Imdboss
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2014
Since I just joined this forum in June this is my first ever trip report. These boards were so helpful to me I'm hoping that something in my report helps someone else out. I kept notes for myself at the end of each day so this will be long!
Tues 10/7 - flew from Seattle into SNA, arrived to Doubletree Suites at 9pm. Hotel checkin was very fast, rooms are nice, bed is very comfortable. We usually stay in our timeshare at Worldmark on Katella but opted for a hotel as we had friends coming and we wanted to be in the same hotel as them. I chose Doubletree for a few reasons, 1) we are Hilton Honors members, so want to get the points, 2) wanted a room with a separate living room and bedroom, 3) wanted to be 1 mile or less to parks, 4) price
Wed 10/8 - arrived inside gates of DL at 10:15, park closes at 6 for MHP. Started off our day with a couple pics, picked up my photopass+, and had a corn dog lunch (this is a must first eat each trip). DL crowds were very mellow today, it was wonderful! In less than 8 hours in the park we rode, IJA, JC, Tarzan Treehouse, SM, Pooh, BLAB twice, HM, & BTMR. Our kids did a lot of pin trading at the various shops. Finally tried the frozen apple juice which was quite refreshing on such a hot day. Now the moment of bad for the day, I ended up with heat stoke or dehydration, or some variation of the two. This has never happened to me before and it was awful. I have to say that the cast member that helped was super nice. She saw us all sitting on the ground in the BLAB exit and could tell there was something wrong. After talking to me for a moment she brought me a water and plain pretzel. After a good amount of water in me I felt fine once the massive sweating stopped which was then followed up by extreme chills. Appx 20 minutes later we were back on track, lesson learned to drink more water in the hot weather! I read good things about Storytellers so we had ADR for 7pm. I was planning on us all having the buffet. After arriving and checking it out we were very disappointed, especially for $30pp! So we politely told them we were going to leave (never done that before), just couldn't justify paying over $100 for dinner we weren't that excited about. So plan B we went to Tortilla Joe's. Food was delicious, service was super slow, I think our waitress got hit all at once but being there for 1.5 hours was a bit long. Then off to do some shopping. Back in the room at 9:15pm
Thurs 10/9 - this is the first day with our friends. Parents haven't been since they were kids and first trip for their DD. Walked to DL, in park at 9:15am. Today we rode, PoC (broke down, 25 min delay, not a good start to day), BTMR, IJA, BLAB, SM. Had lunch at Stage Door, pics with Pluto, more pin trading. Left DL and entered DCA at 3:30. Rode MI, CS, Carousel. Had dinner at Taste Pilots then rode all 4 rides in Bugs Land, then off to RSR. Left DCA at 9:25pm and walked back to hotel.
Fri 10/10 - MHP tonight! Arrived in the park at 4:25pm. Lines to get in weren't too bad and moved pretty quick, it only took us appx 15 min to get in. Had ADR at Cafe Orleans for 4:40, we were a few min late getting there since we stopped to buy Halloween bags. I've wanted to try the Monte Cristo for several trips and finally did, it was amazing! Next trip we will definitely eat here again but DH and I will share it, way too much food for one person. After dinner we headed to TT for the preparty, not sure exactly when we got there but I think it was around 6:15, it wasn't too busy when we arrived. We did all 3 treat trails here and rode RR and GGC. We had 2 other friends join us so now we are a group of 9. I rounded everyone up and we headed to FL. We did the treat trail here twice, rode Tea Cups, Canal Boats, CJRR. Our 3 friends broke away to go do their own thing, whew a bit easier to manage people now. We then headed to TL. Here we did the treat trail, rode BLAB twice, ST, SMGG (I stayed with DS when others did this) & Orbitor. Then off to NOS, Here we did 3 treat trails, rode PoC, IJA and got pics with Peter Pan & Wendy. Now it's time to head out, party is coming to an end and my family is exhausted, I did make them stand in line for a pic at the giant Mickey though. We loved the party, it was so much fun (my 3rd time), the only downside was being with other people. It's so much easier when it's just the 4 of us. Our 2 friends that joined us just for the party are easy, they just follow us wherever we go but the other 3 that joined us for the trip were a bit more difficult. Not that it ruined our trip but their DD is just a bit more to deal with because she was pretty picky about what rides she wanted to do. DH loved the party so much (lower crowds, really short ride wait times) that he said next year we should do two parties!
Sat 10/11 - our friends are early risers so they headed off to the parks to do their own thing. We arrived in DCA at 11:45, headed off to Visa meet n greet and got to see Stitch. Someone gave us FP for RSR, yay score! Had lunch at the Warf. Rode RSR, MJJ, & Ariel. By this point we are all pretty tired so we went back to the room for a nap, got on the bus at 3:15. At 6:30 we were back on the bus to DL. Had dinner at the Plaza Inn, DD was dying to have the fried chicken so she was happy. Finally met up with our friends and we rode JC, DLRR, ST, PP (ride broke down so 25 min delay), & Mr. Toad. Back on the bus at 12:30am. Crowds tonight were crazy busy, all the ride waits were really long, right up until closing so we didn't get to do as much as we had hoped. When people were lining up for the fireworks we headed over to AL to get out of the crowds and get on rides before the fireworks start since DS is scared of them. Well that was a horrible idea, I forgot that F! was going on so we could hardly move which is why we ended up on the DLRR at that time. Oh well, won't do that again!
Sun 10/12 - today our friends leave, once again they started early and headed off on their own for the rest of their time there. This is the day of CHOC walk so I'm expecting it to be like Sat crowds or worse. I was pleasantly surprised though, not too bad today! In gates of DCA at 11:10 and started off with some shopping and pin trading. Then we rode GSS, Jellyfish, picked up FP for RSR (this was at 12:10), had lunch then rode GRR, had ice cream at Clarabelle's (very good and hugh ice cream bar), met Chip n Dale, then headed over to DL. Rode BLAB, Autopia, Matterhorn, Tikki room, & BTMR. Then headed to DTD for dinner at Jazz Kitchen walk up counter. Love me some Beignets!!! Now back to DCA for more shopping and pin trading, went on RSR with our FP then over to TSMM which we rode two times before heading to the bus at 10:30.
Mon 10/13 - today is Columbus day, I'm expecting less crowds than Sat but more than a typical Mon, boy was I wrong! It was so busy, just like Sat, not how I hoped our last day to be but oh well. Entered DCA at 11. DD and I were going to ride CS but it was closed so we got a FP to return at 12:40. While waiting for that we rode TSMM, carousel then had lunch. At this time CS is still closed which is a total bummer. So we went to DL to get in last rides there that the kids wanted to do. That didn't go so well either since all of the lines were so long. We managed to ride PoC and BLAB. It's now 3 and time to head back to hotel to get our bags and go to the airport.
Overall it was a great trip. My DS had fun having his friend there for part of the time but I think I definitely prefer it just being us. The weather was nice, a bit too warm for the few peak hours during the day but we managed. If you made it through my entire report you probably noticed we didn't do any parades, shows, or fireworks. Our kids preferred to go on rides and do their pin trading instead of spending so much time on those things. Next year I will plan our dates differently so we avoid the park on Sat and also the AZ & Utah school breaks (which I think started on Columbus Day) along with all the other big events that take place, Gay Days comes to mind and I think there was another one right before our trip.
Please let me know if you have any questions I might be able to answer!
Tues 10/7 - flew from Seattle into SNA, arrived to Doubletree Suites at 9pm. Hotel checkin was very fast, rooms are nice, bed is very comfortable. We usually stay in our timeshare at Worldmark on Katella but opted for a hotel as we had friends coming and we wanted to be in the same hotel as them. I chose Doubletree for a few reasons, 1) we are Hilton Honors members, so want to get the points, 2) wanted a room with a separate living room and bedroom, 3) wanted to be 1 mile or less to parks, 4) price
Wed 10/8 - arrived inside gates of DL at 10:15, park closes at 6 for MHP. Started off our day with a couple pics, picked up my photopass+, and had a corn dog lunch (this is a must first eat each trip). DL crowds were very mellow today, it was wonderful! In less than 8 hours in the park we rode, IJA, JC, Tarzan Treehouse, SM, Pooh, BLAB twice, HM, & BTMR. Our kids did a lot of pin trading at the various shops. Finally tried the frozen apple juice which was quite refreshing on such a hot day. Now the moment of bad for the day, I ended up with heat stoke or dehydration, or some variation of the two. This has never happened to me before and it was awful. I have to say that the cast member that helped was super nice. She saw us all sitting on the ground in the BLAB exit and could tell there was something wrong. After talking to me for a moment she brought me a water and plain pretzel. After a good amount of water in me I felt fine once the massive sweating stopped which was then followed up by extreme chills. Appx 20 minutes later we were back on track, lesson learned to drink more water in the hot weather! I read good things about Storytellers so we had ADR for 7pm. I was planning on us all having the buffet. After arriving and checking it out we were very disappointed, especially for $30pp! So we politely told them we were going to leave (never done that before), just couldn't justify paying over $100 for dinner we weren't that excited about. So plan B we went to Tortilla Joe's. Food was delicious, service was super slow, I think our waitress got hit all at once but being there for 1.5 hours was a bit long. Then off to do some shopping. Back in the room at 9:15pm
Thurs 10/9 - this is the first day with our friends. Parents haven't been since they were kids and first trip for their DD. Walked to DL, in park at 9:15am. Today we rode, PoC (broke down, 25 min delay, not a good start to day), BTMR, IJA, BLAB, SM. Had lunch at Stage Door, pics with Pluto, more pin trading. Left DL and entered DCA at 3:30. Rode MI, CS, Carousel. Had dinner at Taste Pilots then rode all 4 rides in Bugs Land, then off to RSR. Left DCA at 9:25pm and walked back to hotel.
Fri 10/10 - MHP tonight! Arrived in the park at 4:25pm. Lines to get in weren't too bad and moved pretty quick, it only took us appx 15 min to get in. Had ADR at Cafe Orleans for 4:40, we were a few min late getting there since we stopped to buy Halloween bags. I've wanted to try the Monte Cristo for several trips and finally did, it was amazing! Next trip we will definitely eat here again but DH and I will share it, way too much food for one person. After dinner we headed to TT for the preparty, not sure exactly when we got there but I think it was around 6:15, it wasn't too busy when we arrived. We did all 3 treat trails here and rode RR and GGC. We had 2 other friends join us so now we are a group of 9. I rounded everyone up and we headed to FL. We did the treat trail here twice, rode Tea Cups, Canal Boats, CJRR. Our 3 friends broke away to go do their own thing, whew a bit easier to manage people now. We then headed to TL. Here we did the treat trail, rode BLAB twice, ST, SMGG (I stayed with DS when others did this) & Orbitor. Then off to NOS, Here we did 3 treat trails, rode PoC, IJA and got pics with Peter Pan & Wendy. Now it's time to head out, party is coming to an end and my family is exhausted, I did make them stand in line for a pic at the giant Mickey though. We loved the party, it was so much fun (my 3rd time), the only downside was being with other people. It's so much easier when it's just the 4 of us. Our 2 friends that joined us just for the party are easy, they just follow us wherever we go but the other 3 that joined us for the trip were a bit more difficult. Not that it ruined our trip but their DD is just a bit more to deal with because she was pretty picky about what rides she wanted to do. DH loved the party so much (lower crowds, really short ride wait times) that he said next year we should do two parties!
Sat 10/11 - our friends are early risers so they headed off to the parks to do their own thing. We arrived in DCA at 11:45, headed off to Visa meet n greet and got to see Stitch. Someone gave us FP for RSR, yay score! Had lunch at the Warf. Rode RSR, MJJ, & Ariel. By this point we are all pretty tired so we went back to the room for a nap, got on the bus at 3:15. At 6:30 we were back on the bus to DL. Had dinner at the Plaza Inn, DD was dying to have the fried chicken so she was happy. Finally met up with our friends and we rode JC, DLRR, ST, PP (ride broke down so 25 min delay), & Mr. Toad. Back on the bus at 12:30am. Crowds tonight were crazy busy, all the ride waits were really long, right up until closing so we didn't get to do as much as we had hoped. When people were lining up for the fireworks we headed over to AL to get out of the crowds and get on rides before the fireworks start since DS is scared of them. Well that was a horrible idea, I forgot that F! was going on so we could hardly move which is why we ended up on the DLRR at that time. Oh well, won't do that again!
Sun 10/12 - today our friends leave, once again they started early and headed off on their own for the rest of their time there. This is the day of CHOC walk so I'm expecting it to be like Sat crowds or worse. I was pleasantly surprised though, not too bad today! In gates of DCA at 11:10 and started off with some shopping and pin trading. Then we rode GSS, Jellyfish, picked up FP for RSR (this was at 12:10), had lunch then rode GRR, had ice cream at Clarabelle's (very good and hugh ice cream bar), met Chip n Dale, then headed over to DL. Rode BLAB, Autopia, Matterhorn, Tikki room, & BTMR. Then headed to DTD for dinner at Jazz Kitchen walk up counter. Love me some Beignets!!! Now back to DCA for more shopping and pin trading, went on RSR with our FP then over to TSMM which we rode two times before heading to the bus at 10:30.
Mon 10/13 - today is Columbus day, I'm expecting less crowds than Sat but more than a typical Mon, boy was I wrong! It was so busy, just like Sat, not how I hoped our last day to be but oh well. Entered DCA at 11. DD and I were going to ride CS but it was closed so we got a FP to return at 12:40. While waiting for that we rode TSMM, carousel then had lunch. At this time CS is still closed which is a total bummer. So we went to DL to get in last rides there that the kids wanted to do. That didn't go so well either since all of the lines were so long. We managed to ride PoC and BLAB. It's now 3 and time to head back to hotel to get our bags and go to the airport.
Overall it was a great trip. My DS had fun having his friend there for part of the time but I think I definitely prefer it just being us. The weather was nice, a bit too warm for the few peak hours during the day but we managed. If you made it through my entire report you probably noticed we didn't do any parades, shows, or fireworks. Our kids preferred to go on rides and do their pin trading instead of spending so much time on those things. Next year I will plan our dates differently so we avoid the park on Sat and also the AZ & Utah school breaks (which I think started on Columbus Day) along with all the other big events that take place, Gay Days comes to mind and I think there was another one right before our trip.
Please let me know if you have any questions I might be able to answer!
