Motel 6 Maingate December 9 Christmas w/ non disney folks & wheelchair 2019

chickapin parterre

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
Motel 6 maingate prices were high for this season, few folks lodging for the weekend. rooms are clean and sheets were in good condition for this visit, whereas my previous visits there has been sheet issues. , but our door was in front of massive plumbing hole that could have been covered with tarp, also we had 2 cockroaches from the outside as the rubber at the bottom of the door was a good 2 inches off the ground. We left trace materials for more cockroaches but there was no trace other than the two we saw.

I do not tour Disneyland in a spontaneous fashion, if I hit a detour, I know how to turn left or right, I am very cookie cutter oriented. Here is my trip report about my Disney cookie cutter style being trashed and smashed, waiting for a white uniform dressed CM to sweep it off the paths.

It was a one day visit purchased by my wife's daughter for us, her two 20's adult children, husband and in-laws. Airline tickets were purchased for her family in August, we drove from Yuma, and her in-laws canceled at the last moment. My wife's Daughter knew I was a Disneyland buff but I was never once asked about any of the details about touring Disneyland.

Monday? worst day of the week!!!! super crowded, the worst crowd I have ever experienced and CP had no bearing on crowd level, perhaps it was the weekend rain, but folks were heel to heel though we never hit anyone with the wheelchair , I being aware of previous threads about the horror of Disneyland wheelchairs nor did I see any out of control EVC, it was that crowded at the choke points, that at times folks would create 4-wheel convoy lines while pushing strollers and wheelchairs blindly ahead..... And Blindly it was, looking at the tip of my wife's shoes, not wanting to hit anyone, not hearing or seeing the themes of the land. though castle hub was easy to navigate all day and plenty of empty benches in the tree shaded hub that I had never considered before.

Get the drift of this report? It started as a two day vacation for her family, wife and I had the privilege of choosing Disneyland over DCA rather than DCA on Monday. The 20's children work and find any vacation a time to drink alcohol. So they started drinking in Downtown Disney Sunday night and finished the night with the Liquor store next to the Travellodge on Orangewood.

the plan was for 4 adults on Orangewood to pick us up at Motel 6 Maingate with our van at 6:45, to be at gate at 7:20 a.m They were told during lodging reservations that it was a quick walk from Travel lodge,The concept to remember, is that Disney property can be the sidewalk on Katella......or Toy story parking lot. It was not walking distance, so we had them use the van for early morning pick-up .......2 hours later daughter picks us up and we return to Travellodge and have breakfast at Carl's, waiting for the two 20's kids to recover from alcohol binge . So while sitting around Monday Morning on Orangewood, I discovered many folks choose to walk that distance to Disneyland, even though ART/city transport was available.

10:00 I pull into the drop off lane on Harbour and unload the family and the wheelchair for my wife. She has painful foot problems and does not exercise, so a wheelchair was the solution for the endurance of all day at Disneyland. I drove the van back to Motel 6, which is walking distance, though now in their rates claim that the price increase is the parking fee. Sunday afternoon when we pulled in the Motel 6, parking lot was empty, Monday morning it was full. It seems that folks are passing up the 3 day higher weekend rates.

family is already in Disneyland but cannot use maxpass until my ticket is registered. After no lines at security, or gates, I enter at 10:20, three precious Disneyland hours wasted and for the first time I do not cry entering the right tunnel, it is crowded and takes a while to walk thru the tunnel, because a segment of the marching band clogs one side of the tunnel and the right side has a line of Pluto and Mickey sightings.

So no, tradition of walking onto an empty Main street waiting for rope drop, no sound of christmas echoing in the silence, no rope drop to Peter Pan.......the cookie cutter of the way I celebrate Disneyland has been smashed.....it is all spontaneity now......not my dime on this visit so I shrug the disappointment off my shoulders. . It is so crowded that only the double decker and two trolley cars are on main street, though I think trolley was only for photo op with horses. And then kaboom.....spontaneity smacks me in the face.

The Pearly Band comes marching down the castle moat....okay...I can handle some Christmas music......then....the soundtrack to Mary Poppins coming delicately out of the band and when it comes to Lets Fly a Kite.....Saving Mr Banks (seen it 7 times on cable) history of the song tugs at my heart and I begin to cry....Burt and Mary show-up and complete the colorful event.


Teary eyed and needing to get away from the disaster of the morning, I head to Snow White 8 minute wait.....and nothing wrong with that....I spy 7 squirrels holding up the roof, 4 shovels, 2 picks rest against the cottage and a massive crosscut saw leans against the tree, (which two dwarfs handle the man size saw?) the rabbit carved bench is empty , but the wishing well is full of coins and dollar bills and will make up for any loss the 7 dwarfs encounter. Behind my back ,as I wait to board, Pearly is not moving but a long of line of folks are hopeful that at any moment folks can begin their tradition of first ride at Disneyland on their favorite horse.

Wife calls and 11:15 maxpass time awaits for us at BTMRR....and not a minute early....and swoosh....oh my goodness, that Maxpas didn't even let us stop to admire Rainbow Ridge, we were directly onto BTMRR.

Then Chickapin was waiting for us. Now I had told the family weeks in advance, that the Chickapin experience would be wet, to bring flip flops and plastic poncho. Wife was not going to ride, so all electronics and clothing were to be secure with her, as were my shoes and socks and sweater I was wearing.......the others.....well....they didn't listen nor did they take off their outerwear. The sun is low on the horizon in December...not good for drying wet clothes or shoes as we rode in about 3 inches of sloshing water in the bottom of the log and major water falling on us we went down,down, down. naturally the photo room of the thorny splashdown was packed with cell phones capturing photos....enough time for me to put my shoes back on and for the others to buy socks....$22.00 a pair..

At POC we made wheelchair reservations and was the only time we used the privilege. Very easy system, using the green umbrella or POC exit. Wife and I went to eat Chowder bowl, no line for food, while kids took on indy. We had a good entry time for POC, no long waiting line on the BB deck, but when we finished, the line was 3x longer and extended beyond the lattice.

Wife and I then headed to Castle hub, many empty benches, no lines at the food carts, parked the wife in a great spot and then kids and I headed to Star Tours, where our transport was not working, so we unboard onto another transport. Son-in-law hit a snag on Maxpass, so passes were not being reserved as he misunderstood that the 9:00 reservation didn't block reservations from between 2-9. Kids took off on their own and we headed off to Smallworld, passing all the food stands that had no lines......well, hello Mr Spontaneity, 3:30 at Small world, start of the parade.....this was working out fine after all......so we have yet to have any boredom waiting.

Then off to SWGE to board the attraction at a 50 min wait stand-by . I suggest boarding this attraction at dusk, the pale blue sky was a wonderful background on the peaks, the sun wasn't bouncing off the falcon, exhaust lights can be seen and spots of light abound for texture and there was so much detail to see and plenty of ice for dipping fingers into iced $4.00 bottles of water that time went by fast.. At the entry to boarding the actual attraction wife and I leave in wheel chair to scout out Docking Bay and then stand in line to wait for the two adult kids to show, the first time I have had a sit down meal at Disneyland. the line was no more 10-15 folks/couple deep and no noticeable wait at all. We actually waited longer at our town holiday lines grocery store check-out this morning then we did Monday night at Docking Bay

Service of food was under 3 minutes fast and the food was great, high in flavor and very warm. I had a large serving of pot roast that I was able to share with wife as she order the salad, the meals made for a great dinner and the Phator was an excellent drink, if served anywhere else in Disneyland I would purchase the wonderful $5.00 beverage. Maybe it is but under a different name??? Docking Bay is not for folks who do not tolerate strange flavors or accustomed to American restaurant fare. And the value was good, compared to the 12.00 very weak on the chowder bowl loaf of bread and the 13.00 hamburger, our 19.00 pot roast meal was strong in flavor, nutritious and filling. 25.00 vs 19.00...we will eat at Docking bay again.

But Docking Bay is probably not going to be a traditional eat spot, music is strange, environment not very Disney on the inside, but had some fun looking outside eating tables that at sunset are cold.

Son -law has now gone thru his new pair of socks, time for a second pair. We go to catch the tomorrowland station train via the path from frontierland into Fantasyland. 35 people in front of us at the train station, only 5 departing the train, so we leave station and start heading down main street and wife has become cold, it is 8:00 and temps for fireworks is only going to decrease. So we say good bye to the daughter and wheel back to Motel 6. Once at the motel, I consume beverage and calories and leave my wife at 9 to head back to disneyland. No lines and arrive at 9:20 in front of crystal arcades ....the best place for Christmas fireworks, and I would have never discovered it if I had not been spontaneous
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The front of the arcade and two surrounding fronts are flat, therefore they catch the graphics in detail and bounce the colors on to the crowd, they are up close so very easy to see if any folks have vision problems. the store fronts, crowds and easy on the neck fireworks make it ideal for last minute attempts to see fireworks. I will never use Castle hub again because of the next reason why this is the best spot....all day and night we all pass in front of the castle, yet spend very little time viewing the large Christmas tree.....so when it begins to snow, turn away from the castle and glaze at the tree, no one is moving, you won't get run over, it is the perfect spot for tree viewing and any errant family member who would struggle to find you in castle hub but could pin point you at Crystal Arcade. This viewing spot, for a very crowded day, was as far north as I could venture as from that location on, the street was packed, but behind me, the ropes had plenty of space for someone to duck under and worm their way to your standing location


after fireworks, I headed to the Main street train station because I really needed a big wrap around hug and benches that face into the park, backrow, to the far corner, very comfortable and soothing. On the two trips around, I was comforted to know that I was not only visitor with a twisted visit, one person left their phone on the train, another had left their reading glasses on the train station garbage can. The darkness on the river, the soothing waterfalls, the crowds of folks waiting to board at NOS, helped me focus that even best laid plans can be derailed in a very crowded Disneyland. I rode Snow white twice, the CM giving me joy by greeting me with my Mickey Mouse ear pilot hat with a "Welcome Back" on the second trip and Alice in wonderland once, finding that night riding, when out on the leaves, gives a great platform for Matterhorn viewing in the night sky , plus the howling wind sound. Peter pan is always my first ride of the day, walking fast thru the chains, intent on conquering with little magic, but on this night visit, spontaneity occurred again, there are plastic icons nailed to the wood timbers that I have never seen before because of my cookie cutter ways.

Then the 18 hours sank in, my senior citizen equilibrium begin to take hold with my walking, so best to head back to lodging then risk falling down. But I did not cry nor somber gasp an ado, my emotions had been spent long ago at the Park.

With my head on the pillow, the conclusion of the sum total of the day was tarnished gold...NBC has been closed for most of the day, way too cold for repeated Chickapin runs, maxpass took away all the pain and I found tons more Snow White trivia and a drink and meal that I will return to on the next visit.......all because of spontaneity.
 

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