The Disneyland, San Diego, and Vegas, oh my! Trip Report - COMPLETED!! 2/18/11 - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
Monday, July 19th, 2010 – Where it all began, lots of people, and I’m too tired!
I think we were up by 7 and had breakfast. We finished packing up the car, and we were on our way to DL just after 8. It was rush hour, but we were able to get thru most of it by staying in the HOV lanes (at least on I-605, I-5 didn’t have them until you were on top of DL). We parked in the parking garage, and were able to catch the next tram as it arrived (there were still quite a few people trying to get into the parks).
I picked up our tickets at the ticket window, and we were walking thru the turnstiles by 9:30. Not too bad. First up was Main Street, where Alexa proclaimed “Where is the castle?” Obviously not what we are used to coming from WDW!
We decided to head toward Adventureland and get that side of the park done, as we had a lunch ADR at Blue Bayou (the only one I had made for the trip) at 11:30. First up was The Tiki Room. There was hardly anyone in there at this point in the morning, and we all enjoyed the differences between this one and the one at WDW.
Our next adventure was Jungle Cruise, and while I prefer to ride this at night, we decided to get it out of the way right now since there wasn’t any line. Again, we were looking for the differences, and had a great guide!
We picked up FPs for Indiana Jones, as the standby line was already 60 minutes, and the return time would be right after our lunch. The kids decided to go up Tarzan’s Treehouse. I think I’m glad I decided to sit that one out.
We skipped Pirates for now, as the line was pretty long, and I’m pretty sure we rode Haunted Mansion next. I got the kids on this for the first time in years last summer at WDW, so I was glad that they were willing (well maybe with some persuading) to ride again. And again, we took note of the differences (which was the theme for this trip)! The line for Splash Mountain was quite long, so we passed on that (and I believe Colin said he would not ride, which also became a theme for this trip ) so we moved on to Winnie the Pooh. It had a bit of a line, but no more than 10 minutes. By the time we were done, it was easily 30 minutes! It was getting close to our ADR time, I think it was around 11 now. We were watching the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes, and the CM said it only took about 10 minutes to go around, so we decided to get in line. Of course, we ended up missing the next boat that was sitting there, so we had to wait for another one to come back. But we paddled our way around the Rivers of America, and got pretty wet in the process (at least me).
By the time we got off the canoes, it was about 11:25, and we arrived at Blue Bayou right at 11:30. We did get the last table by the water, but it was all the way to the left side so we really couldn’t see much. No matter! And for some reason, they had Alexa down as a child instead of an adult. I’m quite positive when I called to make the ADR that I had to give ages, so I’m not sure what happened. I wasn’t going to complain. The pictures didn’t come out too well since it was so dark in there.
Matt and I started off with the gumbo. The kids had carrots and celery.
For the meal, I had the Monte Christo. Matt had some seafood gumbo/jambalaya thing. Alexa had the kids salmon, and Colin had the mac and cheese. I also got the kids the raspberry lemonade in a keepsake cup since we saved $20 with Alexa (she had Tinker Bell and Colin had Toy Story).
My Monte Christo
Colin’s Cheesy Macaroni (I thought it would be Mickey Heads, but apparently not)
Matt gumbo/jambalaya thingy
Alexa’s Seared Salmon Filet with buttered noodles
No dessert here. We were stuffed to the gills. I don’t have any notes of where we went from here (I was very bad about that this trip) so I’ll have to let the pictures do the talking. I know we did head for Indiana Jones first to get that over with. Even with the FPs, we had to wait a good 25 minutes as we snaked our way thru the queue, which seemed to be at the bottom of the abyss! And wow, that was quite the ride. I don’t think I was expecting it to be as rough (and neither was Colin) but we all survived the journey! I think we headed into Fantasyland next. It was quite crowded by this point and most things had 45 minute waits. We did the tea cups…….
And then headed over to It’s a Small World. The line looked like it would take an hour, but in reality, I think it was only maybe 25 minutes. Again, we appreciated the differences between the ride here and the one at WDW (DL was much better, except for the outdoor queue)!
After IASW, it was close to 2:30, everyone was tired, so we decided to head to the hotel (Howard Johnsons). We passed this Mickey on the way back to the tram.
I thought check in was at 3, but it was at 4. They did give us a keycard to get into the pool though, so that’s all that mattered to the kids. And it was warm enough to swim (for them anyway, I need it to be 85, humid, and sunny and it was barely in the low 70s). Our room was ready at 4, so we gathered the kids up and headed for the room, which was right next to the pool on the first floor (it was nice to avoid the elevators)!
Matt took his nap. I put things away as best I could. And then we headed back into the park around 5:30, walking this time. The walk from the hotel wasn’t bad at all, not more than 10 minutes. First up was dinner at Pizza Port. We all had a slice of pizza and some drinks. This is where my notes fail me. We had FPs for both Autopia and Space Mountain. We got one of them before we left the park in the afternoon, although not sure which. First we headed to Finding Nemo and waited in line (which was about 45 minutes).
Next up was Autopia. I must say, this ride is SO MUCH BETTER than the WDW version (and much longer as well)! Definitely a hit with the kids and we rode it a number of times on our trip.
Next up was Star Tours. Again, about a 45 minute wait. Colin was fading fast at this point (it was about 9 by now I think). After riding Star Tours, he was ready for bed, so Matt took him back to the hotel. Alexa and I continued on to use our FPs for Space Mountain. Again, this ride is SO MUCH BETTER here than at WDW. It seemed so much smoother, and I much preferred the seating (2 per row). Here’s our picture (we’re in the middle row where my eyes are closed and Alexa looks like she’s holding on for dear life)!
Alexa didn’t want to ride again, so we had two extra FPs that I just kept as a souvenir. She wanted to ride Astro Orbitor, so off we went. Again, it was a bit of a wait, but since the fireworks started as we were waiting in line, we could see some of them, and a bunch of people left the line to go see the fireworks. After riding, we headed down Main Street, and stopped to get some snacks in the store. I got a six pack of mini-cupcakes. OMG, they were so good (I ate about 3 when I got back to the hotel and the other three for breakfast). Alexa got some sort of sweet, not sure at this point! We walked back to the hotel, where Colin was asleep, and then it was lights out. Hopefully we’d get an earlier start tomorrow!
Coming Up Next: More crowds, California Adventure and would World of Color live up to the hype?
Great updates! We went to the Tar Pits in May also and the boys loved it. Ty especially loved the exhibit where you try to pull things of tar to show how the animals got so stuck! Great first day at DLR!! More please .
Wow Marnie, you managed to get quite a bit done despite arriving at 9:30am! Izzy was not a fan of Indy either; she said it was way too rough and scary. Glad you saved a few $$$ at BB.
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
I was so excited to see the link to your TR Marnie!!! I have always enjoyed your writing style! Your kids look so much older than your last cruise trip report - especially Alexa! My DH and I took our daughters to CA when they were around the same age and it was such a memorable trip for us. We did DL and US along with the touristy things like Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills. We enjoyed comparing the differences in DL to WDW too! Sounds like you created a lot of memories for your kids on this trip. Can't wait for more.
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Just found your TR, Marnie! Sounds like yall are having a great time so far. And as for the kids growing; Alexa could pass for a teenager in some of those pics......
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) so we moved on to Winnie the Pooh. It had a bit of a line, but no more than 10 minutes. By the time we were done, it was easily 30 minutes! It was getting close to our ADR time, I think it was around 11 now. We were watching the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes, and the CM said it only took about 10 minutes to go around, so we decided to get in line. Of course, we ended up missing the next boat that was sitting there, so we had to wait for another one to come back. But we paddled our way around the Rivers of America, and got pretty wet in the process (at least me). 
Waiting to eat with Goofy - DLR May 2010
PassPorter Guide Author
. And as for the kids growing; Alexa could pass for a teenager in some of those pics......
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