Day 1 - December 25, 2001

Cast of Characters:

Leanne age 35 but child at heart

Andy  age 38, tries to keep me grounded in reality

(without success when the well-known Mice are around).

Apologies up front:  Restaurant names - I can't remember all of the whole names, or

how to spell them, but I do have enough info so that you will hopefully know what

I am talking about.

My dream trip to Disneyland for Christmas began with a flight out of Denver at 10:00

on Christmas morning.  We had upgraded to first class, and so the flight was quite

enjoyable.  Security lines were very short, and the whole experience from getting to

the airport to getting on the plane were very smooth.  The flight itself was uneventful

and we got into John Wayne airport at 11:20am.  We are used to getting our luggage very

quickly in the Denver airport, so were quite shocked that it took 40 minutes to get

luggage in Orange County.  We had reservations for the 12:00pm Supershuttle, and just

barely made the bus.  The trip the hotel was quick, with only 1 other stop for

the other people on the bus with us, then off to the Grand California Hotel.

Our first experience with the new security measures since our trip in May started the

minute we got onto the Grand California property.  When the shuttle pulled up to the

gate, the attendant verified our reservation, then checked our luggage in the back of

the van for contraband.  This only took a few minutes and then we were at the front

door of the hotel. 

We had decided to do a theme park view this time, and were given several room choices.

We had requested a king size bed, but would not be able to get into that room until

after 3pm.  We decided it would be nice to have a room now, since it was 20 degrees

when we left Denver, and we were dressed for the cold temperatures.  We were offered

one of several rooms with 2 queen beds, and after finding out the view for each room,

we finally made our choice.  Room 4212.  It had a view of Grizzly Peak, and from the

left side of the balcony, Paradise Pier, and the Mickey Mouse on Screamin was in full

view.  As usual, we were pleased with the room.  (Because of another trip report 

on LP, I knew that we could request a refrigerator that we could USE.  It was sent up

before we even got back from our initial trip to the parks, and it had been hooked up

and was now ready for use.)  We quickly changed clothes, and left for our first look

at Disneyland for Christmas, walking through DTD, admiring the Christmas decorations.

We also made a quick detour to find our brick.  That done, we headed for the gates.

All I can say from this first look is WOW.  It just felt so great to be back.  We

were determined not to be a security risk and when they let us in we entered through

 the left tunnel (a big habit of mine) after reading the plaque (another habit of mine).  After going under

the tunnel, the first thing I saw was the HUGE Christmas tree.  This tree is just

incredible, so tall and glorious!  For this first entrance into Disneyland, I had our

camcorder with us, thinking I might want to tape the sights.  I did not at this time,

but we instead decided to go to Minnie's Christmas Party, and to tape the show.  I

really wanted this show on tape, and the original plan was to watch it on Christmas

Day, and tape it later.  I will be forever grateful that I had the camcorder with me

for this first viewing, because I did not enjoy it enough to go back for a second

show.  It was cute, and definitly high on the Disney Characters, but I felt that it

is more suitable for children, but not adults who are children at heart.  This show

was also our first experience with 'snow' at Disneyland.  That was kind of special for

me, because just that morning I had left a White Christmas back in Denver to come to

this magical place.

After Minnie's Christmas Party, we went back down Mainstreet and were still able to

get me favorite place for viewing parades at Disneyland.  We sat at the curb in front

of the train station.  The camcorder came in handy again, because this parade is one

I have wanted to see for years.  It was worth the wait, and for all those who are

curious, my tape turned out great, so now I can watch it whenever I want!  I thought

the music for this parade was fantastic, and the wealth of characters was more than

I could ever dream of.  Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie were a wonderful surprise to see!

Of course though, Mickey Mouse is my all-time favorite Disney Character, so when he

appeared, I really focused the tape on him until he was out of view.  After seeing

this parade, I just knew that nothing would take the smile off my face for the next 5

days.  (I was wrong, but that will be in day 2).

We took the camcorder back to the hotel after the parade, and used the private

entrance in DCA.  Our first stop was for fastpasses to Soarin, which is easily my

favorite ride in BOTH parks.  While waiting for our time to come up, we walked over to

Paradise Pier.  On the way we stopped for ice cream cones at Catch a Flave.  That is

my favorite ice cream place in the park, and this was ice cream cone number one of

many during the trip.  While at Paradise Pier I checked the games on the boardwalk for

fellow LP'er Tom (aka Jack Skellington).  He was not there, and that was a minor

disappointment, but I quickly got over it.  When our FP window opened, we got a new

FP for Screamin, then went to eat on the way to use the Soarin FP.  We had Mexican

food at Cucina Cucomonga (see upfront apology), near the farmers market area.  I had

the Nachos, which were not bad, and Andy had the tacos, also not bad.  The service

and quality was fine, but there is something about the meat in the food that we did

not really like.

By now it was about 6:30 pm, and so we quickly made it back to to Soarin.  The wait

with fast pass was next to nothing.  The wait without fast pass was next to nothing.

Interesting.  This is the perfect ride to start my 5 day holiday with, as it just left

me in awe, just like the first time I rode it in May.  It held new meaning for me this

time though, because the Disneyland scene is a Christmas scene, and this time, I am

at Disneyland, and it IS Christmas!  Wow, I guess I am still in shock.  After Soarin

we went to use our Screamin FP.  Another amazing ride!  In the next hour, we were able

to ride Soarin 2 more times, and Screamin 3 more times with no more than a five minute

wait each time in the standby lines.

After this, it was time to scope out the perfect place for the DEP.  Our plan was to

watch the parade, then hurry over to DL for the fireworks.  We chose a spot right

near the beginning of the parade, close to the exit for DCA.  Since it has been five

long years since I have seen this parade, my level of anticipation was incredible.

When the music came on and the lights went out, I was overjoyed with seeing this

parade again, and it is one thing that is as good as the anticipation.  As usual, I

loved the parade.

We quickly made our way back to Disneyland, and went to the top of Mainstreet to see

Believe in Holiday Magic.  What an incredible fireworks show!  The sights and sounds

are just incredible.  What a soundtrack!  We were standing under a snow machine when

the snow started, and that was also really nice.

After the fireworks, we rushed over to the Haunted Mansion.  We were surprised to find

that it was a walk-on!  We loved the upgrade, both feeling that it was really well

done.  (This was to be the first of many times to ride the HM during the trip.)  This

ride was special, because it was our only ride in Disneyland on Christmas Day.  After

this, exhausted, we went back to the hotel.

Final thoughts on Day 1:  DLR was not nearly as crowded as I expected it to be for

this day, and we were shocked to find 2 of the most popular rides in DCA walk-ons, as

well as the Haunted Mansion.  This was all a nice surprise, and we were very fortunate

because it was the only time during the trip we were able to ride screamin without an

incredible line.

Stay tuned for Day 2.

Leanne

May All Your Days Be Filled With Magic!  And your nights full of Disney Dreams!

Day 2 – December 26, 2001

Since this is a Wednesday, there is no early entry for Disneyland, but the park opens at 8:00.  Our original plan was to do Disneyland at opening for a while, then hit DCA, at opening so that I could get the LE pins that were to be out today.  The best laid plans…

While enjoying Christmas Eve with our families before leaving on Christmas day, I had been exposed to a nasty stomach virus, with symptoms similar to the stomach flu.  I felt bad for my family.  Unfortunately, I got the virus.

I woke up very sick on this day, so we slept in and skipped Disneyland entirely, just planning on hitting the private entrance to DCA at 10:00.  Because of how I felt, there was no chance I was going to ride any ride that had a warning for motion sickness.  That did not leave much.  We quickly found out where to get the LE pins, and after taking care of business, made our way to Millionaire for a fastpass to the 11:00 showing.  While waiting for the fastpass window, we went to the Animation building.  In May, this area was so packed with people that we never even made it into the Sorcerer’s Workshop.  This time it was empty, so we took the time to find out which character we are most like.  Andy is most like Cogsworth, and I am most like Lady.  By this time it was time to go to Millionaire.

I was one of the Lucky 10 chosen to be in the ring of fire.  What a great experience.  The best thing about the ring of fire is the positioning of the keypad.  It is easy to reach in these seats.  I was hoping I would not do well enough to get in the hot seat, because I really felt sick as it was, and thought that if everyone was watching me, I would most certainly lose it!  Fortunately, I answered a question wrong after they showed the first top 10 when I was number 2.  That miss took away all chances I had for the hot seat.  After millionaire, I did something I have NEVER done while at Disneyland.  I went back to the hotel and slept until 3:00pm.  Got up to do Millionaire again (did not do fastpass this time), and had a real poor showing.  We had a reservation for dinner at Granville’s, but I had not been able to hold anything down all day, so we were not sure if that would be good for me.  We decided that I should go back to bed again.  I slept until almost time for dinner, and then having decided that I would try it, walked over to the Disneyland Hotel and Granville’s.  We had eaten here before, and really enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere.  Tonight’s meal was not worthy of that first visit.  Part of the reason I will blame on being sick.  The food just did not taste right, nor did it sit well.  The other reason for the meal not being so enjoyable was the food preparation.  I had ordered my filet cooked medium, yet when it came to the table, I cut into a well-done steak.  Yuch!  I should have sent it back, but at this point I was beyond caring.  The good news though, is that the food I did eat stayed down.  After the meal I went back to bed with instructions for Andy to get me up at 8:15 so that we could watch the DEP again (my favorite all-time parade), and I had scheduled LuminAria for this night.  We watched the DEP from the amphitheater where we would watch LuminAria.  We wanted good seats for the show.  From this spot, the parade was harder to see (there were obstructions), but the sound was loud and clear, and I saw the most important parts of the parade (Mickey, and the To Honor America float).  It was very cold while waiting for LuminAria, but I had bought a coat the night before at World of Disney (left that out of Day 1 trip report), so I was warmer that I had been the night before. 

When the lights dimmed for LuminAria, I was not sure what to expect.  From reading LP, people either Love it or Hate it, and there are many that Hate it.  I enjoyed the show.  I thought the music was nice, the fireworks and such were nice, and the Christmas tree was fantastic.  The cards were charming, and definitely belong in the show.  I enjoyed it, but that was the only time we took the time to see LuminAria.  (Andy also taped it for me since I was too weak to hold the camcorder, so I can re-watch later if I want to).  At this time we went back to the hotel, and I went back to bed.  I had plans to get up for our first morning of early entry if I felt better.

Final thoughts on Day 2:  I don’t even know if Disneyland was crowded, because I never entered the park on this day.  DCA seemed busier, but it is hard to say since I did not try to ride anything.  California was MUCH colder that I expected.  In Denver, 60 degrees in the winter is shorts weather.  At the DLR, 60 degrees is freezing!  Final Final thought:  It sucks to be sick while on a dream Christmas vacation to the Disney Resort!

Stay tuned for Day 3

Leanne

May All Your Days Be Filled With Magic!  And your nights full of Disney Dreams!

Day 3 - December 27, 2001

This morning was much better.  We slept in, but still got to Disneyland at 7:30 for early entry.  I was feeling much better this morning.  Still feeling sick and running a fever, but my stomach did not feel bad, so I felt that I could go on some rides.  The first ride we hit was the Matterhorn, which was on rehab when we were there in May.  We rode 3 times in a row before opening, once on the left track, and twice on the right track.  The right track seemed slower, but I am not sure if that is true.  We then headed to Space Mountain and had only a 5-minute wait, even though the park was open by now.  Our car did not have music.  At this point we crossed the park to do Splash Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion again.  Splash was a walk on (probably because it was cold), and as usual we enjoyed the ride.  One thing I did not hear was the phrase “its time to be turning around.”  Oh well, everything else was great.  We then headed to Haunted Mansion and once again, the ride was a walk on, but our biggest surprise was meeting Maynard!  He put the smile that was missing yesterday when I was so sick back on my face.  With the makeover of the Mansion, each time I went on it I noticed something new.  We had to leave DL at this point so that we could try to get Blast tickets before it was time for our reservations at Goofy’s Kitchen.  DCA had just opened, and we were able to get tickets for the 1:45 show.  Then it was off to Goofy’s Kitchen.

Brunch started off on bad footing.  We were seated right next to the door where the Characters leave and enter the restaurant.  When they are going on break, they don’t stop at the tables in this area, and when they re-enter they don’t stop here either.  I was very disappointed with this situation.  I felt even worse for the table next to us that had 3 little kids, one celebrating a birthday, and the characters passed all of us by.  Someone near us complained to the character coordinator, and what a change!  We suddenly had Pluto, Aladdin, Genie, and Jasmine in our section.  Aladdin and Jasmine obliged us with a photo together, and then Pluto joined us for a photo of Aladdin, Jasmine, Pluto and Me.  A CM then took a picture of Andy and Me with the group.  I sure hope that one turns out!  As usual, the food here is mediocre, but I don’t go there for the food anyway, so that was no disappointment.  I did get my Goofy’s Holiday Feast 2001 button, so I was happy.  (On a side note, the CM at Goofy’s Kitchen said that they are now out of buttons, so we were lucky to be there when we were).

It was now time to see Blast.  We had no idea what to expect, as I had deliberately read nothing about this show.  We chose to sit on the Mezzanine level on the advise from a CM who told us from that vantage point we could see the ‘shapes’ the actors were making on stage.  He was right.  The seats were fantastic.  I cannot say enough about this show.  Andy and I have always enjoyed drum and bugle type shows, and we also enjoy anything that requires exact timing and precision.  I was on the flag team in high school, and am very familiar with the intricate timing required for a show of this type, and the hours of practice needed.  These people were incredible!  Not a single mistake, and the actors really appear to enjoy what they are doing.  It is loud, active, and right up my alley!  We were really surprised to see that the child behind us fell asleep during the show.  I guess kids can sleep through anything!  After seeing this show, we knew that we had to do it again, so immediately put it in our plans for the next day.  (I am anal – I had a schedule for each day, just to make sure I got to see all of the shows and parades I wanted to see).  After Blast!, Andy rested at the hotel, while I did some shopping and picked up our tickets for the Holiday Tour.

After picking up the tickets for the tour, I went back to DCA so that I could shop at Off the Page.  The park was now packed with Rose Bowl participants.  Being from Colorado, I was not happy to see the Nebraska players, but it was absolutely incredible to see so many people in the park!  The Rose Bowl contingent (media and such) were using the Grand California Hotel for meetings and such, so from this point on, we could not escape the people there for the football game, or those there for the Tournament of Roses Parade.  (On a side note, if CU would have been in the Rose Bowl, we would have spent time at DCA with the players, and extended our stay).

The Holiday Tour was fantastic!  Our Tour Guide was Maria, who also does the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour.  She gave a lot of inside info on Walt and his reasons for doing many things in the park.  We ran into Maynard again at Great Moments with Lincoln while Maria was telling us about the pictures on the entry wall.  He is quite a Character.  Disneyland was VERY crowded on this night (the crowds kept getting bigger the closer we got to the weekend), so it was tricky staying together on the tour.  Fortunately, there were just 9 of us.  Maria was knowledgeable and friendly, making the tour a lot of fun.  With the tour, we went through the fastpass line on Haunted Mansion, and were in a stretch room all by ourselves.  After the mansion we made our way over to Small World Holiday, also moving in front of all the fastpass people.  It was our first time on this ride, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable.  Andy liked it much better than the original also, as the music was not simply “It’s a small world” over and over.  By the time we got out of SMH, the Christmas Fantasy Parade was getting ready to start.  The preferred seating area we had for the parade was great!  Seeing the parade at night was wonderful, and once again we taped it.  Since I was still a little weak, Andy did the taping (I have a fantastic husband).  On a side note, there was someone else in the preferred seating area with us.  We were joined by the man (sorry, I don’t watch the show anymore, so I don’t know the actors name) who plays Detective Medavoy on NYPD Blue.  It was fun to see a famous person at Disneyland!  After the parade, even though the tour was done, Maria stayed and talked to us for the next 45 minutes.  We talked about the 3^rd park (the talk is that it will be a water park), Tower of Terror (construction sight is next to the Hyperion Theater), and the differences between DL and Disney World.  At 9:15 or so, we headed to Tomorrowland to watch the fireworks, because we wanted to be able to get into the Buzz Lightyear area to see the Fab Four at 10pm.  Tomorrowland is a nice place to watch the fireworks, but there is no snow.  When they were done we rushed over to Club Buzz and were amazed to find the area packed.  What was more surprising to me was the crowd was filled with people much to young to remember the Beatles.   The Fab Four played for about 30 minutes.  They were pretty good, but Andy and I have actually seen better imitators in Denver about 10 years ago.  There was a Beatles promotion at a local mall, and the imitators were absolutely fantastic.  I still felt it was worth seeing, but we did not go out of our way to see them again.  When the concert was over, we were cold and tired, and went back to the hotel for bed, knowing that it may rain the next day.

Final Thoughts on Day 3:  Both Disneyland and DCA were very crowded today.  These were the crowds I had been expecting before we even left Denver.  I was worried about rain for the next day, as I had not yet taped the DEP, and knew that it would be difficult to do in the rain.  For those of you unsure about the Holiday Tour, both Andy (and he is VERY hard to please on things like this) and I very much recommend the tour.

Stay tuned for Day 4.

Leanne

May All Your Days Be Filled With Magic!  And your nights full of Disney Dreams!

Day 4 - December 28, 2001

This is a bittersweet day for me.  Our last full day at the Disney Resort, but we had plans to make it a very full day.  We slept in again, and got to Disneyland at 7:50, still early entry.  We had the camcorder with us with one goal in mind.  Toon Town.  When we were there in May, we got to Toon Town one day and there was no one in site.  We had time to enjoy while Mickey and Minnie played, ran toward each other and kissed.  Goofy and Pluto were playing around, Minnie would join them and so on.  I was hoping for a scene like this now that we had the camcorder.  Wow!  What a difference the Holiday Season makes.  There was a crowd of people waiting for Toon Town to open, and all of my dreams flew out the window.  I did get to say hi to Mickey and Minnie, but they did not play around or spend time with each other.  Pluto and Goofy never made an appearance while we were there.  Oh well, I have pictures to remember my previous visit from.  After Toon Town we just walked around filming various sites for later viewing when I need a Disneyland fix.  By 8:30, Disneyland was just packed with people.  It was difficult to move, and the lines for rides were impossible long.  I decided that I would take this time to finish my shopping so that everything could be shipped today.  I was done shopping by 10, so we got on the train for a circle around Disneyland.  This is the first time we have ever been on the train when every seat was full.  After the train, we took the camcorder back to the hotel, then went to DCA in hopes of getting tickets for BLAST!.   We got tickets for the late afternoon show, and were thrilled. 

By this time, the sun had come out, and it was warmer than anytime previous on this trip.  For the first time, I was comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, with a jacket around my waist just in case.  We decided that it would be a good time to ride Grizzly River Rapids since we could then go change clothes for BLAST!.   We did the standby line, waiting about 25 minutes.  I put my jacket on for the ride, to protect me white t-shirt.  We did not get very wet at all.  We decided to do it one more time before changing, so we used the fastpass that comes with the Walt Disney Travel Company packages.  This time we walked off the ride totally drenched.  (My jacket was still wet when I unpacked it at home today (2 days later)).  As usual though, we enjoyed the ride.  The spin before the drop seemed to work on both rides.  When we got off the second time we went back to the hotel to change.  The best thing about the Grand California Hotel is the proximity to GRR.  Just a very small walk in wet clothes to go change!

Once again, we loved BLAST!.  This time we sat in the orchestra seats, and also thought they were great.  Another child fell asleep during this show, and once again I was astounded.

After BLAST!, we went to ESPN Zone for dinner.  We ordered the Nachos, which did not taste right to me, nor did the beer.  I guess my stomach was not completely better yet.  I left Andy there to watch a bowl game, and hit DTD for some more shopping.  When finished, I took my purchases up to the room, looked at our luggage, and thought that I could MAKE the items fit. (We had sent down our other packages for shipping home before we went to see BLAST!).  I picked up the camcorder to tape the DEP, and went back to ESPN Zone to get Andy.

We once again decided on a spot at the beginning of the parade route to do the taping, and sat down to save the seats about 45 minutes before the parade was due to start.  The CM’s had already made a walkway, so I sat to the left of that, between their fence and a trashcan.  It was amazing to me how many dirty looks and comments about ‘blocking the walkway’ I got.  People thought I was in the walkway, and did not even bother to look at the one the CM’s made that was right next to me!  Oh well, maybe they were tired.  We did have a bit of a scare when it started to rain.  Fortunately, the rain did not last long.  When the lights went out and the music started I was very excited, feeling I had awesome seat to tape from.  Because I sat on the left of the walkway (on the right if you are walking into it), I had no people crossing the picture even during breaks in the parade.  Great seats!  Again, we went to Disneyland after the parade, so that we could watch Believe.  This time we watched from Small World.  Another great spot to watch from. (Is there a bad spot?)

When the fireworks ended we went back to the hotel.  This time we went to the Hearthstone Lounge for a beer.  We lingered over the beer, then got another one ‘to-go’ and had beer while we packed our suitcases.  (Just so you know – the items I bought in DTD DID fit!)

Final Thoughts on Day 4:  Though I did not mention it, we did go to the Art Gallery in Disneyland for a while.  Even though this day was incredibly crowded, we still enjoyed it, mainly because we don’t go to Disneyland for the rides, but instead for the atmosphere, and the chance for me to see my favorite Mouse.  I went to bed with a heavy heart on this day, knowing that I had to return home the next day.

Stay tuned for Day 5!

Leanne

May All Your Days Be Filled With Magic!  And your nights full of Disney Dreams!