Monday night we checked into our motel just 2 blocks away from DL...I was so exited knowing that we were so close to all the magic of Disneyland. The girls were tucked in bed ready for our exciting first day at the park when ... pop pop whistle... we could hear the fireworks. We ran to our balcony at the motel and could see the FIREWORKS from Disneyland!!
Road Trip Day 5, Disneyland Day 1
We arrived at the park shortly after 8 am. (The first thing you need to know about a trip to Disney is, if you want to get the most out of your day, you MUST get up early! No, sorry, no sleeping in!
Get the to the park 15 - 30 minutes before opening if possible.)
Our first stop after our walk down Main Street was Pixie Hollow... there was a 5 minute wait so we jumped in line to meet Iridessa &
Tinkerbell
A quick walk into Fantasyland for Mad Tea Party.
I was pretty proud of myself, I let them spin the cup instead of hold it still. Though, I did need a minute when it stopped and some help to walk out... next time I'll stand by and take photos!
Then Alice in Wonderland and
It's a Small World.
The posted wait time for Merrida from Brave was 30 minutes (pretty short for meeting characters)
She was adorable! She was quite impressed with the Merrida cameo that I made for CJ & gave them a little more to talk about (which means a little more time with a character!)
After our meet & greet, the girls got to practice shooting a bow and arrow. Just before they made a rock rubbing of King Fergus which they got Merrida to sign.
Ahead of time I had looked at the restaurant menus here
and had a look at which restaurants had 'healthier' options that we might like to have. I printed up index cards with the restaurants and meals so it would save us time. (One for Disneyland, one for California Adventure and one for Downtown Disney.)
Crescent City Salad
Monte Cristo was big (&)rich enough that I shared with CJ
After lunch we rode Haunted Mansion, Disneyland Railroad all around the park, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Cruise & visited the Enchanted Tiki Room.
I FINALLY got to enjoy my first Dole Whip...
The 1st time I tried was in WDW but when I got off the train and walked down the stairs the street light was out, I missed a 1/2 step and twisted my ankle. I was carrying CD at the time and had my camera around my arm but managed to make sure no harm came to either. My ankle was so bad I couldn't walk on it, had to get a wheelchair and be taken to first aid. After I was treated at first aid they arranged to have us driven back to our hotel through the 'behind the scenes' area of WDW. CJ & Moto-Moto thought it was pretty cool but I didn't look ~ I didn't want to loose any 'magic'.
SO... here it is ... my 1st Dole Whip float...
They even gave me an "I'm Celebrating my 1st Dole Whip" pin!
We enjoyed one of the many things that "Disney does best"... a parade:
CD LOVED IT! She waved at everyone and blew kisses to as many characters as she could... many of the princesses blew her a kiss back too! Love it!!
Everyone slept really well!
Road Trip Day 6 Disneyland Day 2
California Adventure
CJ's favorite ride.. Soarin' Over California.
It was awesome!
Over to Paradise Pier
(grab World of Color fastpasses on the way)
Mickey's Fun Wheel, King Triton's Carousel, Silly Symphony Swings & The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure.
(Silly Symphony Swings, CJ could have done for hours!)
Walked over to Carsland for lunch (using my 'cheat sheet' index cards, we already knew ahead of time where we'd like to eat).
Hollywood Land
Character Close-Up
Animation Studios
A MUST DO!
A Disney animator will walk you through a sketch of a Disney character... it is one of the best (and free) souveniers to bring home!
We did it twice while we were there & wish we did it more!
We drew Agent P (Perry from Phineas & Ferb) and Minnie.
Turtle Talk with Crush, Muppet Vision 3D & Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue before we went over to ...
"a bug's land"
It's Tough to be a Bug
3D adventure
Princess Dot's Puddle Park (great spot to cool down & get soaked), Flik's Flyers, Francis' Ladybug Boogie (similar to Mad Tea Party ~ I sat this one out and took video), Tuck & Roll's Drive 'Em Boogies & Heimlich's Chew Chew Train (loved all the smells!)
We took a break from the park, had a swim in the pool, had supper and went back to the park for World of Color (WOC).
Remember, earlier in the day I picked up fastpasses that let us into a color coded viewing area. It is one of three ways to ensure that you get into the area... one is to book a dining package at a full service restaurant $$$, another is to order a picnic lunch $$ and the third way is to pick up a fastpass (free). All three options guarantee you into a colored area (see map below). It DOES NOT guarantee that you can actually SEE from the area you are in...
BUT here is what we did...I wasn't interested on spending lots of money just to be up close (and in the splash zone) nor was I interested in lining up 1 hour or more to wait... we followed the instructions in the link above and found spot #9 on the map "fire hydrant spot". It was at the back of the viewing area but it was elevated and we stood right infront of a rail *** this way NO ONE can sneak in front of us and the girls could still see. I pretend I'm a wrestler and take up a lot of space!
The view was right in center and I think it worked out pretty good!
It was a great way to end the day!
Back to DL on Day 7!
