Our First Trip Off Season
Day 1, April 20, 2008
Since our flight was not until noon we actually got to sleep in a bit before starting our trip. We got to the airport with enough time to sit and eat before boarding our plane. Things were going great as our plane took off on time, and we landed at Los Angeles International Airport at 2pm ready to hit Disneyland.
Our luggage took some time to come out and the two pieces didn’t come out together. While waiting I was watching for Disneyland Express, and was very happy that we didn’t miss the bus!
We were outside at the bus stop by about 2:40 and were expecting the 2:45 bus. It never came. A few minutes before 3 I called Airport Bus and was told we would be picked up at 3. The bus never came.
Finally at 3:45 the bus arrived and it was full. We all got seats though with Alex next to me and Andy in front of us. We made another stop and added even more people into the sardine can the bus turned into.
We were finally on the road and Alex and I needed to use the potty. Not good. Someone had thrown up and the bathroom was a disaster. Vomit on the floor, a broken toilet, no toilet paper. We decided we could wait. We couldn’t get rid of the smell though since it was now on our shoes.
The bus made good time, and we were at the Disneyland Hotel by 4pm. Unfortunately it then took another hour and a half to get to our hotel. Finally at 5:30pm we were at our hotel and I went into the trailer (because the lobby was closed) to check us in and get keys.
We went into the room where we unloaded, looked around and then went out to get beer. We found cokes at the store in the hotel and they were cheap at only $1.87 each. We had to go elsewhere for beer and found it two doors down at the Tropicana.
Finally we were ready to go to Disneyland!
We got there around 6pm and after entering through the left tunnel made a beeline for Star Tours. We all enjoyed our trip to the Moon of Endor and then headed to ToonTown. We had planned on getting Alex a hot dog, but he insisted on pizza. Amazingly enough he ate the whole thing! He definitely wanted pizza. He was off to a good start with food and we hoped it would stay like this for the whole trip.
After eating we headed for Indiana Jones Adventure for fast passes. With those in hand we left Disneyland and walked across the way for California Adventure. We had planned on either riding Soarin’ or getting fastpasses but that plan changed when we saw a 60 minute stand-by line and no more fastpasses.
Mulholland Madness had the same problem with a 45 minute wait and no fastpasses. We headed past them and toward the Pier. After playing a game we decided to do the Swinging Gondolas. After waiting a few minutes, I left them in line but got out to save a spot for the Electric Parade knowing the timing would be close.
I found a spot in front of Souvenir 66 and saved 3 spaces. Another family came over, asked how much room I needed and immediately grabbed the leftover space. Very nice people and I talked to them the whole time Andy and Alex were gone. Their 7 year old daughter was absolutely adorable and I loved chatting with her. During the parade I pointed special things out to her and she loved it. Unfortunately I never thought to ask their names, but they do have a card, so hopefully they will stop by the forums to say hi. I ran into them frequently during the trip and their daughter always had a big hug for me.
Andy and Alex got there about 10 minutes before the start of the Electric Parade and both stated that they would NEVER ride the Swinging Gondolas again. They said they went around 3 times and the gondola never stopped swinging. Both were glad I was not on that ride or it would have ended up being much worse. J
The parade was wonderful as usual and this was the only night it would be running. The kids really tried to get the snails and other small floats to come to us, but this time it didn’t work.
After the parade ended we quickly headed for Disneyland to see the Fireworks as tonight is the only night they were showing as well. We ended up more than halfway down Main Street when the announcement was made that Fireworks were cancelled due to high winds. That came as no surprise to us as we had noticed the wind earlier. It was unfortunate though because for the first time Alex wanted to see them.
The minute the announcement was made we headed for Tomorrowland and the boys got into the queue for Star Tours. After the pain of the first ride, I was not going to ride it again. When they were done we all took our first ride on Buzz and I didn’t do well at all. J
Finally we headed to the one ride Alex wanted to ride more than anything. He was measured outside for Indy and sent on through with the warning he would be measured again. He was. The third time he was measured the Cast Member told me Thanks. Why? Because we didn’t get upset about them pulling us out of line to measure him – we knew he was close. Again though, he passed and we got back in line.
We got a mixed reaction from Alex. He basically hid his head the whole time, screamed occasionally, got mad that someone looked in Mara’s eyes, but still said he liked it. He wanted to go on again, so he must really have liked it. I enjoyed my first ride on Indy since before he was born.
Next we were able to walk onto Pirates during Fantasmic! and then we walked on to laceName w:st="on">HauntedlaceName> laceType w:st="on">MansionlaceType>. Both were great to see again. We had not seen the regular laceName w:st="on">HauntedlaceName> laceType w:st="on">MansionlaceType> since May of 2007, so were happy to again visit our favorite bride.
Alex really wanted to get something for Andy since his birthday is coming up so he and I looked in Pieces of 8 where Alex found lots of things for Daddy. All toys he would like. We bought nothing. Headed instead to Winnie the Pooh and after that Alex again wanted to get a surprise for Andy. So Andy went to sit down while Alex and I shopped. We ended up with a cookie for each of us. Yummy.
Finally it was time for the ride Alex hated, but said he would ride in the dark. So we finally got on Big Thunder and again Alex hated it. We never rode it again this trip. By the time we got out we heard the announcement we rarely hear. Disneyland was now closed.
We stopped at Blue Ribbon Bakery on our way out to get Alex chocolate milk for the morning.
The best thing about our hotel was the short walk to get there! It was not long before we were in our room and since it was only a few minutes after 10 it felt very early to us. Knowing Disneyland didn’t open until 9 we would get more sleep than usual while at the resort.
A few things not previously mentioned on this day.
1. As we walked into Disneyland, we passed a young girl who wanted to try ‘that’ ride. It was the tram to the Timon parking lot.
- I made two huge mistakes this day. Mistake one – I did not put on my comfy crocs before going to Disneyland. My feet were in horrible pain after just a few hours of walking. Mistake number two was that I didn’t put a lidocaine patch on my back before going, and after this night I was definitely worried because the pain was incredible.
Even with the pain, this was a great first day to our vacation. On this day, Alex was tall enough for Indy (we hoped he would measure tall enough the whole trip, but were not sure), he ate a good dinner, we saw Alex’s favorite parade, and met a wonderful family.
Stay tuned for day two where I will tell you about a freaky weird thing that happened to me.