TR - Get your Disneyfied Christmas B-Day Fix! - Hub, Grub, & Up, Up and Away! - fixed photo links & Final Thoughts

How awesome! My dad was a train guy - engineer, models, you name it. I wish he was still around so I could have taken him to Disneyland just for the train and tour. What I try to do each trip is bring one of dad's pins from his engineer's vest and give it to an engineer after a chat. I would love a ride in the Lilybelle!
 
That is awesome! I think my husband would enjoy that tour. We'll have to see if they're still doing it when we go back someday. :) I'm so glad you guys were able to go!
 
Hello All, we had an unplanned delay in that my mother-in-law had a bad fall which lead to DW and I staying up for two days straight and have us two hours north of our home camping out in a hospital with her. She'll have a long rehab and recovery process and will have to wear a neck brace for a while but she will be okay.


How awesome! My dad was a train guy - engineer, models, you name it. I wish he was still around so I could have taken him to Disneyland just for the train and tour. What I try to do each trip is bring one of dad's pins from his engineer's vest and give it to an engineer after a chat. I would love a ride in the Lilybelle!
I

I'm sure he would have loved it. So very cool that you share his pins with the current engineers, I know they appreciate that. I hope you get to ride the Lilly Belle soon! :thumbsup2
Whoo-hoo!!! You got sprinkled with Pixie Dust!!! :cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1:

That I did!!! :cool1::banana::woohoo:

That is awesome! I think my husband would enjoy that tour. We'll have to see if they're still doing it when we go back someday. :) I'm so glad you guys were able to go!

Thank you, I hope you and your hubby get to take part in it when you make it back to Walt's Park :goodvibes
 


Chapter 11 - We Travel the Park in Style and have a Special Family Meet-up!


breaks.png


We settled in as Amy gave us a brief history of the Lilly Belle, its construction, its furnishings, its famous guests, and so on

Disney2017_0200.jpg


She then encouraged us to look around and take in the little details. One was a picture of the interior of the car before the redesign

Disney2017_0202.jpg


At the back of the car was a marble table that had a wonderful picture of Walt and Lillian

Disney2017_0203.jpg


If I remember correctly, this is where the famous guest book sat. It had signatures from dignitaries, directors, celebrities, sports start and politicians from around the world dating back decades. Rumor has it this famous book was stolen from the car. I’ve seen a couple of pages of it being sold individually on eBay so sadly it was apparently broken up page by page for profit.

Looking out the back window of the caboose

Disney2017_0204.jpg


Then I rejoined Roxy and a fellow guest snapped a picture of us together!

Disney2017_0205.jpg


Soon enough the train was on its way and I snapped some random shots as we traveled the lands

Disney2017_0206.jpg


Disney2017_0207.jpg


I tried to take a picture of the “roundhouse” as we went by it, but it is a pretty nondescript building and I couldn’t get a good shot of it.

All too soon we were rolling into Main Street Station. Roxy got a shot of me as I exited the car

Disney2017_0208.jpg


We finished the tour where we started it, on the steps at the left of City Hall near the Tour Gardens. An engineer joined Amy and answered all of those technical/mechanical questions people had been contemplating.

Disney2017_0209.jpg


He had great answers and a good breadth of knowledge of the railroad and of Disney’s trains. A book was passed around with all kinds of pictures and information about the trains, the stations, the fans, the spiels for each section of the track. It was very cool. With that the tour ended and we all said our farewells.

The prized map and Lilly Belle ticket are now framed in my office

Disney2017_0209b.jpg


After that tour we had to make a quick pit stop. I snapped a pic of one of the dioramas, such great Christmas cheer

Disney2017_0210.jpg


And as a Disney Railroad bonus, there is a poster for the railroad near the restrooms

Disney2017_0211.jpg


We had been in contact with the kiddos and also with a family member we hadn’t seen since 2005! And ironically enough, the last place we had seen her was AT DISNEYLAND!!!

Here is a pic of her with our two (she is the one on the left and is their cousin).

Disney2005_01.jpg


We were set to meet at the Uva Café. Roxy and I arrived first, followed by Jinx and PumpkinGirl. We were enjoying the Mediterranean Flatbread but if you remember part of our TR title, we have a new 21 year old along for the ride! So she got to have her first drink of the trip! She had their trademark Electric Lemonade while I enjoyed a Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat. Here she is with her “lemonade”, she loved the way it matched her hair!

Disney2017_0212.jpg


Soon enough Roxy’s niece arrived and I snapped a picture of them together

Disney2017_0213.jpg


The conversation started out slow but picked up steam soon enough. We all ordered our entrees and had a wonderful meal and enjoyed catching up with each other’s lives. The time went by way too fast as she had to drive back up north. But before she left she had one last mission to accomplish – to hit the macaroon stand! As we walked that way I snapped a shot of our happy brood

Disney2017_0215.jpg


That’s a LOT OF BALLS!

Disney2017_0214.jpg


I also saw this handsome devil …Luke Skywalker was there too!

Disney2017_0216.jpg


We all went on a macaroon purchasing frenzy and then headed back the way we came and on towards the parking area for DTD. On the way we saw the beautiful DTD tree

Disney2017_0217.jpg


I was able to flag down a passerby to snap a shot of us all in front of it

Disney2017_0219.jpg


We talked a bit more, not wanting our time together to come to an end

Disney2017_0218.jpg


But the sun was starting to set and we know that traffic would be ramping up for her so we continued along. On the way I captured some more beautifully decorated trees – have I said how much I love this season at Disneyland?

Disney2017_0220.jpg


Disney2017_0221.jpg



breaks.png




Click here for Chapter 12 - We Say some Family Farewells and Take a Journey to the Future!
 
Last edited:
I've long wanted to take that train tour and I had no idea it was so full of amazing information and history as well. How cool!! Still wanna do this someday!

Great you got to meet up with a relative and catch up. I did that too last trip and I gotta say, DLR is a great place to do it.

Sorry to hear about your MIL and her fall! EEK! I hope she has a short and good recovery, but know falls can make for a scary situation for everyone.
 
I've long wanted to take that train tour and I had no idea it was so full of amazing information and history as well. How cool!! Still wanna do this someday!

Great you got to meet up with a relative and catch up. I did that too last trip and I gotta say, DLR is a great place to do it.

Sorry to hear about your MIL and her fall! EEK! I hope she has a short and good recovery, but know falls can make for a scary situation for everyone.

I highly recommend it, great insight into one of Walt's biggest passions for sure.

Yes indeed - DLR is the best place for a reunion! We did it once at WDW way back in 2008 for my side of the family and it was pretty awesome too!

Thank you :goodvibes She will have a long road to recovery, fractured odontoid/dens on C2. She's in a neck brace and will be for a couple of months. Also a broken nose, facial abrasions, 2 severely jammed fingers on her right hand, and a broken right baby toe. We're in the neurology wing of a hospital until Saturday, after which she'll be transferred to a care facility for PT and recovery. Hoping she'll be able to go back to her assisted living apartment by the beginning of June :thumbsup2
 


Chapter 12 - We Say some Family Farewells and Take a Journey to the Future!


breaks.png



Our extended family group continued ambling but didn’t get far as we spied the Wonderground Gallery. We spent some time drooling over some amazing original Disney-themed works and wished we had the budget to buy some of the pieces. I really liked this take on Alice and Cheshire

Disney2017_0221b.jpg


We bought a couple of postcards and headed on past the Lego Store, with its dragon now in silhouette

Disney2017_0222.jpg


On we went to the exit to the parking area, stopping for one more round of goodbyes. There were many hugs followed by Roxy and her continuing to talk. After that they talked. When they were done they talked some more – lol. Our kiddos were hanging back at this point

Disney2017_0223.jpg


PumpkinGirl eventually sat down and started reading Marvel FanFic

Disney2017_0224.jpg


Jinx and I looked on

Disney2017_0226.jpg


I can’t blame them for wanting to talk, they had a lot to catch up on. The final hug them came between the two of them :-]

Disney2017_0225.jpg


After she had headed out we thought about what park to go into and made our decision based on convenience. We made a beeline to the DTD monorail station, which would get us into a Disney park faster than walking all the way back thru DTD. Soon enough our ultra-modern chariot arrived!

Disney2017_0227.jpg


We looped around and worked our way past the entrance and got one more glance at a train :D

Disney2017_0228.jpg


We were then in Disneyland proper and got to see both the shadow side and the sunny side of the Matterhorn!

Disney2017_0229.jpg


Disney2017_0230.jpg


The waterfall doesn’t look quite as cool from this angle …or maybe it was the time of day?

Disney2017_0231.jpg


We arrived in Tomorrowland’s Monorail Station and walked towards the exit stairs. I had no plans to take Nemo’s little adventure, but it was a cool perspective on the subs

Disney2017_0233.jpg


And the overall view was spectacular!

Disney2017_0232.jpg


By now the sun was properly down. When we entered the park Roxy and the kiddos were able to snag MaxPass for Space Mountain. My neck was bugging me so I didn’t want to take a risk of it getting jolted and feeling worse. I saw that the Jedi Academy was going to be starting soon so I waved goodbye to them and found a table directly to the left of the stage and awaited the show.

Jinx and PumpkinGirl grabbed a selfie on the queue

Disney2017_0234.jpg


They made it thru pretty quickly and then boarded. For some reason we didn’t get the shot of Roxy’s car but here is Jinx and PumpkinGirl sitting behind a reincarnation of the Olsen twins.

Disney2017_0235.jpg


Right about that time my show was beginning. Time to embrace the Dark Side with Kylo!

Disney2017_0237.jpg


Disney2017_0238.jpg


Then Lord Vader came out, establishing clearly that he was in charge

Disney2017_0239.jpg


Disney2017_0240.jpg


Kylo got all whiny about that

Disney2017_0241.jpg


…and Darth came back up to give him some “clarity of vision”

Disney2017_0242.jpg


They went off to share a beer, The End! :rotfl:

Honestly you all know there is a bunch of Light Side stuff and Padawans and such, but I really only came for those two - lol

While the show was going on I had been contacted by the rest of the fam, they had such a good time that they decided to loop around and go Stand-by on SM. I was fine with that, I had wanted to check out the Character M&Gs in the Star Wars Launch Bay.


breaks.png


Click Here for Chapter 13 - Villains, Space Exploits, oh, Dinner! …and An Adventurous End to Day 2!
 
Last edited:
:crutches:RL UPDATE:crutches:

My mother-in-law had a bad fall Tuesday night in her apartment at her assisted living facility. She fell on her right side of her body/left side of her face. She has a broken little toe on her right foot, bruised knee, dislocated right hip (preexisting from a failed hip replacement), bruised elbow, torn rotator cuff in right shoulder (preexisting), broken "dens" on C2 of her neck, a broken nose, and bruising/abrasions on her face. She was in the emergency room until the early hours of the morning and needed a transfer to a Neuro unit. The closest available bed was two hours north in Springfield so at 4am she was taken by ambulance up north.

Roxy and I had stayed with her in the ER, then left to pack a bag for her and for us, and then got on the road at 5am for the two hour drive ourselves. We have been at Riverbend Hospital since Wednesday morning camping out with her and making sure her needs have been met.

She will be in a neck brace for two months and will need some more focused care and physical therapy. Luckily Roxy has been able to wrangle a bed at a good facility back in our home town after we found out that the counseling/placement group here dropped the ball and were talking transferring us to another hospital here in the Eugene/Springfield area and then moving her to a facility on Monday or Tuesday - NOPE!

She will transfer to the new care facility tomorrow late morning and Roxy and I will get a real shower again and some real rest. After that we can set up a schedule to take turns being with her until she gets settled into the new routine. The new place is only a couple of miles from our house so whoohoo for that!

And our kiddos get a bonus as we had purchased VIP tickets to see the Magician Jay Owenhouse tonight.

JayOwenhouse.jpg


So Jinx and PumpkinGirl will have our front row seats and be able to meet Jay and one of the tigers instead of us :confused3:rotfl:
 
Chapter 13 - Villains, Space Exploits, oh, Dinner! …and An Adventurous End to Day 2!


breaks.png



We left off with me heading to the Star Wars Launch Bay and Roxy and the kiddos going thru the Stand-by on Space Mountain. My first interaction was with a certain Bounty Hunter who was under the impression I was smuggling contraband

Disney2017_0243.jpg


I checked out the displays and then went in to see this young pup of a Sith. I honestly tried to get his goat a bit :D

Disney2017_0244.jpg


Disney2017_0245.jpg


While I was in there the rest of the fam took their second ride on SM!

Disney2017_0236.jpg


I got a shot with one more dark side flunky before heading out of the Launch Bay

Disney2017_0246.jpg


And then met up with the family at the exit area of SM. I had wrangled a FP for Matterhorn and I was apprehensive. I had skipped SM because of my neck being out of whack and wondered what Matterhorn would do to me. Still, it was a classic ride and I wanted to ride if with the fam. Once we made it thru the FP check-in I jumped back on the Disneyland app and got MaxPass set up for Star Tours.

We made it to the front of the line so I couldn’t put off Matterhorn any longer so off we went!

Disney2017_0247.jpg


It was pretty harsh on my neck – I love being on the ride, the updated theming is very cool. But I got off knowing I would need a chiropractor. To tell you how good the MaxPass is, we were rolling out on Matterhorn at 6:13pm and by 6:23pm we were inside the FP queue for Star Tours!

Disney2017_0248.jpg


We watched C3PO and R2 bicker for a bit

Disney2017_0249.jpg


Disney2017_0250.jpg


Star Tours is a “one and done” for me as the motion of it makes me a bit queasy. I can handle a lot of rides, but those enclosed motion ones have always gotten me. It also didn’t help my neck – lol. When we got off we realized we hadn’t had dinner yet! We wanted quick and easy so we headed to Redd Rockett's Pizza Port. We got some pizza and salad and found a table amongst the tired masses.

We ate and were pretty beat after the long day yesterday and a full day today. I caught a shot of Jinx catching up with friends on his phone while Roxy braided PumpkinGirl’s hair.


Disney2017_0251.jpg


We finished up just before 8pm and had an hour left. We decided to grab some dole whips and enjoy a showing of the Enchanted Tiki Room.

A little Tiki goodness

Disney2017_0252.jpg


Disney2017_0253.jpg


We came out and saw that we could fit in a Jungle Cruise trip in as our last ride of the night. As we walked there I stopped to take a quick snap of a cute little tree above the stroller area to the left of the Cruise entrance

Disney2017_0254.jpg


I didn’t even bother trying to take night time pics on the ride. It was fun and relaxing. We had some good laughs at the jokes and enjoyed the skipper. When we got off it was about 15 minutes before the park closed. We made our way back out of Adventureland and skirted the hub and all the people waiting for the fireworks show. We weren’t interested.

I turned around and snapped a quick shot of the castle just because

Disney2017_0255.jpg


We shuffled out and did the long walk back to the Desert Palms. Showers and such ensued. Tomorrow was going to be our first full day at CA and a special meetup with an old friend of Roxy’s who now works as an electrician lead at CA itself!


breaks.png



Click Here for Chapter 14 - A Fragmented Family Finds Friends and Fun While Ouches are Repaired!
 
Last edited:
I can't believe that you skipped Space Mountain (which I feel is pretty smooth at Disneyland) and braved the Matterhorn instead! That thing about jars my teeth out of my head every time I ride it! :) Star Tours hasn't ever made me sick before, but at Universal in January we rode Harry Potter twice back to back, and that coupled with mostly simulator rides the rest of the day, I was feeling pretty green! I'm too lazy to go back and check your previous trip reports, but I think your MyFitnessPal devotion has paid off. You're looking good! :)
 
I can't believe that you skipped Space Mountain (which I feel is pretty smooth at Disneyland) and braved the Matterhorn instead! That thing about jars my teeth out of my head every time I ride it! :) Star Tours hasn't ever made me sick before, but at Universal in January we rode Harry Potter twice back to back, and that coupled with mostly simulator rides the rest of the day, I was feeling pretty green! I'm too lazy to go back and check your previous trip reports, but I think your MyFitnessPal devotion has paid off. You're looking good! :)

Yeah, it was that fear of not knowing when the turns/drops were coming. And it is MUCH smoother than the one at WDW, that's for sure. But I know I was so dumb for doing Matterhorn, I thought I could brace myself but it didn't work out at all.

HP is a tricky one due to it moving so freely on all axis and the transitions from live effects to screen effects. I had the same issue riding it back to back. And yes, so much of Universal is sim rides. I've had issues with enclosed sim rides going all the way back to riding my first one in a Dave and Busters when I was young.

Thank you on the weight loss, depending on the TR I've been all the way up to 270. For this trip I was around 215 and am currently at 220. I'm working on chipping away back down to my goal of 200lbs - which I made back in 2015. So hard to eat right at Disney though!
 
Yeah, it was that fear of not knowing when the turns/drops were coming. And it is MUCH smoother than the one at WDW, that's for sure. But I know I was so dumb for doing Matterhorn, I thought I could brace myself but it didn't work out at all.

HP is a tricky one due to it moving so freely on all axis and the transitions from live effects to screen effects. I had the same issue riding it back to back. And yes, so much of Universal is sim rides. I've had issues with enclosed sim rides going all the way back to riding my first one in a Dave and Busters when I was young.

Thank you on the weight loss, depending on the TR I've been all the way up to 270. For this trip I was around 215 and am currently at 220. I'm working on chipping away back down to my goal of 200lbs - which I made back in 2015. So hard to eat right at Disney though!

Matterhorn is so cool for its uniqueness, but man is it jarring! I always think I'll be able to brace myself too, but it just doesn't work out... also, sitting in the very front of the bobsled is officially the "scariest" ride for me at DLR. I screamed so much because of that dratted Yeti surprising me.

I really did like HP, and rode it a total of 5 times that day (my kids rode it 7 or 8), but I did better after putting some Motion-Eaze oil behind my ears... I'm really interested to ride Flight of Passage at WDW when we hopefully go in several years. That will be a must!

That is awesome work on the weight loss! It is such hard work, for sure!! I am finally 40 lbs down from last spring, but still 10 lbs to go to pre-baby-#5 and probably another 15-20 to go after that to be at a really healthy weight. It is worth all the work, but it is such a slow process. And yes, Disney is not somewhere you want to eat sensibly. But you also don't want to totally set yourself back a month or two in your progress. Choices, choices! It was much easier when I went with just my husband (since he's GF, DF, and avoids sugar, we weren't focused on treats...) than when I went with my girlfriends! :rotfl:
 

Sleek indeed!


I like this shot...


But I like this one BETTER!

For some reason we didn’t get the shot of Roxy’s car but here is Jinx and PumpkinGirl sitting behind a reincarnation of the Olsen twins.

:lmao:

They went off to share a beer, The End! :rotfl:

LOL!!

My mother-in-law had a bad fall Tuesday night in her apartment at her assisted living facility. She fell on her right side of her body/left side of her face. She has a broken little toe on her right foot, bruised knee, dislocated right hip (preexisting from a failed hip replacement), bruised elbow, torn rotator cuff in right shoulder (preexisting), broken "dens" on C2 of her neck, a broken nose, and bruising/abrasions on her face. She was in the emergency room until the early hours of the morning and needed a transfer to a Neuro unit. The closest available bed was two hours north in Springfield so at 4am she was taken by ambulance up north.

:scared1:

That's awful!!! Hoping she recovers quickly!

It was pretty harsh on my neck

Yes. Mine too, once and done for me as it tweaks my neck too hard.

Star Tours is a “one and done” for me as the motion of it makes me a bit queasy.

Ditto.

A little Tiki goodness

Disney2017_0252.jpg

Yes, and even gooder-ness that's it's back to its original iteration.
 
Hello All! I'm still here, trying to keep thinks moving. Sorting thru the day 3 pics and building the first post for it. Just a lot still going on with MiL and now the start of spring term at my work. I hope to get something posted in the next couple of days. Thank you for hanging in there with me!!!! :goodvibes

Matterhorn is so cool for its uniqueness, but man is it jarring! I always think I'll be able to brace myself too, but it just doesn't work out... also, sitting in the very front of the bobsled is officially the "scariest" ride for me at DLR. I screamed so much because of that dratted Yeti surprising me.

I really did like HP, and rode it a total of 5 times that day (my kids rode it 7 or 8), but I did better after putting some Motion-Eaze oil behind my ears... I'm really interested to ride Flight of Passage at WDW when we hopefully go in several years. That will be a must!

That is awesome work on the weight loss! It is such hard work, for sure!! I am finally 40 lbs down from last spring, but still 10 lbs to go to pre-baby-#5 and probably another 15-20 to go after that to be at a really healthy weight. It is worth all the work, but it is such a slow process. And yes, Disney is not somewhere you want to eat sensibly. But you also don't want to totally set yourself back a month or two in your progress. Choices, choices! It was much easier when I went with just my husband (since he's GF, DF, and avoids sugar, we weren't focused on treats...) than when I went with my girlfriends! :rotfl:

Darned that yeti surprising you! And yeah, no way to brace on that one - just have to roll with it.

5 times on HP? I can see that if you space them out enough. I did it twice in a row and came off a little off balance. I'll have to try that motion-eaze oil, Roxy is big into the Young Living oils. I plan on trying to hit Flight of Passage at the end of the month as I will be at a conference at the Swan and Dolphin then and will try and make time for a single day ticket to AK.

I'm struggling with the eating thing, lots of stress with my MiL and her very slow recovery. One of us is down at her care facility every day over one thing or another. Between a bad head cold and her fall/the hospital stay out of town I think I've put on 10lbs. Just gotta get back on that horse though and slowly start chipping away at it. Going with friends to the parks would be a lot more tricky for sure, in my case it would be too much beer at CA!

Sleek indeed!


I like this shot...


But I like this one BETTER!

Thankyee!



I try to keep it fun!

:scared1:

That's awful!!! Hoping she recovers quickly!

Very slow recovery and she isn't helping the process by trying to do too much herself instead of keeping her head still and resting.

Yes. Mine too, once and done for me as it tweaks my neck too hard.


Ditto.

Disney, why must you torture us so?

Yes, and even gooder-ness that's it's back to its original iteration.

Agreed!
 
Chapter 14 – A Fragmented Family Finds Friends and Fun While Ouches are Repaired!


breaks.png



So we had two VERY full days in the parks so far, but had spent most of it in Disneyland itself. We wanted to make our 3rd day one for Cali Adventure goodness, but I had a major hitch in my giddy-up. As I had stated earlier in the TR, I had a bad neck …or more specifically an upper rib rotated out of place around my right shoulder/neck. It had been getting worse over the course of those two days to the point where I couldn’t have the camera strap or eventually even a pin lanyard around my neck.

And doing Matterhorn the night before had completely done me in. I have a hard ball that I used against a wall, pressing it into the muscle groups of my neck and shoulders. It would temporarily relieve the pain but not for any length of time. I had been chewing ibuprofen regularly but it also only did so much. The one thing I had going for me is that I had a chiropractor within walking distance that I had used before. I already had an appointment set for 12:30pm with him and was going to take it easy until I saw him.

Meanwhile Roxy had arranged a “date” of sorts with her first boyfriend from way back when. Don’t worry, it’s cool :thumbsup2 He is married with kids and him/his wife and me and Roxy are all friends on facebook and keep in contact with each other. He works at CA as an electrician supervisor on the night shift. He has complex things to do as part of the job, but their main task is trying to keep up with keeping all of those lightbulbs lit throughout the park. And if you’ve ever really looked around at night you know what a job that could be!

Special shout out to him – he had his birthday recently, which coincided with the presentation of his 10 year service plaque working for Disney! :mickeyjum

We were going to meet him in CA at opening and hit Cars Land. We’d hang out until it got close to my appointment and then I was going to leave them all to their own devices while I walked to the chiropractor to have my adjustment.

I still ended up being the first one up and got my shower to try and loosen up my neck and shoulders. Then it was upstairs to the breakfast buffet. Roxy asked me for a bagel but they didn’t have any that day so she came up and got some breakfast with me. We finished eating and headed to CA just in time for opening. The kiddos had of course slept in a bit more and would be meeting up with us.

We had been texting with him and met him at a gate. Soon we were in the park and making a beeline for Cars Land. To tell you how hurting I was I DIDN’T TAKE ANY PICTURES!!! We headed for stand-by line for Radiator Springs. Most of the line time was spent with him telling stories about the park and what it was like to be there after hours. And more time than you would think about the unique types of lightbulbs used in different areas.

While we were talking and shuffling thru the queue the kiddos made it into CA and ran into Goofy!

Disney2017_0257.jpg


Disney2017_0258.jpg


Meanwhile we eventually made it into a car and did our tour thru the world of Radiator Springs and beyond. Our car won of course :D

Disney2017_0256.jpg


From there we went to the tables at the Cozy Cone and talked for a while longer until it was time for me to head out for my appointment. The kiddos stopped by and said hello and then rolled on down to Paradise Pier and Ariel while they waited for their California Screamin' FPs to kick in.

Disney2017_0260.jpg


Disney2017_0261.jpg


Disney2017_0262.jpg


Disney2017_0263.jpg


There was no wait when they got off so they had another go, this time in separate ride vehicles

Disney2017_0264.jpg


And there was much rejoicing!

Disney2017_0265.jpg


Disney2017_0266.jpg


From there they headed for California Screamin’ – obligatory queue selfie from PumpkinGirl

Disney2017_0267.jpg


The standby line wasn’t bad, so they took two trips back to back! We only have their pics from the screens as I think they forgot to download them to their MaxPass.

Disney2017_0268.jpg


Disney2017_0269.jpg


While they were getting their roller coaster fix I had found that it was time to go get my neck fixed. I said farewell to Wes and gave Roxy a kiss and told them to have fun. I downed 4 more ibuprofen and headed out of CA and out the front gate and onto Harbor. Turning towards the highway and said hello to a monorail going by

Disney2017_0270.jpg


The chiropractor is on the other side of the Santa Ana freeway on Ball Road, about a 1.5 mile walk. He has this awesome hydraulic table that you walk up to, stand on its base, and he lowers you into place. Once there he uses gentle pressure on the problem area and foot pedals to trigger areas of the table to pop up and do the manipulations. It is extremely effective and got the rib mostly back into place.

While I was getting worked on the kiddos FP time came up for GoTG so they had headed back that way thru Bugs Land and into the FP queue

Disney2017_0271.jpg


Disney2017_0272.jpg


Disney2017_0273.jpg


Disney2017_0274.jpg


Disney2017_0275.jpg


They again forgot to upload to MaxPass or it glitched, but they did take a pic of the screen

Disney2017_0276.jpg


They both love them some Loki!

Disney2017_0277.jpg


While they were freeing our galactic heroes Roxy and Wes had headed down to the Pier while awaiting FPs for Soarin’

Disney2017_0278.jpg


Disney2017_0279.jpg


Like me, he’s a big goofball and I’m glad they were all having a good time. It was a beautiful 75 degree day out there by the way, gotta love Cali in late November! While they strolled and the kids had their space adventure, I was on my way back to CA as “well-adjusted” as I was going to get for the time being.

What was in store for us next you ask? Tune in next time for …


breaks.png


Click Here for Chapter 15 - Can the Family Reconnect?
 
Last edited:
Chapter 15 – Can the Family Reconnect?


breaks.png



So when we left off yours truly was strolling back to Cali Adventure, Roxy and our old friend Wes were strolling towards Soarin’, and the kiddos were maximizing their ride fun. They had already hit Little Mermaid, Cali Screamin’, and GoTG and had Monster’s Inc. in their sights before we all met up for lunch.

Huzzah for another pre-ride selfie from PumpkinGirl!
Disney2017_0280.jpg


Sully and Mike make good their escape with Boo
Disney2017_0281.jpg


These guys need their own movie
Disney2017_0282.jpg


Mike must have run out of 'oderant' – can go out without his “wet dog” scent
Disney2017_0283.jpg


Look – up there – there’s POINTING going on!
Disney2017_0284.jpg


Mike’s stage production is a rousing success!
Disney2017_0285.jpg


Nothing to see here!
Disney2017_0286.jpg


Roz wants to make sure you have all of your paperwork in
Disney2017_0287.jpg


End of ride selfie!
Disney2017_0288.jpg


While they were riding I came back into the park and found that they were riding Monsters and Roxy and Wes were already on Soarin’ so I jumped on the MaxPass and found that I could get and immediate FP for Toy Story Mania. I stopped by one of the Festival of the Holidays carts and ordered up a beer flight, walked to a table and drank them down one after another. The four cups probably equaled a pint.

Between the adjustment, the ibuprofen, and the beer I was feeling better and had a pleasant stroll down to the Pier. I had a nice conversation with Mr. Potato Head
Disney2017_0289.jpg


And then had another nice conversation, this time with a family of grown-ups all visiting the park for the first time. I ended up in a car with one of them and gave her tips on how to rack up points and gave my token complaint that they didn’t just have triggers instead of the silly rope pull firing mechanism. I don’t remember what my score was but I did okay.

On the way out I snapped a couple of random shots
Disney2017_0290.jpg


Disney2017_0291.jpg


By the time I was walking back onto the Pier Roxy and Wes had finished on Soarin’ and he unfortunately wasn’t able to stay any longer. The joys of working the night shift! I had been in communications with the kids and we were all hungry. I touched base with Roxy and made the command decision to meet up at Pacific Wharf for lunch.

On the way from Monsters Inc PumpkinGirl caught up with some of the roving entertainment
Disney2017_0292.jpg


We all gathered at a table and had a mix of stuff from the Pacific Wharf Café and the Lucky Fortune Cookery. I had made a quick pit stop for another beer flight. No food pics, but here’s some beer pics!

Disney2017_0294.jpg


The Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ale was pretty awesome! And you'll notice our little charging station setup - I have a large external battery and a USB hub that allows all of us to recharge at once!
Disney2017_0293.jpg


Once we were all fed and rested we decided our next move. Roxy wanted to hit California Screamin’ and PumpkinGirl was on board but Jinx had done it twice and decided to hang out with the old man. As we strolled out we stopped for a couple of minutes to enjoy some musical entertainment!

Disney2017_0295.jpg


I love all of the Toy Soldier decorations and had hopes to see the drum team at some point while we were here
Disney2017_0296.jpg


We were heading towards the Zephyr when we stumbled into some Indian dancers – they were very talented!
Disney2017_0297.jpg


Disney2017_0298.jpg


Disney2017_0299.jpg


While we were watching the show Roxy and PumpkinGirl got shot down the line for their ride on CS – they had gone thru the Stand-by queue as their FPs hadn’t kicked in yet (no idea why we don’t have PP pics of this one)
Disney2017_0300.jpg


When they got off it was time for their FPs so around they went again, they had great expressions but I think the two guys behind them had them beat!
Disney2017_0301.jpg



Next up we see a magical creature, a cowboy hero, games are won, and we fly and then all reconnect with Mickey!



breaks.png




Click Here for Chapter 16 - The Pier Has a Bit of Everything!
 
Last edited:
Chapter 16 – The Pier Has a Bit of Everything


breaks.png



As Roxy and PumpkinGirl were “Screamin’”, I was on the other side of the Pier I was continuing my hunt for good beer with a sip from Bayside Brews. Jinx and I were awaiting the start of the Elena of Avalor street show and had secured a good spot on the tape line. I had to offload some of that beer so headed to the restrooms near the Paradise Garden Grill and ran smack into Elena herself!

Disney2017_0302.jpg


Upon my return to the street I settled in with Jinx
Disney2017_0303.jpg



It wasn’t too long before the dancers came swirling in
Disney2017_0304.jpg


Disney2017_0305.jpg


Now you may have been wondering why is a grown man and his son were watching this show. Well firstly it was beautiful and colorful with cool dancing. But we weren’t here to see Elena. We …or specifically Jinx was here to see Skylar the Jaquins. I was just along for the ride. Soon enough the float came out and we had a great view of Skylar

Disney2017_0306.jpg


Disney2017_0307.jpg


Honestly that was it – we saw the magical leopard thing and left, making room for tired moms and dads and their little kids to have a better view. We had wanted to hit the Zephyr but it was down because of the show. So we moved on to the Silly Symphony Swings and took flight on those

Disney2017_0308.jpg


Disney2017_0309.jpg


Disney2017_0310.jpg


While we had been having all that fun Roxy and PumpkinGirl had been enjoying themselves with the Midway games. They were kicking butt! Jinx and I finished our round on the swings and texted them and we all agreed to meet back up at Mickey’s Fun Wheel. On our way that way we ran into Woody! He was very cool and noticed my Army hat and Bearded Veterans shirt and gave me a salute and thru gestures thanked me for my service – it was a very unexpected and cool.

Disney2017_0311.jpg


We hit up a churros stand and all met up in the swinging side of Mickey’s Fun Wheel

Disney2017_0313.jpg


PumpkinGirl was excited to show off her prizes!
Disney2017_0312.jpg


Roxy and her took a look at some MaxPass options
Disney2017_0314.jpg


…while Jinx took care of the critters
Disney2017_0315.jpg


We boarded our gondola just as the sun was setting
Disney2017_0317.jpg


Disney2017_0316.jpg


Smile everybody!
Disney2017_0318.jpg


Disney2017_0319.jpg


Disney2017_0321.jpg


The view was of course awesome!
Disney2017_0322.jpg


And the sunset was spectacular!
Disney2017_0323.jpg


By the time we got off and made our way back around the pier the sun had disappeared and the lights had come up!

Disney2017_0324.jpg


Disney2017_0325.jpg


I had separated from the fam to try and make the flag retreat at Disneyland. While doing so the fam saw a short line and an opportunity to go back Under the Sea yet again!!!


breaks.png



Click Here for Chapter 17 - Under the Sea and on to the Circle!
 
Last edited:
Chapter 17 - Under the Sea and on to the Circle!


breaks.png



I had separated from the fam to try and make the flag retreat at Disneyland. While doing so the fam saw a short line and an opportunity to go back Under the Sea yet again!!!

He’s a musical bird!
Disney2017_0326.jpg


Quite the school if fish
Disney2017_0327.jpg


Can you hear the music?
Disney2017_0328.jpg


He can!
Disney2017_0329.jpg


Flounder looks like he is snoozin’
Disney2017_0330.jpg


They are some bad eels
Disney2017_0331.jpg


…workin’ for a BAD lady!
Disney2017_0332.jpg


Here come those legs!
Disney2017_0333.jpg


Kiss the squirrel …or something like that
Disney2017_0334.jpg


And again, there was MUCH REJOYCING!
Disney2017_0335.jpg


While the rest of the fam enjoyed this interlude I had been hustling thru the park and out the entrance of CA, turning around quickly to capture the entrance as the last of the sun disappeared from the sky
Disney2017_0336.jpg


I unfortunately had completely misjudged the timeframe for getting thru CA and the time of the flag retreat itself so totally missed it – lol

While I was gone the family had made it towards the front of CA also and were looking at Character timeframes as they were on the hunt for Thor and Loki. While waiting they had some time to say “hi” to Nick Wilde
Disney2017_0337.jpg


Disney2017_0338.jpg


I had now returned to CA and was taking in the nighttime street scene
Disney2017_0339.jpg


The beautiful tree
Disney2017_0340.jpg


And the coolest non-theater theater around!
Disney2017_0341.jpg


The family was going to be meeting me at the fountain so I killed some time by heading back thru the arch of the Festival of the Holidays
Disney2017_0342.jpg


And saying a quick hello to a musical Dia De Los Muertos gent while I waited for some goodies from one of the food carts
Disney2017_0343.jpg


Food down I headed back to the circle and on my way took the obligatory pic of colorful balloons at night
Disney2017_0344.jpg


The fountain itself looked truly magical with the theater and its wreath in the background
Disney2017_0345.jpg


There was a PhotoPass photographer there so we took the opportunity to get some family photos!
Disney2017_0346.jpg


Disney2017_0347.jpg


Then one of Roxy and I
Disney2017_0348.jpg


Next up we finish Family Photo Time and meet some Space Gods!


breaks.png



Click Here for Chapter 18 - Family Fun with Space Gods!
 
Last edited:

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top