"Was that real magic?" Little sisters first trip to Disney and family craziness (July, 2018)

[maddie1955]

Hi everyone! My name is Maddie, and while I have been to Disneyland many times, this was my foster sisters first time going, so it was definitely an adventure. While there will be some bickering evident in this trip, I think it is good to acknowledge that not every vacation is magical 24/7, it certainly was a MAGICAL trip and definitely ranks in my favorite trips ever.


We stayed in a grand suite in the Grand Legacy hotel from 7/18/18-7/22/18 and had a WONDERFUL time! We were excited about our hotel room because we got an INCREDIBLE rate and the room had a dining area, pull out queen bed, and four regular queen beds alongside a theme park view. And that extra space meant more room for TWO ECVs and anyone who didn’t want to share a bed wouldn’t have to.


Here’s the cast of characters involved in the trip:


My mom and dad (50+, I doubt they want me sharing their specific ages haha), who are both on ECVs. My dad loves thrill rides, but his legs are too long for his absolute favorite, Space Mountain. When he's in a good mood, he can only be described at jolly. I think everyone should be able to experience my dad in a good mood at least once in their life. My mom hates any roller coaster and claims we “tricked” her onto California Screamin’, er the Incredicoaster, the one time she went on it. She is never afraid to take one for the team and often sits out so others can enjoy. She is usually the one sent to get fastpasses.


Me! I am 20 and the Disney obsessed girl of the family. I love Disneyland with my whole heart and was, of course, just as excited for this trip.


My girlfriend, Sydney, who is also 20. We have been dating for almost a year and a half and she is almost as Disney obsessed as me. She has been to WDW 5 times, previously in January, 2018 with me. This will be her third time at DLR. She went in May, 2017 with me and once in 2012 with her family.


My brother, Ollie, who is 17. He is on the spectrum and 6’7”. We get the DAS because he likes to swing his giant body around in the lines and ends up hitting other guests in the face...just better if he waits right outside the line. Because he is on the spectrum, he is very particular about what he likes and does not like- this will come into play along the trip. He’s usually the big gamble of every trip. In August 2017, my dad, Ollie and I went to Tokyo Disney and Ollie absolutely REFUSED to participate in anything. Going so far as to just lay on a bench alone until a security officer told him to leave. However, we went for a short two day trip to DLR in January, 2018 and he was AMAZING! I had some sort of really bad flu and he took care of me the whole time and edited his schedule, something very important to him, so it would best suit me. Overall an incredible trip.


And FINALLY, my foster sister, who legally I cannot give her real name, so we shall call her Jane. She is 12 and never been to Disney before and was super excited for the trip! However, she has a habit of not listening when she is being told to do something and has never been somewhere as hot as Disney nor has she ever done that much walking.


Sydney and I both go to college in NYC, where we live together, while my family lives in the bay area. I flew to California on 7/12/18 to spend some time with my family before Sydney flew out on 7/17/18.


The next day the trip would begin! (and pictures to come!)

 

[Newsies]

YAY!!! MADDIE I'M HERE!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO READ ABOUT THIS AWESOME TRIP!!!

I'm so excited for your first update!

 

[maddie1955]

Arrival Day

We woke up at an early 7 A.M. and slowly woke up and packed up the mini-van for the long trip down.

By 8 we were on the road, half an hour ahead of schedule! My dad’s doctor thought he had a blood clot in his leg at that point(we would learn later that night he doesn’t) so we were ordered to stop every hour for 15 minutes so he could walk around.

That wasn’t a negative, however, because it finally gave us an excuse to stop at a pull in that we pass everytime we go down to Southern California.

The car ride was reasonably boring. My mom fell asleep within half an hour, as per usual. Jane has never been in a car ride this long before and asked how much longer we had in the car and my dad made strange comments that were perfect for my social media the whole way down. At about noon we crossed over The Grapevine, the sign for anyone from Northern California that they were suddenly in Southern California, and the excitement in the air was palpable. I started DJ'ing Disney movie songs from the backseat until about 45 minutes before we were due to arrive when i started playing music from the actual park. Then everyone started getting really excited! Everyone jamming to Grim Grinning Ghosts is the best way to deal with the traffic on I-5.

At 2:59 we pulled into our hotel and because it was not quite the 3 o’clock check-in time everyone else was waiting around and we managed to be first in line for check-in that day (a long line had formed after us).

We had stayed in this hotel about four years ago when it was still called the Ramada Maingate, but it was obvious a TON of changes had occurred, and the whole front part of the hotel was completely different.

Our reaction to the resort was...complicated. They had a cute mural of Walt Disney in Disneyland in the lobby and it seemed mostly nice, but there was only one elevator, so we had to go up in separate groups and the elevator was sloooooow. Painters were painting in the hallways-like not touch ups but a brand new coat off paint. And the housekeepers cart was in front of our door as she was cleaning the room across from us. That was fine, but as I said before, we had to make multiple trips as there was one elevator and every time we came up with more stuff the housekeeper just stared at us with disgust. It was slightly disheartening, but maybe we were making her workday harder and I can understand that.

Either way, once we walked into the room we were VERY happy. It was a huge room(but I forgot to take pictures…) and this was our view!

Ollie, Sydney, Jane and I decided to head down to the pool. Sydney and I went to Mexico a few months earlier and bought waterproof phone pouches for the trip, and I would suggest it for anyone going somewhere with water! It was super useful in the pool because I could bring a credit card, a hotel key, and my phone and didn’t have to worry about leaving anything on a pool chair.

We also took some fun pictures, including this one of the siblings that Sydney took!

At about 5:00, we left the hotel, all six of us, to head to Downtown Disney as we wanted to explore a bit before our reservation at 6:30 at Catal.

It was only a couple minute walk to the bus zone, and thats where things get slightly messy.

Jane asks if she can go on my dad’s ECV and he, wanting to people please, lets her get on his lap and zooms ahead, annoying everyone else because it’s dangerous and also...she needs to get used to walking.

We catch up with him at the security line and have a quick squabble about her riding on the ECV and my dad huffs about us complaining about too much but it finishes rather quickly.

We head to World of Disney, which is still under construction. I don’t like the new World of Disney. It seems too clean and like any regular shop. But! It was still awesome. I buy the rose gold ears because I have tried to get them the last 3 trips and never managed to, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity this time, and Jane buys a pair of Nightmare Before Christmas Ears which she is very happy about.

We pop into shop after shop and in the home goods store, Sydney and I stop to get our cat, Pepper, a disney collar. He looks very handsome in it.

After that, the family wants to visit the Lego shop before our reservation, but on the way there, Sydney grabs my hand. I’m momentarily annoyed because it hurt, but she just tells me, “Maddie! There’s Pete and Ryno! Pete and Ryno!” and sure enough there they were!

We run up to them and it was so fun to talk to them and they were kind enough to take a picture with us.

We joined the rest of our family at the Lego store later, Ollie’s favorite and Jane was AMAZED by the massive sculptures.

And then it was time for dinner! After multiple trips, we have decided Catal is our absolute favorite. I wish I took more photos of dinner, but I forgot- so excited to eat.

All I can say is PLEASE order the chicken, pictured in the back of this photo. I didn’t know chicken could taste so good. Also the potato gratin. Ugh, I still dream about it.

Catal was one of those wonderful vacation moments where it was just so relaxing. I felt pure joy sitting there, eating the most wonderful food with my favorite people. The chairs were comfortable and the temperature was perfect and everyone was in a good mood. It was perfect, and I look back on that dinner with such happiness.

We must have sat there for hours, just enjoying each other and the food. The wait staff were wonderful, so attentive and we never waited more than a few seconds if we needed something.

Ollie left a little early. He was overwhelmed and wanted to play on his computer, and so he went back to the hotel, while the rest of us stayed for desert. That tres leches cake is for real. SO GOOD.

After dinner, my mom, dad, and Jane went back to our hotel, while Sydney and I decided to go explore some of the Disney hotels. I have never visited any of the Disney hotels in California, let alone stay there, and I wanted to check out what they were like. It was awesome seeing the miniature dioramas in the Disneyland hotel and all I can say about the Grand Californian is..wow. I asked the front desk some questions as we had a reservation there on our final day, and then Sydney and I sat in front of the fire place in the Grand Californian for a solid twenty minutes.

We decided to head back to our hotel and get ready for tomorrow and it went mostly without problem. I read some reviews on tripadvisor that the room was loud as there was a rooftop bar right above our room. It was a Wednesday, so the music wasn’t too loud, and with earplugs I couldn’t hear it at all. This will change later on.

That night, possibly the most magical part of the day, Jane, Sydney and I watched the fireworks from our hotel room. We had such a good view we could even see the house and Buzz fly across the castle. I was so entranced with the view that I didn’t take more than a photo, so excuse this poor capture of it from my instagram story. There might be a theme here- have never written a trip report before so didn't think to take a ton of photos!

We then all went to sleep before our busy day tomorrow! Disneyland here we come!

 

[maddie1955]

YAY!!! MADDIE I'M HERE!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO READ ABOUT THIS AWESOME TRIP!!!

I'm so excited for your first update!

Ah KAITLYN!! Thank you so much for coming along for the ride!

 

[Newsies]

Sounds like an fun and beautiful road trip! Clearly NJ needs a "Grapevine" to mark the difference between North Jersey and South Jersey. And perhaps a second "Grapevine" to settle the old "is-there-a-central-Jersey" debate... there clearly is...

What a VIEW! That's one of the really awesome things about DLR. You can stay "off property" and still have views like that every night, at the fraction of what it costs to stay on-property!

I don't know if you were able to see this when you came to WDW, but our World of Disney at DS is in the middle of the same refurbishment-- I don't particularly care for the de-theming of either store But like you said, the important thing is that it's still a functioning store, and you and Jane were able to get ears you really liked!

YAY FOR MEETING PETE AND RYNO! I remember how excited you were when you came across them!!

What a wonderful meal at Catal! I'm glad you were able to savor that relaxing evening together as a family, it sounds like the perfect note to start a Disney vacation on!

It's so funny, before I got to the bottom of the update I thought, "wow, can they see the fireworks from their hotel room?" and I'm glad to see that you guys did, indeed, were able to see the show from your room! How magical it must have been for Jane to see Buzz fly from the castle for the first time. It sounds like we're in for a very magical report, and I can't wait for the next update!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

What a great trip report! Just a tip for any future trips: when (not if, but when!) you return to Catal, time your dinner so that you'll be there when the fireworks go off. Ask for an upstairs table (either inside by the big windows overlooking where Build a Bear used to be -- will be Black Tap Burgers soon -- or on the balcony). If the timing works out, you can enjoy your dessert with a fireworks show!

 

[Daisybelle]

That's so cool you ran into Pete and Ryno! Awesome picture!

 

[maddie1955]

Sounds like an fun and beautiful road trip! Clearly NJ needs a "Grapevine" to mark the difference between North Jersey and South Jersey. And perhaps a second "Grapevine" to settle the old "is-there-a-central-Jersey" debate... there clearly is...

The GrapeVine is iconic. You have to drive HOURS in the flat and boring valley and the Grapevine marks when you are FINALLY out of the valley because you have to drive over the mountains again.

What a VIEW! That's one of the really awesome things about DLR. You can stay "off property" and still have views like that every night, at the fraction of what it costs to stay on-property!

Yes! Though I do miss the "bubble" of WDW...even that bus system.

It's so funny, before I got to the bottom of the update I thought, "wow, can they see the fireworks from their hotel room?" and I'm glad to see that you guys did, indeed, were able to see the show from your room! How magical it must have been for Jane to see Buzz fly from the castle for the first time. It sounds like we're in for a very magical report, and I can't wait for the next update!

Yes! It was so magical being able to watch it in my PJS. Because of the way her bed was positioned, Jane could even see them while lying in bed. Definitely a magical start. Thanks for reading along!

 

[maddie1955]

What a great trip report! Just a tip for any future trips: when (not if, but when!) you return to Catal, time your dinner so that you'll be there when the fireworks go off. Ask for an upstairs table (either inside by the big windows overlooking where Build a Bear used to be -- will be Black Tap Burgers soon -- or on the balcony). If the timing works out, you can enjoy your dessert with a fireworks show!

Thank you so much! And that's such a good idea- I hadn't even thought about that. Will definitely have to do that next time.

 

[maddie1955]

That's so cool you ran into Pete and Ryno! Awesome picture!

Thank you! We were so excited! They are so nice.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thank you so much! And that's such a good idea- I hadn't even thought about that. Will definitely have to do that next time.

Depending on which fireworks show is running at the time, bookmark a good YouTube video on your phone before you go to Catal. Have it ready to go before the fireworks start. Then hit "play" as soon as the show begins! The sync won't be perfect, but it will be close enough for you to have the fireworks soundtrack accompanying the show! So fun!

 

[maddie1955]

Day 1- Disneyland!


5:30 A.M. Time to wake up! After so many trips, we usually try and go to the park that doesn’t have Magic Morning, but it was unavoidable this time, so we figured we would take advantage of the Magic Morning on the first day when we were the least tired.


By 6:30 we were leaving the hotel room and walking across the street to the esplanade. Security was a short line this early in the morning, but its always a pain with two ECVs and my mom having two titanium knees. The immediate first lines into the park already had an average of 30ish people in them, but as we kept walking toward the city hall side of the entrance, we found a line with only one family of 3 ahead of us! Huzzah!


My last trip to a Disney park was in January this same year to Disney World, and I was excited to compare the parks together.


Jane was excited to get into the park, as were the rest of us.

At 7, the gates opened, and while everyone made a mad dash to Fantasyland, we made a mad dash to city hall to get the DAS.


It's just not an option for us to go into the park without it, and as I paid for Maxpass for the day, my mom went in with Ollie to get it. At this point, Ollie started informing cast members that the lights in City Hall looked like nipples, at which point they agreed with us that we needed DAS, lol. We also picked up five “we’re celebrating” pins for us and a “first visit” for Jane. And we were off!


Walking down Main street, Jane was swinging between Sydney and I getting very excited. She kept exclaiming that “nothing looked real” and that she couldn’t believe she was in an actual place. You couldn’t get the smile off her face.


Ollie, loathing the heat, whips out his giant umbrella and places his hat on top of it. He looked ridiculous but there was no point fighting it.

We stopped in front of the castle for some Photopass pictures and we were really happy with how they turned out.

Getting Ollie to smile in photos is a LOT of work. Also the height difference between Ollie and Jane never fails to make me laugh. Sydney and I are doing a VERY basic Disney Bound as the Tiki Room and Star Tours.


At this point it was about 7:20 so we decided to head into Fantasyland. Peter Pan’s Flight and It’s a Small World were down, so we went into Alice in Wonderland through the Wheelchair entrance, but first Jane got super excited about the sword and had to try her chance at getting it out, to no luck unfortunately.

Jane sat in front of Sydney and I in one caterpillar while my mom, dad, and Ollie sat in another.

The whole time on the ride, Jane was “oohing” and “aahing” and afterwords exclaimed, “If that wasn’t even one of the big rides I am going to have my mind BLOWN the rest of this trip”. None of us could stop smiling and it was so fun, even just waiting for the rest of the family to get off the ride.

The teacups were boarding, so Sydney, Jane, and I rushed to get one while the rest of the family sat out, deciding not to spin this early in the morning.

We then decided we had enough time to go on Pinocchio, however it took FOREVER to board and despite a five minute wait, because of the two ECVs, we didn’t get off the ride for twenty minutes, meaning we were a bit late to rope drop Adventureland. On top of that, my dad remarked that the ride just reminded him of how much he hates the movie, so we will likely skip it next time.


We couldn’t get over to Adventureland because of how packed it already was, so a cast member recommended we cut through frontierland, which was only open to those with Magic Morning anyway, so it was way less packed. We were near the front of the pack, and when the rope dropped we were quick to make our way to Indiana Jones. It is my family's favorite ride, and every time Sydney has visited DLR it had been closed down, so we were all excited for both Sydney and Jane to try it out. While we waited, we booked a Maxpass for Space Mountain for an hour from then.


While the crowds were moving, someone yanked the backpack off my moms ECV, so we had to stop for a minute to fix it. This was slightly frustrating considering the time crunch of rope drop and the fact the person who knocked it off didn't stop to help, but it was all okay in the end.


As Indy is once again not wheelchair accessible, we entered through the exit and were the second family in line to get on. We were on the second car of the day and we were all so excited about it. Enjoy this bad picture of us on the car, I got to be the driver!

I wish I had a video of Jane on the ride, she kept exclaiming and being surprised around every turn and when the car pulled back around at the end of the ride she yelled, “that was AWESOME” and immediately asked if we could go again. She wouldn’t stop talking about how cool the ride was and asking how they did everything, which of course we told her was magic. To which she then asked, “Was that REAL magic?”, hence the name of this thread.


In particular, she couldn’t stop talking about the rolling ball and how she really thought it was gonna hit her.


After that, we wandered over to Pirates of the Caribbean, another one that amazed everyone. Who doesn’t love Pirates, though. On the ride, I pointed out something for her to look at. Unfortunately, she thought I told her to stand up and look. So of course, everyone started to freak out and I was quick to grab her waist and pull her back down. After a short safety spiel it was back to the ride!


We then went over to Haunted Mansion and once again, everyone loved it. Jane knew the song from her choir and was jamming out in the graveyard scene. I will say this, I miss the staircase scene from WDW’s Haunted Mansion and formally ask them to share it with us. We will share our beignets in return.


Afterwards, we split up so half of us could go to the City Hall stand right outside of the Haunted Mansion and the other half could go get fastpasses for Fantasmic. Unfortunately, Maxpass was currently down, so the line to get our DAS was SUPER long, as everyone was complaining about it. Before Sydney, my dad, and I left to get the fantasmic fastpass, I had explained to Ollie what pass he should get for the DAS. When I came back, my mom was in line getting water and Ollie and Jane hadn’t moved up in the DAS line at all.


I told my dad to wait in line with Ollie and Jane while Sydney, my mom, and I went over to get beignets and drinks for everyone- and then a little fight went on. My dad made me explain what fastpass to get seven times and I was steadily getting frustrated as they had asked me to make a plan and it seemed they hadn’t listened. No one had any food and it was getting pretty hot. It was very frustrating.


However, on the walk to get beignets with my mom and Sydney I aired my frustrations and it was nice to get it off my chest. Jane, deciding she was hot and bored in line, went over to a random corner in the shade and pulled out her phone. My mom told her to get off her phone and join the family, to which Jane was annoyed but hey, if the rest of us are gonna wait in a line, even Ollie, she should too.


My mom sensed everyone was frustrated and suggested that the “kids” head over to Space Mountain and get fastpasses for Buzz using our physical tickets as we couldn’t get Maxpass anyway. How I love my mom and her infinite wisdom.


It’s easier to get a Maxpass for everyone in the group then it is to select specific people in our family who want to go on that ride- so Ollie and I prepped Sydney and Jane for our favorite part of Disney- finding 2 people who didn’t have fastpasses and bringing them on with us. Ollie and I did it last year with a couple about to join a 3 hour wait for Guardians of the Galaxy and it made us so happy we couldn’t wait to do it again.


On the way to Space Mountain, we did manage to get the Buzz fastpasses and success! After asking 3 groups of people, we found a couple about to join the standby and invited them to come with us. As we were getting close to the end of the queue, Jane started holding my hand with a little nervousness. I took her to a local theme park before we came to Disneyland so I could try and measure her ride limit and I was pretty certain she would be fine on it, but she was suddenly scared.


Of course, the loading bay of Space Mountain amazed her and soon enough we were on the ride- no turning back now. Luckily Jane LOVED it, and asked when we would be able to go on again! Even cuter, was knowing Ollie had offered to hold her hand the whole time and she basically took him up on that, and the photo we got after the ride proved how he was caring for her on it.

Poor Sydney… she’s getting “Mike Wazowski-d” by the shadow of Ollie’s head.


We met up with my mom and dad who had finally managed to get a DAS for Star Tours and luckily it was for a few minutes after our Buzz Lightyear fastpass.


Because of the issue with Maxpass, they also gave us a fastpass we could use anywhere else in the park. Score! However, Maxpass was back up, so I requested one for Splash Mountain at 12 P.M. It was 10:00, so it was time for our Buzz Lightyear fastpass and I smoked my dad despite him trying to sabotage me. Once again, we all loved it and our DAS for Star Tours was open soon, so we wasted time looking around the shop before heading over there.

Happier than she looks. I promise.


In that time, however, I was getting increasingly frustrated. Everyone kept ignoring what I said, and while I don’t think we should always have to follow a plan, they asked me to plan what to do to save time and I spent hours doing it and it seemed they hadn’t listened at all and now were throwing it to the wind. I understand I need to calm down and it doesn’t matter, but at the time I was frustrated that it seemed they just asked me to plan as a joke.


We went on Star Tours and they asked me to explain everything a hundred more times and I was getting very annoyed. Also- what's the deal with them still playing the same few scenes from when they were promoting The Last Jedi? I thought the point was to have a different ride experience each time?


I told them I was gonna get a new DAS for Jungle Cruise- which they listened to and then forgot so when I came back I was getting even more frustrated.


But Jungle Cruise only had a 15 minute wait, so we could go on immediately and so we decided to head over. And on the way there we talk a bit and calm down. I realize I’m making things worse by reacting and it doesn’t really matter but I was getting stuck in my emotions. We get on after a few boats go by in the wheelchair entrance, and they load in one family in the regular entrance before the boat veers off the railing. They have to keep us in the boat while they make it safe so I take advantage of the time to try and use mobile ordering for the Bengal Barbecue.


My family is all fine and chilling, if not getting a little hangry, but the dad of the other family starts screaming at them saying they are wasting his time by not letting him off immediately. The cast members tell him we will all be compensated with not one but two fastpasses after, but he just keeps screaming at them. At this point, my family, being who we are, can’t just let him beat up these cast members and try explaining to him that it is not their fault and that they are trying to make it better. We start joking around with the skipper and asking if it is part of the ride. At this point, the man is threatening to sue and says he will refuse his compensation fastpasses, so my mom jokes that she will take them for him, just trying to make the atmosphere less tense.


Eventually, however, they let us off the boat and funny enough the man does end up taking his two fastpasses and so do we. For everyone counting at home, we now have three fastpasses we can use wherever we want and a Splash Mountain fastpass coming up soon.


Ollie decides he doesn’t want Bengal Barbecue and decides to go wander down Main Street as he doesn’t want to risk getting his glasses wet on Splash Mountain. He will meet us back in front of Jungle Cruise later.


We sit down to eat and everyone asks me why I was upset earlier and I explained, to which Jane gave the sweetest speech about how grateful she was that I planned everything and how I was making her first trip to Disneyland so magical. I almost started crying I swear. In fact, everyone at the table tells me how grateful they are and I feel a lot less stressed and happy. I realize I am taking everything too seriously and that people don’t have everything memorized like I do, but that doesn’t mean we won’t still have a wonderful time.


After food, we head to Splash Mountain. It was my moms first ever time going on it, and of course Jane’s, and they loved it. And as it was so hot, it was super relaxing to get wet. My dad decided last minute he didn’t want to go on, which was fine.

After that, we went back to Jungle Cruise but it wasn’t back on yet, so we all decided to head back home for a quick swim and break.

This has been SUCH a long entry already, I’ll post the rest of the day in another post.-featuring the parade, dinner, more rides, and Fantasmic! Thanks for following along!

 

[Newsies]

First of all: I LOVE YOUR NEW AVATAR!!! So adorable!!!

Have I mentioned how much I love you and Sydney

“If that wasn’t even one of the big rides I am going to have my mind BLOWN the rest of this trip”.

We sit down to eat and everyone asks me why I was upset earlier and I explained, to which Jane gave the sweetest speech about how grateful she was that I planned everything and how I was making her first trip to Disneyland so magical.

Are you KIDDING Jane is THE SWEETEST and I am so happy she got to experience this trip with the best DLR planner I've ever known

I understand firsthand how frustrating when your family doesn't want to follow the plans you spend so much time curating. However-- you guys DEFINITELY have been handling the stress and frustration that comes with a Disney vacation well so far!

I appreciate the candor you've put into this report. Not a lot of people own up to reporting about the frustrations they encounter within their travel party, but it's something that everyone faces. Reading about how you guys encountered and dealt with your frustrations makes me feel so relieved! We always encounter some type of family drama at least once during our trips, but I always hesitate to add it in my TRs because I always feel pressured to make our family trips to look as "perfect" and "magical" as possible. When people like you write about their own frustrations, it helps with taking that pressure off of other DISers and I! No family vacation is perfect, but this TR is proving that a Disney vacation can have snafus and STILL be super magical!

I love this report and I can't wait for the next update!!