Disneyland or Bust: A Mother-Daughter Coastal Road Trip

[Dugette]

I missed the update with Mary Poppins and Pluto! Super cute pics there, too!

 

[pkondz]

Of course, we made a beeline for RSR, stopping on the way for some PP+ pictures, of course.

Of course. To both statements.

Grab her Roni! She's about to float away!!!!

Single Rider is our friend.

Yes, yes it is.

Whoa. Dat right d'ere is one angry kid.
I do not want to come across her in a dark alley. <shudder>

(Willow was really just hamming for the camera there.)

Kinda figured.

And soon Willow got her Olaf pics!

Those are pretty cute pics!

He was especially excited when we told him he was Number 1!

She said as Willow wears a Frozen shirt.....

It was really pretty funny. It was HOT. And as soon as they did this, a cool breeze came through - the PP photographer and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, "It worked!"

It's Disney magic!

Up Next: Day 14F

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

What? RSR? You don't like that ride, do you?

Willow making a sad face? Totally cute but not believable. I'm sure all that cutie does all day is smile!

Love the Olaf pics! I forgot all about those on our last WDW trip and was so bummed when we got back.

I love the Donald pictures! They look so cruise-y to me! But pretty much everything reminds me of a cruise these days.....

 

[afwdwfan]

The single-rider line took about 20 minutes, and we had a fun ride - this time in separate vehicles. However, there were a bunch of glitches with the ride, including that my car got stuck for quite a while, which allowed Willow's car to somehow arrive back first even though mine left first; neither one of us getting to race another car (both of our cars raced a ghost); and neither one of our cars getting a ride picture. Here is how Willow felt about all that!

Sounds familiar.

Seriously, we had the worst luck with that ride.

(Willow was really just hamming for the camera there.)

Willow? That's hard to believe!

Eventually, we found the right PP CM. And she was having software issues.

Everything is buggy at Disneyland.

Just as we were about to leave, her camera started loading the software she needed, so we waited. And soon Willow got her Olaf pics!

Thank goodness! They turned out very well!

It was really pretty funny. It was HOT. And as soon as they did this, a cool breeze came through - the PP photographer and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, "It worked!"

Can I borrow Willow for our next summer trip to Disney World?

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Of course, we made a beeline for RSR,

Phew. I was worried.

OMG That is the first non smiley photo of Willow I've seen I think (even if it was "scripted"). But incidentally, I do not want want to run into that look in a dark alley.

YAY Donald. I think that is the spot I met Sailer Mickey. I expect Donald is probably not too thrilled standing in front of a hidden Mickey. But he seems to be rolling with it.

 

[RGirl]

Great picture. Bummer about the glitches, though.

We are very lucky to have been able to ride it so many times - so, for us, it was just kind of perplexing and amusing. I think it would have been very disappointing if it were someone's only ride (especially if they had waited 2 hours for it). On a past trip, when something went wrong (a long stall), the CMs let anyone who was affected stay on for a second ride. Not this time though.

Cute pictures! Glad it worked out at the last minute.

I was relieved - I couldn't believe that we had forgotten to get those pictures until the last day.

Really cute character meet pics with Donald and Woody too!

Both meets were great fun!

 

[RGirl]

I missed the update with Mary Poppins and Pluto! Super cute pics there, too!

Thanks! Willow has had some truly remarkable meets with Mary at DL.

Of course. To both statements.

Girls gotta do what girls gotta do - especially on the last day!

Whoa. Dat right d'ere is one angry kid.
I do not want to come across her in a dark alley. <shudder>

Those are pretty cute pics!

I was happy I remembered to get them at the last possible opportunity.

She said as Willow wears a Frozen shirt.....

It's Disney magic!

It WAS!

Thanks for the chapter!

Thanks for sticking in there with me!

 

[RGirl]

What? RSR? You don't like that ride, do you?

I don't know why Mickey keeps forcing us to go on it!

Willow making a sad face? Totally cute but not believable. I'm sure all that cutie does all day is smile!

Ha! Only through the magic of TRs where you can't hear the day-to-day back-talking and sassing.

Love the Olaf pics! I forgot all about those on our last WDW trip and was so bummed when we got back.

Well, I came VERY close to having that exact same experience.

I love the Donald pictures! They look so cruise-y to me! But pretty much everything reminds me of a cruise these days.....

They are indeed very nautical, huh? Still so excited for you to experience DCL!

Sounds familiar.

Seriously, we had the worst luck with that ride.

You really did. I feel bad - your luck on that trip was just unbelievable.

Willow? That's hard to believe!

Everything is buggy at Disneyland.

I hate that that's your experience with DLR.

Thank goodness! They turned out very well!

Thanks! I was happy I remembered (at the last minute).

Can I borrow Willow for our next summer trip to Disney World?

I sure am hoping those powers are working in a few months....

Phew. I was worried.

OMG That is the first non smiley photo of Willow I've seen I think (even if it was "scripted"). But incidentally, I do not want want to run into that look in a dark alley.

I would be lying if I said there aren't times she scares me!

YAY Donald. I think that is the spot I met Sailer Mickey. I expect Donald is probably not too thrilled standing in front of a hidden Mickey. But he seems to be rolling with it.

Donald was definitely being pretty chill about it all - I think it helped that we confirmed his number-one status.

 

[RGirl]

The Contest: First person to provide the movie title from which the chapter heading comes gets a point; two points if the character who utters the line is also identified. If the first person doesn’t name the character, the first poster to do so will get a point.

Current Standing:
Courtney (courtneybelle): 24 points
pkondz: 24 points
Jill (jedijill): 22 points
Andy (afwdwfan): 9 points
Shannon (shan23877): 8 points
Rob (DisneyKid4Life): 7 points
Lori (STLMickeyMom): 7 points
Dugette: 6 points
Kathy (KatMark): 4 points
Megan (MonsterWDWmom): 2 points
Gracefulskinny: 2 points
petals: 1 point
Rory (Woodskeeper): 1 point

"I walked with you once upon a dream."​

Day 14F - Thursday, 7 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort

After Willow had exercised her powers with Woody, it was about noon, and we were really ready for some lunch. We went over to Corndog Castle and procured one of Disneyland Resort's famous hand-dipped corndogs for Willow's lunch.

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And then we doubled back through an area with several CS locations to find Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta.

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I had a gluten-free pepperoni pizza, which was quite delicious.

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Both of Willow's top two front teeth were quite loose at this point, so she did not enjoy her corndog as much as she might have at another time.

While we were dining, we saw (and heard) these guys going by.

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After lunch, our FP for Goofy's Sky School (which we had obtained while making our way to get Willow's corndog) was usable, so we headed over there and walked through the not-often-used FP queue area.

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Willow had first been tall enough for this ride during our January trip, so that was the first time we had done it. I really did not care for it - it has a heights issue that is unpleasant for someone with issues with heights in that it feels like the car is just going to fly off the edge, and it is VERY jerky. However, I had had a terrible headache the one time we had done this before, so I didn't think it was fair to judge based on that encounter. So I agreed to ride. Willow, of course, loves it (like pretty much any ride!).

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Verdict? I still hate it. It's the height thing combined with the neck-breaking jerkiness. I think this is very similar to Primeval Whirl (which I remember liking a lot better but have only done once years ago), but it must be somewhat different, because it definitely has a lower height requirement to ride.

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These guys were making their way through again when we got off the ride.

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Continued in next post

 

[RGirl]

Day 14F - Thursday, 7 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort (cont. from previous post)

After flying with Goofy, I really needed to do something a little less horrifying. So we went to visit The Little Mermaid! It was about 12:50 at this point, and we waited approximately 2 minutes to board. No awesome queue area like at WDW here.

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But the ride is just as fun.

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When we exited the ride, we were just kind of at loose ends about what to do. We were hot, and our feet were just absolutely KILLING us. We had Hit.The.Wall, DIS Friends.

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I'm not sure this has ever really happened to us at a Disney park before - we just couldn't go on. We were discussing whether we were really going to call it a day or what, when we heard some music, and Willow popped around the column where we were sitting and then popped back around yelling, "Mommy!! Goofy's controlling the water!!!"

You may be thinking, "huh?" I, however, in a weird moment of clarity, knew exactly what she was talking about. At various points during the day, Goofy comes out and conducts the orchestra of the fountains at Paradise Pier. We had never seen it before, and Willow hadn't known it existed, so we hobbled closer to watch.

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Sorry for the picture overkill - we were really excited to see this; it is a perfect example of one of those special Disney things that they don’t HAVE to do, but that make a visit so special when you happen upon them.

It was about 1:10 when Conductor Goofy ended his set, and we decided that we would ride TLM one more time and then head out. We spotted these guys from the queue.

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And we enjoyed our last ride of the trip.

Willow was hoping for a Mickey Bar, and I was thinking that we could probably get one at the CS or pool area at the GCH, so we exited through there. No Mickey Bars to be found.

I felt bad since we could have easily stopped on the way out of the park. Luckily, there was a Haagen-Dazs right across from the GCH when we exited, so Willow got a scoop of ice cream there.

We were back at our "secret" path for the last time a little before 2:00.
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When we got back to the room, Willow showered - trying out a shower cap for the first time in her life to maintain her Elsa hairdo.

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And I packed before also showering and getting cleaned up for our last night traditional meal. Looks like Willow enjoyed viewing my packing efforts a lot more than I enjoyed the job.

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Up Next: Day 14G

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Aurora sleeping Beauty

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I agree, aurora from sleeping beauty, but also prince Phillip sings it too when they dance--how do I know? I'm pretty sure we've watched that movie no less then 800 times!

Anywho--

Mmmmmm, corn dog!

I'm so glad you and willow got to see goofy conducting! So fun to get to see something new!

 

[afwdwfan]

We went over to Corndog Castle and procured one of Disneyland Resort's famous hand-dipped corndogs for Willow's lunch.

Looks amazing. I so wanted to try one of those corn dogs, but just never wanted to wait in the lines I saw every time I thought about it.

So I agreed to ride. Willow, of course, loves it (like pretty much any ride!).

She looks somewhat happy...

Verdict? I still hate it.

These guys were making their way through again when we got off the ride.

​

Cool! I never saw that.

But the ride is just as fun.

It is just as... everything. Except the queue, of course.

We had Hit.The.Wall, DIS Friends.

I'm not sure this has ever really happened to us at a Disney park before - we just couldn't go on. We were discussing whether we were really going to call it a day or what

Brutal. I don't know this feeling and I never want to.

when we heard some music, and Willow popped around the column where we were sitting and then popped back around yelling, "Mommy!! Goofy's controlling the water!!!"

Goofy saves the day!!!

Willow was hoping for a Mickey Bar, and I was thinking that we could probably get one at the CS or pool area at the GCH, so we exited through there. No Mickey Bars to be found.

Oh no!!! I'm glad they had them there when I needed one. Your fallback option was a pretty good choice though.

And I packed before also showering and getting cleaned up for our last night traditional meal. Looks like Willow enjoyed viewing my packing efforts a lot more than I enjoyed the job.

Somebody has to supervise.

 

[pkondz]

We went over to Corndog Castle and procured one of Disneyland Resort's famous hand-dipped corndogs for Willow's lunch.

I've heard such good things... that might be the reason why I go to DL.

I had a gluten-free pepperoni pizza, which was quite delicious.

That looks no different from a glutenized pizza.

Both of Willow's top two front teeth were quite loose at this point, so she did not enjoy her corndog as much as she might have at another time.

What's going on with those teeth?
First they're there. Then they're not. Then they're back.


So confused...

it has a heights issue that is unpleasant for someone with issues with heights

I like how you make it that the ride has issues too.

Verdict? I still hate it.

Well, good for giving it the ol' college try.

I think this is very similar to Primeval Whirl

Oh. Yuck.

but it must be somewhat different, because it definitely has a lower height requirement to ride.

Maybe they just care less in California.

So we went to visit The Little Mermaid!

Good choice.
Not that I've ever been on it.
But anything with Arial can't be bad.

We had Hit.The.Wall, DIS Friends.

Oh, no. Poor guys.

"Mommy!! Goofy's controlling the water!!!"

Annnnnd.... wall scaled!

You may be thinking, "huh?" I, however, in a weird moment of clarity, knew exactly what she was talking about.

Nope. Even though I've never seen it, I've heard of it.

so we hobbled closer to watch.

"hobbled"

Sorry for the picture overkill - we were really excited to see this

Not at all. I've never seen pics before, I don't think. So I liked the overkill.

it is a perfect example of one of those special Disney things that they don’t HAVE to do, but that make a visit so special when you happen upon them.

And we enjoyed our last ride of the trip.

Oh, I hate that term... "Last ride".

I felt bad since we could have easily stopped on the way out of the park. Luckily, there was a Haagen-Dazs right across from the GCH when we exited, so Willow got a scoop of ice cream there.

She doesn't look too broken up about it.

Willow showered - trying out a shower cap for the first time in her life to maintain her Elsa hairdo.

She probably liked sticking her head under the water and listening to it bounce off her head.

Looks like Willow enjoyed viewing my packing efforts a lot more than I enjoyed the job.

Up Next: Day 14G

Thanks for the update!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

When I was Willow's age (I was 8 too). Actually what I meant to say is I was obsessed with Corndogs. Every chance I got. Since becoming an adult (in age if nothing else) I haven't had one. But a Disney corndog seems like the right place to re-start.

I'm not a big fan of "Disney pizza", but that one looks quite tasty. I'm also currently hungry.

Aww did you not see the Phineas and Ferb dance party?

Ha, yeah, no amazing queue for the Ariel ride, but as it was when I visited, no amazing line either.

I really wish I had seen the Goofy conductor show. This is a great use of the World of Colour fountains for the daytime. And I guess in a way, a more fun version of the Fountain of Nations at Epcot.

 

[Cruzmom]

Can you pick up PP+ from DTD? We only have three full days in June, and are coming in the night before and I would like to get the pass before entering the park?

Thanks for your help.
Sarah

 

[courtneybelle]

Welp, pkondz and I seem to be at a bit of a stalemate. I have to up my game!

I love that picture of Willow and Mary Poppins looking over their shoulders--practically perfect! Darnit, pkondz made that joke already.

LOVE the Olaf magic shot, too!

You got so many good character meets this day, I'm impressed!

Wow, I had no idea about Goofy conducting the water. That is so cool!

 

[pkondz]

Welp, pkondz and I seem to be at a bit of a stalemate. I have to up my game!

Aw. Do you have to?
I love being tied with you.

Uh, oh.
Andy's going to get me back now...

Darnit, pkondz made that joke already.

Ya snooze, ya lose!

 

[luulu1999]

It took me several days but I have FINALLY read all your TR, I wanted to read this one before I started on the next one!!! Awesome report!! I can't wait to be able to start planning our Summer of 2016 trip!! I can't believe how many times you guys rode ToT we rode it once and I said never again!...Now I will be starting the other TR

 

[wildflower329]

Really enjoying your trip report (I am only a couple pages into it so far, but love it)! I am a fellow E. Washington person, possibly from the same area Your TR is making me excited for our August trip (although we weren't brave enough to road trip it this year, with a 6 and a 4 year old).