Disneyland December 2013-First Disney Adventure as a parent! About This Page:

[FanOfMickey]

Looks like you had a great first day!!

[KimmyAnn1147]

Day 2 in the parks: California Adventure

We found our rental was every bit as enjoyable on night 2. I was the self-proclaimed mix master and I kept the margaritas flowing in the hot tub (ok, within reason, we aren't college students ) DS and I were in bed by 10, because we want to be our best in the parks!

We had a disappointment when we arrived at the gate. Cars was closed for the day!!! Good thing we have park-hoppers. Dsis did manage to get us fast passes for this on Day 3...Happily, I wasn't too keyed up for this ride, i didn't know what to expect, so i just rolled with it. We made our way into the park and hung out on the main street and waited for entrance to the lands. Here's a summary of my day:
Soarin'-DS loved it

At this point we had some conflict between the boys over who would look through the binoculars at the big water ride. I hate that. Held DS back to create some space between them.

Then:
Little Mermaid - DS loved it and there were no lines, but would not go again, Ursula is too scary.
DSis got us fast passes for World of Color winter dreams, while DNeph and DBIL rode again. Here are DS, Ddad, Dmom and I hanging out. DS is an ACTIVE guy, he's about to jump to me. That's DDad's finger you see there too!

Isn't my mom super cute in her green dress?

We did the fun wheel, with DSis sitting on a bench sweating it the whole time (she has nightmares of people falling from tall places). DS is a ferris wheel fan and so am I. I had read the reviews and knew about motion sickness in the internal cars, so we took a stationary one. Beautiful and scary to be so high. DDad is a tough guy but didn't like the height. DS and I loved it, DBIL and DNeph seemed to enjoy it too.

Convinced DS to go on Goofy's Flight School, playing on his love of Goofy and telling him it was a kiddy coaster. He liked everything exept the bigger drop in the end. Here we are getting off.


We got some nice shots on this day, I think the best. Bigger spaces and good light for pictures. Here's one, you can see DSis isn't sure DS should be up there!


After a ride on the merry go round and a fast pass on Screaming with DSIS, DS and I hit up the Up-themed free play area with all the national park type stuff for over an hour. He was done with rides, so we just made the best of it till it was time to go back to the house for siesta time.

We went back to the park probably around 5. I have no memory of what we did next, but that night we spent a good amount of time in a shop window on the main drag of CA before going on to the Winter Dreams show.
This display was so captivating. It had 3 tiny electric trains on 3 levels, and the kids enjoyed it for so long. That little girl there isn't with us, but the kids just cozied right in. So sweet.

The Winter Dreams show was good, although we were fairly far back and had to put kids on our shoulders. DS had a great spot sitting on a trash can, but that wasn't allowed by CMs...DS loved it. We had not seen frozen yet, so didn't know Olaf. I found him a bit annoying in this show, but if i had seen the movie I would have liked it better. I loved the fun wheel light show and how well designed it was, the use of the roller coaster as a screen for showing movies, and the whole idea of showing movies on a sheet of water mist. Very nice. DS loved the big soap foam snowflakes that they shot out of some kind of cannon.


That night, DH met me on the walk back to the house and we separated from the group to go to Trader Sam's. I'm a big Tiki Bar fan, and this is one of the most famous! Too bad it was so loud inside. They had music up really loud so we decided to take a seat outside. We caught the end of a hawaiian guitar duo, and then just hung out by torch light. I got the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum (AKA 5 Tikis). This is a bit like a pina colada, with some orange juice thrown in and cinnamon and nutmeg on the top. i think I chose it for the name, but loved the heavy nutmeg on the top so much I learned how to approximate it at home. SOOOOOO GOOD!!!! Here's the recipe:
1 parts creme of coconut
1 part orange juice
1 part pinapple juice
1 1/2 parts dark rum
Over crushed ice (or cracked is ok)
Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg, heavy on the nutmeg.
I renamed this Christmas on Christmas Island Punch and served it at my Christmas party a few weeks later. It was a huge hit.

It was a great night!

Up next: The day we didn't go to Disney (Little Vietnam and Knott's Christmas Market)

[chezp]

Sounds like a great day!

[FanOfMickey]

That drink sounds yummy, I may have to try it someday. Looks like you had a great day!

[KimmyAnn1147]

Day 3, our non-park day.

This will be pretty brief! We hung out at the rental most of the day. At about 3pm we went to the Christmas Market at the Ghost Town of Knott's Berry Farm. This part of the park has free entrance during the Christmas season. We really enjoyed visiting the old buildings and even caught a 30 min performance of A Christmas Carol. DS liked the show with Snoopy and Santa's elves (I was less than impressed) but we all had a nice mellow time.

Next we went for soup at a strip mall restaurant in Little Vietnam, a neighborhood of Anaheim, I guess. It was very close by car from both Knott's and Disney. The soup was great and VERY inexpensive. We felt nourished and happy.

Back to the pool and spa, and we slept well. Next day up, Day 4, 3rd day at the parks.

[chezp]

Sounds like a nice relaxing day!

[FanOfMickey]

I have never been to Knotts berry farms. Someday I would love to visit it.

[KimmyAnn1147]

Originally Posted by FanOfMickey

I have never been to Knotts berry farms. Someday I would love to visit it.

Christmas is a great time to visit. They have artisans doing work (you can watch blacksmithing and glass blowing, for example) and living history performers. And it's just mellow and low key. We didn't pay to enter the rides area. I think the living history part is free only at Christmas time, so it's great to take advantage of!

[KimmyAnn1147]

Day 4, MK.

This pic needs to be cropped. Once it is cropped, it is my hands-down favorite pic from the entire trip. I've got my coffee and sunglasses, I'm clearly on vacation. DS is thrilled beyond his wildest dreams to be going on a flying elephant. We are two peas in a pod, which is just how I like it!

We rode on Dumbo while my Dsis and family did Pinochio.



A pretty pic my dad took of me on Tom Sawyer's Island. We spend a good part of the morning here, just dad, DS and I. If you will remember, DS was NOT into rides, in general. He is scared of anything that might be even a little bit spooky or "bad", so we just had a great time checking things out on the island for a lot of the morning. By this point, we had pretty much thrown in the towel on trying to keep all 7 of us together. We stayed in touch, and usually DS and I were with Dmom or Ddad, while the other was with Dsis's family riding the bigger rides.



As an Adventureland Nut, i like this shot Dad got. We did visit the Tiki Room for the 2nd (but not last) time today.


Managable crowds on Main, from the top front of the horse-drawn omnibus.



Everyone was captivated by this single red popy in a field of white in front of Casey Jones (closed for refurb). The very next day it was gone. We felt like we had experienced something so transient and magical, almost as if there were an undiscovered glitch in the matrix that shortly after was detected and recoded.



My favorite place in the whole park, the line at the Jungle Book. Understated holiday decorations were sparse but sweet. It wouldn't be right to glitz up a jungle riverboat field station too much. I'm so glad they stayed faithful to the fantasy.


Super Magic Moment. DS had only just delared that Goofy is "his favorite". We don't do a lot of Disney "branding" at home, I'm a bit Waldorfy on this, no character gear etc....But...on our walk home for our afternoon rest, we passed through the DL hotel Complex. And there was Goofy, all by himself. There were literally, seriously, I'm not even close to kidding, no other guests or CMs anywhere in sight. This was near Goofy's kitchen, at probably 2 pm, maybe at the end of lunch? DS saw Goofy, Goofy got low and spread out his arms, and DS did the run and hug, just like in the commercials. Low season sure has it's advantages, eh? So so so sweet!



We did our naps, and the rest of my crew ate an early dinner at the Blue Bayou, something we had done during both my trips as a kid. I had planned to as well, but that AM, I looked at the menu and prices and reviews, and decided it wasn't for me. Dsis changed the res and there were no probs going from 7 to 5 guests. DS and I cruised over to Billy Hill and the Holiday Hillbillies at the Jingle Jangle Jamboree. We barely made it for the last song or two, but I'm so glad we did! The place was nearly desserted. DS set to work coloring a Christmas picture and the Country Bears came around and messed with our crayons. We cruised over to the BBQ place to have a look. Here's what we saw! I didn't want to spend that much cash (and i wasn't hungry enough to warrant it) but MY GOSH, was it themed to the 9s and so cute. We rubbernecked from the gate till the show ended and then made our way back to the jamboree area.


There were no people around, but Characters galore. We got QT with Micky, Minnie, Pluto, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus in this beautiful traditional country Christmas environment.





We ended the evening with fireworks on the monorail bridge in Tomorrowland (great view, no crowds), then walked home and slept like babies.

Last installment to follow: Day 5, DH comes to DL!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

Looks like a lot of fun!

[chezp]

What a great day - and what a magical time with Goofy!

[FanOfMickey]

Low season is for sure a great time to go! Great interaction with Goofy!

[KimmyAnn1147]

Day 5...MK with DH!!!!

So, my darling DH isn't going to buy in to this theme park obsession of mine...he likes them, appreciates them, but they are not worth the cost to him. Also, he has spent about a year of his life total working at theme parks, usually 6 days a week (juggler, Streetmosphere performer at Huis den Bosch in Japan and LoteWorld in Korea) so there is a part of him that just can't see paying for something that he use to get paid to do...
Happily, I'm the breadwinner and he doesn't get in my way too much as long as we don't go into debt for it!
But, with all the extended family really putting the heat on him, he agreed to go for our last day! I was so excited to have the whole family together (me, DH, and DS, that is) and to show DH this wonderful place that has meant so much to me.

Here's DH with my mom. We are right at the front for rope drop, ready to HAUL to PP's Flight.


DH, DS and I got way in front of the others and rode PPF with about 15 min wait, the rest ended up waiting about 30 min. DH loved it! This was our first and only time on this favorite this trip. What strikes me in this ride is how the angle of the boat changes, you swerve to the side, up, and back. I'm not sure how they are getting that effect. I noticed they had done some refurb and added little stars everywhere in space in the neverland scenes, not just on a flat background. Very nice touch.

While we waited for the rest of the family, we did teacups and the Carousel. Then, we were all off for IASW Holiday.

My Dsis taking it all in. She's as much a fan as I am, this trip was her baby.

DH was immediately blown away by how well the sound melds as you move from land to land. This was my first time on the holiday version of this ride and I have to say, I thought they did a lovely job.

Just before riding, we had a fellow guest take some family photos in our funny outfits. Here we go in order. Remember, my DSis's boy is in the foster system and we don't show his photos online for his safety. Rest assured that he is adorable!

Whoever was taking our picture was obviously cracking us up. Pictured from L to R: DDad, Dmom, Me, DS, DH, DNeph, DSis DBIL. My mom sewed all the clothes except my dress, which I did. yes, they look handmade...but we had a blast making them and wearing them. Thank goodness we had laundry at the rental, cause we wore them to the park every day.

After IASW, we headed to toon town. DH was a really good sport, even getting his own pix with Minnie:


DH and DS loved going through Mickey's house and spent tons of time the movie studio part. I headed out and did a few runs on Gadget's go-coaster with Dmom and Dneph. Here's one of us waving to DS, who was too freaked out to ride.

After this, my Dsis, Dmom, and I went over to CA to ride the Tower of Terror. I have such funny memories of this ride at WDW with these 2, we had to do it over again. I don't have any pictures, but want to share the story... I'll do it in the next entry...

[KimmyAnn1147]

Blast from the past, circa 1999...DMom took me (age 21) and DSis (age 19) for what up till now is my only trip to WDW. My DSis had been there before with her youth choir. She was really excited to take me on the ToT. I was nervous. At this time in my life I was recovering from some trauma and was prone to panic attacks (it's much better now, yay!)...So, I'm nervous. We make our way to the cue...I'm really nervous now. I'm downright scared. We went up some elevator I think,and out and it's time to get in our ride cars. And I panic. "I can't do it." My heart was beating out of my chest, I was dizzy, and I knew I COULD NOT ride that ride. DSis and DMom rode, and I had to take what DSis calls "the chicken elevator". I told a CM that I did not want to ride, and I was taken down a brilliantly themed elevator (the same one we came up on, I don't know?) with this 1920's bell-hop CM, who looked pale and sickly. Once the doors closed, he turned to me in perfect deadpan, and said slowly "I'm sorry our accommodations...did not meet...your expectations...", then turned back to his wall of elevator buttons and did not say anything else to me. He never broke character even for a second. GIVE THAT CM AN OSCAR, FOLKS!!! It was so perfect, I was both still freaking out and very amused. I couldn't wait to tell DSis and DMom. A few days later I did ride the ToT, many times in a row, in fact. So I had to do this ride with my mom and sis again at CA. The end.

[KimmyAnn1147]

So, after ToT, we rejoined the group back in MK. I hate to say it, but most of the day is lost to me! While we were gone, the guys all went to Tom Sawyer's Island and had a great time. I still love this place, even though I'm disappointed with the pirate theming. There is nothing left of Tom's adventures in my opinion, shame as I love the book and at age 13 fell in love with this island.

About noon we finally figured out that the insane crowd levels were because it was a no-school day in California. D'oh! Oh well, so DH got to see Disneyland in it's finest form. It was much more crowded than any other day.

It was at this time that Dmom took DS to buy his one present. I think DH and I must have gone off to see something together, maybe Tarzan's Treehouse? DS had been asking for lots of stuff, and my mom wanted to buy him lots of stuff, since we first arrived. I vetoed lots of his choices, my perogative as a parent, things that he wouldn't play with much after that day and things that were cheap and overpriced, like the little gun belt kits). In the end, he settled on an awesome huge rubber snake from the Adventureland shop. Good choice. He carried it around in his bag and talked to it and showed it to people all day. He would put it away when it was starting to get a little aggressive.

I wanted to add that this whole day for me was filled with the melancholy sweetness and longing that comes from knowing that it's almost over, and won't be back for a long time. I love that feeling and floated on it all day. I had no must-dos except to soak it all up while I had the chance.

At about 2pm, my dad was DONE. He and mom went back to the rental house. We had to leave the next morning by about 6am, so we needed to have everything picked up and packed the night before. Clearing out the kitchen was going to be a big deal because we had been cooking in there for 6 days. Bless them, all I ended up doing was packing my own clothes and such.

Dsis and Dbil and Dneph broke off from us pretty soon after. DNeph was really into Indiana Jones and DS was decidedly NOT into rides in general. So, it was nuclear family time from then on. LOVE!!!! We did the tiki room (DH is a birder and loved it like crazy), spent some time on main street. At this point, about 4 pm, DS was DONE. This was the one day we did not head back for a nap, and he was all of a sudden over it. He started asking about going back to the house. Of course, we had no intention of going back to the house, although I thought maybe I could take him and leave him with Dmom and dad if we absolutely had to. Then, I got an idea. This was my last day at the parks, and as a true cheapskate, we had not purchased anything more expensive than a coffee (actually, not even that, but I let my DBIL buy me one a few times). I said "follow me" and took us to Gibson girl for a $6 mint waffle dish sundae. We got super lucky with both the wait time and with getting a table at the window to main street. DS and I shared the sundae and ate till we thought we would throw up. We ended up throwing some away, something totally unheard of in our family!

With tons of fat and sugar on bored, DS was a new man. We went back to touring and stayed till after the fireworks. Highlights for us were DS's fav, the astroblasters and StarTours (I love the new random scenarios, it used to always be the same!). After dark we moseyed around in frontier land and ended up hooking up with Farley the Fiddler. If you don't know Farley, try to get to know him. Here's a pic I ripped from the web...


Farley does small crowd streetmosphere type stuff as well as playing with stage groups at the CBJamboree area. We got over to the Jingle Jangle Jamboree just after closing, and even though it was busy, with BTMR closed for refub the entire path was deserted. We ended up "Having Fun With Farley" for quite a while. He does lots of musical jokes and had our family singing with him for passers-by. Oh, I loved this guy so much!!! A classic Farley Joke: Knock Knock. Who's there? Wah. Wah-Hoo. !!!

After this we wandered a bit more. We spend some time watching others shoot at the shooting gallery. We wandered over to Splash and watched folks come down, and rode winnie the pooh a few times. We got some chowder in a bread bowl to split and ate it on the curb back behind the chowder shop near splash. This was a little spot of heaven in the night too. Loved it.

We then spent a long time in line at the jungle cruise (love love love this cue) only to have DS refuse to ride in the dark. We did rider swap instead.

Just after the JC, we walked back toward the hub and 2 lovely guys in their 50s (a couple, perhaps?) gave DS their light up christmas light necklace. Just like that. Pixie Dust all around!!!! We were thrilled and they loved making that moment for us. Disney Magic! By this time DS and I were getting pretty faded. It was almost time for fireworks. We made our way up to the monorail platform and watched them from up there. I can't get over how no one else tries to watch from the monorail platform. I kept wondering if maybe it wasn't allowed!

After the fireworks, I knew DS and I were done. I still had packing to do in the morning and we had to be up very early. He and I grabbed the monorail to DTD and that was the end of our park experience.

DH stayed behind till close. The one thing he told me about was riding Splash. He was absolutely blown away by the animatronics. He rode a few times, including riding all alone on his own log, since by that time the park had pretty much cleared out and it was too cold out for most folks to do splash at that time too.

He had a wonderful "once in a lifetime" day at MK. He swears he will never visit another Disney park again, he's done it now, but he agreed that they do an amazing job with all that money we keep giving them, and he really was glad he went.


The next day we were out early, took 2 days to get home due to severe winter weather up in Oregon, so we took the coast route and got a nice hotel in Eureka for the night. Hot tubs and vietnamese food, and a long slow drive home the next day through snow. DSis, DBIL and DNeph took the direct route and got back by midnight of the first day, but I'm glad the rest of us squeeked another day out of our trip. We got home Sunday and I was back to work Monday. What a wonderful trip.

THE END!