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View Full Version : Trip Report 12/22 - 12/23



summertime
12-27-2005, 09:56 PM
I would have gotten this up last week but the morning we got back home I had a job interview. After driving overnight to get home, and with our daughter returning home Saturday and Christmas its been busy.

We decided to rent a car and drive from Oakland to Disneyland at the last minute. We stayed with my wife's friends who live in Monrovia and brought food for breakfasts and lunches to save money. We were prepared for large crowds because I have been following the crowd report threads on Mousplanet.

To summarize our trip-we had a great time. We didn't have any real problems with the crowds. The crowds were not as large as we expected. Sure there were some waits in line, but we used fast passes when they were available, and we got to the park at 7:30 on Day 1 and 8:30 on Day 2 with the plan to hit rides like Space Mountain before going back to the locker and getting our breakfast food.

Probably our only real complaint would be the lack of fast passes. We like the fast pass system, and it would have been great for the Matterhorn and Pirates. We used fast passes for Indiana Jones, and that worked out because by the time we got on Indy it was time for the night time ride on the Jungle Cruise.

We both went to DCA for the first time. The Tower of Terror was all right, but for us it doesn't match classsics like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn or Space Mountain. We were able to ride the Mike and Sully to the Rescue attraction during its soft opening. The Monsters Inc. ride reminds me of the old Peter Pan and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride attractions. I think it will be great for the smaller children (3-7 years of age, even though a lot of 7 year olds will probably prefer some of the more roller coaster type of attractions).

I do not know Mouseplanet's policy for posting pictures from attractions. We would like to avoid trouble, but my wife took non-flash photos in the Mike and Sully attratction and if it is allowed we would love to share them with everyone on the boards.

I'll try to add trip details in a day or two. Business will be keeping me busy through Thursday, and likely Friday.