Disneyland by Surprise TR -- February 10-12, 2012 - Page 6 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Your food looked super yummy! I didn't hardly take any food pics. That's something I will try to do better on next time.
So awesome that Peter won the Video game tournament! The smile on his face says it all! If Asher had won he would have been hesitant to let anyone hold his keychain too.
Taking pictures of food is something I had to condition myself (and my family) to do. I sometimes do guest posts on the Disney Food Blog, so I always try to remember to take photos. The family is pretty good about remembering not to touch their food until I've taken a picture.
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Originally Posted by kingfamily1129
What an action packed day!!! Congrats to Peter for winning the tournament!! How exciting!!! I am vicariously living through your TR right now about this DL trip because I have never been and won't be for another 2 years, at least
What an awesome weekend!!! Can't wait to read more!
Action-packed indeed!! I actually think it's good that your trip is a little ways off. That way, all of the new stuff will be open and ready for you to enjoy!
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Originally Posted by chezp
Congrats to Peter - what a great result!
Thanks, Cheryl!!
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Originally Posted by lauriep
What a great evening! Dinner looked great, and WOW to Peter's winning the tournament! Must have been really exciting. And I'll bet it made Jacob happy to beat you all on TSMM.
I rode TSMM with Peter, so when I saw the car's high score at the end of the ride, I assumed it was David. I was surprised to learn that it was Jacob (and also that I had beat David by 1,000!)because David is hard to beat at any video game! Jacob was quite pleased.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Yummy dinner! Congrats to Peter for winning the tournament!
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Originally Posted by stardust190
Congrats to Peter on his big win! Looks like the boys had a blast playing video games. And that food... Let's just say I'm now hungry.
Thanks! Naples is delicious -- it's now a must-do for us in California!
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Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Wow, what a day! Yay, Peter!!! Talk about a memorable moment!
I've never eaten at Naples, but now I'm thinking that I really should! That food looks yummy!!!
You should definitely try it. The pizza is so yummy that I can't ever bring myself to order anything else, but that lasagna will definitely make me give some thought to my order next time!
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Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
Congrats to Peter on his big win! What a fun evening. And now after seeing the pics of your meal at Naples, I'm hungry!
Thanks!! Naples is awesome!
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Originally Posted by KMB733
Dinner looked delicious Congrats to Peter on winning the tournament
DL had Magic Mornings again on Sunday and opened at 7:00 a.m. But after our very long day on Saturday, we decided that we should not try to be there early. We agreed that we would try to be there for rope drop at 8:00 a.m.
We had packed up most of our stuff on Saturday night so that on Sunday morning we only had to throw our pajamas and toiletries into our suitcases. We made it to the turnstiles shortly before 8:00. We stopped for a Photopass photo in front of the Mickey landscaping, then headed into the park.
Our first order of business was, of course, Star Tours! Again, we walked right on -- we didn't have to wait at all for this ride during our whole trip! Jacob was chosen as the Rebel Spy! And I finally got to see the one location I hadn't yet seen -- Coruscant!
After that, we headed to Splash Mountain again. Peter decided he wanted to ride in front this time so that he could be the one to get soaked. It was a walk on and Peter got quite wet. When we pulled up to the boarding area, there was no line at all, so the CM asked us if we wanted to stay in our log and ride again. We happily said !! And Peter got soaked again, much to the delight of his brother.
We wandered around a bit, but the lines were starting to build. We passed by HM, which had only a 5 minute wait, but we decided to try for Indiana Jones again. But the standby line was pretty long, and we decided against it. So we headed back toward New Orleans Square to ride HM. But it seemed that a throng of people that had just gotten off POTC got in line right before us, and the queue was all the way through the courtyard and outside the gate! Ummm....no.
So we walked back to Adventureland again and decided to ride the Jungle Cruise. I just love how corny this ride is. We were seated right at the front of the boat next to our captain. As we pulled away from the dock, the captain turned to Peter and asked, "Young man, do you know how to swim?" Peter said yes. Another kid piped up and said (in a concerned voice), "I don't know how to swim!" The captain said, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't know how to swim, don't worry -- this young man [pointing to Peter] will be your life preserver." Peter thought that was funny (though he did look a bit worried....).
You can see in this photo from JC that the kids were still wet from Splash Mountain:
When we got to the part where the captain shoots at the hippos, I let out a scream. I knew it was coming, but I had never been that close to the front of the boat before and the "shot" was LOUD! The captain said, "Well, I'm not sure if it was the gunshot or the scream, but we scared those hippos away!" The boys were looking at me like they wanted to disown me -- I mean, no other mom on the boat embarrassed her kids by letting out a small shriek!
By now, it was after 9:30 and DCA opened at 10:00, so we scooted over there because Jacob was still wanting one more ride on California Screamin' since we had missed out the night before. We made it in time for rope drop and made our way straight to CS. There were, of course, a bunch of people heading that way. I think we had to wait maybe 15 minutes to get on (they only had one side of the ride going).
We wanted to be at the bus stop for the Disneyland Resort Express back to LAX at 10:45, so we knew it was time for us to go. But we realized that we hadn't eaten breakfast! Being the outstanding mom that I am, I actually said yes when the kids asked if they could get churros for breakfast. I rationalized it by saying that churros were essentially long, corrugated donuts. We went back to the villa to grab our bags. David and I grabbed a couple of slices of leftover pizza from the night before and that was our breakfast (now we were glad we hadn't ordered the smaller size!). Yes, it was a stellar nutritional morning for the Newell family!
We got to the bus stop around 10:40 and found a line of people waiting. About 15 minutes later, the bus pulled up and we were on our way back home. We made it LAX by noon, and made it through security very quickly. We found our gate -- Gate 64 -- which was in an area of the airport under construction. I grabbed some sodas for David and me and the kids settled in to wait with their Nintendo DSes. There were not enough seats for all of us, so David and I sat on our luggage.
About 30 minutes later, I got an email from Continental saying there was a gate change to Gate 61. There was no announcement about it and no personnel at the gate to ask. I checked the airport screens and, sure enough, our flight was listed as leaving from Gate 61. So we grabbed our stuff and went to Gate 61 where we easily found seats. About 10 minutes later, the crowd from Gate 64 descended upon Gate 61. Thank goodness for that email!
We had the exact same seats for the return flight that we had on the flight to LA. On our way out, we were in boarding group 8 and this time we were in boarding group 6. I have no idea why it was different. Nonetheless, I still found the new procedure inefficient and irritating, but at least we got on before 2 other groups of people! Our flight home was uneventful and we landed around 6:45 and headed straight for our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. After dinner, we got the kids into bed, unpacked our bags and called it a night.
It was a fantastic, full, fast-paced weekend. We had a blast! I wish we had been able to have just one more day, but, alas, work and school wouldn't allow for that. And the kids were just thrilled to be spending the weekend at DLR when they expected to spend their weekend just puttering around at home. All weekend, Peter kept thanking us and telling us we were the greatest parents ever. I can't wait until all the DCA construction is complete -- I'm sure we'll find an excuse to return to check out all the new attractions! I really DLR, and it has its own special place in my heart, right alongside WDW!
Thanks for reading this excruciatingly long description of our 3-day vacation!
No need to thank us for reading...thank YOU for writing this! It sounds like you all had such a great time! I'm glad the weather was warm enough for all your dunkings on Splash Mountain!
I'm glad Peter was thanking you for being the great parents you are! My daughter seems to remember to thank me when she gets something she loves...and then conveniently forgets the very next time I tell her no!
I sure hope you plan another surprise trip soon! I want to read another TR!
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Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
what a great departure day, well, for being what it was...a departure from DL But i'm glad you all had a great time! It was very fun reading all about it!! And you guys are pretty awesome parents... not too many parents would just surprise their kids with a weekend at DL just because....good job!
Well you guys had a wonderful time in CA. Seems like you were able to pack a lot of things into such a short amount of time. I love that you embarrassed your boys on JC. Way to go Mom! I'm looking forward to doing that to Cam in the future. Nothing too drastic, but little things that make him hang his head in shame. Is that wrong? Do you know when the DCA construction is set to be completed? They're adding a Cars Land right? I know my son would love that! I need to figure out when we can make it out there sometime. I've already got our next few Disney trips lined up though so it probably won't be for a while. Unless I can convince my DH to go more than every other year.
Loved reading your TR again! Thanks for sharing it with all of us! Embarrassing the boys on JC... hilarious! That's as good as someone getting upset with the gangster on TGMR. You guys got a lot done that weekend and now I really want to go to DLR! I'd say that makes you an excellent writer of TR's! I will be sure to keep my eyes open for the next great Shayne TR!
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No need to thank us for reading...thank YOU for writing this! It sounds like you all had such a great time! I'm glad the weather was warm enough for all your dunkings on Splash Mountain!
I'm glad Peter was thanking you for being the great parents you are! My daughter seems to remember to thank me when she gets something she loves...and then conveniently forgets the very next time I tell her no!
I sure hope you plan another surprise trip soon! I want to read another TR!
Oh, I'm quite certain that he has long since gotten over the feeling that we're the best parents on the planet. I'm pretty sure that happened as soon as we told him to do his homework!
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Originally Posted by kingfamily1129
what a great departure day, well, for being what it was...a departure from DL But i'm glad you all had a great time! It was very fun reading all about it!! And you guys are pretty awesome parents... not too many parents would just surprise their kids with a weekend at DL just because....good job!
It was good to squeeze in those last few things. When we go to Orlando, we normally take the last flight home. But from Anaheim, we have to take an earlier flight because we lose 2 hours with the time change on the way home.
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Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Great meal at Naples--food looked tasty!
I seriously that restaurant!
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Originally Posted by chezp
What a great finish to a great short break! It sounds like a wonderful getaway and just what you needed.
That's what I love about DLR -- an easy way to get your Disney fix that's not as overwhelming as WDW!
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Originally Posted by lauriep
Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip with us! I enjoyed every minute. You're raising a couple of wonderful boys and clearly enjoying doing so!
Thanks for the compliment! There are, of course, times when they frustrate the heck out of me, but they are generally great kids!
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great last morning Shayne! Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us!
Thanks for reading, Marnie!
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Originally Posted by stardust190
Well you guys had a wonderful time in CA. Seems like you were able to pack a lot of things into such a short amount of time. I love that you embarrassed your boys on JC. Way to go Mom! I'm looking forward to doing that to Cam in the future. Nothing too drastic, but little things that make him hang his head in shame. Is that wrong? Do you know when the DCA construction is set to be completed? They're adding a Cars Land right? I know my son would love that! I need to figure out when we can make it out there sometime. I've already got our next few Disney trips lined up though so it probably won't be for a while. Unless I can convince my DH to go more than every other year.
No, that's not wrong -- that's what moms are for! I always thought I wanted daughters, but I have to say that I kind of enjoy being the only "princess" in the family!
I think the DCA construction will be complete this summer. Yes, they're adding Cars Land and it looks like it's going to be really fun. You can see the Cadillac Mountains over the construction walls and it looks pretty cool.
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Originally Posted by Tabitha34
Loved reading your TR again! Thanks for sharing it with all of us! Embarrassing the boys on JC... hilarious! That's as good as someone getting upset with the gangster on TGMR. You guys got a lot done that weekend and now I really want to go to DLR! I'd say that makes you an excellent writer of TR's! I will be sure to keep my eyes open for the next great Shayne TR!
Awww, thanks! I'm enjoying your TR as well. I'll be back in October with my next WDW TR!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great finish to your weekend! And I see nothing wrong with pizza and Churros for breakfast
Sometimes a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
Glad you were able to squeeze in some more fun before you had to fly home! I enjoyed your TR, thanks for sharing it with us!
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Congrats to Peter on winning the tournament 
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If Asher had won he would have been hesitant to let anyone hold his keychain too. 
Congrats to Peter for winning the tournament! 
!! And Peter got soaked again, much to the delight of his brother.
).
The boys were looking at me like they wanted to disown me -- I mean, no other mom on the boat embarrassed her kids by letting out a small shriek! 
We went back to the villa to grab our bags. David and I grabbed a couple of slices of leftover pizza from the night before and that was our breakfast (now we were glad we hadn't ordered the smaller size!). Yes, it was a stellar nutritional morning for the Newell family! 
And the kids were just thrilled to be spending the weekend at DLR when they expected to spend their weekend just puttering around at home. All weekend, Peter kept thanking us and telling us we were the greatest parents ever. 
DLR, and it has its own special place in my heart, right alongside WDW!
PassPorter Guide Author
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us! 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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