Originally Posted By MerryMouseWife Cast: Me and Hubby Sunday, February 5: Travel day. We left at a reasonably early time, about 7:45. We were going to go to Huntington Beach and eat at Wahoo's but were forestalled by the apparent marathon and detoured off on Beach boulevard. At that point we decided it would be best just to head toward the hotel, stopping at Target on the way for a few items. We went to check in and forgot about the time change from AZ so we decided to have lunch at Mimi's. After lunch, we got our room key and went up to our room to watch the Superbowl. Actually, hubby watched and I read, looking up from time to time. After the game, we walked about in Downtown Disney. Monday: First day in the parks. As we were waiting for the rope to drop, we happened upon some family friends who were there with their children and grandchildren. It was great to see them and we ran into them several times throughout the day. It was a little more crowded, as well as warmer, than we expected, but we still had a great time; rode everything at least once and some twice. We found all the improvements over in DCA to be a bit bewildering but we are excited to see what the new area will be like. I do like that from Hollywood Back Lot one can access the other areas of the park by going through A Bug's Land. I think it really helps with the flow. Back at DL, we used our FPs for Star Tours and found out everyone else had the same idea and the line was as long as the stand-by; this was the longest line we had all day, about 35 minutes. Oh well. We did like the new storyline. It was fun. Tuesday: Anniversary day! We went to City Hall and picked up buttons, which Hubby did not want to wear but did because he loves me and I asked him to wear one. Cool, rainy and very low crowds. We found the wait times to be nonexistent, which was awesome. At one point, we were asked to go up the FP line on Splash Mountain and take a plastic card on a lanyard to the cast member at the end of the line. We were told this was to assist them with determining how long the wait was. Well, there was no wait and we just walked up and right on to the log, which was really cool. Being from AZ, we always enjoy the cooler weather. DL closed at 6:00 that night for a private event, which was okay as we had dinner reservations at Steakhouse 55. We headed back to the hotel to change and then walked up to the restaurant. Dinner was delicious and we had a great server. Wednesday: Day off from DL. We went back to Huntington Beach and had a walk on the pier, ate lunch at Wahoo's, then drove up the PCH to Santa Monica. We walked along the beach to the pier, stopping to swing at the playground area. I bought a sunhat as it was very bright and much warmer. We then continued up to Hollywood going through Beverly Hills. The traffic was pretty heavy so we decided not to stop as hubby was a bit nervous about getting back and how the traffic would be getting back to Anaheim. We did eat at Pink's Hotdogs. I had heard so much about Pink's and while I do not always eat hotdogs, I wanted to stop and have one. Hubby, because he loves me, went along with it. For all the hype, It was just so-so. What a let down. Anyway, the drive back was not too bad and we went to DTD to walk around a bit and do some shopping. Thursday: Last day in the parks. Very bright and sunny. The parks felt a bit more crowded than Monday but I think it felt so because the weather had turned so warm and we had not really packed for it. Fortunately, the heat peaked and then started to cool off right away. It was busy but we did get every attraction in that we wanted to ride, doing HToT in DCA twice in a row, which is a big deal for the hubs as he finds it a bit scary because he does not know when the drops will come. I love that part about the ride. We ended the day at DL. Friday: Going home day. We woke, packed, had breakfast at Denny's and then headed home. An observation: I think the reason the park felt as crowded as it did was because some of the walkways by attractions were crowded, but then once past the congested area, the rest of the park was pretty empty. We mostly noticed it between Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster. Of course Fantasyland always feels crowded but then going around the back side to Frontierland would be very sparsely peopled. It was a bit strange; kind of like traveling on the freeways: Congested traffic, then opening up for freer travel, then congested again. We had a wonderful time. It has been quite awhile that Hubby and I had the chance to take a longer trip just for ourselves. I loved having children to take to DL and then DCA, but being able to go with just Hubby and me was the bee's knee's!
Originally Posted By familyguy This is a great report! Got me excited for my upcoming 10th anniversary trip with my wife. We will have kids, but do have a night alone planned with dinner at Carthay circle. We have always done SH55 in the past, but with the new restaurant, we wanted to give it a try.
