Disney Adventures

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2010-05-02T00:05:00.001-07:00

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What We'll Do Differently

2008-04-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

As amazing as our trip was last time, there are a few things that we plan to do differently this time around.

First, one week is not enough time. You'd think it would be, but it isn't. It's just long enough to give you a taste of what's available and whet your appetite for your next trip. Up until then, we were used to visiting the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California where seven days is more than enough time to see and do everything. So, this time we're planning to stay 15 nights. This gives us a full 14 days at WDW, not counting travel days.

Second, instead of October we plan to go during December this time. Hopefully, December will be cooler and much less humid. Although I've heard people say that October is a great month to visit, we found it to be extremely uncomfortable. Begin from the Northwest, we're used to cooler weather and relatively low humidity.

Third, we won't be taking advantage of the Disney Dining Plan. It was the offer of free dining that prompted us to take our first trip. And while it was fun to be able to order freely without thinking about the cost, it was an incredible amount of food. I don't think I experienced a single hunger pang during the entire week we were there. Rather, it was all about hoping the feeling of fullness would subside enough that we would be able to partake of the next table service meal. Of course being free it was an excellent value. The only expense we incurred for food was the Fantasmic Dining Package at the Brown Derby which we paid for out of pocket as it wasn't available on the Dining Plan at the time we booked our ADR's. We prefer to graze our way through the parks, snacking on things like turkey legs, Dole Whips, churros, chocolate chip cookies and Mickey ice cream bars. Sure, we'll throw in an occasional table service meal, but mostly we'll enjoy counter service meals and snacks. Plus, we didn't like the amount of time that we spent eating at the table service restaurants. It definitely took away from the amount of time we had to explore the parks.

Lastly, we plan to rent a car this time around. On our first trip, we took advantage of Magical Express to get from the airport to our resort and relied of the Disney bus service to get to and from the parks. While it was nice to not worry about navigating through unfamiliar surroundings, it also took more time to get from point A to point B. A lot of time was spent waiting in lines for the bus to come. Also, many times the bus was standing room only. I have trouble with my knees and standing for long periods of time causes me a great deal of pain. I knew I would be spending a fair amount of time standing in line for attractons and didn't want to waste the little stamina I had waiting for a bus. Since we're visiting during the Christmas holiday, we want to be able to go from resort to resort, taking in all the different decorations. This is difficult to do using Disney transportation.

Next time I'll discuss the things we'll do the same.

Have a magical day!

Planning Our December 2008 WDW Vacation

2008-04-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

We're now in the midst of planning our next Disney Park vacation. This time we'll visit Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for the second time. Our first trip was in October 2005 when we spent seven wonderful days. Even though it was incredibly hot and humid the entire time (I don't think I've ever been as sweaty), we've spent the past two and a half years looking forward to the time when we could return. Through a monumental amount of research and planning I think we did quite well for first time visitors. This time around we'll do some things the same and a somes things differently. Mainly, we want to have plenty of time to just stop and soak in the atmosphere. Over the next eight months I'll be blogging about our trip preparations.

Have a magical day!

Disneyland Tip #4

2006-10-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

You can get free coffee refills at the Market House on Main Street. We learned this on our trip in December 2005. Save your receipt and you can go back anytime that day and get free refills of your coffee. This is the only place in the park where you can do this. You don't need to save your cup. Just show your receipt and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee anytime. We did this several times on our trip this past October. We stopped at the Blue Ribbon Bakery one morning for a Really Sticky Sticky Bun (which is huge and plenty for two people to share). My son waited in line at the bakery while I went across the street to the Market House to buy coffee, which is .10 a cup cheaper than at the bakery. The Market House also has a nice selection of fresh-baked cookies. One afternoon we stopped to pick up a coffee refill and a cookie to enjoy while we waited at our favorite spot for the Parade of Dreams to begin.

Where Did the Time Go?

2006-10-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over six months since my last post. This summer has been crazy busy. Our long awaited October trip to Disneyland has come and gone. I'll be posting a trip report soon.

Disneyland October 2006

2006-04-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

I'm in the early stages of planning our next trip to Disneyland for October 2006, right before our annual passes are due to expire. Our hotel rooms are reserved at our favorite hotel, Howard Johnsons Plaza Hotel. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get the really low rate that we enjoyed during our first two visits. So, I booked with the annual passholder discount that gets us about 20% off the regular rack rate. I'll try calling back periodically in hopes that they'll offer an Entertainment Book rate of 50% off the rack rate. Anyway, it's nice to know that we have a place to stay in case things fill up. One thing we're hoping for is that Disney will offer really good annual passholder rates sometime during our stay and we'll be able to spend at least a few nights at the Disneyland Hotel.

Airfare has been climbing steadily and I'm beginning to think that I should have booked airfare earlier in the year. Right now it's hovering at around $330 round trip. Last December we paid $196. I guess if it gets too expensive, we could drive. This would save us the cost of renting a car once we're down there. However, it's a long, hard drive and takes most of two days each direction. These are days that could be spent in the parks.

Anyway, as plans for the trip unfold, I'll be posting them on this blog.

Disneyland Tip #3

2006-01-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

Make priority seating reservations for your table service meals. Although Disneyland has far fewer restaurant options than Walt Disney World, it's still a good idea to make priority seating reservations for any table services restaurants you plan to visit. Priority seating reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance by calling (714) 781-DINE.

During our last visit, we had priority seatings at the Carnation Cafe for three mornings during our trip. Each time there was a long line of people waiting to be seated. After checking in at the podium, we were immediately ushered to our table, bypassing the long line of hungry and envious people.

We also love to have lunch at the Blue Bayou restaurant. The restaurant was very busy the day of our priority seating and they were not accepting any walkups. So if you had wanted to eat there and hadn't planned in advance, you were out of luck.

Disneyland Tip #2

2006-01-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

Take full advantage of the FastPass system. The Fastpass system is a great way to reduce the amount of time you spend standing in line for an attraction. Although it's not available for all attractions, most of the more popular attractions have the fastpass feature available.

When you arrive at an attaction that offers Fastpass, you insert your park ticket into the Fastpass machine and out pops a FastPass ticket. On the ticket it indicates a one hour window for you to come back and ride the attraction without waiting in the regular line. Only a designated number of Fastpasses are available each day so the earlier in the day you get a Fastpass, the earlier your return time will be. Return times are posted on a sign above the Fastpass distribution area so you'll know what your return time will be before you get the Fastpass.

There is also a limit to the number of Fastpasses you can have at one time. You are eligible to get another Fastpass after the either the start time of your one-hour return window or two hours after you received your last Fastpass. Here are two examples of how this works:

At 10:00 AM you go to Space Mountain and get a Fastpass with a return time window of 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM. You would be able to get your next Fasspass at 11:15 AM, which is the start of your one-hour return window.
At 10:00 AM you pick up a Fastpass for Space Mountain but this time the return time window is between 6:30 to 7:30 PM. Instead of making you wait until 6:30 PM to get your next Fastpass, you would be able to get one two hours after you were issued the Fastpass, which would be 12:00 PM.

When it's time for you to return to your attraction, you'll use a specially marked Fastpass Return line. A Cast Member will check your Fastpass to make sure you're not entering before your return time window. The amount of time you'll save waiting in line depends upon the attraction. At some point, all Fastpass return lines merge with the regular line and you'll end up waiting in some sort of line. However, it will be shorter than if you had waited in the regular stand-by line.

A little known fact about Fastpasses at the Disneyland Resort is while you are not able to use them to enter the return line before the start of your return window, you are able to use them anytime before park closing that day. So if your return time window is from 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM and you don't make it back to the attraction by 12:15 PM, you are still able to use the Fastpass anytime up until park closing. This is important to remember and will help you make the best use of the Fastpass system.

One thing we like to do is pick up a Fastpass for an attraction before we ride it. For example, it may be 9:30 AM and the wait time for the Buzz Lightyear attraction is only 10 minutes. The Fastpass return window for the attraction may be from 10:30 to 11:30 AM. We'll pick up a Fastpass before entering the regular standby line and save the Fastpass for use later in the day when the lines are longer. Because the Fastpass has such an early return time, we're eligible to get our next Fastpass after 10:30 AM.

The smart thing to do is be aware of when you're eligible to get your next Fastpass and to make a point of getting one as soon as your eligible. This way you'll have a selection of Fastpasses to use later in the afternoon and evening when crowds are at their peak and the allotment of Fastpasses for the day may have been reached.

Another thing to remember is that the Fastpass sytems for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure are not connected. So theoretically you would be able to get a Fastpass for an attraction at Disneyland and them immediately go over to Disney's California Adventure and pick up a Fastpass for one of the attractions in that park.

The Fastpass system is a win-win situation for both the park guest and for Disney. Guests are happy because they spend less time in line. Disney is happy because guests who are not waiting in line may be shopping or dining, therefore creating more revenue for Disney.

Disneyland Tip #1

2006-01-26T12:58:00.000-08:00

As my reputation as a Disney fan spreads, I am occasionally asked to provide tips on how people can make the most of their Disneyland vacation. I decided to list a few of things that come to mind.

Get to the park before opening time. The first few hours that a park is open are what I refer to as the "golden hours." The crowds are fairly low and it's a great time to ride attractions without long lines. As tempting as it may be to stop and browse through the Main Street shops, I urge you to resist and take advantage of the low crowd levels to ride some of the more popular attractions. Many people use their vacation to sleep in and eat a leisurely breakfast before wandering over to the park mid morning. You'll see an increase in the crowd level around 11:00 AM. By that time you would have covered all the attactions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

Hooked on Podcasts

2006-01-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

Sometime in mid 2005, I discovered Podcasts and I've been hooked ever since. For the first few months I was satisfied with the Disney Insider, an official Disney podcast that provided the lastest exciting news, interviews and events from the Walt Disney Company. Some that wasn't enough and I began to crave regularly fixes not provided by the bi-weekly Disney podcast. A search on iTunes provided me with a stash of official and not so official Disney-related podcasts on which to satisfy my cravings.

As a result, I now subscribe to six different podcasts. I would probably subscribe to more, but I've downloaded all previous episodes of these podcasts and am gradually making my way through them. Three of them are official Walt Disney podcasts and are all much better than you might expect from this behemouth of an organization. The other three are fan-based podcasts, where you get nitty-gritty detailed information, mostly about Walt Disney World.

My absolute favorite is WDW Today, hosted by Matt Hotchberg of MGMStudios.org. He is regularly joined by Len Testa of the Unofficial Guide and TouringPlans.com, Mike Scopa of MousePlanet.com, and Mike Newell from MousePlanetRadio.com. These guys are the ultimate Disney geeks and very knowledgable about Walt Disney World. They are also very funny in a way that not everyone will get or appreciate, but I love it. On a couple of occasions, Mary Waring of MouseSavers.com has made a guest appearance. It was because of information on Mary's website that we learned about the free Dining Plan offer that prompted our decision to make the trip.

When we decided to make the almost spur of the moment decision to go to Walt Disney World in October instead of our planned trip to Disneyland, the first thing I did was order a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World of which Len Testa is co-author along with Bob Sehlinger. This book should be required reading for anyone contemplating a visit to WDW. The information was invaluable. I also visted Mouseplanet.com and re-read all of Mike Scopa's past articles which provided first hand insight of the parks and resorts. With the knowledge and expertise of these guys, our trip was infinitely better than any first time visitor could reasonably expect. Now this knowledge is available via podcast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

All I can say is... outstanding!

Changes

2006-01-25T15:24:00.000-08:00

In an effort to make things a little more organized and because Blogger doesn't provide the basic functionality of allowing its users to categorize posts, I've made some changes to my Disney Adventures Blog. I've moved my October 2005 Walt Disney World trip report to its own blog and added another blog for my as yet unfinished trip report from our December 2005 Disneyland trip. These reports can be accessed by clicking the desired link in the Trip Reports section located on the right hand side of the page. This will make it easier for people to read a specific trip report without needing to scroll through pages of other posts.

I plan to use the Disney Adventures blog as my main blog for general Disney information and trip planning. If I get particularly ambitious, I'll move the two 2004 trip reports to their own blogs as well.

Currently, I'm working on adding pictures to my WDW trip report. In an attempt to accomodate those still using dial-up, I've tried to keep the picture sizes small. Larger versions are available just by clicking on the picture.

It's Expressly Magical

2005-09-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yippee! My Magical Express packet arrived today! I really wasn’t expecting it until sometime late this week, but my son received his packet last week. We booked our individual trips at exactly the same time, so I was a little worried that he received his and I didn’t. The packet contains information about how the Magical Express system works and includes special yellow luggage tags that identify which luggage needs to be transported to the resort. When the Magical Express service began last May, there were some bugs to be worked out. People reported lengthy delays in getting their bags delivered to their rooms, with some bags not arriving until the next day. A recent poll on the Dis Boards indicated that 85% of the 63 poll participants were very pleased with the Magic Express Service and would use it again. I’m really looking forward to this part of the trip. It will be so nice not to worry about hauling our luggage to and from the airport.

The New Look

2005-09-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

My original DisneyAdventures website was created in FrontPage using tables nested within tables nested within tables. As a result, it didn’t lend itself very well to modifications. As the number of blog entries grew, the need for archiving became very apparent. So, one weekend I decided to use one of the templates that Blogspot provides. Because green is my current favorite color, I chose a template with different shades of that color. At first I was very happy with the new look, especially the Previous Posts and Archives sections in the sidebar. But, as time wore on, I really missed my DisneyAdventures header that I had on my old site. The background of the header included at picture I had taken of “it’s a small world” during our Spring Break trip in 2003 with my parents, son, my niece and two of my nephews. My son helped me crop the picture, and add the special effects. It really made me happy to see it and brought back many wonderful memories of that trip and the trips afterwards. I also missed the vacation countdown clock.

It was easy enough to add my header to the template; however it really looked awful with the green color scheme. So, following my son’s suggestion, I switched to a new template that had minimal colors and graphics. After that it was fairly easy to make modifications to the existing template. I added back in my header and countdown clock, and changed some of the fonts and colors. It’s still not completely done, but I want to concentrate more on adding blog entries at this point.

California Dreamin'

2005-09-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

Located on the top floor of the Contemporary Resort, the California Grill offers a unique dining experience. I had heard from several people that it is possible to view “Wishes”, the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks show, from inside the restaurant. At show time, they dim the lights and pipe in the music. With that in mind, we made an ADR for 7:30 PM, hoping that the time would coincide with the fireworks show. There is also concern that we won’t be able to view the fireworks from our table. This fear is somewhat alleviated by learning that there is an observation deck reserved solely for patrons of the restaurant. If we’re not able to get a good view of the fireworks from our table, we’ll step outside and watch the show, then return to our table afterwards. At the time I made our ADR, I didn't know what time the fireworks would begin. I figured if they start at 8:00 PM, we'll watch them at the beginning of our meal. If they begin at 9:00 PM, then we'll watch them after we eat. Either way, I'm not leaving the 14th floor of the resort until the last firework has dimmed.

It's Fantasmic!

2005-09-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

We are really looking forward to seeing Fantasmic! during our visit. We saw Fantasmic! at Disneyland last December for the very first time and want to see how it compares with WDW. One of the nice things about Fantasmic! at WDW is that the show is presented in it’s own outdoor theater with seating, so you don’t have to camp out and save a spot on the curb, like you do at DLR. Fantasmic! is very popular at WDW, as it is in California, so people begin lining up 1 to 1-1/2 hours before the show in order to get a seat.

I learned that WDW offers a dinner package that gives you preferred seating for Fantasmic!, eliminating the need to line up so far in advance of the show. It is still recommended that you arrive at the theater about 30 to 45 minutes before the show starts; however, you don’t need to wait in the long line outside, but instead can enter the theater right away and sit down. Three of the table service restaurants in the park offer the dinner package: Mama Melrose’s, Hollywood & Vine, and The Brown Derby. Each of them offers a fixed price meal that is roughly equal to what you would pay to eat there without the dinner package. The bonus is that you get the preferred seating. Also, the dinner package is not covered by the Dining Plan, so you would have to pay for this out of pocket.

Our original plan was to eat at The Brown Derby on Sunday evening without the dinner package and use two of our table service credits (since it is considered a signature restaurant). Then, we planned to purchase the dinner package at Hollywood & Vine for later in the week. The Hollywood & Vine dinner package was the least expensive of the three, around $23 compared to $37 at The Brown Derby. Our thought was to spend as little out of pocket as possible.

During my last call to Disney Dining to make ADR’s, the CSR that I was working with suggested that we book the dinner package at The Brown Derby and use the dining plan for Hollywood & Vine, which is only one table service credit. This would free up a table service credit to use elsewhere. Her reasoning was that the two table service credits used separately would be worth more than the $37 we would pay to do the dinner package at The Brown Derby. After discussing this with my son, we decided that it made sense to do that.

I called back and switched our Fantasmic! Dinner Package from Hollywood & Vine on Friday to The Brown Derby on Sunday evening. Since we had used up all of our table service credits, we had planned to just have dessert and beverages at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant. By freeing up the extra table service credit, we are now able to eat lunch there on Tuesday.

New ADR Procedure

2005-09-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

On July 18, making dining reservations just got a little easier. When guests staying at Disney-owned and -operated resorts reach their 90-day booking window for the beginning of their trip, they may now make reservations for ten days' worth of Advance Dining Reservations. The dining agent will confirm your hotel reservation before making the dining reservations. Those not staying at Disney resorts will need to continue making reservations on a rolling 90-day basis.

Apparently, the new policy will not be opening all reservations for a given restaurant for early booking. A sliding percentage of seats will be made available for early booking, with fewer seats opening up for the more popular restaurants. This means that very few seats will be opened up for the Princess character meals at Cinderella's Royal Table and Restaurant Akershus. However, it will give resort guests an additional chance to snag a reservation, first at their 90-day-plus-ten window, then again when the rest of the reservations open up at 90 days out.

While the tough-to-get seats will remain difficult, what the policy does is allow resort guests to make all of their reservations with one call (with the possible exception of high-demand seats), lowering the number of required long-distance calls. While not quite back to the old days of "only resort guests can make advance reservations," Disney has given guests one more incentive to stay on-property.

Your Table is Ready

2005-09-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

In the afternoon of July 4, even though I had been told that Disney Dining would be closed, I called anyway and was very surprised to find that it was open. The Customer Service Rep (CSR) that answered my call told me that they are open 7-days a week, including holidays. I asked for an ADR for Cindy’s and was not surprised to find that they were booked for the day. Fortunately, I was able to book the Brown Derby for dinner which was on our schedule for the first day of our trip.

Each of the next six days, I was up at 3:55 AM and began dialing the phone at 3:58 AM. Fortunately, was able to make all the ADR’s we had hoped to make. I did make some minor adjustments to the original schedule. Here’s what we ended up with:

Sunday, October 2, 4:00 PM – The Brown Derby Fantasmic Dinner Package
Tuesday, October 4, 12:00 PM – Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
Tuesday, October 4, 7:30 PM – L’Originale Alfredo di Roma
Wednesday, October 5, 7:30 PM – California Grill
Thursday, October 6, 4:55 PM – Liberty Tree Tavern
Friday, October 7, 6:00 PM – Hollywood & Vine
Saturday, October 8, 8:55 AM – Cinderella’s Royal Table Character Breakfast

Breakfast at Cindy's

2005-09-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

To date, our one and only character dining experience was for lunch last October at Ariel’s Grotto in Disney’s California Adventure. Our trip in October was our very first trip with just the two of us and our first time with an annual pass. We made a point to try some new and different things. Unfortunately, our experience was less than stellar. The room was very crowded with noisy, excited kids, which we should have expected. In addition, we spent the entire meal at the same time worried that we would be ignored by the characters, and fearful that they actually would stop at our table. It was an extremely awkward meal and we ate as quickly as possible. Only one character stopped for just the briefest of visits before moving on to the next table. We vowed never to subject ourselves to this embarrassment again.

So even with that experience still fresh in mind, we decide to book a breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom. The selling point of this eating establishment is that we get to eat in the actual castle. In attendance at this meal are Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Mary Poppins. Unfortunately, ADR’s for this breakfast are extremely hard to get, filling up within minutes after the call center opens at 7:00 AM. In fact, the more I read about how difficult it was to get ADR’s, the more it became my mission in life to eat there.

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World offers some great advice on how to get those coveted ADR’s for Cinderella’s Royal Table. Bob Sehlinger, the author, offers the following advice:

Verify that your clock is set correctly by visiting the atomic time website and adjusting your clock if necessary. He says the Disney Dining center is about 1 to 3 seconds off from this time.

Call Disney Dining in the afternoon (when it’s the least busy) a few days before your 90-day window begins to make a note of the options on the automated call system in order to speed your way through it when you call back for real, and to verify with the dining representative the actual date that your 90-day window begins.

On the morning that you call, begin dialing a few minutes before 7:00 AM eastern. If you start to hear the recording telling you that the office is closed, hang up immediately and hit the redial button. Continue doing this until the recording changes to the one indicating the office is now open. Quickly work your way through the automated system without listening to the entire recorded message. Once reach the point where you are on hold and listening to Disney music, do not hang up. If you hang up and redial you will just place yourself at the end of the line.

Once the representative gets on the line, do not engage in any phone pleasantries. Instead you should blurt out your request as quickly as possible, i.e., “Cindy’s, May 21, 4 people.” You can apologize for your abruptness after you get your ADR. Do not waste time asking which times are available or you’ll find yourself without an ADR.
Even though Friday (our last full day before we leave) was the day we hoped to eat at Cindy’s, I planned to try to get an ADR each morning I called just in case I wasn’t able to get the day I actually wanted. We could always cancel an unneeded reservation and make someone else’s day.

90 Days and Counting

2005-09-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

An Advanced Dining Reservation (or ADR) is Disney’s version of a reservation. However, they do not set aside a specific table for you at your assigned time slot. Instead, when you arrived for your ADR, you will be seated at the next available table for your party size, ahead of any walk-ins that may be waiting. ADR’s may be made up to 90 days in advance and are highly recommended during peak times and for the more popular restaurants.

The biggest obstacle to making ADR’s 90 days in advance is that Disney doesn’t publish the park hours and events schedule until about 60 days in advance. Since you don’t know when any of the parks will open or close, or when the parades and fireworks are scheduled, it makes it hard to plan your meals. I found a website that listed park hours for the same time last year and used those as a guide.

If you plan to make ADR’s for more than one day of your stay you’ll need to call Disney Dining when the 90-day window comes up for the each ADR or risk not being able to eat where you want to eat on the day that you want to. Unfortunately, the Disney Dining phone number is a long distance call. In addition, Disney Dining opens at 7:00 AM eastern time, which is 4:00 AM on the west coast.

When I called to make our ADR for the Liberty Tree Tavern, I confirmed with the representative that July 4 would be the 90-day point for our first day in the park. However, she told me that the Disney Dining call center would be closed for the holiday. So I was prepared to call bright and early at 4:00 AM on Tuesday, July 5 to make the first of our ADR’s.

That's the Plan, Stan

2005-09-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

Since there is so much to see and do at WDW, it seemed like a good idea to come up with a general outline of which park to visit on each day.

I created a spreadsheet in Excel in which I entered in the park hours, the morning and evening magic hours, and the parade and fireworks schedules using a combination of last year’s schedule and September 2005 park information as a guide. Next, I scheduled in the parks that we wanted to visit on each day. Our basic plan is to visit one park in the morning, go back to the resort for a rest in the afternoon, and return to another park in the evening. Since we both think that the Magic Kingdom will be our favorite park and since we think there is more to do there than any other park, we plan to spend the majority of our time there.

After many hours of research and debate and after undergoing numerous revisions, we finally came up with a general outline of which park we want to visit each day. Here’s what we’ve come up with so far:

Saturday, Day1
Travel Day

Sunday, Day 2
AM – Magic Kingdom
PM – Disney-MGM Studios

Monday, Day 3
AM – Epcot
PM – Magic Kingdom

Tuesday, Day 4
AM – Disney-MGM Studios
PM – Epcot

Wednesday, Day 5
AM – Magic Kingdom
PM – Magic Kingdom

Thursday, Day 6
AM – Animal Kingdom
PM – Magic Kingdom

Friday, Day 7
AM – Magic Kingdom
PM – Disney-MGM Studios

Saturday, Day 8
AM – Magic Kingdom
PM – Fly Home

We had already planned to spend the most time at the Magic Kingdom Park and as we filled our scheduled with the activities we were most interested in, our time in the MK seemed to grow. Once we decided on the general outline, we plugged in our choices for table service meals for each day, based on the park we were planning to visit at the time.

Halloween Party

2005-07-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

One of the fun things we decided to do is attend Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party which takes place in the Magic Kingdom on about 20 different dates between September 30 and October 31. On the nights of the party, the Magic Kingdom closes down at 6:00 PM and only guests that have purchased tickets to the party are allowed to stay. The cost to attend is around $37.00. At the Main Entrance gate, your ticket is exchanged for an orange wristband identifying you as a party guest and you are given a small orange trick-or-treat bag. At 6:00 PM, regular guests are asked to leave the park, while party guests are herded over to Tomorrowland. During the next hour, the park is transformed into a kid-friendly Halloween Party. It is one of the most themed special events at the Magic Kingdom and provides an evening of great fun for adult and kids alike.

Here are some of the events that are scheduled throughout the evening:

Mickey’s Boo to You Parade (at 8:00 and 10:00 PM) – A fun parade of floats and characters you won’t see any other time. Disney characters in costume! Even Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet dress up in costume for the parade! About 10 minutes prior to the parade start time, Mr. Knickerbocker takes his place in front of the Liberty Bell and tells the story of the Headless Horseman. At the time he finished the story, the Horseman begins his gallop through the Magic Kingdom. Once the Horseman clears the entire parade route, the parade begins!

Adults and children trick-or-treat throughout the park in costume. At designated locations throughout the park, Cast Members give out treats. These special areas are marked with a Mickey Ear Pumpkin Balloon overhead.

Characters in Costumes – Characters in the meet and greet areas and throughout the park are in Halloween costume. This provides a unique photo opportunity.

Halloween Riverboat Ride – with strolling musicians, storytellers and character, this is always a popular show.

Main Street is transformed into an eerie sight with dark green and orange lights, pumpkins in the windows and shadows of witches and bats moving to and fro.

Complimentary Family Photo - get your picture taken with Mickey’s Halloween background and receive a free 4x6 in the mail.

Halloween Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks (9:15 PM) – Fantasy in the Sky with changes! Instead of Tinker Bell flying at the start of the fireworks, look for a witch on a broomstick near the end of the show. Awesome perimeter fireworks are also part of the show.

Attractions – most of the attractions are open.

A very few of the table service restaurants allow party guests to arrange a priority seating more than 90 days in advance. As soon as I learned that bit of information, I called Disney Dining and was able to secure a spot at the Liberty Tree Tavern at 6:50 PM, the earliest spot they had available at the time. Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and friends attend this character meal and they are usually dressed in Colonial garb. For the party, they will be dressed in Halloween costume. I think I would prefer to see them in their usual Colonial dress rather than in costume, but it will still be fun. I also would have preferred an earlier seating as this means we will be eating dinner with the party begins at 7:00 PM. I plan to call back at the 90 day mark when they will open up some earlier seating times.

The Mother of all Guidebooks

2005-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

"The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World," written by Bob Sehlinger, is by far the best guide book around and is jam packed with all the information you need to make the most of your trip. Since it isn’t sanctioned by Disney, you get good solid, unbiased information on every aspect of your trip. It covers everything including the best time to go, best and worst days to visit each theme park, detailed information on all dining options, tickets, hotels, attractions, entertainment, tips on where to get the best view for parades and fireworks, and much more. Although the author intended it to be a reference book, it’s a very entertaining read and many people (myself included) read it cover to cover.

I first became familiar with Bob Sehlinger’s wonderful guides almost 10 years ago when I purchased the 1995 edition of “The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland” on clearance at a bookstore. At the time, my mom, son and I had last visited Disneyland in October 1993 and weren’t planning any trips in the near future. However, the price of the book was very cheap and it looked interesting. Even though we had a great time on our trip in 1993, I learned so much from the book that it would have made the trip even better. So when we decided to go again during spring break in 2003, I purchased the current edition and read it cover to cover, at times sharing aloud funny passages with my family.

Of particular help in 2003 book was learning about the FastPass feature, which wasn’t available during our trip 10 years previous. We also made great use of the 2-day touring plan, one of several great plans outlined in the book. My son copied down the plan on a small index card and we carried it around with us as a reference. Being spring break, the park was rather crowded, although not nearly as crowded as it is during the summer. The 2-day touring plan enabled us to quickly see all the major attractions with a minimum wait in line.
As soon as I learned that we would be making the trip in October of this year, I purchased the Walt Disney World version of the Unofficial Guide from Amazon.com and waited impatiently for it to arrive. Once it did, I began reading; stopping periodically to mark important sections with purple Post-It flags. As I write this, I am almost all the way through and have gained such a vast array of knowledge, tips, and tricks, that I no longer feel overwhelmed with my lack of experience of WDW.

Six Days is Not Enough

2005-07-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

The more I read and learn about Walt Disney World, the more I realize that while six days may be ample time to fully experience the Disneyland Resort in California, it seems like barely enough time to scratch the surface of all four Disney theme parks in Florida. It seems that the best thing to do is come up with a general outline of which parks to visit each day before we leave home, based on which park has the early and evening magic hours, the different parade and fireworks schedules, the table service restaurants we want to visit, keeping in mind the touring plans outlined in the unofficial guide. Once we arrive, we’ll concentrate on enjoying everything single thing that we are doing, without focusing on what we might be missing. Anything that we are unable to experience during this trip, can head up the list of things to do on the next trip, if we are so fortunate enough to be able to go back.

Since we have limited time, we plan to mainly focus on the attractions, shows, shops and exhibits that are unique to Walt Disney World and then, if there’s time, visit the things that are identical to their counterparts in California.

Refillable Mugs

2005-07-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

One of the things I’m looking forward to is the refillable mugs that are offered at all the resorts. For $11.99 you can purchase a souvenir travel mug that can be refilled for free at your resort during your stay. Drink options include coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soda, apple juice and some type of slurpy beverage. Since the rooms don’t have coffee makers, I’ll be down at the food court every morning getting my morning cup of coffee. It may be entirely too hot to do this, but I’m also looking forward to getting a cup of hot chocolate at the end of the day.

The Dining Plan

2005-07-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

The primary reason we booked this trip and the thing that made it affordable, was the free Dining Plan that Disney is offering with our trip. This plan usually costs $35 per day and includes one table service meal, one counter service meal, and snack for each night that you’re booked at the resort. The table service meal allows you to select an appetizer, entrée, dessert and beverage. The counter service meal gives you an entrée (or combo meal), dessert and beverage. The snack is a choice of either a Mickey Mouse ice cream, a bag of chips, a piece of fruit, a small popcorn, a 20-oz bottled soft drink/water, or a medium fountain drink or apple juice. It will be plenty of food, more than we usually eat at one time. We are not in the habit of ordering appetizers with our meals and are usually too full to order dessert.

During our last two trips to Disneyland, we kept careful account of what we spent on meals and both times we averaged $26 per day per person. While we didn’t deprive ourselves, we also were careful with our spending. At the beginning of each trip, we stopped at the nearby grocery store and stocked up on cereal, snacks, pop, milk and juice. On most days we ate breakfast in our rooms before leaving for the Park. We would generally eat one big meal at the Park at either a nice table service restaurant or a counter service restaurant and then have smaller snacks throughout the rest of the day. Sometimes we would pick up dinner from the nearby Boston Market or El Pollo Loco and eat back in our rooms.

I seriously doubt that we could get away with $26 a day at Walt Disney World. Since we won’t have a car, we’ll have to eat all our meals at either one of the theme parks or at our resort. Even if we had to purchase the $35 a day meal plan, it would have been worth it.

Now with careful planning, we can get by almost exclusively using the meals provided by the Dining Plan. One evening, we spent a couple of hours reviewing all the table service restaurants and making a list of all the restaurants we wanted to try. Priority seating can be arranged 90 days in advance and I wanted to be prepared to call exactly 90 days before our trip.

Pop Century Resort

2005-07-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

Since we didn’t want to spend a ton of money, we elected to stay at one of the value resorts. There are four value resorts at Walt Disney World; the All-Star Movie Resort, the All-Star Music Resort, the All-Star Sports Resort, and the Pop Century Resort. The Pop Century is the newest, having opening in December 2003. It’s a whimsical time capsule of 20th century pop culture. The resorts 2,880 rooms are set in colorful, decade-themed buildings depicting American life in the 1950’s – 1990’s. A second phase of the resort is under construction and will feature the 1900’s – 1940’s.

Each building represents a different decade and is decorated with massive icons from that era. For example, in the 90’s building, huge cell phones and computers decorate the grounds. There are also three pools, a food court, a shopping area, and an arcade.

The rooms themselves have either two doubles or one king bed and are decorated with accents portraying the decade of the building. Room amenities include an iron and ironing board, in-room safe, 25” TV, toiletries (with Mickey Mouse soaps), and dual line phones with voicemail and data port. Hairdryers and cribs are available upon request and refrigerators are available for a fee. You can also request a wake-up call from Mickey and his friends.

There are two different room types available, standard and preferred. Preferred rooms are located in the 60’s building which is the closest to the main building with the lobby, food court and bus stops. At the time we made our reservation, only preferred location rooms were available so that is what we chose. I’m really happy that it worked out that way. The resort itself is huge and anything I can do to reduce the amount of walking is great by me.

The shuttle buses run quite regularly from the resort to the different theme parks. From what I’ve read, the three All-Star value resorts all share a bus system, while the Pop Century has its own dedicated bus system. This means a reduced number of people trying to board the buses and fewer stops.

All in all, I think we made a good choice. From the pictures I’ve seen, this looks like a fun hotel to stay in and as long as there is ample air conditioning, we’ll be just fine.

Magical Express Service

2005-06-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

As of May 2005, Disney is offering a complimentary service called “Magical Express” that allows us to check our baggage in at our hometown airport and bypass baggage claim when we arrive in Orlando. Instead our bags are whisked away by Disney representatives and magically appear in our hotel room.

Upon our arrival in Orlando, we will be met by a costumed Disney representative and directed to the Disney Welcome Center. Okay, realistically I know this isn’t going to happen, but in my mind I’m picturing Mickey Mouse waiting for us at the gate as we step off the plan holding up a sign with our names on it.

Next we board a themed, air-conditioned luxury motor coach for the 45 minute drive to the resort. During the ride, we can enjoy a video presentation which is shown on the video monitors located at each seat.

Once we arrive at the hotel, we go directly to the check-in counter. Our luggage will be delivered directly to our rooms within three hours of our arrival in Orlando.

When it’s time to go home, we check our luggage and get our boarding passes at the hotel before boarding the bus back to the airport. Our luggage is transported to the airport and loaded directly onto the plane.
What great about this (besides being greeted by a costumed Disney representative), is that we don’t have to worry about hauling our luggage around while we’re there. On the downside, this is a very new service and there have been a few bugs to work out, such as delays in getting luggage delivered to the rooms. It’s been recommended that you carry a few basic necessities and a change of clothes on the plane with you in case your luggage is delayed. I think this is a good idea. Hopefully, by the time we travel, things will be working smoothly.

Seat Assignments

2005-06-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

Once we booked our trips and printed out our vouchers, we took a look at our itinerary. That’s when we realized that our seat assignments for each our flights were in different parts of the plane. We went to the airlines website and were able to change our sets for three of our four flights so that we were seated next to each other. On the fourth flight, the one from Orlando to Dallas, the only seats together were in the very back of the plane in the middle and window positions. We selected those seats, but after much debate decided that we would rather be seated separately and move up closer to the front of the plane. There still weren’t any aisle seats available, but we are both in window seats on the side of the plane with only two seats in the row. It’s sad that we can’t sit together, but it’s on the shortest leg of our return trip and we definitely don’t want to sit in the back of the plane. It’s much too noisy and wiggly.

Jason knew of a website will tell you which seats are the best in each model of plane. We printed out the diagrams and referred to it extensively when choosing our seats. It was extremely helpful as it told us the pros and cons of each seat location, which had power ports, which had more/less leg room. We ended up being very pleased with most of our seats. We’ll continue to check the website in case seats open up together on the one flight.

Booking the Trip

2005-06-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I spent my breaks and lunch hour pricing out different options, visiting the WDW message board on Mouseplanet.com, and trying to learn as much as I could to make the most informed decision. For some reason, I wasn’t able to price a trip on the Disney World website, as it would time out and give me an hour. I was a little nervous thinking that the reason it was doing this was because of such a high level of traffic on the site caused by many people booking their trips. I was afraid that by the time we called to book our trip, the limited number of packages offered would be gone.

I was able to price the trip on Expedia.com, but they aren’t my first choice since they charge your card immediately for the full price of the trip. Walt Disney Travel charges you a $200 deposit with the balance due 45 days before your departure date. I hoped to use my Disney Visa and get the 6 months, no interest financing that they offer to cardholders who book packages through the Walt Disney Travel Company.

Once I arrived home, I quickly sat down in front of the computer and went to the WDW website. Unfortunately, my computer immediately locked up and I had to reboot, not once, but twice. My computer has been doing this a lot and I probably should just reformat my hard drive and start over, but I really don’t want to deal with that. Anyway, that’s a whole ‘nother story and one I don’t really want to go into right now.

I finally got my computer up and running again. We also had Jason’s laptop open as well so we could have several things going at once. After calling the Disney Visa people to verify that the trip we were planning would fall within the guidelines for special financing, I dialed the WD Travel Company. Ironically, all the numbers for booking Disney vacations/cruises are 800 numbers, except the number for Walt Disney World. This was going to be a long distance call to Florida. I have free long distance on my cell phone, but I wasn’t sure how long the call would last and I have limited peak hour minutes.

It seemed like I was on hold forever, but finally I was able to speak to a travel representative. I gave her our dates of travel and the package code for the free dining plan. This whole process took quite a while. When she gave me the total price, it seemed a little high. I asked her to check to make sure that I wasn’t being charged for the dining plan. While she checked, I priced out a vacation that included paying for the dining plan and it was the same price she quoted me, so I knew that she had overcharged me.

When she came back on the line, she said that because our stay extended past the expiration date of the special offer, the computer wasn’t giving me free dining for those days at the end of our trip. I explained that I was under the impression that as long as my check-in date was the dates of the offer, I would be eligible for the offer during our entire stay. She said that no, that wasn’t the way it worked. I still believe that information is incorrect, as I have read in several places that rate that’s in effect at your check-in date is the one in effect for your entire trip. I asked her to change the dates to the last week of September, and to also check for other value resorts. She willing did so, but came back to say that the computer wasn’t coming up with the deal so all the special packages must be sold out. I explained that I had just priced out the exact vacation on Expedia.com and was able to get the free dining plan. She suggested that I book through Expedia. I thanked her for her time and hung up.

With both of us at a different computer, we entered our own trip details into Expedia and were able to get the trip we wanted. I had a $75 off coupon from Expedia that I was able to use to further reduce the cost of the trip. We each clicked the button on our respective computers at the same time to book our trips. There was more than a moment of panic when Jason received a message saying that the flight he selected was no longer available. There was no way we wanted to travel on separate flights. Fortunately, he clicked the back button and tried it again. This time it worked.

Two Trips are Better Than One

2005-06-24T16:22:00.001-07:00

We decided to make two trips in 2005; one in October and another in December. We chose October so that we can make one final trip with our annual passes before they expire. We are anxious to see all the 50th Anniversary things in the Park and also see our 50th Anniversary brick in the Esplanade. We also decided to go in December so that we can enjoy the Park with all its Christmas decorations. And, the best part of all is that my parents will be going with us in December. It will be great to show them what a wonderful time you can have in the Park without rushing around from attraction to attraction.

I had already made reservations for me and Jason at HoJo’s in Anaheim for October 8-15 and December 10-17 using the Mousesavers discount, so I called them up to add one more room for December. Jason and I had decided to reserve one king bed room and one room with two queen beds for the two of us to increase our chances of getting connecting rooms. It really made things easier last December when we stayed in a family suite at the Anaheim Plaza and had the connecting door between our rooms. Our rates at HoJo’s this year are $50 for the king room and $54 for the two queens, very reasonable rates.

With our hotel reservations made, there really isn’t much else to do for the trip. I continue to check air fare and car rentals, but things are still really high. Hopefully, as we get closer to the trip dates, and past summer, there will be some fall specials. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to visit Mouseplanet to pick up more tips and keep informed of all the happenings in the Park.

Change in Plans

2005-06-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

I guess it hasn’t really sunk in yet, but yes, we’ve booked a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. Instead of going to Disneyland in October, we’re going to go to WDW instead. It all happened so quickly that I really can’t believe it. We haven’t had a chance to mention it to any other family members yet. We all get together for a family birthday party this weekend, so we’ll bring it up then. I knew that I wanted to visit WDW someday, but it was always sometime in the future.

I was browsing the Mousesavers.com website on Sunday and on the front page they list the latest hot deals. One of offers said that Disney is offering a free dining plan when you book a Magic Your Way Vacation Package of 3 nights or more at a Walt Disney World Resort between 8/21/05 and 10/4/05. Just for laughs, I went to the Walt Disney World website and priced a 7 night vacation. I figured that instead of getting our own rooms we would have to share one in order to make the trip affordable. However, the total price for the trip, with one room, was LESS than what we planned to spend on our trip to Disneyland in October.

I shared my discovery with Jason and he was as interested as I was. Suddenly, it became a real possibility. I spent the rest of the evening pricing different options, including one with separate rooms. Even though this ended up being a little more expensive, we decided it would be worth it. We have different sleep patterns and having two bathrooms would be nice.

We tried to think about all the negatives, such as the heat and humidity, the long plane ride, and, of course, the fact that it was in the middle of hurricane season. In spite of these negatives, we still wanted to go. With the free dining plan, the majority of our meals would be paid for. Hotel rates, ticket prices and air fare are always going up, so the cost wouldn’t likely be going down next year. In addition, we thought it would be nice to be able to visit both Disneyland and Disney World during the 50th Anniversary Celebration.

We decided to sleep on it and make a final decision the next day. If we still wanted to go ahead with this, I would call Walt Disney Travel and book the trip.

We now have a permanent place in Disney history!

2005-06-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

After much debate, we went ahead and purchase a special 50th Anniversary brick that will be placed a special area located in the esplanade area between Disneyland and DCA. Neither one of us wanted for fork out the funds for two bricks, but we couldn’t figure out a way to word one brick so that it didn’t sound like we were a couple. As usual, my question was answered on Mouseplanet, where someone else posted that exact same situation. Taking their advice, we decided on “Patty & Jason”, “Mother and Son”, “October 2004”. We decided to include October 2004, as it is the date that we purchased our first annual passes and is the start of hopefully many years of wonderful trips to Disneyland. In addition, it also includes the 50th Anniversary medallion.

We made the decision to purchase the brick on the day before New Year’s Eve. December 31 was the expiration date of a special offer for annual passholders to get a brick for $50 off the regular price. Since I worked ½ day on New Year’s Eve, I planned to call and order the brick when I arrived home at noon. Unfortunately, the Disney office also closed at noon so we were unable to make the purchase. Unwilling at that point to pay regular price, we put the idea on hold indefinitely. A couple of months later, we decided to go ahead with it anyway and I called in the order. Because Jason has a premium annual pass, we were able to get 10% off the price which helped a little. In addition, we ordered the clear Lucite replica of the brick so that we would be able to enjoy it when we’re not at Disneyland.

Shortly after placing the order, we received a confirmation in the mail along with a legal agreement that we had to sign and return. Our brick is guaranteed to remain in place for at least 10 years unless it gets cracked or damaged. In that case, I believe they refund a portion of our money. They won’t repair or replace the brick.

A month or so later we received a packet in the mail containing a certificate “signed” by Roy Disney, along with a map showing the location of our brick. The projected placement date is scheduled for early June, in plenty of time for our next visit.

Recently, our brick replica arrived in the mail and it stands proudly in the living room. It’s nice to have something tangible to look at until we get to the Park.

The Happiest Celebration on Earth!

2005-06-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

On Wednesday, May 4, the day before the official kick-off of the 18 month long Happiest Celebration on Earth, Disneyland Park was closed to the public and a media event for specially invited guests was held. Among those guests were 5000 annual pass holders and guests who won tickets by registering on the Disneyland.com website earlier in the year. Jason and I registered but unfortunately were not selected to attend. In a way it was a relief since airfare and hotel would have been outrageously expensive.

Just because we weren’t able to attend in person, didn’t mean that we didn’t get to enjoy the festivities. Throughout the day my favorite Disneyland Fan Website, Mouseplanet.com, posted frequent updates and photos of the days events. Just about every time I was able to visit the site, new information had been posted.

One of the fun things that Disney did to celebrate the 50th anniversary was to replace one of the vehicles from each of the remaining original attractions with a golden vehicle. On May 4, the official unveiling of each golden vehicle took place. Some of the attractions that now have golden vehicles are: King Arthur’s Carousel, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Mad Tea Party, Autopia, and the Jungle Cruise. There may be more, but I can’t recall them right now.

Thursday, May 5, 2005

Today, May 5, is the official kick-off of the celebration and people were lined up very early in the morning to get in. There were rumors that the park would reach capacity and stop letting people in, so no one wanted to risk missing out on this special day.

A ceremony was held in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which had been decorated overnight with five gold crowns representing each of the five decades that Park had been open. Art Linkletter, who was present at the original opening day was the MC. Michael Eisner spoke and received a few boos from the audience. Julie Andrews is the official Ambassador of the celebration and was there to officially announce the start of the 18 month long celebration. Even though I wasn’t able to be there, I was able to download the entire opening presentation and watch it on my computer. I probably get a better view than some of the people who were actually there. The area right in front of the castle was filled by tons of media folks, making it difficult for “Average Joes” to see much of anything.

I can’t wait until our next trip so I can see all the special details that Disney has put in place for the big celebration. It’s time to begin planning our next trip!

Trip Report - Day 5

2005-04-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday, December 18, 2004

We were a little sad this morning, because we knew today was the day we had to return home. The park opened at 8:00 AM, but we didn’t have the energy to get up early enough to finish packing and still make the rope drop. Since checkout wasn’t until noon, we left our things in our rooms and drove over to the park.

Our first stop was the Mark Twain Steamship. I wanted to take some pictures on our journey along the Rivers of America and this was the first time we had ridden during the daylight hours. I busily snapped away at everything in sight, especially trying to get pictures of the logs from Splash Mountain. We discovered during our October visit that just after the logs go down the big drop, they pass under the walkway and briefly out alongside the Rivers of America. As many times as we have ridden Splash in the past, we never realized that. I guess we were too busy wiping the water off of our faces and cleaning off our glasses to notice.

Next stop was a stroll through New Orleans Square where Jason purchased the Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack and then over to the Main Street Cinema where we were promised continuous running Mickey Mouse cartoons. We were both pretty tired from the busy days before and thought it would be a nice break to just sit and watch cartoons. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any seating in the theater. It was basically a large room with 6 small screens around the perimeter showing continuously running cartoons. We left after just a couple of minutes.

By now it was getting really crowded in the park. Today was the start of Christmas break for many people and the park was really filling up. We decided to go to the World of Disney store and do some final souvenir shopping. We wandered around the huge store and Jason purchased a couple of frames for his collection. After leaving the store, we decided to go back and split the purchase of the Disney Holiday CD. This CD contains 3 songs, the soundtrack to the “Believe in Holiday Magic” Fireworks show, the “It’s a Small World Holiday” soundtrack and the soundtrack to the “Lumin-aria” show that used to be in the lagoon over in DCA. It was an impulse purchase, but one I definitely do not regret. I played that over and over throughout the Christmas season (and even a little bit beyond).

With our bags of purchases in hand, we boarded the tram to the parking structure and then drove back to the hotel. Since we had minimal luggage, it was easy to load everything up into the car and then we drove over to the front of the hotel to check out.

Our plan was to find the nearest UPS store and have them ship all our purchases home. This enabled us to keep our baggage to a minimum. We also felt this would keep our items safe from the security inspection stations at the airport. We located the UPS Store in a strip mall about 5 miles away and even though the parking lot was very crowded, the store was empty except for two employees. They were very helpful, wrapping and packing all our things in a large box.

Even though we had plenty of time until our flight, we were both nervous about the trip to the airport. You really never know what kind of traffic you’ll run into. Last October it took us a couple of hours to drive 12 miles because of a chemical spill on the freeway that shut down a lane while they cleaned it up. Fortunately, we experienced smooth sailing all the way to the airport. We stopped just up the street from the car return lot to fill up the tank and then continued on our way.

Checking the rental car back in at Alamo was a breeze. We were directed to an empty lane where the attendance scanned the bar code on our car and within 1 minute we were checked in and ready to go to the airport. We boarded the shuttle bus and within a few minutes we were headed over to the airport.

We didn’t have access to a computer and printer this time around, so we needed to check in at the United counter at the airport. There were many lines open with just a few people in each line, so we figured we would be in and out quickly. Many of the stations were equipped with Easy Check In terminals so it took just a few minutes to punch in our information and get our boarding passes. Since we were checking baggage, our baggage claim tags printed to a printer located on the other side of the counter. That’s when we discovered that while all available stations were open along the counter, only three customer service people were working behind the counters. Without someone to pick up our baggage tags from the printer and put them on our baggage, we were stuck. Instead of working their way along the counter, the reps seemed to be staying in one location. A woman on one side of me was frantic because her flight was already boarding. A man on the other side of me was absolutely livid and was trying to call the United number to complain. He was very loud and obnoxious. Fortunately, in response to his yelling, someone did eventually make their way down to our line and we managed to get our baggage tagged. I hoped that it would make it on the plane, since there were lots of bags piled up on the other side of the counter.

Next stop was Security. The line wasn’t too long and we passed through without incident. After the fiasco at the check in counter, Security was a breeze.

It was mid afternoon and we were starving. We picked up some lunch from McDonalds and sat down at our gate to eat. We had a couple of hours until our flight was scheduled to leave so we settled in to wait. There was plenty of opportunity to watch the people around us. A large group was seated across from us. They seemed to be all members of the same family and from what we gathered from our shameless eavesdropping, had just finished taking a long cruise. They were loaded to the gills with carry-on luggage. They had boxes of bottles of wine and tons shopping bags. I was surprised that they let them on the plane with all their bags.

Finally, it was time to board the plane. Our seats were directly behind the row with the emergency exit, which seemed to have plenty of leg room. Unfortunately, the extra leg room that this row enjoyed seemed to have been taken from the row that we were seated in. It was ridiculously cramped. I’m a very short person and it was close even for me. Jason, with his long legs, was even more crowded and uncomfortable. The flight seemed to be very full so there was no chance of moving to a different seat.

The flight was smooth and passed without incident. This time we shared a can of Ginger Ale, since one can was really too much. We also enjoyed our 1/2 oz. packs of Gourmet Party Mix. The plane also was equipped with TV screens which gave me something to watch.

When we arrived in Portland we walked out passed the Security checkpoint and my dad was there waiting for us. It was so nice to see a familiar face and we really appreciated him offering to pick us up. We all walked over to the baggage claim area. Jason’s bag arrived almost immediately. Mine took forever and we were starting to think that maybe it didn’t make it on the plane. Just when my level of panic was reaching an alarming level, it appeared on the carousel.

Being late on a Saturday evening, there wasn’t any traffic and we made it home quickly. We did some unpacking, watched a little TV and then headed off to our beds. This trip had been without question the absolute best we’ve ever had. Writing this account has enabled me to relive each moment over again. Now that I’m through with the report, I feel the same letdown I did after we returned home. The only cure for that is to start planning the next trip.

Trip Report - Day 4

2005-04-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Friday, December 17, 2004

Today was the last full day of our trip. Being Friday, Disneyland opened at 9:00 AM instead of the usual 10:00 AM. We had priority seating reservations at the Carnation Café for 8:30 AM so we were out the door around 8:00 AM.

The Carnation Café is located right between the Blue Ribbon Bakery and the Emporium and offers outdoor seating at tables with umbrellas to shade you from the sun. It was a nice sunny day and as it was still early, the temperature was very comfortable. We both ordered our favorite, the Mickey Mouse waffle, which comes with a couple of strips of bacon, and we each ordered an orange juice. The service was excellent as usual and after just a few minutes our breakfast was served. While we were eating, the chef, Oscar, came to our table to ask how our breakfast was. Oscar also has a scrambled egg dish named after him that looks really good, but I don’t know if I could ever pass up an opportunity to have the Mickey Mouse waffle. In fact, we’ve decided that during our next trip we’re going to start every morning off with a Mickey Mouse waffle.

With full and satisfied stomachs, we stopped to ride Mr. Toad and then went on to Tomorrowland to ride the Autopia. After the Autopia, we walked all the way back to Critter Country to ride Winnie the Pooh. After exiting Winnie the Pooh, we picked up fastpasses for Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones. We were able to get more than one fastpass at a time because of early fastpass return times for some attractions and also because some of the fastpass machines are not networked together.

Pirates of the Caribbean was next, followed by the Jungle Cruise, then a quick walk back over to Critter Country where we used our fastpasses for Splash Mountain and lastly over to the Haunted Mansion.

By now it was lunch time so we stop to decide where to eat. Neither of us had been to the French Market and since we could get a 10% discount with our annual passes, we decided to eat there. Many of the menu items had a Nightmare Before Christmas theme, so I chose Zero’s Bowls of Bones which was a pile of ribs, chicken legs and fries served in a souvenir dog bowl with Zero’s name on it. Zero is the name of the dog in the movie “Nightmare Before Christmas,” which I’ve never seen. My entrée also came with a salad. I think Jason ordered the lasagna, which was also served in the dog bowl. The CM that took our orders was a little hard to understand and Jason misunderstood her and selected a fruit platter that ended up costing him an additional $5.95. We found a table outside along the perimeter of the seating area and enjoyed our lunch while watching the crowds pass by.

After lunch, we used our fastpasses for Indy and then picked up fastpasses for Big Thunder Railroad on our way over to the It’s a Small World toy shop. When you exit IASW, it dumps you out right into the toy shop (a very smart marketing move). I had noticed an IASW mug that I wanted to buy. We tried to use Jason’s premium AP, but forgot that you need to make a minimum purchase of $10 to get the discount, so I ended up using my merchandise gift card.

We reached the Main Street Hub just in time to hop on the horse drawn trolley for a ride back to the entrance. We made a quick stop at the Candy Palace where I purchased a piece of their delicious fudge. There are many different varieties of fudge. This time I got the plain fudge instead of the fudge with walnuts, which is what I bought last October. It was still good, but I think the fudge with walnuts is better.

Since the park was open later this evening and we had tickets to the 10:30 PM Fantasmic Dessert Buffet, we planned to head back to the room for a rest. After leaving Disneyland, we walked over to DCA and picked up some fastpasses for Soarin’ to use later on when we returned. We also walked over to the shop near Grizzly River Run so that Jason could buy one of the picture frames that he is collecting and so I could buy a DCA mug to add to my collection.

With our purchases in hand, we headed over to the parking lot tram station. Once we were back in our rooms, we settled down for a short nap.

Late afternoon, we were ready to head back to the park. Our first stop was DCA where we used our fastpasses to ride Soarin’. I will never get tired of that ride. After Soarin’, we went back to Disneyland and rode Big Thunder Railroad, doing the Goat Trick of course.

We traded one train ride for another, as our next ride was the Casey Jr. train. Jason didn’t want to ride it, but I really did so we waited in a short line and then made a beeline for one of the cars that was a cage. It was a short ride, but very enjoyable as you get to see a lot of the little cottages from the Storybook Land Canal boats.

Exiting the train, we came upon a churro cart and of course had to try one. Many people rave about the churros and we’ve never had one at the Park. We forked over a $2.75 a piece for a churro and they were every bit as delicious as people said. I think everything tastes better at Disneyland. They must add a little pixie dust to everything.

While munching our churros, we walked over to Tomorrowland to see “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience,” a 3-D attraction. We had a little while to wait before the show started, so we sat on the steps and finished our churros.

After HISTA, we rode Big Thunder Mountain twice, both times doing the Goat Trick and then walked over to Critter Country and picked up fastpasses for Splash Mountain. We wanted to be on this side of the park before the 9:00 AM start of Fantasmic. This was the opening night for the show after being on hiatus and the crowds promised to be huge. People had begun to stake out their spots hours before the show.

Since there never is more than a 5 minute wait for Winnie the Pooh, we always stop to ride it whenever we are in Critter Country. Right near the exit to Winnie is Pooh Corner, a wonderful shop filled with Pooh merchandise and a great assortment of interesting candy. After shopping, we had a few minutes until it was time to use our fastpasses for Splash, so we sat on the bench on the porch outside of the shop and admired the Pooh themed Christmas decorations in the big tree in front of us.

When our ride on Splash Mountain was over, the 9:00 PM Fantasmic show was finished so we decided to make our way over to the Disney Gallery which is located upstairs above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We had heard horror stories of the huge crowds leaving the Fantasmic viewing area and causing a gridlock so we wanted to allow plenty of time to move through the area. Fortunately, many people remained in their spots in order to watch the fireworks display at 9:45 PM so we didn’t have too much of a problem getting through. We arrived at the Disney Gallery with plenty of time to spare so we walked up the stairs to the Gallery to look around. The fireworks began shortly thereafter and those that had tickets to the 9:00 PM Fantasmic Dessert Buffet were allowed to remain on the balcony to watch the show. Even though the fireworks are designed for best viewing directly in front of the castle, it still would have been nice to view the show from the balcony. If we ever do the dessert buffet again, I would like to get tickets for the first show so that we can stay and watch the fireworks afterwards.

We weren’t sure how the seating for the dessert buffet worked, so we wanted to get checked in early in case it was first come, first served. The CM working in the Gallery told us that people were seated in the order in which they purchased their tickets. We were directed to an inner courtyard just outside the Disney Gallery where there was a small fountain and several patio tables and chairs. We sat down to wait. The building which houses the Disney Gallery was originally planned to be larger living quarters for Walt and his brother Roy. However, Walt passed away before the rooms were completed.

Shortly after 10:00 PM, a cast member entered the courtyard with her clipboard and began calling names. As luck would have it, we were the first ones called. She took our tickets and led us through the Gallery, out onto the balcony and directed us to our seats which were located right along the railing, directly in front of the area where the Fantasmic would be performed. The view was absolutely perfect. A waiter came and took our drink orders and invited us to visit the dessert buffet. There was a mouth-watering assortment of desserts, cheese and crackers, and fresh fruit. We filled our plates and sat back down. Other groups were being seated one by one. The woman next to me asked me what time I had called to purchase our tickets. I told her that I called promptly at 8:00 AM. She said she thought she had too, but I must have beat her to it.

We managed a second trip to the buffet before the show started. Once it began, we didn’t feel comfortable standing up in front of everyone behind us to go back to the dessert table. Plus, we didn’t want to miss a minute of the show. It was an amazing display of lights, sound, pyrotechnics and many, many of the Disney characters. Even from where we were seated, back away from the river and up on the balcony, we could still feel the heat from the flames on the river. The show lasted about 20-25 minutes and ended way before we were ready for it too.

After Fantasmic, I wanted to ride It’s a Small World Holiday one last time. So even though the line was outrageously long, we waited in it. To pass the time in line, we took pictures of the area even though most of them didn’t turn out because it was too dark.

Although it was after 11:00 PM, the line for Peter Pan was still long, but we waited in it anyway since the line never seems to get shorter. It’s really one of my favorite rides and I wanted to ride it at least once on this trip.

By now it was late and we were really tired. Since we were due to go home the next day and still had to pack, we decided to make a night of it. We made our way to the parking lot tram along with the thousands of other people leaving the park and eventually made it back to the parking lot and then back to the hotel.

Trip Report - Day 3

2005-04-01T12:53:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 16, 2004

With the great memories of yesterday’s wonderful day still on our minds, we awoke eagerly anticipating another fantastic day at Disneyland. After a quick breakfast of cereal in the room, we headed over to the park. It was an extremely windy day and we were glad that we had the chance to see the fireworks the previous evening as they can get cancelled if the weather isn’t perfect.

As we entered the park, we noticed a sign announcing that Kelly Clarkson would be taping her segment of the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade. For those who have been locked up in solitary confinement the past few years and are out of touch with current events, Kelly Clarkson is the very first American Idol winner. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend another couple of hours standing in the hot sun, but Jason really wanted to watch the taping, so I was happy to go along with it.

As soon as the rope dropped, we headed over to Fantasyland and hopped on Dumbo. After Dumbo, we rode Snow White, Pinnochio, and Alice in Wonderland. The line for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was a little long so we bypassed that ride for now. We had hoped to ride Peter Pan, but even though the park had only been open for less than 20 minutes, the line was already huge. This ride seems to be everyone’s favorite. Maybe it’s because out of all the rides in Fantasyland, this is the only one that is absolutely kid-friendly. There’s nothing to scare even the most timid rider. I read a comment from someone on a discussion board that you could head over to Peter Pan at 2:00 AM with the park closed and still find a 40-minute line. The Matterhorn was our next ride and I believe we rode the Fantasyland side this time.

At 11:00 AM an announcement was made inviting us to participate/watch the taping of Kelly Clarkson so we headed over to the castle. A large stage was setup in front of the castle. Along the back of the stage were several Christmas trees and pots of poinsettias were grouped along the sides and front corners. Those of us selected to be a part of the taping were ushered into a roped off section in front of the stage. We were packed in there pretty tightly. Jason and I started about 3 rows from the front, but by the time taping began, we had moved up to the second row. The first row seemed to be reserved for members of her fan club. It took them a long time to get ready. The wind kept blowing things out of place on the stage and they had to keep fixing them. To keep us entertained, the guy operating the camera on the big boom would maneuver it over the crowd and we would all wave and cheer. After a while, the band came out and they did sound checks. Finally, Kelly arrived looking much smaller in person than she does on TV. I always thought she looked a little plump, but in actuality, she’s quite petite. She sang her newest release, Breakway. Even though I recognized the song from the radio, I wasn’t aware that it was her singing it. I didn’t consider myself much of a Kelly fan before then, but after that day my opinion changed. Even now, whenever I hear that song on the radio, I remember vividly our wonderful trip. It took 4 or 5 takes before the director was pleased. As before, at the very end of the taping the cameras were turned on those of us in the audience and we did our best to make ourselves stand out so we wouldn’t end up on the cutting room floor. Unfortunately, once again we failed to make the final cut.

We originally had priority seating at the Blue Bayou at 11:30 AM. While Jason held our places in front of the stage, I went over to the restaurant and changed our reservation to 1:00 PM. After the taping, we headed down Main Street to take a picture of the sign at the entrance that announced the Kelly Clarkson taping.

Since we were near the Main Street train station, we hopped aboard the train and rode it over to New Orleans Square. Then we walked over to Adventureland and rode Indiana Jones since the line wasn’t very long. We had a little time to kill afterwards so I summoned up my courage and decided to try to go through Tarzan’s Treehouse. Those of you who know me know that I have a great fear of heights. On our visit in 1993 I attempted to conquer it but had to turn back at the first landing. It might have still been called the Swiss Family Treehouse back then, I don’t really remember. This time, I probably achieved some kind of world record for the fastest time through the treehouse. I kept my head down and put one foot in front of the other, barely glances at things along the way, but I made it all the way through. Next trip I’ll try it again, only try to slow down a little and enjoy the sights. I also plan to ride the Teacups then, though I definitely won’t be spinning.

We decided to check in for our lunch reservations and wait as long as necessary for a table by the water. I don’t think we waited more than 20 minutes. It was well worth it, the ambiance of the restaurant is greatly improved with a waterside table. Jason had the Monte Cristo sandwich and I tried the Pork Loin. It was a little dry, but still very tasty.

After lunch we headed over to DCA and picked up fastpasses for Soarin’. Then we went to the Muppet 3-D and Bug’s Life before ending up at the Tower of Terror. The line was a reasonable length so hopped in line.

Next stop was the Disney Animation building where we took in a couple of the shows. Afterwards, we just walked around talking pictures of DCA until it was time to use our fastpasses for Soarin’. I never get tired of the ride. I could ride it over and over.

After Soarin’ we stopped at Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream and each got a sundae made with chocolate cake, ice cream, fudge sauce and whipped cream. The ice cream parlor is located in middle of three silver train cars situated near the entrance to DCA. The front car houses the Engineer-Ears toy store and the last car is Baker’s Field Bakery. We sat outside and ate our ice cream. The evening was very mild and quite pleasant.

With full stomachs we walked through Downtown Disney and hopped the Monorail into Tomorrowland. From there we walked to Critter Country and rode Winnie the Pooh. By now we were both very tired, so we boarded the train in New Orleans Square and rode it back to the Main entrance. Another great day at the Park had come to an end.

Trip Report - Day 2

2005-03-23T16:00:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Without a doubt, today turned out to be the absolute best day we’ve ever had at Disneyland. We started off with a quick breakfast in our rooms and then drove over to the Park. After going through the security checkpoint we stopped at the Will Call booth to pick up our tickets for the Holiday Tour, which we were taking today, and our tickets for the Fantasmic Dessert Buffet scheduled for Friday evening.

I had learned on MousePlanet that today Disneyland was going to dedicate a window to Fess Parker, who was the star of the Davy Crockett series on TV many years ago. If you look up at the windows along Main Street, you’ll notice that many of them have a person’s name and a business painted on them. These windows were Walt’s way of honoring people that made significant contributions to Disneyland. The person’s actual name is used but the name of the business is fictional, although it relates in a clever way to the type of contribution the person made.

Since we had about 20 minutes until the rope drop, we walked up and down Main Street trying to locate (without success) the window that was to be dedicated to Fess Parker. I finally asked one of the outdoor vendors, but he didn’t know anything about it. Shortly before 10:00 AM, an announcement was made inviting everyone to the dedication to be held in Frontierland at 10:15 AM. It made perfect sense that Fess Parker’s window would be in Frontierland rather than Main Street.

As soon as the rope dropped, we headed over to the Frontierland Hat Shop, which was renamed the Crockett & Russell Hat Co. The window was covered with a red, white and blue banner. Several rows of chairs were lined up facing the store and a podium was placed on the porch. Off to the side was a section for the media and many cameras were set up. The entire area was roped off and all seating was reserved for VIP’s, so we picked a spot along the rope directly in front of the store. There was a large tree just inside the roped off area which made it difficult to get good pictures. The sun was just coming up over the store and shown directly at us, making even more difficult to get a decent picture.

At 10:15 AM, Matt Quimet, the General Manager of the Disneyland Resort, took the podium and made a short speech and then introduced Fess Parker, who rode up in a horse-drawn wagon escorted by Mickey Mouse who was outfitted in pioneer clothing. A children’s choir, all wearing coonskin caps, sang the Davy Crockett theme song. At the conclusion of the song, all the children threw their caps up in the air. Next, Fess Parker spoke, introducing the numerous family members seated in the reserved seating area. Finally, the big moment arrived. With an explosion of confetti, the banner was dropped revealing a window which said, “Davy Crockett, Coonskin Cap Supply Company, Fess Parker, Proprietor.”

After the ceremony, we rode Big Thunder Railroad since there wasn’t a line, and then headed over to the Matterhorn. This attraction had been closed during our last visit in October and we were glad to be able to ride it this time around. While we were in line, we decided to each sit in our own seat, rather than share a seat which is really uncomfortable. The cast member at the head of the line apparently assumed that we would be sharing a seat, so when we hopped into separate seats he reprimanded us for “not telling him we wanted separate seats and therefore screwing up his count.” That was our only experience with a rude cast member, everyone else was extremely nice and friendly. In spite of this incident, we enjoy the ride.

After the Matterhorn, we headed over to It’s a Small World Holiday. We had never seen this attraction with its holiday overlay. Over the years, this attraction had become one of our least favorites. Of course we would ride it whenever we were at the park, because we try to ride everything and it provides an 11-minute break from the walking, standing, crowds and heat. The trade-off is that the “It’s a Small World” song sticks in your mind long after you exit the ride. What a difference the overlay makes. With the addition of all the lights, wreaths and garlands covering the outside, as well as lights on the topiaries, it completely transforms the attraction and looks absolutely amazing after dark. Inside, each of the dolls is dressed in a new Christmas outfit and each of the rooms has been redecorated to include many of the holiday traditions from other countries. Even the music is given a makeover. Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls are incorporated into the original soundtrack and you don’t seem to mind if it lingers on your mind throughout the day.

Next, we headed over to the front of the castle where we filmed our holiday special. Actually, it wasn’t exactly our special, but we played the all important role of “enthusiastic parade viewer.” Disney was filming segments for the Walt Disney World Holiday Parade scheduled to air on Christmas Day. We joined other parade viewers and lined the path leading to the castle. On cue, we would clap and cheer as a large group of Disney characters would skip and run from the castle to the hub. A camera operator with a Steadi-Cam ran backwards alongside the characters in order to get close up shots. One shot was ruined by a woman who stood up near the wall to videotape the whole procession so we had to do it again. After they film crew finished shooting the characters, they did one more take and turned the cameras on us. This was our chance to shine and we summoned all our acting ability to clap and cheer and wave when there wasn’t anyone or anything to get excited about.

The film crew took a short break to set up for the next shot, which would be a musical number by the Christian teen group, Jump Five. We were invited to come back in an hour to be a part of the cheering crowd once again.

As we were walking away from the castle, I noticed an outdoor vending cart that was closed, but the sign said “Turkey Legs.” Neither of us had ever enjoyed one of these smoked turkey legs, but we had heard rave reviews from a number of people. We headed off in search of the infamous turkey legs. We located an open cart just inside Frontierland right across from the Mark Twain dock. The turkey legs were $6.00 a piece and were huge. They were smoked and were covered with bbq sauce. We each purchased one and sat down on a nearby bench to eat them.

As we sat there eating our turkey legs, we attracted a little bit of attention. A group of Japanese tourists passed by and one of the members of the group stopped to ask what we were eating and where we got them. We told him and his entire group headed over to the cart and purchased turkey legs. A few other people also stopped to comment on the size of the turkey legs. We felt that we did a great job generating business for the outdoor vendor and were entitled to a commission. Jason was able to finish his entire leg, but I could only eat about 2/3. We added Turkey Legs to our must-do list for future visits.

With full stomachs we headed back to the castle to film the next segment of our holiday special. We were placed in roughly the same location, lining the walkway to the castle, but this time we were in the front row. One of the floats from the parade was parked in the street in front of the castle. Tinkerbell was perched on top of the float and Peter Pan was located just below her.

After what seemed like a really long time getting ready, they finally began filming the segment. After cueing the music, Jump Five came out and lip-synched their number. I had never heard of Jump Five prior to this day and I was a little confused because there were only four members in the group. I later learned that one of the members had recently left the group. Anyway, on our cue we began to clap along with the music and look lively and excited to be there. Near the end of their song, all the characters would run out from the castle and join Jump Five and they would all dance together in the street. Again, it took four or five takes before the director was satisfied with the shot. Between shots, Jump Five’s peeps would rush over and hold sun shades over the group to shield them from the hot sun. After Jump Five was done, they cued up the music one last time and turned the cameras on those of us in the crowd, giving us a chance to show off our acting skills as we clapped and cheered to absolutely nothing.

Next stop was the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor where we each two scoops of ice cream in a waffle cup with fudge sauce and whipped cream. We sat outside at a table and enjoyed the Christmas decorations and music on Main Street.

We had a little time to kill before our Holiday Tour began so we browsed through the Christmas shop for a while and then stopped in to see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. This attraction is probably one of the most under-appreciated attractions in the Park. In February 2005, Mr. Lincoln is scheduled to be closed while they install a special 50th Anniversary exhibit. I hope they bring Mr. Lincoln back after the 50th Anniversary is over.

Even though it was still a little early, we headed over to City Hall and sat down to wait for our tour to begin. Shortly before 3:00 PM, we stepped up to the tour cart and checked-in. Each person was given a Christmas tree shaped tag to hang on our shirt to identify us as tour participants. We were divided into two groups and introduced to our Tour Guide. Our guide was Cindy and the other guide was Jena. We had met Jena the previous October when she was part of the tour team on the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour.

Our tour began with a walk down Main Street where Cindy stopped periodically to tell us interesting facts about the different Disneyland holiday traditions. She shared stories about the huge Christmas tree located at Christmas Tree Point and the origin of the delicious smells we enjoyed as we walked along the street.

Once we reached the end of Main Street we headed over to Frontierland by way of Adventureland and entered the Westward Ho Trading Company located next to the Shooting Gallery. As we entered the store, a Cast Member greeted us with a plate filled with samples of pumpkin fudge. A man who was not part of our tour thought they were giving out free samples so he went forward to take a piece from the plate. He was very politely told by the Cast Member that these samples were for the tour group. He was so embarrassed and apologized for his error. Jason and I were both extremely embarrassed for him as well. As I recall this experience almost four months later, I still feel his embarrassment as if it just happened.

Exiting the Westward Trading Company, we walked past the Rivers of America and over to New Orleans Square where the Christmas decorations reflected the Mardi-Gras flair of the area. We made a brief stop at a little out of the way courtyard called the Court of Angels. This is seems to be a favorite spot for people to take photos. Our tour guide’s family has their Christmas card photo taken here each year.

Next stop was the Haunted Mansion Holiday, where we were privileged to bypass the huge line and go directly onto the ride. Just in case we were separated during the ride, we were instructed to all meet at the exit afterwards. Once we were all together we headed over to the train station in NOS where we met up with the other tour group. While waiting for the next train to arrive, we sang a modified version of Jingle Bells that Jena taught us. When the train arrived, we were led through the exit and onto the train, bypassing the line waiting at the station.

We rode the train to the Toon Town station and then walked through Toon Town while Cindy pointed out all the unique decorations on each of the buildings and shared some little known secrets. After Toon Town we went over to It’s a Small Word. The line was huge but fortunately, we didn’t have to wait in it. After just a few minutes, we entered through the wheelchair access gate and onto a waiting boat. Before we went inside, Cindy shared some very interesting facts about the decorating of It’s a Small Word and the park in general. For instance, there is a team of only 30 people responsible for decorating the entire park as well as the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World. When you note the quantity of decorations throughout the park as well as the minute attention to detail involved, it’s really amazing.

After exiting the ride, Cindy asked if anyone knew how many different songs are sung during the It’s a Small World Ride. Several of us answered three; It’s a Small World, Jingle Bells, and Deck the Halls. Wrong, there are four. The mermaids in the under the sea room sing Jingle Shells.

One of the reasons we wanted to take the Holiday Tour is because it offered reserved seating for the Christmas Parade. Just across from It’s a Small World, there were several rows of chairs set up. We each took a seat and were served a mug of hot chocolate served in a souvenir cup and a snowman shaped sugar cookie. As a memento of our tour, we were each given a special Holiday Tour collectible pin. I asked the man seated next to me if he would snap a picture of me and Jason with our tour guide Cindy.

The Christmas parade was fantastic and we enjoyed it even more in our comfortable seats rather than on the cold, hard concrete. The floats were richly decorated for Christmas and lots of characters were there. Gingerbread men and sugar plum fairies danced down the street. Of course, Santa Claus made an appearance at the end of the parade. I snapped pictures throughout the parade but they turned out rather dark. Even so, they still remind me of the awesome time we had.

After the parade, we walked over to Big Thunder Mountain by way of Fantasyland and waited about 20 minutes to ride. We did the Goat Trick again. It wasn’t until after we returned home that I learned of the Westward Ho trick. As you approach the end of the ride, before you reach the dinosaur bones, if you look to your right you’ll see the covered wagon where they sell McDonald’s French Fries. The words Westward Ho are painted on the side of the wagon. When you see the wagon, you shout “Westward Ho” and point to the wagon with your right hand. At the same time you are pointing and looking to the right the train is making a sharp turn to the left, increasing the sensation in the pit of your stomach. If you are seated on the left side of the seat, you have the added bonus of smacking your seatmate in the face with your right arm as you make the turn.

I had read on Mouseplant about the perfect spot to view the fireworks, so after exiting Big Thunder we headed over to Main Street. People were already beginning to stake out their spots for the fireworks show. We stood directly in the center of the street between Coke Corner and the Kodak shop facing the castle. We had about 30 minutes until the show was to start but we were determined to keep our places.

Once the show started we knew it was totally worth the wait. The show was called “Believe…In Holiday Magic” and it truly was magic. We had a prime viewing location as the fireworks shows are designed to use the castle as the backdrop. Wonderful holiday music filled the air and we were treated to an amazing pyrotechnic display. As we stood there enjoying the grand finale of the display, tears came to my eyes and I remember thinking that this has truly been the most perfect of Disneyland days. From the Fess Parker window dedication, to being a part of the filming of the Christmas Parade, to discovering the turkey legs, to the Holiday Tour, the Parade, and now the Fireworks, the day couldn’t have been any better. As the last firework dimmed from the sky and with White Christmas playing over the speakers, it began to snow. We walked slowly along Main Street with snowflakes gently falling down around us.

In order to avoid the huge rush of people exiting the park after the fireworks, we shopped for a while along Main Street before heading back to the hotel.

Trip Report - Day 1

2005-03-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, December 14, 2005

Finally, the wait is over and today’s the day we leave for Disneyland. I’m going to try to make my trip report somewhat abbreviated this time around, and hopefully make it sound a little less like I’m giving testimony in court.

My dad very graciously offered to drive us to the airport and I really appreciate the gesture because we needed to be on the rode very early this morning. We left the house at 6:35 AM and made it to the airport by 7:05 AM. Luggage was checked in at the curbside thanks to United’s EasyCheck-In feature on their website. We breezed through Security without any unnecessary groping by Security personnel and after picking up a mocha and muffin for me and a bagel for Jason, we sat down to wait for our flight to leave. Our departure time was for 9:30 AM but our flight was delayed for two hours due to mechanical problems in San Francisco. That was the last thing we wanted to hear as we are both a little nervous about flying. This is our first post-9/11 trip.

Around 11:30 we finally boarded our plane and settled in for the two hour flight. The entire flight was amazingly smooth. Shortly after takeoff we were treated to a bag of “gourmet” party mix and a ¼ oz bag of mini pretzels. We each had a can of Canada Dry Ginger Ale which ended up being a lot of liquid to drink at one time. We were both trying to hurriedly gulp it down before we landed.

We landed shortly after 1:30 PM and went in search of the car rental counter. My confirmation notice said that there were counters located in various terminals. Unfortunately, our terminal was not one of them. We were in Terminal 7 and the nearest counter was in Terminal 5. Not being familiar with the routine of picking up a rental and the whole shuttle system, we decided to walk down to Terminal 5. Big mistake. It didn’t really look like that far of a walk, but it seemed to go on for miles. Fortunately, we had each checked only one bag so we didn’t have a ton of luggage to haul with us. It was a very warm day, especially for us Oregonians, so by the time we reached Terminal 5, we were tired, hot and sweaty. We located the car rental counter, only to be greeted by a sign directing us to the shuttle stop outside. We hauled everything out to the shuttle stop and within minutes the Alamo shuttle came and picked us up. I was worried about being able to quickly get all my luggage on board the shuttle since it was kind of heavy and I was tired from the long walk. The driver was very helpful and quickly loaded it for us.

Once we arrived at the Alamo pickup location, we waited in line for only a few minutes before it was our turn. We had requested an economy car as I’m vertically challenged and don’t feel comfortable driving large vehicles. Turns out they didn’t have any economy cars left so they upgraded us to a mid-size. My desire to get to Disneyland outweighed my reluctance to drive a larger vehicle so we just went with the change. The car really wasn’t that large, though even with the seat adjusted all the way up, I initially felt like a kid driving his parent’s car. It didn’t take long before I felt comfortable driving it. The only thing we didn’t like about the car was that it was a two door. The doors swung wide and it was sometimes difficult to get the door open wide enough to comfortable get in and out of. Also, the door locks would automatically lock after a few minutes on the rode, which started us the first few times. Actually, it startled us every time it happened.

We loaded up the car and headed onto the freeway and then got stuck in the middle of rush hour traffic. It took us 1-1/2 hours to drive the 30 miles to Anaheim. Since we hadn’t had any lunch we were both starving. Luckily, we had some snacks in our carry-on bags that we purchased at the Portland airport with the meal vouchers we were given by the airlines when our flight was delayed. Jason was able to get into the trunk through the back seat and brought back a single serving sized can of Pringle’s Potato Chips, which we shared.

At 4:00 PM we pulled into the parking lot of the Anaheim Plaza. Check-in was a breeze and we drove around to the other side of the property where our rooms were located. Our rooms were located on the second floor and we were able to get all our luggage upstairs in just one trip. We each picked a room key at random and opened our individual doors. Jason was the lucky one with the refrigerator and microwave. Once inside, the first thing we did was open the connecting door. The second thing was to turn on the air conditioning. Even though it was the middle of December, it was in the 80’s outside and really warm and stuffy in the rooms. After a few minutes, we realized that our rooms were GETTING HOTTER. Instead of cold air, the unit was spewing out hot air. I opened the window, but it really didn’t make any difference. Neither of us handles hot weather very well at all. We both get cranky. There was no way we would be able to handle spending even one night in that hot, stuffy room. I called the front desk and was told that all the units in our building had been switched over to heat for the winter. The desk clerk said that the nights tended to get cold. I told her that we were from Oregon and there was no way we would be too cold at night. She was very nice and said she would send an “Engineer” up to our rooms to switch things over.

We were very anxious to get over to the Park but we wanted to make sure the air conditioning was fixed before we left. Within 10 minutes, an “Engineer” knocked on the door and switched things over from heat to air. While he worked, I unpacked my luggage and was ready to go as soon as he finished. We put on our name badges and the lanyards holding our passes and headed out the door.

Driving over to the Mickey and Friends Parking Lot, we were both filled with anticipation. Neither of us had been to the Park when it was decorated for Christmas. Even when people posted pictures of all the decorations on Mouseplanet.com, I tried not to look at them. I wanted my first look at them to be when we were actually at the park.

We parked the car and hopped on our first ride of the trip, the Parking Lot Tram, narrated by our favorite Disney voice, Corey Burton. Arriving at the tram station in Downtown Disney, we decided the first order of business would be to get something to eat. We had about a half hour until DCA closed, so we headed into the Park to each dinner at Taste Pilot’s Grill. The theming of this counter-service restaurant is like an airplane hanger. It serves delicious burgers, chicken sandwiches and ribs. They also have wonderful onion rings and criss-cut fries. One of the nice features of this eating establishment is the condiment bar where you can add a nice variety of toppings to your sandwich. They have lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, along with the usual assortment of sauces. I love it because I don’t have to special order my burger to get it without mayo.

After dinner we strolled through the almost deserted park enjoying the beautiful Christmas decorations and the music. We had learned during the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour in October that the music plays 24-7 through both parks. It was now dark outside and the lights were beautiful.

Before heading over to Disneyland, we stopped at the Engineer-Ears toy store to check for new Mr. Potato parts. There were quite a few new parts including a Christmas tree hat, a name badge, and a crown, just to name a few. With very careful packing, we were able to fit two each of the new parts into one box. Jason used his pass to get 10% off the purchase price. We each also purchased one of the new merchandise gift cards. These gift cards can be used throughout the park to purchase merchandise items. Even after we spend the money on the cards, we plan to keep the gift cards as souveniers.

With DCA now closed, everyone was heading over to Disneyland, causing long lines at the ticket gates. Once we were in the park, we checked our package at the newsstand and headed onto Main Street. Our first glimpse of the Christmas tree was breath-taking. The tree stands about 60 feet tall and is beautifully decorated with colorful balls, toys, and musical instruments. All of the buildings along Main Street are richly decorated with thick garland, each a little different than the other. The lampposts all have Christmas wreaths hanging from them. Christmas music played in the background. It was absolutely amazing. Outside the Fire Station, tables were set up for cookie decorating and a lighted Christmas tree shone in the window upstairs where Walt’s apartment is located.

People were already lining up for the parade so we walked down the center of the street enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas at Disneyland. We headed towards Fantasyland and saw that the Matterhorn was open again after its refurbishmen. The line was fairly long so we didn’t wait to ride it.

It had been a really long day and we were both exhausted so we decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel. We took the train from Tomorrowland to the Main Street station, arriving just as the parade was winding up. We tried not to look at it as we were planning to see the parade tomorrow.

After a stop at the Build-A-Bear Workshop, we hopped the tram to the parking structure and headed back to the hotel. One the way we stopped at the Food-4-Less to stock up on cereal, milk, juice and pop (Cactus Cooler of course).

We arrived back at the hotel in time to watch The Amazing Race. The TV reception was marginal at best and Jason discovered that he didn’t get all the channels that he was supposed to. He called the front desk and even though they offered to send an “Engineer” right over with a new TV. Since it was late and he arranged for them to do it the next day after we left for the Park.

The evening had turned rather cool and we were able to sleep without the air conditioning on. In fact it was rather cool and I ended up taking the blanket off the other bed and putting it on my bed. Even with the air off, it still made a noise like constantly running water. However, it didn’t prevent me from going to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Making Our Reservations

2005-03-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

On November 15, I called Disney Dining to make priority seating reservations at our favorite Park restaurants. You can actually make priority seating arrangements up to 60 days in advance but I also wanted to book the Holiday Tour and those can only be book 30 days in advance. We now had lunch reservations at the Blue Bayou on Thursday and breakfast reservations at the Carnation Café on Friday. After making these arrangements, I asked to be transferred to the tour department where I purchased tickets to the Holiday Tour for Wednesday afternoon.

I had noted on the Disneyland.com calendar that Fantasmic was scheduled to re-open on Friday, December 17 and I wanted to purchase tickets for the Fantasmic Dessert Buffet on the balcony of the Disney Gallery. Even though this event is very pricey, $49.75 per person, we had decided to go ahead and get tickets since we had never seen the show. Over the past ten years, we had been to Disneyland three times and each time Fantasmic was on hiatus for various reasons. Since this would be the first time we would see the show, we decided to splurge and see it in style. When I asked about purchasing tickets, I was told that Fantasmic would not be opening until Saturday, the day we were scheduled to leave. Disappointed, I decided to try again in two days, when it would be exactly 30 days before scheduled reopening of Fantasmic. I’ve found that if you don’t get the answer you want, sometimes it helps to just call back and talk to another Cast Member. Oftentimes, you’ll get a different answer.

At precisely 8:00 AM on November 17, I called Disneyland and after a short wait was connected to a very helpful Cast Member. Without explanation, I asked to purchase tickets for the Friday, December 17 Fantasmic Dessert Buffet at 10:30 PM. There was absolutely no problem getting the tickets. I was so excited. We now had all the pieces in place for a perfect trip. Now all we had to do was wait.

Just Can't Stay Away

2005-03-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

Instead of the usual letdown that occurs after a very fun and exciting vacation, we were eagerly planning our next adventure to the Magic Kingdom scheduled for December. Approximately two weeks after returning from our trip and after making sure we could each get the time off work, I booked hotel, air and car rental reservations for December 14-18. We would fly down mid morning on Tuesday and return in the evening on the following Saturday. For this trip, we decided to stay at the Anaheim Plaza. As much as we loved staying at Hojo’s, the room rates were a little higher than we wanted to pay. We were able to get a family suite at the Anaheim Plaza for $89 per night compared to $69 per night per room at Hojo’s.

The day after making all our arrangements, my parents hosted a little family get-together for us. My mom made a Mickey Mouse cake and we had a great time telling about our trip. Jason had created a slide show of our trip pictures on his laptop accompanied by the soundtrack to Splash Mountain and he shared that with the family. Family members were surprised to learn that we were heading back to the Park so soon. I guess they underestimated the seriousness of our Disney addiction.

Day 9 - Home at Last

2005-02-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

Sunday, October 24, 2005

The next morning, I woke up early, got ready and packed up my things. I called Jason on one of the Mickey Mouse two-way radios we had brought on the trip, but he didn’t answer. I thought that maybe he hadn’t turned his radio on. So, I decided to call his room. No answer. As it was ringing, I realized I had dialed the wrong room so I hurriedly slammed down the phone. I hoped that I hadn’t woken someone up. I dialed the correct room number but Jason didn’t answer. I gave him a few minutes and tried again, still no answer. Finally, I went and knocked on his door. He had just woken up but hadn’t heard the phone. We realized that for some reason the ringers don’t work when calling room to room. Anyway, he quickly got ready and we were on our way.

Today was going to be a long day, with 700 miles to cover. We successfully maintained a 60 mile per hour average, including all stops for restrooms and gas. We made our last stop for gas in Ashland, Oregon, located right on the California-Oregon border. At this point, it felt like we were almost home, even though we still had 300 miles to go. Slowly, the miles clicked away and we gradually began to see more familiar landmarks. Finally, we reached home. We unpacked the car and collapsed, vowing next time to fly instead of drive.

Overall, we had the best time we had ever had at Disneyland. Even with the rain (which kept the crowds down), it was an amazing trip. We did many things that we had never done before. This included the Mysteries, Myths and Legends tour and the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour. We ate in places we had never tried before, like the Carnation Café, the Wine Country Tratorria, the Blue Ribbon Bakery and the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor. Each day was a nice combination of rides, shopping, and entertainment. Taking the time to go back to the room for a rest in the early afternoon made all the difference in my energy level. On our next trip, we’ll wait however long we need to in order to get water side seating at the Blue Bayou. Also, next time we’ll fly down instead of drive. It’s a long, brutal drive. By flying, we’ll eliminate two travel days that we could instead spend at the Resort.

Day 8 - Time to Head Home, But First...

2005-02-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

Saturday, October 23, 2004

Today we planned to spend the morning in the Park before beginning the long trip home. The Park opened at 8:00 AM today so I did a little packing first and then we headed on over. Usually people tend to race over to the E-ticket rides, such as Indiana Jones or Splash Mountain, when the rope drops. Not us. We headed straight for Fantasyland and the Peter Pan ride. Peter Pan always has a really long line. I think this is because it is the least scary of all the dark rides in Fantasyland, with Alice in Wonderland being next. Snow White and Pinocchio are a lot scarier so there usually isn’t much of a line. We rode Peter Pan twice, then went over to ride Alice in Wonderland. We managed to ride most of the rides in Fantasyland, including Dumbo, within the first half hour of the Park’s opening.

After Fantasyland, we stopped to ride Big Thunder Railroad on our way over to Pirates. We wanted to ride Pirates one last time to try to spot some of the hidden Mickey’s we learned about from Melinda, our Tour Guide from yesterday. We were unable to spot any new hidden Mickey’s.

The Park was still pretty empty and we were amazed that we had been able to accomplish so much in just one hour. Since we hadn’t had breakfast yet this morning, we decided to stop in to the River Belle Terrace for some Mickey Mouse pancakes. This restaurant is buffeteria style. You place your order at the head of the line and then as you move along the counter you can watch them cook the Mickey Mouse Pancakes. We each ordered a pancake and orange juice, and I added a side of bacon. We found a table outside with a nice view of the Rivers of America and ate our breakfast. The pancakes were good, but you only got one pancake and it really wasn’t that big. For what we got, it was a very expensive meal. The Mickey Mouse waffles at Carnation Café are a much better deal and way more filling.

After breakfast, we decided to do some last minute shopping at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney before heading back to the hotel to finish packing. We were sad to say goodbye to what really is the happiest place on earth.

We checked out of the hotel and headed to the Target down the street to restock our food supply for the trip home. After filling the car with gas we drove the ½ block to the I-5 freeway and began the long trip home. Within minutes, traffic on the freeway ground to a complete halt. I turned the radio on and searched the stations for a traffic report. The slow traffic was caused by a chemical spill up ahead and one lane was closed down while it was cleaned up. For the next two hours, we inched our way along, barely covering 12 miles. Finally, we passed the spot that was causing all the trouble and began to make better time.

It was at this point that we started talking about how much fun it would be to go back in December to take the Holiday Tour that Cast Member Debbie from City Hall had told us so much about. I still had 4 days of vacation left that I needed to use up before the end of the year. The sure-fire cure for the depression that follows a wonderful trip to Disneyland is to just start planning your next trip. I was pretty sure I could get the time off. Jason wasn’t quite so sure. He works in retail and December is a really busy time of year for the store. Hopefully, they wouldn’t just laugh at him when he submitted his vacation request.

We planned to stop for the night in Santa Nella, at the same Motel 6 we stayed in on the way up. We rolled in before dark and settled into the same rooms we were in before. I’m not sure what we did for dinner that evening. I believe we had stopped at a Jack in the Box earlier that afternoon so we probably just snacked on what we had in our cooler.

Day 7 - Our Last Full Day at the Resort

2005-02-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

Friday, October 22, 2004

In spite of having a full and exciting day planned today, there was a bit of sadness as realized that today was our last full day at the Resort. Tomorrow afternoon we would have to begin the long journey home.

We headed over to Disneyland at a little after 8:00 AM and arrived at the main entrance gate with plenty of time to spare before the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour began. We were to meet outside the entrance gates near the newsstand. After a quick trip to the restroom, we sat down to wait for our tour guide and the rest of the group to arrive. Shortly before 8:45 AM, a cart was wheeled out and we wandered over to check in with the Cast Member. She took our tickets and asked us what we wanted for lunch. We looked over the menu and both chose the croissant sandwich. As we waited for the rest of the group to check in, we chatted with a couple of the tour guides. We were surprised to find that one of guides was “Gracie” from our Mysteries, Myths and Legends Tour. His real name is Jamal and his personality was completely different from the dark and mysterious “Gracie” character he portrayed on the other tour.

Our main tour guide was named Melinda. She was the absolute nicest person we had met so far. We began our tour at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which also includes a short film about Walt Disney as well as an exact replica of his office at the Disney Studios in Burbank. After his death, the contents of the office were moved to Disneyland and setup in the lobby of the theater. Melinda shared many interesting facts about Walt and his family. One of the most endearing bits of trivia involved his wife Lillian. They first met and fell in love while she worked for him at the studio. On their wedding night she presented him with a box containing every paycheck she ever earned while working for him. She never cashed a single paycheck. Now that’s true love.

Next we headed down Main Street, where Melinda stopped periodically to tell us stories about some of the dedication windows. These windows were Walt’s way of honoring people who were important to him and who helped him realized his dream.

Our first ride of the tour was the Jungle Cruise. When we reached the entrance, we were met by the four tour guides we had mingled with at the start of the tour. We were ushered through the exit, bypassing the large line, helped aboard our own private boat, and treated to a special tour. We felt like VIP’s as we cruised past the line of people waiting to board the ride. Each of the tour guides took turns telling us some little know facts about the Jungle Cruise. For example, Walt’s grandchildren used to sneak into the ride through the back entrance located behind the Fire Station on Main Street and jump out and scare the passengers on the boats as they passed by. The Cast Members would have to radio over to Walt asking him to come and remove his grandkids from the ride.

We also rode the train to Tomorrowland, again boarding through the exit so we didn’t have to wait in line. Jason sat between me and Melinda and took this opportunity to ask her about the locations of some of the hidden Mickeys. She also confirmed that the Country Bear Jamboree mouse heads were hidden in the ride that is now Winnie the Pooh. We were anxious to ride that ride to see them for ourselves.

One of the more interesting parts of the tour was a visit to the lobby of Club 33. Club 33 is a very exclusive private club located in New Orleans Square, right next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant. The entrance is very discreet and unassuming, marked only by a brass plate bearing the number 33. There is currently a five year waiting list to join and the dues are extremely high. We were allowed to visit the lobby which contained an elegant antique elevator and a staircase leading to the restaurant located upstairs. Jason and I each had our pictures taken inside the elevator. The club actually has a separate address from the rest of Disneyland because it is the only place where alcohol is served and Walt didn’t want the regular Disneyland address to be used for alcohol deliveries.

Our tour ended at the Golden Horseshoe where we were led upstairs to the balcony and seated in reserved seating overlooking the saloon. At each place was the lunch order we had placed in the morning, along with Walt’s favorite dessert, cheesecake. Also at each place was a white envelope with our name written on the outside. Inside was a 8 x 10 black and white photo of Walt Disney and an exclusive “Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour” commemorative pin. I was seated next to Melinda and she shared with me and Jason some facts about the Golden Horseshoe, including the location of Walt’s private box that is rumoured to be haunted. As we ate our lunch, we enjoyed watching the hilarious Billy Hill and the Hillbillies show. After the show ended, we said goodbye to Melinda, thanking her for a great tour. She in turn hugged both of us. In fact, we were the only two she hugged. As soon as the tour ended, we headed right over to City Hall to write out a Cast Member compliment card.

By now we were both exhausted from the events of the morning, so we decided to head back to Hojo’s for a rest. A couple of hours later, rested and refreshed, we headed back to the Park. This time we went to DCA to ride the Tower of Terror one more time. This time we knew we wouldn’t be forced to ride it twice. Although we knew what to expect, we were both still really nervous and the ride was still very intense. But we both enjoyed it.

Next we headed over to ride Soarin’ Over California. The line was really long and we knew we wouldn’t be able to make the Fastpass return time, so we were debating whether or not to ride it. It would probably be our last time to ride it this trip. Then we noticed a single rider entrance and decided to give it a try. We went right to the front of the line and waited just a few minutes until they determined if there were any single empty seats available. Fortunately, we both were able to ride at the same time, even though we were seated at opposite ends of the theater.

After riding Soarin’, we knew that we had to ride Winnie the Pooh one more time to see if we could spot the moose heads from Country Bear Jamboree. We made the long trek over to Critter Country. For those familiar with the Park, Critter Country is the land that is the absolute farthest away from anything else. There is no shortcut. We arrived at the ride only to discover that is was broken down and no one knew when it would be up and running again. So, we decided to ride Pirates to see if we could spot some hidden Mickey’s. When we arrived at Pirates, it too was closed. Just our luck! Since we still had a couple of Fastpasses for Splash Mountain, we headed back to Critter Country to ride Splash.

For dinner this evening, we had priority seating reservations at the Wine Country Trattoria Restaurant in DCA. Our reservation was for 7:50 PM, timed to coincide with the Electrical Parade scheduled for 8:00 PM. We arrived early in hopes of getting a table next to the wall overlooking the parade route. Unfortunately, we were not able to get the table we wanted. Instead, we were seated at the next row of tables in from the wall. We found that DLR generally caters to groups with children, so if you want to get any really good seating, you’ll need to bring some children along.

In spite of the disappointing seating, dinner was very good. We both ordered the Lasagna and it arrived promptly and was quite delicious. When the parade began, we stood up and were able to see the parade go by. When the dinner and parade were excellent, the service was not. Even though we requested refills on our beverages, they never arrived.

When the parade ended, it was time for DCA to close. We decided to sneak over to the Tower of Terror to try to take some pictures of it in the dark. The Hollywood Backlot area of DCA was totally deserted and it felt strange to be there when no one else was, especially with the creepy looking Tower of Terror Hotel looming over us. We quickly took some pictures, which didn’t turn out all that well and then went back over to Disneyland.

We headed back to Critter Country and found that Winnie the Pooh had opened up again. We rode it and saw the moose heads as well as a hidden Mickey among the drops of honey painted on the wall near the end of the ride.

Next stop was Pirates, which was still closed, then over to the Mercantile for some souvenier shopping. By this time it was getting late and we were both tired. The park opened early tomorrow and we wanted to get here at the rope drop in order to ride the Fantasyland rides one more time. We decided to get a cookie and a mug of HoCho in a souvenier travel mug at the Blue Ribbon Bakery and take it back to the room.

When it’s our turn at the Blue Ribbon Bakery, lo and behold who should wait on us but Jason’s arch-nemesis, Kathleen. Of course, she doesn’t realize she’s Jason’s arch-nemesis. Kathleen is the Cast Member who assisted us on our first day at the Park when we had sandwiches and cookies for lunch. Apparently, she wasn’t quite as friendly as we expected a Cast Member at the DLR to be so she earned the dubious honor of being Jason’s arch-nemesis. However, this time she was really friendly and called us by name, thus totally redeeming herself.

We took our cookies and HoCho back to HoJo’s and watched some TV before turning in for the night. The park opens at 8:00 AM the next morning and we wanted to be there bright and early.

Day 6 - Another Fun Day Park Hopping

2005-02-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Thursday, October 21, 2004

With the last of the rain behind us, we woke to blue skies and what promised to be another perfect day in the Park. We checked at the Carnation Café and they were able to seat us right away even without priority seating reservations. This was our first time eating at this Café and it was so fun to sit outside and enjoy the nice day. The only drawback was the large number of sparrows that were hanging around waiting for crumbs to drop. It was a little annoying, but didn’t spoil the experience. Of course, we both ordered the Mickey Mouse Waffle which included one waffle and two strips of bacon. We each added an orange juice and a mocha. The mochas at Disneyland are nothing to write home about and do not compare in anyway to Starbucks. The waffles are outstanding though and the whole breakfast was very filling. We were able to save 15% off our bill with Jason’s AP discount. Breakfast at Carnation Café will be a must during any future visits.

After breakfast we headed over to City Hall to see about taking the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour that we had heard about while filling out the customer comment card earlier in the week. We were assisted by a very friendly Cast Member named Debbie, who told us about the tour and expressed disappointment that we hadn’t signed up for today’s tour. Apparently, she was scheduled to lead today’s tour, but because of the weather no one had signed up. Even though she wouldn’t be leading tomorrow’s tour, she knew we would still have a great time. With our AP discount, we were able to get $10 off the price of the tour which made the cost $39 per person. She also encouraged us to come back in a couple of weeks when they would begin the Holiday Tour. We explained that we were from Portland, OR and we wouldn’t be able to return to soon. Our next trip was scheduled for the following October. Before leaving, Debbie made us honorary citizens of Disneyland. We repeated the official oath and received a card recognizing our citizenship. Debbie was perfect for her job. Even though City Hall was rather busy, she never once made us feel rushed. She was enthusiastic and went the extra step to make our visit special.

Our next stop was at the newsstand souvenier stand at the entrance to the park. The day before we noticed these name badges that are the same shape as the ones worn by the Cast Members in the park. However, instead of being white like the Cast Members, we had a choice of either red with Guest of Honor printed on it, or pink with Everyday Princess on it. In addition, they would also engrave your first name on it. We decided to each get one. I’ll let you guess which one we each chose. Jason was able to use his AP discount on this purchase. The name badges turned out to be a really important part of the magic of our trip. We wore our name badges throughout the remainder of our trip, and many of the Cast Members would call us by name, making us feel like a part of the Disney family.

At this point, we didn’t really ride many of the rides but just strolled through the park taking pictures before walking over to DCA. At DCA we visited the Animation building and saw the Drawn to Animation show. There were just a handful of people at this show and it focused on the changes that Mushu went through when they were making Mulan and how he ended up being a dragon. They also gave us a sneak peak at one of the upcoming feature length animated movies.

Next on the agenda was to see the live musical, Aladdin, playing at the Hyperion Theater. We arrived about ½ hour before the performance and were surprised that there seemed to be no crowd of people waiting to see the show. However, as we entered the gate outside the theater we discovered hoards of people waiting in area around the side of the theater. There were three lines; one for orchestra seating, one for mezzanine seating, and one for balcony seating. Since we were nearest the line for mezzanine seating we joined that line. A Cast Member kept urging people to move forward and fill in all the open spaces in the line, so we gradually moved forward until we were pretty close to the front of the line. About 15 minutes before the show started, they let us in the theater. Those in the mezzanine line had to climb up a huge staircase on the outside of the theater. Since I’m afraid of heights, it was a little scary. I just kept my eye on the person in front of me and didn’t look out at my surroundings.

It turns out the mezzanine seating actually provides the best viewing of the show. Those seated in the orchestra section missed out on some of the events that happened above them. The show itself was excellent. The genie was hysterically funny and the special effects were awesome. I was somewhat indifferent about seeing the show initially, but Jason really wanted to go and I’m really glad he did. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

After a short rest back at the hotel, we returned to Disneyland in time to find seats for the Parade of Stars. Since we had about 45 minutes until parade time, we had no trouble claiming a spot on the curb. Jason chose a spot for us that was right next to a trash can, with a tree directly behind us. This prevented people from crowding too close behind us and kept someone from sitting directly next to him. He planned to videotape the parade and didn’t want anyone leaning forward into his shot. To pass the time, we discussed plans for the rest of the evening. We had discovered an El Pollo Loco just around the corner from the hotel and were debating whether or not we would have time after the parade to stop and pick up some dinner and still make it back to the room in time to watch Survivor at 8:00 PM. We decided that it would be calling it too close. We were sitting directly across from the Emporium so we decided to do some souvenier shopping right after the parade, then go pick up dinner and be back to the hotel in time for The Apprentice at 9:00 PM.

It had been a long time since I’d watched on the Disneyland Parades. Previously, it was always more important to ride as many ride as possible and the lines were usually shorter during the parade. This time, we wanted to experience as many of the different events as possible and we were not one bit disappointed in the parade. Some of the guests at the Park were invited to participate in the parade. It would have been fun to be able to do that, although I probably would have been more than a little self-conscious.

As soon as the parade ended, we headed over to the Emporium where Jason purchased four small Pooh and Friends stuffed animals. He was also interested in buying a Jiminy Cricket, but the only one available was $18 and that seemed like a lot to spend. Jiminy Cricket is one of Jason’s favorite characters.
When we finished our shopping, we headed back to the car and over to El Pollo Loco to pick up some chicken and sides. They also had Flan, which we both love. So we had to get some of that too. We decided to eat in Jason’s room and enjoyed our meal while watching The Apprentice. Shortly after the show ended, we called it a night since we had to be at the park by 8:45 to meet our tour group.

Day 5 - Park Hopped

2005-02-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

October 20, 2004

This morning it was pouring down rain when we woke up. We had reservations at the Carnation Café for breakfast, but since it is an open air café, the restaurant was closed. Instead, we ducked into the Blue Ribbon Bakery right next door and each ordered a sweet roll and mocha. Because of the rain, there were very few people in the park and we settled down at a table right by the window and ate breakfast. Normally, people will start lining up behind the rope at the end of main street about a half hour before the park opening time. Today, even at a few minutes before the official rope drop, there were just a few hardy souls waiting in line. Shortly after 10:00 AM we donned our rain ponchos and headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, stopping to take a few pictures at the hub on our way.

It is such a strange experience to be at Disneyland without any people there. The park was almost totally empty. We walked right onto Big Thunder Mountain and there were only a couple of other people on our train. There is nothing like riding a roller coaster in the pouring rain. The raindrops feel like needles when they hit you in the face.

Next stop was Splash Mountain. Again, there was absolutely no line and we walked right onto the ride. We were the only people in our log so of course we had to buy the picture that was taken during the big drop towards the end of the ride. The lady at the photo booth was very, very nice and as we were the only ones there we didn’t feel rushed and were able to take our time choosing the right size photo and frame. She mentioned that the Pioneer Mercantile in Frontierland would hold our photo for us so we wouldn’t have to carry it around with us, so we headed on over.

While we were there we began what was to later be known as the Pressed Penny Debacle. On the Mousesavers.com website, pressed pennies were listed as a fun, inexpensive souvenir. Pressed penny machines are located in shops throughout the parks and each one has a different design. For 50 cents plus one penny, the machine will press your penny with the design. For six dollars you can also purchase a small album to hold your pressed pennies. Sounds like a great idea. The Cast Member working in the Mercantile gave Jason a list containing the location and description of all the pressed penny machines in the Disneyland Park. We decided that this would be a great way to spend a rainy morning in the park. We purchased our penny album and armed with a roll of quarters and a roll of pennies we made our way through all the machines located in the Mercantile.

By now things are at a fevered pitch and we race through the park collecting pressed pennies, stopping occasionally to buy more rolls of quarters. In the Pieces of Eight shop in New Orleans Square we discover a machine with special pressed quarters from the Nightmare before Christmas. These pressed quarters cost $1 each and there were three of them. We never batted an eye as we plugged in our quarters and watched the shiny pressed coin drop out.

By the time we ended up in Critter Country and got the Winnie the Pooh pennies we started to sober up. We sat on the bench outside the shop and mentally calculated how much we had spent so far on pennies and how much more we would have to spend in order to get all the available pressed pennies. We hadn’t even collected half of them, with the majority of the machines being located in the Crystal Arcade on Main Street. We realized that we would also have to purchase additional penny albums to hold all the pennies. Visions of the Mr. Potato Head incident surfaced in our heads and we began to laugh hysterically. It’s a good thing that there weren’t many people around because we would have definitely caused a scene. When we calmed down, we decided that enough is enough and we will just have to be content with the pennies we had. We were both somewhat ill at the thought of the $20 or so dollars we each had already spent on pressed pennies. Yes, pressed pennies are an inexpensive souvenir but only if you collect a few and don’t become obsessed with it like we did.

The rain had let up somewhat by this time and we wandered over to Fantasyland. One of the shows that we really wanted to see was the Snow White Musical. Since the weather was iffy, cast members at the entrance to the theatre said they planned to make a decision at 2:00 PM on whether or not to go ahead with the show. We headed over to Toon Town to pass the time and took some pictures. At 2:00 PM we returned and found they planned to go ahead with the show so we got in line. The show lasted about 20 minutes and was fantastic. We both really enjoyed it and Jason ended up videotaping the entire show.

After the show, we were both starving so we hopped over to California Adventure to have lunch at Taste Pilot’s Grill, which resembles an airplane hanger. They have recently installed self-service ordering kiosks which made it very easy to place our order. You select your items from a touch screen and pay by either swiping your credit or debit card, or feeding in cash. Then you take your receipt up to the counter and pick up your tray of food. This restaurant serves the best burgers and criss-cut fries. They also serve chicken sandwichs and ribs. There is a large table with all kinds of condiments for your sandwich. Since there was practically no one in the restaurant, we had our pick of tables.

While we were eating, we looked at the program of events and determined that if we hurried, we could just make the Drawn to Animation show over in the Hollywood Backlot. When we arrived, three people were singing and dancing outside the building and were soon joined by Woody, Mickey Mouse and Cinderella. After the show they all encouraged us to follow them into the Animation building. We thought that they were just inviting us to see the exhibits inside and thought that was the show. In actuality, the Drawn to Animation show was getting ready to start inside. Later in the week, we returned and saw the actual show.

We decided to go ride Soarin’ Over California again. When we got off the ride, the rain was really coming down and Jason was ready to call it a day. I suggested that we go back over to Disneyland and see Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, which is an indoor show. If it was still raining after the show, I agreed that we should go back to the hotel.

Although Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln wasn’t high on our list of things to do initially, it ended up being one of our favorite shows. We first gathered in the lobby of the theater and the Cast Member talked for a while about Walt Disney and pointed out interesting bits of information about Walt’s office, which was moved to Disneyland from the Walt Disney studios after he passed away. Next we donned wireless stereo headphones and entered the theatre. The effects from headphones were totally realistic. You could almost feel the breath of the person whispering in your ear. It was an amazing auditory experience.

When we emerged from the theater, the rain had stopped and we decided to try and make the last departure of the Mark Twain Steamship. We hurried over and just made it on board. We were lucky enough to get seats at the very front of the ship. Even though it was very wet and somewhat cold out, the ride was very enjoyable. The lights from New Orleans Square and the Haunted Mansion were beautiful. I want to come back during the day and take pictures.

After stops at the Mercantile to pick up our Splash Mountain photo and the Emporium where Jason purchased six Disney pal stuffed animals: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daily, Pluto and Goofy and I purchased Lady and the Tramp stuffed animals, we headed back to the hotel. I think this was the night that we picked up dinner at Boston Market and took it back to the room. We used to have Boston Market here in Portland, but they closed them down and turned the one near us into a Jack in the Box. We ate dinner, watched some TV and hit the sack.

It's Been So Long Since I Posted...

2005-02-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

AAAAHHH! It's been so long since I've posted anything, that it's hard to remember what we did. Luckily, I had completed Day 5 but just hadn't posted it yet. I'll finish it up and get it uploaded. I need to finish up this trip, because I still have our December trip to post and that trip was amazing.

We're also beginning to plan our next trip, which will be in October 2005. So stay tuned.

Day 4 - Disney's California Adventure

2004-11-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

October 19, 2004

Today, Tuesday, is the day we planned to spend in the Disney California Adventure Park (DCA). I also brought the camera for this first time this trip and planned to take lots and lots of pictures. In order to make it easier to lug around the camera, I emptied my purse of everything but the absolute essentials. But it didn’t do me any good, since Jason asked if I would carry his videocamera in my purse since he didn’t have a backpack with him. His camera is very small so I reluctantly agreed. He planned to look for a small backpack in the park to use to hold his camera. We looked at many places but didn’t find anything that would work. Finally, that evening we found just the right one at the Target down the street.

After taking some general pictures of the entrance to DCA, we headed over to my favorite ride at DCA, Soarin’ Over California. This ride is just amazing. There are three rows of seats facing a large movie screen. When the ride begins, this contraption lifts up the rows of seats until they are suspended one row above another right in front of the screen. The seats move in relation to what’s happening on the screen and you really feels like your para-gliding over California. To make the experience even more realistic, they add different scents to go along with the scenery so you really feel that you are flying over an orange grove or the ocean. At the very end you fly through Disneyland, above Main Street where you can see the parade going on below you and then you are suspended right in front of the fireworks display. I could ride this over and over.

Next, we did something that in hindsight was not very bright. There was only a 5 minute wait for Grizzly River Run, so we decided to ride it. That should have been our first clue. The second clue was the lockers that were available right next to the attraction that offered one hour of free use to put your stuff in while you ride the ride. The main reason we should have know better is that I actually rode this ride last year and I know you get wet. But we were blinded by the 5 minute wait. We dutifully unloaded everything into the locker and boarded our raft. We were absolutely drenched by this ride. At the very end of the ride is a geyser that shoots up at random intervals. As we approached we saw it begin to spray and there was nothing we could do about it except get even more soaked, it that was even possible.

After disembarking the ride and retrieving our stuff from the locker, we realized that there was no way that we could continue on as soaked as we were. It was threatening to rain and we had 1:00 PM reservations at Ariel’s Grotto. We made a mad dash back to the hotel and changed into dry close. The whole trip took us a little over an hour, but it sure felt good to be dry.

By the time we returned it was really starting to rain, so we headed over to Ariel’s Grotto and decided to just wait there until it was time for lunch. Ariel’s Grotto is a character restaurant in DCA themed to, of course, The Little Mermaid. This was our first character dining experience and it was a little awkward. We spent most of the time hoping and praying that the characters would not come to our table as we really didn’t know what to do. Minnie stopped briefly at our table and fortunately didn’t stay long. The place was packed with parents with their kids. We were the only table that didn’t have kids. Ariel was located in the lobby in her clam shell and kids could go up and talk to her and have their picture taken. Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto would take turns circulating throughout the dining area. It was very noise with all the kids and at one point all the kids joined the characters as they marched around the room to music and each kid banged on the bottom of a sand bucket with a plastic shovel. The food was okay but rather expensive, even with Jason’s 15% discount. We each ordered the Chicken Pot Pie and it was okay but not spectacular. At the end of the meal, our server brought us a little dish of cotton candy which was a nice touch.

Next, Jason decided to ride California Screamin’. I was hoping to get up the courage to ride it, but I knew I just couldn’t handle it. While he was riding I tried to get some pictures of the roller coaster. It was still raining so I put on the disposable rain poncho that we brought with us. It did a good job of keeping the rain off and was definitely a great investment at 89 cents each.

As it was still raining, we saw all the shows like Muppet 3-D Vision and It’s Tough To Be A Bug. Since we had a little time to kill before our Mysteries, Myths and Legends Tour, we decided to each get a Mr. Potato Head from the Engine-Ears shop. I had read about this on the MouseSavers.com website. For $18 (plus tax), you can fill up a cardboard box with a Mr. Potato Head body and all the parts that you can fit in the box. The box can’t be bulging and the lid has to be able to close. Many of the parts are unique to the Disney Resort and are not available anywhere else. We each assembled a box and went to town. After selecting a body, we opened the back and begin to cram as many parts as possible into it. The parts are separated into different bins, with three or four different parts to a bin. We go from bin to bin selecting one of just about everything and try to pack the parts as efficiently as possible into our boxes. The boxes filled up pretty quickly and we realize that we don’t have room for any feet. So after some debate, we decide to split the cost of a third box. We thought this would be plenty of room since we didn’t need another body, just parts. Well the feet take up a lot of room. Plus we spotted a teacup that Mr. Potato Head can sit in and of course we each need of one of those. We ended up biting the bullet and adding a fourth box so that we could include one of each of the parts. Even with Jason’s 10% pass holder discount, it still ended up costing us almost seventy dollars. Seventy dollars for two Mr. Potato Heads and some accessories. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

It’s getting close to tour time, so we make a quick trip to the car to stash the potato heads and then head on over to the Tower of Terror to await the start of our tour.

The Mysteries, Myths and Legends Tour was very fun. It was the first time I ever took one of the tours. Jeremy (dressed in a long black trench coat) greeted us, took our tickets and make small talk with us as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. A couple of the other tour participants had learned about the tour the same way we did, through the MousePlanet.com discussion board. Once everyone arrived, we were introduced to our Tour Guide for the evening, a foreboding and spooky gentlemen named “Gracey.” Gracey led us into the Hollywood Tower Hotel for our first ride of the tour. This was our first time on the ride and we were both more than a little nervous. I purposely did not ride this ride earlier because I wasn’t sure how well I would like it. I knew I would ride it at least once so I thought it best that the first time be on the tour.

As we made our way into the Hotel, Gracey shared with us some of the legends surrounding the hotel. All too soon though, it was time to board the ride. We were strapped into the elevator, the lights went off and we began our journey. The ride was at once both frightening and exhilarating. The ride is a serious of rapid ascents and plunges up and down the elevator shaft with occasional stops at various floors. At the very top the doors open and you get a glimpse out the building at the rest of the resort while a camera captures the terror on your face. Then the door closes and you plunge back into the darkness. I just hung on for dear life and prayed for it to be over soon.

At the end of the ride we were instructed to unbuckle our seatbelts, which I gratefully did. Then the bellhop tells us to put them back on, then take them off, and then put them back on. He does this several times, with the end result being that he sends us on the ride AGAIN. This time I wasn’t quite as scared as I knew the ride really didn’t last very long.

By the time we left the Tower of Terror, DCA was closed and we headed out of the park and over to Disneyland. We stopped at the esplanade between the two parks were Jeremy joined us again. He handed each of us a necklace with a glow crystal designed to ward off the ghouls and goblins, but really served to identify the members of the tour group.

The rest of the tour took place in Disneyland and we had a great time. We walked through the park stopping periodically while “Gracey” told us some of the mysteries and legends that supposedly occurred in the park. We rode the train to New Orleans Square and rode Indiana Jones. The final stop of the tour was Haunted Mansion Holiday just as the park was closing for the evening. We were ushered into the mansion and midway through the ride the “doom” buggies slowed down to about half speed so that we could see the special surprise. I won’t spoil it for anyone who may take the tour if it ever returns in the future.

After we left the Haunted Mansion, we were led back to spot in Adventureland and then the tour ended. It was kind of weird how it just ended somewhat abruptly. Jason and I made our way to City Hall to fill out a feedback form letting them know how much we enjoyed the tour and what a great job “Gracey” and Jeremy did.

It had been a long day and we were glad to head back to HoJo’s.

Day 3 - Disneyland

2004-11-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

October 18, 2004

Today, Monday, is our first full day at the park and we were ready to go shortly after 9:00 AM. Armed with our RideMax plan for the day, we waited patiently near the front of the crowd on Main Street for the rope drop at 10:00 AM. As I described in an earlier post, RideMax is a software planning tool that takes into account the day of week and time of year of your visit as well as the average wait times for the different rides and develops a schedule to follow that is designed to reduce the amount of time you spend waiting in line. We created two RideMax plans, one for Disneyland and one for Disney California Adventure.

The Dumbo ride was scheduled to be our first ride of the day. As soon as the rope dropped, we dutifully headed over to Fantasyland while everyone else stampeded over to ride Indy and Splash. The reasoning the RideMax program gave for sending us to Dumbo first is that Dumbo is low-capacity, “cycle” attraction where the line can build fairly quickly. In contract, Indiana Jones is a high capacity ride and the line takes a lot longer to develop. RideMax proved to be correct and we were among the first guests to board Dumbo.

Our next scheduled ride was Big Thunder Railroad, but unfortunately the attraction was temporarily closed. Next on the list was Splash Mountain where we were supposed to pick up FastPasses for use later on. For those of you who are familiar with Disneyland, Splash Mountain is in Critter Country and requires a walk almost completely around the Rivers of America. There are no shortcuts to get to Critter Country. When we reached Splash, we picked up our Fastpasses but noticed that the line was short, so we ended up riding the ride.

After riding Splash, our next ride was supposed to be Alice in Wonderland. This meant another long, long walk around the Rivers of America and back over to Fantasyland. At this point, we were beginning to question the usefulness of RideMax. Although it may be great for reducing the amount of time spent waiting in line, it definitely didn’t do anything about reducing the amount of walking. A scan through the schedule showed us criss-crossing back and forth through the park. As we headed over to Alice, we saw that Big Thunder was now open so we stopped to ride it. Even though we were still on schedule, by the time we reached Alice in Wonderland, the line was so long that we decided not to wait in the line.

By now it is 11:30 and we are both starving. We decide to head on over to the Blue Bayou Restaurant to see if we can move up our 1:40 PM reservations. They were able to and within 10 minutes we were seated at our table. The Blue Bayou is located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and you can watch the boats full of people wind there way through the swamp. We both ordered the Monte Cristo, the Blue Bayou’s signature sandwich, and it was just as good as it was the last time we were here. It came with a side of pasta salad and some delicious freshly-baked sourdough rolls. Neither one of us ordered a mint julep. Once was enough.

After lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel for a short rest. It was at this point that we both realized that following the RideMax plan wasn’t very fun. By moving from land to land, we missed out on experiencing the real feel of the land. If it was peak season and crowds were an issue, the RideMax plan would make sense. So we ditched the plan and decided to just wing it.

Since we hadn’t done anything in Tomorrowland yet, we decided to start there first after we returned to the park. Star Tours was our first ride. Usually, this ride doesn’t bother my stomach, but this time it made us both a little queasy. We didn’t ride it again during the entire trip. Next was Honey I Shrunk the Audience, which is a 3-D show and we both enjoyed the special effects. Innoventions was next and was disappointing. It’s supposedly a showcase of future technology, but much of it seemed outdated. We didn’t spend very much time there. We did note that the outside balcony area would make a great spot for picture-taking, so we’ll be back later with the camera.

One of the things on our to-do list for this trip was to have ice cream at the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor. It had been a while since lunch, so we picked up fastpasses for the Autopia and headed over to get some ice cream. While we waited our turn in the long line, I pulled out my Tinkerbell wallet and it caught the eye of the little girl standing behind us in line. She and I chatted for a bit about some of our favorite rides and favorite characters. With such engaging conversation, the time passed quickly and before I knew it, it was time to order. Jason and I both ordered the Gibson Girl Sundae in a waffle cone cup. It was delicious, sweet and very filling. Neither one of us ordered the Fantasia ice-cream, a special flavor only available at Disneyland, made of banana, pistachio and cherry.

After we finished our ice cream, we went back to Tomorrowland and rode Autopia. Then it was time to head home. We were very glad that we did not have to walk all the way back to the hotel.

Day 2 - Santa Nella, CA to Disneyland

2004-11-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

October 17, 2004

After a good night’s sleep, we were on the road by 6:00 AM. Today we only had 295 miles to go and hoped to arrive in Anaheim by 11:00 AM. It had rained during the night and the streets were wet. Luckily, there were few cars on the road this early in the morning. It was still dark and the rain made it difficult to see the road. I don't mind driving in the rain during the day except when I need to pass a truck. The spray from the truck's tires as you pass pretty much eliminates any view of the road, and you just have to hang on and hope you make it. We had light showers for a short while before settling into a grey, cloudy day.

In Bakersfield, we stopped to use the restroom at a McDonald's and then noticed a Starbucks next door. Of course, we had to stop. I ordered my usual Mocha and Jason tried their new seasonal drink, a Pumpkin Spice Latte, a delicious blend of pumpkin and traditional holiday spice flavors, combined with their signature espresso and freshly steamed milk, and topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices. He said it was good, but the spices were a little on the strong side.

Armed with nourishing beverages, we cracked open a new box of Hostess Frosted Donettes and were ready to face the dreaded "Grapevine." Shortly after starting the climb it began to rain and was quite foggy in places, making the journey more than a little nerve-wracking. Fortunately, being early on a Sunday morning, there was light traffic and everyone seemed to slow down to just 15 miles over the posted speed limit. We made it safely down the other side and continued on our way.

The rest of the trip went quickly as we passed familiar landmarks and exits. To view a video showing the last 2-1/2 minutes of our trip (shrunk down to 34 seconds), visit my son's website. It makes me look like a drive like a maniac. And no, I did not rear end the truck in front of me at the signal.

We arrived at the Howard Johnson Anaheim Plaza a few minutes before 11:00 AM and eased our cramped bodies out of the car and hobbled up to the registration desk. A very friendly front desk employee checked us in and as our rooms weren't quite ready yet, she suggested that we might want to go on over to the park. We thought that was a great idea, so we climbed back into the car and drove the short distance to the Disneyland Resort. Since we didn't have our parking pass yet, we decided to park in the Downtown Disney parking lot which offers three hours of free parking. It felt good to stretch our legs after the long drive and we enjoyed looking around as we made our way through Downtown Disney (hereafter referred to as DTD). On our left we noted the DTD Monorail station and how it was quite close to the Disneyland Hotel. Someday, we plan to stay at the hotel and take the Monorail into the park every day. Today, however, it appeared that the Monorail station was closed. This happened quite frequently during the week we spent in the Park. Twice we had to leave the DTD station and walk back to the Park because the Monorail system lost power and they didn't know how long until it would be up and running again. I guess we should be grateful that it didn't break down while it was making its journey to Tomorrowland.

After having my purse checked at the security station, we went to Guest Services to pick up our Annual Pass vouchers and Tour tickets. We were given a temporary one-day ticket that would get us into the Park so that we could have our permanent passes issued to us.

After an 18-month absence, it was great to be back although it really hadn’t sunk in yet that we were actually there. The park didn't seem especially crowded and we wandered up Main Street enjoying the view. At the end of Main Street, the Castle was almost completely wrapped in blue tarp and a six-foot fence surrounded the perimeter as it underwent much needed refurbishing. The top portion of the castle was the only part that was visible and it looks great with its new paint.

The annual pass processing center was located near the exit to Space Mountain (which is closed until November 2005). Even though it was undercover, it was hot and humid in there and the line was long. Russell, the Cast Member who greeted us as we approached said it would be about a 30 minute wait. It was hard to be patient when we were both eager to start exploring the park.

We finally made our way to the front of the line and a very nice Cast Member named Kathie helped us. It took longer than it should have because she originally issued me the wrong type of pass and misspelled Jason’s name on his a couple of times. To compensate us for the delay, we were given a “No Strings Attached” coupon that allowed us to choose one ride from a list of some of the more popular rides and go directly to the front of the ride without waiting in line. However, since the Park was never very crowded we ended up not using the coupon.

Because it took so long to get our passes, we decided to go back to the DTD parking lot and move our car over to the Mickey and Friends parking structure where we could use the parking permit that came with Jason’s pass. After parking the car, we rode our first ride of the trip, the tram that goes to and from the parking structure. As we re-entered the park, the Cast Member scanned in my pass and it came up “Invalid.” I half expected to be immediately surrounded by security personnel, my pass confiscated, and then escorted off the premises. Instead, the CM says I should go back to the processing center and let them fix the problem. We decided to do that first thing so it isn’t weighing on our minds.

The line at the pass processing center is even longer than before and there is no Cast Member at the end of the line to explain our problem to. We definitely do not want to stand in that line again, so we hover around for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. Finally, a CM comes out of the employee area of the booth and Jason gets her attention. She takes my pass in and returns a minute later and tells me it’s all fixed. Now that that’s taken care of, we’re finally ready to start enjoying the park.

Our first stop is It’s A Small World because it was going to close the next day for a few weeks as they prepare it for the holiday overlay. As we exit the ride, we continue to hum the catchy little tune they play during the ride over and over and over again.

By now it after 2:00 PM and we decide to get something to eat. During our trip last year, our one regret was that we worried too much about how much things cost and didn’t get to enjoy some of the special treats that the park has to offer. We determined that during this trip we would not worry so much about the money and just get what we wanted. As Jason stated, “If I want to spend $7.00 for a cookie at the Blue Ribbon Bakery, then I’m going to spend $7.00 for that cookie.” After consulting our map, we decide to get a sandwich at the Blue Ribbon Bakery. At the bakery, we see plenty of delicious baked goods, but no sandwiches. Neither are they listed on the menu board. When it’s our turn, we ask and are told that they do have sandwiches. By this time we are starving so we each order a sandwich and drink, but decide to split a $2.49 bag of chips. We were also pleasantly surprised to note that the famous Nestle’s chocolate chip cookies are “only” $1.99, so we each order one. After forking over a mere $28.00 for this delicious repast, we take our lunch across Main Street and sit outside at a nice table with an umbrella. While we’re eating, the Main Street band begins to play directly across the street and we sit there in the nice warm day, enjoying our lunch and the great music.

After lunch it’s time to head on back to the Hotel to pick up our room keys and get unpacked. We walk the short distance to the tram station, board the tram and ride back to the parking structure. It’s a very short drive to the Hotel and there is no traffic to speak of. Our rooms are ready so we drive around to the parking area next to our building. Our rooms are located in Building #2, which is in the back of the property and overlooks one of the pools. This pool is called the “quiet” pool since it’s mainly used by adults. The other pool, located near the front of the hotel, also has a kids’ wading pool area called Speedy’s Sprayground.

We begin to haul our stuff up to our rooms. Our rooms are both on the second floor, down the hall from each other, and fortunately there is an elevator. This hotel was renovated in 2003 and the rooms are impeccably clean, nicely furnished and very quiet. If I hadn’t observed other people on the elevator or noticed the Do Not Disturb signs on the doors of the other rooms on our floor, I would have thought we were the only ones in the building. I never heard one bit of noise from above or from either side of my room. We each have a king size bed, a table with chairs, a small desk, an armoire with a 25” TV, and a small refrigerator. In addition, there is an iron and ironing board in the closet and a hairdryer and coffee maker in the bathroom.

Since the rooms with microwaves were $20 per night more, we purchased a small microwave at Target the previous August and brought it along with us. We loaded the inside of the microwave with videotapes to go with the VCR that we brought along as well. We were able to connect the VCR to the TV without having to call maintenance.

After unpacking and resting a little, we were ready to head back to the park. The park was open until 11:00 PM the evening. Once again, my pass was rejected at the entrance gate, but the CM overrode the system and let me in. It began to get dark shortly after we arrived and the crowds began to thin out. We spent a fun evening walking around and riding quite a few rides. Around 10:00 PM it began to rain lightly and we decided to go back to the hotel. We were glad to be able to hop the tram to the parking structure and drive home, rather than face the long walk back to the hotel. We settled into our very comfortable king beds and drifted off to sleep.

Day 1 - Portland, OR to Santa Nella, CA

2004-10-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

October 16, 2004

We were both up early and eager to hit the road. Originally, we had planned to be on the road by 6:00 AM but we knew we had a long day ahead of us so we managed to leave by 5:30 PM. In spite of our best intentions, we were both up late last night, packing and getting things ready, so we were both rather tired. After snapping a couple of quick photos to document the beginning of the trip, we set off. It's still dark, of course, but the fortunately there isn't any rain.

Today's journey was to be 695 miles and take us to Santa Nella, CA. Driving the extra long distance today allowed us to have a shorter trip tomorrow and get us into Anaheim early enough to spend some time in Disneyland on the day we arrived. Mapquest gave us an estimated driving time of 10 hours 30 minutes, but that seemed a bit unrealistic. In my mind, I was thinking it would take us 12 or more hours. I was just hoping to arrive before dark, as I don't like driving in unfamiliar territory when it's dark. Our goal was to maintain an average of 60 miles per hour (including all stops for restroom breaks and gas). Every hour we would check the mileage and see if we were on track. We were able to stay on target during the day's journey.

The drive was uneventful (fortunately). Jason popped in the first of our 30 mix CD's that we had made for the trip and we settled down for the long drive. Later in the morning we opened up the box of Hostess Frosted Donettes and munched on those for awhile.

To pass the time, Jason got out the camera and took a few pictures out the window. There wasn't a lot of traffic on the road, so when we reached the Oregon/California border I was able to slow down enough for him to get a decent shot of the "Welcome to California" sign. He also took pictures of the sign for the Sims Road exit near Shasta. For those of you who know me, The Sims is my favorite computer game. I didn't have very much time to play during the week before we left and it was weighing on my mind a bit that my Sims family was left in major chaos the last time I played. I like to have them all tucked into bed and the house clean before I close the game. He also took a picture of the sign for the Proberta/Gerber exit. This sign has always fascinated me since it sounds like a woman's name. If I ever need to assume a false identity, I think I'll use the alias Proberta Gerber.

We made excellent time, arriving in Santa Nella at 4:30 PM, eleven hours after we left. We checked into our rooms at the Motel 6 and were given 2 rooms on the ground floor, just a couple of doors away from the office, just what we wanted. We backed the car into a space right outside my room and within a few minutes, we had unloaded what we needed for the night. A quick look at the back of the TV revealed that there would be no problem hooking up the VCR that we had packed. So we decided to go have dinner and then return to watch a little TV before turning in early for the night.

Dinner was at Split Pea Andersen's restaurant where they make the best pea soup in California. The best pea soup in the US is made by my mom in Oregon. We both ordered the Traveler's Special which consists of pea soup (all you can eat), rolls, crackers and a beverage. We both ordered the vanilla shake. After eating two bowls of soup a piece, we ordered dessert to go.

Back in the room we watched some TV, ate our dessert and then felt our eyelids begin to droop. We decided to make an early night of it so we could be on the road early the next morning. Jason went back to his room and we were both asleep by 7:30 PM.

We did it!

2004-10-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's hard to believe but our vacation has come and gone. It seemed like it was so far in the future and now it's over. It was the best vacation we ever had and I'm going to try to recap it over the next couple of weeks.

I took a lot of pictures each day and every evening my son would download them off the camera onto his laptop so we could start each day with an empty memory disk. I'll try to post some of them when I get a chance.

We barely got out of Anaheim on our way back before we began to plan our next trip, most likely in December. We really want to take the Holiday Tour and see the resort all decorated for Christmas. It's A Small World will have it's holiday overlay and the Fantasmic show will be up and running again. Most of the rides that were closed during our visit should be open again, with the exception of Space Mountain and the Enchanted Tiki Room.

California, Here We Come!

2004-10-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

It's 4:30 in the morning and the day has finally arrived. Today we leave for Disneyland. We hope to be on the road no later than 5:30. In spite of our best intentions, packing took a lot longer than we expected and we didn't get as much sleep last night as we had hoped. I'm not fully awake yet, so it's hard to think of anything to say. I'll sign off for now. The next time I post, we'll be in California.

Less Than One Day To Go!

2004-10-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

As you can see, the official vacation countdown clock now shows less than one day before we leave for vacation. My son took today off from work get ready for the trip and I wish I had done the same thing. There is still a lot to do even though I have been working hard each evening this week trying to get as much done in advance as possible.

This morning I put a load of laundry in the washer and was able to get it in the dryer before leaving for work. I also cleaned the windows on the inside of the car. This was something I neglected to do two weeks ago when we drove to Chico and it was really bothersome. Then, on the way to work I stopped by Kaady car wash and had the car washed.

Tonight, I'll finish do a second load of laundry and then start packing. I also need to make sandwiches for our lunch tomorrow and get all the food packed up and ready to go. We decided to bring a VCR with us and some of our tapes from last season, so I need to select and pack those tapes up. We are also bringing a microwave. Unfortunately, the standard rooms at HoJo's do not have microwaves and it was $20 per night extra to upgrade to a room with a microwave. Last August, we purchased a small microwave at Target for $27 during one of their back to school sales to bring along with us. It's small enough to fit on the floor in the backseat of the car and will be very handy to have in the room. We plan to pack the videotapes inside the microwave.

Hopefully, we can get everything done and the most of the car packed without staying up too late as we want to get an early start in the morning. We still need to watch The Apprentice which we taped last night and didn't watch.

Weather for Next Week

2004-10-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

As you can see by the official vacation countdown clock, it's now less than one day until we leave for vacation. I've been checking the weather for Anaheim at Weather.com almost hourly and it looks like the temperatures will be really nice. My definition of nice may be different that others. I don't like hot weather. Anything about 75 degrees is too hot for me. Right now the weather looks like it will be in the upper 60's and low 70's during the first part of the week. The last half of the week it looks like it will warm up to the mid to upper 70's. There is a good chance of rain showers at the beginning of the week. This doesn't bother me either, as I would rather have rain with cooler temperatures than hot weather any day. Rain would also reduce the crowds at the park. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I've learned that I don't melt in the rain.

Following a suggestion I found on the MousePlanet.com discussion board, I stopped at Target on my way home from work last night and picked up a couple of disposable rain ponchos for each of us. They were only .89 each and are small enough to fit in my purse. If it does decide to rain, we're ready for it.

Our Daily Itinerary

2004-10-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

On the left side of my website, you see a Trip Itinerary that lists where we plan to be each day. Here's a little more detail:

Day 1
We plan to leave Portland no later than 6:00 AM and drive approximately 700 miles to Santa Nella, CA where we have reservations at Motel 6. Dinner is scheduled at Pea Soup Andersen's restaurant in Santa Nella.

Day 2
Another early start is planned, hitting the road between 6:00 and 7:00 AM. Today's drive will be a lot shorter, approximately 300 miles. We hope to arrive in Anaheim by 1:00 PM at the latest and immediately check in to our hotel, the Howard Johnson Plaza Anaheim Hotel. Even if our rooms are not ready, we should still be able to check-in.

After this is taken care of, we'll drive over to the Disneyland Resort and park in the Downtown Disney lot, where you can get up to three hours of free parking. We'll head directly over to the Will Call area and pick up our Annual Passport vouchers, our Parking Pass, and our tickets to the Mysteries, Myths and Legends Tour.

After entering the park we'll proceed to the Annual Passport processing area, where we will turn in our vouchers and get our pictures taken for our Annual Passport. After a brief look around, we'll drive back to the Hotel, where we'll unpack and take a short nap.

Around 5:00 or 6:00 PM, we'll drive back to the park, this time parking in the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure and using our parking pass. The park is open until 11:00 PM this day, so we'll ride some rides and have a relaxing dinner before heading back to our rooms for a good nights sleep.

Day 3
This will be our first full day in the park and we plan to spend it at Disneyland. Since the park doesn't open until 10:00 AM, we'll be able to sleep in a bit after our long drive and late night the night before. With our RideMax plan in hand, we'll work our way through all the major attractions, stopping for lunch at the Blue Bayou at 1:40 PM and then continue until park closing at 8:00 PM.

Day 4
We plan to spend the day at Disney's California Adventure park, which opens at 10:00 AM. Again, we'll use the RideMax plan we designed before we left. Lunch is scheduled for Ariel's Grotto at 1:00 PM. We may schedule a short rest period back at the Hotel before returning to the Park for the new Mysteries, Myths and Legends tour that begins at 6:00 PM. I explain about the tour in more detail in an earlier post. By the time the 2-1/2 hour tour is over, both parks will be closed and we'll head back to the Hotel for dinner and a good nights sleep.

Day 5
Today, we're back at Disneyland again. The park opens at 10:00 AM, but we have breakfast reservations at the Carnation Cafe at 9:30 AM. This restaurant is located on Main Street and features outdoor seating and Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. We can eat breakfast and watch the crowds.

Day 6
We've scheduled another trip to Disney's California Adventure. This time we don't have a scheduled plan and we'll pretty much play it by ear. We would like to see all the shows and visit all the shops. Lunch will probably be at the Taste Pilot's Grill. Depending upon how we feel, we may return to the Hotel in the afternoon for a nap. This park closes at 6:00, so we would most likely go back over to Disneyland until the 8:00 PM closing time.

Day 7
This is our last full day and we plan to spend the majority of the day at Disneyland. We plan to see all the shows and visit all the shops and may use this day to finish up doing that. This also might be a good day to bring the camera and take pictures. We want to be sure to have a picture taken of both of us together to submit to the Happiest Faces on Earth project that Disney is working on. You can submit your photos to Disney and they'll use them is a series of collages to commemorate the 50th anniversary next year. They're trying to collect a million guest photos to use in these collages. One of them will be of Mickey Mouse. If they use your photo, they'll let you know approximately where it is located so you can check it out next year during the celebration.

At 7:50 PM, we will head on over to the Wine Country Trattoria restaurant in Disney's California Adventure for dinner and watch the Disney Electrical Parade while we eat. After we finish dinner, we'll go back over to Disneyland to watch the fireworks. When the fireworks are over, we may ride a couple of the rides before the park closes at 11:00 PM.

Day 8
After our late night, we'll probably welcome the chance to sleep in a little, but not too much. After packing up and checking out of the hotel, we'll drive over to the Disney Resort one last time and spend some time going through Downtown Disney and doing some last minute shopping. Around 1:00 PM, after making a stop at a grocery store for supplies, we'll hit the road to begin our drive home. Again, we'll drive to Santa Nella and stay at the Motel 6.

Day 9
We have a long drive ahead of us today, so we'll be on the road early, probably by 6:00 AM. Today's drive will be 700 miles and we'll be anxious to get home, but sad to leave Disneyland. Once we're home, we'll begin planning our next trip.

The Official Trip Binder

2004-10-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

The official "Trip Binder" is ready to go. For those of you not familiar with this concept, the Trip Binder is a 3-ring binder containing all the important pieces of information that will make our trip the absolute best that it can be. When you open the binder up, the first thing you see is the Trip Itinerary. At the top of the itinerary is the same header you see at the top of my DisneyAdventures.info website. Below that, I've included our plans for each day of our trip. For our travelling days, this includes our beginning and ending destination, the total number of miles we will travel, the estimated travel time (according to MapQuest), the name and phone number of our night's lodging, and the confirmation number for our reservation. Once we arrive in Anaheim, the itinerary includes the name of the park that we intend to spend most of our time that day, the operating hours for bothparks, the time of any priority seating reservations we've made, and any other special plans we've made or confirmation numbers we need to remember.

After the trip itinerary, the binder is divided into five sections, with labeled dividers separating each section. The five sections are:

MapQuest Info: contains driving directions to our different daily destinations, as well as directions and locations of various services we may need. Some examples of the different services are banks, fast food restaurants, stores, and Starbucks.
Confirmations: contains printouts of the official confirmations for our hotel reservations, annual passports, etc.
RideMax Plans: contains the schedules for two days of touring plans that we created using RideMax, a ride planning software tool. See an earlier post for a description of RideMax. Since the park shouldn't be too crowded, we just developed plans for one day at each of the two parks and will wing it the other days.
Park Tips: contains a collection of tips gathered from my two favorite Disney websites, Mousesavers.com and MousePlanet.com that will help us make the most of our vacation. For example, you can get free coffee refills all day at the Market House restaurant in Disneyland by saving your receipt. You don't even need to save your cup. Also, Annual Passport holders (or AP holders) can get a free The Incredibles Halloween Trick-or-Treat bag by presenting their AP's at a shop on Main Street. It also contains information about the best place to get cash, what discounts for dining and shopping are available to AP holders.
Other Info: contains mailing address labels for family members to make it easy for us to send postcards, a couple of empty plastic sheet protectors to hold receipts, and any other information that doesn't fall within the parameters of the other sections.

My son kind of smirks when I talk about the trip binder. My sister commented about someone having too much time of their hands when I whipped out the trip binder on our trip down to Northern California a couple of weekends ago. It doesn't bother me. I know the binder will make things go as smoothly as possible and enable us to have the best trip ever!

Rooms Confirmed at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel

2004-10-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday morning I emailed Willie, the Sales and Marketing Director at HoJo's to touch base and let him know how excited we were about our upcoming stay this weekend. I also wanted to check to see what we needed to bring to connect our laptop to their complimentary high-speed internet access that they provide in every room. We were also curious about whether we could connect a VCR to the TV in the room.

Yesterday, I received a very friendly, welcoming reply from him that really set the mood for a great time next week. We were hoping for connecting rooms, but unfortunately they do not have room configurations for two connecting King bed rooms. He did say that his staff has booked us into two King rooms on the same floor in their very best location. The rooms are located in Building 2, which is in the back of the property. All rooms face inward and overlook the quiet pool (as oppposed to the other pool that has the kid's water play area. The building itself is one of the tower buildings, which means it has an elevator. This was important to us, because it is tough to lug all the stuff up even one flight of stairs.

He also gave us great information about what we needed to connect to their high-speed internet (basically a computer with an ethernet card), but also recommended bringing a CAT-5 cable if we wanted to be able to have more flexibility in where we use the computer. Some of the connection boxes are located on the nightstand next to the beds and not always the best location for using a computer. They are currently in the process of converting to wireless internet access.

As far as connecting a VCR in the room, he says we should contact maintenance when we arrive and they'll come up with their special tool to remove the tamper-proof cable from the back of the TV so we can connect our VCR. We won't be doing a lot of TV watching, but thought it would be nice to bring some tapes to watch so we don't get too far behind.

"Mousekeeping" Envelopes

2004-10-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I created custom envelopes for us to put the housekeeping tips in when were staying at the hotel. I got this idea from the MousePlanet Discussion Board. Someone provided a link to a woman's website where she has quite a few sample envelopes to print out. I printed out one of them, but the font size and graphic seemed a little small, so I designed my own in PowerPoint. They have a picture of Mickey Mouse on them and the words, "Thank You Mousekeeping." My son thinks I should say "Housekeeping" instead of "Mousekeeping" because we aren't staying at the Disneyland Resort. I'll change his to say "Housekeeping" but mine will remain "Mousekeeping." I think it will be okay, since we are staying right across the street and I'm sure the majority of the hotel guests are visiting the resort. If I was using these at a hotel in Sacramento, it would be different. So, "Mousekeeping" it is!

Trial Run for Trip

2004-10-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we drove down to Chico, CA to attend my Grandmother's memorial service. The service was actually in Paradise, but we stayed at the Super 8 in Chico. It was a nice weekend. We were able to see cousins that we've haven't seen since 1988, when we all met in Tulare, CA to celebrate my grandma's 75th birthday. Some of these cousins are now married with kids and it was nice to meet them.

We treated this as kind of a trial run and it gave us a chance to try some things out before the big trip next weekend. Here are some of the things we learned on this trip.

Things that worked

Hostess Frosted Donettes and milk for breakfast - After a couple of hours on the road, we set the open box between us in the car and munched on donettes throughout the morning. We purposely brought small bottles of milk, rather than cartons, so they would fit in the cup holders.
Ice chest in the backseat - We brought along a cooler filled with pop, individual servings of pudding and apple sauce, PB & J sandwiches, milk and strawberry jam. This provided easy access to quick snacks without having to pull the car over.
Frozen Water Bottles - We discovered this idea during our trip last year. We froze the bottles of water to keep the ice chest cold and then drank the water while we were in Anaheim (where the water tastes awful). The bottles kept everything cold during the entire trip.
Rolling Duffles - A few months ago we purchased rolling duffle bags and had the chance to try them out for the first time last weekend. They worked great. We were afraid that they wouldn't hold enough, but we had plenty of room. There is a zippered false bottom that provided extra room.
Mickey Mouse two-way radios - My son purchased a set of Mickey Mouse two-way radios on clearance at Target a while back. These worked great for communicating between our two rooms. The radio was turned on when you were available and turned off when you were not. This worked out better than calling the room because you didn't wake a person up if they were sleeping. I even took it with me while getting ice late one night and it provided a little extra security.
Making Mix CD's for the trip - Last year we each made 12 CD's to listen to on the road. We decided on 12 CD's each because the CD case we brought had room for 24 so we divided it in half. We switched off between the two of us, each taking a turn playing our CD. We both enjoy a wide variety of music, so even if it wasn't our turn, we still ended up enjoying the other person's CD.

Things that didn't

Cupcakes - I baked cupcakes to take with us. While they tasted great, the frosting melted a little while they were sitting in the trunk and they never really recovered from the experience. We didn't even try to eat them in the car because it would have caused a huge mess, and ended up bringing a lot of them home. Tonight I baked chocolate chip cookies and will pop them in the freezer until we are ready to leave.
Staying on an upper floor in a building without an elevator. Our room was on the 3rd floor and there wasn't an elevator. It was tough hauling all our stuff up two flights of stairs and then hauling it all down again two days later. The rolling duffles were nice, but carrying them up the stairs was not. We plan to ask for ground floor rooms if we end up in a building without an elevator.
Bringing team games for two people - I brought Trivial Pursuit (Baby Boomer edition and Pop Culture edition), Taboo and TriBond along on the trip in case we wanted to play some games with the family. We ended up not playing with the family, but the two us wanted to play a game. We tried playing TriBond, but it wasn't as fun with just two players. Next time we'll bring some easy to play games for two players, like Cribbage or Yahtzee or Boggle.
Putting labels on the CD - Last year I very carefully made labels for my CD's. They looked nice, but I think it caused the CD to be a little unbalanced and made a slight noise while spinning in the CD player. After the trip, I kept the CD case in my Gym bag in the trunk and the heat from the car caused the labels to buckle. I'm re-doing the CD's now and will leave the labels off.
Not bringing a VCR with us - We could have easily hooked up a VCR to the TV in the motel room and brought a few tapes along with us. I've emailed Howard Johnson's to see if it's possible to hook the VCR up in our room there.

RideMax Software

2004-09-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try posting this again. Yesterday, I had a few minutes left of my lunch hour and quickly typed up a post about RideMax software. At the very moment I clicked the "Publish" button, some of the guys in my building started monkeying with the network while trying to install a wireless router and I lost the entire post.

RideMax is a ride planning software tool that helps you save time waiting in line at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. A 3-month subscription is $12.95, while a one-year subscription is $19.95. RideMax allows you to specify the attractions you wish to ride during your visit, then uses a sophisticated scheduling algorithm to order your attractions so that the amount of time you spend in line is minimized.

Using historical wait time statistics for each attraction as a foundation, RideMax analyzes millions of different ride sequences in order to create a minimum-wait-time itinerary. This schedule is tailored to the expected crowd patterns on the day of your visit, for the attractions you want to ride!

Generally, data for a certain time period is available 2 to 4 weeks in advance. I didn't realize this when I purchased my subscription (my fault, as it is clearly stated on their website), so I was a little disappointment that data for our trip in October was not yet posted. However, it ended up being posted a least a month before we were scheduled to leave so I was able to try it out.

Even though we are not visiting during the peak season and the lines shouldn't be a problem, it was fun to play with and see what the program would come up with. After entering all all our favorite rides at the Disneyland Park, was were suprised to see that it sent us to Fantasyland first to ride Dumbo. This goes against our natural inclination which is to immediately race over to the marquee attractions, such as Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones or Big Thunder Railroad, as soon as the park opens. But it does make perfect sense. Dumbo is a low capacity ride where only 8 people can ride at a time, while Splash Mountain is continually loading people. Plus, by using the FastPass system, there really isn't any reason to wait in the long, standby line. So as much as it goes against the grain, heading over to Fantasyland first thing in the morning and riding all the rides there does make sense.

We plan to develop plans for a couple of the days during our visit, one for Disneyland and one for Disney California's Adventure and give them a try.

We Have Priority Seating Reservations

2004-09-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

As part of our ongoing effort to make this the best Disney trip ever, we've made priority seating reservations at several special Disney restaurants. Here's what we'll be doing:

Monday, our first full day at Disneyland, we have lunch reservations at the Blue Bayou restaurant in New Orleans Square. We hope to get there earlier enough to be able to sit right by the water and watch people on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction as we eat our Monte Cristo sandwiches.

Tuesday, we have reservations at Ariel's Grotto for lunch. This is considered a character dining experience. Aside from Ariel, I'm not sure which characters actually host this meal, but we'll find out. I have doubts that this will be something we'll want to do each time we go, but you never know.

Tuesday evening we have tickets for the new Mysteries, Myths and Legends tour that I described in an earlier post.

Wednesday, we have breakfast reservations at the Carnation Cafe on Main Street for 9:30 AM. This is before the actually opening of the park so we may even be through with breakfast before the actual rope drop. I have heard that the Mickey Mouse waffles are excellent.

Thursday, we don't have anything special planned. We will most likely spend the day at Disney's California Adventure park and may eat at the Taste Pilots' Grill. No reservations are required for this eatery. Our group ate there last year, but my son was sick and had gone back to the room to rest so he missed out. I had a really great bbq chicken sandwich and the fries were excellent.

Friday, we have dinner reservations at The Trattoria Restaurant, which serves Italian style food. Our reservations are for 7:50 PM and were purposely made that late so that we could view the Disney Electrical Parade while we eat dinner. Hopefully, we'll get there early enough to be seated right next to the wall overlooking the parade. I have heard that if you're further away from the wall it is difficult to see the whole parade.

First Visit to the Blue Bayou Restaurant

2004-09-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

On the first day of our Disney trip in March 2003, my son and I ate at the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square for the very first time. I'm not sure why we never did this before. Maybe because there was always a big line of people waiting to be seated. Maybe we thought it would be too expensive. This trip we decided to go for it. We joined the long line and waited patiently for our turn. I believe we waited in line for about 30 minutes before reaching the head of the line. We had hoped to be seated near the water so that we could watch the people on the Pirates of the Carribbean but instead we were seated right about as far away from the water as possible, very near the entrance to the restaurant. Even so, the atmosphere was very nice. We both ordered the Monte Cristo sandwich (the Blue Bayou speciality) and a mint julep. Our server was very nice and the service itself was quick, without making us feel rushed. The sandwich was excellent and was served with a side of pasta salad which was also very good. My son loved the mint julep, but I didn't really care for it. It was very sweet and the mint flavor was quite strong. I'm glad that I tried it though. The cost of the sandwich was around $12 or $13 which seemed like a lot at the time, but by the end of the week seemed quite reasonable considering the price of everything else in the Park. We decided to make lunch at the Blue Bayou a tradition from now on and plan to make priority seating reservations in the future so that we can sit by the water.

Mysteries, Myths and Legends Tour

2004-09-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I called the Disneyland Resort and purchased the last two spots on the new tour called, "Mysteries, Myths, and Legends" for our second full day at the resort. This 2-1/2 hour tour begins at the Tower of Terror attraction in Disney's California Adventure right at the park closing time of 6:00 PM. The Cast Member who took my reservation was very friendly and mentioned that they've been swamped with calls about this tour as this is the first day they are taking reservations. She's worked for Disney for three years and loves her job.

Here's the description of the tour:

Wait until dark and then step into the shadows on this eerie expedition through the Disneyland® Resort. Discover hidden secrets, stories and legends that only few have heard before as you explore the underbelly of Disneyland® park and Disney's California Adventure™ park.

Be a part of the fictional storyline your Host weaves.
Discover valuable tips and suggestions to make the most of your visit.
Experience three thrilling rides: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™, Indiana Jones™ Adventure and Haunted Mansion.
Board the Disneyland Railroad for a classic Disney journey.
Receive an exclusive tour tag and pin (or "glow" item).

The cost is $25 per person.

I'm really excited about this. I've never been on a Disney Tour before. My only concern is that I've never ridden the Tower of Terror ride before and I'm not sure if my fear of heights will be a factor in riding this ride. Since it's part of the tour and I won't want to embarrass myself in front of the other members of the tour, I'll probably just grit my teeth and hope I survive.

Howard Johnson Plaza Anaheim

2004-09-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Within a day or two of booking our vacation package we started having second thoughts about it. We started hearing about all the refurbishment going on in preparation for the 50th anniversary celebration in 2005. Some of our very favorite rides were scheduled to be unavailable during our visit. Space Mountain was closed until November 2005, the Matterhorn would be closed until November 2004, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was closed indefinitely pending the results of the investigation into the latest crash. Plus, the castle is completely covered in tarps and are some of the shops on Main Street. It just seemed like a lot of money to spend when the park is not at it's best. So we decided to stay off site this year and then next year stay at the Disneyland Hotel during the 50th celebration.

At first, I thought we would return to the Anaheim Plaza, which was certainly an okay place to stay. Before making reservations, I happened to notice that the Howard Johnson Plaza Anaheim was listed as one of the preferred hotels on the MouseSavers.com website. This site is an excellent resource for all the special deals and offers that are available. I also read the hotel reviews on the MousePlanet website and Howard Johnson Plaza Anaheim was at the top of the list. Plus, it was frequently mentioned on the MousePad message boards as a great place to stay. One of the biggest selling points was the complimentary high speed internet access in each room. I checked Expedia and the rate was $69 per night which was a reasonable price. Then I checked the HoJo's website for the AAA rate and was quoted $63 per night. Finally, I clicked the link on the MouseSavers site and received the special MouseSavers rate of $58. I immediately booked two rooms. After a few days I cancelled the two Disneyland Hotel reservations. We both felt immensely better about staying off site and planned to use some of the savings to do some special things like eating at some of the nicer restaurants in the park and maybe taking a tour.

Disneyland Hotel - Part Two

2004-09-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Even though we have reservations at the Disneyland Hotel, I still continue to check for lower rates. Around the first part of August I see that booking a vacation package through the Walt Disney Travel Company is actually less expensive than purchasing each component separately. Plus they include some extra goodies like a souvenier photo, priority seating at some shows, a pin and the most coveted item, the official Walt Disney Travel Company lanyard. Last year, we were quite envious of those who were sporting this nifty lanyard and the plastic holder that provided an excellent place to store your fastpasses.

First, I called the Disneyland Hotel and checked to see if there were any special offers available to reduce the cost of our already booked rooms. There were not, and in fact the rates had actually increased since I made our reservations. Next, I called the Walt Disney Travel Company and booked a package which included rooms, premium annual passes, a three-day dining package (with a character breakfast at Goofy's kitchen) and all the little extras that went along with it. Finally, we were set. Or so I thought.

Disneyland Hotel - Part One

2004-09-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ever since we returned from our Disney trip in March 2003, we've been longing to return. Disneyland is a world unto itself. Once you pass through the gates its entirely possible to totally forget about the outside world and just concentrate on the magic of Disney. We began counting the days until we could return. After I realized I would receive a larger than expected tax refund, we decided to start planning our trip in earnest. This would be the year that we would stay at the Disneyland Hotel, each of us in our own room. I began to spend a lot of time surfing the AAA, Disneyland and Expedia websites pricing the various options. Should we purchase rooms only at the DLH or book one of the AAA Disney vacation packages? Should we buy a park hopper ticket or the Annual Pass? If we buy the Annual Pass, should we get the Deluxe or Premium Pass? All options were explored.

Then suddenly, prices started going up. The price for a 6-night vacation jumped up $150. The price of the Annual Pass also increased dramatically. We started to panic. Finally, we decided to make room-only reservations at the DLR because we weren't required to pay a deposit and we could cancel up to 4 days before arrival without penalty. In addition, we were encouraged to call back periodically to see if any special deals were available that might lower the price of the room. Finally, we could relax. Our rooms were secure. Now all we had to do was wait.

Anaheim Plaza Hotel

2004-09-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

On our trip to the Disneyland Resort (DLR) in March 2003, we stayed at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel located "directly across the street" from the DLR. This term is somewhat misleading. Although the hotel is in fact located "directly across the street" from the DLR (situated across from the new Tower of Terror), it still is a long walk to the Main Entrance. Our rooms were located along the back of the hotel property which meant we had to walk through the hotel complex itself, cross the street, then along Harbor Blvd. to the pedestrian walkway leading to the Main Entrance. At the beginning of the day it didn't seem so bad, but at the end of the day it seemed to stretch into eternity and every effort was made just to put one foot ahead of the next enough times to reach the room. Once in our rooms we would collapse on our beds and hope the pain in our legs would subside long enough to get up the next morning and do it all over again.

The hotel itelf was a pleasant surprise and nicer than I expected. The lobby was clean and spacious, the grounds nicely landscaped and the pool was very large and looked extremely refreshing. There was also gift shop where you could purchase cold drinks, ice cream, snacks, etc. Here we rediscovered Cactus Cooler, a pineaple-orange flavored soda not available in the Portland area.

Our room was located on the ground floor in the building along the back of the hotel and was quite roomy with two queen beds, dresser, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, hair dryer, TV and a table with two chairs. The bathroom has a shower/tub combination and toilet in one room, with a large double-sinked vanity just outside. The beds were quite comfortable and the air conditioning worked wonderfully.

The only drawback to the room was that the remote control on the TV did not have a sleep timer! We're used to going to sleep with the TV on so that was a bit of an adjustment. Also, the hotel does not particpate in the Anaheim Resort Transportion system (ART) which would have helped cut down the amount of walking done each day. In retrospect, it would have been worth it to pay the $8 or $9 to park in the Disney Resort parking lot at least a few of the days during our visit.

It was 10 years since our last visit to Disneyland and the trip was absolutely wonderful in so many ways. We decided the only thing that would make it even more perfect, would be to stay at the Disneyland Hotel.

Disney Adventures is Up and Running!

2004-09-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

My Disney Adventures website is now up and running! There is still much to do and I'll be continually working on it over the next month or so. The purpose of this site is to provide an outlet for my excitement over our upcoming Disney vacation in October. This is a way to pass the time until we load the last suitcase in the car and say goodbye to Portland. On the site I'll provide updates on my preparations for the trip, as well as tips, tricks, hints, etc., that I've come across during my quest for knowledge about all things Disney.

Check back frequently as the site unfolds and embrace the magic of Disney.