAD to, didn't I ??) I still don't really get the Tiki room and Spence was bored almost immediately, but Morgan quite liked it. M&L then went on BTMRR again and we all did Pirates again before going to the Rainforest cafe for lunch. We decided to leave the DLR for awhile but on our way through DTD Morgan HAD to stop in Sephora and I realized I had bought so much Build a Bear junk that my card was full and decided to let Lucas spend the $10 free we had earned on buying "Jack" a leather-look jacket since I had kinda pushed the DL outfit on him..

Well now as we go back to the park about 6, I remember that this is the last day of our park hoppers.... Even though we leave the day after tomorrow, what will we do tomorrow ?? hmmm.... dilemma, for all of about five minutes until I pull out the Credit card and upgrade us all to AP's - totally worth it if only I can manage to get back there within a year....for the rest of the night we just repeated our fave DL rides. (Yes, we did do BLAB.... AGAIN)

Day 6

We hit McDonald's for breakfast then Mostly just repeated stuff. The boys made the cookies (they loved this). While going for a TOT fp for Luke we found 4 Mulholland passes that someone had left there and we hadn't done it yet so M&L went on, then L dragged me on. (not a big fan of wild mouse type rides....) We went for lunch at Whitewater snacks. Great food but 4 slurpee type drinks (the kind you get at 7-11 for like, a buck, came to $16 !! Yikes. We managed to see POD this day. Now, when we went back in the evening and were walking across the hub on our way to (you guessed it) BLAB, we happened to notice that it was only about 45 mins until fireworks and we managed to find lots of space to sit right in front of the turkey leg cart !! Of coarse, we grabbed the seats and sat down and had a turkey leg while we waited. I thought the turkey leg was kinda blah, but M&L really liked it and still couldn't finish it between them. Spence and Luke made some friends sitting in the area, but Spence just couldn't stay awake. What great seats though ! Except for that one tree ! We got to hear the famous "sit down, sit down" chant directed at some people who stood up at the last minute (they did), smell the horse urine odor, and we still totally enjoyed it. It was beautiful.

Lucas insisted on mailing a postcard to Mickey Mouse before we left (it was cute).

As we walked out of the park I was a little sad knowing we wouldn't have time in the morning to enter the parks before catching our shuttle to the airport. But then I remembered the brand new APs in my bag and decided that I would just have to find a way to make it back within the year.

I'm thinking May.....