Chapter 8: The Adventures of Alice in Wetland
Sunday, May 20
Today is our last day. We are doing
Disneyland and DCA and then driving home tonight
. Our goals for today are:
1. get a Splash Mountain picture decent enough to look at
2. "do" DCA
3. finish up the shopping that we were planning on doing our first night
4. take our time while getting everything done
So, on with the day...
We wake up about 6:30 and get ready. Fortunately, we had tidied up the room the night before and all we had to do was pack our last minute items. Once we loaded everything in the car, we headed to the continental breakfast. Lisa checked us out and then joined us. I don't think we were ever all sitting at the table at any one time. It seemed that one of us kept getting up to get more juice or another banana or something. At about 7:20ish we were kind of cleaning up and throwing napkins and our paper plates/bowls away. My mom comes back from getting more orange juice and says "where's my cereal?"
Erin: "I threw it away. I thought you were done."
Mistake #1. My mom is totally a breakfast person. She has to have breakfast to function. Kind of like people needed coffee, only in the form of breakfast. She was really annoyed with me, which I can see (Carol: let me refrase that..."which is plainly obvious"), but there were like 3 Cheerios left in the bowl.
Anyway, we walk into the lobby, checking to see if we can leave the car parked at the hotel while we are in the parks. They told us we could and also that the shuttle was leaving for the parks in just a few minutes. Seeing as how we were all exhausted with aching feet from standing the previous day (therefore causing us to be a little bit snippy...) we agreed to take the shuttle.
So we got on the shuttle and it leaves. We are the ONLY people on the shuttle, so naturally, as women do, we sit next to each other. Except for Kailyn, who sat in the very back, all sprawled out, and the mongo backpacks separated us a bit. But, overall, it was a quiet ride over. I actually think it took more time to take the shuttle than to walk.
We make it to the gates at about 7:35 and are suprised at how many people are already in line. I mean, it wasn't like yesterday's lines, but we aren't in the front like we were on Friday. We get in line (we are about 15 back) and wait. As soon as we are let through (I don't remember waiting at the rope drop) we immediately go to Space Mountain. Mistake #2. We grab FP for later and then ride. Immediately upon exiting the building, my mom says she needs to go to the restroom - her tummy hurts and she feels sick. We wait for her, hoping she'll be okay. She comes back and yes! she did indeed get sick but she feels better now. We agree that it was because she didn't finish those 3 Cheerios! Anyway, Lisa directs us to the River Belle Terrace (the one we traipsed through to get from Adventureland to Frontierland on Friday...hehe).
We order and then wait for them to call us, praying my mom can hold it down. Meanwhile (oops!) she leaves the backpack with me while she runs for another round in the bathroom. Poor mommy! When she gets back, all white and pasty, we have our food and are waiting patiently. We each got our own meal and then got a fruit plate to share. The fruit was devoured before it even settled on the table, practically.
We finished and everyone's tummies were okie dokie now so we went and got FP for Big Thunder Mountain and then went to Splash so we could get our picture, again. The wait was less than 5 minutes so we immediately got on. Good picture? Um...it is the best one yet! We are satisfied so we all decide we can head over to DCA for their opening at 10:00. But when we arrive to get out of out log, we see NO ONE is in line. There is absolutely no line! So we ask in we can ride again (to Lisa's dismay) and the CM's say yes so we just stay in our log. When does that ever happen? This picture is pretty good too, seeing as how we are the only ones in the log so nobody else could mess up the picture. We get out and go to buy a picture (what's the name of the place where you buy pictures from Splash Mountain? Carol: "Uh...The Splash Mountain picture buying place!" Of course, silly me!). We decide on the first picture. While the moms are paying for their pictures, Kailyn and I are drying, Kailyn in soaked! Fortunately, my hair was okay though (whew!) and I'm only mildly wet.
Here is our Splash picture
I guess we rode the Matterhorn sometime that morning too
Before heading over to DCA, KAilyn and I drag the moms through Pooh to dry off (of course!).
Then we head over to DCA (Lisa: "finally!"). We get there a little after 10:15 (we're not that late, Lisa) and decide what to do. We need something to eat! Those 2 breakfasts weren't enough! So we go to the Baker's Field Bakery, which is just to the right upon entering. Lisa gets a cinnamon twist, Kailyn gets a lemon bar, I get a chocolate dipped Mickey rice krispy, and my mom got a coffee. I was very disappointed with my rice krispy - it was hard and flavorless.
Moving on...We are standing in the middle of Sunshine Plaza, listening to Lisa while she gives us strict instructions on what to do next. We are only pretending to listen (at least I was). Something (or someone, actually) catches my eye. Hey, it's Teri Hatcher and her daughter and a CM guiding them around. I wish I could hire a CM to take us around Disneyland. We didn't get a picture or autograph though.
Anyway, Lisa was telling my mom and I what to do while she and Kailyn rode Tower of Terror (my mom didn't want to ride because of her stomach and I didn't really want to ride because last time I rode, my hands were numb for 15 minutes after I got off due to me gripping the handle in sheer terror). So we split, each group with a walkie talkie. My mom and I were to get FP for Grizzly River Run and Soarin' Over California (because apparently they aren't connected electronically so you can do that). We go to Grizzly River Run first but their FP aren't working so we back track and go to Soarin' and get those FP. After, we walk over to the Hollywood Backlot area and parouse through shops. We get a call from Lisa telling us to meet them in front of Monsters, Inc. We meet them there and plan on riding Monsters, Inc. but it is temporarily closed, so we take a picture by the FOUNTAIN:
We then go over to the Paradise Pier area to get FP for Screamin'. I have never been on this roller coaster before as I am the biggest chicken on the planet and the loop terrifies (or terrifi
ed) me. Kailyn drags me in line while Lisa and my mom get FP and then waited where they could see the initial takeoff.
So Kailyn and I wait in the relatively short line. All the while my heart is speeding up. We reach the front and get seated near the back. We leave the boarding area and come to a stop. I already know what happens...you wait and then you take off suddenly (after a countdown, which kind of ruins the element of suprise), 0-60 mph in 5 seconds or something like that.
So here Kailyn and I are, waiting to be thrown back in our seats.
She's all smiles while I am freaking out (3rd full row from left...I'm the one with the scrunched up face)
I must say, I don't think I've ever had that much fun on a ride in a while. It was exhilarating, smooth and fast! I think my mom and Lisa were suprised, yet pleased, to see I was smiling when I got off.
Next we headed over to the Orange Stinger. My mom didn't ride in fear of ther stomach rearing its ugly head again. And then, on over to Mulholland Madness to get FP.
We then make our way over to Grizzly River Run and get in line (remember, no FP). Fortunately it was short, probably because it was cloudy and kind of misty out). We get our own raft and are off. Somehow I ended up facing backwards on all the drops so I got soaked. Lisa filmed the whole thing but I still haven't seen it...
We stop in the store by the exit to look around. I'm soaked, hair and all, so I pull my hair up and then we go on to use our Soarin' FP. It would be so cool to actually soar over California.
As we go through the Plaza area we stop in the store on the left of the enterance. While the adults look around, Kailyn and I go to the bathroom to change shirts (we brought extra!). We go back and continue shoping - buying some more pins (those pins really suck you in, don't they) and some other overly priced stuff.
We're getting hungry now (it's about noon) and golly, its been about 20 minutes since we last ate (not really
)! So we go over to the Bugs Land area and eat at the Farmer's Market. Kailyn and I each have chicken strips and fires (yum yum!) and the mom's have salads.
After we ate, we went over to Monsters, Inc. The theming in the queue is pretty funny once you get inside. After this, we went back over to the Paradise Pier to use our Screamin' FP. This time we were in the very back. What a great ride!
We then used out Mulholland Madness FP. This little coaster freaks me out. I feel like I'm going to fall out or the car is going to fall off the track when it goes around those turns at the top. Still fun though. I guess Disney wouldn't make a ride that would thrown you off.
I really wanted plain black Mickey ears with my name, so we went to the hat place next to Mulholland Madness and waited forever for someone to help us. But I finally got my ears and my mom got a visor. We made our way back to the enterance.
I took these along the way.
Dealing with the backpacks
Oh, look, anouther FOUNTAIN
And, thus, completes our time in DCA
Up next, the final installment of my trip report
- a treasure hunt for my Pirate shirt and a cute little baby bird.
Chapter 9: A Time to End
Hope you're enjoying!!!
and am wanting to get better before I leave on Saturday for school so all I really want to do is nothing but I'll push myself for your guyses sake.
in December 2008 (hopefully...Lisa).
I normally don't crush on Hollywood celebrities but there is just something about him.... (Off topic: I read a article a couple of weeks ago about him and how he'd fallen off a roof and fell 3 stories when he was 21. The doctors told him that he'd never walk again and he proved them wrong by walking out of the hospital a couple of months (?) later.)
