Happiest Place on Earth on Busiest Day of Year
That's right, I went to Disneyland on the day after Thanksgiving. What were all those kids doing there anyway--isn't that Friday the biggest cartoon day of the year. When we pulled into the parking lot, we were handed a flyer that told us this was a high volume day and gave us some tips. Use fast pass (we got there at 11 a.m. and the fast pass time for Pirates was already 3:30 in the afternoon), don't watch the fireworks from main street and don't leave right after the fireworks--everyone else is too.
Luckily Barb and I had just a few things that we really wanted to do and we got a deal on the park hopper, so we could also go over to California Adventures (much less crowded over there). Barb really wanted to go to the Haunted House and it was completely different for Christmas, so that was very cool. I wanted to go to Small World, because it was closed last summer and it was also completely different for Christmas and also very cool. We had to go to the Tiki room, just because it is a staple and easy to get into. At California Adventure I insisted that we go on the Soar over California and it was just as fab as I remembered. Barb wasn't a roller coaster person, but I wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel. As we stood in line (a really long time) we saw some of the cars rocking uncontrollably and Barb was leary. So was I, but I kept it hidden. When we got to the front, two older women were leaving the car we were getting into and I said, if they can do it, so can we. Barb got a big laugh out of that. I'm in my late forties and she's in her fifties, we're at disneyland, but there are older ladies than us on the crazy ferris wheel. We didn't have a teenager in the car, so it really didn't rock all that much. It was very fun.
Afterwards, I wanted to try to get Barb to pick a place to eat, because I didn't want to limit her with my limited palate. Finally I convinced her that I really wanted to go to the Wine Tasting Italian place. There were three dishes with chicken in them. Something called a Pineta or a word about that long that starts with a "p" When I saw the word "pressed", I figured I better steer clear. Then there was a chicken salad, but the chicken lasagna caught my eye. I like lasagna sort of and I can always pick the chicken out. So I went on and on about the chicken lasagna sounding good and how I like lasagna sort of and I can always pick the chicken out. Somehow I must have gushed enough for Barb to realize I thought it would be in a tomato sause, because she said, you know Alfrado is a white sause? NO I DID NOT! Tragedy averted--I had the chicken salad--It is very easy to pick chicken out of lettuce.
I was trying to talk Barb into Space Mountain--I simply had to go on Space Mountain, but she was reluctant to say the least. I knew she wanted to see the parade, so I made out way back to small world to get a good view. I had no interest in the parade, so I said, you watch the parade and I'll go on Space Mountain--single riders can sometimes go to the front of the line and get on quicker. It was a great plan. So she found a seat on the parade route--we exchanged cell phone numbers and I went to get in line at Space Mountain. It was about 5:45 and the parade started at 6:30. There was no more fast pass and the wait time listed for Space Mountain was 65 minutes. It was cutting it close, but I really wanted to go on Space Mountain. The line was really, really long. The first thing I realized is that there was no cell phone reception. OK. After I was in line for about 10 minutes, a disney rep came out and said the ride was closed--they didn't know if it would be a few minutes or a few hours--we could stay in line, but no promises. I figured, I'd never make it back to the parade route in the crush of people, so I might as well stay where I was. Over the next 15 minutes about 100 people left the line. It barely made a dent. About 15 minutes later, the line started to really move--I mean constant movement--not eight people get on the ride at a time movement--this ride is closed, we're letting you out the back door kind of movement. That went on for some time and then I was close to the building (for the inside line), now the line started moving to the slower, eight people on the ride at a time kind of movement. I couldn't believe my luck. The wait in the building was really long and 6:30 passed and I still had no phone reception--but there was no way I was leaving space mountain. I finally got on the ride and it was really great--the sound effects and the ride make the perfect roller coaster. When I got off, I raced over to small world and caught a glimpse of santa--I had just made the end of the parade. As I picked Barb out of the crowd where I left her, I saw her pull out her cell phone. Was that great timing or what.
Now it was time to shop. It was black friday afterall--I didn't get up at 6 a.m., but that doesn't mean I didn't want to shop. We were having Caitlyn's first birthday party the following day and Disneyland has a huge assortment of princess stuff. That baby loves princess stuff. I started picking up things left and right. Barb said are you really going to buy all that stuff and I said, well I'll pare it down to just a few things--I mean I have to get this princess hat and I looked at the tag. $28 for a cheap pointie pink princess hat that the kid is going to put in her mouth and then give to the dog. I put everything back and became much more discriminating. She got a tee shirt, small baseball cap (with no glitter) and a little plastic princess purse. That last thing was really an impulse buy, but it was so darn cute.
We decided to leave before the fireworks to beat the crowd, but we did stop at the final gift shop and I went a little crazy buying a few more little things (which came in handy at Caitlyn's birthday party for the other little kids at the party). When we went out the front of Disneyland I remembered that California Adventures was on our right when we arrived, so of course we turned in the wrong direction and got on the wrong tram. It took a long time to get to our car, but as we got on the freeway, we saw the fireworks in the rear view mirror--were we lucky or what!
Luckily Barb and I had just a few things that we really wanted to do and we got a deal on the park hopper, so we could also go over to California Adventures (much less crowded over there). Barb really wanted to go to the Haunted House and it was completely different for Christmas, so that was very cool. I wanted to go to Small World, because it was closed last summer and it was also completely different for Christmas and also very cool. We had to go to the Tiki room, just because it is a staple and easy to get into. At California Adventure I insisted that we go on the Soar over California and it was just as fab as I remembered. Barb wasn't a roller coaster person, but I wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel. As we stood in line (a really long time) we saw some of the cars rocking uncontrollably and Barb was leary. So was I, but I kept it hidden. When we got to the front, two older women were leaving the car we were getting into and I said, if they can do it, so can we. Barb got a big laugh out of that. I'm in my late forties and she's in her fifties, we're at disneyland, but there are older ladies than us on the crazy ferris wheel. We didn't have a teenager in the car, so it really didn't rock all that much. It was very fun.
Afterwards, I wanted to try to get Barb to pick a place to eat, because I didn't want to limit her with my limited palate. Finally I convinced her that I really wanted to go to the Wine Tasting Italian place. There were three dishes with chicken in them. Something called a Pineta or a word about that long that starts with a "p" When I saw the word "pressed", I figured I better steer clear. Then there was a chicken salad, but the chicken lasagna caught my eye. I like lasagna sort of and I can always pick the chicken out. So I went on and on about the chicken lasagna sounding good and how I like lasagna sort of and I can always pick the chicken out. Somehow I must have gushed enough for Barb to realize I thought it would be in a tomato sause, because she said, you know Alfrado is a white sause? NO I DID NOT! Tragedy averted--I had the chicken salad--It is very easy to pick chicken out of lettuce.
I was trying to talk Barb into Space Mountain--I simply had to go on Space Mountain, but she was reluctant to say the least. I knew she wanted to see the parade, so I made out way back to small world to get a good view. I had no interest in the parade, so I said, you watch the parade and I'll go on Space Mountain--single riders can sometimes go to the front of the line and get on quicker. It was a great plan. So she found a seat on the parade route--we exchanged cell phone numbers and I went to get in line at Space Mountain. It was about 5:45 and the parade started at 6:30. There was no more fast pass and the wait time listed for Space Mountain was 65 minutes. It was cutting it close, but I really wanted to go on Space Mountain. The line was really, really long. The first thing I realized is that there was no cell phone reception. OK. After I was in line for about 10 minutes, a disney rep came out and said the ride was closed--they didn't know if it would be a few minutes or a few hours--we could stay in line, but no promises. I figured, I'd never make it back to the parade route in the crush of people, so I might as well stay where I was. Over the next 15 minutes about 100 people left the line. It barely made a dent. About 15 minutes later, the line started to really move--I mean constant movement--not eight people get on the ride at a time movement--this ride is closed, we're letting you out the back door kind of movement. That went on for some time and then I was close to the building (for the inside line), now the line started moving to the slower, eight people on the ride at a time kind of movement. I couldn't believe my luck. The wait in the building was really long and 6:30 passed and I still had no phone reception--but there was no way I was leaving space mountain. I finally got on the ride and it was really great--the sound effects and the ride make the perfect roller coaster. When I got off, I raced over to small world and caught a glimpse of santa--I had just made the end of the parade. As I picked Barb out of the crowd where I left her, I saw her pull out her cell phone. Was that great timing or what.
Now it was time to shop. It was black friday afterall--I didn't get up at 6 a.m., but that doesn't mean I didn't want to shop. We were having Caitlyn's first birthday party the following day and Disneyland has a huge assortment of princess stuff. That baby loves princess stuff. I started picking up things left and right. Barb said are you really going to buy all that stuff and I said, well I'll pare it down to just a few things--I mean I have to get this princess hat and I looked at the tag. $28 for a cheap pointie pink princess hat that the kid is going to put in her mouth and then give to the dog. I put everything back and became much more discriminating. She got a tee shirt, small baseball cap (with no glitter) and a little plastic princess purse. That last thing was really an impulse buy, but it was so darn cute.
We decided to leave before the fireworks to beat the crowd, but we did stop at the final gift shop and I went a little crazy buying a few more little things (which came in handy at Caitlyn's birthday party for the other little kids at the party). When we went out the front of Disneyland I remembered that California Adventures was on our right when we arrived, so of course we turned in the wrong direction and got on the wrong tram. It took a long time to get to our car, but as we got on the freeway, we saw the fireworks in the rear view mirror--were we lucky or what!
posted by KathrynVH @ 8:59 AM
2 Comments:
At November 29, 2006 at 5:36 PM,
Megan said…
Sounds like lots of fun. I really love Disney Land. Too bad It's A Small World was closed for me :(
Space Mountain is sooooo worth the long wait!
At December 13, 2006 at 7:43 AM,
Marcel said…
It pleases me that you multi-task with a person in order to satisfy individual desires. I was amazed about the dietary restrictions you place upon yourself.
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