21 Hours Solo -- and a DREAM! -- at DLR

[ksoehrlein]

A little over a month ago, I discovered that no one at my office had yet volunteered to go to Palm Springs for a week-long project in early February. What, are they nuts? I stepped up (oh, the sacrifices I make for the company ), booked my flight into Ontario on Southwest, and then did a Google Maps search to see just where the heck Ontario was. Obviously in California (not Canada; who knew?), but otherwise I had no clue.

Woo hoo! Google says the airport is only 42 minutes (80 min. in traffic) away from Anaheim? I am SO going to Disneyland!

I hemmed and hawed -- and studied the DIS -- and decided on a room at HoJo. I booked using a great Mousesavers deal, but then I got the jones to stay on-property instead. I'm a DVC Member; might as well use it, right? I'm too points-poor for GCH, but PPH fit the bill nicely, so I booked it and cancelled HoJo. Nothing against HoJo, though -- it looks like a nice place. Maybe some other time.

Over the next few weeks, I spent loads more time planning for my one night at DLR than I did planning for my work-week in Palm Springs. (Shh, don't tell my boss!). Thanks to all the resident experts on the Disneyland board, I came up with my plan of attack: just see the attractions that are unique to DLR and those widely considered to be better at DLR than at WDW. I was stunned that with only 2 theme parks, I had quite a hefty attractions wishlist! True Disney geek that I am (can any of you identify?), I downloaded my touring plan to my BlackBerry.

Luckily park hours were conducive to my touring plans; DL was open until 11 PM on Friday and there was an 8 AM MM on Saturday. "Sleep is what airplanes are for," I told myself and I knew I'd be "too excited to sleep" like the kids in the WDW ad, so I psyched myself up for the marathon.

Palm Springs (La Quinta, actually) was gorgeous but chilly at the start of the week. It warmed up later and a small group of us did the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. So beautiful and a true feat of engineering. OK, definitely adding that to the list for when (not if) I go back with DH, DD, and DS!

Finally at 12:30 PM on Friday, my work-week was over. Of course, it was the most beautiful day we'd yet had in the desert, but I had a date with a Mouse so off I scurried to get changed and hop in the rental car. Yikes. Google Maps tells me it takes "about 2 hours 6 mins, up to 3 hours 10 mins in traffic." And we all know about SoCal traffic, right? Things went smoothly as I listened to a few DLR & WDW podcasts and the first hour flew by, but then I hit a snarl: road construction. Some confusion happened with my exit (it seems like I was supposed to get off CA-60 four or five miles earlier than Google had promised), I drove through some pretty painful congestion, and then realized I had to turn around and go back through it in order to reach CA-57. Next time, I'm bringing DH's Garmin!

It seems that CA-57 is not the road most tourists would take to DLR. I was excited and called DH when I saw my first DLR billboard (promoting SoCal resident tickets, I believe) but as it turns out, it was the first and only billboard I saw. Quite a difference from driving to WDW down I-4! I remembered from 2 previous day-trips that DL is smack-dab in the middle of the city, but it was still strange to be so close to the theme parks and yet find myself driving past strip malls, flooring wholesalers and (you guessed it) a topless bar.

Finally, I see Disneyland Drive but I'm in the middle lane and only the 2 left-most lanes are allowed to turn. Drat. So close, and yet another U-turn. No matter; soon enough, I've actually arrived!

 

[LizAgna]

Great start!! Yay, I'm your 1st guest. I can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Aw man, you got a Dream! I'm so jealous.

You know I'm looking forward to more of this solo trip report!

 

[ksoehrlein]

Hi LizAgna and Bumbershoot! Thanks for joining me!

So, where was I? Oh yes, Paradise Pier. I parked in the deck and made my way to the front of the building. I thought I could go in one of the side doors and felt like an idiot when I found it was locked. The first of many times I felt like an idiot on DLR property, I'm afraid. It's an odd feeling for a WDW vet to be such a newbie!

I checked in and got the obligatory "Welcome home" when they saw it was a points ressie. It's silly, but it's one of DH's favorite part of being a DVC Member, and I hated that he wasn't there for it. I dropped the hint that I was a first-timer, but alas, no First Visit pin. Oh well.

Now it's 4:25 and time for me to check in with Southwest in the hopes of an A boarding pass. I must have been a sight; juggling my check-in folder, purse, and car keys walking back to the rental and frantically typing on my BlackBerry. It was a stressful couple of minutes and Southwest's server was busy, but I finally checked in and was in the top 25. Whew! No middle seat for me!

I grabbed my luggage (probably should have unloaded in front of the hotel instead of parking in the deck) and headed up to check out the room for a few seconds. Nice room on the 4th floor with a pool view. Not that I was going to spend much time there! The pool closed before and opened after DL, so I knew there would be no swimming this time.

I headed in to GCH and took the shortcut into DCA (thanks for the directions, Bumbershoot!). I had examined this walk on the maps but was pleasantly surprised by how short it was. The CMs at the turnstile were very nice, and it was a piece of cake to hand them my printed-at-home 2-day-hopper voucher. I'd had just the slightest bit of anxiety about this.

"Real" 2-day hopper pass now in hand, I headed off to Grizzly River Run. I'd somehow missed the lockers (another "newbie" moment) but the CMs were nice enough to point them out. I love the concept of a free locker for 2 hours! I put everything in except for my poncho and locker return voucher and set off for some wet riding.

I asked about single rider line, but the CMs patiently pointed out (did I mention I'm a newbie?) that the regular line was less than 5 minutes. Sure enough, I walked on. I met a nice Dream FP-wearing couple who gently mocked my poncho, but I noticed the DW put up the hood of her windbreaker when I wore mine. Peer pressure; we never really outgrow it.

The ride was AWESOME! I'd read it was loads better than Kali, but I wasn't prepared for just how much fun it really was. I'm sure my enjoyment was enhanced a bit by the thought that all my stuff was safe and dry in a locker -- it was so nice to just relax and ride. I loved all the twists and turns and even the caves. So much fun!

Glancing at my BBerry, I remembered that California Screamin' was next on my to-do list. Well, I have the locker for another 1.75 hours, so why not leave my stuff? A CM noticed I was carrying a dripping poncho and pointed out that any merchandise location would give me a bag for it. So off I went to CS with just my poncho in a bag. What a feeling of freedom!

The Single-Rider line is a wonderful thing. And again, the ride was terrific! I love RnRC and this had some similar features but it's outside! And we looped through Mickey's head! So cool! I rode next to a mom whose DH and DS sat behind us. She and I were both wiping our eyes at the end of the ride -- something about the speed in an outdoor environment must have made our eyes water. [California Streamin?] She tells me her DS always thinks she was crying whenever he sees her get off the ride wiping her eyes. So I guess he must have thought I'm just another crazy lady who cries on CS just like his mom!

I still have time on the locker, so what to do? The Sun Wheel has a posted wait time of 5 minutes, so I hop in line. Well, that 5 minutes turned out to be closer to 45 and now the sun is going down -- with my sweatshirt still in the about-to-expire locker. I opted for a swinging gondola, and it was about 2 degrees of an angle shy of making me nauseous. I enjoyed it, but can see why others hate them!

I had wanted to do some more Paradise Pier attractions, but I refuse (as a matter of principle) to pay for my "free" locker so I rush to get back. Also, I really wanted that sweatshirt!

It's coming on 6:20 and Parade of Dreams starts at 6:30 so I park hop for the first time. I'm now starving so I grab a kids' hot dog meal at what I want to call Casey's Corner even though I know that's not the name. I had promised DD I'd take photos of Tink, but the lighting and my crummy vantage point made it too difficult. I got a few shots, but none are TR-worthy.

After a few minutes, I remember: I'm not really a parade person! What am I doing? There are rides to experience! So I make my way to Adventureland.

I check with the CM and verify that there is no Single Rider Line for Indiana Jones. So I grab my first FastPass, all the while singing to myself "Indiana, what a guy. Killed the Nazis; what a guy, guy, guy." Now, what to do while I'm waiting for FP time? I know; Pirates!

I'd been on the DL version in high school and possibly on my quickie day-trip in 1998, but I'd forgotten just how cool it is! I love the queue area even though I missed my WDW chess-playing skeletons. We came to the part of the queue where you can choose the left or right side and for once, I do NOT make a newbie mistake. The left line is 100% empty, so I stride (just a bit guiltily) up to the loading area. The CM seemed so happy to have someone come down that side, that I was rewarded with a boat of my very own! I love the scene through Blue Bayou and the big drop. There are so many extra scenes and some were mirror images of their WDW counterparts. After so many WDW trips, it was terrific to have a sense of novelty while on a classic attraction. I felt like a tourist, but in a good way! At the end of the ride, the CM asked what happened to all the other passengers. I joked back, "Pirates got 'em!" and headed off for my next adventure. As I walk, I call DH and tell him we need to come back as a family!

I had left the next part of my touring plan open (grab FP for ??? and ride Space Mountain, Buzz, Roger Rabbit or Indiana Jones -- highly detailed, right?), so I decide on Tomorrowland. If I'm lucky, I can ride both Space and Buzz. I end up being not so lucky. I get to Buzz and see the CMs turning Guests away. The ride is down. So I meander to Space Mountain and the line is over 40 minutes long. And it's too soon to get my next FP. Drat. I decide to head back to California Adventure to check out Monsters, Inc. But wait! As I walk past Buzz, I see someone being let in. It has JUST opened up! So I rush to get in.

Buzz was very cool. Again, better than its WDW counterpart. I love the added challenge of aiming for the lit targets. Does my gun light up when you hit something or is that just random? At any rate, I thought I did terrific especially compared to my WDW experience, but I was only the third category from the bottom -- same place I usually rank at WDW! I love the feature to email a photo, so I waited and waited to send mine to DH. Naturally some little kid cut in front of me and then had no clue what he was doing so it took a little longer than it should have. And it turns out I have the gun in front of my face.

Time check: it's just a little after 7:00, so I can still catch Monsters, Inc before California Adventure closes at 8:00. Cute, classic dark ride and it just reopened after a refurb! I think the kids will love it. But what is up with all the eyeballs in the sushi restaurant? I don't remember them being so prevalent in the movie.

I try to make my way back to Paradise Pier, but the Electrical Parade is in full swing. By the time I get close, the lines are closed to new Guests. So I take the obligatory night shot of PP:

Next I walk alongside the parade to get back to the Esplanade and back to DL. I've got a date with Indiana Jones!

I vividly remember riding in 1998, so it wasn't me, but someone else must have looked into that gosh-darn eye. Bumpy and fun, but I don't know if the kids would like it. I'd forgotten how intense the boulder part is toward the end!

I can't believe I'm hungry again, but the kids' hot dog meal was my first meal since breakfast. Well, it's tried and true, so I order another. Now I've got two boxes and straws for DD and DS. I munch and make my way to the Hub for the 9:25 RDCT fireworks. I love it! I'm a huge fan of Wishes, but I prefer DL's show in many ways. DD(7) is a huge Tink fan, so now I'm dying to take her to DL while she still fully believes in the characters. (That clock is ticking, isn't it?) It's so cool that the soundtrack uses park music instead of movie music -- what a nice way to sum up and cap off a day spent at DL!

But I'm not done yet. The park is open until 11, and that is my target time to get in line for Nemo. First I check out Space Mountain, though. The posted wait time is 20 minutes, but something must be wrong again. The line doesn't move for a while, several people leave, but then it all seems to be back on track. Fun ride! As others have posted, it is really dark and the twists and turns are not what I'm used to at WDW. There are no huge drops, but I'm impressed by the number of times we catch some air.

Now what else can I do before 11? I decide on a DL RR trip (cool dinos!) to New Orleans Square and try Haunted Mansion, even though it's not all that much different from WDW's version. I enjoy comparing and contrasting the 2 -- did anyone notice that the "dinner plate hidden Mickey" in the "swinging wake" scene is at a different place setting in each park? The ride breaks down in the Madame Leota room, however. I text message DH at 10:51 and we're moving again by the time he replies. I exit the Mansion and try to power-walk toward Nemo, but I hear the announcement that DL has ended its operating day. What a sad announcement!

But no time to be sad... I have almost an hour to shop at World of Disney before it closes! I rush as best I can and yet somehow I'm the last Guest to leave the store. I feel bad for the CMs, but they're all pleasant despite my lollygagging. It is about 12:30 by the time I leave and I'm not quite clear on which way to go to get to the GCH shortcut. I find it eventually, follow the slightly confusing path back to Paradise Pier and take a photo of lonely Goofy (and a bellhop I just now noticed!) in the lobby.

I go up to my room, get ready for bed, prepare a bit for the day ahead, and turn on the Tour Tips channel. This guy's no Krissa or even Stacey, but it was still nice to fall asleep to the sounds of someone selling me on DL.

 

[LizAgna]

Another great installment!! It sounds like you got to do a lot on your 1st day.

 

[Merryweather]

Enjoying your trip report. We are going out next Friday. DH went a few times as a child but I've never been so it should be interesting.

Why is the left side preferred at POTC?

 

[ksoehrlein]

Why is the left side preferred at POTC?

Hi there, Merryweather!

It's not that the left side is necessarily preferred, it's just that sometimes people get into "herd" mentality and blindly follow the person in front of them even when the queue splits into left and right. Oftentimes, the majority veer to the right, leaving the left side sparsely populated. Whenever you see multiple turnstiles or queue ropes, you're always free to choose the less crowded -- or even completely empty -- option.

Read on to see how I applied this technique again at my MM on Saturday!

 

[Merryweather]

Hi there, Merryweather!

It's not that the left side is necessarily preferred, it's just that sometimes people get into "herd" mentality and blindly follow the person in front of them even when the queue splits into left and right. Oftentimes, the majority veer to the right, leaving the left side sparsely populated. Whenever you see multiple turnstiles or queue ropes, you're always free to choose the less crowded -- or even completely empty -- option.

Read on to see how I applied this technique again at my MM on Saturday!

D'oooooh I get it. Yes, I know exactly what you're talking. We see it all the time at WDW. Guess it was kinda early this morning. Thanks! Look forward to reading more of your trip report.

 

[Hound 109]

Great report KS.

Wow, you did some serious walking (& got a lot of rides in) in your first 1/2 day at DLR.

Our first day (at the Pier) walking back at 11pm, we missed the GCH entrance (from DTD) & had to walk ALL THE WAY around by DLH.

Mentioned it to my DD 24 when walking back on our last trip & she said...."how could you miss it....it's next to Sephoria" (or something). What in the heck is Sephoria??

Gotta love walk on for Griz & single rider for Screamin'.

Looking forward to your next day. Hmmm....you went to bed at 1am ish. Will you be there for your MM gate opening? Will you see Harold on the Matterhorn? Can't wait.

 

[ksoehrlein]

After a pitiful amount of sleep, my alarm went off on my BlackBerry. I was so tired when I came in last night, I never thought about getting a wake-up call. So I'm left to wonder if Mickey wakes DLR Guests the way he does at WDW. All the more reason to schedule a return visit with the family in tow!

I shower, dress, make some nasty cup-at-a-time hotel-room coffee, take a picture of the Mickey lamp, and pack my bags. Since there's still enough time before the start of my 8 AM Magical Morning, I load up the rental car. I plan to catch Aladdin at 12:25 and head to the Ontario airport immediately after, even though my flight is not until 4:25. The traffic had looked pretty heavy Friday afternoon, so I didn't want to take any chances and possibly miss my flight. Although DH and I have already agreed that I will re-book the flight for Sunday if I manage to score a night in the Dream Suite...

Back to the Mickey lamp. DS(4) wants his room decorated in Mickey Mouse and we will do so if he can ever manage 2 weeks without once climbing into Mommy and Daddy's bed. So far, no chance of that happening, but when it does, I would LOVE for him to have one of these lamps!

I'm still early, so I go to the hotel bar. Wait, that doesn't sound right! But they have real coffee and pastries -- the breakfast of champions. I opt to do the "tourist" thing and get my coffee in a souvie mug. I'd tried to buy one the night before on my first walk over from DCA to DL and found out -- after the poor CM had already poured the coffee -- that the carts can't take credit cards. Of course, I had left my cash in the hotel room. Lesson learned. This morning, I make sure to bring cash because I was seriously craving theme park popcorn after learning I couldn't buy any that night.

I cut through the GCH again. I'm loving the hotel and find it very reminiscent of WL. I can't wait until the DVC portion is built and hope it won't cost too many points to stay there. As I walk through the lobby, I discover the grandfather clock with the hidden Mickey Samantha Brown had pointed out in the Great Hotels special. I opt not to take a photo because it had been difficult to make out on TV and those guys are professionals! No way I was going to get a decent shot. (The Mickey is textured -- hammered, I guess -- but is the same type of metal as the rest of the clock face, making it tough to capture that contrast on film.)

Oops, but now that I've wandered through the hotel, I'm lost. I find a CM over by WhiteWater Snacks and she walks me all the way (and it's far!) to the DTD entrance, since she was heading that way herself. Jeez, I seem to need a lot of help from CMs this trip! But we had a nice chat about the difference between working for DLR and WDW on the way, so it wasn't a bad walk after all.

I head over to the main gate and discover a smallish crowd has gathered already. Curse getting lost at GCH! I choose the middle line, mostly so I can take a picture of the top of the entrance while I'm waiting. I just love the YOAMD logos!

While we're waiting, I see a family at the line just to my right being chatted up by some of the CMs. Sure enough, they end up doing the countdown to open the gates. Not a big ceremony since it was just a MM opening, not official park opening, but some of the women were first-time visitors and I'm sure it made their day!

But I digress. I haven't described the half hour I spent in line yet. No. I won't bore you with just how many times I checked my watch. But being solo and not having anything/anyone else to distract me, I noticed a CM approach the line to my left and separate them into 2 lines: one for each of the turnstiles behind the gate. Wait a minute! I'm in one line and there are two turnstile in front of us. The CM works his way up our line -- from the back -- and I'm ready to sprint toward the other turnstile as soon as he gives the word. But he doesn't say anything. When he finally gets to me, I ask if we should form 2 lines as well. He offhandedly says, "Yeah, go ahead," so suddenly I find myself at the front of a new line.

Finally the gates are opened. Another CM checks my room-charge slip and scans my pass but makes me wait for the official countdown before actually going through the turnstile. Finally, we are off!

I power-walk down Main Street, stopping only to get a not-very-good shot of the Castle while still walking. Again, not a TR-worthy picture and sadly the only one I remembered to take while I was there.

The plan of attack -- again based on one of the terrific threads on the Disneyland board -- was to do Peter Pan first. But I see some other people power-walking (and a few who were running) and figured they were my kind of people: commandos. So I go with them to Nemo, and I'm glad I did. We were on the first sub of the day! I was surprised that there was a CM who walked us through the entire line. I know most rides have a queue that can be shortened when necessary and figured this would be the same. Well, by the time we got to the entrance I saw the huge line of people that had followed us and sure enough, they did fill up the entire queue area. No wonder they made us walk the whole thing.

Before they started walking us through the queue, however, I took a picture of the alleged hidden Mickey on the Matterhorn. I love that HiddenMickeys.com refers to it as "MatterHole." Notice how gorgeously blue the sky was that day!

The ride itself was cute but not worth a 2-hour line IMO. The little girl next to me was excited to see the starfish before we were even underway -- so adorable! I dig the way Nemo and friends are projected into the water, but I find myself missing the real, live fish at Epcot's version. For some reason, that gives me more of a "Wow! How did they do that?" feeling.

Nemo found, I dash off to Peter Pan. I note that the Matterhorn and Alice both have very short queues and hope this trend continues once I'm done visiting Neverland. Now that I'm at PP, I realize why the advice here is "Peter Pan first -- always first." It's not an OmniMover the way it is at WDW. The pirate ships stop once in the unload area and once again in the load area. Given this, I found that my ride was smooth despite the 2 stops in the load and unload areas. Once again, I found that this dark ride was, like SM, much darker than its WDW counterpart. DD would love the rainbows -- we don't have them at "our" park.

I head back to the Matterhorn, but I've forgotten which side is judged to have the more fun ride. I opt to go with the longer line (for once) just in case it's the better side. I still haven't verified this - probably best not to know if I chose wrong. WDW's Yeti is much better, but I can see why this ride is such a classic. When we return with the kids we will definitely have to use the "wave at Harold" trick so they're not afraid when we see him.

Next, Alice is a walk on. I just love these dark rides, but I must have been much too "cool" to consider them as a teen and young adult on my 2 prior day-trips. I'm certain I never rode this before. I make a mental note to watch this movie again before our family DL trip so the kids recognize everything taking place.

Finally it's time (per the DIS advice) to experience Mr Toad's Wild Ride. Another walk-on. I loved this as an 8- or 9-year-old on my first WDW trip; I really thought we were going to crash into the various elements. I miss it so much, even though I'm one of the few adults who enjoys Winnie the Pooh at WDW. I love the way this attraction ends; I'm sure many a parent has joked about H-E-double-hockey-sticks being located in Disneyland!

Pinocchio was another first-time attraction for me and another walk-on. Thanks again, DISers, for the Fantasyland plan of attack! Again, I think the kids will need to watch this movie one more time before our DL trip. I feel so bad for the donkey-boy who brays "Momma" at the end of the Pleasure Island scene. As an aside, I think it's hysterical that WDW has a Pleasure Island -- don't the people who name parks and attractions remember that the moral of the movie was NOT to indulge at a place named Pleasure Island?

Next I decided to do either Casey Jr or Canal Boats to check out Storybookland. Casey Jr has the shorter line, so I picked it. Canal Boats will have to wait until my next trip because that line looked too daunting! Not an attraction I would do again on an adults-only trip, but if DS is under 7 or 8, I think he will enjoy it.

Most of my must-dos already done, I decide to check out BTMRR. After a few minutes in line, I see an empty train go by. Not a good sign. Sure enough, the test train didn't do whatever it was supposed to do, so they shut down the ride. So, even though Splash wasn't on my to-do list, I found myself heading there. The CM let me chose the front or the back and since I was feeling pretty warm, I chose the front. I didn't even take out my poncho, although I realized just about immediately that it would have been nice to sit on. Nothing like wet jeans to make you value that poncho!

Splash is a bit shorter at DL and I missed some favorite scenes, but it was nice to see a few critters I'd never seen at WDW. Cats, for instance. The big drop came and went (I ducked, so it wasn't too bad). It was neat that they show you your ride photo prior to the unload area, but our photo was "washed away." I have no idea what happened there.

Needless to say, no one from my log stopped at the photo shop, and it was just as well no one had dawdled. The Dream Squad had just entered the exit area! We were all awarded Dream FPs. When they had first handed the DFP to me, I'd thought they had accidentally given me two. Then I saw that there was one for DL attractions and a second one for DCA. Even better than the DFPs we'd won at MK and Epcot in the past!

One of the guys from my log had acted really excited, whooping and thanking the Dream Squad profusely, and then, as he walked away with his group, I overheard him say, "Now just what are these things?" I thought it was funny that he was so thrilled and yet had no idea what it was that he had won.

I called DH and messed with him a little, telling him the Dream Squad had found me and... it was not the night in the Suite, so he was not going to be "single parenting" for an extra night. I would still be coming home as scheduled.

Glad to now have some extra time, I rode Winnie-the-Pooh. It was fun to compare to WDW, but why the heck do they have Tigger say "Follow the bouncing Tigger" if we're not going to bounce??? And I missed the water elements. But the opening scene with the pass through the four seasons was a nice addition.

At some point (how sad that it's only been a few days, and I can't remember when I did this!), I climbed up Tarzan's Treehouse and admired the view. How cool to see the mountains in the distance!

Since I had the FP I tried BTMRR again, and it was once again operational. I chatted with a couple who bonded with me a bit over being Disney geeks. Sadly they post on a different board, listen to different podcasts and have only been to WDW once, so we didn't have as much of a shared experience as I'd have hoped. It was like the scene in When Harry Met Sally where Harry and Marie learn they're both from New Jersey, share the names of their very different hometowns, and then just say "oh." I missed all of WDW's caves and caverns on BTMRR but it was still a very fun ride.

I used another FP tab over at Roger Rabbit. I've been on it twice now and still can't get the hang of just how to spin my cab. What is the trick to this darn thing? This is another attraction where the kids will need to watch the DVD again before our trip. Now we're up to 3 "required viewing" films.

I had time for one more FP, so I tried Autopia. My goodness, that FP helped a little but not nearly as much as I would have hoped. It saved about half the length of the queue, but we had to merge into that long, SLOW line way before the load area. While in line watching the minutes go by, I scrapped mental plans for a full-circuit tour on the Disneyland Railroad. Add that to the list for next time.

The kids will adore Autopia! Being a licensed driver myself, it's nothing for me to get too excited about, but I found it much better than the WDW version. Mental note: do this early in the day and don't even bother getting a FastPass.

I had a little bit of time so I decided to check out the monorail. I think it's so cool you can board in the park. I had fun seeing all the other hotels as we passed by. It's amazing how close they are to the parks. But why doesn't GCH have its own monorail stop? How fun would that be?

Round trip completed, I realize it's time for me to start walking to DCA for my appointment with Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie. But first, the long-awaited popcorn -- in a souvenir bucket, of course! I ducked in to Disneyland: The First 50 Years and enjoyed all the models and artwork, but sadly had to leave before the movie. I hope it's available on DVD some time in the future or (dare to dream) is still showing when we take our family trip.

Once at DCA, I have a short amount of time before Aladdin so I check out the Snow White display at the Animation building. But I don't stay too long. Even so I find that the crowds have already gathered for the show. I end up in the Mezzanine, but it's fine -- I'm in the front row. Awesome show!!! Something went awry during the musical, however (someone behind me thought it was one of the hydraulic things in the stage, and I have to agree -- I noticed one of the openings didn't close when it should have, and a dancer almost fell in ), and they had to stop the show. Sadly, I again scrapped my plan to try and sneak in one more FP attraction before heading to the airport.

They got the show up and running again fairly soon, however, and it remained terrific. Genie was great and even referenced the delay later in the show in a dialogue with Aladdin. The audience loved it, the applause helped Aladdin take a much-needed beat (he was really taken off-guard by the comment), and the show was back on track.

I walked past Soarin' (so painful to do, especially with both the Single Rider line and a FP calling my name!) and cut through the GCH one last time. An uneventful trip to the Ontario airport and I found myself arriving quite a bit earlier than I needed to. Turns out I could have done one more attraction after all, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Now that I'm home, I am California dreamin' and scheming how and when to get the whole family back to Walt's Park. Wish us luck!

Thanks for reading!
-Kim

 

[ksoehrlein]

Our first day (at the Pier) walking back at 11pm, we missed the GCH entrance (from DTD) & had to walk ALL THE WAY around by DLH.

Mentioned it to my DD 24 when walking back on our last trip & she said...."how could you miss it....it's next to Sephoria" (or something). What in the heck is Sephoria??

Thanks, Hound. That makes me feel loads better! Sephoria was well under my radar as well.

Thanks for reading my TR.

 

[Spectrum]

Hi,

I just got back from 8 days at DL. I think mine was the family you saw open the park on MM day. It was my first time, and it was amazing!

 

[LizAgna]

This was great!! I'm so excited that you got DFP and that's cool how they give you ones for both parks. I'm thinking that it won't be too long before you head out there with the family now!!

 

[ksoehrlein]

I think mine was the family you saw open the park on MM day. It was my first time, and it was amazing!

Congratulations! It looked like so much fun! You had 3 generations in your party, didn't you? I love those kinds of family trips and wish I could get my mom to join us some day! Glad you stopped by my TR.

On a thread about strategy for getting onto Nemo, I discovered that another DISer was on the first sub that day along with me. Too funny that I saw at least 2 DISers and never knew it!

 

[tofubeast]

It was a lot of fun reading your review and sure gets my psyched about our trip this summer. Glad you had such a blast and also all by yourself. I think it is wonderful when people feel comfortable doing things solo. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing! Hope you get to go back to DLR soon with your family.

 

[Spectrum]

Congratulations! It looked like so much fun! You had 3 generations in your party, didn't you? I love those kinds of family trips and wish I could get my mom to join us some day! Glad you stopped by my TR.

Yes, that was us, my Mom, my 2 sisters and my baby sisters 3 kids. Loved your trip report.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yay, what a fun trip!!!!!!

Our first day (at the Pier) walking back at 11pm, we missed the GCH entrance (from DTD) & had to walk ALL THE WAY around by DLH.

Mentioned it to my DD 24 when walking back on our last trip & she said...."how could you miss it....it's next to Sephoria" (or something). What in the heck is Sephoria??

Now now now, you obviously didn't pay enough attention to my tips.

It's in between Libby Lu and Sephora (big huge makeup, hair-goop, and perfume/cologne place, which is great for carryon-only-travelers who can't pack their hair gunk, b/c they'll give you free samples, which helped DH go home without looking like a puffy-headed Yeti since he couldn't take hair stuff) and across from Haggen Dasz.

 

[Merryweather]

Great pictures. Getting excited about our trip in three days.

I think those are the same Mickey lamps at WDW's BC aren't they? My DH covets them each time we're there.

 

[Disney owl]

great report thanks