PDA

View Full Version : Trip Report Oct9-19th



Disney4Me
10-23-2005, 09:28 PM
The trip stated off well. We didn't have to be at the airport to early. Pulled out the scale

to weigh the suitcase and are a pound under so all is OK. I wouldn't want to pay all that

extra money to take things down. I think next time we will take 2 suitcases though. The

flight to Vancouver was non eventful and we has a delayed flight from Vancouver to LA. That

gave us time to eat, play with the Troll and clear security. As the Troll went through x-ray

we got a lot of questions about it. There were lots of smiles there. We found all these

people friendly. We snacked at Tim Hortons and I had my first coffee of the day. That turned

out to be a good thing because there was no food on the plane. The seats were jammed and

didn't recline where we sat. We flew Alaska and were not overly impressed. The personnel

serving on the plane seemed upity. The lady that we sat beside was friendly though and

explained a few of the landmarks we were passing to my son.

Arriving in LA my son had no problems with his ears. On the way to baggage I saw a Starbucks

but didn't stop as my son was too eager to meet up with Micheal and Sue who were waiting for

us. They caught an earlier flight. The boys met up and I was glad to see them. It is just

easier to have two adults on a trip when possible. From there we headed out to catch the

shuttle to Anaheim. It turned out to be the big Disney bus so the boys were excited. On the

way they played a Disney 50th promotion which helped pass time. We were the last dropped off

at our Hotel so it was after 8 when we got there. Sue and Micheal had a 5 day pass so it

didn't make sense to use it for a short night. We checked in and let the boys have a good

swim in the pool. We also ate at the restaurant and the food was quite good. Kids eat

free!!! That saved so much money on this trip. It was hard to get them to sleep the first

night with all the excitement.


Day 1 started with Mickey Pancakes for the boys and porridge. The adults had coffee/iced tea and eggs/hash browns and toast. Service was excellent and the food was good. Total for 4 not including tip was around 11.00

We took Coach tours from the curb of hotel to Legoland. The tour operator..Lewis (John Doe Pepsi Cola) entertained us and made the trip quite short. He pointed out Dolly Parton (the nuclear plant) looked like two big hooters. Surfers/ noise barriers/ homes/Angel Stadium..go Angels! And many other sites. We made excellent time in just over an hour. One guy was frantically waving at us as he drove by…the driver had left a door open. No luggage in it thank goodness.

Once there at Legoland we headed right. First stop was Imagination Zone. Bionicle Blasters was the first ride. It was like the teacups. The boys both liked that. The first mini rollercoaster for them both was the Lego Technic Test Track. Micheal was very nervous at first but decided it was a great ride. I think we actually bought the picture for this ride. Dragon Roller Coaster was next and was quite cute. It is sort of scenic and a bit of a coaster as well. I should mention that there was hardly a lineup for these rides at all. They skipped the Royal Joust which is a ride on a horse around a track. It was pretty warm in the park and we headed over to the Play area for a break I think it was called the Hideaway and had slides/ladders and whatnot. There was a giant lego creation of Hagrid there and also Harry Potter.

After a brief ride on Flight Squadron we stopped for lunch at the Fun Town Market. Sue and I had some great salads that the boys picked from too once they finished their hot dogs kits. Bryce took his plastic cup back and they refilled it with Apple Juice again for him. The boys got in line for the Volvo driving school which was the longest line of the day. We sat on a bench and watched them drive. It was a nice lunch and break. The Fire Fighting station looked busy so the boys headed to Sky Patrol which is a helicopter that goes up on a lift and spins. They seemed to think it was OK. Kid Power Tower was next and basically you sit in a seat and pull yourself up with a rope and then freefall back down. They did this a few times. At Skipper School they drove their own boats. There was no track and the boats went slow but that was OK with them. They did the Safari Trek and the Coastersaurus and headed over to the Water Park to cool off. We also hit the Wave Racers and did a few more Bionicle Blaster rides before checking out Miniland. The Miniland was great and the boys would have liked more time to explore that. The lineups at the front of the park were too busy for icecream before we left but the boys both got drinks and some swords and T-shirts for the trip home.

All in all Legoland was a good worthwhile trip for us. The boys are 6 and 8. They did a few other things there as well but I am writing this 10 days later so it is about all I can remember for now. We found the staff to be polite. The park was tidy and if we lived locally we would probably enjoy the water park and playzones a bit more.

The driver made great time back too and we made it back to the hotel to drop off our packages and catch a taxi to the hockey game. I should point out that it is opening game for the Ducks and we have no tickets. The traffic is pretty bad as the Angels are playing too at this time. We walk part way and go to Will call looking for tickets. I had been told that hockey was not super popular down that way and that with the strike fans might be slow coming back. I thought this combined with the Angel game would make it easier to get tickets. How wrong was I? Tickets, not even 2 in the same section...85 dollars each. Eeek! There was however an Angel watching out for us as a lady was standing near the door with 4 tickets and sold them to us for 5 dollars each. She had better seats in Club Section. That was just too great for us! This was the boys 1st NHL game and they loved it. Micheal loved cheering and Bryce loved the action....and the souvineer stand. It made for a very late night but it was so worth it!

Day 2

After a good day of walking on Day one and a good swim we all slept well. The hotel was nice and cool and breakfast was great again. Kids eating free was a big plus here.

We caught the shuttle to the park and found a map to set our priorities. I think it was actually around 11:30 when we got to the park. I think walking down Mainstreet was magical for me. It bought back a lot of memories and made me remember the good times we had taking Bryce there when he was three and visiting with my Mom and Step Dad years ago. I think it was a lot to take in for the others in my party. We picked up Indy Fast Passes as we went by (the return time was going to be quite quick) and headed toward the Haunted Mansion and I couldn’t believe the Holiday Overlay. It was so different from what I remember. I think we all enjoyed that and was glad we had watched some of the movie before we went. We headed down to Critter Country and picked up a Splash Fastpass on the way by. We had a little time pass so decided to go on the Pooh ride. It was better than I thought and although geared towards kids I enjoyed it. It might have been at this time that the boys posed for some pictures with Pooh, Eyore and Tigger. Tigger is still our favorite for pictures. Very playful. We headed back up to Indy and I think the boys were a little surprised..(wilder than Legoland). I am pretty sure Micheal closed his eyes and peeked occasionally. Bryce looked a little white too. I will point out here that Micheal did not want to go on most rides but was usually grinning by the half way point and when he got off was very happy he tried it. We all enjoyed Splash. I do not remember having been on it before but must have as the inside of the ride was familiar.

Star Tours was next and this one I did remember. I remember Bryce being too small for it when we were there last. Sue liked this one. I think it surprised her a bit as she was worried about the motion of it. Autopia was good. We bumped Sue and Micheal when Bryce was driving…oops. The Astroblasters we thought would be a hit with the boys and it was. I got lucky the first time and made it to level 4. I thought that was pretty good until later in the trip Disney Jones informed me that the ride isn’t supposed to stop a few times along the way. Some things we ate the first day…..Pizza Place in Tomorrowland, Sue had a salad and pizza with Micheal and Bryce and I share a piece of pizza. Earlier in the day the boys had some McDonald’s fries and we had bought them some Mickey Cups filled with a lemonade slurpy type thing that stayed cold the whole day almost. While watching the Parade I bought the boys some icecream but had to eat Micheal’s because he was not hungry yet. We headed out shortly after that. We had found the day to be quite hot. Bryce seemed to suffer the most from this and was quite happy with the fan we bought him that squirt water. He shared with Micheal but Micheal did not want to squirt himself, just us. Back to the hotel for a very late dinner and a swim.

Now off to Day 3..we meet up with DJ and his girls. Breakfast was the usual at the Hotel. Sue took the boys on Teacups while I got FP's for Space Mtn and Roger Rabbit. We headed off to Toontown. We did the Gadget Go Coaster a few times and then explored Chip and Dale's Treehouse. The boys posed with Minnie and walked through hers and Mickey's houses. We also did the Roger Rabbits cartoon Spin. Toonttown was
not too busy. We headed back to pick up Buzz Fast Passes and then popped over to meet up with DJ and his girls. He is a pretty tall guy and we have seen pictures so he was easy to spot. From there we did the Cookies with him and the boys thought was OK. They liked the cookies anyways. Bryce almost drove us crazy waiting to meet up with them. He was quite
excited. After cookies we went over to the Jungle TOur and that was refreshing. Hot for us down here compared to home right now.
After that DJ managed to get shots of the kids with the Genie. Space Mtn was next and the kids loved that. It was their first Big Ride coaster and they were anxious to go again. Lunch was off to Buzz. The food was dry but the boys did enjoy their mini Corn dogs. (My son is saying..."I thought you said they would be huge!" He also ate half my burger.

Buzz came out and did some dancing. THe boys enjoyed watching but would not participate. They did like it though. It was cute to watch Sydney dancing. StarTOurs would be next and then on to BUzz. It was funny to watch all the kids interact. We all headed over to DL California and the kids played in the Park area. I think the boys were very impressed with
this area. They probably would have been happy to just stay here for the day. There ended up being no parade that day. Back to DL and onto Thunder Mountain. Great ride enjoyed by all.

DJ was pretty tired from his long drive and had been a trooper sticking it out with us. He took the girls back to the beach for a good sleep I think. We didn't last much past that. I think we did Pirates with the boys and a little shopping and then back to the hotel for a swim and dinner.

Day 4 - THe boys are finally settling in and not as interested in all the eye candy in the

stores. Byrce loves to shop and would like to have it all. He was allowed a little something during the day but anything big or whatnot was supposed to wait till the last few days so that he could see everything before deciding. We Met DJ and the girls at the Big C in California. THe boys again were excited to meet up with them. I felt a little bad that we were slowing them down but I think DJ was pretty understanding of our pace. Off we all went to Peter Pan which I don't recall enjoying but I did this time. DJ went for Space FP's while we were all in line. Dumbo was next and then onto Mr. TOads WIld Ride. I like that ride. We saw a critter in the lineup and I took a picture of that as I had never seen one there before. We only saw a few passing a construction site the whole trip. Next was Pinochio and DJ again running for FP's for SPlash. The Matterhorn was next and we liked that. Lunch was
at the RIverBelle Terrace. I think we had a fruit plate and a sandwhich. Learned about the Ice and water and refilled our bottles. It was hot again so this was good. Small WOrld was next followed by SPace Mtn and the arcade for a few minutes for the kids. The show at the GOlden Horseshoe was next and very much a good time. It was cool in there too. From there it was onto BTMR and a trip on the Riverboat. A little shopping and then back to the hotel. The pool was good and we all slept well. DJ's girls were fun and the boys enjoyed trying to keep up with them. They were looking forward to seeing them again.


Day 5 Friday Disneyland

After a good breakfast again. DS and I headed to The Big C to meet DJ and the girls. Sue was going to catch us an hour or so later so Micheal could get a little sleep. The one day we give him to sleep he woke up. We got in line for the Astro Orbitor. It was pretty warm all ready. DJ ran over to Coke corner to meet Sue and we all got on the ride together. We also went to the Tiki room and I had my first Dole Whip. DS did not care much for them. It seemed quite similar to a Pineaple Julius. The show was totally different than what I thought it would be. We did enjoy it and it was cute to listen to Sydney singing Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki room beside me. We headed over to California DL and did the ride that looks like a big Orange. I felt bad that DJ’s girl could not go on this. I think we headed around to the Maliboomer ride and I was a little worried about this one. DJ, Bryce and I went on. It was milder than I thought it would be. It was too bad we were around the back and the others could not see us. We were going to have something to eat and DJ taking the girls to Playhouse. We did walk down that way but got distracted and never did eat. We met up with him there and ended up at Taste Pilots maybe..if that’s where it was, the food was good here. The kids had mickey nuggets and there seemed to be a lot. I had a chicken burger and fresh fixings on it and I think DJ had ribs. This was the place with the happy face potatoes. From here we may have watched the Block Party Bash and then went on Soaring. The parade was well done. The girls danced and the boys with a little prompting went out with the green army men. Bo Peep gave Bryce a blue nerf type ball and I think Zoe gave hers to Micheal. After the parade we walked over to the Grand Californian Hotel and Had a drink and caught a little of the game. It was not a good game. The kids checked out the cartoons and DJ ran into DarkBeer and his wife who posed with the Troll. After that DJ showed us around the Hotel a bit. We headed to Grizzly Rapids I think and Zoe and I got pretty wet. I think Sue headed back to the hotel to get Micheal’s hat and we headed towards Screamin. I went on with Bryce while DJ took the girls on the carrousel. Bryce loved Screamin even though he bumped his head. Sue was back now and Brian went to Screamin again with Bryce. We headed back to Disneyland and DJ showed us a good spot to watch the fireworks and headed over to small world. We met a very rude man here but too bad for him. We are at the happiest place on earth and didn’t care. The fireworks were good and we enjoyed the music too. I sort of knew what to expect but Sue was impressed. We quickly left the area and I lost Sue but she knew her way around by now and we caught up with her at Pirates. I knew to get a spot on the Bridge as people were clearing out so I was there when DJ came back. He took the boys and Zoe on Indy and we held the spot with the assistance of a sleeping Syd in the stroller. The people beside us were nice this time and we made sure everyone could see the show. It was as good as promised and my feet were sore by now. I am nursing a good blister from day 2 still. I think this was the night we still had fastpasses for Splash that DJ had picked up but we were done for the night and wanted to hit the shuttle. DJ headed down mainstreet with us and we said our goodbyes for now. At some point in time we went to Tom Sawyers Island and the kids liked that. Hmmm, can’t remember when that was though.

Day 6 Saturday DownTown Disney.

Sue and Micheal only had a 5 day pass so we decided to go Sunday instead of Saturday and give our feet a break. We sort of slept a little and then had a good breakfast and headed to DTD. We did eat at the hotel and discovered Compass Books while we were there. The coffee was great! The boys fed the little birdies and we headed over to Build a Bear to meet DJ and the girls. They were going to the park so we would meet up with them later at the hotel for the ball game. The day went very quick. The boys loved Build a Bear and enjoyed picking, dressing and naming their bears. The cost of the bear was not bad but the accessories can get a little pricey. Well worth it though. I did not think my son would enjoy this near as much as he did. They played with the Bears all the way back to the hotel every chance they had. Sue enjoyed the Quicksilver store and picked up some shirts for her girls. Micheal had his picture done and Bryce had discovered Pin Trading. ESPN was fun for the boys and I enjoyed watching them. It sure beats the heck out of the Junky arcade at Disneyland. I don’t think we ate there and soon had to head back to catch DJ and the girls. We caught the shuttle and grabbed the boys some PB and J sandwiches from the hotel restaurant. DJ arrived and we all headed off to the game. Sue and I ate at the catch while DJ took the kids in. There were people getting ticketed for scalping and tickets were going for big money. We ended up getting our tickets at a decent price and the food was very good. There was a ton of security there. So off to the game we went. We missed DJ for a few innings because when we went to their seats they were shopping and whatnot. We did catch up with them later in the game and got to enjoy some of the game with them. The boys had really wanted to have Zoe over for a swim and they did get to that night. They both enjoyed the game immensely and hope to go to another some time. They think DJ’s girls are very lucky to get to see so much sports with Dad. Hope one day we can return the favor if his family makes it up this way. We all slept well that night.

Day 7 Last DL day for Sue and Micheal.

I think Sue had the tripnotes for this day. It was a typical breakfast and then off to the park. We had decided to do what Micheal wanted since it was his last day. Some of the things included Corndogs, the big ones! Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, Indy, and then I think we headed over to California Park. I think we started with Bug’s land which had no lineups and the boys did enjoy the Tuck and Roll Buggies. We did Flik’s Flyers, Ladybug Boogie, Chew Chew Train and whatever else was there.We kept missing Aladdin but did get on the Twilight Tower of Terror again. We headed over to the Tortilla Factory again and enjoyed that. Sue and Micheal got their first ride on Screamin with us and liked it. We skipped the Block Party Bash (Bryce was sad about that) and headed back to DL. I think we did Star Tours again and the took a Monorail ride and Sue did some shopping before they left.

Day 8 DL We saw Sue and Micheal off and Bryce was a little down so we headed off to do some Pin Stuff for him. It was raining a bit now. We walked onto the Matterhorn twice and then we rode up front in the Monorail. We had breakfast at the Compass Book Store. We discovered that Bryce does not like Applejacks and that Crispy Cream donuts are not great. They were OK but not great. The coffee was great though! Bryce wanted to go back to Build a Bear and had fun there again. He did some Pin trading and then it was raining good so we went into ESPN and had lunch burgers. I think they were called sliders. We picked up some Ponchos and headed back to DL to get some FastPasses for Splash Mtn. We rode Indy. Space was down so we saw Honey I shrunk the Audience. Bryce thought that was too cool. We both got corndogs and rode BTMR again. We had fun in the Hat shop and went for a ride on Splash and then just wondered around looking at scenery.

Day 9
This was a long day. We started out with Goofy’s Breakfast and that was very good. It was pricey but the food and service was great. Some we saw were Chip and Dale, Pluto, Goofy and Alice. They danced and did a drumming thing with the kids.We ate a lot of everything and enjoyed the characters. We checked out the hotel and took some goofy shots of Bryce with the topiaries. We checked out the gift shop and while Bryce was opening a Pin Bag to see the inside at the till, the security tag on it blew up. The lady at the till was very apologetic but what a mess. It got on his hands and his new shirt. We eventually got it off his hands but not his shirt. He did not know what it was but was upset and didn’t want to go into any other stores till he changed because he didn’t want people to think he tried to take anything. I think we headed back to the Park and checked out the Midway and went on the Tower of Terror and watched Crush. We also did the Stinger again and tried a few other rides. In DL we went on Space again and then it was time to head back because we had to go to Medievil Times for Dinner. The show was very good and Bryce jumped a lot in the Haunted House that was there. We washed our hands well and headed into dinner. The dinner was Dragon Tale soup (no spoons or cutlery here at all). There was crusty bread. The main course was a ½ chicken, potatoes, ribs and dessert was pastry. Our knight was the Red and Yellow Knight and he ended up slaying the traitor in the end and we all cheered. Bryce hardly touched his dinner but liked the show a lot. He brought a wooden sword home (which the airline told us we had to call a cross or he couldn’t pass it through security.) and a hat that he liked. I thought the food was good. The cups were refilled twice with ale or pepsi. He would like to do this again sometime. Back to the Hotel to pack and get ready for our Flight Home. We are now planning our next trip which will use up the Annual Passes we bought and also to hit Universal and whatever else we dream up between now and that far away. It was a good trip with no major incidents or sickness which was a blessing. DJ, thanks for sharing your time with us and showing us the ropes. We all enjoyed yours and the girls company.

To view photos click on where it says "View Photos without signing in" I am just putting the one batch up and have not edited yet. We actually purchased a lot of the Ride Photos at Legoland and Disneyland. They were pricey but for the boys it was their first big rides and well worth the expressions.

Leogland (http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9wjcas8.u5ud9lk&Uy=-jf2oe8&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0)
Hotel (http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9wjcas8.kkuga6g&Uy=p8xqy&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0)
Disney 1 (http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9wjcas8.14psqlt4&Uy=zha00e&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0)
Disney 2 (http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9wjcas8.lyib2d4&Uy=-m4t7ex&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0)
Disney 3 (http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9wjcas8.jvn86ag&Uy=r13typ&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=81300992355_44815328408)
Disney 4 (http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9wjcas8.olkp314&Uy=40ampt&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0)
Medievil and home (http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9wjcas8.dzrcozc&Uy=wzus6q&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0)

silence
10-24-2005, 06:36 AM
what a great trip report and pictures. thank you for sharing!

Whittibo
10-24-2005, 07:04 AM
Sounds like a great trip. I am looking at the pictures now, but with dial up, it's SO SLOW.

what hotel did you stay at? We always try to find hotels that offer "kids eat free" we have 3 kids! It really is a big savings!

Glad you had a wonderful trip, now I am off to see the pictures. Oh, I want to hear more about the Troll though!

Crazy4DL
10-24-2005, 07:35 AM
WOW! what a great trip! thanks for sharing :)

Disney4Me
10-24-2005, 08:34 AM
Sounds like a great trip. I am looking at the pictures now, but with dial up, it's SO SLOW.

what hotel did you stay at? We always try to find hotels that offer "kids eat free" we have 3 kids! It really is a big savings!

Glad you had a wonderful trip, now I am off to see the pictures. Oh, I want to hear more about the Troll though!

Thanks for reading everyone. I forgot about Dial up. I sent my sister the link and she is probably still looking. oops. The Hotel was the Katella Palms. I tried to do a review here but have not been able to post it yet. I did one on Trip Advisor and it has not been posted yet either. It is an economy hotel but our room was tidy, the pool clean, the restaurant had great service and the price was quite good. THe shuttle departed on the hour and returned at 15 minutes past the hour like clockwork. In comparrison we have stayed at the Fairfield Inn and I liked this one better. Some nights our kids were the only ones in the pool.

I will probably finish the Troll blog tonight with my son and then bump it up with the website address.

Disney4Me
10-24-2005, 08:47 AM
WOW! what a great trip! thanks for sharing :)

Thanks, the countdown has started again! It seems like a long way off.

Wendi
10-24-2005, 09:36 AM
Great report. I love your pictures... especially the one with your son and Tigger laying on the ground. The troll pix are great too... did you end up making a troll blog? I can't remember...

disney jones
10-24-2005, 03:19 PM
Nice report D4Me! thanks for the kind words. you all were great fun to hang out with, and the girls really enjoyed the boys. and we even got to kidnap the kidnapped troll and took him to the beach for the night. my pictures from last week with your gang can be found here.

http://bricoot.smugmug.com/gallery/889046

just too bad the Angels lost Saturday night. :(

Wesley815
10-24-2005, 07:06 PM
Great trip report and pics! (LOTS of them!!)... Thanks for taking the time to post all of this and it sounds like all of you had a really great trip! :)

The troll pics were really funny, and of course all the character pics were cute! I still need to go to Legoland sometime, it looks like a nice park... I just have never made the trip down to SD to visit yet.

Disney4Me
10-24-2005, 07:24 PM
Great report. I love your pictures... especially the one with your son and Tigger laying on the ground. The troll pix are great too... did you end up making a troll blog? I can't remember...

Thanks everyone. THe troll thread was a litlle on the short side but I will post it here and bump it up once on the main board or lounge.

Troll Blog and Photos (http://www.trolltravels.zoomshare.com/0.html)