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View Full Version : Trip Report-- Thursday 12-15



ferliemom
12-16-2005, 09:05 AM
Hi All!

Just a short one...
A friend and I decided on the spur of the moment to head down to DLR yesterday to check out some of the Christmas goodies. We left Ventura County at 1:30, and traffic was horrible! Didn't get to DLR until 3:45! We had to park on the parking structure roof, so we knew it must be crowded. Got into the park a little after 4.

Lovely decorations. The tree is very pretty and lots of nice pictures in the park at that dusk hour. Lights everywhere. The crowds were pretty thick, with very little room on the walkways. My feet were run over by strollers 4 times yesterday.

Jumped over to Haunted Mansion Holiday about 4:30. There was a 15 minute stand by wait, so we went for it. It was more like 20 or 25 minutes wait, I think. I just love HMH-- it's adorable!

We walked over and just checked out Santa's little village area and the Reindeer Roundup for a couple of photos. Then we hiked through thick crowds over to It's a Small World just in time to see the facade light up at 5:15. So pretty! Love it! We went on the ride, with about a 15 minute wait max (although the line makes it look like it will be an hour if a minute). Darling addition to a sweet ride, IMO. :)

We exited to thick crowds and decided to just stay right there in front of IASW for the Xmas parade. We got some of the last front row seats available in the park, I'm sure. My friend staked out some real estate while I went and got popcorn and sodas. I had to go to THREE places to find an open snack bar, and I kid you not the line was 20 minutes long! A zoo! But the CMs were jolly and sweet and oh so patient. Good job, guys!

Got back just in time to squeeze in and view parade. This is my favorite of all the parades! It is just so sweet and psychedelic! Priceless! Love seeing the looks on the little ones faces. ;)

We followed the parade route down as it passed us around the Matterhorn. Crowds were terrible at that time-- it made getting around really hard. So we went in a couple of shops and figured we would just walk out somewhere towards Main St. about 20 minutes before the fireworks (at 7:45) and just find a spot to stand. My friend hadn't seen them, but didn't want to wait to stake out a spot (and those blanket spots were long gone anyway). So, we headed towards the hub about 7:20 and decided to walk over through the sea of humanity towards Adventureland to find a spot to stand on the side. BUT! Lo and behond, just when we got smack dab in front of the castle, we hit a wall of people, and everyone in front of us and behind had to stop! There was just nowhere to go! So we got primo standing spots for the show! Awesome! My friend swears she has good "parking karma"-- I guess she does. :D

The snow was pretty, but I was sort of disappointed that it didn't snow at all in that hub area... it was all falling off on the sides and up on Main Street. Pretty affect though, and I like the White Christmas song.

The crowds leaving after that were truly hideous. It was very crowded. So we magically found a park bench and just people watched for half an hour until they thinned substantially. We did some shopping on the way out. Our goals: to buy 6 candied apples and a good handful of holiday antennae balls. That took an hour!!! :eek: They had made an announcement at 8 right after the snow that the park was now closed but that the shops would stay open for an hour. Well... we didn't leave Downtown Disney until after 9:30 and they were far from closing. I have to give a big hats off to all the cast members who are there, dealing with hordes of people (many of whom are retarded and/or rude), allwith a smile on their faces! One guy said they have to stay at work until 2 a.m. just to put the shops back in order and restock! Wow! Thanks guys!

Left the park about 10.

Had a great time. It was definitely as crowded as any summer day. I am glad we didn't wait even another day to try to go. Our expectations were happily realistic-- we saw everything we wanted to see, but nothing more. Patience was necessary, but overall it was a pleasant evening!

Have fun! :)

Crazy4DL
12-16-2005, 05:08 PM
Very enjoyable report - thanks for sharing. :)