DH, DD 7, and I had a great visit to Southern California! Started the trip off on 10/4 with our Delta flight from Nashville to LA, with a stop in Atlanta. Arrived in LA early afternoon and were picked up by a friend. Spent the weekend with friends, visiting and sightseeing. Got to enjoy the Getty Museum and Universal City Walk, among other things. Arrived at the Candy Cane Inn Sunday night, 10/6.
10/7 - Disneyland Magic Kingdom
Started the day with a quick breakfast at the Candy Cane -- muffins, bagels, cereal, toast, and whole fruit. Not bad! It was a beautiful day, so we walked to Disneyland Resort. Got in line with the rest of the folks around 9:15. We were allowed in at 9:30, and the ropes dropped right at 10:00 AM.
It was DD's choice, so we headed directly to SM in Tomorrowland! After three rides, we enjoyed Star Tours and a presentation of "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience." Next we hightailed it over the Adventureland and grabbed a FastPass for Indiana Jones. We took a whirl on the Jungle Cruise and a trip up the Treehouse while we waited. Indiana was wonderful! A big thumb's up from the whole family.
Still going at our quick pace, we made our way to New Orleans Square, where we grabbed a FastPass for Haunted Mansion Holiday and visited the Pirates while we waited. I have to say, I thought the DL Pirates was superior to WDW! The HM makeover was wonderful! DD, who is generally afraid of the HM, really enjoyed it! It was time for our seating at the Blue Bayou, and we enjoyed a yummy meal there. DH had the Monte Cristo (good, but way to rich for one person), I had the crab cakes (thumbs up), and DD had the Mickey Chicken Nuggets. We topped our meal with the "Jack" chocolate mouse dessert! Yummy!!!
After lunch, we check out the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Just as rough as it is at WDW, LOL. We picked up a Fastpass for Splash Mountain (5:45 to 6:45 that night), and made our way back to Main Street where I insisted on seeing the Walt Disney Story with "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln." DH deemed it excellent, calling it the best attraction he had seen all day!! I have to agree. Why do we never hear much about this??
We headed back to Tomorrowland and spent the better part of an hour continuing our rest and "cooling off" at Innoventions. By now (believe it or not), we were a bit hungry, so we picked up some ultra-expensive corn dogs and chips at a vender. They were yummy, but VERY overpriced!
We hit Splash Mountain with our FastPass and bought our ride picture, as we were all looking the right way for this one, LOL. After this, we headed to Fantasyland and made our way through SnowWhite, Pinocchio, Mr. Toad, Alice, and It's a Small World. There was a long line for Peter Pan, so we decided to save it for Wednesday. It's a Small World was definitely better than WDW's version, though I couldn't figure out quite why I thought so.
Exhausted, we made our way back to the Candy Cane, unable to believe everything we were able to see that day!
Tuesday, 10/8
Today was our designated California Adventure Day. I really had low expectations, based on everything I had read, but I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't go expecting it to be Disneyland, and I really enjoyed the day. I found it a nice mix of parks -- a little bit of AK, a little bit of MGM, a little bit of uniqueness! After a trip on the CCI shuttle and an overpriced breakfast at La Brea bakery, we made our way to CA.
In the door just a bit after 10, we headed directly to Soarin' Over California. Wow, what an awesome experience! That has to be one of the neatest attractions ANYWHERE! On our way out of the area, we caught a showing of "It's Tough to Be a Bug," which DD hated. Since Bug's Land was crowded and seemingly geared for younger kids, we headed back to Paradise Pier, where DD "barely" made the cut for California Screamin'. She was SSOOO excited! We rode it three times in a row and had to convince her it was time to move on!
Next we checked in for our lunch at Avalon Cove, where we ate inside. DH had the salmon BLT (I think?), I had the shrimp cobb salad, and DD had macaroni and cheese. The character interaction was great, as the restaurant was not crowded. I rate the food simply mediocre. We saw Ariel, Goofy, Minnie, and Pluto. All of the characters came by our table more than once.
Next we headed over to the Backlots area, where we took in two showings of Millionaire (DD made the top 10 -- number two once -- both times!). We also spent quite a bit of time in the animation area, which we all loved, and we took in a showing of Muppet Vision 3D.
After we finished in this area, we headed back for a final ride on Soarin', followed by Mulholland Madness (very rough), Jumpin' Jellyfish (pretty lame), and the Sun Wheel (I almost had a stroke on the rocking gondola). With a final ride on Grizzly River Run, it was 6:00 PM, the park was closing, and we had spent our entire day at CA! We headed over for some shopping at Downtown Disney and caught the shuttle back to CCI where we ordered pizza.
Wednesday, 10/9
We were pretty tired on Wednesday, so we ate breakfast at the CCI, checked out, and caught the shuttle to MK, where we planned to catch a few of the attractions we missed on Monday. At the rope drop, we headed quickly to Dumbo, where DD and I made the first ride of the day (the only way to do Dumbo, IMO). Next we headed to Peter Pan, only to find to our horror that it was closed! Waaaahh. We took in the Storybook Canal Boats and another spin on Mr. Toad before heading to the Mad Hatter for the obligatory purchase of Mickey ears.
We headed to Toon Town for the 11:00 AM rope drop, where DD and DH walked "briskly" to Mickey's House to meet Mickey. We then met Minnie, rode Gadgets Go-Coaster, and the checked out the rest of the Toon Town sites. Our final ride was a spin on Roger Rabbit.
We left DL shortly after noon, having had an enjoyable visit!
The rest of our visit included a trip down to San Diego Wednesday afternoon, dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and trips to Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, and La Jolla. We flew home on Saturday. Waaahh.
Thanks for all of your help in planning our great adventure!
10/7 - Disneyland Magic Kingdom
Started the day with a quick breakfast at the Candy Cane -- muffins, bagels, cereal, toast, and whole fruit. Not bad! It was a beautiful day, so we walked to Disneyland Resort. Got in line with the rest of the folks around 9:15. We were allowed in at 9:30, and the ropes dropped right at 10:00 AM.
It was DD's choice, so we headed directly to SM in Tomorrowland! After three rides, we enjoyed Star Tours and a presentation of "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience." Next we hightailed it over the Adventureland and grabbed a FastPass for Indiana Jones. We took a whirl on the Jungle Cruise and a trip up the Treehouse while we waited. Indiana was wonderful! A big thumb's up from the whole family.
Still going at our quick pace, we made our way to New Orleans Square, where we grabbed a FastPass for Haunted Mansion Holiday and visited the Pirates while we waited. I have to say, I thought the DL Pirates was superior to WDW! The HM makeover was wonderful! DD, who is generally afraid of the HM, really enjoyed it! It was time for our seating at the Blue Bayou, and we enjoyed a yummy meal there. DH had the Monte Cristo (good, but way to rich for one person), I had the crab cakes (thumbs up), and DD had the Mickey Chicken Nuggets. We topped our meal with the "Jack" chocolate mouse dessert! Yummy!!!
After lunch, we check out the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Just as rough as it is at WDW, LOL. We picked up a Fastpass for Splash Mountain (5:45 to 6:45 that night), and made our way back to Main Street where I insisted on seeing the Walt Disney Story with "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln." DH deemed it excellent, calling it the best attraction he had seen all day!! I have to agree. Why do we never hear much about this??
We headed back to Tomorrowland and spent the better part of an hour continuing our rest and "cooling off" at Innoventions. By now (believe it or not), we were a bit hungry, so we picked up some ultra-expensive corn dogs and chips at a vender. They were yummy, but VERY overpriced!
We hit Splash Mountain with our FastPass and bought our ride picture, as we were all looking the right way for this one, LOL. After this, we headed to Fantasyland and made our way through SnowWhite, Pinocchio, Mr. Toad, Alice, and It's a Small World. There was a long line for Peter Pan, so we decided to save it for Wednesday. It's a Small World was definitely better than WDW's version, though I couldn't figure out quite why I thought so.
Exhausted, we made our way back to the Candy Cane, unable to believe everything we were able to see that day!
Tuesday, 10/8
Today was our designated California Adventure Day. I really had low expectations, based on everything I had read, but I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't go expecting it to be Disneyland, and I really enjoyed the day. I found it a nice mix of parks -- a little bit of AK, a little bit of MGM, a little bit of uniqueness! After a trip on the CCI shuttle and an overpriced breakfast at La Brea bakery, we made our way to CA.
In the door just a bit after 10, we headed directly to Soarin' Over California. Wow, what an awesome experience! That has to be one of the neatest attractions ANYWHERE! On our way out of the area, we caught a showing of "It's Tough to Be a Bug," which DD hated. Since Bug's Land was crowded and seemingly geared for younger kids, we headed back to Paradise Pier, where DD "barely" made the cut for California Screamin'. She was SSOOO excited! We rode it three times in a row and had to convince her it was time to move on!
Next we checked in for our lunch at Avalon Cove, where we ate inside. DH had the salmon BLT (I think?), I had the shrimp cobb salad, and DD had macaroni and cheese. The character interaction was great, as the restaurant was not crowded. I rate the food simply mediocre. We saw Ariel, Goofy, Minnie, and Pluto. All of the characters came by our table more than once.
Next we headed over to the Backlots area, where we took in two showings of Millionaire (DD made the top 10 -- number two once -- both times!). We also spent quite a bit of time in the animation area, which we all loved, and we took in a showing of Muppet Vision 3D.
After we finished in this area, we headed back for a final ride on Soarin', followed by Mulholland Madness (very rough), Jumpin' Jellyfish (pretty lame), and the Sun Wheel (I almost had a stroke on the rocking gondola). With a final ride on Grizzly River Run, it was 6:00 PM, the park was closing, and we had spent our entire day at CA! We headed over for some shopping at Downtown Disney and caught the shuttle back to CCI where we ordered pizza.
Wednesday, 10/9
We were pretty tired on Wednesday, so we ate breakfast at the CCI, checked out, and caught the shuttle to MK, where we planned to catch a few of the attractions we missed on Monday. At the rope drop, we headed quickly to Dumbo, where DD and I made the first ride of the day (the only way to do Dumbo, IMO). Next we headed to Peter Pan, only to find to our horror that it was closed! Waaaahh. We took in the Storybook Canal Boats and another spin on Mr. Toad before heading to the Mad Hatter for the obligatory purchase of Mickey ears.
We headed to Toon Town for the 11:00 AM rope drop, where DD and DH walked "briskly" to Mickey's House to meet Mickey. We then met Minnie, rode Gadgets Go-Coaster, and the checked out the rest of the Toon Town sites. Our final ride was a spin on Roger Rabbit.
We left DL shortly after noon, having had an enjoyable visit!
The rest of our visit included a trip down to San Diego Wednesday afternoon, dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and trips to Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, and La Jolla. We flew home on Saturday. Waaahh.
Thanks for all of your help in planning our great adventure!
