Originally Posted By officerminnie The group: Me DS Nick (14) Best Friend Mary, her DH Kirk Her twins DS David, DD Sarah (14) My friend Joanna, her DD Haley (5) Yep, 3 families comprised of 8 people heading off to DL. I've known Mary since kindergarten, our kids have grown up together, and we talk at least once every day. Last fall when we realized we would turn 50 during 2006, Mary decided she wanted to be at the Happiest Place on Earth for her 50th, which was 6/5/06. We had gone to DL together once before, in September of 1996 to bid farewell to the Main Street Electrical Parade. Of course, there was no DTD or DCA back then, so there were many things new for her family this trip (I was at DL in 11/03, with TOT under construction, Space still being refurbished, and BTMRR closed, so there were new things for me this time, too). My friend and coworker Joanna and DD Haley decided to join us as well. Those two families had only met each other once, so I was the common denominator in the group, and hoped everyone would blend together okay (and luckily they did). Here goes, I hope it's not too long: Nick and I woke up at 3:00 am to be at Mary's house by 4. They only live 10 minutes form us, and of course there was no traffic. We put our bags in their van, parked my car in their garage, and piled into the minivan to head to SeaTac. It rained the whole way there. We parked in the airport's long term parking garage so we didn't have to fool with shuttles and could just walk across the skybridge right into the airport. Our flight left at 6:40 and landed at SNA at 9:25. We grabbed our luggage and snagged a shuttle van we had arranged for with our AAA package. We got to the PPH and checked in. They had our Fantasmic! tickets waiting for us, which was a nice surprise - we thought we'd need to pick them up at the park ourselves. Mary and Kirk's room was the only one ready so we all put our luggage there, then headed off to DL via the Grand. The guy who checked me in at PPH told me the most direct route to DL was to take the monorail in, but I told him that we wanted to go through the main gate for out first time in. He seemed to understand why that was important. We used the DTD entrance, which was a route I learned about here at LP . It was a beautiful day, a nice respite from the gray, raining skies at home. We were inside the park by 11:00 and after a few photos in front of the "50", we went to get FP for Splash and Indy, then rode HM. My last trip was during the holiday overlay, so it was fun to see the traditional stuff again. It looked great, loved the bride! And the air conditioning was especially nice. We rode the train to TL toget FP for Space and Buzz. The return time for Space was like 6 hours later!!! We found the pretzel cart so Nick could get his cream cheese filled pretzel, and David and Sarah got pretzels as well. We packed in drinks so saved some $$ there. I, of course, got the first of many Dole Whips. We then rode Indy, Jungle(very boring CM on that one), Splash, and BTMRR. Haley was too small for Indy, but she loved everything else! Indy malfunctioned just prior to our disembarking (we were one car back from the unloading area), so we had to sit for about 5 minutes until they decided to bring out a little step stool to get us out of there. Went to DCA, got frozen lemonades, and rode TOT (well, everyone but me and Kirk) and Screamin'. The kids (except too-small Haley) did Screamin' twice but once is enough for me, as my equilibrium gets thrown off a bit. GRR was closed, so we headed into the Grand so I could introduce everyone to the best kept secret, Whitewater Snacks. We had dinner there and I had forgotten from my last trip how big the portions are! I got the Franch dip - it was delicious. All of the kids had the chicken strip kid meal, and I think Mary and Kirk split a cheeseburger and Joanna had a cheeseburger. This became our favorite place to eat and my friends thanked me profusely, as they would never have known about WWS if I hadn't done my "studying" at LP! We left there about 5:00 and went back to PPH to get Joanna's and my room keys. The kids went swimming and I had a nice cool shower - it was hot and muggy the whole time we were at DL, so twice a day showers were a must . We had ressies for 9:00 F! balcony dessert buffet, so headed back to DL, via DTD and the monorail. We did some browsing in shops, then checked in at 8:30. I had recommended to the other that we do F!, but wasn't sure that they would all felt like it was worth the $$. But once we got our seats, I was once again thanked for doing my homework and learning about the balcony seating here at LP. They all loved it. The last time I did F!, there were just two rows of chairs across the balcony, and you had to balance your food on your lap or set it down on the ground next to you. This time there were chairs at tables, which was much nicer. The show was awesome, of course. Joanna and Haley had never seen it before so it was really special. We stayed seated to watch the fireworks, then used FP's on Indy and Space. Then monorailed it back to DTD, and "home" to PPH by 11:30. A great day, and not too horribly crowded for a Friday. Everyone had a ball, and little Haley kept up with us all. She loved Space, Splash, TOT,and learned to put her hands in the air on BTMRR like the big kids!
Originally Posted By nevadarebel wow, what a long day for you and a busy one too! Sounds like so much fun so far. I am hoping to do Fantasmic Balcony the next time we go. thanks for sharing, looking forward to the rest of your trip. Nice to hear that the everyone blended together well. Could have made for a long trip if not. Funny how the magic usually works like that.
Originally Posted By officerminnie PPH pool was fine. Fairly large, and there was also a water slide, wading pool, and hot tub. So lots of places for folks to srpead out. Lots of chaise lounge chairs and a bar that was open most of the time - but was hit or miss because it didn't seem to have a set schedule.
Originally Posted By Pollyana Nice report officerminnie. I was born and raised in the Seattle area, (Bremerton). I know about rain and lots of it. We used to look forward to going to Disneyland to get some good weather and sun. Since then, we have moved to Mesa, AZ. Now we look forward to going to Disneyland to cool off. Never figured that would happen to me. Anyway you had a nice report and I am eagerly waiting for my turn... 27 days!
Originally Posted By chickendumpling You are 49 are are still best friends with a kindergarten friend and talk nearly every day? WOW! What a totally amazing and beautiful thing. That just really touched me right now. Thank you so much for including that in your report.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Nice little report too. Sounds like a really good day. And lol @ all the "studying" on LP. Ain't it a little treasure?
