Pun intended! Day 1: Jerry is our 42yo son. Most of the time when we are off to Disneyland, and other adventures, he is the one who stays home and makes sure the animals are fed, plants watered and in general, holds down the fort. So, when we took off with his sister’s family in July, leaving him to sit her house; I felt understandably guilty. I began formulating a plan to get Jerry to Disneyland. I figured November would be good as he would get a break from work and the Christmas decorations would be up. Jerry’s last trip had been in 2011 so he had not seen Carsland and many other changes. I decided to bring along our 11yo grandson Connor to even things up and make it more fun. To save some money we did 3day one Park each day tickets for them. We set out on Saturday evening and drove to Buttonwillow where we spent the night. We headed on in in the morning planning to do Disneyland. The weather was lovely but we were not prepared for the crowds. We used to go the week before Thanksgiving all the time and it was usually pretty quiet right up to Black Friday. But, we resolved to be ZEN about it do our best. We started out by getting FP’s for Indy and then did Pirates. Jerry really hates rides with drops but white knuckles it to see the rest of the ride. We checked out Mansion and decided to put it off until Tuesday. (FP return time was 11:30PM) There were still passes for BTMRR so we got those. While waiting we did the Jungle Cruise. We headed to Fantasyland and Small World. There was a 180 minute wait at SW! so we headed back to Mr. Toad which had the shortest line. Only half an hour. I don’t know what I was thinking but I suggested we leave after Indy and Thunder. It was not very late but we were all tired and there were no more FP’s and the lines were very long. I do not know how many times I said, “I just know if we leave before the fireworks; they will be cancelled on Tuesday.” We got back to the RV park and nearly dropped our dinner plates when the fireworks did go off. They are louder in the RV park than in Disneyland! They were lovely to watch but just not complete without the music.
I know that level of congestion....It can steal away the magic. We've gone at Christmas and it was so busy, in order to leave the park, people were being ushered down the back alley of Main Street. It was....interesting. But it also ushers one right back into the bowels of reality.
Day 2: Jerry had to do some work on the computer before we could go into DCA on Monday morning. Connor and I decided to walk in for a bit. We thought maybe we could get Screamin’ and Tower out of the way as Jerry will not ride those. We would have to meet them at McDonald’s before they could park the RV as I am the only one with a Premium pass. Well, we were thwarted right away with an impossible MOB at security. I do NOT mean long lines; I mean a mob. We got in “line” and after we had not moved for 15 minutes I had to tell Connor that we were not going to make it in. And that even if we did; we would have to leave before we could do anything. So I texted Rod where to meet us and we walked over. By the time we got to the parking lot only ADA and oversized vehicles were allowed in. So we got a good parking spot, ate lunch and headed in. The security on that side was clear so we got right in and on a tram. We got into DCA around 11PM and there were, of course, no FP’s left for RSR. That was our main objective! So, we got them for Soarin’ and headed to RSR to stand in line only to find it down. This was not shaping up to be a good day. I was not the only one I heard saying, ”I have never seen crowds like this at DCA!” It was worse than Disneyland on Christmas Day. Again we resolved to relax and make the best of things as our time was short. The important thing was to do Radiator Springs and Soarin' Over the World for Jerry. We did ‘Mater and Luigi and went on to Paradise Peer for some free bread and chocolate and to find that Midway Madness had no more FP’s either. We have all done that many times so we passed on the 90 minute line. We were hungry but did not want to take time to have a meal. We decided to have a snack and finish our day as fast as we could. We knew Tuesday would be a long busy day. OMG! $20 for 4 ice cream sandwiches!! Well, they were shaped like Mickey. We went on around and actually had to wait in a line for the swings. On around to catch Little Mermaid. It was time for Soarin’. We would have been stuck on the edge of A but I know enough to ask for B. We got front and center so at least something was working for us. After that we went to the kiosk to see a 180 min wait for RSR. YIKES! As we were standing there it changed to 120. Figuring it would not get better we headed on over. We did not want to do single rider for Jerry’s first time. The line was not that long but they were letting in up to 60 FP holders for each group if standbys. It was very frustrating but I guess they were trying to accommodate the many FP holders who had come back after the break down. I know Jerry liked it but he compared it to Pirates. i.e. It was worth the speed and drops to see the rest. At least we got to do it. I asked the single rider who got on with us how long she waited. She said over an hour. She also said she had paid $10 for the APP but FP’s were all gone by 10AM. She was not happy. With that under our belts we were feeling the drain on our bodies and spirits. We went on into Animations for a bit. Then we realized we had not done Monster Incs. Again a long line where one would not expect it. It was well into evening by now and though we had not done everything; we were satisfied. So we called it an early night and went home. Again we were blasted out of our seats by the fireworks. Connor slept through them.
DAY 3 (finally) Up by 7:30 AM on Tuesday. We were planning breakfast in Disneyland so did not have to take time for that. We dressed quickly and were off with a plan. FP’s for Mansion to be followed by breakfast. This was going to be a good day come hell or high water. The long line at parking was a little offputting. But the lane we get into splits a ways inside so it always goes faster that the others. We got a great parking spot right up front in Pinocchio. We could see people coming out of the parking structure heading toward DTD. A peek through the fence confirmed our suspicions that the lines at security reached to the escalators and the lines for trams even worse. We headed to DTD with quite a few others who have learned that trick and to our relief there were no lines. Also, most of them headed on toward the Main Gates whereas we went right up and boarded the Monorail. (Bullets dodged.) Luckily we are a pretty flexible group and decided that since we were so close we would get passes for Space then have breakfast. Worked perfect. (Remember $20 for those ice cream sandwiches?) This is what made me tweak at that. We all had a big breakfast at Rancho, including drinks, an the total was only $34. Only 14 more for a whole meal. Something is askew. Oh well, I honestly did not let it bother me much. Just made a mental note to always have some sort of snack with me. After we finished eating we were able to get another FP so went for Mansion. We then went on down to Pooh but it was down. A bit of a bummer and we tried to get our pictures with Santa but he was on a break for ½ an hour. We boarded the train and did a Grand Tour then got off at Toontown and checked out Small World. It was a long line but we had time to kill before Space. We decided to see how Roger Rabbit was doing first. It had been such a perfect morning and we were really stoked that things were going so well. Then Tinkerbell came along and sprinkled Jerry with some Pixie Dust. The line for RR was right at the door and the CM asked Rod to carry one of those red tags that helps them determine line times. Then she looked at Jerry and said, “Are you with them?” When he said yes she let us all into the FP line and gave us a different red tag. Don’t really know why as there was no one there so it was obviously a very short wait time. We did not question this bit of Disney Magic. When we got off we had time to wait in line for SmW. It was long but moved along quickly. The FP return line for Space was longer than I have ever seen. Still, it was not a bad wait. We quickly grabbed FP’s for Star Tours when we got off. We boarded the train to do Mansion and then it was parade time. We were lucky to find a place to sit and wait. We were getting hungry and lo, I had to find a snack again. Two Mickey pretzels for $10 was a pretty good deal and held us until we could go out to the RV for a meal. After the parade we were eligible for another FP. I hate to say that our brains kind of melted. We had not done Buzz yet nor any of Fantasyland. But when I asked what people wanted another pass for it was decided we would do Indy again. The return time was 10:30 and we figured it would be a good way to end the day. We went out to the RV to have a real meal, rest our weary legs and have a little wine. We headed back in with plenty of time for Star Tours. This is when our near perfect day began to unravel. Star Tours was only working on one side so even with FP it was a long wait. When we finally got off we were just figuring out what to do. All FP’s were gone and lines were long. Rod and I have quit Matterhorn since they changed the seating. It hurts our knees and backs. Jerry kept talking about the line and I finally asked him if that is what he really wanted. He said yes. (Jerry is very quiet; this was the only thing he had really expressed a special desire to do.) We got Connor talked into doing single rider. Another chink, they were told that the SR line was closed and would take longer than waiting in line anyway. So they got in the line that was supposed to be 45 minutes. Rod and I checked to see if anything still had an FP available, no luck. We went back to check on the guys and the line had barely moved. We saw the SR line and they were taking new people and it was moving right along. (GGGGRRRRR!!!!!!) We walked over to Fantasyland thinking one of the minor dark rides might be doable. Nope! We even got in line for KAC and found it moving so slowly it would take until after they were done. There was only one CM running the whole thing safety checks and all. So, we headed back and just stayed in line with them until they reached the main entrance. It did not take long after that of course and we looked up toward SW and saw people finding spots for the fireworks. We walked over and our favorite spot was open. It had been a beautiful day with not even a breeze. But when I heard, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls” I just knew they were not announcing the fireworks would be soon. Yep, “Due to high winds .............” I literally screamed NO!!!!!! Several people near me jumped. I almost started to cry. When the decision was finally announced (remember my prediction on Sunday?) I swallowed my disappointment and said, “Let’s get to Fantasyland, it will reopen early.” (It didn’t for some reason but that became a non issue.) The announcer said something about snow and little Connor questioned how it was going to snow when it was so warm. I realized that he had never witnessed the *snow* in Disneyland. So we marched back into the area and waited for snow. Pretty cool to see Connor looking up in amazement. I was so upset that he has never seen *Believe* and it is my fault! Then we headed for FL and saw very short line at Storybook Boats. We did that and when we got off FL was still roped off so we did Casey Jr. I was almost time for Indy so we headed there. We had time for another go at Pirates as there was no line. After Indy there were short lines for everything in FL except Peter Pan. We did a couple of dark rides and time was running short. The guys were saying Autopia. I was sure we would have time for Alice but was not willing to risk it. So it was off to the cars. This was only Connor’s second time driving his own car. There was no line and we actually got off by 11:55. Just enough time to catch Nemo. We were too late to catch the Monorail out so we had to walk out the front. (Leaving down Main Street is my preference anyway, but my feet were sore.) I truly hope this has not been too negative. It was a great trip with lots of fun. But with a little more strategy and planning it could have been better. I have learned to remove the week before Thanksgiving from future Disneyland trips and to NEVER, EVER miss the fireworks on the first night.
For me, it seems to require more and more strategy to fulfill the DLR dreams. That, some good ol' nostalgic memories, and a dose of patience.
Oh come on! You're addicted worse than I am! I've made similar statements before yet....we're supposed to go in March. The thing is, there's no doubt we will continue going to DL, it's just that we don't have the desire to go quite as often as we used to. When we do go, it typically results in a general feeling of despair. And, you should never be happy to leave the happiest place on earth, darn it! Still, there have been too many times where I am relieved that our trip is finally over. Just so many happy memories there. It's hard to give up on that.
Thanks for sharing. Sounds frustrating but a bad day at Disneyland is not SO bad, I think? I have lots of plans for October, but it’s hard for me to be flexible. Sorry you missed the fireworks. The last two times I have seen them I cried.
