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View Full Version : My Trip Report for Oct. 14-16



chunkymunky84
10-17-2005, 10:16 AM
So my friend and I headed on down to Disneyland on Friday. We left at about 9am from Salinas, CA and got there at about 2pm. Usually we would have gotten there faster but there was heavy traffic on parts of 101 and I-5. So we get there a little early for check-in at 3pm at the Disneyland Hotel, so we checked our bags in and went to eat lunch. We go to check in and the room wasn't ready until about over an hour later. We get settled into our room and decide to nap for a while in hopes that it would cool down later (we're not used to the heat lol). Which it did. Kind of. :)

So we headed into Disneyland. My first thought was "Holy crap its packed!" We usually go every year in October and I cannot remember it ever being so crowded. However, the number of people seemed to double the next day! That night we decided that we had to pick and choose what we wanted to ride because of the wait times. All I have to say is thank gawd for Fastpasses! And I wasn't really heartbroken about not riding everything, we were just there in January! (There was hardly anybody there, it was great) We went to California Adventure to ride a couple of things, I'm not too crazy about that park.

So we rode:
-Space Mountain: There are some nice additions to the ride, but the only noticeable difference to me was that it was a lot smoother. We were in the very back and didn't get all whipped around like before. Or maybe that's just me...lol
-Indiana Jones: Such a cool ride. I'll never get tired of it
-Pirates of the Caribbean: A classic
-that new Buzz Lightyear ride: It was ok
-Star Tours: A must for me, being the Star Wars nut that I am
-Big Thunder Mountain: I LOVE this ride
-Splash Mountain: I got really wet, I was surprised lol
-Haunted Mansion Holiday: One of my favorite movies combined with a great ride. I was in Heaven. Of course the original Haunted Mansion is classic, but I really enjoy this Holiday thing. I think its a lot of fun.
-Soarin' Over California: AWESOME.
-Tower of Terror: Love it.

*We also watched the new fireworks show, Friday night in the park and from my room in DLH Saturday night. There are no words to describe how amazing this show was. Oh wait -there is a word. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocous. Heck if I can spell the damn thing. lol

We ate at:
-ESPN Zone: The burgers were greasy, but it was pretty good.
-Rainforest Cafe: Not impressed and the service was crappy.
-Granville's: It was alright. Only went there for breakfast because Hook's Point was closed for some reason.
-Plaza Inn: Best meal of the trip! I love their fried chicken and its a decent price for all the food you get.
-Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen: The food was good, but the prices are a bit high.

An observation:
We noticed that service outside of Disneyland (in DCA and DTD) is considerably different than in DL. The cast members in DCA and DTD were snippy and rude while in DL they are some of the nicest people I've ever encountered! I had a birthday pin on when I went in on Saturday, but even without the pin they're wonderful. They seem genuinely friendly. I just love that about Disneyland. It really adds to the experience. So if there are any cast members reading this I'd like to THANK YOU for being so cool!

All in all it was a good trip. The weather was decent and even with the crowds and lines, Disneyland still is as magical as ever. :)