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View Full Version : Trip Report: April 27 - May 1



bbangel
05-04-2006, 12:47 PM
Thanks to all the great information on this board and some help from Ridemax we had a fantastic trip.

It was just me and mom this trip.

Day 1 – April 27:

We started the day early and were off to the airport by 5:30 am. We had to catch a 7:00 am flight to Calgary from Vancouver. We were flying with WestJet and they only fly to the States from Calgary. It took longer but cost us less airmiles. Gotta love being on a budget! Anyway we finally made it to LAX by 1:30. We had booked with Disneyland Express shuttle and were dropped off at our hotel by about 3:30. We quickly changed and headed for Disneyland. It took about 15 minutes to walk from our hotel (Red Roof) to the Esplanade. We lined up to trade our vouchers for tickets. Had to wait about 25 minutes, but this ended up being our longest line up of the night. We decided to ride the train the whole way around the park first. It had been 16 years since I was there so I needed a refresher. After the train we went to see the First 50 Years video. So glad we made time to see it. We then walked on Indy and the HM. We then headed over to Innoventions. After spending some time with the technology, we headed back to the hub to wait for the fireworks. It started to drizzle so we went shopping down Main Street while we tried to decide whether or not to wait for the fireworks. It started to rain harder and we decided to call it a day. As we got back to the hotel it stopped raining and we watched the fireworks from the balcony. We were exhausted and knew we would be up early so we crashed.

More later.

bbangel
05-04-2006, 02:28 PM
Day 2 – April 28:

Knowing how important it is to go early, we were at the gates by 7:30. Had our breakfast in line to save time. Headed straight for Peter Pan’s Flight (my favourite ride) and were the first one’s to ride :D We then walked on Dumbo, Tea Party, Mr. Toad, Storyland boats, Alice, the Carousel and the Materhorn. Snow White was down and I forgot to say we had gone on Pinochio the night before (the only one with no line). We did IASW and it was much improved from the last time I went on. It had been rather tattered when I had seen it before. After the whirlwind around Fantasyland we headed to Toon Town to meet Mickey. This was our longest line of the day at almost half an hour. Got a great picture of the two of us with the Mouse. Considered waiting for other characters and decided not to. Mom was fading by this point so we found her a coffee at Club Buzz on our way to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Don’t step on the mice! We had an early lunch at Pizza Port and then headed for the other side of the park. We rode Indy and the Jungle Cruise again (also forgot that we went on this the first night, isn’t it sad when the memory starts to go!) We decided to head over to California Adventure for the rest of the afternoon. What a lovely park. I was prepared to be disappointed but we both really enjoyed it. We did TofT first thing. We were so disappointed when we didn’t have a picture. We didn’t want one bad enough to go again though. As my mom said it was great, but once was enough. We grabbed FastPasses for Soarin’ and then went on the Zephyr and the Sun Wheel. We considered the Maliboomer and California Screamin’ but lost our nerve. We went on Soarin’ and I can see why it is so popular. We headed over to the Backlot and went through the animation building. Turtle Talk is fantastic. Dude I want to know how they do that! We also learned to draw Mickey and had to realize that we would never be animators. We also caught the Drawn to the Magic show and met with Sorcerer Mickey and Woody. We checked out the Bug’s Life area, very cute, and went to the Ugly Bug Ball (I love that song!). Madame Butterfly sure can sing. We checked out the Block Party Bash and I think the green soldiers that come through before the parade were my favourite part! After the parade we went to the last showing of Aladdin. The Genie is hilarious. He steals the show. There was a brief technical difficulty when the sound cut out but they came back within a few minutes and continued. We had a light supper at Award Weiners and then walked around so I could take some pictures. My one must see or the trip is ruined event was coming up so we headed to find good seats. I had missed the Electrical Parade when I was there 16 years ago because my sister is a big pain. I was not going to miss it this time. I was also not going to move off the curb, not even when people kept walking on me and bumping me. It was even better than I was expecting. I wish I had had a video camera to capture it forever. We had planned to head back into Disneyland after the parade to see the fireworks. The line up to get back in was insane. We ended up seeing the fireworks from the Esplanade. We decided not to fight the crowds to see Fantasmic and headed back to the hotel. It was a great and wonderful all round amazing day. And we still had two more days in the park!

barely
05-04-2006, 03:57 PM
You can usually find a great tape of the DisneylandElectrical Parade on ebay.

bbangel
05-05-2006, 07:44 AM
Thanks for the info, I'll have to do a search.

bbangel
05-05-2006, 07:46 AM
Day 3 – April 29:

As per advice on the board, we made this our non-park entry day. We headed to Fullerton to see the Character Warehouse. Found a few gifts at bargain prices. Always love saving money. We also found a great little store across the street called Henry’s Farmer’s Market. We got a bunch of snacks. My mom met a woman from Pasadena who told her all about the Tournament of Roses parade (It has always been her dream to be there in person). We then headed back to Anaheim and checked out Downtown Disney. We both got the golden ear headbands and wore them with pride all weekend. We had to head back to the hotel at about 4 to get ready for the Angels game that night. We have been Angels fans for a long time and this was our first chance to see them at home. It was a good game but we lost – a trend that was to continue. However, while at the game we found out that the Oilers had beat the Red Wings, which made us happy as we are originally from Edmonton. The rest of the crowd was happy because the Clippers won. We were headed back to the park in the morning and couldn’t wait.

bbangel
05-05-2006, 08:29 AM
Day 4 – April 30:

Early morning at the park again. We had about two and half hours there before heading to another ball game. We rode Winnie the Pooh and saw the animal heads. So happy to know about that. We had breakfast at the Riverbelle Terrace. The pancakes were lovely. We then rode the BTMR. We headed to Fantasyland to go on Snow White. I shocked my mom and the person behind her when I touched the golden apple. More inside info from you good folks. We took the time to just wander and look at things this morning. The attention to detail is amazing.

It was another loss for the Angels :crying: , and we were sitting in the full sun and roasted a bit. After the game we went back to the park. We managed to fit in the Parade of Dreams, the fireworks and Fantasmic. The Parade was very good, it even stopped just when the battery on my camera went dead. Truly magical timing :D We both really liked the fireworks. We managed to find a spot to sit on the ground and only had to wait half an hour. I have to say it makes so much more sense when you can hear the soundtrack. We went to the second show of Fantasmic. It is a good show, but I can’t imagine waiting hours to see it or seeing it over and over again. There was a toddler behind us who started shrieking and sobbing. Poor little tyke was scared of the Queen and dragon. There were other kids who loved it. I guess like most things you have to know what your kid will be able to handle. In between all that, we went on the Jungle Cruise again and had the best guide. The guide truly makes all the difference. One last joke for the psychics. We also went to the Tiki Room. Love that song! After all the entertainment we picked up a few souvenirs. Sunday was definitely more crowded and we were glad we had done so much on Friday. Definitely avoid the weekends if you can.

bbangel
05-05-2006, 09:30 AM
Day 5 – May 1:

We had our early entry day on Monday. We went in at 8 and were the first one’s on Peter Pan’s flight again. We rode Dumbo again as well. We walked around and took a bunch of pictures. Nice to do this when the park was empty. We then headed over and rode Space Mountain and then did Buzz Lightyear and Star Tours. Star Tours was great except it made me feel ill. We headed back to the Riverbelle Terrace since the pancakes had been so good the day before. Then we went and rode Splash Mountain and got soaked. At least we got a great picture out of it. Should have brought a change of shoes as walking around in wet shoes was not fun. We went over to Tom Sawyer’s Island and found the cutest baby ducks. We went and saw Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. I highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t seen it already as it is a great show. We had an early lunch while we were there. Then we caught the Mark Twain just before it sailed. After the boat trip we walked through Tarzan’s Treehouse. I think this worked better as Swiss Family Robinson, but that may just be me! My mom grabbed a Dole whip and declared it “very refreshing”. I don’t like pineapple so declined to have a taste. While she was eating that on a bench in front of the castle, Cruella Deville showed up riding in the horseless carriage. She got out and waved, they loaded up the car again and headed back down Main Street. When mom was finished her treat we got in the fire truck and for a ride down ourselves. Tigger was holding court at the fire station and Cruella was in the shade near the train station exit. I guess the fur coat had her roasting. We headed back over to CA. We wanted to see the Monster’s Inc ride (the line up on Friday had been 45 minutes) We only had to wait about 5 mintues. It is cute but I’m glad I hadn’t waited any longer. The interaction at the end is great. She asked if my lovely ears were natural or if I had had surgical enhancement. We then went and saw the Muppets show. I’m so glad they put the geezers in the balcony! We also went through the Redwood Creek area and did the tours of the bread and tortilla factory. We sat and had a snack of fruit and agreed we had seen all that we had planned and more. We headed back to the hotel satisfied with our days in the parks. We never waited in line for a ride for more than 15 minutes. Friday and Monday were definitely the best days for us. We got a lot done early and never really noticed crowds. We had hoped to ride the canoes and the Columbia, but they weren’t running the days we checked them out. We went to another ballgame that night and one the next day. We lost all four games but it was nice to see the stadium and be there in person. We are already planning our next trip. My mom pointed out that I should still be around when they celebrate 100 years :D I hope to make it back way before then.

Crazy4DL
05-05-2006, 02:25 PM
I sure enjoyed pretending I was in DL myself, reading your report. Thanks for writing it. :)

tmptink
05-05-2006, 02:51 PM
Thanks for sharing your story. Makes me more excited to go next week.

bbangel
05-05-2006, 02:54 PM
Glad people are enjoying the report. I had a great time and can't wait until I get to go back:D

Stitch Lover
05-05-2006, 02:54 PM
great report!:) thanks for sharing.

lobotomomma
05-05-2006, 03:08 PM
Great trip report, Bbangel!!! I was just at DL over a month ago (it already feels like forever!);) Thank you SO much for sharing your wonderful time at DL with us!!! :D :D :D