Kuzcochik's DL Attack: 1/3/07 & 1/4/07 (Rockin/christmas/etc)

[Kuzcochik]

Hey kiddos
KC here with my first trip report of the new year.
Gonna post this in sections cause I'm lazy and still need to get a few more pics, but I thought I'd start it now so I don't forget

The journey to Disneyland started

January 2:
All right, so there are no real pics for this but you know thought I'd start at the beginning. So this plan was several months in planning. We take a family trip to Dland almost every year since Haunted Mansion Holidays started (excluding last year cause they all went w/out me because I was CP-ing over at WDW). So we wanted to go before X-mas but work didn't allow such things. Instead we opted for the week after New Years since we could catch Rockin' and smaller crowds and all the x-mas things would still be up.
So we piled in the Xterra at 5pm AZ time and took off for Disneyland.
6 hrs later through crazy family antics, a lack fo sleep, and too much caffine we reached the Disneyland Hotel.
The room was amazing, not going to lie. I've never stayed at the DL hotel (it's the only of the three I haven't been too and it did not dissapoint)
We headed to bed, ready to get up at 7am the next morning

January 3rd:

So, my Dad and I got up at 7am and quickly got ready, hoping to beat the crowds cause I had this....


And this was special because the back looked like this


This, my friends, was KuzcoChik's very very first Annual Pass.
Given to me for X-mas by my grandma
Time to break that bad boy in

The lady at the front desk of the hotel had told us that the AP center opened an hour before the park... I knew that sounded weird cause I'd never heard of such things and all I can figure is she got it confused w/ Guesst Services.
We got in line which was relatively short but it was 7:30 after all

Look no one's at DCA.... maybe cause it's not open


Actually this was the only time I saw the sign this clear


First taste of The Year of A Million Dreams
These banners would be nice if you could see the images on them


So we headed to the bank and jumped in line... which was going the wrong way cause people are dumb. I was 4th in line. Everyone finally moved over once a CM told them they were dumb... the line made sense then.
They opened around 8 and I got my pass, woot!
Since we had to wait for my brother and mom to show up, my dad and I hit the bakery, where I used my food discount for the first time...
seriously, that was cool to me.
We chilled on the porch on Main Street before Dan and mom showed up.
I was informed that Alice and the Mad Hatter where at the front of the park.
I grabbed Dan and dragged him upstream down Main Street

KC loves the Mad Hatter


Back to the fam, we took off for Space Mountain, figuring with the new Rockin' overlay we needed to hurry to miss crazy lines.


It was a posted 30 minute wait.
We hopped in line and waited... and waited
Dan was excited


So here's my Rockin' Space Two Cents:
It's bright... but I like it.
The announcer dude at the beginning was annoying and very very Rockin' Roller Coaster-esque.
The song choice was excellent and very fitting (despite me not liking Red Hot Chilli Peppers) I kept clapping a drumming along
It's bright... my only major complaint
Because of the above you can see that weird meteor thing in the middle they never used
The projections on the roof were really cool too
As an overlay, I like it a lot! Never permenantly, but for a few months, it's cool

I'm the excited one in the middle row


After space we hopped on Buzz
Where I beat my mom


Then traveled across the hub and over to Pirates.
The fam hadn't seen the newly remodled version so it was fun and only about 20 minutes wait.

Santa was on vacation... at Disneyland of course
He needed the sorcerer hat cause he was out of holiday magic
We had a lot of time to think of all this in line


I love the NOS decorations


Like, I want them... or to live there


bizzare scaffolding shots... there was a bell up there I wanted a pic of


So definitely got soaked.... bloody pirates!
Obligatory blurry Jack pic


And finally, I want this sign in my room


As we headed to HMH we spotted the Bootstrappers
Bad idea, cause Kuzcochik loves pirates



They be a jolly good group


I'd never actually seen their show before


He looks like he's in pain


My camera flashed right as he turned... he'd been posing, I was mad


They're just cool... cause that's how Pirates do ^_^


And they like to hold notes



K... that's it for now.
Coming soon: Haunted Mansion Holidays, Fantasy Land and More Random-ness

[TikiRoomLiz]

Congratulations on getting such a great gift from your Grandma. And, I have to say the food and store discount is cool ... I use it wherever I can.

[BFJen]

Cute pictures! Glad you had fun!

[RobotMirror]

Great photos! I ALWAYS enjoy your trip reports - thank you!

[HDAlien]

Good trip report!

[The Mad Hatter]

KC loves the Mad Hatter

Awww...I'm flattered.

[wickeddisneygurl]

great report! thanx for sharing!

[Kuzcochik]

Thanks for all the comments guys.. they make me happy

And....

Awww...I'm flattered.

Somehow I knew I was going to get that responce. :P

Also quick note... I was wrong in my report earlier
We actually headed to Space but it was down, with a line already forming so we rode Buzz and then headed back to Space for the 30 minute wait.
But really, it's no big, it just bugged me :-P

So Part 2:

And we continue through New Orleans Square.. the least crowded I would see it for two days.
Mansion had a wait time posted of 25 minutes but the line wasn't even winding behind the gate and we basically walked on.

Boo!


I want one of these on my wall


Honestly, I can only take so many pics of the same stuff before I "try" to change it up


There are those pumpkins I was missing since my last visit was during Pumpkin Fest 06 (aka Halloween)


Bwha ha ha ha!


Sally's my favorite... not sure I've ever mentioned that


The ride was fun as always... except Jack wasn't talking. He never did get fixed while I was there, but there were only a few days of HMH left. Oh well

We went the long way through NOS to check out Bat en Rouge so I could ask about my missing doom buggie (the figures they've had every year but this one for HMH). The guy didn't know what I was talking about but said he'd never seen it.


I really like NOS


We jumped on Indy w/ our Fast Passes as the line grew longer


Through the steadily growing crowds in Adventureland we took off bound for Fantasy Land. I stopped for a Churro since we wouldn't be getting lunch until 1:30 with our res. at Bayou


Crowns or not, it's pretty


And I dunno what this is


My mom wanted to ride Peter Pan and i begrudgingly got into the 40 minute line
I spent the 40 minutes taking pics and getting admired for my pin bag (my pirate purse was covered in tons of pins... cause that's how I do). Little kids were staring and some crazy people too but they were nice and it killed the time


My mom decided King Arther was in love with Aurora... that's why there are pics of her on his ride


The 2 minute Flight one waits forever for


I like this one a lot


Clocks


The Sword in the Stone Ceremony started... I haven't actually watched it since I was little. It's on my to do list


After the ride we headed through Fantasy land to check out Big Thunder

We spotted this however


And it was adorable!


Thunder had a huge line so we got Fastpasses and decided to brave Splash Mt. I say brave because the line was huge (I think 50 or 60 minutes) and it was still kind of cold (I'm a wimp)


After Splash it was time for Lunch
Capt. Jack Sparrow walked past us but he had his harem following him and we were late for lunch. I whined for a few solid minutes... cause that's how I am.
We checked in and waited for our table. I hit up Bat again and was told that there were definitely no Buggies... I was sad.

I told you I love NOS


Waiting in the Bayou


We waited 20 minutes and then found out they'd lost our card somehow... some times I wish we were worse people, we probably would have gotten something free... grumble


This was the first time I'd been to Blue Bayou since it reopened. i love that place


The food was great (I had the Mahi)
We splurged and got all three desserts
The cookie boat


Copyright Disney


The gold


The Dead Man's Cookie Chest (we said the cookies should have been shaped like hearts)


I loved that thing and took it with us... but I left it in the hotel room when we left :-(


We headed to DCA cause Dl was nutty
But it was crowded too.

I'll leave you with the thing I wanted most in Off the Page.


Done for now
More Later or tomorrow

Next update: Monster's, Screamin', Muppets, ETC

[PEZZ Lightyear]

You so rock!

[Wolffin]

Wonderful report so far! I love all the pictures, especially those of the desserts...I need to go there and eat next time we go to Disneyland. =D Can't wait for the rest of your report!!

[Kuzcochik]

Allright, back by popular demand, it's

Part 3 of KC's D-land trip

Where did we leave off?
Ah, at Off the Page, fighting through the sea of people exiting the Aladdin show. We decided to try for Monsters Inc because the rest of the fam had not seen it yet.
The wait was 40 minutes!
We decided to wait (actually I was told that's what we were doing, i got over it cause I had watermelon gum)

In actuality the line was probably 30 minutes


Some semi-blurry monsters


Even blurry monsters need to potty


After the ride, which my family loved (but then again they were comparing it to Superstar Limo so anything was good) we grabbed Fast Passes for Tower and ran over to Paradise Pier
We barely escaped the HSM Pep Rally *shudder*

And saw our first Rockin' signs!


The line was 90 minutes so we jumped in Single Rider which was moving slowly and poorly. Luckily a smart cast member got bumped in and got the line moving... it took maybe 30 minutes in total


As for Rockin Screaming I really don't see the point... the ride was the same as always but w/ Chili Peppers blaringi n my ears. I mean there aren't even fun lighting effects at night or anything... I'm also not a fan of screaming right now with all the construction beneath. It takes a lot away from the atmosphere. But oh well

i love this pic


We sauntered (sorry, I wanted a new verb) back over to the Backlot to use our Fastpasses and entered the dreded Tower


We had a most excellent bell man. He was creepy and very much in character and he kept hitting me with his coat and it was awesome! :-D

Wonder if you know where this was taken..


Or this


Better hint


Yup, I was bored waiting for Muppet Vision. Here's Max, cause you know the union sent him, cause Debbie was sick (my fave part of that whole shtick)


Big tools


Blurry muppet art


"Check out that guy in the goofy mask.... oooh, sorry lady"


Monster's at Night taken while my mom cried over the lack of Muppets merch at the former Rizzo's gift shop


At this point, my brother and I split from my parents and took off on our own


We headed back to the hotel quickly (aka running through DTD) to drop off my Bayou leftovers and to grab Dan's camera.

I took some in hotel shots mostly for my friend
I want one of these


and these


Oh and these


the pool


Adventure Land-ness


The waterfall outside our room which had been turned off the other times we'd been to the room


We headed back into the park via the monorail
After checking on the now 70 minute long line for Space, we went to Frontierland to use our Big Thunder fast passes


And then got some fries to tide us over


Meandering through Fantasy Land we decided to check on the Roger Rabbit line which was also 60 minutes.
We hung around Toontown growing frustrated with the crowds


As we passed Small World it was doing crazy light things


I'd never seen this before


It was pretty awesome


i do love it when it's all lit up light that


We became so desperate to find something to do we went to Innoventions
The omin-orbi whatever tron thing went off like 12 times... I've never seen it move that much in one day


Ah, Tom Orrow, how I love/despise you


View from the top


Home of humongous lines


Since we had a while until the fireworks we decided to wait for Buzz
The line was about 25 minutes

Spinning things (I like this pic too)


Not spinning, but I like this lamp


Sepia Buzz


I totally beat Dan! I owned him if you will (mines on the left)


And then it was some quick shopping and off to wait for fireworks
Here's the Park Ranger to keep you going 'til I'm back

bump Bump



Be back soon ^_^

[ladydragon55]

I love your trip report. I noticed you wanted one of the bedspreads from the hotel. Sometimes on Mouse Surplus they have the hotel bedspreads and such. You might give them a try. I love the way you talk about your family and how you act during your trip. A very nice personal touch.

[disneyfnatc]

Very good pictures. I did not know that California Screaming had single rider! That is cool. I knew about Soaring and Splash.

[Kuzcochik]

Augh, sorry this has been taking so long guys. Been lazy and working inventory at the Disney Store and such so with out further ado,

Part 4:

So like I said last time, we headed over to catch Remember... about an hour before the show started. We sat around with the crowd and I called a few friends to catch up (actually beginning the plans for a trip in March)
Fantasmic started over at the River and my brother made fun of me for singing along. 10 minutes before the show they made us all stand up and we waited until about 9:30
The lights dim, some old women began talking about believing in dreams and holiday magic (regardless of the fact it was the second of January) and the the first shells lit up the air
A groan sounded from our section because....
We were behind a tree


que terrible!! Luckily enough of the fireworks were above the tree and the castle effects were enough to appease myself and the others






Then they set the tree on fire and everyone was happy....


Well I mean that would have been my holiday wish


It started to snow, which is always my favorite part.


I swear I always want to cry during that rendition of white Christmas


Not that you could tell from the pics




Snow in Dan's hair


He was happy too


With crowds moving at a snail pace and people getting ready for Fantasmic Part 2, we decided to try for Mansion.
The crowds were huge moving toward the river, but the ride was still a walk on


Are these lights on the spider webs new?
I remember the spider webs from years before but not the lights... and I swear the webs weren't there when I was there in October... am I crazy?


The best pic I've taken of this sign in a while (with no flash!)


It was scary!!! Mostly cause Jack's mought was still moving and he wasn't saying anything


Oogie gave us goodies though


Me and my mansion


Another shot


On to Pirates which was a twenty minute or so line (always pick the right side of the line.. my biggest piece of advise)


The sword was back... well kinda, I mean it's a knife now


As Fantasmic continued and the pirates and princesses started fighting and dancing (respectively) we hopped on Indy a short 15 minute wait


The night was coming to a close so we decided to try for Space on more time. The line was still 30 minutes but it was close enough to park close that we decided to end with one ride


The orbi-thingy was still going, even at 11:30


So, I decided to try to take a pic inside Space and I think it doesn't do the ride justice

Yeah, cause you can't see a freaking thing!!! :P

I have problems


As we were leaving we realized Buzz was a walk on because the park was about to close and we were one of the last groups on


Totally beat Dan again!!!


And now you are subjected to pretty castle shots, cause I went crazy w/ them




And some Snow (white that is)




Back to the castle


This one didn't work how I wanted to


You can't really see me in this one and what you can I look scary


Christmas!


And here's a tree in DTD to leave you with cause I think they're pretty.


To Be Continued: I swear I'm almost done! Just the next day and more capacity crowds, some Disneyland hotel and.... yeah that should be it... some pirates

[Kuzcochik]

Oh, a bit of insomnia= your second to last part of this lovely update... almost done, I swear

Part 5:

So we finally made it to Day 2!!!
Huzzah!!!
No seriously, that's exciting cause I almost gave up on this thing
Day 2 started early, especially after not getting back to the hotel until 12:30-ish the night/morning before.

I swear I thought we were at the Grand for a while :P


We were up at 7:30 and down to check out around 8.
I took time to check out the lobby and the hallways w/in the Disney Hotel



Lots of concept art!


My absoulte favorite picture!


This was cute too


Back over to good old Disneyland we saw the crowds beginning to form. We decided to try Space first thing, knowing how bad it had gotten so quickly the day before

It was rockin so hard the line was already 60 minutes and growing.


Our fastpasses weren't even good until 2:30... it was freaking 9:30 at the point!!!


So we headed to ToonTown figuring the early morning crowds hadn't migrated that far yet


Roger was a walk on (better than the hour the night before) so we took a quick spin


Then we braved... dare I say it? IT'S A SMALL WORLD... but what's this? Oh it was holiday so it's almost tolerable


Probably seen this shot 12 times now this year




Not too scary


Sadly there was no Alice for me cause no on wanted to wait in line
But they'd all wait for Mr. Toad


I don't know if it was just me, but the "heck" scene was not as warm as it usually is. Usually I'm almost sweating by the end but not so much this time

Back over to New Orleans for one last Pirate voyage
Bugging my brother while bored in line


Davey Jonsssss-aahhh (that's how he talks!!! There are aaahhh's at the end of every sentence... I'm not exaggerating!)


Everything else was getting increasingly crazier so there was no last mansion ride and no last Indy ride for me (there was a line for the fast passes for Indy!!!)


So since we still had time 'til our Space passes we headed back over to DCA.
We spotted (get it spotted :P) Cruella on our way out, who informed us that pineapple and fur coats do not mix (Ah, but Cruella, Dolewhips are more delicious than coats!)



The line for DCA stetched passed the letters!!! it was nuts!
The line for Soarin' was moving though.... okkay not really, we just used Single Rider and got on almost immediatly


Balloons!


Oh the Miner 49's! I love them mucho!


We took another Screamin' ride, this time with a more functional single rider line but a rather dim CM at the load bay
And we zoomed on Maliboomer


We waited for Tower since we still had time




Can never get a clear shot of Tower photos


I chilled in the Animation Building for a bit (one of my favorite spots in DCA) and finally got a shot of my favorite Ariel sketch


We went back to Disneyland which had a slighly shorter line to get in but was still jammed packed
We used our Space fastpasses


And tried to check on Mansion again which was still crazy.
Back in NOS we ran into a random pirate. He was fun. He commented on how my bag had a lot whole lot of gold (cause of my pins)


In the Indy shop... I wanted a hat


Dan bought a ball shaped Donald thing.
The CM asked him "Will the Egg shaped Donald be all?"
we laughed... then talked about brain sucking teddies (ie the Vampire Teddy hats)
She was probably the best CM we saw the whole time aside from the in-character Tower CM.. everyone else was just meh/sub-par. It was kind of sad
I mean I know it was a crazy busy time but no one went out of their way to make us feel special or just talk to us. It was sort of depressing

Anyway we decided it was about time to leave and wanted to hit up the shops on Main Street. The way, however, was being blocked by crowds waiting for the parade. So we start to walk into the camera shop to cut through and who do we see trying to inconspicuously saunter by?
The captain himself


Little kids are attacking him w/ books and cameras
his handlers are yelling that he has to get across main street before the parade
they're telling us to follow him to NOS
he keeps stopping.
I ask to simply take a pic as he's walking
the CM says okkay
Jack keeps ignoring me for little kids
Then finally takes a pic


I was happy to have my Jack pic, but honestly it was also a hassle. The random pirate back in NOS was more fun than Jack. I know he was in a hurry but I was trying to be the easiest to please there and I almost got overlooked. All cause I wasn't throwing myself on the poor guy.

Blarg!!!!!


All right, I'm getting kinda mad and tired now.
Back with part 5 aka the final chapter very soon. I swear it'll be happier and less rant filled