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ktrm
03-19-2006, 07:32 PM
Monday March 13th

Left our home in central California around 8am. In the car were myself, my husband, my son age 6 and my daughter age 4. Arrived at the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort around 2pm. We were all kind of tired from the long drive. My mother who lives in San Jose had already arrived at the hotel earlier in the day. My husband took the two kids swimming while my mom and I took the anaheim shuttle service to Downtown Disney. I was super impressed with the shuttle service. The driver was very nice, friendly and prompt. Went to Downtown Disney with my mom to Walt Disneys Travel Company to pick up our AAA refillable mugs. The attendants at the travel company were also very friendly. As soon as I saw the mugs, I knew they would be a problem. They were very large and I knew it would get very old lugging them around the park, but I thought I would give it a try. Mom and I checked out the Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian while we were in the area. Both hotels are beautiful. Downtown Disney was also very pretty. It was the first time I had seen it in the daytime. Mom and I then walked back down Downtown Disney and checked out some of the hotels that are within walking distance to the park(Park Vue Inn, Best Western Park Place Inn, Del Sol etc) for future visits. Although the proximity is great both mom and I preferred the Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort. Mom and I then decided to go back to hotel to swim and get ready for the next day at California Adventures.

Tuesday March 14th

Arrived at DCA around 10:30 am. I grabbed fastpasses for both Soarin and Grizzly River Run(Thanks for the tip on how these two systems are disconnected). Family then watched the Muppet Movie. This is my husbands favorite thing at Disneyland. I also really enjoyed it. We then walked over to the Wilderness Area Playground. My kids absolutely adored this play area. We then watched the Koda show which was soooo cute. It was funny to hear the CM tell the audience to put away their autograph books because Koda and Kenai can't write. They have claws not fingers. We then headed to Ariels Grotto for our princess lunch. Of all the meals in the park, this was the most disappointing. My mothers hamburger was literally raw and my husbands caesar sandwich smelled very funny. Our booth had food stains all over the back of it. The princesses were nice but the girl that played Ariel literally kissed my daughter directly on the lips. I don't know......kindof gross. The bill for the five of us was over $100 even with the AAA discount. The kids did get a very cute magnetic goofy activity book though. Then went to the Pacific Wharf area and did the Tortilla tour. I thought the tortillas were really quite tasty. Warm and fresh. Good place to remember to get a tasty free snack in the future. We then went on the bread tour. It was ok. I was going to get the mickey mouse sour dough bread but the bakery area was too crowded. Walked around a bit and found Flik in Bugs Land. Kids were very excited and got his autograph. Found my Mickey Bread at the fruit stand near Flik. Yeah!!!!! All of us then used our fastpasses to go on Soarin. My four year old was finally tall enough. This ride is absolutely amazing. I just can't describe how great it is. We then scoped out our position for the Block Party Bash. We got in just the right location to be in front of the Buzz Light Year float. It was a fun parade. Quite a bit different then any other parade I have seen at Disneyland. It is very energetic and interactive. My four year old got out and boogied with the dancers. We got fantastic pictures. Next time I'll postion myself to be in front of Monsters Inc float. After the parade, we went to ride jumpin jellyfish and the space ship ride(don't know what it is called) Dragged out the AAA mugs to get free drinks at the Pizza Oom Mow Mow. Drinks were good, but I was the one carrying the 5 big mugs all day and I just don't think it was worth the savings. Mom and I rode the Grizzly River run while husband watched the kids. My son said this ride had too many "spooky downs" and would not go on it. Headed over to the Animation Building in Hollywood Backlot. This attraction is so wonderful. We did the animation academy and they taught us to draw mickey mouse. I loved the interaction between the teacher and the audience. We then did the sorcerers workshop. This was also very fun except my daughter lost it in the area where you do the computer game that tells you which disney character you are most like. She wanted to be tinker bell and it came up as the ugly witch character from Emperors New Groove. She had a complete meltdown. We kept trying and trying to get the right combo for tinkerbell but never got there. Finally I had to drag her out of there. She was crying hysterically. Poor thing. I'll have to ask someone on the website what you push to get to be tinkerbell. We tried to then do Turtle Talk, but it was closed for the day. I had no idea this attraction closed before the park closed. We then went and did Mike and Sully. The wait was very long and the ride really was not that exciting. We rounded out the day by getting all our Mr. Potato head Mickey pieces at Engine Ear toys. This was even better then I thought. The pieces were so cute. My son got goofy, donald, and mickey pieces while my daughter got....you guessed it.....tinker bell pieces. We headed back to the hotel for well deserved rest. The next day was the big day.....DISNEYLAND!!!!

ktrm
03-20-2006, 08:14 AM
Wednesday March 15th

Arrive at Disneyland around 9:15am. Husband, Mom, and kids take train over to Toontown for Mickey's Toontown Madness while I head over to Splash Mountain for fastpasses. I take the old fashioned car down Main Street. I love this. The CM was so nice and explained how the names of significant people who helped with Disneyland are printed on the windows of Main Street. Take the tunnel by the Carnation Plaza Stage to Frontierland and head to Critter Country. New Orleans Square and Critter Country are basically deserted at this time. Get the fastpasses for Splash Mountain and head back over to Toontown via the Big Thunder Mountain Trail. Scope out the Big Thunder Ranch and see the pardoned turkeys. Definitely looks like a cute rest spot and decide to visit this with the kids later on. Go to Toontown Madness around 9:45am. I know were kindof late for this but had trouble getting the kids going in the morning. I could not believe how incredibly crowded it was compared to the rest of the park. Family rides Roger Rabbit and decides to leave the congested area. Roger Rabbit was suprisingly fun and exciting. I liked it quite a bit better than Mike and Sully. Leave Toontown and head to Fantasyland. Peter Pans line is already long so we ride Pinochio and Snow White. Spent about ten minutes with the kids in front of the golden apple and saying "Touch the Apple Touch it I say" and then having the kids touch it and hear the cackling laugh. They thought this was too funny. Watched the evil queen peer out the window. Husband takes son to the shooting gallery in Frontierland while I take daughter and mom to the Tinker Bell Shop in the castle. Meet husband at shooting Gallery and then watch Laughing Stock Company skit in front of theatre. Oh my gosh.....what talented people. So incredibly funny and entertaining. I was so impressed. Brought out the AAA mugs and filled up with free drinks at Rancho Del Zocalo. The weather was so beautiful we were actually getting sunburned. Went on the Haunted Mansion. Kids were kindof freaked out. I love it so much better than the Holiday Haunted Mansion. Head over to splash mountain with flashpasses and ride it while son and husband ride pooh. Too many spooky downs on splash mountain again for my six year old. My four year old who barely meets the height requirement loves it. Mom, husband, and kids go back to hotel to rest and swim. I stay and try to find all the "secrets" on my list of to dos. I find the Mad Hatter shop and watch the Cheshire cat in the mirror. I notice the toadstool at the Alice ride and the Lighthouse at Storybook ride. These both I was told were ticket booths in the early days of Disneyland. I go down mainstreet and look for esmeralda the fortune teller who has been at the park since the beginning. Finally I watch the 50 year film at the Opera House. I absolutely loved this movie. I am not a big Steve Martin fan but I thought this movie was fantastic. It was just the right combination of humor, history, and nostagia. It brought tears to my eyes literally. I looked at all the memorabila in the opera house and finally decide I can't go on and must go back to the hotel for a rest before the fireworks.

We arrive back at the park for the fireworks at about 8:45pm. I chicken out about the crowds and have the family watch the fireworks from the main street fire station. It was beautiful but tinker bell looks like just a spot and you can't see the projections on the castle. It was really beautiful though and you get a good feel for the whole scope of the show from that location. I wish I was at the hub however. We ride the train over to Tomorrowland and ride buzz lightyear. Head over to Fantasyland and ride Smallworld. Its beautiful but once you see the Holiday Small World there is really no comparison. Ride Storybook ride. I definitely want to do this ride in the daytime. Its hard to see all the bonsai trees at night. Family tires out and we all leave at closing at 11:00am. Tomorrow its DISNEYLAND again.....

lobotomomma
03-20-2006, 08:42 AM
Enjoying your trip report, ktrm! Thanks for sharing!!

JDBlair
03-20-2006, 08:45 AM
It sounds like we were passing each other all over the place! How funny is that?

ktrm
03-20-2006, 09:16 AM
Correction on the last entry. I watched the fireworks from the Main Street Train Station not the fire station

Thursday March 16th

Don't arrive at Disneyland until 11:30 am since we watched the fireworks last night. Kids are young and can't have them stay late and then get up early without some major meltdowns. Today is my six year olds son's day. Tomorrowland, Tomorrowland, Tomorrowland. We all ride the old fashioned fire engine down mainstreet. Again I can't impress upon people how incredibly fun riding these vehicles down Main Street is. I think it is a forgotten gem of Disneyland. Family heads over to Tomorrowland and grab fast passes for Space Mountain. Boy this land gets congested and crowded. We see "push" the trashcan. It is a motorized trashcan that talks and moves. Boy this was great. My son just kept putting his hands on his cheeks and saying "A talking trashcan????" We watch Honey I Shrunk the Audience. My son loved it but the snake completely freaked out my four year old. She closed her eyes the whole time. The kids then played at the water ball outside the Pizza Port. Went into Innoventions. This area is kindof like a giant infomercial. I thought the speal on the Segway was kindof cheesy. Everything was brought to you by "Segway", "Honda" etc. This trip isn't all about me, however, and my son absolutely loved this area. All the games, gagets, etc. He loved it and could have stayed there for hours. Grabbed tickets for Asimo show. This show freaked me out. I don't know.... a little robot that sounds like a child who brings you drinks and does your chores just gives me the willies. My son, however, absolutely adored it and wanted to see it again. We promised him we would do it next time. Tomorrowland was getting really crowded at that time and we took the train out of there. Of course I get my AAA mugs out for free drinks at the Pizza port before we leave. The pizza was amazingly good there. I was very surprised. These mugs now weigh about 25 lbs to me. I decide right then and there that I am not dragging them around anymore on my trip. I am not a big Tomorrowland fan if you cannot tell. The rock music blaring, the bright lights etc are just not my thing. I love the nostaglia of Main Street so much better. My son and husband loved it though and so we decided to visit it again at night. My daughter was getting really tired and my mom, husband, and daughter head back to the hotel. I stay with my son and take him on Indiana Jones. Bad choice. The snake really scared him and he kept asking for his care bear. I take him on Astro Orbiters to try to cheer him up. He loved this ride but did not want to go too high. I buy him a buzz lightyear toy at the Little Green Men toy store before we leave and then we head back to the hotel to rest.

We arrive back at the park around 8:45pm. We head over to Space Mountain with our fastpasses. I am not excited about being back in Tomorrowland but decide to go on this ride for my son and daughter. What can I say. WOW, WOW, WOW. I love Space Mountain. This becomes my most favorite ride in the whole park and Tomorrowland looks a whole bunch better to me. So much fun that I am breathless. We exit Space mountain and the fireworks are going. I try to take the kids on the Innoventions platform like some on the website suggested to watch the fireworks. A CM stops me, however, and says this is not allowed. Oh well.... it was still beautiful from down below and we get a quick glimpse of tinkerbell. After the fireworks my son wants to go on Buzz Lightyear with my husband and I take my daughter and mom on Its a Small World again. Meet back at Buzz and my husband takes my daughter and son on it one more time. Boy...its closing time again 11:00pm and we head back down Main Street to go back to the hotel. Tomorrow is our last day at Disneyland. The goal........to see Fantasmic for the first time ever!!!!!!

Rhiannon8404
03-20-2006, 09:26 AM
I should not read trip reports...it just makes me long to go to Disneyland all the more. Sounds like you guys had tons of fun!

ktrm
03-20-2006, 11:03 AM
Friday March 17

Everyone wakes up late due to our late night the night before. The clouds are dark outside so we pack our ponchos and rainproof pants. Oh boy... I hope they have Fantasmic tonight. Go to Tomorrowland to pick up fastpasses to Space Mountain. I have to ride this again. We walk over to Fantasyland and its a zoo. Boy Friday is certainly busier than the other weekdays. We get out of Fantasyland without riding a single ride and take the Big Thunder Mountain Trail. We head for the petting zoo I saw earlier in the week and say high to the pardoned turkeys. My kids loved it. The petting area only has a few goats and a cow but it was decorated really cute. It was not crowded and had a small farm house it in where the kids could color. It started to rain hard but we were in the cute farm house that had benches in it with actual cushions. Very comfy and cosey. We all change into our rain gear which we had brought in the backpack. Kids had waterproof pants and rain jackets. I left the AAA mugs at home to make room for the rain gear. We relax in our little hideaway for a while and then head out towards Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We stop at the bridge and watch the bright orange coy fish swarming. Very pretty in the rain. Its pouring by this time but we are dry in our getups although we all look silly. We wait about 10 minutes for the roller coaster. Its very fun and fast. My son liked the rattlesnakes. After the roller coaster its still raining extremely hard. We duck into the Theatre in Frontierland and watch Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. I had picked up French Fries at the wagon to make the kids happy. Even though they are dry the rain is making them grumpy. We head out. The kids are still hungry so we go to the Riverbelle Terrace. We had some great food there. It was very cute inside and we got free coffee refills. I am glad I got to see this restaurant before they do there planned refurbishments. We then head to Jungle Cruise. This ride is very fun in the rain. Had a very funny guide. My husband takes the kids back to the hotel while mom and I watch the Tiki room. Boy all the birds looked beautful. This brought back such vivid memories from my childhood. I remember as a kid my favorite bird was Michael and there he was again 25 years later still singing his heart out. Mom and I head back to the hotel. I have only been sleeping about 4 hours a night because I am so excited and its starting to catch up with me. I am getting cranky.

The whole family wants to call it a trip and not go back at night. I insist that we have to try to see Fantasmic. Mom and husband insist it will be cancelled but I say we have to try. Both mom and husband aren't too happy with me, but they give in. Oh my I am going to get it if its cancelled. We go back to the park at 9:30pm and both the Fireworks and the first showing of Fantasmic have been cancelled. GULP!!! My husband takes my son back to the shooting range in Frontierland while mom and I take my daughter to the wishing well at the castle. We meet my husband and son at the shooting range when they make the announcement that the 10:30 Fantasmic Showing will occur. YIPPEE!!!! Lots of people have already left the park assuming that the second showing of Fantasmic will be cancelled as well. Since we are at the shooting range when they make the announcement we get seats front and center on the Rivers of America before the swarms of people arrive. Absolutely perfect seats. We are all very tired and hungry. I can't find any food for the kids but chips. Gosh I hope this show is good or I'm in trouble. We watch the River Rats band on the river. They are very good. The show starts. I had no idea the show had live actors in it. I thought it was just a water show. I was so surprised when the Columbia came out with Peter Pan and Hooke on it. My son and daughter went insane with excitement. The Delta Queen looked so splendid in its 5oth decorations. I loved the black and white Mickey driving it. My daughter was a little scared at the dragon but not too bad. Both mom and husband admit that it was worth coming back. Thank Goodness. We head over to Tomorrowland to do space mountain again. Loved this ride as much the second time as the first. Kids ride Star Tours. I am wiped out and cannot so much as move a finger. I plop myself in front of Star Tours and wait. The CM outside the ride was sooooo funny. It was about 11:45 at night and he kept saying "No lines...No Lines" "Go to the moon with no lines." "This is like Space Mountain only better no lines." He kept this up the whole time until closing. Finally another CM had to tell him to stop it the park was closed. Most people would be looking at their watch waiting to go home but not him. What a great work ethic. I will never forget him. We head for the hotel all a little battered and tired but we had a great time.

hlbtimes2
03-20-2006, 11:17 AM
Great trip report!

Moonliner
03-20-2006, 11:23 AM
Interesting read, thanks.

So where are "the right spots" for having buzz and/or Monsters stop in front of you?

ktrm
03-20-2006, 11:28 AM
We had a great trip. Some thoughts....

1. Try DCA. I liked this park this time more than when I went at Christmas. It was so deserted then it just didn't have a fun atmosphere. This time there was more people and it was fun. The Animation Building was fantastic. I want to do Turtle Talk next time and California Screamin. I also want to see this park at night. It seems like the lights would be beautiful. I want to buy my Mickey Mouse Sourdough bread and sit on the pier by the water, relax and eat it.

2. Have a plan but don't be afraid to alter it a little. The first trip in November I insisted my son not do the shooting gallery because it was not a big attraction. This time I brought my quarters and let him do it. He loved it, my husband loved it, and when I played it I remembered doing it as a kid. I don't think it has been modified much over the years and it brought back happy memories of my dad and I together. It just so happened as fate would have it that it allowed us to get great Fantasmic seating as well.

3. Don't be afraid to try new things even things other people have said they don't like. Remember these are peoples opinions and yours may be different. I met a family from France who told me not to bother with Space Mountain. It was all dark and you couldn't see anything. The space mountain in France was so much better and it really was not worth the wait. I am really, really glad I did not listen to them. They loved the Animation Building where they learned to draw Disney characters. They kept going back to learn how to draw all of them. To each their own. I did not like the princess lunch but other people including my friends absolutely adored it so make up your own mind.

4. Don't push the family too hard. Take rests. I pushed too hard and will not do that again. My family understands, however, how much Disneyland means to me. My husband pushes me on our camping trips and I push on Disneyland trips. But not next time. This was only my second trip this year and prior to that I had not been to Disneyland in 25 years so I was very, very excited. Next time I may spend more days and take a more leisurely trip. It will also be easier because I now know what attractions my family likes and which ones we could skip.

5. Watch the street entertainment. They are great. I loved the Laughing Stock Company and Push the Garbage can. There is some incredible talent at Disneyland...I was overwhelmed.

6. Watch the movie at the Opera House. I did not bring my small children, but I think little kids would like it. It has Donald Duck in it. It wraps up the whole trip incredibly well and it really brought a tear to my eye hearing Walt Disney say " to all who come to this happy place...welcome" Steve Martin was also very funny. I will be sad when this movie leaves after the 50th. It was one of the highlights of my trip. I know people like the Lincoln show but this movie was just so special to me.

7. The park was beautiful, but not as beautiful as in November. The Christmas decorations are incredible and I can honestly say I have not seen anthing like it. I will need to go twice a year. Once during the Christmas season and once sometime else.


To all those going to Disneyland. I hope you have as wonderful a time as I did. I am a Disney fan forever. Thanks to everyone like Malcon 10t, Mamasilva, Darkbeer, Opus1 guy, JDblair, Mermaidhair and all the others for helping me plan this trip. I am forever grateful to you.

hlbtimes2
03-20-2006, 11:37 AM
6. Watch the movie at the Opera House. I did not bring my small children, but I think little kids would like it. It has Donald Duck in it. It wraps up the whole trip incredibly well and it really brought a tear to my eye hearing Walt Disney say " to all who come to this happy place...welcome" Steve Martin was also very funny. I will be sad when this movie leaves after the 50th. It was one of the highlights of my trip. I know people like the Lincoln show but this movie was just so special to me.


We loved it as well. Even my 7 and 4 year old enjoyed it. Me and dh both get tears when we watch it.

CrazyTrain
03-20-2006, 01:15 PM
Wonderful report! :D

JDBlair
03-20-2006, 01:18 PM
I'm glad you had a lot of fun. We had reservations for Ariel's Grotto and didn't attend. After most of my family ignored the characters at Goofy's, I didn't want to go through that again. I really want to go back with just the four of us that live in this household. I wanted to see a lot of the things you saw but didn't get a chance to. I'd do some things differently. I'm thinking our next trip will be in a couple of years when my daughter is 4 or 5. I'd love to go back at Christmas because we use to go every Christmas Eve when I was a child. I love the Christmas decorations, they're breathless. I'm thinking we'll have to do a "no-no" and take the kids out of school to go instead of going during a school break! :D

ktrm
03-20-2006, 04:51 PM
Interesting read, thanks.

So where are "the right spots" for having buzz and/or Monsters stop in front of you?


We were sitting half way between BurrrBank icecream and the Grizzly peak. We had a perfect view of the Toy story float complete with Buzz lightyear. We also saw Mr. Potato Head(too cute) and Little bo peep. We were in the red zone I think. The other floats, monsters inc and bugs life, were more towards Hollywood Backlot in the Sunshine Plaza. Maybe someone else can tell you where to stand for these floats.

Leap for Joy
03-21-2006, 06:04 AM
Great report and tips! Thanks!!

SANDYMARIE
03-21-2006, 07:06 AM
Enjoyed your report! Thanks! :)

yellowrosedtxn
03-21-2006, 07:39 AM
We were in the Sunshine Plaza and saw the Monster's, Inc. Float last summer. Then closer to Hollywood back lot is where the Bug's Life float was. I think this year we will see the Toy Story Float and then try to catch the Bug's land float as well.

Thanks for such a WONDERFUL Trip report. I love it when everyone writes these!