southerngirl
12-29-2010, 04:37 PM
Monday, December 20th--Part 1
DH and I were up bright and early again this morning. DS also woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed. He still had a runny nose, but his temperature was normal. The weather outside had also slightly improved to upper 60s with few clouds and no misty rain.
We went down to the lounge for breakfast. DS had a cup of yogurt, fruit and some Fruit Loops (which he called "Os"), and DH and I enjoyed some fruit and muffins and coffee. The lounge staff were kind enough to give us some gold fish to take with us to the park with our Mickey pretzels from the day before, and with those and some Diet Cokes and water from the cooler, we were all set for the morning. We just had to decide where to go!
This is where we hit a slight snag. I originally made ADRs for lunch at Chefs de France and dinner at Hacienda de San Angel, but DH decided that he didn't want to have a big meal for both lunch and dinner. So, we canceled the lunch ADR. Then, DH said that he thought we should spend the morning at the Studios. DS really likes Wall-E, and we had been on the lookout for some Wall-E merchandise for Christmas. So, we thought the Studios would b be the best place to look. I hadn't been there in probably 10 years, but I also assumed that there would be at least a few things for a toddler to do. So, we packed up and headed down to the bus stop. Fortunately, a Studios bus was pulling up just as we arrived, and we hoped on.
We arrived at the Studios around 9:30. Boy, were the crowds entering thick! We made our way down the main boulevard stopping in the shops (nothing Wall-E related). Then, we realiezd we had no idea where we were going. We found a map and decided to go over to the big hat, since I remembered a lot of characters were there. We tried to get in line for Donald and Daisy, but they had just closed it. We then went over to Minnie Mouse--same thing. So, we decided to go on the Great Movie Ride while we waited for the characters to come back out. It was okay, but DS got a little freaked out by the Alien scene.
After the ride, DS and I went back and got in line for Daisy and Donald. We were the second people in the line and had to wait about 15 minutes. DH decided to walk over to Pixar Place to see if he could scout out some Wall-E stuff and also to see what the wait time was for the Toy Story ride. The look on his face when he came back told me everything--no Wall-E merchandise, and the FPs were all gone for the ride, and the wait was 70 minutes. I wasn't too disappointed about the ride, since DS had hated Buzz the day before, and I thought it would be similar. However, I was starting to get frustrated with the Studios. Aside from the character visits, we just couldn't find anything for DS to do. He isn't into shows, and we couldn't figure out other rides for him.
We saw Donald and Daisy and then Minnie Mouse, and then we happened to see DS's two favorite characters--Chip and Dale. We were fortunate enough to be the next to last people in their line before it closed. DS loved his visit with them. So, that made the trip to the Studios worthwhile. After that, we walked back to Pixar Place. DH said a CM had told him there was one store (AFI) that might have Wall-E merchandise. Boy, was that place difficult to find! When we finally found it, we discovered that there was nothing Wall-E there. Feeling frustrated and hungry, we decided to find some lunch and then head out. I think we've decided it'll be several more years before we conquer the Studios again!
We ended up at the Backlot Express. We used another 30% off coupon. DS and I had chicken nuggets, and DH had the turkey panini. DH and I once again shared a Diet Coke. The bill was about $20. DS ate his entire lunch (nuggets, applesauce and carrots), plus some of his snacks from the lounge and a banana. I ate about half of my nuggets and two bites of DH's sandwich. The sandwich was the definite winner, but it wasn't stellar, just better than average. Plus, the restaurant was just jam-packed, and we were seated by a door that stayed open every time someone went out. So, it wasn't terribly enjoyable. I think we'd all give the Backlot Express a C+.
part 2 to follow!
DH and I were up bright and early again this morning. DS also woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed. He still had a runny nose, but his temperature was normal. The weather outside had also slightly improved to upper 60s with few clouds and no misty rain.
We went down to the lounge for breakfast. DS had a cup of yogurt, fruit and some Fruit Loops (which he called "Os"), and DH and I enjoyed some fruit and muffins and coffee. The lounge staff were kind enough to give us some gold fish to take with us to the park with our Mickey pretzels from the day before, and with those and some Diet Cokes and water from the cooler, we were all set for the morning. We just had to decide where to go!
This is where we hit a slight snag. I originally made ADRs for lunch at Chefs de France and dinner at Hacienda de San Angel, but DH decided that he didn't want to have a big meal for both lunch and dinner. So, we canceled the lunch ADR. Then, DH said that he thought we should spend the morning at the Studios. DS really likes Wall-E, and we had been on the lookout for some Wall-E merchandise for Christmas. So, we thought the Studios would b be the best place to look. I hadn't been there in probably 10 years, but I also assumed that there would be at least a few things for a toddler to do. So, we packed up and headed down to the bus stop. Fortunately, a Studios bus was pulling up just as we arrived, and we hoped on.
We arrived at the Studios around 9:30. Boy, were the crowds entering thick! We made our way down the main boulevard stopping in the shops (nothing Wall-E related). Then, we realiezd we had no idea where we were going. We found a map and decided to go over to the big hat, since I remembered a lot of characters were there. We tried to get in line for Donald and Daisy, but they had just closed it. We then went over to Minnie Mouse--same thing. So, we decided to go on the Great Movie Ride while we waited for the characters to come back out. It was okay, but DS got a little freaked out by the Alien scene.
After the ride, DS and I went back and got in line for Daisy and Donald. We were the second people in the line and had to wait about 15 minutes. DH decided to walk over to Pixar Place to see if he could scout out some Wall-E stuff and also to see what the wait time was for the Toy Story ride. The look on his face when he came back told me everything--no Wall-E merchandise, and the FPs were all gone for the ride, and the wait was 70 minutes. I wasn't too disappointed about the ride, since DS had hated Buzz the day before, and I thought it would be similar. However, I was starting to get frustrated with the Studios. Aside from the character visits, we just couldn't find anything for DS to do. He isn't into shows, and we couldn't figure out other rides for him.
We saw Donald and Daisy and then Minnie Mouse, and then we happened to see DS's two favorite characters--Chip and Dale. We were fortunate enough to be the next to last people in their line before it closed. DS loved his visit with them. So, that made the trip to the Studios worthwhile. After that, we walked back to Pixar Place. DH said a CM had told him there was one store (AFI) that might have Wall-E merchandise. Boy, was that place difficult to find! When we finally found it, we discovered that there was nothing Wall-E there. Feeling frustrated and hungry, we decided to find some lunch and then head out. I think we've decided it'll be several more years before we conquer the Studios again!
We ended up at the Backlot Express. We used another 30% off coupon. DS and I had chicken nuggets, and DH had the turkey panini. DH and I once again shared a Diet Coke. The bill was about $20. DS ate his entire lunch (nuggets, applesauce and carrots), plus some of his snacks from the lounge and a banana. I ate about half of my nuggets and two bites of DH's sandwich. The sandwich was the definite winner, but it wasn't stellar, just better than average. Plus, the restaurant was just jam-packed, and we were seated by a door that stayed open every time someone went out. So, it wasn't terribly enjoyable. I think we'd all give the Backlot Express a C+.
part 2 to follow!