Snow Brite
<font color=green>Star bright, Snow Brite...no wai
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2001
I take each of my children to Disneyland for the first time alone on their 7th birthday and it was my third child's birthday May 28th so off we went!
I didn't (and never do) tell any of the kids until we are at the airport. I was worried this time that the older two kids would be jealous and upset they weren't going. But they both told me they had such good memories and hoped that Ryan had a GREAT time! I was so proud of them.
We flew to LAX Sunday May 22 and got in at 3:30pm on Alaska Airlines. Great, easy flight as it always is with them. I had booked Ace Rental Cars instead of Fox Rental Cars like I usually do and was nervous about it. It took a while for the shuttle to come (we watched three Fox shuttles go by, making me even more nervous). But once we got to Ace it was great! We had a pretty pearl colored PT Cruiser for $80 for the WEEK! Woohoo!
We took off from Carlsbad that afternoon and it took about 2 hours with a couple of stops for bathroom breaks, a donut break, gas and dinner. We stayed at the Hampton Inns San Marcos and it was great and included a very large breakfast for $89/night. We got up on Monday, had breakfast, and headed out to Legoland. We got there and stood in line for a few minutes before the gates opened. I was surprised at the number of young kids on field trips so the lines were a little longer and more wild than I had hoped for, but Legoland is easy to do in a day, so it was fine. The new programmable roller coaster opened that next weekend, so we didn't get to do that, but did do everything else. I really love Legoland, they do a great job. They are very small child oriented, nothing there is exactly "thrilling" but I love that there is so much to explore, learn and play with. My 7 year old spent quite a while in the Bionicles room making the white Bionicle from scratch. I don't know why they dont put some directions in there, but he did it all from memory and then helped some 10 and 13 year old boys make one too. LOL! The Driving School is great and was his most favorite thing. I wish Disneyland could make Autopia more like this. The new firetruck ride is a LOT OF WORK for the parents, so be warned.
We left there about the time they closed and headed north to Long Beach. It took longer to get to Long Beach than it had on Sunday to get to Carlsbad (obviously) but we could use the carpool lane, so not too, too bad. In Long Beach we drove past West Coast Choppers, but he didn't want to go in. We then went to the Queen Mary and checked in. We got a complimentary upgrade which was great of them and had a fun view across the bay. I love staying on the Queen Mary and love that they have kept so many original features, but wish the staff could move up a could levels to match. The self-guided tour is really great, I love seeing the old pictures of famous people nex to the spot the picture was taken. For instance there is a picture of a very dapper Fred Astaire standing in front of a stair railing that is placed on that very stair railing.
We slept in and then checked out around 9:30pm. We are moving to the Pomona area this summer, so we went over there to explore some. We stayed at the Shilo Inn Pomona Hilltop and I cant say enough about how great they were. On Wednesday we went to the Page Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits which was great for my little scientist. We did not plan it but were there at the perfect time for the free 1pm tour which was terrific! It was lead by a scientist and she explained so much as we walked around and looked at the different sites they have dug in. It was really cool to see tar oozes just in the middle of the grass unexectedly. Also this is the only way to see the original museum, as it remains locked the rest of the time. I really reccomend this if you are interested in archeology, science or zoology or just history. There are lots of skeltons to see, some of the memorable ones were the 12ft tall mastadon and the wall of 400 dire wolf skulls (only a quarter of all recovered there). He also really liked see the Paleontologists work.
We left Pomona early Thursday morning as the Front Desk clerk thought it would take at least an hour to get to Disneyland that morning. It only took 20 minutes though in the carpool lane. We checked in to the Disneyland Hotel. I wanted to go to the EE that morning and was going to kinda stroll through Downtown Disney seeing the sights to kill time as it was only just 8am and EE was supposed to be at 9am. The Front Desk clerk though informed me that they had decided to do EE at 8:30am instead, so we just walked straight over.
We did Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, the teacups and Mr. Toad first then Tomorrowland that morning. The new Buzz ride is great! We really liked it. Star Tours, Innoventions (he insisted we do this RIGHT NOW) and Autopia two times. Then we headed back over to the hotel to see if our room was ready. It was not, so we grabbed some lunch at the walk up hamburger place and walked through the waterfalls to cool off some. We checked one more time (it was after 2pm) and it was still not ready. So we went over to the ESPN and played some games and had a cold drink. Went back to the DLH (now 3:30pm and checkin is at 3pm) and room STILL not ready. So we just sat in the lobby and finally at 4:30pm it was ready. They apparently had a computer glitch and the computer did not update the rooms automatically that they were clean. Frustrating, but we put on our swimsuits (that was all he really wanted to do) and went for a quick dip. At 5:30pm we headed back to Disneyland via the monorail. We went for a spin on Autopia (his favorite ride) as the line was short and then hopped on the train. We got off at the train station and lucked into a terrific spot to watch the 7pm parade (its started at Small World so it was almost 7:20 when it got to us). I dont get why the parade stops though, it didn't really make a lot of sense except it made the parade last longer. The russian dancing dolls on the bungie cords were terrrific and all the floats were truly beautiful, but this parade wasn't very different from any of the other parades I have seen there recently.
After the 7pm parade we walked up to the hub and found a great spot for the fireworks, in the street, right where the hub path towards Frontierland exits into the street circling the street (thanks for the tip Castmember Jorge!). The fireworks are amazing. Astounding. Awe-inspiring. They made me cry. Sooooooo cool. DO NOT MISS THIS!!! There was no Fantasmic and the park closed at 9pm so we headed to the monorail and went back to the hotel and to bed.
Friday we were at the Monorail station when they opened and once again rode Autopia. Then we headed over to Frontierland and got a FP for Indy and then did Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Tarzans Treehouse, Jungle Cruise in the hour it took for our FP to come due. Then we picked up at FP for Big Thunder Mountain and went and did Indy. We did Pooh then BTMRR and headed over to DCA at 11am. We got FP for Soarin over California, then went to PP and rode King Tritons Carousel, the Sun Wheel, and Golden Zephyr before our FP were due for Soarin, which is one of my favorites. We then popped back over to DL for the Happiest Birthday on Earth which was great as always. Then we went back to DCA and to Redwood Creek Challenge, Tower of Terror, Muppets Show, Aladdin Show, Animation Building, and ITTBAB. Whew. We then went back to our room to lay down for 30 minutes and grab our sweatshirts and a bite to eat and headed back to DCA for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Its amazing how just hearing the music makes me happy. We camped out in a spot right at the entrance to DCA and as soon as the last float was in view we scooted out the gate to DL (although we were far from the only people to have this idea so there were some lines, we beat the majority of people by far). We scooted around towards the hub until we had a decent view of the fireworks again. And then when it was over headed over to New Orleans Square for the 10:30pm Fantasmic. My son fell asleep in my lap while we waited but woke up for the show and to ride the monorail back to the DLH. Except when we got off the monorail he announced that he was starrrrrrrrrrrrving, so we stopped at Rainforest Cafe for a midnight snack (they were serving food until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays which was nice). He didnt eat alot, but we took the leftovers home to the room and put them in the fridge. Whew! We were "zausted"!
Then we got up early on Saturday (his actual birthday) and had breakfast with Goofy at 7:15am. We say Goofy, Max, Dale (who told us with a note on the table that he had made the very good creme brulee french toast), The Mad Hatter and Snow White. It was good, like it always is. Then we went to Disneyland (again on the monorail) and rode Autopia for the first of SIX TIMES that day (did I mention he loved this ride?). We then went on Buzz again, Pinnochio, Small World, the Carousel, and Toon Town. At 11:30am we took another spin on Autopia (in the GOLD CAR!) and went back to our room (the lines were getting really long and it was hot) and he had the leftover pizza for lunch and we took a long nap. At 2pm we went back to DL and took a ride on Autopia then went to the Blue Bayou for the last lunch seating. We got a GREAT water side table and the large table next to us overheard me say Happy Birthday to Ry and so they all sang to him. He did great just sliding down in his seat instead of hiding under the table! LOL! Then one of the ladies gave him a Captain Hook pin from her collection as we were eating at a Pirates restaurant. It was a fun bit of magic for them to share with a little boy. We had lots of fun taking in the atmosphere and the table was so awesome. We had some funny conversations with people in their boats as they passed by and wanted to know what we were eating.
Then we went and got a FP for Splash Mountain and then went over to DCA for the Block Party Bash. This was fun but that is not a job I would want. Those castmembers must chug 5 Red Bulls before each show! It is so hot and there there are bouncing around for 15 minutes per stop in what looked to be rather hot outfits. Whew! Then we went back and went on Splash Mountain, took at ride on the train a few times around to rest, did Storybookland Canal boats and then Casey JR (sat in the caboose, my favorite) and then went on Autopia again (it was almost the fireworks time so it was a walk on). The castmember actually recognized us so he let us go around twice without getting out which was really nice. I was hoping we would be able to see Tinkerbelle fly from the Matterhorn but I missed her while we were driving. We went on the Jungle Cruise in the dark and got some souveniers and did a few Fantasyland rides. We did Autopia as our very last ride (cause you know he loved it!) and then took the midnight, and last, monorail our of Tomorrowland.
We slept in and got a late checkout due to the snafu when we checked in. We went swimming, walked down to Build a Bear and got a Woody costume for his bear and went to World of Disney for the last few souveniers for people at home. Then we checked out and went to Denny's for a late lunch before heading to Ace and then LAX. We got to the airport pretty early, but we were tired so he drew pictures of things he had seen and I read. On the plane ride home he leaned against me and told me he had had a blast and thanks. What a sweetheart.
I love this tradition of taking them alone at age 7 for some many reasons. It is the only time in their little lives, all being so close together, that they dont have to share my time and attention. They all get to be totally in charge of what happens next instead of taking turns. And I know it will be a memory they will always have. Seven is a great age for a first trip as they are old enough to do most everything and make good decisions about what they want to do. Three down and one to go.
The 50th Celebration is very respectful of Disneyland and I loved the gold ride vehicles, although some made me laugh (like the Jungle Cruise boat). The fireworks are terrific. But our favorite things was finding the 50 hidden golden mickeys. There are a few extra and a map is available with all their locations at Town Hall if you get stuck. But there are lots on the street lights down Main Street to get you started. I just wish there was some kind of "prize" if you find them all....a golden ears sticker or something. But we really had a great time looking for them and told lots of other people about them as well.
Jennifer
I didn't (and never do) tell any of the kids until we are at the airport. I was worried this time that the older two kids would be jealous and upset they weren't going. But they both told me they had such good memories and hoped that Ryan had a GREAT time! I was so proud of them.
We flew to LAX Sunday May 22 and got in at 3:30pm on Alaska Airlines. Great, easy flight as it always is with them. I had booked Ace Rental Cars instead of Fox Rental Cars like I usually do and was nervous about it. It took a while for the shuttle to come (we watched three Fox shuttles go by, making me even more nervous). But once we got to Ace it was great! We had a pretty pearl colored PT Cruiser for $80 for the WEEK! Woohoo!
We took off from Carlsbad that afternoon and it took about 2 hours with a couple of stops for bathroom breaks, a donut break, gas and dinner. We stayed at the Hampton Inns San Marcos and it was great and included a very large breakfast for $89/night. We got up on Monday, had breakfast, and headed out to Legoland. We got there and stood in line for a few minutes before the gates opened. I was surprised at the number of young kids on field trips so the lines were a little longer and more wild than I had hoped for, but Legoland is easy to do in a day, so it was fine. The new programmable roller coaster opened that next weekend, so we didn't get to do that, but did do everything else. I really love Legoland, they do a great job. They are very small child oriented, nothing there is exactly "thrilling" but I love that there is so much to explore, learn and play with. My 7 year old spent quite a while in the Bionicles room making the white Bionicle from scratch. I don't know why they dont put some directions in there, but he did it all from memory and then helped some 10 and 13 year old boys make one too. LOL! The Driving School is great and was his most favorite thing. I wish Disneyland could make Autopia more like this. The new firetruck ride is a LOT OF WORK for the parents, so be warned.
We left there about the time they closed and headed north to Long Beach. It took longer to get to Long Beach than it had on Sunday to get to Carlsbad (obviously) but we could use the carpool lane, so not too, too bad. In Long Beach we drove past West Coast Choppers, but he didn't want to go in. We then went to the Queen Mary and checked in. We got a complimentary upgrade which was great of them and had a fun view across the bay. I love staying on the Queen Mary and love that they have kept so many original features, but wish the staff could move up a could levels to match. The self-guided tour is really great, I love seeing the old pictures of famous people nex to the spot the picture was taken. For instance there is a picture of a very dapper Fred Astaire standing in front of a stair railing that is placed on that very stair railing.
We slept in and then checked out around 9:30pm. We are moving to the Pomona area this summer, so we went over there to explore some. We stayed at the Shilo Inn Pomona Hilltop and I cant say enough about how great they were. On Wednesday we went to the Page Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits which was great for my little scientist. We did not plan it but were there at the perfect time for the free 1pm tour which was terrific! It was lead by a scientist and she explained so much as we walked around and looked at the different sites they have dug in. It was really cool to see tar oozes just in the middle of the grass unexectedly. Also this is the only way to see the original museum, as it remains locked the rest of the time. I really reccomend this if you are interested in archeology, science or zoology or just history. There are lots of skeltons to see, some of the memorable ones were the 12ft tall mastadon and the wall of 400 dire wolf skulls (only a quarter of all recovered there). He also really liked see the Paleontologists work.
We left Pomona early Thursday morning as the Front Desk clerk thought it would take at least an hour to get to Disneyland that morning. It only took 20 minutes though in the carpool lane. We checked in to the Disneyland Hotel. I wanted to go to the EE that morning and was going to kinda stroll through Downtown Disney seeing the sights to kill time as it was only just 8am and EE was supposed to be at 9am. The Front Desk clerk though informed me that they had decided to do EE at 8:30am instead, so we just walked straight over.
We did Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, the teacups and Mr. Toad first then Tomorrowland that morning. The new Buzz ride is great! We really liked it. Star Tours, Innoventions (he insisted we do this RIGHT NOW) and Autopia two times. Then we headed back over to the hotel to see if our room was ready. It was not, so we grabbed some lunch at the walk up hamburger place and walked through the waterfalls to cool off some. We checked one more time (it was after 2pm) and it was still not ready. So we went over to the ESPN and played some games and had a cold drink. Went back to the DLH (now 3:30pm and checkin is at 3pm) and room STILL not ready. So we just sat in the lobby and finally at 4:30pm it was ready. They apparently had a computer glitch and the computer did not update the rooms automatically that they were clean. Frustrating, but we put on our swimsuits (that was all he really wanted to do) and went for a quick dip. At 5:30pm we headed back to Disneyland via the monorail. We went for a spin on Autopia (his favorite ride) as the line was short and then hopped on the train. We got off at the train station and lucked into a terrific spot to watch the 7pm parade (its started at Small World so it was almost 7:20 when it got to us). I dont get why the parade stops though, it didn't really make a lot of sense except it made the parade last longer. The russian dancing dolls on the bungie cords were terrrific and all the floats were truly beautiful, but this parade wasn't very different from any of the other parades I have seen there recently.
After the 7pm parade we walked up to the hub and found a great spot for the fireworks, in the street, right where the hub path towards Frontierland exits into the street circling the street (thanks for the tip Castmember Jorge!). The fireworks are amazing. Astounding. Awe-inspiring. They made me cry. Sooooooo cool. DO NOT MISS THIS!!! There was no Fantasmic and the park closed at 9pm so we headed to the monorail and went back to the hotel and to bed.
Friday we were at the Monorail station when they opened and once again rode Autopia. Then we headed over to Frontierland and got a FP for Indy and then did Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Tarzans Treehouse, Jungle Cruise in the hour it took for our FP to come due. Then we picked up at FP for Big Thunder Mountain and went and did Indy. We did Pooh then BTMRR and headed over to DCA at 11am. We got FP for Soarin over California, then went to PP and rode King Tritons Carousel, the Sun Wheel, and Golden Zephyr before our FP were due for Soarin, which is one of my favorites. We then popped back over to DL for the Happiest Birthday on Earth which was great as always. Then we went back to DCA and to Redwood Creek Challenge, Tower of Terror, Muppets Show, Aladdin Show, Animation Building, and ITTBAB. Whew. We then went back to our room to lay down for 30 minutes and grab our sweatshirts and a bite to eat and headed back to DCA for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Its amazing how just hearing the music makes me happy. We camped out in a spot right at the entrance to DCA and as soon as the last float was in view we scooted out the gate to DL (although we were far from the only people to have this idea so there were some lines, we beat the majority of people by far). We scooted around towards the hub until we had a decent view of the fireworks again. And then when it was over headed over to New Orleans Square for the 10:30pm Fantasmic. My son fell asleep in my lap while we waited but woke up for the show and to ride the monorail back to the DLH. Except when we got off the monorail he announced that he was starrrrrrrrrrrrving, so we stopped at Rainforest Cafe for a midnight snack (they were serving food until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays which was nice). He didnt eat alot, but we took the leftovers home to the room and put them in the fridge. Whew! We were "zausted"!
Then we got up early on Saturday (his actual birthday) and had breakfast with Goofy at 7:15am. We say Goofy, Max, Dale (who told us with a note on the table that he had made the very good creme brulee french toast), The Mad Hatter and Snow White. It was good, like it always is. Then we went to Disneyland (again on the monorail) and rode Autopia for the first of SIX TIMES that day (did I mention he loved this ride?). We then went on Buzz again, Pinnochio, Small World, the Carousel, and Toon Town. At 11:30am we took another spin on Autopia (in the GOLD CAR!) and went back to our room (the lines were getting really long and it was hot) and he had the leftover pizza for lunch and we took a long nap. At 2pm we went back to DL and took a ride on Autopia then went to the Blue Bayou for the last lunch seating. We got a GREAT water side table and the large table next to us overheard me say Happy Birthday to Ry and so they all sang to him. He did great just sliding down in his seat instead of hiding under the table! LOL! Then one of the ladies gave him a Captain Hook pin from her collection as we were eating at a Pirates restaurant. It was a fun bit of magic for them to share with a little boy. We had lots of fun taking in the atmosphere and the table was so awesome. We had some funny conversations with people in their boats as they passed by and wanted to know what we were eating.
Then we went and got a FP for Splash Mountain and then went over to DCA for the Block Party Bash. This was fun but that is not a job I would want. Those castmembers must chug 5 Red Bulls before each show! It is so hot and there there are bouncing around for 15 minutes per stop in what looked to be rather hot outfits. Whew! Then we went back and went on Splash Mountain, took at ride on the train a few times around to rest, did Storybookland Canal boats and then Casey JR (sat in the caboose, my favorite) and then went on Autopia again (it was almost the fireworks time so it was a walk on). The castmember actually recognized us so he let us go around twice without getting out which was really nice. I was hoping we would be able to see Tinkerbelle fly from the Matterhorn but I missed her while we were driving. We went on the Jungle Cruise in the dark and got some souveniers and did a few Fantasyland rides. We did Autopia as our very last ride (cause you know he loved it!) and then took the midnight, and last, monorail our of Tomorrowland.
We slept in and got a late checkout due to the snafu when we checked in. We went swimming, walked down to Build a Bear and got a Woody costume for his bear and went to World of Disney for the last few souveniers for people at home. Then we checked out and went to Denny's for a late lunch before heading to Ace and then LAX. We got to the airport pretty early, but we were tired so he drew pictures of things he had seen and I read. On the plane ride home he leaned against me and told me he had had a blast and thanks. What a sweetheart.
I love this tradition of taking them alone at age 7 for some many reasons. It is the only time in their little lives, all being so close together, that they dont have to share my time and attention. They all get to be totally in charge of what happens next instead of taking turns. And I know it will be a memory they will always have. Seven is a great age for a first trip as they are old enough to do most everything and make good decisions about what they want to do. Three down and one to go.
The 50th Celebration is very respectful of Disneyland and I loved the gold ride vehicles, although some made me laugh (like the Jungle Cruise boat). The fireworks are terrific. But our favorite things was finding the 50 hidden golden mickeys. There are a few extra and a map is available with all their locations at Town Hall if you get stuck. But there are lots on the street lights down Main Street to get you started. I just wish there was some kind of "prize" if you find them all....a golden ears sticker or something. But we really had a great time looking for them and told lots of other people about them as well.
Jennifer
