I am posting this really quick as I have a plane to catch. Please excuse typos etc. I will probably not get pix posted until we get back. The really good thing about hot Anaheim days is that they lead to beautiful, balmy, Disneyland evenings. After the wind died down on our first day, we took a leisurely walk to the Park. It was very quiet in sharp contrast to the bustling crowds of the afternoon. The sensible thing seemed to be to board the Train on Mainstreet. We went all the way around and then on to New Orleans. We got off planning to do Mansion but there was a long line. We went ahead to Pirates instead. There was not enough line at the Jungle Cruise to even fill a boat! We followed that up with Tiki Room and were treated to having Maynard as our host. We hung back and talked to him for a bit after. Fantasyland seemed in order after that and we chose Snow White. To our surprise there was a long line at Pinocchio. We did Mr. Toad instead. We were ready to leave as we had a long day and LA driving is always hard on Rod. Then we got sprinkled with a little Pixie dust. As we were passing Alice; it was just reopening and we got on in about 10 minutes. Great way to end the evening. That is all the detailed reporting I am going to do as it would take pages. We had 9 Park days. So the following is highlights. The first snag we encountered turned out not to be a true problem. When we drove in on the first morning we were stunned to see a sign that told oversize vehicles to use Toystory. Poor Rod, who tries to follow rules made an attempt to change lanes which resulted in an embarrassing episode of anxious families honking and us getting stuck in the median. We aborted that attempt and drove on in to find that this was a guideline/rule type of thing. If we got there early enough we could still park in Pinocchio. We did find out that after Feb 20 it will be closed to all oversized vehicles. Supposedly when it reopens it will be all oversized vehicles. But that is going to take a year. We do love having that choice parking spot and the feeling that we are living at Disneyland. To summerize, we did everything. At least twice. It was so relaxing to know we had many days. Sometimes we would just sit down and watch the crowd. We were able to read all the signs about the Main Street renovation and watch the windows change at the Emporium. Crowds were not so slim that everything was a walk on. However, more often that not; when we got a FP it would be good in 10 minutes or less. On mansion and Buzz we got a FP and walked straight over to the ride. There were never lines at the bathrooms or restaurants. With the Parks not opening until 10; morning crowds in the parking lot and at security were backed up. We switched our strategy and started getting up and dressed, then driving to the Parks, then eating breakfast. That way we always got a good parking spot. We gave up using the parking lot security as it was always a mob. Many people have learned that the walk to DTD is not bad and those lines were backing up too. But just around the corner lies the security check for the Hotel and there was never a back up there. Apparently we just missed seeing Ursula lose here head on Mermaid. But after seeing the video; it will never be the same. Maybe if she had not kept on singing and moving........... The highlight of the trip for Rod was the Lunar New Year celebration at DCA. We enjoyed the shows and sampled a few Asian dishes. But Rod absolutely loves Luna Lee (if you do not know who she is; you should check her out on youtube.) She uses the ancient Gayageum to play rock music. We saw her show twice and I made Rod go up and talk to her. (He gets shy but I knew she would appreciate his thanks.) One thing that upset us is that "do not bump the car in front" signs everywhere notwithstanding; Autopia seems to have become bumper cars. The driver two cars ahead of us kept stopping and the guy behind me, who was letting his kid drive, bumped me hard enough to jerk my head back and give me a headache. There was a group of young men who were swearing, flagging each other off and deliberately bumping each other and yelling, “Road rage!!” No one made any attempt to stop/reprimand them. In fact, we only saw one CM on the track and those at loading were not paying any attention. One day, we went in to the opera house looking for a friend. We went through the exit curtains and saw some teenagers prying open the back doors to sneak in. Our only thought at the time was, “Why would anyone sneak into a free show?” The next day we found out that they hid in the back and after the show tried to climb up on the stage. They did not even get close as alarms went off, they were caught and had their AP’s revoked. When we told Stephanie what we had seen we were taken to her lead to tell what we had seen. Even when things seemed to go wrong they worked out well. We were in line for Pirates and everyone was being sent to the left. Just after we had gotten past the chain; they opened up the right side and everyone in line beside got to go straight in. We barely made it to JC where we like to catch the last boat of the night. The queue kept filling up after 9 o’clock and we finally asked someone why. We found out there was a party for CSF. But all those things that held us up led to a great voyage with a really great skipper. Similarly, when we missed the train by seconds we got a funny conductor. She told us about what went on when it was closed and how happy they are with the results. She made jokes about stuff and just added an extra touch to a plain old train trip. Even the DH (that’s Dear Hypocondriac) getting sick was not all bad. I mean, nobody wants to be sick on a Disneyland trip, right. But at least if it has to happen; it is best to have it on the weekend when we were not planning on going in anyway. All we missed was the 4 hours we had hoped to do from 8-midnight on Sunday. By Monday morning he good was to go. We spent the last day doing something we never do anymore unless we are with grandchildren. We sought out characters to have photos taken. I will not wait in line very long for this. It was fun even though when we went back to Minnie's; she was no longer in. All in all, one of our best trips ever!!
I'm glad you ended up having a great trip. Hearing about your husband getting sick reminded me of when I was at DL a couple of years ago. I caught the flu. The first day at the park was good and I felt fine until late that evening. I started getting really tired and achy. At first I thought, man I'm getting old. I can't take all this walking around. Once we got to the hotel, I was feeling worse and had a fever. The next day, the family went to the park without me. It totally sucks to have a trip ruined like that.
The Super Moon the night of the eclipse!! Those shrimp on a sugar cane stick were so yummy; as were the dumplings. Luna Lee Our traveling Box Turtle (Turtelini) How much is that doggie in the window??!!?? (RV across from us.)
More Pix. This attraction is growing on me. Can't get enough of RSR!! Just chillin' on Rivers of America. YAY! SPACE! Yummy cookie.
Do you guys FastPass RSR or do single rider? We generally go the single rider route, so we don't get to ride together but occasionally we do get to race each other.
Hidden Mickey? Pretty cool concept art. The best part about this was a little girl passing by with her mom. She exclaimed, "Splash Mountain fell apart!! Look Mommy, it fell apart!!!!!!!" The obligatory FLASH
Last day: Empty Splash Mountain. Funny how you never notice you are in Rivers of America while you are on the ride? Fun with Tigger and Pooh Hugs are good!!
Loved the report! Thank you for sharing, it has been far too long since my last visit. My daughter is now 11 months, so hopefully soon we will bring her for her first time. Also, I loved Rod's shirt that says "look! a menu!" TOO FUNNY
Hey 'Beckah!! It seems you like to check in and post on my birthday. Happy to hear that all is well. We started taking ours to Disneyland when they were very young indeed. (Got to start that indoctrination.. ) Hope you get to visit soon. Rod will be happy you noticed his shirt. He got it in Yellowstone last summer and just loves it.
Yes there is. I hope you are able to find the time to post now and then. Congratulations on expecting another baby!!
Yay! Wonderful trip report and it sounds like a wonderful trip! Makes me so excited for my next trip. Sorry about the illness. I hated when I was still fighting off bronchitis that July 17th trip and kept coughing. Love the pictures too: you guys look so happy!
That was a happy trip. It was the first all year that was just us. We absolutely love going with the grandkids and friends; but it was great to only do what we wanted. Good to see you posting.
