Day 2:

My son and I went to Storyteller’s Café to the Chip and Dale character breakfast. We had a great time. I decided on the buffet because I wanted to create my own omelette and I like fruit and bread. It was very delicious! I had an egg white omelette with veggies; very healthy! My son opted for the Mickey waffles on the kid’s menu. He also had fruit and a beverage. The portion size was great. We’ve never seen so many characters at ST’s before. We saw Koda, Chip, Dale, Turk, the raccoon from Pocahontas, Kenai, and I can’t remember who else. I was very pleased with the wait staff; we always have a pleasant experience whenever we eat there. I went up to the buffet (within sight of my son) and I saw that he spilled his apple juice. One of the bus people came right over and helped him clean up.

After breakfast we headed over to DL. My son wanted to get a fast pass for Autopia, so we went into Tomorrowland. The park was pretty crowded but the wait times on rides wasn’t too bad. We got our fast passes and then we decided to go to Innoventions. They’re refurbishing Innoventions and the top floor is the only section that’s currently open. Mostly they had video game stations, which was fine for us because we don’t have the latest video game systems at home. But some kids were complaining because they already have the game systems and games at home. We didn’t spend much time there. Then we went over to the Buzz Lightyear ride and got fast passes there. Then we went over to Autopia. I haven’t ridden Autopia when it’s been so busy and I found it a bit annoying that the cars in front of us kept stalling out. But at least no one bumped us,  which I really hate.

Then we went to Buzz Lightyear and the CM let us in a bit early. My son enjoys this ride but gets very frustrated that he can’t get a very high score. He usually can’t break 10,000. So we decided to talk about it over lunch and I tried to give him some tips. We went to Redd Rocket’s laceName>PizzalaceName> laceType>PortlaceType> for lunch. I like eating there because they have really good salads. I know that people complain about the prices of food at DL, but in comparison, the fast food restaurants in So Cal don’t have the portion sizes or quality of food. For example, when I go to Jack in the Box, I pay about $8.00 for a salad and drink. I paid about the same at Redd Rocket’s and the salad is bigger with more ingredients and tastes better. My son got a big slice of pizza for $5.99, which is comparable to the big slices at S’Barros.

DL is also trying out kid’s meals and toddler meals. The nice thing about Redd Rocket’s is they have samples out for you to view before purchase. The kid’s meal is not very big; they have a bite sized pizza with veggies and a drink. It’s definitely worth buying the big slices and sharing with your children. They also have a chicken and rice meal for toddlers. I’m not sure about that one; you may be better off packing food for your toddler and sharing your meal with them.

After lunch we headed over to Fantasyland and we rode Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. I was happy to see that they now have signs with wait times at the Fantasyland rights. We waited about 20 minutes for Mr. Toad. Then we went over to laceName>ToonlaceName> laceType>TownlaceType> and rode Gadget’s Go-Coaster. Then we rode It’s a Small World. Then we decided to go over to Big Thunder Ranch to Woody’s Halloween Round Up. We had fun coloring and watching the show. Then we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest because we were both tired from the night before. It was nice to walk back and hang out in the room for a couple of hours. I took a nap and my son watched the Disney cartoons. We thought about going to the pool but it was a little chilly for us, being used to 80 and 90 degree weather most of the time.

Then we went to DCA for supper. When we were walking through DTD, we decided to stop at the Lego Store. That store is so much fun! My son found a Lego set he wanted. We had supper at the Pacific Wharf Café. I tried the vegetarian chili bread bowl. It was sooo good!! My son had the kid’s meal which consists of one of those Smuckers crustless PB&Js, a small package of baby carrots, and a drink. He also ate some of my sourdough bread. Then my son wanted to go on the Boudin Bakery tour. We like that tour even though we’ve seen the video a thousand times.

Then we went to Paradise Pier. We rode the Golden Zephyr and King Triton’s Carousel- twice. Then we went back through laceName>PacificlaceName> laceType>WharflaceType> to get some bread to take home and to go on the Mission Bakery tour because it was closed temporarily when we were in the area before. We like that tour as well because you can get a tortilla hot off the tortilla machine.

Then we headed back to DL for the fireworks. It was hard for my son to see and I had trouble holding him for the entire show because he’s getting too big. But we still had a good time. We were going to go to the Fantasmic show afterwards but decided we were too tired. We went to Tomorrowland to buy my son a new lightsaber and then we went to ride the Monorail. We had to stand in line for awhile but we had fun watching the submarines and talking to the family standing in line behind us. We made it back to our room by 10:30PM.

Day 3:

We slept in and then decided to have breakfast in our room. We brought some snacks; granola bars, fruit, etc; and that was plenty for us for a quick breakfast. We were checked out by 10:30AM. The same bell hop who had brought our bags to our room came to pick them up. He was very nice and polite. We packed up our car and headed out. It was very windy and we decided to take our time getting home. We stopped in Rancho Cucamonga at laceName>VictorialaceName> laceName>GardenslaceName> to do a little shopping and then we went to Ontario Mills. We had a light lunch at the Rainforest Café. We left Ontario Mills about 3:00PM and made it home by 5:00PM. Both shopping areas are a lot of fun; laceName>VictorialaceName> laceName>GardenslaceName> is right off the 10 and the 15. It’s outside but has all kinds of nice stores; JC Penney’s, Macy’s, Crate and Barrel, Coldwater Creek, etc. Ontario Mills is inside and it HUGE. There are a lot of nice outlet stores and also regular retail stores.

So that was our trip! It was the first trip that my son and I took by ourselves for an entire weekend at DL. We had a lot of fun, just the two of us.     

Lisa  

Lisa  

Totally Tigger

Wait times in Fantasyland now?  Yay!  When we were there they had a few, but not all of them up.  I remember seeing the posted times at Dumbo and Peter Pan, but that was it.  Since many of the queues are inside, it is nice to see them posting wait times.

I know you don't usually stay at the Disneyland Hotel - was it worth the money for you this time (I am guessing you got the special AP rate, but you know what I mean I think. lol).  I ask this for others, not for myself - you all know how I feel about the Disney Resort Hotels.

So you didn't make it on Nemo - I forget - have you done that yet?

As for Buzz - print out our sheet on the website and go over that with your son - maybe it will help him!

Leanne

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

Well, actually, we used our DVC points to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. This year we've stayed at a good neighbor hotel once. The rest of our stays this year have been or are going to be at the DL Hotel. Believe it or not, the DL Hotel costs less points than the Paradise Pier. I think it's definitely worth it to stay at the Paradise Pier or Disneyland Hotel if you can afford it because it's so convenient staying at the Resort and the whole experience is amazing. The rooms are so comfortable and the cast members are always great. We've never received bad service from the CMs. But if you're on a budget, there are some very nice good neighbor hotels that cost a lot less. We've received great service at the various Hilton hotels in the area; for Labor Day weekend we stayed at the Anaheim Hilton for $89.00 and that was quite a treat!! Also, I like the Hilton Garden Inn on Harbor Blvd and The Embassy Suites North and South. It's all about rate comparison and who's willing to give you the best deal!  

Yes, we managed to ride the Nemo ride during my son's birthday weekend. My sister, my son, and I ran over to the ride at the very end of the night and the wait was only 30 minutes. It's all in my trip report for that weekend (Sept. 22nd-23rd.)

And thanks for the advice about the Buzz ride! I'll go check it out!

Lisa  

Lisa  

Totally Tigger

And - to point out to those wondering. For those of us with Annual Passes, there is another HUGE benefit to staying on property.  Early Entry!

We are definitely going to stay at the Paradise Pier (we LOVE this hotel) for our first two nights at Christmas, but are thinking of switching to a lower cost hotel for the remainder of the trip to save a few hundred dollars.  It wasn't until this morning that I realized what we are giving up.  2 early entry days.  Hmmm...how much is that worth to us? lol

Leanne

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