Updated 8/27/04~ FINALLY FINISHED ~Looby & family take on Disneyland! About This Page:

[disneyknut]

Oh no!! not liking the teaser for the next installment...
Hurry please!

[Tara O'Hara]

Tina!! It sounds like you had a pretty good day, despite the bumps and pokes in the eye! I happen to know that you must have found Jalen at some point! I also love your adorable tea cup picture!

[TeacherKim]

I'm so glad I wandered over to this forum! I'm beginning to think about DL in 2005 and your report is definitely getting me in the mood (minus the mom stuff... you're doing well with it, but I don't know if I could maintain my composure!).

[Colexis Mom]

Great update Tina Keep it coming. Hope Jalen's eye was ok!!

[DebiDebiDebi]

That teacup picture is priceless!

[luvnwdwgal]

Great update Tina!!

[statelady01]

I am glad I already know you must have found him but still sort of holding my breath in hearing the details!

Great report!

[loobyoxlip]

Day 2, Part 1



Kylor woke up with big thoughts of Splash Mountain. All morning it was "Splash Mountain is our FIRST ride today!" So after a quick breakfast by the hotel pool of coffee, muffins and cereal, we are off to Disneyland. We took the shuttle this morning as there weren't a lot of people waiting. It's a pain folding that jogging stroller up and lugging it onboard, so if there was ever a line of people we walked - as the entrance was only 2-3 blocks away. We passed through security and went to the right only to see very long lines for Disneyland. California Adventure (DCA) only has short lines. Kylor decided he didn't want to wait in line for DL and all of a sudden it's OK if Splash Mountain is not our first ride of the day. We breeze right into DCA and go right to check out Soarin' Over California (my favorite DCA ride) I guess everyone else had the same idea - the standby line was already 45 min. and it was only 9:50 (park opened at 10!) I tried to get us FastPasses, but the machine wouldn't dispense any tickets. I tried another machine and got 2, but of course the 2 I had already put in the non-functioning machine came out as invalid. I looked around for a CM, but there were none in sight. I had to go back to the entrance of the ride and tell a CM there what had happened. He gave me 2 baby swap passes, so we are good to go with the FP situation.



We decided to walk over and see what the wait time for Grizzly River Rapids is. This is the DCA version of Kali, but it is (IMO) much better. The drop at GRR is much bigger. As we are walking over there, I had to take in the Grand Californian Hotel. For those of you that don't know, this hotel is basically built in DCA. There are rooms overlooking the park that are literally just steps away. Plus this hotel has its own seperate entrance right into DCA. It is still my dream to stay there one day. As we get closer to GRR, I see there is a big mob of people. As it's not quite 10 yet, there is a rope blocking entrance into this part of the park. We waited a few minutes and Kylor and I stampeded, along with everyone else, right into the line for GRR (which I have to say got long amazingly fast) Our waited ended up being about 5 minutes, and we were on!! I amazingly only got a little wet. I picked the good seat this time The girl across from me was SOAKED!! It's all in the pick of the seat on this ride! This is Kylor's favorite ride and it's just so fun to watch his face light up when we are on it. There is a bridge near the end where people can watch. Jalen and my mom were on the bridge waving like crazy they said, but we never saw them. My mom said Jalen was quite disappointed we didn't acknowledge him.



After meeting up with my mom and Jalen, it's off to Paradise Pier to see if we can get on California Screamin'. We walked the bridge over to Paradise Pier and there is virtually no wait for CS. Kylor and I again ditch poor Grandma and Jalen and get in the small line. My mom took Jalen on King Triton's Caroussel while we were waiting- which he loves. California Screamin' is such a great ride! The part where you take off in the beginning is even better than RnRC. It's a longer ride and there are lots of dips, turns, etc. I always have a sore throat when I get off this ride.



After finding Jalen and Gma again, we slowly meandered down the pier. Now there are lots who say the carnival atmosphere doesn't fit the Disney image, etc. I love this part of the park. It just seems so upbeat, so colorful, so full of life. Every time we are at Paradise Pier I can feel my mood improve. This was a great time of day to be there, too. There were not a lot of people exploring this part of the park yet.



The Sun Wheel is calling our name, so we head off to get in line. The sun is beating down and is so hot already, I can't imagine what this day holds in store weather-wise. We waited in line about 10 minutes and hopped into our "cage".



Jalen with California Screamin' in the background:





The first time we went on this ride in '02, they stopped and started it the whole time we went around and then they made us get out!! We never even got to make a whole uninterrupted circle. Luckily that has never happened since then, and today was no exception. These cages you're in are on an oval like bar, so they are not stationary. At one point when you're coming down on the side, the whole cage falls down the bar and it looks like you're going to keep going and land right in the water below you! Kinda freaked my mom out! We actually got 3 complete rotations before they made us get out, so that was neat!



We get off the ride and I am sweltering. Man it is HOT!! We all sit on the bench and apply sunscreen and finish off a big bottle of water. We walked around the pier and looked at the other rides. My mom had said she wanted to try out the Orange Stinger (the swings) but as we passed she changed her mind. Go figure. Since it was about time for our FastPasses for Soarin' to be valid, we walked back over there.



OH, how much do I love this ride? It was so great to be with my mom who was experiencing it for the first time. It is a great ride to take a first-timer on because you just KNOW they are going to love it. I can't imagine anyone not loving this ride. I am so excited they are building it at WDW - it is going to be such a hit! The smell of pine trees, the smell of an orange grove.....ahhhhhhhh!!



After hanggliding over CA, the boys need to blow off some steam (and mom and I need to rest) so we take them over to Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. This is a great place for kids to play, lots of nets and climbing toys built out of wood. When we first got there, the show 'The Magic of Brother Bear' was just ending. The boys got a quick shot with Koda (or Kenai?) and then both bears left.

They were quite disappinted they didn't meet Kenai (or Koda?). Kylor ran off to explore and Jalen and I walked around trying to find something for him to do as the nets, etc. didn't appeal to him. We found a big tunnel slide and we both went down a few times. The third time we went up to go down the slide again and guess who is there at the landing at the top of the slides? Oh, yes, Koda and Kenai. Jalen was in heaven. There was 2 little kids playing with them, then they left and it was just Jalen and the bears. Man, how these bears loved on Jalen. It was like one bear would give him a hug and the other one would stand there waiting for his turn.

And of course Jalen was suckin' it all in. Just lovin' it (as was I) They played and joked around for quite a while before another family came.

I told Jalen to pose for a final picture, and the mom of the other family said "WOW! That's going to turn out great!" I have to agree, it did





After our fun encounter with bears of Brother Bear, we went down the slide for a final time and saw grandma sitting in the shade looking quite hot and not having fun at all. I decided to find Kylor so we could go back to the hotel and rest. He was over on the rock climbing wall almost to the end. I called his name so I could take a picture and then he fell off. Oops. We found some shade and had some more water. As we were sitting there, Chip and Dale came out to play. We got a quick photo with Chip

then Jalen took one with Dale

There is a little tunnel over a river right around this area, so Jalen decided to go through it. I went around the other side to meet him when he came out. I waited, and waited. I finally went over and looked into the tunnel. No Jalen!! I figured he couldn't have gone that far, so I walked around that area looking for him. Now I was starting to get frantic. I told Kylor to go look in the surrounding cave play areas, but he couldn't find him either. Now comes the point where you start sweating and getting dizzy. I seriously was so frightened at this moment. I was yelling "Jalen! Jalen!" and he wasn't coming. I don't even remember what my mom was doing during this time. I started just running around looking everywhere. After what seemed like an eternity, Kylor came back almost dragging a very mad Jalen behind him. Apparantly Jalen had gotten the attention of Chip and had been innocently playing with him. As he later told me, he had been squeezing his tail and Chip had been running his paw on his head (all the characters love my kids buzz cuts). Anyway, when Kylor dragged him away, he was mad. He wanted to stay and play with Chip. Ugh, crisis averted. We had a discussion about not going away from Mom.



At this point, it is literally broiling in the sun. It is SO hot! We took the shuttle back to the hotel for a quick swim and lunch



Coming up: Day 2, Part 2: Toontown and the Snow White Musical

[statelady01]

Glad you got another installment up Tina- I have been missing this one!

The boys are precious!

[MegglesMom]

Glad that you're writing again! Love this installment...

[Irenaroo]

Hi Tina, I just found this TR! The pics of Jalen with the bears are adorable. It's nice to read about DL. We've never been there. In fact, I have never been on the West Coast! Keep writing! Your descriptions are great!

[ilovelilo]

Thanks for another great update! I also love the pictures of Jalen with the bears--they are so cute!

Looking forward to more!

[BritDisFan]

Thanks for this installment Tina, I love the pictures of your boys, they are so cute .

Karen

[Jennifer2003]

Love the Pics of the boys and the bears. (Kenai is the lighter bear with the totem around his neck.)

Glad you found Jalen!

[Colexis Mom]

Great updates Tina Love the pictures Can't wait for Soarin' to get to Epcot, sounds like a great ride. Looking forward to more