Originally Posted By potterphreak Full Name: CJ Hensley Email Address: Potterphreak@comcast.net Dates of Trip: 02/10/2006-02/14/2006 Travel Method: Personal Car Hotel: Anaheim Plaza Hotel and Suites Cast of Characters: Me (CJ) age 27 Josh (DH) age 28 Delaney (DD) age 6 Jylian (DD) age 2 ¾ Temporary cast of characters: The Tucker family-Josh and I went to high school with Nancy Nancy age 29 Josh T. age 31 Jaycob age 8 Caitlyn age 5 Abigayle age 2 7/8 Nathaniel age 1 Friday, February 10, 2006 We left Modesto around 10:30am, only an hour later than I had hoped! We stopped in Fresno to eat at TGIFridays (mmm! Wish we had one in our city!) and it was quite delicious. Back on the road. Terrible traffic in LA, took over 8 hours (not counting lunch) to get from Modesto to Anaheim (blah, usually a 4.5-6 hour trip-depending on who is driving and just how far down my foot is on the pedal). Checked-in to the hotel; average hotel room. 2 queen beds, microwave, fridge, bathroom, etc; nice for $64 a night. Josh and the girls stayed in the room and I went to Disneyland ALL BY MYSELF for the first time ever!!!!! I drove cos my AP includes parking and hopped on the Lion King tram and was in the park at 8:45pm. I walked at my own pace down to Space Mountain and got a FastPass with a return time of 11:20pm. Standby time was 55 minutes and that just didn’t float my boat. I went to Honey I Shrunk the Audience (first time ever!) which had a 5 minute wait til showtime. I liked this show but once is more than enough, LOL. I love the Honey I Shrunk movies and absolutely ADORE Rick Moranis. Afterwards I walked to Fantasyland, enjoying the fireworks along the way. I have never seen the show from somewhere other than right in front of the castle. Was a great show in front of It’s A Small World and pretty ok by the carousel. Of course, you miss all of the projections and stuff but something different is nice once in awhile, right? I used the Pinocchio bathrooms and then came back to the carousel, where the show was still going on. My goal tonight was to ride Mr. Toad because I had never done it before. After the fireworks, the area is roped off for an additional 10-20 minutes so I got in line (nice that they enforced the line! Some people were getting pushy when the rope went down and the CMs quickly put a stop to that!) Got on Mr. Toad and headed for my wild ride. I quickly found out it wasn’t so wild, LOL. I rode Pinocchio next and again, just no fun without your oldest daughter crying because she is terrified of the dark. I walked over to Pirates of the Carribean which had a wait of about 10 minutes, not bad! I must say, I loooooooooove this ride and even more so without my terrified daughter crying about the dark. I am interested in seeing the changes they are going to be making. (Back, back! I know you PoTC diehards will flame me here so stay back, you ferocious beasts! LOL) I bought my 2 year old a purple Tinkerbell hat that came with attached purple sunglasses in Frontierland and headed out of the park. I know, I know, I let a perfectly good FastPass for Space Mountain go to waste but one, I was freezing without a long sleeve shirt and two, I was exhausted!!! Highs: Disneyland by myself. Wish I had longer time to spend there and maybe some serious time on the thrill rides in DCA but wish in one hand and….. Location of hotel is AWESOME!!! To get into the parking on Harbor, you make a right onto Harbor from the hotel parking lot and then an immediate left and bam! You are there, my friend! Also, right next to hotel is a hot dog place, ice cream and donuts place, and my personal favorite, SUBWAY!! Another plus-Josh and the girls watched fireworks from our room! Lows: A/C is broken in room; LA traffic; needed a jacket or sweater at the parks and didn’t have one. Saturday, February 11, 2006: After sleeping in and calling the front desk to have maintenance come and fix the A/C while we were gone all day, we arrived in the park at 10:30am. We did a little looking around and then went to Blue Bayou to check in for our 11:30am reservation. We were first to check in and yay, we got by the water for the first time ever!! Both adults had Monte Cristos, the kiddies got spaghetti and mini corn dogs. After lunch we headed to Frontierland where my goal was for Jyl to see Woody as she absolutely adores Toy Story and had never met Woody before (every time she has seen him he is walking away, poor kid!). We went to the rocks near Rancho del Zocalo because that’s where we usually see the TS characters but noooope, not today. They were at the store across from the street from the shooting expo. So we hoofed it over there and JUST made it in line before the CM got in line to stop others from waiting. WOOHOO!! So, we wait our turn and watch the interaction which was really great. They had a little fiddle band with them and were dancing with the kids, good times! Finally our turn, Jyl goes and says hi to Woody and Jessie, takes one photo and then runs screaming and crying away. LOL!!!! After finally meeting the Rootin’ Tootin’est Cowboy in the Wild Wild West we headed over to Carnation Café where the girls made cookies. Afterwards, we went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Walked on, no probs. Weird note-even tho Jylian has ridden this ride about 5 times for the first time ever she freaked out when she saw Buzz inside. Uh-oh, somebody is siiiiick!!!! After defending the galaxy Jyl decides she wants to meet Buzz (again, another first!) so we head to Club Buzz where we JUST miss him. We decide to stay for awhile and we all dance to Love Shack by the B-52s. Note-they really need to bring back the show they used to have here. It was so good and you can’t replace something like that with a guy with an Ipod. #%&* Disney! We met Buzz and Jyl freaked out. We ALMOST got a great picture of her with him but someones kid walked right in front of them the same time I snapped and after that one picture, we couldn’t get Jyl to go back. <sigh> Don’t people know there is a crazy scrapper in their midst?!? Jyl and Delaney were getting sick and crabby so we decided nap time and headed back to the hotel. Our room was SUPER hot! A/C was broken in that entire building. The girls and Josh laid down and I read for awhile and then called the front desk to see about switching rooms. No problem, they said. So I packed and sent Josh to the front desk to get our new room info and then we moved. NICE upgrade!!! Same room but in a different building with a balcony!!!! Nice!! Balcony even had 2 lawn chairs and a little plastic table. Our view was of the lovely grass, LOL, but still nice. Best part? The A/C worked!!! We left the room about 5:25 as we had a Priority Seating at Ariel’s Grotto at 6:10pm. We arrived at 6:05 (parking, tram, walking, etc…) and waited about 15 minutes for a table to open up. We were seated outside where both adults promptly ordered stiff drinks (Guiness for Josh and a Lemon Drop Martini for me). I ordered the salad, Penne Pasta and the Three for the Midway. The pasta was superb, the salad and dessert I will pass on next time. Character interaction was awesome, as usual. Delaney was a little bummed we didn’t get to see her favorite, Aurora, but you can’t win all the time, LOL. We had never been on the Sun Wheel before and with my super stiff drink inside me I felt brave so we headed on over there. Delaney did NOT want to ride this ride; cried and whined the entire time we were in line. We got in, were in the car about 2 minutes and she calmed down and LOVED the rest of the ride. GO FIGURE!!!! Delaney is terrified of almost every ride at Disneyland and DCA so I was really surprised she liked this one. Jylian on the other hand goes on just about everything. Her first time on PoTC she cried after the drops but then immediately calmed down. As an only child, I never knew siblings could be so different. Weird!!! LOL We went to the Midway and played a few games (another first for us) where the girls won an octopus (Jyl) and a stingray (Delaney). We then made our way over to the brand spanking new (to us, at least!) Mike and Sully ride. Kids loved it but Jyl was getting super sleepy. We decided to do another first so we headed back to Disneyland and got on the train for New Orleans Square. Fantasmic! The kids and Josh had never seen this and I hadn’t seen it since 1992 so yay! We got really good seats, about 2 rows away from the water. I pulled out our NeatSheet and plopped down with the girls, while Josh used the facilities and brought back juice for the girls and cocoa for us. Jyl napped while he was gone and off and on during the show. I must say, this show is a MUST SEE!!! We all loved it!!!!!!!! After Fantasmic!, we headed back to the hotel to call it a night. Highs: New rides experienced as a family; Fantasmic! Lows: Sick kids (especially poor Jyl!) Sunday, February 12, 2006: We all slept in and then showered and whatnot. Ate breakfast at Cocos, total was $35 and very much not worth it. We decided to go to Santa Monica and see the pier and the beach and all. Loooong drive (lots of people out for a Sunday, didn’t they know they were supposed to be in church so we could have an empty freeway????). We spent a few minutes at the beach, a few minutes at the pier and a long time at Vons because Jyl had an accident while sleeping and we needed to buy Pullups and let her use the restroom some more and we got some snacks for the drive back, so we could meet the Tuckers for dinner. Got to ESPN Zone and had about 20 minutes to wait since Josh T. had already been waiting. We were unable to all sit together, so the Tuckers sat with their friend Julie and her son and we sat near them but not too near. LOL Was actually a very nice dinner-nice and quiet and we didn’t have to sit with 5 other kids while our 2 were under the weather. Dinner here was fabulous as usual. I had the BBQ chicken with mashed potatoes and a long island iced tea (just one drink, for my nerves, yeah that’s it, my nerves….) and Josh had another Guiness and the ESPN Burger. After dinner the Tuckers went back to their hotel and we went to Disneyland hoping to see some fireworks. I decided I wanted a different view of the show so we went to Coke Corner because I had heard good reviews of this location. Met up with a Cast Member there where we talked for a few minutes and he said the absolute best spot for fireworks was smack dab in the middle of Main Street. So, we walked to the middle and stood there (not able to sit until they start clearing the street of pedestrians). Josh bought the girls balloons ($7.00 each, OUCH!!!!!) which was a total mistake. Advice-buy the balloons on your way out of the park because it is a PAIN in the hiney to deal with them during shows, rides and just walking around. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled due to high winds so we went to Tomorrowland for a few rides. We rode BLAB again and Autopia (another first!!) and then headed back to the hotel. Highs: Santa Monica; dinner at ESPN Zone; Autopia Lows: Santa Monica; cancelled fireworks Monday, February 14, 2006: Our day with the Tuckers. We met up with the Tuckers at 9:15am. Ok, so we were 45 minutes later than our planned 8:30 but oh well. They wisely chose not to wait for us, knowing we would catch up when we got there. My Josh left for Downtown Disney because he needed new sunglasses so me and the girls went with the Tuckers to Red Rockets Pizza Port. Nancy commented that they should rename it to Pizza Planet and tie it in with the whole Buzz Lightyear theme-good idea! Josh T. took his Jaycob, Caitlyn and Abby (not even 3 and she was tall enough!) to Space Mountain while Nancy, Nathaniel, me and my 2 sissies I mean daughters waited for them. I don’t think Jyl would have been tall enough for it anyways. My Josh met up with us about 10 minutes after Josh T. and the kids got off the ride-the Tucker kids HATED this ride! We headed over to New Orleans Square for some looking around and to check in for our 11:40am Blue Bayou reservation. Our meal went great, service and food was excellent as usual. Afterwards, all 10 of us went on PoTC. Delaney was terrified as usual but almost immediately calmed down once we were on our boat. It really helped that I was able to tell her when to hold on, when to cover her ears and and when to cover her eyes (she doesn’t like the drops, the skeletons OR the “Dead men tell no tales….â€). After all the “scary†parts we were all able to enjoy the ride. I don’t know that the Tucker kids liked it that much, but I sat with the two 2 year olds and they did excellent, LOL. Delaney wanted to get her caricature painted afterwards, so Nancy and both the Joshes took all the kids except Delaney and Nathaniel over to ride Indiana Jones. Del and I waited for her turn to be painted and Nate napped. Took about an hour, what with the waiting and the painting. About 2 minutes before Frank was done painting her picture, Nancy and my Josh came back with Abby and Jyl. Turns out Abby and Jyl were too short for Indy, so Josh T. rode it with Jaycob and Caitlyn and then Nancy and my Josh rode it together. We decided to head to DCA at this point, while Josh T. took Abby and Nate back to their hotel for more naps. At DCA we got FastPasses for Grizzly River Run but they weren’t for another 3 hours so we walked over to Turtle Talk. After TT, the Tuckers ditched us (LOL!) and we went on Mike and Sulley again. Funny part-at the end, right after I snapped a picture of Roz, she says “Young lady in the front, Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese-yâ€. LOL Tooooo funny!!! We then headed back to the hotel for some swimming. I must say, the pool at our hotel is very nice!! It’s huge, pristine clean, and while heated, it’s not HOT but then again not COLD. 100% perfect. After swimming we went to Mimi’s Café for dinner where Jyl threw up all over the place twice so we paid and left with our food. Jyl and I went back to the hotel and Josh and Delaney went to Disneyland for some fireworks. Yay, Josh got to see Tinkerbell!!! His first time!! Highs: PoTC; Blue Bayou for 10 people and NOTHING went wrong!; pool Lows: Barfing Jyl Tuesday, February 14, 2006: Since Delaney was absolutely butt-hurt to miss out on her Valentines Day party at school I went a little crazy for the kids. I let them sleep in while I decorated the balcony and set up their gifts out there. Then I woke them up and let them open their stuff (Jyl got an Angelina Ballerina doll, Toy Story 2 on DVD, candy and Wish-I-Might My Little Pony and Del got a Hello Kitty puzzle, candy, Sky High on DVD and Wish-I-May My Little Pony). Was nice. We went to Downtown Disney for some shopping, walked to the castle in Disneyland for our family photo (yet another first!!!) and then walked back for our 1pm reservation at Rainforest Café. Blech, I was not happy with my food and neither was Josh. I got the shrimp platter and he got something with macadamia nut crusted snapper and some coconut shrimp. The atmosphere was great and the kids loved their food. Next time I think us adults will just get something simple like a burger or something. We took the monorail back to Disneyland so I could buy our picture and then rode BLAB one last time and then monorailed out of there. Goodbye Disneyland!! Jyl and I will see you in May for her birthday!! Josh and Delaney will see you in October for HER birthday!!! Highs: Nothing really. Too sad to say goodbye to DL. Crowds today were AWESOME and weather was gorgeous-nice and cool, but not cold. Figures!! Finally cools off when I leave! Lows: Rainforest Café; leaving. Looooooong drive home. Check out my photos at <a href="http://www.snapfish.com" target="_blank">http://www.snapfish.com</a> and log in as PottersDisneyPics with the password "disney".
Originally Posted By BetsyELG and now the question on everyone's lips...what hotel were you staying at?
Originally Posted By BetsyELG also, sorry, LOVED the trip report. We are going to be there 3 weeks from tomorrow.
Originally Posted By potterphreak We were staying at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel and Suites. Thought I had put that in there, sheesh!! LOL My brain isn't what it used to be, seems like.... ;-)
Originally Posted By 4Disnee What a great report! Love to read them it always makes me feel like I was there with ya! LOL Thanks for sharing!
Originally Posted By fidoprincess Thanks for taking the time to write the trip report. It was good and funny although I was sorry your dd threw up-reminded me of mine! And the traffic getting through LA is terrible, it seems that no one can get there in the same time it used to take. Our ride used to be 6.5 hours but lately its 8 and even more-ugh. The part I loved the most was you getting to go in the first night ALONE! I always want to go right when we get there but my kids are too tired and so I have to take care of them, feed them and get them to bed. My DH would never understand my desire to go right away alone-lol! Glad you had fun.
Originally Posted By potterphreak Fido- Ha, funny story about why I was "allowed" to go in alone. DH is really tired of me going to DL and I had been talking about me making a trip by myself sometime soon and he was like, well why don't you go for a few hours by yourself and maybe you won't need to go later? LOL So of COURSE I jumped on the chance!!! He was pretty grumpy tho.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Wonderful report Really funny and fun to read. Loved the Highs and Lows at the end.
Originally Posted By quincytoo What a great trip report You had me laughing so hard. Sounds like a wonderful holiday
Originally Posted By safari1 hi, quincytoo! next time both our families are going to go to DL! I would like to go next October or something?? talk to ya when you get home
