twist1980
12-22-2005, 07:58 PM
Cast of Characters!
Myself (25) Been to Disneyland more times than I can count
Boyfriend- Will (29) First trip to Disneyland
Sister (19)- Bethany (Several trips to DL (last trip was 8 yrs ago, but went to WDW this summer, never been to DCA)
Mom (50) Patti- Last visit to DL was 10 yrs. ago, but went to DCA with me two years ago.
Step-Dad (53)- Kelly: Last trip to DL was 10 yrs. ago, never been to DCA.
Pictures:
http://joysdisneytrip.dell.shutterfly.com/action
So let me start with the background of the trip. A few years ago my Mom mentioned that she was turning 50 the same year as Disneyland. I sat and thought about it for a minute and an idea was born! I brought it up to my family around Thanksgiving of last year and they all seemed up for it. I decided that it would be more fun if she didn’t know about the trip at all. So I arranged for her to have a week off of work and on her birthday I told her that her present from me was a plane ticket to stay with my aunt (who lives in Huntington Beach) for a week. She flew out on Friday the 9th thinking her entire trip consisted of staying with her sister. Thus begins my part of the trip report!
Tuesday, December 13th. (Travel and Downtown Disney)
Will and I got up at 3:00 a.m. to finish last minute packing and to get ready. Got to the airport around 4:30 or so and took off at 6:30 a.m. We got to Orange County at about 11:00 and took Super Shuttle to the DL Hotel (only $10 pp, not bad). When we got to the hotel to check in Goofy was out front greeting guests, I thought that was a nice touch (he was also out when we were leaving). We checked in and as I figured, our room wasn’t quite ready. I was pleased to find out that my Step-dad and Mom’s room was connected to ours even though they weren’t checking in until the next day. So we left our bags and off to DtD for us!
Both Will and I were dying to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and so our first stop of the day was at the AMC theatre. We both loved it and as an added bonus it took up most of the time before our room was ready! We did a little window shopping and I showed Will the entrance to DL and DCA and then called the hotel and found out that our room was ready! Our room was in the Sierra tower on the sixth floor. We had a lovely view of the parking lot, but I knew that was what we would have. Sierra has the furthest walk, but I think it is the prettiest area. The waterfalls are awesome, I wish I had taken pictures! We were both pretty tired so we took a short nap. When we woke up both of us were starving as we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning. We were both feeling ultra-picky so we spent a while browsing the menus at Hooks Pointe and all the DtD restaurants. We finally decided on Naple’s and got in line. We only had to wait about five minutes even though the place was packed. The outside patio was a little less crowded and they had heat lamps so we decided to eat out there. I’m always cold, but I actually felt fine with the heat lamps. We ordered calamari as a starter and a calzone to share. The calamari was pretty good, but I wasn’t a fan of the dipping sauce, as it was a bit spicy for me. When we got our calzone we were surprised at how small it was. Luckily between the two bread baskets we ate (yes, we were starving at the beginning of the meal) and the calamari it actually ended up being the perfect size. Otherwise I wouldn’t recommend splitting one! The calzone was delicious and they made it perfectly despite our substitutions and special instructions!
After that Will wanted to explore the World of Disney store a bit more and then we wandered back to the DL Hotel. We did a bit of exploring around the hotel grounds, checked out the pool and all that and then it was off to bed. After all we had to be up early to go to DL!
Day Two, December 14th (Disneyland)
Today it was just Will and I. We woke up bright and early so that we could be at the gate by 8:30 at the latest (park opening was 9). We stopped at La Brea Bakery (short line, only two people in front of us) and got pastries and juice and off to DL! We got in to DL at 8:30 and spent the first half hour browsing the shops on Main Street and then waiting for the rope to drop. Our first stop was Tomorrowland to get FP’s for Space Mountain. Once we got those we went to the VMK booth outside Innoventions. For those of you who don’t know, VMK (Virtual Magic Kingdom), is an interactive game based on the Disney parks and I’m totally addicted to it. I had vouchers from the game to turn in, plus a voucher for a free tour! Will and I got signed up for the 1:30 tour.
We hit Buzz Lightyear, which we both loved and then Star Tours which Will hated (the movement gave him a headache). Then it was time for Space Mt. FP’s! I loved being back on Space, I missed it! The tunnel at the beginning kind of made me dizzy though! J As soon as we got off, we got more FP’s! We headed off to Adventureland and got FP’s for Indy (we booked through AAA, so we could have multiple FP’s). While we waited for that we did Pirates and HMH. I love HM and I love Nightmare Before Christmas, but I really didn’t care for HMH. Too many black lights and it just wasn’t the same! Then we headed over to Thunder Mt. and then time for Indy! After Indy, we made a snack stop at Bengal BBQ. I’ve never eaten there before and had heard good things! I wasn’t disappointed! I got the chicken skewer, Will got a beef skewer and a jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel. Everything was great, I just wish I had tried the bacon wrapped asparagus. Oh well, there is always next time!
We did a few more rides and then it was close to time for our VMK tour. The tour was great, mostly because of our fantastic guide, Albert (yes, we left comments at City Hall). He was very entertaining and since Will and I were the only ones that took the train back to Tomorrowland with him we got to know him a little better. I really appreciated all the facts about DL that he shared with Will. I think that Will was getting sick of hearing random facts from his know-it-all girlfriend so it was great that someone else could teach him about DL. The one thing I learned was that you can see some of the Fantasmic floats in storage when you take the train. I had never looked for them before! We caught dinner after that at Rancho del Zocalo. I had a burrito and Will had tacos. It was okay, nothing great, but it filled us up.
We did one last spin on Thunder Mt. and it was time to get back to the Hotel. My sister and step-dad were arriving at the hotel around five and my cousin was picking us all up to go surprise my mom! When we got to my cousins, my mom was already there and she was shocked when we all walked in! I did the old Super Bowl spiel: “Patti, you just turned 50, where are you going next?” And she answered correctly. We filled her in on all the details and then we stayed and had dinner and spent some time with my cousins, aunt and uncle.
Myself (25) Been to Disneyland more times than I can count
Boyfriend- Will (29) First trip to Disneyland
Sister (19)- Bethany (Several trips to DL (last trip was 8 yrs ago, but went to WDW this summer, never been to DCA)
Mom (50) Patti- Last visit to DL was 10 yrs. ago, but went to DCA with me two years ago.
Step-Dad (53)- Kelly: Last trip to DL was 10 yrs. ago, never been to DCA.
Pictures:
http://joysdisneytrip.dell.shutterfly.com/action
So let me start with the background of the trip. A few years ago my Mom mentioned that she was turning 50 the same year as Disneyland. I sat and thought about it for a minute and an idea was born! I brought it up to my family around Thanksgiving of last year and they all seemed up for it. I decided that it would be more fun if she didn’t know about the trip at all. So I arranged for her to have a week off of work and on her birthday I told her that her present from me was a plane ticket to stay with my aunt (who lives in Huntington Beach) for a week. She flew out on Friday the 9th thinking her entire trip consisted of staying with her sister. Thus begins my part of the trip report!
Tuesday, December 13th. (Travel and Downtown Disney)
Will and I got up at 3:00 a.m. to finish last minute packing and to get ready. Got to the airport around 4:30 or so and took off at 6:30 a.m. We got to Orange County at about 11:00 and took Super Shuttle to the DL Hotel (only $10 pp, not bad). When we got to the hotel to check in Goofy was out front greeting guests, I thought that was a nice touch (he was also out when we were leaving). We checked in and as I figured, our room wasn’t quite ready. I was pleased to find out that my Step-dad and Mom’s room was connected to ours even though they weren’t checking in until the next day. So we left our bags and off to DtD for us!
Both Will and I were dying to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and so our first stop of the day was at the AMC theatre. We both loved it and as an added bonus it took up most of the time before our room was ready! We did a little window shopping and I showed Will the entrance to DL and DCA and then called the hotel and found out that our room was ready! Our room was in the Sierra tower on the sixth floor. We had a lovely view of the parking lot, but I knew that was what we would have. Sierra has the furthest walk, but I think it is the prettiest area. The waterfalls are awesome, I wish I had taken pictures! We were both pretty tired so we took a short nap. When we woke up both of us were starving as we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning. We were both feeling ultra-picky so we spent a while browsing the menus at Hooks Pointe and all the DtD restaurants. We finally decided on Naple’s and got in line. We only had to wait about five minutes even though the place was packed. The outside patio was a little less crowded and they had heat lamps so we decided to eat out there. I’m always cold, but I actually felt fine with the heat lamps. We ordered calamari as a starter and a calzone to share. The calamari was pretty good, but I wasn’t a fan of the dipping sauce, as it was a bit spicy for me. When we got our calzone we were surprised at how small it was. Luckily between the two bread baskets we ate (yes, we were starving at the beginning of the meal) and the calamari it actually ended up being the perfect size. Otherwise I wouldn’t recommend splitting one! The calzone was delicious and they made it perfectly despite our substitutions and special instructions!
After that Will wanted to explore the World of Disney store a bit more and then we wandered back to the DL Hotel. We did a bit of exploring around the hotel grounds, checked out the pool and all that and then it was off to bed. After all we had to be up early to go to DL!
Day Two, December 14th (Disneyland)
Today it was just Will and I. We woke up bright and early so that we could be at the gate by 8:30 at the latest (park opening was 9). We stopped at La Brea Bakery (short line, only two people in front of us) and got pastries and juice and off to DL! We got in to DL at 8:30 and spent the first half hour browsing the shops on Main Street and then waiting for the rope to drop. Our first stop was Tomorrowland to get FP’s for Space Mountain. Once we got those we went to the VMK booth outside Innoventions. For those of you who don’t know, VMK (Virtual Magic Kingdom), is an interactive game based on the Disney parks and I’m totally addicted to it. I had vouchers from the game to turn in, plus a voucher for a free tour! Will and I got signed up for the 1:30 tour.
We hit Buzz Lightyear, which we both loved and then Star Tours which Will hated (the movement gave him a headache). Then it was time for Space Mt. FP’s! I loved being back on Space, I missed it! The tunnel at the beginning kind of made me dizzy though! J As soon as we got off, we got more FP’s! We headed off to Adventureland and got FP’s for Indy (we booked through AAA, so we could have multiple FP’s). While we waited for that we did Pirates and HMH. I love HM and I love Nightmare Before Christmas, but I really didn’t care for HMH. Too many black lights and it just wasn’t the same! Then we headed over to Thunder Mt. and then time for Indy! After Indy, we made a snack stop at Bengal BBQ. I’ve never eaten there before and had heard good things! I wasn’t disappointed! I got the chicken skewer, Will got a beef skewer and a jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel. Everything was great, I just wish I had tried the bacon wrapped asparagus. Oh well, there is always next time!
We did a few more rides and then it was close to time for our VMK tour. The tour was great, mostly because of our fantastic guide, Albert (yes, we left comments at City Hall). He was very entertaining and since Will and I were the only ones that took the train back to Tomorrowland with him we got to know him a little better. I really appreciated all the facts about DL that he shared with Will. I think that Will was getting sick of hearing random facts from his know-it-all girlfriend so it was great that someone else could teach him about DL. The one thing I learned was that you can see some of the Fantasmic floats in storage when you take the train. I had never looked for them before! We caught dinner after that at Rancho del Zocalo. I had a burrito and Will had tacos. It was okay, nothing great, but it filled us up.
We did one last spin on Thunder Mt. and it was time to get back to the Hotel. My sister and step-dad were arriving at the hotel around five and my cousin was picking us all up to go surprise my mom! When we got to my cousins, my mom was already there and she was shocked when we all walked in! I did the old Super Bowl spiel: “Patti, you just turned 50, where are you going next?” And she answered correctly. We filled her in on all the details and then we stayed and had dinner and spent some time with my cousins, aunt and uncle.