On to a new adventure ...
Today marked the end of the first part of the trip and the beginning of another.... And because of the new adventure waiting for us, it proved to be a very long day.
The day started very early. We had an 8:30 a.m flight scheduled for today so we aimed to be at the airport at the insane hour of 6:30. Well, knowing this family, that wasn't going to work, and it didn't. We weren't too far off though. Thanks, in part, to Jen knowing the 'lay of the land' as it were at the airport she knew exactly which terminal to take us and where to park the car. It also helped that the airport wasn't too crowded at this early hour. We managed to check-in by 7:00 a.m. We still had some time to share a light breakfast with Jen before saying our good byes and heading through the security check point. We were only heading to Los Angeles, CA and being so close I feared we would be on another turbo prop. Luck continued to be with us during this early morning departure as we found ourselves on a plane a bit bigger than a turbo prop. This was good, because I still didn't have goggles..... :)
The flight itself was rather uneventful but the family of four sitting in front of us, well, let's just say I never ever wanted to put a gag on a small child as much as I did with these two. They screamed and cried the entire hour and half flight. They had just made the flight so perhaps they had a tough morning. And has hard as I told myself this over and over, it didn't help. The headache came on anyway. I guess that's why Excedrin is made, for just such occasions....
We didn't wait long to get our checked bags (that we didn't have to pay for) and go to the rental car area. Our rental car was waiting, we had easy directions to head to Disneyland Hotel and we were on the road. While we were on our way, the phone rang. It was our friends Dave and Linda. They were also on their way.... And another adventure begins!
Luck happened again as we both made it to Disneyland Hotel at the same time!
As we checked in, we learned that our rooms were upgraded to resort view and we had adjoining rooms. Nice. The rooms were small but comfortable. We had a great view of the pool area (which was a tad chilly to use). Much to the disappointment of the guys, we unpacked first before heading to the park.
Disneyland has grown considerably since the last time Tom and I were there. It had been about 25 years since we were there. Jen had just turned three then. ;) At that time it was just one park and there was only one Disneyland hotel. Now there are two parks, a Downtown Disney and three hotels to choose from. Time has certainly been good to Mickey and his friends. :)
Today marked the end of the first part of the trip and the beginning of another.... And because of the new adventure waiting for us, it proved to be a very long day.
The day started very early. We had an 8:30 a.m flight scheduled for today so we aimed to be at the airport at the insane hour of 6:30. Well, knowing this family, that wasn't going to work, and it didn't. We weren't too far off though. Thanks, in part, to Jen knowing the 'lay of the land' as it were at the airport she knew exactly which terminal to take us and where to park the car. It also helped that the airport wasn't too crowded at this early hour. We managed to check-in by 7:00 a.m. We still had some time to share a light breakfast with Jen before saying our good byes and heading through the security check point. We were only heading to Los Angeles, CA and being so close I feared we would be on another turbo prop. Luck continued to be with us during this early morning departure as we found ourselves on a plane a bit bigger than a turbo prop. This was good, because I still didn't have goggles..... :)
The flight itself was rather uneventful but the family of four sitting in front of us, well, let's just say I never ever wanted to put a gag on a small child as much as I did with these two. They screamed and cried the entire hour and half flight. They had just made the flight so perhaps they had a tough morning. And has hard as I told myself this over and over, it didn't help. The headache came on anyway. I guess that's why Excedrin is made, for just such occasions....
We didn't wait long to get our checked bags (that we didn't have to pay for) and go to the rental car area. Our rental car was waiting, we had easy directions to head to Disneyland Hotel and we were on the road. While we were on our way, the phone rang. It was our friends Dave and Linda. They were also on their way.... And another adventure begins!
Luck happened again as we both made it to Disneyland Hotel at the same time!
As we checked in, we learned that our rooms were upgraded to resort view and we had adjoining rooms. Nice. The rooms were small but comfortable. We had a great view of the pool area (which was a tad chilly to use). Much to the disappointment of the guys, we unpacked first before heading to the park.
Disneyland has grown considerably since the last time Tom and I were there. It had been about 25 years since we were there. Jen had just turned three then. ;) At that time it was just one park and there was only one Disneyland hotel. Now there are two parks, a Downtown Disney and three hotels to choose from. Time has certainly been good to Mickey and his friends. :)
Scenes from Downtown Disney ...
We explored Downtown Disney and then took the new monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The monorail takes you to Tomorrowland where rides such as Space Mountain, Star Tours and the Matterhorn reside. This Magic Kingdom has more narrow walkways but the atmosphere and people all say Disney.
As we disembarked from the Monorail, we decided it was time for lunch (not surprising for this group). We walked through Tomorrowland and headed for Main Street.
We explored Downtown Disney and then took the new monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The monorail takes you to Tomorrowland where rides such as Space Mountain, Star Tours and the Matterhorn reside. This Magic Kingdom has more narrow walkways but the atmosphere and people all say Disney.
As we disembarked from the Monorail, we decided it was time for lunch (not surprising for this group). We walked through Tomorrowland and headed for Main Street.
Scenes from Tomorrowland....
Scenes from Main Street...
There we found the Carnation Cafe. The wait was a little longer than we would have liked but the food was great even if Tom did order the meatloaf (inside family joke).
All tanked up, we were ready to hit the park. Passing the Tiki birds, we headed towards Adventureland. Here we got our fast pass tickets for the 'Indiana Jones Adventure' ride. We then headed to the 'Pirates of the Carribbean' ride. This ride is longer and more detailed than the one in Florida. While on this ride, we noticed people eating at a place where they can watch folks on the 'Priates of the Carribbean' ride. (We later learned that the name of the restaurant Blue Bayou) After the Pirates ride, we still had time so we headed to the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square.
All tanked up, we were ready to hit the park. Passing the Tiki birds, we headed towards Adventureland. Here we got our fast pass tickets for the 'Indiana Jones Adventure' ride. We then headed to the 'Pirates of the Carribbean' ride. This ride is longer and more detailed than the one in Florida. While on this ride, we noticed people eating at a place where they can watch folks on the 'Priates of the Carribbean' ride. (We later learned that the name of the restaurant Blue Bayou) After the Pirates ride, we still had time so we headed to the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square.
Scenes from Adventureland...
New Orleans Square ...
The Haunted Mansion was redone with the characters from the Nightmare Before Christmas movie starring Jack Skeleton. Here is, as the folks at Disney claim, where two holidays collide. It was done really, really well!
The Haunted Mansion Holiday ...
It was time to head back to Adventureland and use our fast pass to ride the 'Indiana Jones Adventure' ride. Because of the fast pass, we were able to 'cut in' the waiting line and go right in. That was weird but worth it. The ride was fun. We hadn't screamed and laughed through a ride in awhile. In fact we screamed so much that some of us lost their voice!
Time to do something a little quieter. So we hopped onto the Disneyland Railroad (Tom called his
folks while waiting for the train) and we headed over to Toontown. At Disneyland, Toontown seems to be a lot bigger than the one 
at Disney World. We got fast passes to ride the Cartoon Spin ride (a ride based on the movie Rodger Rabbit, Linda's favorite.) Tom and Pam were a little chilly so they went back to the hotel to get jackets and Dave and Linda went to Innoventions. When we met up again, we headed back to Toontown and rode the ride.
By this time it was about 5:45 and was time to head back to Main Street for the 6:30 Christmas
Parade. As you can imagine, the parade route was jammed packed! We did manage to see some of the parade. Afterwards we decided to go back to New Orleans Square to see if we could get into the Blue Bayou Restaurant. But sadly, the place was booked for the evening. Wanting table service instead of fast food service, we decided to head out of the park and to Downtown Disney. Here is where we found Brennan's Jazz Restaurant. On the menu was 'turducken' I always wanted to try it but the waiter announced that they were out of it. Rats. So at 7:30 p.m. we had dinner at a really nice place, sitting outside on the balcony, under a heater enjoying the view, jazz music, good friends and a great meal.
The night, however, didn't end with the great meal. We decided to head back into the Magic Kingdom via the monorail to see the fireworks spectacular. We didn't make it for the very beginning, but we did manage to see a good portion of it as well as the magical snowfall.
A few years ago when we had been at DisneyWorld, we missed Fantasmic and later learned that this was a show we shouldn't have missed. Although we were very tired, we were determined to stick it out for the 10:30 p.m. showing of Fantasmic! tonight. In order to help stay awake until this show started, we hopped on the Pirates of Carribbean ride, visited the Haunted Mansion and drank coffee.
What can we say, FANTASMIC! was a show worth while seeing! The story line of Mickey in a battle of good vs. evil, enhanced by the special effects was, well, fantastic. :)
On the way out of the park we had to ride It's a Small World as it was decorated for the holidays as well.
Tired, exhausted and almost closing time at the park, we headed to the monorail for our ride back to our hotel for our evening rest.
Time to do something a little quieter. So we hopped onto the Disneyland Railroad (Tom called his
folks while waiting for the train) and we headed over to Toontown. At Disneyland, Toontown seems to be a lot bigger than the one 
at Disney World. We got fast passes to ride the Cartoon Spin ride (a ride based on the movie Rodger Rabbit, Linda's favorite.) Tom and Pam were a little chilly so they went back to the hotel to get jackets and Dave and Linda went to Innoventions. When we met up again, we headed back to Toontown and rode the ride.By this time it was about 5:45 and was time to head back to Main Street for the 6:30 Christmas
Parade. As you can imagine, the parade route was jammed packed! We did manage to see some of the parade. Afterwards we decided to go back to New Orleans Square to see if we could get into the Blue Bayou Restaurant. But sadly, the place was booked for the evening. Wanting table service instead of fast food service, we decided to head out of the park and to Downtown Disney. Here is where we found Brennan's Jazz Restaurant. On the menu was 'turducken' I always wanted to try it but the waiter announced that they were out of it. Rats. So at 7:30 p.m. we had dinner at a really nice place, sitting outside on the balcony, under a heater enjoying the view, jazz music, good friends and a great meal.
The night, however, didn't end with the great meal. We decided to head back into the Magic Kingdom via the monorail to see the fireworks spectacular. We didn't make it for the very beginning, but we did manage to see a good portion of it as well as the magical snowfall.A few years ago when we had been at DisneyWorld, we missed Fantasmic and later learned that this was a show we shouldn't have missed. Although we were very tired, we were determined to stick it out for the 10:30 p.m. showing of Fantasmic! tonight. In order to help stay awake until this show started, we hopped on the Pirates of Carribbean ride, visited the Haunted Mansion and drank coffee.
What can we say, FANTASMIC! was a show worth while seeing! The story line of Mickey in a battle of good vs. evil, enhanced by the special effects was, well, fantastic. :)
On the way out of the park we had to ride It's a Small World as it was decorated for the holidays as well.
Tired, exhausted and almost closing time at the park, we headed to the monorail for our ride back to our hotel for our evening rest.
Other noteworthy scenes from the day include...
and my all time favorite...
.... click here to view the photo album for the day ...
3 comments:
Waaaannnnhhh! So jealous!!!
Dad, how was the meatloaf? :)
And I was 2 when we went to Disney, remember? ;)
Timing is everything. ;) Hey, maybe next year we can all go to Disneyland as a family.
I'm jealous too! looks like you had a lot of fun though!
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