sierranevada
12-13-2005, 01:47 PM
Promised myself I would finally write a trip report so here it is! We are still here so I will add as time allows!
Cast of characters –
Me – Disneyland fanatic and passholder, DH – a muggle who I am hoping to convert; DS – almost 10 and also a Disneyland fanatic and passholder and our close friends – Geoff, Sue and their 2 boys – ages 10 & 8.
Day One – Sunday, December 11th
We arrived at SNA airport around 12:30. Went down to baggage claim and got a nice surprise. Our friends who had driven down on Sat where there to pick us up! Got to the DLH and check in. We had requested connecting rooms in the Sierra Tower – we got connecting rooms but in the Marina Tower. No problem, it was more important to have connecting rooms. Decided to unpack and go hang out by the pool for a few hours.
We went into DL via monorail and got most of the group in the front with the driver – our friends had never done it! Based on reading reports on Mousepad, I knew the park would be crowded so we were not going to be in a big rush. It was crowded so we got fastpasses for Buzz and walked around enjoying the Christmas decorations then noticed – no line for Matterhorn – everyone was lined up for the parade! So hopped on Matterhorn – Tomorrowland side – love that ride at night!
Our fastpasses were up for Buzz so walked on. I did my best ever – 494,000 (we had a ride stop which helps!). We walked over to the Reindeer round-up. Don’t think I have ever seen real reindeer – they are fascinating to watch. Then saw no line for Pirates so decided to go.
After that, we were hungry so got chili bowls at the Golden Horseshoe – no one was in there! Finally got to do Jungle Cruise at night… and we got the golden boat! The skipper was excellent – cracked some jokes that I had never heard! Our friends had picked up Space Mountain fastpasses earlier and generously let my husband and son use them with their two boys.
Time to call it a night so we went back to the hotel. As we were leaving the park, I noticed that the benches at Main St. train station were empty and it was almost time for the fireworks so we stopped up there to watch them. Not as good as the hub but still a great place to watch without the crowds.
We got back to the hotel - I had ordered the Disney basket from vacation planning for both of our rooms. WOW! I did not expect so much food! It had apples, bananas, an orange, four kinds of cheese, a box of crackers, shortbread cookies, a lollipop, goofy gummies, some chocolate bars, grapes and a DLR mug and it was delivered with 4 tuxedo strawberries and 2 rice krispy mickeys and some milk! We had snacks for the whole week! We let the kids play some games and we enjoyed a bottle of wine and food from our baskets and relaxed. Tomorrow – early entry!
Day Two – Monday, December 12th
Well – we were a little slower than we thought this morning. We got the wake up call from Mickey at 7 am but it took a while for us to rally so we did not get to the Monorail line until around 8:15. Oh well, at least we are still beating most of the crowd.
Hit Space first – I love the new effects! Then went over to Buzz – this time, I was the 4th highest scorer for the day! But I figured it was so early, it would not last very long! It was now 9 am so went and got fastpasses for Space – already a return time of 10 am! Went and did BTMRR – “The wildest ride in the wilderness!”. Walked right onto Haunted Mansion Holiday! As we came off, we saw no wait for Splash so dashed on over. Did not get very wet…which was fine with me! Went and did our one time obligatory ride on Pooh. Our fastpass time for Space was up so went and did it again. Decided to take an early break – all kids have homework they need to do this week since we took them out of school. While everyone went back to the hotel, I got more fastpasses for Space, Roger Rabbit and went to DCA and got Soarin’.
After homework time, went swimming and played a mean game of Marco Polo with another family at the pool. The hot tub was temporarily closed – bummer! So we came up for some hot showers. Had to do a little work in the room so did not head back to the parks until around 5 pm. Went to DCA to Soarin’ to use our fastpasses. Half of the group had never been before. We got front row (yeah!) and everyone loved it! In fact, it is my husband’s favorite ride (gonna convert him yet!).
We started to leave DCA and caught the last of the Block Party Bash Party – told everyone we have to see the whole parade. Went over to DL along with most of DCA! We had 6 pm priority reservations at Blue Bayou so we went to check in about 10 minutes early to see about a water table. They said it would be between 15 to 30 minutes so we decided to wait. After no more than a 10 minute wait, we were seated. Now the last time I had gone to BB was 4 years ago and had a horrible experience so had been reluctant to go again. I am so glad I tried it again! It was wonderful having a waterfront table and service was fantastic! Two adults had the Tri-tip, one had the shrimp and one had the Pork tenderloin. Everyone was very happy with his or her meal. And they do a great job on the spices! Since we had been waving to all the boats while we ate, we had to take a last ride on Pirates. As we came out of Pirates, the fireworks were showing so decided to get a jump on the exiting crowd. Crowd control had the traffic moving quite well and we had no problems leaving…but then again, we were one of the few groups actually moving, everyone else was standing still watching the fireworks! Got back to the room to enjoy another bottle of wine and try and make a dent in our food baskets!
Cast of characters –
Me – Disneyland fanatic and passholder, DH – a muggle who I am hoping to convert; DS – almost 10 and also a Disneyland fanatic and passholder and our close friends – Geoff, Sue and their 2 boys – ages 10 & 8.
Day One – Sunday, December 11th
We arrived at SNA airport around 12:30. Went down to baggage claim and got a nice surprise. Our friends who had driven down on Sat where there to pick us up! Got to the DLH and check in. We had requested connecting rooms in the Sierra Tower – we got connecting rooms but in the Marina Tower. No problem, it was more important to have connecting rooms. Decided to unpack and go hang out by the pool for a few hours.
We went into DL via monorail and got most of the group in the front with the driver – our friends had never done it! Based on reading reports on Mousepad, I knew the park would be crowded so we were not going to be in a big rush. It was crowded so we got fastpasses for Buzz and walked around enjoying the Christmas decorations then noticed – no line for Matterhorn – everyone was lined up for the parade! So hopped on Matterhorn – Tomorrowland side – love that ride at night!
Our fastpasses were up for Buzz so walked on. I did my best ever – 494,000 (we had a ride stop which helps!). We walked over to the Reindeer round-up. Don’t think I have ever seen real reindeer – they are fascinating to watch. Then saw no line for Pirates so decided to go.
After that, we were hungry so got chili bowls at the Golden Horseshoe – no one was in there! Finally got to do Jungle Cruise at night… and we got the golden boat! The skipper was excellent – cracked some jokes that I had never heard! Our friends had picked up Space Mountain fastpasses earlier and generously let my husband and son use them with their two boys.
Time to call it a night so we went back to the hotel. As we were leaving the park, I noticed that the benches at Main St. train station were empty and it was almost time for the fireworks so we stopped up there to watch them. Not as good as the hub but still a great place to watch without the crowds.
We got back to the hotel - I had ordered the Disney basket from vacation planning for both of our rooms. WOW! I did not expect so much food! It had apples, bananas, an orange, four kinds of cheese, a box of crackers, shortbread cookies, a lollipop, goofy gummies, some chocolate bars, grapes and a DLR mug and it was delivered with 4 tuxedo strawberries and 2 rice krispy mickeys and some milk! We had snacks for the whole week! We let the kids play some games and we enjoyed a bottle of wine and food from our baskets and relaxed. Tomorrow – early entry!
Day Two – Monday, December 12th
Well – we were a little slower than we thought this morning. We got the wake up call from Mickey at 7 am but it took a while for us to rally so we did not get to the Monorail line until around 8:15. Oh well, at least we are still beating most of the crowd.
Hit Space first – I love the new effects! Then went over to Buzz – this time, I was the 4th highest scorer for the day! But I figured it was so early, it would not last very long! It was now 9 am so went and got fastpasses for Space – already a return time of 10 am! Went and did BTMRR – “The wildest ride in the wilderness!”. Walked right onto Haunted Mansion Holiday! As we came off, we saw no wait for Splash so dashed on over. Did not get very wet…which was fine with me! Went and did our one time obligatory ride on Pooh. Our fastpass time for Space was up so went and did it again. Decided to take an early break – all kids have homework they need to do this week since we took them out of school. While everyone went back to the hotel, I got more fastpasses for Space, Roger Rabbit and went to DCA and got Soarin’.
After homework time, went swimming and played a mean game of Marco Polo with another family at the pool. The hot tub was temporarily closed – bummer! So we came up for some hot showers. Had to do a little work in the room so did not head back to the parks until around 5 pm. Went to DCA to Soarin’ to use our fastpasses. Half of the group had never been before. We got front row (yeah!) and everyone loved it! In fact, it is my husband’s favorite ride (gonna convert him yet!).
We started to leave DCA and caught the last of the Block Party Bash Party – told everyone we have to see the whole parade. Went over to DL along with most of DCA! We had 6 pm priority reservations at Blue Bayou so we went to check in about 10 minutes early to see about a water table. They said it would be between 15 to 30 minutes so we decided to wait. After no more than a 10 minute wait, we were seated. Now the last time I had gone to BB was 4 years ago and had a horrible experience so had been reluctant to go again. I am so glad I tried it again! It was wonderful having a waterfront table and service was fantastic! Two adults had the Tri-tip, one had the shrimp and one had the Pork tenderloin. Everyone was very happy with his or her meal. And they do a great job on the spices! Since we had been waving to all the boats while we ate, we had to take a last ride on Pirates. As we came out of Pirates, the fireworks were showing so decided to get a jump on the exiting crowd. Crowd control had the traffic moving quite well and we had no problems leaving…but then again, we were one of the few groups actually moving, everyone else was standing still watching the fireworks! Got back to the room to enjoy another bottle of wine and try and make a dent in our food baskets!