Jan 13 - Jan 16 Trip Report [picture heavy!]

[ashley solo]

Really, this trip report is not 56k friendly!

First trip report! While I’ve been to the park many times, this is my first trip report here. I hope everyone is excited.

My boyfriend got an AP for Christmas from my family so I booked us a hotel for one night and we would spend the rest of the nights at our friends’ house in Fountain Valley. We usually do lots of things with friends and never do things alone so this was going to be great.

We actually got to leave for our Disneyland excursion a day earlier than expected. We left in the afternoon of Saturday so that meant one more day in the park!

Day 1 - 1/13/08

So, on Sunday Boy Solo (who will be known as Mike... his real name, I kid you not!) and I got to the park around 10 or so.

When we got there, Mike was thinking of a Million Dreams. I knew this because there was a cloud above him.



Once inside, since Mike was a first time AP man (what a great Christmas present!), we had to hit up the bank, so while we waited, I snapped a picture of the First 50 Magical Years.



Honestly, we couldn’t think of what to do first so we just walked, and stumbled into Tomorrowland.



Buzz was first up this morning. The wait wasn’t long, and well he was basically calling our names to help fight Zurg.

While in line we saw FUTURE CABBAGE.



...Or plants.

And look who we saw on our way out!



We walked by Innovations and thought about going in, but decided to take a detour to Fantasyland. Through there, Mike challenged Monstro to a staring contest.



If I remember correctly, Mike lost.

We headed on over to Casey Jr since I’ve always wanted to ride it but never have. I probably did when I was four but I do not remember that, frankly. The sun was hot and the line surprisingly long.

These girls’ looks of anticipation matched mine.



These were pretty:



We got the caboose!



It was surprisingly fast!



After the excitement (and slight dizziness from going backwards on Casey Jr), we grabbed an ice cream and sat in the park in Toon Town where Minnie was meeting many of her adoring fans. After our ice cream we took a whacky ride on Roger Rabbit and then walked around Toon Town to see the sights.

















We then decided to keep doing the “what do we do next” walk when we saw Ariel sittin’ on her clam. So we went to say hi.



She liked my thingamabobs (earrings). Needles to say I left them at our friend’s apartment later on in the trip so I should have just given them to her for her collection.

On our way back around the castle, we saw Ms. Poppins and Burt having fun.















The more I write this the more I realized we walked around not knowing what to do more than anything. Hah.

We took a trip to Critter Country to meet my favorite bear, Winnie the Pooh.







Then we did something dangerous: got a turkey leg and chimichanga!

The leg was bigger than my face but I don’t really like beef so I was against the chimichanga. We sat on Main Street and waited for the parade (also a first for me).



And we waited.



But then the parade started!



















The parade was a delight and I enjoyed it. Of course the music is VERY cheesy but it’s fun to imitate it and prance around slightly making fun of it so I am ok with it.

After the parade we headed over to DCA and I had to say hello to my other lover (don’t tell Mike).



We grabbed a fast pass to Soarin’ and walked on to Grizzly. We were curious about the Grand Californian so we went inside and it was so beautiful. We sat by the fire and took a breather. Then we looked at the Snow White exhibit which was so great and amazing. Snow White isn’t my favorite Disney film but Snow is pretty bad*** with her cape and what not.

Then we saw the Toy Story thingy (aren’t I great with names?). So cool! Goofy and Pluto came to watch as well.

We walked through Bug’s Life area and rode Flick’s Flyers.



We walked through Paradise Pier.



We rode Soarin’ and then called it a day.



...Day 2 coming up!

[ashley solo]

Day 2 - 1/14/08

The next day we slept in until noon and headed over to the parks. How refreshing! We’re so used to waking up early and traveling a lot before hand but this was great.

We went to DCA first to see if we could grab lunch at Ariel’s grotto. No such luck, due to the whole sets of dining and all that jazz, we decided to skip it. We would be doing Lilo and Stitch breakfast later in our trip anyway.

So we decided to hit up Mullholland Madness, a ride we had not been on before.

Mike is ready for some whackiness.



The fish and chips on Ariel’s Grotto’s menu made me really want Fish and Chips so we went to the Wharf to see if there was some. No such luck (that we could see) but we did find some right before the Bug’s Life area. YES!



Disneyland is still wishing me a Happy Holiday!

The fish and chips were delicious. And very filling. We should have shared one instead of getting two.

Then I saw my friends!



I love cows.

We took a trip on Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train which I’m a huge fan of because I love Heimlich.



On our way back to Disneyland I stopped by a California cloudy A.



We saw our favorite friend Goofy on our way in.



We caught a ride to the castle.



Now, I have never been to the Tiki Room. So was very, very excited for the history and fun of it all. It was definitely a favorite of the trip. So was the Dole Whip afterwards! Thanks for all the suggestions, MCers, it was soooo goood!





Mike and I decided to climb Tarzan’s Tree House. I hadn’t climbed it since it was the Swiss Family Robinson’s. It was nice, but such a work out. Mike and I are so old and lazy Americans.

A shot from the tree house.



After the tree house we took a trip on Jungle Cruise and enjoyed it as usual. Why are we always the only ones laughing on the boat?

Then Indy had a short line so we took a trip on that as well. Saw a friend.



Then we took a stroll through some shops looking for postcards, and Mike liked the artwork so he gave Mickey a pound.



Then we headed back to our friends’ apartment.

[ashley solo]

We woke up very early for the next day to check into our hotel. Which was the Park Vue Inn. This place was great. It was under construction when we got there so it was a little confusing and messy on the outside but our room was great and didn’t smell like hotel! We hate hotel smell. And it was right across the street from the main gate.



This is right outside the parking lot. NICE!

On our way in we stopped by The First 50 Magical Years. We love Steve Martin AND Donald Duck AND Disneyland. Sounded great, and it was.

We then went down to information at the end of Main Street. We looked at the wait times and such and asked for the number for Disney Dining. I also asked if Remy would be out that day or the next day and after a phone call, found out he wouldn’t be. I was very upset. Ratatouille is my favorite I watch it nightly before bed (ok so I see the first 20 minutes more than anything) and I was VERY sad. But! I did see Baloo!



Mike and I were pretty hungry so we went to New Orleans and sat to enjoy some gumbo. It was SO GOOD. Mike had it last time but this was my first time. Mmmm. I don’t like beef (as stated before) so I had the veggie gumbo. It was delicious. And filling! After we ate Mike called Disney Dining and got us priority seating for 7am the next day for breakfast.



After that I expressed my interest in Princess Fantasy Faire. We have lots of male friends so whenever we go no one in the group wants to sit through anything for Princesses. But, since my Boy Solo is so sweet he waited in line to meet some princesses for me. I love the princesses (being one myself, ahem).

What a surprise that place was. My first meeting was with the dashing Aladdin. Excuse the picture, I was laughing.



I told Aladdin Mike was probably jealous but he promptly told me he was taken so there’s nothing to worry about. Haha... man, just he was the last person I expected to see.

Mike’s jealous face, with Aladdin in the background:



I met Princess Minnie!



Then I met Belle. This particular Belle was so beautiful. But she also looked just like my friends’ sister. Poor girl probably thought I was crazy because I kept looking at her being like “I THINK IT’S HER IN THERE”. Obviously it wasn’t, she lives in Las Vegas, but still! I loved her dress.



Then I did some princess coloring. I gave Prince Phillip a very flamboyantly colored outfit.



Then we watched a Princess instructed dance of sorts. Not sure what was going on.







On our way back through Fantasyland, Mike wanted to say hi to the White Rabbit but bumped his head on his house.



Since we didn’t do much in Fantasyland yet, we explored the area and rode some rides.







After the Fantasy was done, besides Peter Pan and Storybook, we finally headed over to Space Mountain.



Mike looks SO happy. Haha.

Then we went to Main Street to get our silhouettes done. How neat!



On our way out Mike said sorry to the Indian for all the years of suffering his people had brought to his people.



We ran over to DCA to Talk to Crush which was fantastic as always. We learned all of Crush’s children’s names, which oddly enough a lot of them resembled early 90’s sitcom family’s and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... hmmm.

And we saw this beauty on the way out.



Then we went back to Disneyland and enjoyed some drinks at the Golden Horseshoe... and a show! I had never seen Billy Hill and the Hillbillys! Definitely another highlight. My stomach hurt from laughing.







We rode Thunder Mountain. First time I had ridden since Grad Night in ’05!



We then took a stroll around Frontierland and New Orleans Square, and rode Pirates. After Pirates we walked over to Fantasyland to hit the rides we wanted to earlier. Peter Pan was still long but we did go on Dumbo and Storybook.





On our way out of the park, we took a picture of the castle. Beautiful.

[Aura of Foreboding]

From far away that Bert looks soooooooooooooo much like Dick Van Dyke!

And that shot of Peter Pan shaking the kid's hand! That's awesome! Definitely my favorite shot of Pan!

Very nice pics! Great report!

[ashley solo]

The next morning we woke up super early for our priority seating at Lilo and Stitch’s Aloha Breakfast. We got there at 7am, bright and early and NO ONE WAS THERE. Literally it was us and a group of four French people who I think didn’t understand the character breakfast concept and were not very excited about it. No one came for about an hour so we had lots of fun with Goofy, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch. We had lots of laughs and lots of fun. The characters were GREAT. Around 8, a family showed up with a girl who looked about ten, we asked Pluto if he was excited now that a child was there and he nodded. Poor guys, they just didn’t know what to do before that. Here’s some pictures.











Stitch took this himself.








As Mike and I left Goofy had me help him make a lei chain and in the end he gave it to me so we had tons of leis.



So now we were off to our last day in the park. We were there a bit early so we stood in line and waited with others.



Once inside Mike told me he had a surprise for me, so he got out a bag he had been carrying around and gave me a card. A scavenger hunt of sorts! Basically each card said something he wanted to do with me and it corresponded with a ride so then we would go ride that ride. It was all very sweet and cute.

On each envelope it said “Will you...”


Hm. Sounds like Peter Pan! So we went down Main Street and waited for the rope drop. We had never done that before, how semi exciting. After the drop we rode Peter Pan and I got another card.



Sounds like Small World Holiday! So odd since Mike hates Small World but I was excited. We enjoyed the Holiday overlay more than regular Small World.

Waiting to dock I read the next card.



Splash Mountain it is! We had a log to ourselves!





Next card had all signs pointing to Winnie the Pooh.



We saw Eeyore on our way out.



The next card proved to be tasty.





And.



Gag, right? So sweet!



Time for Pirates! (The boat is called SS Pidge because that’s Mike’s nickname for me. Lady and the Tramp anyone?)

I opened the next one in a pretty place...





AUTOPIA! I drove. We saw some one cute on our way there.







On our way off of Autopia, Jedi Training Academy was starting. I was very excited, Mike and I being huge Star Wars fans love Jedi Training Academy (I fought Vader last year!) so I sat front row and watched.















The last two cards were a bit mushy so I left them out. We decided to grab some fries and sit by the permanently parked Mark Twain.

We were going to head on out but decided to cruise on the Jungle Cruise one last time. It was a great ride.



We spent some time shopping around and got my mom Taffy like we always do. And look who we bumped into.



Look at Max’s ‘90s pants!

What a wonderful trip. It was so care free and fun and so wonderful. It was just how Disneyland should be.

[Tea]

Awesome TR! I love how you set up your pictures. You too look like so much fun!

[PEZZ Lightyear]

That was great!


Bring on the mushy cards!

[Susabelle]

Thanks for sharing such a fun and *mushy* Awwwwwwwww...... report! My hubby is like that, so I am used to it now. We have been together 17 yrs and he still does that mushy stuff! Sounds like you found a keeper too!
Love your pics! What a fun time and I like how you kinda wandered around just doing stuff instead of commandoing the Parks. It is so much nicer to just take them leisurely and enjoy every second, sight, sound and scent. It looks like you have a thing for the characters just like me! I always HAVE to get pics with them EVERY trip! We will be there at the end of the month for my birthday again, (we went for my b'day last yr, but there's no other place I want to go for my birthday!!!) We were just there at Christmas as well. Can you tell where we spend EVERY vacation?
Thanks a gain for sharing such great pics and a great story to go along with it! You two look so happy!
susabelle

[Mac Daddy]

Ashley - What a fun trip report! There are some WONDERFUL shots in there, and those cards are great. I think somebody really, really likes you.

Ya know....it's really easy to go to Disneyland and be grouchy and get on each other's nerves sometimes. You two obviously had a total blast. On a board where we spend a great deal of time reading about strollers and leashes and cheerleaders and flash photography....it's GREAT to read about two people who had a wonderful time!

Thanks for a wonderful report!

[Dan - Tasmic!]

Hahaha, fantastic pictures!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[Alice's Wonderland]

Great pictures and report!! And I love the cards, that is so sweet!! And I want to see the other two cards too. THanks for sharing!!

[aashee]

Cute, Cute Cute trip report! Easy read and so glad you had a great time. Kudos to your BF for such creativity.

Chad

[Berd]

What a fantastic report! I loved Mike's scavenger hunt. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

Typical Goofy - what a great shot!

[jsdmn2]

Such a great and fun TR! Thanks for posting!

And I am a sucker for the mushy stuff, too. You and your boy are the cutest. I'm glad you had such a great and carefree time and I'm just the teenciest weency bit jealous!

Okay... maybe a bit more than that.

[anaheimgirl79]

those cards are so freaking cute...