noodle73
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2019
Hello everyone! I’m Kelly, aka Noodle. Welcome to my first trip report!
MY DISNEY HISTORY:
I grew up in southern California and my family went to Disneyland a couple times a year until we moved away when I was 15. Crazy story: My brother WON a car on his 5th birthday during the 30th anniversary celebrations in 1985. I was younger so I don’t remember much about it except that I got to drive home in the car with my dad and was very impressed by the pop-up headlights. My favorite ride, then and now, is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
After we left California I went to DL once in college, and then after college I moved to Orlando for three years and discovered WDW. I was lucky enough to win an annual pass one year at my office Christmas party! My favorite ride was Expedition Everest. Before I moved away, I went to AK and did it ten times back to back through the single rider line.
Since then, DH and I went to WDW on our honeymoon in 2009, and we did one day at Disneyland in 2013 when I was newly pregnant with DD, and last November we did our first family trip with the kids.
WHEN:
November 3-7, 2019. The kids’ birthdays are in late November so they were not quite 6 (DD) and 4 (DS).
TRAVEL:
We flew from Denver to John Wayne on Monday morning. Our flight arrived on time at 10 a.m. and we caught the 10:30 Disneyland Express. We were the only ones on it so we went straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Cortana Inn & Suites. Even though we arrived at 11 a.m. they let us into our room right away which was great because DS needed a nap. It was so nice having a completely separate room (with bunk beds) for the kids.
After DS woke up, we went to Downtown Disney. We met up with my BFF and her two kids who live in San Diego. The kids loved the World of Disney store and we spent a good hour at the LEGO store. They also loved all the fountains. We went to Black Tap for Crazy Shakes. DD has been obsessed with getting one since I went to the original Black Tap in NYC last year.
DAY 1: CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
We decided to go to DCA on Tuesday because it was early entry at DL. Neither DH nor I had been before so we were excited to check it out, and most of the kids’ favorite movies are Pixar so we thought they’d like those rides the best too. The kids had bagels and fruit for breakfast from the free hotel buffet, and then we walked from our hotel to the Toy Story lot and took the shuttle up at 8:15. DH and I grabbed a coffee from Starbucks in DTD, and we entered the park around 8:40. (It opened at 9). We had MaxPass and I immediately made a reservation for Radiator Springs Racers at 9:40. We walked slowly up Buena Vista Street and headed to Cars Land at rope drop. Our first ride was Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree which was more fun that I anticipated! We did it again right away, and then we did Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, which was OK. Then we browsed around Cars Land until it was time for RSR. What a fun ride! Everyone loved it. We went through Luigi’s side.
Next, we walked over to Pixar Pier and did Jessie’s Carousel, the Pal-A-Round, and Inside Out. We did the swinging cars on the Pal-A-Round which were super fun! Then it was time for lunch. We picked up pretzels and beer from Bayside Brews and corn dogs from Corn Dog Castle. The jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel was delicious! After lunch we went on the Jumpin’ Jellyfish, and browsed through Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff. DH bought some taffy which is his favorite Disney treat.
Then we went on the Little Mermaid. It was about 1:30 by then and I had a FP for Soarin’, but when we got there the FP line was really backed up so we skipped it for ice cream at Clarabelle’s. Next, we went on Monsters, and then Mater’s again, and then it was time for our second FP on RSR. We went through Ramone’s side that time. We picked up some popcorn from the Cozy Cone and then we went to the 3 p.m. show of Frozen at the Hyperion, which was great! The effects are so neat, and it was nice to rest our feet for a while.
After the show DS wanted to go on the Pal-A-Round again so we did that then had dinner at Pacific Wharf. I had the bacon-cheddar ale soup in a bread bowl which was delicious. We thought the kids would be pretty much done by then but DD kept suggesting another ride and everyone was cheerful and having fun so we did the Little Mermaid again, the Golden Zephyr, the Silly Symphony Swings, Jessie’s again, and then it was time for a 6:45 FP to Soarin’ that I’d made earlier but didn’t think we’d get to.
In total we did 18 rides! DD’s favorite ride was RSR. DS’s favorites were the Pal-A-Round and Soarin’. We passed a few characters throughout the day and asked the kids if they wanted to wait in the line to meet them, but they always said they wanted to do more rides. DH and I are very much all-about-the-rides people so we were glad the kids seem to be the same. I’ll do a show now and then – I loved Bear Country Jamboree! – as long as I can sit down. But mostly we like to do rides and more rides. I think the only TS meal I’ve ever done at DL is Blue Bayou in 2013. Growing up at DL that was always on my bucket list so it was fun to make it happen.
I’ll be back soon with Day 2!
MY DISNEY HISTORY:
I grew up in southern California and my family went to Disneyland a couple times a year until we moved away when I was 15. Crazy story: My brother WON a car on his 5th birthday during the 30th anniversary celebrations in 1985. I was younger so I don’t remember much about it except that I got to drive home in the car with my dad and was very impressed by the pop-up headlights. My favorite ride, then and now, is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
After we left California I went to DL once in college, and then after college I moved to Orlando for three years and discovered WDW. I was lucky enough to win an annual pass one year at my office Christmas party! My favorite ride was Expedition Everest. Before I moved away, I went to AK and did it ten times back to back through the single rider line.
Since then, DH and I went to WDW on our honeymoon in 2009, and we did one day at Disneyland in 2013 when I was newly pregnant with DD, and last November we did our first family trip with the kids.
WHEN:
November 3-7, 2019. The kids’ birthdays are in late November so they were not quite 6 (DD) and 4 (DS).
TRAVEL:
We flew from Denver to John Wayne on Monday morning. Our flight arrived on time at 10 a.m. and we caught the 10:30 Disneyland Express. We were the only ones on it so we went straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Cortana Inn & Suites. Even though we arrived at 11 a.m. they let us into our room right away which was great because DS needed a nap. It was so nice having a completely separate room (with bunk beds) for the kids.
After DS woke up, we went to Downtown Disney. We met up with my BFF and her two kids who live in San Diego. The kids loved the World of Disney store and we spent a good hour at the LEGO store. They also loved all the fountains. We went to Black Tap for Crazy Shakes. DD has been obsessed with getting one since I went to the original Black Tap in NYC last year.
DAY 1: CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
We decided to go to DCA on Tuesday because it was early entry at DL. Neither DH nor I had been before so we were excited to check it out, and most of the kids’ favorite movies are Pixar so we thought they’d like those rides the best too. The kids had bagels and fruit for breakfast from the free hotel buffet, and then we walked from our hotel to the Toy Story lot and took the shuttle up at 8:15. DH and I grabbed a coffee from Starbucks in DTD, and we entered the park around 8:40. (It opened at 9). We had MaxPass and I immediately made a reservation for Radiator Springs Racers at 9:40. We walked slowly up Buena Vista Street and headed to Cars Land at rope drop. Our first ride was Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree which was more fun that I anticipated! We did it again right away, and then we did Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, which was OK. Then we browsed around Cars Land until it was time for RSR. What a fun ride! Everyone loved it. We went through Luigi’s side.
Next, we walked over to Pixar Pier and did Jessie’s Carousel, the Pal-A-Round, and Inside Out. We did the swinging cars on the Pal-A-Round which were super fun! Then it was time for lunch. We picked up pretzels and beer from Bayside Brews and corn dogs from Corn Dog Castle. The jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel was delicious! After lunch we went on the Jumpin’ Jellyfish, and browsed through Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff. DH bought some taffy which is his favorite Disney treat.
Then we went on the Little Mermaid. It was about 1:30 by then and I had a FP for Soarin’, but when we got there the FP line was really backed up so we skipped it for ice cream at Clarabelle’s. Next, we went on Monsters, and then Mater’s again, and then it was time for our second FP on RSR. We went through Ramone’s side that time. We picked up some popcorn from the Cozy Cone and then we went to the 3 p.m. show of Frozen at the Hyperion, which was great! The effects are so neat, and it was nice to rest our feet for a while.
After the show DS wanted to go on the Pal-A-Round again so we did that then had dinner at Pacific Wharf. I had the bacon-cheddar ale soup in a bread bowl which was delicious. We thought the kids would be pretty much done by then but DD kept suggesting another ride and everyone was cheerful and having fun so we did the Little Mermaid again, the Golden Zephyr, the Silly Symphony Swings, Jessie’s again, and then it was time for a 6:45 FP to Soarin’ that I’d made earlier but didn’t think we’d get to.
In total we did 18 rides! DD’s favorite ride was RSR. DS’s favorites were the Pal-A-Round and Soarin’. We passed a few characters throughout the day and asked the kids if they wanted to wait in the line to meet them, but they always said they wanted to do more rides. DH and I are very much all-about-the-rides people so we were glad the kids seem to be the same. I’ll do a show now and then – I loved Bear Country Jamboree! – as long as I can sit down. But mostly we like to do rides and more rides. I think the only TS meal I’ve ever done at DL is Blue Bayou in 2013. Growing up at DL that was always on my bucket list so it was fun to make it happen.
I’ll be back soon with Day 2!