littlebugg
05-11-2006, 07:25 AM
Hello all!
Just got back last night from a fun 4 day trip to So Cal from the SFbay area, this would be my(26yo) approx. 20th trip to Disneyland, DH (26yo) and DS(7)'s 2nd trip. Our first trip in Sept. 04 was a not as fun as it could have been for me because so many attractions were closed for refurb during that time including the castle. So this time I was excited to get to show the boys HM, Space, the Matterhorn and all the info I had gained from these boards. : )
Saturday, May 6th,2006
Left around 7:00am from El Sobrante, Calif. Checkin was at 3:00 at the Camelot Inn (formerly Park Inn). Searched on Trip Advisor for several days before settling on this one back in March. It fit our needs; we wanted two adjoining rooms so DS could have his own space and tv, the suites offered here had the second room with no exterior hall access, and priced under the Hilton where we usually stay at 159 a night for two rooms we decided to give it a try.
My son was excited to pass "the windmills" in the Livermore/Alta Mont Pass (I think) area. I remember being a kid and knowing that was the sure sign that we really were going to DL!
Stopped a few miles past Magic Mtn. for bathroom and gas, and it was barely noon, so I decided to program a small side trip into the navi to the La Brea Tarpit. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and thought DS might like it. We made a quick lap around the pit and took some pics. DS did enjoy the wooly mammoths and sabre cat statues. (Perfect timing since we saw Ice Age 2 a few months ago). Didn't check out the museum, the gender scale in my family tends to tip against my interests. lol Parking was a ripoff though. $3.50 for 23 mins!
Pulled into the motel at 2:55, checkin was a breeze. Nice rooms. Our bed was a king, we were told it would be a queen, so that was a nice surprise. Table with chairs, microwave, fridge, new furniture, pullout sofa bed. DS's room had a remodled bathroom with seperate dressing area and two queen beds. The beds were firm, but new and actually helped my back some I think. Cable was limited but we had HBO and Disney channels. Two gift shops downstairs and arcade. We had reserved seating at Goofys for 5:40pm that night so we rested a bit and then drove over to DL Hotel.
Goofys food was actually pretty bad. I hate to give bad reviews, but it was really expensive. I was expecting a Hometown Buffet style, you know, not very good but edible. Goofys to me had a limited selection and no real salad bar at all which is usually all I eat. Just some soggy cesear salad.
Characters also really ignored us, I even tried to mention it to our server. Maybe because my son is a little older that most kids there, and the HUGE party of 3 year olds next to us running amuck(sp?). So DS was bummed out he waited for Peter Pan SO patiently, (very hard for him since he is mildly autistic and gets antsy) but Peter didn't turn to our table. My guess is service can be hit and miss there depending on how much is going on. I think the person that plays Pluto (shame on me, I know, Pluto is real) noticed DS because he hung out with us 3 times. He was the only character to stop at our table. After dinner we drove back to the motel, and walked next door to McDonalds later for some real food. LOL
Decided to go down to the pool for a while after dark, DS had been whining about it since we got there. Pool was perfect, not over his head and I only wanted to use the hot tub so no big deal on the small pool. Hot tub was nice. Pool area in general was nice looking at the Matterhorn.
Promised ourselves we would wait to watch Remember... at the park on Sunday night, but curiosity got the better of us and we watched it from our balcony. In retrospect I'm not sorry we did because it was nice to see two different views. Went to bed shortly after so we could get up early and head to the parks!
Sunday May 7th, 2006
We got up at 6:15 so we could get there for opening at 8. I take long to get ready, I'm a girl, what can I say? We walked to the crosswalk in less than 3 mins. another 5 mins to the turnstiles. Overall I have to say I will never go through with the park/tram or art method again. For me, if I'm not on property, I will stay on Harbor because walking back and forth when needed made a world of difference.
DH and DS enjoyed the band coming out to the turnstile plaza and the countdown, it made the whole experience more magical for both of them. We headed back (with nearly everyone else) to Space Mountain but we only went for Fast Passes, then straight to Fantasyland. 4 people ahead of us for Peter Pan, about the same on Mr. Toad, then the only ones on Snow White and Pinocchio. DS and DH wanted to head over to Rivers area so off we went through Adventure to stop for FP for Indy. DS fave ride you'll soon see. Walked on Indy standby right after.
Park seemed pretty empty still at 9 so we knocked out HM and Pooh to kill time for next FP time. DH and DS liked HM and I LOVED the new FX, I had to call my mom soon after to tell her about it.
Headed over to Matterhorn, longest line yet at about 15 minute wait. Rode FL side. DH is a big baby, thought it was too fast. I called him a little girl and DS and I laughed at him. Since we still had some time left before we could collect more FP's and the return time for Space had long passed (8:45 am). I made the call to go straight to Space Mountain. This had nothing to do with DH being scared of Matterhorn. : p
While in the queue, DH asked me how fast it went and I guessed 20 mph tops. I didn't want him to chicken out. Great time on Space. Glad they got rid of the big red ball illuminating the track.
We had reservations for Minnie and Friends but we weren't hungry yet, and Goofys had left me feeling uneasy about spending a lot of $$ there, so we stopped at BLAB and got FP's and then walked on. Still no lines at all. We all loved this attraction, DH was telling me all about how this is Buzz's real life and not Toy Story, but it was great to have him teaching me something. He felt special.
BLAB FP time was flying by so we decided to kill the 20 mins. before we could collect more FP's by checking out HISTA. That was also great. DS was screaming and laughing.
I ran up to collect FP's for Space again while DS and DH spun the big marble ball. It was still cloudy, but starting to get warmer. I was glad it wasn't sunburn hot because I become a lobster in less than 30 mins.
By this time it was only a little after 11, we had FP for everything we wanted besided BTMR, so we decided to take a break.
Walking back we saw a sea of people ariving and DH commented on how smart we were to get up early and ride 10 attractions plus HISTA in 3 hours and I was just thinking..."WE?" MPers and Moms get no credit. :)
Part 2 coming soon...
Just got back last night from a fun 4 day trip to So Cal from the SFbay area, this would be my(26yo) approx. 20th trip to Disneyland, DH (26yo) and DS(7)'s 2nd trip. Our first trip in Sept. 04 was a not as fun as it could have been for me because so many attractions were closed for refurb during that time including the castle. So this time I was excited to get to show the boys HM, Space, the Matterhorn and all the info I had gained from these boards. : )
Saturday, May 6th,2006
Left around 7:00am from El Sobrante, Calif. Checkin was at 3:00 at the Camelot Inn (formerly Park Inn). Searched on Trip Advisor for several days before settling on this one back in March. It fit our needs; we wanted two adjoining rooms so DS could have his own space and tv, the suites offered here had the second room with no exterior hall access, and priced under the Hilton where we usually stay at 159 a night for two rooms we decided to give it a try.
My son was excited to pass "the windmills" in the Livermore/Alta Mont Pass (I think) area. I remember being a kid and knowing that was the sure sign that we really were going to DL!
Stopped a few miles past Magic Mtn. for bathroom and gas, and it was barely noon, so I decided to program a small side trip into the navi to the La Brea Tarpit. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and thought DS might like it. We made a quick lap around the pit and took some pics. DS did enjoy the wooly mammoths and sabre cat statues. (Perfect timing since we saw Ice Age 2 a few months ago). Didn't check out the museum, the gender scale in my family tends to tip against my interests. lol Parking was a ripoff though. $3.50 for 23 mins!
Pulled into the motel at 2:55, checkin was a breeze. Nice rooms. Our bed was a king, we were told it would be a queen, so that was a nice surprise. Table with chairs, microwave, fridge, new furniture, pullout sofa bed. DS's room had a remodled bathroom with seperate dressing area and two queen beds. The beds were firm, but new and actually helped my back some I think. Cable was limited but we had HBO and Disney channels. Two gift shops downstairs and arcade. We had reserved seating at Goofys for 5:40pm that night so we rested a bit and then drove over to DL Hotel.
Goofys food was actually pretty bad. I hate to give bad reviews, but it was really expensive. I was expecting a Hometown Buffet style, you know, not very good but edible. Goofys to me had a limited selection and no real salad bar at all which is usually all I eat. Just some soggy cesear salad.
Characters also really ignored us, I even tried to mention it to our server. Maybe because my son is a little older that most kids there, and the HUGE party of 3 year olds next to us running amuck(sp?). So DS was bummed out he waited for Peter Pan SO patiently, (very hard for him since he is mildly autistic and gets antsy) but Peter didn't turn to our table. My guess is service can be hit and miss there depending on how much is going on. I think the person that plays Pluto (shame on me, I know, Pluto is real) noticed DS because he hung out with us 3 times. He was the only character to stop at our table. After dinner we drove back to the motel, and walked next door to McDonalds later for some real food. LOL
Decided to go down to the pool for a while after dark, DS had been whining about it since we got there. Pool was perfect, not over his head and I only wanted to use the hot tub so no big deal on the small pool. Hot tub was nice. Pool area in general was nice looking at the Matterhorn.
Promised ourselves we would wait to watch Remember... at the park on Sunday night, but curiosity got the better of us and we watched it from our balcony. In retrospect I'm not sorry we did because it was nice to see two different views. Went to bed shortly after so we could get up early and head to the parks!
Sunday May 7th, 2006
We got up at 6:15 so we could get there for opening at 8. I take long to get ready, I'm a girl, what can I say? We walked to the crosswalk in less than 3 mins. another 5 mins to the turnstiles. Overall I have to say I will never go through with the park/tram or art method again. For me, if I'm not on property, I will stay on Harbor because walking back and forth when needed made a world of difference.
DH and DS enjoyed the band coming out to the turnstile plaza and the countdown, it made the whole experience more magical for both of them. We headed back (with nearly everyone else) to Space Mountain but we only went for Fast Passes, then straight to Fantasyland. 4 people ahead of us for Peter Pan, about the same on Mr. Toad, then the only ones on Snow White and Pinocchio. DS and DH wanted to head over to Rivers area so off we went through Adventure to stop for FP for Indy. DS fave ride you'll soon see. Walked on Indy standby right after.
Park seemed pretty empty still at 9 so we knocked out HM and Pooh to kill time for next FP time. DH and DS liked HM and I LOVED the new FX, I had to call my mom soon after to tell her about it.
Headed over to Matterhorn, longest line yet at about 15 minute wait. Rode FL side. DH is a big baby, thought it was too fast. I called him a little girl and DS and I laughed at him. Since we still had some time left before we could collect more FP's and the return time for Space had long passed (8:45 am). I made the call to go straight to Space Mountain. This had nothing to do with DH being scared of Matterhorn. : p
While in the queue, DH asked me how fast it went and I guessed 20 mph tops. I didn't want him to chicken out. Great time on Space. Glad they got rid of the big red ball illuminating the track.
We had reservations for Minnie and Friends but we weren't hungry yet, and Goofys had left me feeling uneasy about spending a lot of $$ there, so we stopped at BLAB and got FP's and then walked on. Still no lines at all. We all loved this attraction, DH was telling me all about how this is Buzz's real life and not Toy Story, but it was great to have him teaching me something. He felt special.
BLAB FP time was flying by so we decided to kill the 20 mins. before we could collect more FP's by checking out HISTA. That was also great. DS was screaming and laughing.
I ran up to collect FP's for Space again while DS and DH spun the big marble ball. It was still cloudy, but starting to get warmer. I was glad it wasn't sunburn hot because I become a lobster in less than 30 mins.
By this time it was only a little after 11, we had FP for everything we wanted besided BTMR, so we decided to take a break.
Walking back we saw a sea of people ariving and DH commented on how smart we were to get up early and ride 10 attractions plus HISTA in 3 hours and I was just thinking..."WE?" MPers and Moms get no credit. :)
Part 2 coming soon...