9 Days at Disneyland!!! Part 2

[nmbullrdr]

Part 2

Our kids were wonderful, they were Disney troopers all the time, especially with the heat. Both enjoyed Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and GoGo Gadget's Coaster. We went on them constantly, glad my kids like the coasters. We haven't been on Space Mountain since 1987 and the refurb they did on it was fantastic! The sound was awesome and the ride seemed a lot smoother than last time. By the end of our stay, even had the kids holding up their hands. We went on the Matterhorn, it was a little rough for the kids, they preferred Space Mountain. SM is now our offical family fun ride!

Fantasmic and the fireworks was worth the standing in line and waiting.

Dining at Disneyland was on the most part very good. We also did Goofy's Kitchen. The first time we went, we had a wonderful time. This time, the food was good, but the character interaction was poor. We saw a lot of characters, just none of them stopped by our table in our section. We finally had them re-routed and it turned out OK.

We also did lunch at Ariel's Grotto. My burger was OK but the wife's salmon was too fishy for me. The kid's lunches were below par for what they cost. Four princess and Mary Poppins were there (still couldn't find Sleeping Beauty at this point). It seems for the price, character interaction and food quality, this character lunch was not worth it. We had a better time waiting in line at the Princess Faire. The princesses there took a lot more time and we took a lot more pictures.

And to answer the question everyone is dying to ask, yes, we did make it on Nemo! On the 10th the line was a little shorter and the CM's said about 45 minutes. We hopped in line and it only took us 30 minutes to get to the loading area. The submarines look nice after the refurb and the Nemo overlay was cool. I was afraid we would not get on it this trip as for the first week the lines were way up past the Matterhorn. It was a very cute ride and the kids and the adults liked it a lot.

Being big fans of Pirates, we liked the addition of Capt Jack and Barbosa. Kids want to know when Davey Jones and the Kracken will be added!

On the 7th, we headed over to the Disney Outlet store, BIG LETDOWN. Should have skipped this, total waste of time. Afterwards, we braved the open road and heading down to Huntington Beach for the day. The drive is long and takes some time with traffic. Still, when you live in a desert, it is nice to ge to the ocean. We had a great time. Actually, it was a lot cooler on that Friday, 73 degrees and the water was 69 degrees. The waves were big and we had a great time. On our next visit will like to go to different beaches for a couple of days. Ate at Ruby's at the end of the pier. I had the Kobe burger, the food and the view was really delightful.

As for offsite dining, Mimi's was probably the best. I had a 12 ounce sirlion steak that was one of the best I have had in a while and it was only $15. The kid's thought the marina sauce had too much oregano in it (though they are spoiled as we get ours at home from a place called Paisano's, they have the best sauce ever!). Ate at Quizno's a couple of times and McDonald's (another hint, you can go to Quizno's website and sign up and download coupons and if you go to OC visitor site you can download and print 10% off coupons for McDonald's).

We also at at the Rainforest Cafe. Their coconut shrimp is the best! Joined the Safari Club and received free appetizer.

We took over 1500 pictures on our digital camera and took close to 300 with Disney Photopass (wife is going to be busy scrapbooking for a long time). I took my laptop to download the pictures every night.

Even though we were there for 9 days, it was hard to pack up and leave Disneyland. It was even harder as we bought so much with our 10% discount that the Explorer was packed floor to ceiling. So to take our minds of it, we headed to Vegas for a couple of days of R & R at the MGM Grand. Checked into a 2 queen bungalo suite late that night. Next day spent the whole day at the pool, totally worth it. Also ate at the Rainforest Cafe in the MGM Grand. I must admit, the food and atmosphere in Downtown Disney beats this one hands down. The atmosphere, service, and food quality was a let down. The kids loved the popcorn shrimp in RF @ DTD and the first thing they said about Vegas is that the popcorn shrimp was soggy and they were right. Should have went over to Gallagher's at NYNY.

It has now been a month and looking back, it was so totally worth it! We had so many kodak moments. We are now annual pass holders, which means we have to go back within the year. The bad news, the kids want to go for 10 days next time!

[disneydrmr]

Sounds like a wonderful trip all in all! Thanks for sharing!

[NotaGeek]

Thanks for posting! If you get your pics uploaded to flickr or kodak share be sure and put a link in your profile so you can share the magic! You know we love to watch another family at the DLR!

[Melanie]

Great report! Glad your family had such a great time. And I don't blame the kiddos for wanting 10 days next time.

[MegaDisney]

WOW! Great report!

I agree on Ariels, I find the food pretty poor, but you can't beat the location!

Thanks again for taking the time to post!

[tinkwest]

Thanks for all the food reviews and the coupon hints.

I'm with the kids . . . 10 days sounds perfect!!

So glad you shared your wonderful experiences with all of us. Let us know if your pictures go up for us to view!

(I like Gallagher's at NYNY too.)

[ChipnDaleGal]

I agree with your kids as well, ten days at Disneyland sounds like heaven!! I am glad that you all enjoyd your trip so much. Thank you for sharing the details with us. You have me wishing that April was closer since that is my next trip there.