Day 3 – San Diego / Disneyland Wednesday  June 23rd

Originally we had planned to spend an hour or two at the beach before heading to Disneyland but after realizing how messy sand really is we decided to go ahead and get on the road. 

We manage to make it out of town shortly after 10:00AM.  We decided since we were leaving earlier than planned that we’d try to drive some up the coast where we would have some ocean views.  As we have before, we make the wrong choice.  We should have gotten off I5 at La Jolla and driven up the Coast Blvd. to Carlsbad and taken I5 on up to Disneyland.

Instead we get off at San Clemente planning to drive up PC1 to Laguna were there is a nice restaurant we like overlooking the ocean.  We of course forgot that the drive in that area is all built up so there is no ocean view and Alex was asleep by then so we skipped lunch.

So we lost ½ hour but the traffics fine and we still make the hotel around 1:00PM.  This year was the 1^st time in about 5 trips that we were not staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel.   We love the Resort hotels but last year we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and next year we are planning to stay at the Grand Californian Hotel so this year we decided to go a little cheaper and stayed at the Howard Johnson which was recommended to us by members of the www.LaughingPlace.com Disney forums.  (See our pages under the ‘Resort Guide’ section for reviews on all of the Disneyland Resort hotels)

Good choice.  We liked it enough that if the Grand Californian prices do not come down a little by next year we will go back.  The Howard Johnson is on Harbor Blvd. on the opposite side of Disneyland from Downtown Disney.  It is less than a 10-minute walk to the gates of Disneyland… about the same as the Disneyland Hotel.

We were on the 7^th floor overlooking the Matterhorn and the room was large.  The hotel had areas were Alex could run around and there is a large pool with a kiddy pool.  See our complete review of this hotel under the ‘Resort Guide’ section of this website.  We loved this hotel.

At about 2:00PM we returned the car to National which is on Katella Blvd. 1 block from Disneyland.  We were in and out in about 5 minutes again.  National really made renting the car painless.

We quickly notice a difference from 2003 as we approach Disneyland.  Instead of doing bag searches when you enter each park (Disneyland & California Adventure) they do it as you enter the plaza between the two parks.  So if you are park hopping you only have to go through the search once.  A side benefit of this is that if you rent a stroller from Disneyland you no longer have to turn it in and get another when you go over to California Adventure. 

And on an amusing note… Alex at 21 months still speaks more gibberish than actual words.  But he recognizes the word ‘Disney’. (From his Baby Einstein DVDs).  He points excitedly every time he sees the word… which is quite often in Disneyland.

Since we had missed lunch we 1^st stopped at Red Rockets Pizza Port to eat.  I really like what Disney has done with the child meals.  They come in a little plastic lunchbox type of container which we saved for Alex to play with at home.  They have nice little cups with ‘special’ straws with every meal.  We managed to save all the cups and lose all the straws.

If you read are 2003 trip report you know how much Alex loves the mice.  So the 1^st order of business was to head off to ToonTown which we typically avoid doing in the afternoon because of the crowds.  Mickey looked to be back in his studio, which meant too long of wait but the line for Minnie was only about 15 minutes long. 

We did our best not to let him see her but with about 3 kids to go he realized who was a short 10 feet away.  Not a happy kid.  He did not appreciate us not letting him go to her right at that moment  and started screaming.

Luckily the line moved quick and he was all smiles as he got to run up to her.  Minnie was great and spent a decent about of time with him.  (All the characters did for the whole trip.  I think they appreciate having a toddler that is so obviously excited to see them).  He was hard to get away from her.  Alex would have been content to spend hours with Minnie.  There was crying and a struggle to get him to leave.  This would be typical for the 1^st few days.  It was more amusing than irritating and people around us seemed to understand.

We had reservations for Ariel’s Grotto at 6:00pm so it was off to California Adventure.  We managed to catch the end of the ‘Parade of Stars’ on our way out so Alex got his Mickey fix.

The first thing we did in  California Adventure was to head over to Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  We would spend a lot of time in this area and anyone with toddlers should check it out.  Like Tom Sawyers Island there is a lot of room for a toddler to run around and play but it is less crowded and easier to get too.  Alex loves this area.  Near the slides there is a real shallow creek that kids can play in so a change of shorts and some sandals or extra socks is recommended.  I think one of the reasons that Alex handled the trip so well was us making sure he got plenty of time out of the stroller in areas like this he could run around in.

At 6:00pm it was off to Ariel’s Grotto for our first of three character meals.  Ariel’s Grotto gives you the choice of about 5 pre-planned meals for the same price.  Beer is available here.  Alex’s meal came in a plastic bucket instead of the lunchbox with the ketchup served in a small plastic shovel.

The characters there were Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale, Goofy and of course Ariel.  This seems fairly standard at this character meal.  Alex was not as excited as I expected about the characters; even Minnie who is his favorite.  I think towards the end of the days he was getting a little tired and restless.

After dinner it was off to wait for the 8:45 Electrical Parade which is our favorite Disneyland entertainment.  We always sit near the start of the parade where the entrance to the Hollywood Backlot is.  We can usually get front row seats about ½ hour in advance.

Alex loved the parade as usual. (See our ‘Familiarization’ page under our 2003 trip report for tips on how to prepare your toddler for the entertainment at the parks).  A couple of the floats (the turtles) both fascinated and scared him a little which was a change from last year.

After the parade the lines back into Disneyland were fairly long so we called it a day and decided to watch the fireworks from the hotel.  We had a good view from our 7^th floor balcony.  It would have been a great view except a tree was slightly in our way.

Day 4 – Disneyland Thursday  June 24^th

Having a toddler sure has changed our Disneyland habits.  In the old days we would always be at the Park before opening so we could ride all the rides before the lines became long.  We also would usually be at the parks until closing since the lines are shorter late at night.

This trip we operated on Alexander’s schedule. Which meant after Disneyland opens and usually around when ToonTown opened. (Usually 1 hour after Disneyland opens).

So at 9:00AM on our 1^st full day we head over to ToonTown.  Being in ToonTown shortly after it opens is a must for anyone with toddlers that love the characters.  Waits for Mickey & Minnie are usually around 5-10 minutes (if at all) compared to hours later in the day.

So we visit Minnie since there was no wait.  Then Mickey where there was just a couple people in front of us.  Then, since lines were short, we visit Minnie again then Mickey again.  Then we visit Minnie then Mickey.  See a pattern? We then visit Minnie and then Mickey.  And for something different we visit just Minnie.  All this took about ½ hour and the characters were great with Alex as usual.  Once Minnie took Alex right inside her houses door and let me take pictures of her and Alex sitting on her loveseat.  And once (not sure it was this day) Minnie was inside her house playing in the kitchen.

ToonTown also almost always has Pluto, Goofy and Chip & Dale there in the mornings and we usually got pictures with one or more of them every day.  If you get there at opening sometimes there are so few people there that the characters will interact with each other.  This is probably more likely off season.  A few years ago in May we have pictures of Mickey and Minnie playing together.

After about 45 minutes of letting Alex getting his mice fix in ToonTown we ride It’s a Small World which Alex really enjoys and head off to Adventure Land, New Orleans Square, and Critter Country.  We all ride Pirates and Jungle Cruise.  Leanne and I both ride Splash Mountain on a single rider pass while the other takes Alex on the Winnie the Pooh ride.  He seems to enjoy all of the rides.  Meaning he was not screaming.  He never really got overly excited about them but was content to just sit and watch the scenery go by.  This is most likely because he is so used to hearing the music of all the rides. (See Toddlers In Disneyland 2003 – Familiarization) 

It’s been a pretty good morning and we are off to the Disneyland Hotel for 11:30 reservations at Goofy’s Kitchen for brunch.  I’ve always felt lunch at Goofy’s is most definitely the best character meal and it was even better then normal.  Goofy, Pluto, Max and Aladdin were all there, which is fairly typical.  Alice and Belle were both there… neither of which did we have pictures of from any of our trips.  They sure showed a contrast on how well they interact with kids.  Alex in 2003 loved the Disney Princesses and really flirted with them.  This year he was really shy and tended to ignore them for a while.  Alice spent a lot with him and finally drew him out a little.  Belle must have been new and didn’t quite know how to react when he ignored her and played with his DVD cases.

The most surprising character there was Donald Duck.  Leanne and I were excited he was there.  We have never seen him outside of parades.  And to top it off Pinocchio was there and he is another rare character.  I think that leaves Daisy as the only major character we have not seen.

After lunch we let Alex run around the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel.  This is a great area for toddlers even if you are not staying here.  There are a lot of places for them to get rid of excess energy without bothering other people. 

It’s getting to be late afternoon and Alex while being a little hyped up is getting a little grumpy so Leanne heads off to shop and Alex and I end up back at the hotel were we both actually manage to take a short nap.

We head to the park late (after eating at Mimi’s… a pretty decent restaurant) arriving at the park after 8:00 and missing the parade.  This is the 1^st year in a long time we have not bought Premium seats, or our favorite, Balcony seats for Fantasmic!  Our plan this year was to go to the far side of New Orleans Square during the 1^st show and try to slide in and get decent seats without have to wait long for the 2^nd show.   As we were walking towards the Haunted Mansion 10 minutes before the 1^st show was to start we realized there was plenty of open spots just inside the rope dividing the walkway from the seating area.  So we popped in and watched the 1^st show.  This really surprised me because usually it is so packed you’d need to be there an hour in advance to get the view we had.

Alex enjoyed parts of the show (including the fireworks) and was a little fussy during parts of the show.  We did see the haunted Mansion after the show (0 wait) which Alex enjoyed (once again… he didn’t scream, fuss, whine, or try to get out of the ride… which goes down as an ‘enjoy’ in my parenting book).  Then it’s back to the hotel.

Day 5 – Disneyland / California Adventure Friday  June 25^th

Up late again and of course our 1^st stop is ToonTown.  See Mickey and Minnie several times each.  Alex is getting better with them.  He still fusses if he can’t go to the front of the line after seeing the mice but can now be removed from them without him having a meltdown.  Alex’s dream vacation would be him being with Minnie or Mickey all day.

We then head over to Tom Sawyers Island.  This is another great place for toddlers.  Our time in Disneyland is now spent finding places where Alex can be stroller free without getting lost or run over by big people.  The problem with Tom Sawyers Island is that Alex kept wanted to go off the trails towards the water and when not doing that went into caves that I had a hard time fitting into.  But anytime we can get to a place where he can run around in it lessens some of the guilt we feel about sticking him in a stroller half of every day. (In reality 80% of what we did was directed around what he wanted to do… or what we felt he should want to do.  I’ll make sure to point this out to him when he is a teenager.)

We eat an early lunch at Ranch del Zocolo, which I really love; then it’s off to Disney’s California Adventure.  Disney’s California Adventure (DCA) gets a bad rap in my opinion.  We love it.  It is less crowded on busy summer days and Leanne and I both love the E ticket rides there.  And there is… most importantly… for those of us that have toddlers… the absolutely best… without a doubt... place for toddlers.

Here’s how it worked.  We had about 3-4 hours during the early afternoon. In the past we would never consider being in Disneyland in the afternoons in the summer.  So our plan was for us to ride rides and let Alex either sleep in the stroller or run around in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is a big but contained area that kids can run around in.  It is like Tom Sawyers Island but better.  The trails are wide open and there are better things for kids to do there.  For older kids there is wall climbing, rope bridges, bungee rides, and tunneled slides.  For kids Alex’s age there are regular slides, wide trails, tunnels, and a shallow creek.  For adults there is plenty to keep a toddler or kid busy but it is contained enough to keep an eye on them without worrying about them getting lost.  Brother Bear puts on a show and Chip & Dale came in every day we were there.

So Leanne and I switched off between riding some rides and watching Alex in Redwood Creek. (or allowing him to sleep in his stroller).

We both finally got to ride Tower of Terror (see our review in the Resort Guides), and Grizzly River Run ride.  Leanne rode Soarin Over California while I rode California Screamin and Grizzly a 2^nd time.  Grizzly and Soarin have single rider which makes it easy while you have to use Fastpass for the others.

It turned out to be 2-3 hours that was enjoyable for both Alex and us.

We had dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen which I guess went less then prefect.  Alex was getting to the point that he was not really content to sit still in a highchair.  Or eat.  Or appreciate how much the dinner was costing us so he could enjoy seeing all the characters.  Luckily they put the 2 ½ of us in a corner booth that sat about 9 people.  Alex was at least halfway content to run around the booth and play with all the place settings.

The characters there that night were average.  Goofy and Pluto were there of course.  The Princesses were Snow White and Sleeping Beauty (Including Prince Philip!).  Chip & Dale and Brer Bear.  Alex, of course, only showed much interest in the animals.

Here is a character dining tip.  You pay a lot of money for these meals… and it is to see the characters; not the meal itself.  Make sure you see the characters no matter how long it takes.  The characters circulate through out the restaurant attempting to stop at each table; but they have to take breaks and sometimes your section gets missed.

Do not feel hurried to leave if a character has not visited you and if it seems like you got passed over mention to the character manager (there will be one there) politely that you got missed.

That happened to us this trip with Sleeping Beauty.  Alex could not have cared less but Prince Philip was with her and we really wanted to a picture with the both of them.  When she took 2 breaks without us seeing them we realized our section must have been missed. We talked to the character manager and he was extremely apologetic and sent her over as soon as he could.   We ended up being there 1 ½ hours but finally got pictures with every character.

After dinner we went back and watched the Electric Light Parade at Disney’s California Adventure then saw the fireworks from the plaza between the two parks.  Off to the hotel ending our last full day of vacation.

Day 6 – Disneyland / California Adventure / Saturday  June 26^th

Just this once we wanted to be at Disneyland around opening.  We realized that a June Saturday would be really crowded starting around 11:00AM.  So we set an alarm… planning to pack, get ready… and maybe poke Alex a few times just in case he really felt like waking up.

The alarm did not work.  I will deny that my smacking it a few times the day before had anything to do with it.  Actually the time showing on it was off by a hour and I’ll bet it was actually off 11 hours.

So… we still manage to pack and check out and still be in Disneyland about 1 hour after opening which is when… can you guess… ToonTown opens.  We did plan to do something different this time.  Every time we went to ToonTown the last few days we walked past the Matterhorn and saw that the ride was not very crowded. So this time we planned to take 10 minutes or so and each ride it before seeing the mice.  Of course the ride broke down so forget that and we ended up in ToonTown for ½ hour seeing Minnie, Mickey, Minnie, Mickey… and so forth for a few times. (I will point out to Alex in 20 years when he wants to put us in a rest home that for 3 years we threw away the best ride riding times so he could see 2 mice over and over and over and over again)

Since the morning was all about Alexander we rode It’s a Small World, the Carousel and Pinocchio before heading off to Critter Country where Leanne rode Splash while I took Alex on Winnie the Pooh.  Then I rode splash while Leanne got in line for Tigger and Pooh.  We had avoided that before because 1 person holding the camera and diaper bag plus trying to control a 21-month-old baby is tough. She survived for Tigger and I was there to help handle Winnie the Pooh… both of which Alex love.

It is a June Saturday afternoon in Disneyland which means… leave.  We head over to California Adventure and Leanne and Alex eat at McDonalds while I have pizza at Oom, Mow Mow.  I only mention this because McDonalds is the only restaurant at the Disneyland Resort that does not give the nice little plastic lunchbox for kids meals… it is just the plain happy meal box.

Leanne heads off for the Aladdin Show which I would have liked to see (mainly because Jasmine is the only Disney princess I have the hots for)... but I just didn’t think Alex at this point of the trip would sit still for a show.  Alex and I head off for the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and I was right… he loved it mostly but sure was short tempered if I stopped him from doing something he felt was important. 

I finally gave up and stollered him for a while and he took a much needed nap.  Finally met up with Leanne after the show. ( make sure to have plan Bs when you separate… Leanne was in Redwood Creek after the show looking for me.  I had meant to tell her to look for the stroller out front 1^st and if it wasn’t there to wait at the entrance for me to find her)

Since Alex was now asleep is was daddy and mommy time and we rode Tower of Terror (fast passes)  and I rode Grizzly River Run and we both rode California Screamin.  It was getting close to leaving time but even though the lines were long to get back into Disneyland we had to visit one more time.  We managed to catch the Parade of Stars in its entirety finally and then it was good-bye to Disneyland for this trip.

Travel

Howard Johnsons is right across from the Airport bus terminal.  So you would have thought that we’d just pay the $20.00 and use them to get to the airport. (John Wayne)  But at this point of the vacation we decided to take the easy way out and Leanne went to the hotel office to verify that a taxi would be around $35.00.

Instead of a taxi the hotel called ‘JAG’… which we had never heard of but turned out to be some kind of limousine service.  They pulled up in a real nice Lincoln Continental and we went to the airport in comfort.  It was a guaranteed $35.00 to the airport with this driver and it was nice enough I tipped him about 25%.

I, of course, was dreading the whole airplane thing after the flight out.  Luckily there were no problems getting checked in and it was easier getting through security.  People seemed more sympathetic to us traveling with a toddler.

We are at the airport 2 hours early because ‘they’ tell us we have to… and we always do what ‘they’ tell us to do.  John Wayne does not have any real good places where Alex can run around in like Denver International does.  And he is tired of not being home.  Now neither of us can leave him alone with the other without screaming.

The plane was a little late but not horribly so.  As we are waiting to board I am figuring out that for our 2 hour plane trip we will have spent about 3 ½ hours in the airport.  Of course that seems lightning fast compared to the trip out.  Have I mentioned that we are driving next year?

Alex was fairly fussy on the plane.  Would not stay in his car seat.  Screamed a bit.  He did not think this ride compared well to the Disneyland rides.  It didn’t bother me a whole lot since I agreed.   The person in the seat in front of us made Alex a couple of balloon animals when he got really upset.  We thanked him and told him how neat that was even though I’m not sure Alex cared much at that point (although he did hold it for the car trip home) and it was just more stuff to carry.  I do want to learn how to do that because I do think Alex would have been distracted by the actually making of them.

With ½ hour to go Alex finally feel asleep… not in the big heavy car seat I’d been lugging around everywhere just for that purpose… but in Leanne’s arms.  We have our 1 beer each; not because we didn’t want 2 or 3 but because Frontier seems to be trying to cover their fuel costs by selling alcohol.   Not to mention that only carry 3 Coors Lights per flight anyway.

We get in and made it to the truck ok.  Of course our hopes that the ‘Check Engine’ light would have magically fixed itself while we were gone were dashed when we started it up.  (It only went away on its trip to the dealership to check it out) But we where close to home and paying the $100 for parking didn’t even faze me at that point.

Two hours later (had to pick up the dogs) and we pull into our driveway about 1:00am.  Another successful and fun trip to Disneyland over. 

Final Notes and Tips

• Next year we drive… in fact any trip where it is even conceivable to drive we will.  It is way to stressful on us and Alex to fly.
• Shows are hard with a toddler.  They spend so much time in the stroller and waiting for parades that I was never convinced that he would have been content to wait for the show and then sit through the show.
• I never got to ride Indy, Star Tours or Soarin Over California or the Matterhorn… 4 of my favorite rides.  Next year.
• Regardless of the above; this time we did a much better job of doing some of the things we wanted to do.  You just have to get used to doing them alone.
• We were pretty successful having one of us take Alex to Redwood Creek Trail Challenge or a kids ride while the other rode some rides.  We’ll probably do even more of that next year.
• Disney’s California Adventure is really a nice place to be because it just does not get crowded.
• It’s hard to plan a day around Alex’s normal eating and sleeping schedule because every time we did he never followed the plan.
• I think it’s best to do the character meals at lunch instead of dinner.  Alex always tended to get grumpier later in the day.
• Going back to the hotel earlier and letting Alex sleep in the morning means missing some of the prime times to be in Disneyland but sure makes for a happier, more rested toddler… and parents.
• Cars are our friends.