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DwoernAdale
08-02-2002, 09:08 PM
I cannot tell you how much this site improved my recent family trip to DLR.

I grew up in Cerritos and my folks both grew up in Hawthorne, so we are all old Disneyland vets and come to the park about once every couple years. Generally we wont come in the summer, knowing what it is like crowd wise, but there was no better time for us all this year. So myself, my wife, and my 2 year old daughter went down with my mother, father and 14 year old brother.


I read almost every thread on this board, Laughing Place, and Mouse Info before we went(yeah Im crazy like that) and must say I got the BEST info right here. Where to start...


We went to both parks July 25th - 28th. We purchased 3 day park-hoppers online at the childs admission price with the intention of going to Knotts on the 28th, but I managed to change their minds and upgraded to 4 day hoppers at the park the evening of the 27th. I was not able to do this at the child prices, as I bought the tiks online, but it was $8.00 cheaper per ticket than purchasing the $59 single day park hopper.


I found out about the Practicaly Perfect Tea here. And was made aware I should make reservations. I was glad I did!! I got reservations for myself, mom, wife, and daughter about 5 days before we went(dad and my little bro declined, hehe) and snagged one of the last times available on Sat at 12:30. I must say I was a bit intimidated being the only male present as the line filled with tiny princesses and their mothers, but am now sooo glad I didnt miss it. My daughter at 2 has an incredible fascination with Mary Poppins and asks to watch 'Poppins' all the time. I cant even describe the awe in her eyes as 'Poppins' came to talk just to her! The girl 'assisting in the portrayal' of Mary Poppins(See? Told ya I read alot) was...well....Practicaly Perfect! She had Mary's every manerism down pat. At one point she had a quiet discussion with the gentleman serving the tea...she turned, pulled smartly at the bottom of her jacket, rolled her eyes, and uttered in an immaculate Brittish accent, "Honestly!" and went about her business. I was rolling =) She sang several songs, and towards the end, had the girls come up one at a time to 'dress up' in hats and boas and such for pictures. My daughter was all smiles and giggles. It was money well spent, and I doubt I shall ever forget it.

Fast Pass! OMG! What a boon the info here was! I went each day to Splash, PotC, and HM early while the family procured breakfast, and as soon as breakfast was over we hit Fantasyland. The only FL ride we waited in any sort of line for was Peter Pan one morning, think it was the longest line we stood in the whole trip. Over the course of 4 days my daughter had ridden EVERY FL ride at least once, and some twice or more!
Between myself and brother running for FP's as our times came up, we kept a large stock of FP's at the ready, gaining praise and astonishment from my folks the whole trip. We kept constant vigil on what passes 'matured', as we called it, and made runs for additional FP's like clockwork keeping the rest of the family in the shade, and making as few trips across the park as possible. All of us were amazed at how well the system worked. Consequently, I dont think we were ever in such a rush that we had to run down any of you stroller haters. =)


Lets see...Restaraunts. We ate at Catal, Blue Bayou, Yamabuki and Rainforest Cafe. I never had a bad meal, or server.

Yamabuki was fun. I had the Hibachi dinner, which is a little gas grill they set at your table along with a plate of raw veggies and meat, with a very tasty dipping sauce. The family entertained themselves laughing at me having my own barbecue at the table =)

I had the special at Blue Bayou. Crab cakes and a cajun spiced top sirloin I believe. Its so dark(and I LIKE that) I wasnt sure what the cut was. I enjoyed it. Others in our group found it too spicy. The clam chowder was primo, as always. Came back for lunch on our last day to have a MonteCristo...YUMMM!!

Rainforest was Rainforest. Food was par. Bathrooms were the dregs. Help was harried, but polite.

I liked Catal because we ate outside, and there was a bar right there next to the table lol =) Food was good. Had the steak with carmelized onions. Standard fare. Good amount of food.

Ate pretty much where we were hungry the other meals. All of the above we made reservations for though. I had picked those from the ones I knew of from previous trips, and the rest from Kevins dining guide. I programmed the numbers into my cell and made reservations around noon of the days we ate at each establishment.

The only one we missed that I wanted to go to was Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. We did do the character breakfast at Plaza Inn however, it was wonderful btw. I think Eyeore was in better spirits than Id ever seen him. He must've gotten a tail refurb recently =)

Picked up a Matterhorn and Space Mountain attraction poster. Cant wait to get em framed. Also bought More Mouse Tales and Mouse Under Glass at the book store in DTD. They were out of the original Mouse Tales or I wouldve gotten all 3. Someone should let David Koenig know they are out, hes missing out on sales =)

Other cool stuff....

Saw the pyro display from Splash going in and out of the mountain Thursday night...was a full moon too. Very cool.

Caught it from the Sun Wheel another night, prompting us to park right at the end of the MSEP route the next night. As the last float passed, we ran for the Sun Wheel, and caught the fireworks from the wheel again =)

I passed along some happiness Saturday night. We had many relatives who live in So Cal come with us that day. At dinner that night we were handed all their Fast Passes, as they were leaving after dinner. Ended up with 14 left over Soarin' FP's so as we went for our last ride that night, I stopped at the end of a 55 min stand by line and handed out FP's(mostly to folks who didnt have a clue what they were, so I showed em). My brother looked at me like I was the coolest thing going =)

Sunday afternoon I met a couple outside of the World of Disney store from Ohio. They didnt have a clue about FastPass, so I gave em a 20 min crash course which they seemed to understand perfectly. Hope it helped them out )

Ok. Enough of my excited rambling. Thank you all for a priceless trip which would not have been so perfect without your excepional community here. Was fun to be able to 'out Disney' my Mom who is our resident pro park goer, I had all the good spoilers this trip =) Its very good to know so many hold the flame of what the resort means to me in their hearts as well.

Safe Journeys, and Thank you again. =)


~DW

disneynut
08-02-2002, 09:29 PM
Wow~ what a great report. Your excitement is catching. I've never been to the Practically Perfect Tea and I loved reading your description. I'm glad you and your family had a great trip...I love this site too. It has some really helpful insights into getting around the park. I'm glad you all had a wonderful vacation.

sydney
08-03-2002, 12:02 AM
your tales brought a smile to my face... glad to hear you had so much fun at the resort... that is the point afterall ;) and it sounds like the poppins fan in the family had lots of fun too. :)

DwoernAdale
08-03-2002, 01:48 AM
Ohh! Forgot.

We stayed at the Radisson Maingate Anaheim.

Top floor is smoking(the 8th). Also is the floor with the washers and dryers. The laundromat kind(another stroller set tip). The side that faces the park is all two full size beds. Other side is queens or kings. One king or queen.

So if you are looking for a view from your hotel, and dont mind 2 smaller beds, request smoking, and 2 beds.

Another observation.

ARTS passes come with a designated letter. Ours was 'D' from the Radisson at Kattela and Harbor. It was consistently the longest line trying to leave the park by shuttle at the end of the night. The 'H' tram left at the same intervals FROM the park, and had its first stop 20 feet away from 'D'. We had payed cabs and walked before we figured that out.

Dont take 'H' from Katella and Harbor though TO the park. It takes you on a scenic tour of the rest of Anaheim(Including the freeways)before you get to the drop off.

Sheesh. Maybe Im trying to be TOO helpful )

~DW