Trip report, August 28, 2005 (Day 1)

sterm26 · 09-06-2005, 01:50 AM

We arrived at LAX on Friday afternoon, picked up the rental car, and started our journey to the Anaheim Plaza, 30 miles south of LA but right across the street from Disneyland.

The party included myself, my wife, and my 6 year old daughter. My daughter has been spoiled by 2 trips to WDW in her short lifespan, and now she was being treated to Disneyland, where Uncle Walt (as we refer to Walt Disney) actually walked around and planned things.

Now, as we had flown clear across the country from Philadelphia, we were kinda jet-lagged, and decided to spend Friday relaxing by the pool. Southern California was in the grip of a heat wave, with temperatures in the mid-to upper 90's, which made the pool that much more enjoyable.

We had tips that Saturdays at Disneyland were very crowded, and since we had 7 more days to spend there, we decided to tour LA and Hollywood that day. It was very hard to not go to the park, especially since I could see the Tower of Terror from my hotel balcony, but I wanted to make sure our park experience got off on the right foot. We saw the Hollywood sign and spent some time (not money, thank you) on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, among other things.

Finally, Sunday rolled around. First, we went to the Lilo & Stitch character breakfast at the Paradise Pier hotel. The food was good for a buffet, and my daughter was delighted by the character interaction...she got autographs from Lilo & Stitch, as well as Pluto, Minnie, and Chip & Dale. A rousing start so far!

We walked back to Downtown Disney, and from there we took the monorail to Tomorrowland. I wanted to make the grand entrance on Main Street, but I was outvoted

We disembarked from the monorail, checked our map, and headed right for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. The wait was 30 minutes, but we got Fastpasses and rode twice ina row. I think DL's version is better than WDW's, you can remove the laser gun and shoot at targets on the ceiling. Also, you can email a picture of your score, for FREE, at a computer terminal at the end of the ride.

I then got a fastpass for the new, improved Space Mountain. Though it was still early, the standby wait was already 60 minutes, and my fastpass didn't let me on until about 4 PM, a good 5 hours from when I got it. Undaunted, we went to Star Tours, which is the same enjoyable ride as the WDW version.

From there, went to Fantasyland, and jumped on Peter Pan's Flight (a 20 minute wait), then went right to Mr. Toad. An old favorite of mine from WDW, I enjoyed the heck out of it, but my daughter was dismayed about the **** sequence at the end.
(con'd)

sterm26 · 09-06-2005, 02:11 AM

By now, we were hungry again aftger our very filling buffet breakfast and decided to stop at Redd Rockets Pizza Port in Tomorrowland. 31 dollars and 3 cases of heartburn later, we wondered if would have been worth it to go out of the park and buy lunch at Dennys or someplace....

Anyway, we soldiered on, and found ourselves with a nice view of Mickey climbing the Matterhorn, as Minnie and Goofy cheered him on. This was the Disneyland I'd heard about! Soon after, we found a bench on the parade route, and were treated to a front row view of the 50th Anniversary parade. This was defintitely a highlight of our visit, the parade featured almost every importatnt Disney character,and incorporated Walt's voice into the dance routines. 5 stars for this one!

I finally took advantage of my Space Mountain fastpass, and I must say that the new ride blows WDW's mountain off the shelf. The new Space Mountain, after a 2+ year refurbishment, features a completely dark track...you simply cannot see the track, unlike in WDW...all you can see are the "stars". The ride seems much faster and smoother, and you get a space-age musical soundtrack blasting into your ears. I was exhilarated at the end, and couldn't wait to get back on. Oh well, we have plenty of time for that.

Checking the schedule, we saw that the California Adventure park was featuring the old Electrical Parade at 8:45. Disneyland, by that point, was really filling up, and we figured that we'd check out DCA for a while before the parade. We ate "dinner" at the Taste Pilots Grill in front of Soarin', burgers and fries, for a not-so-bad $27.

After watching the Electrical Parade, I was sated, and we retired to our hotel suite, giddy from a day at Disneyland, but also anticipating our next-day's adventure, to Universal Hollywood.

GaRain · 09-06-2005, 09:34 AM

Sounds good so far. Can't wait for the next installment!

20K · 09-06-2005, 04:58 PM

Hear any work going on behind the Submarine Voyage walls?

sterm26 · 09-08-2005, 10:12 AM

I did get a chance to peek over the wall from the Monorail station, but I didn't see (or hear) any actual work going on. My daughter was excited to see Nemo & friends on the wall, giving us an incentive to come back in 2007 or so.

Keasmom · 09-08-2005, 10:53 PM

Please, please pictures of the entrance to Small World, if it is still the fabulous, white and gold castle like facade. I miss that soo much at WDW. Thanks, your trip sounds great so far.

sterm26 · 09-17-2005, 06:40 AM

...it's taking so long to post the rest of this. I came back from DL and immediately went back to my 2 jobs, the law firm and the Phillies. Phils just completed a 10 game homestand, I'll be posting the rest soon. Thanks for the encouragement!

09-06-2005, 01:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
sterm26 C-Ticket Holder Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South Philly Posts: 165	Trip report, August 28, 2005 (Day 1) We arrived at LAX on Friday afternoon, picked up the rental car, and started our journey to the Anaheim Plaza, 30 miles south of LA but right across the street from Disneyland. The party included myself, my wife, and my 6 year old daughter. My daughter has been spoiled by 2 trips to WDW in her short lifespan, and now she was being treated to Disneyland, where Uncle Walt (as we refer to Walt Disney) actually walked around and planned things. Now, as we had flown clear across the country from Philadelphia, we were kinda jet-lagged, and decided to spend Friday relaxing by the pool. Southern California was in the grip of a heat wave, with temperatures in the mid-to upper 90's, which made the pool that much more enjoyable. We had tips that Saturdays at Disneyland were very crowded, and since we had 7 more days to spend there, we decided to tour LA and Hollywood that day. It was very hard to not go to the park, especially since I could see the Tower of Terror from my hotel balcony, but I wanted to make sure our park experience got off on the right foot. We saw the Hollywood sign and spent some time (not money, thank you) on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, among other things. Finally, Sunday rolled around. First, we went to the Lilo & Stitch character breakfast at the Paradise Pier hotel. The food was good for a buffet, and my daughter was delighted by the character interaction...she got autographs from Lilo & Stitch, as well as Pluto, Minnie, and Chip & Dale. A rousing start so far! We walked back to Downtown Disney, and from there we took the monorail to Tomorrowland. I wanted to make the grand entrance on Main Street, but I was outvoted We disembarked from the monorail, checked our map, and headed right for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. The wait was 30 minutes, but we got Fastpasses and rode twice ina row. I think DL's version is better than WDW's, you can remove the laser gun and shoot at targets on the ceiling. Also, you can email a picture of your score, for FREE, at a computer terminal at the end of the ride. I then got a fastpass for the new, improved Space Mountain. Though it was still early, the standby wait was already 60 minutes, and my fastpass didn't let me on until about 4 PM, a good 5 hours from when I got it. Undaunted, we went to Star Tours, which is the same enjoyable ride as the WDW version. From there, went to Fantasyland, and jumped on Peter Pan's Flight (a 20 minute wait), then went right to Mr. Toad. An old favorite of mine from WDW, I enjoyed the heck out of it, but my daughter was dismayed about the **** sequence at the end. (con'd) __________________ WDW offsite 1979, '83, '86, '87, '89,' 93 ASMo November 2003 (Love Bug) Pop Century February 2005 (50's) Pop Century February 2006 (60's) Pop Century August 2006 (60's) Disneyland August 1988 (L.A.) Disneyland August 2005 (Anaheim Plaza) "His name's Tron, fights for the Users..." Last edited by sterm26; 09-06-2005 at 01:51 AM. Reason: mispellings

09-06-2005, 02:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
sterm26 C-Ticket Holder Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South Philly Posts: 165	Part II By now, we were hungry again aftger our very filling buffet breakfast and decided to stop at Redd Rockets Pizza Port in Tomorrowland. 31 dollars and 3 cases of heartburn later, we wondered if would have been worth it to go out of the park and buy lunch at Dennys or someplace.... Anyway, we soldiered on, and found ourselves with a nice view of Mickey climbing the Matterhorn, as Minnie and Goofy cheered him on. This was the Disneyland I'd heard about! Soon after, we found a bench on the parade route, and were treated to a front row view of the 50th Anniversary parade. This was defintitely a highlight of our visit, the parade featured almost every importatnt Disney character,and incorporated Walt's voice into the dance routines. 5 stars for this one! I finally took advantage of my Space Mountain fastpass, and I must say that the new ride blows WDW's mountain off the shelf. The new Space Mountain, after a 2+ year refurbishment, features a completely dark track...you simply cannot see the track, unlike in WDW...all you can see are the "stars". The ride seems much faster and smoother, and you get a space-age musical soundtrack blasting into your ears. I was exhilarated at the end, and couldn't wait to get back on. Oh well, we have plenty of time for that. Checking the schedule, we saw that the California Adventure park was featuring the old Electrical Parade at 8:45. Disneyland, by that point, was really filling up, and we figured that we'd check out DCA for a while before the parade. We ate "dinner" at the Taste Pilots Grill in front of Soarin', burgers and fries, for a not-so-bad $27. After watching the Electrical Parade, I was sated, and we retired to our hotel suite, giddy from a day at Disneyland, but also anticipating our next-day's adventure, to Universal Hollywood. __________________ WDW offsite 1979, '83, '86, '87, '89,' 93 ASMo November 2003 (Love Bug) Pop Century February 2005 (50's) Pop Century February 2006 (60's) Pop Century August 2006 (60's) Disneyland August 1988 (L.A.) Disneyland August 2005 (Anaheim Plaza) "His name's Tron, fights for the Users..." Last edited by sterm26; 09-06-2005 at 02:13 AM.

09-06-2005, 09:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
GaRain I love a guy who can make me laugh! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Right here!!! Posts: 14,171	Sounds good so far. Can't wait for the next installment! __________________ Nothing to countdown to, so just smile and be happy everyday!

09-08-2005, 10:12 AM	#5 (permalink)
sterm26 C-Ticket Holder Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South Philly Posts: 165	Submarine walls I did get a chance to peek over the wall from the Monorail station, but I didn't see (or hear) any actual work going on. My daughter was excited to see Nemo & friends on the wall, giving us an incentive to come back in 2007 or so. __________________ WDW offsite 1979, '83, '86, '87, '89,' 93 ASMo November 2003 (Love Bug) Pop Century February 2005 (50's) Pop Century February 2006 (60's) Pop Century August 2006 (60's) Disneyland August 1988 (L.A.) Disneyland August 2005 (Anaheim Plaza) "His name's Tron, fights for the Users..." Last edited by sterm26; 09-18-2005 at 01:45 AM.

09-17-2005, 06:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
sterm26 C-Ticket Holder Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South Philly Posts: 165	Sorry... ...it's taking so long to post the rest of this. I came back from DL and immediately went back to my 2 jobs, the law firm and the Phillies. Phils just completed a 10 game homestand, I'll be posting the rest soon. Thanks for the encouragement! __________________ WDW offsite 1979, '83, '86, '87, '89,' 93 ASMo November 2003 (Love Bug) Pop Century February 2005 (50's) Pop Century February 2006 (60's) Pop Century August 2006 (60's) Disneyland August 1988 (L.A.) Disneyland August 2005 (Anaheim Plaza) "His name's Tron, fights for the Users..."

09-06-2005, 04:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
20K Finally Back! Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Scotland Posts: 1,150	Hear any work going on behind the Submarine Voyage walls?

09-08-2005, 10:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
Keasmom Fantasyland is a destination, not a lifestyle. Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Reality, USA way better then Head-In-Cloud, Anywhere Posts: 4,535	Please, please pictures of the entrance to Small World, if it is still the fabulous, white and gold castle like facade. I miss that soo much at WDW. Thanks, your trip sounds great so far.

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