Originally Posted By Kathi K A special day at DL for myself, hubby, my three kids (16 year-old daughter, 13 year-old son, 31 year-old daughter with her husband) and most importantly, my 10 month-old granddaughter’s first visit to DL. We had to take two cars and work around the baby’s schedule so my husband, my son and myself left first. We split up the kids because they have PAPs so everyone could get free parking. Absolutely no traffic on the freeway so we got there about 7am. I was dropped off so I could be the one to purchase the blockout tickets and two So Cal parkhoppers for my daughter and her husband. There were a few people lined up for the ticket booths but some confusion as to which one would be the one to open. They opened windows on both sides of the building so the people in the other line (most of us got in the same line) got their tickets a bit sooner but it really didn’t matter. There appeared to be quite a few people going in for early entry. Lucky ducks! The other car had not arrived so my husband and son got in line and were about at the front. We still had to wait for the opening and the others to arrive. We decided that the two of them would go in and get a locker and I would wait. While waiting the lines got very long, stretching almost all the way to the CA entrance. During a phone call to them I found out that they had planned to rent a stroller for the day. Ahhhhh! I could have taken care of that if I had known. Made a quick call to hubby to come and help. That didn’t work out too well cause he couldn’t figure out where I was or how to get out of the park. I went to the ticket booth to get a voucher. What a good move! The line to pay for a stroller was huge and I was able to just walk up with my voucher and get the stroller. Though I just realized that I maybe could have gotten one for free with my Disney VISA. Is that promotion still going on? Oh well. So I sat on a bench cause by then the gates had opened and the line was non-existent. They all arrived shortly after 8am and we all went in. We decided to get fastpasses for Buzz so my son went over there and we headed to get in line for HM. At first I thought it was closed. There was no line at all. But it was open so my son got back and we walked right on. We had no idea how the baby would react but her mom and dad held her tight and reassured her and she just stared at everything in amazement. She loved it! Next we went over to Pirates and had an extremely short wait for it too. Same thing. The baby was great! After that we went over to Café Orleans to see the lunch menu. We had reservations for 1pm (tried to get the Blue Bayou but it was booked by the time I called) and I wanted to make sure that my son-in-law, who is a vegetarian, would find something he would like to eat. He thought the cheese Monte Cristo looked good so we were set. It was then time for baby’s nap so we put her in the stroller and before long she fell asleep. We all headed over to Buzz but also sent my son to Space Mountain to get fastpasses for everyone but grandparents and baby. We did Buzz in tandem while the baby slept. I had a very bad gun this time but still got a better score than everyone except my husband. Some of us shared a couple of churros while we were waiting for the rest. Baby woke up and she, her dad and mom went to the baby center so mom could breastfeed. While the rest of us were waiting we shared a corn dog for a snack. Then we headed to Small World. We had a bit of fun while in line because, since the baby wouldn’t keep her hat on, my daughter was trying to put sunscreen on the baby’s head and it ended up making her look like she had gray hair. Just like grandma! The boat we were in seemed to be heavy with us in the back and some kids in front. We began to get stuck. My son-in-law had to move it down the channel by pushing on the sides at a couple of points. After awhile we were going okay. The baby really loved the whole ride. I will never forget the look of amazement on her face. After that we put her in the stroller and headed out for them to use their Space Mountain passes. Grandma and Grandpa were supposed to take the baby to the Baby Center to feed her some lunch but she fell asleep so we pushed her over to Big Thunder Mountain to get fastpasses for everyone while they rode Space Mountain. By this time the park was getting pretty crowded. Even the line for fastpasses was pretty big. (Later when we went out to CA I asked at the gate if they had closed the doors for admissions but they said they had not.) We then went over to NO and grandma hit the restroom with the stroller. Just like the old days using the handicapped stall with the stroller in tow. It was almost time to line up for our lunch but not quite. The baby woke up and was hungry so my daughter just started feeding her while she was sitting in her stroller. My husband went over to sign us in and called us to say we better get over there so they would seat us. We ended up waiting a long time. 30 minutes, the most we have ever had to wait when having reservations. Baby and the 13 year-old were getting very impatient. Son-in-law was walking the baby when they finally gave us a table. We ended up getting one outside though we had asked for inside. They told my son that the other party they were waiting for was taking their time and then they decided to order dessert. I was ready to put up a fight if they wouldn’t seat us without everyone but they didn’t give us an argument. We saw my son-in-law and the baby and they joined us. We all had four orders of garlic fries for appetizers that were gone in no time. They were quite busy and my daughter had to wait for her lunch a bit more because they brought the wrong sandwich but considering how busy they were the service was pretty good. Everyone enjoyed their lunch and then we were off to the next ride, Thunder Mountain. Once again grandma and grandpa walked the baby while the others rode. She fought sleep a bit but then was off to sleep again. We did a little shopping. I got the baby a pin to commemorate her first trip to DL and a new T-shirt. Can’t wear the 2006 one much longer! After that we decided to head over to CA for a while. We stopped for Dole Whips on our way. This was the first time I had one in all these years. Yummy! At this point there were huge crowds lined up to see the parade but there was no line to get in to CA! The others went to Tower of Terror while grandma and grandpa went to the Baby Center there to do a diaper change. As we were coming out there were a bunch of birds in the sky and the baby enjoyed looking at them as much as anything else! We took her to the big waterfall and let her “walk†around holding our hands and soon we got a call that they were done with their ride. Clearly the line was not long there, either. Grandpa had gotten fastpasses for Soaring but they weren’t good for until about 7pm. At this point my daughter and son-in-law decided that they would call it a day. They were tired and had to drive back to Northern CA the next day. We went back over to DL to take some pictures by the big tree and got their stuff out of the locker, then bid them goodbye. The rest of us decided to eat dinner since we knew everything else would be closed when we left the park. We went to the Plaza Inn. The kids had pasta and we had prime rib (good but not as good as at the Blue Bayou). We went to the candy store, World of Disney and then headed home. What a wonderful Christmas Day we all had! I can’t believe how well the baby did. And even the teenagers were good. I don’t think there was any whining at all except for a bit from my son while waiting for lunch. Grandpa and I will go back next week when the kids are gone. We plan to see the fireworks and the Electric Parade. It will be a nice end of the 2006 holidays.
Originally Posted By nevadarebel very nice trip report, thanks for sharing. I love it when I see grandparents sharing the magic with their grandchildren. Sounds like she was a trooper.
Originally Posted By RAM1984 Great report! So fun to experience the Magic all over again through the grandkid's eyes isn't it? Thanx for sharing. My favorite Disneyland trip ever was Christmas Day 2001. People acted like we were crazy with a 2.5yo and a 9 month old (plus their dad who was recovering from a kidney transplant.) In October we were able to make it with 5 of our six grandchildren. 7, 5, 3, 7 months and 5 months. Wonderful memories.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 It sounds like you all had a fun time together What a perfect way to spend Christmas Day.
Originally Posted By debtee What a great day you all had! The baby sounds like she was a delight. We were there on Christmas day too and had a fab time, I wonder if we walked past each other at one point! LOL
