Trip Report Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

[tiggerfan]

I'd like to start my report by apologizing for the delay. I usually try to post my reports within a few days but this time it has taken a bit longer. All I can say is that while I love my MC friends, you guys don't pay my rent, and clients have kept me busy.

But I'm finally getting started so for my 2 or 3 readers, here we go

As you might guess from the title, this was a 4 day/3 night kind of trip with a couple of those days on the road. It was a pretty good trip however and looking back I am surprised how much I squeezed in.

Day One: Saturday June 7th: Driving Down and El Capitan

My trip began Saturday morning as I got ready to drive down from Stockton to Burbank. My plan was to spend the evening with friends and then head on to Disneyland the following day.

Like most trips I didn't exactly get out of town when I planned to, but I was able to be on the road by around 10:30 am.

When driving from Northern to Southern California the biggest question is what road to take, 5 or 99. Both go straight down the center of the state but there is a difference. 5 is quite a bit faster but 99 has more places to stop. Since I planning to drive straight through I opted for I-5.

By around 4pm I was down to Burbank and met up with my friends. We had plans to see Prince Caspian at the El Capitan but decided we should get dinner first.

My friends took me to a nice place near his workplace where we enjoyed some really good pounded chicken and beef. It's one of those things I love about travel, getting to go to a local place instead of just a chain location.

After dinner we headed over to the Metro station near Universal Studios (or what is left of Universal) and caught the train to Hollywood. I think one of the best kept secrets for out of towners is the ability to take the Metro system around LA. It cost us $ 1.25 each way and we didn't have to worry about finding a good place to park.



We got to town early so we spent some time looking around the area and checking out Graumans Chinese Theater.



We then headed into the El Capitan to check out things and see the new Narnia movie. This is a really cool restored theater and it is worth the price of admission just to see the detailed interior



(Please note the photos above are not mine, but I wanted you to see how cool these places are).

There have already been a number of great reviews about the lobby and basement display for Prince Caspian so I won't go into that but I do want to say I was a tad disappointed in the pre show.

When I saw 101 Dalmations they had a nice pre show with Goofy and Cruella, this time they had a guy walk out, raise a sword in the air and the shot off some confetti.

However the organ performance before the pre show was wonderful as always. Again, its worth it just to get to listen to the magic fingers of the organist.

I really enjoyed the movie and there was something special about seeing it in such as nice venue.

After the movie we headed back to the metro station and then back to my friends house. We chatted for a while and headed off to bed.

The next day I would drive down to Anaheim.

Part 2 coming soon: Anaheim and Disneyland.

[Dan - Tasmic!]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Nice, can't wait for more. Keep them coming!!

[Coast21]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Nice, and as Dan stated keep it coming!

[tiggerfan]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Day Two: Sunday June 8th: Anaheim, Disneyland and Crowds

I got up early on Sunday because my friends were heading to Church (which made me feel a little guilty but it’s only a few Sundays a year at DL). One big advantage I had was the ability to avoid heavy traffic.

In fact I did pretty well on this trip with regard to driving, I got from home to Burbank in about 5 hours and from Burbank to Anaheim in only 45 minutes. I decided to stay at the Anabella this time and take advantage of the Micechat $ 99 a night rate.

I want to start by saying that overall I was quite pleased with the hotel but I did have a couple of issues to deal with. To start out, the $ 99 rate is only a starting point. They charge for parking (11.50 a day) and have the usual resort fees, taxes, etc. As a result the net price ends up closer to $ 130-135 a night.

I don’t mind them charging what they want but I wish they’d just put it in the overall price from the start. They also do not provide a shuttle to the park or any free breakfast, which are pretty standard features at many cheaper hotels.

The rooms though are quite nice, they have hardwood floors and are decorated in a Southwestern style. The Casita Suites also have an additional bedroom area (basically just a bed and some room to stand up) which is nice for privacy when you have people sharing a room.

They also have an interesting power saving system in place. You place your room key in a slot on the wall to restore full power. When it is taken out the room is on an energy saving mode.

I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of the resort but here are some shots from their web site, giving you a look at the place.

Hotel Exterior




Hotel Lobby




Hotel Pool





Hotel Hallway




Since I arrived in town at 10am and the check in time was not until 4pm I was not able to get my room yet but they did allow me to do an pre check in and I was able to leave my car/bags at the hotel while I headed over to the parks.

Getting from the hotel to the parks is a pretty easy walk, right down Disneyland Way to the Grand Californian and from there into the parks. It took me around 20 minutes to get from the hotel lobby to the park gates.

When I got there I was surprised to find that there were no long lines to get in, but I soon discovered that this was because everyone else was already in the parks. It was a 90 minute wait for Space Mountain and Nemo, a 50 minute wait for Buzz and even Pooh had a 30 minute wait.

Since this was far from my first park visit I decided it probably was not worth a long wait for things so I decided to do a few of the rides that did not have crowds.

One of these was the Mark Twain, a nice way to transition into the park and I was able to get some nice pictures.

The engine room area



A few views of the shore and a look at some canoers


















After finishing the Twain I took some time to ride the Train and just enjoy a bit of the park feeling before heading to the hub for the Noon meet. While waiting for the folks to arrive I took some pics of the new flowers and a pretty nice look (at least I think its nice) of the Matterhorn.









Turnout at the Noon meet was pretty slim since a lot of people were at WDW for Gay Days, so I took a little while to say hello and then headed out to tour the parks.

Finding Disneyland a bit too full I figured I'd go over to DCA to do a little pre-planning for Monday (details to come later) and have lunch at Whitewater Snacks since they are never crowded...

Well they are ALMOST never crowded but today at 1pm there was no seating and a 30 minute wait for food, so I just grabbed a drink and headed into DCA.

Finding DCA just as crowded I decided to do some of the shows and took in Golden Dreams, Muppets, Bugs Life and so on. I know some people are down on these shows but I think they are a pretty good deal and fun to watch, if not on every single trip.

As I walked around DCA I was able to take some pictures which I think show the park is actually a bit nicer than many of us are led to think.

Some nice buildings near Golden Dreams (though I wish they were used for something)





A look around the lagoon











The Waterfront area





Muppetvision 3D











By now it was late enough for me to go check into my hotel (and I was pretty tired) so I went over and registered and headed to my room. I relaxed there for a while until I got a call from Disneyfnatc who was coming down to stay in my room and then do Disneyland on Monday.

We met at the hotel and headed next door to Tiffy's for dinner. Tiffy's is a fun place to eat and while the food is pretty basic it does have a lot of cool decor inside and I hear the ice cream is really good (we just didn't feel like dessert).



After dinner we headed into the park for a few hours to do some rides after the crowds had thinned out a little bit. But we didn't do a whole lot because we knew we had a big day planned for Monday...

Coming soon... Monday and the Midway

[disneyfnatc]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Its looking good so far. I am looking forward to the rest.

[WheresMickey]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Nice report so far, can't wait to see more!

[I Heart Disneyland]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

And....then he met......I heart Disneyland and Disney Banks! Can't wait for that part. (Wish I'd had my camera..I'd have proof!)

[RooBear]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

GACK! THIS IS THE REPORT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

Didn't see it until now.

Very cool, TF, very cool! It's wonderful to see you having a good time. Like yourself, I've been to the park so many times, I don't have to ride everything as well.

Thanks so much for this, I'm really enjoying it.

Peace out
Roo

[penguinsoda]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

So its a little later than you anticipated... hey, we love to look at pictures, no matter what the time line is on them!!!! :clap:

[Ride Warrior]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours




Tiggerific report as usual! Love the unusual photos and description of your stay.

Still, can't help but pondor the possibility of ditching a canoo for the Rainbow Caverns train relic and paddle it down the Rivers of America. Do you think this idea would sink or swim?

[Evil Step-Mom]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Can't wait to see the rest of this TR. I love your pictures.

[aashee]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Great mix of photos TigFan. Thanks for posting and I'll keep an eye out for the rest. You really do a great job!

[xalesa]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Love your report so far. Can't wait for more.

[tiggerfan]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Ok folks ready to move on to the next part of the report

Day Three: Monday June 9th: Disneyland/DCA and Midway Mania

Today was the day I'd been looking forward to, Disneyfnatc and I had both entered the drawing for the AP preview of Midway Mania and while I lost I was pleased to learn that DF won, which meant we got to check out the ride before almost everyone else.

We got up around 8am and headed over to Disneyland first since DCA wasn't open yet. Our first step though was to check in for the AP preview at the information booth near Downtown Disney. We got some pretty cool preview tickets when we checked in.



I felt kind of bad for one lady who was checking in with us, she had won the AP preview for Thursday but her AP expired on Tuesday so she was trying to talk them in to letting her do the preview early. I'm not sure if she convinced them or not.

We decided to have breakfast at River Belle Terrace and it was the first time I had been in since the remodel (or at least I think it was). I like the new open feeling to the place and the food was good as well (plus the views of the park and ROA are wonderful).

We had some time to kill so we went ahead and did a few of the NOS area rides like Pirates, Haunted, Splash Mountain, etc. The park was certainly busy but not nearly as bad as it was on Sunday.

Around 9:45 we decided to get over to DCA for the preview. We made our way through the gates and rushed back to the attraction and were surprised to find almost no line. I had assumed we'd need to get there right at 10am but it seems that we didn't.

In fact in talking to a cast member I found out they had decided to learn from the mistakes of the Nemo AP preview. I didn't go to that preview but I understand they had major problems with long lines and breakdowns so they wanted to avoid a repeat. In order to do that they reduced the number of passes for each time period so that even with breakdowns they could give everyone at least one ride.

The side benefit of this was that as long as the lines didn't get long they were allowing repeats. DF and I managed to do 10 or 11 rides during our 10am-3pm preview period and that was with time off to go do some other attractions.

We both took some pictures (well lots of pictures of the queue and the building itself.

Please note most of the following pictures are courtesy of Disneyfnatc, so send your compliments his way



Mr Potatohead acts as the carnival barker and also entertains the line when crowds get bad.



The queue area gives us a nice preview of what you get to do inside













You pick up your 3D glasses here





We didn't get pictures of the inside because the attraction was so much fun. I know some people are unhappy with the ride but both DF and I found it to be a ton of fun.

Others have given better more detailed reviews but I thought I'd run through how the ride works just for fun. I might not get the ride order exactly right, so please forgive any errors.

You ride in vehicles that are something like two of the Buzz lightyear cars stuck together. One car faces front and other faces back, two people to a car.

When you get inside the attraction the vehicles stop at five different gaming areas and the vehicles spin so that each side is facing the playing area. It's actually a pretty clever way to double ride capacity.

There are five (or six) different games to play. You start out with a pie tossing section which is basically to give riders a chance to learn how to do things on the ride. It's a nice touch to give newbies time to figure things out and the rest of us a fun way to begin.

Next you go to an egg toss section where you throw eggs at various farm creatures. Be sure to look for the mice on the top of the barn to get extra points.

This is I think another of the fun benefits to the ride, you and your riding partner can work together to score bigger points. In each game there is an easter egg of sorts on both sides of the screen and if you manage to both eliminate the item (like the mice on the barn) they give you both bonus points.

The next area is where you toss darts at balloons. In this case the key is to get the balloons hanging from the sun and the moon for double bonus points. I also like the fact that when you pop water balloons it sprays water at you, just to add to the effect.

Next up is plate breaking, and I'm not positive what the bonus is but I do know if you hit the right plates then Army tanks 'shoot' at you and you get a blast of compressed air.

The fourth area is the ring toss and is themed to Buzz Lightyear. This is in my view the toughest of the games.

The final area is throwing baseballs at targets and is themed to Toy Story.

Heading out of the ride you have a nice after show area and some nice detail work on the building interior.
















All things concerned I think this is a great addition to DCA.

By now we were starting to get a bit hungry since we had spent most of the day on Midway Mania. We headed over to Whitewater Snacks for lunch and relaxed a little bit before moving back out into DCA

Since we were in the park we took time to ride ToT, California Screaming and Soaring over California, in most cases taking advantage of the good old single rider line.

By 5:30 we'd finished up with DCA so we moved over to Disneyland where we did Buzz, Space Mountain, Indy, Star Tours and Nemo. I hadn't done Nemo yet and while I probably would not wait in a long line for it again I did enjoy being back on the subs.

Around 7:30 or so it was time for DF to head out because he had to work the next day, so I said my goodbyes and headed down to Coke Corner to meet up with some more Micechatters.

Coming up: I Heart Disneyland, Disney Banks and Awaflyboy deal with Tiggerfan

[tiggerfan]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Day Three: Monday June 9th (part 2): The gang puts up with TF

Ok time for me to finally finish up this trip report. After saying goodbye to Disneyfnatc I headed down to Coke Corner to grab a drink and relax before meeting with some more Micechatters.

I must admit to having been pretty tired at this point but I ran into one of those things that just bug you on a trip. I got into line to get a soda and the person in front of me stepped up to the counter and was promptly joined by 3 other people who she had been 'holding the line' for.

They proceeded to order enough food to feed an army, with me waiting behind wanting to order a single drink. I am sure I was overreacting a bit due to fatigue but still it was irritating.

Having gotten my drink I settled into a seat to enjoy the piano playing while I waited for I Heart Disneyland and Disney Banks to show up. It didn't take long for them to arrive and we sat and talked for a little while before deciding where to go.

We were all pretty tired so we didn't want to make too big an evening of it but at the same time we wanted to get stuff done. Also due to my fatigue that night I can't promise the order of rides to follow is exactly accurate but its pretty close.

Our original thought was to head into Fantasyland to do some rides but they were getting ready for fireworks and so we knew they'd be closing off most of the rides.

Instead we headed over into Tomorrowland and took a ride on the Matterhorn. I didn't get any pictures taken but IHD and DB did, so I think I will let them post those shots (if I didn't break the camera).

After doing the Matterhorn we started to move over towards Frontierland and took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain, another great night ride. We were sort of killing time trying to wait for Awaflyboy to arrive from his day at The Price is Right (by the way, guess who got to go up on stage during Showcase Showdown ?).

We got a call from AFB and decided to meet him at the NOS train station since it would be hard to get down Main Street during fireworks. As we got to NOS the fireworks show started so we were able to enjoy most of the show as we waited for the train.

It wasn't hard to pick out AFB since he was wearing his kilt (pictures to follow later). Since we were right in NOS we took time to ride on Pirates and Haunted Mansion, always a great thing to do. The lines were not too bad so we got through quickly. We also got Death Certificates and Pirates Maps just for the fun of it.

Now we headed over to Indiana Jones and had a rather interesting experience. Now to be fair, if you go to Disneyland wearing a kilt you probably do expect to attract some extra attention. But I do not think Awaflyboy expected quite what happened next.

In front of us in line was a guy who seemed quite taken with Flyboy and his kilt, so he decided to share with us some of the secrets of Indiana Jones.

For example, he showed us how if you shake the pole in the first passageway that the walls will move up and down...... It wasn't working when we were there but he assured us it was working just fine earlier in the day.

He also told us to be careful about the loose stones in the roof because if we were not careful they would come crashing down on us (a friend of his had been hurt in this way).

In between these insights he also engaged AFB in a long discussion of Scottish and Irish heritage and how he knew all kinds of important people and so on.

In the movie room he told us more wonderful insights on the attraction and how they had even filmed some of the movies in this room. He also discussed how AFB needed to be careful with his kilt because he might give the rest of the park a view of what was underneath (how could you say something like that to a total stranger).

By this time I think we were all fighting to keep control. IHD, DB and I were fighting to keep from bursting out in laughter and I suspect AFB was trying to keep from strangling the guy.

Luckily for us we were with IHD and she was using her special assistance pass, so we got to say goodbye to our 'special friend'. It has been a long time since I encountered someone quite as annoying as this guy and I feel bad for the people stuck in line with him.

If I forgot any more stories about the guy I am sure the others will let me know....

After Indiana Jones we moved over to Jungle Cruise where we again took advantage of the SAP. This was a real treat because when we went to ride we got to be in a boat driven by Justin. Sometimes when you ride JC you get average Cast Members and sometimes you get some really good ones.

Well Justin was one of the really good ones. He kept the show lively and engaging and had quite a lot of energy for 10pm at night. I also suspect that IHD and DB did not mind the change as Justin is what most would call a hottie boy.

Of course as we rode along we could not help teasing AFB a little bit about his 'special friend' on Indiana Jones.

After finishing up here we moved across the park to Tomorrowland where we had a boys versus the girls contest on Buzz Lightyear, the final scores were pretty close but I think (?) that the boys won.

We then moved across the way to Space Mountain. Remembering what had been said to him, Awaflyboy decided to make a little joke. He and I were riding in the front with I Heart Disneyland and Disney Banks riding behind us.

Just as the ride started to move he turned to them and pretended to flash his kilt up, laughing about the inside joke. But it turns out they were not the only ones in on the joke. I was looking forward and happened to glance up at the ride operator in the room above the tracks.

He got a very good view of Flyboys joke and it seemed like he really enjoyed the show... LOL

After Space Mountain we move over to Autopia for a ride through the really slow but still pretty fun cars. I am not sure what happened during our ride but we ended up with a bit of a traffic jam, possibly because of a malfunctioning car.

By now it was midnight, meaning I'd pretty much done the parks from open to close (I'd arrived at Disneyland around 8:45am or so and now it was past midnight). Needless to say my feet were tired and I was glad to be heading back to the room but sorry to be leaving my new friends.

We strolled down main street and then headed out to the Timon parking lot where Flyboy had parked. In a move of great kindness he had offered to give us all rides back to our hotels, thus saving our tired feet from a longer walk.

I really had a great time with IHD, DB and AFB and hope to get to see them again. As I said when they dropped me off, I hope they were kind when they started making fun of me after I left the car <G>.

After returning to my room I quickly found myself asleep.

Day Four: Tuesday June 9th: A Little DL and The Drive Home

I got up a bit later than normal on Tuesday and proceeded to pack my bags and check out of the hotel. I then walked over to Disneyland to get a few more hours of fun done.

Looking back at my weekend I had managed to ride pretty much everything in both park except for some of the Fantasyland rides, so I moved over here and got in most of these attractions.

I also took time for some pictures of the castle and the land.

















I took some time to grab a quick lunch (and some cotton candy for the ride home) and then headed out of the parks.

My drive home was pretty smooth but I came home to a 2 hr power outage so it wasn't exactly the nicest homecoming.

All things considered though it was a very good trip.

Hope you enjoyed.

[royaldisneyfan]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Lovely pics Tiggerfan! Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed it alot!

[BFJen]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Sorry about the power outage - but your trip sounded like a lot of fun!

[I Heart Disneyland]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

I tried so many times to wedge myself between AWF and that guy on Indy, but, the guy would not leave him alone!!! He was asking him if he'd seen several different movies, etc. It was hilarious! I am dying here just thinking about it!!! :lol:

And, the flash of the kilt too! Oh my gosh! TOO FUNNY!!!!! :lol:When Disney Banks gets her photos online, she can share those here too. AWF in his kilt and a shot of us together, except her. Stupid me, I left my camera behind that day and I didn't get even one photo of TF and AWF with us! But, it's in writing now, so, I have proof! It was a really, really fun night! I'd love to do it again! Right now. No, seriously. Everyone on a plane. Let's do this thing!!!! GAC pass in hand!!!!

[WheresMickey]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

Great report!

[I Heart Disneyland]

Re: Tiggerfan Visits Disneyland Or Around California in 80 Hours

P.S. I especially enjoyed our Skipper on JC because for the first time EVER.....he didn't say, "The back side of water". I'm so tired of that joke!!